Chapter 11: Escape from the Sunken Forest

Just as Pierce arrived to The King’s room, he saw his sister and the other guards on the floor, not moving an inch. Pierce was so shocked that he didn’t know what to do. Then he looked at who stood in the room, wearing the crown. It was Seth and alongside him was The King with purple, menacing eyes.

Seth said: "Get him!"

The King pulled the sword from his scabbard and ran towards Pierce. Pierce started to run away, but he immediately stumbled. The final thing saw was The King’s swords blade hitting him. Pierce woke up being extremely sweaty. His pupils were really small and face all red. Willow, sleeping only a few meters away, was in front of the mirror in her pyjamas when Pierce woke up.

Willow sat next to him: "Are you feeling okay? Did you have a bad dream?"

"Selene was murdered and Seth took control of The King....What will I do....I...I...need...wait...first....," Pierce was talking in shock.

Suddenly Willow hugged Pierce and said: "Calm down. It was just a dream. I’m here, see?"

Pierce quickly relaxed and became conscious on what was happening.

"Um...thanks Willow. I feel better now. I probably looked like an idiot just now when I was panicking," Pierce said with an embarrassed expression.

"No, no. It’s fine. We all have bad dreams every now and then. I had them too when I was banished by Seth from my home village," Willow said.

"That must have been really tough for you. Let’s hope we can out an end to this crisis as quickly as possible so we can no longer suffer from those dreams," Pierce said.

"That’s right! Anyway, it’s already 9 o’clock. We should eat some breakfast," Willow suggested.

After breakfast, Pierce and Willow were about to leave. Lumi and Gerald were at the door sending them off.

"I will miss you so much! Promise us you will come back safe and sound," Lumi said.

"I promise. You’ll be on your guard since Seth can strike anytime," Pierce warned his parents.

"You don’t have to worry because I can look after him," Willow said cheerfully.

"Thank you, Willow. I know we can trust you," Gerald said. 

Pierce and Willow looked at each other to assure them.

"Oh, wait! I have something for you, Pierce," Gerald said as he went back inside to look for it.

"Something for me?" Pierce said.

"We planned to give you this if you had done spells at the mage school. I think you might need this on your journey," Lumi explained.

"Could it be?" Pierce was wondering.

Gerald walked to Pierce and gave him a silver staff with a spiral design on the tip. It also had a place for a primordial crystal on it.

"Wow, thank you so much! This will definitely come in handy," Pierce said with great gratitude.

"So, is everything packed up?" Lumi asked.

"Yup!" Pierce and Willow said simultaneously.

"Alright then, Good luck on your journey! And come back safely!" Gerald said.

"Take care of each other! Give our family’s greetings to Tidalia!" Lumi yelled.

"Sure thing! Goodbye!" Pierce said.

"See you!" Willow said.

As our heroes reached Miracle’s exit place, Willow opened the map his father gave to him. 

"So, our first location is Tidalia, near the coast," Willow asked.

"That’s one of the closest larger villages nearby. Maybe I can find an aqua crystal there. It’s also my birthplace and early childhood home," Pierce explained.

"Really? That’s where you’re from? Then you must be good with water," Willow said.

"I have loved swimming since I was a toddler. Anyway, the quickest way there is through the sunken forest, as you can see," Pierce stated.

"Sunken forest? I have never been there. Is it flooded?" Willow asked.

"Yes. Originally it was just an ordinary forest, but a large tidal wave from the coast flooded the place 80 years ago. Sometimes I went to play there without permission," Pierce revealed.

"See, I’m not good with water. I’m supposed to be a brave warrior but that’s one of my major weaknesses," Willow said.

"Everybody has some kind of weakness. That’s nothing to be ashamed of," Pierce pointed out.

After walking in silence for a while, Willow decided to continue the talk that they didn’t get to finish.

"Remember our talk that was interrupted? Can you answer now?" Willow started the conversation.

"Talk? Um...sorry, I can’t remember," Pierce admitted.

"The question was...are you afraid of me?" Willow asked.

"I know that you’re a zombie but that doesn’t change what you have done so far. You have helped me with the conversation with The King, and with my nightmare. I know you’re a good person, regardless on how you look on the outside. Even if you’re a zombie, you still look beautiful," Pierce said with a smile.

Willow looked surprised at first but slowly that expression turned it to smile.

"Those words. What you said was....beautiful, thank you. You made me feel more confident in myself. One of the reasons why I asked you about this was one of the people in our village went berserk. He was one of the first people who Seth turned into a zombie. He started to act violently during the night and tried to eat us. He did turn back to normal the next morning, but I’m afraid that I will act like that too. I’m worried that I might hurt you and the evil inside of me will take over," Willow explained.

"Was he the only victim of this?" Pierce asked.

"There have been a few times this happened. He was the first. All of the people who have experienced this phenomenon have returned back to normal after a while," Willow said.

"Okay, but you don’t have to worry. I will help you to fight against it and turn back to the way you are," Pierce assured her.

"Thank you. It’s great to have a friend like you by my side," Willow admitted.

Only minutes later, Pierce and Willow reached the sunken forest. It was foggy, brimming with trees and also trunks that didn’t have any leaves. The water was very high up this time. There were many rocks and wood pieces in the water.

"To get to the other side, I suggest we jump along to the rocks and the logs. Is that fine with you?" Pierce suggested his plan.

Willow was a little nervous about it: "Can’t we go around it?

"This forest is very long and crossing is the fastest way. I’ll help you," Pierce explained.

"Fine, but let’s proceed slowly," Willow said.

Pierce jumped to the first rock and turned to face Willow. 

"Jump here. I’ll catch you," Pierce said.

"I’ll try," Willow said.

Willow took a few steps back and jumped to the first rock where Pierce caught her. 

"There you go. The next one is a little trickier," Pierce said.

In front of them were logs and only a few rocks.

"How do we balance on those logs?" Willow asked.

After thinking about it for a short time, Pierce got an idea.

"I’ve got it! I’ll use my staff to row us to the other side," Pierce came up with an idea.

"Good thinking! I can use one of my special arrows to get a log closer to us,"

Willow pulled a specific arrow from her quiver with a rope tied onto it. She tied the other half of the rope to her bow and began aiming a shot. After 8 seconds, she released the arrow from her hand. The arrow hit the log and she pulled it closer to her and Pierce.

"Nice shot! Now we just need to balance carefully," Pierce said.

Pierce and Willow stood on top of the log as Pierce was slowly rowing them to the other side.

The quietness of the forest was ruined by a loud splash. A giant water beast appeared. It had sharp teeth, red eyes, deadly claws and skin made from scales. 

"Hurry up!" Willow yelled.

Pierce started rowing really fast as the beast was getting closer. When the log they were rowing on hit the ground, Pierce and Willow jumped from it.

"Jump!" Pierce shouted.

The heroes ran as fast as they could as the beast couldn’t proceed because of the trees around the lake. Willow and Pierce were laying on the ground.

"You were right, Willow. We should have taken an easier route," Pierce said.