Finding the one eyed deer.

“Leni, turn around.” Mauvie whispers...

Just as she’s about to, he holds her shoulder and adds on, “slowly...”

She turns around slowly and there it was. The most beautiful deer she’s ever seen. It was graceful with big antlers. 

“ too bad we have to kill it huh...” Leni whispers back, turning to face Mauvie with a smile on her face. 

“ yeah well, we could sell some of the meat, the skin as-well. Who knows, maybe even the antlers.”

“ yeah, basically the whole dear huh...”  she replies, they both laugh and kneel.

Leni takes out her bow and arrow and she aims right by the deer's right eyes, she inhales through her nose and exhales out her mouth, taking her time to aim before letting the arrow go. The arrow goes directly into the eye, causing the deer to go insane. Jumping, running, crying for help, screaming in agony. For the first time, Leni felt some sort of pain, some sort of connection with the deer. She felt the hurt like it was not just an animal. It ran towards a huge tree right in the middle of the forest, Leni and Mauvie stood up and ran behind it.

Of course, the deer was in pain and it was dangerous, so they knew to keep their distance. When they got near the big tree, they saw the deer collapse. It lay by the tree trunk and blood was everywhere. Leni stood still, seeing it at a deeper point than Mauvie, Mauvie only looked at Leni, impressed by her aim. He walked over to the deer and picked it up.

“ let’s head back...” he instructed while walking past Leni, but she saw something by the trunk of the tree, as it absorbed the blood of the dear, as though it was quenching its thirst, she watched the blood make its way up the trunk, the branches, all the way to the leaves, in disbelief.

“ Leni let's go, it’s getting late!” Mauvie shouted out in the distance.

“ co- coming...” Leni replied, her mouth suddenly dry. She turned to follow Mauvie but heard something, something was growing in the tree. 

“ An apple...” she said, squinting at how an apple had formed right there and then, a red apple.

“ Leni!!!” Mauvie shouted out, he seemed agitated.

Leni turned away and started running off to catch up with Mauvie, when she finally did it was quiet back.

They arrived back at the village, Mauvie placed the deer down, only the deer was now lifeless. It was pale, as though it had been dead for months.

“ What the hell...” Mauvie says, looking down at the deer.

“ The tree...” Leni adds on, looking down at the deer.

“ what do you mean ?” Mauvie looks at her

“ you didn’t see what happened, the tree...” she mumbled, her eyes focused on the deer.

Just then a kid comes back screaming in excitement, “ apples, fresh apples!” 

Leni runs over to him, “ you didn’t take them, did you?”

“ I already ate one, it was so delicious and juicy. The only weird thing was it was red inside, best apple I’ve ever had!” The kid adds on, with so much joy in his eyes, but it’s short-lived, as his right eye started to bleed.

“ Ahh!!!” The villagers screamed, “ he is cursed!” They all said. An uproar awoke.

Leni ran over and held the baby who collapsed in her arms,

“ Hang in there, your eye is okay. It’s just a little bleeding but it’s there, okay?” She assured him before picking him up and running into her cottage. She placed him on the bed, before getting some warm water and a towel. She placed it on his eye,

“ Hold onto this okay, I’ll be right back.” She gently whispered before giving his hand a tight squeeze.

She stormed out, before running to their village healer. She took off her shoes and went into his home with her head bowed down. She was the one who fired the arrow, she killed the deer and she felt like this was her mistake to fix.

“ Druwa...” she respectfully called out his name, “ I-“

“ Yes, I am aware Leni. You need to go to that tree now, the rest will follow.” He replied, she looked up at his shadow. No one had ever seen him at his purest form, only the shadow, and his voice.

“ Of course, thank you,” Leni said, bowing down before running out. 

She grabbed her bow and arrow and ran back to her cottage. 

“ I have to go make this right, stay here. I’ll have someone take care of you. I promise you’ll be okay.” She said, before realizing he had fallen asleep. She checked his pulse before rushing out.

“ Whoa whoa...” Mauvie said, standing In front of her.

“ I have to go, now.” She insisted, moving him aside. 

“ Okay fine, but I’m coming with you.” 

Leni looked at him, she has known him long enough to know she won’t take no for an answer.

“ Okay, let’s head out.” She said before rushing off.

“ Slow down Leni, it’s not safe.”

