Chapter 2 - Into the Forest
Chapter 2 - Into the Forest
As Eliza passed under the boughs of the towering evergreen trees, the rain slowly began to subside and the sound of thunder rumbled off into the distance. At first she was able to pursue the giant by following the tracks left by the considerable impacts of his steps, but as the undergrowth grew thicker, she was forced to slow down. She was coming across the giant’s footprints far more infrequently now, and soon, she had lost his trail entirely. Eventually she came upon a small clearing covered in moss and ferns beside a splashing little stream. With a sigh, she plopped down on the mossy bank and caught her breath, resting her head in her mittened hands. This was much deeper than she’d ever been inside the forest. It seemed very different underneath those tall imposing trees then just looking out over them from atop the lighthouse’s hill.
Eliza reached into her backpack and searched for her paper hiker’s map. She found the folded and worn paper buried deep inside her pack and pulled it out along with her small flashlight. The map depicted the seaside town and other points of interest around the countryside, including the lighthouse. She had made several notes of her own on the map throughout her summer vacations; Eliza enjoyed looking at maps. She searched the paper in her hands but could not figure out exactly where she was. There was no mention of a stream running through the forest anywhere.
“Drat!” she swore to the night air. “I may be lost...” She knew the best plan was to stay put and wait until either someone came looking for her or it grew lighter with morning and she could find her own way home. Instead, she decided to follow the stream down further and see where it led. Eliza knew all rivers ran to the sea, so if she followed this one long enough, it just might lead her out of the forest and onto the beach. From there she’d just walk towards the lighthouse following along the path of the bright beam. She’d probably still get into trouble, just maybe not as much as if she was out all night.
She wandered through the forest keeping the stream on her right as she traveled deeper. The night air was cool and Eliza was glad for the warmth of her knitted cap and mittens. Slung over her shoulders, her backpack rattled and jingled while she held her flashlight in her hand to light the way. With her free hand she reached into her jacket pocket, feeling the carved surface of the slingshot. Just having it made her feel safer. It was magical after all.
There was a noise in the forest a few feet in front of her and out of instinct she turned off the flashlight. From above her head, a raven cawed into the darkness. For a moment, Eliza relaxed. Suddenly, out in the darkness, just beyond the first few trees came the sound she dreaded hearing the most: the low, mournful howl of a wolf. As the first call began to fade, several more voices joined it. They seemed to be calling out all over the forest tonight. She pulled out the slingshot from its pocket and rummaged around in the leather bag that hung at her side for a marble. “Shooter,” she said pulling out one of the larger marbles used to hit the smaller ones. If a wolf was dumb enough to show his face in front of Eliza, she’d put the shooter right between his eyes.
Eliza heard footsteps through the underbrush, something was approaching her at a rapid pace and the howling stopped abruptly. The wolves apparently wanted no part in the creature that approached the young girl. She leveled her slingshot in the direction of the sound, ready to unleash her ammo at whatever approached. Looking down through the fork of the slingshot, she noticed something strange: there was a dull white light approaching with the footsteps. “Wait, wolves don’t glow,” she said to no one in particular as she lowered her weapon, though she did not remove the marble from the sling.
From out of the woods emerged a pure white stag. His fur seemed to shimmer and glow in the waning moonlight. The beast entered the clearing where she stood cautiously, as if he knew Eliza was ready to defend herself. The way the deer held his head aloft as he drew nearer gave her the impression of nobility; his head was crowned with perfect antlers and he seemed to have knowing, black eyes. Cautiously, she lowered her slingshot.
“Hello?” Eliza said to the stag. “Are you lost as well?” In response the stag shook his coat and shimmering drops of rain fell to the mossy green floor. The animal remained still, staring directly at Eliza. “Do you...” the girl said, holding out a mittened hand towards the deer. “Do you know the way back home? I’m lost.”
The stag tilted his head as she spoke and seemed to understand. The white deer stamped his hoof on a stone twice, filling the little grove with two sharp clicks. He then lowered his head, as if to bow to Eliza. The girl couldn’t help but laugh at the animal’s strange behavior. She’d seen deer before of course, though never one as white as fresh snow and never one so unafraid of humans. The stag raised his head slightly and flicked his antlers back behind him.
