As Dark as the Forest

Chapter 12

Though she had never left the city, Ori had always wanted to travel. She had always envied hearing about Asher's trips around the Earth Region. He'd even been to the central city of Interezzia, the neutral region where the four regions met. His older sister, Sariya, being the heir, had been to even more places.

She wished that Asher was with her now, as she traveled ever closer to the Quercian Forest. Everywhere they stopped, Ori brought out her sketch journal to draw the new wildlife she observed.

The farmland was growing more abundant. As the cool breeze of autumn approached they ate from the early bounties of apple trees, and spent their nights in the homes of farmers that Pit and Flor were acquainted with from their travels. The farm towns were full of delicious food and trading posts with items that Ori had never seen before.

It was at one such trading post that Ori recognized the long dark hair of the runaway bride-turned barmaid-turned traveler.

Ori was in line a few people ahead of the young woman who was now dressed similarly to Ori in trousers and a simple blouse. She looked to be purchasing a cloak and several other items for traveling. Ori tried not to stare, but she was intrigued by this runaway. She felt a sort of silent kinship with her.

Ori got to the counter and inquired about charcoal pencils, which she wanted to stock up on since her current pencil was growing smaller and smaller. She had considered saving her coins and trading some of her artwork, but leaving one of her sketches would have been a sure fire way of leaving a trail for Remo.

She had plenty of coins for now, and hopefully could start making her own living once she arrived somewhere safe.

Ori tucked the pencils into her satchel and left, but stood a short distance outside the door. Rain began to fall, and she raised her hood to guard against the fine droplets.

When the woman walked out, Ori fell in behind her, a short distance away so that she wouldn't startle her. Something fell from beneath the woman's new cloak and Ori snached it up in one fluid motion. She glanced at it. A map. It was of all of Interezzia, with a circle drawn around the Quercian Forest, and a note scribbled near it. She squinted at it, but the rain had picked up and the woman was putting distance between them.

"Miss!" Ori yelled. "Miss! You dropped something!"

The woman didn't react until Ori grabbed her by the cloak. And instead of turning around, she bolted.

So Ori gave chase.

This was a girl who had eluded some sort of authority - those men who were tracking her and hunting her like prey. But Ori had a feeling that those men had been working on brute strength alone. The dark haired woman was fast, her cloak billowing behind her, and her feet churning up mud that sprayed Ori. But she lacked the finesse that Ori possessed. From years of being the one who was chased, Ori knew how to elude capture - this girl did not.

Had it been Ori, she would have run into a crowd, made a sharp turn around the side of a building, and then swung onto a rooftop.

"Miss, I'm not trying to harm you - you just dropped your map is all!" Ori called after her, trying a new tactic.

The girl glanced back at that. Ori waved it in the air.

The girl slowed, glanced around, and then stopped, breathing heavily.

"Here," Ori said, breathlessly. She was out of shape. Despite the constant travel, she hadn't yet fully regained her strength from the days she'd been out of commission as a mouse.

"Thank you," Said the young woman, cautiously accepting the map. She tucked it into a pocket beneath her cloak. "It was nice... meeting you." She finished awkwardly.

Ori didn't let her get away, "Are you traveling to the Forest?" She asked.

The girl didn't look at Ori. Her lips pressed tightly together.

"Okay," Ori tried again, "I know you're traveling to the Forest. Are you alone? You could travel with me and my companions. I'm Orianne, by the way. But you can just call me Ori."

"That's kind of you... Ori. Really. But it's best if I travel alone I think."

"And why's that?"

Ori saw the girl's eyes narrow in annoyance or frustration - one of the two. "It's just safer if I don't get anyone else involved."

Ori laughed, "Suit yourself, but I'm also running from something in my past. If you change your mind, we'll be leaving at dawn tomorrow."

"Thank you..." The girl said. Ori could feel the girl's eyes on her back as she walked away.

****

Ori didn't see the girl again and Ori, Pit and Flor set out early the next day. The town faded behind them and more rugged grassland opened before them. When they climbed a hill and the Quercian Forest came into view, Ori's breath caught.

It was as though an invisible wall divided forest and grassland, so distinct was the line between the two. The tall swaying grass ended and the forest began abruptly with trees that looked very different from the wooded areas and smaller forests that the trio had passed through as they made their way toward the home of the Quercians. These trees gave off a silvery green iridescence in their bark and in their leaves which reflected in the breeze like a chest full of coins - silver, copper, and gold.

"It's beautiful," Ori whispered, in awe. For someone who had never left the city, the view of this seemingly infinite natural world was intoxicating.

"It's also very dangerous," Pit said.

"That doesn't make it any less beautiful." Ori rebuked, as they walked. Perhaps it made it more so. "The city has its dangers too, I'm sure I can cope." Said Ori dryly. She was, after all, a professional in adaptation. She thought of all the near-catastrophic experiences she'd had on missions for Remo. humans were sometimes the most destructive and dangerous of all, in her experience.

"We tend to stick to the outskirts of the forest for our trade," said Flor. "The Quercians aren't the only beings that inhabit the Forest, though they are the most civil. The strength of the earth magic allows dangerous and wonderful creatures to evolve, and it is not wise to venture close to where they reside near the heart of the Forest."

"The Quercians know how to protect themselves," Pit put in, "But they do not extend that protection to outsiders. Many a tradesperson has met their untimely demise after being overcome by curiosity."

But Ori was enchanted. Her mind working up all the glorious creatures she could see and study. Her fingers itched to grab her art supplies and run headlong into the forest. The average traveler couldn't disguise themself as a forest-creature. She realized that this was somewhat in alignment with what Remo had been coercing her to do... but for altogether different purposes.

Maybe that's where I make my place in the world.

She realized that she had never really wanted to be a spy. She was good at it, not just because of her ability to shift. But her favorite part of shifting was learning about the creatures she would shift into. She found it fascinating.

"I've read about some of these creatures in books," Ori said. Giant lizard-like creatures who blended so well into their forest home that they easily snatched unsuspecting prey from beneath their earthen camouflage. Magnificent direwolves who lived and hunted in packs, with coats that gleamed gold and silver. Before the treaty had been passed, banning hunters from entering the forest themselves, the pelts had once been highly sought after by the aristocracy. There were also wonderful, rare creatures like unicorns who could heal a wound or purify water with the touch of their horns.

What Ori wouldn't give to head deep into the forest to see those creatures.

And then, a plan formed in her mind... A plan that did not include leaving the Forest with Pit and Flor once they had finished their trading. Little did she know that opportunity - or reason - would come sooner than expected. 

A/N: I have no idea where this runaway bride character came from or what exactly her purpose is in the story... She just... appeared. Something "fun" about my writing is that I loosely outline but a lot of it is just unplanned and go with the flow. So.... we'll see what ends up happening with this character... any ideas?