In The Woods

Chapter One: The Walk In The Woods.

The last step of the staircase creaked as I hopped off it and into the living room of a sweet chubby lady also known as my aunt.

A lamp on the wooden table emitted bright yellow light which illuminated the whole room. Beside it was the comfiest armchair I had ever sat on. It has soft pale pink cushions with light white stripes and it was my aunt's favorite.

As I proceeded towards it, I saw that Auntie Molls was fast asleep on it with a book tightly hugged to her chest. It was half past eleven, I suppose.

I went her bedroom just round the corner, got the blanket which was neatly folded on the bed. When I returned I took the book from her hands placed it on the little wooden table and covered her with the blanket, carefully so she would not wake up. I smiled as she snuggled further into the purple comforter. I then switched the lamp off.

All seemed good here so I decided to check on my cousin upstairs before I went on a midnight stroll in the woods.

The stairs creaked obnoxiously whenever my slippers as much as touched them. I gave out a phlegmatic sigh as I made a mental note to talk to my aunt about doing something about it. I hurriedly tiptoed upstairs and headed to my cousin's room right opposite my own.

When I entered the room I saw Jasper sprawled on the bed, one leg dangling off the bed's edge and the other tangled in the sheets. I went and with much force pulled the comforter from between his legs spreading it on his whole body and pushed his other leg on the bed.

He looked so adorable when he was sleeping that I just could not resist the temptation to ruffle his soft dirty blond hair. As I was about to walk away there was a shuffling and alas, my work had gone down the drain.

Jasper had managed to pull the sheets off him at super speed and was back in his former state. I sighed, he sure was a heavy sleeper. I decided to leave him just the way he was.

I closed the door to Jasper's room as gently as possible. This time, I decided to have a slid down the banister rather than take those stupid stairs, trying my best to be ninja quiet.

While I was rocketing down I saw a crack in the wooden piece and as an impulse I jumped off it. With a very noticeable thud, I might add. Perks of being an awkward ninja, I sighed.

I tiptoed down the remaining stairs and sneaked a look in the living room to check if my aunt was asleep or not, luckily she was.

Taking a peek at the clock I realized that it was fifteen minutes to midnight. I proceeded towards the door, grabbed the woollen cloak, my auntie had gifted me on my sixteenth birthday, that was hanging on the stand next to the house's main door and wore my winter boots. I adjusted the light blue cloak on my body and pulled its hood up to cover my ears from the cold wind blowing outside.

When I exited the house, as expected, I was met by a soft cool breeze blowing on my face. I hugged the cloak closer to my body, to protect myself from the harsh wind. The winter was just starting and I reckoned there was a storm approaching.

I followed my usual path towards the place where I was headed. As I entered the woods I saw the moon disappearing behind the grey clouds. It was darker than the other times I had come here, as I rarely visited this place at nighttime and mostly in the evenings and afternoons. Aunt Molls was not quite content with me visiting the forest but I did, a stubborn teenager I was. Not saying that we are not on good terms because 'It's for my own safety' she says.

She has raised me since I was only 8 and well, we sort of have a mother-daughter bond between us. Molls and Jasper both mean a lot to me and I love them. It was a few days after my father had died that my mother, Cara sent me to live with her sister, Molly Olsen, my aunt.

I do not quite know why but my mother started to grow apart from me ever since the death of my father. She had started to spend more and more time alone in her room, crying and lamenting over her husband's death until she decided to send me away.

Auntie Molls gave me all the affection, care and treated me as her own daughter. She never brought up the topic of why my mother had sent me away and neither did I. I was quite content with my life here in Canarra.

Ever since I came here Auntie Molls would tell me stories about travelers who went into the forest, this very one, and were led to their deaths by the wisps. Sometimes though, some men whom as she said had 'a lot of good in their hearts' were even lent a hand by them. It is said that the wisps are responsible for leading a person to their fate, whether it is good or bad.

This legend about the wisps was the reason why many people avoided the woodland. The traders would take the route around the kingdom, the people of Canarra would prefer to take the long road to their destination rather than set foot in the woodland. Only some curious explorers were brave enough to venture through the forest grounds.

Although many people claimed to have seen the wisps, there was never anyone who had any evidence to prove their wisps' sighting true. Many courageous men volunteered themselves for the quest of finding some proof of this folklore for this was a mission set by the palace court itself.

I have never believed these traditional stories about the woods. I have always loved the feeling of peace and calmness that I felt whenever I came here.

The part of the woodland that I knew was not very heavily populated with trees and shrubs and also did not have a dense canopy. Neither were there any dangerous wildlife animals, at least not in this region. The silvery light of the moon shone on the path to the all too familiar place. After a walk of about ten minutes I had gotten there, my special spot.

It was a tall oak tree casting a shadow in a curiously circular shape on the smooth green ground with a few cheery pansies here and there. I had also planted a few peach and yellow colored snapdragons in a semicircle around the tree bark on the ground and had left the other side bare as a place for me to sit. This place was in its full beauty in mostly the mornings though. I went and sat with my back to the tree trunk and closed my eyes.

The trees rustled and the leaves danced around. The owls were hooting and the crickets were busy singing their own melodies. Sitting quietly and listening to these sounds, the voice of nature was relaxed me and soothed my heart.

It had only been a while when I heard a soft and distant voice calling out my name. "Rose.. come here Rose. Come to us.." It was like a whisper that echoed all around me. I instantly opened my eyes and called out, "Who's there?" I did not get a reply, so I stood up and looked around.

When I looked behind the oak tree, the one to which I had my back rested to, out of the blue there appeared a small ball of white light. I extended my hand and reached for it but it disappeared. Suddenly the gleaming ball appeared again a few feet away from its previous position. I walked towards it. I tried to grab it again but the same happened.

Every time it vanished it appeared again further away from its former location. Carelessly I followed its trail. I was so mesmerized by that tiny ball of light that I did not even pay attention to where I was going.

My trance was abruptly broken when I found myself in a completely foreign area compactly packed with trees and shrubs, and only thin rays of moonlight peeking through the small gaps in the tress canopy. I had never been this deep in the forest before and I had no idea where I had been led to.

When I heard the sound of a deep growl from behind the giant tree in front of me, I instinctively took a step back. As soon as I peeked behind me to see where I was going I lost my balance and found myself on the edge of a quicksand. I knew my fall was certain and that I would not even be able to escape and go back to the place that I call home.

I closed my eyes waiting for my inevitable fall but it never came.

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A.N: Tadaa! So this was the first chapter hope you guys like it. The picture above is of Rose Allen! By the way if you are on Twitter give me a follow: @_NachoCheese_ and I'll follow back. ♥

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