Oath of the Forest

Elen stared at the shifting ground, ignoring everything but her festering thoughts. She could be in so much trouble in a matter of minutes. If only I had never taken that oath. If only they weren’t missing. If only I weren’t alone, she thought melancholily, if only, if only… if only. The bus jumped over a particularly large bump, and Elen rather ungracefully fell into the old man standing beside her. She quickly murmured an apology and pulled her long, tarnished sleeves further over her slender fingers. Her blue eyes darted nervously as the old man’s eyes glared down at her. He grunted and took several choice steps away from her, coldly eyeing her left wrist. The bus swayed. Oh my, Elen, you fool, he saw! Her thoughts quaked.

Without thinking, Elen took two steps closer to him and stammered ever so quietly, “Oh, uhm, good Sir, y-you…y-you won’t tell, will you?”

Her lips quivered.

The man’s thick white beard almost hid his grimace. His dark eyes slowly glanced over the other passengers before returning to Elen’s.

“No, I won’t,” he uttered with a thick accent Elen had never heard before.

Elen sighed in deep relief, sagging into her old trench coat.

“But stay away from me, little miss, I want no trouble,” The man added, ebbing a couple of steps further from her, while he almost fearfully eyed the bus driver.

Elen teetered again due to the rough ride and stumbled towards two open blue seats by one of the large windows. She sat down with a THUMP, her eyes wandering to the running landscape as she plopped her head against the window. She was going to have to run soon, even if the daunting old man didn’t tell. She suspected others had seen the large branding that took up her whole left wrist.

She shivered as the memory of the branding swam into her mind. It had been ten years ago, but time still hadn’t killed the vividness of the memory yet. No, no, now is not the time for memories, Elen thought as she caught sight of the grand marble arch that was only a couple of yards in front of the bus now. As soon as she passed through that white figure, her promise would be broken and… her magic gone. But it couldn’t be helped; she had no one left outside the arch. Her brothers had disappeared one after another over the past two years. They must have polished it recently, she distractingly thought as a blinding glare from the arch’s curves shot into her eyes. She winced, and suddenly they were under the giant sculpture.

Elen gave out a yelp. Her wrist was searing with pain. She pulled it close to her chest, her eyes on the brink of tears. Gasping, she tried to whisper a spell before dreadfully remembering… she couldn’t anymore. So instead she mumbled to herself, “I’m sorry, Erika, I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.” As if the late apology could save her from the pain.

She felt someone grab her left wrist, and a cooling sensation spread from the touch. Elen’s eyes fluttered open, even though she never remembered closing them in the first place.

The old man’s daunting eyes stared at her with something close to concern. He was muttering in a mysterious language, what Elen thought was a cooling spell.

Letting go of Elen’s wrist, he grunted, “That should work.”

“T-thank you, sir,” Elen stamered, her voice feeling thick.

The man’s bushy white eyebrows simply lowered in reply, all signs of concern gone, before he responded in his deep accent, “The bus is stopping.” Then he got up and strode to the exit, his tall figure towering over the few other passengers.

Elen scampered up and towards the exit, too. Holding her breath, she handed her glossy ticket to the drooping bus driver with her right hand her other hand craftily tucked behind her back. His tired eyes scanned the ticket, then Elen, before waving her through with his hand. Elen gasped with relief; she didn't need to run. Then, with her fingers claped together, she hesitantly stepped onto the dark soil waiting for her outside the bus.

The giant pines swayed in the wind; several pine needles descended slowly, bouncing magically off the dark soil paths and gently piling up. Most of the passengers were already disappearing into the trees on their own winding paths. Elen looked back to see that the bus was gone, along with her option to leave the forbidden place.

A strong wind rushed past her, ripping through her dark locks of hair and tugging on her sleeves. Elen shivered. The forest was telling her, you promised, you promised never to return. Shakily, Elen whispered back, “Please take me to Erika. Please.” All of the dirt trails quivered in response. Who is that? Young runaway brat, asked the wind, sounding rather annoyed, like a teacher at the end of a long week, who is very done with their students.

“The one in the deep, whom I seek.... My aunt.”

But she does not seek you, so no path can I make you, unless your presence is known by a few.

“Please, if my presence is known, I could… d-die. For I have sworn never to come back.”

