With each step further down the path, the surrounding trees began to gradually change—from the blossoming buds of late spring to the leafy boughs of summer before the colors finally shifted to ruby, blazing orange, and gold, as if autumn had decided to arrive months early. I gaped up at the changing trees in awe.
Aiden smiled boyishly. “Is my quest a success?”
I slowly nodded in wonder. “It’s beautiful.”
“The seasons have their own time frame here. Right now it seems content with autumn, but if we wait a moment…”
As if attuned to his silent instructions, the air around us cooled as the leaves transformed into ice crystals, a taste of winter even in spring. After they had finished showing off, the trees donned their autumn-dappled leaves once more. Amazing. The Forest was full of surprises.
Our path led us through the vibrant trees to a creek before ending suddenly. “The place I want to take you is farther down the stream.”
The creek twisted through the ruby and gold trees bordering the shore on both sides, leaving no bank for us to walk along. I frowned. “How will we get down there?”
“We have a bit of an adventure ahead of us.”
He pointed to rocks zigzagging through the stream before releasing my arm and jumping lightly onto the first one, then the second. He paused on the third rock to glance over his shoulder, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“Don’t you like adventure, Eileen?”
A challenge. With a stubborn lift of my chin, I leapt onto the first rock and nearly slipped into the creek. My breath caught. “Are you sure you don’t mean to torture me?”
“Do you truly believe that an activity that’s meant to be fun is really an elaborate plot for your discomfort?”
My laugh became trapped in my throat as I jumped onto the second rock. “It very well could be. I know little about you. We’re still strangers.”
“Hence I’ve requested three days to remedy that.” He jumped to the next rock and paused to wait for me.
I hopped after him along each of the creek’s stepping stones, heaving a relieved sigh whenever I didn’t lose my balance and fall. “Then shouldn’t you begin your interrogation?”
He bowed. “Ladies first, considering I’m trying to prove I’m a gentleman.”
I paused on a large rock to catch my breath and thought about what I wanted to learn about Aiden, only to realize I wanted to know everything. He waited patiently as I deliberated, his head tilted in curiosity.
“Do you have an explanation for your behavior the day we met?”
Remorse twisted his expression. “I deeply regret how I treated you. The moment the Forest led me to you, I felt an inexplicable draw towards you. I’d never experienced such a sensation like that before and it made me…” He nibbled his lip, his usual confident demeanor now rather vulnerable. “Do you ever feel that your worst self emerges?”
“What do you mean?”
He lowered his eyes to the flowing stream, as if he couldn’t make himself meet my gaze. “When I first saw you…I can’t explain what I felt, only that I was afraid of it. This explanation doesn’t excuse my behavior, but it’s the reason I was initially so rude. For that I’m sorry.”
I wrinkled my nose, confused. Why would Aiden have any reason to be afraid of me? By the guarded look filling his eyes, I knew he had no intention of divulging that to me.
“That’s what these payments are for,” he continued. “I’m hoping to apologize for how I treated you as well as learn why the Forest led me to you.”
As his gaze penetrated mine, I realized I felt something with him, too. Despite my reservations, I wanted to explore these feelings and discover what they were, even when I was afraid of what I might find.
Flustered, I leapt onto the next rock but underestimated the distance and slipped into the creek with an icy splash.
“Eileen?”
I slowly sat up and shyly peeked up at Aiden’s alarm-filled expression. He hopped along the rocks separating us until he reached me.
“Are you alright?”
Hopefully the water from the splash would mask the blush spreading heat across my cheeks. “This is mortifying.”
His lips twitched as he extended his hand. “Even so, I’ll help you up.”
I seized his outstretched hand and yanked him down beside me with another splash. He scrambled to his knees, dripping wet and sputtering. I offered him my sweetest smile. “How kind of you to join me, Aiden.”
He gaped at me. “I didn’t think you were capable of something so devious.”
I smirked. “Surprise.”
He laughed as he clambered to his feet and proceeded to wring the water from his linen shirt. “I did want to get to know you better, but I didn’t realize my quest would prove so dangerous.” He offered his hand again with a suspicious look. “Are you one to repeat the same mischief twice?”
“You’ll soon find out, won’t you?”
I accepted his hand and couldn’t help but notice that mine fit in his perfectly. His warm, firm grip enclosed it as he gently helped me to my feet. Even when I was steady he didn’t release me. For a moment our gazes remained riveted to one another’s, and despite being dripping wet, I no longer felt chilled. That didn’t prevent a shiver from rippling over me, breaking our strange spell.
“Are you cold?” he asked.
I shook my head, but my chattering teeth betrayed me. Aiden wound his arm back through mine and helped me wade up the stream to clamber onto shore. There he pulled his velvet cloak off his shoulders and tucked it around me. It bathed me not only in warmth but in his alluring honey-musk scent. I burrowed my nose in the folds and breathed it in. It was intoxicating.
His concerned gaze penetrated mine. “Perhaps this excursion wasn’t my best idea. Are you alright?”
I nodded as I tugged his cloak more tightly around me, but it did little to quell my shivers. To make matters worse, the surrounding autumn decided to fade into winter again; large flakes caught the ends of my eyelashes as it began to snow.
