Kaila awoke to find the sun warmly shining in through the window. It slowly crossed the floor, moving over all of her siblings lined up and piled almost on top of each other. It was a surreal moment, one held in nearly perfect peace for a moment. She didn't want to move, didn't want to breathe, so unreal was the scene before her.

Peace and silence were in short supply in the Durenson house. Every moment had to be appreciated and treasured because it would be a long time before the lucky person got another one. Whether the trouble came from the inevitable noise that came from having eleven children in one small house or from something else, it was never inactive unless Mama said so, and Mama rarely involved herself with the younger kids.

Coryl tiptoed into the room and saw Kaila sitting up. His eyes widened as he saw the slowly rising and falling chests of the sleeping children, and he glanced over at Kaila. He seemed incredibly apologetic as he mouthed, Mama wants you.

And just like that, the moment was broken. Pushing herself to her feet, Kaila carefully stepped over the sleeping kids, ensuring that she didn't so much as touch their clothing.

Pulling Kaila into the hallway, Coryl whispered, "I don't know what Mama's so excited about, but she's been in a good mood ever since you got back two days ago. Whatever you talked to her about when we left, it helped. Kaila, I think we might actually have a shot this time."

Kaila shook her head adamantly, feeling a sharp twinge of regret. "We've already talked about this, Coryl. We're not doing it until we figure a way to get the kids out too. Without you or me, they're not going to survive."

He bit the bottom of his lip, looking around nervously. He had a strong body, and Mama had made him work to make it even stronger, even going so far as to direct his mana pool towards physical enhancements. There weren't many people in Tarrey who could pull trees out of the ground, but Coryl was one of them. At first glance, someone might assume he was a powerful man inside and out.

But his eyes betrayed him, Kaila knew. They never stopped moving, constantly looking around for threats and jumping from one place to another. They were the eyes of a person who wanted nothing more than to run away but didn't have the will to do so.

He looked at his feet. "If we don't leave soon, we won't survive."

Kaila could have hit him. She knew how close they were to death. Of course, she knew! The Forest was almost safer than being with Mama! But Dalo, Teli, Parsimm... none of the kids would last a day out there, where monsters were as common as spiders.

She patted his shoulder a little harder than she could have. "We're not going to do it, Coryl. At least, I'm not."

Eyes downcast, he pointed at the door. "Then Mama's waiting."

Kaila brushed past him, took a deep breath, and walked in.

Mama's smile was blinding. "Kaila! My second favorite daughter. I have an easy little task for you, one that will lift our family out of squalor and into glory and wealth! How does that sound, darling?"

The tone, the words, all of it threw Kaila for a loop. It was a moment before she even noticed Mina, staring at the floor, standing nearby. Moving further into the room, she closed the door, leaving it unlocked. "What is it?"

The smile froze solid. "Now Kaila, is that any way to greet your mother?"

Kaila instantly bowed her head. "My apologies, mother. How may I be of service to our family?"

Mama shook her head. "Just me will be fine for now. So! Here's what I want you to do; do you recall that lovely Old One you met just the other day?"

Kaila saw where the conversation was going well before it reached its conclusion, but refusing wasn't an option. "Yes. What would you have me do?"

Mama leaned sideways, resting her cheek on one elbow and tilting her head further than it should. "Well! I already have a contract with a lovely little fellow who carries out the most delightful errands for me, but I'm afraid he's a one-and-done. However, Mina here has never made a single contract! Not a single one. Can you believe that?"

Kaila was beginning to get the most distinct sensation that the floor was falling out from underneath her, but kept her head lowered and her voice respectful. "No, I can't."

"Is that an insult!?" Mama's voice hardened in a fraction of a second. Mina and Kaila flinched simultaneously. Above them, Mama closed her eyes and breathed deeply. When she opened them again, they were bright and cheerful. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted-" Her gaze paused on Kaila for a brief moment, waiting to see if she would protest, and looked disappointed when she didn't. "-Mina has never had a contract. It sounds as though your friend back in the Forest doesn't have a contract, either! What a convenient opportunity, wouldn't you agree? Why, it's practically destiny!"

She leaned forward, a porcelain grin stretching from ear to ear. "What you need to do, darling, is head into the forest and find your good friend the Old One, and offer a contract! Mina will come with you so that the darling doesn't make a contract with someone like you and lives a long and happy life, and Coryl will come so neither goes and gets yourself killed. Should any of you come back without the creature in tow, well..." Her grin stretched impossibly wider. "Let's just say the consequences will fit the crime."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Mina was panting hard as she trekked behind Kaila, clothed in a fancy dress that wouldn't have been out of place in a ballroom. It rustled loudly, it was brightly colored, and it was everything a person didn't want to be wearing while wandering in the most dangerous place Kaila could think of, but Mama had insisted that Mina look her absolute best for the 'guest'. Coryl was more sensibly dressed, wearing tough pants and a long-sleeved shirt with what scant armor he could find over it. He didn't have a sword, but he'd found a decently sized tree limb a mile or two ago, and he was using it as a club.

