An Unnatural Situation...

Circe woke up frustrated.

“This has been going on for a week now, are you sure you don’t want any sleeping elixirs?”

“Once again, I’m fine, I don’t need your weird plant drinks.”

I drunkenly replied, barely able to keep my eyes open.

“The workshop will keep me awake.”

“No, you don’t need to stay awake, you need sleep!”

I slammed my fist on the counter.

“Don’t. make. me. repeat myself.”

“I really don’t understand why you're mad—”

“Stop talking! Are you always this annoying?”

Exhausted, I forced my body out of the house.

“What the hell! Seriously, why are boys like that!”

I stood outside the door, balling up my fist, what is wrong with me? Weeks have gone by, and I still have these nightmares every time I fall asleep. Getting one or two hours of sleep if I was lucky. As I grew more and more distant from Circe, I needed to change something. That night I didn’t go to sleep, not out of fear, but contemplation. The next morning, I thought of something that might bring us closer, so I can be their big brother again.

“Hey…”

I called both Circe and Corban to the table.

“I want you to come with me to get wood for the winter”

I quickly said, looking at the roof to avoiding eye contact.

“WHAT! REALLY!? You never let us go!”

Circe jumped up and down in excitement.

She suddenly stopped and a sinister aura formed around her.

She smiled,

“Imagine all of the elixirs I can make…”

Corban scooted away from Circe.

“You must stay close to me though, monsters walk around those woods. But, since we’re so close to the surface, there should be only slimes.”

The farther you go down into the ground, the stronger and larger monsters are. This is because the more “intelligent” species or the “surface” species were able to create cities, and train to be able to fend them off.

Elves, humans, demi-humans, dwarfs, dragonborn, vampires, werewolves to name a few of the surface species.

However, there are some areas where high level monsters still roam on the surface, but only in poorer countries.

Currently we live in the country of Deltora, it stretches from the far north and all the way to where it never snows. This is one of the richer countries, and home to the Hero association, it's more of a religion than anything. They are in charge of finding the “chosen one” when the old one dies. Only the reincarnation of the hero can pull the “sword of the hero,” a bunch of bullshit is what I think. Currently the hero goes by the name, Leo Ataka, but I haven’t heard anything about him doing good deeds, and I’m definitely not going to wait for some random, that I know nothing about to save me, even if he is the “chosen one.”

“Yeah whatever, I’m going to pack my bag!”

Running off to her room, I look over to Corban. He never really showed what he was feeling, even if it was his birthday. In this case, I could see a small smirk on his face, which made me happy.

A few minutes later Circe comes back with a hiking bag full of empty bottles, herbs, scissors, tweezers, and many other tools that Corban and I had zero clue of what they were.

“Ready!”

I opened the door and Ritza was already there.

“Off to the forest?”

“That's right!”

Blurted Circe.

Ritza looked surprised to see both Circe and Corban out and looked to me with the same look as a father being proud of his son.

“I’m taking them with me, they kept asking me and I couldn't take it anymore”

Blushing, I tried to avoid eye contact.

“Huh, but it was you who–”

I quickly covered Circe’s mouth before she could say anything. Normally Ritza would do his loud and annoying laugh, but he just said.

“I’m glad,”

I looked up and smiled.

“Well, you better get a move on, I need more handles for my swords and I know how you like to take one trip Hercules!”

Laughing as he slaps the side of my arm.

I picked up the cart facing away that normally is pulled by horses and Circe automatically jumped in, I snapped my head back and saw Circe making a sad puppy face. I looked forward and reluctantly said,

“Fine.”

We walked through the town which had a population of around one hundred, it was a fairly newer town. It’s usually used for travelling adventures; since it has a blacksmith, an inn, medicine shop, and a witch. The cobble road had yet to crack and crumble. All of us continued down a path that led to the woods, it mainly had light coloured wood, but the darker ones Ritza really liked. The journey took about ten minutes to get there, and as soon as I stopped Circe jumped out and started collecting mushrooms.

I shook my head in disagreement.

Corban stared off in the distance but was interrupted as I dropped an axe in his arms.

“What? You were going to stand like that the whole time?”

We both started chopping, I usually slice a tree with only two swings, while Corban was still on his first. I looked up and rolled my eyes. Walking over, I corrected his technique.

“All right, first put your left hand near the bottom of the axe, and your right… Yup! Right there, now swing.”

Corban stepped back and swung, he started to make more progress.

“Well, put more power behind that swing!”

He swung again, but I felt he could go harder.

“Can I try my other hand?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Corban swaps hands and swings with the same technique I showed him. The axe went into the trunk, splinters flew outwards and made much more progress than before.

“There we go!”

I slapped his back, but it reminded me of Ritza.

I’m becoming like him… Oh no…

“Thanks…”

Corban said while putting his head down in embarrassment.

“Cut a couple more trees down then we’ll go home, it's getting dark–”

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

A scream echoed in the woods, which stopped me from speaking.

I knew exactly who it was.

“Circe!”

I dropped the axe and sprinted towards the scream. Corban followed but kept his axe.

Gods, why does she never listen?! I told her not to go far!

I’m much faster than Corban, so I saw Circe first.

Standing above her was a giant monster, a monster that did not belong here… A minotaur…

I kept running as she was still about fifty metres away. The monster pulled out a giant axe strapped on his back. Circe was too scared to scream anymore, all she could do was crawl backwards as she fell on her back. Raising the axe with blades on either side, the monster swings down slicing the air like butter. 

Circe closes her eyes…