Before the Dawn

by Kristal Lim

"This was where I saw the silver trees," Trevor pointed to the spot. "And now that I look at it, I think it's also the same place where I woke up after I chased who I thought was you that first night."

  Aline stared down at the totally unspectacular-looking patch of earth and grass. "You know, I was kinda hoping there'd be more to see," she said honestly. "Maybe some kind of sign that would lead to a clue that would take us someplace where all answers are helpfully written down on a piece of paper in Arial number 12 font. Something."

  Trevor grinned at her weak joke. "Yeah, well, life never is that easy," he commented. "Or maybe it's just because we're here during the day. Maybe the whole magic thing just works at night."

  She stared at him. "Oh, my God. You said it. I can’t believe you said it. You're the first person to mention the m word and I've been carefully avoiding it all this time. I don't wanna think it could be magic or something like that because then all the rules don't apply anymore." Aline sighed and looked around for a spot where she could sit down for a bit and take the pressure off her feet. There was a stump beside Trevor that she thought would do nicely and, at a gesture from her, he quickly helped her get settled on it. She smiled up at him. "Thanks." She was getting to really like how thoughtful he was, and how he kissed, and generally everything else about him. What an inconvenient time to start seriously falling for a boy when all sorts of weird stuff were happening.

  His bangs had fallen over his eyes and he brushed them away carelessly. He took out the plastic case where he kept the silver leaf, opened it, and gently placed the leaf on his palm. Then he looked around them expectantly.

  "What are you doing?" Aline wondered.

  "I don't know," he replied. "I was hoping it would react in some way to being here." He chewed on his bottom lip for a moment. They waited, both praying for something to happen and dreading the possibility at the same time. But the leaf just lay still on his palm, glinting up at them in the cheery sunlight of the day. Trevor shrugged. "Guess not. Looks like it's just a leaf with a bloodthirsty tendency to cut you if you're not careful." He started to put it away, but before he could drop it back into its case, a blur of black swooped down on the two of them. They both shouted in surprise and fear, and Trevor's yell turned to pain when sharp talons cut into his palm and tore the silver leaf away from his grasp. Then they heard a triumphant-sounding croak and a large familiar-looking black bird circled above them once and flew away.

  "Hurry!" Aline cried out and started to run after the bird, the pain in her feet completely forgotten for the moment in her desperation to catch it. It was the same black bird she had seen twice before, and she was sure that it was merely a disguise for Raven. She should have made the connection sooner once he told her his name. "He's getting away! We can't let him!" Trevor cursed and started chasing after the bird, too.

  Raven looked back at them running after him and let out what sounded like a mocking laugh. That just made Aline angrier as she tried to go faster. The flying jerk must have decided then to have some fun with them because he started to glide on the currents, making lazy loops over their heads and flashing the silver leaf he held to spur them on their chase. But it turned out that taunting them with the leaf he had stolen wasn't the only thing on his mind. He flew in swirling patterns over their heads and Aline soon lost track of where she was going. She didn’t know how long she must have run after him. All she knew was she just kept running and running and letting him lead her ever deeper into the woods. She thought she heard Trevor calling out her name, asking her to slow down, but she didn't even glance back to check if he was keeping up. She was totally focused on following Raven and getting the silver leaf back from him somehow.

  Suddenly, her foot caught on a dead branch in her path and she stumbled. When she stood up again and looked around her, she could see no sign of a black bird. Trevor was nowhere to be seen, either. She was alone, and she was in the middle of a small clearing bordered by trees that rose up out of the earth in dark, twisted shapes. The sky above her had lost its bright blue color and now had a milky green luminosity that reminded her of light shining through water. A dreaming silence had also settled over the woods.

  "Stupid!" she cursed myself. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! He was leading me away. This is some kind of trap and I fell for it. Just brilliant, Aline." She felt like screaming in anger. Well, she wasn't going to stay in one place and make things worse by waiting where anyone could get at her. She marched right to the edge of the clearing and slipped through the trees, trying to retrace her steps. She also took out her cellphone, hoping she could call Trevor but, as she had already suspected, the phone turned out to be useless. So she just kept walking. Eventually, she knew she'd be able to come out on the other side of the woods.

