The Fisher Family sat at the dining table with their two new guests.
Their guests were bandaged up.
"We are The Fisher Family. My name is Henry. My wife's name is Adelia," Henry introduced. He looked at his adopted sons and smiled.
Stark, Matteo, and Hafen gobbled through more bowls of soup with their mouths full.
Henry pointed and continued, "These are my boys. Their names are Hafen, Stark, and Matteo."
The pair of guests stared at the three boys. They were intrigued by them, and they smirked.
Hafen, Matteo, and Stark frowned and glared back at them.
"This is the baby of our household. Her name is Ana," Adelia stated further and carried the baby.
"Ah, she is cute," the guest with the long hair muttered.
After introducing themselves, Henry questioned, "What are your names?"
One of the guests, who had long hair, stuttered, "Oh, my apologies. You can call me The Exalted One. My friend here is actually my brother. His name is Sabre."
Sabre munched on a piece of meat and stared at it with a fierce gaze. Drool fell from the side of his mouth.
The Fisher Family were astounded by their names.
"Such interesting names," Henry pointed out.
Adelia giggled.
The Exalted One affirmed and smiled. He leaned forward on the table. His attention was drawn to Matteo, Hafen, and Stark once again. He seemed captivated with them for some reason. "Your boys seem to have never wandered outside this forest. Am I right," he assumed. He looked at his counterpart, Sabre, and resumed, "Just like us when we were young."
"Heh," Sabre chuckled and continued eating.
Henry furrowed his eyebrows and replied, "I'm surprised you could tell."
Curious by what was said, Hafen, Stark, and Matteo stopped glaring. Their eyes opened wide, and their mouths slightly parted apart.
"Outside The Sacred Forest," Stark inquired.
"Is there an outside of this forest," Matteo asked.
"Have you not heard of it? What a shame," The Exalted One murmured and smirked. He leaned back on his chair.
"You have? Well, we have not," Stark confirmed and frowned. He was appalled, and he pointed to his foster parents. He elaborated, "They always warn us about straying too far because of the savage monsters in the forest. There was this giant snake that almost killed us a few years ago."
Matteo shivered and remembered how they encountered a giant spider a while ago, too.
Hafen narrowed his eyes. "The outside is perilous," he concluded.
The Exalted One and Sabre chuckled.
"I'm amused by your naivety," The Exalted One laughed.
"You have a lot to learn," Sabre coughed and commented. He glanced at Henry and Adelia, and he questioned, "Were you keeping it a secret to protect them?"
Adelia sighed with little annoyance and nodded.
"We simply don't want them to wander the world and get into trouble," Henry divulged and placed his fork down.
"Sorry," The Exalted One apologized and bowed his head.
"It's alright. They were bound to find out anyways," Henry asserted and munched his food. He averted his gaze.
"I still remember the first time we saw the beautiful outside world. It was magical! I would do anything to see that sight again. Whatever I must," The Exalted One, with a nostalgic look, proclaimed and remembered.
"Yes, it was exhilarating," Sabre agreed with his brother.
Stark's face jolted with amazement. "What is outside The Sacred Forest," he sought to find out.
"We have traveled the outside world. We explored new cultures, and we could never imagine the sight we beheld. It's a world of boundless adventure! You must go one day. It is hazardous, but so worth it," The Exalted One revealed.
"I never thought of the outside world in that way," Hafen remarked and crossed his arms.
Inspired, Stark looked at his foster parents. "Can we go, please," he requested.
Adelia's eyes were uneasy. She glanced at her husband.
Henry shook his head.
"Why," Stark whined and grumbled.
Henry seemed strained. "Have you come to advocate a trip outside," he interrogated the guests. He was a bit frustrated.
"Sorry," The Exalted One muttered and bowed his head again.
"My brother and I can sense latent potential in these, three," Sabre interjected and continued, "I'm actually looking forward to seeing how they grow."
Matteo grinned and asked, "What do you mean by our latent potential?"
The Exalted One clarified, "You could achieve greater heights than any of us."
"Oh," Matteo stuttered and blushed. His eyes lit up when more bowls of soup were placed in front of him.
Adelia placed another bowl of food on the table for their guests. She, attempting to change the subject, inquired, "Where did you grow up?"
"Our secluded village was hidden in the mountains, and the world was not aware of it. Yet, it was burned down. We ran away from it when we were young," The Exalted One explained and looked at his hands. His hands trembled.
Henry raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you mean Monster Mountains? That's a really treacherous place."
"Well, kind of," The Exalted One claimed.
Sabre, next to his brother, remembered their journey and the things they had to do to survive. He creepily grinned with the memories.
"What do you do, now? You seem like fighters," Adelia noted and fed Ana.
The Exalted One smiled and confirmed. "We are in charge of an organization. We recently took it over," he announced. He placed his hand to his chest and declared, " My goal is to make the world as beautiful as the first time we set our eyes upon it."
"Hmph," Sabre scoffed. "We have had many successes so far. However, there is a group opposing our efforts," he divulged. His mouth twitched and formed a scowl.
In the meantime, Adelia moved Ana to a small bed.
Ana played with her sticks and swung them around.
"So, you weren't attacked by a monster but by this group," Henry queried, and his eyes narrowed.
The Exalted One affirmed, "Precisely. They have an insatiable hunger for power. They are the bad guys after us, and they're responsible for many catastrophic events to our beautiful world."
Matteo gasped. "Why would they be so evil," he questioned.
"They are corrupt. Greed fills their ambitions," The Exalted One murmured and added, "We can't let them interfere with our goal to improve the world."
Stark kept a thought in the back of his mind. He could not withstand it anymore. "Can we embark on a journey outside the forest? Take us out there, dad. Aren't you strong enough," he interrupted and demanded.
Henry huffed. "Have you not been listening? The Sacred Forest is our home, and our home is safe," he explained.
Stark whined.
"Calm down," Hafen urged him.
"You're just not ready for what's out there, yet," Henry solaced. His eyes avoided his sons. He looked at the guests and requested, "If you want to stay any longer, please refrain from the topic."
The Exalted One and Sabre nodded and reassured him with a smirk.
Stark sighed.
Just then, Matteo's eyes lit up again in realization of something. "Wait! Dad... Mom," he exclaimed.
Henry glanced at him with curiosity for what his son had to say.
"What is it," Adelia inquired and turned to Matteo.
The Exalted One grinned and leaned forward.
"It just sounds like you have been outside the forest. What is it that you don't want us to know," Matteo asked with an innocent smile.
With no response, Hafen and Stark also stared at their foster parents in anticipation.
Henry and Adelia were silent. In an instant, their faces darkened and displayed a grim expression.
Stark's eyebrows furrowed with concern. "What's wrong," he questioned.
Adelia weakly smiled and reassured, "Ah, it's nothing!"
"We lost everything out there," Henry whispered and reminisced his past. His old home, and his old sons were gone. He grimaced in pain and sobbed. He covered his face with his hands. He wiped his tears with his forearms and wept.
Adelia quickly embraced him. "Hey. Everything is okay. Calm down," she soothed with a gentle, soft voice.
Stark, Matteo, and Hafen were in utter shock. Their jaws dropped.
"Sorry," Matteo blurted out.
The Exalted One planted his hands on the table and stood up. "Boys, let's give them some time alone. Let's go outside," he suggested.
Sabre looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.
Hafen, Stark, and Matteo softened their expressions to a worried look. Even so, they obliged and went outside with the two guests.
With news of the outside of The Sacred Forest, how would Stark, Matteo, and Hafen act? What sort of things were out there?