Decades later, people had already put behind the story of the forbidden forest and those who were born after the incident thought their parents only tell the story to scare them in going near the forest. And because there were no reports about the forest's abnormality, some people began living a few kilometers from the location. In the nearby village, two children were running around the backyard, under the scorching sun, chasing after a chicken. The two were giggling despite the sweats covering them from playing for hours. The three year-old Lithea Clanwing was following her friend, Hugo Marble who is two years older than her. They have been friends since the day Lithea mastered walking. She looked up to him and admires him for being the older one. With both being an only child, she's always fascinated at the things Hugo would teach her. She loved to learn and she never made a fuss whenever they tutor her almost about anything. To her, he's the older brother she never had, and the same goes for Hugo.
But everything will change for the little girl at that very moment, Lithea's father entrusted Hugo with her for a moment. It is the day he would pick up his wife and their newborn from the village's center. The day the additional of the Clanwing family would arrive.
Lithea already knew her sister will arrive home so before her father left, she asked him questions on what to do for the baby before Hugo arrive and played with her.
"Gogo, wait for me!" the young lady giggled as she struggles to keep up with her tiny legs.
Hugo stopped and turned to her, "you are slow, Lil."
"Because I have tiny legs!" she pouted and stopped. She settled on the ground to take a rest, "I'm tired!"
Hugo copied Lithea and sat on the ground accross her, "But we have not captured at least one chicken."
"Why do we need to?"
Hugo raised a brow and chuckled, "did we not agree to grant wishes to the one who would capture one first?"
Lithea's mouth gaped and then she covered it, "oh, right!"
The two laughed. She had forgotten why they needed to capture the chicken. She was too focused on catching up to Hugo, she even forgot what wish she was thinking of asking him before if she were to capture the chicken first.
"Silly, Lily." Hugo teased.
"Do not call me that!"
She waved her finger on him, as though letting him know she's really angry. But Hugo only saw a small child mimicing the grown ups.
Before Hugo could tease her again, they heard the horses neigh and saw a familiar figure driving the worn-out carriage.
"Papa!" Lithea immediately stood up and dusted her skirt. "Oh, Papa!"
She ran towards Hugo and held his hand, forcing him to stand up, "come on, come on!"
"All right, all right. Stop pulling me up or else we'll stumble!"
Lithea's eyes sparkled and held Hugo's face, squishing them, "the baby is here! My sister is here!"
She squealed and pressed her palms on his face even more.
Hugo groaned, rubbing his cheeks, "geez, is that really a strength of a three year old?"
Lithea did not mind Hugo and ran past him to welcome her family.
"Ho!" Cren parked the carriage and looked down at Lithea before coming down, "Lily."
"Papa!" she kept jumping, this only showed her father how excited she is to meet the baby. "Papa! Where's the baby?"
Hugo laughed as he walked behind her, "you call that a jump? Your feet barely left the ground."
Cren picked up his daughter and she giggled, "What did the two of you do while we were away?"
"We were trying to capture the chicken!" she pointed at the poor chicken pecking up grains.
"Is that so?"
"Ung!" she nodded.
Cren settled his daughter down. Hugo is already beside Lithea, both curious to see the new born. Although Hugo did not made it obvious, he kept imagining before going to sleep how the three of them would play all day once the baby is allowed to play with them.
Her father then opened the door of the carriage and helped his wife to climb down with the baby in her arms, snuggling and cooing. Mayari smiled at the children, "help me get the baby settle in?"
"Oooooo~" Lithea was stomping her feet, too excited to see her little sister. Her hands wouldn't keep still.
Hugo covered her mouth and yelled in whisper, "shhhh, you'll wake the baby up!"
Lithea immediately froze up.
Her parents smiled at the sight of the two.
The family, with Hugo's help, all got settled in and the children's eyes were glued on the little one that's situated in her cradle.
When the dusk came, Hugo bid goodbye but promised to come back early and help with the baby. The Clanwing family then prepared their meal and not for long, they're having their first dinner as four.
Lithea can't stop looking at her sister who's inside the rocking cradle.
"Mama, mama, can't I feed her?" Lithea asked while waving her spoon.
Mayari chuckled, "your sister can't chew food, she don't have any teeth. Once she's older, you can feed her."
