Happily Ever After......NOT!

Chapter Nine

     Gravel crunched under our boots as we walked, I had a big feeling we would be doing a lot of walking on this adventure to Agog.
    Hayden wiped sweat from his forehead, "Bloody earth it's hot!" He complained. He was right it wasn't even noon yet and the sun beat down on us like a fiery train engine  letting off steam
    I pushed back some lose strands of hair that was escaping the fishbone braid. Dirt and oil clung to my clothes and skin, I could feel it sticking to me everywhere. When was the last time I washed anyway? I couldn't even remember, it seemed like all I've ever been doing was walking and walking some more.
   "So why does the Great Wizard want you to go to Agog?" Hayden asked breaking the silence.
    "He needs me to retrieve a beautiful necklace with a pink jewel."
     "Really, I didn't realize  necklaces was something he was so fond of wearing." He joked flashing me a grin.
     I laughed and smile back, "I'm not sure why he wants a necklace, but it's worth it for what he's giving me in return."
    "Which is?"
     "A chance to meet my mother." I said softly realizing this could be big, if Rollick won't have me; surely my own mother would have me.
     Hayden frowned as we stepped over a fallen tree. He took my hand and helped me over, "But your mother is dead."
     I shook my head, "Yes, but my birth mother isn't."
      "You're not originally from Rollick?" Hayden raised both eyebrows surprised.
     "Big news not everyone's from Rollick." I said grinning remembering he had told me that awhile ago.
     "Haha." He smiled a twinkle in his dark brown eyes.
     I looked away towards the golden brown fields trying not to let him seeing my flushed cheeks, why were his eyes so nice to look at! I rolled my eyes I couldn't fall in love with him, it wasn't possible. Yet..... I've never met a man who made me feel this way, was this what happiness felt like? Because my heart was going crazy!
    "A penny for your thoughts, Princess."
    I looked back at him his eyes were trained on me, I couldn't tell him wait I was really thinking so instead I said, "I'm going to break my curse."
    He shook his head, "Impossible, no curse can be broken."
    "EVERY curse can be broken."
    He shrugged, "Even if you could how do you plan to do it?"
    "The Great Wizard said that my mother had all the answers, she could tell me how to break it." I paused dreading the next part, "And.... Why she gave me up......"
    "What if the answers she gives you isn't what you wanted?"
     "What do you mean?"
     Hayden cleared his throat, "What if the reason she gave you up is because you're cursed with unhappiness?"
     "You're saying my own mother didn't want me because I'm cursed? That's crazy! A mother will love her child no matter what!"
     He shrugged, "All I'm saying parents aren't always good, they can be really crappy."
    I stopped walking and placed my hands on my hips, "I have a feeling we're no longer talking about me."
    Hayden stopped too and stared at me, "Then who then?"
     "You." I said quietly.
     Hayden looked away not wanting to tell her the truth, how could he? They lived so completely different life styles. She was raised in a place surrounded by marvelous things with both parents with high rankings and titles. On the other hand he lived on dirty streets fighting for his life because his dad didn't care about him or his younger brother.
     "Hayden, how did your younger brother die?"
      Hayden shook his head, "It's not..... a story of you want to hear......"
      I took his hand and held it, "Try me."
      Hayden shook his head, "Another time. We're almost there."
     "To Agog already?!" I jumped up and down with excitement; Hayden stared at me like I lost my mind so I stopped.
     "No we're far from Agog." Hayden pointed to a forest a few feet away.
    The dirt path went through the thick forest curving and twisting it's way through the forest like a snake. The trees hugged the path and stretched all the way around the path.
    "Pretty, I love woods." I waved my hand towards him, "Come on scaredy cat!"
    Hayden held back, "I'm not a cat, and I'm not afraid. But you should be."
     "Why? Because I'm a princess? I can take care of myself just fine thank you."
      "You've seriously don't know this forest do you?" Hayden walked up to the edge of the forest and looked down the dirt path that lead into the forest. "This is the Enchanted Forest of Truth. Legend has it that anyone that enters this forest and are asked a question while in the forest are forced to speak the truth. Kings would take people having arguments into this forest to find out who's speaking the truth and who's lying."
      "What happens if someone lies in this forest?"
      "Well you see you can't, the enchantment is too strong. Only the truth can be spoke." 
      "And let me guess we have to go through the Enchanted Forest of Truth?"
      Hayden nodded, "It won't be too bad, just don't ask a question you don't want to know the answer to." Hayden paused thinking about his past, "In fact let's make a promise, I don't ask you any questions in here and you don't ask me any, okay?"
