Lost and Found

Miss Elizabeth Backster went into the Forest of Lost Souls to find her brother. Now she's lost in the mysterious wood. I wonder what she finds there....

Outside of a town called Lunburg was a forest so dark and so deep that no one ventured into it. Many have said that every forbidding wood in every story ever spoken, read, or seen was based on this place. Even the most experienced and talented hikers, trackers, and adventurers who have gone into the forest have never returned.

 

It was called the Forest of Lost Souls.

 

Many thought the woods were cursed by souls of the royalty that died in the ancient castle in the forest's heart. Many thought there was just an abundance of dangerous wildlife there. Many thought murderers, outlaws, and other soulless folk hid there. Whatever the reason, no one went there except fools, idiots, and over-confident men.

 

Until the day Elizabeth Backster ventured into the Forest of Lost Souls.

 

Miss Elizabeth was not foolish or idiotic or over-confident. If she was anything, she was too caring and too stubborn. If not for her soft heart and unwillingness to give up, she would not have been in that forsaken place.

 

“Kyle!” she called into the darkness, her melodious voice being swallowed by the trees. “Kyle, this isn’t funny! Come out!”

 

She walked deeper into the forest, calling for her older brother, Kyle. She was just twenty years old and a little over five feet three inches tall. Her blond hair went below her waist and her eyes were as green as grass in the spring. Her pale skin was enhanced by her long, black coat. A black beret sat on the top of her head and her red scarf was a bright ribbon of color in the dark woods. She carefully picked her way through the trees, searching.

 

“Kyle! Kyle, please come out!” She paused to catch her breath and leaned lightly against a tree. “Kyle!”

 

There was no answer.

 

Elizabeth kept on, only stopping for a few minutes to catch her breath. Hours went by and she found nothing. Yet still she called. “Kyle! Kyle!”

 

She searched still when the air turned cold, signaling that night had fallen. She found it harder to breath and she coughed heavily between calls. “Kyle!”

 

She searched until her legs gave out under her. She leaned against a tree and tried to control her breathing.

 

“Kyle,” she called weakly. “Kyle.”

 

She lost consciousness.

 

A young man found her there, leaning against the tree and breathing fitfully. He saw foolish hikers all the time and left them to their fate. He had, however, never seen a girl in the forest. He was about to leave her when he heard her whisper.

 

“Please, Kyle, don't leave me.”

 

The sadness in her voice tore at him. He decided to ignore the rules placed on those not in the guard and got off his jet-black horse. He lifted her off the ground and coughs shook her small frame. She was light in his arms. He easily managed to get on his horse again and pulled her close to him, sharing his body heat and thick, wool cloak.

 

“Lets go home, Darkmane,” he said to the horse. She nodded and started off, not bothered at all by the extra weight.

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

Elizabeth woke in a daze. She was warmer than she remembered and her vision was blurred. Her thoughts jumped to her brother.

 

“Kyle,” she murmured as she struggled to rise. She found herself under several blankets that felt heavier then they should.

 

“What do you think you are doing?” snapped an annoyed voice. A young man went to the bed and pushed her back down. “You're too sick to be off looking for your Kyle.”

 

Elizabeth managed a quick study of him before her gaze was caught by his deep blue eyes. He was lean and probably tall. His tight black shirt showed off his well-muscled chest and arms. His skin was pale, as if he was never out in the sun. His hair was black, long, and looked silky. His facial features were sharp and cat-like.

 

She didn't see his expression soften. “Come now. You are too sick to be out wondering.” He brought a cup into her line of vision. “Here. You should drink this. It'll make you feel a little better.” He helped her raise enough to drink the tea and she obeyed, drinking it all.

 

When she finished drinking and was settled once more under the blankets she asked, “Who are you?”

 

“My name is Edward,” he replied. “What is yours?”

 

“Elizabeth Backster.” She coughed a few times before she managed to ask her next question. “Why were you in the Forest?”

 

“I live here. What are you doing in the Forest?”

 

Elizabeth's face twisted into a confused look. “You live there? No one lives there. How do you manage it? What do you mean 'here'? Are we still in the Forest?”

 

Edward chuckled softly. “Elizabeth. You have to answer my question before you get to ask another. And yes, we are still in the Forest.”

 

She blushed and stammered a bit when his eyes sparkled with mirth at her. “I-I'm looking for my brother, Kyle.” She looked around the stone room decorated in deep reds and dark purples. “Where am I?”

 

“You're in my family's castle,” he answered, “that lies in the center of the Forest of Lost Souls. Where are you from, Elizabeth?”

 

“Lunburg. I thought all the royals who lived here were killed decades ago.”

 

Edward smiled. “That was the family that lived here before us. Lunburg is ruled by my family's allies' enemies. After the family here before us was killed by those enemies security was increased ten fold. Those who come into the woods either die from the cold or are brought here by the guards. Once here, they normally work in some way.”

 

The young woman managed, after a few minutes, to free her hand from under the blankets. She grabbed his hand and tugged it lightly.

 

“My brother?” Edward turned his hand, catching hers, and softly kissed her small fingers. “He volunteered to work in the kitchens. If our head chief thinks he does well enough he will move up from dish washer.”

 

Elizabeth smiled. “He has always been good at cooking. I'm always too sick to cook, so he did it all.”

 

“Too sick?”

 

“Yes. I've never been a really healthy person. I get sick all the time and medicine is expensive. When a group of men in town bet that Kyle couldn’t last a full day and night in the Forest he said to put their money where their mouths were. They would give him five hundred dollars to do it and he said he was going to spend it on me. I came to find him and bring him home. He should have never excepted that stupid bet.”

 

Edward kissed her hand again. “We have the best physicians and medicines. You are as welcome to stay here as well.”

 

She thought for a moment. “Do you have a library?”

 

“Yes, we do.” Edward grinned at her. “It is in complete disarray. There hasn't been a good librarian in years.”

 

Elizabeth grinned back. “Well, I can't really leave, now can I? No library should be left in chaos!”

 

The two laughed and lived together for the rest of their lives. Edward asked Elizabeth to marry him a year later and she happily agreed. They had four children, three sons and a daughter.

 

Over the years Elizabeth had sometimes told her husband that she missed Lunburg and the friends and family she had had there. Those times where brief, few, and far between. She also teased her brother by saying that bet was the best thing he ever did right after cooing over her niece and nephew.

 

They truly lived happily ever after.

Author's Note

Awww, isn't that cute!!
^_^