The Illyrian Series: The Oracle Of Rosedale

Later that day, we arrive at the laughing forest and pause at the entrance. The trees are packed tightly so we disembark off our horses.

"Wait." Violet stops us. "I've heard about this place, there's a reason people avoid it. Just remember none of this is real. Don't believe what the trees say."

I roll my eyes. "I thought they were laughing trees, I doubt they can talk."

"Thank you for that piece of insightful information, Violet. We'll be extra careful." Malin walks into the forest and Violet follows after him.

I tread behind them and into the eerie forest. We trek for ten minutes and don't hear anything. "Are you sure this is the right place?" I ask.

"It's your map," Malin replies. "Unless it's a counterfeit and not actually leading us to the oracle."

I decide not to respond.

"We still have a lot of walking to do. It'll come." Violet looks very alert.

I let my guard down and take in the beauty of the forest. The leaves are a mixture of green and golden brown, and the flowers are in so many pretty colors. The day is bright and the sun’s rays are shining through the gaps between branches. After a while, I hear the first laugh, it's soft and pretty. A lovely sound. It makes me smile and I wonder where I heard it before.

"Do you hear that?" I ask Malin and Violet. "It's a melody."

"Don't let the sound distract you, stay vigilant." Violet warns.

I laugh. "Relax Violet. You shouldn't always be so austere."

Her head turns back sharply and she looks scared. "What did you say?" The fog in her eyes clear and she frowns. "We should focus on getting out of here."

Before I can respond, the laughter comes back. It's different this time. The laugh isn't warm anymore, it's cold and I feel like someone is laughing at me.

A chill passes down my spine and my skin prickles. I try my best to tune it out but it only gets worse. "Violet, Malin." I call them, they don't reply. "Violet."

"What?" They turn back at the same time and sneer at me. "What is it, Princess?" Violet says.

Malin scowls. "Are you tired, do you want to give up?"

"What?" I whisper and shake my head. When my vision clears, I catch Violet and Malin looking at me. They look angry but not as angry as they did a second ago.

"You weren't responsive for a few seconds," Violet says.

"It's not important, you're right. This place is unnerving." We pick up our pace and try to get out of there as quickly as possible.

I hear whispers up ahead and see Violet and Malin glancing at me and laughing. The air surrounding them is greyer as well. "She thinks she can save the country, delusional," Violet mocks.

"She thinks Illyrians will ever forgive her or let her rule them, pitiful." Malin jeers in a low voice.

"I've been watching her since she arrived. Who does she think she's fooling? She's hopeless." Their laugh grows louder and I block my ears.

"You're not real. None of this is real." I remind myself.

The laugh permeates my hands. I hear Malin's hazy voice clear as day when he asks, "what do you think is real? A leader who stays and fights, or an idiot who embarks on frivolous adventures instead of physically changing lives?" He starts walking towards me. "Your father understood this, that's why he fought till the end. But you, you're a disgrace."

"Please stop. I'm sorry, I'm trying to fix this. I don't know what you want me to do."

"I want you to climb the highest tree and jump."

"No." I feel someone shake my shoulders and snap back to reality.

"Princess," Violet sounds worried. "It's not real, calm down."

"That doesn't matter, it's all true. I'm a disgrace," I whisper.

Malin moves closer to me and I flinch. He takes a deep breath and tells me to do the same. "It's okay, Addy. It's not real, you're not a disgrace."

I raise the black hood of my coat and walk past both of them. Maybe this will be better if I can't see them.

Fortunately, I don't hear them mocking me anymore. Unfortunately, the experience becomes much worse.

After about an hour of mild laughter, I begin to hear a familiar one. A sincere, deep, and throaty one. One that always made me feel comfortable and safe. I plead with the forest to torture me with anyone but him. It ignores me.

After a while, I start hearing his voice. "You left," he whispers. "You left." This time, his voice comes out clipped and hostile. "I gave my life and all you did was run away. You're not the daughter I raised. You're no heir, no ruler. Only an imbecile would follow you."

There's no point covering my ears, the voice is coming from deep inside my head. "No wonder your mother prefers Reagan to you." Reagan's condescending laugh begins to ring around me. Father’s voice continues. "She's fortunate, she finally has a daughter she can be proud of." I whimper. "You know she never liked you. You always fought with her and made her life difficult. She doesn't know you're gone yet, but you know she won't care when she finds out. She'll be happy you're missing, you won't be around anymore to make her miserable."

His voice disappears and is replaced by King Evander's. "No one wants you in this family. You're the odd one out, imagine how much better our lives would be if you were dead. I should have ended you when I had the chance, would have saved me years of your constant whining."

"You bring sadness everywhere you go," Reagan's soft voice whispers. "You should hear what they say about you in court. Weak, tragic, pathetic." She spits. "Even mother keeps her distance from you. You're a plague that needs to be wiped off the face of the earth."

I hit myself across the face and wince at the pain. Luckily, I'm back to normal and able to catch a little break. "Violet, Malin."

I look back and they're both walking forward with fog filled eyes. I call them again and they don't reply. I bring out my skin water bottle and splash some on their faces.

Violet gasps out loud and Malin shivers. "It isn't real." I comfort in a weak voice.

Violet scoffs. "Like that's making this any better." She brings out her flask and drinks from it. She then pours water on her face. "These trees search your mind and drag out your biggest fears."

"That sounds fatal," I comment. "The trees want me to kill myself."

