“It’s a staff.”

“That you’re using as a walking stick,” Junae maintained, “And what’s a walking stick?  A cane.”

“That’s like saying all rectangles are squares because all squares are rectangles!”

“I’m not saying all staffs are canes—just yours, since you’re using it as one.”

Sungyeol made an indignant noise in the back of his throat.  “It is not a cane!  Old men use canes!”

“Then I must’ve underestimated your age,” Junae mused, huffing as she took another swipe.

It’d taken them days to hike to the woods from Sungyeol’s cottage, days during which Junae and Sungyeol had exhausted nearly every viable conversation topic, but Sungyeol assured her that they’d reach the princess once they navigated the maze of trees isolating the castle.

Easier said than done, considering the thorny brambles that s across and covered the forest floor.

There were no roads that led through the woodland.  Earth unoccupied by towering pines had been overtaken by prickly shrubs and their wild vines, making it so that Junae had to hack at them with her sword to clear a path for Sungyeol and her to travel unscathed.

She worked up a sweat in no time.  The sleeves of her borrowed tunic were rolled all the way to her shoulders while the legs of the trousers were folded up to her knees—Sungyeol was unfairly long, as were his clothes, but the additional exertion made her current outfit unbearably warm.  Junae almost wished they hadn’t made it this far, wished they were still strolling past the golden hills of wheat in the countryside or along the babbling brook with its crystal waters.  Even the lengthy climb up the side of a mountain didn’t seem so bad compared to this, dramatic as she probably sounded, because it had several places where it leveled and offered the pair a nice resting spot from the noonday sun.

To think she’d assumed this forest would be a piece of cake compared to that slope!

As it was, all Junae saw was an endless sea of spiny bushes in every direction, and they’d been attacking the thicket since morning.  The shade the trees provided proved little consolation when she couldn’t sit without having to empty a patch of ground.

Sungyeol glowered as he shoved the mangled briers away with his staff.  “You’re using your sword as a crude machete, does that make it one?”

“A machete might actually be more useful,” panted Junae.  “Is this my body test?  Man,” she grunted as her blade struck a particularly thick root, “or rather, woman, versus nature?”

“What do you think?”

“Doubt the universe would take pity on me now.”  With a deep breath and a savage cry, she swung in a great downwards arch…chopping through with surprising ease.

What the hell?

Junae lashed out again, and again, and again, watching in morbid fascination.  “Why are the plants avoiding me?”

“I’d avoid you too if you were whacking a sword at me,” Sungyeol scoffed.

Like cockroaches skittering for the dark when the lights came on, the previously troublesome brambles shrank away when Junae so much as extended her sword towards them.  She shook her head in disbelief—why couldn’t they have cooperated with her earlier?

Not that Junae complained at this unforeseen turn of events.  She could’ve wept with relief at the reprieve, even if she felt ridiculous jabbing a prop at shrubs as if they were animals that would pounce her at any given moment.

Sungyeol followed leisurely behind her, occasionally glancing up at the canopy of leaves.  Not much light snuck through, and what did cast them in an uncanny green shadow.  Held up though they’d been by the barbed vines, they had nonetheless covered a considerable distance, and Junae could probably use a break after this morning’s efforts.

“A breather won’t make a huge dent in your Quest,” Sungyeol coaxed, “Wouldn’t you rather not topple over when your next test pops up?”  He gestured vaguely around them.  “Here’s as good a place as any, before we leave the forest.”

Junae’s protests were weak at best, he recognized.  While it was obvious that her hurry was fueled by her desire to go home, she could not deny the physical toll she’d taken.  She was frankly too tired to face any challenge headed her way at this point, and he told her as much.

“Is it safe?” Junae eventually asked, eyeing their surroundings warily.

“Probably not, but it’ll do,” Sungyeol said, shrugging.  Junae gaped at him, prepared to vehemently object, when he interrupted, “I was joking, geez.  I’ll watch over you.”

