The King’s Forest

[The story so far is in the spoiler]

Across the bridge behind the old castle lies another world. A foreign king’s domain encircled by our own. Within its boundaries, the common man is no man at all.

I’d be lying if I said I’ve never wondered what life is like for those living on the other side. I’m sure the hunters could give me some inkling. They cross the bridge almost every morning and return by twilight with game both captured and slain.

Questions to ask? I could think of plenty, but they’ll never receive them from me. If I really wanted answers, I’d pick up a bow and find them myself. Of course, I never seriously considered doing that. I had my studies to attend to and my curiosity was of the mild sort. It had never been so great so as not to be quelled by looking into the world from afar. At least, that was the case, until that world looked back at me.

Across the gap between our hills, I met eyes with a doe. Showing an intelligence unbecoming of her kind, she bowed to me then gestured that I come to her side. A denizen of that foreign domain had given me an invitation.

It was surprising. One thing I remembered of the forest’s legend from when I was a child was that the King of the Forest—and by extension his children—hates us. Well, that and the fact that animals aren’t exactly prone to giving invitations to strangers. It’s not everyday that does and the like hand them out, you know? My jokes at the expense of the situation aside, the days just kept growing stranger for me. Thinking there’d be no greater harm in experiencing more of the absurd, I decided I would accept her invitation.

The bridge across is blocked by heavy gates on both sides, so I had to shimmy along the brickwork of the side railing to jump onto the bridge. Repeating the process once more at the forest side gate, I successfully completed my unlawful crossing. My punishment came almost immediately. Upon turning to the forest, I was startled by the doe. She had managed to sneak up behind me and the sight of her made me almost trip back from surprise. More than rules would have been broken if I had. I needed to be more careful.

Once I had my feet on safer footing, the doe bowed to me yet again. I had not been mistaken, the deer clearly had an odd awareness of formalities. “You may rise.” I said. I thought myself stupid for assuming she could understand, but the doe raised her head, turned to the forest, and started walking. When she reached the point where the treeline began, she looked back at me just standing there. “Right. I’ll come along.” I started following, close behind so as not to get lost. It didn’t seem likely, though, as the forest floor was quite soft and left clear tracks behind.

It felt like we walked for quite some time, but upon arriving at our destination, a clearing with a large tree at its center, I felt little fatigue. Once we came beneath the tree’s shade, the doe beckoned me to sit. I complied with her request and she proceeded to lay her head upon my lap. When I began brushing my hand along her fur, more critters—and some of the livestock we let roam the forest—started gathering and frolicing around us. It was irrational and wonderful in a way that I had only seen in my dreams and in a sense, this and that were the same. All dreams come to an end and it hadn’t felt so long before this one did too.

After experiencing much merriment, I awakened from my jolly haze and realized that I had lost track of time. Twilight would soon be upon us and though I had trouble believing the forest king actually existed, that didn’t mean I felt comfortable spending the night in the woods. Now that I was paying attention, I could hear the hunters gathering themselves in the distance for their return home. I could answer their calls, but that would of course lead to my father learning about this unsupervised excursion. Perhaps, I could follow the tracks the doe and I made on the way there instead?

As I thought of how I should make my escape, the doe began rubbing her head against my chest. I smiled and started petting her in return. She had probably felt my anxiety. My worries began melting away and I started thinking those fanciful thoughts that had brought me there in the first place. I was a guest. Surely, no harm would come of me as long as I remained with my host.

No, no, that wouldn’t do. Even if it was safe for me to stay the night, my absence from the estate would certainly cause some disorder. I had to return home immediately.

As gently as I could, I lifted the doe from my lap. I stood up to leave, but she grabbed my sleeve. “I have to go.” I said, but she wouldn’t let go. I petted her head one last. “A good girl like you should behave more properly.” At that, she let go of my sleeve and lowered her head. Obviously, she was dejected, but she made no further moves to stop me. I was a bit sad parting with her myself, but it wasn’t like I couldn’t come back. In fact, I could come back almost everyday. I just needed to leave on time everyday as well.