Yes, I know, sworn one, so must be the price to pay for you have already broken your oath this very day.

“But I already paid the price, I can no longer use magic!”

That was the price to she; now what of the price to me? If you tell three souls of your broken swear, then will I help you find her.

“Three? Only three?” Elen’s mind raced; the old man already knew, so really she only had to tell two more people of her oath.

Yes, only three, because even though you left me, I never left you, the branches whisper solemnly in reply.

“Okay, an elderly man already knows I’m here; he is one of a very tall stature. Does he count?”

Yes, I know him; he is one fellow in your sin, oh, broken oath-taker that you are. I will let him count, but that only makes one so far.

Elen timidly looked at the many paths that kept quivering angrily with the words of the forest.

“Which trail should I take?” she asked while her fingers gently caressed her scarred wrist.

The one to the north is the place where the dark man went forth. To the south is nothing but a foul mouth. To the east, the great annual feast. And to the west, well, the one who lies there is quite a mess, the branches creaked as if they were grimacing in return.

Elen blinked. There was no point in going after the old man; he already knew, and going to the feast sounded like a bad idea: the more people who knew her secret, the worse. So Elen decided, for no apparent reason, to go south and then west. Oh, please don’t be an enforcer, was her last thought as she took her first shy step onto the south path.

The forest blurred around her just as it used to when she was eight, and then as suddenly as it had started, it stoped and a hefty amount of heat smacked her in the face. She let out a wheeze and waited for her eyes to adapt to the new, brightly lit atmosphere.

Giant lush palms and sparkling sand danced with the wind before her. The sight was enchanting, and Elen almost lost her mind to the beauty before her eyes landed on a large, dirty stack of clothing and green glass bottles leaning on one of the fine palm stumps. The stack shuttered, and Elen jumped in response.

“Whawt are you look’in at-t-t…t,” the pile drawled, sounding awfully sluggish and gruff.

Elen was about to offer an apology for staring when a foul, horrid smell seeped murderously into her mouth and nose, choking all of her words before they could escape the slaughter. Elen couldn’t help it; she gagged, and she gagged so hard she feared she would throw up. It smelled like a whole decaying elephant had been dipped in rotten eggs and beer, and the lot had been left out in the sun to rot and spoil for an entire month.

The mound gurgled with laughter, or maybe it was choking on its own stench; either way, Elen couldn’t tell.

“It’s nat nices-s to gag-GA at… st-rAngers-s nor laugh, I SUS-p-pose. So-O my name’s R-rrr-Alph little miss-s…” the pile slurred ever so slowly, Elen almost couldn’t understand him.

Elen’s eyes stung as she tried to identify the man’s face in the repelling heap.

“E-Elen,” she choked through both of her arms, which she protectively held over her stinging mouth and nose. Her eyes pricked with tears as she found the hoard's shockingly stunning blue eyes. The eyes struck her as oddly familiar. As beautiful as they were, they looked sunken and drowned in sorrows from drinking.

“Whwat do you-U w-want…E-Elen?” the reeking bundle of a man asked, copying exactly how she said her name stutter and all.

“Can I trust you, Ralph? I nee-” Ralph cut her off, waving his left hand, “I wouldn’t-t trust me… me. But su-re. And the name’s R-r-Allp-p.”

“Uhm, Okay, Ralp-” Ralp cut her off again, waving his left hand exasperatedly, “N-no, no-O, dear E-Elen. It’s R-r-ap!” he declared rather crossly this time, but still just as slow and sluggish.

“Oh, uh, sorry, Sir Rap.” Elen remarked quickly before getting cut off for the third time, in which he exclaimed his name was, “A-ap!” This same thing continued for ten minutes Elen would appoligize and state the new name before getting interrupted by Ralph, who would wave his hand and say his name was “Ralph,” then “Ralp,” losing a letter each time until it got down to “A,” and after he’d state he had no name, before remember his long lost name “Ralph,” again.

Elen had grown completely impatient by the fifth round. She was tired, it was hot, and she feared that she might faint if she breathed in any more of this disgusting dump pile’s toxic aroma. She concluded that if the stinky man couldn’t even remember his own name, then it was probably safe to tell him her story.

