"Try to click your heels... Damn it, there's not a single spark of magic in this horrible place..." Aranel looks at me worried when hearing my angry tone of voice. "All right, it's pretty obvious there's magic in the forest, otherwise Malizia wouldn't be hiding here, maybe we only need to walk a little farther in the forest and the ruby slippers will work so you'll be able to fly back home... Luna, I need you to remain on alert... This place is dangerous... And you..." I raise my index to point at her threateningly. "Do not leave my sight for any reason."
"Ruby..." Aranel whispers looking around nervously while I rummage in my backpack till finding a small lantern full of fireflies, it's not very powerful but enough to watch where we put out feet and it won't draw unwanted attention like a bright torch could do. "Are we going to talk about the fact that I've just met my father-in-law?"
"There's nothing to talk about..."
"But baby..."
"No, I told you once... He was delighted to fall into Malizia's trap and left after that, he never tried to fight to get my mom back or to have a good relationship with me... I told you I didn't know where he was and didn't care, well, now I know where he is... and I still don't care about his problems..."
"But he's helped us..." I nod reluctantly but remain silent. "I guess there's still love for his daughter in his heart..."
"It's not enough, Aranel, not after what he did... Not after all those years seeing my mother being consumed by sadness, dying of sorrow and disappointment..." I cut her off abruptly while putting the backpack on again and trying to decide which path we should follow, there're several around us but only one of them seems to lead to the depths of the dark forest... I bet that's the right path.
"I understand it, Ruby, and I'm not saying that you should forgive him... I also believe your father deserves a punishment, he was stupid and that's why he ended up living in a depressing village like Silvertown..." I nod firmly and point at the path before taking her hand and we start walking, Luna follows us cautiously sniffing leaves and grass." Parents can make mistakes too, look at my dad... Maybe one day, in the future, now that you know where he lives... you could talk about it like civilized human beings."
"Maybe..." I admit reluctantly and squeeze her hand gently to let her know I'm not angry at her and I'll take into account her opinion, but right now we need to remain silent and on alert: this place is scariest than I've ever thought, I've never felt so much negative energy accumulated around me and it's giving me the creeps. This is the last place in the world I wanted to be with my wife and yet, here we are... "Damn it, Malizia, I'll turn you into a cockroach as fast as I can..." I growl quietly.
We walk slowly, dodging rocks and mud puddles, mushrooms that look poisonous grown on some thick trunks, trees grow too close to the path and leaves block the rays of the sun: actually, it feels like we're walking inside a cave instead of a forest, only we don't have a stone ceiling above our heads, but a tunnel made of branches. Aranel follows me cautiously with her eyes fixed on the small area that fireflies manage to illuminate before my boots, trying not to trip over the ruby slippers while walking because, even if they're comfortable since they're impregnated with magic, it's not the most appropriate footwear to walk across a path covered in slippery leaves. Silence around is unnatural, there aren't birds or squirrels, grass doesn't whisper when the wind grazes it, it seems to me that we're the only living beings in this forest but, at the same time, I feel like there're dozens of eyes watching our movements closely from the darkness.
"I can't breathe..." My princess gasps behind me and I nod but don't stop, the path is getting narrower and trees are tall and thick, branches brush our heads and we have to bend down a little to be able to keep walking, I also feel overwhelmed by the lack of room and fresh air but we can't stop now. We'll arrive somewhere eventually, I guess. "What's that disgusting smell?"
