The Forest of Beginnings

The Duke carried Elaine into the carriage. The butlers and the maids bid them farewell and they finally embarked on their journey. They were escorted by fourteen knights. Five at the front, five at the back and two on each side. The coachman and a maid sat at the front of the carriage.

Elaine looked curiously at the interior of the carriage and the view outside of the window. If you look at her now, you wouldn't be able to tell that she once lived in the streets. She wore a fine blue dress, especially tailored for her and a pretty pair of shoes that matched her dress well. She had also gained a lot of weight and her cheeks were now chubby and rose pink.

Elaine was silent for the first few hours, only staring outside the window. But after a while, her curiosity won over her shyness and she couldn't help but ask questions. The Duke answered every question patiently and as best he could.

"Grandpa, why is the cloud shaped so funny?"

"The shape of the cloud depends on the temperature and humidity in the air." He explained, but he noticed how she furrowed her eyebrow, making it obvious she didn't understand. "What I meant was that the shape changes when it is hot or cold and the wind also changes its shape. It also depends how much water there is in the air and when there's a lot of water in the cloud, it starts to rain."

"Ahh," she nodded.

Whenever lunchtime came, they would stop on the side if they weren't in a city. The knights chopped wood for the fire and the maid prepared the food. Elaine would insist to help which troubled them.

"I-I wanna help too!"

"But my lady, you needn't help us at all." The maid tried to refuse her in a way that wouldn't upset her. "We are happy as long as you're satisfied with your meal."

"B-But I don't wanna do nothing..."

Elaine still found it uncomfortable to be served and tried to find things to do all the time. During her stay at the duke's house and whenever the maids took their eyes off of her, they would find her doing chores like cleaning. They tried to get her out of that habit, but it was proving to be difficult. The maid and the knights gave in and they gave her minor tasks like collecting twigs for the fire or feeding the horses instead. And she was very happy to do so.

While they ate their lunch one time, Elaine decided to pour the food into the bowls. The knights all lined up with the bowl in their hands and the maid couldn't help but chuckle. They were usually rowdy and tried to be first in line. But the Duke was top priority of course.

"Bowl please," said Elaine.

"How very kind of you, Elaine." The Duke brought his bowl closer to the pot. Elaine poured the food into his bowl using a ladle. "Thank you."

The knights each said their thanks politely and went to sit on the ground to eat their food. Most knights adored Elaine, calling her sweet and lovely. However, a few sat quietly in the back with dissatisfied faces. That day, they couldn't make it to their destination and had to camp out. During the night watch while everybody else slept, the knights had a discussion amongst themselves as they sat by the fire.

"Isn't Lady Elaine just lovely?" asked one knight. "She isn't like the other noble children who bosses people around and always demands for the things they want."

"Yeah" another knight agreed. "She's always kind and polite even to us mere knights. Even to the servants is she kind."

One of the knights with a scar on his cheeks scoffed and said, "She isn't even a real noble. Why do we have to treat her like one?"

All the other knights turned their head to look at him with shock on their face. One of the knights who turned out to be the one that guarded Elaine's door was clearly angry. He had short dirty blond hair and fierce eyes.

"How could you say that? She has been nothing but kind to us."

Meanwhile, Elaine woke up feeling the urge to take a leak. She squirmed and got up. The Duke was asleep and seemed to look uncomfortable. She fixed the blanket over him and quietly went out of the carriage to look for the maid Iris. She was supposed to be sleeping by the carriage. But when Elaine got out, she didn't see Iris. Then she realised that she must be on the other side. She started to walk but heard the knights talking. She peeked out her head behind the carriage.

The knight with the scar shrugged and drank from his water bottle. He would have preferred alcohol, but he took his job seriously, so he avoided drinking.

"I'm just telling the truth, Miles. Even if the Duke does register her as family, she will never be a true noble."

