The cold air and the loud whistles of the wind woke Bart up as he lie slumped on the cave wall. Charlotte had somehow started a small fire and was crouched over it trying to stay warm. Bart realized she had put a blanket over him, and he felt bad for taking all of the warmth.
“How long was I out?” he asked as he brought the blanket over to Charlotte. He didn’t even remember falling asleep. The last thing he remembered was looking out at the rain pouring down. It had stopped, but it couldn’t have been too long ago because the ground outside was still wet.
“It’s been a couple hours I think. It’s the middle of the night, but I don’t know exactly what time. It’s kind of hard to keep track of what time it is with no watches or clocks.” Bart looked at his watch and hadn’t realized that the screen was just blinking “00:00”.
“Yeah, that sucks.” Bart looked down at the fire and was wondering how Charlotte managed to pull this off. “So you wielded us a fire?” he asked with a smile.
“No,” she said with a laugh. “I went and got wood from further in the cave. It’s not that deep and there isn’t another entrance so I figured it was a good idea. I did it the old fashioned way.” Bart laughed it off and sat down. Something about Charlotte seemed off and Bart couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Even though she had laughed lightly, there was this look on her face that suggested something had gone terribly wrong.
“Is everything okay?” he asked finally. She didn’t immediately respond but when she did her face looked scared.
“Bart,” she said. “What if we can’t make it out of this forest? We keep losing our guides, which in some way seems to be some kind of bad joke because we are really good at losing them and seeing that we are in a place that we know nothing about that is becoming a very bad habit of ours.” Bart could clearly see that she was starting to lose her cool and he raised his hand to calm her down.
“Look, Char, we can do this,” he started calmly. “We’ve got this map and we aren’t completely helpless anymore. As long as we follow the map, we will be out of the woods in three days just like Mr. Phinnly said. So don’t worry.” Bart’s words must’ve had a positive effect on Charlotte because she managed a smile and then took a deep breath. Bart was a little worried, too but after all the things they had been through, getting through the woods with a perfectly set path didn’t seem like the biggest of their worries.
“Well I guess we should eat some before we set out,” said Charlotte.
“Don’t you think traveling in the middle of the night is a bad idea?” Bart asked. In his mind, trying to navigate through an enchanted forest with a map in the dark didn’t seem like a good idea.
“That’s probably a good call,” Charlotte said, agreeing with him. “They will probably be searching for us and if we are going to make it out, we need all the light and help we can get.” Bart nodded and the two friends opened the bag to see what they could eat.
“Just bread and water,” Bart said after cleaning out the entire bag.
“I don’t think we have room to be picky right now,” Charlotte said. “I mean yeah it’s not an all you can eat buffet but it’s definitely better than nothing at all.” Bart knew she was right. Being picky was not one of their options, and since the old man could’ve given them nothing, he decided he could be a little more appreciative. They started to eat and after about thirty minutes, Charlotte dozed off, and it was Bart’s turn to be the lookout again. He sat near the entrance of the cave and began to think. Over a month ago, he was avoiding doing his chores and helping his mom with the Festival. Now he was sitting inside a dark cave avoiding crazy henchman and probable death. It’s crazy how he was wishing to go back to those chores now.
“My mom would have a heart attack if she heard me say that,” he said to himself. Thinking about his mom made him sad. The thought that she was put in this situation because of him made him nauseous every time. If he could take back this past month and be a better son he would without a moment’s thought. But he couldn’t. And now he had to face the facts. His mom was hurt, and he had to be there for her. That’s all that mattered now, getting to Crestcon castle and being there for his mom. As Bart continued to sit there and think, he didn’t recognize that he was falling asleep. It wasn’t until he woke up again with the brightness of the sun beaming down on his face that he realized what had happened. “Charlotte,” he screamed as he stood up wiping his eyes, trying to get them to adjust to the light. Charlotte jumped up completely alarmed and confused.
