Heading To Randle Forest

Caw … caw … caw …

A crow flew out of the forest.

For a moment, Odette's soul seemed to have been swept away by the current of the river.

From Anwen's explanation, it turned out that Odette was really stranded in the Mid-Medieval era. She had woken up in a forest that was in the territory of the Panthera Kingdom, and the bastard's name was King Arion D-Panther, the king of the Panthera Kingdom.

Odette couldn't believe it. But all the facts she had encountered justified it. No wonder no one knew the city and country she was referring to. They were in different times.

In Odette's time, Rion and Anwen would have become fossils.

Seeing Odette was silent while staring blankly, Anwen crawled and looked up closely at Odette from a distance of five fingers. "Miss Ody, you-"

Whoa!

Odette, who saw Anwen's face so close, immediately jumped back and slammed her buttocks on the ground again.

"A-Anwen you surprised me," she said, while adjusting her position.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Anwen scratched the back of her head while smiling innocently. "You've been daydreaming. What were you thinking about, Miss Ody?"

Anwen sat cross-legged in front of Odette and watched her intently. Odette exhaled while clutching her chest. After calming herself down for a while, she looked at Anwen closely.

"Anwen, are you serious about what you said?" she asked to be sure.

"Miss Ody, I am not a liar." Anwen frowned slightly. She was a little annoyed with Odette who always felt suspicious and thought she was lying. Her annoyance made Odette feel a little guilty.

If she was in Anwen's position, maybe she would be annoyed too. Anwen had been so kind as to escort her all the way to this forest, and the girl had also helped her in finding her way home.

"Sorry, Anwen. I didn't mean to accuse you. I'm just very confused. I don't know where I am now and everything here is very different, you know. The atmosphere, the people, everything is very different from my previous world," said Odette, which made Anwen look confused.

"The previous … world?" Anwen raised her eyebrows.

"Perhaps you won't believe me and will call me weird, stupid, or crazy, but I'm not from this world. I-I mean this age. I come from the twentieth century and I don't know how to go home," said Odette as she closed her eyes. She clutched her head in frustration and said, "I'm so confused."

For about ten seconds, Anwen gave no response. Odette looked up and saw Anwen was silent as she looked straight at Odette. Odette sighed tiredly. She felt stupid for saying such nonsense.

"You don't believe it, do you? I don't believe it either," she said with a wry smile. But then, she was surprised by the sudden answer that Anwen gave.

"I do believe it."

"Huh?" Odette's mouth opened slightly. "You... believe it?"

"Um." Anwen nodded. "Miss Ody, if you want to return to the future, there are two ways to do it."

Anwen's response was beyond Odette's expectation.

"Is that true?!" Instantly, Odette's face looked happy.

"Uhuh. But …" Anwen looked hesitant to say it.

"B-but?"

"Both ways are very risky."

"Whatever the risk, I will do it, because I really have to go home," said Odette confidently.

Anwen looked at Odette's eyes for five seconds. Those blue eyes looked very determined.

"Okay. The first way is to use the roses that grow around the grave of my late sister-in-law, Rose."

"Huh? Roses that grow around your sister-in-law's grave?" Odette looked confused. In her mind, she recalled Rion's face.

'So the man was married,' she thought to herself

Anwen continued. "The roses over there are blessed with magic. Whoever makes a wish in front of those roses there and then breaks one of the stalks of the roses, whatever their wish will immediately come true."

What Anwen said sounded absurd, but Odette had come this far. She also didn't have any other choice.

"Then where is this Queen Rose's grave located?"

"It's in the backyard of the Green Castle."

Well, if Odette knew the way to go back home was in the backyard of the Green Castle, she wouldn't have bothered to walk on foot out of there for three hours.

"But we can't do that, Miss Ody," Anwen said, surprising Odette.

"We can't? Why?"

"Because my brother loves the roses there very much. If someone dares to break a rose stalk there, my brother won't think twice about breaking that person's neck."

GULP

Odette couldn't help but swallow hard. Her saliva tasted bitter as she recalled Rion pointing a sword at her.

'A psychopath,' Odette thought to herself.

"Then why did you tell me?" For a moment Odette showed a disappointed expression then she asked about the second way. “You said there is another way…”

“The Grand Wizard Aathreya,” Anwen replied.

'A wizard? Is there a wizard here?' Odette wondered in her mind.

Anwen explained that the grand wizard Aathreya was a very powerful man who could open time and space. Aathreya used to be an advisor to the Panthera Kingdom for three generations. The last time he served as an advisor to King Roland, Rion and Anwen's grandfather. After King Roland died, Aathreya decided to retire and meditate on the top of Mount Randle.

Anwen also added that she had heard her mother chat with someone who said that the wizard Aathreya had sent someone from here to the future.

"Then can you take me to meet Aathreya?" asked Odette enthusiastically.

"You can. But to get to that mountain, we have to pass the Randle Forest."

"So?"

"The Randle Forest is full of monsters," Anwen said, making Odette faint.

***

Morning came. The sun's rays seeped in through the leaves.

One of the Panthera soldiers sent by Rion to escort Odette's journey secretly spurred his horse towards the Green Castle. His face looked very tense. After a while, he finally arrived at his destination. With quick steps he headed to the king's room.

When confronted by the king, he immediately kneeled down with one knee bent.

“Your Majesty, I would like to report that Princess Anwen and Miss Odette are currently heading to the Randle Forest,” he said, which made Rion and Trish widen their eyes.

"Trish, get the horses ready. We'll catch up with them!" Rion said shortly after hearing the soldier's report. Without any delay, Trish immediately nodded and hurried off to carry out Rion’s orders.

***

Meanwhile, on the other side, Dan, who was carrying Anwen and Odette on his back, was running fast through the wind.

After thinking and discussing with Anwen, Odette finally decided to meet Aathreya instead of breaking the rose stalks around the late queen's grave.

Odette didn't know what kind of monster existed in Randle Forest, but Anwen said that when he was angry, her brother was much more terrifying than a monster, and Odette believed her when she remembered how Rion pointed a sword at her. At that time, Rion didn't say anything but just by looking into his eyes, Odette got goosebumps.

"PRINCESS ANWEN! STOP!"

The voices of the four soldiers who chased Anwen and Odette echoed through the forest.

"Anwen, some people are after us," said Odette, looking back.

"Are they wearing black uniforms?" Anwen asked without turning around.

"Yes. They wear uniforms like castle guards."

Hearing Odette's words, Anwen's brows furrowed. She made Dan run faster as she thought that the soldiers were her grandmother's messengers.