A Flicker In The Still Forest: From Forest To Flames #1

by K. Lyn Hill

  His eyes expanded as he fumbled toward the horses. “Oh. Ok. Yeah. I’ll get them ready right away.”

  A few minutes later, he came back with two saddled horses. They were both gorgeous, but one was even more so. It had black silky fur with a white star resting on its forehead. The second had spotted brown fur giving him a predator’s aura.

  “They are beautiful.” Aerity breathed as she stared at the creatures she couldn’t wait to ride.

  “Princess, the black one is yours.”

  Still in awe, she nonchalantly waved her hands. “Call me Aerity.”

  Carly and the boy exchanged looks.

  “Where are you wanting to go?” Carly’s voice came out a little louder than normal. Maybe the girl wasn’t as much of a mouse as she seemed.

  “Is there anywhere you want to see? Any place special in the kingdom? I haven’t seen much.”

  “You could take her to your parent’s farm.” The boy piped in earning a death glare in return. “She doesn’t want to go to a farm. She’s the princess!”

  “But you haven’t seen your family in...” The boy added but was cut off by Carly’s sharp “No.”

  Aerity wasn’t sure why Carly seemed so flustered by the idea but it sounded fun to her. “I really don’t mind. Do you want to visit your family?”

  The longing in Carly’s eyes was answer enough but the girl was clearly afraid to voice it.

  “There are much more exciting places to see.” The idea of visiting her family would make Carly happy, even if she was trying to hide it.

  “That’s okay. I’d like to see your family’s farm.”

  Her assumption was correct because the girl’s eyes immediately lit up. “Really?”

  The hopefulness in her voice made Aerity smile. “Really. It will be fun.”

  A wide grin spread across Carly’s face. “Ok.”

  After about a twenty-minute ride from the castle, the roof of a barn began to spring into view. As they got closer, the full house was on display. Carly began hopping up and down on the back of the horse trying to contain a squeal.

  “How long since you’ve seen your family?”

  Carly’s eyes remained glued to the stable coming up on their right. “About a year. They normally let us visit our families around Honalow but last year I was sick and couldn’t make it.” Her face fell, reflecting on the memory.

  Aerity wanted to ask what Honalow was but she didn’t want to ruin the moment. “They didn’t let you go a different day instead?” That would make sense to her. Why not let them visit their families?

  “No, the king is very strict about these matters.” Was all Carly said as they reached the door, throwing herself off her horse. Aerity wondered why the king was so strict. Not seeing family for a year? She thought of her dad and that familiar pain returned. What if she couldn’t find her way home for a year? Or longer?

  Carly ran to the door and knocked as loud as she could. Aerity had never seen her with so much enthusiasm before. The door flew open as a grey-haired woman in a plain tan colored apron appeared with a broom propped against her hip. As soon as she saw Carly, she released a joyful cry, dropped the broom and gripped Carly in a big hug. Tears streamed down Carly’s face as her mother squeezed and rubbed her back. Finally, the woman relinquished her hold and yelled in the room behind her “Eric! Vanessa! Come quick! Carly’s home!” The older woman turned back to Carly with red rimmed eyes. “I missed you baby girl! When you didn’t come home this year, we all worried.”

  “I was just sick and couldn’t make the journey Ma.”

  “How is it you’re here right now?” Carly took a step back and it was only then that her mother noticed Aerity standing silently behind watching the exchange.

  A small gasp slipped from her lips. “Is that the princess? Carly, why is the Princess here?” Bright brown eyes widened. “Your Highness, I apologize. We weren’t expecting visitors. We aren’t at our finest.” She glanced down at her dress in despair.

  Trying to put her mind at ease, Aerity gently placed her hand upon the woman’s shoulder. “Please don’t worry about that. We came with no warning. You look beautiful as you are. And please call me Aerity. The formal names make me feel funny.”

  The woman’s mouth dropped as her shoulders tensed. Was her request really that odd? “Please come in. I’ll fix you something to eat. I don’t know what all we have though. I wish I had time to prepare to give you a decent meal.”

