The Lies that Made Us

Amelia

She woke up cold and alone. At first, she became afraid they had all abandoned her in the middle of the night, leaving her to fend for herself. The idea that Brynn would leave her again made her chest ache, and her eyes start to water. She sat up fully and looked around. She knew Owain would not leave her, and she was not in the same clearing. It was not as large, and there was no place where the fire was burning.

Standing up, she wondered what could possibly have happened. How could she have been moved without knowing? Deciding the only thing she could do was try to find her way out of the forest, hopefully coming across Brynn or Owain on the way. Looking up at the stars, she studied them as she had been taught before heading what she knew to be southwest.

She moved through a thick area of trees and came out of a clearing that looked much the same as the one she left. Confused, she spun around until going back into the forest.

“Amelia, why are you even bothering with this?” asked a whisper that seemed close by.

She turned to her left and looked to see no one. She looked to her right, and still, there was no one. “Hello?” she said uncertainly.

“You should run away from here. Why should you care about this boy? Who is he to you?”

Amelia shook her head before turning around. “He is a life, and all life is precious.”

“All life, Amelia? What about those who betrayed you, hurt you? Why do they deserve protection? Your father wished you were dead. Brynn didn’t even care enough to come back, and now, he cannot wait to be done with you.”

“Who is speaking?” she asked angrily.

“I am the truth,” said the whisper before giving a small laugh. “Do you miss your room in the tower? What about the king? Gareth never forgot about you. He always showed you attention.”

“You cannot be telling the truth. I hated my prison, and I never wish to see Gareth again.”

“Oh, Amelia, why lie? You know you received pleasure from your times with Gareth. You craved them after a while. They were the only times you felt alive.”

“No, I dreaded them. He made me feel dirty and wrong. I should have made him kill me before giving myself to him.”

“Whatever for? At least he was a pleasant distraction. What else were you waiting for? I hope it wasn’t Brynn.”

Amelia stopped walking and stood still. “This isn’t real.”

“It is. Brynn was gone a long time. Amelia. What do you think he was doing all those years? Do you think he sat there and pined for you? Would you like me to tell you what he did? How he spent his nights? Many women warmed his bed, and he lusted over one beautiful princess. Perhaps, she took your place in his heart.”

Amelia felt as though the breath had been knocked out of her. “You don’t know. You can’t know.”

“It was what his father wanted, for him to travel far away and forget you. How could you ever be suitable for him? You are weak and a disappointment to everyone. Did you ever think that maybe you did kill the king? Perhaps, he told you all about his plans for Brynn, and you could not take it. Your magic grew agitated, and you struck out, hitting the king. Once you realized what you had done, your mind cracked, and now you can’t remember.”

Amelia took a shuddering breath. The darkness that was on the edges of her mind started to spread. She pulled her cloak tight against her and put her head down. She was sure she did not kill the king. She wasn’t even in the room when he died. No matter what he told her or did, she could never do it. Even if he forbade Brynn from marrying her, she would never hurt the king.

“You are a liar,” said Amelia as she wiped tears from her eyes. “I know I did not kill the king.”

The whisper laughed harshly, but she closed her eyes and stopped listening. She knew she had made mistakes, and perhaps, Brynn had as well, but she could tell he still cared for her. She couldn’t understand why he stayed away for so long, but he had shown he did not want her to suffer.

She still loved him. She thought she had put her feelings for him behind her, but she had been fooling herself. He had her heart forever, and no matter what he did with it, she could not take it back. She would go with him to save the young prince, making sure Brynn stayed safe. The young prince deserved a chance to live, and she could not let the darkness take him.

A warm feeling came over her, making her power stir within her, another magic joining with hers. She knew immediately it was Brynn’s. She had felt it constantly since she had been stabbed, always working within her to dispel the darkness. The whispering continued, but she did not listen. She looked up in the sky, watching the half-moon. It was as if it became brighter as she stared at it, a pale white light streaming from it, coming down into the forest.

She stared at the light for a moment before walking towards it, letting it lead her into the forest. The further she walked, the more strongly she felt the warmth inside her grow. It was as if she could visualize the light that lived in her become large and larger. All the while, the whispering became softer and softer until she could no longer hear it.

She might have walked half the night or no time at all, she could not tell, but eventually, the trees became less dense. A few more steps, and she was on the edge of the tree line. Standing just a bit away was Brynn as he stared up at the moon. When he heard her footsteps, he turned to look at her. Amelia stared at him in the moonlight as they both stood still, facing each other.

She was breathing hard, seeing the mist from it in the dim moonlight. She took one breath and then two before Brynn started walking towards her. She took off towards him as he opened his arms. She flung herself into them, putting her arms around him as he wrapped her up in his. There was nothing else in the world that felt as good as this. It had been so long since she felt cherished or safe.

