Chapter 33: Direwood Forest
For the next two days, the company travelled without any more issues on the road. They fell into a routine, waking up before sunrise and leaving to travel soon after breakfast and having breaks throughout the day. In the evening, Evanna took on the role of setting the campfire up as well as tending to the horses; while Cilv would go out hunting, Ronan and Ger pitched the tents, and Axel would be starting dinner. When they were ready for bed, the men stuck to keeping watch, taking shifts throughout the night, and Nesrin helped Evanna fall asleep with her humming and fairy dances.
In the late afternoon on the second day, Axel, leading the way, signalled for them to slow down, making the rest command their horses to trot down to a walk. The hill they were slowly ascending started to slope back down, revealing a vast forest ahead of them. Evanna’s eyes widened in awe at the magnificent trees before them; the woods back home in Reigh was nothing in comparison to what was in front of them now. The trees alone stood proud and tall, some wide enough to fit a small house in.
The nearer they came to the forest, the smaller she felt. She could only imagine how Nesrin always felt among them. They stopped at a fair distance from the entrance, Evanna craned her neck back like the others, looking to see where the top of the trees was, but she could not tell where the trees ended, and the sky began.
"Well, let’s not sit around staring at it. It’s not going anywhere," Axel said before lightly kicking his horse with the stirrup, commanding it to continue. The others stopped gawking and followed suit.
The road they were on led to the opening in the trees. However, as they started to approach the trees, a gust of wind flew towards them, sweeping their hair back. The trees almost seemed to curl inwards, completing a circular shape as a sound much like a roar snarled at them loudly. Daring them to enter. The horses were spooked, their ears flickering as their heads elevated back abruptly, shuffling on their hooves, scared at what lies before them.
Evanna tsked at Midknight. Compared to the other horses, he stood his ground proudly before taking a few steps forward. As quickly as the wind came, it died down instantly, the tall trees were back to normal, and the sounds depleted, making the group wonder if they imagined it all. Evanna and Midknight continued forwards with the others quickly following behind; Axel forced his own horse forwards, taking the lead once again. He wanted to be the first in line if there was an attack. He felt better with the princess behind him; he was, after all, twice the size of her- a shield in front of her slender but dangerous form.
He turned his head, smiling back at Evanna, "Looks like I should have your horse. He is a brave little thing."
"I think you forgot what happened to the last man who wanted my horse.." Evanna smirked back. Axel burst out laughing, his voice booming loudly before returning his vigilant gaze to the forest in front of him. Evanna patted Midknight fondly, who made a snorting sound in return.
The looming trees started to form a shade over the group. The sunlight beamed through the tiny gaps of the leaves, causing bits of light to fall in patches across the forest floor. The temperature started to drop and the air leaving their mouths left in clouds of smoke. Evanna pulled her hood over her head to keep as much warmth on her head as possible; she saw the others do the same. They looked around warily as the horses walked them at a slow pace.