     "Sure why not, let's go." Together we entered the enchanted forest. At first it just seemed like a regular forest, nothing felt different or strange. But as soon as we were far away from the entrance of the forest, and all the trace of daylight was replaced with nothing but trees thickly on either sides of us things started to change.
     Whispers. Whispers could be heard everywhere. Beside us, in front of us, and even behind us. It was like these whispers were being whispered right in our ears, but there was no one there whispering. Creepy right? I felt like I was losing my mind, it was freaking me out.
      I looked over at Hayden who looked perfectly fine walking though these woods, did he not hear the whispers? "Hayden what's happening to us?" I asked looking all around me trying to find out where the whispering was coming from.
     "There's too much at stake." A voice whispered, "We'll lose too much."
     Hayden looked at me, "Oh you mean the whispers."
      Relief flooded me, so I wasn't going crazy! "You can hear them too?"
     Hayden nodded, "It's part of the enchantment that covers the forest, everyone that walks through this forest their questions and the answers are caught in this trees and played back repeatedly."
     "Creepy, so what we're hearing is other people's questions they asked someone and got the true answer from?"
      "Precisely."
      I looked around me in wonder, "It's so strange and magnificent at the same time!"
      "If you say so, Princess."
      We continued walking, but not talking to each other. I really didn't mind though I just listened to all the whispers that where around me. It was quite fascinating, it was kinda like a story being read to you by a parent or nanny. Except it's all questions and answers being read.
     "King, the child is mine!" A voice cried in a whisper, "Her's died when she rolled over on top of him in her sleep!"
      "No the baby is mine!" Another voice whispered.
      "How do you feel if I cut the baby in half?" Another voice asked he must be the King.
      "No!" Cried the first mother's voice, "Don't kill the baby I'll rather you give her the baby than having it die."
    But the other mother whispered, "No it's only fair to have it cut in half."
    I shook my head and said more to myself than to Hayden walking beside me, "It's the first mother's child, a mother would never ask for her real child to die!"
    Hayden looked at me but didn't say anything.
    I smiled when I was right and heard the king's voice say to give the baby to the first mother.
      I continue listening to the whispers and trying to find out which one was the right answer. Most of them I got right, my favorite one that I heard was one about this couple. She was consumed by darkness and he went to help her get it out of her, but only to get hurt. Then she loved him too much to see him die so in order to keep him alive she put some darkness in him which made him angry.
     "There wasn't a day that I didn't believe in you, that I didn't trust you, but you clearly don't trust me so how am I supposed to fight this?" The angry voice yelled but came out a whisper to me.
      "By our love for each other." His love whispered.
      Tears trickled down my face as I silently cried.
      Hayden looked at me, "You okay?"
       I nodded, "This story is so beautiful! Their love for each other is going to help them defeat the darkness inside both of them. Have you ever seen such love before where they'll do anything for each other?"
      Hayden shook his head, "No I haven't."
       I returned to listening to the whispers the next one was about a cold blooded murder.
      This awful guy killed this girl and the Royal court couldn't get him to confess to what he did so the only way they could get it out of him was to bring him here. I shivered listening to the whispers, now it wasn't so delightful.
     "Here you must be cold." Hayden removed his black leather jacket and placed it over my slim shoulders.
     My fingers brushed the smooth leather, "Thank you, but you really didn't have to. These whispers must just be getting to me."
     Hayden rubbed his arms, "Yeah they have a way to do that to you."
     "You're going to get cold here take your jacket back."
     "No it's okay Amaya." He paused and then said, "But please forgive me."
     I frown, "What on earth are you apologizing for?"
      Hayden looked deeply uncomfortable, and worried, "For what I'm about to ask you." He took a deep breath, "Did You kill the Queen of Rollick your mother?"
      My eyes widened in fear, "Hayden we promised each other!" This sudden feeling of honesty came over me. I bite my lip not wanting to answer him since he broke our promise, but knowing that the enchanted forest was going to get it out of me anyway. I felt it tugging at my lips forcing them to open and speak the truth, "No! Of course not I loved my mother!"
     Hayden lowered his eyes ashamed that he had asked me and in doing so breaking our promise.
     Tears fell down my face, I felt betrayed, the one person I thought I could trust obviously didn't trust me if he thought I killed my mother. "Did you really think I could kill her?"
    "I'm sorry....."
     "You don't get to be sorry." I said angrily, "You promised! It was your idea not to ask questions!"
      " I know.."
     I cut him off again, "You have no idea what it feels like to be betrayed like this! Now that you got what you wanted out of me, I'm going to get the answer I really want to know."
     Now his eyes held look of fear, "Please Amaya, don't......"
     A mix of heat and tears stung my face, "What is your curse Hayden Marx?!"