I quickly drifted off to the sound of the horse's hooves and the soft rocking of the carriage. When I awoke we were surrounded by a thick fog, it was so thick I couldn't see the horses out in front. It clung onto my skin, grabbed to my hair and settled on my clothes. I clutched the strange paper parcel I had been given as I spun around in my seat, straining my eyes but seeing nothing. The only comfort was the steady beat of the horse's hooves hitting the ground. The fog continued for a long time, how long I could not say as time seemed to slow in the fog, but eventually, it began to thin, and outlines of trees began to emerge from the mist.
At the edge of the fog was a huge gate, taller than anything I had ever seen before; it was made of dark brick and the gates themselves were covered in gold. The brickwork above the gate was engraved with the Tale Caster's crest and the symbol of the sunflower. On the other side was the brightest forest I had ever seen. The trees were a vibrant green and I could see birds of all colours of the rainbow flying around. A complete change from the white fog that stood behind me. As we pulled closer to the gate the horses were slowed to a stop and the carriage driver jumped off his perch and went towards a small hut.
Inside, was a guard wearing a white and black uniform. His helmet had a gorgeous white plume coming out from the top and when he stood up I saw he had a silver sword tucked into his belt. The carriage driver went over to this guard and after a small discussion, the guard handed over a piece of paper and pulled a lever. With this, the gates started to creak and slowly began to open. This took a long time and by the time the driver had got back to the carriage the gates were still creaking open. I began to get impatient, tapping my foot on the wooden floor until we started to move again.
All other emotions were replaced by wonder as we passed gates. I had never seen anything as bright and colourful in my life. There was so much life in the forest, it was as if even the air was alive. There were flowers of all kinds carpeting the forest floor and so many animals were running around. There were the animals and flowers I was used to seeing back in Cinderheath but there were also new and unusual creatures in the forest. Strange birds that I couldn't have even imagined and mythical beasts with wings and horns. A small herd of deer-like creatures ran alongside the carriage for a while and I yelled out in delight. They were smaller than deer and had small colourful wings on their backs. They let out small yips and barks as they ran cheerfully alongside the carriage After a while they flew off into the treetops and I didn't see them again for that journey.
I spent the rest of the journey watching this new and interesting world fly past the carriage window. Occasionally another, mysterious creature would follow the carriage and there was always an interesting thing to look at. We passed gnarled oak trees with ancient faces formed into their trunks which I swore I saw move, and enchanting pools that glistened and shimmered with winged creatures hovering above them. We also passed small cottages with colourful smoke pouring from their chimneys, far away from any other civilisation. At this point, the carriage driver turned to face me.
"I wouldn't go anywhere near those cottages, Princess" he muttered roughly. I was about to ask why when he continued. "Witches live in those cottages, they do" he said, a tinge of fear in his voice. It was clear he had had some bad experience with these so-called "witches", but I didn't believe him at the time. I thought he was just being judgemental about some poor old women who lived out in the forest.
Soon enough we came to a village, the sign at the entrance said in flowy writing "Welcome to Hemlock. The oldest village in Aureum" Aureum, the word rolled on my tongue. That was the name of the land I would call my home for the next few years. The village was bursting with energy. The architecture was completely different from anything I was used to seeing in Cinderheath. The buildings seemed alive and were completely made from wood. In Cinderheath most buildings were built from stone but in Hemlock I didn't see a single stone building. The buildings all had flowers growing on windowsills and some looked like they even had trees growing from their walls.
There were people everywhere and even though the carriage driver was the trying to get us through the village as fast as he could, our pace slowed to a crawl as we had to navigate fruit stalls and shoppers. As we were weaving through the village a question crossed my mind and I couldn't get it out of my head. Where did all these people come from and when would they be leaving the tale?
As far as I knew I was the first person of this story to enter Aureum so when had these people arrived? There were certainly not enough doors in the sunflower corridor at Nullo-Loco to have housed even half the people I had seen so far. They also seemed so settled, like they had all known each other from childhood. I wondered if there were permanent residents in the tales. People that lived their whole lives here. I was confused. There was so much more to the tales than what I had first thought, they were much more complex than I had ever been told and I wondered what else I hadn't been warned about. What else was hidden in this seemingly perfect world and why hadn't anybody told me about these people?
As we went through the village people stopped and stared at the carriage, I felt my cheeks blush and I tried to slide down in my seat, for the first time in my life I wished that the focus wasn't on me. All my life I had wanted to be the centre of attention but really it felt horrible. I felt like the villagers were scrutinising me, judging me on my every move. I guess it was expected as I was probably the most important person that had come through the village since the last story ended but it still took me by surprise, and I winced as I saw someone glance at me and then turn to whisper to the person next to him. I spent most of the time that we were in the village looking at the floor of the carriage, trying not to catch any of the curious glances from outside. I was so glad when we finally escaped the village and we went back into the forest.
