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The village was what Cameron liked to call an “enclosed space”. People could leave, but they would never return, and people would arrive, but then never leave the village. The whole place was encased by “the” forest, and as much as people spread whispers that one you passed it you were free, Cameron truly believed that those trees ate whatever human decided to navigate them.
At first the blonde did believe the stories as most of the children did, wondering what sort of life people were living outside of the village and the forest. That was, until one day when one of the hunters returned from one of his quick trips into the mass of trees. A few adults had gathered around him, and being curious, Cameron stuck his head into the circle.
“...Human bones…”
That broke his faith immediately. He couldn’t sleep for nights after, scared the branches would reach into his room and grab him. He confided in his mother, who only scoffed and said he was being over-dramatic. So what if their house was on the edge of the village? The trees couldn’t do anything to Cameron.
---
There weren’t a lot of other children in the village, so basically all of them lived in the same friendship circle. Cameron was a part of it, as well as the baker’s daughter, a somewhat shy, peach haired girl, and the tailor’s daughter, a very loud and bold red-head, and also a young boy named Blood, who was close to both the girls. Whilst they all played together, Cameron had an interest in more of the adult hobbies, such as hunting and horse-riding. If there was no use in being terrified of the forest, he might as well make it terrified of him if push came to shove.
A few weeks after the human bone incident though, Cameron heard something outside his house. The sound of footsteps? It was faint, but loud enough for him to hear. An intruder? People generally distrusted new faces in the village, but otherwise there was a mutual trust between everyone.
Carefully getting out of bed, he made his way outside, looking around. No, there was no one there- but he could still hear steps. Were they coming from behind him? From the…
From the forest.
“Is someone there?” He immediately demanded, grabbing the nearest object, a pitchfork, before then stepping towards the trees. “Reveal yourself at once !”
He remained standing there, looking rather serious before a hooded figure poked its head out from behind a tree. It was too dark to see the face of the person, but at the same time there seemed to be some familiarity about it. “Really? Don’t you know it’s dangerous to go in there at night. The forest eats people, and clearly you don’t even have a flame for company.” Cameron immediately threw himself into a lecture, which was met in return by innocent sounding laughter.
“Laughing? Really? Get out of there and go home where it’s safe.”
“Mm, but the forest is safe.”
“What?” The forest wasn’t safe, and Cameron knew that by immediate evidence. Something in there killed humans. “Don’t talk nonsense. Come, I’ll even escort you home.” He made an ushering gesture, but it only made the other step back away from him.
“Silly, it’s impossible to escort me home, I’m already here.” The person sounded to be rather matter-of-factly with that statement, and not wanting to hear Cameron rant any further, he ran off, deeper into the trees. “Hey-!”
“Who ARE you speaking too at this hour?” His mother’s voice yelled, grabbing his shoulder before the child could run into the trees. “There was someone in there- Ow!” He earned a quick smack on the back of the head, dropping the pitchfork. “No one is in the forest, Cameron. Just beasts that will eat you- and I’m tempted to throw them your bones if you start yelling at figures in the woods again!” The older woman huffed, dragging her useless son back indoors.
As Cameron looked behind him, no one was in those trees anymore.
---
Knowing that the adults weren’t on his side, he went to confide in his friends the next day about the odd person he saw. “Oh, I know, I know!” The red haired girl spoke up, grinning proudly. “It’s the wizard!”
“The wizard?” The baker’s daughter questioned.
“Yes! Now hear me out!” A silence fell over the other three children. “Mama told me there’s a wizard who lives in the forest! A lot of people don’t seem to like him though, but it turns out if you gain his trust, he’ll escort you out of the forest and into freedom! Although apparently it’s super expensive to gain it… which is why a lot of folk are saving their gold - so they can leave this village and bribe the wizard to help them escape!”
A wizard. He almost wanted to say did the wizard eat people, but for some reason he couldn’t exactly bring himself to ask whom he considered to be his friends.
“... The person I met last night didn’t resemble a wizard though. In fact, they kind of looked like someone I know.” He spoke up either way.
