Chapter 2 The Deadman's Forest

• Rachel kept pacing the room, it was all dark outside and there was no sign of her best friend. Her heart was full of regret. She had no intention of falling for King Jerald or having an affair with him but she failed to resist him and one night with him turned into years of sneaking around behind her best friend's back.
• King Jerald walked in and she ran into his arms, “Did they find her?” She asked with teary eyes.
• “No, they searched the entire forest but came out empty handed. But do not worry I sent them back in,” Jerald replied.
• “Oooh my God we killed her, no one survives the Deadman's forest at night,” Rachel cried out.
• Jerald held her face in his huge hands and said, “no sweetheart, we did not drag her into the forest, it was her decision.”
• Rachel pushed him away, “our actions forced her to run into The Deadman's forest, our actions!” Rachel shouted out.
• “Why didn't she just insult us, scratch you, or start a cat fight, like other women do, why Jerald?? Instead she smiled at us, I can still see that smile.” Rachel cried out.
• “This is Clariss, she has always been different, I do not have the answer to that,” Jerald replied.
• “What if something happens to her?” Rachel cried.
• “Nothing will happen to her, maybe she flew past the forest, or she is in Arthora, even better, maybe is hiding in this very castle,” Jerald assured her.
• Rachel sat on her bed and cried, she remembered how Clarris was all excited in the morning about the wedding. Instead of helping her with the final touches, Rachel had excused herself and lied that she was going to get extra beads for the dress but instead made a turn into King Jerald's Chambers were the two sneaked off for a last romance encounter.
• That selfish taste of rust would now lead to the death of not just a friend but the princess of an entire kingdom.
• They heard a knock on the door, a servant walked in and delivered a message to them, King Charles was asking for King Jerald's presence. Jerald sighed at the mention of that. He had spent the entire afternoon avoiding Clarris's father. He had no answers to give him and most importantly he was too ashamed to look him into the eyes…….
• In the Deadman's Forest, Clarris was exhausted from all the crying that seemed to have soaked the ground she was laying on. She tried to get up but felt movement underneath her. Suddenly the ground began to move, it collapsed underneath her and she fell in. Clariss screamed but her scream went unheard.
• She kept falling and falling into what seemed like an endless cave. She tried flying up but something was dragging and pulling her down. She tried again but was too weak, the force was too powerful for her. She felt like she was falling for what seemed like forever and was going to plunge to her death. She closed her eyes and prepared for it but to her surprise she landed like a leaf on water.
• She opened her eyes and almost laughed. She looked around then felt something under her dress, she grabbed it, took a look at it and her guts turned when she saw something that resembled a human toe. She quickly threw it and got up. She looked around again and noticed that she was surrounded by human remains. This frightened her to the core and she tried to take off but couldn't. Again she tried but couldn't fly. She now started panicking it was like her ability to fly had disappeared. She ran to the sides of the cave and tried to climb but stopped when she heard her name, “Clarrrisssss,” the voice hissed.
• She closed her eyes and began to count to ten. It was something that she developed when she was young, Everytime she felt terrified, she would close her eyes and count backwards from one to ten. Her day was definitely turning for the worst.
• “Clarrrisss,” the hissing voice called out again. She now began counting louder but she could still hear the voice inside her thoughts.
• Above the cave she had fallen into, Darrell and his team of knights were running from the shadow that had been hunting them off one by one. They couldn't see what it was because it was so fast and dark, all they could hear was the screams of their fellow knights being picked off one by one. “Let's go back, retreat!” Darrell shouted out. even though he could shapeshift into anything, there was no way he could leave his men behind. He looked around and everything seemed the same, he was so tired and out of the breath. He had entered the forest with nine men and now they were just the two of them left.
• Whatever was picking them off one by one had led them into the thickest part of the forest and now they both couldn't tell which way they had come from. Everything looked the same. “Let's just keep heading in the direction of the path,” the other knight suggested in a terrified voice.
• “That's what it wants, it's leading us to our death, why do you think the other routes are closed?” Darrell shouted out
• Darrell could smell the stench of blood, he asked his other knight if he could smell it too, “I can smell death,” his counterpart replied but before Darrell could reply a cold breeze swept through and his counterpart disappeared too. Darrell looked behind before the fog could immerse him he shapeshifted into a tiny mouse and was immediately soaked in blood. In his human form he had no idea that he was walking in a pool of blood and now that he was a tiny mouse, he could now understand why he smelled blood earlier. The ground was flowing with blood and the stream of blood began carrying his tiny mouse body. He tried shapeshifting back into human form but he couldn't, just like Clarris his ability to shapeshift had disappeared all of a Sudden.
• The river of blood swept him into the cave dark cave. The cave was filled with so much blood that he nearly drowned. He tried swimming but got knocked on a human bone and lost consciousness. On each corner of the cave were nine wooden pikes, each with the beheaded skeleton head of the nine knights he had entered the forest with. The Cave smelt of death and it looked like someone had prepared it for a grand sacrifice.
• Clarris had no idea of the transformation that was happening behind her; she had kept her back turned with her hands covering over her ears and she was counting out loud.
• “Clarrissss, why do you hide your face from the one you summoned,” the hissing voice said out loud. “look at me my child,”
• Clarris turned but found no one except for the fact that the cave had changed in appearance, it was now filled with blood and beheaded skeleton heads. This sent a shiver down her spine.
• She ran to the poles and almost vomited at the sight. She looked down and noticed that the blood was not sticking to her gown, she was able to practically walk through it.
• “Clarrissss you summoned meeee and I'm here my child.”
• “Who are you, I did not summon anyone! show yourself you bloody coward,” Clarris shouted out.
• “I'm here child but I'm no cowardsss, you are the cowardss that run away from your cheating lover and best friend in bed,” the voice teased.
• Clarris heart began beating fast again at the mention of her best friend and husband to be in bed. The walls of the caves began shaking.
• “Calm down Clarrissss, you will bury usss alive,” the voice hissed from her back, she could feel and smell the stench.
• She turned and was now able to put a face to the voice, in front of her stood a tiny wrinkled hideous woman in rags. Her skin looked like it was decaying and there was pus and maggots everywhere. Her eyes were as glittery as a snake's, they complemented her hissing voice.
• “You stare, you look but you do not ask,” the witch hissed.
• Clarris stood still stared at her, she did not show any sign of fear or disgust.
• “You summoned me with your tears, Clarrisss and I'm here to dry them,” she hissed.