A loud banging on Lysandra's door woke her up in an instant. It was Brion opening her door when she didn't respond right away.
"Goodmorning Milady, please excuse me for the rude awakening. It's snowing. Because of this we are leaving in twenty minutes." Brion announced. The man might have opened the door, but he had some decency and made sure to look down at the floor instead of at Lysandra. "Oh and dress warmly—" he added and quickly closed the door again.
SNOW?!
Lysandra sprung out of bed and rushed over to the window. Ripping the curtains to one side she was met with a sea of white as far as her eyes could see. It was snowing! There was a layer of snow covering the village roofs. She had never seen anything like it. She wondered what snow would feel like. With the capital having a warm climate all year long, they never had any snow. Lysandra was aware it snowed in the North every year but still—seeing that fine layer of snow wasn't something she had expected to see so soon.
Lysandra walked to her trunk, another knock on the door followed.
"Milady–" Daisy called. The maid had clearly just woken up too, her hair wasn't in her usual braided bun yet. Not wasting any time, Daisy helped Lysandra get dressed as quickly as possible. She put Lysandra's hair in the butterfly clip. Lysandra put on her warmest winter dress with a coat on top. The coat was considered warm by capital standards. When she stepped outside however, Lysandra could feel a shiver down her spine. Snow was way colder than she had expected. She cursed herself for not accepting her mother's fur coat.
Daisy sneezed and rubbed her arms "Ah– this, this is– just. Great." Daisy spoke Lysandra's mind.
"Ladies—" Brion walked over and turned to Lysandra. "Milady, my apologies for the rush this morning. However, with the snow it be best to leave early before it piles up too high. Your former guards have already left back to the capital this morning. They promised to take the lake route back."
"What? They already left but I—" Lysandra felt her nails digging into her palms. Having written her father a letter last night, almost even forgetting about it. Lysandra had woken up in the middle of the night and quickly wrote a short letter to let her parents know she safely made it to the Inn the Duke had indicated. Those idiot guards just left without any goodbye. They really just took their pay and left.
"What about my horse?!" Lysandra panicked and turned towards the carriage. She was afraid that her horse, which was promised to travel with her to the North, had gone with the guards back to the capital. "All arranged Milady, your coachman informed Hannic that the black stallion was to join us to the North." Relieved by Brion's words she spotted Shadow standing at the front of the carriage as Hannic loaded in the trunks.
"All set, sir," Hannic called. The young guard had finished loading up all the trunks. The door of the inn opened, Mary stood in the doorframe.
"Milady, what about breakfast?" The woman sounded worried. "I could pack you some for the road, all other meals Hannic already loaded."
Lysandra turned to Brion who shook his head. "I'm sorry, Milady. There be no time to sit down for breakfast. Mary, please pack some breakfast for the ladies, so they can eat in the carriage." Mary huffed and puffed.
"Give me five minutes, you are not going into that forest without a proper meal." Lysandra smiled at the older woman "Thank you, Mary. That would be lovely." Mary hurried off back inside.
"There are a few rules for the next part of your journey, Milady." Brion said. Lysandra looked at the man confused. "Rules?" she repeated as Daisy stood besides her.
"Once we enter the forest, there will be no breaks longer than five minutes tops. The number of breaks will be limited. For your own safety, stay as quiet as possible and keep the curtains of the carriage closed." Brion sounded serious. "There are creatures out there neither me nor the duke want you to witness." The man added.
"I'd suggest you'd either read a book or just sleep. However, the second we run into trouble you will need to promise me one thing— both of you should promise me," Brion paused.
The ladies looked at one another and back at Brion. "And that is?" Lysandra questioned.
"Run— The second I tell you to run, you do so. Get on your own horses and leave the carriage behind. Follow the path and make your way out of the forest towards the estate. Is that loud and clear ladies?" Brion gazed at Lysandra and Daisy clearly demanding an answer.
Starting to get nervous by the idea of it all. Run into trouble? Lysandra looked over at the forest, its high peaked pine trees stretched across the horizon. There was nowhere else to go but into the forest or to turn around and head back to the capital. As much as she would love to just jump on her horse Shadow and rush back home. She knew that if she did turn back, it would be a death sentence for not just herself but her whole family.
What was it that Lysandra's grandfather had called this forest again?
The dreaded forest that none dare to enter without guidance.
She swallowed nervously remembering the line before turning to Brion. "Run. Understood captain. Well then shall we get going," Lysandra said trying to sound confident whilst her mind was screaming at her to get the hell back home.
