The Writer - Chapter 17

The Silent

Winds howled, and the storm increased its relentless battering. Night turned to morning turned to day with little occurrence. 

The fire had died out during the night, leaving only some warm coals that no one wanted to stir. Instead, the group told some stories and jokes to pass the time, as well as some duels between the girls. 

As it turned out, Calli did have a weapon. She carried a weird stick looking thing. One end had a jade secured, the other a knife. She wielded it with amazing skill, though Forrest knew that all it would take was one hit to snap the staff in half. He kept quiet though, just like always. 

The chatter wore him out easily, so Forrest resigned himself to keep watch for enemies that wouldn’t appear, or so he thought. 

He could see Coral giving him worried looks out of the corner of his eyes, but he ignored her. His thoughts were preoccupied and the bottle with his voice seemed to be taking more of his attention. 

Forrest was just about to rejoin his allies and talk about facing the storm when he spotted something moving in the torrents of rainfall. 

His first thought was that Emmeline had sent her Guide back with a reply already. But as the movement approached, it took the form of a human instead of a fox and it lacked the silvery glow of the boy. 

He went to reach for his sword, but something leapt at him with lightning speed. Forrest froze, his fingers an inch from the sword but a small snake in his way. 

He lunged for his sword, but the snake swiped at him, biting with incredible Forrest. No noise escaped Forrest’s lips, but shock spread through him. He heard a yelp from behind him and heard only a thwack of an arrow hitting flesh. The snake died, an arrow protruding from its head. 

Forrest nursed his wound, two puncture marks throbbing on his forearm. Assuming the snake wasn’t venomous, he would live. 

But where was the figure? Before Forrest could respond, he was slammed into the cave wall. His surroundings turned blue as the world began to spin. I probably have a concussion, he managed to think. 

The hit to his head was enough to make him dizzy. His sword slipped from his grasp and Forrest thought he blacked out for a minute. 

When he finally came to reality, writhing ropes secured him to another warm body. No, not ropes. Snakes. He recoiled in shock, attempting to shake off his bonds. The snakes continued moving, never becoming still. He couldn’t tell who he was tied to, and his head throbbed. 

A man paced anxiously in front of him, and Forrest pretended to still be dazed. He could just make out the forms of two other tied groups in the shadows. One was Morgan, Margo, and Calli. The other was Rae and Coral, which meant he was tied to Bethany. 

The man had the appearance of a snake with slit-like pupils and a forked tongue. His clothing looked like it was made of snakeskin, and a sword hung at his hips. 

The Serpent Slayer, his mind told him. Forrest felt a wave of fear wash through him at the sound of the voice. He’s known for his peculiar method of using snakes to murder his victims, though I’m sure he’d kill the old fashioned way too. Actually, I’m quite surprised that he’s still alive. He’s been around for quite a while, hired by monarchs to kill opposing nobles in secret. 

For once, Forrest pushed down his fear and hatred for the voice. It seemed to know what it was talking about, and so he attempted to gain more knowledge. I thought I told you to get out of my head, he spat. But it’s fine for now. What else do you know about the … the Serpent Slayer? 

He could practically feel the voice smirking. When it rushed into his head again, he could sense a definite masculinity to it. Well, if the man used to work for monarchs, who do you suppose he’s working for now? 

Baelle, Forrest guessed. The voice agreed with him, though how Forrest could tell, he had no idea. So he’s been hired to kill us? 

Oh no, not all of you. Forrest, child, Baelle wants you and Coral alive. You escaped her once, but it won’t happen again. The Serpent Slayer will kill your allies and poison you and Coral so he can take you back to Argenti. 

Forrest bit his lip. That would add challenge to the situation. Does he have weaknesses? 

I’m not an encyclopedia, dear boy, nor did I fight him during my … time in the mortal world. I have no more help to offer you. 

Seriously? Forrest inhaled deeply, extremely upset now. He forced the voice out of his head and tried to focus. Distracting, however, was Bethany’s fluttery heartbeat and shallow breaths. He couldn’t focus one what he was doing with her constant movement. 

And then Forrest realized what the girl was doing. His hands were cold, tied behind his back. If Bethany was truly Blessed, she could probably control the ice to a small extent. Good thinking, he wanted to say. He decided that he would help her as much as possible by distracting the Serpent Slayer if possible. 

However, it seemed that job was already taken, and by Coral nevertheless. 

“You’re ugly,” Coral spat. It was a weak insult, but this mini feud had obviously been going on for quite some time because the man’s cheeks were pink. 

“Listen, girl, you’re quite pretty. I assume you got a prince somewhere, right? So if you don’t think he’d like a new scar on that pretty face o’ yours, I suggest you shut your mouth before I do it for you,” the man hissed. 

