III

The Flaming Roses

The meal was short and filled with silence and glares. Scylla and Eos do not seem to miss a chance of hissing at the prince, while Kalare looked so calm and at peace while he ate his portion. The tension between the prince and my two friends put me in an awkward position, making me unable to converse properly.

Nevertheless, the silence in the dining table helped me to think about my next step into finding Princess Aurora. As the Godmothers have said, she would probably meet with her mother in the mountains where trolls and giants took shelter. However, I believe that the princess cannot reach the mountains easily, especially that she does not have a horse nor any food. 

Still, at this pace, she got a head start for we are still in this hut. I also could not underestimate the magic that she has. If she would use her magic skills, it would be more probable that she would arrive at the mountains earlier than I expected. 

After our short meal, the prince-- Henry-- decided to take a bath for a bit before we all set foot in our journey. Eos and Scylla insisted that we leave the prince as he took a bath, which only earned a chuckle from me. They never missed a chance to hate on him, which I understand, of course. 

Eos and Scylla's parents died when the princess wreaked havoc before. The anger that they feel towards her was unimaginable, that was why keeping her asleep was a huge deal. However, it would be unwise to leave the prince at this point. He proved to me yesterday that I do not have enough knowledge for such a journey. His knowledge would be useful for now.

There was a sense of peace when Eos, Scylla, and Kalare all fell asleep in Farrio's saddles. They were bundled up on one side as the horse gently walked, careful on not waking them up. 

"You are in deep thought," the prince-- Henry-- noticed as we walked side by side.

"I am merely planning."

"May I know what your plans are, milady?" he politely queried. His changes in attitude were a bit confusing for me. At times, he was polite, but before, he was… stubborn and proud.

"I am just thinking whether we could reach the princess before she enters the Mountains of Giants." It would be hard to retrieve and make her sleep once she is with her mother. The magic I hold was far beyond the princess', but her mother's was beyond mine.

"May I take a look at the map?"

The map looked tiny at Henry's large hands. His reddish lips pursed while his thick brows knitted together as he analyzed the directions and landmarks stated. There were numbers and letters written on the map, however, I do not understand it.

"The princess would reach the mountains within two weeks by foot. However, she would reach it earlier if she would be able to acquire a horse." 

"We are similar in thoughts." 

Henry tapped on the map, his large fingers grazing over the rough texture of a small dot in the center. “Once we have reached this town, we should buy another horse. Our journey would be a lot faster if we both have horses,” he spoke as he slowly faced my direction. “You should ride your horse now. I am certain that walking tires you.”

Slowly, a warm sensation enveloped my face. “My feet do not hurt at all.” My mind was quick to generate an answer. “If you’d like, you can ride Farrio first.” 

It would be easier to learn if I would see him ride a horse, I am quick to learn, after all. 

When I opened my eyes, my mind was placid. Everything was new to my senses, even languages and emotions. However, with the help of the Godmothers and the palace books, it only took me a day to learn the kingdom’s language, and another day to explore thoughts and ideas. 

Learning has never really been a problem to me, as long as someone will show an example. 

Unfortunately, no one showed me how to ride a horse.

The prince’s thick brows rose quickly; his eyes scrutinized my expressions. It was overwhelming to stare back at him. I have not known him for long, but I am certain that the shade of his eyes change from time to time. As of now, it is emerald. The emerald that always appeared whenever he was amused. 

A small grin slowly spread on his face. “Do you not know how to ride a horse, Cola?” The tone of his voice was small and teasing. 

Heat flooded my cheeks as I thought of an answer. However, none came to mind due to the embarrassment. The prince must be thinking how idiotic I am to go in a journey without proper knowledge about these things. 

Riding horses was necessary; how could I not know?

The thought of being imprisoned in my hut for years came to mind. It was not my fault that freedom is out of my hands, that knowledge given to me was only limited. Nevertheless, a prince would not understand my sentiments for he grew up in a different life. A life where he could have everything he wanted.

“Worry not,” Henry spoke, his voice suddenly changed tones. “I could teach you.”

