Forest of the Lost

May led us through a dense thicket as the sky turned a dark shade of blue with dusk. The sound of small critters filled the air. I frowned in discomfort as I bent to evade a tree branch. Jerry followed right behind me, and Sue was at the back. May led the way. Jerry had blatantly refused to be anywhere near May for fear that she would pull him through another portal. "How much farther?" Jerry grumbled by my ear. "Why don't you ask her?" I nodded towards May. Jerry shrunk back. "She's scary." "Wuss," I snickered, but I didn't feel any better. We've been walking for a good period of time, and my legs were close to giving way. "How much farther?" I repeated Jerry's question, but this time to May. "...not much. It's just beyond this cluster." "Why didn't you just use your magic portal ball to take us there directly?" "I can't. It only opens the void that will lead one here... it's not a teleporter, more like a gate." "Oh..." Sue spoke up, "Hey, and are you sure these folks can help us find our parents?" May grinned, "If they can't help you, then no one can." My eyebrows twitched, but I kept silent. We walked for a few minutes when May stopped in her tracks. "We're here," she announced. I looked around, not understanding where 'here' was. We were in a spacious clearing, but there was no human... or even non-human in sight. I turned a questioning gaze to May. She took in our confusion with a knowing smirk. Then she swaggered to the middle of the clearing. She picked something from the ground and walked towards us—it was a four-leaf clover. She plucked it and gave each of us one leaf. Holding one in her hand, she gestured to us. She tossed the leaf in her mouth and ate it. Sue frowned, "You want us to eat it?" Jerry muttered, "What kind of voodoo is that?" "Why?" I asked. She didn't reply because, for a moment, her eyes glazed over like she was lost in thought. But soon, they regained clarity. Then, for some reason, I knew she was seeing something that we couldn't. She walked forward. "I did not fail. I have brought them," she clenched her fist over her heart and bowed deeply. She stayed like that for a moment, and when she raised her head, there was a look of relief on her face. She turned to us, "Go on, eat it," she pursed her lips, "it will help you see." I turned to my siblings. Sue was fiddling with her leaf, with a thoughtful look, while Jerry looked like he would rather die than eat it. As for me, this all felt too suspicious and unsafe, but when I remembered their offer to help find our parents, I tossed the leaf into my mouth and chewed. I shut my eyes in trepidation, somehow expecting something drastic to occur. But all that happened was the leaf melted in my mouth and disappeared like it was never there. I slowly opened my eyes. What greeted me was the sight of about twenty or so people just staring at me. I flinched. My eyes widened in shock. They definitely were not here a second ago. A stinging sensation in my hand had me looking down. The bandage Sinbad had put over my hand had come off at some point and I could see the injury healing at an incredible speed. Sue noticed my dumbfounded and dazed expression, she grabbed my hand and turned to glare at May. "What the hell did you do to her?" May drily picked her ear, "She's fine, just shocked." I shook my head to clear my thoughts, "I'm fine, don't worry." I gestured to the clover in their hands, "Well, eat up, you won't believe this." We were soon settled in a small hut. At first, they wanted Jerry to stay elsewhere because he was a boy, but we refused. We've lived together for so long, he won't drive us crazy just yet. Turns out, the Forest of the Lost is just a hiding place for witches. Apparently, there was a war that led to hundreds of covens and thousands of witches being destroyed, and an enmity was formed between them and shifters regarding the ferals. Neither myself, Sue, nor Jerry were comfortable in a place filled with witches, fugitive witches to boot, and whose intentions were yet unknown. More upsetting was the fact that we couldn't just up and leave. We had no way out of here. The hut was relatively big, but it was still a hut. According to the lady that brought us here, everyone ate together, and two rivers on opposite sides of the village served as baths for each gender. The thought of bathing in unhygienic water, and worst of all, in the presence of others, made my skin crawl in distaste. Sue didn't have much of a reaction, but I knew she wasn't pleased. Jerry, on the other hand, swore never to bathe again.