Jace was tired. His life has more downs than ups, and he somehow gets used to misfortune. At some point, he stopped hoping for a better life and even banishment from the city hasn't affected him much, as he thought it would be weird if their life went without a hitch from now on.
His parents left him with a younger brother a long time ago. They had nothing to eat, nor a place to stay, and unlike other young men, he couldn't leave as a soldier for a battlefield.
He was not afraid of dying, he was not the bravest but wasn't a coward either, he was strong, and was willing to learn how to fight. There was just one problem – his brother Lester was too young to be left alone. They have no relatives who can take care of him, while Jace is away earning money.
He wasn't gifted enough to learn to craft, so the only option left, to feed them both, was to be hired in the factory with demon's corpses. Knights recruited many workers to process the bodies and Jace also volunteered. He was young and ignorant of the danger.
His luck was bad as the accident occurred soon after he started. The magicians were supposed to clean the bodies of the poisonous blood, before handing it to the workers, but one of the bodies was handled wrongly and still had some of the blood left. The thick dark liquid almost took his leg away, handicapping him for the rest of lives.
The knights said he hadn't worked long enough to earn a pension, gave him a bag of flour and one gold coin as compensation, and sent him home.
Since then, they become wanderers and moved around the west.
Jace was looking for a place to rest but they were never welcomed. He only knew the view of the dead land for his whole life and couldn't think of any solution. Even after being banished from the Deneb, he knew Lester was blaming himself a lot. His younger brother thought that he destroyed their only chance to settle down.
He wanted the cheer that ball of wrecking nerves up, but no right word came out of his mouth. And then like a struck by fate, they met that strange girl by the gates. Like bound by a strand of silver hope, they followed her unknowingly. She led to the stream with a lush green riverbank.
It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.
So much fresh and healthy growing plants, tranquil fresh water, and most importantly, he felt it right away. If he was to die today, he wants to be buried here.
He watched his brother arguing with a little girl when she came up with a proposal. She asked them to stay here and plant trees for her. It was a ridiculous request, but it was the same thing, as Jace wished for.
"We will stay here," he decided.
"Brother…?!"
"Think about it, Lester… we can't go to villages or cities anymore. This land belongs to a king, and as citizens of this kingdom, they can never kick us out. There is also enough food, we can survive here easily…"
"But still… What will people say, if they found out we are living in the wilderness?"
"No one will know. There is no one, who can report us."
Lester's eyes turned to Arianell like he was afraid to let her hear any more of their conversation.
"She won't tell anyone," Jace said.
"How can you be sure?!"
"She is an outcast herself."
Arianell chocked. She found Jace's words to be blunt, but he was somehow right. She lives by the Forest, if she is not an outcast, then who is? But to hear such a word from a wanderer, she felt a bit unhappy.
"Please rethink it, Jace! It won't be easy to stay here!"
"I'm tired. I don't want to wander around anymore."
The older man was speaking his true feelings.
Lester let out a deep sigh and kicked the stone in frustration. He knows how his brother can be stubborn, once he decides on something, he will keep his word.
"Hey, you! Tell me how you planted these trees?"
Arianell could feel his agitation. She stood up to make a quick retreat.
"Tomorrow… I will come back tomorrow and teach you about plants."
"Where the hell are you going now? You make a big mess here, at least clean after yourself!"
"What cleaning? Just wash the dishes in the river! Uncle, why are you being so difficult?!"
Arianell was surprised, at how easily she persuaded them. She does indeed need strong people to do hard work for her, but she promised them food, will she be able to give them enough to eat? She already has two pets to feed at home.
Will little fox and wolf-like grilled fish? If yes, she can just exchange some meat for fish. This way, all sides would be happy.
The reason, why she retreated now and planned on returning tomorrow, was because growing trees was not as effortless as she made it sound. In theory, cutting the twigs and letting them grow roots, was easy to understand but harder to perform. Branches need two essential things to transform into trees. One was a water source from the Forest, either the river or the well in her backyard. Secondly, the soil from the Forest was needed.
The Forest's earth was truly magical. She did a few experiments with it, and not only did plants grow much faster, but it was also healthier and more fertile. The oleas trees she planted first were already bigger than her in one month. With normal soil, she would never be able to achieve this.
But they weren't so close yet, for her to share this secret. The Forest was her treasure chest, the pirate's map, that only a chosen few can access.
Because deep down Arianell knew, that Forest was welcoming her, but only her. The connection between them remained a mystery.