Chapter 4

He looked at the Prince and removed his hood.  Her long, blonde hair gleamed in the sunlight.  The girl walked closer, she stared intently at the man who was fainting in front of her.  Was surprised because the clothes worn by the Prince were a little different and a bit flashy.  A mix of gold and purple.  She had never seen anyone wearing clothes like this.

 The girl take the whistle hanging from the neck and blew it.  A white horse come over.  As if knowing what the owner wanted, the horse sit down and the girl put the Prince on the horse's back.  The girl several times had to hold her breath because the Prince was quite heavy.  She led him down a path and deeper into the Dark Forest.

 Inside a fairly large stone house, a middle-aged woman was concocting some potions that she would distribute to the fairies for wound healing.  Her agile hands mix one by one the ingredients of the potions obtained from the forest.  Smoke rises from the cauldron above the fire.  Gives off the distinctive aroma of leaves.

 "I am home!"

 A beautiful girl come to open the door.  Make the woman stop her activities.

 "Where are you from? I told you to be careful never to go far."

 "Mom, you won't believe what I found. Come on!"

 The girl grabbed her mother's hand and led her outside.

 "I found him in the middle of the forest."

 The woman was very surprised by what her daughter brought.  Not just because she found a man.  But the clothes the man was wearing were very, very recognizable to her.  The woman looked around.  As if afraid that someone would see.

 "Come on, hurry! We'll bring him in."

 The girl led the horse in and told him to bend slightly so that she could put the prince on the bamboo bed.

 "Where did you find him?"

 "In the middle of the forest. Several wolves attacked him and he was alone. I shot one of the wolves until death and the other run away."

 "Why don't you just let him go? He could be a bad person."

 "Mom, I can't do that. Can you cure him?"

 The woman took off the Prince's clothes, "The wound is quite deep. The wolf's bite pierced the bone. Especially on the shoulder. It must have been an adult wolf that attacked him."

 "Yes."

 "Put your horse in the stable. I'll treat him."

 "Alright, Mom."

 The girl led her horse out of the house and into the stable.

 The woman fell silent.  Her hands trembled slightly.  She held the Prince's clothes and looked at him.  A gold pin with a phoenix symbol was pinned on the left chest of the shirt.  A sign that the man in front of him was part of the kingdom.  Hearing his daughter open the door, she quickly took and hide the pin and under her shirt.

 "Can I help you, Mom?"

 "No. You can make some food, I'll treat him."

 "Okay."

 She enters in a room.  Dozens of various types of herbs neatly arranged.  She selected several bottles of different kinds of potions and bring them out.  Take several types of plants in the basket.  Put it in a small cauldron along with the ingredients she brought, then boil it.  It wasn't long before a puff of white smoke came out.  She lifted the cauldron and laid down.  Take boiled water and pound the dregs.  Every now and then she looked at her daughter who was cutting the carrots.

 The ground dregs she applied to the wound.  The stinging sensation caused by the potion made the Prince slightly wake up and winced in pain.  The woman stopped and looked at the Prince, but he fell back asleep.  Not wanting to wake him up, she tapped the potion slowly.

 Until night, the Prince had not yet realized.  The girl and her mother started to have dinner.

 "Mom, where do you think he's from?"

 "I do not know."

 Her daughter smiled as she looked at the bed where the Prince was lying.

 "You like her?"

 "Me? I don't know. I don't know who he is."

 "You're right. We don't know who he is, I don't want you to get into anything bad. He could be a bad person."

 "But why would you want to help him?"

 "Because you asked."

 The girl fell silent.

 Night's getting late.  The girl couldn't sleep at all.  Her mind kept thinking about the a man who was currently in her house.  She got out of bed and walked outside.  She opened the door to her mother's room.  The woman was fast asleep on the bed.  The girl smiled and closed the bedroom door.  She approached the Prince's bed and crouched down, looking closely at her face.

 "Who are you?"

 She whispered softly.  For a long time she stared and hoped the man in front of him would wake up.  But that didn't happen at all.  The girl stood up and left the Prince alone.  She walked out of the room.  Sitting on the swing under the oak tree.  Lyra, a honey-gathering fairy, flew over to her with a basket of honey.

 "Hi. What are you doing here? It's almost midnight."

 "I just can't sleep."

 Lyra alighted and sit on the branch next to the swing and put down her honey basket.

 "You bring a lot of honey."

 "Oh, yes. I looked for it deep in the middle of the Dark Forest. Mrs. Beefy is very stingy, she doesn't want to share just little bit to me. Even though I always help her look for fresh flowers."

 The girl smiled and looked up at the sky.

 "What do you think?"

 She looked at Lyra.  Bringing her face closer while whispering, "Are you good at keeping secrets?"

 Lyra stared with her round eyes.

 "Yes, I can! I know the secret of Goofy The Troll. I also know the secret of Merry The Mermaid," Lyra said in a whisper.

 The girl chuckled.

 "I found a men," she whispered.

 "Men. Wait? What! You mean a centaur or a werewolf?"

 "No he is human."

 "Haaaaa!"  The Fairy took a deep breath, "How is that possible?! So far no human has been able to enter the Dark Forest."

 "Shhh! I don't know either."

 Lyra was silent for a moment.

 "You've heard it. Now I want you to promise me not to tell anyone about this."

 "Sure. It's a big secret! I won't let this out of my mouth."

 "That's good."  The girl smiled.

 "I can't imagine if this is heard by the inhabitants of the Dark Forest. Surely that human will be burned alive."

 The girl's face changed instantly.

 "What?"

 "Yes. Haven't you heard of it? It's been a rule in the Dark Forest centuries ago. Anyone who enters this forest will be killed or burned alive. But so far I haven't heard of it. You know  , the black witches  who guard the borders have incredible  powers. They even have an arbore tree that has magical powers. Humans can die before entering this forest."

 "But how did he get in?"

 "Maybe he get some lucky."

 "I think so."

 "I have to go. You'd better go to sleep," she said, taking the honey basket.

 "Okay. Thanks for dropping by."

 "No problem. Good night, girl."

 "Good night."

 The girl was very scared and confused.  She could not imagine if the man that she find will be killed or even burned alive.  Very terrible.  Slightly, she regretted telling Lyra that.  She just can hope that the fairy doesn't tell anyone.

 She get up from the swing and walked into the house.  She was surprised when she opened the door, the man come to his senses and stood up looking around.

 "Are you awake?"

 "Where am I?"

 "You're at my house."

 "Who are you?"

 "My name is Lily."