1 1) ESCAPE FROM THE ENEMIES

It was a dark night with heavy rain and a loud thunderstorm. The wind was blowing strongly and lightning struck down every minute. There was an eerie atmosphere. It was so dark that it looked like an abyss with no means of escape. One could feel the terror tingling in their bones. They wouldn't even know where the attack would come from.

In such violent weather, the lone figure of a woman could be seen running in the deep dense forest. The forest was full of vicious beasts and carnivorous plants. It was a dangerous place to go even in the day, let's not talk about the night. None entered that forest and stayed far away from it. Once entered, it was difficult to exit. The forest itself was like a maze which was a natural death trap. The forest had a name that lived up to its reputation, The Death Forest.

It really was unusual to see someone entering the death forest willingly but behind that woman, several enemies wearing dark cloaks were chasing. It was extremely hard to see in such darkness with bad weather. But that woman was running swiftly, her eyes glowing yellow. She could hear her enemies shouting.

"Chase her!!"

"Don't let her and the baby escape."

"Capture both of them."

Yes, it was true. She was escaping with her baby boy who was hidden under her robe. She had cast a silent magic spell on her son which made her enemies unable to listen to her son's weeping sound. She knew she had to escape today and if possible save her and her son's life.

With such a high level of magic and her glowing yellow eyes, she belonged to one of the most famous races, the witches. She was also a witch and a high-level witch. She was running quickly and at the same time casting the sealing magic on her son which would save his life. Although it wouldn't be effective in the long term, it could save her son's life until he would be strong enough to protect himself.

She caught the sight of enemies about to catch up to her. She knew she couldn't defeat all of them by herself and would lose her life but she had to anyhow save her son's life. There was also her husband who had stayed behind to fight the other powerful enemy. She knew her husband was not as powerful as his enemy but he still tried to stall the enemy for a while giving her a chance to escape with their son. She had seen the helplessness and deep anguish in her husband's eyes before she escaped and his last happy yet sorrowful smile. She knew deep down in her heart that she could never see her husband again, never see her whole family.

"Diana, escape quickly with our son. I'll stop the enemy. Hurry!!"

"And yes, I love both of you very much. I never regretted my decision back then to till now. I am really happy."

Diana's husband said those sentences before she escaped with her son. They both had already realized they wouldn't be able to survive but at least they could protect their son from those scums. Their son was the symbol of their love and trust. She finished her sealing spell and distracted her enemy by throwing a flash of lighting at them.

Before they could catch up to her, she found a cave to hide her son which she had seen before. She hurriedly went inside the cave tripping and stumbling between the rocks. As she went deeper inside, the sound of the rain and the wind got lower. Then she found a large stone and put her son beside it. She then covered her son with her robe after drying it with a heat spell. She took out a pendant from her waist and put it around her son's neck. The pendant was diamond-shaped with lime blue in colour carved with gold around its border which was the name of her son. Her husband had spent a week to make that pendant. It was supposed to be the first gift for their son's first birthday. But who knew it would be the last and first gift from Diana and her husband to their son.

Diana looked tenderly at her son, tears dripping from her eyes. Because of the side effect of the sealing magic, her son was sleeping soundly. She caressed her son's soft white cheek and kissed lovingly. After receiving the mother's kiss. the baby's lips naturally curved upward. The red cinnabar mole beneath his left eye was highlighted because of his smile. She smiled thinking her son would be the most handsome man in the future after all he got both of their looks mixed. She wondered what colour would her son's hair be. Would it be black like his father or silver like hers?

Diana also realized her son might get lots of suitors as there was a saying that the people with moles beneath their eyes would get lots of suitors. She pinched her son's nose softly and said, "Don't go playing around just because you're popular. Just find one person whom you truly love like your father."

As she was speaking, she felt movements outside the cave from the enemies because she had cast the spell before entering the entrance of the cave. She was also shocked thinking they really caught her quick. She had to immediately leave. She stood up, ready to face her enemies and destined to die alone in this death forest. Her heart turned sour. How she wished she could die alongside her husband but still she was going to die protecting her son. Even if she was given a choice, she would choose the same.

Diana looked at her son for the last time and kissed him on his forehead.

"Isaias, you are our lucky star. Mom and dad love you very much. Live well for mom and dad, okay."

Then Diana turned away not noticing the pendant glowing. She walked away never looking back, fearing she might not be able to leave her son who was with them just for two weeks.