Norman had forgotten what autumn was like. It had been so long ago he'd moved to the forest as an apprentice, he had no memory of seasons, and with good reason. Of course an enchanted forest had no seasons- it had only the appearance of them. The weather did not gradually slide from one extreme to another. In an enchanted wood, there was summer, and then there was winter. There was nothing in between.
This in-between weather was what unsettled him.
His first surprise was the leaves. The days were clearly shortening, and the wind gaining a crisp bite to it, but the change of leaves was what made him stop and take notice. At first he thought maybe the trees were ill, with their greens fading and the tips changing color, but Jennifer assured him this was normal. He watched as the yellows, oranges, browns, and reds spread through the leaves every day like a disease, until the entire leaf, and soon after the entire tree, was one mass of quivering color. He couldn't stop it. He couldn't slow it.
What really got to him, though, was the air. Something about the quality of the air held desperation in it. It was syrupy and bittersweet, and painful to breathe in. It left a twinge somewhere between his chest and his stomach, a pang of loss and fear and transience.
Once, he turned and saw a red leaf that had fallen and landed in Jennifer's unbound hair as she read under a large oak tree. There it was, contrasting sharply with her dark tresses. Just like him, he thought. Something strange and garish among the normal and commonplace. And, he realized, pausing in his movement to sweep it away, mortal. Time may have passed differently in the woods, in a way that he never could fully understand, but here it was regular and relentless. He had a sudden desire to take Jennifer in his arms and hold her tightly, as if to assure himself that they were both still here, still alive, safe from the liquid descent of the seasons around them. While living in the forest he had never really cared about it one way or another, but now, with autumn pressing down on him all, he longed to return to the shelter of its timelessness, where he may not be safe from dragons or ogres, but he was safe from time, and change.
But then Jennifer, sensing his hand paused in midair, turned from her book and smiled. Her eyes were happy and light, with the same glow they always had when she looked at him. She leaned over and brushed a gentle kiss on his lips, and went back to her book, still smiling, with a slight pinkish tinge to her cheeks.
Norman breathed deeply, and leaned back against the tree next to her, closing his eyes. As a sorcerer, however inexperienced, he still knew all too well the concepts of balance, and Jennifer had just helped him to realize one more very important thing.
He would eventually grow used to the changing of the seasons, and although he had lost the safety of the woods, what he had gained had more than made up for it.