I hum myself a lullaby in bed that night. Staring at the canopy above my bed I can't help but wonder why my father wasn't at the ball. I miss him so intensely, I feel my heart aching. I don't only ache to see my father's face, no. I also grieve to be home again. To be in my own room for once, and walk my own halls, would be so pleasurable. I close my eyes and try to picture the kitchen and the library. The dining room and the stable in the far yard. I roll over on my side and fix my eyes on the line of light underneath the door.
"Close your baby-soft eyes." I sing softy to myself. "Breathe gentle breaths through those ruby red lips. Don't cry any more for I am at your side. Sleep sure and quiet, my dear." A solemn tear trickles down my cheek, slowly seeping into the pillow on which I rest my head.
That night, it had rained. I wake up to a cool draft sweeping through my window. The tops of my sheets feel slightly damp and cool. I straighten my nightgown and climb out of bed. I lick my lips and I can still taste my goodnight kiss. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I open the door and start to head to the washroom. I wanted to retrieve my old clothes I left in Victoria's care so long ago. Something in me just longed to wear that deer-skin cloak once more. To smell the forest. I slip into the empty room with the wash tub and cabinets filled with extra linens and material. I check a few drawers, only to find brushes and cloths. Maybe they were disposed off. I certainly hope not.
"What are you looking for," someone said from the door.
I turn, scared, and see Victoria. "Oh," I sigh. "You made me jump a little."
"I'm sorry." Victoria says.
"No need." I said. "Um, Victoria. May I ask where you placed my old clothing?"
"Your old clothing, Mistress?" Victoria said puzzled.
My cheeks go a white-peach color. "My cloak and my green dress."
"Those, Mistress? Why would you be wanting those? I tried to wash them for you, but none of the soot came out. Especially on that tattered dress. The cape cleaned up better. Though, I couldn't get that nasty smell out of it." Rambles Victoria.
"I don't care if they're dirty. I just wish to have them back." I reply.
"As you wish, Mistress. I'll go retrieve them." Victoria leaves the washroom.
I let out a huge sigh and rest my weight on the door frame.
There was no sign of my dear Ash at breakfast later that morning. His mother said that he had some things to do, but what could be so important? I slip out of the dinning hall as quick as I could. It was nice to see Queen Delia again, but her talk on gardens and politics was getting a little out of hand for my liking. I go up to Ash's room and start to pull out some of the drawers on his armoire. I pull out a pair of breeches and set them on top of my waist and legs. They looked too big. I had no choice but to use a dress. I go back into my own room and see that Victoria had set my old mistletoe green dress and my deer-skin cloak on my bed. I quickly take off my summer-light outfit and slip on the two strips of cloth that used to be a radiant gown. It felt so weird, yet so good to have them on again. I grab my cape and tuck it under my arm and head out, trying the best I could to be unnoticed. My body had no control over itself. My mind was doing every single command and movement. I couldn't stop any of it. It made me happy though. I felt wild once more. Knowing that is was wrong, and that I should just leave my past behind me, didn't falter my path. I make my way to the front doors and slip out, pretending not to notice the on-hand guards. I bounce down the steps and start to run the second I hit the morning-moist grass. It felt good on my bear feet. My eyes set on the stable, I begin to sprint faster. My face smiles suddenly. This feeling I have is so giddy, it's unnatural. I bang the doors open and come to a halt. In the first stall was a familiar face.
"Cornmeal!" I giggle and open the stall door so he could walk out. I cuddle his face in my arms and give him a kiss on that big leathery nose. "I missed ya, buddy."
He rears his head back and whinnies.
"Don't you remember me, Cornmeal?" I ask. I give a small
whistle and his ears perk up. "Remember now? It's Misty."
Something stirs behind me with a rustle of hay. I turn to see Ash asleep on a
pile of straw. His hands tucked behind his head. I sit down beside him and give
him a jerk. "Ash…wake up."
One of his eyes opens and looks out the side onto me. "Misty?" Ash says groggily.
"Yes."
Ash sits up slowly and rubs his eyes for a second then looks at me. He places a hand on my leg. "What are you doing here, Misty--." He pulls his hand away from my leg and looks down at me. "What…? Why…?"
