Lotte finished her fruit as a blue leaf drifted down onto her nose. She flicked it off to see it fall to the ground upside down, revealing gold lettering etched on it's back. She picked it up in haste, nearly ripping the fragile foliage. It read: "She who believes will find her way." Lotte read it a few more times before carefully placing the leaf in her pail. The fruit was beginning to bruise. She would have to find something else to give her nourishment; she was unsure of how long she would be in this forest. Lotte started off into the trees, looking for any sign of plant she would be able to eat. "I should have asked Poe what would have happened if I starved," she teased herself. Lotte continued her search, but all the trees grew the same blue and orange leaves. There was no other plant life, and Lotte began to feel hopeless.
She had been walking for quite some time now, and her legs were becoming quite tiresome. She had but one fruit left, and her stomach growled in anticipation of it. Lotte sat down beneath a grouping of trees and quietly at the fruit, leaving nothing in her tin pail but the tiny blue leaf. She took it out and read it again. This time it read: "She who believes will find her way. She need only believe!" Closing her eyes Lotte repeated the words until, exhausted from her day's journey, she fell to sleep.
Sunlight danced on her eyelids, causing Lotte to wake from her slumber. She yawned and stretched, and sat upright amongst soft quilts and pillows. Looking around she realized she was not in the forest anymore, but in a large room. The bed she rested upon was in the far corner by a large window of stained glass. In the opposite corner was a table with a washing basin and a plate that looked as it it contained bread and a bowl of soup, still steaming. A wooden door, carved with fairies and gnomes faced her. As she listened she could hear footsteps fast approaching, and then the a rather plump woman burst inside.
"Good mornin, my child!" the woman laughed. "Yer nearly slept for two days! How are yer feeling?" She briskly walked over to grab the soup and bread and brought it to Lotte.
"Thank you," Lotte squeaked as she took the food offered her. The bread was soft, and the bowl contained a medley of vegetables. Her stomach groaned in approval. "I'm feeling... Hungry," she answered and began dipping her bread in her soup.
"What were yer doin out in the middle of Fate's Forest, punkin? That's no place to be galavantin aboot." She brought Lotte a cup of water and sat atop a chest the foot of the bed.
"It's a long story," Lotte began, "I went inside the well, and the land was beautiful, but there was no way for me to get back home. Then I met Poe and he lead me to the Forest. That's all I remember."
The woman nodded her head and took a deep breath. "I'm glad ter be the one ter find yer," she smiled.
The woman rose and walked over to the door, and hesitated before she turned back to face Lotte. "Best be gettin all the rest you can today. I'm afraid we will be leaving tomorrow." She closed the door behind her, leaving Lotte alone and no longer with an appetite.
"Leaving," Lotte mused. "Why are we leaving?"
After finishing her soup, despite the uneasy feeling in her stomach, she washed her face and hands and dried them by the window. Looking out she saw rolling hills and green pastures. From the looks of it she was in one of the towers to a great, stone palace, covered in ivy as if it sprang from the pages of a fairytale. The sun was beginning to set now, and in the distant Lotte saw the faint hues of blue and orange leaves. "Fate's Forest," she repeated, and looking for her pail took out her leaf. The letter was fading, but it's message still remained the same: She who believes will find her way. She need only believe!
Remembering Poe's grave warning for his world, and feeling her heart ache for home, Lotte set out to find the woman. "She may be able to add more to this mystery," she prompted, "and if I am to stay here I need to know what is happening to this land." She carefully placed the leaf inside her pocket and headed out the bedroom door. The castle was more so a maze. Lotte turned and twisted down staircases only to find hallways full of doors leading to empty rooms. She did not know the way back to the room she was given, and upon taking another flight of stairs she found herself in the great hall.
The doors of the castle looked strong, as if they were made from iron. The same carvings of fairies and gnomes were patterned throughout. The hall was warm, torches burned alongside the stone walls, and tapestries hung displaying bright weaving designs. A heavenly smell met Lotte's nose and she guessed the kitchen was nearby. Following the scent she made her way through another hallway until she could hear pots and pans clanging and voices blaring.
"You brought her here!" a young man's voice shouted. "Are you mad, mother?"
"No, son, I am doin what is right. She was brot here to stop all our sufferin. Can any part of yer try to understan?"