“Huh? Maybe it was someone you passed by in the village but don’t know! Didn’t a new huntsman family move in recently? Maybe it was their kid! Ah, speaking of! How about we go and meet him?” Blood said, smiling innocently afterwards. The girls both agreed, and after some consideration, Cameron joined in too.
The child of the huntsman family didn’t bare a resemblance at all. He turned out to be some bright haired, blue eyed charismatic child. Somehow his presence just annoyed Cameron.
---
For a few weeks after the incident, Cameron remained on guard, staying up late at night and watching the forest, in case the person appeared again. He never saw the figure again, although once or twice he did catch some foxes lurking about. They didn’t come into the village though, oddly enough.
---
Life went on as usual, years passed, and the children grew older into teenagers. Cameron had mastered horse riding at this point, and wasn’t so bad with a weapon in his hand either. Occasionally he would even go out with the group of huntsmen into the forest, but they never strayed too far from the village when bringing him along.
It was around this time that Blood’s parents decided they were going to leave the village. Blood of course had his older brother to still support him, but the decision seemed to really have created a divide in the family and their close friendship circles. Some people who knew better told them not to leave, but the couple insisted on going ahead. They wanted to secure a life outside of the forest before coming back to take their sons with them. It all caused a rather big scene.
Eventually they did leave, waving happily towards their sons as they wondered into the forest. Blood waved back but, Cameron could see his brother’s hand digging into his shoulder to stop the younger boy from chasing after them.
He really should have though, since Cameron ending up finding scraps of their mother’s clothing a month later.
---
This prompted the second time he met the mysterious figure.
---
As he stood between the intertwining trees, and the field of spider lilies that smell like something rotting than what you would expect the flowers to smell like, he noticed movement. Quickly taking out his crossbow, he aimed it towards the movement, wondering if it were one of the foxes or wolves he’d seen more frequently.
“Wooow~ You’ve grown your hair out!” A voice said before the person who owned said voice came into sight.
“..You.. Blood?”
Even though it was years ago, he did know the person felt familiar, but he wasn’t expecting someone who appeared exactly like his childhood friend. Obviously, this person wasn’t Blood though, despite the name escaping his lips. It was like looking at an imperfect copy of his friend. Or, a doppelganger.
“No, but I’d like to be him, you know?”
Somehow he felt as if he was told extremely important information.
“Right, how irresponsible of me. You’re not Blood. You’re some sort of doppelganger. Immediately I also get the feeling you aren’t human.”
The person smiled brightly, clapping his hands together before lowering his hood.
It was even more eerie to see his face so clearly. There didn’t seem to be a hint of life in his eyes. He was still smiling though, and Cameron knew if he closed his eyes when he smiled, it would look exactly the same as Blood. Whilst Cameron thought the forest was just dangerous, he never really considered a magic element. Even when he heard talk of a wizard, he didn’t think too hard about it - believing it to be just some old man who knew too much.
“Correct! But what I am is a liiiiittle hard to describe? As much as I would like to explain it, I also feel as if I can’t just yet. The stage isn’t exactly set for a big reveal! I shouldn’t even be talking to you, technically.”
That did set off Cameron’s curiosity, but it also made him irritated all too quickly. Shouldn’t eccentric forest beings have a little more respect for the passage of time? Had he just been caught slacking off?
“Why would you even show your face to me then? Now you’re really just wasting my time. If you don’t have something worth talking to me about, get away from me.” A pause. “If you potentially harm anyone in the village too - I will make you regret it, personally.” Sighing he started to walk away again, but not before hearing the doppelganger speak up.
“Hey, heeeeeey, before you go! Can you tell me your name?”
Cameron glanced back at him, frowning. “I will not give you the honor of knowing it unless you tell me yours first.”
A silence hung in the air for a good minute before the other spoke up.
“I don’t have one.”
“Then I won’t tell you mine.”
As if he would let whatever this was potentially steal his appearance as well.
---
By the time he returned back to the village, he’d almost completely forgotten about his discovery before unclenching his fist and seeing the clothing he’d taken earlier. He had the urge to tell Blood but, for some reason he found himself unable, and simply buried the scraps in his garden, saying a small prayer for wherever that woman may be.
