The Gnorbu and the Crystal Woods

     Heart pounding in her throat, Colette found all 15 remaining members of the Alpine Society, down to the youngest Neopet, sweeping the border of the Crystal Woods. Everyone was equipped with a lantern, though their wavering glow offered scant help against the whirling white snow-wind. The Gnorbu spotted a flash of yellow fur standing out in stark contrast to the dim white.

     "Gwen!" she yelled, hurrying towards her friend. "This is all my fault," she choked, frenzied.

           "Figuring out who’s fault any of this is won’t help us right now," said Gwen, "don’t you wallow just yet—stay with me." She firmly held Colette’s arms as the little Gnorbu whimpered. In between large gulps of icy air, Coco managed to explain that Pinecone had surely gone into the Crystal Woods in search of a young tree grove to gather wood. He had been reckless, unbelievably reckless, but that knowledge brought Coco no comfort.

     Slowly, reluctantly, the group gathered at the edge of the Crystal Woods. The forest stretched reed-like up from the ground, ghostly-pale trees bleeding like paint into the whiteness in the air. Birch trees stretched out on either side of the border, infinitely wide, hiding a maze of spreading branches and papery bark within. Indeed, aside from the occasional black stripe decorating their barks, the birch trees were nearly invisible in the blizzard. Their vast blankness haunted Colette.

     Gwen unravelled a length of rope from her bag and carefully, methodically wrapped it around each Neopet, until everyone was connected. Colette was the last in the line.

     "I’ll lead the front, you the end," Gwen explained matter-of-factly. The Cybunny had naturally fallen into the role of leader. No one turned to Colette for instructions. They knew, thought the Gnorbu, they knew this was her fault.

     And so, single-file, the expedition penetrated into the Crystal Woods, as though swallowed by the forest.

     ***

     Fifteen years ago, to the day, Colette had been lost in these woods.

     "PINECONE!! PINECONE!" She felt herself going hoarse. They were all quickly losing their voices, the wind making it painfully clear just who was in command tonight. The Alpine Society Neopets had been in the woods for what felt like an eternity. Led by Gwen, the scrawny expedition mostly skirted along the edge of the forest, hoping to find the Korbat somewhere nearby. Now, they trudged along the shores of the Felf Major, the icy river that snaked through the woods in rapids before settling into Happy Valley. Colette could still occasionally spot the twinkling lights of the cheerful town through the trees.

     So yell as they might, she knew it would do no good: the icy wind was simply too strong: it carried their voices away into the storm. In the pit of her stomach, she wondered if they would ever find Pinecone. Snowflakes stung her eyes, her nose. It was hopeless. And these trees…! These infinite, boundless trees… Colette could hardly even see them now—she could not see anything—but she knew they were ever-present, trapping her in a wooded prison.

     She felt her ribs heaving as if squeezed by an invisible hand. No amount of air could relieve the aching in her chest. Her head spun like a carousel, each wild fear pushing her mind further into darkness. It screamed at her, the same word again and again: Trapped, trapped, trapped!

     Colette did not know when she sank to her knees, but eventually, she noticed the comforting tug of the rope around her waist had stopped. In fact, the entire concept of rope had stopped. She felt her breath, shallow and quick, heaving insufficient gulps of icy air. Her ungloved hands dug through the snow, clawing for the rope that was no longer there. She heard her quaking voice pleading, "no … no…" But the rope may as well have vanished from existence, for all the good it did to dig through the freezing powder. Did the others know she was missing? Would they find her again?

     Shivering, she pressed herself against the nearest tree and squeezed her eyes shut.

     ***

     A wail. Tingling fingers. A curiously heavy dress, something soft in her hands. Aching ears… Something soft in her hands? Ah yes, she is holding something. She looks down: a doll—no. A plushie. It’s a Jinjah plushie, with orange stitching and cinnamon-red patchwork.

