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Maybe it was because of the conversation they had earlier, but Aurora dreamed about Devon that night. It felt like another memory of his; one he must have shared with her while she was asleep.
Aurora wondered if it was something she could ask him about. Was this memory the one he worried she would find out? How would he react if he knew she remembered?
The dream was as vivid as the first one. Aurora dreamt Devon was on one knee in front of a beautiful girl. Devon was professing his love for her, but the girl instead looked at him with pity. In his hand, he held a simple gold ring.
“Will you marry me?” Devon asked, offering his ring. “I know it isn’t much, but once things get better and when my father...”
“I can’t marry you, Devon,” the girl replied, averting her eyes.
Devon was speechless.
“W.. Why?”
“You are a wanted man with a bounty on his head,” the girl said.
“But you know that is...”
“I can’t be seen with you,” the girl said, not letting Devon finish. “It’s best that you leave.”
Devon tried to convince the girl to listen to him, but she shook her head slowly and left, while he remained with one knee on the ground.
The girl’s rejection devastated Devon. His sorrow and anguish was palpable on his handsome face. He seemed so different from the playful Devon Aurora had come to know over the last few days.
Aurora thought she had seen the girl before. She was so familiar. The girl’s hair was braided into a crown on top of her head. Was she the same girl from the first dream? The little girl who threw Devon in the mud when he was a small boy?
When the dream shifted, Aurora was almost relieved as she couldn’t bear to see Devon’s heartbreak. The next image was of the girl in the arms of another man. The man was wearing a crown and looked a bit like Devon, but older than him by a decade. The girl with the braided hair was admiring a ring on her left hand. Her ring was made of intricate gold-work with the carving of two lion heads. There was a giant ruby in the centre of the lions’ mouths.
She was engaged to someone else, Aurora realized.
Devon had been in love with this girl, but she chose someone else. She chose a lord, someone richer and with power, rather than the boy with the simple ring and shabby clothes.
Aurora couldn’t help but feel sad for Devon.
It isn’t easy giving your heart to someone only to have it crushed; she thought.
I should know... it happened to me too.
——-
When morning returned in the forest, it was as instantaneous as the switch from day to night. There was no gradual sunrise, just like there was no fading from dark into light. The sun was bright, and the trees were back to their golden hues.
Despite having little sleep, both were eager to start their journey back again. Devon and Aurora got on their horses and started following the trail of the golden mushrooms. They reached the end of the golden trees of the forest by mid day. They must be getting close to the exit, Aurora thought.
She was right. The forest ended abruptly and opened to a field of daisies. There must have been thousands of the white flowers swaying in the soft breeze. Devon was looking at the flowers wistfully. It surprised Aurora when he stopped his horse and got off.
Devon picked one flower from the field and gave it to Aurora. She couldn’t help but think about the first dream where Devon, as a small boy, gave a daisy to the girl with her hair braided as a crown. The same girl he later proposed to.
The same girl who broke his heart.
Devon looked deep in thought. Aurora wished she knew what he was thinking about.
“Daisies used to be my favorite flowers,” he said.
“Used to be? Are they not anymore?” Aurora asked.
She knew the reason he wouldn’t like them anymore, but she still wanted to know. She wanted to hear it from him.
“No, they are too fragile,” Devon said. “They are flowers for someone carefree. That isn’t me anymore.”
“What do you think about them now?”
“Their presence brings back painful memories. I rather not remember,” Devon replied.
“Is it because of the girl you loved?” Aurora asked.
Devon looked at her with surprise.
“I saw another dream. It was when you proposed to the girl,” Aurora said.
“Her name is Emily,” Devon said, not denying what Aurora said.
Emily? The same Emily who gave him the book? Aurora thought, surprised.
Devon got back on his horse, and they continued their journey in silence. They left the field of daisies far behind them. Now it was just green grassy fields to either side of the path they were on. Their horses ambled along in the seemingly endless road.
There was not much else to see. The sun seems to disappear as an eerie mist covered the path. They would see one or two golden mushroom, glowing distances apart. Aurora noticed there were fewer golden mushrooms ahead of them and that it was getting harder to find them.
Aurora stopped paying attention to the mushrooms. Her mind kept drifting to what Devon told her about Emily. She was curious to know what happened. Despite her best efforts to stop herself, she took a deep breath and finally asked Devon.
“What happened?” Aurora asked. “What happened between you two?”
“She chose someone else,” Devon said, simply. “I wasn’t good enough.”
Devon’s words stunned Aurora. His voice lacked its usual mischievous energy.
He thinks he wasn’t good enough? Aurora thought. Devon is wrong. He shouldn’t think like that.
“She didn’t deserve you, Devon,” Aurora said. “You are more than good enough.”
Aurora felt a deep emotion stirring inside of her. It wasn’t sadness or pity, rather; she felt jealous of Emily.
