Amanda woke up the next day feeling refreshed. She has found a new motivation and she would tell Alex about it. But she also has to look for the best opportunity to do so. She is still not really sure if Alex is really a friend that she can trust, or if he is just doing it for the sake of his Alpha. Of course, it also goes without saying that the plan might even offend Alex, the only prospective Ally that she has that is already close to the Ringleader. She needs to play her cards right if she ever hopes to have the chance to get away from this place again.

The Harpy brought their breakfast in and they had a relatively quiet one that day. Amanda barely spoke and they only talked about the weather and what the plans for the day were. Then suddenly, a thought crossed Amanda’s mind.

“Do you think Alex is really a friendly person?” Amanda suddenly asked the Harpy and her friend was caught off guard. It took quite some time for the question to register, and for her to think of an answer.

“Master Alex is kind man,” the Harpy finally answered, “he speak with us and other servants. He ask what happened in the day. He give us food when he eat.”

“I see,” Amanda replied and then added, “so he is not much of an asshole like his Alpha.”

“Master is not bad person too,” The Harpy corrected her friend, “Master always angry, but he not bad person.”

Amanda felt guilty about that. It was a bad thing to do even as a joke. “I’m sorry. I just assumed that because of how he treats women – how he treated me.”

“Don’t say sorry, Pretty Human,” The Harpy tried to console her friend, “Master just don’t like humans.”

“Yes. I heard,” Amanda replied, “Humans have driven them out of their forest.”

“And it seems like you need to hear the rest of the story so you won’t have to judge Dimitri harshly next time,” a familiar male voice replied.

“Master!” The Harpy said and bowed down.

“I got this,” Alex said as he entered the cell. “You may go and do other things outside.”

“Yes, Master,” The harpy replied without raising her head and quickly gathered the eating utensils into the tray. She left without saying another word.

“Are you ready to continue the story?” Alex asked as the Harpy left.

“Yes.” Amanda replied. There wasn’t much for them to talk about anyway, at least for the time being. “So you were already into the forest.”

“Yes. We were walking through the forest. . .”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Mother, how long are we going to walk?” a rabbitfolk child asked as they walked through the dark forest.

“Just a little more, child,” the mother replied as she scanned the surroundings. It has been hours since they met up with the werewolves and the werebears, but they have yet to stop and take a break.

Dawn was already upon them and they can already hear the songs of the early birds, the chirps of the crickets and the earthworms have already dwindled as well. But some of the humans are still hot on their trail and they are in danger of being attacked if they stopped any time soon. The children are already weary and even some of the mothers already look tired. They would need to rest any time soon if they ever hope to be able to defend themselves.

“I think this is a good place to rest,” Dimitri’s mother finally announced to the relief of all the refugees. They are already deep into the forest and the areas seems a bit brighter, although not much of the sunlight can penetrate the foliage, one could still tell what time of day it was.

“I can’t hear any of the human pursuers as well,” the rabbitfolk representative replied, “We should be safe here for the time being.”

“Let’s take turns on standing on guard,” Dimitri’s mother said, “I will stand guard first. Who will stay up with me?”

“I will,” the rabbitfolk representative replied. So did the werebear representative and 3 of the werewolf mothers.

“I will stay up with you as well, Mother,” Dimitri offered. He clearly seems tired but he is trying his best to look fine.

“Are you sure?” Dimitri’s mother asked, looking at her son with concern.

“Yes,” Dimitri replied with resolve.

“I will, too,” Alex replied. He wants to stay true to his promise with his father.

“Alright then,” Dimitri’s mother relented and allowed them. “We could use the help anyway.”

Dimitri is used to the forest. He has always gone to the deeper parts with Alex and the rest of their crew. But this part of the forest looks like a completely different world to him. The insects sound different and they seem to be a lot. The bird calls are a lot more and sounded surreal. He would have went right deeper if this was a different situation. But Dimitri has a duty to uphold. He needs to take the helm even at his age; that is the only thing that he can do at this point.

“Are feeling ok, Dimi?” Alex’s voice took Dimitri back from his reverie.

“I feel fine,” Dimitri replied, “I am just worried if humans attacked now.” Dimitri looked over the beastfolk sleeping on the ground in front of him. They huddled in groups over multiple fire pits that they built for warmth.

