To hell and back

My lungs were burning, the cold dampness in the air had seeped through the thick woolen cloak that I had worn in hopes of preventing that from happening, but I guess that simple fabrics could only do that much. I had been walking through this dammed forest for what felt like a freaking eternity, but it was closer to five days. In my original plan, I was supposed to reach the border yesterday, but I miscalculated how much my body could do. I felt myself starting to shiver, which was not a good sign, but this was to be expected. The cold dampness of the fog in this forest has soaked through the layers of clothing and my skin, to somewhere deep in my bones. It did not help that I hadn't eaten since yesterday evening as I did not plan for this to take so long, so my rations had run out. As I took the next step, my foot slipped and so, on top of all that, I was not laying on my back staring up at the thick foliage of the trees that surrounded me. There was not even a glimpse of the sky as this forest was so thick. This felt like the last threat that was holding me together had snapped, and I was moments away from bursting out in tears. It has been so many years since I felt like this... so helpless and small... like no matter what I did, the world would just beat me down to the ground so I would not rise again. And I remember the promise I made myself at that time and I kept it. Oh boy did I keep it, for all these years, and I am not about to let myself break that promise. I was not going to give up. Not back then and most definitely not now. This freaking forest is not going to win. With a new wave of fighting energy, I got up and started walking again. Before starting it, I knew that it was going to be hard. There is a reason this forest is here and why so very few managed to cross it. It has taken almost as many lives as the man that cursed this place in the first place. The dark forest surrounding the Kingdom of the Night was here for a reason, and it served its purpose very well. It was created almost a century ago by the ruler of the Night kingdom to keep people in, not to let people cross the wall and get out of this place. Sure, before leaving, I had studied both the spell and all the information that was on this place, and it is still difficult for me to make my way through her. This place was like a live maze that was changing how it pleases and is more than happy to take anyone's life who was not prepared to cross it. There is a rummour that this place is possessed by a demon, but I know better. If this place had a demon or some other malicious creature possessing it, it would work differently, it would be more inviting and no one would be able to leave it once they enter it. As that is the bases all creatures used to survive, to get their food to come to them and willingly. Not like this place that is meant to repulse people from entering it. What this place is, it's a very powerful spell that uses the lives of people that enter it as substance to keep itself alive. That's the reason why this border spell has been so strong over the years and the reason why it's one of the best spells of the century, if not ever. The second closest to this one was probably the border spell that is protecting light kingdom, but there is very little information about that one and no one really knows how it works, or if it is even really a spell or not. Fighting the bone-crushing fatigue, I climbed what I hopped was the last hill, and I was finally correct. I made it through the forest, and I was alive, without magic or any other sort of help, just by my own determination, how it is meant to be done... the only way you can cross it, actually. This forest senses magical energy, and it will suck it right out of you the moment you cross its border, killing you or pushing you to the brink of death as it has taken away all of your magic and life force. Completely exhausted, I leaned against the last tree from the tree line to give myself a little breathing break. My vision was blurry, and I was sure that I was moments away from passing out, which would be the stupidest thing ever, because the forest would consume me the moment I let my guard down. So I pushed off the tree and walked out of the forest. As I crossed the border, I turned back to look at the massive sea of trees and darkness and made a big bow to the greatness of it, giving the respect it deserves. A small breeze tickled my cheek and I knew that it was the forest's way of accepting my respect. I know that this place will live in my nightmares alongside the rest of the dark things that haunt me. As much as I wanted to sink to the ground and rest, now that I was out of the forest and there was no chance for it to devour me, but along the walls of the kingdom, there was enough human or magical creatures that would love nothing more then to devour me, and the border was especially dangerous. Okay, now I need to remember Luis told me the secret passage was. For most, crossing the border is easy after you get through the dark forest and there is work around about how to reach the border without needing to suffer traveling through the dark forest on foot and all human folk are welcome to cross the border if they wish. But I was not someone that could do either. First it would require me to get a really big amount of gold (which would not be that hard) and approval for letting me leave the kingdom from the ruler of these lands to let me leave, which would never happen. And the second part of crossing the border... well, I am not really human, not anymore at least. The only reason I will be able to cross the border is that I no longer have any powers, but it does not mean that the border patrol would let me through... especially keeping in mind who I am. Feeling more exhausted than I have felt in the last few years for sure I made my way alongside the wall looking for the pure white rose bush that serves as a front for the secret passage. After a good twenty minutes of searching and cursing Luis, I finally found the rose bush and crawled under it. Another thing that I hadn't done in so many years. I hate doing this, but it's the only way I could get out of here. Under the branches of the bush I found a dark hole that looked big enough for a child to pass, not a grown adult... Shit... Well, it's good that I haven't eaten since yesterday and even when I ate it was not super nutritious food, and with all the walking I done I am sure that I lost weight, so maybe I will manage to squeeze through this hole. Taking a deep breath and cursing Luis again, I started to crawl. It was dark and tight, but at least it was quite dry. It was not really fun as I was surrounded by darkness for a few moments, but then I saw it, the light at the other end of the tunnel. With a new wave of energy and hope to finally be done with it, I crawled out of hole and into the dry forest air. Finally, I could take a deep breath in and get up. It was like a day here in camparison to the weather on the other side of the wall. It was sunny and warm. Air you could call a perfect summer's day. But I still could not let myself rest here, I had to move before I got caught crawling out from under a freaking bush by the great wall. Okay... and now to find the place where Luis organized me to be picked up. Slowly I started to make my way in the direction I hoped was the inn. It was a new sort of torture to walk in the scorching sunlight. After the last week, traveling in complete darkness I started to feel a headache forming at the back of my head from the sunlight hitting my head. It might also be due to the fact that I was very hungry and hadn't had a drop to drink since yesterday. My vision started to swim a bit, when I heard: "Miss? are you..." I did not hear that person finish what they were saying, because not a moment later everything went dark.