The forest on this side of the village was different from the one we had gone through earlier. The trees were larger and taller, making the moss-covered floor darker and less inviting. We saw fewer creatures here as well, there were no brightly coloured birds or cheerful woodland animals. The horned beasts we did see were hidden in the shadows and disappeared as soon as I saw them. There was an overall change in the atmosphere, and I shivered a little, it was not a bad change, but it was another feeling I had never experienced before, the forest seemed to be watching me here, waiting on baited breath for my next move, like I was the main event and in some ways I guess, I was. Once I reached the tower I would set the whole tale in motion and the new story would begin.
The trees began to grow thicker the further we went into the forest. Their trunks became larger than small cars and as tall as skyscrapers, blocking out the sun. The darker it got, the colder it became as well. There was a blanket neatly folded in the corner of the carriage and I wrapped it around myself whilst the driver lit an oil lantern to guide the way. It was strange that as soon as you entered the tale any modern technology is rejected in favour of the old, I had seen no technology in the village at all. Soon all light had left the forest floor and the only light was the small lantern guiding us, even in the fog I hadn't felt as lost as I did in the dark forest. After what felt like an eternity we came to a clearing and as we turned the bend,I gasped.
The clearing in front of me was the most beautiful I had ever seen. The sun shone down from the clouds into it. Its golden rays dispelling the darkness of the forest. The moss was bright and seemed to have a warm glow, a gentle stream of sparkling blue water trickled down through the clearing from the forest into a small pond. All contained within a wall of the tallest trees I had ever seen that grew thickly around the edges of the clearing, it was just like the books had said it would be but the most amazing thing of all was the tower. It seemed to be alive and was made from the tallest trees I had ever seen. The trees seemed to weave together up towards the sky, towering above the other trees to create a base and up in the branches nestled between the leaves at the top of the tower thin branches had weaved together to form a mystical living balcony.
I stepped out of the carriage and towards the tower. As I walked, the heels I was wearing sunk into the soft ground leaving small holes behind me, I made a mental note to change into trainers as soon as possible. The driver unloaded my bags and led me towards the entrance. It was a big wooden door carved into the base of the tower and was covered in so many carvings that I didn't even manage to look at them all. In the centre of the door was a golden sunflower which began to glow the closer I got to it, there was also an inscription on the top of the door that said, "once upon a time, in redwood tower...". The door suddenly swung open on its own and the driver placed my bags inside before heading back to the carriage. He got back onto his perch and waved to me before driving off, leaving me alone in the clearing.
I stepped through the doorway cautiously before stopping in awe. Even though I had already seen so many amazing sights in Aureum nothing could have prepared me for the inside of the tower. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. From the inside, you could see the tree's trunks winding around each other to create the walls and gaps that had formed natural windows letting golden rays of light pierce through the dark wood. There was another tree that had grown in the centre of the tower and its branches had formed into steps leading up to the top. I took off my heels and began to climb the staircase, my feet sinking into the moss as I walked. I then stopped realising that I had forgotten all my luggage at the bottom of the stairs. I headed back down, and my heart sunk. I was never going to be able to carry all four large suitcases up such a large staircase.
Just as I reached the bottom of the staircase the suitcases started glowing and started climbing the staircase on their own accord! I laughed and started to follow my suitcases up the staircase, the tower really was magical. About halfway up I looked out of one of the small windows and found that I was already higher than any other tree in the forest. The tower really did rise above the forest and I could see all the way to the horizon. Looking across the I realised just how big it was and how far I had come, the dark trees continued as far as the eye could see and in the distance, I could see a speck that must have been Hemlock, the village we had driven through. I continued climbing and eventually reached the top of the staircase where my luggage was waiting for me, I guess magic was only willing to help me so far.
There was a door at the end of the staircase, and it creaked slightly when I opened it, it didn't seem like it had been opened in a long time. I stepped in confidently, dragging one of my ridiculously large bags behind me, planning to come back for the rest of them once I had tackled the enormous task of unpacking the first one. The room was larger than I had thought it would be, there were two floors, the bottom floor contained a living area, kitchen and balcony and upstairs was the bedrooms. Everything was made from wood and seemed to be growing. Everything seemed so alive and I loved it. I didn't mind that I would be imprisoned here as it looked amazing. I wouldn't have even minded if the prince never came and just left me here to enjoy my life in this clearing. As I struggled to drag the large suitcase up the small staircase to the bedroom I heard an unfamiliar voice.
"Hi!" It said cheerfully "You're the new princess I assume?"