Eternal Sleep [On Hold but Not Forgotten]

Into the Woods

I stared about with the hopes that, perhaps, I could recognize a landmark, a person or a plant that would guide me back toward where I had come from. But this part of the world was a blank slated canvas and I had been foolish enough to come without a brush to paint my path back home. I had let her lure me out so she could go after Phillip. That had to be it. And now that I was out of the picture and some silly little lost dream spirit, she could easily have her way. I hoped Phillip was okay.

The little imp was long gone and the raven had fluttered away. I was alone in the most awful sense of the word that you can imagine. I had failed. In my efforts to trick the trickster, I had fallen prey to her. But she had taken the bait, had she not? She was trying to court Phillip in my absence, yes? But what good would it do if I wasn't there when he found my body? How would he get it back and fight Lilith? How could I pose as the distraction or... or even... save him from her. I shuddered to think what she might do to him if she found out that he was setting her up and I wasn't there to stop her from taking out all of her rage on him. Or, worse yet, if he had to play along to the very end and marry that awful creature. Poor Phillip. I had to get back.

Screaming internally, I forced myself to focus on the ground to see if I'd left any footprints behind me or if any of the underbrush of the empty field I was in would be still disturbed by my trespassing. None of these guesses of mine were correct. I really was stranded. I resigned myself to what I could do: wander. I could at least start in one direction until I found a town or a pathway that would lead me back to the castle. And I had to hurry. My mother was still out there and this could still be the part of a larger trick. What if she knew? What if she was luring me out to snatch me up and throttle me or tear my soul into pieces? And what was she after? Why would she send a decoy to meet me instead of herself? And would she be angry now that I set a servant of hers free in such a blatant act of defiance.

A loud howl erupted from the trees and I began to run. Whether that was confirmation of my fears or not, I wasn't about to stick around and get mauled by an angry werebeast, wolf, or even playful Lilith. I was going to get out of here and back to the castle. The field stretched on for eons and the green and gold blurs of the weeds and flowers beneath me became monotonous as I sped along like a frightened ghost until I reached a tree line. None of the foliage about me seemed familiar in the slightest. It would have to do, but I had nothing but negative feelings about what I was getting myself into.

The hoots and chitters of chattering birds and related specimens all called above in a cacophony of tension. I was being watched from all corners of the trees and bushes and I knew that there was nothing I could do to decipher the good from the bad. And the animals could touch me. People, maybe not, but they could tear into me with their claws and teeth should they choose. My mind came back to Lilith telling me of the bull that tried to gore her. I wished sorely that it had done what it set out to do. Now it was up to me to finish the job; I didn't even have a physical body to do her any harm.

I was doing nothing productive by just standing at the edge of the forest and wishing for things that could never be. I had to be in the here and now and deal with the cards I'd been given, not the perfect hand.

"Here we go, Aurora," I whispered to myself.

It was startling to hear my own voice in such a living space. It seemed so out of place among the other creatures that screeched and startled one another with little regard for the strange, opaque form wavering in the trees.

There was no path to follow, so gliding about proved strange as I wove between trees and over broken stumps and twigs. I tried with great effort not to make any sound or draw attention to myself in any way. Such a mistake could prove fatal if Lilith were to find me. I couldn't take such a risk. My father, my fiancé and the kingdom were depending on my good faith and diligence. Messing things up now would only spell out the deaths of a few thousand good people... no big deal.

My capacity for sarcasm in moments like this was never dull. I was always refreshing when it came to making morbid light out of the most terrible things. Phillip had the better sense of humor. I missed his charming smile and eyes that sparked matches in your soul and set your body aflame with every happy feeling you could imagine.

My god, when had I become such a sap?

A herd of deer bounded by as I made my way to a river that coursed its way through the heart of a forest. I was vaguely aware of anything that was going on save the thoughts inside my own head. I had always been the most terrible person to host a conversation with or rely on to remember things. Daydreams wracked my brain far more frequently than any logical thought and I was lost in the story of my lost happily ever after when my feet touched the water and I realized I could feel physical things like trees and rivers and bushes. When had I been able to do that? How had I not noticed my ability to feel those kinds of things?

It felt good to run my hands in the water and stare at my reflection. Seeing through myself to the sky beyond was frightening. I wanted to be a solid mass again instead of just a lone mirage that everyone felt sorry for or afraid of. I was a sixteen year old girl, not a monster. Daemon didn't necessarily mean monster, anyway, right? Would I grow fangs or horns or begin to act like my mother? What had made her snap the way she had?

Did she really cheat on my father and blame him? Did she really love Phillip and have it out for me for the competition I posed to her? Or was it something else?

The face of a young stag placed itself next to mine in the running water and I reached up to place my hand on its muzzle, but it reared back and started to flee. I sighed and returned to watching my reflection when it came back again, this time nuzzling me aggressively on the arm. I reached up to pet it and it bounded off again. Curious, I stood and watched where it had gone to. It lingered on the edge of a denser crop of trees and nodded its head toward the direction in which the darkness began to sprawl. It wanted me to follow it.

Was it Lilith, or was it sent by some other magical creature whose intentions were poor. A few birds settled upon its quaint antlers. Despite its beautiful tan fur and soft brown eyes, I knew that this was a ruse of some kind. But what if it had an answer? What if it could help me? I mean, hadn't I faced enough trouble as it was? Couldn't I stand to hold up against some more?

I don't know if I should go...

More birds began to come and tug at the garb I'd fallen to the lull of sleep in. Sooner or later, if I didn't go, the whole forest would carry me there anyway. I had to follow them. If anything, it was better than wandering as aimlessly as I had been.

"Alright, you guys, what do you have to show me?"

They bounded off before I could ask, my anxious woes and tattered self hot on their trail.