My hearts been caught in a snare, if I move in the slightest it'll cause a tear.
Rhymes are just beautiful things, aren't they? Brighten my days so much.
"Are you alright?" Natsume's voice invades my thoughts as he kneels at my side, attempting to pry me from the burnt forest floor,
" Who did this?" I turn to face him, his form is blurred with the tears that well up in my eyes,
" I don't know, I do know that it's time to go back to the castle though." He stands but I dig my nails into the earth; no heart beat, not in the slightest.
" Don't waver child..." I whip my head up towards the sky as the winds now hoarse voice fills the air, " Hold onto your resolve... Destroy those who did this to us... The grand tree is dead along with the rest of her counsel, that leaves only you..."
I stand, I feel as if the soot that settles over me is weighing me down,
" I'll return with you but I need a moment alone." Natsume narrows his eyebrows but complies silently as he tends to the horse, I walk around what used to be the tree line until I find a spot that still retains some of the lush attributes it once had, laying my hand against the ash cloaked grass and mumble a small requiem.
An emerald green light flows from my hand and encircles the entire tree line, all at once the burnt stumps brighten slightly but don't return to their original beauty, the grass clears itself of the smothering soot.
I stand and smile briefly but it's short lived at most; it's no longer my forest, the newly planted saplings aren't that of the ones I helped sow last spring and the magic of the forest is hardly there at all,
" Mikan, it's almost sunset. We must get going."
Natsume rests a hand on my shoulder and leans in close to my ear,
" I'm sorry."
I turn quickly to face him but he's already on the horse, " What did you say?"
I ask in a bewildered tone as I mount the horse,
" I said nothing, let's get going."
" You two are finally back! Where did you?" Aoi jumps onto Natsume the moment he slides off his horse,
" We just went on a ride." Natsume shrugs her off before walking into the castles main doors,
" Mikan, you must tell me where you really went." Aoi runs to my side, her burgundy eyes alight with glee,
" A ride." I answer simply before running after Natsume; when I reach the inside of the castle he is no where to be found instead of him I find Hotaru leaning against the stone wall, her violet eyes filled with a cold glare that she casts upon the floor,
" Hotaru? Has something happened?"
Her eyes flicker over to me, " The queen needs to see you, she'll be inside there." He gestures to her right where the door to the main room rests, " Thank you."
I walk past her but she catches my arm and whispers, " Good luck, make sure you don't crumble in front of her." She lets go and I enter the room,
" It's good to see you, Mikan."
Queen Kaoru sits perched on her throne, one of her hands grip the sides of her chair as she begins talking,
" From what I've heard from my son you've seen what happened to your home? Yes?"
I clench my fists, " Indeed I have, do you intend to tell me what your next course of action will be?"
She smiles but her eyes remain tired, " You probably don't understand what's currently plaguing our country," She turns her head and a smirk graces her lips,
" Or I suppose I should say 'Who' is plaguing our country, we're in a state of war."
I narrow my eyes, " Just what does that have to do with my forest being burned to the ground?" She frowns,
" Another casualty, just like the villages of ours that they've burned down. It's a message to back down." She rubs her temples,
" And just who is waging these threats?" I rest my hand against my hip,
" Luna and the rest of her idiotic cult that follow her blindly," She mutters angrily, " Luna used to be one of us, a member of the royal counsel before she betrayed us and left with him." She nearly spits out the last word, " Besides that you also play quite the role in this war,"
My eyes widen, " Me?"
" Yes, I can't tell you everything now but you were left to live in the forest for a reason and now that your out of the unwavering grasp of the forest we'll have to protect you as best as may be able to do. If your hurt in anyway this war would extend beyond our borders, that's all I can say for now."
She stands and walks over to me, looking down at me with the eyes of her children,
" Will you help us defeat our enemies, to save my country and to get revenge for the loss of your homelands ?" Her eyes are almost challenging me,
" But of course, my abilities are at your mercy."
After talking to Kaoru I spent several hours scouring the halls until I finally reached the place called the ' Library' Hotaru told me of this place once at dinner, she said that the wisdom of others had been listed in these so called ' Books' I push the door and my jaw nearly drops at the sheer size of the room before me; large selfs hold what I assume to be books, I pick up the first one I see with a picture of a fairy drawn on the front. The inside is packed full of odd symbols that I don't understand,
" Can you not read? Surely you jest." I jump and drop the book as Nastume's voice echoes in the large room,
" What's the problem if I can't?" I ask bravely as he picks up the book,
" Folk tales, huh? A perfect choice for someone like you." He hands me the book and I sneer at him,
" Your far too cocky, you know that?" He snorts and heads for the door but stops shot and turns slightly, the sun streams in through the window and hits his eyes in such a way that makes them glimmer; My breath hitches slightly as we stare at each other,
" About what I said earlier; In the forest," He stops,
" I'm truly sorry for your loss," He heads out the door but not before saying,
" If you need a shoulder to cry in mine is always open for you."
I'm finally done with my exams! I'm so happy I could cry, they were a bit hard and I always got home exhausted but I'm just glad to be done with them. Also I updated a day earlier than I said I would, I definitely deserve some cake for that. No? Ok then, besides nonexistent cake what do you guys think about the romance so far? Not too shabby if I say so myself, well whatever. I'm going to get some well deserved sleep. Don't forget to leave some reviews, bye!