Brion nodded and turned to Daisy. "And you?" He inquired.
"I promise to run!" Daisy said confidently. The man nodded at the two ladies. "Alright, then we be leaving."
They got into the carriage. Mary came rushing out of the inn moments later. "Wait!" The woman called and rushed over to Lysandra. "Here, Milady." The woman handed over a basket that felt heavier than just breakfast.
"It's breakfast, some extra fruits and some liquid courage. Don't be too scared, you will make a lovely Duchess." Mary smiled and bowed her head before heading straight back inside, leaving Lysandra baffled. Her a Duchess? That was only possible if the Duke didn't kill her on the spot, which was more likely.
Hannic finally closed the carriage door and gave them a smile. "Worry not, the forest ain't that bad." The young man said confidently. "But do close the curtains, it's safer. We will travel for about two days and then reach the estate." Hannic bowed and took his seat as the coachman. One of the horses brought by the men and Shadow were pulling the carriage, while Brion was on his own besides them.
The wheels creaked as they spun into motion. The carriage gently rocked as they drove down the cobbled road. They left behind the village and entered the forest.
Lysandra had peeked through the curtains to try and see if there was anything out of the ordinary as to why her grandfather had described the forest the way he did but all she could see was that there was nothing but trees and snow. The forest was so densely grown that there was barely any sunlight coming through its canopy.
"Milady, you shouldn't!" Daisy sounded scared, Lysandra let go of the fabric, the curtains closed again.
That one line her grandfather had written about this place had put her on edge, at the same time she wanted to know why he called it dreadful? The dreaded forest that none dear to enter without guidance. This place gave her the chills. It wasn't just because of the dropping temperature. Her breath had started showing from the increasing cold. The deeper they went into the forest, the more unsettled she felt.
Lysandra and Daisy were shivering whilst hugging their blankets. Winter clothes made by capital standards were useless, absolutely useless. Lysandra cursed in her mind as she sneezed. Darn it, she was going to catch a cold from just getting to the North. How bad would the cold be in the North? The carriage was starting to rock a little harder making it difficult to sit comfortably.
Living in the North, what a joke. Lysandra would be lucky if she'd survive maybe a week. She would just have to make sure that if the Duke truly was a demon like the rumours had described him to be. That she could get Daisy back home and alive, her maid didn't deserve whatever faith had in store for Lysandra. Thumb. The sound of the wheels hitting another bump in the road made the carriage shake. Their butts were sore from sitting. How many hours had it been since they had left the village behind?
Mary the inn keeper had prepared food for them on the road, besides the breakfast they had eaten in their first hour in the carriage. That was hours ago. Lunch had also been devoured already. They hadn't stopped once. Thumb. Another bump in the road made Lysandra's hit her head against the roof of the carriage "Ah… fuck!" she cursed rubbing the top of her head, that hurt.
"SSSHH" Both men outside hushed Lysandra. She glared at the curtains. Really sussing her after she bumped her head because of this poorly made road. Maybe the Duke should stop going on manslaughter sprees and have his men fix the road to his own estate.
Suddenly the carriage came to a standstill. Lysandra was still rubbing the top of her head as one of the horses neighed. Shadow— it was Shadow sounding distressed. She knew the sound of her own horse. Why would he be distressed?
Lysandra opened up the curtain without thinking twice.
Nothing—
Why had they stopped?
Lysandra heard swords being unsheathed. Why were Brion and Hannic drawing their swords?
Her blood ran cold. What if the men were just sent to kill her off instead of bringing her to the Duke? She wasn't even to see this so-called Duke of the North, if his men killed her and her maid. In this forest there would be no witnesses to tell the tale.
"Ladies—" Brion's voice sounded stern. "I need you to stay calm and get out of the carriage." Brion commanded as the young ladies looked at one another, giving each other a knowing look. They were going to die out here in the forest. What were they going to do? Wait inside the carriage and die in here or get out and be murdered on the road.
"Ladies— There is no time to waste" Brion was clearly demanding for them to get out.
"If we do what he asks, we'll get killed. We could run?" Daisy whispered. holding onto the skirt of her dress. "They have swords. They will stab us the second we run.." Lysandra voiced concern.
"At least we'll die together." Daisy sounded almost heroic if it wasn't for her viscous trembling.
"Ladies, I said—NOW!" Brion was getting impatient and his voice sounded almost panicked.