Forgotten

Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Dauphine led Sarafine on the path back to Kale's castle. They walked slowly, not in too much of a hurry. Dauphine still contemplated what she was doing. In her heart she knew that she could never live without Kale; she loved him. She has loved him for forever, but her young mind could never truly understand the feeling. It was only when her lips had met Kale's that she even realized her true feeling for him. Yes, she had always known she was a bit obsessed with him, but she had never felt the way she did now when she was younger.

Her heart stuttered in his presence, trying to find its rhythm and somehow her mind was perfectly silent, something it never was. She looked around her at the scenery, on one side of her were fields of green, there weren't as many as in Sanko, and their produce could never be as thriving as hers, but they were still beautiful.

She found herself wondering if she could help the crops somehow without getting off of Sarafine. She checked for any witnesses and when she was sure no one was watching she held out her hand over the crops. Her hand glowed a dim green like it did when she had grown her rose. She had been startled at first, but the dim light made her feel good. She kept her hand raised as she moved along. After a while, she grew tired and let her hand fall to her side. She inspected the crops and to her surprise she could see the same dim green light emitting from them.

She smiled to herself, she was learning how to use her abilities effectively and it made her feel a bit better. She sighed turning her attention back towards the road that led to Kale.

Suddenly a million questions popped into her mind. Will he even see her? What if he didn't love her? What if he laughed in her face? She shuddered at the thought and pulled on Sarafine's reigns making her stop. Was this a mistake?

She shook her head, trying to rid herself of these thoughts. Sarafine started walking again, this time picking up her pace.

Dauphine smiled as her gaze drifted to the other side of the path. The forest. Somehow she didn't trust it anymore. Her Aunt had been right, there was definitively evil inside and it wanted her dead for some reason. Was that what Kale was protecting her from? Did he know what was inside his forest?

There was no wind in the air so the trees stood utterly still; they were like statues and no leaf dared to fall from any of them. She turned her attention back towards the road, which was coming to its end. She rode through the village, most all the villagers were happy when they saw her and greeted her enthusiastically.

After a minute or so, Dauphine found herself riding through the gates leading to the castle. She stopped at the stables to rid Sarafine of her riding gear. There was no-one anywhere to be seen and she silently felt happy about that. Although, she didn't carry any bad feelings towards Esme or Eduar, most likely it was all just a misunderstanding and she was the one who had jumped to the wrong conclusion.

She entered the castle. Still there was no-one anywhere in sight. Slowly she took a breath and started making her way up the stairs. She wondered if she could still remember where Kale's room was. Smiling, she shook her head. Yes, she knew. She found his room without any trouble and stopped in front of his door. Was he inside? She knocked softly, hoping that he wasn't there.

And he wasn't. She sighed and reached out to turn the knob. The last time she had tried it was locked, but this time it wasn't. The door clicked open and she slowly opened the door a tiny bit.

"Kale?" her voice was a soft whisper. She peeked around the door. She felt incredibly uncomfortable entering a man's room. Even if it was a man she loved. She looked around, it was empty. She opened the door completely and stepped inside.