The Forgotten Queen

Bandits and Shadows

The shadow forest held secrets and kept secrets. No one would wish to live in these woods as across from it lays the Black Mist containing shadow beasts that leaked into the woods.

It also became a war zone for Veritas and Amun troops fighting against themselves. Their battles come and go as they would encounter monsters, and the forest has a history of turning men into madness.

So, people avoid it.

However, not everyone avoids these woods. Members from Aurora created a camp for adventurers to work in the mines found within the Black Mist. The mine produced rare elemental stones that cost a number due to the danger and time for extraction.

Duke Blaise was responsible for the camp and had warriors passing through these forests like a field day. But that does not mean they do not run into trouble, such as bandits.

Bandits waited in these woods, hoping to steal the rare elemental stones. Or on an excellent opportunity.

At Nightfall, the dense forest became pitch black, and not even a torch could light up the path. The group made camp for the night and gathered around the fire.

Isla grinned ear to ear, glancing around and staring at the flames of the firepit. This was the first night she had spent outside in the woods.

A scary woods.

Aiden furrowed his brows in concern, looking over at Isla as she smiled like a madman. "Are you okay?" Aiden asked under his chuckle.

"Yes!" Isla said, grinning widely as she turned to Aiden. She hugged her legs and placed her chin on her knees. "This is a peaceful night..."

"Yeah. It is a peaceful night in the middle of a nightmare-ish forest. Where monsters, bandits, and black magic magi run?"

They turned their head, and their gaze met. "It must be a dream," he said jokingly and rolled her eyes.

Isla giggled, and Aiden chuckled alongside her. They laughed softly. Edward stood across Isla and Aiden, watching them as Sara walked toward him. "How long are we going to spend the nights outside?" Sara asked, folding her arms across her chest.

Edward glanced down at her. "Until we reach camp, we'll be sleeping in a tent, and we do this all again," Edward said.

Sara's eyes widened, and she walked over to Aiden and Isla. She knelt between Aiden and Isla. "It's time for bed," Sara said, nodding her head wide grin.

"What? Why?" Isla asked.

"So, that tomorrow could come early."

Confused Isla, she chuckled, and Sara dragged Isla up to her feet and headed to their sleeping area. "Good night! Good night!" Sara yelled, pulling Isla away.

Aiden glanced up at Edward, and Edward stared down at Aiden. Aiden lifted an eyebrow. "Who's first in night watch?" Edward asked.

"The night is my thing. It would be easy," Aiden said, shrugging his shoulders.

Edward smirked and nodded, then walked away. Aiden smirked, staring at the flames, and glanced over his shoulder from the corner of his eye...

Later in the night, the flames within the pit crackled and snapped as it slowly died. Everyone was in deep slumber, unaware of the bandits that watched them sleep.

One of the members signals the other to start moving. One by one, a member landed on the ground.

Quietly stalked to the sleeping group, surrounding the camp until the leader confidently walked in. He nods his head, encouraging his gang to search for anything they could sell.

The gang quietly searched as the leader narrowed his gaze at Sara and Isla's sleeping form. He had a disgusting grin as he rubbed his scarred chin.

He shrugged his shoulders and stalked towards the ladies. The leader knelt down and leaned forward to clearly view Isla's beauty. However, an icy edge pressed against the leader's neck caused him to stop in his tracks.

"Don't move," Aiden's voice filled the chilly darkness.

Everyone froze and glanced around to find Aiden, who hid in the shadows. They may have mastered the shadows, but Aiden was the master of the shadows.

The leader slipped out his sword and knocked the blade away from his neck. He spun on his heel, pointing his sword to emptiness.

He furrowed his brows and glanced around and to his men. They all did not know what was going on.

"Sir!" One said nervously, pointing over the leader's back.

The leader turned his gaze back to slumbering women, but they were gone. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?" the leader roared in rage.

Aiden's chuckles echoed in the shadows, causing a wave of fear. Cold sweats rolled down their foreheads, trying to find Aiden. Some were afraid they may have run into a monster.

"It's a shame the ladies had to go, but they really need their beauty sleep," Aiden whispered into the leader's ear.

The leader flinched and swung his sword.

A clink echoed in the night, followed by a clank against the ground. Gasps and nervous gulps followed after.

Aiden grinned devilishly as everyone froze. "Hello," Aiden said.

The leader's face turned red in embarrassment and rage. He had to be ambushed, and his sword was broken.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GET HE!" The leader roared.

Aiden shrugged his shoulders, and one by one, gang members attacked.

Aiden snapped his fingers, and his sword disappeared as he fought with the gang members with his hand combat. He knocked away blades coming his way, punched one at their chin, then at the back of their neck.

A person ran towards Aiden with a blade pointed at him. Aiden dodged it, grabbed their wrist, and pulled them close before knocking them by their face.

Three gang members froze, glanced at each other in worry, and decided to attack together. They ran towards Aiden, who yawned out of boredom.

"Let's end this," Aiden muttered to himself.

Aiden snapped his fingers again, and the shadow grabbed the members' ankles, then dragged them into the woods. Their wails and screams echoed as they went further into the woods.

