Days Later.
The Deep forest loomed before her, dark and uninviting, its ancient trees twisting upward like claws against the twilight sky.
This beyond her father's realm .Beyond where she was allowed to go.
Its changed in Kaelion's absence.
The once-vibrant glade where they met now seems lifeless, its magic fading. its cloaked in mist, the trees looking like silent watchers.
Sunlight barely filters through the dense canopy, and the air carries an eerie stillness, broken only by the distant rustle of leaves.
The trail is overgrown, hinting that few dare to venture this far into the wilderness.
Guided by duty and desperation,
No longer the carefree girl who roamed the woods. Now a young woman and an accomplished archer,
She tightened her grip on Sable's reins, her breath steady despite the rapid drumbeat of her heart.
She had spent the last few days convincing herself this was the right choice.
Now, standing at the edge of the unknown, doubts began to whisper.
"where are you brother.." she murmured under her breath.
Eugene had been so maddened with grief, that he said nothing at all. No clues to go by.
Her father's disapproval showered her mind.
Elaine glanced over her shoulder at the horizon, where the spires of her father's castle faded into shadow.
With a soft nudge, she urged Stolas forward into the woods.
The air grew heavier with each step, the sounds of the forest fading into an unnatural hush.
Her path was lit only by slivers of moonlight piercing the canopy above.
She had been warned that the deep forest was treacherous, a realm that resisted mortal trespassers.
Still, she pressed on,. She must.
It had been years since she had been thru these paths. her last meeting with Ronan.
Back then, he was simply a stranger she encountered once a month at the stone circle near the border.
He seemed impossibly otherworldly—too beautiful, too sharp, too watchful.
She'd assumed he was an exiled noble, traveling in secret.
He never lingered long, their conversations brief but always charged with something unspoken.
Elaine shook the thought away, forcing herself to focus on the path ahead.
It didn't matter who he had been.
He left. And that was that.
A faint shimmer caught her eye through the trees, pulling her from her thoughts.
She reined in Stolas, her pulse quickening. There, just ahead, was an archway of woven branches glowing with an unearthly light.
"Eugene?" she called softly, her voice echoing like a ripple through a still pond. No answer came.
Only silence.
Then—a crack.
Her fingers moved on instinct.
In one fluid motion, she drew her bow, notched an arrow, and spun, aiming into the thicket with practiced precision. Her breath stilled.
She never missed.
Leaves rustled.
Just as she was about to release, a high voice squeaked
"WAIT! I'm too handsome to die!"
Elaine's eyes widened.
From the underbrush, Fin stumbled forward, wings half-folded, chest heaving with exaggerated drama as he threw up his arms.
"Fin? What are you doing here?" she asked, lowering her bow with a sigh.
The sparrow landed on a mossy branch and huffed. "Your father sent me. He's really, really angry, by the way. You kind of vanished into one of the most dangerous places on the continent."
She groaned, rubbing her temple. "I wish he would stop treating me like a child. I've fought worse than some lurking shadows."
Fin arched a brow and floated over to perch on her shoulder.
"You've never been in the Deep Forest, though. But your father has." He leaned in, his voice quieting. "And it's what scares him the most in this world."
She blinked. "Father is scared of something?"
"Among losing his favorite child? Yeah."
A pause.
Elaine stared ahead as Fin continued, his tone more serious than usual.
"You know the legend of Humbaba, right?" he said. "The beast of the shifting glade. When your father was younger—reckless like you—he came here with his closest companion. Enkidu. They fought it. Barely won. Your father almost lost everything that day."
Elaine mounted her horse again, her gaze scanning the shadows ahead as Fin perched on the leather strap of her cloak. She urged the horse forward, weaving deeper into the ancient woods.
"So that's why he was so eager to go to war," she murmured. "Because the forest reminds him he can lose."
Fin nodded. "You're not wrong."
The air vibrated with magic, and she could feel it now—a hum deep in her bones, pulling her forward.
She's been tracking signs of an enormous creature—a trail of broken branches, claw marks on trees, and deep impressions in the earth.
Her instincts warn her that the beast could be near, but curiosity and determination push her forward.
Stolas, navigating through treacherous paths and ancient wards that separate the mortal and fae realms.
She spots a hunched figure sitting on a moss-covered rock. It's an old woman, wrapped in a tattered shawl, her gray hair cascading over her shoulders.
She stirs a pot over a small fire, the bubbling contents releasing an herbal scent that seems to cut through the forest's dampness.
The woman looks up as Elaine approaches, her eyes sharp and knowing despite her frail appearance.
"Ah, a wanderer in these parts. You're far from safety, child."
lowering her bow slightly. "..I've traveled this forest many times. I can handle myself." unsettled by the woman's words but unwilling to abandon her quest.
" you must be starving, ..here have my lunch i insist its a day walk to the village"
As the woman speaks, she reaches out to touch Elara's arm.
For a moment, Elaine feels a strange warmth radiating from the old woman's hand, and her mind flashes with fleeting images—a glowing pair of eyes in the dark, a shadowy figure, and the sound of a low growl.
She jerks her arm away, her heart pounding. "Who are you?"
The old woman smiles, her yellowed teeth glinting.
"Someone who knows more about you than you think, The forest remembers, child. It knows its own. And so do I."O "Elaine, second princess of the king."
