Chapter 4
An hour after stepping between the trees, Thaddeus thought the Lost Forest was a most appropriate name. He walked behind Teofil and in front of Fetter and Astrid, and he stopped to look back the way they had come. A strong part of him felt drawn back to the safety of the world outside their dark and spooky surroundings, but he’d never be able to find his way back.
He was, indeed, on his own.
But at least he was among friends.
Or, at least, among strangers who appeared to be friendly.
“Thaddeus?” Fetter asked in a quiet voice. “You okay?”
Thaddeus gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “I’m fine. Just wanted to see how far we’d come, but I can’t even see the way back.”
“The Lost Forest,” Astrid said as she stepped around them to continue after Teofil. “Well named, isn’t it?”
“Come on,” Fetter said. “Let’s keep up with the others. It wouldn’t be good for us to get separated.”
Thaddeus walked after Astrid, and Fetter brought up the rear. They traveled for a time in silence, Thaddeus lost in thoughts about his father, about the troll that had attacked them, and where they might be on an actual map. Did the Lost Forest show up on any maps of the United States? What name had non-magical people given it? Or could they have gone to a completely different country when stepping through Leopold’s magical doorway? They hadn’t met anyone else, so Thaddeus didn’t even know if English was spoken in this area. So many questions were flooding his brain, and he really wished his father was there to talk with about them. He could ask Teofil or the others, but they were young as well. Teofil had been sheltered in Leopold’s house and yard for so many years, he probably only knew a bit more than Thaddeus did himself. And he wasn’t quite sure what to think about Astrid and Fetter.
If he remembered correctly, Fetter was the oldest of Miriam’s fourteen children. Astrid was next, followed by Teofil. Thaddeus hadn’t spent much time with either of them, but Astrid was the easiest to talk with and seemed to have a more open and laid-back personality. Fetter tended to be more serious, from what Thaddeus could tell. Though he seemed smart and knowledgeable about different things, he was sometimes impatient.
After a bit of time where the only sound was their footsteps among the ferns and bracken, Fetter spoke up from behind Thaddeus. His voice was low, as though he might be talking to himself instead of the rest of them, and Thaddeus turned his head slightly to hear him better.
“Shame about your dad. Troll poison is awful stuff. Powerful and deadly. Since he was just grazed by one of the barbs, though, there’s a chance he’ll pull through.” Fetter fell silent, then said, “It’s a slim chance, but I’m sure he’ll still be alive when we get back.”
Thaddeus fought back tears as he stepped around roots and over fallen branches and trees. “I hated leaving him,” he said. “Most difficult thing I’ve done.”
“My mom will take good care of him,” Fetter said. “But her skills are limited, especially against troll poison. There’s only so much that can be done with rose water, comfrey leaf oil, and plantain leaves.”
Thaddeus tightened his fingers around the leaves taped against his palm. “Surely she’s got other ingredients with her.”
“A few, of course,” Fetter agreed. “She carries a lot around in that pack of hers. But it will take something powerful to fight that poison. And there’s no telling if she brought enough to keep making a fresh batch.”
Silence fell on them again, and Fetter’s words pinged around inside Thaddeus’s mind. They broke down the assurances he’d forced himself to believe about leaving his father’s side, allowing concerns to fill the spaces left behind. They walked for a long time in silence, Thaddeus’s brain running at full speed as it processed all the ‘what ifs’ and ‘if onlys’ it could devise. Teofil, still in the lead, came to a stop and the others gathered around him.
“How is everyone?” he asked, reaching out to give Thaddeus’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Let’s take a break here. We’ve made some good progress.”
Astrid looked at the leaning, twisted trees that stretched out around them. “How can you tell?”
They all chuckled at that, and Thaddeus felt his mood lighten just a bit as he settled on a moss-covered rock and sipped from his canteen.
“I can tell,” Teofil replied. He approached Thaddeus. “Is there room enough on that rock for two?”
Thaddeus smiled. “Might be a little crowded.”
“I don’t mind if you don’t.”
Thaddeus shifted over, and Teofil sat next to him with a contented sigh. Teofil’s hip pressed against his, and Thaddeus felt a flush of attraction and comfort shoot through him. The contact between them eased Thaddeus’s troubled mind, and he relaxed a bit.
“We might want to camp here tonight,” Teofil said.
Fetter looked straight up at the thick canopy of leaves. “I can’t see the sun. Is it very late?”
“We’ve been walking a good number of hours,” Teofil said. “And we left later than expected due to the fog. Because the trees are so thick, we’ll lose the light sooner than usual. I think we should take advantage of the daylight left to make camp and build a fire.” He pointed off to one side, where Thaddeus could see a small clearing a short distance away. “Besides, that looks like a fairy circle over there. We’re far enough away not to intrude, but I’d like to see if any wood fairies show up. I might be able to get some directions from them.”
“Wood fairies?” Astrid squinted as she peered into the trees. “Can we trust wood fairies? They like to play tricks.”
“That’s what people say about gnomes, too,” Fetter said.
Astrid gave Fetter a gentle glare. “I’m serious,” she said to Teofil. “Do you think we can trust wood fairies to give us proper directions? They might enjoy watching us stumble around in a circle.”
Teofil smiled at her. “After living at Leopold’s house with just the fairies for company, I’ve learned a few things about talking with them.”
Astrid grunted and looked off into the trees again.
“Must have been tough for you,” Thaddeus said. “Lonely.”
“It was, at times,” Teofil said. “Just like it’s been for you.”
Thaddeus looked away. “I had my dad to lean on, at least.” And he really missed him.
“My folks came by to visit,” Teofil said. “Not very often, but enough to let me know they hadn’t forgotten about me. No one ever told me why I was staying at Leopold’s house or tending to his garden. I just knew it was an important task, so that helped me from missing them too much. Besides, they had a lot to contend with on their end, raising the rest of my brothers and sisters.” He smiled at Astrid and Fetter in turn. “They’re kind of a handful, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“They sold you, you know,” Fetter said.
Thaddeus looked at him, surprised at the flat, unemotional tone to Fetter’s voice. He might just have said, “I wish it was a sunny day” or “I had a mooshberry for lunch.”