---
Time passed again, as usual, Cameron kept an eye out for the hooded person, but he didn’t show his face. The huntsmen family that moved in all those years ago became the most reliable family in the town, with the youngest son being the center of the show. Cameron seemed to be relieved of the duties he’d picked up, and tried to find new hobbies to pass the time.
Occasionally he would wonder if he should leave the town too. His chances of survival would be higher than anyone else. He could brave it, but there was something keeping him anchored to this place; and he had no idea what that could be, as if some sort of invisible force was stopping him entirely from packing up and leaving.
Every now and then, he would catch Blood leave the town too for short periods of time, or strange figures wander around the outskirts; and whilst he swore they were foxes, he’d never seen a silver one before. A bear sighting was reported too, and the overwhelming feeling of danger began to hang in the air. There was some sort of storm approaching, and everyone knew it but refused to act upon it. They believed that the protectors of the town would do something; and if they avoided it, it wouldn’t affect them.
Of course, the more paranoid people did leave, never to be seen again. No one seemed to be moving into the town either, and the population slowly began to shrink. Whilst no one was moving in to stay, animals came in to linger. They would only appear at night, and some of them had forms that were eerily similar to a person, causing people to be confused at first glance. The huntsmen couldn’t seem to kick them out, but violence was threatened on multiple occasions between the two groups.
As tensions rose, it seemed to be the tipping point for a chance encounter to happen, again.
---
Cameron had just gotten back from helping the baker’s daughter for the day, watching as dusk fell over the unfortunate town. As he headed into his house - he had gotten his own place as soon as possible - he noticed that the front door was unlocked. Curious. Due to his knowledge about the forest, and the current state of the village, he had actually started locking the door to stop strangers from getting in. Clearly though, it was unlocked, sitting slightly ajar. Tch . If only he had some sort of weapon on him.
Carefully, he stepped inside his house, closing the door behind him and locking it, effectively trapping whomever was in here with him. Whilst he was expecting to surprise the intruder, they seemed to gleefully announce themselves, a familiar face with dark hair poking its head around the corner.
“Welcome home!”
His fight or flight reaction was to attack it, so without a single beat he hit the doppelganger over the head, causing him to fall on the ground and look at him like an injured animal. “Hey~ That was mean! You’re a meanie! I know you’re just paranoid but that means you can go around hitting people!”
“You broke into my house, and you expected me to welcome you in with open arms? And now you’re acting like a child - that should have knocked you out.”
Doppelganger whined a little before standing himself up, brushing himself off as if nothing had actually happened. “I can’t be killed that easily-” Ah, so he had been hit hard enough to know Cameron had intention to kill. “Anyway, I thought I should… thank you, for being there for me.”
“Please tell me you are kidding. This is our third encounter.”
“Mm, I guess this is the third time we’ve properly spoken, huh? But, Cameron , I’ve known you almost your whole life. It’s important I know you, right? Since you are Blood’s friend.”
“You knew my name this whole time? So you were wasting my breath back then.” He had been tricked, almost. If he hadn’t had his wits about him during that time many moons ago… but what was the point in asking him for his name when it appeared he knew it the entire time?
He was trying to make conversation.
A wheel started to turn in his head, whilst their exchanged words were few, based on appearances, mixed definitely with his paranoia… a sinking feeling happened in his stomach.
“What exactly are you planning?”
“Oh? Do I have to repeat myself now? Human hearing really isn’t reliable..” He sighed. “I’m thanking you for being there for me! I know how you’ve watched out for me in the window for nights on end. Whilst you couldn’t see me, I could definitely see you. Even when Alvin started trying to figure me out, and I had to hide for a little bit - I’d make the effort, you know? I wanted to practice being stubborn about something!” He chuckled softly. “But Blood isn’t as stubborn as I’ve learnt to try and be… maybe I overdid it a little. Oh well!”
“That doesn’t explain anything, at all. Somehow you’ve completely dodged the question. Answer me. What are you planning?”
Green eyes seemed to look right into his soul, despite appearing themselves to have none of their own. The only thing they were filled with was greed. If this person was intending to be like Blood, their personality was already way off.
“I can’t tell you that.” The smile disappeared from his face.
