THERE WAS A TIME I was certain I knew all things.
I had learnt everything there was to know, everything worth knowing, everything about Princes and Princesses, Kings and Queens.
I was taught that that was what mattered, that was what made me intelligent.
But then I met him, and then I met her.
He wasn't born to be King, the charismatic Prince.
And she wasn't born to be a Princess, much less a queen, the girl from the sea.
But I'm starting to learn new things.
And sometimes a Title means so little when you look into a person's heart.
WHEN EDEL WAS A young girl, she lived in the kind of place young girls didn't belong in.
The kind of place that is dark even in the middle of the afternoon.
Edel had hope that her life would one day see sunshine, but every candle, when placed in the wind, gets snuffed out.
One night, when the moon was full and the sky was clear, and her lip was busted, she made her way to the forest.
She had heard from the farmers, her brothers, her friends, her father, and passersby, that the forest was a dangerous place, and she hoped they were right.
She prayed she would take one step into the forest and then she would get to see her mother again.
She prayed that she would never have to face her father again, or his swift hand.
She prayed her brothers wouldn't miss her…
she prayed they would notice she was gone.
But as soon as she stepped into the forest, it was as if all were asleep, and she feared that the wrong step would awaken all of the forest's horrors.
But isn't that what she wanted?
Edel moved as silently as she could, moving over fallen tree limbs, careful not to step on any sharp rocks with her bare feet. She had no idea where she was going, but the feeling that she was being led somewhere never escaped her.
Past the willows and the firs, she made her way to the heart of the forest.
Her feet no longer padded in fallen leaves and tiny rocks, but soft grass and wildflowers, when she looked up she saw an enormous tree, the top of which she couldn't see, the branches spread so far out that they could reach the ends of the earth.
There was a rustle of wind, and then a voice.
It was soothing, the calming voice of a mother, the kind one could sit and listen to for hours and never grow tired of the intricacies.
"What are you doing in my forest, child?"
Edel saw no one, not even the silhouette of a lady hidden in shadow, but somehow she knew the voice came from the tree that stood so proudly before her.
There was a pounding in her heart, the feeling of gently growing guilt as if she had been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to.
"I- I thought the forest was supposed to be a dangerous place." Edel said.
The night was silent again, and she wondered if there had been a voice at all, maybe she fell harder than she first thought, but then.
"We do not like strangers stepping on our toes typically."
"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't realize."
"Most don't."
Edel had enough heart to blush and look down at her feet, as if she could avoid the eye of a tree.
"So then…" Edel bit her lip, grimacing when her teeth met the gash, but a sudden stroke of courage filled her. "Why am I not dead?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Well, everyone says that anyone who dares enter the forest will surely perish."
"Is the King dead?"
Edel paused, because no the King wasn't dead. Far from it.
"Then that is a lie, not all who step into the forest die."
"So, why-"
"My dear, we have looked into your heart, we have looked at your desires, the desire to see your mother again, but your deepest desire… Do you know what it is?"
Edel's only goal tonight was to wake up the next morning in heaven. She shook her head.
"There's so much hope in your heart, even if you don't think it's there."
Something appeared at her feet, nudging her forward and she walked until she was face to face with the trunk of the tree.
"I do not want you to die, just as much as you don't want to. I know that you want a better tomorrow, a place where you can be happy, and I will give it to you, but it will take time."
Edel's lips parted to speak, but she stopped herself.
"Stay here. Stay with me, be my guardian and I will make sure that you meet happiness face to face."
Edel put her hand on the bark of the tree and inside of it she felt… movement.
She felt life.
As if she could feel the heartbeat she knew trees didn't have.
She lifted her other hand, slow to join the one next to it, the bark was rough to touch, but warm.
"I cannot speak to many, although many seek my wisdom. Soon, an old man will come, and he will either cause great prosperity, or bring about my downfall."
Edel had pressed her cheek against the bark, with her ear to the trunk, she could feel the vibrations of her voice. "What will you do?"
"I cannot see clearly, only that one day a great King will sit on the throne, unlike any before him, but there will be pain if I give the old man what he wants."
"Is it worth the risk?"
"To see the sun? Isn't that worth everything?"
Edel nodded.
"So, will you stay, little one?"
Edel closed her eyes. "I think I'd like to." She paused, opened her eyes and peeled herself away from her embrace of the tree. "What shall I call you?"
"I am only known as the Oak Tree."
AHIRU WOKE UP AFTER a dreamless sleep, and looked around to find that she was no longer watched by just Pique.
Like pieces of chess, positioned around her, waiting for a hand to make their next move.
As she sat up, they began to move, chattering like normal, Femio flounced around the room, pulling her dress from the trunk, his workers a flurry around him, Lillie and Pique laughed and gossiped as they pulled out the pins for her hair and the powder for her face.
They all moved, except for one.
Miss. Edel stood, a stone pillar, unmoving like the rest, her eyes pinned to Ahiru.
Ahiru swallowed hard, she was pulled out of bed, as much as the others gave her discomfort - moving like themselves while still moving like puppets being pulled on the string - Miss. Edel's stare was unnerving, and it made her stomach turn.
The maids admired her hair as it was pulled from its setting and corkscrew curls bounced around her until Pique ran her brush carefully over Ahiru's hair, until it was assembled as a gentle wave.
She was disrobed and robed again, she didn't get a chance to see her dress, but she felt the smooth silk against her skin and it made her shiver.
She was pulled and prodded at the vanity until she was perfect.
She watched it all happen to her blindly, in the corner of her eye, the only thing she could focus on was Miss. Edel, her eyes flickering and darting to her at any given chance.
Ahiru hadn't even noticed Uzura, tucked away in her mother's skirts, who struggled to break free from Miss. Edel's iron grip.
