The Locket by Elise Koepke Page A

something has happened to the general and his family. And that is what we needed our soldiers to find out.
    “The moment I could not contact him, I sent for as many brave men as would take the job. Many went, and many never came back. Of course, I would rather have men come back alive, even if it means that they have failed. But the truth is … I do not even know how many men I have sent out there, let alone how many men are still alive.” The king looked out the window in longing. There must have been an immense sense of pride lost once he knew that there was nothing more that he could do to save his kingdom.
    “I just don’t understand it.” He shook his head. “The general and I tested the mirror a great deal of times before he left, and each and every time it worked. It is, for some incomprehensible reason, just not working now, and I wish I knew why.”
    Savannah joined the king in gazing out the window at the forest beyond the meadows. The forest seemed harmless from up here, she thought to herself. There were no black crows or murky thunderstorms like in the movies. There were barely any shadows to taunt passersby with the suspense of evil. She doubted that so many of the monarchy’s finest men could’ve possibly died on their way across that forest.
    “Your Highness,” the king glanced at her with a jaded expression. “What kind of forest are we dealing with here? Better yet, what kinds of creatures are there in the forest? Is it just lions and tigers, or—?”
    “Oh, heaven’s no!” he laughed. “If it were merely lions and tigers in that forest, our general would have been back days ago!” He continued to give out bits of hysteric laughter for a minute, while Rupert snickered and the queen glared at her son. “Dear child, think of where you are! Has anything that you have seen so far been exactly as you had at first expected? Has anything surprised you in any way? Have you found yourself wondering if you were really here at all?” She nodded her head in stupidity. “Then think twice about that forest, because I warn you, there are no ordinary creatures in there. Absolutely nothing is as it first appears.”
    Savannah was left wondering what was there that so many feared and could only nod her head again as the king drew his attention back out the window. He had gone from humorous to serious so quickly, and his tone was so much more than serious. It was threatening.
    Finally, when she got her voice back, she asked, “So if not lions and tigers, what is in there?”
    “Ogres,” he answered flatly, “and the worst sort, too. They do more than what you would expect in stories, my dear. At the sheer sight of you, they would chase you down, tear you limb from limb, eat your flesh piece by tiny piece as bread, and drink your blood as perfectly-aged wine.” She shuddered at the thought.
    “Then there are the fairies,” he went on thoughtfully. “Some are good, some are bad, and I warn you, it is usually the goods ones that you may need to watch out for. You never know what trick they might really have up their sleeves. But the majority of them will just make you walk in circles all over the forest, the cruel little buggers. Water sprites, on the other hand, will do anything to slowly make you forget everything. It will start with why you are traveling through the forest, and then it will lead to where you are, who the people you know are, and eventually, who you are. But you will only find the water sprites humming about in the vicinity of the Enchanted Pond. Fairies, however, can and will be found anywhere. Other than that, there are vampires, unicorns, trolls, dwarfs, witches, wizards, and about almost any other mythical creature that you can think of.” Pausing for effect, as most storytellers do, he brought his hands together and brought his eyes to hers. “Anything else that you would care to know?”
    “No, not at the moment.” The king and queen again glanced at each other with uneasy