Coral didn’t listen. Forrest had no idea if she knew of Bethany’s time consuming plan, or if she was simply stalling for time, but she didn’t drop it. 

“At least I’d have a lover then. What do you have? Your snakes and your mum, I bet.” 

Apparently, a joke about the Serpent Slayer’s mother was too much for him. In a wild yell, he unsheathed his sword and brought it across Coral’s face in a fluid motion so quick Forrest almost missed it. 

The cut was shallow, but a small drip of blood wobbled on Coral’s cheek. She didn’t seem fazed by it, but the sight of her in harm made Forrest’s blood boil. 

Rage consumed him like an ocean and a single grain of salt. He felt like he was drowning, and this time, his Curse was too strong. Forrest stopped fighting and let his anger take over, watching in fear as his body ripped apart the snake bonds like paper. 

The man spun to face him, but Forrest had already grabbed his sword off the ground, the blade gleaming in the dying light. 

In the corner of his vision he saw a blur of brunette hair rushing towards the others, which told him Bethany was freeing the others. But with the Curse still overpowering him, Forrest was helpless to assist. 

And with that, Forrest attacked. 

He was a frenzy of blades whipping, and although he retained all of his skills while under the Curse, Angry Forrest had a much more aggressive way of fighting, which left more room for error. Twice, he recieved slashes he would have otherwise avoided. 

The aggressive fighting did seem to be wearing out the Serpent Slayer, though he was experienced too. Especially since he was an assassin, and also because he began to anticipate Forrest’s actions. 

The only problem was the pressing threat of the end of Forrest’s Curse, which would leave him unconscious for who knew how long. 

The Serpent Slayer brought his sword upwards, and Forrest countered the strike with ease, spinning into a sideways slash that was blocked by his opponent. The force of the block made Forrest stumble backwards, but he used the movement to his advantage, ducking into a roll. 

He sprung out of his ball and slashed at the Serpent Slayer’s ankles. The man leapt backwards and then sprung forwards again, sword poised for stabbing. 

Forrest dove away, regaining balance and stabbing his sword at the man’s back. The Serpent Slayer brought up his blade just in time. Sparks flew as the swords crashed. Forrest gave a tiny extra wave of force and the Serpent Slayer’s sword bounced backwards. 

The man jumped into a backflip before speeding towards Forrest. The boy narrowly avoided the blade with a spin to the side. Forrest rushed towards the man, sword ready to impale him. The man ducked at the last second and Forrest went tumbling head over heels. He quickly brought himself back to his feet in time to see the murderer charging towards him. 

Throwing all caution to the wind, Forrest launched himself upwards, using the cave wall to his advantage and landing on the man’s back. The two collapsed to the floor, swords skittering away. 

However, like any trained assassin, the Serpent Slayer whipped out a knife a a throwing star, flinging the latter at Forrest’s head. Forrest, luckily, also never left home without a spare and quickly unsheathed his second sword, hitting the throwing star out of the sky. The Serpent Slayer seemed to realize that his knife would be no match for a sword, so he flung it at the group still struggling to get untied. 

Forrest watched it speed by but knew there was no way to stop it now and ran after the man. He attacked while the man dove for his sword, but his blade bounced off the man’s snakeskin clothing like it was armored. 

Forrest quickly aimed for the head and neck, which weren’t covered by clothing. The man crumpled as the flat of Forrest’s blade struck his head. 

But the Serpent Slayer wasn’t going down without a fight either. He swung his sword towards Forrest’s feet, tripping the boy. Forrest hit the ground hard, breath knocked from his lungs. He gasped for breath, throwing himself back into battle with stubborn stupidity. 

His vision spun, now with two hits to the head. He could feel his anger fading, leaving him with an emptiness inside, which quickly filled with exhaustion. 

Coral, a tiny voice inside of him whispered. She might be injured from the knife that man threw. Kill him just in case it harmed her. Forrest nodded to himself, the thought refilling his anger and reinforcing his Curse. 

He let a wild yell, pushing himself back to his feet and this time grabbing his other sword. With two blades, Forrest knew he was a force to be reckoned with. The Serpent Slayer seemed to know he had met his match, and fought back with relentless skill as well. The two were a perfectly matched pair. 

Every strike had a parry, and Forrest’s Curse was leaving him with exhaustion once again. He felt himself slowly draining out. 

I can’t let myself lose, for the means that Coral and the others will die. And with that thought channeling all of his anger, he released his fury into one final blow. There was no way the Serpent Slayer could have blocked the strike, all of Forrest’s power was pooled into it. And so he did what any reasonable dying person would do - left a present for his killer. 

The Serpent Slayer died on impact, the sword sending him into oblivion, leaving behind only a snakeskin and a curved knife. 