Ahiru looked down at her hands, they were softer now, the callouses she used to have covering her palms were finally gone after more than a year of lotion and tonics, the beds of her nails, which at one time had been ridden with cuticles and hangnails, were nothing but smooth skin.
She didn't have a scratch on her hand, a blister, a wart, dead, dry skin, nothing but her freckles remained, and she hated it.
She hated the lies, pretending that she was someone when in reality she was nothing, nothing but a silly girl in a white dress marrying the wrong man.
She missed the hands she had, and it wasn't that the hands she saw weren't pretty, but she knew who she was, who she was meant to be. She wasn't meant for sitting on a throne, she was meant for working in the sun, in the overcast sky.
The life she had was far from perfect, but at least she could run to get where she wanted to go, at least she could help others, at least she could use her hands.
Ahiru finally looked at herself in the mirror as they placed the veil over her head.
She had never looked more perfect.
Her skin pale, her complexion perfect. Her hair tied into complex knots that sat on her head and framed her face. Her neck exposed, the soft skin of her chest out in the open, the neck of her dress cut low. The dress itself shining in the light like a pearl, the intricate beading that she knew took too long to do in the short amount of time given.
Femio was right, she did look more fashionable today than she did the night prior.
"The wedding starts in an hour." Someone said above her, and while she recognized the voice she didn't know who spoke.
She had promised…
She had promised she wouldn't marry Autor, but it seemed that this posse wouldn't let her out of their sight.
He would come.
He had to come.
He wouldn't just leave her to fend for herself.
There was nothing she could do, and even if she tried…
Surely she would become like the people that stood around her.
Someone lifted her foot and placed it inside of a silk shoe and she heard it click against the tile.
She closed her eyes, suddenly thankful that her veil hid her face from view as she struggled not to cry, to not mess up the work they had done.
They would just start over if she did.
With shaking hands, she reached out to the vanity and helped herself up, the talking around her didn't cease, but she could feel their eyes watching her.
She stumbled around the room, searching for the spot where Pique undressed her and when she found the gold fabric, shining like sunlight, she reached down, pushing past the layers and layers of material until she found the bodice.
She lifted it out of it's golden tomb and held it under her veil, her fingers groping at the broach that still laid pinned to it.
She sniffled as she unpinned it and stuck it onto her new dress, in the same place, over her heart.
Then, she held the dress to her, closing her eyes and she only saw him, his blue coat with silver stars, his short hair. She laughed despite herself, she couldn't believe he had cut it, and she would make him tell her why as soon as…
As soon as this day was over.
She didn't know how long she sat there, curled up in the memory of him, but soon a hand pressed to her shoulder.
"It's time."
She blinked away tears and let the fabric fall to the floor.
She spared a glance at Miss. Edel, at the child that was starting to cry in her efforts to get away, before she was escorted out the door.
An elbow was offered to her and she took it, she was sure she would wobble and teetere and fall if no one had offered.
She peered out the window, where a monstrous storm raged.
EDEL SPENT FOUR YEARS in the forest, she learned the names of all the trees, of all the animals and creatures that resided in the woods, she learned about the lake, which had a trench that scraped the roof of hell, and the healing pools, five in total, the first and largest was closest to the Oak Tree. She learned that it was always summer there, for the trees liked to keep their leaves.
"What? How would you like to lose your hair for half the year?" The Oak Tree had asked, causing Edel to laugh.
Above all, Edel learned about the Oak Tree and her majesty.
The gifts she possessed.
"Many ask for a sliver of it, but that is unsurprising, humans are greedy. Little Edel, how come you have never asked for my gift? Surely you could take your revenge on all those who wronged you."
Edel shook her head, she didn't want revenge, and she didn't like the idea of taking control of someone the way the Oak Tree was suggesting.
"My enemies will get what's coming to them." Edel gave a curt nod and she felt the warm laugh of the Oak Tree surround her.
Edel liked to think that these were the days promised to her. Her days of happiness. Her days in the sun.
The Oak Tree was kind, and more to her than anyone else had ever been. A greater mother, a greater friend.
Edel would sit down and listen to the Oak Tree for hours. Listen to her gossip about the hearsay of the forest, listen to her prophecies.
That always confused Edel.
Edel climbed the branches of the Oak Tree, getting higher and higher each day before she grew too scared.
Her bare feet fought to find balance when she said. "If your gift is to control reality, how come you can see the future?"
The Oak Tree hummed in consideration. "How am I to control reality if I don't know the future? How will I know what I'm changing? If it will be for the best, or for the worst."
Edel nodded. "I suppose that's true. What about people who borrow your gift? Do they see the future?"
"Oh no, I don't give them that much power. I've never given anyone more than a leaf's worth."
Edel smiled, she liked that answer, she liked that no one else was as powerful as the Oak Tree, she was good and kind, that kind of power in the wrong hands. Edel frowned, she didn't think she would want that to happen.
"Shh!" The Oak Tree said, her leaves rustling. "Something comes, don't come down."
Edel nodded, she squatted down until she was seated and her legs hung over the branch.
She heard the footsteps before she saw the man.
He was ugly.
At least, that's what Edel thought, her nose scrunching as she watched his deft bow.
The man spoke the way a scholar spoke, with big words, a clear throat, and for too long.
Edel had lost interest after the first few minutes, and apparently so had the Oak Tree.
Her leaves rustled and her branches shook, a wordless warning to the man, who now seemed to pale.
"I have traversed through this dangerous place to find you, there are rumors that you can grant people certain… abilities."
The Oak Tree was silent, her eyes cast down at the man.
"I simply ask for these abilities, however much you wish to give me."
