Chapter 2

Maia: 6 years old

I wake up and yawn, stretching my arms out high above my head. I’m sitting in a large hollow tree trunk. I have no idea why I’m here, or how I got here. Naked, I drop down onto the ground and feel soft moss under my feet. Animals and critters in the forest gather around me and welcome me, like they’ve never seen a human before. They approach me lovingly, and affectionately nuzzle their faces into my legs, and when I eventually decide to sit down on the grass, they snuggle in my lap. There are rabbits, foxes, squirrels, deer, elk, birds, and mice. They follow me around, and do not leave my side. I feel like their new master. I feel safe and loved in this forest, I want to live here forever. The forest is my home, my safe place, my everything.

During a game of hide and seek, with a friend of mine, a fox, I name Ember, I introduce myself to him. ‘I’m Maia,’ I tell him. Ember nudges my head playfully with his head, when he finds me and then runs in circles, excited. He leaps at me, and lands on my chest, and we both roll backwards. We find a cave, with the entrance cloaked by a curtain of vines.

In awe at its magnificence, and beauty, thousands of glow worms illuminate the cave, making it appear magical. Green vines and violet flowers adorn the walls and the cave ceiling, it truly is the most enchanting part of the forest I have seen.

Ember and I follow the trail of glow worms through the cave until we can go no further, and must turn right, where the cave ends. Sunlight shines through a rectangle-shaped hole in the wall, it is a perfect window that lights up this part of the cave.

I approach the window to have a look at the water flowing over it outside, it’s like a waterfall. I let the water fill my cupped hands, and drink it, it’s cold, delicious and refreshing.

‘Ember, I think this cave will be our new home,’ I say smiling, and look down at Ember who rubs his head against my leg, agreeing.

‘Your den is too small for me, and I won't outgrow this cave.’ I smile.

Collecting moss, bark, and leaves, I make a soft bed to sleep on. I roll three tree stumps into the cave, and make a table with the large stump, and two stools to sit on, with the two smaller stumps. ‘This will do just fine,’ I say, feeling proud of myself, it feels like home. Ember approaches me with a violet flower in his mouth and drops it on my lap.

‘Thank you, Ember. It’s such a beautiful flower. It's the same colour as my eyes,’ I smile and look down at Ember's sweet furry face. Lying on my bed with Ember snuggled up next to me, I listen to the sound of the waterfall, the birds singing, and the breeze blowing through the trees before drifting off to sleep.

Maia: 18 years old

It’s rare to see other humans in the forest, and when I do see them, I follow them quietly, without making my presence known. I sit up high in a tree, and listen in on their conversations to learn what I can about the world outside the forest.

They speak about werewolves, and how much they loathe them, that they are unnatural beings who should be eradicated. They say werewolves are ferocious and dangerous, that they kill their own young.

I do occasionally I do occasionally hear howling at night.

After these conversations, I fear werewolves, and I dare not go near them. I remain hidden until they pass through. My forest is the only land neither king rules. It’s neutral land between two opposing kingdoms, and most people do not dare to enter.

The humans say it’s only a matter of time until war breaks out between the two kingdoms: West Wallow, the human realm, ruled by King Fenris, and Moon Crest Valley, the werewolf realm, ruled by Alpha King Damon.

They speak about how Alpha King Damon, still hasn't found his mate, and Luna of his kingdom. Werewolves are blessed with a mate the Moon Goddess selects. Upon one’s sixteenth birthday, they can apparently sense their mate if they’re nearby.

Most wolves are mated by eighteen, some as young as sixteen, if they’re from the same pack. At twenty-four, being mateless is rare, Alpha King Damon may not find his one true love. The humans speculate: perhaps his mate has passed away, before he has had a chance to meet her? Or perhaps the Moon Goddess has cursed him, and he will be mateless indefinitely? A mate by his side would definitely increase his strength, and the strength of his pack. They speak of King Fenris’ plans to take over Moon Crest Valley, by driving the werewolves

into extinction.

Everyone is eager for King Fenris to marry, so they will have a queen and heirs to the throne. Without heirs, the people of West Wallow worry what will happen to them, if something happened to their king.

Until now, I have survived on the forest’s offerings my whole life. Lately, humans and soldiers have come into my forest for food, gathering enormous harvests of fruit, herbs and crops, and running my food supply dry.

It’s becoming harder to find food, and I worry there won’t be enough left for me to eat. The visitors have stripped the forest bare. The animals are hunted, killed, and used for their meat and their fur. It’s heartbreaking finding my friends’ bodies scattered through the forest, they’re creatures I have lived with my whole life.

Ember and I go to his old den and find it empty, his siblings have been taken by poachers. I’m devastated and inconsolable. Ember looks at me, and his eyes glaze over. I see and feel the hurt in his eyes. I collapse on the ground and hold Ember close to my chest, and cry into the warmth of his neck.

‘I'm so sorry Ember,’ I cry. Grey clouds darken the sky and heavy rain begins to pour down on us. The raindrops roll down my cheeks and blend with my tears.

‘The sky is crying with us,’ I say. When I manage to stop crying the rain settles.

Humming and singing a sorrowful song, I feel like my heart brims with a pain that will never go away.

My home has been gradually destroyed, my friends have been killed, and I’m no longer safe in this forest. I look down at my hands, and see a soft glow coming from my palms. I hear rustling in the bushes in front of me. Two men and a woman, who are clearly shocked by my presence, can't believe what they’re seeing. Both men wear tunics, and breeches, and have knives in their belts. The woman, who wears a dress and a shawl, carries a long, thick, stick, with rabbits tied to it. The anger inside me builds, and I feel an all-consuming, all-powerful energy course through my veins. A force of energy expels from my palms, in the form of a gust of wind, as I unknowingly manipulate the wind, and yell at the human invaders.

‘Get out of my forest and never come back!’ I scream. The gust of wind almost knocks them over. They run away quickly, and out of sight. ‘Did I just do that?’ I ask Ember.

Arriving at their village, panting and out of breath, John sits down on a bench and looks at Fay and Ed. Fay rests the stick with rabbits tied to it, against a stone wall, and sits beside John and Ed.

‘Did you see that? I’ve never seen such a beautiful girl. Her voice was so angelic, her skin glowed, and her eyes were violet. She was scary, but boy, was she beautiful.’ John says. Fay nods and agrees with him.

‘She summoned the wind and almost blew us away,’ Ed

says.

‘She did. She must be a Goddess, or a Princess. Why would she tell us to get out of her forest? She doesn’t own it.’ Fay says.

‘Maybe she lives there? I’ve never seen her in any of the villages. I’d remember a face as enchanting as hers.’ Ed says. They tell everyone in the village about what they have heard and seen, and a few of their neighbours believe them. A few of their neighbours have heard her beautiful singing voice many times, in the forest, while they’ve been harvesting food and hunting; they simply hadn’t met her.

All the villagers refer to Maia as the Forest Princess, and children beg their parents to tell them the story of the Enchanted Forest Princess.