The Forest

To put it simply, I was lost.

Pretty hopelessly, I might add.

I don't take orders well. Or heed warnings.

So when I heard of these woods, whose leaves were said to come alive at night, I couldn't resist. What can I say? My curiosity knows no bounds.

Of course, I didn't stick around to hear him finish saying every soul to go exploring here never came back. So here I was, probably not coming back.

Honestly, I had to stop doing this.

If there ever was a trail, there wasn't one now. How odd, I thought. I couldn't remember coming in. I couldn't even remember the treeline.

It was when that realization struck me that the trees began rustling with a certain restlessness, bushes started shaking excitedly, and vines seemed to move of their own accord.

Everything seemed...enlivened, in the worst way.

My surroundings darkened, and I looked up to find limbs closing over me, blocking out the sky.

That's when I realized the enormity of my mistake.

When the first leaf separated from the rest, I panicked.

I wasn't getting out of this one.

Alive, at least.

***

I woke up shaking.

Er, being shaken, rather.

"Damn it, Shay! What the fuck were you thinking?" I blinked open my eyes to find above me a blurry, familiar face, etched with concern.

"A...Aidan? Where am I? What are you doing here?"

Before he could answer, I passed out.

***

My memories came flooding back, and I bolted upright.

The swarm...

"NO! Aidan, hurry! We have to run!"

He held me down. "What? Shay, run from what? We're inside. You're safe."

I stopped, and stared around me in disbelief.

Sure enough, I was at the inn. The crackling of a fire blazing in the hearth, the comfort of my room. I was in bed, a chair pulled up next to me. I shook my head. This wasn't right. None of this was right.

"You fell down the stairs, remember? I found you, early in the morning while everyone was asleep. Scared the daylights out of me. What were you doing, anyway?"

I blinked.

I fell? It...it was all a dream?

"Aidan, I was..." I started, then stopped.

The longer I thought about it, the less I remembered.

"It must have been quite a knock for you to wake up like that. Are you sure you're alright?"

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, paused, and looked at him. "I'm...okay. Um, are you sure you didn't find me...anywhere strange? In the forest, by chance?"

He gave me an odd look, then stood to leave. "Shay, your mind sure does throw me for a loop sometimes. Besides, you know not to go exploring. I told you, those woods are dangerous."

Right before he closed the door, he winked. "Especially for a pretty girl like you."

I blushed, glad he couldn't see, then winced at the sudden throb at the back of my head.

Glancing out the window towards the trees, I decided it was a dream.

A really, really vivid dream.

***

That night, he stood at the heart of it all, at the end of the disappearing trail.

Where he'd found Shay splayed across the stump in front of him - an altar of sorts - right in the nick of time.

"She's mine."

Vines slithered about his feet.

There are not many who venture here.

"I don't care. You can't have her."

Limbs swung menacingly above his head.

You do not control us.

"Ah, but I know the one who does. Did you forget, so soon?"

The harsh whispering of shrubs quieted.

Who will feed us?

"I will. Do it now, before I lose patience."

As the host of tiny, winged fae detached from their plants and bit into every visible inch of his skin, he gritted his teeth. And waited the required time. He had to pay the price for her life, after all.

When it was done, he spoke.

"The tithe is paid. Leave me."

As their fangs left his flesh and they flew back to their places, a collective chuckle sounded.

You are a fool.

"Once every three moons, I will send a traveler here from the inn. In return, you will disclose what you know to no one. Is that clear?"

What you seek is forbidden.

"Or do you wish me to tell your master that you're close to growing beyond his control? Surely, you know what will happen then."

Silence greeted him.

"I will ask again. Is that clear?"

Yessssssssssssssssss.

As he left the wood, he sighed.

Damn her. She'd caused a lot of trouble for him.

Oh well, he thought, and smiled.

Such was the nature of falling in love with a human.