Lithea tilted her head, her black doe eyes sparkled with curiosity, "What will she eat if she doesn't have teeth?"
"She only needs milk for now, Lily. Come, I'll feed you." Cren said, pulling a stool beside him, tapping it. He doesn't want their first born to feel left out just because she has a sister. He knew how bad it can be for older siblings to feel that way, so he thought he'll always keep it in mind and show Lithea their feelings for her never changed.
"No, no. I'm already a big sister, I can feed myself."
She took the stool and pushed it to where she usually sits and began eating proudly, "see, see?"
Her parents laughed thinking how fast Lithea has grown up. There were no headaches while raising her, she's always well behaved and obedient. They know she'll be a perfect older sister.
"Lithea?" Mayari said gently.
Lithea stopped eating and settled her spoon on her plate, "yes, mama?"
"What should we name your sister?"
Lithea gasped and yelled, "MIA, LET'S NAME HER MIA!"
The spouses was surprised at how fast Lithea answered, she must have thought about it constantly.
Mayari smiled, "alright. Tomorrow at the capital, can you go with your father and have Mia's name register there? You two can also have a little sightseeing before you head home."
"Register?"
"Yes, all of the babies of our kingdom must have their names listed so the King knows how many of us lives here." She explained.
Lithea formed her lips in an O shape, nodding. "But why does he have to know?"
"So he can properly take care of his people, sweetheart," Cren answered, "now, finish your dinner so you can wash up."
She nodded and put on a serious face, "yes, sir!"
Mayari lovingly watched over Lithea, she hated the fact of how much she's grown at such a small amount of time, but she knew she'd be a beautiful lady when she grows up. With the platinum blonde she got from her father, and the black eyes she got from her, she can already imagine what a lady she'll become.
Seeing that everyone had finished their meal, Mayari asked Lithea to help her put away the dishes.
"I'll wash these too, mama. Take care of baby Mia."
Cren ruffled his daughter's hair, "you're such a good kid, Lily."
"I am?"
"Of course, you are."
Lithea smiled widely, "thank you, papa!"
Deep in the night, the kingdom has fallen asleep. The Clanwing family's residence is located on top of one of the hills of the village. There's only two more houses in the area as the people doesn't fancy climbing up the hills every time they needed to go somewhere. It is a peaceful spot but at times like this, where the moon is big and sitting high up in the sky, it is not the safest.
An eerie growl echoed all over the walls inside their house. With just two story and four bedrooms, it is easy to hear things especially on a silent night.
Lithea woke up from her sleep. She felt cold. She pulled up her blanket over her head and looked at the window, the full moon has risen high and its bright blue toned light illuminated her view. It was beautiful.
Still in her bed, she stared at the moon as she tries to go back to sleep.
Growl.
Lithea blinked her eyes and sat up, trying to listen again if she indeed heard something. It went silent for a while, she was about to give up and go to sleep. Thinking it was just her imagination. But she heard a growl again.
"Hmm?" she climbed down her bed and put on her slippers. Her small feet walked towards the door, she tiptoed to turn the doorknob and opened it.
She slipped her head first to see if her parents were outside but when she saw their bedroom door was slightly opened, weirdly enough, her heart started pounding crazy.
Lithea didn't know why but she's scared.
"Mama?" she called but her voice was small, it won't fully come out.
Once she was completely out of her room, she felt an incredible amount of chill sending goose bumps on her. She hugged herself, shivering as she made her way to her parents' room. She thought it was just because of how deep it was in the night and it was chilly.
"Papa?"
As her eyes started to adjust in the dark, she began to notice the frames hanged by her mother on the corridor's walls were either scattered on the floor or barely hanging on the wall.
"Mama…" her voice cracked as she opened her parents' bedroom door.
A loud growl greeted Lithea. Her big eyes were met by a glowing orb of a shadow. It is as tall as her father, its teeth sharp like sharks but longer, and its sound deafening.
Lithea froze.
No, it wasn't an orb.
"Lily!" Cren shouted.
A tear escaped from her eye and she shrieked.
The monstrous wolf let out a growl once again, its mouth water from the delicious meat before him. The wolf jumps on the poor Lithea, sniffing her.