Brynn bent down and whispered her name before kissing the top of her head. “I thought you were lost.”

“I followed the path you left for me.” He held her tighter, and she made a soft sobbing sound. “I’m sorry, Brynn.”

“Why should you be sorry? It is I who has much to apologize for. I don’t know how I will ever earn your forgiveness.”

“I have so much to atone for. I betrayed who I am and the love I have for you so many times.”

“You have betrayed nothing and no one. You were left all alone just trying to survive.”

“I wanted you so many times. I thought you had forgotten me,” said Amelia.

“I could never forget you. There was not a day and barely an hour I did not think of you.”

She looked up at him. “Then why did you stay away for so long?”

He moved his hand up to her face and caressed her cheek. “I wish I could change the past. Amelia, I was such a fool.”

Before he could say anything further, they both turned at a rustling noise coming from the forest. Owain stumbled out from the tree line, looking pale and disoriented. Amelia let go of Brynn to run to him.

“Owain, are you hurt?”

He shook his head as Amelia took his hand. “I am fine, my lady. I am just not sure what happened. Somehow I ended up in a completely different area of the forest, and everything seemed backward. I thought I would be lost until I saw a trail of light through the trees. I followed it, and it led me here.”

“I’m very glad it did,” said Amelia.

He looked her over before glancing at Brynn. “You are alright, aren’t you?”

“I am. I was lost like you, but I found my way back,” said Amelia.

He looked at Brynn again for squeezing her hand. “I know it sounds silly, but something told me I would never see you again, that you would be killed or taken away.”

“It doesn’t sound silly. I heard things too in the forest. They all almost made me give up.”

Brynn moved closer to them. “I also heard a voice I could not explain. It spoke of some of my deepest fears.”

“What of the others?” Amelia looked to the forest. “Do you think they are lost?”

As they all watched the forest, Dugan stumbled out with two guards, each leading two horses. Behind him came three more guards, each with a horse.”

“You are missing two more. Have you seen them?” asked Brynn.

Dugan huffed. “They would not listen and ran back the other way. I have not seen them since.”

“The forest has taken them,” said one of the guards who looked as if he were shaking. “We will not see them again.”

“We should go back in and look for them,” said Amelia. “We cannot leave them.”

She started for the forest when Dugan grabbed her arm. “If you go back in there, we will leave you to your fate. You cannot help them.”

“You don’t know that,” said Amelia as she tried to shake her arm from Dugan. “How can we just leave them?”

He dug his fingernails into her flesh, and she gritted her teeth so she would not cry out. After roughly pulling her closer, he bent down close to her face. “Go back in there if you dare. I would like to be done with you.”

Suddenly Brynn was at Amelia’s side with his hand up. Dugan was pushed back from a force Brynn sent while his free arm wrapped around Amelia’s waist.

“You will not place a hand on her again. If you do, I will make sure you do not touch her or anything again,” said Brynn fiercely.

“I have only been trying to protect her from you. I should have let her go back in that forest alone, and then we could have been done with her.” Dugan stepped towards Brynn.

“I need no protection from Lady Amelia, and I don’t even want you looking at her from this point forward.” He pulled Amelia closer and lowered his voice. “Use your magic to see if you can sense the other guards close by.”

She nodded as he let her go. As she lifted her hand, she let her magic flow through her, searching as much as the forest she could, looking for any signs of life. What she found made her shiver as the darkness in her started to gather.

“There is no life anywhere close, only darkness and quiet,” said Amelia as she put her hand down.

“Then we will press on,” said Brynn. “We are not far from the Linstinport. We can rest there before securing passage across the narrow part of the sea.”

Owain walked closer to them. “We are missing a horse. Lady Amelia, you can ride with me.”

“She will ride with me,” said Brynn adamantly. “After our time in the forest, she needs to be close to me to dispel any darkness.”

Brynn looked down at her, and she gave him a small smile. “I will ride with the prince to the village, Owain. I think I might need his magic on the way.”

“We need to go,” said Dugan with a huff. “We need no more delays.” He looked at Amelia as if he blamed her for any troubles they had.

Brynn walked with Amelia to his horse and lifted her into the saddle before climbing up behind her. He placed his arm around her and bent down. “I need to speak with you alone. I want to explain myself as best I can. I know excuses will do no good against the pain you have endured, but I need you to know the full truth.”

“There is much I have to say to you as well,” said Amelia.

Owain rode up on one side of them and Dugan on the other. Brynn urged his horse forward, and all the men followed. They rode through the rest of the night into the early morning as Owain and Dugan kept close, both constantly looking at the other. As the sun rose and moved to a decent height in the sky, the harbor town of Linstinport came into view.