The Twisted Tale of Saffron Schmidt Read online

  Letting out a big sigh, Saffron resigned herself to the fact that as long as she lived in Sehrstadt, her hopes and dreams would never be truly lived. Now she began to understand why eighty percent of the town’s children skipped out to the City.

  “Is Papa still sleeping?”

  Anna nodded. “Why?”

  “I know Sunday’s are usually Hanna’s day off, but I would like to take her for a ride around the outskirts of the forest.”

  Anna raised an eyebrow. “As long as you don’t go into the forest, Saffron. I think Hanna would like that though. It’s been a while since she’s done anything but pull that cart.”

  Saffron smiled at her mother. She sidestepped around the table, walked to her mother’s side, and bent down to kiss her cheek. “I’m sorry I got so worked up. It’s just really frustrating at times.”

  “It’s ok, poppet,” Anna replied, lifting a hand to her daughter’s cheek. “I understand, I really do.”

  Rushing out into the early morning sun, Saffron couldn’t wait for the day’s adventure ahead of her.

  Chapter Six

  It didn’t take Saffron long to tack Hanna up. When the mare saw her saddle being plonked on the gate, she pricked her ears up and nickered to Saffron. Henry raised his head from the lush green grass, a tuft of long grass dangling out of his mouth.

  “Your turn soon, Henry,” Saffron called to him, giggling at his gormless appearance.

  She led Hanna out of the gate, closed it, then climbed it, using it as a mounting block to reach the stirrups dangling halfway down Hanna’s side. Hanna, more than used to Saffron’s improvising the gate for a mounting block, sidled up against it so Saffron didn’t have to reach out too far with her leg.

  Safely seated in the saddle, Saffron clucked at Hanna, urging her forwards into a leisurely walk. Hanna had been voice trained as a two-year-old. With her main job being that of a carthorse, voice aids were much more useful to Walter than anything else. On the odd occasion Saffron decided to ride her, it made her life much easier as her legs barely reached past the saddle flaps, most of their length being taken up by the mare’s broad back.

  As they meandered out towards the forest, Saffron took a moment to enjoy the view of her town from horseback. It fascinated her how places could look so different from a change of perspective. Seeing the town on foot was very different to seeing it from the supply trip wagon and different again seeing it from Hanna’s muscly back.

  Sehrstadt was situated deep within the northern territory of The Black Forest. The Black Forest itself was over six thousand square kilometres of mysterious towns and villages, all lost in their own timeframe of human history. The area that Sehrstadt had grown on was a two-thousand-acre jagged circle of fertile land, surrounded by dense woodland. With Adala protecting the odd shaped patch of forest, Saffron found herself wondering if the other towns within the mountainous range even knew Sehrstadt existed.

  Looking up, Saffron saw nothing but a clear blue sky, not a wisp of a cloud in sight. The sun was slowly rising high above the treeline, beaming its warm rays down to earth. Saffron took the reins in one hand, lazily resting her free hand on her thigh as she gently rocked back and forth with Hanna’s ambling walk.

  Being a Sunday, not many people were up and about before ten a.m., enjoying their day of rest fully. Saffron’s body clock always woke her at dawn. Occasionally she indulged in laying in her bed, enjoying the soft warmth it provided. Today, however, was one of those days where she wanted to be up and revelling in the beauty of the day.

  Saffron glanced over her shoulder, making sure her mother wasn’t stood watching her. Satisfied she’d been left to her own devices, she pushed Hanna on towards the treeline, intent on wandering inside the forest, just a few steps. Waltzing through the trees a few feet within the treeline wouldn’t cause any more damage than if she kept to the outer edge of it. After all, what difference did a few feet make?

  As the forest came closer, Saffron’s heart started to pound. She knew she was doing something wrong, yet she couldn’t help herself. The forest intrigued her, and she wanted to explore. Rebelling against the rules she’d known since she was old enough to walk made Saffron’s mind go wild with potential consequences if she got caught. She’d never known anyone to be punished for going against the rules because nobody ever had, as far as she knew.