“You want me to follow you?” Eliza asked, approaching the stag, mittened hand raised. The animal nodded in agreement, staying perfectly still as the girl gingerly touched his silver-white coat. “You’re not going to hurt me, right?”
The stag laid down as Eliza ran her hand along his coat. Something inside Eliza told her she should try to ride the white deer. Her legs were very tired and this stag seemed very friendly and willing to help. Throwing a leg over the deer’s back, Eliza climbed up. As she wrapped her arms around the stag’s neck, the deer slowly rose back to his feet. The girl hung onto the white fur as best she could. The large stag’s pace was slow but precise and rocked her back and forth ever so gently. It reminded Eliza of being in Grandpa’s little dingy. She began to relax. The air was clean with the scent of fresh rain and the deer’s fur felt warm against the skin of her cheek. The forest echoed with the sounds of owls and wolves but somehow, Eliza was no longer afraid. It wasn’t long before she fell asleep.
Eliza awoke to the bustling sound of someone cooking in the kitchen. The scents of baking and eggs wafted into her small room. She sat up from the little bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. I wonder what Mama is cooking, she thought, I can’t wait to tell Grandpa and Mama about my dream! Then she heard small, somewhat squeaky voices drifting into her cozy bedroom over the sounds of cooking. Eliza looked around the room and noticed all of the furniture seemed much smaller, as if someone built them for children and not grown ups. She looked down and realized the quilt she was wrapped up in was not the normal hodgepodge of material she was used to at Grandpa’s, but rather, a very nicely woven tapestry depicting several animals holding hands in a circle with a golden star rising up between them. She ran a finger along the golden lines that appeared to shoot out of the star, dividing the quilt into large triangles. It was very soft and warm. This was definitely not Grandpa’s...
“So it wasn’t a dream,” Eliza said aloud. Her stomach growled at the smell of fresh bacon. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and decided it wouldn’t be polite to wait around in bed all day for breakfast and climbed out of bed.
They were talking about her; Eliza could hear them in the other room from her bedroom. She decided to try and get ready quietly, listening in on their conversation. She knew it was rude, but their voices were so different than her own that her ears just seemed to focus on them.
“We should alert the King at once Daisy! He’ll want to know the Prince is in the woods again and maybe he’ll know what to do with the strange girl,” the deeper raspy voice said.
“Well we just can’t turn her over to the rangers Basil, what if she’s in trouble?” the higher-pitched voice named Daisy said.
“All the more reason to turn her over, dear. If she’s in trouble, the King and the rangers will be able to help her much more than two simple little hedgepigs such as us could.”
Eliza tried to open her bedroom door quietly but the old iron hinges squeaked loudly, announcing her entrance into the larger dome-shaped main room of the dwelling. She winced at the sound before peeking out into the comfortably decorated cottage. At least, it looked like a cottage, though Eliza had never seen a cottage with a dirt roof before and certainly not one with chandeliers made from tree roots. At the quaint iron and stone oven stood one hedgehog and at the finely crafted kitchen table sat another. They were nearly as tall as Eliza, though considerably rounder and covered with quills.
“Oh you’re awake deary!” said Daisy, looking up from her cooking. She was wearing a pink checkered apron and had a ring of flowers around her head. She stood by the stove cooking the eggs and bacon in a cast iron skillet. “Breakfast is nearly ready, just have a seat at the table there with Mr. Basil and we’ll get something warm inside you. There’s a fresh pot of tea there and I’ll fetch you a cup.” She gave Eliza a big snouty smile and went to the cupboard producing a fine, normal sized teacup and matching saucer.
Eliza did as she was told and walked over to the worn wooden table off to the side of the kitchen where Basil sat reading a newspaper and wearing oversized circular eyeglasses. A nearly untouched cup of tea sat on a saucer in front of him. “Good morning Mr. Basil,” Eliza said in her most polite voice. It would not do to be rude to her hosts, even if they were giant talking hedgehogs...
