Chapter 2: Master Solomon Brace

Morning light peeks the gap of the muntin windows as sunlight strikes through the child's eyes. The child groaned as he rubbed his eyes with his small hands. His body shifted while the child stretched his short arms. Footsteps were heard before the bedroom door opened.

"Good Morning little one, have you just got up?" Solomon said as she walks in with a bowl filled with warm water and a towel.

"Morning..." the child yawned as he hopped off his bed.

Solomon placed the bowl on the working desk with the towel laying next to it. "I'm very impressed of you, you know that?"

"Hmm? Why?" the child asked as he washed his face with the warm water.

Solomon chuckled as she pulled a set of clothes out of the drawer. "Because it's been an entire month and you already adempted to the Forest of Dood already, that's not easy feat to manage."

the child grumbled. "That's because you didn't give me much choice. If I didn't adempted as quick as I did, I would surly be dead."

"Oh most defiantly." Solomon said with a smile.

[One Month Earlier]

Solomon entre the Forest of Dood. She bent her knees before she launch herself onto a large branch. She focused her gaze to her surroundings before she continue to jump onto different branches. Solomon soon arrive to her destination, she walk upon a grass hill that stood on the side of a enormous tree.

On the hill lied a massive tea pot reused as a cottage of some sorts. The cottage had a wooden door with a metal handle and hinges. There were wooden muntin windows placed randomly across on the cottage. Visible cracks were seen but were fill in with a strange green cement, while vines and other plants life overgrows on the upon the cottage's surface.

As Solomon entre the cottage, she placed the child on a wooden chair before she took off her deep green cloak and throw it on the kitchen's table. She searched through the cabinets as brought out small bottles.

Solomon grabbed a sash hanging from the wall, and placed the bottles inside the sash. She grabbed the limply child by the collar before she threw him of her shoulder.

"You don't talk much, but at least you're not a brat." Solomon said in a cold tone.

The child said nothing, for nothing could slipped through the child's dry lips.

Solomon opened a door to a hallway of stairs. She walked upwards the stairs, while she passed several bizarre shaped doors along the stairway's wall. Solomon ventrally halt in front a door that seemed normal at the most. It was a white wooden door with a symbol painted arctic blue. The handle was sliver embroidered with sparkling sapphires.

Solomon twisted the door handle and opened the door to exit to the outside. There she was standing next to small waterfall pouring into a pond. Solomon took the child off her shoulder before she carelessly flopped his body on a patch of grass.

Solomon then searched into one of her pockets and pulled out some small red crystals. Solomon walked up to the pond and carefully placed the red crystals surrounding the pond. After a few minutes the water from the pond began to bubble, Solomon pulled out the bottles from her sash. She opened the lids and pour the liquids from the bottles into the pond. The cool blue water soon turned into a soft pink.

Solomon mix the pink liquid with hand, she halt when she heard a weak voice.

"Who are you...?"

Solomon turned herself around as she saw the child barely standing on his feet. The boy had mess ash blonde hair that reached his knees, meanwhile his skin was a sickly pale. Through his bangs was a pair cold dead eyes. Solomon cocked up a brow before she slightly sighed. Solomon walked towards the child and then thought; a normal child shouldn't be standing from this state.

"Questions later. For now, you need to be cleaned." Solomon said coldly before she lifted the child and dropped him into the pond.

"Help! I can't swim!" the child cried as he waved his arms.

Solomon rolled up her sleeves around her arms and legs. Solomon dipped her feet into the pond and sighed. She sat down on the edge of the pond while attempts to be confrontable. Solomon soon reached out to the child and pulled him closer to herself.

Solomon cupped some pink water and poured it on top of the child's head. Solomon entangled her fingers into the child's scruffy hair, the child complained but Solomon kept to continued.

"Ow! That hurt! Stop it!" the child complained as he attempted to free himself from Solomon's grasp.

"Quiet." it wasn't harsh or aggressive, but it was enough to make the child go silent.

A long period of time passed, with a longer period of uncomfortable silence. When Solomon was assured that the child was clean, she pulled him out of the pond. Solomon stood up as she gather all of the red crystals.

