Circle in the Sand II

As Niko walked towards the forest, he glanced back. It was not surprising that the Kind had wanted his castle to be so close to the magic forest. Only those who were good of heart could enter the forest, and anyone with ill-intent could leave the forest. It saved him from worrying about enemies from the South. The forest wrapped around his kingdom, as he had allowed it grow... but it stopped in the North. The trees would not grow anywhere near the other kingdom. It seemed as though magic favored those who would use it for medicine, entertainment and other practical uses.

Niko grunted he saw two men blocked from entering the forest. Not everyone in this place was good. He knew those dark magicians who tried to entertain villagers with their chemical clouds and magic that was drawn out of unicorn horns and dragon blood. He looked at the bushes, thick with thorns and walked forward. The bushes curled out of his way, quickly closing behind him. He heard the other men shout out complaints and call to the woods that they always gave to the poor.

Gray had told him stories about the forest bending for those they deemed worthy, yet it still surprised him when the branches moved out of his way. He knew where he had to go. Gray had told him all about it when he was a child and Niko had asked for every detail. Gray had always answered thoroughly, so Niko felt like he belonged in the woods. Though he did wish Gray had come with him.

The ground was a dark purple, and tiny fairies lit up the woods like a string of stars across the nightsky. Niko had seen fairies in the palace before, but he never saw the wild fairies. They wore leaves and moss, but most were naked and seemed not to care. The ones he knew best, Metrika and Trynaza, were vain creatures who wore only the finest silk wore rings as belts and crowns. They had been his good friends and lit up his room. Niko was going to miss them. The trees seemed to slowly change color whenever anything approached them. According to Gray, they did this because they only picked colors you liked. Niko was pleased to find them a dark blue with tiny sparks of greens.

The young boy knew what to look for and what direction to go in as well. He was supposed to follow the tiny yellow mushrooms to the cabin. Gray and his wife had planted them in case they ever had children so they could follow them to their home. Niko wiped his sweat from his brow. It really was a shame that Gray's love had been taken away so quickly. Gray, bless his soul, had told Niko all about his beloveded Margo. So much so, that Niko felt like she had been his own mother.

Niko sat down beneath a prayer tree, which was a tree that listened to you and would respond with the things you needed to hear, but not always the things you wanted to hear. Gray and told him that this tree was not far from the cabin and that he had to carve his name into the base otherwise the woods would not accept him into it's woods for more than a few days.

Carving was not difficult to begin with, Niko had always been blessed with wonderful hands, but this tree, when the blade first touched it, naturally took Niko's name. As the boy placed his hand over his name, he looked at the other names. Gray's was next to Margo's and there were some in a strange language he did not know... he began to count the names, but once he got to 143, he gave up. The tree was over seven feet wide and at least eighty feet tall. He picked up his bag and followed the mushrooms until the trail suddenly stopped. Niko looked up and saw a large cabin, smoke was coming out of the chimney. Had someone else all ready moved in? The door creaked open as Niko approached it. He slowly entered and saw a young woman bending over the fire.

Before Niko could say a single word, the girl turned and said, "You must be Niko! Gray told me all about you. I'm your guide to the woods while you're here. I'm a moss woman."