Chapter 2: Transversing the Dark Forest
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I dashed away before they could see the direction I entered the Forest in.
The Dark Forest was vast, with many entrance by very little exits. There tall obsidian trees, obscuring the inside of the forest from view.
The pools of darkness oozing from the inside was the most terrifying though, because it made it impossible to see what lies beyond.
So I used that to my advantage, and I worked like a charm.
As I ran deeper into the forest, I could hear muffled horse cries and distant galloping sounds, hinting that the mud was doing its job.
I smiled subtly, celebrating vigorously on the inside.
I did not care about honor anymore. Pride, principle, none of it mattered as you lay dead beneath the balls of the man you loathed most.
The man you had sworn to kill.
I ran deeper and deeper, without giving myself a moment of repose. I could not. I did not know if they continued the pursuit on foot or not, but I knew that if they did, it would only spell doom for me.
The more I ran in deeper, the more pronounced the darkness around me became. It felt like even the ground beneath me was moving.
Or something else was moving on the surface of the ground.
I did not look down. I did not dare.
The darkness became colder and much more oppressive. Even the night itself was not dark enough to compare.
I felt it caress my skin through the holes of my armor, sending shivers down my spine.
It felt cold and itchy, and I could swear the darkness was touching me physically. I was basically shivering at that point.
I even found myself thinking that maybe surrendering to the King would have been a better choice.
But it was too late. Decisions were already made and there was no room left of regrets. I could not allow myself to regret choosing freedom.
The freedom I had craved for so very long.
I was so scared and alone. I felt cold. So cold and so lonely. The deeper i ran into the forest, the more profound the fear became.
Until it was unbearable.
I had used all my will to stay sane in that hell, but its influence was too much even for a stalwart knight like me.
I finally succumbed to its horrors.
The fear in my chest felt so physically heavy, that grunted and fell down, rolling a couple of meters on the ground.
Before I could react, dozens of snakes enveloped me from all sides and all angles. My face was barely visible.
I tried gasping for air, but no air was around. The atmosphere felt so tight, and my lungs were burning at that point.
My thoughts were foggy and fading quickly. I gritted my teeth and spat.
"I refuse! I refuse to surrender without a fight!"
I flashed Moonlight in the air countless times, my muscles burning with every motion. But I did not care. Nothing else mattered except survival.
I jerked my body up and started running again.
To my surprise, the snakes were suddenly miraculously gone. As if they were never there to begin with.
I smirked and continued marching forward.
The air was thicker and heavier the closer i got to the heart of the forest. I fell on my knees and croaked like a dying frog.
My hands were on my throat at that moment. I was trying to get as much air into my lungs as I could, no matter how toxic it was.
I inhaled more of this thick dark smoke. Big mistake.
I started by vomiting blood all over ground. I watched in horror as the same blood was greedily drank by the vines on the tree trunks.
I knew something was wrong the moment those vines started slithering towards me. Slowly at first, and then at an astonishing speed. I stood there motionless, horrified.
I quickly grabbed the hilt of Moonlight and cleanly cut the nearest slithering vine in half. Another one reached me shortly after that. I destroyed it as well. Then more did, and then more still, until I was exhausted.
They were relentless. They kept on coming no matter how many I cut down. I looked around at the tree they came from, and paled.
The tree was so tall that I could not even see where it ended. Probably beyond the sky. The tree was so large, that an entire castle could fit inside. It stretched dozens of kilometers into the sky, and hundreds of meters across the Black Forest.
I suddenly realized that I could see again, and the reason left me even more horrified.
The darkness obscuring my view moments ago now sailed at a distance around the great obsidian tree, as if avoiding it. The same darkness that gave me hell in the past few hours. I did not know whether to find solace in the great tree, or simply avoid it at all cost.
I cut down dozens more vines and I had been doing so for a few minutes. I was tired beyond comprehension. I was dizzy, and a splitting headache was killing me.
I looked at the great tree again hoping to see something that could help me destroyed these vines permanently. I saw nothing. Nothing of use at all.
I felt a strong grip on my left ankle and I looked down. One of the vines got ahold of me. I cut it down, but two more took its place. I cut those as well, but four got ahold of both my feet this time.
Everytime I cut a vine, two more took its place. Until dozens of vines were wrapped all around my battered body.
I tried really, but all my efforts were not enough.
The vines dragged my powerless, unmoving body across the ground, towards the great obsidian tree. My heart skipped a few beats.
It was so not fair. I could not die. How could I die. The promise I made to come back for the princess, the promise I made to claim the life of the King...
I had failed once more.
Like I always have.
My life flashed before my eyes as the vines dragged me towards the towering tree.
I saw the Princess.
I saw the memories.
Her scent lingered on my nostrils.
Her taste on my lips and tongue.
Her innocence wrapped around my fingertips.
I felt every emotion. I saw every memory, my memories with her. I felt evey sensation we felt during our union. My skin remembered the feeling when she dug her fingertips into me.
The sensation was maddening.
I even remembered the first time we met, 6 moons ago...