As the pair were walking through the forest, Calin continuously pestered Karina with an endless stream of questions.
“How long have you been living in the woods?”
“For as long as I can remember.”
“Where are your parents?”
“I don’t know. I never met them.”
“Do any other people live here?”
“Look, I really don’t know! Now would you please just shut up and stop asking stupid questions that I can’t answer?!”
The pair walked in silence for a few moments, neither one saying a thing, until Calin, unable to contain himself, said “How big is the forest?”
“AAAAGGHH!” Karina shrieked in utter frustration and started running.
“Wait!” Calin panted as he attempted to keep pace with his new friend. “I can’t keep up with you!”
Karina whirled around, stalked up to Calin and said in a hushed voice that quickly came close to becoming a scream, “If you don’t shut up and stop asking these stupid pointless questions, I’ll leave you behind, all alone, and you’ll never get back!” Then she stomped off through the forest, leaving poor Calin trotting along behind her, keeping pace as best he could.
When they made camp that night, Karina felt kind of bad about yelling at her young friend, so she said, “Hey, you know pretty much everything about me. Why don’t you tell me something about your life?”
Realizing that Karina was attempting to make amends for her outburst earlier in the day, Calin smiled and nodded as he began to describe his life at the castle with his older brother. As she listened, fascinated, Karina began to long for the luxurious life that her companion was describing. A warm, soft bed, three hot meals every day; to Karina, it seemed as though Calin were describing the life she had always dreamed of.
Pulling herself out of her reverie, she looked at Calin and said, “What about your mother and father? Where are they? Do they live with you?”
The young magician’s smile faded as he told her, “They’re dead. About a month after I was born, a horrible disease swept through the kingdom. That was when the royal magician my brother was apprenticed to died. My brother was only eight, but he’s super powerful and took over for him. Both Mama and Papa died as well. Now my big brother takes care of both of us.”

Both children sat in silence for a moment, then Karina said, “That means we’re kind of the same. We’re both orphans.”

“I guess so,” said Calin. “But I have my big brother to take care of me. Who do you have?”

Karina started to say something, then paused, thinking. After a while, she realized that she couldn’t answer Calin’s question. Even after Calin had fallen asleep, Karina stayed up long into the night, mulling it over in her mind. Who do I have?

***

Caligo was exhausted.

He had been staying up late every night for weeks, searching his mind and the royal libraries for some, any idea as to how he could locate his little brother. He could count the hours of sleep he had gotten in the past few days on one hand.

As the king’s magician, he was supposed to help the king and his subjects whenever there was a task or a need that couldn’t be completed or filled by mundane means. Now the requests had begun piling up, all of them simple things he deemed unimportant compared to the matter of his brother. But the king demanded that he take care of these things immediately, no matter how unimportant he thought they were. Caligo thought he had found a new lead, one that might lead to his brother’s rescue, but he was forbidden to follow up on that lead until he had completed all the tasks assigned to him. So he decided he would finish the tasks as quickly as possible,then resume the search for his brother. Just.... as soon... as he got... some....*yawn*....sleep......

As Karina and Calin traveled through the forest, Karina delighted in showing Calin the many wonders of her home. She showed him huge, roaring waterfalls with rainbows sparkling in the mist at the bottom; gigantic, ancient trees taller and wider than five full grown men could reach; caves full of sparkling, iridescent crystals. When she showed him each new sight, the look of pure wonder on her young friend’s face made her feel as happy as she had when she had first discovered these new things. He had made her stare wide-eyed and wondering as he described his world; now she could do the same thing as she showed him hers.

As they neared the edge of the forest, Karina said, “You know, we’re almost there. Do you think you can find your way back once you get out of the woods?”

“Of course,” he replied. “You said there was a town near the edge, right?”

“Yeah”

“I’ll probably just find a traveling merchant or something, and hitch a ride back to the palace.” He paused for a moment then said, “What about you? What will you do?”

“I’ll probably just go back to the forest,” she replied. She didn’t want to go back, but she knew that despite the fact that Calin had become a friend, her first and only friend, she couldn’t possibly go back to the palace with him. A person like her could never fit in with palace life. They continued walking in silence for a moment, then Calin said, “What if you came with me?”