"Me too." Violet sighs. "I was so close to doing it with my magic. I don't know how much more of this I can take."

I snap my fingers at Malin. He gives me a blank look. "Are you still with us?"

"I am." He runs his fingers through his hair. "I'm so tired of this."

He shudders and looks down at his side. His shirt is slowly turning red. "I think these trees successfully convinced me to open my cut." He raises his bloody hand for us to see.

"We need to stop and make sure you're alright." I stop moving.

"We can't, we have to get out of here before one of us dies," he argues.

"I hate to agree with Princess, but you can't move like this. I'll make you a gauze that'll patch your injury up. But you won't be able to do anything strenuous for a few days." Violet stops walking.

"That will be hard considering we're on a quest." He winces again and grips his saddle for support. I rush back to him and manage to catch him before he falls on the floor.

"Just lie down on my lap and don't move. I'll take care of this." I drag his satchel down. Violet gets started on the gauze while I clean the blood off.

"You're not a disgrace," Malin says as I dab his wound. "It's not your fault, you were a child when it happened. I shouldn't pour my frustrations on you."

"I was fourteen. I wasn't that young." I offer a flimsy smile.

He return it with an even smaller one. It's soon replaced by a somber look. "Illyrians lost their king. But you, you lost your father. You had to watch him die and couldn't do anything about it."

I shake my head. "It's been three years and I haven't allowed myself to be sad about it. I've avoided my feelings about him, I'm too scared to face them."

"You always did run away from confrontations." He laughs softly. "Remember when you broke my mother's vase and avoided her for months because you didn't know how to apologize."

I laugh sadly. "I make fun of my mother for not handling her grief when I'm doing the same thing. I'm a hypocrite."

The forest is silent for half a minute. "I think you'll handle it when you're ready." He looks down at his cut and groans softly. "This looks even worse than yesterday."

Violet returns with a beige, mud-like solution on a metal plate. "This will feel uncomfortable." She splatters it around the wound. "Just wipe it off in three days. Till then, limit your physical activity."

I help him up and he climbs his horse. We all climb ours and get ready for the second wave of mental torture.

Mine starts almost immediately. This time, I hear my voice. "It's only a matter of time till you betray these people. That's the kind of person you are, self-centered, untrustworthy, and unreliable."

I take a deep breath and keep riding. "Nobody likes you, Violet and Malin wouldn't even be here if they weren't obligated to. You're going to fail, this journey is just getting started and you're thinking of giving up. It's going to be nothing but pain and despair up ahead, you should run. It'll be the first smart decision you made."

I hum softly. "You think you deserve a second chance but you don't. Your sins won't be easily forgiven and forgotten. Illyrians will never trust you."

I feel myself being pulled deeper and deeper into a hole. I want to give up. I shake myself and splash water on my face.

"Malin? Violet?" I call back. They grumble in response. "We're almost through."

"It's still an hour's ride and we're barely holding on," Violet says. "I'm so tired."

I sigh. "What are they using to torture you? You know my biggest insecurities, what's yours?"

"We've known each other for a few days. I'm not telling you that."

Malin volunteers. "I don't mind, anything is better than listening to my father berate me over and over." He stares absently at his front. "He's on King Evander's red list and ran away months ago. I left Bria with my sick mother and I feel like I'm wasting my time on this quest. I am a terrible brother."

"You're not a bad brother," I assure him. "Bria is lucky to have you. You're a good person Mal, don't let a... tree tell you otherwise."

He laughs softly. "The trees aren't telling us anything we don't tell ourselves. The only way out is to face them, maybe."

I nod. Violet has a blank look on her face again and I throw a rag at her. She comes back to us and curses. "Are you ready to talk?" I ask.

She sighs deeply. "I wasn't, how do you put it..." She thinks for a minute. "People didn't like me at Lockheart. I was too driven, too ambitious, too cold. Those are words other mages used to describe me." She scoffs. "I always felt the need to prove myself, I still do. I need to succeed, if not all my effort will be in vain."

"What do the other mages think of you?"

She tightens the reins on her horse. "Who even cares? That's their personal opinion."

Malin and I share a look. If she didn't care, why would it be haunting her now?

I let it go, if she wants to tell me, she will.

"I hate Reagan." I blurt out. "I hate how everyone likes her and how close she is with my mother."

Violet rolls her eyes. "Maybe you two would have a better relationship if you weren't always antagonizing her." I give her a look. "I watched you for a week. All your interactions with her were hostile. I think she's really nice."

"Can we please not call the spawn of the man oppressing Illyrians nice?" Malin asks.

"Yes," I exclaim. "Finally. Someone sees her for who she is."

"Reagan is more like you than you realize. Your mother was right, she's a very complex person."

"Can we please stop talking about her? Let's discuss something else. Your time at Lockheart for example, tell me your best memory."

"No, I'm not talking about Lockheart." She refuses. "Tell us a nice memory of yours instead."

We talk like that for an hour and before we know it, we see the edge of the forest. I let out a breath of relief. "We made it."

Violet smiles. "We didn't die. How gratifying."

As we're exiting the forest, it starts laughing again. The farther we move, the fainter the laughter is.

We look ahead and see Mayborn town. The sun is almost down and the air is getting chillier. "We should move, set up camp just outside the town." Violet orders.

I look back at the forest. As horrifying as it was, it made me face some repressed emotions. Something I need to start doing, only this time I won't convince myself to commit suicide.