We followed the winding path heading to Elkkehart for a little while. Still, I soon decided it was time to split off from it and start investigating deeper within. Bowe followed obediently, telling me I must've been going in the right direction. Maybe having him as my guide wouldn't be so bad.

There was nothing but the eerie silence that surrounded us. No signs of struggle or any spiders besides long-since abandoned webs.

"Is the forest always this quiet?" I asked Bowe, already knowing the answer.

"No. It's bursting with wildlife this time of year, always. Our hunters are very cautious about ensuring they don't overhunt or cause too much fear within the animals. And the spiders are usually quite hostile, so they're kind of all over the place. Weird that they aren't here, though..."

I thought for a moment, trying to figure out what was happening here. There had to be some sign that the missing people and spiders hadn't up and vanished. "Let's keep going."

We walked for a bit longer in silence. Since nothing was going on, I decided to try to start up a lighthearted conversation with Bowe.

I started with, "Is Phoebe at home?"

Bowe beamed at her name. "Mhm. One of my friends is watching her."

I hesitated before asking my next question: "If you don't mind me asking, where is her mother?"

He went silent. Uh-oh. I overstepped. "You don't need to answer, of course. I was simply curious. If it's a difficult subject, we can move on to another one."

His voice was filled with sadness as he responded, "No, no, it's okay. Her mother, Klaudia, passed away three years ago from illness. It started as an innocent fever that became so much worse and so quickly. The local healers said that there was nothing they could do for her and only gave painkilling herbs. But I didn't want to give up, so I dropped my dream of becoming a Knight for the Ordre in an attempt to take care of her entirely, hoping that she would eventually get better. But, as you can guess, it didn't work.

"You know, I was an Apprentice Knight for some time, shortly after I turned eighteen. I gave up on that to try and do the impossible, even after the healers told me it couldn't be done. How stupid was that? Maybe if I had stayed in it, I could've brought her to the capital, and the top healers of the nation could have done something to help her."

Oh, dear. This was quite a depressing subject. I had better tread with caution. "That really... that's really heartbreaking to hear."

"I miss her mother so much. Klaudia was my best friend as well as my older sister. Our parents weren't the greatest, and she took care of me. Then, when she had Phoebe, it was my turn to take care of her. Phoebe's dad never stuck around, and I'd like to think I filled that space somewhat. Phoebe, Klaudia, and me, we were our own family, and then the gods took her away." Anger seeped into his voice at the mention of the gods.

I thought of what I should say next. I didn't understand his anger, and directing it at the gods wasn't right. They don't often meddle in mortal affairs and leave it up to the people of Aestratha. That's how Lune did things in the East. The West was different, but we were in the East at that moment, so of course, Lune didn't do anything about it. That's not the way the goddess was. "It wasn't anyone's fault that she passed. She was called to the Great Above, and that's that. It's time to move on from her."

That came out harsher than I meant it to. Those end words weren't directed toward his situation but instead what I told myself constantly. It's time to move on from him. Those words rang in my head whenever I thought about him. I didn't mean for them to be projected elsewhere, especially not in this case.

Bowe stopped walking. "Why would you say that?" He sounded hurt. I stopped and clenched my fists. Why did I say something like that? I should've been more empathetic, something I wasn't exactly good at. I didn't understand other people. I didn't even understand myself. Emotions were meaningless and nothing but a nuisance in my eyes. They clouded judgment. That's all they did. It was best to remain apathetic, right? So why did it hurt him and me when I said that?

I stopped walking as well and turned to face Bowe. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. That was cruel. I... don't get people sometimes. I've never had the luxury of learning how to understand emotions and what they mean."

Bowe's expression was hard to read. "I get that. Come on, let's go."

He was upset with me. Just great. Good going, Evelyn.

We walked the rest of the way in silence. I thought it best not to try and talk anymore. I'm not a good person to talk to. I attempted, and I screwed it up massively.

Hateful thoughts towards myself crept into my mind. Thoughts bashing me for handling that situation so poorly, bashing me for being an apathetic jerk. He opened up to me, and I did that to him. I was even starting to consider him a friend, a thing I hadn't made in a very, very long time.

We continued onward. I distracted myself from my mistake by focusing on our mission.

And then we came across one of the worst sights I had seen in a good minute. Strung up on an ancient oak's branch was a human-shaped cocoon. We both knew what it held.

Bowe's face dropped at the sight of what we were seeing. Mine remained level; while this was awful, it wasn't the worst I'd seen. "Do you have a knife?" I asked him.

He nodded grimly and handed a pocket knife to me. I carefully cut open the sac in case there was a possibility of something still living being present within.

Red started seeping out of the small cut I had made. I stopped when we saw the metallic-scented liquid; there was no need to go further.

Gagging, Bowe managed to stutter out, "Is that... a person?" Denial. I felt immense pity for my new companion.

"Yes." Letting the truth out immediately was better than trying to deny it.

"I wonder... who it used to be."

