Moving forward, her grim look had disappeared but I could tell she was still bothered by something. Also, for the first time since we came into this forest, we finally came across somewhere that wasn't filled with long trees with red leaves. Though I couldn't tell which is better, that, or the maze we stood in front of.
"This seems to be the only way forward, but the map doesn't show the way out. I guess it's up to us to find it" Alex said as we all looked at the entrance. Tyler sighed and we walked in to see three different paths.
"It's already confusing from the start" I groaned in frustration.
"What do we do?" Tyler muttered to himself and an idea popped up in my head.
"Why don't we separate and check out the three..." I zipped my mouth off as Alex and Tyler shot me looks that could kill. "Sorry. It sounded better in my head"
It actually did.
Tyler sighed and Alex looked back at the map and a frown crawled up her face.
"Hold on, something's not right" Alex alerted as she stared holes into the map. Tyler and I moved closer like we could read the map but as usual all I saw was blank.
"What do you see?" I asked, giving up on trying to read the map.
She paused like she was unsure but then she said "people"
"Hm?"
"People" she repeated, now looking at me.
"People? Now that's something I wasn't expecting" Tyler said and also looked at me. I realized they were now both looking at me like I held some answers.
I threw my hands in the air immediately "I know nothing about this. Grandpa didn't say anything about people being in here. The only person we should be seeing is Kathryn"
Alex head suddenly perked up as she looked over to my side. She said softly with her guard up as she quickly slid the map in the side of my bag "We can't let out guard down whatsoever. Remember we're in the forbidden forest, nothing is safe here"
I looked over to where she kept staring at like something was approaching... Or someone.
Petals flew out and then I saw a goddess. She walked gracefully in her flowing blue gown. Her hair being really long and also the silkiest black I've ever seen. It was decorated with hair pins. Her face and body were beyond perfect. Her sexy cat shaped Jade coloured eyes pierced my soul. Her cheeks shone with a little blush and her ravishing red lips called out to me to take them. The perfect figure and endowment made me drool. Now I saw why Alex said to be on guard. If she hadn't said that I would've definitely asked her out on a date.
She closed the gap between us, I could make out a fragrance. Flowers? I couldn't tell. She flashed a smile at us and my heart gave away. I'm sorry Alex, but it's hard to come across such perfection in one's whole life.
"I see you made it. I must say your set seems tougher than the others who've made it here" she spoke softly, her elegance wasn't just physical.
Is it possible to get so much joy from just one lady?!
"Who are you?" Tyler asked
"The one you've been looking for" She stared at us still smiling "I'm Kathryn"
Tyler
Now that's a load of crap. We're not falling for that?!
I looked over to my side to see Tyson grinning like crazy. Why's he smiling like that, she's obviously a crook. Alex didn't seem fazed at all as she looked the lady right in the eyes. Something didn't sit right with me about her. She looked weird and unstable. She also gave of the feint scent of sea water and dirt. It was somewhat nauseating. Now I was curious what Alex had in mind. I know she had caught on the lie. Not sure about Tyson though. He looked like he didn't care about anything else anymore.
"There's no reason for you to be so on guard. You can relax now, this is my space. Monsters can't evade in as my powers are keeping them away" she said as she scanned us through. "You must be Tyler, and Tyson"
"And you must be the love of my life" Tyson said and I turned to look at him in utter dismay. I wasn't a fan of pick up lines but that was total garbage. He seemed out of it as he kept swaying his body in the most annoying way.
"I guess Eddie was right about you. You are the flirty type"
Eddie? That's what people close to my grandpa call him. Could she actually be Kathryn? But Alex said we still had some days before we find her so why is she here? What exactly is going on?
I looked at Alex to see her concentrating on something. She hadn't said anything since Kathryn showed up.
"And with no doubt, you must be Alex" she said as she scanned Alex thoroughly. I thought I was mistaken, but when their eyes met, Kathryn's smile faded immediately. I could feel an intense resentment between the two of them. Almost like the whole place was about to blow up.
"You knew my grandpa?" I asked as their aura seemed to rub off the wrong way on me. Thankfully it helped as she looked at me and her smile returned.
