Waiting in the Dark

𝓉𝓌𝑒𝓁𝓋𝑒

        It had been weeks since the ball. We had fallen into a familiar routine. Cirillo and I ate breakfast together in the mornings. We also tried to go on walks together sometimes. He was often busy with meetings and training but he made time to be with me. 

      About two months after our wedding, I was walking in the garden, trying to get some fresh air. Cirillo rushed towards me. 

      "I have some bad news." His face was worried and his eyes were dark. 

       "What is it?" Dread pooled in my stomach.

       "It's your mother. She's dying." 

      The words hit me like arrows. I sunk to my knees. I heard myself crying. 

      Cirillo knelt next to me and pulled me into his lap. He stroked my hair and whispered softly into to my ear. "It's ok, love. It will all be ok." 

     I cried in his arms until I had no more tears to cry. My heart felt heavy in my chest. 

      Once I had recovered enough, I sat up, wiping the tears from my cheeks. "Please, Cirillo, you have to let me use the mirror to tell her goodbye. Please." 

       He shook his head. "No, it's too dangerous." 

        "Please. Please, Cirillo. If you had the chance to tell your  mother goodbye one last time, wouldn't you want the same thing. Please, she's part of the only family I have left." My voice was trembling. 

      He sighed heavily. "I'll come with you to the edge of the forest. But you have to be very careful." 

     I threw  my arms around him. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" He hugged me tight. 

      "Let's go make you look like a queen."

     Cirillo insisted that i wasn't going to walk through the village without dressing the part of a queen. 

       I wore a deep red velvet dress with bell sleeves. It was embroidered with gold thread that glittered against the dark fabric. Heavy gold jewelry with glittering rubies adorned my wrists, ears, and throat. A heavy, gold crown sat atop my head, completing the ensemble. 

      I felt royal. I felt more beautiful than I ever had in my entire life. 

      "Do you have a dagger with you?" Cirillo asked me when I was ready. 

      "Strapped to my right leg." 

      He smiled proudly. "That's my girl." 

      His expression grew serious. "You can't tell anyone I'm fae. If you must, convince them I'm a beast or a monster. If they find out that fae are real, not things of legends, they'll kill us all." 

      "I won't. I promise." 

      "Good."

      When we arrived at the edge of the Wood, Cirillo stopped. "I can't go any farther. You'll have to go on by yourself." He kissed me hard on the lips. "Be careful. I need you to come back unharmed."

      "I will."

      "If you aren't back in an hour and a half. I'm coming to find you. Please be back in an hour and a half. 

 I made my way through the center of town. I held my head high and didn't meet anyone's gaze. I could feel their stares, I could hear the whispers. I didn't stop. I didn't hesitate.