Memories Lost - First of Apocalyptic Hell Series

The Forrest

    I made it a good distance from the group, still where I could see them and hear them in case anything happened but far enough away that I could have a moment alone. I began to tremble not only with anger but sadness. I hugged myself as my knees buckled, tears streaming down my face as I thought of how long I had been apart from Theoden. I felt silly for missing him terribly, but I wanted him, no I needed him. He was my strength and I was his, we were a team and here I was separated from my partner. It had been months since I had seen him and of course we couldn’t communicate through the crystal. I knew he wasn’t going to be there when I returned, he was on a mission of his own. I tried to keep telling myself that he will be there when I come through those gates, but there was always a fear at the back of mind that he wouldn’t be and that he would never be coming back. I felt the cool breeze pick up for a few moments before I heard the soft purring that came from deep within Fayrova’s chest. 

    “Sayuri? What’s wrong?” she asked as she moved in closer to me. I couldn’t even speak as I let everything begin to flow out that I had been forcing myself to bottle up. 

    Fayrova didn’t wait for an answer as she moved closer until she could reach out with her nose. Nudging my arm until she could push her nose under it and her face was against mine. I went from hugging myself to hugging her. All I could do was sob as all these pesky emotions poured out of me. I was not one to be emotional these past years since I had been freed from Daryl the first time I encountered him and here I was sobbing like a child. Between my sobs I heard soft hoofsteps as Vivaldi strode towards us, he could sense something was bothering me through our bond. He wasn’t alone though. 

    I felt a soft hand on my shoulder which startled me. I jolted up and turned to see Caethrynna standing behind me. She didn’t say anything as she eased herself to sit next to me and took my hand, simply sitting there holding my hand. I sat there, looking at her delicate hand as she sat there simply holding mine. She wasn’t even staring at me, just looking off into the distance and allowing me to deal with everything I was feeling. All I could do was sit there with her holding my hand, Fayrova on my other side with her head in my lap and Vivaldi standing over us with his velvet soft muzzle against my cheek. They simply sat with me as everything just poured out. All my fears, regrets, everything that I had been forcing into a bottle to keep in the dark. 

    After what felt like hours had passed that the last of my sobs turned into hiccups, my tears had long since dried, there simply weren’t anymore tears to cry at that point. My eyes felt raw and scratchy, my body was stiff from sitting for as long as we had. I couldn’t find it within myself to move yet, things were finally peaceful for the first time in months. Even though there was a deep ache inside of me for Theoden, I finally felt certain that I would see him again. This fight wasn’t over and we would be together when it was all done. Caethrynna looked over at me, drawing my gaze, she gave me a soft smile before pulling me into a hug. 

    “I won’t ask you any questions and I told the group to not ask anything either.” I was thankful for that, “Now after everything you’ve been through this past month, you need to eat and Melanie did prepare a hearty meal. Let’s get you fueled up, before you run yourself into another coma from sheer exhaustion.” That remark drew a raspy giggle out of me as I pushed myself to my feet, then helped her to hers. 

    We walked back in silence, Fayrova on my side and Vivaldi on Caethrynna’s. Nothing needed to be said honestly and I was grateful that no one spoke of what happened and even Melanie didn’t look upset or hurt at my outburst. She gave me an apologetic look as she handed me a plate that was loaded down with food. I had to hold it with two hands as I looked down to see an array of food. There were collard greens with bacon, roasted chicken with root vegetables, fresh bread with butter and cheese and a fresh green salad with berries and nuts. I couldn’t believe she had prepared all of this and it looked like a true feast. All had been forgiven and forgotten in that moment as we all gathered around the low flame and enjoyed the small feast with some mulled wine and of course apple juice for Caethrynna. 

    After that night, we kept up our travel pace and the spell stayed with us and continued with us even as we entered an ancient forest. The horses began to balk at the edge of the old wood, Charles tried to push them through but they refused. As I looked into the woods a cold chill swept through me as if I had seen a horrible evil. I pushed Vivaldi forward, but even he balked. 

    “Something is wrong about this forest, Sayuri. Something dark lives here.” I could feel him give a slight quiver. 

    “We need to check this out, I don’t remember this wood being here when we first traveled this way. There must be a reason for this being so dark here.” I dismounted and patted him on the shoulder to ease his fear as I led him closer. 

    “For now, Charles turned the wagon pointing it away from the forest. Everyone be prepared to bolt if we must.” I turned towards the wood just as Aulcmid stopped me. 

    “We can go around this forest, we don’t know what is in there.” He looked cautiously at the forest. 

    “We’ve made it as far as Wyoming despite our setbacks and slow travel, We are halfway to the gates of Eindenia. If we go around this forest it could take weeks to get us back on track. I can at least check it out and see what has decided to take up residence in one of the largest forests in the United States. It could very well be a colony of Fae that have used magic to convince other beings to fear this place. I’ll be in and out in no time, then we will be on our way.” I didn’t give him a chance to say anything as I stepped into the woods. Every fiber in my being began to scream at me to leave this place as soon as I made it no more than five steps in and it grew worse the further I walked on. 