Junae stuck her tongue out at him before gingerly lowering herself at the base of a tree.  Her muscles smarted, beginning to ache in response to her recent activities—while Junae wasn’t exactly unfit, flexibility was her strong suit, not brute strength.

A nap really would do her good.  Sungyeol was right, a quick rest couldn’t hurt, could it?  Curling loosely and tucking her chin against her chest, Junae allowed herself to relax and close her eyes, sword next to her head to ward off any briers that might creep towards her while her guard was down.

It felt like measly minutes when Junae roused herself.  Stretching with a soft groan, she rolled onto her side and patted for her sword.

…only to find solid earth.

She bolted upright, looking around her frantically as panic rose like bile up .

Sungyeol was nowhere in sight—but her blade was.

Junae sprang to her feet, staring at the stranger sitting opposite her in the clearing.  “Who are you?”

The man peered up, apparently surprised that she’d awoken, but returned to his inspection of the weapon in his hands.  “A friend.”

“Oh really?” Junae queried skeptically, “Then what are you doing with my sword?  And what have you done with Sungyeol?”

“Worried I killed him?” he asked back.  He smirked in amusement.  “He was right about you.”

Junae frowned.  “You two know each other?”

Before the other could answer, there came a rustling to her left just as Sungyeol appeared, staff strapped diagonally across his back and a bloated leather bag in each hand.  “You’re up!” he greeted, smiling, “I see you’ve met Woohyun.  Got us water while you were out, lucky Woohyun found us huh?  Didn’t even know there was a creek running through here.”

“Real lucky,” Junae muttered, still suspicious of the newcomer.  Where had he even come from?  He couldn’t possibly think she’d believe he lived in these parts and just conveniently came running when he heard them crashing through.  Instead of questioning him, Junae simply held her hand out.  “Mind if I get my sword back?”

Sungyeol, who’d been rambling about how Woohyun predicted they’d reach the castle before nightfall if they proceeded in the correct direction, broke off abruptly.  He didn’t turn on Woohyun as Junae assumed, however.  He didn’t demand to know why Woohyun had taken it, or go off on a spiel about snatching the mark of a champion from her.

He merely marveled, “Well?”

Woohyun grinned, offering a thumbs-up.  “I think she’s good to go.”  Turning to Junae, he added, “Congratulations—you’ve passed your second test.”

Junae was floored, struck by an acute sense of déjà vu.  Passed doing what?

“You actually achieved it a while ago,” Woohyun informed her, “‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way,’ and whatnot.  The cliché.  You’ve heard of it, I trust.” 

Yes, but that didn’t mean she understood what he was getting at.

At Junae’s puzzled expression, he elaborated bluntly, “You fought your way through the vegetation most admirably.”

“Are you mocking me?”

Sungyeol hurried to her side, noting the way her nostrils flared—she was all too ready to leap at the other, but they had better things to worry about.  “Don’t let him get to you,” Sungyeol whispered to Junae, none too discreetly, “You should thank him for approving you.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re excused,” Woohyun piped cheerily.

Sungyeol shushed him, chucking a canteen at his head and ignoring the ensuing yelp.  “I wasn’t sure whether your sarcasm counted, so I asked him to confirm—you made your sword bend to your will, despite its reality.”

She had?

“Nothing grand, mind you,” Woohyun interjected, “I expect we’ll never see you spinning gold from straw, but I don’t think the forest will give you anymore trouble.”

Junae gaped, stunned.  “That’s it?”

Woohyun nodded solemnly, flipping the blade in his grasp and offering her the hilt.

She rounded on Sungyeol, hands on her hips and glaring daggers.  “You told me these would be dangerous trials!  Do you know how nervous you made me?”

“You assumed these were ‘dangerous trials’!” Sungyeol barked back.  He twisted his lips in an attempt to rein in his scowl, clearing his throat and recollecting himself.  “You’ve still got one challenge left—don’t think you’re safe yet.”

In spite of Sungyeol’s unmistakable warning, Junae was nevertheless unprepared for what awaited her beyond the tree line.