20 Forest of Silence 1

"Which way should I go?" Lily asked as a fork road lies ahead of her. Since it was already close to midnight, she was not sure of the route to take.

"If only Sorrel's broomstick had cooperated." She huffed while glaring at the broomstick in hand.

She had a hard time flying earlier. Not only because it was her first time flying a broomstick but also because the rebellious thing won't allow her to control the flight.

Lily had spent a lot of trials and errors in learning how to ride a broomstick. All the while, the young princess wasted a good three hours just for the self-taught flying lessons.

With her independent flying lesson, she was able to get a lot of scratches, bumps and bruises. Although she made minor progress in flying, she was successful in avoiding fatal crashes.

Finally, deciding that she was not making any more progress, she gave up before she could seriously injure herself.

With that decision, Lily began to travel on foot. After two hours of trying to navigate the forest, Lily stopped to scrutinize her surroundings.

"I don't remember going through these parts of the forest before I came to Nightshade's grove. Good heavens! I am lost!"

Taking a respite in order to figure things out, Lily had noticed something weird with the plants around her.

"Queer! The trees are only a foot tall. And those tall plants are actually herbs. Dear me, I am in the Forest of Silence!"

She had not only failed to find the cliff where Hazel met her demise, but also she couldn't find her way out. Now, she was confronted with a fork road and she hadn't got a clue which one to take.

With the plants having thick foliage and an obvious well-trodden path, the road to her right seemed a likely choice.

On the contrary, the road to her left had death written on it. The plants were mostly skeletons and the path was obscured.

However, Lily wouldn't want to take chances.

"There's not even a single indication where these roads would lead to." she sighed as she sat on the ground. "I am tired already."

Just then, the hairs on her nape stood warning her that something was not right.

"Goosebumps!" she shivered as she observed her arms.

The Forest of Silence, where herbs grew as tall as twenty feet and trees only reached a foot tall, had been a home for many creatures.

During day time, it is fairly safe to travel but when darkness envelops the area, people never dared to enter this territory.

"I just hope it is a bear." She muttered while letting her eyes wander to the tall herbs to her right, hoping to get a glimpse of what she was up against. "I could play dead and it will go away."

As the gust of cold air blew, Lily shivered in dread.

She hastily took Sorrel's broom but decided to observe her surroundings first. It won't do well if she make a drastic move and accidentally get herself killed.

Suddenly, a screeching sound echoed through the darkness.

Lily bristled at the sound. "That doesn't sound like any animal that I am familiar with."

And with ill fortune that she has, the sound was coming from her the route to her right.

"I have to get out of here!" she muttered but found that her feet were glued to the ground due to fear and anxiety.

Another screech sounded and with it, the leaves rustled. Lily's grew wide in apprehension.

"Please be a normal animal." She began beseeching all the heavenly beings she knew.

The leaves rustled again and then from the foliage came out a...

"Oh, just a squirrel!" the princess sighed in relief.

However, her relief was short lived when a thin pair of hands shot and caught the creature. Lily's eyes popped out of their socket as a skinny woman came out from her hiding.

As soon as she left the shadows, Lily could see that her blindfolded eyes were leaking with blood. Her skin was pale against the moonlight and seemed saggy.

Lily stayed rooted on the ground as she witnessed the woman tearing the poor animal. Blood stained her dress as she fed on the squirrel.

The princess held back as scream as she noticed that the woman's palm had an eye each.

'Beware of the Pale Sightless Lady!' The words echoed inside her head before the things that Hazel taught her came back at full force.

An urban legend told that the sightless lady used to be a blind woman who had been wronged by thieves. In order to seek revenge, she had wished to see.

Her wish was granted but her eyes grew on her palms. For years she sought those who killed her but failed.

For quite some time, she roamed the lands and had already forgotten her original goal. She had now become an evil spirits who feast on flesh-particularly human flesh. She dwells deep inside the Forest of Silence.

Knowing that if she stayed there she would become the monster's next meal, Lily tried to move away as silently as she could.

But with her misfortune, she had stepped on a twig. The tiny fragment snapped under her sole and made a sound.

The sightless lady held her hands up in order to locate whatever made the sound. Lily took another step which caused the eyes on the monster's hands to blink and focus on the spot where the girl is.

As soon as the eyes found Lily, the monster snarled and made an unsteady gait towards the girl.

Forcing her legs to move, the princess screamed before managing to run-away from the monster.

Although she was able to put a good two meter distance away from the woman, Lily could not stop to take a breather. The sightless being was hot on her heels, screeching as it pursued her.

The situation was either to fight or flee. Despite wanting to launch a counter attack to vanquish the monster, Lily was unable to. She was not equipped with the proper spell to fight off the Pale sightless lady.

So without much choice, she had to fly.

"Don't fail me." She hissed at the broom before preparing to take off. But due to a stroke of bad luck, Lily tripped. "What the?!"

Falling down a precipice, the princess rolled down the rocky terrain before stopping at the bottom with a thump.

"Ouch! That hurt." Hastily, she got up while grimacing at the scratches she acquired. "But who cares... I got away."

She would have rejoiced for gaining distance against the monster but fate was cruel. The monster also made her way down the cliff.

"Seriously!" Getting up, Lily ran away from the creature that was trying to gain distance.

Eyeing the approaching figure, the girl grabbed an item from her satchel. Surprised that it was a vial, she opened it and a familiar scent wafted through her nose.

Recalling the incantation that she recited years ago beside the castle maze, Lily drew a pentagram and began chanting the spell.

As soon as the creature drew near the princess with outstretched hands, the pentagram glowed and erupted in a flurry of flames.

The creature screeched before drawing back. Lily made use of the opportunity to grab Sorrel's broom while trying to get away from the fire.

"You're a broom. Fly! Get me out of here!" she screamed as concentrated her mana to her hand.

But even before she could lift her leg and sit on the broom, the rebellious thing took off, dragging Lily along with it.

The poor girl hang on the broom for dear life as it flew away from the monster and went above the tall herbs.

Lily barely avoided the tall plants as the broom flew towards who-knows-where. The girl tried to hoist her body up in order to sit on the broom properly, but failed a few times.

With her energy getting depleted, Lily had noticed that the broom was losing altitude. Helpless, the girl closed her eyes for impact.

She was pleasantly surprised when she crash-landed on a bouncy surface before harshly landing on the ground with a loud thump.

"Earlier, I was stuck with giant herbs. Now, I am grounded with humongous glowing fungi." She groaned while eyeing the luminous mushrooms around her.

With exhaustion and drowsiness overwhelming her body, Lily was forced to camp.

"Anyway, I don't know where I am. I should at least stop traveling tonight and resume in the morning. Who knows what other creatures I will encounter if I continue my journey in this bad shape?"

Just for good measure, Lily drew a protective circle around the base of the mushroom where she had chosen to sleep.

After chanting a protection charm, Lily was finally able to let the darkness lull her to sleep.