Kaila had her shovel at the ready, however little it would help against most of the denizens of the Forest, or heavens forbid, the Forest itself. It'd only been two days, but the Forest felt more alive than it ever had. The trees seemed to almost twist, following the three-man group on their path as they moved over roots and between trunks big enough to live in.

Tripping over a particularly large root, Mina somehow managed to avoid falling over. She leaned against a tree, breathing hard. "Can we stop for a moment?"

Coryl glanced around the empty forest and nodded. "We should be fine."

Kaila was growing increasingly more nervous the more time they spent in the Forest. On her own, she stood a pretty good chance of at least escaping, but Mina's outfit was practically designed to get her killed, and she wasn't sure Coryl would run the moment something happened.

Rubbing her tired feet, Mina asked, "What's so dangerous about the Forest, anyway? We haven't seen anything yet."

Kaila looked over at her. "Just because you haven't seen anything doesn't mean it hasn't seen you."

She made a face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Coryl was getting twitchy. "I think it means Kaila thinks something is following us."

Mina's head snapped up. "Really? What is it?"

Kaila shook her head. "I don't know yet. But something's been watching us ever since we came into the Forest."

Staring at her for a moment, Mina rolled her eyes and stood up. Before either Coryl or Kaila could say anything, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Hello! Old One! We're in your forest! Can you come out already so we can go-"

She was cut off as Kaila tackled her, making a startled 'oof!' as the air abruptly left her lungs. Coryl lifted his club, eyes so wide Kaila could see the whites, turning in circles to try and anticipate the attack.

Kaila knew something was wrong the moment she stood up. The sound of rustling trees and swaying bushes was all but gone, replaced with a silence so loud it made her pulse sound like a hammer. The sense she'd been getting, of hundreds of eyes watching them, intensified to a sharp apex, coming from every direction around them. Flicking her shovel into her hand, she lowered her stance and got ready to fight.

The leaves began to whisper.

It started out quietly, but the stillness of the Forest was so absolute that it was impossible to miss. Even Mina, about to complain to Kaila about her wrinkled dress, froze as the wordless whispers slunk through the woods.

Coryl made a sound, a high-pitched whimper that Kaila would have agreed with, had her voice been working.

To everyone's surprise, Mina was the first to move. She stood up, brushed her skirts off, and curtseyed, hands politely holding the fringes of her dress up. Kaila and Coryl stared at her in shock. "I greet you, whomsoever observes our party at the moment. May I inquire as to your identity?"

Kaila stared at her in shock. "What are you doing?"

Mina hissed at her out of the side of her mouth, "Shut up, I'm trying to save our lives." Pasting a smile on her face, she straightened and folded her hands. Raising her voice, she loudly said, "Would you mind showing yourself?" To Coryl and Kaila, she muttered, "Get your weapons ready."

Neither of them was sure where this side of Mina had been hiding, but Kaila lowered her stance and Coryl hefted his club onto his shoulder.

The breeze drifted slightly, and then dropped, bringing the whispers with it.

Kaila slowly relaxed after a moment. "Okay," she began. "I think we're-"

Coryl spun around and swung hard, and pure instinct brought Kaila's shovel up to block the blow. The club slammed into the shovel, snapping the handle in half, and launched Kaila into a tree. Mina stared at him in shock. "What are you doing!?"

His eyes snapped to her, wide and terrified. Turning around, he sprinted off into the Forest, away from Tarrey and from Mama.

Shaking her head, Kaila got back to her feet. She was sore, and she was pretty sure she had a broken or at least bruised rib, but she wasn't too badly injured, at least in a physical sense. Mentally speaking, she was stunned. Coryl might have been one to talk about running away, escaping from the nightmare they'd been born into, but she'd always thought he would have waited.

Mina was wide-eyed. "Kaila, are you all right?"

Kaila had known they were doomed from the moment Mama had given them their task. The Forest was massive, the largest untamed region in all of Hynia. The odds of running into the same creature twice were astronomical. The Forest itself would have to be guiding them towards the Old One if they had a shot in a million of ever seeing it again.

They were already dead. Struggling through rigor mortis, hoping that their demise was not to be when it was already sealed.

Kaila was definitely not all right.