Edel glared at the man, confused as to why he was still breathing. He seemed like the kind of man the Walnut Tree would have liked to kill.
But… it was evident that the Oak Tree wanted him here, standing in front of her.
"My name is Herr Drosselmeyer." He said.
Edel turned to the Oak Tree and whispered to her, "What are you going to do."
"Just watch, child." Was her response, but a response only Edel could hear.
Drosselmeyer took a step forward, and reached out his hand until the palm of his hand was pressed to the bark of the Oak Tree's trunk.
Edel gasped, as if it was her he had touched.
Her eyes widened as lightning shot out behind him, nearly blinding her until she looked away. Her heart pounded, and as her eyes adjusted to the light of day, she looked down at Drosselmeyer who, instead of being electrocuted, stared at his hand in wonder.
"This…" He began, and Edel had to lean forward to hear. "This is a stupendous gift."
He bowed his head one last time before he turned and walked away.
Edel pouted as she climbed down from her perch, until she was facing the Oak Tree. "What was that?"
"An old man who will bring about much pain and loss, but also happiness."
"How can he do both? That's impossible."
The Oak Tree said nothing, and Edel crossed her arms and huffed.
"My child, put your hands on my trunk."
Edel looked up at her with a curious eye. Unsure, but never afraid.
Edel stepped forward until both her hands were were flat against the Oak Tree.
Warmth passed through her fingers, and flashes of light surrounded her.
Edel gasped sharply and fell to the floor. "What was that?"
She looked down at her hands, expecting them to be burnt.
"I have given you a bit of my power."
"But I don't-"
"Edel, listen."
Edel pushed herself up to her knees, she swallowed slowly and nodded.
"There is only a small power resting within me now-"
"You- how much power did you give-?" Edel asked, her arm thrown out behind her.
"Half."
Edel paled, her mouth fell open. "Half?"
"I have not given him the ability to see the future, for he would try to change it, but I have given you what remains of my reality controlling magic."
"Why? I don't want it."
"One day you may need it."
Edel shook her head. "I don't ever want to use it."
"There is more to this gift than controlling reality. With it you can look through the eyes of another. You can look into the past, you can see any present. Please, I know that you are too kind to possess someone."
Edel blinked, and nodded.
"Good. All that's left of me now is my ability to see what lies ahead."
"Why would you do that?"
"One day, I will get it all back, and all will be right."
AHIRU HAD TO STOP every few steps, not to delay the wedding, but simply because her knees would start to buckle.
Everything about this day seized her with fear, the people that walked beside her, the uncertainty that the future held.
Her jaw clattered and her heart pounded and she wondered if it was nerves or just how cold it had become.
Outside was as dark as night, the only source of light was the occasional flash of lightning, but with it came a clap of thunder, and it made her bite her lip to keep her from crying out.
She wished the storm didn't frighten her, she wished she would have been able to enjoy it like she once had as a little girl.
A storm like this meant her father had to stay home, it would delay his trip and she would get to see him one last time before he was seabound for months at a time.
She wished her memories of the Arnis storms weren't tainted with death as they were now.
"We have to keep moving, Princess." Someone said to her, their voice soft and soothing.
She sniffled and nodded, wanting nothing more than to stay where she was rooted, or better yet, to run back to her room, to lock everyone away and pretend this day hadn't come.
Someone came by her side and grabbed her hand, pulling her up and suddenly she was caged in on both sides. Her hand still tucked into someone's elbow.
The words that almost escaped her lips were "I want to go home."
But she knew the complaint would fall on deaf ears, and more importantly, she didn't have a home anymore.
Arnis was no longer her home, as much as she craved the sea, and she was never home here, not in this place where she couldn't be free.
Perhaps in the forest, her days in the sun, on a blanket with Fakir at her side, a book in her lap, or her face towards the sky, the gentle breeze.
She didn't have to be anything there, she was only ever herself.
Ahiru grew colder as she was lead to a door that would take her outside. She carefully took her dress in her hands, not wanting the silk to get ruined by the mud, even with her feet walking along the stone path, and she felt someone raise the train.
Her poor slippers, they would no longer be white.
An umbrella was opened above her head and they continued their march to the chapel, but even with it, the sideways rain touched her torso, her sleeves, and her skirt.
She felt pity for the dress that Femio and his workers slaved over, she didn't know much about silk, but it seemed like the kind of thing that got ruined in such conditions.
But the dress was just a distraction.
Something to take her mind off what lay before her.
The poor silk, she thought as the chapel loomed above her like a menacing demon, the doors opened like the jaw of a beast, ready to eat her.
The organ played a song that sounded like a death march, and Ahiru watched as all in attendance eerily rose together and turned to face her.
The hand that held her hand, and the elbow that had led her here disappeared and instead was replaced by Rudolf's.
He gave her a brilliant smile and told her that he had been honored when they had asked him to walk her down the aisle.
What would have been a greater honor was if she had asked him herself.
What would have been a brilliant smile if it was his own.
She walked down the aisle, her eyes flashing to the blank faces of the people who she knew.
The farmer's daughters, the Bauersspiel runners, the Nobles.
Rue and Mytho, they had been unable to resist, and their glassy eyes made her heart wrench, the organ notes covered her violent sob.
Until she looked up at Autor and the whole world stopped.
Autor looked at her with the same amount of contempt and hatred as he had shown her her first day here, he glared at her, the heat of his eyes unrelenting, and it made her recoil.
She wanted to run.
She wanted so badly to run away.
To the forest, to where she was sure it was sunny, were she was sure Fakir would be able to find her, to take her in his arms and promise that she would be alright, that she would never have to look into such hateful eyes again.
But fantasies were broken, especially as Rudolf's hand placed her's in Autor's.