"Pfft! Understand! She's an Earthling. They know nothing of our world anymore! She is more likely to help destroy our home than defend it." More pots and pans clanged together. Lotte leaned closer to the doorway to hear more.
"She's not like the rest of em. She will help us. I jus know it!" The woman sounded desperate, and if Lotte could have seen to prove it, also on the verge of tears.
"Mother," the young man said, more calmly than before, "I just want you to take caution. We can't trust her until she proves that she's the Light."
Lotte yearned to hear more - the puzzle was beginning to piece itself - but footsteps sounded nearer and nearer and the door of the kitchen creaked open. The young man stepped out, surprised to find Lotte standing there. He was dressed in regal robes of blue and wore diamonds like those Lotte saw in the well around his neck. His eyes were dark as pitch, as was his messy hair. Lotte cleared her throat nervously.
"Good evening, my lady," he bowed, and then turned on his heel and headed away from her. His boots clicking on the stone floor.
Lotte still had not found her voice, but was calmed by a warm hug from the old woman. She remembered she had never introduced herself, and knew not of the woman's name. She was led into the kitchen where the temperature was much warmer. There were several baskets filled with fruits and vegetable, some that Lotte had never seen before. A large fireplace crackled and inside was a chicken roasting on a spit. Another fireplace housed a pot boiling to the brim and wafting the delicious smell that Lotte had followed. For a moment, Lotte felt as if she were at home.
"Excuse me, ma'am," Lotte broke the silence. "I never got the chance to properly introduce myself. I'm Charlotte Potter, from the Majestic Forest. Who are you and where is this place?"
The woman replied as she stirred the boiling pot, "Yer can call me Mother Willow. I brought yer ter Willow Manor, named for my late husband. We are between Fate's Forest and the Gray Gale. I suppose Poe opened a portal for yer, seeing as to how you were comin from the Gemstone Caverns."
"So this really is a whole other world, apart from where I'm from?" Lotte asked in amazement. She never imagined what it was like outside the Majestic Forest, and never imagined a world quite like this she just happened upon one day.
"Our worlds were separated long ago, dearie. Magic is no longer available where you come from. Every magical being, place, or object was sent here after the Queen's spell."
"Who was this Queen? Was she terrible?"
Mother Willow shook her head, "She was not a terrible woman, but she was not a very honorable Queen." Lotte took a seat on a stool where a pan of bread sat on the table.
"Tell me more about the Queen. Why would she try to take all of the magic?" Lotte said as she sliced the loaf of bread.
"She didn't try ter take the magic, she did take the magic! She wanted power. She wanted the people of both of our worlds ter become her followers, her puppets. But the elders at the time, they knew the magic was strong and could not be tamed by one alone, especially without a pure heart."
"That's how she died, isn't it?" Lotte persisted. "She gained all of the magic, yet she couldn't control it completely. It overtook her."
"Yes, my child. Instead of trying to find balance she created more chaos than we had ever imagined." Mother Willow sighed and sat down next to Lotte. She wiped the sweat from her brow and smoothed her apron.
"Sounds like she was terrible to me," Lotte concluded. Inside she felt a strong hatred for the Queen. It was because of her that Lotte had stumbled upon this land. That Lotte would somehow have to save the magical lands from becoming dust - a task Lotte would have never chosen for herself.
"Everyone has a touch of darkness in em," Mother Willow corrected her, "it just depends on if a person allows it ter extinguish the light within em."
Lotte thought on Mother Willow's words. As she rose up from her stool she heard the leaf crackle in her pocket, reminded of its advice. "What does all of this have to do with me?" Lotte cried out. "Why did Poe tell me I was the only one fit for this task?"
"There will be plenty of time ter explain everything tomorrow. Tonight we feast! We will have to set out by firs mornin light, so rest your pretty head. All will be told in due time."
Lotte's stomach growled again. She didn't know how long it had been since her last meal, and she did feel tired. Taking Mother Willow's advice, she sat went back to her stool. Looking out the kitchen window she spied the young man standing on the dock of a lake. Suddenly, the task of saving the magical world flew out of her mind.
The doors of the castle looked strong, as if they were made from iron. The same carvings of fairies and gnomes were patterned throughout. The hall was warm, torches burned alongside the stone walls, and tapestries hung displaying bright weaving designs. A heavenly smell met Lotte's nose and she guessed the kitchen was nearby. Following the scent she made her way through another hallway until she could hear pots and pans clanging and voices blaring.
