"Now," Professor Seira cut in, "there are five entrances to the forest. Choose your path one at a time and enter only with your partner when the signal is given."
Eve glanced nervously at Cece, Damien and Edward, "Good luck, everyone."
Damien grinned widely, his voice tinged with mischief. "Oh, don't look so nervous, Evelyn. You've got someone with you that the rest of us don't." His crimson eyes slid meaningfully towards Ivan, who stood silently by her side.
Eve turned to him and Ivan met her gaze, completely calm and utterly unfazed.
He noticed how pale she looked and said quietly, "Just follow my lead and you'll be fine."
She swallowed nervously and gave him a small nod. Cece pulled Evelyn into a quick hug and murmured, "Stay safe and stick close to Ivan."
"You too, Cece." Evelyn replied softly.
With one last look at their friends, they approached the professors to collect their red stone locket and choose their weapons. They headed to Professors to collect the red stone locket and choose their weapons. Ivan selected a long sword, while Eve picked up a light blade sword that was a perfect size for her.
When they stepped before Professor Dante, he greeted them with a wide, unsettling smile. "Ah, my star pair! I have high expectations from both of you." His gaze shifted to Ivan, "Remember, Prince Ivan, team work! Don't abandon your partner to the monsters and call it an accident. If she fails, you do too." He flashed his signature, psychopathic grin.
Ivan only stared at him, then extended his hand. "The locket."
Dante chuckled at the brooding prince, "Right, I almost forgot." He handed over the red locket. Ivan took it and then stepped closer to Eve to carefully fastened it around her neck. She felt her cheeks warm at the gesture and he withdrew just as calmly as he had stepped forward.
Leah, who was standing not too far from them, witnessed the small moment and burned with jealousy. Her eyes gleamed wickedly as she resolved to get rid of the princess once and for all inside the enchanted forest.
Meanwhile, Ivan and Evelyn stepped in line behind two other pairs ahead of them, waiting their turn at the entrance of the forest.
Professor Seira raised her hand high and announced, "Now, on my signal. Your time starts now, do your best, everyone." With that, a burst of purple flare shot from her palm into the sky and one by one, each pair started to enter the forest. Since the forest was enhanced, every pair would be transported to a different area upon entry.
While they were waiting for their turn to enter the forest, a woman's scream echoed from somewhere in the forest, making Evelyn and several other students jump in fright. She instinctively grabbed Ivan's hand. Hearing her frantic heartbeat, he turned to her and whispered in a calm voice, "Relax Princess, just breath…I don't want you fainting before the exam even begins."
She took a deep breath, then let go of his hand and whispered, "S-sorry, I just.."
"It's fine, you don't need to explain, just remember what I said earlier," with that, he stepped forward with her. Eve casted one last worried look at Cece, who gave her a slight nod, before crossing the line into the enchanted forest.
As soon as she and Ivan crossed the line into the enchanted forest, the scene around them shifted. The path was now enclosed by heavy tree branches arched overhead, forming a tunnel-like passage with only faint silvers of light seeping through, casting everything in an ominous glow. A thick fog blanketed the forest floor, making it look more haunted than enchanted.
She forced herself to stay calm and alert, her blue eyes scanned her surroundings, though the rapid thudding of her heart betrayed her calm face. Ivan also surveyed the area, then turned to her and asked quietly, "Scared?"
She looked into his molten-red eyes and replied, "No, just a little nervous about what kind of enemies might be lurking in here."
His lips twitched slightly at her attempt to keep a calm facade, even though her heartbeat was drumming in his ears. "Hm.. are you ready to move forward?"
She gave him a slow nod, then looked ahead. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward and muttered, "Let's get this over with."
Ivan's lips curved into a faint smile as he began walking beside her. They moved in silence, but every little sound made Eve snap her gaze towards it, bracing herself for something to emerge. The silence was doing her no favours, so she finally asked, "So…did you take a similar test last semester?"
"Kind of…but not at this scale." Ivan replied.
"What do you mean by 'at this scale'?" Eve asked curiously while keeping her eyes fixed ahead.
"Last year there was no buddy system, so they divided us in a team of two and made us hunt and retrieve the ribbons."
"Oh, that sounds exciting," she murmured.
Ivan smirked at her remark and said, "It was, we enjoyed hunting other team members down in order to take the ribbons from them."
Evelyn suddenly realised they had been forced to fight each other for the ribbons, "Oh," she laughed awkwardly, "when you put it that way.." She gulped, thinking just what kind of morbid institution she had landed herself in.
As she was about to take another step forward, Ivan halted and caught her wrist, pulling her back a little. She snapped her head towards him and asked, "What's wrong?"
Ivan, who was looking at the ground, spoke quietly, "Look down.."
She followed his gaze and gasped, "What is that?" Tilting her head, she saw, what looked like dark brown, almost black, tree roots slowly slithering across the ground like snakes.
Ivan's brows drew together slightly, "Creepers," he murmured. "Looks like Professor Seira went all out in bringing her macabre imagination to life in this exam."
Eve's worry deepened, "Why? What do they do?"
Instead of answering her, Ivan let go of her hand, picked up a stone nearby and tossed it lightly over the slithering creepers. The moment it touched one of them, a sharp screech pierced the air as the roots lashed out and coiled around the stone, wrapping it so completely till it was not visible anymore.
Eve's hands went cold as sudden chill crept through her, she mumbled under her breath, "I wonder if they're out to kill us today?"
"Kill? No. But injured? Yes… only if you're not careful." Ivan replied calmly. "Last year, eighty percent of the students ended up in the infirmary." What he didn't mention was that he was responsible for sending half of them there.
"How delightful!" Eve breathed, then looked at him with a grim expression, "How do we pass them? They seem to spread throughout the path."
Ivan narrowed his eyes as he looked ahead and then said, "This is a straight path up the hills." His gaze shifted to the sides, where trees and thick vegetation crowed together. "I think they want us to head deeper into the forest to find the stone, unless we'd rather skip that and go straight for the hills, which incidentally, are covered with those creepers." A smirked tugged at his lips, "I wonder if this was Dante's idea… or Leo's."
Eve followed his words and glanced to the side path that disappeared into an even darker stretch of the forest and her chest tightened. "I wonder which is worse," she murmured, as her eyes darted between the shadowed woods and the menacing path ahead.
Ivan sighed, "We need to find the stone anyway, princess," His eyes narrowed slightly at her. "Don't tell me you were planning to scrape by with a passing grade by just walking up the hill." To this, she quickly shook her head in denial.
"Good, let's go." He turned towards the left side of the path and began walking deeper into the forest. Eve quickly followed, clinging close behind him like a lost duckling, unwilling to be left alone in that dreadful place.
Ivan walked ahead, brushing branches aside with deliberate care so they wouldn't snap back against her.
Suddenly, a loud inhumane screech echoed through the forest, jolting Eve to instinctively grab the back of Ivan's uniforms. He stopped mid-step, and heard her slight panic filled voice from behind, "W-what was that?"
Ivan's face grew serious, he turned to look over his shoulder and said, "Give me your hand."
Her panic-filled eyes lifted to his and she slowly let go of the back of his uniform and raised her slightly trembling hand to him. He wrapped his warm and firm hand around hers and said in a low voice, "Whatever's ahead, stay close to me and when I give you instructions, you follow. Are we clear?" His dark red eyes held hers and she gulped before nodding quickly.
Then together, they walked deeper into the forest, Ivan's hand somehow anchored her as she drew silent strength from his touch, reminding herself over and over that she wasn't alone. That he was there with her.