Victoria\'s POV

The library had an absolutely enormous collection, it was too much to go through. I sheaved through the pages of the books in the ancient history section, but none of them contained any information about this enchanted forest. I didn\'t even know what they were actually called. Donald had been very discreet, and the only thing that I knew was that this place is secretly hidden in plain sight.

Now, how does that even make any sense? How can a place be hidden and at the same time be in plain sight? My head hurt from trying to remember exactly what Donald had said, but I couldn\'t reproduce it all. Maybe, I need to go back and consult him again. Right now, I busied myself searching through the text.

"How can people study so much?" Jake groaned from time to time, "if I had studied so much for my exams, I wouldn\'t be struggling to graduate!"

His comment drew a cool look from Maland, who was entirely suspicious of everything we were doing. I was amazed, in fact, that he had agreed to help us, instead of running to Sofosys and complaining about our stupid research.

Something was different about him, and I must say, I kinda like this new rule breaking side of Maland.

"Guys, guys! I think I might have found something." Mike called from far away.

Following the trail of his voice, we came to the most distant part of the library, where books that were covered in cobweb were lying around. I guess this part of the library is rarely visited by people, that too the ones who were intense scholars. No wonder that Mike should find his answer here.

As expected, my brother sat among a pile of books, his arms were covered in dust and grime and he furiously shuffled through the pages. When we came, he lifted his head and immediately stood up in great excitement.

"Look!" He said, flinging an ancient and tattered book towards me. I carefully took it from his hand, the book was so fragile that the pages were coming out of the binding and would tear at the simplest effort. I tenderly opened the page that he had marked, and started reading.

"Fiendora, The Goddess of peace, had created the Enchanted forest in the ancient times. The creation of the forest had collided exactly with the time that life came into Earth. Precisely, human life, because the Goblins were thought to exist much before humanity had invaded Earth. In fact, Fiendora was a Goblin herself, and through the creation of the Forest, she tried to uplift her race.

For a long time, The Enchanted forest was considered a thing of Folklore. But recent studies in Cosmology and folktale had come up with the evidence that it might exist. And not only that, it might be vastly powerful."

The next page had descriptions about the Goddess Fiendara, her several husbands and accounted her role in the establishment of the Lunar cycle. There were vivid pictures of the Goddess, sometimes in a tiara and sometimes with a halo over her head.

The more I read through the text, the more frustrated I got. Except the initial mention of the Enchanted forest, there was nothing in the text that would further our knowledge. The only thing we knew was that this Goddess had created it. Now what? There was no location given in the book, no mention of how one should find it. I handed it over to Mike, and started pacing the room in a furious speed.

"We are at a dead end again." I said to myself, "maybe….maybe Donald has some information about this forest. I should go to him again." I thought.

So, the decision was made in my head.

I turned to the other and announced, "There\'s something I need to do. I need to go back to the place from where I had come, and in the meantime, continue searching for any more clues. I\'ll back in a few hours so don\'t worry."

Mike looked like he was going to protest, so I shut him down with a stare. He grumbled something under his breath, but Maland didn\'t look too convinced.

"Don\'t you think one of us should accompany you? Maybe I should go too." He said.

"No need." I said quickly, "It\'s an enchanted area, and not everyone can tolerate being there. I can take care of myself, no problem. Moreover, you should be here Maland, taking care of Jake and Mike."

Reluctantly he agreed, and so I quickly created the portal and started my journey before any of them can raise further questions.

The journey was uncomfortable, but this time I was prepared for it. As I landed on the hard ground of the forest, it took me a while to catch my breath. Then, my vision cleared and I could see the forest in front of me.

Donald\'s hut lay at the corner of it, just as I had left it. And, inside it would be Magnus. I heart leaped at the thought of seeing him again, and I somehow managed to suppress it.

I entered the hut to find Magnus sitting at the cot, sipping on something hot. Donald was busy cooking the meal in his kitchen, and as Magnus\' eyes met mine, his familiar smirk returned. He looked much better than before, the colour had returned to his face and the bags under his eyes were beginning to disappear.

"Ah! Victoria, come here. I know I must have embarrassed you earlier, but I had warned you that this place can be cruel. Atleast, you didn\'t have to deal with it\'s cruelty." Magnus said airily.

I sat by his side on the cot, and narrowed my eyes.

"You look well, Donald must have taken good care of you." I said.

"Ah that old fool!" He said softly, "Yeah, he owes that to me I guess. We have been long acquintences."

I didn\'t know what to make of it but I didn\'t prod further. We sat in complete silence for a while, as I considered how to broach the topic to him.

"So, your mother." I said finally, "I am sorry she had died. You...you were talking a great deal about her."

Magnus\' expression changed and his face stiffened at the mention of his mother. He looked away from me, and when he spoke, his voice shivered, "Wha-at did I say?"

"You were whimpering." I added softly, "begging someone to stop beating her. Then, you were talking to someone, referring to him as your father and you vowed to bring Mafhaelore down. You...you were scheming to manipulate Cassie. Then, you were furious when your father tried to kill her."

"Did I really say all that?" His expression was unreadable as he looked at me.

"Yes." I said, "and you were muttering a lot of things. I couldn\'t make out everything, but I could gather this much that you are the legal heir of Arphoelus and the King had betrayed you too."

Magnus shot me a sharp look and then immediately looked away.

"I don\'t know what you are saying. I must have been delirious with fever, so I was uttering gibberish. None of it was true. I don need any sympathy from you!" He said.

"Hey, it\'s okay. You don\'t have to be embarrassed or something. I know how it feels to have parents who rejected you and shove you away from themselves. And then, to discover that everything you knew in your life was a big fat lie! I grew up as an orphan too, and trust me when I say, I know exactly how you feel. "

"You know nothing!" Magnus said sharply, "You can never know how I feel. No one can!"

He kept quiet after that sudden outburst, but I didn\'t probe him further.

After a while, he said in a strained voice, "I am sorry. I... I shouldn\'t have behaved like this, I know it\'s not your fault that you had to hear all that. I... I never wanted anyone to know. It\'s just something I don\'t like to think about."

I nodded, understanding Magnus for the first time, maybe. Then, with a snicker I added, "Now, don\'t assume that I have started liking you. You are still the same deplorable person as before, and if you try to escape, I am still going to kill you."

A slight cough brought my attention back and I looked around to see Donald standings before us. He had a coy smile on his face, and he held two cups containing the thick hot fluid that Magnus was drinking.

"Drink these." He instructed Magnus, "and you\'ll regain your original strength."

Then, he looked at me and said, "So what\'s the news? Did you find something about the Enchanted Forests?"

I told him everything we had discovered and asked him if he could tell us how to reach it.

Donald nodded his head, "I didn\'t even know this much. How can I help you? Only Ancient Historians go through such books, so they may have some knowledge about this place."

Unfortunately, I knew no Ancient Historians.

"If only I could ask Sofosys. He seems quite knowledgeable. But, I bet he would be busy in the war." I grimaced.

"Wait." Magnus suddenly said frowning, "Ancient Historian, did you say? Why, Cassie\'s father is one! I mean, Victoria\'s father too... but that\'s not the point. He is very knowledgeable and he has probably studied every history book that there is. We can ask him, and I am sure he\'s not busy with the war, as he isn\'t much of a warrior himself."

This idea was great. I smirked at Magnus and said, "So you\'ll help us then?"

He returned my smile and answered, "Of course! But first we need to go back to Earth."