“Good morning miss,” Basil said folding the paper and setting it aside. “I hope you slept well. I was worried the bed would be to, er, small, for one such as you.”
“It was fine, thank you.” She smiled warmly and tried her best not to laugh. These hedgehogs were so polite and formal. Much more so than most of the people she had met in her lifetime. She half expected Mr. Basil to sip from his tea with his pinky extended.
“Good, good,” the hedgehog said taking off his glasses, folding the arms together before putting them away in a case. “May I pour you a cup of tea? It’s quite good, if I do say so myself. Old family recipe, full of herbs and roots and the likes. Good for starting the day and keeping the memory sharp,” he said tapping his temple with a little clawed finger.
“Yes please.” Eliza answered, handing the hedgehog her cup.
The three of them ate a pleasant breakfast of fresh fried eggs, salty bacon, sage crumpets with acorn butter, and an assortment of wild berries in cream. Eliza enjoyed the berries most of all but tried not to eat too many for fear of appearing rude to the proper hedgehogs. Her hosts had several questions for Eliza but they seemed confused by her answers. For starters, they were unaware of a lighthouse in the area, or who Mama or Grandpa was. They asked her if she was on her way to the capitol in the forest and how she came to know the Prince but Eliza had no idea what they were referring to. As they were finishing up, there came a knock at the door. Mr. Basil got up to answer it.
“Ah, my dear captain! What an unexpected surprise. I’m afraid you’ve caught us at the end of breakfast but I’m sure the missus could fetch you a plate if you wished to join us,” he said stepping aside to allow the visitor to enter the underground house.
A tall, fierce looking woman entered, ducking her head low to avoid bumping it against the ceiling. She was nearly twice the height of the two hedgehogs and a full two feet taller than Eliza. The captain wore a tight fitting leather jerkin and high boots of a matching material. Strapped over her shoulders was a light cloak the color of pine needles with it’s hood tossed back and on her hip, a small hooked dagger hung. The woman’s sharp green eyes and stern expression gave Eliza the impression of some sort of strict school principal. “I wouldn’t say no to some of your wife’s wonderful crumpets and eggs,” the woman said, nodding her head as greeting to the two animals. “Is this the girl that showed up last night?” she asked without acknowledging Eliza’s presence.
“Yes,” answered Daisy. “The Prince dropped her off during the storm. Poor girl was frozen half through with rain. We were worried she’d catch her death of cold. This morning though, she just wakes up, sure as you will, and sits down to breakfast. The young,” the hedgehog said with a laugh passing the tall woman the basket of crumpets and a small tray of butter. “They seem to be nigh on indestructible.”
The woman nodded thoughtfully, buttering her crumpet. “Well, we certainly appreciate you looking after little lost children Mister and Misses Hedgehog, but let’s not make it a habit to let strangers stay the night, hmm? As for this business about the Prince appearing as some sort of forest spirit during the night. It might be best for you not to mention that fact to too many people. Namely, anyone other than me. Wouldn’t want people getting the wrong idea or anything. There are those in the forest that don’t look back kindly on him,” she said before finally taking a bite.
“But you-” Daisy began before Basil interrupted his wife.
“Enough Daisy.” He turned his attention back to Eliza. The girl was beginning to feel as though her presence had been forgotten. “Miss Eliza, may I introduce you to our Captain of the Forest Rangers, Lady Mara.”
The tall woman held out a crumb-covered hand towards Eliza, who shook it. “Pleased to meet you,” the girl muttered, still unsure of this new guest.
“Maybe,” the woman answered, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She turned to Daisy grabbing another two sage crumpets. “May I?” Mara asked.
“Of course dear. One for you and one for little Eliza on the trip to the capital.”
“Oh, the girl. Right, that’s what I meant,” Mara said, stowing away the crumpets in her bag. “Come along girl. The King will need to question you if you’re going to be permitted to stay in the forest.”
Eliza had had enough of everyone talking like she wasn’t in the room and telling her what she was to do. “No,” she said, crossing her arms.
Mara stopped half-way standing from her chair. “No?” It was not a word Mara often heard. “It was not a question, girl.”