"Eddie? Of course. We were really close, I do miss the sight of that smooth curly blond hair" she said as she let out a little chuckle "How's he doing by the way?"
I went silent for a while not knowing how to tell her about him but she seemed to have grasped the situation as she cupped her hand over her mouth.
"Oh" she muttered and I could see her eyes get teary. She stepped up to me and lightly took my hands "I'm sorry"
"It's okay" I said, more worried about her as she looked shaken up by the news. She sighed as she looked at us.
"You three must've been through a lot. Come with me. I must not keep you waiting after all this time" she said as she let go of my hand. She started to walk off in a different direction, expecting us to follow her. Alex followed behind her and I grabbed Tyson and kept a little distance between us.
"Hey Tyson, are you sure we can trust her?"
"Beautiful isn't she?" He said and I looked at him. He looked dazed. I bent over and snapped my finger in front of his face, I scoffed as it dawned on me.
He's a goner.
He has a weak point for girls he finds pretty. I watched Alex ahead and thought it's fine since she didn't object to it.
We walked deeper into the maze and I noticed the path we took had more flowers. We finally reached an open path in the maze. There was a fountain right in the middle and then a round table was set right next to it with chairs. She turned to look at us and was about to speak but she paused and seemed to change her mind.
"How about we first get you all cleaned up first and then we can catch up with a nice cup of tea and lunch" she said and clapped her hands. To my surprise, people trooped out of the hedges.
"Woah" I exclaimed as I wondered how she had done that. She smiled at my reaction and said.
"This is just the beginning. Take our guest and prepare a nice relaxing bath for them"
Now I loved the sound of that. A bath could probably be the best reward we've gotten since we came into this forest. The men and women were all dressed in blue just like Kathryn, but with a different pattern and shorter style. They took our bags and gestured for Tyson and I to head toward the hedges. Tyson moved immediately as he was all over the girls, they giggled as they passed through the hedges like it wasn't even there. I looked back to see Alex still standing with Kathryn.
"Aren't you coming?" I asked Alex but she didn't reply me.
"Oh you go ahead. Alex and I have something to talk about" Kathryn said but I was more keen on hearing Alex's reply. I stared at her as she still stood speechless.
Something was off.
"Alex?" I called out and when I still didn't get a reply I attempted to walk over to her but almost immediately, she looked at me and gave me a slight nod. I relaxed a bit
"Alright then" I said as something still bothered me but I went ahead and followed them into the hedges.
*******************
I came out feeling much refreshed than ever. Inside was like a totally different place. The ceiling was so freaking high, like over 30 feet's tall and then there was the really huge pool of steamy water. Like the ones only seen in a palace or comics. I was beginning to think we weren't in the forest again.
I saw Tyson sitting on the fountain with six other girls accompanying him and giggling away.
"You're prettier, and you're the prettiest. You're the most beautiful and you... are my Sunshine" he said as he kept stroking their faces. I scoffed and shook my head at him. He was pretty laid back now that we found Kathryn. I looked at the girls around him...
... they all looked the same to me.
I looked around but I couldn't find Alex, Kathryn was seated at the table so I moved over to her.
"Where's Alex?" I asked as I took a seat across her.
"Taking a bath" she replied casually as she placed down her cup of tea "I had them prepare some dishes for you three. Alex did let me know you haven't had a proper meal since. I don't know which suits your taste so I told them to prepare a lot"
I looked at the table and it was actually a lot. Mostly dessert but there was a full chicken set right in the middle. This felt like Thanksgiving. The thought of it made me smile and then I felt my stomach growl. It's been so long since I had a decent meal, but Alex needed this more. She'd been eating less and working more, I've been worried she would pass out anytime from stress.
Kathryn and I talked over the while, just a light conversation but I actually had a nice time talking to her. We laughed a little and I found myself relaxing around her.
"Excuse me for a moment, I need to use your bathroom"
"Sure go ahead" She answered as she sipped her tea. I smiled and turned to head towards the hedges. A quick glance at Tyson and I knew.
Playtime's over.
Where is Alex?