     So: she is holding a plushie in her hands. Why is she alone? All around, everything is white. Wait—not quite everything. There are shapes. Tall reeds, sticking out of the ground. The closest one is not five feet from where she stands. She wobbles towards it: a birch tree. Everyone knows what that is: everyone knows it’s not safe to go alone into the birch forest.

     So: she is holding a plushie in her hands and she is in the forbidden birch forest. How did she wind up here? A wail. Well, it couldn’t have been her wail. She never cries; she’s three now. Then whose? She leans against the tree and tries to tighten her grip on the plushie, but her muscles are too stiff. What did the wail say? That’s right, it said: "COLETTE!" That’s her name… but still, the wail will not tell her how she ended up here, of all places. Why is she out during a blizzard?

     Colette considers her clothes... they are so oddly heavy. She wants to huddle against her birch tree, but her skirts crackle like ice. Ice? That’s right: her dress is frozen because it got wet. Just a moment—why is she wobbling? Colette looks down to examine the situation with her feet. They are strapped into ice skates. Ice skates? That’s right, she was skating with someone… her mother. They went out to gather firewood and Colette wanted to skate one last time before the storm hit. She stepped onto the Felf Major because it was frozen. Or at least, she thought it had been frozen. The ice had splintered under her weight. It had taken her away.

     ***

     Colette’s eyes snapped open. She could not have been resting for longer than a few minutes, but the snow had let up a bit. She felt calmer. Shakily, she stood up, using the tree for support. She had to find the others. She had to find Pinecone. The wind had wiped away any nearby footprints, so Colette used the sound of the gurgling river to navigate her way upstream, deeper into the woods.

     As long as she used the Felf as her guide and flanked the riverbank, she would not lose her way. Her flickering lantern the only reprieve from the darkness, Colette walked. She had only the sound of the rapids and of her boots crunching through the soft snow for company. She had never spent so long amid the trees, nor travelled so far from 52 Bika Lane.

     The longer she walked, the more turbulent the rapids grew, until, from the glow of her lantern, Colette saw that the churning water was as white as the snow. The roaring of the river grew louder too, to a deafening degree. The Gnorbu could hear water crashing against rocks, against more water. The light of a full moon broke through the clouds, and her gaze widened in wonder.

     A waterfall. A magnificent, narrow, moonlit waterfall, with great volumes of water rushing over its precipice. The only waterfall near Happy Valley, as it were. Few in Happy Valley had ever ventured so far into the Crystal Woods as to find the Crystal Falls. How something so dominating could be hidden within the woods, Colette could not fathom. At the base, where the stream completed its descent, great billowing whirls of mist rose into the winter sky. For a moment, Colette forgot she was alone. She forgot the fear and the exhaustion. She felt only awe.

     Through the flurry of snowflakes, she could faintly see the top of the icy cliffs from which the water rushed forth. The birch forest must stretch on past the cliffs, she pondered.

     A faint whimper hurried the Gnorbu back to the present.

     "Pinecone?" she croaked. She hesitated. Then, she stepped in the direction from which she had heard the tiny cry.

     There! Just a few paces from the roaring falls lay the Korbat beneath a tree. He looked so frail. Colette rushed to him.

     "PINECONE!" she cried, gathering him into her arms. "It’s alright, everything will be alright."

     The Korbat shivered. "When the blizzard came, I tried to follow the water… but the trees just kept on growing denser and I couldn’t see anything…"

     Coco helped him to his feet, letting him lean heavily against her for support. They needed to keep moving—more than anything, they had to find warmth. They would have to follow the river downstream to reach the manor. Colette tried not to think of the dreadful miles ahead, of the long hours before sunrise, but her fingers were stiff and her legs wobbly—though from fatigue or cold, she could not venture a guess. They trudged through the snow in silence, leaning sluggishly against each other.

     It was not very long before Colette’s foot struck something hard, and the pair fell into the snow, too exhausted to stand.

     "We have to… keep going."

     Colette’s last conscious thoughts had to do with the curious blue flash she spotted from the corner of her eye.

     To be continued…