Aiden scowled up at the trees as he rubbed his hands up and down my arms. “Believe it or not, I had a destination in mind at the end of our adventure up the stream, but perhaps we’ll have to save it for next time.”
I frantically shook my head, whatever trepidation I’d previously felt for today’s meeting with Aiden now replaced with the strangest yearning for it to never end. “I’m too curious. Besides, I’m sure the snow will stop soon as the seasons change again.”
He glanced up at the trees, and as if he’d given a silent command, the air began to warm, immediately stilling my shivers. He wiped stray droplets from my cheeks, leaving a trail of heat from his touch. Despite not knowing one another very well, the gesture felt strangely natural. “Are you sure you’re up for it?”
I nodded. He searched my expression to gauge my sincerity before motioning for me to follow him through the trees, now laden with icicles. The walk was beautiful. Even midst the gentle snow, autumn still filled the air and caressed the Forest with hues of gold and orange. Leaves fell gently around us, creating a carpet along the Forest floor that muffled our footsteps.
As we walked, Aiden and I took turns exchanging questions, each answer illuminating the smallest portion of one another’s personalities and interests. In the course of my interrogation, I learned that Aiden was twenty-three, lived in the capital, and was a high-ranking nobleman—although he refused to share his exact title with me. From the basics, we moved on to more personal questions. No matter how many tidbits he revealed, I was eager to uncover more of his mysteries.
“What are my interests?” As with my previous questions, Aiden pondered the answer to this one with a lot of thought, as if it were a complex problem needing to be solved. “When I’m free from my duties, I spend my time either in the Forest, practicing swordsmanship, or reading.”
“When I’m not working, I like to read, too,” I said, getting a strange thrill to have found yet another commonali
ty between us. “Otherwise I’m always outside or drawing.”
From there, Aiden inquired after my family. I swallowed the lump in my throat that always appeared when I thought of Father and instead told him of the adorable cottage I lived in with Mother. He seemed particularly interested in learning about my common life, so I shared our adventures in cooking, baking, weaving, and bottling jam. I also told him of Rosie—omitting, of course, her delusions that my relationship with him would develop into something more than friendship.
His lips twitched. “She believes everyone’s life mirrors a storybook?”
I nodded. “She’s even convinced everyone’s story fits a specific genre.”
Amusement crinkled his eyes. “And which is yours? Romance?”
My face flushed with heat. “Definitely not.” And before he could pry much further as to why I was so adamant about that—for the thought of discussing romance with him made me fiercely uncomfortable—I asked, “Which is yours?”
Aiden thought about it for a moment. “Mystery.”
“And why is that?”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “It’s a mystery.”
I muffled my snort with my hand. He gave me an adorable lopsided smile that did strange things to my insides, as if pleased he’d gotten me to laugh.
Just as the snow finally stopped, our path opened up into an orchard of apple trees, their fruit a garland of rubies dangling from the autumn-laden branches. I gasped in delight. “Apples in spring?”
Aiden plucked one and tossed it to me. I caught it easily. “Anything is possible in an enchanted forest.”
The Forest truly was full of all manner of delights. I bit into my apple. Juice dribbled down my chin and my fingers as the taste danced across my tongue.
“I stumbled upon this place some time ago,” he said. “When I devised this scheme to take you to various places within the Forest, this was the first one I thought of.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “You knew I loved apples? Can you read minds in addition to controlling the Forest, coming up with clever riddles, and intimidating innocent maidens?”
He chuckled. “While I’m a man of many talents, the fact that you like apples is just a lucky bonus…or perhaps it’s the workings of the Forest.” He stared up at the apple tree whose boughs stretched over us. “The fruit that grows here changes upon each visit. The Forest knows your tastes well.”
“As do you, apparently. This is the perfect place to have taken me.”
He smiled, and after he’d picked his own apple, we settled on the ground beneath the tree knee-to-knee, where we continued talking. Time passed without my noticing, and all too soon Aiden paused. “Has it been too long?”
“Too long for what?”
His lips twitched in mischief. “Is your mother worrying because you’ve been gone from the nursery too long?”
I tossed my apple core at him but he easily dodged it. “How can you be friendly one moment and odious the next?”
“Impeccable skill.”
I rolled my eyes. “And I have to serve as the victim you practice on?”
“Thank you for being so willing.”
“I haven’t much choice.” But he’d unfortunately brought up a good point. I frowned up at the sky. The sun had traveled far across it, signifying the hours that had melted away without my noticing, meaning Mother would be expecting me shortly. “You're right, Mother will be worried. I really should go.” I glanced at Aiden, needing him to understand. “I’m her only family.”
His humor vanished. “I can’t begrudge you having someone care enough to miss you.”
“What of your family?” I asked gently. He hadn’t yet spoken of them, for when I’d initially brought up the topic he’d rapidly changed it.
He frowned. “We’re not particularly close. Perhaps it’s because I’m not a person others want to get close to.”
It was the same fear I’d often entertained whenever I wondered why Father had left—that I wasn't worth caring about. And even though those insecurities lingered, I didn’t want Aiden to experience the same painful emotions.
