What kind of a question was that? Did she trust him? A bird? It took a little while for Adela to figure out a honest answer to that question. She had nothing to go on, but his word that he knew her brother. She had no evidence not to trust him and none to trust him.
"I-I" She met the raven's intent dark eyes and slowly nodded. "Yes. Yes, I trust you." He knew where August was. She had to trust him.
If a bird could smile that's exactly what the raven would have done if the situation had not been so dire. "I will guide you to her house; enter it, and inside the old woman will be sitting in her rocking chair by the fire, let her do what she will, but pass by her on the right side; further on, there is a door. It is the only one that is closed, so you will not miss it. Enter into that room and you will see a quantity of rings of all kinds lying there. There will be magnificent ones with shining stones; leave them, however, where they are, and seek out a plain, tarnished silver one, which must likewise be amongst them, and bring it here to me as quickly as possible. I promise I will be here ready to help you when you return." The raven then paused and broke his gaze from hers. "Adela, you mustn't say a word while you're there. Your brother will be in that room when you first enter. He'll see you. Call out to you. But you mustn't look or utter a word to him." The black bird looked back over at the beautiful young woman. "If you acknowledge him in the slightest, the old woman will know you're there and then no one will be able to help us."
Slowly the young woman nodded that she understood, but withheld her many doubts. Could she go into a house and do as the raven requested without once looking at her brother? And why did the raven need his ring first?
But despite her doubts she had all ready promised her trust in the raven and she wasn't the kind to back out on her word.
"Lead me to the house." She said with a brave voice that she didn't quite feel. Why wouldn't the old woman notice her? Adela wasn't a fighter, even against an old woman, did she really have much of chance?
Oblivious to his angel's doubts the raven took off and slowly sailed along a path towards the old woman's house with the young woman close behind. He didn't have any doubts or suspicions for the young lady. He had full belief that she could do as he requested. That's why he had asked her to do it.
With a deep breath and backward glance at the raven perched on a tree branch, Adela slowly turned the doorknob and entered the small house. Immediately her gaze became locked on the far wall, out of the corner of her eye she noticed the old woman, rocking by the fire.
"Adela." The word was spoken from a voice she knew too well and one that caused her much grief. This was going to be harder than she had first thought.
"Who is there!" A screechy voice shouted out and the young woman froze in her footsteps. "I heard you! Speak at once!"
Remembering the raven's word, she kept her mouth firmly shut, but she was still frozen for a few long moments in dread. She knew. The old woman knew Adela was there.
"Adela. Adela, help me! Please!" Her brother's pitiful voice sounded to her left. But she couldn't do anything to help him. Closing her eyes she took a small step forward. And then another. And another. And another. And another.
"What are you doing by my cooking pot? Go away, thief!" Adela's eyes opened in confusion. She was nowhere near the cooking pot. What was the old woman saying? "You there by my table, leave at once! Don't think I don't see you!" What was going on?
"Adela! What is the matter with you! Help me! Please! She can't hurt you. She can't sense or see you. She just babbles like that. Please! Help! She's going to kill me. She's going to eat me!" Why wouldn't she look at him? What was she doing? She wouldn't even acknowledge him! August was horrified. Here was his chance to escape and she seemed to not even notice.
But Adela did notice and it hurt quite horribly that she couldn't turn around and help him, but the raven had told her not to or they all would be done for. Unknown to August though his words had helped her. He had confirmed the woman could not see and that her random outbursts were just that, random outbursts.
With more confidence now, Adela walked along the right side of the woman, completely ignoring her brother's heartfelt pleas, and instantly spotted the closed oak door. Inside was a table with an enormous amount of rings, which gleamed and glittered before her eyes. She had never seen so many rare and precious jewels in her entire life.
The young woman quickly began to look at all the rings for the one the raven wanted. Maybe everything he had said was a hoax. Just a ruse to waste time so that the old woman could stew her brother while she searched.
Getting a bit panicked, her blue eyes searched around the room after a while. There was no plain ring on the table with all the glittering ones. In a darkened corner of the room she saw a cage, inside were the bony remnants of a bird of some kind. Feeling as if nothing was too crazy at this point, she wandered over to it and peered inside. Sure enough, amongst the brittle bones lay the tarnished silver ring with a precious gem missing from it's setting. Why did the bird need such a hapless ring?
Feeling as if she could explode from so many unanswered questions, Adela simply took the ring out of the cage and bones and got out of the room. Her return trip proved more difficult now knowing she would be leaving her obviously confused and hurt brother alone again, believing he was going to die. And for all his sister knew, probably would.