  The trees beckoned her like a moth to a flame. Nothing stirred, not one bird chirped. Saffron frowned. She was well within the borders of the City trails here, yet still no animals seemed to be around such a vibrant forest.

  Saffron sucked in a deep breath as Hanna marched into the treeline. Reminding herself that if there was any danger, Hanna would refuse to move, Saffron found her confidence growing with each stride the big mare took.

  A hazy mist hovered between the trees, the early morning sun warming the overnight dew on the ground. Saffron dared to venture further in than she originally intended. Before she knew it, the outer edge of the forest was metres behind her.

  Her pulse quickened. Excitement and adrenaline coursed through her veins. The reality that she was doing something forbidden never left the forefront of her mind. Guiding Hanna to the left, Saffron took a gentle sweeping curve around, cutting off her forwards progression into the depths of the unknown. Estimating she was roughly thirty metres inside the treeline, Saffron realised no one would be able to see her unless they were really looking for her.

  “Perfect,” she said to Hanna. “Means we can explore at our own leisure.”

  Hanna plodded on, her ears flicking back and forth as she listened to Saffron’s ramblings.

  Saffron surveyed the landscape around her, not entirely sure what she was looking for but yet, still looking for something. Anything. Anything that might hint to something more, something about Adala and the forest spirits.

  The moss-covered ground was undisturbed, no signs of animal tracks or even her own people having been through here recently. Saffron frowned. A hunt had gone out just yesterday. She was certain they’d come this way.

  “Probably further on,” she said out loud, trying to explain away the lack of evidence. “Or deeper in.”

  They strolled along, horse and rider, in comfortable silence for several minutes. As much as she tried, Saffron couldn’t ignore the fact that no living creature seemed to be out here or had left any trace of ever being here. Where was all the wildlife?

  Hanna came to an abrupt halt, jolting Saffron forwards in the saddle. Immediately, Saffron went on high alert. She twisted around in the saddle, her head spinning wildly from side to side as she scanned the woods around her. The silence that had accompanied her this far, suddenly seemed to gain a whole new degree of quiet. A distinct chill settled in the air, making Saffron shiver.

  Memories from yesterday stormed back to the front of her mind, leaving her anticipating another eerie gust of wind that somehow knew her name. She tensed up, bracing herself for the violent burst of air, but after several minutes, she realised nothing was coming.

  Letting out a small sigh of relief, Saffron ordered Hanna forwards, but the mare refused to move. She didn’t fuss, stomp her feet, or even neigh in fear, she just simply refused to walk forwards. Frustrated, Saffron let out a shout of exasperation. She couldn’t dismount and lead her forwards because she’d never be able to mount the huge mare from the floor.

  Saffron leaned forwards, looking down over Hanna’s shoulder at the forest floor, checking for any obvious obstructions. Content there was nothing to the left, she switched sides and checked over the mare’s right shoulder.

  That’s when she spotted it.

  Not at first with a quick sweeping glance, but after a few seconds, when she roved her eyes slowly over the green earth in front of her.

  A paw print.

  Saffron’s heart stopped dead. Suspended over Hanna’s shoulder, looking down at the ground, she suddenly felt very vulnerable and that she was somewhere she really shouldn’t be.

  The single track a mere few in
ches in front of Hanna’s right hoof gave Saffron the chills. It was huge. If Hanna put her dinner-plate sized foot in the print, it would barely cover half of it. Above the four pad marks were four claw marks, each one sliced into the earth.

  “What is that?” she whispered. “A wolf? A cat?”

  Her inquisitive mind overtook her pounding heart, making her forget her fears temporarily. The ground trembled beneath her. Sitting bolt upright, Saffron cast her eye through the trees around her. The trembling turned into a low rumble.

  Hanna stepped backwards, shaking her head. Fear poured into Saffron’s body, springing her into action. She turned Hanna left, facing her back towards the treeline and the safety of Sehrstadt beyond.

  Except the treeline she’d glanced at moments ago was no longer there. Saffron was surrounded by nothing but a thick copse of trees, every single one looking the same. She whirled around, almost falling from the saddle as panic consumed every last part of her.

