A Friend

"What is your plan, Gilda?" asked Emmett to his daughter.

"I'm going to try to find Ramy. His mother did not want to eat because she thought about the poor boy. She just lost her husband and now has to lose her child," Gilda said, packing her hunting bag.

"It's useless for you to go. The boy must have been eaten as a dinner menu by the Jotuns," Emmett replied with a sly smile.

"Father! Why are you talking like that?! The villagers of this drape hope on us?!" concluded Gilda in a high tone.

Hearing his daughter's emotional words, the older adult stood up and approached the child with both hands on his waist.

"Then, do you think the boy is still alive? Gilda, Gilda...." Emmett chuckled and continued his sentence,

"You don't remember what happened to your mother? Oh! Do you want to come and live with her in heaven?!"

Gilda could only be speechless without a word hearing her father's words. With tears now beginning to shed, she felt intense sorrow when she remembered his mother, who had been gone forever.

For a three-year-old girl, the terrible events she had experienced became a trauma that she never forgets until now.

"But, Father! I'm sure Ramy is still alive! My heart says so," Gilda concluded with tears on her cheeks.

"Alright, if you insist on doing this, then go! But listen, Gilda. Monsters are not humans that we can conquer easily. There's a reason why they always manage to carry out their actions until this moment, and Jotuns are cunning and cruel creatures. Be careful."

"Y-yes, Father. Then, will you not come to accompany me?" asked Gilda.

"There are people here that I have to protect. So I'll tell Apsel to go with you," Emmett replied with a flat face.

Gilda leaves her father, strolling towards the village gate while waiting for Apsel to follow from behind. In her stride, she wondered why she didn't Erasto look worried about her departure. Why didn't her father want to accompany her to save Ramy? Ah, right. Besides Gilda and her mother, who else can protect and be trusted by the villagers of Tanee, if not Emmett?

"After all, Father has already ordered uncle Apsel to accompany me to the forest. Take it easy, Gilda. Your father must know what's best for you and the villagers of Tanee...," said the girl in her calm.

Realizing her steps had been getting further away from the village, Gilda turned her body backward with a look of confusion.

"Why didn't Uncle Apsel come?"

"Uncle Apsel!"

"Uncle Apsel, is that you?"

The screams of a beautiful girl named Gilda filled the contents of the deserted forest. However, none of the people answered her call. So, in the end, she also walked into the Dark forest without being accompanied by anyone. Even so, she still carried out her intention to find Ramy. But for some reason, since entering the forest area, she felt that someone was following her. Whether it's humans or other creatures, she doesn't know. What was clear was that she had heard the sound of footsteps and broken branches behind her.

"Are you stupid, Gilda?! Obviously uncle Apsel won't accompany you and you still expect him to come? It is possible that he is busy. Or maybe, he helped dad take care of the villagers," Gilda muttered with a monologue.

Gilda was conscientious when walking through the dark forest. This is not the first time she has entered the territory of the cursed forest. Armed with a bottle of drinking water and a sword her father had given her, she felt enough to fight the Jotuns and save Ramy. Although she has failed many times, this time, she is confident that she will succeed. The failures in the previous experience have taught her a lesson.

"Pri-Princess Gilda...."

Again, Gilda was startled by someone's voice from behind her body. How could it not? The vote was clearer to call her name. She then turned to point her sword. Her gaze dropped downwards, and she saw an adorable animal that was familiar in her eyes.

"Pipi? What are you doing here?!" exclaimed Gilda with a gasp.

"Can I come with you, Princess?" asked the brownish-grey-haired animal, about eight inches tall. `

"Come with me?! For what? Wait, so... from just now you followed me to this extent?"

Pipi responded quietly with a scrutiny look. Implied fear on her round face with that tiny muzzle. Seeing Pipi's wrath, Gilda then slammed her body to the ground. She sat on the floor, covered by the dry leaves in the forest. Gilda took a sip of drinking water and told Pipi to sit beside her with a gesture.

"Why didn't you say from earlier? Along the way, I could barely breathe because I felt someone following me from behind. So, it's you? Gosh!"

"Forgive me, Princess. I didn't mean to scare you. It's just that, I'm afraid... My presence here is not wanted Princess. So, forced me to precipitate," Pipi replied guiltily.

"Then, what made you appear like this?" asked Gilda again.

"I'm scared, Princess. I was afraid that the Jotuns would show up and eat me. Not only that, but also afraid of Volka because it is getting dark. A few moments ago, I heard the roar of wolves from this forest. Therefore, I panicked and couldn't bear to hide anymore," Pipi said with a look that spread around the forest.

What Pipi said is true. Gilda saw the fear in both of the little creature's eyeballs. And again, it wasn't just Pipi who heard the wolf's roar just now. Gilda also heard it. However, she decides not to tell Pipi about it to avoid being more afraid.

"Ah, maybe it's just your hallucinations, Pipi. I haven't heard anything since just now. All there was was, I heard footsteps that I thought were wild animals. In fact, it's just you, hahaha,"

"But the roaring sound is audible, Princess. So I'm sure I didn't hear it wrong!" said Pipi.

"Yes, it has. Now, you're already with me. So, you don't have to be afraid anymore, ok? By the way, what makes you want to come with me so much?" asked Gilda.

"I'm looking for my mom...."

