Girl In The Woods (15 page)

I am calm now. I
know exactly what I have to do. I choose a pink long dress with lace over the
cleavage. It is fit for a princess. I take a look at myself in the mirror after
I am ready. My eyes are still swollen from crying. Taking a deep breath I head
downstairs.

In the hall, a
maid informs me that dinner will be served in the main dining room and she
guides me there. The first thing I notice is the longest table I have ever seen
in my life. At least thirty people can sit around it. My parents are already
sitting by the King and Queen.

What is the
normal for parents who have lost their child for a month and have just found
out that she is alive? To drown me with their hugs. But no, not my parents. My
mother gets up as if she had just seen me in the morning and gives me a swift
kiss on my cheek. My father shows just a little more sentiment, as he hugs me
and asks me how I am. I know they are touched, but they would never allow
themselves to show their feelings in front of the King and the Queen. Prince
Ellard is sitting by his parents as well and he stands up bowing courteously to
my presence. A servant pulls back a chair so that I can sit.

Delicious
appetizers are served, that precede a lush main meal of roasted salmon.
Fortunately, throughout dinner I am not asked to participate in the
conversation. Actually, the King and my father talk about my achievements at
school, at piano lessons and foreign languages. It feels like my father is
advertising me. From time to time, I glance at Ellard, who is sitting opposite
me. He is looking at me every time. I am embarrassed and lower my gaze to my
food.

Calista, be
patient. It’s only a dinner. It will eventually end.

I don’t listen
to what they are talking about during dessert. I am distracted by my thoughts
of Conor and how to get to him as soon as possible.

After we are
done, the royal family retreats to their bedrooms and leave me and my parents
on our own. We go to one of the living rooms of the bottom floor so that we can
have some privacy.

There, they
finally let their emotions take over them and hug me warmly.

“We were worried
to death,” my mother says. “What happened to you? Why did you run away from the
party?”

“Don’t you know
why, mom? I had told you both over and over again that I didn’t want to get
married like that. I wanted to be in love. But you didn’t listen to me.”

“And you had to
leave?” My father intervenes. “Risking your life? You could have died, Calista.
You are so selfish. You never thought of us and how worried we would be.”

“Perhaps, I am
selfish. But I am a grown woman, dad. And I needed to find my own path. Not
follow the one you had drawn for me. You have to admit that you were selfish,
too. All you cared about was preserving our fortune.”

“Is what you
think about us?” he asks. “That we only care about the money? You are an only
child. What will happen when we die? You have no source of income and no one to
take care of you. We only ventured to find you a proper husband, so that you
would be protected and that you would have a rich life. Is that so bad? Is that
selfish?”

“Alright, Dad.
I’m sorry. However, you can’t tell me who I will marry. You have to understand
that it is
my
life and
I
have to choose.”

“No, you don’t,”
he says strictly. “Prince Ellard asked me for my permission to marry you.”

“What?” Oh, this
is too much.

“I have already
accepted. I will not let you ruin your life. You will get married at the end of
the week. Until then, we will all stay here, where there is no way for you to
escape.”

“How could you
do this to me?” I shout.

“Keep your voice
down, Calista. How did I do what? I don’t understand why you keep on
complaining. All girls would envy you. You will be a princess and then a Queen.
What better fate is there than that?”

“To be with the
man I love. I don’t love Ellard. I just met him. And besides, I am in love with
someone else.”

“Who? That
shapeshifter?”

“You know about
him?”

“Darling, Prince
Ellard told us how he found you and what happened,” my mom explains, “He held
you captive. You can’t love him.”

“He hadn’t
captured me. He always gave me an option. I was with him at my own free will.
Because I love him with all my heart. Mom, please, don’t you understand?
Weren’t you in love with dad? Don’t you know how it feels to burn for someone
so much that you can’t breathe without them?

“The
relationship between me and your father is none of your concern, young lady.”

I can’t help a
snort.

“So you weren’t
in love with each other. You were married because of a matchmaking. That is why
you don’t understand what I am talking about.”

“Yes, Calista,”
she says, “I was married to your father around your age. We knew each other as
our families were friends. It wasn’t that mad love you describe, but we do love
each other.”

“Like brother
and sister. That’s sad.”

My dad takes my
hands in his.

“You look
different,” he mutters. “You are not a little girl anymore. I know exactly how
you feel. And it was good that you had the chance to experience it. I am aware
what intricate and wonderful emotions true love can trigger.”

Had my dad been
in love in the past? Those are the words of a man who has felt his heart beat
faster for a woman. Perhaps before he married my mom.

“But there comes
a time in our life,” he continues, “that we have to think properly, with our
minds, about what’s right to do. This will be a decision that will define the
rest of your life. Yes, you are in love now. And passion runs through your
veins. What will happen if someday you fall out of love and you realize that he
is just a poor man who shifts into an animal and that will never be able to
make you truly happy?”

“He does make me
happy, dad. More than you can imagine. And it’s not just lust. I love him and
he loves me. He saw who I really am.”

“Then why did he
leave you? Why didn’t he fight for you?”

I lower my eyes
unable to answer his question. He would never understand that Conor loves me
and cares for me so much that he would prefer to be far from me, so that I can
live a prosperous life.

“You see? If he
loved you, he would do anything to keep you close to him. It’s rather late. Why
don’t we go to sleep and talk tomorrow?”