    “I beg of you Sayuri, we need to leave this place! This is a place for death and evil.” Vivaldi practically begged me to leave the forest. 

    “We have to find out what is in here. This wasn’t here when we passed through the first time, what could’ve possibly moved in so quickly.” I tried to soothe his fear, but mine was beginning to get the best of me. We had walked nearly a football field length into these cursed woods and so far had found no signs of any kind of evil or life at all. 

    We continued to walk until we came across what were the remains of several large animal carcasses. The flesh and insides stripped from the bones, leaving behind husks of what they used to be. Many were large elk and moose, some were bears and all had been brutally slain before being devoured. I stood stock still as I tried to silence my instincts that were telling me to flee as I approached the remains. 

    "Sayuri! What are you doing? We need to leave!” Vivaldi began to prance behind me and nicker frantically at me, trying to be quiet but still get my attention. 

    “If you do not be quiet, you are going to draw whatever did this straight to us! Now please, if you don’t have anything useful to contribute, be silent!” I snapped at him as I made my way to the remains of one of the bull moose. As I touched the large antler I almost burst out laughing. I began to giggle as I grasped it and began to shake it and that is when I noticed that the withered flesh was all moss and mud. “Well, it seems we have some very creative and talented artists in these woods.”

    “What are you talking about? Those are corpses, not sculptures!” Vivaldi snapped at me. I grabbed a handful of this ‘withered flesh’ and threw it at him, nailing him square in the muzzle. He reared back, scrambling as he let out a quick squeal. “Oh, that is disgusting! It - it - it’s mud?” He stopped panicking as the realization hit him that I was right. “You are still  disgusting.” He grumbled as he rubbed his muzzle on the forest floor and against trees trying to scrape the mud off. 

    “So let’s find these incredible artists and see what they have been doing to this forest.” I stepped up next to Vivaldi and was about to mount when I heard some rustling from behind a fallen tree. 

    I slowly turned around to see what looked like a being that was part elk and part wood elf, was covered in tones of brown and green and stood almost as tall as Vivaldi. I had seen these before in Eindenia once. They are incredibly shy around other races and they stay in forests all across the world. I took a step towards him and he started to back off, he was nervous of the newcomers that had entered his wood. I disarmed myself and took a stick to draw the symbol for the Queen to show him that we were of no harm to him. 

    “Do you speak the common tongue?” I asked him, I prayed that he spoke the common tongue to make this easier. The gods and goddesses were on my side as he spoke. 

    “I do,” he slowly walked closer but was only 20 feet from us, “Why are you here? Strangers are not welcome to these woods.” 

    “We are traveling to Eindenia. I passed through these woods when I left on my journey and they did not look like this. What happened to these once beautiful woods?” I hoped he could provide me with answers. 

    “King Adrastos has grown tired of this war. He used magic to ward off those who were unwanted. Too many of our kind have been slaughtered by Lilith’s forces and he refuses to get involved in this war.” He looked away and down at his hooves for a moment. It seems he didn’t agree with the choices of his king. 

    “Would your King grant us passage through these woods to continue on our journey? We mean no harm and are simply traveling to our home.” He looked at me closely. 

    “Are there more of you?” he asked cautiously. 

    “There are. I travel with 6 other comrades, 2 horses, 1 golem horse, and 1 dragon.” He perked up at hearing dragon. I regretted saying that Fayrova was with us, but I didn’t want her flying over the wood on her own either. It was too much of a risk if they spotted her and tried to bring her down. 

    “You travel with a dragon? I thought that the Dark Queen had taken them all.” He looked excited to hear about her. 

    “This dragon managed to escape Lilith’s fortress, she found me and was in a poor state when she did. Covered in wounds and chains. I was able to heal her and she is now growing as a dragon should. Free of restraints. Please, I ask for your help, one of our comrades is with child and if we have to travel around this wood we risk her delivering her babes out in the open. We must get to the Queen’s realm as quickly as possible.” I hoped that if I put enough urgency into my voice he would be willing to let us pass through. 

    “Take me to your comrades, if what you say is true, I will speak with the King to grant you passage through our forest.” He slowly walked closer as I gathered my weapons. As I was placing everything in its place I glanced over at him and I could see how he was getting fidgety and skittish. 

    “I promise that we won’t harm you.” I gave him a soft smile as I mounted Vivaldi and I led him to where the party was. 

    As we walked, I could feel the power of the King’s spell lessen and I could feel Vivaldi slowly relax as we got closer to the woods edge. As we broke through I see that there were others of his kind surrounding our group with spears pointed at them all. I instantly reached for my bow when the creature that followed me out grasped my arm signaling for me to lower my bow. I noticed that the others that were surrounding the group weren’t as large as he was. 