"No, no, no! Papa! PAPA!" she struggles as she kept kicking and swinging her arms. But no matter how much she tried pushing off the wolf, it won't budge. It only got angrier.
Cren charged towards the wolf and stabbed it's back using the scimitar Mayari's father gave him after they got married. This got the wolf to loosen its grip on the little girl.
Mayari immediately took action and ran to Lithea, pulled her towards her with Mia still in her arms. She brought Lithea a few feet away from the wolf and Cren, "take your sister and go to Hugo's house, okay?"
She shook her head aggressively, crying "no, mama. I don't want to go alone. I want to go with you and papa!"
Mayari shakes as she kissed Lithea's forehead. "I have to help your father, we will be right with you."
"Promise?" she took out her pinky finger.
"I promise," their pinky fingers hooked and the tears Mayari's been keeping poured out while she gently pushes her daughters towards the stairs, "Go. Go and run!"
Lithea walked slowly towards the stairs, still looking at them, hesitating. Cren was struggling to pin the wolf, sweats formed as veins popped on his forehead. "Mama…"
"RUN!"
Mayari's cries made her heart pound like crazy.
Lithea sprinted with her mother's voice. No matter how much she cried as she tried to run outside the house, she have to be careful as Mia is with her. All she could hear are her panting and Mia's cries while her mind kept reminding her of the image of her parents at the hands of the wolf. How it attacked her, how her father fought the wolf for her sake, and how her mother cried while pushing them away to safety. But she can't stop, she can't disobey her mother and most definitely can't put the baby at risk.
"Mia, they will come back for us," she said these words to Mia but she knew too well it's for herself.
Her sister's cries won't stop. She doesn't know how to make babies stop from crying. She doesn't know if Mia understood a thing she's saying nor did she understand what's happening right now. But she have to try.
For Mia.
For their parents.
For her.
"I will protect you." She assured.
"We just have to go to Hugo's house and they'll help us."
Lithea slowly went down the hill, holding Mia closely and gently.
A sudden scream of terror emerged from the Clanwing house.
She halted and turned around, by the window, she saw the shadow of the wolf stabbing its sharp teeth to her mother. Cren swung the scimitar but was thrown outside the window by the wolf's big paw.
"NO!"
The wolf noticed her and looked at her. Its mouth filled with reddish blood, pieces of her mother's flesh hang on it. She gasped and hurried down.
"HELP!" she screamed, frantically running towards her friend's house.
"GOGO! HELP ME!"
She saw the house and she's close to sobbing again, she just witnessed a horrifying scene and a familiar house made her feel a little bit of relieved.
"GOGO! GOGO!"
Dania, Hugo's mother, opened the door. She's wrapped in a thick shawl, her eyes swollen, an indication she just came from sleep.
"Auntie, help me." Lithea sobbed.
Dania was surprised to see Lithea knocking in the middle of the night, with a baby at hand, bawling her eyes out. But it wasn't just that, there were blood on their clothing.
"Oh my world!" Dania exclaimed, "come in, come in."
"Lil?" Hugo just got down from the stairs and was surprised to see Lithea. It's the first time he's seen her in such a state and it broke his heart.
Dania looked around before locking the door. She let Lithea take a sit with Hugo and took Mia with her to wake up her husband.
When they came downstairs, Hugo has already started the fire and had Lithea warm up by it.
The kids sat close together by the fire, Lithea was hugging her knees. Mia's with Dania, trying to get calmed and have her go back to sleep. Gerard was by the door, on the lookout for their parents if they ever come and pick them up. But whatever happened, Gerard has a bad feeling about it.
"Lily, dear, what happened?" Dania asked calmly.
Lithea hugged her knees closely, she's trembling.
Hugo looked at his mother and mouthed, 'no.'
"Mama…" she sniffed, everyone's all ears on what she's going to say.
"Papa…" tears started to escape her eyes once again.
Gerard went to the kids and put his palms on top of their heads, an act of assurance from a grown up.
Lithea suddenly screamed, crying her heart out.
"The monster killed them. It ate them! Mama! Papa! Waaaaaa!"
Dania looked at her husband who immediately wrapped the poor child in an embrace.
"Oh, our beloved guardians please help these poor children." Dania uttered.