Within the emerald shadows of the wood, on the mirror-still lakeside, Geri and I stood confronted by the spirit. Her appearance was that of a woman, though her elongated ears and ethereal radiance betrayed her true nature.
"Don't tell me! You! You know what I have been singing about?" she demanded, her voice rising like a sudden gale.
"I don't have any clue about what you have been singing," I admitted, keeping my voice level despite the tension in the air, "but somehow I feel something different or strange that tingles my ears and my heart."
Suddenly, the lake's waves began to churn with a rhythmic, unnatural motion, followed by a surge of strong winds that whipped my hair across my face. Geri moved instinctively, shielding my body with her own.
"She used her alteration spell; watch it closely; this is what an alteration spell is," Geri growled, her eyes fixed on the spirit.
I watched closely, mesmerized by the display of power as she manipulated the lake itself. The spirit raised her right hand, pointed a slender finger at me, and swung her hand back in a sharp, commanding arc. In front of her, the waters parted, creating a small, dry gap where the lakebed lay exposed. She took a step forward; the gap followed her every movement, the water recoiling as if terrified to touch her. Slowly, I could see her full, plain white dress, which remained pristinely dry. Her hair and her dress were floating and waving around, caught in a private cyclone that followed the wind. After she stepped onto the mossy land, I noticed she was barefoot, and her eyes—when they caught the light—were a piercing, liquid golden.
She continued her march toward me, but Geri remained a steadfast barrier.
"STEP ASIDE!!! You filthy fur creature," the spirit hissed.
Geri didn't budge, growling low in her throat and taking an aggressive stance, her claws digging into the soft earth like a common wolf protecting its kill.
"ARE YOU DEAF? YOU ANIMAL!"
I reached out and gently patted Geri's belly, feeling the vibration of her anger. She looked back at me, her golden eyes searching mine. I simply nodded to her, a silent signal that it was alright to yield. Immediately, Geri stepped aside, though her hackles remained raised.
"Hoooo, you actually followed your master's order.." the spirit mused, her smirk widening.
Once Geri had cleared the path, I walked toward her. She looked down at me, for she was significantly taller than I, her presence looming. She leaned her body toward me, bringing her face inches from mine, her scent like damp moss and ozone.
"You have beautiful eyes and rare color… white eyes, what a pretty pair of yours."
"You too, you have golden eyes…" I replied, refusing to look away.
"Hoooo, you see mine as golden... that was interesting… how about you take a deeper look deeper into my eyes.."
"What do you mean?" I asked. I proceeded to look deeper into her eyes, trying to find the source of that golden glow. I noticed something swirling within her pupils—dark, shifting shapes—and out of nowhere, thick, phantom roots erupted from the ground around me. They gripped me with a crushing strength. I felt a sudden, icy paralysis wash over me, and I fell to the ground. Even as the roots vanished from sight, I remained frozen. I couldn't move my limbs, nor could I part my lips to speak, yet my senses remained agonizingly sharp; I could still hear everything.
Geri immediately intervened, standing over me to cover my limp form.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? YOU WOOD CREATURE!" Geri's voice reverberated through the clearing.
I heard the soft thud of the spirit stepping back, her voice airy and unbothered. "Calm Down, Animal, I just gave her something. I know you two purposely went here to subdue me. She said she felt tingling when she heard my singing; it meant she knew my own heart. How about she tried to find it."
"HOW THIS ROOTS CAN BE GONE?" Geri demanded.
"It's up to her; if she really wants to know me more, she needs to find the reason why her heart tingles when she hears me sing. But if she doesn't want to know me more, she can just lay around, and the effect will be gone in 1 month."
I heard the rhythmic sound of her footsteps retreating toward the water.
"If she has already been set free, you two can meet me again… that's when our formal introduction will begin."
"DAMMIT THAT WOOD CREATURE, JUST DISAPPEARED TO INSIDE THE LAKE," Geri cursed.
Geri leaned down, her warm breath huffing against my cheek as she peered into my unblinking eyes. She used her mouth to gently but firmly lift me by my clothes. She immediately turned and ran back toward the Inn. I knew I was paralyzed, but the sensation was haunting; I felt no pain, even as Geri's frantic pace caused my face to brush against passing branches and rough ferns. It was as if my body had become a coat being carried by its owner.