Aiden took a deep breath but could not sigh aloud as the gang leader placed a dagger on Aiden's neck. "Who do you think you are?" the leader asked.

"A handsome, charming knight," Aiden said, shrugging his shoulders and smirking.

"You think this is a joke?" he sneered.

"Maybe, because you are a joke for a so-called 'bandit of the shadow forest.'"

This angered the gang leader. "I'm going to kill YOU!"

Aiden spun on his heel, grabbing the leader's wrist and twisting it, causing him to drop his dagger. He ignored the gang leader's groaning in pain as Aiden hit him by the rib and gut.

He whimpered and leaned forward, and Aiden knocked the gang leader with his elbow. The leader groaned before falling to the ground unconsciously.

Aiden sighed in disappointment, looking down at the bandit leader on the ground. "I thought this would be exciting," Aiden said.

"Why didn't you warn me earlier?" Edward asked, stepping out from the shadows.

"How would I know that they were going to attack us? I just knew that someone watched us when we entered the forest."

Edward glared at Aiden. "Either way, I am the Guardian's watcher, and I need these details."

"And I'm her guard and knight. I can protect her."

"Whatever, let's remove these thugs and get back to our sleep. Also, don't say anything to Her Grace nor the handmaiden."

"Whatever you say, Edward," Aiden said, lightly kicking the leader's side."But what are we going to do about the bet we made? I remembered betting we'd face bandits first."

"I don't care, just shut up."

As Edward and Aiden removed the knocked-out gangs. A shadowy figure stood behind a tree, listening to Edward and Aiden's conversation.

They scened their presence was overlooked by the pair. The mysterious figure quietly waved their hand, enchanting a spell, fading into the darkness of the woods.

Deep within the shadow forest, a quiet cabin stood in the darkness of the woods. Monsters growl and snarl as they pass the cabin, wary of the place and what it holds within it.

The mysterious figure that spied on Edward and Aiden emerged from the shadows. They approached the cabin calmly, ignoring the monsters that roamed around.

The spy stood at the doorsteps of the cabin and quietly muttered a spell.

A dark circle drew on the door, and lines continued to draw until strange symbols appeared. A dim light appeared, and the cabin disappeared, revealing two grand stone doors as they opened wide.

The person walked through the doors in confidence, and the doors beamed closed behind them. Humming chants beamed in the room as the spy walked down the hallway.

They entered a hall filled with a dozen people dressed in their black hoodie cloaks. They face a throne before them, which the spy approaches.

"Master," the spy said, kneeling before the throne.

"What do you bring?" the person on the throne asked. They wore a dark veil, leaning back on the throne.

"There's a traveling party in the shadow forest..."

"So, what? We have bandits and monsters. They would be more interested in them."

"This is no ordinary party. I hear that the Guardian is amongst them..."

The chants were replaced with gasps and murmuring as the person on the throne sat up in interest. They sat straight and leaned in. "Continue..."

"A group of four, two ladies and two men. One of the ladies, I believe, is the Guardian. However, there is one problem... the priest, Edward is amongst them."

The murmuring hushed, and the exciting atmosphere turned into tension. The person on the throne's hands clenched and calmed their breath. They leaned back against the throne, lifting their head high.

"Edward can be dealt with... As for the Guardian, she is our primary goal. But we cannot repeat history and need the Guardian to reach the Black Mist." they said under the veil.

"We do need to know which of the ladies is the Guardian. So, there is no harm having someone else reveal the Guardian's identity to us," they continued. "Also, we do not need to reveal our existence."

They stood on their feet, and everyone in the hall dropped to their knees and bowed their heads. "This is our time, and our powers will grow!"

The crowd hummed in agreement.

The person under the veil glanced down at the spy that brought the news. "I have a mission for you. There is a certain king obsessed on the Guardian, and he would really be delighted to hear news of a Guardian away from their nest."

Under that veil, a devilish grin grew as the Black Raven coven was close to making a comeback. For years the Black Raven coven had been in hiding, but now the Guardian was in the courtyard. This was their chance for power.

The following morning, the sun hardly shined through the dense leaves. The little sun rays caressed Isla's closed eyes. Isla's face frowned and groaned under her breath as she stirred awake.

Her eyes flickered open and took in her surroundings before a warm smile grew on Isla's face. Isla yawned, pushing herself to sit up, and looked around. Sara snored lightly in her deep slumber, and Aiden was nowhere to be seen.

Isla chuckled softly as she had never seen Sara sleep, especially like this. She lifted her gaze, spotting Edward attending to the horses.

She carefully slipped out, not wanting to wake Sara, and quietly walked over to Edward. "Good morning," she said with a warm smile.

"Good morning," Edward greeted back with a warm smile matching Isla. "Are you ready for today?" he asked, glanced at Isla, then back at the horse.

"Yes..." she muttered as her fingertips caressed the horse. "Did you get any sleep last night?" Isla asked.

"Wonderfully."

"So, nothing happened last night? No monsters or anything?" she asked, turning her gaze back at Edward.

He looked at her with a smile and shook his head 'no.'

"A peaceful night," he said.