Taken aback by the sudden suggestion, Karina said, “But--you live at the palace, right? I could never fit in there!”

“Sure you could,” the young magician said smiling. “I could show you how to talk and act and everything.”

“You would do that... for me?” Karina was stunned. She had just met this person less than a week ago, and yet he was offering to take her back to the palace and teach her manners! “But--what would I do?” she stammered. “I mean-- you and your brother are magicians and stuff, but I’ve got no position at the palace.”

Calin grinned. “I bet the hunt master would love a new apprentice.”

Karina stood speechless for a moment, then grabbed her friend and hugged him as tightly as she could. “Calin, you’re the best friend ever!”

“Karina--I--can’t--breath!”

“Oh, sorry!” she said and quickly released him, because it looked as though his face had begun to turn blue. As he gasped for breath, Calin said, “I’m glad you’re happy, but sometimes I think you forget your own strength!”

Karina laughed. “I guess I do. I’ll have to change that when I’m living with you and your brother at the palace.”

Calin smiled and said, “I wonder what Caligo will think of you...”

“Who?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” Calin laughed softly. “I guess I must have forgotten. My brother’s name is Caligo.” He smacked himself on the forehead saying, “I just remembered: we’re also gonna have to find a room for you.”

“Why can’t I share your room?” asked Karina.

“....... are you seriously asking me that, or are you just joking?”

“I’m totally serious,” she said, giving him a curious and slightly confused look. Calin leaned over and whispered something in Karina’s ear, and then she turned and gave him another slightly confused look. He sighed, and, feeling rather exasperated with Karina’s ignorance, whispered something else to her. After hearing this she blushed furiously, then smacked Calin upside the head and said, “That’s disgusting! You’re disgusting!” She paused, then said, “All boys are disgusting!”

“It’s not MY idea!” Calin said indignantly. “I--Iherdifruthkicnmads,” he muttered.

“...... are you trying to speak another language?”

“NO! I said I-- Ihearditfromthekitchenmaids.”

“..........come again?”

“ I HEARD IT FROM THE KITCHEN MAIDS!”

“Jeez, there’s no need to scare the birds away.”

“B--I-- Oh forget it,” Calin said, his face turning the same color as Karina’s hair.

Karina laughed and said, “Okay, I get the point. You’ll have to find a different room for me.” She sat quietly for a moment, then said, “Wait a second. Why were you listening to kitchen maids in the first place?”

“I was--my brother---I just--they said I--”

“Oh, just shut up. I don’t think I really even want to know.” She started giggling, then laughing. “But I bet I can guess!”

“Oh, shut up!” said Calin, his face turning an even brighter shade of crimson.

***

Caligo was dreaming.

In his dream, he was in a forest. Sunlight filtered through the leafy canopy above, turning everything a golden shade of green. As he watched, his little brother appeared, being led through the woods by a little girl with curly red hair. As he passed, Calin said, “Don’t worry, big brother. I’ll be home soon.”

As he watched, Calin was pulled deeper into the forest, quickly disappearing from sight. Caligo tried to follow, but he couldn’t move. He tried to call out to his brother, but his mouth refused to make a sound.

He awoke in a cold sweat, wondering at the significance of the dream. Could it be a clue as to the whereabouts of his younger brother? He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, then rolled over and tried to fall back asleep. But despite his best effort, Caligo couldn’t keep his mind from racing, trying to figure out if and how this dream could help him find Calin.

Karina and Calin walked through the small town outside the forest, with Calin leading Karina this time, and Karina pestering him with a dozen questions about every new thing she saw, no matter how regular and mundane the young magician thought it to be. He was bombarded with an endless stream of “What’s that?”s, “What’s it do?”s, and “How’s it work?”s each time something new appeared.

Eventually he told her, “Look, why don’t we just find that merchant we were talking about, okay?” for the pair had been receiving some curious glances from the locals and he wished to remove himself from their critical gazes.