  Then, as if someone had flicked a switch, everything went black. Terror climbed through Saffron’s veins like ivy, claiming her inch by inch in nothing but a cold, sweaty coat of dread. She’d never seen such darkness. She couldn’t even see the end of her nose. It’s looming presence felt almost physical, as if someone had thrown a sheet of black velvet over her face.

  She tried to breathe, to give herself room to think logically, but the horror building inside her shattered any sense of logic and rationalisation. Realising she was way out of her depth, Saffron acted on instinct in such an overwhelming situation—she squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath, hoping it would all go away.

  Seconds ticked by.

  Willing herself to find the courage to open one eye, Saffron dared to take a peek. Bright sunlight streamed into her vision along with the treeline and Sehrstadt beyond. Needing no further encouragement, she kicked Hanna and yelled, “Canter!” aiming for the blissful relief of her home.

  Hanna leapt into action, her lolloping strides thundering across the forest floor. In a matter of seconds, horse and rider burst from the treeline like a bullet from a gun. Hanna kept pace, homed in on her target of her son and her lush green paddock. Saffron was focused on nothing but her house.

  Even as Hanna put distance between them and the forest, Saffron couldn’t resist a glance behind her. Something was happening in that forest, something dark, something that definitely wasn’t fairies and all things nice.

  At that moment, Saffron knew that wouldn’t be her last trip into the mysterious woods surrounding her home.

  Chapter Seven

  Saffron told no one about her experience in the forest with Hanna. As the days passed her by, Saffron couldn’t help but spend more and more time staring into the leafy depths that surrounded her home. She’d heard the expression curiosity killed the cat, and despite her head screaming nothing but danger at her, Saffron still had an incurable desire to explore further inside the extensive woodland.

  The following Sunday, she decided to take Hanna for another ride into the forest, or as she said to her mother, along the treeline. Entering the forest at the same point as last week, Saffron tried her best to take the same course, trying to provoke the same experience to happen.

  But nothing did.

  Birds chirped and tweeted, flapping and flying about high up in the branches above. Sunlight streamed through the trees, bathing the green forest floor in golden streaks. At one point, she even saw a family of deer skipping through the trees in delight. The scenery around her was one of such tranquil beauty, Saffron found herself questioning whether she’d imagined the incident last week.

  Frowning, but also quietly relieved, Saffron enjoyed a morning’s ride with Hanna in nothing but peace. Later that evening, as she settled down in bed, Saffron picked up the story of James and Poppy once more.

  Her mind wandered into enthusiastic fantasies of dark powerful creatures that loved their mates with such ferocious intensity. She thought of her mother and father, and how aside from the briefest of pecks on the cheeks, she’d never seen any exchange of affection between them. They moved around one another like old friends. Was that something just as comforting as the desperate need to kiss someone?

  Saffron sighed. She’d never been kissed, never even had a crush on a boy, but a handful of boys had shown an avid interest in her. However, their childish displays of bravado, pushing each other around, climbing the biggest trees, lifting the heaviest things, did not impress Saffron at all. In fact, if anything, she cringed for them.

  James though, despite only being seventeen, seemed wise beyond his years. Saffron wondered if any boys like him existed for real or if what she sought would only ever be met in books. Combing through the pages with greedy hunger, as if it wasn’t the third time she was reading it, Saffron soon found herself being lulled into a deep sleep, the book slowly tipping from her hand and falling onto the wooden floor...

  Saffron wandered through the forest. Blistering sunshine heated her pale skin. Around her, the trees thrived with life, bright green leaves in full bloom on their heavy branches. Baby birds hopped around the forest floor, trying in their earnest to learn to fly. To her right, a deer hopped and skipped through the undergrowth, its white tail bobbing up and down with its lively movements.

  Sucking in a deep breath of fresh air, Saffron revelled in filling her lungs with the purity of nature. Whilst the City was fascinating, it could never replace the raw splendour of being somewhere like this.

