Angel IV | Into The Woods

CHARMAINE'S POV :

Extra food. Checked.

Enough drinking water. Checked.

Clean spare clothes. Checked.

Armed with weapons. Checked.

Backup basic remedies. Checked.

After a number of rough mental reassurances of all the things I might possibly need along the undecided length of my expedition, I finally felt prepared to leave. Due to my consistent but not so critical absentmindedness, I feared my tendency to forget even the most important things.

So, to avoid such inconvenience throughout my supposedly independent voyage, I had to ensure all my needs and necessities were equipped and available at any time. For that, a perfect checklist and several times of reviewing were compulsory. Satisfied with my own preparations, I decided to depart. Sliding the quiver across my back, I grabbed my bow in one hand and my bark tanned leather bag in the other.

Just then, my eyes fell on the two new golden vials which rested amidst my basket of remedies and herbs. One was the deadliest poison, which I derived on my own from every toxical herb accessible in the Serene Woods. Without my parent's acknowledgement of course. Although the various forms of martial arts taught to us were defensive enough, I always had a personal opinion that Healers should possess their own version of self-defence without the reliance on lethal weapons alone.

So, I decided to create my own potion of protection without anybody's concern.

While one vial was embodied with the deadly poison, the other one was holding the elixir of life.

It was the latest medicine my father had invented. It was something he had been working on for years and he claimed it to be the only antidote that can heal any illness on the face of the earth. Considering how Xavier Montgomery was actually a rather humble person, I was pretty surprised by his oddly unnerving confidence in the miraculous function of his newest invention.

Regardless of my father's extraordinary gift, there was still one single discomfort that kept bothering me from believing his latest creation. That's because he hasn't even gotten any chance to experiment and prove the function of his most recent medicine to me. However, he had gotten that untested elixir stocked in quite a large amount, for his latest journey.

Whereas in the norm, Xavier Montgomery had never once applied any medications before witnessing its complete results, and that too, in my company. He never once did administer his inventions without my approval. Not until now, at least.

Unaware of the reasons behind his abnormal change in procedures, I chose to ignore them all. He declared it as the Elixir of Life, then so be it. Perhaps, I might be offered a chance to test that theory on any ill-fated souls along the way. I withdrew my dagger and coated it with my poisonous potion before slipping it back in its sheath safely. Dropping the vial of elixir with the rest of my belongings, I moved out of my room in utter silence.

The internal environment of the house was calm and quiet, just like every other early morning. The only audible sound was the soft snoring of my grandmother from her room, not far from my own.

Cautiously, I moved on my tiptoes towards the backdoor. Since most of the well-trained healers had accompanied the crew's journey, the ones left to guard the house were only the amateurs. Whom I can take down with relative ease and as though the universe was in my favour too, they were all asleep. I sneaked out of the house, and closed the door back in my ever so slow and gentle motion and stepped away.

No movements.

I took a few more steps from the house.

Still... no movements.

Turning around, I began sprinting into the thick greeneries of the Serene Woods at full speed. A blissful grin was etched onto my features as my spirit could already taste the kiss of freedom. In cue, a very familiar sound of neighing echoed in the silent forest at that early hour of midmorning. As I recognized the owner of that regal braying and the exact spot I had left him hours ago, my legs abruptly moved in that direction.

"There you are, my Savior." He brayed majestically again. Somehow he sounded a little upset. Perhaps for leaving him tied alone deep inside the woods.

"Sorry about that, my dear friend. You see, I can't risk you roaring like that within any close proximity from our house when I depart, can I? Then all my schemes for liberty would have been in vain like a withered velvetleaf."

The snowy stallion neighed again, turning his beautiful self away from me. He was indeed upset with me. Smiling at the temperament my pet had learned from myself, I reached for my bag and grabbed the large chunk of edible herbs I brought especially for him.

"Accept my offering, Lord Zeus." He hee hawed once again before happily consuming his mixed herbs. Once he was full, he knelt on his front legs, allowing me to arrange my things comfortably before climbing up myself on his bridled back.

Once I was conveniently seated, I unrolled the map I had borrowed from Nate without his consent and scanned for possible destinations located at the farthest distance from home to adventure and my eyes fell on the one location that I've only heard in tales. A place where magic and mysteries resided.

Crimson Crown.

"What are we waiting for then, Zeus? Let's dart into those dark woods of Crimson Crown!"

In reflection of my own rising spirits and energy, Zeus rose on his front legs and neighed energetically before running in his full motion.