Unable to stand his pleading she ran the rest of the short way, out the door, and continued running all the way back to their small little home.
"Raven! Mr. Raven! I have the ring! Please! Where are you?" Her blue eyes, welling with tears and fright scanned the area, but the bird was nowhere to be seen. He was not there. It had all been a lie. And her brother would be the one to pay the price.
As the crystal clears spilled down her cheeks, Adela took off running into the woods. The raven had to be there. Somewhere. He had to! She had trusted him! He had to be close by.
"Mr. Raven! I have the ring! Please! I need your help! I did as you asked! My brother needs help! Please! The ring!" Holding up the ring, she ran stumblingly through the woods, crying out her achievement and her brother's tragic state.
The raven had lied to her. He hadn't been where he had said he would be. He had told her to do some crazy task all for nothing. How could he be so cruel? How?
Finally she slowed down and lowered her face into her hands, her slim body shaking in uncontrolled sobs. The raven hadn't waited for the ring. Her brother was going to die. She would be all alone in the middle of nowhere.
Leaning against a random apple tree, she continued to let her tears and anguish flow freely. What a failure she was. She was so far away from the old woman's house; by the time she got back her brother would surely be gone.
Now to an outsider one would most certainly recognize the apple tree Adela had by chance leaned against. It was the same one the raven had led the young lad to about a year ago for food and dry wood. The same one that had mysteriously supplied tools to help build their small home. The same one that August visited every evening to meet the raven.
Adela pushed away a few branches as they poked gently at her hands, but it was as if the tree was letting its branches down. They suddenly twined around the young woman, whose hands had dropped from her face in shock, and just as suddenly the branches were two arms, and when she turned and looked the tree was a handsome, young man. He embraced her and kissed her heartily before showering soft kisses all over her pretty face.
"You did it!' He said in a deep baritone voice between kisses. "Oh, Adela, you did it!" With laughter that wasn't all that soft, he easily picked up the shocked lady and twirled her around.
Setting her back down he beamed at her. His ebony hair reminded her, for some reason, of her raven friend. But this man's eyes were the color of honey and hay, and at the moment they were fixed so intently on her. Rather like the raven's stares had been.
Shaking her head, the young woman took a few steps away from the man who was once a tree. "Wh-who are you?" She was scared now. Trees did not suddenly turn into people. And those people did not go kissing complete strangers. That was almost as crazy as, well, talking birds.
The man blinked at the young woman for a few moments as if she was the one who had moments before been a tree before snapping out of it. "Forgive me. I am Kass." He bowed. "The old woman is a witch who changed me into a tree two years ago. And every day for a few hours before sunset I became a raven, and so long as she possessed my ring I could not regain my human form."
"So…you-you are the raven?"
"Well, I was the raven. Yes." It was a hard thing to grasp, he supposed, a tree becoming a man. But then again she had handled a talking bird pretty well. "Look at the ring, Adela."
Having forgotten about the ring, her blue eyes dropped to the piece of jewelry in her hands. But the tarnished, missing a gem ring was gone. The one she now held in her hands made all the others she had seen pale in comparison. The band was a perfect, gleaming gold and the missing stone was a dazzling ruby with shining black onyx surrounding it.
"Birds do not talk. Trees do not turn into men. And tarnished, unattractive rings do not suddenly just become beautiful." Adela whispered softly, her tone somewhere between fear and awe.
"Perhaps. But young men and women do not get abandoned in these woods. People do not live here." Kass's voice was just as soft and gentle. "And old women do not kidnap young men for their supper."
The beautiful young woman looked back up at him. As much as reason told her the events she had witnessed just could not happen, what he said made her realize that nothing that she had been through ever happened. At least not in normal, everyday situations.
"August is still in trouble. I do not understand what has just happened nor why a tree just turned into you…or…." Wide eyed, all she could do was simply shake her head; unable to describe what just happened. "But I trusted the raven and if you really are him, then, I trust you."
Kass broke into another beaming grin and before he could stop himself or she could sidestep out of the way, he had her gathered back in his arms and was spinning her around again. And then just as suddenly put her back down, grabbed her hand, and took off running. "We have to go save your brother."
Dizzy, she followed after him, stumbling every once in a while, but a strong arm always caught her and helped return her balance every time.
It took what seemed to Adela moments before they were right back at the door to the witch's house.