My eyes widened a bit. “Really?”

 For the first time since I met him, Henry laughed. It was not like the laugh of Kalare, or Eos. Or my Godmothers. It was a laugh with a deep tone, and heavy breathing. A laugh of a man. It was wonderful to hear another person’s laugh; I never imagined it would sound pleasant to my ears. 

“Oui. Once your friends have woken up from their sleep.” 

"Thank you," I say.

Our conversation hung into the air when I noticed that the road trail finally ended, leaving only earth and dust in its wake. The following road we would take was full of mere grass and tall, narrow trees. It was past afternoon but due to the tallness and the heavy leaves on the trees, darkness started to cover our path as we walked deeper. 

Small streaks of light were able to penetrate the leaves, but it was not enough to light up the path we are taking. It looked scary and marvelous at the same time.

As if on cue, Scylla slowly opened her eyes and was astonished by the sight. A chuckle escaped from my mouth when she slapped Eos and Kalare on their faces, waking them. The two had an irked expression and were ready to squawk another banter when they noticed what Scylla was looking at.

"Woah," Eos uttered.

"Those are some tall trees," Kalare murmured.

"I feel like we should not be speaking," Scylla whispered. "Do you all feel that eerie silence? It's scary in here."

Kalare shook his small head. "Shush. It's just some trees."

"Tall, scary trees…" Eos spoke as he was still staring.

Due to lack of support from Eos and Kalare, Scylla turned to me. "Cola, what do you think? It looks like there are predators in this place. We could get eaten!" Her eyes bulged as she put her hands in her mouth.

My eyes shook as the thought of unfriendly animals lurking behind these trees were terrifying. We were not defenseless, but what if they attacked from our back and took us by surprise? The princess could have been here, too, setting up a trap for me…

"Don't scare Cola! Nothing would eat us here!"

The sun was almost setting, and even if that was the case, the environment around us was enveloped with darkness. For this, Henry proposed that we stop our travels and continue in the morning, when the sun has risen again. Eos wanted to oppose, but the prince’s suggestion was far more rational that was why he was sulking on our way to the most comfortable grass we could find.

The six of us settled in a narrow space between two tall, and wide trees with thick roots and stems. Eos pulled me on the right tree, implying that the prince would rest on the left tree. However, Henry followed Eos’ direction. Eos groaned irately while a small giggle escaped my lips.

Eos is usually friendly but seeing him act differently was entertaining; the expressions on his face were funny.

Henry set-up the fire as I prepared our meals for the night. Scylla, Eos, and Kalare were busy throwing questions towards Farrio who seemed to be in an awkward disposition.

“Are you friends with the palace horses, as well?” I heard Scylla inquired. 

“No.”

“They are not really friendly, Scylla. They are an arrogant bunch,” Kalare commented. “You would not like to meet them.”

When everything was set, I started handing in the portions of our meals. The silence as we ate was deafening; even Scylla who was always cheerful was quiet as her eyes roamed around the place, looking out for predators. However, nothing can be seen beyond the trees in front of us. If it were not for the fire that Henry had ignited, we would not be able to see a thing.

After our short, and quick meal, we draped ourselves with pieces of clothes to fight the cold breeze that the forest emits. Scylla was bundled in my waist, hugging, as Eos and Kalare chose to sleep beside Farrio. The calmness and silence of the night brought peace as the lids of my eyes started to fall, and in no time, sleep already pulled me.

👑👑👑

 Mornings were my favorite, but the night brought a different kind of peace. The moon shone brightly as various flowers welcomed my sight; red roses, lavender tulips, and yellow sunflowers. The long, white gown I was wearing touched the grass as I tried to touch the red rose, however, even before my hand reached it, the rose started to go up in flames.

 The flaming rose in front of me spread through the whole garden; my face aching and burning from the hotness of it all. I turned my back to see how the fire spread, but the garden was replaced with the kingdom. The Kingdom of Moors was engulfed in flames as people screamed and ran. Children were crying, while their parents were mourning and terrified. Houses were destroyed as the roads were filled with debris and fire.