Miles really wanted to beat him up for saying those things and stood up. However, before he could, everyone heard rustling nearby and readied their swords. To their surprise, they saw Elaine standing by the carriage. She crumpled her skirt between her hands and nervously looked around.

"M-My lady," Miles put away his sword and went to her. He hoped she didn't hear what they were talking about just then. "How come you aren't asleep?"

"I-I have to ehm," she stuttered as her face gradually turned red. "I have to go release."

"Ah, apologies my lady." He took Elaine by the hand and led her towards the maid that slept. "I shall wake Iris for you."

"T-Thank you," she said.

The next day, the knights who kept watch were all quiet. The other knights took notice of this and tried to lighten the mood but to no avail. In the end, the atmosphere was very awkward. Even Elaine seemed so quiet. The Duke sighed. They were close to the forest entrance that bordered his land. He told everyone to halt and take a break before they went through. And since it was almost noon, they decided to prepare for lunch.

As usual, Elaine went to gather twigs to start a fire. But Miles stopped her before she could go.

"My lady," He said, looking a bit concerned. "Please don't enter the forest and just gather twigs by the entrance."

"Why?" She asked as she tilted her head.

"Because it is The Forest Simwal, the forest of beginning," said a knight that came from behind her. "It is believed to be the first forest that the Goddess created, meaning it is a holy ground. So we aren't allowed to stray away from the road."

Elaine furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to remember something. Her mom used to tell bedtime stories about the forest. Then, she opened her eyes wide and raised her eyebrows. She remembered how her mother told her about the animals that lived in the forest. They may not be able to communicate with humans, but they were intelligent in their own way.

"Ahh!" She exclaimed, now remembering.

"It is as he said, my lady," said Miles. "People that enter the forest get lost in it and never come out. So I beg you, my lady, don't enter the forest."

Elaine nodded and went on her way. The knights watched her go and decided that someone had to keep watch over her. Miles volunteered, of course and he got a splendid idea of making Bryce, the knight with a scar on the cheeks, watch over her with him. He just couldn't let it go that he wasn't fond of Elaine. Miles put his arms over Bryce's shoulder and dragged him over. Bryce complained, but he couldn't get away. They sat on the ground.

"Just wait and see," said Miles. "At some point you'll be smitten."

"Pff, as if."

They watched Elaine picking twigs on the ground with one arm and holding them on the other. At some point, the twigs kept dropping from her arms and she decided to free her arms to gather more twigs. She went over to Miles and gave him the twigs.

"The twigs didn't wanna stay in my arms," she said as she handed it over.

"Good work, my lady." Miles smiled at her and put some hair behind her ears. "Are you done picking twigs?"

"N-No, I'm gonna get some more." She ran back to the spot where she gathered twigs.

"I'm just going to bring these to Iris, so you better keep your eye on her, you hear?" Miles warned.

"Yeah, yeah," Bryce said as he shooed Miles away. He looked over at Elaine. He couldn't deny she was adorable, but his pride wouldn't let him admit that. He worked hard to get into the Golden Knightage to prove he was one of the best. But if the others hear that he served a mere street bumpkin, his reputation would sink. He got lost in his own thoughts and stared into space.

Meanwhile, Elaine had already gathered all the twigs in the area, so she decided to move to a different location not too far away. She went closer to the trees of the forest as there were more twigs there. She noticed there was a path by the tree and peered into the forest. The leaves rustled with the wind and that was all Elaine could hear. She felt like the forest was talking to her, but she knew that was absurd. She continued to gather twigs, trying to ignore the path and the trees. She didn't want to get lost in the forest forever.

"Elaine," something whispered in the wind. She looked up in surprise. She found herself on the path in the forest and she looked around confused. She turned around to see if Miles was still there, but behind her were just a bunch of trees. She looked up as the trees waved with the wind. She wanted to cover her ears because the forest was so loud. It was as if it was calling for her. She sat down, placing the twigs between her stomach and thighs and placed her hands on her ears. She stayed in one place and prayed for someone to find her.