She turned to face him, their faces inches apart, exchanging breaths.

“ How about you stay back here if you’re gonna keep restricting me. We have to help that little kid, heck we don’t know what else will follow. You didn’t see what I saw.” 

She turned around and started running off into the forest, where the hunting took place. Mauvie following her closely. Huffing and puffing, sprinting with the wind brushed against her face. 

Finally, she reached the tree she stopped, signaling for Mauvie to say nothing as she looked at it glow.

“ Okay...” she whispered, turning around to look at him. “ This is it.” She turned back to look at the tree before walking towards it slowly. She reached out and everything went dark before she fell face flat on the ground.

She stood up slowly, looking around at her surrounding. She was surrounded by trees, darkness, and silence. She waited for Mauvie but it seemed he may have turned around.

“ Expected.” She said to herself before turning back around.

She started walking off, her eyes wide open. Her heart racing, she was afraid. She stopped, looking around.

“ Where am I meant to go...” she whispered out, “ What am I meant to do?”

“ About what?” A voice asked, she jumped before turning in the direction it came from but she saw no one.

“ Who said that!?” She looked around at the darkness.

“ Me, obviously.” The voice replied.

She stood frozen before a flickering light lit up, she rubbed her eyes as she squinted towards it.

“ You’re a-“

“ Yeah yeah yeah... the question here is who are you?”

“ How can I understand you? You’re a-“

“ Yes, I get it already! And you’re a human, your kind is not welcome here. You’re the second one ever to understand me, but none of that matters now. Your life is in danger, you can’t stay here. You have to go back to where you came from.”

“ I can’t do that, I’m here for a reason.” Leni replied, “ I have to save a little boy.”

“ What did you do?”

“ I killed a deer.”

“ Why?”

“ Because we eat it...” she sighed, “ We eat it...” she repeated, her voice low.

“ Do you know why you can understand me?” 

“ No... all I know is that I am talking to a tree.” Leni replied, walking towards it.

“ Trees are sacred, we are doorways to many realms. You understanding me is a gift on its own. Your actions are unforgivable, as a collective of humans but your heart is pure.”

Leni looked at the tree, as it swayed along with each word it spoke.

“ Is this happening?...”

“ Indeed, you understanding us makes it easier for you to find the solution you’re looking for. You could’ve been sent here without that gift, but as I mentioned that your heart is pure. A pure heart is a heart we treasure. These woodlands are not just any, these are the lands of only the things that are meant to be protected. You must find what you have been sent here to do, and leave before more of your people arrive. Their cruel hearts will do nothing but spread through our lands like a ratchet disease.”

“ I don’t know what I’m meant to do, please. The little boy is paying for my sins.”

“ The little boy has his sins to pay for, that is why he is the one who is experiencing the pain.” The tree replied.

“ But how, what could he have possibly done? He’s just a kid.”

“ A sin is a sin, now you need to go and find the deer you killed.”

“ I don’t understand, this wasn’t the first deer I’ve hunted. Why’s this happening?”

“ Because that wasn’t a deer.”

“ What was it?” Leni walked closer, curious.

“ Time will tell.”

The tree faded into thin air, Leni was alone once more. She walked the leaves of the tree point her towards the right direction before vanishing completely.

She started following that path, conversations amongst little creatures, plants. She understood it all, looking down and around to see all these things talking. It was amazing, it was something she never thought she’d ever experience.

Find the one-eyed deer, to find him.

A voice whispered in her ear, disappearing along with the wind.

“ Him?...” Leni said it out loud.

“ Him?” The little mushroom repeated, pointing at his little mushroom brother. “ I always thought I was the better looking one between us two, but sure you can have him.”

Leni looked down, this was all so bizarre. She smiled down at the little mushrooms, her dimple made her look even more beautiful and her face inviting.

“ No, unfortunately not him. Bummer, you both look so handsome I wouldn’t even know who to pick. I’m looking for a one-eyed deer?” She said, clearing her throat.

They looked horrified, “ The deer that turns into a man?”

Leni frowned, “ A man?”

“ There is only one way to finding him, but once you see him you’re trapped in here forever.” The mushrooms said.

She looked up, the only way to save the little boy was to right her wrong with the deer, but it meant her being stuck here forever...

“ How do I find him?” She asked the little mushrooms.

“ By slaying the golden dragon.”