He hugs me again
and looks at me tenderly like he used to when I was a little girl.

“I am so
grateful though he kept you alive. I have nothing against him, Calista, or
against you. I am just older and I know how life really works. I want the best
for you.”

He kisses me on
my forehead and sends me to bed.

As I close the
door of my room, I lean my back on it, waiting, until complete silence covers
the palace.

Before I make my
escape, I head to the bathroom. I thought I saw a medicine cabinet in there.
Yes, I was right. I open it with shaking hands, hopeful that I will come across
what I am looking for. Little bottles that contain white pills are stacked on
the two wooden shelves of the cabinet. I check the labels looking for something
that could be useful. And there it is. A medicine made out of a plant that
heals wounds. I take the small bottle and slip it in my bosom.

The palace is
quiet now. Everyone seems to be asleep. I have to make my move now. I open the
door reluctantly and make sure that the hallway is free. I mind my steps, but
thankfully the carpet below my feet is too thick to allow them to be heard. I
proceed to the staircase, hoping no one is guarding it. My anxiety won’t let me
breathe properly.

No, Calista.
You will not allow anyone to mess with your plan.

I am more
determined than ever.

Whenever my
parents and I came to the palace when I was younger, I used to go out in the
back garden and play in its massive shrub – made labyrinths. I am sure that I
could reach through the garden the far end wall and escape climbing it. I don’t
think there are guards out there. But even if there are, I can hide myself from
them as the bushes are tall and can serve as a disguise. I remember there used
to be a door in the grand living room that led to the rear part of the palace’s
estate. I can only wish that this door is unlocked.

Silence is cast
all over the first floor of the palace. Much better than I expected. Still, if
I come across a guard or a servant, I will tell them I couldn’t sleep and that
I needed to read something from the living room’s bookcase. My perfect alibi.

“What are you
doing up?” I hear a whisper behind me and I think my heart sinks to my stomach.

I turn around
and it’s Ellard. Oh, no…Not him…

“I…I…couldn’t…”
I stutter, “I couldn’t sleep.”

“It’s only
natural after the day you had,” he says.

“I think I’ll go
to the living room to read something, if that is alright with you.”

“It would be
alright if that was what you were planning to do.”

“What do you
mean?”

“I am not
stupid, Calista. I am sure your father talked to you about my proposal. And I
am pretty sure you now feel captured like a wild animal in a cage and you are
trying to find a way to escape.”

My jaw drops. He
is smarter than I thought. And darker than he appears.

“I don’t know
what you are talking about, your Highness.”

“I think you do.
I won’t let you go back to him, Calista.”

“Why not? Why do
you want to marry me? You barely know me. There are so many girls who would be
excited to be your bride. Why me?”

“Because I want
to save you from him.”

I snicker
shamefully.

“I really don’t
believe you.”

“I like you so
much that I want to save you. Is that so wrong?”

“It is. Because
I don’t need to be saved. But
he
does. He is going to die if I don’t go
to him. Please…”

“I’m afraid I
can’t let you leave. I am responsible for you now and I will make sure that
nothing bad happens to you.”

I narrow my eyes
and purse my lips with resolution. The truth is that while looking at him my
mind races at what to do. And then, I see it on the wall.

“Fine. I am
going to sleep then,” I mutter and walk past him.

From a coat of
arms hanging on the wall, I draw a sword and hold the tip of it against my
stomach.

“No! What are
you doing?” he shouts.

“Wake them up
and I will kill myself,” I state.

He raises his
hands to show me I needn’t worry. But his face is in shock.

“Alright. What
do you want me to do?” he whispers now.

“I want you to
let me escape. Or I will end my life now with this sword.”

“Does he mean so
much to you that you would kill yourself for him?”

“Without him I
am dead anyway.”

“So, you really
love him…”

“More than I
have ever loved anyone. The only reason he let me go was because he wanted me
to have a prosperous future, not because he didn’t love me. We are married.
With the wolves’ wedding ritual but still…Do you see this bracelet? It’s the
symbol of our bond. And he is dying, Ellard. I have to save him. Please…”

He is pondering
over his decision. I hope it doesn’t take him long, as this sword is really
heavy to carry.

“Alright. But it
will be done my way, not yours.”

“Your way?”

“Well, since I
am responsible he is dying and as I would never let a lady walk alone at night,
I will take you there with my horse.”

“Really? Oh,
thank you!”

I let the sword
fall on the carpet. I loop my arms around his neck and give him a strong kiss
on his cheek.

“Quick. We don’t
want to wake anyone. Let’s go through the back door to the stables,” he says.

Soon we are out
of the palace, running. The bright moon is full tonight and lights our way. It
doesn’t take us long to reach the point of the two paths. He pulls the reigns
of the horse and it compliantly halts.

“I’ll go on
alone,” I tell him.

“In the woods
where shapeshifters live? There is no way I am letting you go in there on your
own.”

“But I don’t
know the way…” I say, aware of how stupid that sounds.

“Calista, it’s
still night. In the forest where wolves live and you don’t know the way. We are
going together. Don’t you have any clue on how to go?”

“When he led me
to where he lives the first time we met, he confused me by turning a lot and he
did the same yesterday that he brought me back here. But he did say one day
that if I walked straight ahead in the opposite direction of where he lives,
then I would reach the crossroads.”