Young Writers Society

The Enchanted Forest was found east of Cambroxzen. It was large, beautiful and motherly; home to countless magical creatures, from fairies, to majestic unicorns and playful wisps. The land itself was a reserve. A sort of heaven to mystical plants and bugs - those, mainly harvested and used by final years and the school's potion masters. The forest was a breathtaking view of giant trees. trees said to be as old as Cambroxzen itself.

Sherlock took a deep breath of the forest air. "You smell that?" he smiled.

"Yup!" Shauna exclaimed. "Fresh!" she said, taking in lungfuls of the crisp air, and beaming with delight.

"You can’t get air this clean and fresh anywhere else," Sherlock continued.

"I know. That's why it's called the enchanted forest," Shauna whispered wide eyed, slipping him an obvious stare.

The two took a moment to enjoy the relaxing atmosphere before continuing on their journey. As they advanced into the forest, they passed a small colony of fairies. Their home was an ancient towering oak tree. A number of them shied away, startled by the unexpected company. Others, high up a mighty bough simply waved at the duo as they passed. In the distance, a lone majestic unicorn wandered. It was fair, hair, linen, white as snow.Shauna smiled at the remarkable creature. But the rustling made by them, sent the creature's ear pricking. It galloped away, at the sight of them.

"Just look at that. Beautiful!" Shauna breathed as she pointed to the unicorn that was galloping away. "You know," she cried, switching into her lecturing tone without noticing. "Unicorns are pretty shy creatures, they usually move in herds.Sherlock nodded, agreeing with her."I'm just wondering why that one was alone", she said, concerned. "It's very unusual," 

"Indeed it is," replied Sherlock, agreeing with Shauna as he stroked his chin slowly."Come on, we better get a move on." Shauna stared at the area in which the unicorn galloped away to, hoping to catch a glimpse of it before moving off, but alas, it was no where to be found. 

They had been discussing what they saw when a number of wisps joined them, floating about them playfully, as if they were dancing. They were amusing, and since they didn't pose trouble, Sherlock didn't mind. They continued, slowly increasing pace until something brought their hurried legs to a startling halt.Halfway through the forest, Sherlock and Shauna bumped into an unexpected group. Students.

There were five students standing in front of them, three boys and two girls. Like Sherlock and Shauna, they were also surprised to see the duo standing in front of them. By their looks, Sherlock deduced that they were probably either in their second year or third year.

“What are you kids doing here?” asked Sherlock to the group of young students. No one answered him. The look of guilt was etched on three of the five student’s faces.

“You know you all are not supposed to be here unattended, right?” added Shauna as she folded her hands.

Finally one of the girls decided to speak up. She had dark brown hair that was tied into two short pigtail which hung by the side of her head. “We were following up on a story lead that our friend Andrew was following,” said the girl to Sherlock as she pointed to a boy with round framed glasses, her hazel eyes reflected guilt. Sherlock who was trying to remember the names of kids standing before him finally remembered their names. The girl who had just answered his question was named Allana who was a member of house Owllaria.

Sherlock raised his eyebrow. “What sort of story?” he asked curiously as he tapped his finger on his chin.

There was a brief silence before the boy with the round framed glasses answered. “I have a source living in the forest who told me that they saw mysterious figures loitering around the forest during the night.” Andrew was a reporter for Cambroxzen’s student paper, the Cambroxzen Times, and although young, he was good at it. One of the most well-known stories he had written was an expose on an assignment cheating ring that was going on in the Academy.

“Based on Andrew’s source, we decided to check out to see whether it was true,” added a boy whose brown eyes reflected adventure. Sherlock recognised the boy. His name was Melville, and if memory served him right, he used to fall asleep in his class and was a bit of a trouble maker.

“Who is your source, Andrew?” asked Shauna to the Owllarian boy, wanting to know more.

“I’m sorry Miss Li, but you know as a reporter I cannot reveal his or her sources to anyone,” replied Andrew flatly, adjusting his glasses. Andrew was young, but he definitely knew the ethics involved in journalism, and it seriously impressed Sherlock.

“Well can you at least tell us how these ‘figures’ look like?” asked Shauna in response to Andrew’s refusal to answer her earlier question.

“W-well according to A-Andrew’s source, they wear l-long black robes that touch the g-ground and a s-scary looking m-mask that obscure t-their face,” answered a boy by the name of Elliot who had fear in his voice.

Long black robes and a scary looking mask, sounds ominous and dangerous. I don’t think these kids should be going looking for these people, remarked Sherlock to himself. If Shauna and I ordered them back to the castle without the answers they seek, they’ll probably sneak out on another time and put them self in danger yet again.

“Alright kids, I think you should be heading back the castle,” said Shauna firmly to the students in front of her, pointing to the direction of Cambroxzen castle. Melville began to protest Shauna’s instruction, in a rather rude manner. Shauna frowned, there was a flash of displeasure in her dark brown eyes, her thin lips curled upwards. She’s going to blow her top, said Sherlock to himself. “Minus 20 points from Staggeron! And the rest of you better get going before I minus any points from your houses,” said Shauna rather loudly. Elliot and a girl named Karen started to move, and so did Andrew. Allana was pulling Melville to go, who stubbornly stood his ground

“Kids, just stay put for a while. I need a word with Miss Li,” said Sherlock calmly to the students as he pulled his good friend aside.

“What is it?” asked Shauna, with the sound of displeasure still in her voice.

“I think we should bring them with us,” Sherlock whispered flatly to his friend, not wanting the students to hear what they were saying.