His hand shackled her and dragged her up the steps until she stood face to face, only a body's width away from him.
She closed her eyes and felt the tears trickle down her chin.
"WHAT HAS HE DONE?" The Oak Tree asked.
It had been four years since Drosselmeyer came and asked for a gift from the Oak Tree.
"He's so funny." Edel said, her pen writing furiously on the paper as she spied on Drosselmeyer. "Every morning he wakes and writes what his day will be like. Even how well he will sleep until the next morning were he writes everything again. What does it mean?"
"He's a smart little man, I'll give him that." The Oak Tree said. "But he is still a fool."
Edel stopped, she dipped her pen into the inkwell. "Why is he a fool?"
"He is a fool because he cannot even stop himself from letting this gift infect his mind."
Edel pursed her lips. "Okay, why is he smart." She stuck out her tongue, she didn't care what the Oak Tree said, she thought Drosselmeyer was an idiot.
An idiot and a fool.
"He has figured out what I have never told him."
"And what is that?"
"Under the pen, as he so affectionately calls it, he does not age."
Edel's eyebrows furrowed together. "Why does he not age?"
"Within the realms of a story, the body only does as it's commanded, if it is commanded to eat, it will eat, if to speak, to speak. But only those things."
"So," Edel's eyebrows knit closer together. "If he doesn't write himself aging he won't?"
"Yes."
"Well that's stupid." Edel pouted. "If you write that the body has to eat, then the body isn't just eating, everything that's inside is at work as well."
"Yes, that is true, but you forget, Little Edel, that magic is different."
Edel sighed, she let her face relax and shrugged.
"The King runs today, Little Edel, don't you want to watch."
Edel pulled her legs to her chest and shook her head. "No, not really. What difference does it make to me?"
"Oh, it makes the world."
Edel smiled but looked down at her paper again, Drosselmeyer was a strange man, but so far all he had done was attempt to make himself immortal. Was he really going to prove to be such a problem?
Another year had passed and Edel watched as Drosselmeyer's young wife gave birth to a baby boy.
It gave her the creeps that Drosselmeyer had done so, but it hadn't worried her until she saw what Drosselmeyer wrote.
What he decided would become of his wife after she delivered a healthy baby boy.
That she would die before she was even able to look at the child she had crafted, before she was even able to hold him in her arms.
It made Edel very upset, almost to the verge of tears and the Oak Tree asked her what was wrong, but Edel only shook her head.
She shivered as a cold breeze blew over her bare arms.
Another two years passed and the King's wife gave birth to a beautiful little girl. She watched as Drosselmeyer scribed her birth, as he made sure that she was perfect and healthy.
She watched as twenty years passed and the two fell in love.
It made her smile, that their love was genuine, that it was untouched by Drosselmeyer's pen, and that when he ran, he had won fairly. The trees of the forest singing his praises.
"He will make a great King."
But the Oak Tree was silent, she said nothing on how she thought the young man now King had done.
The Oak Tree had something the others did not, she saw what lies ahead, and just from the stale air that surrounded her when Edel asked what would become of this King, Edel knew that it wasn't good.
"Edel, one day everything is going to change, and on that day you will have to rise up in my absence."
"Absence? But where are you going?" Edel laughed. "You are a tree."
The Oak Tree laughed. "As if I had forgotten. No, Edel I will tell you now, one day you will see the sea."
"The sea?" Edel wrapped her hands around herself. "Why?"
"It is where we will have to go, but not for long."
Edel worried about the Oak Tree's words, she did not want to leave, much less go to the sea with the Oak Tree when she was meant to stay rooted in one spot.
She did not worry until the day he came back.
He came to worship the Oak Tree, but she glared at him, the stupid man who had killed the King, and the same foolish man who was desperatly grabbing at power, as if he didn't have enough.
The Oak Tree had told Edel about Helmia, about her pregnancy, but also that the Oak Tree's power was growing with the baby. The Oak Tree almost seemed excited about it, the power had always been returned upon the person's death, normally their children having already been born, or simply that their actions caused a sudden death before they could even consider having children.
"He will be the most powerful spinner the world has ever seen." The Oak Tree said, the excitement in her voice evident.
Edel taunted Drosselmeyer with her knowledge, the future he had unknowingly written for himself.
He left and even Edel could feel his anger festering and boiling just beneath her skin.
"Well done." The Oak Tree praised. "Soon, he will come back."
THE MUSIC STOPPED AND the pews creaked as all sat down in sync. It was quiet, as if everyone had forgotten to breathe, and the only sounds were the rain beating against the roof and the clap of thunder, which made her flinch.
Autor's hands tightened on hers. "Stop that." He ground out through gritted teeth.
Ahiru wanted so badly to pull away from him, to stomp on his foot and escape to the world outside, because even if the world outside was chaos, it was better than this enchanted calm.
The Priest spoke, thanking those who came, telling them why they were here, as if they had forgotten, and asked if anyone would object that they please do it now or forever hold their peace.
At that moment, she looked to the door, she dreamed it would open, banging against the walls, and there he would stand.
But the doors didn't open, and no one challenged Autor to a duel for her hand.
Slowly she closed her eyes, and she looked back at Autor.
Unsure now of what to do, but almost positive that by the end of today she would be married to someone.
The Priest cleared his voice, "Autor and Ahiru, you come here voluntarily with hearts prepared to receive each other in marriage?"
"Yes." Autor said.
Ahiru could only think of the hands that dragged her to where she stood now, that the hands that held hers felt more like manacles than the loving embrace of a husband, or even a friend.
She wanted to say no, to rip her hands free, but Autor had other plans, he glared at her and squeezed her hands.
