by Talia Jager
He barked softly and took a step forward. I reached down and patted him on the head. He nuzzled my hand, and I realized there was something around his neck.
I untied it and opened the bag. Inside was a piece of paper. I took it out and started reading.
“My love,
“I will not be there tonight. I realize that I love you too much to cause any more pain. You belong with a Summer bride. These past months have been more than I could have imagined. I will love you always, but I have to let you go.
“Aurora.”
My heart fell. She was breaking it off.
I wasn’t going to let this stand. She might think letting me go was the best thing to do, but I didn’t.
I rubbed Zev’s head and said, “Let’s go see Aurora.”
I jumped on my horse and galloped to Winter Land. Once there, I waited in the woods, making sure the village was asleep. Kneeling down, I said to Zev, “Where’s Aurora’s room?”
The wolf looked at one of the windows.
“Thank you.”
I tiptoed through the castle and up the stairs, staying in the shadows.
Aurora was lying in her bed on her stomach, her beautiful wings resting on her. I hurried to the bed and whispered, “Aurora. Wake up.”
Her eyes snapped open and she stared at me, obviously confused. “Sorin?”
“It’s me.”
“Am I dreaming?”
“No. I’m really here.”
Her eyes widened. “You can’t be here. If someone finds you…”
“Then come outside with me. We’ll talk.”
She mashed her lips together in a cute way, and then she sat up.
When we were far enough away, Aurora stopped and turned to me. “What are you doing? Are you crazy? I can’t believe—”
I shut her up by placing my mouth on hers and kissing her. The tenseness left her body. After a minute, I pulled away and said, “Tell me that doesn’t mean something to you.”
“I can’t. It means everything to me, but I have to let you go.”
“I disagree. I love you, Aurora. Not her. You. We need to talk this out.”
“I love you too, but there’s nothing to talk out. You’re a Summer Fae. I’m a Winter Fae. We don’t go. When I saw her by your side, it really hit home. You deserve normalcy. You deserve a life that you won’t have with me.”
“How do you know what I deserve? I love you. I know you love me. So let’s figure this out.”
“Fine. You tell me what we’re going to do that will make our parents change the laws to allow us to be together.”
“Give me more time.”
“And if we can’t find a way?”
“Leave with me the night before Summer Solstice.”
“You’re serious about that?”
“I’ve been thinking about it.”
“We can’t just leave.”
“We could…”
Zev let out a whimper. Aurora looked at him and then back at me. “Guards are making their rounds. You must go. Zev, get him out of here.”
Zev started down a path and whined for me to follow. I kissed her quickly and whispered, “You’re my always.”
“And you’re mine—now go!”
I turned and chased after Zev, who safely led me back to the falls. “Thanks, Zev. Now go home and watch over her.” I rubbed behind his ears.
He took off, leaving me to think about my future.
My feelings for Aurora were more important than my fear of talking to my parents. I had to stand up to them. Taking a deep breath, I walked into the great hall to discuss it, but the looks on their faces changed my mind.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“The Iron Fae were found trying to attack Winter Land. We were able to stop them but lost two of our kind, and they took another hostage,” my father explained.
I gripped the chair in front of me. Knowing that the Iron Fae were that close to the girl I loved had me seeing red. “What are we doing about it?”
“Sending out more scouts.”
“I want to go.”
“I figured you would. Be careful, son.”
We left that night, and for the next two weeks, I ate, slept, and breathed Iron Fae. We caught up with a group of them, killed one and captured one, but before we could get him to talk, he grabbed a dagger from Junot’s belt and slit his own throat.
I returned just in time for the meet-up at the falls. It was the first one after the Spring celebration, and it was pure torture. They were congratulating me again on my upcoming wedding and wanting to talk about it. I could feel Aurora getting sadder and pulling herself in. I couldn’t let that happen. I grabbed her hand and took her for a walk.
“Don’t let it get to you. They don’t know. They don’t understand. Only we know our feelings. We have to keep them close to us and hang on,” I said.
“That’s just it, Sorin. I don’t want to keep our love hidden and hang on in hopes that something will work out. I want to shout from the top of the castle that I love you. I want to live life knowing that you love me and will be by my side. Right now, I feel as if we’re a dirty secret, and I don’t like that feeling.”
I faced her and brushed her hair behind her ears. “You said you’d give it more time.”
“I will, but time’s running out.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to talk to my parents. When I found out the Iron Fae were near your land, I had to go out with the scouts. I had to protect you. Believe in our love, Aurora.”
“Why do you have such confidence?”
I grinned and answered, “Because it’s epic.”
She laughed, and that sound was all I needed to hear.
Our water-bending training sessions were intense. She was always professional about them, and I continued to find that water bending was a lot harder than the other elements—of course missing the trainings when I was out with the scouts didn’t help. Aurora never lost her patience with me though. She’d go through it over and over again until I got it or the time was up, never once complaining.
Meeting her at the falls was the one thing I looked forward to. Some nights we just lay in each other’s arms, hardly speaking a word. Other times, we couldn’t stop chattering about one thing or another. I could tell she was being reserved, as if she were afraid to get hurt.