"Wait. Won't she know you're there, Kass? Didn't you say she could sense men?" He had been about to storm right through the door but stopped the instant he had felt her soft hand on his arm. How stupid he had almost been.
"It doesn't really matter. She'll see you through his eyes the moment you acknowledge his presence. Maybe she can't trance you like she can your brother and I, but that doesn't mean you'll be in any less danger. I've asked you to do a lot all ready. I can handle this part. I don't want you to get hurt." His level, intense honey colored gaze was enough to make Adela have to look away as a blush stole up her cheeks.
"You forget he is my brother. It is not about getting hurt or not, it's about saving him. I want to help. I promise I won't shatter like a porcelain doll." That was a big promise coming from a small lady with golden curls, blue eyes, and a pale pink blush staining her cheeks. She looked exactly like a small porcelain doll.
There was a small smile playing on his lips. Did the man ever stop smiling? But he said no more about keeping her away. "I can go in and try to distract the old woman. You go and find a way to unlock that cage and get your brother out." He made to go inside again, but that soft hand stopped him once more.
"Wait. What about you? Won't she do something terrible again? Then we will be simply back where we started." There was worry and concern in those kind eyes and Kass was deeply touched by the gesture and if it was possible, fell that much more for the angel.
"She fooled me once, Adela. I know her tricks. I'll be all right. I promise. Just…keep a grip on that ring. I really don't want to be a tree again. You get rather stiff after a while." And this time the man was able to enter without being apprehended by the young lady.
Nothing had changed since she had been in the house last. The old woman was still rocking by the fire, but stopped once Kass put a foot inside.
"Why, young man, whatever are you doing here? Please. Come sit by the fire and tell me your trouble." The screechy old voice was still the same.
With a side glance at the raven-man, Adela peered around the door to where she had heard August's voice last time she had entered. Letting out a breath of relief seeing him still in there, looking as if in slumber, she carefully made her way over. "August. August, wake up. It's me. Adela. Where is the key at?"
He was groggily waking up as Adela kept glancing around for the key and at Kass who was in deep conversation, sitting beside with the old woman.
"Adela?" She looked back to him. "Adela. I didn't think you'd come back. You left me. But you're back now. Good. Because I didn't think you'd come back."
He was completely out of it and she was suddenly worried that maybe they hadn't arrived in time after all. What was wrong with him? "August, you have to tell me where the key is. I can not get you out if I do not have the key."
August barely kept his eyes opened. "Oh. The key? Well why didn't you say so? I know where the key is." He let out a big yawn. "She kept checking to make sure it was there. The key. The key. The key. The key."
"Please, August, where is the key?" Leaving the cage she began searching shifting vases, moving plants, searching the floor. She was getting panicky now.
"The flower pot. What took you so long, Adela? Oh, never mind. I'm going to sleep again. G'night." And he shut his eyes.
"No! August! Wake up! Which flowerpot?" Straightening up, she glanced about the small room. There were at least two-dozen flowerpots some with living plants while others were brown and molding.
Sighing, he didn't open his eyes. "The blue one."
Right. The blue one. That narrowed it down to, oh, about a dozen and a half.
With a nervous glance over to Kass she was shaken to see he was now sitting on the edge of his seat beside the woman, with a half glazed look in his eye. She was losing him now too.
Quickly she dug through flowerpot after flowerpot, checking everywhere and anywhere. Sometimes it was gross as there were worms and other creepy crawlers hidden beneath the soil, but she didn't give up. Finally, finally, finally, she found the brass key just beneath the soil of a dead plant. Rushing over to the cage she unlocked the door and moved inside.
Shoving roughly at the young man on the floor, she cast a worried glance back over at Kass. "August. August! Come on you have to wake up!"
"Mmm…just a few more moments…" Was the drowsy reply she got.
She shoved him again a few more times. "No. Now."
Very, very slowly he opened his eyes. "Why?" A yawn stole over him.
"We have to get out of here, August, come on, I think Kass still has her attention, but I'm not so sure he'll last much longer." Standing, she picked up his arm and pulled. "Please. Get up."
"No. I need a few more moments…" His eyes were shutting again.
No? No? Clearly annoyed at him for the first time in her life, she kicked him. Not a soft, little lady kick either. It was a kick meant to hurt. Another first. "August, if you do not wake up right this second and get out of here I will…I will…" What would she do? What could she do?
Luckily she did not have to finish the threat as the kick had startled him awake enough to complain and eventually get up after a threat of another kicking.
