Chapter 134 - Monsters Lurking: Part One

Evanna let her body free-fall backwards, and with force behind her, she did a backflip just in time to dodge the creature's pointed leg swiping towards her. At the same time, she called upon her powers and created the vines once more, sending them to a tree behind her. They wrapped around a branch tightly, and she flung towards it and out of the creature's reach.

She released her hold on the vines and let herself drop to the branch below. Her grip tightened on her sword as she watched the creature jump from the tree she fell from and land just above her. She raised her sword and waited for it to come towards her again. Unlike the last time she fought the faceless, this one seemed to be more violent, restless and impatient. 

Its face lowered down towards her, this time using its particular skill of controlling the mind instead of fighting her. But as the white-masked face formed before her, Evanna didn't waste any time and stabbed it in the face with her sword. Black blood poured down its ugly face as it screeched, and its body began falling down from above. Evanna yanked her sword free, using her foot to push back on before stabbing it into the tree trunk just as the creature fell through the branch, breaking it and almost taking the princess with it..

Its screech erupted through the woods, making Evanna wince as she held onto her sword as the branch beneath her feet fell away. She clung onto her sword and now hung on for fear of falling to her death. Again. A thunderous sound rumbled through the woods, causing some birds to take off in flight towards the sky. Evanna's grip on the sword tightened, and she was ever so grateful to the gloves she wore for grip. 

She glanced down at the height she was hanging from and could see the creature's body unmoving below. It snapped through all of the branches, leaving nothing for Evanna to jump to. She inhaled deeply and released a long breath as she called upon her gift again. She created the vines, letting them wrap around her and then shot them to another tree. She braced herself before yanking her sword free and letting herself go. 

This time it didn't go so well, and she smacked straight into the tree trunk. "Ugh," Evanna's hold on the magic dissolved, and the vines started to disappear. Her eyes widened, and she pushed off from the tree, front flipping and landing on another wide branch, but landed awkwardly and done a 'roly poly' to shake off the brunt of the blow. Evanna let herself collapse on her back on the large branch to catch her breath before breaking out into an exhausted and rather maniac laugh.

"Well, good morning to you too," She blurted in between giggling. After she finally got a hold of herself, she stayed quiet, focusing on the sounds of the forest and the frosty feeling that was sweeping over her. There were others nearby. The faceless are the ones roaming Direwood forest and looking for a human or elf to claim their life. 

For a moment, Evanna worried about the people of the Flori kingdom, then she thought of her own people as well. If those monsters escaped Direwood forest, chaos would ensue. This wasn't just an issue for the elves but everyone. She sat up and shook her head, groaning as she felt a headache coming along. 

If the faceless did escape, then she knew the Flori would reach out to the other kingdoms. This was not something she needed to mull over. Evanna looked around warily, her thoughts still plagued by the creatures that were nearby, she couldn't tell how many there were, but she should move before they made it any closer to her position. 

She ran and jumped across a few branches until she was back at her original spot before being attacked by the faceless creature. She searched the area, still very aware of the shiver running down her back becoming colder, but she relaxed after jumping down a few branches and finding her other sword. Now, she felt complete.

With both swords now sheathed behind her back, she searched her cloak pocket and pulled out her pocket watch. Time seemed to be ticking forwards quickly; if she kept coming across monsters, the elves would catch up to her. She needed to keep moving and in the correct direction. 

Evanna marched forwards and placed her hand against the tree again, closing her eyes and sensing the life force once more. Again, the whispers of the trees spoke in a different language, but she still understood. Before she could ask for their help, they were panicked about the faceless and the destruction they had already been causing. 

Evanna had to wait patiently, though she grew weaker from expanding her energy so much. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead until she whispered to them in their ancient language, requesting guidance. They were a little reluctant at first until she exclaimed, she would protect the forest from the faceless and any other beasts along the way. This satisfied them, and they named her a temporary guardian of Direwood forest. With that, a force pushed her backwards until she fell straight on her back, the hit cushioned by her bag.

"Ugh," Evanna groaned. It seemed staying upright was going to be a challenge today. Even the trees kicked her to the ground. With a sigh, she flipped herself up once more and checked her surroundings for fear of the faceless now getting too close. But as she searched the trees, she started to see floating golden balls. Evanna narrowed her eyes and started running towards it, careful of her footing and the sounds she made. 

