With every frantic breath she took, Audrey felt the darkness press in tighter, squeezing the air from her lungs like a boa constrictor crushing its prey. She tried to wrestle her way to freedom, but whatever had her in its grip was strong and unrelenting. The walls around her scratched at her skin, rough like the bark of the tree she'd felled only moments earlier.
And, through it all, she could hear Welkin shouting. She stopped resisting for a second and strained to hear what they were saying. Perhaps it was the lack of oxygen playing tricks on her mind, but their words didn't sound like words at all. Instead, Welkin's cries sounded like music; a melody without lyrics, played on an instrument that existed only in dreams. She would have found it beautiful had she not been fighting for her life against some unknown attacker.
Suddenly, the pressure ceased. Audrey's heart skipped a beat as a monstrous groan came from all around her. It sounded like the tree did as it gave way to gravity. Welkin's musical voice trilled again, less frenzied than before. Then came another groan, and Audrey realized that what she was listening to was a conversation in languages she couldn't even begin to fathom. Slowly, and somewhat reluctantly, the walls that held Audrey prisoner began to recede. Cracks formed and she had to blink back against the onslaught of sunlight that seeped in. The light illuminated a tight nest of branches that coiled around Audrey from all sides. Rather than try to make sense of it, she scrambled out of the widest crack she could reach and fell to the earth with a graceless thud. She didn't even stop to consider whether she had hurt herself, fumbling instead to her feet and dashing directly into Welkin's outstretched arms.
"Take a breath, Audrey," Welkin said in a language Audrey actually understood. Their tone was delicate and soothing, and they stoked the top of Audrey's head as she burrowed her face into the safety of their shoulder.
"What happened?" she sobbed, quaking all over. "Did I do that too?"
"Not this time," Welkin replied. They unwound their arms and, with their hands on her shoulders, pushed Audrey back and turned her around. What she saw staring back at her was a creature unlike anything she'd ever seen before. It stood tall on a pair of root-like legs, with long arms that hung like thick, twisted vines at its sides. Its hands and feet were as black as freshly turned soil up to its wrists and ankles, where the skin—or was it a coat?—gradually transitioned to the color and texture of weather-worn bark. A pair of elegant antlers protruded from a bed of moss and other flora that made its home atop the creature's head. Two dark and intense eyes stared back at Audrey from a face that made her think of an impossibly old person. She wondered if she even would have noticed the creature among the trees had it not been standing directly in front of her. Audrey bit her lip and glanced at the mangled knot of roots at the creature's side, the ones that looked to have erupted from the ground and twisted together to form the crushing prison from which she had just escaped.
"What is that?" she whispered, her heart hammering violently against her ribs.
"That," Welkin replied, "is a forest spirit."
"A forest spirit?" Audrey repeated, gawking in disbelief. "They're real?" She had grown up hearing stories about forest spirits and other magical creatures, but aside from the fae in the woods and a ghost who roamed the old library in town, she had never actually seen any of these creatures in person. To her own surprise, she was overcome by a shyness normally reserved for meeting a favorite author or a famous singer.
"Why do you sound so surprised?" Welkin asked, keeping their eyes locked on the forest spirit. The spirit tipped its head, as if it too was curious to know the answer. Audrey considered the question.
"I guess I just assumed forest spirits only existed in stories," she explained. "I've never seen one in real life before."
Welkin patted her shoulder. "Yes, well, some might say the same thing about you." They cleared their throat and spoke a little louder. "Do you know what forest spirits do?"
Audrey thought back to the stories her mother and teachers had read to her as a child. "They're guardians and caretakers. Their job is to make sure no one hurts..." her voice trailed off as the pieces clicked together in her mind. The burn of a mortified blush added to the sting of the cuts and scrapes that already criss crossed her cheeks. Swallowing down the hard lump in her throat, Audrey glanced at the splintered trunk of the ancient tree she had toppled with her tantrum and said, "They make sure no one hurts the forest."
