Again

The quiet air of the forest meets Aide as he stares down the misty path. He's here, with an extra helper on hand; Dorothy, neatly sheathed and attached to his hip under a thick cloak that could stop a blade if the hit was light enough.

Without his father keeping a close eye on him constantly, he managed to go out to "train", or so that is what he told Arlant on his way out of the house.

Arlant's glare when he asked him if he was really going out to train was like a dagger to his throat, but he managed to convince him that he has no ulterior motives through this little expedition of his somehow.

Though he almost tripped at the door when he felt one last stinging glare on his back from his current caretaker.

In any case, he was finally going to go back to the clearing. Partly a sense of curiosity, but more specifically fear, has taken hold in his mind and refused to abate ever since he encountered the pallid figure.

What's more, the strange young man that made an appearance in his dreams on the same day he found the woman seemingly resurrected in his father's room had also stayed on his thoughts for the past nine months.

Thinking that going to the clearing is the only way to give his mind rest, the young boy ventured forth to the forest yet again, and is now walking down the gravel path with light steps carrying him forward.

He inquired as to what animals are usually present in this forest from his father before he left, and learnt that there are only three besides animals that accidentally made their way to it from other forests.

Dullantlers, a type of harmless horned deer. Quillbeaks, a small bird species. And finally, pudds, which are a small squirrel like rodent. All of them are equipped with especially keen senses to counter the thick mist of the forest.

In short: there is nothing in this forest that could pose a threat to the boy. All of the animals also naturally avoid intruders by sensing them from afar and changing their course so as to not cross paths with them.

Even so, there's a light tremor in his shoulders as he walks past the trees. Uneasily looking around him in a paranoid, silent panic, Aide kept jolting at the faintest sounds his ears plucked from the surroundings.

After carefully walking for more than an hour towards his destination, the mist veil has finally started to thicken, and the sounds of the city started to dissipate.

A cold sweat runs down his face, he quivers in place for a few moments, but then shakes his head. He needs to find out more, he will not know peaceful rest until he sees for himself whether she was still there.

With a single inhale, he runs forward, and eventually reaches the centre of the forest.

And to his surprise, what appears before him, is a lush, green field of grass, with flowers protruding outwards and a beautiful, golden leafed tree in the middle.

His father had described the clearing as a place filled with dead vegetations and a tree with leaves of ashen hue. And on his last visit he had most certainly seen the grass bereft of colour, if only for a little bit. Just what exactly is happening?

Suddenly, he hears an all too familiar melody of wind getting increasingly noisy. Just then, he saw her.

The woman that had her image haunt him for the past three quarters of the year was right there, sitting just besides the equally pale stump of the central tree.

She silently looks over at the boy from where she is sitting. For some reason, Aide can't help but feel as if she was expecting him.

A tremble in his hand, he quickly snaps out of it and clutches his hand on his sword, drawing it from under his cloak and pointing it forward, "Just what are you?" he shouts.

She doesn't flinch, nor move a muscle. Aide feels a certain pressure on his body, and her presence is the most likely cause of it.

Aide's trembling hands tightly grip down on Dorothy, and his breathing breaks into an irregular rhythm. He thinks of charging forward and attacking her right this instant.

Just before doing so, his mind suddenly goes blank. A strange sense of calmness washes over him as he, instinctively, lowers his sword.

He feels as if... he can understand what is happening, yet he doesn't understand it at the same time. It's like his very essence is screaming out to him that there is nothing to be afraid of, while his conscious body and mind believe him to be in imminent danger.

An uneasy silence overtakes the scene for a few moments as Aide fights with himself, trying to know whether to attack, flee or stay put.

Just then, something unexpected happens. The woman, moving her lips with a distinct pattern, sounds words for the first time in front of the boy.

"...How strange," the gentle sound of her words travels through the air and into Aide's ear as if it was a lullaby. A beautiful voice, one that sounds as if it was created for the sole purpose of being music to the people's ears, makes the boy stop breathing for but a moment. "Are you a human?" she asks, as if she looked human herself.

With a light gasp for air, Aide finally comes to a decision.

He pushes the sword away from his torso, and, pulling it back, places it into the old sheath hanging from his belt.

He sighs deeply, and stands with his left hand still clutching the handle of his sword tightly a few metres away from her. "Would it not be more polite to tell me what you are before asking that question?"

A few more moments of uneasy silence go by, but, just before the boy thinks he made a mistake by asking her, she responds in a manner that almost seems as if she had done this a million times before.

She says, "...My name is Evelyne... And who might you be, knightly child?"