When they reached the marketplace, Calin immediately spotted the traveling merchant with his wheeled cart and pack mule. He pulled Karina away from where she was eying several pieces of rather expensive-looking jewelery (despite her protests of “But I want it!”) and began haggling with the traveling merchant over the price for passage to the next major city. He ended up having to part with one of his sliver buttons (that had miraculously managed to stay on his coat while he had been traveling through the forest), but they had a ride.

As they traveled the next day, the endless stream of questions from Karina continued. After answering several particularly absurd ones, including, “What’s that big black-and-white thing?”, Calin said, “Don’t you know anything about anywhere outside of the forest?”

“Not really,” she replied. “I’ve only ever lived in the forest. This is the first time I’ve ever left it.”

“Then how did you learn to talk?”

Karina thought for a moment. Then the wagon went over a particularly nasty bump, and the pair was tossed backwards into the piles of packages. As she pulled herself upright, Karina said, “I’m not sure. I’ve just always known how.”

Calin sat up and said, “Have you always known how to sew, too?” He pointed at her dress, which was made of neatly stitched-together deer skins.

"No," she laughed. "I actually found this in the forest. I've always gotten clothes like that."

Calin frowned. "Always?"

"Yeah," Karina said. "Every time I got too big for something, a new dress would appear somewhere in the forest where I would find it."

"Weird,” said Calin. “Well, you’ll have to get some new clothes in the next town.”

“Why? This dress fits fine.”

The young magician examined the tattered dress, which had become rather dirty and full of holes.”Uh...you can’t really just walk into the King’s palace wearing....that.”

“Why?”

“It’s....well, it’s just that....Look, you need new clothes, okay? Just accept it and stop asking so many questions.”

Throughout the rest of the day, despite Calin’s request, continued to inquire about the passing landscape. She refused to stop until Calin pulled himself into another corner of the wagon, covered his head in packages, and refused to speak another word.

The first stop they made in the next town was the seamstress’s shop, to purchase the new dress that Karina so badly needed. A simple cotton dress dyed a light forest green was chosen, and once the seamstress had made a few minor adjustments, Karina twirled around in front of Calin and said, “What do you think?”
With the green of the dress and Karina’s red hair Flying around her, Calin said the first thing that came to his mind : “You look like a tomato.”
Karina immediately stopped twirling and turned on Calin, her face as red as her hair. “What did you just say?”
Calin started shaking with barely suppressed mirth, then began laughing out loud. “Now you look even more like a tomato.”
Karina shrieked in rage and sprinted towards him. Calin ran out of the shop, laughing loudly. She chased him all through town, and it wasn’t until several fervent apologies from Calin (prompted by several death threats from Karina) had been delivered that Karina calmed down enough to laugh with him.

“You know,” he said, after they had both calmed down, “We’ll probably reach the capitol sometime tomorrow.” He paused. “We’ll be going home.

In the silence that followed his announcement, they both contemplated what reaching the capitol and the castle would mean to them. To Calin, It simply meant returning; coming back after being away. But to Karina, it meant far more; it meant that she would have a home for the first time in her life. And it would be real home, not just a little campsite in the forest; a place where she would always be sure of when her next meal was, and have something different to wear every day instead of just one dress until that wore out, and maybe, just maybe, a home with family, a family that loved her and cared for her and that would never leave her.

As the afternoon wore on, and they continued along the road, she kept thinking about it, for it was something that she’d never even thought of before, let alone have it practically dangling right in front of her. What will it be like? she wondered. How will it feel to have a family?

Calin and Karina began the long trek up the the road that lead to the castle. It had taken them hours just to reach the gate, and it was now nearly sunset. after Calin had shown the royal seal on his coat to the guard at the gate, the pair had been admitted immediately, and a messenger had been sent to inform Caligo of his brother’s return. Now, as the sun began to sink below the horizon, the royal magician burst through the castle doors and began sprinting towards his brother. Calin also began to run, with Karina hurrying to keep up. As the brothers met, Caligo grabbed his brother in a hug that looked almost like a strangle hold and said, “Where have you been, you stupid little troll?”
Calin laughed. “I’ve missed you, too, Caligo.” Then the magician caught sight of Karina. “Who’s this?” he asked, releasing his younger brother.
“This is Karina,” said Calin, going to stand beside his friend. “She helped me get out of the forest when I was lost.” Karina curtsied, just like Calin had told her before they had arrived.
“Why is she here with you?”
‘’Cause I asked her if she wanted to come back here with me when we got to the edge of the forest,” said Calin. “If she hadn’t helped me, I probably would have been lost in that forest forever. It was the only way I could think of to repay her.” He grinned. “Besides, she’s loads of fun to travel with.”
“‘She’ is also very hungry and would appreciate taking this discussion somewhere that food is available.” Karina crossed her arms, both impatient and annoyed.