Arriving in the village, Geri finally put me down. She threw back her head and started to howl as loudly as possible, a mournful, piercing sound that shattered the morning quiet. I heard a flurry of footsteps and the rising murmur of villagers; her howling had made a scene. I lay there on the cold ground, staring at the sky, wondering why Geri had dropped me here instead of taking me to the safety of the inn. Some moments later, I heard familiar voices approaching from a distance. Geri leaned down one last time, whispering quickly before she vanished.
"I can't stay beside you because they will accuse me of doing this. I am so sorry that this happened to you; even I couldn't protect you. If you have set free, I promise, I will come back to you."
I heard her footsteps galloping away into the brush.
Seconds later, a shadow fell over me. Louis's face peeked into my field of vision. He asked me what had happened, his voice tight with panic, but I could offer no answer. He hoisted me up, carrying me against his chest. It was not just Louis; the air was filled with the voices of the others—everyone except Zoe. They peppered me with the same questions over and over, their voices a chaotic blend of sadness, agony, and confusion. In their distress, they began to point fingers; someone accused Geri, and I could hear the steel in Aldea's voice as she suggested chasing the wolf down, but Louis sharply denied her.
We arrived at the inn, and Louis placed me gently upon my bed. Elpis's face appeared above me, her eyes clinical and focused as she examined my state. She lifted my right arm, moving it into my line of sight, but I felt nothing—no weight, no touch. I heard a dull tapping against my skin, a test for a physical response that never came.
Finally, Elpis spoke, her voice heavy. "Her highness is in a state of paralysis."
A heated discussion broke out among them.
"Is the woods the cause of her being paralysed?" Louis asked.
"How about we check the wood where her highness checks?" Aldea suggested.
"Are you crazy? Even with that beast pet beside her, this still happened to her.." Darryl retorted.
"So where is her highness's pet?"
"It ran away; when I saw her on the ground, somehow her pet ran away from her," Louis explained.
"Maybe the cause is her pet," Aldea spat.
"Or maybe her pet will try to avenge something that caused this for her.." Darryl mused.
"Now, what will we do? If her highness's state is like this," Aldea asked, her voice cracking slightly.
Suddenly, a sharp clap echoed through the room. Cail's voice cut through the despair. "Just do what her highness had ordered us. Is that what the real knight means? Even on the brink of their master's death, knights should obey the last order. What's her highness's last order? This crop rotation. We need to do and obey her order, for the people in this village."
"Cail is right," Elpis agreed. "Surely we care about her highness, but we can't neglect our duty to her. We can't just always sit beside her; we have work to do. I think the ones who stay beside her are her maids, Aalis and Ame, because it is their duty. And Cail, I think you need to recite the report today for her highness."
"You are right; even with her state, we have an obligation to report," Cail said.
He stood by my bedside and began to recite the day's progress. He reported that one-third of the village land was now committed to the crop rotation and had been planted with pea seeds. However, the remaining two-thirds remained skeptical and had denied the change; true to my orders, the team had not used force. Cail had secured trade routes and seed sources for the future. But then, his voice faltered, struggling to find the words.
"There is... bad news," he whispered. "A rumor from the Baron's residence. They have captured a 'rat'—a symbolic term for an intruder. There is a possibility that the rat is Zoela." They didn't want to believe Zoe could be caught so easily, but the doubt hung heavy in the room. He ended the recitation there.
Everyone eventually excused themselves, leaving the room in a somber procession. Only Aalis and Ame remained; I heard no words of departure from them. I lay there, staring up at the wooden rafters, the Wood Spirit's riddle repeating in my mind. I had to find the connection. Why did her song move my heart? What was the "root" inside of her?
Suddenly, Ame's voice drifted from beside me, sweet and hopeful. "Your highness, are you bored? I know something that will make you not bored."
I heard her walk away and return moments later.
"This."
She held a book in front of my face, her youthful features appearing behind it. "Your highness, how about I read you this book story?"
I strained my eyes to read the cover. The Paragon of The Dwell. A strange, archaic title.