  Step by step, Saffron ambled through the picturesque forest, drinking in the glory of Mother Nature. A blur of movement caught her attention up ahead, followed by a striking colour that seemed unnatural amongst all the greens and browns of the environment around her.

  Before she knew it, Saffron found herself running, her legs stretching out in front of her in long ground swallowing strides. Her arms pumped at her sides as she hurried towards the bright red object rushing through the woods metres ahead of her.

  As she darted through the trees, homing in on her target, it stopped moving. Saffron came to a standstill, bumping into a tree trunk to aid her sudden halt. Using the tree as a barrier, she peered around its wide girth to see what she’d been chasing. It was a boy. His white and red checked shirt had been what caught her attention.

  Dressed in faded denim jeans and tan rigger boots, the boy turned around and looked straight at Saffron.

  She gasped.

  He wasn’t a boy. He was a man. She narrowed her eyes, scrutinising every part of him—short cropped ash blond hair, wide set jaw, plump pink lips, broad muscled shoulders, and thick thighs, he was the very epitome of masculinity.

  “Saffron,” he said, his voice deep yet silky smooth.

  A shiver ran through her.

  The loud crunch of a twig snapping behind her had her whirling around in an instant. There stood the librarian, his smooth dark skin glistening under the sun’s rays. He smiled at Saffron, a warm, welcoming smile that offered her nothing but reassurance.

  Just as he opened his mouth to say something, a huge orange shape leapt from nowhere, smothering him in an instant. The librarian fell to the floor, his face hitting the ground with such force, it vibrated through Saffron’s body.

  Saffron stepped back, her hands flying to her mouth in fear. It was then her eyes focused on the thing that had attacked him. Black stripes, huge teeth, lethal head sized paws...it was a monstrous sized tiger.

  It released its grip of the librarian’s neck and looked up at Saffron. Amber eyes burned right through her, empty of a soul, devoid of any empathy or emotion. It licked its lips and opened its mouth, letting out a low, grumbling growl. Stepping over the mauled librarian, it padded towards Saffron, a prime example of lethal beauty.

  Saffron backed up one step with each step the tiger took towards her. When her back met the rough bark of a tree, Saffron whimpered. The tiger roared, its predatory stare heightening Saffron’s fear a hundred levels in less than a second.

  It lowered down slightly then leapt th
rough the air, its huge paws outstretched, reaching for her. Saffron screamed and closed her eyes...

  Saffron woke herself up screaming. She sat upright, covered in sweat and breathing like she’d just run a marathon. She patted herself down, making sure she was in fact still in one piece. The dream had been so vivid and lifelike, she was still processing the fact it wasn’t her reality.

  “It was just a dream,” she whispered to herself. “Just a stupid dream.”

  She flopped back down onto her pillow, closing her eyes in sweet relief. When her heart rate slowed enough for her to consider sleeping once more, Saffron found herself thinking about the man in the red checked shirt. She realised, the more she thought about him, that he looked exactly like she pictured James to be, from her book.

  “It’s all Mia’s fault,” she said to herself, grinning. “Got me dreaming about fictional characters now.”

  Deciding it was time to stop reading before bedtime, Saffron closed her eyes and managed to enjoy a dream-free sleep.

  Chapter Eight

  As time passed by, Saffron eased into her teenage years, struggling through puberty and periods somewhat on her own. The nightmares she had remained with her, coming and going at random, but always the same. If it wasn’t the darkness surrounding her in the forest, then it was the tiger killing Sam, the librarian.

  Even though she had stopped reading before bedtime, Saffron knew, deep down in her gut, that these dreams were more than an overactive imagination. Not one detail ever faltered from these nightmares. It was almost as if they were a premonition.

  As she became more self-sufficient and less reliant on her parents, she had the misfortune of being an overlooked child as her younger siblings demanded more time and attention from her mother and father.

  Having grown into a quiet and thoughtful young lady, Saffron enjoyed her own company, spending her spare time reading. Her love for supernatural fiction had quickly evolved into a thirst for knowledge of myths and legends. Now the tender age of seventeen, Saffron had one more year of school before she was considered an adult member of Sehrstadt’s community.