9 To the Nightmare Woods

"Are we there yet?!!" Yelled Sky as he trudged along behind Kronos.

He turned around and smiled. "A little longer." He said as he turned back forward again.

The night they made the agreement, Kronos had decided they would leave. Sky had packed the few clothes he had along with whatever leftover food was left in the tent along with his mothers clothes into a small bag they had and slung it over his shoulder. He carried his mother in his arms as he slowly trudged along behind Kronos.

"Why did we have to leave in the middle of the night?!" Sky complained crankily.

"The number of guards in Riner has increased substantially these past few years, most likely because of them." He started, "Because of that leaving the city would be impossible for someone like you who has daily run-ins with them."

"Hahaha, I see, but why have the guards increased so much?" Sky asked, picking up the pace and walking next to Kronos.

Kronos stared at him for a few minutes before giving an answer. "You'll see soon enough." He turned his attention back towards the door.

They continued walking through side tracks and woods for the next couple hours until Kronos signalled them to stop.

"We'll rest here for a little bit before heading out." He said as he sat down against a large tree trunk.

Sky found a flat area near Kronos and laid his mother down against a tree, similar to Kronos. He set his belongings down and looked around at the new area they were in. It was a dense forest full of large trees with low hanging branches full of shining green leaves. The tops of the trees created a natural roof allowing few rays of light to enter, giving the forest an almost mythical feeling. The ground was covered in a deep green with shrubs and bushes spreading across the floor. The sound of strange new animals could be heard echoing from all sides.

However, despite the noise the forest still felt somewhat peaceful and relaxing. In the distance Sky heard water running and realized how dry his throat had become.

"Mama, I'm going to go drink some water from a nearby stream." He said as he took off towards the sound of the water.

"Come back quickly!" His mother shouted as he disappeared into the forest.

Sky waved back as he continued running forwards into the shrubs and exiting the clearing. He continued running forwards as the rushing of the stream became louder and louder until he emerged in front of a clear, gentle flowing river. The base was scattered with rocks with a different species of moss on each one, showing how abundant with life the forest was. Across the river was another clearing. In the middle was a large, light brown stump. Despite having it's upper half cut down it still glowed with life.

Sky noticed that there was a strange air around it that was almost calling him towards it. His curiosity got the better of him as he decided to get closer. He looked down the river for a path to cross, not seeing anything to his left or his right before snapping back to his left and noticed a few very large rocks poking through the surface, creating a natural path.

He hopped over the slipper rocks and found his way to the clearing, freezing before he entered. There was now a beautiful woman standing in front of the log, slowly putting flowers whose leaves made a bell shape from an invisible bouquet on top of it.