“I talked with my father the other night about changing some of the laws. He shut me down within a couple of minutes,” she told me. “I don’t even understand why. What are they so afraid of?”
“What about Lumi? Didn’t you say she wanted to be a counselor one day?”
“Yes, but I don’t want to involve her in this.”
“But she might be able to find a loophole.”
“I’m not mixing her up with this,” she said firmly.
“Okay. Just a suggestion.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. I just don’t know what to do…”
“I’ll talk to my father,” I said. “I promise.”
Knowing I had to do something, I gathered up the courage and approached my father the next day, bringing up the old laws.
He looked at a painting of a tree on the wall. “Have you ever been to the Forest of Knowledge? The trees there are very old and smart. If you’re so concerned with understanding old laws, go talk to them. Maybe you can use something they say with your mother. It’s she who ultimately has the say in whether or not we reexamine them, but then you’d have to get all the realms to agree.”
It wasn’t much, but it was something. I thanked him and hurried out the door. “Sorin!” my mother called.
“Damn,” I muttered under my breath. Taking a deep breath, I turned and faced her, “Yes, Mother?”
“We need to sit down to talk about the wedding.”
“What about it?”
“I’d like your opinion on the decorations, food, music—”
I had no interest in this. “Whatever Daisy wants, Mother.”
“You
don’t care?”
“No.” I definitely didn’t care about a wedding that was never going to happen.
“Okay.” She shrugged. Then she narrowed her eyes. “Where are you off to?”
“I’m on my way to talk to…a teacher. I’m late.”
“Oh, go on then. Punctuality is important.”
“I know.” I had counted on her saying that.
I tried to be polite as I passed through the crowd of faeries, centaurs, and satyrs. Everyone liked to ask me how I was and tell me how they were, but today I didn’t want to hear it. I got on my horse and took off down the path to the Forest of Knowledge.
I hadn’t been there since I was a young boy, but I remembered the way as if I had gone yesterday. I didn’t stop as I galloped through the village on the river, home to dwarves and piskies, leaving behind confused expressions on their faces.
It wasn’t long before I found myself in the middle of enormous trees whose branches reached high to the sky. With only the faraway sounds of birds and other creatures, it was quiet.
“Young Prince Sorin, what a pleasure it is to have you here.” The tree in front of me literally transformed into a lady with brown skin and green hair. She took a few steps toward me, leaving behind a large dirt area surrounded by grass. She towered over me by a few feet. “I sense you came here to ask for guidance.”
“Yes. I’d like to get my parents to change some of the old laws. My mother won’t even talk about it. My father thought you might have some advice.”
The Treefolk lady held my eyes as if she could see into my soul. “A long time ago, some faeries caused trouble, and their punishment was to be banished to the outer lands, with the agreement that when the royals who banished them died, the next royals would reevaluate the punishment. When that time came, the new royals did not want to do this, so they pretended the agreement didn’t exist. Before long, nobody remembered it, except the royals and the Iron Fae. The Iron Fae turned hostile and tried to take back what was theirs, but so far they’ve failed. What your mother and all the other royals are hiding is that the Iron Fae should have been given another chance.”
“So if they were to get together to look at all these old laws, they would have to deal with it?”
“That is correct.”
“And they don’t want to do that?”
“Precisely.”
“But why? What’s the big deal?”
“I’m not really sure. Prejudice perhaps?”
I sighed. Asking them to reexamine the law that banished the Iron Fae wouldn’t be easy. “Is there no hope then?”
“There is always hope.” The Treefolk lady walked back to the brown spot in the ground where she had come from. I watched as her feet turned to roots and dug into the ground, and bark ran up her body. Then she lifted her arms to the sky, and they turned to branches. Looking at me, she smiled and said, “Don’t ever give up.” Then her head was gone, and more branches appeared with leaves sprouting from them.
Knowing what I had to do, I started back to the castle. Unfortunately, my parents were nowhere to be found. I would have to talk to them tomorrow. Tonight, I looked forward to meeting Aurora at the falls.
Chapter Twenty-One
Aurora
Sorin was waiting for me at the falls when I got there. I rushed into his arms and let him hold me for a few minutes. After a gentle kiss, he said, “I need to tell you something.”
“Can you just hold me for a minute?” I asked.
He pulled me close, and I placed my head against his chest and listened to the beat of his heart.
“I hate being apart from you.”
“Me too. Hey, look at me.”
I did as he asked.
“Whatever happens, it’s you I love.” He leaned down and placed his lips on mine.
“I love you, too.” I reached up and put my arms around his neck and kissed him again.
“Aurora Nieve!”
I froze. Was that just my father’s voice I heard? Couldn’t be. We were safe at the falls. I must be hearing things. But Sorin’s grip on me tightened, making it known to me that he had heard it too.
I spun around and, to my horror, found my parents, his parents, their advisors, and about ten armed guards standing there.
From then on, it felt like I was stuck in slow motion as a twister spun around me.