"Indeed," Welkin said. They leaned down so they would speak directly into her ear. "As I'm sure you can understand, this one isn't pleased about the mess you've made. I've convinced them to let you go, but I still think they deserve an apology, don't you?"
Welkin didn't need to say it twice. Audrey apologized again and again for knocking down the tree and for disrespecting the forest and for being a terrible person all around. With every rambling "I'm sorry", the spirit lumbered a little bit closer until it towered over her. It reached down and pressed a dark, gnarled finger under her chin and tipped her head back. Audrey stared into the spirit's eyes, feeling smaller than she ever had in her entire life. After what felt like an eternity, the forest spirit lifted its gaze to Welkin and let out a series of deep groans. Welkin sang in reply.
"Are you... talking to each other?" Audrey whispered, to which Welkin nodded. "What did it say?"
A wry smile tugged at Welkin's mouth. "It said that I have my work cut out for me with you." Audrey wasn't sure whether to be insulted or flattered.
Silently, the spirit turned and pointed toward the woods. Audrey watched in complete disbelief as the trees began shifting to the side until what was once a dense underbrush became a perfect path that stretched off far beyond what she could see. She was still gawping at it as Welkin nudged her forward and onto the path. Once they were several paces along, Welkin stopped her with a hand upon her shoulder. Together they watched as the trees behind them moved back into place so imperceptibly that Audrey would have doubted her own eyes if not for the fact that one moment she could see the forest spirit and the next it was completely obscured from view.
Before she could ask what was happening, Audrey was pulled into Welkin's tight embrace once more.
"Let me see you," they demanded shakily as they tipped Audrey's face up and smoothed back the hair that had come loose from her ponytail. Their fingertips grazed her scuffed face, making Audrey wince. Then, to Audrey's seemingly endless surprise, Welkin choked out a small sob.
"My dear child," they whispered as they pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, "I thought I had lost you."
This confession seemed to knock something loose in Audrey's soul. All of the fear and confusion was suddenly unbearable, and she felt so very tired. And so, Audrey let Welkin hold her close, and she cried.
"I'm so sorry," she wailed. "I shouldn't have said those things — I shouldn't have gotten mad. I don't— I don't know what's wrong with me."
Welkin shushed her softly. "I am the one who should be apologizing to you. I didn't realize I was causing you so much pain, but I should have." They tipped their head so that their cheek rested atop Audrey's hair. "Can I tell you a secret, daughter?"
The prospect of hearing a Star's secret made Audrey shiver, but she nodded anyway. She felt Welkin smile against her scalp.
"I have no idea what I'm doing," Welkin said. "I don't know the first thing about being a parent. Without your mother here, I am lost — in many ways, but especially when it comes to you. I don't know what you need from me and, if I'm being truthful, that frightens me."
Audrey rubbed away her tears with the sleeve of her now filthy hoody and huffed a quiet laugh. "If it makes you feel any better, I think that's how human parents feel too."
Welkin laughed. "Strangely enough, that does help. Still... I know that I have failed you thus far, Audrey. And, you're right — I should not have waited until now to step in. Perhaps it's too late for our relationship to be what it could have been, but I'm hoping you will let me try to make amends."
"I don't need you to make amends," Audrey said, pulling back so that she could look her parent in the eyes. "I just need you to be here for me now. Because, if I'm being truthful, I'm scared too."
Welkin smiled and their eyes glittered. "I appreciate your candor."
They untangled their arms from one another and stepped apart. It was only then that Audrey realized that Welkin had her pack slung across their shoulder, and her heart ached tenderly.
"So..." she ventured, "what now?"
Tipping their head thoughtfully, Welkin considered the question for a moment. "Perhaps we should begin by exploring how to channel your newfound power into something slightly less destructive."
Audrey grinned. "Sounds good to me."
***
✨ Thanks for reading! If you like my work and would like to support me, you can...✨
⭐ Subscribe at Ko-Fi.com/Maggie
⭐ Comment and vote on this chapter
⭐ Share this story with your friends on social media