The old woman rises slowly, her movements impossibly fluid for someone her age.
Elaine stiffens, her hand instinctively moving to the charm around her neck—a trinket she thought no one else knew about.
The old woman's expression shifts, her earlier frailty giving way to a sly smile.
She stands taller, and the fire seems to flare unnaturally, casting long, twisted shadows around them.
"I am the keeper of the forest..,. I know all ..it belongs to the darkness—and to me.
Before Elara can react, the woman's form begins to change. Her hunched back straightens, her gray hair darkens, and her gnarled hands become smooth and pale.
The shawl falls away, revealing a strikingly beautiful woman with an aura of power.
But i am not the threat you seek ,listen carefully child ."What you seek to prevent the doom, is in the heart of the king of the fairies .with it ..is the power to wipe all evil that palutes this land both forest and human..dont take it.and watch it all disappear in darkness "
"Go on, little archer. Continue your hunt. But beware—. The greatest victory always requires great sacrifice .
Before Elaine can press further,With a wave of her hand, the witch vanishes into the mist, leaving Elara alone.
The fire dies, and the forest feels colder and darker than before.
As she stands alone, her heart racing, she notices something unusual on her arm where the old woman touched her—a faint, glowing mark in the shape of a crescent moon.
Suddenly, the stillness of the forest is shattered by a distant, echoing howl.
It's a sound unlike any she's ever heard, deep and guttural, sending chills down her spine.
She readies her bow and glances around, her senses heightened.
As twilight thickened into night, Elaine finally pulled the reins near a circle of silver-leafed trees.
The area felt calm, protected. She slid down from the saddle and began to set up camp.
That's when she heard it.
A low, rumbling breath—deep and ancient. She spun, bow already in hand.
But what stepped out of the shadows wasn't a threat.
It was… him.
The beast she had saved years ago.
No longer a wounded cub hiding beneath fallen logs—but now fully grown.
Towering. Muscles rippling beneath mossy fur. His eyes glowed with gold and pain—but also recognition.
She lowered her bow. "You remember me…"
The creature huffed, padding forward. Gentle. Curious.
Fin whispered in awe, "That's… Humbaba's child."
Elaine's heart twisted. "Then that's why it was angry back then. My father killed its mother."
The creature nudged its head against her shoulder, and Elaine closed her eyes, one hand resting gently against its hide.
"We're friends now." she whispered.
But peace didn't last.
"Elaine Pendragon. Second Princess of the Human Realm."
"I'm looking for my brother. Have you seen him."
"He has journeyed to the Fae Kingdom," they said, their voice both everywhere and nowhere.
Elaine's breath caught.
So he had gone after the fae.
She squared her shoulders. "Can you show me the way."
The guardian tilted their head. "No Pendragon has stepped foot beyond the veil and returned unchanged."
" Im bring my brother home, weather he likes it or not." He leads her deep into the woods, to a place she's never seen before—a hidden grove where the air hums with ancient magic. While trailing with Stolas, barely has time to react as a net of shimmering magic ensnares her and her horse. The fae warriors, clad in armor that seems to ripple like water, circle her with sharp weapons made of crystalline energy.
Elaine didn't see them coming.
One moment she was walking beside the beast—the grown child of Humbaba—her footsteps quiet, her eyes scanning the forest. The next, the world around her bent.
The air shimmered like a warped mirror, and suddenly, the trees were gone.
The sky had turned lavender. And everything smelled of honey, moss, and something… ancient.
She blinked. "Fin?" she whispered, but the pixie was already flitting near her ear, wings thrumming.
"El, we're not in the forest anymore," he said, panic rising in his voice. "I think—I think we passed into their realm."
And then the Fae appeared.
Dozens of them. Cloaked in glamour. Their skin shimmered with unnatural hues—violet veins beneath moonstone skin, eyes like bioluminescent pools. They didn't speak. They didn't need to. One simply raised a hand.
Elaine reached for her bow—but vines burst from the ground, wrapping around her wrists and ankles. She struggled, snarling. "Let me go!"
The lead fae approached. Their voice was as smooth as still water:
"You walk with beasts and echoes, but you trespass, mortal princess."
Elaine spat back, "I'm not afraid of you."
"You should be," they whispered.
As they began to bind her arms behind her back with silk-like chains, she shouted, "Fin—go! Tell my father! Go now!"
Fin hesitated, hovering near her cheek, his tiny face twisted in agony. "Elaine—!"
"Go!" she yelled.
He vanished in a blink, darting up into the sky like a silver streak.
Elaine's last glimpse of him was as the glamour shimmered again, and the world folded into a blur of music and light—and she was gone.
"A mortal, wandering so boldly in our lands?and a woman no less." Elaine struggling against her bonds.
"I am Elaine, second princess of the mortal realm.you will show me the respect i am entitled to. "
That seemed to get their attention.
" I come seeking an audience with your king and i will have it." The captain narrows his eyes, unimpressed. "The king has no time for mortal pleas. "
Elaine glares at him, her tone unwavering.
"Take me to him, or do you plan to explain to your king why my Father the great king Gilgamesh is headed this way ."
The captain hesitates, her father's presence giving him pause. After a tense moment, he signals to his warriors.
"It's youre funeral princess."