Aurora wanted to punch the person who hurt Devon. She couldn’t bear seeing him dejected for even a moment. The intensity of her feelings, both of jealousy and anger, shocks Aurora.
Devon was looking at her with surprise.
“You are saying this to someone like me?” Devon asked. “That I am good enough?”
“Whatever your profession is... whatever is in your past, I don’t know and I can’t judge. Maybe there was a reason that forced you to go down the path that you did?” Aurora said. “I know this, Devon... I know you are not a bad person."
"I am not?"
"No. You are a good friend who will never abandon someone who is in need. If that is not worthy of being loved, I don’t know what is.”
Devon was deep in thought. He ran a hand through his hair absentmindedly; his eyes slowly got back to their mischievous look.
“You forgot to add something, Aurora.”
“What is that?” Aurora asked.
“My handsome good looks,” Devon said with a lazy smile. “Surely that also helps me?”
“I..I guess I can give that to you, too,” Aurora replied.
Devon couldn’t believe his ears. He couldn’t believe that Aurora agreed with him so easily.
“Wow, Aurora. You must really be feeling sorry for me,” he said. “If I had known this is how you’d react, I would have shared about my heartbreak much sooner.”
“You are insufferable,” Aurora said, frustrated.
Devon grinned. “But handsome.”
“Aurora?” Devon asked in a low voice. His voice sends shivers down her body.
“Yes?”
“I got over Emily a long time ago. You don’t need to worry,” Devon said.
“Why would I worry?” Aurora said in a slightly higher voice. “I am not worried.”
“Thank you, Aurora, for seeing the good in me,” Devon said. “For saying that I am good enough.”
Aurora blushed. She didn’t know why she felt a sudden rush of happiness.
“Now, you can also stop being jealous of my past love,” Devon said with a charming smile.
“I am not jealous!” Aurora exclaimed. “Why would I be jealous?”
“You aren’t a good liar,” Devon said, smiling.
Aurora blushed. She thought about the book Devon still carried.
“If you are over her, as you claim, why do you still carry the book she gave you?” Aurora asked.
“I never got to reading it. I kept thinking that I will,” Devon said. “You really are jealous, then?”
“I shouldn’t have bothered. This is what I get for being nice to you,” Aurora said.
Devon laughed. “This was you being nice? You were just being nosy about my love life,” Devon said. “Like I said, I wouldn’t dream of anyone else but you, Aurora.”
“You are shameless!” Aurora huffed. “I should have tossed you out the window when I had the chance.”
“It is too late now,” Devon said, smiling. “Looks like you are stuck with me.”
Aurora raced her horse away from Devon. She wasn’t angry with him, but she was trying to hide the smile on her face.
Devon caught up to her.
“Which flower is your favorite now?” Aurora asked.
“I like roses the most.”
“Why?” Aurora asked. She didn’t tell him they were her favorite flowers, too.
“Because roses come with thorns.”
“You like roses because they have thorns?” Aurora asked, perplexed.
“Yes. You can only pick a rose if you get past their thorns,” Devon said. “And there is one more reason for them being my favorite.”
“What reason is that?” Aurora asked.
“Because they remind me of you,” Devon said. “They are the color of your lips and the blush of your cheeks.”
Aurora blushed harder at his words.
“Are you saying that I have thorns?” Aurora asked when she recovered her composure.
“Of all the things I said to you, this is what you want to remember?” Devon said, laughing. Aurora kept her expression blank.
Devon threw his hands up in exasperation. “I just can’t win.”
Just at that moment, it rained. Big rain drops of liquid gold that formed golden puddles all around them. There was no shelter around for miles, but it didn’t matter, as the rain didn’t soak them at all. The golden rain glided off their cloaks like they were phantom drops of water.
There was something else different about this rain. The water of the golden puddles reflected light like a mirror, and Aurora noticed they showed the same reflection she had seen in the lake of fears. Maybe the source of water for these rain clouds came from the lake of fears? Aurora avoided looking into them, as she didn’t want to see the distorted image of herself as queen. She avoided stepping onto them in case it really was like the lake of fears. It might show her parents or the prince, and she didn’t think her heart could bear hearing their anguished voices again.
Their journey to the forest had started with rain, but after the perfect weather of the last few days, it was jarring for them to encounter poor weather. The golden rain was the last thing they saw before the mist parted, and they found themselves on the road back to the tower. They had made it out of the forest of no return through another portal.
“We are back,” Devon said, looking around him. “Not a demon in sight. That is a relief.”
“Should we head back to the tower?”
“I want to check in on the others with Castian before we go,” Devon said. “You can go ahead if you like, though I much rather we stay together in case the demons decide to show up again.”
“I don’t mind going to Castian’s cabin,” Aurora said. “I want to know how the Circle members are too.”