Stepping forward, Cameron grabbed the front of his shirt, lifting him up and pinning him against the wall. He was expecting a thud, but instead it was more soft, like a plush animal bumped against the wood instead of what should be a person. “You will tell me. Clearly you have ulterior moviations, and you’ve sought myself out. Why did you come here? And you will tell me the truth this time.”
The black hooded man raised his arms, gently pushing Cameron back, causing him to let go. He was awfully strong, but he should have expected that. This person wasn’t a human, and despite trying to study magic with the extremely limited resources available, he still had no idea what he actually was. Why did he have Blood’s face? Over time it was obvious he was aging at the same rate his friend was, copying how he was living. Did.. Did Blood’s brother know of this? A person who had a bad reputation now seeing as he’d been found out engaging in deals with the humanoid animals that came through the village. Blood’s brother had been effectively shunned by most of the community now - so it wasn’t possible he knew, actually.
For some reason, he felt it everything could be traced back to the person standing in front of him, looking down on him with an empty smile.
“Okay, maybe I did lie. Just a tiny bit. It’s a thing people do, right? To protect themselves? Odd tactic, since everyone just wants the truth anyway.” He chuckled, tilting his head to the side. “But I’m saying goodbye, Cameron. I think I’m old enough now to do what I want, isn’t that exciting?” Clapping his hands together, he then took a bow, speaking still as he straightened himself up. “And I thought, since I’ve spoken to you before, why don’t I actually say it? Although it’s a little silly saying goodbye, knowing I’ll definitely see you again- oops! That’s a story for another time!”
“What are you talking about-” There was something sinister in this person’s voice. “I demand you to explain yourself, again. Final warning.”
“Hmm? I just did. Jeeez, you really don’t pay attention, do you? Here I thought you were the more attentive of Blood’s companions too. Guess you need to work on that a little, don’t you?” He laughed, starting to make his way towards... the back door. Shit . Cameron hadn’t prepared for that possible exit route.
Following after him, he tried to grab that black cape, missing it entirely. When did this doppelganger get to move so fast? Before he knew it, the blonde had followed him out the door and all the way to the edge of his garden, which bordered on the forest - both of them coming to a stop when they got to the fenceline.
“Cameron. Remember when I said I didn’t have a name?”
“Yes, I do recall that. I also recall telling you that I wouldn’t give you mine until you told me yours; but I figured that little bet is off.” Since he quite obviously knew what his name was this whole time.
“I do have a name now! It’s a little on-the-nose, but it may potentially change soon!” He chuckled, booping his own nose as he spoke. “It’s Black Hood!”
That sinking feeling in his stomach returned; as if hearing those two words made the world feel as if it was crashing down. “You are correct, it’s very on point. What did you mean by ‘potentially changing soon’?” He had to get to the bottom of this, getting the most information from this brief encounter as possible.
“Ooops, another secret! Maybe Alvin could explain it to you, you know - if he’s still around and feels like it later!” It appears the look on Cameron’s face prompted the next words that came out of Black Hood’s mouth. “The wizard - he’s real! Blood knows him actually, weird - Alvin won’t tell him about his dead parents though.”
So he knew that too. “But really, I have to be going. You be good now, Cameron, okay?”
“Wait-” He managed to grab the hood this time, when Black Hood turned around to leave in another attempt, catching a surprised look on the other’s face. “I do not know entirely what you are up too, but I cannot allow for such a being as yourself to roam freely. You will surrender yourself to this village at once, and let us have peace once again.”
Black Hood blinked in surprise, thinking this offer over for a good while before shaking his head. “I’m afraid I’ll be turning you down, dear friend.”
From the bottom of his vision, Cameron then noticed spider lilies growing from the ground. Where did they come from? “Did you-?” He tightened his grip on the cape, only for the opposite to happen. His strength was failing him, actually.
As quickly as the lilies grew, he lost consciousness. The last thing he saw was Black Hood leaning over him, offering the most honest sad smile he’d seen from the man. Maybe he had wanted Cameron’s help, but effectively never had the chance to figure out how to ask for it.
“The forest is always watching.”
---
When Cameron finally came too, Blood was gone, and in the place where his house used to be was a field of spider lilies.
There was nothing that could have been done at the end of the day. He wasn’t the main character of this story.