The child shivered as he search his surroundings and at Solomon. he stared at Solomon's back as he attempted to run away, however, a black snake struck the child's leg.

"AAAAAAH!" the child screamed.

Am I going to die? Is this it? The child thoughts filled his mind, but disappeared when he heard a certain someone's voice.

"Shut up! Your yelling is annoying." Solomon said as she grabbed the child's bitten leg and ducked it into the pond.

The black snake that held on to the child wriggled and squirmed. The child cried but for some strange reason, the child couldn't feel the pain anymore. The child gazed at Solomon and saw her irritated expression.

Solomon then clicked her tongue. "Enough of this."

Solomon grabbed the snake's neck and pressed tightly against it's head. Soon the pink water slowly turn into purple. Solomon pulled out the child's leg from the pond and the snake was gone, there wasn't even a bite mark left behind.

"Where is it?" the child stuttered.

"It's dead." Solomon bluntly stated.

"No, not that! I mean the bite! The bite mark isn't there! Where did it go?!" he said as he hopped around with his leg out.

"That's because it already healed." Solomon said as she checked the child's leg.

"How?! Why?!" the child yelled many questions before he was silent.

"Are you an idiot?" Solomon said coldly with a deadpan expression.

The child lower his head, refusing to share eye contact with Solomon. Solomon then sighed as she pointed at the small waterfall. The child stared but still revealed a puzzled expression.

"This is Gabriel's waterfall; the water that pours from it, is directly from the celestials realm. That's what saved you from dying." Solomon explained.

The child only stared blankly. "Really?'

"Do I have to repeat myself?" Solomon glared, the child immediately shook his head.

"Good, now come on. We returning to the tea house."

"Tea house? But I don't want to go, I want to go back to Veilig Town." the child said.

The child then heard a dark chuckled and stared at Solomon. "Boy, look around you. We're in the middle of the Dood Forest. How do you think you'll even managed to return without dying first?"

The child gulped heavily as he realized his current situation. If he were to be left alone inside a normal forest? Sure, he would be perfectly fine. But if he was left inside the "Dood Forest" alone? He'll most defiantly die.

Solomon snarky expression quickly returned to her deadpan demeanor. She turned around and simply walked.

"Hey! Wait for me!" cried the child.

Solomon did not react, she only kept walking until she heard a thud sound behind her. Solomon turned herself around and tended to the helpless child. The child continued to cry, but Solomon was unfazed. Solomon and the child continued to walk through the forest, the journey wasn't easy though. The child always felled into traps, pits, and all sorts of monster's nests. Solomon saved the child every each time, however, Solomon soon grew annoyed of this repeated cycle of stupid mistakes.

"At this rate, I'm going to get a bloody headache!" Solomon groaned.

"Sorry..." he said sheepishly while he was carried by Solomon.

"Sorry? Why are you sorry?"

"Because I am being a pain."

"Okay, and your point is?"

A minute of silent passed, before he spoke again. "Why didn't you abandon me yet?"

"Why would I abandon you?" Solomon said bluntly.

The child clenched onto Solomon's shoulders, he buried his head into Solomon's neck. Solomon rolled her eyes, she pulled the child off her back and placed him down. The child looked at Solomon with a puzzled expression.

Solomon kneeled and placed her hands on the child's shoulders. "Listen to me, because I'm going to admit something embarrassing about myself, okay?"

The child nodded his head as he mentally prepare himself. "Yes!"

Solomon sighed, before she took another deep breath and said. "I'm a Master Wizard, are you aware of that?"

The child shook his head, afraid of lying in front of Solomon.

"Do you know the name of Solomon Brace?"

"Yes. Everyone does! Solomon is the youngest Master Wizard in all history."

"That's me."

The child stood silent. Who would've thought the Master Wizard Solomon Brace was a woman? Surely he did not.

"But there's a secret that no one knows."

"A secret?"

"Don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Okay!" the child said proudly.

Solomon sighed again before she gulped deeply. "I'm not a Wizard."