  “Please just enjoy the time with your daughter. I don’t need food.” She smiled politely but the older woman rushed on.

  “Nonsense. Everyone gets fed in my home. You two look too skinny.”

  Hurriedly she rushed into the kitchen as a man and a little girl came bouncing into the room. “Cardi Cardi!” The four-year-old couldn’t say her sister’s name right.

  “Princess.” The father spoke but he wasn’t looking at Aerity. Carly ran into his arms as he hugged her with as much fervor as her mother had. It made Aerity’s heart swell at their relationship. She missed her mom and dad more than anything.

  Someone cleared their throat, dragging her back from her pity party. “Eric, we have company, Dear.”

  Eric glanced over and did a double take, his second expression exuding horror. Huh. Interesting reaction. “Princess.” He said again but it wasn’t directed towards his daughter this time. “What an honor to have you in our home. I thank you for allowing my little girl to visit us.”

  Aerity smiled, trying to put them at ease but it did no use. Carly’s mom rung her hands nervously on her apron and the father appeared constipated. Neither was a reaction that she would have hoped for.

  “No problem. Anything I can do to help?” She glanced over as the woman let go of her wrung out apron and began fiddling with spices and eggs.

  “Oh no, you relax.”

  Carly’s little sister stared at Aerity, cocking her head to the side in investigation. “Yer Perdy.”

  Aerity smiled at the girl. “Thank you but I think you’re prettier."

  “Reeedy?” The girl had trouble with her L’s.

  “Yup.”

  “But yer a pricess you godda marrdy a pric.”

  “That’s what they keep telling me.” She smiled again as the girl shot one back except with her two front teeth missing. Aerity knelt to be at eye level.

  “Can I marrdy a pric?” Vanessa asked her.

  “I think you can do anything you want to do. Which prince do you want to marry?”

  The little girl’s face took on a dream like quality and it took all her self-control not to laugh. “Yer marrdying Damdien. So, I’ll marrdy Pric Sier.” Her cute little lips formed a pout.

  “I think that’s a good choice. Do you think we could have a double wedding?”

  “What’s dat?”

  “Where we get married together on the same day."

  Her eyes sparkled “I want a doudle wedding!”

  “Vanessa leave the poor princess alone.” Carly’s mom called out.

  “I really don’t mind.” And she didn’t. She had dealt with a lot of kids in the mental hospital who were randomly checked in or had to see a therapist. It always made her depressed to think about them being forced into such a dark place, so she made it a point to make each kid she came across smile. Sometimes it worked, other times they would spit in her face. Hit or miss, kids were kids. Not much could be done about it, but she knew she would get along with Vanessa. The girl was adorable. No spitting here, thank goodness.

  A gratitude filled gaze met hers, which Aerity didn’t entirely understand. Were they so unused to being shown kindness?

  “Yay! Want to see my doddies?” Without waiting for an answer, Vanessa tugged her arm, dragging her upstairs. She silently followed behind tiny footsteps, stopping briefly to look around while the little girl yammered on about losing her front tooth. The conversation jumped to her daddy letting her ride around on his back like a horsey. She prattled on as Aerity took stock of her surroundings. The walls
were lined with cracked fissures betraying that they hadn’t been repaired in some time. A bucket sat in the corner halfway filled with what looked like rainwater. Her gaze shifted to a dark stain coating the ceiling, clearly the source of the leak, as a small drop of water plopped from a crack into the bucket. A small hand wrapped around hers, pulling her into a room with two beds low to the floor, hay peeking out from under the rough looking blanket. Singular. There was only one blanket.

  She wanted to ask about that but a sword tacked high on the wall above one of the beds drew her attention. It seemed at odds with the poverty around her. “Vanessa, whose sword is that?”

  Vanessa shoved a doll into her hands with a bright smile, enthusiasm lighting her hazel eyes. “My brotter’s. Mommy says not to tough it. Dat it will hurd me.”

