The Enchanted Flame

Chapter 2 - Damn squirrel

The dark forest didn't get its name for no reason even in the bright daylight the rays of the sun were barely reaching the ground.

The thick tall trees were covering most parts of the forest, and the sunlight was playing hide and seek through their leaves.

The forest was magical but ironically no one was allowed to do magic here, I could only perform small magic when I was in the cottage. If I did even the smallest magic trick I would end up getting lost here.

The forest was swarming with creatures that I wanted to avoid at all costs.

I had been walking for almost five minutes trying my best to stay focused on the path as well as ignore the eerie music coming from an unknown source.

The large blue needle on the compass moved slightly towards the left and I started walking ok the muddy left path as well. The chocolate brown compass just had a blue needle and nothing else on it.

The dark forest was magical in every way and knew very well how to deceive an unknown guest. It changed its path often making it impossible for someone to remember the right path because there was no right path and without a magical compass it was impossible to find the way.

Another irony of the dark forest, magic was prohibited but magical objects were welcome.

I shivered when a sharp wave of wind slapped me harshly on the face, instantly making me regret my decision of wearing a crop top in the forest surrounded by tall trees.

The eerie music got louder sending a shiver down my spine.

I clutched the strap of the bag hanging by my side tightly.

"This is nothing but just some sounds, Valeria, don't pay any attention to it, no one is following you," I said to myself, hoping it would make me feel better.

The needle changed its direction one more time and I reluctantly started walking on the path where the line of trees was almost touching each other.

I paused when my eyes caught the glimpse of large red flowers, they were no ordinary flowers the sound was coming from them, or more precisely from inside of them. Small butterfly-like creatures came outside from the flowers who were the size of my pinky finger.

"Uh-oh," I muttered and started running away from them not caring about the right direction.

I made sure to avoid the dark green vines covering the corners of the ground, they fed on the blood of different creatures.

The music was not disappearing and kept getting closer.

What did Astrid tell me about them? I searched every corner of my brain for something but got nothing. My whole brain was buzzing and it was getting hard to stay focused.

Astrid had more experience with the dark forest as she kept visiting it frequently, while I was on the other side of that spectrum. I had never visited the dark forest in my entire life.

A small fire of joy sparked in my heart when my eyes caught the sight of red dried berries on the ground. I removed a piece of cloth from the bag and crushed the berries inside it.

The sound was almost close to me and things started becoming blurry, it was my only chance to get rid of those deadly adorable things.

I held the piece of cloth tightly in my hand and when I was sure they were close I threw the powder in their direction, praying to the spirit of the forest to help me, and surprisingly it worked.

The berries were spicy and not mild spicy, even the small nibble of the berry was enough to make 5 people cry.

Smiling in triumph, I checked the compass one more time and my smile disappeared immediately. I was in the opposite direction of the forest.

With a loud groan, I started walking one more time. Even after walking for what felt like an eternity I was not even close to my destination.

I increased my pace when the dark forest started getting darker. At night, the creatures came out to hunt, and staying out meant getting hunted for sure.

The needle in my hand moved towards the left but instead of walking, I sat down on the large rock to catch my breath.

I removed a bottle of water and started taking small sips while making a huge decision of going back to the cabin instead of the kingdom.

I could send a message to Astrid and she would take me back with her the next time she visited the dark forest.

As I was trying to put the bottle back inside the bag the compass fell from my hand.

"Great," I moaned cursing my luck just when a squirrel appeared out of nowhere and started running away with my compass.

"NOO!!" I screamed loudly and started running after her.

I was out of breath because of running for so long but the damn squirrel was not ready to give me the compass back.

I could not let her get away with the compass, it was my only way to get back without it I was as good as dead.

The squirrel stopped momentarily and hope appeared in front of my eyes. I started walking as quietly as I could but her ear twitched slightly and the squirrel caught me. As a result, it started running one more time.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the sleeve of my top and clutched my stomach trying to catch some breath.

But when I looked at the spot again the squirrel was gone.

I started searching for it frantically but it was all in vain.

The large dense trees were no longer surrounding me. The trees were sparse and the air was surprisingly warmer.

Looking around I started walking one more time hoping to find the squirrel. But the scene in front of me made me realize how much in trouble I was.

I was no longer in the dark forest.