The Forbidden Forest

Closing the immense wooden door carefully, the figure crept down the loose gravel path, the icy air nipping her ears. She stepped quietly through the silent, dark city and on, unheeded through the surrounding farmland. Ahead she could see her destination, she glanced back at the home that had been a prison and shuddered at the bitter breeze that blew through her ragged clothes. Pulling her shawl tighter she pressed on towards the cumulous forest before her. The girl paused on the edge of the shadow, held her breath and allowed herself to be enveloped by the dark woods. Starlight sprinkled the canopy, she sighed and relaxed as the sounds of the forest's inhabitants unfolded. She felt at complete ease, the men at her "home" had treated her fouly. Musty smells and earthy scents filled her nostrils and the spongy ground gave slightly beneath her step.
She crossed a stream along a fallen log and jumped over stones and tree stumps in her way as she made her own pathn in the wild woods. Noone ever went here, it was forbidden territory, her whole family was killed nearby she was told. She passeg great crumbling cliffs, covered with sprawling vegetation, absent mindedly she patted her pocket, er treasure was still there. It was the reason for her journey, it spoke to her without words, when she kept it near her bed it made her have colourful es oteric dreams.
After almost an hour of trekking she saw ahead the clearing she was aiming for. She stopped, she should not be here, although she had learned tricks to sneak past the guard in a desperate attempt to escape drudgery, she felt a great urge to turn back. A large ancient oak took a proud central position in a meadow, its gnarled scrawny branches held above the surrounding young trees. Its thinning canopy was tattered and frail looking even in the dark night. Timidly she crept up to the old oak and found it to be hollow, great gashes in it's sides led her into the most sacred place of the forest.

Caela was surprised at the ease of her entry, despite the apparent deserted nature of the place she was doubtless being watched by many eyes. The fact she had not been killed the moment she even approached the clearing was a sign of their acceptance of her. She knealt at he centre of the floor, crooning a silent prayer. Now she took from her pocket a glassy sphere wrapped in rags. she remembered when she took it from the treasury, she knew it should be hers, a feeling imprinted on her soul. So before her daring escapade she had sent the guards to sleep and took the prize for herself. Lifting it up to her eye with a slender hand, she gazed up through the orb at the stars framed by the hollow trunk before placing the crystal into a hole in the centre of the wooden carpet of roots. The hemispherical hollow fitted the orb perfectly and no sooner had her hands moved back to her sides than it began to glow. The light grew and she knew it was not a single light but the trapped light of a thousand stars.

She waited patiently, the light growing to fill the trunk and spill out to the surrounding clearing. She heard rusting and the snapping of twigs. She glanced out of a tear in the trunk and saw nothing but the faintly illuminated fungi around the hole and the eerily lit flowers of the clearing outside. Something made her look up and meeting the growing orb-light was a chain of tiny opal fires gently floating down from the sky, they whirled around her and increased in numbers until a blizzard of embers filled the room. To an undetected signal they fled the tree, filling the clearing outside with myriads of orange stars.
It began to be obvious that there were other flying creatures beginning to mingle with the first but these dark things were only visible where they became close enough to cast shadows in the orb's light. Caela was floating on awe, her stomach turning knots of excitement.
The rustling became more obvious now, it came from all edges of the clearing and now sounds of pattering could be heard above her. Landing with perfect grace at the opening to the hollow she barely managed to register the figure before it vanished. At another portal two more lingered peering at her, vanishing when she moved her head to wards them. They grew more curious or perhaps less cautious, eventually she managed to watch them watch her, their green eyes bright and large in their tiny gaunt faces. Sharp features were framed by rough hair. An unheard cue told them to swarm back up the tree, but their faces filled every hole and break in the wood above her.
Now came the turn of their larger kin, Caela was caught by surprise at learing that the edge of the clearing was no longer empty, beings of all shapes and sizes pushed through the foliage and began to walk towards her. Some of the trees were not as they appeared to be, upheld lithe limbs hid gnared ancient faces, the tree herds stepped carefully amongst the smaller forest dwellers.

Steadying her nerves and pulling herself up to her full stature, she stepped out amongst the scattering people. Time seemed to stop, watching silently were rows upon rows of people alien to her, they seemed to be awaiting her next move, holding their breaths, but she knew not what to do next. One elf raised an arm and pointed at her, or behind her? Gasps and wide eyes made her turn around.
Inside the hollow tree a green light seemed to be emmanating from the flesh of the trunk, that seemed to swell before here eyes. The wood itself gave forth to brown wrinkled spirits, frail wraiths of the weak tree. Expanding like foam the great gashes in the tree fused together and the trunk became whole and unblemished. The bark itself began to glow as the branches grew fat and curled upwards, gaining strength and profusely sprouting golden leaves and delicate flowers of silver. The magical growth slowed and the tree shone with renewed life. Again the dryads, spirits of the tree came forth from the tree, their skin looking polished and healthy.
Most stood back partially embedded in the wood, but three approached Caela, studying her carefully. One held out its hand to her, she took it and knealt, surprised at the strength in the rough hard but tiny hand. He smiled, and spoke in a tounge she had never heard before, but understood as if she had spoken it all her life.
"She is the one"
With laughter in their eyes, the spirits came running from the tree, crowding all around her and lifting her up with strong arms. They bore her to a flat stone where with great care they placed her, the other people came running to surround her. A wreath of flowers was brought from secret hiding to crown their newly found queen.
Caela couldn't help smiling, a feeling of elation she had never before felt filled her and she knew, above all else that she was home.