“Well I said no. I don’t know who you are, I don’t know who this King is, I don’t want to stay here any longer and I just want to go home. So unless you’re going to help me get back home, no,” she said, and that was that. Eliza stood up, walked back to the room where she had woken up, grabbed her things, and returned to the kitchen. “Thank you both for letting me stay the night and for feeding me this morning. I don’t have any money to give you but I do have this.” She held up one of her favorite marbles. It was a red and green twisting cat’s eye. “I know it’s not much but it’s one of my favorites.”
“It was our pleasure dear,” Daisy said, taking the marble and holding it up to the light. “Oh my, it’s a lovely treasure dear, we’ll keep it always. Do come back and visit us if you’re ever back in this side of the woods. I’ll be sure to make you more berries and cream.”
Eliza blushed and carefully hugged both the hedgehogs goodbye, being mindful of their pointy spines. She put on her backpack, stepped past the still confused Mara and walked out the front door.
The large tree trunk the Hedgehogs lived under was even larger in the light of day. Eliza couldn’t remember ever seeing a tree half as large as theirs. As she looked around she noticed it seemed every four or five trees were just as big or bigger and every tree seemed to grow up so tall she couldn’t see the sky above. Instead of blue sky, a tapestry of dark emeralds and radiant yellows mixed with burnt umbers and verdant greens shimmered above. The forest canopy looked as if someone had spilt jewels across a million fragments of stained glass. It made Eliza gasp audibly.
As her eyes traced down she noticed the intricate patterns grown into the trunks of the tree. It looked almost marbled with deep veins of moss and lichen growing in and out of long flat sheets of bark. Here and there further down the trunk, large flat mushrooms seemed to grow out from the trees in clusters. From more than one Eliza thought she saw a little chimney growing out with tiny puffs of smoke spilling out into the open forest air.
Eliza then began to look at her immediate surroundings outside the little red wooden door set in the roots of the tremendous tree. Everywhere were giant ferns that grew nearly as tall as she was. Under the great big fronds she noticed roughly a half dozen creatures about her size. They too wore leather armor like Mara except none of these creatures were anywhere near her height. They all carried long wooden spears tipped with metallic spearheads, all of which were pointed directly at Eliza. The creatures all looked very much alike except for their hair. Their long hair was held in braids with colors ranging from a light red to a deep gold. With their sharp, angular faces and long pointed ears, they reminded Eliza for some reason of leaves in autumn.
The one closest to Eliza with the fawn colored hair stepped forward. “Halt, stranger,” it said in a high-pitched and nasally voice. “You’re under the protection of the Rangers. Make no attempt at trying to flee as it will be seen as an act of aggression. If you should- OW!” Eliza did not wait to hear the rest of his speech. She had shot him with a quick draw of her slingshot and took off, running right over the tiny man.
It probably wouldn’t hurt him at all, she thought. just stunned him long enough to get out of reach. She bolted through the underbrush, pushing aside fern fronds with her hands and running as quickly as her feet could go. If these little creatures wanted to try and keep her from getting home then she had to get away from them as fast as she could. Behind her there were all sorts of shouts and the sound of arguing but they faded before she heard any signs of pursuit. Eliza thought she had gotten away.
Suddenly, Eliza burst out into a clearing roughly a hundred feet in diameter. In the center sat two large stone monoliths leaning against each other. The area around the two leaning pillars was devoid of ferns or tall grass. Either someone was cutting back the forest growth, or some magic kept the greenery at bay. The stones themselves were bare, which was nearly unheard of in this northern climate where moss tended to grow anywhere and everywhere. Of course, Eliza wasn’t thinking about any of this. She was simply glad she could rest for a moment and catch her breath. The stones were warm to her touch, heated by the sun streaming down from the hole in the canopy above.
The serene silence of the clearing was suddenly interrupted. The soft tap, tap, tap tap, of someone running very quickly through the underbrush could be heard moments before anything emerged from the green wall of ferns and other plants. Eliza looked up just in time to see a large red reindeer burst through the foliage, charging straight towards her!