Devon nodded.
They made their way off the road to Castian’s shabby cabin, which didn’t take long. Devon had to only knock once before Castian opened the door.
“You are back! And alive!” Castian exclaimed. Castian surprised Devon by pulling him into a bear hug.
“I promised I would return,” Devon said, laughing. “I was only gone for a few days. You are acting like you haven’t seen me in weeks!”
“It has been weeks, my friend,” Castian said.
“I guess time worked differently in the forest. It was only a few days for us,” Devon said. “How are the Circle? What happened with the demons?”
“They are all fine. Xavier had a minor injury but has recovered now. The demons fled as soon as you went through the portal,” Castian replied. “Tell me all that happened to you two while you were gone.”
Devon detailed all that had happened to them, and Aurora listened in silence as she relived the moments. Devon didn’t linger long on what they encountered in the lake of fears. Aurora was relieved when Castian didn’t probe him further about it.
After Devon finished the story, Castian gave a low whistle.
“That was something,” Castian said. “I bet you wouldn’t want to go back there again.”
“The portal will be closed to both of us now, so it is unlikely we can do it again in our lifetime,” Aurora said. “Maybe going to the forest even once is more than enough.”
“Between going into the forest and facing the demons, I know which one I will choose,” Castian said.
“Demons.”
“Demons.”
Both Castian and Devon said it together and nodded their heads.
Aurora tried not to smile. “Well, we will have to go to my fairy godmothers’ cottage in the enchanted forest.”
“Another enchanted forest?” Devon said, groaning.
“I can go by myself, Devon,” Aurora replied. “You should stay back. No one is forcing you to go.”
“Don’t do that to him, princess,” Castian said, smiling. “The Circle would have to deal with their dear leader pouting and being a miserable nuisance until you return.”
“I don’t pout... I brood, rather handsomely,” Devon said defensively. “I am fine with any forests, lakes, caves, whatever we have to go to.”
“Trust me. With the ultimatum you just gave him, you won’t hear him complain about any forests ever again,” Castian said, teasing Devon.
Devon gave a grim smile. Aurora tried to hide her smile.
“You two should head back to rest,” Castian said. “I will let the Circle members know you returned safely.”
Devon nodded and promised to meet Castian again the next day. Aurora and Devon made their way back. Aurora was glad for the sight of the castle in the distance, even with the cursed thorns mostly covering the facade.
It is the one familiar sight in my unfamiliar new life; she thought sadly. She desperately wanted to see her fairy godmothers again.
“How far is the cottage from here?” Devon asked. “How do we get there?”
“It is a day’s journey. The entrance to the forest is behind a waterfall,” Aurora replied.
“Is the forest cursed?”
“No, it is just enchanted,” Aurora replied. “It isn’t like the forest of no return.”
“And there is a curse on the waterfall?”
“There isn’t,” Aurora replied, amused.
“Guarded by a dragon?”
“It wasn’t a hundred years ago,” Aurora said.
“Will it put our lives in mortal peril?”
“It is just a normal waterfall, Devon,” Aurora said, sighing.
“I just want to be prepared,” Devon said. “Couldn’t help to know more details.”
“It should be safe, but after what happened to the bridge, you might be right. The witch could send her demons,” Aurora said.
“Demons are fine,” Devon said, almost relieved.
Aurora smiled. Devon is ok with facing the witch’s demons, but not his inner demons, she thought. Perhaps that was more frightening to him?
“I wanted you to meet with the Circle, formally, before we leave,” Devon said. “If that is ok with you, Aurora?”
He seemed nervous about asking her, and was waiting for her reply with bated breath.
“I want to meet them too, and to thank them for their help,” Aurora replied.
Devon was happy with her reply.
They are his friends. They are all so close to one another, Aurora thought.
I don’t have that anymore.
Aurora missed her family and felt an empty feeling aching in her heart.
“I am sorry for what you are going through, Aurora,” Devon said, reading her thoughts. “But please don’t ever think that you are alone.”
Aurora gave a sad smile. Devon and his friends had proved that to her already, and she was grateful to them.
Aurora and Devon arrived at their destination. Devon set traps for the demons once more and secured the horses in the castle’s stables for the night. They went through the twisted paths and then through the trapdoor to reach Aurora’s bedroom at the top of the tower.
“I will go meet with Castian first, and when I return, we will go meet the gang,” Devon said, as he settled into his taken corner of the room - on the sofa.
“How are they all like?” Aurora asked, curious.
“A little rough around the edges, but the most loyal people you could ask for,” Devon said with pride.
They sound just like you, Devon, she thought, smiling.
Aurora felt a nervousness she hadn’t felt before. Her heart raced at the thought of meeting the rest of the Circle members. Aurora felt she should prepare herself for anything and everything.