FOUR
A silver laced smile tugged at the edges of her lips. I stared down at my hands in amazement, the pale skin was marred with cuts and bruises.
I didn't hesitate as I threw my arms around her. "Thank you." I breathed. She smelled like the cabin, incense and smoke.
She stood there awkwardly for a long moment, her body rigid and unmoving, before she softened slightly, patting me on the back. "Its not me to thank. I'm merely the messenger."
I released her, "How can I ever repay you."
She turned her back to me, stirring a saucepan filled with a thick purple liquid. "There are always herbs that need picking...Fire wood to be collected... Lycans to heal."
"I'll do anything, I don't exactly have anywhere to go anyways."
"You'll work for me in exchange for a bed to sleep on and food in your belly, deal?"
"Deal, when do I start?"
"Now."
The forest was so much different than it had seemed before, it wasn't as scary. I could see the colours of the leaves, the way the water cascaded down the fall before slamming into the river bellow. I could see the way the light reflected in rainbow fragments off the droplets that crawled down the purple flowers.
Purple flowers.
That was one of the things Astoria needed.
The stem of three purple flowers, found where rock meets water.
I quickly gathered what I needed, shoving the flowers into a small wicker basket that hung in my arm, before moving on. Scanning the forest floor for 'a root of twisted oak.'
It wasn't long before I found what she meant. A great oak tree stood somber and alone in a small clearing, it's trunk was atleast as thick as four men. It's branches stretched like desperate arms into the sky, casting a low shadow over the land below. At the base of the giant fingers of wooden roots curled like those of a witch, twisting and burrowing their way above the earth. I broke the roots, shoving them into the basket along with the purple flowers.
One more thing.
'Moon drunk berries.'
I had no clue what that was, nor where I would find it so instead I wondered aimlessly for a few minutes before I settled for sitting on a fallen tree. Soft green moss lay atop the birch like an every green carpet.
"Moon drunk..." I mused, "Moon drunk berries..." What could they possibly be. I looked toward the sky, as if asking the moon for some sort of help, but only the sun glared back. Helios was a heartless father to the children of the earth.
I stayed for a minute, just listening. I closed my eyes and the forest was how it once was. The trickle of water, a rustle of leaves, the harmony of a thousand trees swaying in the wind.
The rustle of leaves turned into a thunder of paws tearing through the undergrowth. My heart lept into my throat as I scrambled to find some escape from whatever was headed my way.
I did the first thing I could think off, I scaled the nearest tree. Without even thinking my hands grabbed the rough bark, throwing myself upwards, the hard wood cut into my palms but I didn't stop until I was above the canopy of leaves, staring down at the woodland below.
The sounds stilled to a sudden halt. I could hear breathing, but not that of an animal, something far more terrifying.
A spine chilling howl tore through the air, I struggled to hold onto my branch. My hands felt weak and my body shook, the little strength I had threatened to desert me and I would plummet into the beast below.
I watched in horror as a large roan grey wolf walked directly under my tree. I held my breath. Praying that I wouldn't make a sound. I could've sworn it had seen me, because for a brief second it turned its head upwards, taking deep inhale of its surroundings. If it hadn't seen me it must have smelled me.
But it kept on walking, it walked straight past me. A horrid crack shattered my resolve. And for a minute the forest was silent.
But that silence was broken by a gravelly voice.
"You can come down now, Dulcis."
I stayed, not daring to move a muscle. I Daren't breathe.
He sighed lowly. "Get down."
I slowly began to disembark my hiding place, not exactly sure as to what I would find below.
I wobbled slightly as my feet met the floor, a warm hand shot out to steady me. I jumped back, "Don't touch me!"
The older man looked surprised. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you, Dulcis."
My body shook and trembled, I didn't want to be taken again. "Who are you?" I asked cautiously.
"Ozymandias. Warrior of the north, advisor of the king, and watchman of Ismara..." He swept into a low bow. "At your service."
I backed off slightly. Unsure of the eccentric man before me. He had long grey, almost silver dreadlocks down to below his shoulders that contrast to his caramel skin that seemed almost golden in the light. He wore a long crimson robe with rich silver stitching.
He rolled a pearlescent grey berry in his fingers before throwing it into the air and catching it on his tongue. "Want one?" He mused.
"Are those-...?"
"-Moon drunk berries." He interrupted. "Yes, they are." And with that he threw me a handful of the light coloured beads.
Ozymandias walked me back to the Oracle's cabin, he explained that the King he referred to was the Alpha of this pack. "He is the King of the North, Dulcis. Respect him and respect Ismara."
"What's Ismara?"
He gestured to the trees around us as he stood on the wooden steps leading up to the Oracles cabin. "Look around, Dulcis. Everything you see, the earth you feel, the air you breathe is Ismara."