The Summer queen was screaming, accusing me of putting Sorin under a spell or brainwashing him. My father was yelling back at her that I would do no such thing and that it must be her son tricking me.
“Guards. Take the Winter princess into custody,” the Summer queen ordered.
“Now hold on!” My father stepped forward. “You are not taking my daughter!”
“A law has been broken here, King Zohar. Surely you won’t be covering that up,” Queen Nerida challenged.
We should run. I looked around, but there was no way to escape. I glanced at Sorin. He had an unfamiliar panic in his eyes.
“I didn’t say that, but you have no right to my daughter,” my father replied.
“She has tricked my son into falling for her. I don’t want you pretending this didn’t happen. She needs to be punished. They both do.”
My father looked at my mother and then answered. “Fine. We hold court in the neutral land, but we each take custody of our own children.”
The Summer queen mashed her lips but nodded. “Agreed.”
“If we do this, neither child will get special consideration.”
“They both need consequences.” She spun to look at us. “Guards, take my son.”
I turned and held onto Sorin. This couldn’t be happening. Tears ran down my face.
“Aurora…I love you.” Sorin placed his lips on mine for a brief second before he was pulled away. “Always.”
“Always.…” I said back as someone clamped his hand around my wrist.
“Your Majesty?” the guard Birch spoke to my father and held up a set of bracelets in his gloved hands.
My eyes widened, and I looked at my father. “Father…you don’t have to use them.”
Father looked over at the Summer queen, whose guards were placing the cuffs on Sorin. “Do it,” he said before turning away.
Birch faced me with a sympathetic look in his eyes. “Sorry, Princess.”
My lip trembled, but I refused to cry, especially in front of the Summer queen. As Birch placed the thin bracelets around my wrists, I kept my eyes locked on Sorin’s.
“Let’s go!” my father ordered.
Birch pulled me, and I started walking. I turned my head to get a last glimpse of Sorin, who mouthed “Always” to me before he was out of sight.
Once we were back at the castle, Birch turned to my father. “Shall I take her to a cell?”
“Zohar, no.” My mother grabbed his arm. “She can stay in her room until the hearing.”
“Birch, take her to her chambers. Bracelets stay on and stand guard,” Father ordered.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Birch led me up to my chambers, where he escorted me in, checked the window, then exited, closing the door behind him.
I stood in the center of my room looking around and then plopped down on my bed. I eyed the bracelets around my wrists and yanked on them, but they wouldn’t come off. I couldn’t use the elements with the cuffs on. That’s when the tears came. How had they found out? What would happen to us? Would I ever see Sorin again? Feel his lips on mine? Sobbing, I curled up into a ball.
I don’t know how long I cried. Long enough for my chest to burn and head to pound, and then I succumbed to sleep.
Loud voices woke me up.
“Why is there a guard outside Rory’s door?” Lumi yelled. “What is going on? Why can’t I see her?”
I rubbed my eyes and sat up, hearing my sister outside my door. Seeing the bracelets on my wrists brought everything back. I leaned up against the wall and pulled my knees up to my chest.
“Lumi.” It was Mother’s voice. “Something happened, and y
our sister is…well, she’s in trouble.”
“Rory? In trouble?” Lumi laughed.
“This is serious, Lumi. Listen, we need to talk to your sister, and then we’ll explain.” The door opened, and my parents walked in. “Rory? It’s time to talk.”
My father pulled up two chairs, and they both sat down. “Please explain to us how this happened.”
I chose my words carefully. I didn’t want to get anyone else in trouble. “I don’t know. We just started having feelings for each other.”
“You love him?” Mother asked.
“Yes.”
“How did you let yourself fall in love with a Summer Fae? You know it’s against our laws,” Father asked, disappointment in his voice.
“He’s a good guy, Father. He’s sweet and funny, and he loves me too.”
“Rory, he’s a Summer faerie. You can’t love him.” Father said his words as if they were powerful enough to change something.
“This is our fault. We pushed them together with the celebrations and the water-bending training,” my mother said to my father.
“I didn’t mean for it to happen. It just did. I love him, and I’m not going to stop loving him. I’m sorry for sneaking out to meet him and for breaking the law, but it’s a stupid law and should be changed.” I paused. “What’s going to happen?”
“Tomorrow we will take you to the great hall in the neutral land. The four courts will be there. The eight of us will decide your fate,” Father explained.
My mother dabbed her eyes. “When Eira said laws were being broken at the falls, I had no idea she meant you.” Turning to my father, she said, “Why didn’t she tell us privately? This should be a family matter.”
“Eira? She…she told you?” Confusion filled me.
“Yes. She told us to get the word to the Summer royals and hurry to the falls because we’d be able to witness the crime ourselves.”
I shook my head, not understanding. Why would Eira do such a thing? How long had she known about Sorin and me? How had she found out? Tears filled my eyes as I thought about how much she must hate me for her to do this.
“Can’t you take these cuffs out?”
“No. If the Summer queen finds out, she’ll pitch a fit. We need to keep it equal.”