She gasped in surprise. "Yes!" She shouted, her voice echoing on the high chapel ceiling, and once she did Autor loosened his hold.
"Will you love each other, respect, and be loyal to one another until death separates you?"
"Yes."
Ahiru held her tongue, she knew what her answer was, and to lie would be a heinous crime, but Autor's hands constricted like a python's and she cried out again. "Yes! Yes." If only to get him to stop.
"Are you ready to fulfill your obligation and raise your children as you should."
"Yes."
Ahiru started shaking her head, "Yes."
"Since your will is determined to go to life together, hand each other the right hand and close the marriage before God and His church."
Autor let go of her hands so that his right took hers.
He opened his mouth, but moaned in pain instead.
There was a sound, the sound of breaking glass.
Autor took his hands away from her and placed them on his head, nearly falling to the floor, and when Ahiru looked out to the crowd, she saw that everyone was sitting in the same position.
They groaned and cried out in agony, holding onto their heads.
Ahiru backed away from Autor, she removed her veil from her face so she could see better what was happening.
Rue clutched her head and leaned into Mytho, she shook her head before standing and looking to Ahiru.
She looked to Miss. Edel, her arms wrapped around Uzura, petting her hair, and sobbing into the little girl's shoulder.
Ahiru scanned the crowd until she found Drosselmeyer.
He didn't cry out in pain like all who surrounded him, he stood, fuming, a vicious snarl leveled at Ahiru.
Ahiru swallowed hard, frozen under that cruel gaze.
Autor reached out to her and grabbed her arm. "Run, Ahiru." He said.
And she wanted to, but she knew she had to stay put.
She had to stay strong, as much as she wanted to cower away before, she couldn't now.
Fakir was coming.
She had to stand and be by his side when he came.
She ripped the veil from her head, letting the small tiara that held it there fall to the floor, barely able to hear the clatter over the moaning.
She could hear it, even over the rain and the thunder.
Even over the hundreds of voices trying to figure out what had happened to them.
Even as the Priest begged everyone to stay calm.
She smiled.
Past the door, she could hear the hoofbeats of a horse coming this way, it's horseshoes colliding with the cobblestone.
She lifted her skirts and made her way down the stairs as a horse cried out before it beat the door open.
EDEL STOOD WITH HER arms wrapped around the Oak Tree, unable to stop the tears from falling down her cheeks.
"I never would have said it had I known."
"Hush, child. I know."
Edel shook her head, her cheeks scratching against the bark. "You should have told me."
"If I warned you, you would not have said it, and he would never have come back."
"But, you promised me!" Edel pulled away from the Oak Tree and wiped at her eyes. "You promised me."
"Yes, yes I did, but I told you it would take time."
Edel took a deep breath and wiped at her eyes. "I just don't understand, what do you gain from doing this?"
"He will think he has the upper hand, when he is simply a fool."
Edel chuckled, but it faded quickly.
"Quick, he comes."
Edel stiffened, before she took refuge behind a tree deeper in the forest.
She watched as Drosselmeyer came, carrying an axe in his hands.
"You think that will solve anything?" She couldn't help but call out.
Drosselmeyer's grip on the axe tightened. "Yes, with the Oak Tree dead, no one can control my fate but me."
"And what will you do with your new found freedom?"
"I will write my way to power."
He took the axe in his hand and drew it back, whacking it against the tree.
Edel let out a scream, she didn't feel it herself, but it was almost too much to watch.
"To the crown!" He cried out, whacking against the tree. "To all of Germany!"
Edel closed her eyes, she covered her face, and she fell to the forest floor but even with her greatest efforts, she still could hear Drosselmeyer as he murdered the Oak Tree.
He chopped and chopped and chopped, hacking away the Tree's once great trunk.
He laughed before crying. "Timber!"
She heard the creak of the Oak Tree, heard her fall, the panic of the birds as they flew from the scene of the crime.
Drosselmeyer slammed his axe into the stump and left.
Edel whimpered and cried until she was sure he was gone, and only then did her eyes open, and she let go of her ears.
"Edel."
Edel let out a sigh of relief, one that was filled with panic still.
Edel stood and ran to the fallen tree, she knelt and put her hands on the Oak Tree, she pressed her cheek to her.
"With the last of my magic, I can save myself or-"
"Or what?"
"Or I can ensure that you have happiness tomorrow."
Edel shook her head. "How can I be happy without you?"
"I can take away the memories you made in the forest, you can go back to the kingdom, and live a life of happiness."
"No!" Edel shook her head. "No, you promised me happiness, but I won't take it if it means I lose you."
"Then you won't find happiness for another twenty-one years."
"But I'll have you?"
"Yes."
Edel sniffed. "Save yourself, please."
The Oak Tree let out a breath and a soft light covered her, like the light of a firefly, soft and pale; like the light of a star, bright and twinkling.
Edel watched as the light grew smaller and smaller until there was nothing left but three feet, if that.
The light shone in the shape of a body and as it settled, Edel saw the body of a little girl form.
Like a puppet, at first, her joints too obvious, but Edel sat in wonder as the wood grain in her cheeks grew soft, turning into the fresh skin of a toddler.
The girl gasped and sat up. "Where am I, zura!"
Edel blinked her eyes at the little girl. Was this the Oak Tree now? "You're- you're in the forest."
"Oh! And who are you, zura?"
Edel swallowed hard, she didn't think that the Oak Tree would have forgotten her…
Would she ever remember?
"My name is Edel, I have been your guardian for, well, for a long time."
"Oh."
Edel took a moment to look at the small child, who looked so much like her. Edel lifted her hand to touch the child's cheek, their skin the same milky pale, her eyes the same grey that Edel's eyes had always been, the same hair that should have been straight, but wouldn't lay right.
