Divided Loyalties (Incomplete)

The Flower Forest

Xenovia

It did not take long before Xenovia found herself walking in circles among the forest. For, despite her best efforts, she had for a certainty gotten herself lost. She let out a cry of frustration at seeing the same marked tree for the third time that night and sank to the ground in defeat. By this point, Xenovia was already feeling exhausted. She had always heard that the Flower Forest was difficult to traverse, but she never expected anything like this! According to the position of the moon, she had been out here for nearly three hours, yet it was impossible to tell how far she had gotten. Everything about the foliage looked the same, leaving her with no choice but to leave markers for herself. However, even that did not seem to help. No matter which way Xenovia walked, they all led right back to the same starting point.

"Why did I never read of this absurdity before?" She hissed with anger. "Surely, there must be some sort of trick to make it out of here!"

Then again, perhaps there wasn't. Could that be why no one ever managed to record a proper path through this area?

Xenovia shook her head. "No. That's ridiculous!"

She took another look around. Think. Just think! This forest was not all that large, hardly seven miles in length. Yet it spanned hundreds of miles in width, surrounding almost half of the terrain around her father's castle, and beyond. The tall trees and thick foliage of the giant flower breeds lent to an added layer of security to ward off travelers or thieves. It was lauded as a magnificent natural barrier that protected the land of Luxo from any sneak attacks on almost three full sides. That is why the palace had been built here, despite sitting so closely on the border of the land of Quorr to the west of them, where the House of Pellanoire reigned. And while it was true that there was no specific trail from one end of the forest to the other, Xenovia knew that her father sent men to the town of Judor at least twice a year to check on the supplies of the townsfolk. Which meant, that even without a map, it was possible for a person to make their way through.

Right?

Xenovia took a deep breath and gazed up at the stars. At least she was on the right track, heading west instead of south or north. The most logical explanation for her lack of progress must be due to her timing. After all, men headed to Judor likely made their journey in the light of day, not late into the night. However, Xenovia could not wait for the break of dawn to continue on her path, lest she risk Halvar's men catching up to her sooner than expected. Plus, if she didn't hurry there was always the chance of-

Suddenly, a light chiming sound came from somewhere the distance, startling Xenovia. She froze and listened again, and noticed the sound was much like a melody of sorts. The kind that a set of musical bells would produce.

"Who goes there!?" She shouted, pulling out her knife in defense.

No reply came, as only the sound of whimsical chimes could be heard, coming closer and closer. The beautiful yet eerie noise made the hair on the back of Xenovia's neck stand up and caused a chill to echo throughout her body.

"Something isn't right..." She mumbled, gazing around at the darkness of the trees frantically.

Xenovia could sense it, a strange feeling in the air that certainly wasn't natural. But besides the threat of an animal attack, she could not image what sort of danger she now found herself in. She carefully took a step forward, keeping her knife held high.

"I'm warning you to show yourself. I won't hold back if you don't!" She warned.

The bells became even louder and sounded as if they were rushing up to meet her, like a monster stalking her from the darkness. In a moment of panic, Xenovia took off running. Still, the sound of chimes got even closer. Again and again she took a new twist or a quick turn, heading even deeper into the forest around her, all in an effort to escape whatever was chasing her. She didn't know which way she was going, but for now it didn't truly matter. The only thing she could be sure of was the sudden threat of death hot on her heels!

Just then, Xenovia felt her foot catch on something beneath her. In an instant she fell face first, knocking the breath right out of her lungs. She lay there for a moment, listening for the sound of ringing bells. But oddly enough, they could no longer be heard. She kept silent for a minute, yet there was no trace of her pursuer. Instead, she heard a slight slithering sound coming from among the leaves on the ground.

A snake!?

She slowly tried to steady herself as she prepared to run away once more. But before Xenovia could make a move, she saw something lurking nearby in the shadows. Then she watched with horror as dozens of thin, long tailed snakes instantly appeared, rising up from beneath the dirt. They dashed out and reached for her arms and legs, wrapping themselves around her body from every angle. Xenovia let out a panicked scream and quickly tried to pull herself away from their advances. But as one limb was freed, another seemed to get tangled up. The hoard of snakes seemed to be endless too, with more and more appearing, all from the same direction.

Using her knife, Xenovia sliced away at the snakes on her left arm. But as she did, even more overtook her right one. With a combined effort, the snakes on her right arm yanked in the opposite direction, as if they shared one mind, causing her to drop the weapon and lose her balance. Xenovia fell to one knee, where even more snakes appeared to bind her up. She tried to scream for help, but it was no use. She knew no one was around to hear her, let alone offer help. Indeed, just as Helga warned, she was absolutely helpless right now. Unable to stop the hoard, like a fly trapped in a web by a spider she was dragged away.

Of course, this was also when Xenovia realized that these horrible snakes, which had come out of the ground, weren't really snakes at all.