  Aline kept walking for what seemed like a really long time. She eventually noticed that the pain in her feet no longer burned and she became worried that maybe it meant she was killing off all her nerves or something and she wouldn't know it if she was already suffering from a bad infection that could end up with her getting her feet amputated. All these morbid thoughts just made her walk faster and she felt more desperate than ever to find her way out of the woods. "Please, God," she muttered under her breath, "just let me get out of here and find Trevor, and I'll never chase after mysterious birds that may or may not be people ever again." She hoped that God would appreciate her sense of humor.

  Maybe God, or someone, heard her, but she soon became aware that the spaces between trees were getting wider. Just up ahead, there was warm sunlight and what looked like a path. She quickened her steps, thinking that maybe she had managed to walk all the way to the road near the town's limits. She pushed back the last few branches and shrubs blocking her way and, at last, she found herself–right in the same clearing where she had started. She let out a howl of frustration.

  Masculine laughter floated in the air towards her and her eyes narrowed as she saw Raven settle down on the branch of a nearby tree. He was still in his bird form, but then he shook his head and his wings, and made his feathers scatter in a burst of inky black, and Aline was suddenly looking at the handsome young man she last saw in the Prince's ballroom. He was wearing a coat of black velvet and his dark hair was unruly, but his face was still as perfect as ever. Before she even realized what she was doing, her right fist had lashed out and landed a solid punch on his nose.

  "What in the bloody hells?!" He said something that sounded really vicious in a weird language and struck out his hand towards Aline. A blast of wind knocked her off her feet and her back hit the trunk of a tree. She felt the breath whoosh out of her lungs from the pain and she collapsed to the ground, dizzy and on the verge of passing out.

  "You crazy mortal! I should kill you!" Raven hissed as he glared down at her, his amber eyes glowing like flames. Bluish blood was trickling slowly from his nose, but it looked completely fine otherwise. Aline was dismayed. She had hoped that she'd been able to break it when she punched him. He made a strange gesture with his hands and she was then lifted to her feet, propped up on a flat boulder that had risen from the ground, and all the pain she was feeling just disappeared. He scowled at her. "You, silly girl, are very fortunate that you have the Prince's favor, or you would be suffering unspeakable torments right now," he said testily. "Now if you would kindly restrain yourself from attacking me like a common hooligan, there are things I wish to discuss with you."

  "I'm not listening to any lies your precious Prince has told you to say!" she declared. "Let me out of these woods and find Trevor, and I won't punch you somewhere more delicate next time!"

  He raised an eyebrow at her defiance. "I am not here on behalf of the Prince," he told her. "Well, I am, in a way, but not because of any orders he has given me. I have come to talk to you out of my own interest and desire to do so." He paused and casually brushed some imaginary dirt from the shoulders of his coat and ran a hand through his hair, slicking it back, and it straightened underneath his fingers as if he had used a comb and a ton of mou
sse. Then he looked at her again. "Will you swear to listen to my case and consider my proposition fairly and without any of the unpredictable violence that you humans tend to include in all of your interactions with others?"

  "And if I swear to do that, what do I get in return?" she retorted, still bristling from her desire to pummel his face.

  "What do you want in return?" he asked while looking down his nose at her.

  "For you and the Prince to leave me and everyone I know alone," she responded promptly. "No more weird dreams, no more dancing, and no one getting hurt anymore. And I want Gracelyn back healthy and well."

  "You are quite demanding, aren't you?" he commented, then shook his head. "Regretfully, I cannot do any of those things for you for the following reasons: first, the enchantment lasts until the mortal it was woven for or the enchanter himself breaks it; second, the dreams and the dancing are part of the enchantment; third, your friend surrendered to the spell of her own will, so there is no getting her back unless she wishes to be free; and fourth, the only one who has been hurt around here is myself because of your violent temper." He rubbed his nose gingerly and shot Aline another glare.

  "Then I guess I don't have to listen to anything you have to say because there's nothing you can do for me." She stood up from the boulder and began to walk away.

