The Curse of Adelaide

THREE

Dedicated to @RoLanderW for being the first one to comment and vote ;) Thank you!

I had lived in the forest for as long as I had remembered. Not once had I left the safe shelter of the trees. I had never seen anything else but the forest, all I knew about the outside world was either from stories or from Aunt Kara.

I had never seen a castle or visited a village, I had no idea what they looked like. Even though, Aunt Kara did a great job with describing them to me, I couldn't quite imagine the tall towers, the golden carriages or the beautiful dresses.

Although, I was happy most of the time, there were still moments when I wondered how my life would have been if I had grown up in a normal village. Would I have been happy there? Would I have been a different person? All those questions would run through my mind. But I couldn't answer them. All I could do was ask myself 'what if...'.

"Adelaide, where are you going?" Aunt Kara asked me.

I was on my way out, the door handle already in my hand. "I am going for a walk, Aunt Kara," I told her truthfully. But it wasn't the whole truth.

When I had returned back home yesterday, I didn't mention to any of my Aunts my encounter with the stranger. I didn't want them to worry about me. I had a feeling that the stranger wouldn't hurt me.

But even though, I pretend as if nothing had happened, they still sensed that something wasn't right. I had been walking around the whole day, lost in my thoughts. I even forgot to ask if Taspy had arrived with a letter for me.

When my aunts asked me if something was bothering me, I simply denied it and pretended as if everything was alright. The next day I could hardly wait for the time to pass by as I was eager to talk to the stranger.

I thought that maybe he could tell me more about the outside world and how it felt like to live outside the forest.

"Alright, but don't stay out for too long, lunch will be ready soon," Aunt Kara reminded me. "And don't..."

"Don't go too far away from the house," I finished her sentence with a slight smile. I walked over to her and kissed her cheek. "I know, Aunt Kara. I promise that I will be back soon." I smiled at her one more time before walking out of the house.

As I was walking through the forest with Ray's shadow constantly following me, I suddenly grew nervous. Yesterday was the first time that I had actually talked to another human being that wasn't somehow related to me. I was too distracted to really think about what I was doing.

But now, that I was about to talk to him again, my confidence suddenly grew smaller and smaller with every step that I took.

When I finally reached the clearing he had mentioned yesterday, I let out a relieved sigh. He wasn't here yet, which meant that I had time to cool down my nerves and clear my head.

I sat down in the shade of a tree and started to talk to Ray, something that would always help me to relax.

"Do you remember the dream I told you about yesterday?" I asked him. He let out a caw before landing on the grass in front of me.

"I had a similar one last night," I told him while picking a few of the grass halms. "I was again in that large room. I am not even sure if it is a room, it looks more like a large hall. The man with the cold eyes was standing above me, he stretched out his hand as if he wanted to grab me."

I stopped for a moment to see if Philip was here yet. When I realized that Ray and I were the only ones at the clearing I continued with my narration. "He opened his mouth to speak again, but this time I didn't wake up like I usually did. Do you know what he said?" I asked Ray. The bird looked at me, his head slightly crooked.