Eliza let out a yelp and quickly scrambled up the rock formation’s side using both her hands and feet to reach where the two monoliths met. She tried her best to get away, but every time she tried to climb down one of the stones, the deer would rush around and block her path once more. It only took a few minutes for Mara to catch up, running with her spear at her side. She was shortly followed by the six smaller creatures.
“Alright girl, you’ve had your fun, now come down. Otherwise I’ll send Poro up after you,” Mara called out. “You’re under the protection of the elves. We don’t want to hurt you, but we don’t want you to hurt us either. We’ll go see the King together then we’ll figure out how to take you home. I promise. Now come on down, I won’t ask you again.”
Eliza quickly weighed her options and realized she really didn’t have any. “You promise to take me home?”
“Only after we’ve seen the King,” Mara answered.
“And you’re all elves?” Eliza asked skeptically. Several of the elves laughed aloud at Eliza’s question. She was the stranger in elven territory! Could she really not have known who or what the Rangers were?
“Yes, of course. What else would we be? Very short giants?” Mara said, chuckling to herself and eliciting much more jovial laughs from her shorter companions. Eliza shrugged and climbed on down. Poro the reindeer was there waiting for her but instead charging this time he simply stuck a big leathery nose in her face and sniffed her hair. Apparently satisfied, he snorted and walked over to nibble at some grass that grew further towards the clearing’s edge.
“Don’t mind Poro. He doesn’t like anyone. He prefers birds to people. Isn’t that right boy?” Mara said as she walked over to Eliza. “If you don’t cause any more issues on the way back to the capitol I’ll let you feed him a carrot.”
“OK,” Eliza answered looking from Mara to her reindeer. When the large beast had been charging her, Eliza had only been concerned with putting as much distance between herself and the reindeer as possible. Now that Poro seemed bored with her, she could appreciate the animal more. His coat was a very vivid red, almost like a fox’s fur and his antlers grew tall, wide, and nearly bone white. Someone had decorated his antlers with charms. Eliza’s eyes were then drawn towards the deer’s back where a lovely leather saddle was strapped to Poro’s back along with a few saddlebags. “Do you ride him?”
“When he lets me,” Mara answered before turning to the other elves assembled around the clearing. “I’ll take the girl to see the King. Gossamer, you’re in charge while I’m away. Continue the patrol, we’ve received complaints of wolverines getting up to trouble again. See if you can break up whatever scheme they’re working on and keep your eyes peeled for any sign of trolls. They’ve been spotted more than once this season scurrying about on the edge of the forest.”
“Yes Captain.” A golden haired elf who must have been Gossamer answered, saluting Mara. Then, placing two fingers to his lips, he whistled and another of the warriors approached. Out of the underbrush came another reindeer wearing similar gear as Poro, though this deer was smaller and appeared to be younger. Its fur was more golden and its horns much smaller and unadorned. The elf brought the young deer’s reins to Mara before returning back to the clearing perimeter.
“Can you ride, girl- sorry, Eliza?” Mara asked, clearly exasperated but making an effort to remain pleasant. Eliza did not take her eyes off the golden-furred creature. It was slightly taller than she was with antlers extending up and out. Around its mouth was a finely crafted leather harness that connected to the reins and on its back sat a strange flat saddle with metal rings stitched into the sides. She’d ridden ponies at the fairground before but they were nothing like this.
“I think so?” Eliza finally said, her tone turning the words into more of a question than an answer. She took the few steps towards Mara and the young reindeer nervously. Reaching out with a bare hand, Eliza touched the creature’s soft and bristly fur. The young deer looked back at her half-interested then returned to nibbling grass. Eliza decided he wasn’t wild, just bored. She slipped her boot into the stirrup and pulled herself up onto the deer’s back.
Mara placed her pinkies to her lips and blew a single sharp whistle. Poro abruptly looked up from the grass and charged towards her when he heard the call. Deftly, Mara seized the reindeer by the antler and swung her way into the air landing in the saddle. The deer never slowed his stride as mount and rider headed off back into the forest. “Keep up Eliza!” the elf called out over her shoulder. Eliza’s deer took off after Poro without any bidding from the girl. Eliza decided it was best just to try and hold on, she’d leave steering to the reindeer.