"Let's go, zura!" The little girl stood and held out her hand for Edel to take.
"Go where." Edel asked, standing on her own but still taking her hand.
"Hmm, to the beach, zura!" The little girl smiled, and pointed north. "That way, zura."
"Wait, do you know who the Oak Tree was?"
The little girl blinked and shook her head, a great smile painted on her features. "But I know who I am, zura!"
"And who are you, little one?"
"My name is Uzura, zura!" She shouted proudly.
"Uzura." Edel repeated, before giving her a gentle smile, "Alright little Uzura, how do we get to the beach?"
"Hmm." Uzura put her finger on her chin in contemplation. "I don't know, zura! All I know is that it's that way. Someone's waiting for us, zura."
Uzura started to pull Edel's hand, and as they exited the forest, she heard the voices of the other trees call out to her.
"Protect her, child of the Oak Tree."
"Watch over her, and bring her back to us one day."
"Keep her safe, she's a rowdy one."
"Your journey will be long, and you will suffer much, but happier days will shine upon you."
"You have the future in your grasp."
Edel stepped out of the forest for the first time in thirty three years, she looked at the walls of her old kingdom, and for the first time wondered what had become of her family.
"Once we get there, zura, there's a pretty lady that we have to take care of." Uzura told Edel. "But we have time."
"Do we?" Edel asked, she watched as the sun set.
It felt like her time was coming to an end.
SHE COULDN'T STOP THE smile that overtook her features when her eyes met Fakir's, and she didn't miss the gentle look he cast her way before he set his face into hard determination as he faced down his enemy.
Drosselmeyer tilted his chin at Fakir, casting an evil glare, he said, "And may I ask why you've come and disturbed this joyous occasion?"
"I think you already know." Fakir swept his leg over the back of the horse and dismounted. He left the horse to stand by Ahiru's side. "Unless you forgot the horrendous crimes you have committed."
"I presume you speak about the old rumors, Fritz." Drosselmeyer kept his hands held behind his back as he stepped out from the pews to stand at the mouth of the aisle. "Rumors that simply aren't true."
Fakir grit his teeth, "I think you know what's true, and it isn't the falsehoods you've been feeding the people!"
Drosslemeyer put a hand over his heart. "Are you calling me a liar?"
"Lying isn't even the worst of your crimes."
Ahiru stepped closer to Fakir until her arm pressed against his, her knuckles brushing against his hand. Gazing up at him, she saw all the hatred he held, all the anger, manifested in a scowl that was directed at Drosselmeyer, if only the fool knew when to quit.
"My dear boy, I have been a loyal advisor to the crown for well over twenty years, whereas you are just the illegitimate son of a blacksmith." Drosselmeyer guffawed. "Who would choose to believe you?"
"It doesn't matter what others believe, if they believe the truth or the lies you've fed them, but nonetheless I, Prince Lohengrin Fakir of Bavaria, challenge Autor from the house of Verstand, to the Königsspiel."
Drosselmeyer threw back his head in a vicious, braying laugh.
"Not even you can stop me from running."
Fakir wrapped his hand around Ahiru's, and she intertwined their fingers, grabbing onto his arm with her other hand to pull herself closer.
Drosselmeyer's mocking stopped, his wide mouth closed into a firm line and his eyes cast a dim glare at the two, and then their joined hands.
"I believe that the Königsspiel, in order to keep participants safe, may only be won if they are supported by a high ranking Noble, or higher."
"That is a lie!"
Ahiru gasped, her attention drawn to the man that stood, his glasses shining in the light.
"And even if that were true," The Duke of Verstand said. "I support his race."
Ahiru watched as the other Nobles stood, the Lord and Lady of Stimmung, the Marquess of Vermittlung, the Earl and Countess of Stärke, the Baroness of Taktik, and even their surrounding family stood with them.
Even, Ahiru watched from where she stood, as the Queen rose from her position, climbed the chapel steps to stand behind Drosselmeyer.
"I support his race."
Fakir's hand tightened around Ahiru's, and she watched the anger fade as he looked up at his mother.
"For Twenty-Four years you have possessed my body, Herr Drosselmeyer." She spat out his name like venom on her tongue, her eyebrows furrowed in an unrivaled fury. "I have watched your horrors first hand and from me you have taken my father, my husbands, and my son. I watched as you placed a forgein child in my arms and forced me to claim him as my own, but the man called Autor is not the true Prince of Bavaria!"
Helmia's voice grew louder and louder until her sorrow rebounded off the high ceilings, and when she finished, she breathed heavily, her chest heaving.
Helmia looked out to those before her and she cast them a look of pity. "He has taken possession of your bodies for the past twelve hours as he has taken possession of me for the past two decades."
"I have done no such thing!"
Fakir grit his teeth, his anger reset. "You would try to lie to those you have enslaved?"
"You listen here, boy, I have done nothing but be-"
"Oh save it, Drosselmeyer!" Helmia cried out. "I never trusted you, but Father did, and by doing so lead to his downfall, I will not let my people make the same mistake!"
"Autor." The Duke of Verstand called out, gaining the attention of all around him. "Do you wish to run the Königsspiel for the chance to be King?"
Autor licked his lips, but before he could say a word, Drosselmeyer spoke again.
"There is no proof that what her Majesty says is true! Therefore Autor still must run."
"I have proof!" Helmia cried out, casting her glare down at Drosselmeyer.
"Then give it."
Helmia took a deep breath and looked out over the sea of people, stopping only when her eyes met Fakir's. "Twenty-one years ago, I had a son, a child with hair like midnight and eyes like the forest, but upon his chest was a gruesome birthmark, it was this birthmark, Herr Drosselmeyer, that you used to trick me. Ugly, you called it.