  What was a farmer’s son doing with a sword like that? Especially, when from the looks of it, they were extremely poor. Vanessa yanked again on her hand, bringing her attention back to the doll she had been handed. The term ‘doll’ used very loosely. In her hand was a frayed burlap sack tied together with a piece of string. Two buttons were sewn on for eyes. Aerity so badly wanted to gift her a Barbie but knew she wouldn’t find one here. Both ‘dolls’ were assigned names. They proceed to fall in love, living happily ever after, Vanessa sighing happily.

  Aerity brought their heads together in a kiss when the girl made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat. “Day don’t kiss. Dats icky.”

  Aerity laughed and pulled the dolls apart. “My bad.” Vanessa abruptly jumped up. “Where are you going?”

  “To fid something else to pway wiff. Day aweady got mawied.” Apparently, the dolls story was over now.

  Appreciating a moment of the silence, Aerity walked over to the doorway and overheard whispering. Knowing she shouldn’t eavesdrop, she started to turn away when her name was mentioned. She turned back towards the door.

  “I heard she ran away from the Prince and then was dragged through town by his general wearing her underclothes.”

  Aerity’s heart dropped. She knew the murmurs would have spread but she tried to ignore it. Maybe she shouldn’t have been so stubborn with Elias. Resting her back against the door frame, she tuned into the rest of the conversation.

  “And now you’re saying that she’s kind and treats everyone as equals. That makes no sense.”

  “I know ma, but it’s true. She’s genuine and means what she says. She’s not like the others at court. She treats me like a friend. Not a servant.”

  “Dear, maybe she’s just using you for something. Rumor has it is she’s very manipulative.”

  “She had no reason to take me here. It was Marcus’s idea. She’s different Ma. She’s upstairs playing with a little girl. A poor one at that. She has no other motives, I’m sure of it.”

  “Well let’s just hope you’re right and she ends up marrying the Prince after all. We can’t afford any more fires. Mr. Lucan’s crops burned down a month ago. Without his crops, we have a hard-enough time feeding our cattle. It’s all a cycle that won’t end without their marriage. We need the trade agreement with her kingdom, or we will all starve.”

  Aerity’s heart was pounding. They wouldn’t pretend when they knew she couldn’t hear. These people really needed her to marry Damien so they didn’t starve. Geez, can you say cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs? Was she actually starting to believe this?

  “Mama says it’s not nice to eaves dropt.” Vanessa’s little voice piped in, jerking Aerity out of her daze.

  “I was just waiting for you, buttercup.”

  “What’s a buffercup?”

  “A pretty yellow flower.” Aerity bopped the little girl on the nose while trying to hide her raging heart.

  “I’m not a flowder siddy.”

  “You look like one though. Your dress is yellow and you’re pretty.”

  Vanessa blushed and glanced at her shoes, a cute embarrassed expression filling her face and yet Aerity could tell she was pleased at the same time. “Ya ready to go downstairs and eat?”

  The shyness disappeared in an instant. “Yes! Bunny’s hundry!”

  She glanced down at the toy in Vanessa’s hand. This time it was a ball of yarn wrapped around a stick. She really needed to get this girl a better toy. “Then let’s go feed bunny.” Vanessa giggled and grabbed her hand, practically pulling her down the steps.

  Ushered to the table, Carly’s mom served her a plate of food on a piece of china. It was clear they pulled out their finery for her unexpected visit. Aerity guessed that it was the finest they had and peered around at the other plates. Their plates were much more modest with far less food piled on them. They were clearly not used to having much and it made her stomach sour. She didn’t want to take the little food they had, especially since she was staying in the castle and got fed immensely well. She made a mental note to send them a thank you. “I thank you so much for your hospitality.”

  “It’s not much Your Highness. We wish we could have given more.”

  Her heart went out to this family who had nothing and yet was willing to offer all they had for someone else. “I appreciate everything you have done for me but I don’t need preferential treatment.” She pointed towards her plate and watched as Carly’s mom darted her eyes to the table in embarrassment.

  “We have gotten used to eating less. Call it habit if you will. Besides, it will be your marriage to the Prince that will aid us all in the end. It’s the least we can do.”