⊱ ────── ✼ ────── ⊰

My eyes slowly drifted apart as I began to feel the tiredness in my muscles. All of a sudden, my system was overwhelming with exhaustion. Straightening my posture, I stretched both my arms out and flexed the muscles. Even Zeus was walking at a tiredly regular pace, and I realised how I have fallen asleep past dusk. He let out an equally sleepy bray.

"Why am I feeling abnormally slumberous... Alright, then Zeus... Where have we reached so far?"

Squeezing my still slumberous eyes awake with one hand, I held out the map with the other but my still sleepy hands fumbled and the map slipped out of my grip. Suddenly, I was wide awake. In aghast, I pulled the bridles harder than normal, causing my already exhausted horse to tense in fear. He rose on his front legs and neighed fiercely for the second time since we left home, only this time I lost my grip on the bridles and fell off his back onto the moist soil.

Even though the fall was indeed painful, my first impulse was to crawl back to where the map fell and get a solid hold of it but then, a giant wave of intoxicating fragrance washed over me. My smelling sense was aware of the presence of that addictive scent since we entered that particular forest and also how I unconsciously dozed off soon. The realisation of my whereabouts stabbed an arrow of worry in my mind. Not wanting to delay any further, I began groping the wet soil and search amidst the perfumed plants. Zeus, who had run a little farther when I fell, returned with his low neighs, which sounded apologetic.

"I'm fine, Zeus. We're in Valerian Woodland now. Which means you've crossed three villages already. Good job, my Savior. But... But we can't stay any longer..." He neighed in commotion. My hands kept fumbling for the map while I explained the danger we're exposed to.

"These are Valeriana Herbs. A small amount of extract from their flowers is used to treat sleep disorders but we're stuck amidst an entire forest of them. They're what's causing these sudden anxieties and exhaustion."

I began panicking when Zeus neighed again but this time, he sounded strained. I glanced at my stallion to assure my assumption, and yes he was pacing back and forth in fear.

Just then, I heard a noise amidst the bushes. I was not moving, so it definitely wasn't me. Without flinching my body an inch, my eyes roamed the quiet surrounding carefully.

Again.

The resonance sounded as if something or someone were on their move among the fragrant floras. I realized how we were helplessly exposed to a variety of dangers in one single circumstance.

One, being engulfed into exhaustion by the sedative scent of Valeriana species.

Two, being attacked and probably killed by any wild creatures.

Or... Both simultaneously.

My hands reached for my back but the quiver was empty. I mentally taunted myself when I recalled how my arrows had scattered when I fell and my bow laid not far from its servants. Few steps behind the bow, I spotted another solid object which didn't seem like any plant. A sigh of relief escaped my mouth when I learned that it's the map.

However, the noises among the bushes started to advance into my radius. Panicking me further. Luckily, my forgetful mind decided to remind the presence of the poisoned dagger in my waistband.

Sliding it out from the sheath in sheer silence, I held the weapon firmly in my grip, ready to stab anything that strikes. As the noise was just a few steps away from me, I got prepared but it stopped.

Silence filled the air for a brief moment.

Slowly, the alertness in my senses began fading into the fragrance, despite my adamant attempt to stay awake. My eyelids were closing on their own accord.

All of a sudden, a large beast lunged out of the bushes and thrived straight onto me. Controlled by the parasympathetic nervous system, my body immediately reacted to the fight or flight response. On impulse, I drove the dagger right through the beast's rib cage and pushed it away from me. It let out a frightening howl before hitting the soil thoroughly with a loud thud that echoed in the air.

Without wasting a single second, I rushed over to the map. A number of various howls began reverberating in the silent forest as I grabbed the map. I glanced over at the injured beast. It was a rather huge wolf, his radiant white fur glowing in stark contrast with the dark forest. He was howling and growling due to the poignant pain my dagger had caused. Deep down I really wanted to help him but the herbs began to interfere with my senses again and I knew better to save myself first in order to offer any altruistic empathy for him.

"I'm- I'm really sorry..."

My trembling hands attempted to touch him but the growls kept growing nearer. Wiping away the guilty teardrops, I began running towards Zeus but right then, my legs collided with a thick root that was bulging out of the soil. I tripped over the giant root and fell tumbling to the wet ground defenselessly, during which the dizzying scent invaded my respiratory system with ease.

The moment my head hit a large tree trunk, images began to double up before slowly fading away. I could still hear Zeus neighing in fright and sprinting towards me despite his tiresome state, but I could not even move a single muscle.

I caught a glimpse of the beast I just stabbed, and my eyes whelmed with tears. A silent apology slipped out of my mouth when we locked eyes.

The sounds of the beast's painful growls, followed by a number of different howls were the last things I heard before the entire woods appeased from my vision.

⊱ ────── ✼✼✼ ────── ⊰