I lightly brushed his arm. He stiffened as he noticed my hand on his arm. He slowly raised his glassy gaze, staring for a long moment before resting his hand over mine.
“Perhaps it’s not their fault but my own. I’m told I don’t treat people well, not to mention I can be quite sullen.”
My lips twitched. “You were quite insistent on my giving you your way the first time we met.”
He blushed. “I am rather accustomed to that arrangement, though this is the first time I’ve ever been embarrassed by it.”
“You did get your way in the end,” I said with a teasing smile. “You left our meeting with my name, just like you wanted.”
“But at almost too high of a cost—that of pushing you away. I seem to push everyone away, yet for some reason I don’t want to do that to you. But”—he took a steadying breath—“if you don’t want to meet with me anymore, you don’t have to. Regardless of my own desires, I could never force you.”
His voice was quiet and hesitant, as if he could barely force himself to say the words that would end this strange relationship of ours before it had even fully begun. And it was only after he’d given me the option to end it that I realized I wanted this to continue, whatever it was. I liked letting go of my reservations in order to explore possibilities I’d never allowed myself to consider.
“Why wouldn’t I want to?” I asked. “I’ve had a lovely time with you.” Today had turned out entirely differently from how I’d expected. I searched his expression, as if the answer to that puzzle could be found from this riddle of a man himself. “Why did you really bring me here today?”
His lips curved up. “I’m intrigued by you. I’ve never met anyone quite like you. I hoped that perhaps…we could be friends.”
I sucked in my breath and held it. In my mind I saw two paths unfold before me, one free from involvement with any man—the one that I’d determined to walk after Father left—and this new, unexpected path Aiden was offering, one that twisted and turned towards an unknown destination.
My default response not to trust him compelled me to end this now, but there was something stronger than my fear that wanted me to explore it a bit longer. Uncertain, I glanced up at the trees, my friends and guides, seeking the permission I so desperately yearned for. The branches swayed. It’s up to you.
Aiden waited earnestly for my response. My consent became trapped in my throat so I nodded, an answer that I felt I’d always longed to give him, even before we’d met.
“I do have a debt to repay, after all,” I managed. He beamed and my heart lifted at his elated expression. I wasn’t sure where this new path would lead, but I couldn’t wait to find out.
Chapter 7
“Eileen, what are you doing?”
I froze at Mother’s taut voice and slowly turned to face her, praying I didn’t look as guilty as I felt at having been caught breaching the Forest’s border. By her narrowed eyes, my attempted innocent expression had failed dismally.
Mother stood with the basket of berries I’d collected for her that morning. Too late, I remembered my promise to help her make jam to sell in the village. Remorse filled me. I walked away from the Forest, ignoring the trees’ annoyed rustling.
“Are you ready to make jam?” I asked nonchalantly.
My attempts at distraction didn’t work. She frowned first at me and then at the Forest. “You were going into the Forest, weren’t you?”
I bit my lip guiltily and she sighed. Her gaze lowered to my sketchbook that I hugged protectively, as if my special drawings would lend me strength for what was sure to be an unpleasant confrontation. Her frown deepened.
“That’s not a new sketchbook at all; it’s the one you lost in the Forest—a Forest you returned to even after you promised you wouldn’t.”
I crumpled. “I’m sorry. I can’t stay away from it; it calls to me.”
Hurt filled Mo
ther’s eyes. “Even though you know how much worry it causes me?”
I winced but said nothing. She sighed, sounding so…weary. After an agonizing moment of tense silence, she rested her hand on my shoulder.
“Let’s make that jam.”
I followed her into the house and pulled out a bowl. We worked silently side by side as we mashed the berries and cooked them over the hearth. Normally, the familiar chore was filled with cheerful chatter and laughter.
Not today. Each stolen peek revealed the weariness cloaking Mother, the worry furrowing her brow and filling her eyes. In the years following Father’s abandonment, those worried lines had become a recurring feature. They’d gradually softened as we’d managed to forge a new life together and survive each hungry year and endless winter. Now, because of me, they’d returned.
“I’m sorry, Mother,” I finally managed.
She didn’t pause in her stirring. “I know you love the Forest. While I’ve always worried for you—convinced one day you’d get lost and never return—I’ve tried to suppress my fears, not wanting to take your special place away from you. But ever since you encountered that nobleman…I know it’s irrational, but I’m afraid for you, dear. You’re all I have left.”
“I know. I’m sorry I disobeyed you.”
But despite my apology, I knew I’d return again. It wasn’t just the trees that called me now, it was Aiden. I didn’t understand my strong desire to see him again when we barely knew one another, only that I felt the pull. My need to ease Mother’s heart fought with my longing to see Aiden. My chest tightened with guilt as I realized which side would win.
“Please promise me you’ll never return to the Forest again.”
Mother’s desperate plea almost weakened my resolve, but I couldn’t lose that relationship just as it was beginning. At the same time, I couldn’t hurt my relationship with Mother, which meant everything to me.
“Eileen?”
I slowly met Mother’s gaze. I couldn’t promise her, not when I’d only break it again. Instead of answering, I arranged the jars in preparation to pour the freshly made jam into them.
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