III
A huge canvas.
And on it was only a pair of almond shaped, warm brown eyes.
But even though it was just the eyes, it was so detailed and realistic it seems real. So real. Too real.
But it wasn't real.
Time passed. Night after night, day after day.
More colors joined the eyes, more parts.
A delicate mouth; a slender neck, beautifully curved shoulders and arms; a slender waist, the dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose…
It wasn't enough.
But Leo learned to be patient. He looked forward to every night when he would see even more of her. And he could tell that she's beautiful, more beautiful than any other woman.
The painting was so real, so life-like.
But it wasn't real.
τέσσερις ιστορίες
Jason hated many things.
He hated how boring and annoying and strict his father was. He hated how cold and distant and unloving his mother was. He hated how his sister had ran off, abandoning her duties, leaving all the responsibility and pressure to him.
But most of all, he hated how big the castle was.
After he had gone back, enduring through a long lecture and scolding, then through his punishment for skipping classes, he began exploring again.
But this time, he wasn't just exploring. He was searching. Searching for the voice.
But the castle was so damned big, and was such a maze that soon, he was hopelessly lost.
When he passed a servant, he halted her and inquired, "Do you know where the attic is?"
The servant hastily bowed and murmured, "The attic, your majesty?"
"Yes. The attic."
"Um…" she looked nervous. "Which attic are you talking about, my Prince?"
Jason swore. The castle has dozens of towers, all of them with attics. "Just give me all the locations of all the attics, please," he said finally, sighing inside.
And that was exactly what the servant girl did.
When he got the paper with all the locations of attics, he couldn't help but groan. There were so many! But steeling himself, he began to search.
The first attic was locked, and the door was iron. One down, twenty-nine more to go.
The second attic was open, but the door was also of iron. Two down, twenty-eight more to go.
The third was both unlocked and wooden, but the attic was completely empty. Three down, twenty-seven more to go…
τέσσερις ιστορίες
Jason was at the fourteenth door and he was ready to give up.
His feet were aching from walking from tower to tower, his legs exhausted from climbing up and down, and he was very, very thirsty.
Not only that, he had missed another two tutoring lessons, and he was sure that this time, his father wasn't just going to lecture him and ground him for a week or something.
But he continued searching.
Fourteen down, sixteen more to go…
As he climbed up slowly and tiredly up the fifteenth tower, a familiar voice drifted past him. Immediately, he perked up and started running up the stairs. The singing grew louder and louder, the beautiful voice flowing through him. The attic was so close…
He flung open the wooden door, once again met by darkness; but he had come prepared. Though his candle was no more than a stub by now, it was still burning, and he lifted it above his head to let the light spread through the room.
It was dusty. Obviously, nobody had come in here for a really long time.
Jason strode through the room, leaving behind dark footprints in the thick dust that layered the floor.
He threw open the dusty and moth-bitten curtains, then pushed open the old, creaky open. Red light of the setting sun settled onto the floor, blowing up feathers of dust.
Jason looked around.
There wasn't much in the attic: an old, abandoned table with broken chairs around it, a dusty cabinet, a broken violin… and a mirror.
The mirror was covered by a large white cloth, and when Jason pulled back the dusty cloth, he found the mirror. It was a simple yet beautiful mirror, the borders embroidered with gold.
Using his hands, he wiped the surface of mirror, turning his hands and sleeve black. He coughed as the dust filled the air, and sneezed a few times as well, but he survived.
It was a strange mirror, and when he looked into it, instead of seeing his reflection, all he saw was white.
And the singing was radiating from the mirror.
Frowning confusedly, Jason examined the mirror, circling it, running his hands over it.
But he found nothing.
The singing continued.
"Hello?" he asked cautiously, feeling stupid as he knocked on the surface of the mirror. The singing stopped abruptly.
And to his shock, the white on the other side of the mirror rippled and was drawn away.
And through the mirror, Jason could see a nice, comfortable room. But it wasn't the room that caught his eye.
It was the girl.
τέσσερις ιστορίες
The singing made Frank's heart flutter.
It was soft, lilting, a haunting lullaby that echoes and goes on forever. When the voice grew closer, he began to hear clicking as well. Thousands of invisible things clicking their heads, watching from around, listening… celebrating.
The person who emerged was not the witch. She was not golden-eyed.
But she was beautiful. The clicking grew louder, more frantically, until it sounded like applause, deafening against Frank's ears.
Her hair was bright gold in the sun, but when she passed through the shadow, it turned bronze. Her eye colors change in the sun as well, turning from purple, to blue, to brown. Her skin was the color of milk and honey and seems to glow faint gold in the sun.
In simpler words, she looked like a goddess.
Frank was speechless as he stared at her. Her simple white dress billowed majestically around her legs, the gems on her bracelets and necklace glowing. She was barefooted, and in one hand was… a basket of breads.
At first, she just strolled through the forest, chatting happily with invisible creatures that Frank couldn't see. And then she saw him.
The clicks and creaks stopped along with her as she stared at the soldier, looking him up and down. Frank turned red, afraid that she'd judge, as people often does, but instead, she didn't say anything- just smiled and held up her basket of breads. "Welcome to the forest, brave soldier."
τέσσερις ιστορίες
"So…" the girl sat down onto the soft grass, beckoning at Frank for him to follow her example, "What brings you here?"
Frank wasn't sure whether or not he should answer. He didn't know this person, and although she looked nice enough, looks can be deceiving. "I… uh…"
Great, that just made him sound stupid.
"Let me guess," she tapped her chin, looking thoughtful. "Are you traveling through the forest to get home? To visit someone? Or," her lips quirked into a small smile, "are you on a quest?"
"Uh…"
Honestly, Frank hated his mouth.
"The latter then," she smiled sweetly. "That's great! What kind of quest is it? To find a treasure? To save a princess? To slay a witch?" her smile widened.
Finally, Frank managed to say something that was actually words, "Who are you?"
She didn't answer immediately: she got distracted by a little bunny that leapt out from the shadows, nuzzling her hand. She petted it and picked it up carefully, turning it around to make it face Frank. It was a pretty cute rabbit, with dark gray fur, a typical fluffy rabbit tail, a cute, twitchy pink nose and… glowing red eyes. Not only that, it had fangs, like walrus husks, but smaller (much smaller) and much, much pointier. Frank vaguely wondered how the rabbit was able to run or anything without accidently impaling a paw or something. The fangs were quite long.
And sharp.
Very sharp.
More animal emerged from the forest behind the girl. A herd of deer, their golden eyes glowing, their antlers and horns an abnormal color of gray with a strange, metallic luster, the ends of the branches so sharp it seems to disappear and fade at the tips. Squirrels with cold, beady black eyes, their buckteeth large and heavy, dripping with poisonous saliva, their claws curved and pointed.
Frank gulped nervously.
Suddenly, the girl no longer seemed kind and sweet. There was something sinister about her, a dark aura, and her eyes had settled with a deep shade of purple, her hair turning a coppery brown. Even the shadows grew longer.
"Who am I?" she repeated Frank's question. "I am the Queen of this forest, the protector and watcher." She gently lowered the bunny to the ground and held out a hand, her nails long, pointed and sharp. "Will you do me a favor, my brave soldier?"
Frank made a sound like a mixture of a whimper and a gulp. Apparently the Queen takes weird noises as 'yes'.
"I am trapped," she explained, "in this horrid form. Some curse has been put on this forest. It is no longer beautiful and pleasant; it had become dangerous. My friends are turned into monsters," she gestured to the mob of animals around and behind her, "and I am trapped in the form of a human. I am a protector, a spirit of the forest. Every animal, every spirit Fae, every nymph and dryad are under my care. Yet here I am; in this form, I am unable to do many things or save many lives, my powers are limited. Humans began to hunt in here, and began to cut down trees, killing my nymphs. You are the only one who has seen me now and not run away, so I beg you this: Save us."
Truth to be spoken, Frank really, really, really wants to run away, but he's frozen there. He tried to speak, to ask a question, but all that came out of his mouth was, "Uhhhh…"
"I believe what you want to ask is what will you get in return?" the forest protector raised an eyebrow at him.
Frank nodded numbly, not actually registering what she was saying.
The Queen smiled, not answering the question. "When night falls, Frank Zhang, go to sleep. At midnight, you shall wake, and find the spirit Fae. They will lead you onto the right path, so that you may succeed in your task. In return, I will give you anything you want, anything at all." She glanced up at the sky. "Ah, time does past fast. Night is closing in, my soldier. Now, rest in peace."
And as Frank's lids grew heavy and his vision dimmed, he couldn't help feeling like she didn't just mean for him to have sweet dreams.
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