Spirit of the Forest
Chapter 15

Dominque tapped her fingers rhythmically as she narrowed her eyes at the Captain. Her right leg hung over her left one, kicking it in the air that wouldn’t be noticed at a glance.

“Why,” she said from her throne, “should I care about an accidental forest fire, Cap-tain?”

The Captain pushed down his fear to the back of his throat. He traced the patterns on the floor in an attempt to calm his nerves. “Because. sir, the forest is a mystery.”

“Yes, yes. I know the name of it is The Mysterious River Woods.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Captain said. “I meant that no one really goes in it, because of the myths about it.”

Dominque’s hand stopped tapping and her eyebrows raised slightly. “Myths?”

“Yes sir,” Captain stated. “There are many myths surrounding the forest.”

“How so?”

“Well, one of the popular ones is that a strange force protects it. Some think it’s an ancient old spell that surrounds it in mist. Others think it’s a spirit. No matter what though, one fact remains: Anyone that goes into the forest; they never come out.”

Dominque tipped her head to the side. “A forest from which no one returns…” She gave a large smirk. “That sounds like the perfect place for a traitor to hide.”

Captain nodded solemnly. “Yes sir, that’s what I was thinking as well.”

“Just the same,” she said her smiling falling, “We should send someone to see if he is there.”

“May I request myself for the job?” Captain asked, bowing his head more.

Dominque leaned back onto her throne. “Alright. I’ll give you a chance to redeem yourself.”

“Thank you Dominque.”

“Don’t thank me just yet,” she said. She was leaning her head on the heel of her hand, so her fingers were aligned along the side of her face. The glint in her eyes made the Captain weary of what she would say next. “If you do a good enough job, I might not leave you, dying, for the Nightmares.”