  "Sit." He flicked one of his fingers in her direction and she found herself back on the boulder without the ability to budge from it even by an inch. "You will listen to me. I may not be able to free you from this enchantment, but I can give you something that might help you in another way."

  "Oh? And what would that be?" She kept trying to struggle, but it was useless. It was like she was glued to her seat. So she wasn't really paying attention when Raven told her what he had to offer. It took a few seconds before his words registered in her brain and she had to ask him to repeat what he had said in order to be sure that she had heard him correctly.

  "The truth about the past?" she echoed. "What exactly do you mean by the truth about the past?"

  He gave her a smug smile. "By that, I mean that I am willing to tell you about your past, about the Prince, and why all of this is happening now. Again."

  "Everything about the past?" She wanted to make sure of that. "Including how it all turned out?"

  He nodded. "Of course."

  It was a good deal. Heck, it was a very good deal. If he told her the whole truth about why and how this was happening, he'd also have to tell her how the enchantment was broken the last time. "Every little detail?" she pressed.

  "Yes, yes," he replied. "I will tell you everything about your past. I give you my word." He sounded offended that she didn’t seem to think he was all that trustworthy.

  "And, in exchange, you just want me to listen to a case you're going to make?" Aline was still trying to figure out if there was a catch anywhere in the deal he was offering.

  "You must consider my proposition fairly as well," he quickly added.

  "And what case and proposition would that be?" she wondered, sure that it was going to be outrageous since he was willing to share very important information with her.

  He seemed to puff up importantly, making himself appear grand and regal. "I wish to ask for your assistance," he said in his most pompous tone, "in freeing me." He then looked at Aline like he was daring her to laugh.

  Of course she laughed. "What do you mean free you?" she asked. "What? You're a slave?" It was ridiculous. He acted more arrogantly than a prince.

  "No, I am not!" he snapped. "I am simply bound to the Prince's service and I wish to be free of it."

  "The two of you seemed pretty close when I saw you together," she observed. "Can't you just ask him to free you?"

  "Don't be absurd." He looked irritated at the suggestion. "One does not ask one's bond master to release one from a bond."

  "Then what does one actually have to do to make that happen?" she copied his tone exactly to mock him.

  Instead of answering her, he sighed dramatically and plopped down on another boulder that had appeared. "I was quite mischievous in my youth, you know," he said with an air of embarrassment. Aline realized that he was about to make a confession and she groaned to herself. This had better be quick. "Of course, I am still considered quite young among my people, but in the first few centuries of my life, I was a complete scoundrel," Raven continued. "No decent House wanted me befriending their sons for fear I would lead them to ruin." She decided to ignore the centuries part of his story for now. She didn't want her head to explode.

  "I was very fond of making mischief," he went on, "and, one day, I thought it would be very amusing if I placed an enchantment on the daughters of a mortal king whose lands bordered our own secret passages to the world." Her eyes widened in question, and he nodded. "Yes. My request and the truth about your past life share a connection."

  "Go on," she told him, totally consumed by curiosity now.

  "So I enchanted the princesses of that mortal kingdom. There were twelve of them born of the king's two wives–"

  She couldn't help it, but she had to interrupt him. "He had two wives? That wasn't in the story."

  His eyes flashed. "Yes, two wives. When the first one died, he married another. Now can I please continue?" He looked very annoyed now.

  "Oh," Aline nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed at immediately jumping to conclusions. "Oh, yeah. Sure. Go on."

  "As I was saying," he gave her a look that warned her not to interrupt him again, "I enchanted the princesses and spirited them away to the Strangelands every night so they could entertain us with their dancing. My companions and I enjoyed making those girls dance and dance until their shoes were filled with holes." He chuckled at the memory but sobered immediately when he saw Aline give him a murderous glare. "But then, something unexpected happened. The Prince, that fellow who’s inexplicably obsessed with you, heard about the enchantment and he invited the princesses to his castle so he could see them dancing for himself. And–he fell in love with one of them, the eldest."

  Raven continued to speak, and his voice wove its own spell around Aline. It was the oddest sensation, but she could hear and see what he was narrating in her mind while feeling like it was all happening to her as he described it. And, slowly, she began to understand the mystery of it all.

  ~~~

  Chapter 11