My child has a birthmark across his chest, like the scars of battle, from his right shoulder it stretches to his left hip. Believe me when I say it is no minor thing. Whoever bears this mark, be it Autor or Fakir, is my true son."
Drosselmeyer leveled a glare at Fakir, before he raised his hand, as if allowing such a thing to be showcased.
Fakir's hand slipped out of Ahiru's as he made to undress himself, and Ahiru watched as Autor ripped away his wedding attire to reveal his bare chest.
There were shocked gasps, and when Ahiru finally put her attention back to the man who stood next to her she gasped too.
The birthmark Helmia described didn't look like a birthmark at all, but instead a terrible, and jagged tear, as if someone had sliced him in half and messily stitched him back together. Ahiru had to remind herself that Fakir had not actually been hurt.
"That proves nothing! You simply could know that Fakir has that birthmark and Autor doesn't and made it all up!" Drosselmeyer cried out in a desperate whine.
"Then there is only one way to settle this." Helmia said. "Both Autor and Fakir will run, the winner, as decreed by the forest itself, will be crowned King. And we pray that neither shall perish."
Drosselmeyer's eyes shifted over from Noble to Noble, and even those who stood with the Nobles now, and saw that he could not refuse, that he had lost.
"Wait, zura!"
"Uzura, no!"
Miss. Edel tried to grab Uzura, but she escaped, running to stand beside Drosselmeyer.
"How will we know who wins, zura, when the Oak Tree no longer stands, zura?"
Miss. Edel rushed forward, she took Uzura's hand and hid the child behind her.
"Child, it is the forest who declares the winner." Helmia said, giving Uzura a confused glance. "Who ever can complete the challenges and survive."
"But-"
"Hush!" Miss. Edel warned, turning to show Uzura a finger placed to her lips.
Drosselmeyer watched the exchange with a careful eye, and Ahiru watched him.
Ahiru didn't know what he was thinking, if he considered Uzura rude for speaking out, or if he was devising a new plot to use Uzura to his advantage.
"When the clock strikes twelve." Fakir spoke. "The Königsspiel shall be run."
Ahiru looked at the clock tower through the window, but it wasn't close enough to get a good look at the hands, nor was it facing her direction.
"There shall be no weapons." The Duke of Verstand said, stepping out into the aisle. "And you must go alone, there may be no outside interference." His eyes flashed between Fakir and Autor.
Ahiru watched as Fakir nodded, it didn't seem fair to her. He was just to go alone, with nothing to protect him?
Although, she supposed that was the point.
If he could not withstand the might of the forest, how could he ever hope to be King?
Ahiru wondered if it would be easy for Fakir, if he would be able to walk down the well worn path as they always did, or if the forest would contort itself to present itself as how it truly was?
Then what of Autor?
Ahiru looked to him as he pushed the bridge of his glasses.
If Autor wasn't the King, what would the forest do to him?
Break his leg like that poor boy? Or worse?
Would it kill him?
She was sure that no one had the answer, that no one knew the outcome of this race, this game they played, throwing down their lives just to be King.
But for Fakir, it was about more than just being King, it wasn't the riches and divine power he craved. Something had been stolen from him, and he wanted it back. More importantly however, was his love for his people.
To Drosselmeyer, they were but pawns, his to use however he wished, but to Fakir, they were friends and loved ones, they were people he knew and cared for.
Fakir didn't want the crown for his own selfish gain, but to lead the people - his people - down a path of happiness and peace, of joy and prosperity.
In the end, it's what she wanted as well, she didn't want anyone to suffer the way they suffered under Drosselmeyer, under the way she suffered. All she wanted now was to lead these people to better days.
She was sure she could do it, with Fakir by her side.
Ahiru looked around her, late to notice that the chapel had emptied, now all that stood were the seven Nobles, Mytho and Rue, Miss. Edel and Uzura, Helmia, and Drosselmeyer.
As if time were frozen, none moved, until Drosselmeyer took a step forward.
"Best of luck, Fritz."
Drosselmeyer walked out of the chapel, but Ahiru remained on alert, he was up to something she was sure.
And she had to make sure that Uzura wasn't going to be hurt by him.
She had cast a glare at Drosselmeyer as he left, but felt her features soften when Fakir took a gentle hold of both her elbows.
"Fakir." She reached her hands up until she touched the back of his head.
"It'll be over soon, I promise." He pulled her close to his chest and encased her in a loving embrace, his hands splayed on her back to hold her close, as if she would pull away.
"But what's in there, Fakir? How can you say that when-"
"How many times have we entered the forest together?"
Ahiru shook her head, she felt her eyes misting and her hands crawled up his chest to grip on the loose shirt. "It's different this time, Fakir. What if I- what if I lose you?"
"Shh, there will be no talk of that." He lifted a hand and rested it on the nape of her neck, his thumb rubbing up and down. "We will be together before the sun fades."
"What sun? There is no sun today?"
"Ahiru." He spoke her name sweetly, and he pulled her closer. "You have to have hope, you have to have strength, without it I have nothing. I only know the outcome with certainty because your light guides me. You give me courage, Ahiru, none like I have ever had."
Ahiru closed her eyes tight, unable to stop the tears as they cascaded down her face. "I'm weak, but you make me strong."
Her arms tied themselves behind his back as she molded herself to his body, to feel his breathing, to feel his heartbeat.
She lifted her face away from his chest and looked up at him as his hands found purchase on her face. He kissed her, but it was all too short, his lips pressed to hers for only a second before he pulled away from her.
Then Ahiru understood why, beside them now stood the Queen.
Fakir bowed to her, and Ahiru followed his lead with a curtsy, but she raised her hand.