With a new friend in my heart, I set off from the meadow. I didn’t feel as safe as I had felt when traveling with my companion, but with our footprints guiding me, I at least knew I was going in the right direction. Well, that was the case until the footprints ended. Long after the meadow had disappeared behind me, the tracks ahead cut off, as if they had been washed away. I realized it then; men twice my weight with gear and heavy carts were marching on this soft soil everyday, yet I hadn’t seen a single track left behind by them. Not even at the start where the forest and the bridge connect. As for the animals, the doe’s tracks were the only ones I had seen.

I turned around and started back towards the meadow. Beyond the brush, just beyond my sight, the tracks that way had disappeared as well, even the ones I had freshly made. The forest had more tricks to it than the story ever told. I cursed my stupidity for not having asked the doe to guide me back. I didn’t even bring a compass with me, yet I was fine to leave my guide behind.

“Hello?” I called out to the hunters. but I received no response. Their voices had long since gone silent. Truly, I was starting to get worried. Since the sun was setting, I could at least tell which direction I was going by the shadows. Still, the forest was vast and I didn’t know when or where I’d come out. For all I knew, I was miles off from a straight path to the estate. If I wanted to check, I’d have to take a dangerously high climb up one of the trees.

I decided I would just keep moving forward, but twilight came and with every passing minute I became closer to desperation. Before the feeling could overwhelm me, I was engulfed by a calming warmth. I turned to the direction it came from. For some reason, I felt that it would lead me home. With every step I took towards it, the warmth I felt grew until I arrived at its source. It was the largest egg I’d ever seen and when I picked it up, energy surged through my body. I noticed deer tracks behind where it had been sitting.

Convinced that this was the way home, I ran along the path the tracks had set for me and arrived at the edge of the forest not long after. Across the hill, I could see the last of the hunters handling their day's bounty. There was still time before the night would set in, so I waited for them to disappear beyond the castle walls before I emerged from the forest. When I did, it was not, but a few steps out from the forest, a few steps away from the bridge, that I faced assault.

The egg erupted in my hands and I ran back behind the treeline. I hadn’t seen it, but I had heard it, felt it passing by. Someone had shot an arrow at me. Half-blinded by searing yolk, I tried to catch a glimpse of my assailant. It wasn’t hard. He was standing across the hill, staring at the tree I hid behind. I’m sure he had seen me peek my head out. He pressed his finger against his lips. The message was clear, keep quiet.

The pain was too great to keep looking. I took what little cloth had not been soaked in yolk and cleared my eyes as best I could. I tried to steal another glimpse, but he was gone as fast as he appeared.

I waited. What little daylight that remained faded and the dark of the night took its place, but in that time, he never returned. A strong unwelcome feeling started to creep in from the forest behind me, so I decided that it was better to risk crossing now than to wait for the hunters to return the next morning.

Darting out from cover, I threw myself onto the bridge. As I charged across, a strong wind blew over, but I didn’t feel cold. Despite the time that had passed, the soaked in yolk had remained warm.

I jumped from the bridge and observed my surroundings. My attacker was still absent. That made me feel a bit safer, but I still ran the whole way to the palace. When I arrived, a maid was waiting for me with a lantern.

“Eliza?” I asked.

She approached me and grabbed my hand. “You want me to help you clean up, right?”

The way she reacted, it was like she wasn’t surprised at all. It gave me some hesitation, but I responded in a quiet voice. “Yes.”

“Then let’s move fast.” She said, pulling me along. “The other staff shouldn’t see you like this.”

“Thank you.” I whispered. I was wary of her, but that feeling was overwhelmed by relief from having made it home.

Eliza brought me to a bathing room where she had already prepared a hot bath. The fatigue was setting in at that point, so once she helped me wrestle my clothes off, I nearly collapsed into the tub. With a deep sigh, I sunk myself in and relaxed. I was home and at least for now, I was safe.

In Consequence...

Diane is interested in reading the legend of the King's Forest she heard when she was a child.

