The trees and bushes were as thick as they were impossible to get through, the gentle whistle of the wind brushing through each leaf doing nothing to quell the nerves within your body as you traversed the darkening surroundings of the forest. You were on a mission- one far more important than your safety in a predicament such as the one you found yourself in.

You believed, with how often you kept in touch with your ex-partner, that your child would be safer with them in their care, visiting as often as you could and however many times you were allowed to considering your profession as a hunter just to spend some time with them and watch them grow. And yet, on your visit back to see them once more, you were instead told the story of how they wandered into the very woods that no child ever made it back out from. You aren’t sure how true the story was coming from your ex, half tempted to believe they allowed your child to wander that far, but in the end, neither option truly mattered as you were regardless going to find them.

You were snapped out of your thoughts when you heard the all too familiar giggle of a young child in the distance, breath catching in your throat as you rushed forward to break through the tree line.

“Sweetpea!” You call out, stumbling into the clearing, eyes landing immediately on your child before they rose to face the being that held them in his arms, Koen, the very being whose name was cursed amongst the townspeople.

He immediately looks apprehensive when you call out to your child, cradling them tighter against his chest as if to shield them from the sight of you.