She was helping him out of the cage and to the door when the old woman finally took notice that her captive was not where he was supposed to be. And a glance at Kass told Adela that he beyond giving her help.
He had promised not to get caught up in the old woman's charms again. He had promised. If she hadn't had to worry about getting August out of the house and figuring out how to now save Kass she would have wept in frustration.
As the old woman got up from her chair, Adela made it to the front door, shoving it open, she released August and gave him a little push. "Just go, August. Get away from here." Without a moment's pause she shut the door, cutting off whatever retort he may have come up with.
Turning she saw the old woman start towards her, but her eyes were fixed on something just passed Adela. She was blind, the young woman had forgotten.
With care Adela slowly made it along the side of the house opposite the old woman and around to Kass, slumped with closed eyes in his chair. Now if only she could get him to wake up. She shook him lightly. "Kass. Kass, I need you to wake up. I can not drag or carry you out of here. Come on, Kass. You promised me. You promised me you would not fall for her spells again. Wake up." It was a hopeless case. He didn't stir at all.
"Did you truly think you could barge into my home and steal what is rightfully mine? Go away, foolish girl. Stop trying to save worthless hearts. They'll cause you nothing but grief in the end. Trust me. You will thank me one day." Now the woman's gaze was locked on Adela.
Ignoring her, she continued to shake at the young man. "Kass. Kass, wake up. You have to wake up, Kass! You need to wake up!" She cupped his face in her hands and lightly slapped at his cheek trying to wake him. "You promised me this would not happen, Kass. You promised me. You proved me wrong about your last promise, don't prove my thinking right this time. Don't break your promise, Kass. Please. Wake up." The old woman was on the move again; inching closer and closer to the pair and all the while taunting Adela that Kass was hers now and that love was foolish.
Frightened and unsure of what to do, Adela leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Kass's lips. It worked in the fairy tales papa use to read to her. Why should it not work now? Pulling back slightly, there were tears in her eyes and a tremble in her voice as she whispered: "Please, wake up, Mr. Raven."
Bony fingers wrapped tightly around her wrist and Adela yelped. "Let go of me! You can not have him! Let go!" Backing away, she tugged and pulled with all the strength she had to get free of the old woman's grip, but for an old woman she had a hard and firm latch on the young lady.
Adela continued to back away, trying to get her wrist free; she saw the flames of the fire flickering up just behind the old woman. "Let go of me!" Taking another step back her foot hit something and she fell back, her head smacking against the seat of the rocker. A bit dazed, but not unconscious she saw the old woman towering above her, her stature just a dark shadow with flames flickering behind her.
"No! No! Leave me alone!" The woman had released her, but Adela was sure that wouldn't last for long. She kicked out at the old woman again and again and then something happened that left the young woman frozen.
One of her kicks had knocked the woman off balance; she seemed to teeter backwards for a few long moments before finally falling backwards and into the fire pit that had been behind her.
The metal door was slammed shut behind her, blocking the grisly sight from view, and Adela heard the latch screech shut, but did not see who latched it. Her stunned gaze was stuck on the place she had last seen the old woman.
"Adela. Oh, Adela." And then Kass was completely obscuring her view. His face was tense with worry and his hands were cupping her face and stroking her cheek and then pulling her against him. "Oh, Adela, I am so sorry. I am so sorry." Her cheek rested against his solid chest as his strong, protecting arms wrapped around her, but her whole body was rigid and tense.
Snapping slightly out of her own trance, she pushed away from him. "August. I pushed him outside. I don't know if he is okay." Standing, he backed away giving her room and caught her when her knees gave out. She was determined to get outside and with support from Kass she made it.
August had just made it off the old woman's doorstep and over to a tree before he fell back into slumber. But now that the old witch was dead, he was released from whatever spell she had cast on him and he woke back up, a bit dazed and confused, but otherwise unharmed.
"August!" A shout from his sister brought his attention to the house again, where his sister stood with help from a strange man. Breaking from the man she practically flew to his side and embraced him in a death-hold. "Oh, August, I was so scared! I hated leaving you and then-and then when I came back all you wanted to do was sleep and-" She had been sobbing all the while, so her words made little sense as they came out to August's ears as rambling syllables.
"Adela. Adela, you're-you're hurting me." He laughed as she pulled away from him suddenly with a terrified look in her eye. "You were squeezing me so hard…oh, it's all right, Adela. I don't really remember what happened, but we're all right now. No reason to cry." He pulled her to him in a hug before pulling away again after a little while. "Now. Who is your new friend?"