"From the shape and size, I'd guess an adult male. Anyone you have in mind?"

Bowe shook his head. "So many went missing. No idea who it could be."

"And I doubt we could even tell if we cut it open. I think the contents turned to mush."

More dry heaving from poor Bowe. Maybe I should have left that part out.

Bowe then expressed an emotion I thought was impossible for him. His voice was filled with the desire for revenge as he muttered, "We have to kill every last one of the bastards that did this to them." Now that was an emotion I understood and could get behind. I had felt the very same way toward someone I knew long ago. It felt good when I killed them with my own hands, but it didn't bring back the people they took away from me. Bowe would probably feel the same way once the problem was finally resolved. It was a harsh reality.

I nodded at his call for vengeance. "This spider situation seems to have gotten out of control. And you truly don't know what has caused the spiders to become hostile? The town didn't do anything to anger them?"

"No, and I don't care if they have a reason to attack us. They've caused far more hurt than we've ever caused to them. Let's find their nest. It's a bit further in."

This time, I let Bowe take the lead. I had given him back his pocket knife shortly after I cut open the cocoon, and his hands were holding it so tightly his knuckles were turning white. I knew not to get in his way; in front of me was a man on the brink of exploding.

The further we went into the forest, the bigger the webs became. We stopped by to touch one, and the silk was far tougher than the ones nearest to Gretlund. At least, that's what Bowe told me after it got stuck around my glove. It was still there even as we walked away, remaining a constant irritant for me. I hated it when my clothes got even slightly dirty.

Then we ran into our first enemy. My jaw dropped when I saw the size of the arachnid. It was the size of a large dog, the fangs dripping with immediate venom. It was standing a ways away from us but gradually crawled forward. I was so glad I didn't live anywhere near creatures like this; my phobia of insects would never allow me to leave my house.

However, then again, I didn't have a home. I was a traveling witch, constantly moving, taking on quests, and helping people. It was my way of trying to make myself feel better about the things I'd done.

The spider let out this awful hiss, a sound I didn't know anything could have the capability to produce. It crept toward Bowe, who was still in front of me. I was quick, though. I stepped forward, standing in front of him in a defensive position. I grabbed the vial of water tied to my dress's waist and popped it open. I gathered the water from the vial and commanded it to turn into ice. It obeyed me, turning into sharp and dangerous spikes.

Just as it leaped at me, I threw my hand and, in turn, the spikes and sent them flying right into the spider's body. The ends pierced the spider, causing it to leak blue blood, and it let out one last squeal before falling to the forest floor. Its body curled up, securing the fact that it had perished.

I turned back to look at Bowe to ensure no venom had gotten onto him. You never know whether a toxin can burn skin.

When we met eyes, he stumbled back, tripping over a root. It sent him stumbling to the ground. He was fearful. Fearful of what? The spider was dead and-

My eyes. The concealment magic wears off when you use other magic types. I looked away from him. How could I have been so careless to look at him immediately? And so directly, at that?

Bowe choked out, "You... you have violet eyes."

I didn't have anything to keep me rooted in reality. I had to defend myself in some way. "Bowe, I-"

"I knew you were a witch and that the townspeople were immediately weary of you. I wondered why. How could they be so cruel to someone they just met?" I heard him scramble to his feet. I was still turned away, looking down at a small flower blooming from the ground. Something to focus on. Something to keep my present in reality.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I was scared you would view me differently if I had. I considered you a friend and didn't want you to hate me too."

"But you lied to me! I was starting to consider you a friend too, Evelyn. You've betrayed my trust, and what if you do the same thing when we go into the nest? What if you get me killed?!"

I could barely get the following sentence out, my voice shaking violently as I murmured, "I received the Cursed Eyes a long time ago. I have since received my punishment from people discriminating against me and having to serve under the West directly. I would never betray a friend."

Bowe's voice softened a bit at my words. "How'd you get them? What did you have to do to receive such a thing? I thought all the Holders had died when the Order raided the camp years ago. How are you still alive? Why did they allow you to live?"

"I don't know why they allowed me to live. I didn't deserve it. But now I work for them until the day I die, so I guess that's the trade-off."

"How did you get them?"

"I don't feel comfortable sharing. I'm trying my best to move on from it and form my own identity beyond being a Holder."

I heard Bowe sigh. "Fine. I guess that'd explain why you don't understand emotions the way normal people do. Come on, let's get a move on." He walked past me and further into the forest.

His cold demeanor made my heart hurt. It made it hard to breathe, hard to think. My head was pounding in my skull. I couldn't take much more of this. I had messed up not once but twice. I followed Bowe. "Please forgive me."

"And why should I do that?"

"I'm not the person I was. I can promise you that. I'm here to help the people of Gretlund, and that includes protecting you from whatever's up ahead."

"Fine, fine. I forgive you, okay? But don't lie to me again. We're in this together. Let's go. The spider's nest is a bit further in."

I smiled. It was a small one, but a smile nonetheless. "Thank you."