May 17, 1187
Most of the Naronians were wary about the forests. Searle didn't understand a lot of things, but this was a particular mystery to him. Once he'd finally worked up the courage to journey into one of these forests that Sevvie and Adonis couldn't seem to talk about without shuddering, he found it... comforting, almost, or as close to comforting as he knew. Like he was meant to be there. Like he belonged.It felt like home.
And that was silly, because Searle didn't have a home. He didn't deserve a home, and had therefore never been given one. Cousin Lonriad did his best, but Searle was still the outsider, obviously so, and the others in the house didn't know what to do with him, much like he didn't know what to do with himself. So who was he to presume he knew what home felt like?
But he did know. It felt like the forest.
There was something in the air here. Something quiet, half-dead, a little sinister. Something rather like him."Hello, young man."
Searle stopped. He'd thought he was alone. He usually knew when he wasn't.
But one look up, and he'd been wrong in this instance. Standing in front of him was a woman--a lady--dressed far too well for a stroll in the woods, yet her magenta silk showed no dirt or clinging grass. She had coal black hair and a pale complexion, which combined with her heart-shaped face made for a curious ageless beauty. She was too far away for him to make out the color of her eyes, but they were fixed right on him, piercing through his core as she read the curses etched upon his heart.
He liked it.
"Hello, my lady."
"My lady?" She smiled, but she didn't blush. Perhaps she couldn't. She was all black and white, the only red upon her made of liquid fabric. "My, aren't you the polite one. My own sons don't even greet me so sweetly.""You have sons?" She didn't look nearly old enough to be a mother. Nor scary enough.
"Two, and two daughters. My older three have given me grandchildren, even." The lady laughed. She must have noticed his gaping. "I've been told I don't look quite my age."
An understatement. Searle had never heard one before. "You're beautiful."
He'd blurted it out before it occurred to him that it might have been an inappropriate comment--but the woman beamed. "Thank you! You're a very handsome boy yourself. I'll bet you're quite popular with the girls."
Searle's face warmed. She might not have been able to blush, but apparently he could. "I don't know about that..."
"Ah-ha! Proof of it being so if there ever was. The most handsome boys never notice when girls like them." Did they? He got the feeling she'd know. She probably knew everything. "Besides--you're not like the others. You're special. You have powers."
Powers? His mother had accused him of that, though she'd always made it sound bad--evil. This lady, not so. In that moment, there were no two men he envied more in the world than her sons. "What sort of powers?"
"Well, they're quite complex," the woman started, drawing closer. Her eyes were violet, a color his mother had always loathed, a color he'd never quite seen before now. He decided it was his new favorite. "But you're a smart boy, and you deserve to have some idea of your own abilities. You see, this forest is a important place, and when you're here, you can distort the very fabric of time and space.""Time and space?" He wasn't quite sure he knew what that meant. "Like magic?"
"Magic, and science. That's how I'm here. I live very far away, but thanks to you, I was able to travel here in a matter of minutes. I couldn't have done that on my own, you see; I'm only ordinary." She gave no hint of not believing it, but Searle didn't. She was easily the least ordinary person he'd ever met. "But I must thank you, for there is someone in this kingdom with whom I must have an audience. I would have had to put off the meeting for months if not for you."
"You're welcome." Had he ever said that? He didn't think he'd ever been thanked before. He rather liked that too.
"That's very sweet. Now that I think about it, I suppose I have a few hours to spare; why don't we go to the nearest village, and I'll buy you something almost as sweet as you. Would you like that?"
He liked this, liking things. "I'd like that very much."NEXT CHAPTER:
