The outskirts of the Ivory Forest were nothing but a decoy for what truly lurked inside. From the outside, any approaching traveller would suspect the towering trees to be part of the normal surrounding woodland. They wouldn't pay attention to the thin wall of magic that distorted their view. However, as soon as we passed through the barrier, the world around us changed — a veil being lifted on the unsuspecting.

All around us were shimmering trees of pure ivory-white. Every chunk of bark, leaf, and blade of grass was tainted to be the noble shade. The only exceptions to the colour were the vibrant plants that found their home here. Flowers that appeared to be made of solid gold until you touched them, patches of deep, navy moss that were scattered along the ground, strands of ivy that crept along tree trunks — each flora was unique to the forest and couldn't be found anywhere else.

My nose scrunched as the scent of burnt sugar passed through the air. Ancient magic always smelt the strangest.

This was as far as I normally ventured into the trees, wandering around in a large circle of the forest to collect the poisons I needed. An unsurprising amount of the colourful plants were lethal in one way or another. Whether it be their berries, petals, or seeds, they were fun to work with when baking.

I had no inkling of an idea of what was hidden further inside.

"Do you come to the forest often?" I asked, being careful of where I trod. The last thing I wanted was to step on a creature that would surge up to bite me.

"Yes, a lot," he answered with a nod. "There are a startling amount of people who need things from here but are too scared to get it themselves." Oryal cleared the path to head deeper with his axe, cutting away at the white branches.

"And you come out unscathed?"

The bounty hunter paused before responding with, "Mostly." His words did nothing to quell the fear bubbling in my chest.

Fluttering down from the trees, the gaps between the leaves still letting much-needed sunlight filter through, was another butterfly. Yet again, this one was rosewood pink and sparkled with every movement of its wings. The black outlines framed the vibrant shade, captivating you in its beauty. It landed on one of Oryal's horns, causing him to shake his head and for it to fly away.

The first sighting at the tavern was amusing — making me question how it had gotten inside in the first place. Then, the second butterfly at Deathly Delights was a pure coincidence. Now, this third was suspicious. Where were they coming from?

"This poison," Oryal began as I watched the magnificent creature fade in the distance. "Do you know what it looks like?"

"Of course I do. The poison itself is from the petals of a flower that, according to my mother, only blooms in the darkest parts of the Ivory Forest. It's red with an orange centre." As the bounty hunter nodded, processing the information, I questioned, "Have you seen it before?"

"Not that I remember. Do you know how far your mother went into the forest?"

"No. Only that she reckoned it was roughly in the centre." I frowned, glancing at a patch of ivy that climbed up a tree. Its winding vines were a strange emerald, its leaves even brighter in colour. "Do you know how long it will take to get there?"

I didn't have a lot of time to get there, back, and make something all within the time limit I had been given. The worry chewed away at my nerves like a starved mouse finding a grand feast of food.

"It depends on the forest. Every time I've travelled there myself, I've encountered something different. I can't say anything for certain." As he walked ahead of me to strip away the branches blocking our path, I spied a silver flask of his own tucked in his back pocket. If I had to make a guess, I was certain there wasn't any water inside.

We trekked through the Ivory Forest for what felt like hours, passing a countless number of trees and plants beyond anyone's wildest imagination. I wished I had brought more enchanted jars with me besides the ones I needed for the Noxol. There were plenty of other poisons growing that my fingers itched to harvest, but we didn't have time to waste. I would come back to the outskirts of the forest when this request was complete.

My stomach growled in fierce protest, making me realise I hadn't eaten anything that morning. Instead of sitting down for breakfast, I had dived straight into work, preparing pastries for Deathly Delights' customers. Before I could take a break, a royal guard had shown up at the bakery.

Digging through my backpack for the container of baked swirls I had packed, I earned an intrigued glance from the bounty hunter. I would only have one for now... maybe two. Pastry flakes fell to the ground as I picked up the largest confection, my mouth watering as I eyed the crimson filling. A thin glaze of icing coated the top, adding an extra sweetness I wanted to devour.

"Would you like one?" I offered, extending the box toward Oryal. "They're not poisoned, I promise."

