The White Mare and the Cackle
“Remember, girl. The woods can pay tricks.”
She disregarded the warning.
“Stupid, old hag.” she remarked. The woods can play tricks? What were trees going to do to her?
She simply laughed at the thought and continued on her way, leaving the old woman glaring at her from a distance.
She kept walking, giggling inwardly at the batty, elderly woman, but stopped short upon reaching her destination.
Eterna Forest loomed ahead of her, a mess of trees, foliage and shadows. Light did little to penetrate the darkness. As she stepped into the forest, she found herself in inky black surroundings.
But she could handle that.
She had come a long way as a trainer, and had soon discovered it came naturally to her. The battles, the training; all was simple. She had even earned the Coal Badge within a few minutes of entering Oreburgh gym, and was eager to battle Gardenia of Eterna. She was hardly going to let a bunch of trees beat her.
She switched on the flashlight on her Poketch, and a narrow beam of light shot through the trees. It didn’t do much to help, but she could at least see several feet in front of her.
From what she could make out, it was a natural maze. The trees twisted and turned, forming the occasional path through the forest. Thickets were everywhere, and she thought of how painful it would be for her hair to become ensnared on their twisted claws.
“Come on, Cass..” she reassured herself. “You can do this. You‘re the best, remember?”
She quickly unclipped a pokeball from her belt, and threw it expertly into the air. A blinding white light enveloped the area for a few seconds, and as it disappeared, a small, orange, aquatic pokemon became visible. The weasel-like creature stood comfortably on its hind legs, taking in its location.
“Buizel, I need you to take me through this forest,” Cass asked it. “There should be a small body of water at the exit. Can you sniff it out?”
Being an aquatic pokemon, Buizel could easily find water in any situation. Buizel nodded vigorously to its master. Cass smiled fondly back at it. Her prized possession.
“Okay then.. Well, lead the way.”
Buizel immediately obeyed. As swift as lightning, he bolted through the trees and into the undergrowth of the forest, slowing only occasionally to allow Cass to catch up.
This was a challenge; even for Cass, a very fast runner, it was difficult to run alongside Buizel.
Buizel had been the pokemon she had started her journey with. None of the other pokemon she had tried to use compared with it. She recalled a particularly weak Misdreavus that couldn’t battle at all.. she had tossed it aside in favour of Buizel.
It was an extremely energetic pokemon; for most trainers, it would have been tough to handle. But not her. Cass could handle anything.
Buizel darted left, bringing Cass back down to earth. Next he darted right, and she followed, and soon realized how tired she was. She kept panting heavily, but Buizel made a low growl to indicate they were getting close. Cass felt a rush of relief soar through her, as they burst headlong through the undergrowth, into a clearing in the trees.
There wasn’t an exit. But Buizel had sniffed out water. In the middle of the clearing, a small lake opened up before them.
But there was something odd about it.
It looked clean and pure, and shimmered when there was no light in the forest. To the touch, it felt cold, and Cass shivered; not only from the lack of warmth, but of anxiousness.
But what disturbed Cass most was that there were no pokemon here. Where one finds water, there is usually always some small creature; either inhabiting it, or drinking from it. But not here. Now that she thought about it, Cass realized that she hadn’t seen any pokemon at all as they ran.
Perhaps there was something to worry about in this forest.
Buizel didn’t seem to care about her anxieties, and dived merrily into the water. After emerging from the surface, he swam around happily for a while, and Cass watched, fascinated by his movements in the lake. It seemed to ease Cass’ worries. He was right. Cass should be thankful that there was water nearby. Besides, why was she worrying? She was Cass, right?
She knelt down to take a sip. As she drank, her anxieties were washed away. The lake seemed to shine brighter from before; as if a light had emerged from beyond the trees.
No. It wasn’t her imagination. The light was real, and it filled the forest with warmth and welcome.
She searched for the source, and her eyes met the sight of a beautiful mare, gazing at her from across the lake. The horse was pure white, and it’s skin seemed to glow as brightly as the flames on its back. The fire danced, and Cass watched, mesmerised.
It was beautiful. Cass didn’t have words to describe it. As she watched her, the mare beckoned for Cass to follow. She nodded, and waded into the lake, never once looking away from the horse. Buizel didn’t seem to notice, or he didn’t care; he was too amused playing in the water.
When she got deeper into the lake, she began to swim. Each stroke brought her closer to the horse, which stood waiting for her at the shore. She stared back at Cass with dark, empty eyes. They were hypnotizing.
Cass slowly clambered out from the lake. The horse wasn’t far. A few steps more and she’d reach it. Closer. Closer.
The horse turned and began to trot away into the trees.
“Wait!”
She practically screamed it. No matter how much she tried to deny it to herself, Cass was afraid in this forest. The horse was a beacon of hope, and now it was drifting away. She had to catch it. She needed it. Who cared about Buizel?
She rushed through the trees as fast as she could, in pursuit of the mare. It wasn’t far away, but it was so fast; increasing in speed as it broke into a gallop. Cass ran after it in desperation. The light of it’s flame moved further and further away. She needed to catch up to it.
She ran faster. Faster. For a long time, she simply ran at her fastest speed.
The light broke into view.
A surge of hope rushed trough her, and she kept running. Faster. Faster. The light turned a corner and she followed it through the trees, her lungs aching for air. It burst through the forest, and she followed it, desire soaring through her.
Nothing.
The light had gone.
There was nothing here. Nothing but a familiar lake, mocking her from below.
She had gone in a circle. Buizel had vanished too.
She felt alone. She felt frightened.
From the surface of the lake, her refection transformed. First into that of the mare, then that of the old woman. Finally, her reflection took form and floated out from the waters beneath. A ghostly purple figure, with an evil grin, had emerged before her.
The woods had been playing tricks on her. Because of what she had done to this figure. She abandoned it, only to make herself stronger. And now, it was giving her a taste of her own medicine.
Mismagius smiled wickedly at Cass.
Cass couldn’t look away. She sat frozen. Terrified.
A scream and a cackle filled the night.