Forrest stood next to it, panting heavily. And that was when he noticed the snake curled around his ankle, its fangs dripping with venom. He hardly had time to think as it sunk its fangs into his leg. 

He gave a shout, for once sound coming out. Someone rushed to his side as he collapsed, dizzy and semiconscious. “You did it, Forrest, you saved us.” 

He gave a nod. I guess I was pretty great. And with that, he sank into darkness. 

Forrest’s eyes fluttered open and he thought he was dead. His mouth was as dry as a desert and his head felt like it weighed a ton. 

“Oh goddesses, he’s waking up,” someone called out. “Get Coral before she kills someone.” The thought made Forrest laugh and his vision cleared as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

Instantly, Coral was at his side. Her hair brushed across his face as she bent over him, kissing his forehead with soft lips. As much as he loved her, he didn’t exactly think kissing in front of their friends was a great idea. She pulled away from him, eyes filled with intense worry. “Don’t scare me like that again.” 

“Scare you?” Forrest asked, using hand gestures and wincing from the pain. Coral handed him a canteen and he chugged the entire thing until his throat wasn’t sore. 

Coral nodded solemnly. “Forrest, you were out for a whole day. 

“The snake bite and your Curse combined, it was enough to knock a grown man out for a week according to Calli. You’re lucky to be alive,” Coral explained, her voice cracking. 

Suddenly, the weight of the situation dawned on him. Forrest realized that his Curse had worked overtime when he had let it consume him, especially for the longer than normal duration. That and the venomous snake bite combined, it was a miracle he was awake at all. 

He shrugged as if to ask what exactly happened, his heart pounding. 

Coral recounted how snakes had filled the cave. She shot one attempting to strangle Forrest, but they were quickly overwhelmed. The man - which Forrest told her was the Serpent Slayer using hand signals - had bound them with snakes and sent a serpent to fetch Baelle. 

Coral had tried to stall for time, as Calli and Bethany had already begun work on the ropes. By the time that the group was free, Forrest was already locked into battle. They couldn’t do much but sit helplessly due to his Curse, so they killed someone of the extra snakes and waited in case Forrest needed help. When the Serpent Slayer threw the knife, Calli had barely managed to stop it using a spell. Forrest was eventually bitten and fell unconscious, where they watched over him with little occurrence. 

“What you did was superhuman,” Calli interjected, sitting not far away. A small fire was raging, and Forrest’s team looked bored. Guilt overwhelmed him as he realized that it was his fault they were still stuck there. “Don’t try that again.” 

Forrest nodded, but he couldn’t make any promises. His Curse had taken a lot out of him, and his ankle didn’t look like it could support his weight. 

Something felt off about him too, like there was an unshakable presence hanging over him. With a start, he realized it was probably the voice. He had willingly let it speak and then it returned with a definite gender, almost as if by recognizing it, Forrest was giving it power. He shoved the thought away. 

Using his hands, he asked Coral how long it would be before the group could get moving again. She had a quiet discussion with Calli who decided that it would be nightfall before Forrest should move, and even then, it was risky. 

Forrest told the group they should be prepared to leave by midnight. 

Coral sat at his side as Calli rejoined the team to prepare for their departure. She held his hand tightly in hers, like she was afraid he would slip away. 

“We almost lost you, y’know.” Her voice was barely a whisper, and she seemed scared. He bit his lip, squeezing her hand. She squeezed tighter before leaning across him, her head on his shoulder. “I’m scared.” 

Of what, he wanted to ask, but he said nothing. 

Coral seemed to guess this question and answered anyway. “Forrest, your Curse is getting worse. Every time it takes you, I wonder if I’ll ever get you back. And this time…” 

Her voice broke and Forrest swallowed hard. He hadn’t thought his temporary lapse into unconsciousness had been bad, but apparently it had freaked Coral out. A single tear rolled down her face. 

She thought he wasn’t coming back. 

He held her hand in hers and traced into her palm the letters he wanted to say. I’ll always come back as long as you’re waiting for me. 

Coral smiled, though it was small. “When we get to Rackelofft, I’m going to make sure that we remove your Curse. Racke will see all the good you’ve done for the kingdoms, and she’ll have to take away the Curse. She’ll have to.” 

Forrest nodded politely, though he seriously doubted Coral’s words. Nevertheless, he had to believe them. Hope was the only thing left to do. 

With Coral snuggling closer, Forrest closed his eyes and let sleep take him again in anticipation for the long night ahead of him - and he wondered if perhaps this would be the last peaceful night he had.

Author's Note

I know Forrest is supposed to be mute, but sometimes I forget. PLEASE let me know if you find any dialogue on Forrest's part - besides that of his mind or when he's communicating with his hands. Thanks, and enjoy!