DO NOT GO DEEP INTO THE FOREST

A long time a go, in a faraway land, there was a small kingdom nestled in a valley. At the edge of the valley was a great forest. The forest was old and wild and full of magic. Filled with wonderful magic and sinister magic alike.

In the village nearest the forest, three siblings spent their summer days playing near the forest's edge, chasing squirrels and gathering berries for their mom. The two older children were clever and knew to never venture deep into the forest. The youngest, Fila, was a wild thing, and was fearless in the face of the deep forest. Her older sister and brother, the twins Hila and Hilo, did a fine job of corralling Fila to the safe parts.

One day their father had to go on a journey, he would be gone for some time so many of his chores fell to the three children in his absence. Fila, being a rambunctious sort, rushed through her new chores and did a poor job. Thinking her chores complete and that she was free to play, Fila ran to the forest's edge to explore and make mischief. Hila and Hilo were annoyed when their mother had them redo Fila's work, their mother assured them Fila would be doing extra chores from now on.

Without Hila and Hilo to stop her, Fila went deeper into the forest than she had ever gone. It was exciting! Fila saw a giant striped squirrel, four times the size of a normal squirrel, it was busy fetching giant seeds to and fro. It buried them all around, secret stores for a springtime snack.

Fila watched the beautiful squirrel work in amazement, she also wondered why no one ever let her do fun things like go deeper into the forest.

After some time the giant striped squirrel lost its charm; Fila decided to head further into the forest. She hoped even more wonderful things were to be found.

The trees stopped and the ground started to slope down, Fila walked down the gentle decline. With each step Fila felt a warning in her heart, a tiny voice telling her to be careful. But Fila misheard it as her mother and father telling her not to do fun things, so she ignored it. She didn't notice that the birds had stopped singing or that the insects had stopped buzzing. There was only the whisper of the distant wind.

There was a figure standing at the bottom of the slope, a great wide basin with a sad little puddle at the bottom. Fila stepped forward, hoping to see someone she knew, but instead she saw the figure was not human, rather a fearsome creature, a troll.

It's skin was a leathery and earthen. It's face bore the same two eyes, one nose, and one mouth of a human but in drastically different proportions. Fila froze, before she could turn to run, the creature turned to her and lifted a finger at her.

"Oh? Child?" It said in a wretched voice. A powerful spell bound Fila, Fila resisted, but it was no use. The spell stopped Fila from fleeing, it forced her to walk forwards, closer to the troll witch. Step by step Fila moved closer.

"My Lake. You Crime." Said the troll witch with a scowl. If Hila or Hilo had called that muddy puddle a lake Fila would have laughed at such a silly thing. Instead, fear like none she had ever felt coursed through her, robbing her of all her thoughts, especially happy ones of playing with her brother and sister. Fila eeked out a muffled "Sorry," and started to cry.

An hour past lunchtime Hila and Hilo returned to their mother in a frenzy, "We looked everywhere, we can't find her!" Their mother went pale, she knew her daughter had gone too far into the woods.

She knelt down in front of the twins, "Hila, Hilo, my loves, I'm going to ask you two to do something scary, and if you don't want to it's ok, but if you are feeling brave, it will help me a lot if you can do it." Hilo nodded and Hila asked what their mother wanted.

"I need you to come with me into the forest, it will be scary, and it will be dangerous, but I can protect you, and the magic in your hearts can help us find our little troublemaker."

Hila and Hilo knew the stories, and they believed them, but they were good children and agreed to come with their mother. "Mom, can I bring my knife?" Asked Hilo. "You may, Hila you can bring your firespark if it suits you. Now, go put on your trousers and boots."

The three set off into the forest, they walked straight as they could through the thick trees until they reached a grassy clearing with a large ring of mushrooms in the center. "Mom are you going to do magic?" Asked Hila. Their mother nodded and told them to step into the ring. The twins entered the ring of mushrooms and the mother whispered a spell. After a moment, a wave of relief washed over the mother, she knew her youngest was alive, and which direction to go.

"One more for protection," said the mother as she cast another spell on her children, covering each of them briefly in a shimmer. The mother lead the way.

The three reached a great clearing in the forest, the ground sloped down like a great bowl. The air grew chilly.

A malevolent fog drifted in and thinned the children's bravery. Hila and Hilo were frightened, but neither would admit it, instead they gripped the other's hand even tighter.

Their mother stopped. She sensed the magic in front of her. She thought for a moment before deciding what to do.

She whispered a secret in the twin's ears, Hila and Hilo listened to their mother's instructions and promised they would do their best.

They walked downhill into the mist. The fog grew thicker with each step, the three were bathed in tense silence.

They were close now, they all could feel it. Hila and Hilo had no more courage to give, they each desperately wanted to flee to the safety of their home. Only their mother's steadfastness prodded them onwards. Hilo squeezed his knife but it felt small and he smaller still. Hila thumbed her firespark but it felt weak and her weaker still.

Then they saw Fila. Fila was motionless and pale and hovering above the puddle. "That is not your child," said Mother to the troll witch. "My Treasure", it said fiercely.

"Give up what is not yours," ordered Mother. The troll witch refused, she raised a finger towards the mother. The spell slammed into her like a screaming boulder. Mother could bear the weight for only a moment, she collapsed to her knees.

"Fine," the mother yielded. "Trade?" Offered the mother. The troll witch lowered her hand, and twisted her face in confusion. "Trade?" It asked.

"Trade, two treasures, one treasure," said Mother pointing to Hila and Hilo, and then to Fila. The troll witch thought in silence, looking at Fila, still hovering above the puddle of water, and then back to the twins. "Trade," nodded the troll witch.

With a flick of her wrist Fila collapsed into the shallow puddle and began coughing. Fila's mother ran to her and took her into her arms and began running as fast as she could uphill, leaving Hila and Hilo behind.

The twins, like their sister before, were frozen in place. The troll witch's spell had already ensnared them. They could not follow their mother and escape, they could only move towards the troll witch.

Step by step they moved towards the creature. The twins stared at the evil being in front of them and felt a terror like none they had ever imagined before. In their hearts they could feel the malice pouring from the troll witch.

The troll witch raised her hands, and placed one on the forehead of Hilo and the other on the forehead of Hila. The troll witch cast a spell that would bind the children to the puddle of water, giving the witch a wealth of magical power.

But the children were protected. A shock of light dazzled the witch and the spell rebounded. The witch shrieked, realizing what it had done. It rolled in the mud in agony. The water in the puddle churned and frothed.

Their mother revealed herself from the thick fog and beckoned Hila and Hilo to her. "We must go now, hurry!" Mother still clutching Fila in one arm, grabbed Hilo's hand with her other. Hilo grabbed Hila's hand and the four fled the writhing witch.

A gush of water burst from the puddle and overtook the witch and drowned her. Many months ago the witch had crept up on a starless and moonless night. In the inky black, the troll witch managed to ensnare the Spirit of the Lake, a being of great magical power which the troll witch used for its own wicked agenda.

As the Spirit of the Lake's power drained, so too did the waters of the lake until only a pathetic puddle remained. Now, with the spell broken, the spirit could reclaim the lake and fill it with deep water.

The four reached the top of the dried lake and turned to see the spirit of the lake clearing the fog and pummeling the body of the witch with great columns of water. From then on, at the deepest point of the lake, the spirit would keep the witch's body buried.

"Do you two remember what I told you?" Asked the mother as they walked home. Hilo said he remembered. Hila nodded and said, "One must never face a troll witch head on, always use cunning because trolls are mighty but easily fooled." Their mother smiled, the twins had learned a lesson today, she hoped that her youngest did too.

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