As soon as she made it to the floating ball in front of one of the trees, it popped and disappeared. Evanna frowned, then saw another two ahead in the distance. The forest was showing her the way. She grinned and set off at a sprint, once again leaping from tree to tree, sliding down the twisted branches. The fresh air whipped across her skin, and she felt the ultimate freedom; maybe venturing on her own wasn't so bad after all. 

Along the way, she came across three other faceless creatures. But they weren't the ones she sensed from earlier. Each one was in a different location along the trail. The princess took care of them quickly; this time, she made sure to attack first. She found it was better to be on the offence first when high up in the trees; otherwise, she would keep falling and using her powers. She was very grateful to the prince teaching her to control them, but again, she was no master of the gift, and her stamina was yet to improve before she even attempted her greater powers.

After taking down the faceless, her belly grumbled, and she came across another issue. She forgot to steal a bow from the Flori, and she didn't know how to set traps for animals. Evanna realised how stupid she rushed her escape. But she kept her head up and followed the glowing balls, searching for berries or any form of food on the way. By the late afternoon, her stash amounted to a few berries, and she came across some Goodhana plants. 

She remembered from her mother's stories about her travels that these plants were good at suppressing hunger. It wasn't her best choice, but her plan was to try and reach the river soon and hopefully do some fishing. 

Evanna's pace slowed down to a walk as her energy began to deplete. The only lighting available was going quickly as the sun started to set behind the coverage of clouds. She pulled her cloak further over her head, hoping to keep her head warm. 

The princess rounded a corner after the last glowing ball popped; she looked ahead and felt relief flush through her as she saw the river. Evanna picked up her pace as she went towards the water, bringing out her leather pouch to fill the water up with, as well as splashing her face and taking sips from her hands. She eyed the water and saw a few fish dart by as she grinned and caught sight of the steppingstones further down the stream. 

Evanna called upon her gift with the last bit of strength she had left for her powers and created a branch. She pulled her knife out and started cutting and sharpening a pointed end before making her way to the steppingstones. She stood upon them, staring at the river and licking her lips in anticipation. 

After quite a few tries, the princess managed to spike a fish, and that evening for the first time, she made her dinner. If she had not watched Axel gut the fish and cook it last time Cilv brought some to them, Evanna would never even try such a thing. She understood her weaknesses very well. Cooking was one of them. 

With her stomach now full, Evanna placed the berries she found in her bag and leaned up against a tree. She knew it would be best to get to higher ground soon; it wasn't safe staying there, but using her powers, taking down those beasts, and then fishing really did tire her out. Her lids keep drooping, the fire beside her keeping her nice and toasty.

Closing her eyes for a few minutes would be fine. She had her senses to alert her to any trouble. It was a little risky, but she was too tired to think properly.

A few minutes turned into hours, and Evanna jolted awake after her body shivered tremendously. Evanna quickly stomped out her fire and jumped behind the tree she was sleeping against. She knew from how her stomach tightened that whatever could cause her harm was in front of her. She crouched and peered through the leaves of a bush and inhaled sharply at what was before her.

Evanna slowly stepped backwards and away from the area of the riverbed. There were eight faceless creatures; they stopped in front of the river, drinking from it. She was fascinated and terrified of them. One of them turned around and started to head in her direction. Evanna held her breath as her heart raced; she fisted her hands and watched as the creature stopped in front of the newly stamped out fire.

"Theresss sssomeone near here.." 

Evanna spun around and bolted. It wouldn't take them long to find her if she stayed there. She ran and looked up for an opening in the trees, but for once, she couldn't see anywhere to start climbing from. 

A screech from behind her alerted her that they had discovered her. Evanna looked behind her, but she couldn't see anything. The forest was dark and dense, and she struggled even to pick her feet up from the roots sticking out from the ground. 

Eight, she had to get away from eight of those foul creatures. But even though things seemed dire, she used her wits of running in huge zig zags. Those beasts were giant and struggled running on the ground. From the sound of their legs crawling on the floor, she knew that they had started to climb among the trees. 

Evanna needed to get somewhere safe or take them out separately. Either way, she needed to make it through the night.