“I wish the humans would not find us here,” Alex said as he realized where Dimitri was looking. “I am sure that we could fight them off, but we need rest. The other kids need rest. And I am not sure if we can continue through the forest if we do not get enough.”

“I wonder why humans are so bent on destroying us,” Dimitri muttered.

“I think they are looking for something,” Alex replied, “I heard my father and your father talk about it. They think that we are hiding a certain object and they have already destroyed the old village for it once. Now they are looking for it.”

“They did not find it before,” Dimitri replied, “Why are they still looking for it? They are being stupid.”

“They seem to believe that we are actually hiding it,” Alex replied, “Our parents have been preparing for this day. And I don’t think they will ever stop looking for it.”

“We need to find a safer place. Not the forest where we are not protected,” Dimitri replied, “We need to get to the castle in the middle of the hill.”

“You mean the Demon King’s castle?” Alex asked with a slightly perplexed expression. “But there are creatures that served the Demon King living there.”

“I still prefer to live with them than these humans,” Dimitri replied, “I will tell my mother.”

“You do not have to tell me, Dimi,” Dimitri’s mother replied from behind them. Apparently, she has been listening in on their conversation. “I think you may be right. We can use the castle’s walls to defend us from humans. And if they knew that we are staying in the Demon King’s castle, I am sure that they will think twice about attacking us.”

“So we have somewhere to go,” Alex interjected, “We should prepare to go through this forest towards the castle once we get enough rest.”

They did have enough rest. They stayed in that part of the forest for about 24 hours, hunting and gathering for food, while they recovered and planned about how they would deal with the creatures that dwelled in the castle. But they also have to plan on how to deal with the creatures in the Dark Forest. During the course of their stay, they were attacked not by humans, but by rogue goblins and ogres. They could easily deal with these creatures but having to deal with them while escaping and protecting the children will prove to be a challenge.

After making sure that they have already taken enough rest and that everyone is ready for the quest, they packed up, covered the fire pits with soil, and removed every trace of them staying in this part of the forest. They were not attacked by humans, but they will surely send scouts too track them. They need to reach the castle before that happens and not leaving any trail would help to ensure that.

As the group went deeper and deeper into the forest, they encountered more and more goblins, orcs, and ogres that they had to defeat. Their formation was effective, though. As they were able to fend the attackers off effectively without losing a lot of time. After a few hours of walking, they looked for another place to stay and they settled in a spot close to a natural spring.

The animals and creatures of the deep forest frequent the area, and the children were impressed to see deer with shiny blue skin, birds with flashy feathers that change colour every minute, or fireflies that lit the tress with golden light. Even the fruit looked strange. They have entered a world that was untouched by any one. The reason for that has become apparent as they saw droves of goblins and orcs gathering water and hunting for food in the area.

The group did not seem hostile, though, unlike their rogue counterparts. They were indifferent about the newcomers. They group decided not to light fire around the area to show their respect for nature. The Golden Fireflies provide enough light anyway. They basically celebrated that night as they find a pitcher plant that contained liquor-like substance instead of acid. The children enjoyed the pods of a certain weed that popped when dipped in water and played with it like a firecracker.

Dimitri looked at his brethren and realized that it was the kind of community that he wanted to build. They may not be in the right place now and their destination might still be a mystery, but he knows that this is the kind of life that he wants them to live. Dimitri, and in fact the rest of the beastfolk, still did not know what was waiting for them in the castle. The dark forest is deep, and they are yet to encounter everything within it.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A shadow moves across the clearing just below the hill where the castle sits. In the midst of the moonlit night, the shadow looks like the grim reaper in its full cloak on his way to fetch the soul that he is about to meet. But the cloak that the man wears is not black, in fact, it is almost grey. The colour has already faded for years of overuse and washing. The man himself is almost emaciated. He has only recently learned the knack of hunting in the forest and it was never easy when he had to compete with creatures that are more familiar of the place.

For 20 long years, he has barely evaded death. The man would wait for the creatures to finish their hunt and he would gather whatever scrap they left. He used to gather fruit from the forest. They were abundant but he soon grew tired of a meatless meal. He needs protein if he ever hopes to survive longer. He has a mission to complete and he will not get out of the forest until he succeeds. He would never have gotten this close to the castle, he knows that the creatures inside are even more vicious. But he also knows that he needs to take a gamble. He serves the same lord as they did, maybe they will welcome him with open arms.