"Please, don't." Helmia looked between them, but her eyes rested on Fakir, she lifted her hands to touch his face, and she laughed. "I have waited everyday for you to return."
She hugged him tightly, and kissed his temple.
"Mother." He said so softly and sweetly, but his voice bubbled with barely constrained emotions.
"You saved me, didn't you?"
"I did, but I couldn't do it for a long time; I wasn't strong enough."
"What has become of Drosselmeyer?" Helmia pulled back, "Why do you let him walk freely?"
"I-" Fakir blushed and cleared his throat. "I broke his ink pot, and hid any others. I was able to break his hold on you."
Helmia grinned. "You hid them? Really?"
Fakir nodded.
She laughed, an airy chuckle and it sounded so much like Fakir's. "It's what that rotten bastard deserves, I pray her never finds one again." She sighed and her smile faded. "It is almost time, be quick, for me please? I want to see you soon."
Fakir nodded and she hugged him one last time.
Helmia turned to Ahiru and touched her chin. "Hello, dear, I've heard that you have fallen in love with my son."
Ahiru blushed but nodded.
"Good, I don't want him to marry anyone else except the person he loves."
Ahiru looked down and her blush brightened, but she nodded again.
"Mother?"
The three who stood looked over to Mytho, who waited patiently a few steps away.
"Oh, Mytho." Helmia's expression into one of pity as she came over to Mytho and touched his face as well, wiping at his tears until he wrapped her up in his arms.
"I'm so glad Fakir was right." Mytho smiled.
Helmia pulled away but took Mytho's hand before reaching out for Fakir's. She smiled as she looked between them, before she turned her head to Autor. "Come here, Autor."
Autor stood straight as he came down the steps towards her, but he seemed worried.
Helmia let go of her son's hands and took Autor's. "You are not the son I gave birth to, but I have watched you everyday, I have watched you grow and learn, I watched as you played out in the fields and learned to read, and while I am not your mother, for you were stolen from her, I will always love you as my own."
Autor let out a loud sigh of relief and fell into her embrace.
"Well, isn't this touching?"
Ahiru's head shot to the door, where Drosselmeyer stood at the chapel entrance, he grinned, as if he hadn't been defeated, and walked inside, his heels clacking against the tile floor.
"You've run out of time." Drosselmeyer said, and as he did, the first chime struck. "Make your way to the forest." He swept out his arm, a grand gesture to the west.
Fakir looked to Autor, and Autor looked to Fakir.
They seemed determined.
There was a set outcome and both knew what it was.
Ahiru prayed they would tell her, she felt left in the dark by her ignorance, and why were they privy to the future? It seemed unfair.
They left Helmia's side, and Fakir did not pass Ahiru without giving her a parting glance, walking out the door together.
Ahiru thought that Drosselmeyer would leave with them, but instead he shut the door behind them.
And perhaps if he hadn't, Ahiru wouldn't have missed the faded storm, that the rain had calmed to a dull patter, that the sun almost broke through the clouds.
"As for the rest of you." Drosselmeyer began. "I think it is wise that you don't leave this place, lest you try to aid the two runners in some way."
Helmia strode forward and took Ahiru's hand, pulling her back, Helmia had noticed what Ahiru didn't.
That Drosselmeyer's deadly glare had rested on Ahiru.
"You can no longer do anything to us." Helmia said, pulling Ahiru back until they stood in line with everyone else. "Fakir made sure you couldn't."
"Do you even understand what that means, Helmia?"
"It means you can't have me anymore!"
"And why would I want you? You who have tainted everything I have worked so hard to achieve. No, it is not you who I want. Far from it."
Drosselmeyer stalked towards them, as if he could take them all on.
"There is… unfinished business. It seems that I was not successful the first time." Drosselmeyer's eyes left Ahiru's and landed on Uzura. "Apparently an axe isn't a worthy murder weapon."
"You're a bad man, zura!" She called out, she escaped from her unsuspecting mother to Drosselmeyer's side, and kicked his shin before she ran away.
Drosselmeyer howled in pain. "Why you little!" Before he turned to chase after Uzura.
"No!" Ahiru rushed forward and grabbed Drosselmeyer's arm. "I won't let you hurt her!"
"Let go of me at once!"
"No!" Ahiru cried.
"Then I have a gift for you."
"I don't want-" Ahiru gasped sharply, she had held onto him for dear life until there was a sharp pain in her stomach.
Ahiru stumbled back, and when she lifted her hand, her finger brushing against the hilt, she had no doubts about what Drosselmeyer's gift had been.
Hands pulled at her, but she shook her head. "Uzura." She said, "He's going after her, I can't!"
Ahiru groaned, but she soon grew used to the odd sensation of the dagger pressing against her skin, but when she tried to walk, the dagger shifted and moved inside of her.
"Ahiru, sit down!" Someone called out, but she didn't listen.
She took a deep breath, and placed her fingers on her stomach, the warm blood seeping into her gown.
So long as she didn't take out the dagger she wouldn't bleed to death.
Ahiru looked at Fakir's horse and whistled for it to come.
She met it halfway, and climbed up onto it's saddle.
"Ahiru, get down!" Rue called out, running to her side and pulling at her hand.
Ahiru shook her head. "I have to go to Uzura, he'll hurt her."
"Mytho will go, I'll go!"
"No." Ahiru shook her head. "No one knows the forest as I do."
"Ahiru?"
Ahiru looked out the doors, she could see the clouds becoming paler and paler, the blue sky peeking through, and with it sunshine.
She kicked the horse's side and sent it into a gallop, she cried out in pain, as the horse's rapid movements jostled the dagger, but she grit her teeth and headed for the forest.