Memorybound

Chapter 10

Hailey could feel a tightness on her skin as she passed through. "Do you remember pretending to do magic?"

Aaron laughed. "I haven't thought of that in the longest time. Whoever thought you would grow up and actually be able to do it." He held onto her hand as they walked.

"You know, you are dating a much younger woman than yourself. Does your mother know that?"

"We only tell my mother what she needs to know. It saves everyone from listening to her yell at us. Besides, you are the old one in this relationship."

Hailey paused. "No I am not. You're twenty. I'm sixteen."

"You would be seventeen if you were a normal person, but you're really thirty two and I have to admit, for a woman your age, you're still very spry."

Hailey couldn't help the way her heart sunk when he called her a not normal person. It was true, but still. This was Aaron. He usually said the right thing and made her feel better. "I don't think those years really count."

"Lots of older women say things like that," he joked. "Just because you didn't age, doesn't mean that you haven't lived that long. You are technically," he paused for dramatic emphasis, "twelve whole years older than I am."

She rolled her eyes, but didn't respond to his banter. He was just joking around, but that didn't make her feel any better. She had spent far too long by herself.

He stopped walking, pulling on her arm. "I was only joking, Hailey. I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's fine." They started walking again. "It just reminds me of all the time I spent in the castle. At first, I felt bad that I had left Esmerelda behind, and I went to see if I could help her, and then everyone was looking at me weird and so I went into the castle to hide. I never meant to stay there as long as I did."

He looked at her, his beautiful dark eyes were serious. "Why did you stay? I was always hoping that you would come out."

"At first, it was moving everyone to shelter. I was the only one who could do that, and then I think I was just hiding from the world. I didn't want anyone to know what I could do because it made me so strange."

"It made you amazing."

"I just worry that all that time alone had made me a strange person."

"It has, but not in a bad way, but everyone is strange in their own ways. Look at me. I was determined to be a soldier despite only having one functional arm. Don't you think that's a little strange?"

"Well, maybe. But I took on a huge responsibility when I was so young. I just don't know if that was good for me. I doubt it."

"So what was it like? You didn't talk about it much before. He seemed genuinely curious.

"It was lonely. I filled my hours with things so that I wouldn't have to think about it, but I think I was better at that then than I am now. I was trapped the same age, not just physically. My mind didn't develop like it should have. I didn't age at all. I saw the world from a young girl's eyes and it never occurred to me what might happen if all of those people I took care of woke up without the rest of the kingdom."

"I don't think it's good for any of us to be alone like that, but you'll grow out of it. You've already changed so much in the past few months. It's like I want to revert back to being that young girl who was just going to take on all of the problems in front of her, not thinking about what the consequences of her actions might be."

He nodded, seeming thoughtful.

"You know how when older kids are around younger kids, they start acting like little kids again. That's what it's like. Sometimes I want to be that young girl because she had a lot fewer things to worry about."