Pipi's sad eyes implied deep sadness. The tears that were in her eyes almost fell on her cheeks. However, that didn't happen because Pipi wiped away her tears as soon as possible.

"Isn't it, your mother is already dead..."

"Not yet! I'm sure, my mom is not dead. I'm is very sure because, I repeatedly enters this forest, I never found my mother's body. Every night, mom always comes into my dream. She said that she wanted to be picked up by me. Mom is not dead, Princess! Mom is not dead!"

"Calm down, Pipi. Well, we'll find your mother, shall we? Pray that our journey will be unhindered. Since it's dark, it's possible that we'll spend the night here to gather energy," said Gilda, who tried to calm Pipi down.

They finally lay on the ground, looking up at the sky, slightly covered by the shady trees. The incident that happened to Pipi was indeed high-speed. It's no wonder that she always cries to miss her mother every night because her mother left without hesitation.

That day, Pipi was playing hide-and-seek with her mother. Previously, the mother had warned her child not to look for a hiding place too far away for fear of unwanted things happening—one of them kidnapped by Jotuns. However, Pipi insists it won't happen because he is not a human child. So, there is no reason for the Jotuns to kidnap him. And finally, she also looked for a hiding place in the dark forest. But, of course, it made the mother overwhelmed looking for Pipi.

"Pipi! Where are you?" asked Pipi's mother.

"I'm here, Mother!" said Pipi from behind a pine tree.

Pipi also revealed herself to make her mother angry. Happy Pipi's face turned pale because she saw her mother, who had risen to the occasion.

"What's the matter, Mother? Isn't it, Jotuns only abduct human children and women?" asked Pipi to the mother.

"There's no need to say much. It's best, we just go home now! Come on, Pipi! Hold mom's hand!" her mother concluded.

Just a few steps walked, the two were shocked by a creature's figure blocking their footsteps. The figure seemed to be shapeless and pitch black with fiery red eyes. In shock, Pipi screamed profusely and ran herself in the direction of Tanee village. While the mother was silently sculpting with wide eyes, looking at Volka's presence. Yes, the creature is Volka. When she arrived in the village, Pipi realized her mother was behind. Although she was afraid, she tried to return and find the mother. But unfortunately, even though Pipi has searched all over the forest, there is no sign of the mother's presence. Her mother seemed to disappear like being swallowed by the earth. Since that incident, Pipi has always been haunted by guilt every day. To make amends, she tried to venture to find her mother into the dark forest. Armed with the clues in her dream, she firmly believes that her mother is still alive. However, after days of searching, her efforts never paid off. She once heard that Gilda would find Ramy in the dark forest. That's when she decided to follow Gilda from behind.

"Princess, wake up. The sun has begun to appear. We should continue the journey so that it no longer takes much time in this scary forest," said Pipi waking Gilda.

"Ah, it's morning? No wonder the air felt so cold at this time," Gilda replied, still half-consciously.

"Princess, for some reason, I feel that something is wrong since following the Princess into this forest," Pipi said.

"What's that, Pipi?"

"It's a record that our journey is not disrupted by any creature. In fact, every time I enters this forest, there is always something that makes me unable to continue the journey. Whether it's a Jotun, a wolf, or a dark lord that is, Volka."

"You're right. The proof is that tonight we can sleep quite well even though there is not the slightest means of shelter. What do you think really happened to us?" asked Gilda.

"Hmmm, I don't know, Princess. To be sure, we must make good use of this situation. Ah, yes. Besides my mother, I'm also convinced that Ramy is still alive," Pipi said.

"Really? Is it, Ramy came into your dream too?"

"No. However, my feelings say so. Let's just hope our hopes come true."

Gilda smiled slightly at Pipi's remarks. Although she doesn't fully believe in Pipi's instincts, she hopes Pipi's words will come true. Unfortunately, Gilda and Pipi's relationship is not that close. It wasn't until then that they spent time together with the same goal. Why is that? Because Emmett forbade Gilda to further interact with the animal nation whose ancestors came from the Dark forest because they were Jotun spies who pretended to be kind and hitchhiked to live in the village of Tanee. Even so, Gilda secretly likes to feed these animals without her father's knowledge. The ancestors of animals like Pipi did come from the Dark Forest, who migrated to the village of Tanee. However, Pipi and her mother have never disturbed the villagers or harmed them so far.

"Hopefully this will be a good start to our journey ahead."

Mia motivates herself and Pipi, so there is no more fear when walking through the Dark forest. As a result, both of them continued their journey with higher self-confidence than before.

"You're sure we'll succeed?" asked Gilda as she dispelled a tree branch blocking the way.

"Of course, Princess. As long as we are always together," Pipi replied.

For some reason, the Dark Forest, which was usually dark and poorly lit, now feels cooler and brighter. So what is happening right now in the Dark Forest? Where did Volka the damned ranger go?

"Princess Gilda, why didn't Mr. Emmett accompany you to look for Ramy? Isn't he afraid that something will happen to you?"

Gilda was silent for a moment thinking of Pipi's words that had some truth. But, to date, there has been no sign of the arrival of her father or uncle Apsel to catch up. Is it true that the father doesn't care about her safety?

"My father is definitely worried about me, Pipi. It's just that, if she accompanies me, then who will take care of the villagers of Tanee?" said Gilda, sighing softly.

"But, aren't you more important than the villagers? You're his daughter?" asked Pipi innocently.

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