Paper Crowns [On Hold]

[9] Heaven's Cry

"Maybe walking blind for over an hour wouldn't be so bad if we knew where we were going," I mumble dryly as we trudge behind Ethan.

He remains silent and continues forward. 

After attacking us in the parking lot earlier for no good reason, Ethan is now taking us alarmingly deep into the woods. And yet, I have no right to claim he's crazy because the craziest one here is me for following him despite his recent actions.

How do I know he won't attack us again?

I did demand answers when he initially expressed his desire to take us to meet someone, but he didn't explain clearly. And of course, despite logic desperately pointing to the obvious option of not going with Ethan, curiosity won.

Recently it seems curiosity has always been winning.

And if that wasn't enough, the fiasco back there confirmed my suspicions. Ethan has a level of expertise in combat that neither Justin or I could even begin to imagine. If he really wants to deal serious damage, there is not a thing the two of us can do about it.

Great, Victoria, you're going deep into an unknown part of the woods with him. Real smart.

No use chiding myself now, best to start scanning the ground for potential weapons in case things go south.

My unease heightens as we dwell deeper into the forest.

During my few weeks on my campus, I was always vaguely aware of the surrounding greenery but never paid too much attention. It never crossed my mind to inquire about exactly how much of the forest is Robus property. I reckon if we keep going this way, eventually we'll step off of school grounds.

Or maybe I'm naïve and underestimating how far Robus truly sprawls. 

The scene slowly begins to change as the trunks of the trees become broader and the leaves become stockier. Soon, there is almost no moonlight penetrating through the growth overhead.

Then I see it. Though just barely. In fact, I shouldn't be able to spot something like that from this distance. Weird.

To the right of us, a single tree stands out. There appears to be some carvings etched onto it.

"Wait, Ethan, let's stop," I say. I change directions immediately and stride towards the tree, wanting to get a more personal look at those markings.

It's only when I come close do I realize that I was wrong. It's not simply carvings on the trunk, it's carvings on a door on the trunk. That's right, there's a door on the trunk.

The carvings I saw from afar are simply decorations adorning the entryway. They run up the thin door frame, casing the entire area with delicate wooden flowers and vines parallel to the hinges.

It's captivating. Magical. This is the type of door I would expect to be crowned with jewels ranging from sapphires to emeralds. Truly a King's entrance. But it isn't, the door is decorated completely with solid wood and somehow it works better this way.

From behind me, Justin asks, "is that a door? A door... in a tree? This day is so weird. First secret honey, then crazier than usual annoying Ethan, and now a tree-door." It seems both the boys stopped walking and are now hovering nearby.

Justin moves forward and gently glides his fingers along the wooden flowers on the door frame.

I glance back, searching for Ethan, and find him lurking in the shadows.

Maybe Ethan led us through this route specifically because of the door. Considering the certainty with which he was traveling earlier, he has been through these tracks hundreds of times before. In that case, he has to have noticed the door here.