Shauna’s eyes widened. “Have you been drinking too much tea?” whispered Shauna in response. “You actually want to bring them along with us.”

“Yes,” Sherlock nodded.

Shauna placed her hand on her forehead, in total disbelief. “We should be sending them back to the castle,” argued Shauna who tried not to raise her voice. “I have a good mind to throw that Melville boy into detention. He had this a long time coming.”

“Look, I have a strong feeling these kids will come back to the forest to try and find out who these mysterious figures are,” explained Sherlock softly, “And with mysterious figures prowling the forest, it is better that they stay with us while they try to get answers. Less something bad happens to them if they try to sneak back into the forest on a later date.”

Shauna sighed, “What about the spot we were going to check out?” she asked, still keeping her voice low.

“It looks like they’re heading in the general direction of where we are going, so I don’t see a problem. We’re not making a detour,” answered Sherlock softly.

“What if we reach the spot and there is indeed something of interest there? Like a cave or something, what do we do with them?” asked Shauna in a hushed tone. The kids were still standing where Sherlock and Shauna had left them. I bet they’re wondering what we’re talking about, remarked Sherlock to himself.

“We can bring them in with us,” answered Sherlock, “I bet Andrew would not mind writing a story of a new discovery on Cambroxzen, especially one with such potential.”

“What if the place has traps?” asked Shauna, who let her concerned side show.

“I’ll go on first then. And have you forgotten, I’m a second order curse breaker,” replied Sherlock confidently with a smile. His confidence was not misplaced as he had worked as a curse-breaker for a year in Egypt and China before taking up the teaching job at Cambroxzen.

Shauna sighed, “Alright then, they can come with us. If it prevents them from sneaking back into the forest, but I still want to throw Melville into detention.”

Sherlock smiled at his friend and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Well you have every right to do so if you still want to when we get back to the castle, but right now, let’s get back to the kids.” He and Shauna then made their way back to the kids who were waiting for them.

“Miss Li and I have decided to allow you to remain in the forest,” said Sherlock to the group of kids. Melville smirked upon hearing Sherlock’s statement. “However, you will all have to follow Miss Li and me.” Melville was about to say something in protest, but he was stopped by Andrew who shook his head. I can see why Shauna wants to throw him into detention, thought Sherlock to himself.

“Thank you for allowing us to stay Mister Tan,” thanked Andrew who had a smile on his face, “and to you too Miss Li.” Shauna nodded with a small grin on her face, accepting his thanks.

Sherlock clasped his hands. “Alright then, let’s get going,” he said to Shauna and the groups of student that were now under his and Shauna’s care.

Once again, playful wisps danced around the group as they made their way deeper into the forest. The two girls, Alana and Carina were paying more attention to the wisps that danced around them than looking for the mysterious figures. On the other hand, Melville and Andrew were like hawks, keeping their eyes open for what they were looking for. Elliot was following closely behind Sherlock and Shauna, not saying a word. And Sherlock and Shauna were having a discussion about the famous story teller Waltern Diznay and his most recent work as the wisps continued to dance around them.

All of a sudden, the wisps that danced around them disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. The group stopped in their tracks when the wisps disappeared, curious as to why it happened.

“Why did all the wisps go away?” asked Karina curiously as she twirled her shoulder length red hair.

“No idea,” replied Arthur as he adjusted his glasses.

“Well if I remember correctly, wisps normally go away or disappear in the presence of a dark aura,” explained Allana to Karina. “Of course wisps can also decide to disappear if they feel like it, but that’s if only you chase them away.”

“Very good, very good,” expressed Shauna who was impressed by Allana’s knowledge on wisps and their behaviour. “Ten points to Owllaria.” Allana smiled widely upon hearing that she had gotten ten points for her house.

A dark aura, that does not sound good, thought Sherlock to himself. There shouldn’t be any dark or malicious auras in the forest. Unless, those figures Andrew and his friends are tracking down are the ones producing it. I don’t like this. Sherlock, ever cautious, reached into his hiking jacket’s pocket and produced his chestnut wand as a precaution. Shauna upon seeing what he did, proceeded to do the same. Melville followed suit and produced his own wand from his back pocket. The thought did cross Sherlock’s mind to head back to the castle for the safety of the kids, but he knew full well that if they headed back to the castle now, the kids would sneak out and put themselves in danger at another time. He made the difficult decision to push on, as it was safer for them to look for the answers they seek with him and Shauna with them, then without.

“Let’s keep moving,” said Sherlock to the rest of the group, signalling them to follow him. He and Shauna had taken point. Melville had tried to join them in front, but Sherlock had sent him back to cover the rear instead, saying to him that it was an important job. The group continued their journey into the forest. Sherlock and Shauna scanned the path in front of them vigilantly, looking for anything out of the ordinary; their wands at the ready. Andrew, on the other hand was busy jotting down notes on recent development in his notebook. The two girls and Elliot were quietly following behind Andrew. Melville like Sherlock and Shauna, scanned the area, ever vigilant.

All of a sudden and without warning, two figures burst out from the ground in front of Sherlock and Shauna, as they reached a clearing in the forest. The two Cambroxzen teachers, instinctively and immediately pointed their wands towards the two, ready for anything. The two figures standing in front of them emitted a dark and malicious aura that made the hairs on the back of Sherlock’s neck stand up. They both wore long black robes and had a mask that hid their identity, just like Andrew’s source had said. Like Sherlock and Shauna, they too had their wands drawn, and they were pointed at the group.