A long time ago, there stood a small village on the outskirts of a great kingdom. Many families were proud to call this village home, including Qailah and her very dear mother. 

    Qailah was a girl like many other girls in her village. She read, played games, and helped her mother with the daily chores. However, there was one thing that set Qailah apart from everybody else. Unlike her friends, she had a brave heart and a strong mind. She loved researching new creatures, getting descriptions of them, and drawing them on the browned pages of her journal. She called this journal her bestiary and took it with her wherever she went. Especially when she traversed to the Midnight Woods. 

    "Qailah," Her mother would say, exhausted. "You need to be more careful when you're in those woods." 

    The little girl would just smile, knowing that very soon after, her mother would praise the work that she had done. Nothing made Qailah happier than adventuring, drawing, or discovering new creatures. Her mother knew this, and because of her deep love for her daughter, looked upon the drawings and discoveries happily. 

    The midnight woods were home to many strange creatures. From the tiniest of faeries to the largest griffin, Qailah found beauty and intrigue in each new discovery. 

    One bright Summer day, Qailah strolled through the marketplace. In her hand, she held a list of ingredients that her mother had sent her to fetch. But as she roamed the market and picked up the goods, her thoughts wandered to the Midnight Forest, daydreaming of all the creatures she had not yet discovered. 

    "Watch out!" Screamed a familiar voice, right as Qailah collided with something. 

    "Ugh," Qailah groaned, rubbing her arm where she had hit the person. When she looked up, she saw none other than her rival, Gavin. Gavin, too, had an interest in the Midnight Woods. But unlike Qailah, he himself was never quite brave enough to make it deep into the forest. Qailah, however, had seen him sneak a peek at her bestiary more than once. She tucked her bestiary under her arm protectively. "Gavin." She greeted him.

    "Qailah." He did not offer her a hand when she went to stand up again. "I'm sure you're headed off soon."

    This confused Qailah. "Where would I be going?" 

    "Why," Gavin sneered. "You haven't heard about the quest that the King posted?" 

    Without wasting another second, Qailah took off, not even bothering to say goodbye to Gavin. She was running towards a big board at the center of town, where new quests were posted almost every day. There, right in the center of the board, was a quest posted from the King himself! 

    He was looking for archivists to venture into the Midnight Woods? Qailah did that all the time! She had to complete this quest for the King, especially before Gavin had the opportunity to. 

By royal decree of the King

Archivists wanted for completion of bestiary on creatures of the Midnight Woods

Reward: 1,000 shillings

    With her new quest in mind, Qailah took off running again, this time in the direction of her house.

    "Mom! Mom!" Qailah shouted as she slammed open the front door.

    Her poor mother, scared half to death, turned quickly. "What happened?! Are you hurt?"

    The girl shook her head hard, her curly hair bouncing all over. "No! The King posted a new quest. He's looking for archives to fill out a bestiary from the Midnight Woods!" 

    Her mother could see how excited she was, but still, her face was twisted up with nervousness. "Oh, Qailah," She sighed. "You're already out in those woods so much, you could really get yourself hurt."

    "Please, mom! I work so hard already to fill out my bestiary, and now the King is rewarding people for it!" Qailah begged her mother, her hands clasped together. 

    Of course, her mother could not deny something that made her daughter so very happy. With a short laugh, her mother agreed. Qailah was so happy, she jumped all around, a wide grin spread across her face. 

    Qailah spent the next few minutes gathering her things. New pencils, erasers, sharpeners, and of course, her trusty bestiary. She gave her mother a kiss on the cheek and then ran out the door towards the Midnight Woods.

    In the woods, Qailah encountered many creatures that she hadn't before. She met little sleepy mushroom creatures, pet majestic unicorns, and watched from afar as a family of cockatrices fed on wild berries. 

    But it was strange. Since she had gotten into the forest, she had a feeling that someone was watching her. The hair stood up on the back of her neck, and she felt eyes on her wherever she went. Whenever she turned around, though, there was nobody to be seen.

    It was getting to be midday- Qailah could tell because the sun was almost straight over her head- when she came across a big, open field. White and yellow flowers were speckled all about, and the smell of perfume filled the air. Maybe in this field, she could find some faeries! Or even tiny gnomes! 

    She stepped closer towards the middle of the field, but as she did, she felt the ground wobble beneath her. When she looked down, she noticed the flowers had begun to twirl and twist around her feet. They moved slowly up her legs until they were able to pull her down. When she hit the ground, her bestiary flew from her hand and landed a few feet away. She then realized that these flowers must have been some kind of trap. 

    Rustling came from the bushes nearby, but she could not see who (Or what!) came out of the bushes until they entered her field of view.

    "Hah!" A voice laughed. "I can't believe you fell for my trap!" Gavin walked around to Qailah's face, a big grin stretching from one ear to the other. 

    "Gavin! Let me out of here!" Qailah screamed. 

    Instead of helping Qailah, Gavin walked forward and picked up her bestiary. "You're actually very good at drawing and writing about these creatures. Too bad you're stuck here. I guess someone else will just have to deliver this bestiary to the King..." 

    "Let me guess," Qailah rolled her eyes. "You're going to leave off the part where it's actually my bestiary, huh?" 

    Gavin laughed. "You'd be right!" 

    As he was walking away, though, the pair could hear something off in the distance. It was thunderous, quaking, and deep. 

    "What is that?" Gavin's voice quivered. 

    Qailah thought for a moment. She closed her eyes to take in more of the sound, trying her hardest to focus on it. Then, all of a sudden, she knew what it was. 

    "Footsteps." 

    The boy looked shocked, glancing all around them. "B-But... They're so loud!" 

    "Whoever's stomping around must be big." Qailah murmured. 

    She knew that they had little time to waste, so she began working on tearing the flowers off of her legs. Gavin, noticing that she was struggling to work quickly, bent down to help her.

    "Oh, so now all of a sudden you're helping me?" 

    "As long as you help me get out of here, I'll do anything!" 

    They were mostly through getting the flowers off of her legs when they heard the stomping grow impossibly louder. Close by, trees were starting to topple over, one by one. The cracks of the trunks snapping in two echoed through the field. 

    Qailah yelled, "Faster!" 

    Right then, as the last flower was plucked from her foot, a giant beast made its way into the field! 

    "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear..." Gavin repeated, frozen in place from fear.

    Qailah, sensing that Gavin wouldn't be able to come up with help for a plan, took it upon herself to look around. 

    She took a deep breath, calmed her beating heart, and surveyed the area around them. Everywhere flowers sprouted and bloomed, and beyond the beast were more deep woods. But behind them, Qailah saw a golden opportunity.

    "There!" She shouted, pointing behind them. "There's a cave there! Let's make a run for it!" 

    But as she began to run, she noticed that Gavin was still frozen in place. He stared up at the beast in awe, his mouth agape. Although she wasn't fond of him, she knew that leaving him to deal with the beast on his own was a death sentence. With a roll of her eyes, she ran towards him, scooped his hand up into hers, and dragged him along towards the cave. They barely made it inside before the monster swooped his giant claws at them.