"You brought her here!" a young man's voice shouted. "Are you mad, mother?"
"No, son, I am doin what is right. She was brot here to stop all our sufferin. Can any part of yer try to understan?"
"Pfft! Understand! She's an Earthling. They know nothing of our world anymore! She is more likely to help destroy our home than defend it." More pots and pans clanged together. Lotte leaned closer to the doorway to hear more.
"She's not like the rest of em. She will help us. I jus know it!" The woman sounded desperate, and if Lotte could have seen to prove it, also on the verge of tears.
"Mother," the young man said, more calmly than before, "I just want you to take caution. We can't trust her until she proves that she's the Light."
Lotte yearned to hear more - the puzzle was beginning to piece itself - but footsteps sounded nearer and nearer and the door of the kitchen creaked open. The young man stepped out, surprised to find Lotte standing there. He was dressed in regal robes of blue and wore diamonds like those Lotte saw in the well around his neck. His eyes were dark as pitch, as was his messy hair. Lotte cleared her throat nervously.
"Good evening, my lady," he bowed, and then turned on his heel and headed away from her. His boots clicking on the stone floor.
Lotte still had not found her voice, but was calmed by a warm hug from the old woman. She remembered she had never introduced herself, and knew not of the woman's name. She was led into the kitchen where the temperature was much warmer. There were several baskets filled with fruits and vegetable, some that Lotte had never seen before. A large fireplace crackled and inside was a chicken roasting on a spit. Another fireplace housed a pot boiling to the brim and wafting the delicious smell that Lotte had followed. For a moment, Lotte felt as if she were at home.
"Excuse me, ma'am," Lotte broke the silence. "I never got the chance to properly introduce myself. I'm Charlotte Potter, from the Majestic Forest. Who are you and where is this place?"
The woman replied as she stirred the boiling pot, "Yer can call me Mother Willow. I brought yer ter Willow Manor, named for my late husband. We are between Fate's Forest and the Gray Gale. I suppose Poe opened a portal for yer, seeing as to how you were comin from the Gemstone Caverns."
"So this really is a whole other world, apart from where I'm from?" Lotte asked in amazement. She never imagined what it was like outside the Majestic Forest, and never imagined a world quite like this she just happened upon one day.
"Our worlds were separated long ago, dearie. Magic is no longer available where you come from. Every magical being, place, or object was sent here after the Queen's spell."
"Who was this Queen? Was she terrible?"
Mother Willow shook her head, "She was not a terrible woman, but she was not a very honorable Queen." Lotte took a seat on a stool where a pan of bread sat on the table.
"Tell me more about the Queen. Why would she try to take all of the magic?" Lotte said as she sliced the loaf of bread.
"She didn't try ter take the magic, she did take the magic! She wanted power. She wanted the people of both of our worlds ter become her followers, her puppets. But the elders at the time, they knew the magic was strong and could not be tamed by one alone, especially without a pure heart."
"That's how she died, isn't it?" Lotte persisted. "She gained all of the magic, yet she couldn't control it completely. It overtook her."
"Yes, my child. Instead of trying to find balance she created more chaos than we had ever imagined." Mother Willow sighed and sat down next to Lotte. She wiped the sweat from her brow and smoothed her apron.
"Sounds like she was terrible to me," Lotte concluded. Inside she felt a strong hatred for the Queen. It was because of her that Lotte had stumbled upon this land. That Lotte would somehow have to save the magical lands from becoming dust - a task Lotte would have never chosen for herself.
"Everyone has a touch of darkness in em," Mother Willow corrected her, "it just depends on if a person allows it ter extinguish the light within em."
Lotte thought on Mother Willow's words. As she rose up from her stool she heard the leaf crackle in her pocket, reminded of its advice. "What does all of this have to do with me?" Lotte cried out. "Why did Poe tell me I was the only one fit for this task?"
"There will be plenty of time ter explain everything tomorrow. Tonight we feast! We will have to set out by firs mornin light, so rest your pretty head. All will be told in due time."
Lotte's stomach growled again. She didn't know how long it had been since her last meal, and she did feel tired. Taking Mother Willow's advice, she sat went back to her stool. Looking out the kitchen window she spied the young man standing on the dock of a lake. Suddenly, the task of saving the magical world flew out of her mind.
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