He could tell the search party was moving with caution.
They had become tense for a while. He couldn't keep his gaze away from the treetops.
He thought he saw blue lights following them. Every time he'd try to look, they'd vanish.
He wasn't sure if he was just getting paranoid. That was until he looked up, and far ahead of them, he saw a fairy.
It lingered in his vision for a second until it darted away.
"I… think they are above us." He shouted.
"Don't look, ignore them," Jorn said quickly.
Thalos turned. "Ignore them? Why?"
"Come on! We are just scaring ourselves," Eirik said, forcing a small chuckle.
There was a moment of silence until Hagan spoke.
"Like I said, they are playful creatures. They mess with your vision and use voices to talk inside your head."
Hagan made a large gesture to the trees. "They may not be real."
He looked down at the tracks. "Those could be illusions."
"Then what do we do?" Elara said quietly.
Hagan looked up at the sky. "Nothing to do. Just ignore them. They love attention."
Everyone nodded. They walked forward, trying to keep their eyes ahead.
Thalos turned his attention to his father. He was at the front of the group.
Eryndor hadn't said a word, but he was scanning the forest, his hand never leaving his sword.
But he noticed, the deeper they walked, the less real the forest felt.
In the corner of his eye, a tree bent and twisted, as he snapped his head around, it was normal.
The path that he swore was straight, started turning in different directions.
He kept his focus on their footprints in the snow, but even they seemed wrong.
He couldn't tell why, but as he inspected them further, he realised that they had been passed over multiple times.
Ahead, Eryndor slowed. the others noticed, their hands grabbing their weapons.
He saw his father study the forest, kneel down, and inspect the path. "We've been here before."
Jorn and Hagan walked to the front.
"That's not possible. The footsteps are a straight path." Torren motioned to the prints in the snow.
"We were all too scared that we just went in a circle!" Eirik yelled.
Elara tugged on Thalos's cloak. "What's happening?" Her voice was soft.
He looked at her, her eyes were wide, and her usual poise was gone. "I think we were tricked."
"stay on guard," Jorn commanded.
Torren swore. "We should have noticed!"
Hagan stepped forward. "They usually aren't this subtle with their tricks… They got us."
As if responding to the party's realisation, the humming started. The blue lights filled the sky, and Thalos saw Elara collapse, her eyes rolling white.
He ran to her side. "ELARA!"
She could hear his scream, but her mind went blank. When she opened her eyes again, the sun was high in the sky.
She looked around her. They were back in Frosthelm, and the group was standing nearby.
Thalos was the first to notice her.
"Elara! Are you okay?"
It took her a moment to adjust. She sat up slowly. "Yeah, what happened?"
He looked down. "The fairies came, they surrounded us, and we had to retreat."
She thought for a moment. "What about Orin… and… and Garrick and Brynn?"
Thalos didn't respond.
Instead, Jorn walked up and knelt beside her. "They were taken by the forest. There is nothing more to be done."
Elara walked home alone. Thalos, Jorn, and others offered to walk with her, but she declined.
Were they really gone? it was to be expected.
They ran to the forest alone. She knew all along that there was only a small chance.
Maybe she was too hard on Brynn. Did she drive her away?
She turned toward the Great Hall. There was someone she wanted to talk to.
The moment she stepped inside it felt colder than it should have, the lights weren't as bright, and there was no one there.
She turned to the eastern wall and entered the study.
There, sitting behind a finely carved dark-oak desk, was the lead professor at Frosthelm.
He had a tired expression and had deep dark circles under his eyes.
His face was thin and pointy, and his dark hair was short, pulled back and well kept.
He carefully looked up from the book he had in his hands. "Elara, what are you doing here?"
She walked up to the desk. "I don't know what to do anymore. Everyone's gone."
He put down the book, moved his work to the side, and gave a tired sigh.
"This is what happens when you don't follow the rules… They are in place for a reason."
She looked down. And he continued.
"Elara, You are nearing your sixteenth year. You have to stop playing games."
He stood up slowly and walked toward her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"We are Halcroft's Elara. We have always and will always be the ones to teach the new generations"
His eyes softened. "When I was young, I did a lot of stupid things, we all have to grow up. Do you understand?"
She paused for a moment. "Yes, I am sorry, father."
He gave her a small warm smile. "Remember, we have high hopes for you."
She looked down. She felt guilty.
Her family had an important role in Frosthelm. Whenever the group would get in trouble. She never did.
Her father never yelled at her. He would always smile and tell her one day she will have to take up the Halcroft's name.
Her mother, on the other hand, hated her group of friends. Any time she would hang out with them, she would get screamed at with words that she dared not repeat.
She could never tell her father. She would smile and tell him how much she learnt.
She was, after all, smarter than most young adults in Frosthelm.
And even then, she was always unsure if she wanted to follow their family tradition
"What if I can't be a teacher like you?"
His eyes softened. "You are smart enough to excel at anything you choose."
She smiled. That's right, her father would always support her.
"Now then, stay and join me. I am finishing a wonderful book." He turned and sat back down.
Elara smiled. "Okay, I'd like that."
She sat on the chair across from him. Right before he picked back up the book, she noticed something. It got caught in her mind.
The pages of the book were blank.
She looked upward. There was an antler above, but she didn't notice it. The light wasn't coming off of it right.
Actually the more she looked, the more she found. Through the Frostwidow silk, the objects in the distance looked blurry.
And even parts of her father looked… wrong?
she couldn't point it out, but it made her head pound.
It was like she wanted to remember something, but it was just at the edge of her memory.
"What… book are you reading?"
He looked up and smiled. "Oh this, I am reading one of the original books, The Great Divide. It was the first major split in Frosthelm."
She knew that story. "How does it go?" She tried to ask curiously.
He closed the book.
"Two-hundred years ago. Frosthelm became divided, they fought amongst themselves. To end the conflict, the rebels were cast out to the forest, where the Frostwolves found them."
Elara thought for a moment. No… That's not how the story went.
It started from a rumor, then spread, half of Frosthelm believed there was a paradise further north.
And they left, no one knows what happened to them.
She knew something was wrong. She wanted to run, but why? What if she was wrong? Her father would be disappointed in her again.
She should just obey the rules…
She clenched her fists. No, the rules never helped her before.
She hated following the rules.
There was a reason she always followed Brynn. She was so envious of Brynn's free spirit.
She wanted to be like that, to act, to do what she wanted to do.
If she wanted something, Brynn would always make it happen.
No, she wasn't going to let the rules stop her anymore.
And without a word, she bolted straight for the door.
Her father was too slow, but she could hear him calling.
"Don't leave. You can be happy here, forever!"
She burst through the door and was preparing to sprint out of the Great Hall.
Everything vanished, and she found herself on her hands and knees in the middle of the forest.
She saw Thalos, Jorn, she saw the entire party.
But more importantly.
She saw all the blood.