    He spoke in a tongue that I was not familiar with, but it was clear that he was a creature of power amongst them all. They all lowered their weapons instantly and gave him a slight bow, before parting ways and heading back into the woods. A doe that was slightly smaller than him approached him, she shot me a cautious glance before giving him a slight bow and speaking with him in their native tongue. He leaned down till his forehead was against her, this lasted for a short moment before they parted and she followed the others into the wood. 

    “I apologize for their actions, during these times we must be careful during these dark times. My name is Orus.” He approached the wagon where Caethrynna sat, he extended his hand to her and waited for her to take his. As soon as they touched I could see that there was a soft green glow around their hands as he used magic to connect with her on a telepathic level to speak in private. They parted hands as soon as they had touched, he proceeded to do this with each person of the party. 

    When he approached me he did the same, I gave him a questioning look before taking his hand. As soon as we touched I could feel him in my mind, going through my memories and reading my thoughts. I battled to put up a barrier around my darker memories that haunted me, he had no right to see those nor did I want to relive them. It seemed as soon as I threw up those barriers I could feel his magic knocking on them. I held strong as he kept knocking until I heard his voice in my mind. 

    “If I am to trust you I must see everything. Why hide these memories?” his voice echoed. 

    “No one needs to see these. I have them locked away for good reason, I do not wish to continue to be haunted by them and no one else should be tainted by them either.” I struggled to keep the barrier strong, but his magic was far stronger. Each time he prodded the barrier would weaken. “Please, stop!” I cried, but it was useless. His magic pushed on until the barrier fell and my darkest memories surged forward. Every moment in my life that Daryl abused me flashed across my mind until we broke apart. 

    It was with such force that I fell back on my rear, he scrambled to catch himself too as he ended up tripping up on his legs and landing on his side. Vivaldi stepped up and stood over me as I struggled to lock those away again. I could still feel Daryl’s disgusting touch and hear his voice. Tears burned my eyes as I turned away from the group, that old fear that I had not felt in months came back causing me to tremble as I battled with my mind. I drew in on myself as the tears poured down my face. When he gathered himself back up he tried to approach me again, but Vivaldi wasn’t having it. He stepped between me and Orus, his ears pinned against his neck as he protected me. 

    “My deepest apologies Sayuri,” his voice was filled with regret and sympathy. 

    “If I had known you were going to go through my memories I could’ve warned you.” I gathered myself and stood, when I turned to face him I knew he could see just how badly that hurt me. “I have nothing to hide, nor does anyone else in this party. We just want to make it to Eindenia, I want to return home with every intent on forgetting my past. Some memories are meant to stay in the past and to be forgotten.” Orus looked as if I had just scolded him and took away his toy. I sighed and took a moment to compose myself. “Is there anything else that you would like to know? We will gladly accommodate you.” 

    “I wish to speak to you in private before I take you to the King.” He walked away from the party and down the edge of the forest. I followed him with Vivaldi on my heels, I could hear him grumbling in my mind. 

    “Why are we trusting a cervitaur? They never get involved with any wars unless it is for their forests.” he grumbled. 

    “He is our best option at getting through this forest. If we go around we risk being out in the open with Caethrynna delivers and if that happens we risk attracting unwanted attention. She is the daughter of Lilith, I’m surprised Lilith hasn’t been searching for her. My guess the only reason she hasn’t been is she knows Caethrynna won’t stand by her side in this war.” I couldn’t just abandon her and if it meant that I would have to fight for the right to pass through this forest then so be it. 

    After we were far enough from the party so they couldn’t hear what Orus had to say, he turned to face me. His face didn’t give much away nor did his eyes. He stood there for a moment before he said what he needed to say. 

    “I’ll take you and your party to the King, but know this. I am putting my family and home on the line. You are aware that Caethrynna is the daughter of Lilith and if my father finds out he will try to kill her and will exile me. You and your party may die in the process of this as well.” I wasn't surprised that he was the prince. I had a feeling he was based on how quickly he was able to dismiss the guard. 

    “If anyone tries to harm her will have to answer to Queen Alenia. I will fight to protect all members of this party and the Queen will have my side on this matter. Caethrynna is innocent. She is nothing like her mother and is of no threat to anyone.” I glared at him to prove my point. 

    “I believe you and I know she is harmless. My father, the King, won’t be as understanding. Lilith has hurt many people, slaughtered many innocents, she is hated by all that don’t follow her. Her daughter is going to be just as hated, even if she has no alliance to her mother.” He looked grim as he said those words, I could tell he didn’t agree with that statement. 

    “If you trust us and believe me, you can stand with us. If you defend us, your father could see that we are in alliance with the Queen and won’t try to harm anyone.” He looked at me and sighed. 

    “I can’t be certain of that, but it is worth it to try and make him understand.” He stepped around me and walked back to the party. I quickly followed him, it was time we got on the move, the sooner we got through this forest, the sooner we would reach Eindenia. We quickly got everyone ready to move into the forest to see the King. Luckily they had a hidden road that led deep into the forest.