So she blurted out, “Ralph! I have broken a swear of the forest!” Then she whipped out her left wrist, thrusting it into Ralph’s face to display the vicious scar.

In that instant, Ralph’s eyes became as clear as the cloudless sky.

“Oh, Elen, I knew that. Did that not get through to you?” He waved his left hand for the hundredth time, “Why did you have to say that out loud! For the sake of your own life, run! They are always watching me…For I have paid my price to the forest already.” His voice had become deep, frustrated, and almost lost all of its sluggishness, though his ill-odored breath remained the same.

“What?” Elen squeaked, tripping backwards over her own feet, feeling horrified and quite dumb.

“GO!” Ralph hollered his rancid spit flying through the air to land with a splat on Elen’s ghost-white cheek.

Elen heard soft footsteps, and her eyes fell upon the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. The woman looked like a goddess gliding over the golden sand, a giant spear gripped in her glossy chocolate hand. Elen’s heart froze, and a small cry escaped her pale lips. I’m going to die. I am going to die, she calmly thought to herself, because it seemed like her spirit and body had parted from each other. She was watching herself sit there helplessly, mesmerized as the enforcer slowly, ever so slowly, came closer.

The bewitching enforcer started to raise her spear when the thought, three know now, came to Elen’s mind. Like lighting, Elen was herself again, and she sprang up and ran back the way she came. The only problem was that, having been ten years away from the forest, she forgot how it worked, and she overshot her destination. She found herself ramming straight into the daunting old man, because of course, he was the one in the north.

“S-sorry, sir,” she quickly stammered before turning to go back.

But there behind her was the silhouette of the captivating enforcer, only now the enforcer didn’t ooze radiance but fear, all-consuming, dreadful fear. She seemed to have grown ten feet, towering over Elen’s small figure even though she was far away and slowly, slowly creeping forward.

“Who are you seeking, miss? Quick, tell me,” the old man growled, his eyes knowingly set on the enforcer.

Elen could not reply; the terror from the enforcer had dug its claws into her throat and mind, stopping her breath. Her little frame shook violently. She could feel herself drifting into her memories.

She and her two brothers sat patiently around a heated oven, their Aunt Erika standing before them, holding three red-hot, intricate cuffs in her magical hands.

“There is too much unrest in the forest; people fear your blood. So, you three must promise me… No, swear to me never to return. Please, my dears, leave this place together and swear upon the forest and with these cuffs, you will never return. If you ever do return, you will lose all capability of using magic, so please, my loves, don’t come back. The forest will no longer love you," her aunt desperately begged them.

Elen remembered obediently saying, “I swear on the forest, Auntie, I will never return,” before the searing, blinding pain of the cuff melting into her wrist.

The memory ended, and Elen mumbled, “Auntie Erika,” and the old man’s eyes lit up. “I know of her; she is the oath maker. You must get back to the bus stop to find her, go around the enforcer to the southwest and then to the southeast, child,” he said, giving Elen a push in the right direction.

Elen stepped, the world blurred, and in front of her was a little boy tangled in a giant willow tree's leaves, weeping. His blue eyes were dripping with painful tears.

“I have paid the wrong price,” he sobbed, “Forest, please!”

And then he was gone because Elen had taken a step to the southeast. She was back where she started. He must have been the mess in the west, his eyes looked so familiar… She thought to herself. Then she shouted desperately as a cold, haunting feeling approached from behind: “Forest, I have paid my price, please take me to my aunt Erkia!”

The forest became rushed blurs, and Elen only barely got a glimpse of the goddess-like enforcer before being swept away on a path to the place where she swore she would never return.

Suddenly, she fell into her shocked aunt’s warm embrace.

“Elen!” Her aunt cried; she seemed worried, overjoyed, stunned, and frightened all at once.

“Auntie Erika!” Elen sobbed, burying her face into her aunt.

“Oh, Elen, why are you here? You swore, dear your magic! But wait, no, that’s not what matters, more importantly, where are your brothers?”

Elen was about to explain that they had both disappeared, and that she had no idea where they were, when a dreadful realization crashed down upon her.

She knew very well where they were.

The forest gave out a wicked cackle, Little ones, little ones, did you believe you could ever leave?

Elen's heart stopped; her world felt as if it was crumbling around her; her brothers had also broken the forest's oath and paid their prices.

The End.