Bonus

[The losing option from the poll]

No, no, that wouldn’t do. Even if it was safe for me to stay the night, my absence from the estate would certainly cause some disorder. I had to return home immediately.

As gently as I could, I lifted the doe from my lap. I stood up to leave, but she grabbed my sleeve. “I have to go.” I said, but she wouldn’t let go. I petted her head one last. “A good girl like you should behave more properly.” At that, she let go of my sleeve and lowered her head. Obviously, she was dejected, but she made no further moves to stop me. I was a bit sad parting with her myself, but it wasn’t like I couldn’t come back. In fact, I could come back almost everyday. I just needed to leave on time everyday as well.

With a new friend in my heart, I set off from the meadow, hoping to attach myself to the returning hunting party.

“Two pheasants and a tied hog!” A huntsman shouted.

“Open cart!” A cartman responded.

The hunters reported their bag with the tied animals being caught alive. In return, nearby cartmen would tell them whether or not there was space in their cart.

“A doe!”

“Cart’s full!”

They sounded far off, but I called out to them anyway. “A lost girl!” I said and received no response. I moved in the direction that I had heard them from.

“A doe!” The huntsman’s voice became much closer.

“Open cart!”

“A lost girl!” I said.

“Open cart!” The huntsman and cartman called out in tandem. They shared a hearty laugh at that.

“A claimed doe!” The huntsman said.

“Right this way!” The cartman said.

“A claimed girl!” The lost girl said.

“Quit messing around.” The huntsman protested with a chuckle.

“I assure you, I am not.”

“What’s a girl doing out here?” The cartman asked.

“Other than being lost?”

As we talked, I approached. They could hear me more clearly now.

“You sound familiar.” The huntsman said after a pause.

“I’ve received similar comments before.” From beyond the brush, I could see the cart’s path. I thought of sneaking by and following the path home by myself.

“Your Majesty?” The hunter asked, utter shock upon his face. Not only had he seen me, but he had mistaken me for my mother. He probably thought he was looking at her blackened-haired ghost and seeing the cartman jump back upon turning around, he probably had thought the same as well.

“Your Highness.” I corrected the hunter. Since they had seen me, I was stuck with them now. “One of you, fetch the Master of the Hunt. Tell him that Princess Diane has been found in the forest.”

The hunter laid his doe in the cart and set off shouting for the master. When he left, I prompted the paralyzed cartman to continue his work. He did so, but kept taking sideways glances at me the whole time.

I approached his cart. The doe within, she looked just like my friend. I knew it couldn’t have been her, but seeing another like her, like this, gave me pause.

Withdrawing me from my reflection, two separate huntsmen arrived with a hare, two chickens, two tied lambs, and a tied cow between them. Both presented odd looks upon seeing me. The first one decided to copy the cartman and tried pretending to ignore me while stealing glances. The second one was a bit braver and asked who I was.

“She says she’s the princess.” The cartman said. They looked at me and I gave them an amicable wave. “We’re bringing over Philip to confirm it.”

Before anyone else could gather, the first hunter returned with the Master of the Hunt, Philip.

“Your Highness?” Philip said. “What are you doing here?” The huntsmen and the cartman all looked very relieved. I’d never seen people so happy to see me instead of my mother. It was quite moving.

“It appears that I have found myself lost.”

“Who let you over the bridge?”

“I let myself over.” I told the truth. Not that a convincing lie had been available to me in the first place. Even if the hunters hadn’t been terrified, they couldn’t be relied on to give me an alibi. They’d definitely be fired if they did. Perhaps, they’d even be sent to a mine in Nordenheim. Unauthorized entry into the King’s Forest was a big enough crime to be used as an excuse, after all.

“How?” Philip asked.

To that, my response was only a smile. Yes, I could already see it then. I was to be in much trouble that day.

After father found out about this incident, he forbade me from visiting both the forest and the castle before my studies were finished. I could still go to the castle yard to train with the royal guard, but that was it. My next visit to the forest would have to be postponed.

In Consequence...

Diane is interested in reading the legend of the King's Forest she heard when she was a child.