Caligo chuckled. “I can see why you like her,” he said to Calin. “Come on,” he said, motioning for the two younger children to follow. “It’s still too early for dinner, but I bet we can find something in the kitchen.”

Once all three had gotten something to eat and were settled in large, fireside armchairs in the library, Karina wanted some answers.”How and why did Calin end up in my forest? And why my forest? Why not up in the mountains or something?”

“The first question I can answer,” Caligo replied, leaning back in his armchair. “Sometimes, when young magicians come into their powers, their magic goes wild, so to speak. They perform feats of magic unconsciously and uncontrollably, and are often unable to remember how it was done or even that they did it at all.” He paused for a moment, glancing at his brother, then continued. “In this case, Caligo unconsciously transported himself into your forest in his sleep.”

“As for your second question, I’m not really sure. Perhaps it was something about you or your forest that drew him to you. Do you know if you have any magic in your blood? In certain cases similar to this one, young magicians have ended up in the houses of other magicians or even in the trees of forest sprites.”

Karina stared into the fire for a moment before answering, “I don’t know. I might.” She turned towards Caligo and said, “I never knew my parents. I might have some magic in me.”

Caligo frowned. “But if you do, we’d have no way to tell until it began to develop.” He sighed and ran his fingers through his jet-black hair. “All we can do is watch and wait, for now.”

“Well, until then, I have other things I want to learn,” said Karina, hopping down from her chair. “Like, Calin told me these things are called ‘books’,” she said, pointing at the towering shelves. “and you’re supposed to ‘read’ them. How do you do that?”

Caligo raised an eyebrow and turned to his younger brother. “She’s been living in the forest for as long as she can remember,” said Calin. “What did you expect?”

Caligo sighed and shook his head, then smiled unexpectedly. This situation had brought to mind a memory from a few years earlier, when Calin had brought home a puppy he had found on the palace grounds and begged Caligo to keep it. He stood up and, telling Calin to keep an eye on Karina, went to talk with the king. They were going to need an extra room.

***

The next few weeks at the castle were very hectic for Karina. She was moved into a new room, right next to Calin and Caligo’s, and since the only clothing she had was the green dress she had gotten, she had to be fitted for an entirely new wardrobe. Then there were the lessons; reading and writing, a bit of math and Latin from Caligo and Calin, and of course the lessons in court mannerisms, which were given to her by one of the lady’s maids, and, once she had officially been apprenticed to the huntsman, foresting lessons. Altogether, they made for a very crowded schedule for Karina.

But there were times, like when Caligo taught her a new word or phrase in Latin, or when she chased Calin around the library for laughing at a mispronounced word when she was reading, or even laughing at Calin when he made milk come out his nose at the dinner table, that she felt something inside that she’d never felt before. And it wasn’t until she was lying in bed after another busy day that she realized what it was: love.

Love for her new life, where she had fresh clothes each day, a warm bed to sleep in, hot food for each meal, and some new exciting thing to do each and every day. Love for her new adopted brothers, and a family that loved her and cared for her, and would never leave her. She snuggled down deep into her warm covers and thought, so this is what it’s like to have a family. As she drifted off into sleep, she smiled and yawned, saying to herself, I think I like it.

Time passed, and Karina went on new adventures, and discovered new things about the world and about herself. She experienced and learned things she never would have known if she had stayed in the forest. Years later, she would look back on the first adventure and realize, None of this ever would have happened if that little black-haired boy hadn’t shown up in my forest that day. She grinned, thinking, Lucky for me he did.