Before the Dawn (31 page)

The Prince studied him carefully with a
calculating expression. "He cannot return to his home," he mused
out loud, "and he would die if left to fend for himself in the
Strangelands. But that is questionable for he seems to have managed
to tap into some magic and that could conceivably help him to
survive, for a few days anyway." He shrugged. "Well, I suppose I
could keep him on as a servant. A real one this time," he arched an
eyebrow and gave Trevor a significant look.

Trevor knew what it meant: cooperate and
agree to this situation, or die. Seeing as he didn't really have a
choice, he nodded.

"Very well," the King stated. "You may have
him as a servant." Finally, he could no longer prevent himself from
letting out a little sigh. His gaze returned to Benwyr's pale,
lifeless body. "My son," the King whispered.

Trevor felt power begin to emanate from the
King in great waves. Light, coming from the King, slowly grew
brighter and stronger until his eyes were completely dazzled and he
could see nothing else but its brilliance. He heard a voice speak,
and he took a moment to wish Aline would be all right. If he had
one regret about everything that had happened, it was the fact that
they hadn't had enough time.

Then the light filled the whole world. It was
too beautiful, and he stared into its very heart until he could no
longer bear it and closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, he was sitting
on a grassy meadow. Just a short distance away from him was a field
of flowers that stretched far into the horizon where he could see
the first glowing hint of a golden sunrise. It was strange, because
he had never been one to equate flowers with a particular person
before, but the blossoms somehow reminded him of Aline. Against the
lightening sky, he saw a dark bird winging its way to him.

When Raven appeared in front of him and took
on his usual form, he thought that the Prince looked unusually
subdued. "Are they home?" he wanted to know.

Raven nodded and went to sit on the grass a
few feet away from Trevor. They were both silent for several
minutes as they watched the sun rise. She looked happy and
carefree, and pleased at the sight of so many flowers greeting
her.

Trevor then asked the one question whose
answer he really cared about. "Is she going to be all right?"

"Yes," Raven told him. "The King's magic is
potent in ways mine isn't yet. He has turned time and undone the
harm Benwyr did, and she should be fine." He seemed to hesitate for
a moment before continuing, "They will both be all right. They have
been made to forget about what happened. The King deemed it the
best form of mercy he could grant."

Trevor couldn't help himself. He had to
laugh. "So I started this without any memories of Aline, and now
she's the one who doesn't remember me." He sighed. "I never even
got to say goodbye."

"Oh, well." Raven sprang to his feet. He
stared off into the distance. "Perhaps," he said softly, "not
saying goodbye is a blessing. Because you can always pretend you
will see each other again."

After a moment, Trevor stood up, too. "What
about my family?" he wondered. "My mom and my stepdad? What will
they remember about me?"

"Nothing," Raven said flatly, still not
looking at Trevor. "It will be as if you never existed. All humans
who have died in the Strangelands are forgotten."

He wasn't sure if Raven was telling him the
truth, but he realized that it was the kindest thing the Prince
could say to him. He had no ties to the mortal world anymore. He
belonged to the Strangelands now. The sooner he learned to accept
it, the sooner he could learn to live with it. "All this magic, you
know," he told Raven with a sigh, "it sucks."

The Prince laughed shortly. "It has its
uses," he protested. "Now come. The King has commanded me to join
his Court. I'll have to prance and preen like all those idiots who
live there from now on. It's going to be sheer torture." He
shuddered at the thought. "I absolutely refuse to suffer through it
alone, so you will be accompanying me." He started walking. Trevor
stared at his back for a few seconds before he blinked, bit back a
curse, then hurried to catch up.

"Yeah," Trevor said while they strode easily,
following wherever Raven was leading him because it wasn't like he
knew where else to go. "You're Crown Prince and all now, the next
King. And I'm supposed to be your servant. You know I'm not really
going to do that, right?"

"Oh, we'll see about that," Raven declared
arrogantly. "I'm sure I'll have you shining my boots in no
time."

"Really?" Trevor stared at him in challenge.
"Yeah, we'll see about that, you little jerk."

Raven stopped and glared at him. "Did you
just call me a jerk?"

"Well, you are," Trevor replied and continued
walking.

"I could kill you where you stand!" Raven
called after him.

"Please!" he shouted back.

But, of course, Raven did no such thing.
Instead, he merely grumbled something under his breath then caught
up with Trevor in a few jogs. They didn't speak again for a while,
both thinking and wondering about the future waiting for them.

Then Trevor couldn't control his curiosity
about one particular subject any longer. "So," he said, "did you
really bed all the mothers of your brothers?"

"Don't be bloody daft!" Raven snapped. "Those
women hate me."

And when Trevor laughed, so did he. The sun
smiled to see them.

The End

***

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading "Before the
Dawn". This novel was inspired by my love of fairy tales and
fantasy, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I had fun
writing it.