With a raised brow, he turned back to the forest ahead of us. "I'm okay, thank you."

"There's not even a hint of poison! The whole kitchen was cleaned before making this batch." To prove my point, I took a bite out of the swirl. A gooey, raspberry goodness melted on my tongue, forcing me to resist the urge to moan in delight and taste some more. "See! You can have this one if you're worried about it."

He stopped walking, a debate battling in his mind.

"They're not as good as the mango ones I baked the other week, but raspberry is still an amazing flavour." I continued my convincing, holding out the pastry in front of his face.

"I wasn't concerned about the poison," he replied with a hint of a smile, accepting my gift. "I suppose I don't have much of a choice now." After a hesitant bite — his teeth slowly sinking into the swirl — his eyes widened in awe of the flavour that flooded his mouth. In a mere few mouthfuls, the pastry was gone.

"How was it? It's divine, isn't it?" I questioned, selecting another for myself.

Oryal shrugged, turning away. "It was alright."

"Excuse me. I believe you mean it was the best thing I've ever consumed, thank you very much." Placing a hand on my hip, I scowled at his mocking laughter.

"Whatever you say." He pulled out the flask from his back pocket and washed down the pastry. "Let's get moving. We want to use as much daylight as we can." While he continued onward, returning his axe to his hand, I remained where I was.

Approaching from the shadows cast by the swaying leaves was yet another butterfly. Unless I was mistaken and this was the same insect from earlier, the wings were the exact same shade and pattern as the one I had seen not that long ago.

"Oryal," I called, watching the butterfly land on a tree branch beside me. "Have you also seen a weird amount of butterflies lately? Because-" the bounty hunter held up a singular finger to his lips, cutting me off.

Gripping his weapon so tightly that I was certain the bones of his knuckles would pierce through his skin, he motioned me over to a bush of muted orange. He crouched next to me in the foliage, waiting for his prey to unknowingly head closer to a trap he was about to spring.

What was going on? Had he seen a creature of some kind in the distance? I couldn't hear anything but the rustling of leaves and the heart thudding in my chest. From the thickness of the trees above us, I could tell we hadn't ventured too deep into the Ivory Forest, so whatever lurked beyond my vision shouldn't have been too dangerous. Though, there was always a chance something had wandered far from its home.

Footsteps and faint murmuring appeared after a moment, causing me to hold my breath.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" The first man asked, his voice thick with a foreign accent. "This forest looks like a bunch of nothing to me."

"This map should be sending us in the right direction. Besides, that woman said she was going to the centre of the forest to get the poison. That has to be who Wardar hired." The other man squinted at a map on old, worn parchment — something that couldn't have been used in decades.

"It hasn't been long since she was at the tavern. She can't have made it that far yet." He snatched the map out of the other's hands, claiming the reins of navigation for himself. "Perhaps we need to camp it out."

Me. They were talking about me. Nobody else fit that description — a woman searching for poison in the Ivory Forest who had been at the tavern earlier that morning. Why were they looking for me?

"I really don't want to wait out here for Gods know how long," he responded with a groan. "I just want to kill her and be done with it. The sooner the King is safe, the better."

The pair of footsteps headed our way, the men approaching and allowing us to get a better glimpse of my dispatched executioners. Both wore armour that was an even blend of the royal guard's metal plated pieces that had visited Deathly Delights and Oryal's fighting leathers. Steel protected the essential places, leaving soft padding for easy movement along their joints. A small, repeating pattern of a singular flame could be found across the armour, denoting they were from the Kingdom of Fire — Vahan.

How had word spread already about my request? I realised I hadn't been the most secretive that morning at the tavern and could have hired Oryal a little differently, but I never mentioned anything about a king. I didn't even know that the order was meant for royalty, just a noble.

"Stay here," the bounty hunter whispered, readying himself into a stance to pounce on the Vahan soldiers.

My body wouldn't move even if I demanded it to. Fear gripped the bridle of my control as it faced the possibility of death. I could have laughed at the irony. A baker who wielded poison as her weapon every day was frightened of dying.

When the two men were feet away from the brush we hid in, Oryal lunged, swinging his axe toward them.

Chapter Word Count: 1,790
Total Word Count: 7,267