"What's the matter?"
He swallows with an almost teary look in his eyes. "Are you…going back?"
"Oh!" I gasp, then smile. "No, Ash, I'm not returning to the forest." I stand up and tighten the reins on Cornmeal.
Ash's eyes widen. "Then…then, what are you doing?"
"I was going to borrow a pair of your breeches, but they looked a little too baggy for me. These were the only other clothes I knew that would be comfortable to ride in." I reply.
"I don't know what my mother would say if she saw you in that." Ash points at me and blushes.
I chuckle through my smile. "Don't worry. She didn't see me…yet." I put one foot in the stirrup and pull myself up, swinging my other leg to put it in the opposite stirrup. I take my deer-skin cloak and tie it around my neck, letting it envelope my shoulders.
"Where are you going on this ride?" Ash asks.
I put on a stern face and turn Cornmeal towards the open doors. "I'm going to see my father."
"What!?" Ash shouts. "But, Misty! What about the bay! You can't ride a horse across water."
"I know that." I say. "I'll just ride him until the bay breaks off into one of its rivers, and I'll cross there."
"Misty," Ash takes the reins from my hands. "The bay is very large. It will take you at least two hours to reach a tributary. And that's if you keep up a fast pace."
"I don't care. I'm so very worried about him." I clench my heart in my fists. "I can't live another day without seeing his face. I need to apologize to him! I need to hear his voice reply!"
"Misty, I'm saying those only for your own good!" Ash said. "I don't want you to get hurt."
"Don't worry about me, Ash. I'll be fine." I retrieve the reins and kick hard into Cornmeal's ribs and he dashes out the door.
From behind I hear Ash yell, "The Curse!"
The wind fast in my face, whipping my hair into a tumble of snarls, Cornmeal gallops on across the east hills. The soft grass sloshes and crunches under his hard, horse-shoed hooves. I lean forward so he can gain speed easier and I bury my face in his soft white mane. Ash's last two words to me were only an echo in my head. And for some odd reason I could not comprehend them. All was blurring and what was blurring was nothing. My eyes could only make out Cornmeal's snowy ears top his gallant head. My cloak, warming my arms and tops of my thighs, puffed out from the oncoming air. What was this surge going through my body, my blood, my brain? Why do I run forward when the one I love is behind me? For some reason, I feel my answer is still in front of me, even though I crave to retreat. The Curse, Ash had said. Those words seemed to be of a different language. I have forgotten the tongue of the forest and am too used to the dialect of my kingdom and castle. The curse…the curse. I steer Cornmeal without thinking, my hands know where I'm going. The curse…the curse. My eyes suddenly widen with urgent fear. Altrogge! Without a single breath of warning I see Cornmeal running ahead of me and onward. I stay in midair, caught in this web of insanity and indescribable pain. My throat screams so loud my voice gets hoarse and weary. I feel like a dead field mouse being devoured by a swarm of maggots, pushing inside my very skin and trying to punch their way out, driving the bones away from the flesh. Lord Altrogge's words are reappearing in my head. "Don't think you're getting away that easily, Misty. I have restricted your wanderings to a four mile radius from the lake in all directions. If you exceed this distance, believe me, you will definitely know." I slowly go crossed eyed, at the fact my stupidity has gotten the best of me. How could I have forgotten about the four mile restraint? I was too overjoyed knowing I could be with Ash for the rest of my life. I was too conceded when I left that stable in search of the Waterflower Kingdom and my father. I was as dumb as a barn-yard pig. The continuous strain of lightning-bolt pain finally makes my body go limp and I fall to the ground. Everything is still blurry, but this time, I can't make anything out. Nothing at all. Lord Altrogge has finally done it. He had bested me in both mind and strength. I am nothing but a foolish girl. A foolish girl who thought once that love could conquer all. My body singed and defeated, I close my emerald eyes, still hearing that echo of Ash's last two words.
I find my voice and I tell the sky my reply to everything and everybody. "I'm. Sorry." I give in to the darkness yet again. Dismayed that my own heart had vanquished me.