“What the,” she started to say before she noticed the sunlight shining into the cave. “How long did you let me sleep!” she exclaimed.
“I must’ve passed out,” Bart said looking around frantically. “Is everything still here?” he asked looking for the bag of food and water and more importantly, the map.
“Yes, Bart,” Charlotte said, clearly annoyed. “Why would someone come in here and take everything and not us?” Bart just kept his mouth shut, as he knew that was a good point. They got their stuff together and headed out of the cave. After a few minutes of standing and looking around they decided enough stalling had been done. “I guess this is it,” Charlotte said, taking out the map. When she unraveled it, there was no clear path. Then, right before their eyes, a golden line started to appear, designating which way to go. Bart looked at her and then, with no further uncertainty, they started off. They walked for hours that felt like days following the golden line that continued to extend with every step they took. A couple times Bart tried to go off course just to test the map but the line always got them back on track. After so long without running into any problems, Bart started to relax and take in all the beauty the forest had to offer. The leaves were a bright green and they smelled great. Sunlight found its way to the woods floor through many openings in the treetops. They encountered different types of birds that Bart was sure he’d never seen before. One bird looked like it was ten feet long as it flew through the air. It had so many colors on its wings but its body was grey. Jason had been right about Zathya. It was full of amazing wonders that Bart had never dreamt of. After some time, they came to a small watering hole where they decided to stop and rest.
“This is working out great,” Charlotte said, putting the map away. “I think we are making good time.”
“How could you know that if it doesn’t show us the whole path?” Bart asked. Charlotte shot him an evil look.
“I was trying to be optimistic,” she said coldly. Bart just smirked and went over to the watering hole. It felt good for him to put cold water on his face and just relax for a little bit. They hadn’t been chased the entire time they’d been in the woods. Bart began to wonder what happened to those guys that they faced last night.
“Do you think those guys from last night were found?” he asked Charlotte. She just shrugged and headed over to the watering hole. Bart began riffling through the bag to find some bread and drinking water. “If they did, I bet Mafortian was pretty angry. Got beat up by two new ones,” Bart said with a laugh. “I wish I could’ve seen their faces. Oh that reminds me! How did you do that with the ground? I know I mentioned the wall but I forgot to ask how you did it. It looked pretty easy.” Bart thought about that night and thought about how easily everything came to them. Yeah there were a few glitches here and there but the fact remained that they won that fight without any advanced help. It made him really confident. After a few moments he realized Charlotte hadn’t responded. “Char?” he said as he turned around. Charlotte was no longer alone. Standing behind her with a hand over her mouth and a sword to her neck was someone in all green and a green mask. He or she was wearing a brown hood, and all that Bart could see was green eyes. Not that it mattered. His best friend had a sword to her neck. “Let her go!” he yelled as he rushed forward, but the person stuck there hand that was covering Charlotte mouth out which halted Bart in his place. Then the person spoke.
“I do not know who you are but you don’t want to attack me,” said the stranger. Bart was shocked to hear a woman’s voice. She sounded really young, but Bart couldn’t really tell.
“What is it that you want?” Bart asked. He was nervous because he didn’t want to make any sudden movements to endanger Charlotte.
“Why have you entered the woods?” she asked sternly.
“That’s none of your business,” Bart yelled back. He didn’t know who she was or why she was here, but if she worked for Mafortian she would’ve known who he was. So he thought it best to keep his mouth shut for now. “Just let her go and we will leave.” For a few seconds the woman was silent. Then she spoke again.
“I am sorry, but that is not an option.” With that she gave some kind of signal and about fifteen other people in green with green masks came out of the surrounding bushes. “Bag them,” she said, and before Bart could say anything or even move he saw darkness as a bag was forced over his head. Then he felt what felt like a vine wrap around his hands, tying them behind his back.
“Why are you doing this?” Bart heard Charlotte scream.
“It is the law of my people,” she said. Then Bart felt a strong knock on the back of his head and he was out cold.
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