“I’d like to see you go within five miles of that forest, Eydeth. Jahrra lived there for eight years without being afraid, but I’ve seen the scared look on your face when Professor Tarnik describes what lurks in there.”
He stretched himself as tall as he could and laced his arms across his chest, glaring at Eydeth as he continued, “You have some nerve standing there making fun of Jahrra for living near that forest, but let’s see you go within a hundred yards of it!”
The whole class quieted down at Scede’s sudden outburst. He didn’t often speak so boldly in front of his classmates, but when he did it was to make a point.
Jahrra smiled broadly in his direction and noticed that he looked even more irritated than she felt. He glared at Eydeth and Ellysian, looking like he was about to bite if they so much as blinked.
“You couldn’t go near the Wreing Florenn if someone tied you up and dragged you there. That’s how afraid I think you are.”
Suddenly the laughter of their classmates turned from Jahrra to Eydeth, whose eyes had darkened dangerously. Gieaun, Rhudedth and Pahrdh joined their two companions, all three donning a look of determination as if Scede’s insult had recharged them.
Discomfited as he was, Eydeth wasn’t about to back down.
“Fine, so you don’t live there anymore, but the only reason you did was because your dead parents couldn’t afford to live anywhere else. Besides, it’s not like you actually went into the forest. Only someone brave would go in there, not a lame little Nesnan like you.”
Jahrra was suddenly livid, so she missed the tiny spark that flickered and vanished in Eydeth’s eyes; the hint of triumph that glimmered behind the hatred. She forced herself to calm down and drew upon her measly arsenaclass="underline" Eydeth didn’t know about her little escapade with Gieaun and Scede after the unicorns. She knew she should let the evil boy’s accusation hang, but she couldn’t resist making him look like a fool in front of the entire class.
“Oh, but you’re wrong,” she crooned, examining her fingernails in a bored manner. “I have been in the Wreing Florenn. It isn’t so bad, unless you’re afraid of trees, birds and butterflies.”
A murmuring began bubbling around the crowd of children.
“You!? Going into the Wreing Florenn? A lie for sure,” Eydeth spat venomously, his look of triumph vanishing as quickly as a dry leaf thrown into a fire. “You probably only went into Willowsflorn and thought it was the Wreing Florenn. The trees in Willowsflorn barely come over my head, what could be so frightening about that?”
“Trust me, Eydeth,” Jahrra said with a sigh, her hands now placed squarely on her hips, “I would’ve noticed if I was taller than the trees.”
Everyone suddenly burst out laughing, earning a poisonous glare from a red-faced Eydeth.
Scede took advantage of the opportunity of the horrible boy’s moment of defeat.
“I’ve been in the Wreing Florenn too, and so has Gieaun!” he insisted. “We’ve all been in the forest, and Jahrra is right. You’d have to be a mouse to be afraid!”
The entire class continued sniggering at Eydeth while nodding their heads in apparent respect for the three courageous friends who had braved the Wreing Florenn.
Eydeth immediately overcame his embarrassment and snarled, “They’re obviously lying! Remember how she lied about me pulling her down when we had the climbing contest at our Solstice party!”
It was right then that Jahrra realized what he was doing. He’s trying to coax me into going back into the forest. Fine, I’m not afraid, let him challenge me then. Jahrra was partly eager to show the class that she wasn’t afraid of the twins, and she partly wanted to let out all of her pent up frustration about everything he and his sister had done to her and her friends over the years.
Instead of just walking away like she should have, Jahrra glanced around and noted that the majority of the class seemed to believe her story and not Eydeth’s. An overwhelming feeling of self-satisfaction overcame her, drowning out the tiny voice of caution in the back of her mind. For once she had Eydeth cornered, and she was going to milk it for all it was worth. Her enemy was vulnerable, and now was her chance to make him look like the buffoon for once.
“You just can’t handle the fact that I, the Nesnan, am braver than you. That’s why you keep telling everyone I’m lying. You’re afraid and jealous, and I can prove it.” Jahrra plowed on with a sudden burst of self-confidence, “Dare me to go into the forest, Eydeth. Go on. I’m absolutely sure there isn’t one single animal or plant in there that could be even remotely dangerous. In front of the whole class I’ll prove that you aren’t as brave as a Nesnan.”
Eydeth stood there speechless for awhile, everyone’s eyes darting nervously between the Nesnan girl and Resai boy. Jahrra could feel her friends tense up next to her, but she ignored them. They would say she had been too bold, that she’d not thought this through. But what was the big deal? They’d been in the Wreing Florenn before, and it was perfectly peaceful.
After a while, Eydeth opened his mouth and said, disbelievingly, “Anywhere in the Wreing Florenn?”
Jahrra nodded. “I’ll even travel to Edyadth, taking the scary road that passes through the center of it.”
She wiggled her fingers spookily and exaggerated her voice, receiving a few more chuckles from the crowd. She smiled broadly, enjoying this far too much.
Then she saw the gleam of spiteful victory in Eydeth’s eyes and the evil grin of satisfaction on Ellysian’s face. Jahrra changed the expression on her own face immediately. She’d almost forgotten about Ellysian, who’d remained oddly silent during this whole confrontation. Why do they look so triumphant? she wondered apprehensively. I’m the one who’s going to prove them wrong!
After awhile, Eydeth spoke up, his voice quavering with anticipation, “Very well, I choose for you to travel into the Black Swamp. It’s within the borders of the Wreing Florenn, and you said anywhere. You can refuse if you want, but that just proves you were lying all along.”
Gieaun grabbed Jahrra’s arm tightly as if trying to prevent her from stepping off a cliff. Scede made a strange choking sound in the back of his throat, and Rhudedth and Pahrdh, along with the entire class, gasped in shock.
Eydeth was grinning like a jackal and Jahrra could feel her face fading to white. Oh no! she thought furiously, remembering how haughty she’d been. Oh no, oh no, oh no!!! You should’ve thought before speaking, you should’ve known they had something more devious planned! The Wreing Florenn is one thing, but the Black Swamp is quite another! she told herself, panic welling up in her stomach like a thick, oily bubble.
She now understood why Eydeth had looked so victorious earlier. It wasn’t because he was sure she hadn’t been in the Wreing Florenn, it was because he knew that if he kept at it long enough he could con her into traveling into the deepest, darkest, most fearful part of the dangerous wood. The entire time he’d been acting scared he’d really been baiting her. He wasn’t as dumb as she had so complacently convinced herself. She gave herself a mental kick. How could I have been so stupid?!
Jahrra’s internal battle was interrupted by a cold voice.
“The Black Swamp.” The words rolled off of Eydeth’s tongue like ice water. “I’ve heard that there are monsters living in there, and we all know the stories about the witch. The bravest of men won’t go within a mile of it, and I heard from the most reliable of sources that even dragons are afraid of it. Who would’ve thought, a dragon being afraid of a witch? But you aren’t afraid, Nesnan, oh no, you’re brave.”