  For the rest of their meal Aerity’s mind wouldn’t stop spinning. On their way back to the castle a constant nagging began to throb in her head. The conversation she overheard played over in her head like a bad sitcom the rest of the afternoon. Besides the previous whispers, dinner with Carly’s family was the highlight of her stay so far. There was never a lack of affection from anyone in the family. Always hugging, kissing, touching. Carly had hoped to see her older brother Darius, but her parents informed them he was off in another town trying to trade eggs and milk. Again, Aerity wondered about his sword.

  “Thank you.” Carly spoke softly as they approached the castle.

  “No. Thank you. That was the highlight of my stay.” She reached over to squeeze Carly’s hand, their horses walked in a gentle sway, side by side. Releasing it to grip the reigns, she could still feel Carly’s gaze.

  “Can I ask you a question?” Her hesitation made Aerity turn her head to face her.

  “Yeah, anything.”

  Carly paused for a moment. Aerity nodded her head in encouragement. “Why did you run from the Prince?”

  Aerity released a deep sigh. Here we go again. Another person who wouldn’t believe her.

  Carly took her sigh to mean something else and quickly tried to backtrack. “I’m sorry, it’s not my place to ask. Please forgive me.” She pinched her lips shut as tension stiffened her shoulders.

  “There’s nothing to forgive. You can ask me anything you want but every time I answer that question, people look at me like I’m crazy.”

  Carly raised her eyes, her eyebrows scrunching. “I won’t think you’re crazy.”

  Aerity rubbed a hand down her face as she attempted yet again to convince someone of her story. She told Carly about waking up here and the events that followed. By the end of her tale Carly’s eyes were as wide as quarters. Aerity laughed. “See, I told you, you’d think me crazy.” Letting her head drop back, she released a groan that Carly cut off prematurely, her companions next words shocking her.

  “Ma used to tell us a story of a wicked woman that lives in the woods. She said this woman had the power to jump between worlds and take people from each one with her. That she would bring people from far away, simply to watch their loved ones suffer without them. Someone claimed to have seen her. Rumor has it that she has claws the size of a tigers, teeth like a jaguar and skin scaled like leviathan. The story was always told to all the children to keep them from entering the forbidden forest. I always wondered how make believe it was. The king shut down that
part of the forest and no one knows why.” Aerity felt her mouth become unhinged, practically hanging on the floor by the time Carly finished speaking. She wanted to say that the story had to be made up, just like the Easter Bunny or Santa, but she had to admit that her own story was unbelievable as well. Who was she to judge? The only thing she got out of it was that Carly wasn’t calling her crazy.

  “You believe me?” She still couldn’t understand someone having enough of an open mind to believe her story, yet Carly wasn’t acting like she was psychotic.

  “It was two weeks ago when you came to the castle before. You were rude, demanding, snotty and arrogant. You pushed people around and acted like everyone was beneath you. Now, you treat your servant like a friend and took me out to visit my family. You’re acting completely different. Asking question about what state we are in, things that make no sense. Wanting to help me do chores. It’s hard to wrap your mind around, but the pieces fit together.” Relief poured through her body as Aerity let Carly’s words wash over her. “So, you’re not the Princess?” Carly asked cautiously chewing on her bottom lip.

  “Nope. I’m not the Princess.”

  A smile spread across Carly’s face as she huffed out a breath. “Good, because I was getting really tired of acting like a scared baby.”

  “What?” Aerity jerked her gaze to her.

  “Last time the Princess was here, she made everyone who came near her cry. When she didn’t do that, she was giving them punishment. She went through five different chamber maids in a week of her stay. When I was assigned to your rooms, I was told to keep quiet and do as I was told.” She threw her hands up in the air. “Now I don’t have to! Ahhhhh you’re not even the Princess. Let’s go tip a cow!!!!”

  Aerity stared at her-used to be shy-chamber maid in disbelief. “You’ve been playing me this whole time?”

  Carly shrugged and let loose a wicked laugh. “Of course. Although I should win an award for being that convincing. I’m so happy you’re not that snot.”

  “Ok your freakin awesome. Where’s that cow?” Aerity laughed and dramatically tossed her head from side to side in search of one.