Out of The Woods (COMPLETED)

Chapter Two

"My father thinks the outside world is dangerous." I said to Esme as we walked through the meadows. The long green grass tickled my bare knees as we walked. She stayed silent in consideration before she spoke.

"Fear is the main reason we've been stuck in here for years."

Although I was a little frightened by my father's outlook on the outside world, the spark of curiosity was ignited within me and I couldn't put it out. I longed to see the truth for myself, to venture out to where not many of my kind had been.

I couldn't deny the beauty of Arden though. It was a sacred place of nature as that is where forest nymphs thrive. I couldn't imagine a world outside my own, from what If heard from Esme in the town, there were no trees, no grass and no signs of nature until you reached the outskirts of the town. Only markets and people. But what I heard her talk about the most were the Christmas lights. Every Christmas the humans would decorate the town with Christmas lights and decorations and would celebrate Christmas with songs in the middle of the town. Esme told me that werewolves were there too, among the humans, singing along.

"We'll have to be careful and mask our scent." She said thoughtfully.

"Will they be able to tell?" I couldn't mask the fear in my voice and she waved it away in a simple gesture.

"Even without masking they might not even notice. We don't have a distinctive scent as faerie folk, but it's sweeter and more alluring that than of a human's. They might even chalk it up to perfume given their lack of experience with nymphs but we can never be too careful." She sighed as we came to a clearing.

"No, not that one. I don't want the blue and red flowers together. Here, these white ones will complement it." Ferrah said, her voice resonating over all the chatter in the clearing. I could see they were beginning to set up for tomorrow's celebration.

The tables were set in the middle of the clearing and they had lanterns attached around the trees with different types of feathers hanging down by string. Bouquets of flowers were set on each table and in the middle was the biggest table, the one that the ritual would be done on.

Every year at Christmas our main elder would preform a ritual, praying to the gods to ensure our protection and prosperity. I saw that some of the ingredients were left on the table, the smudging bowl along with sage, sweetgrass and Angelica.

"You two. I thought you'd never get here." Ferrah said, as she approached us with a grin.

"I'm still lacking some of the herbs for the ritual. Can you two stop by Alice's and grab some chamomile and rose water?"

"We'd be happy to." I smiled back at her softly. "And don't overwork yourself Ferrah, the celebration is hours away and it looks like you're making great progress."

She nodded enthusiastically. "It would be a lot faster if some people actually listened to me. Did I not say where to put those blue poppies?" She said, her eyes locked on the poor soul behind us.

Esme grabbed my hand and pulled me aside, down the little path that led to the rest of the city. The city of Arden Isn't is exactly a city, it's more so a largely complex garden. We have our houses, a few ponds and rivers and then in the main village, we have a few trades. We have a flower shop, an antique shop that sometimes brings in lost books and odd items if any nymphs are ever outside the city. Yes, occasionally a few faerie folk are allowed out but only to scout the area. What good would it be if we hid in secret only for the forest to be uprooted? That's why we always have one runner at a time. A runner goes out into the world once a month and tries to extract information, while keeping an eye on the town and forest. However, there are expectations you must meet as a runner.

If you are at any point caught, you must die. Not that it is likely that a runner will be caught, as their name suggests, they're very quick. Both mentally and on their feet. Currently, our runner is Finn. Yes, the same Finn to which I'm wed. We also have a herbalist; Alice, who is Finn's mother and who we're currently headed towards.

I know I didn't love Finn. We had been close friends since I could walk, so I guess I was marrying him out of comfort and familiarity. As nymphs, we don't get much of a choice about who we fall in love with given our limited population. I was lucky and I realized that.

"Aurora, Esmerelda. How can I help you? Is it Finn you're looking for? He's upstairs if you'd like me to fetch him."

"That's not necessary," Esme smiled "Ferrah just sent us down for Rosewater and chamomile."

Alice's eyes lit up. "Oh, I was suppose to bring those down earlier, it completely slipped my mind."

"It's no bother, we can bring them down for you now. The celebration is coming along nicely so there's no rush." I assured and she nodded in acceptance as she turned back into the shop to retrieve the items.

"Is that Aurora?" Finn called as he waltzed into the room, grinning at me flirtatiously. Finn, as attractive as he was, with sky blue eyes and messy blonde hair, was an utter dork.

"Indeed it is." Alice smiled slightly and moved to grab up the herbs.

"My day has just gotten considerably brighter." He said, winking towards me and I let out a light laugh. He took the herbs, wrapped up and bound with thread.

"I'll walk you two back. I'm sure Ferrah would call for me to do some of the heavy work at some time." He very unsubtle flexed and I couldn't help but laugh at his antics.

"What, you and your non existent muscles?"

He gasped and crossed his heart with his hand. "I'm appalled you'd view your future husband in that way."

I shrugged. "Hey, when is the last time you went outside the village?"

He looked away. "The month is almost up and then I'm back out again."

I felt some weird emotion running through the air and I raised my question softly. "Do you not like being outside of Arden?"

He contemplated my question, looking uncertain of how to answer. "I think, I realize more and more about how big the world we're missing out on is, every time I go out. The world that the elders spoke of, I have seen it. But I've seen one that isn't that different than in here. They don't have the same sense of closeness but people are kind and interesting and their world is so fascinating. I'm at odds ends because sometimes I think I'd never leave Arden if I had the choice and other times I find it suffocating."

He grinned over at me. "But the elders are not to be disobeyed."

I felt nerves settle into my stomach as Esmerelda tossed me an uneasy look that thankfully, Finn didn't pick up on. I almost felt guilty now for having the intention to leave Arden, but I just wanted to see it once. That would satisfy my curiosity and then I'd come back and I'd be perfectly content with living the rest of my life in the little hidden city of the Arden.