 At the center of the Moors, a young girl was standing. Princess Aurora was laughing hysterically, her voice was high-pitched. The pink gown that she was wearing was now turning red as she continued to wreak havoc, flailing her hands as she continuously spoke of incantations and spells. 

 My chest tightened at the devastating sight. Tears started falling like a rainfall as I tried to help a child, but my efforts were in vain because my hands only went through the child’s body. 

 Why?

 Why cannot I help her?

 Princess Aurora’s laugh echoed in my mind. The sounds of her eerie voice covered my ears as I closed my eyes, begging. Begging for her to stop all of these.

 My breaths were heavy when I had woken. The fright that reigned over my chest was still evident as I tried to erase the fearful dream that occurred. 

 It was only a dream, and yet, it felt real. The kingdom, the children, the princess… everything.

 It has been two days since the princess has been awake, and the selfish part of me did not think of the horrible consequences that could happen. The only thought that came to mind was that I wanted to live, not minding the devastation that the princess could have done on those two days. 

 She was an imminent threat, and yet, here I am, delighted that I could travel to places now that she had awakened. How could I only think of myself?

 “Are you alright, milady?” Henry questioned, his presence bringing both surprise and calmness. He was sitting at the bark of the tree, his back was leaned on the stem as his green eyes were now in the shade of forest green.

 “Yes,” I replied with a heavy breath as I checked on my friends, escaping from his watchful gaze. Scylla was now hugging Eos while the latter snored loudly. Kalare and Farrio looked comfortable as they slept peacefully, as well.

 My attention came back to Henry. “Why are you still awake?”

He smiled before looking up at the night sky. He was not wearing his usual teasing smile or grin, but a melancholic one. “I wanted to sleep, but my mind does not want to.”

Imitating his moves, my eyes drifted off to the scenery above. The heavens are filled with stars as the crescent moon shone dimly; my hair fluttered as a chilly wind blew past us. 

“It is not too late for you to go back to the kingdom,” I say, whispering. “Your family must have been worrying about your whereabouts and safety.”

“Ah, ma famille.” Henry chuckled as if the words that I spoke were filled with humor. “Trust me, Cola, the last one that would worry is my family.” 

His response was confusing. How could one’s family not worry about the other? Was it not in the nature of humans? More questions filled my head, however, the prince looked like he did not like the course of our conversation, and so, I stopped being speculative about his situation.

“Why does the princess have to go back to sleep? Was she not cursed by the witch?” Henry queried in a sudden.

A moment of hesitation crossed my mind, unsure of what to say. Nonetheless, what is there to hide? He would find out the truth once we face the princess; it would be wiser to tell him now.

“Princess Aurora is the witch. She caused havoc and wreckage in the kingdom, which was why the King had ordered the Godmothers to take her consciousness away as they figured out a way to conceal the black magic that reigns inside her.” 

Henry’s face did not change at all as I explained the truth. It was fascinating for I expected that he would be surprised, terrified, even. 

“That must be the reason why your friends were mad at me, and the reason why you slapped me with the map.” Gratefully, we were completely succumbed in the dark and he would not see the heat that spread over my face when he mentioned that embarrassing encounter of ours. 

“Did King Stefan tasked you to become the princess’ guard because of your ability to conjure magic? It would explain a lot why a young woman is taking on a man’s job.” Henry uttered.

Without hesitating, I smiled. “That would be a long story to tell.” 

He returned my smile with a wider one, his voice was playful in a sudden. “We got all night, Cola.”

I shook my head as a sign of refusal. “It is a story for another night, Prince Henry.” 

The prince accepted my refusal because he did not ask any further. The story of my duty would not be easy to tell, for what comes with it were the history of my life, and the reason I was created. How would I tell a real person that I am not real?

Silence dominated our conversation. Thoughts of my piteous existence came to flood my feeble mind. However, it was interrupted when Henry spoke.

“This means that our journey is of importance, est-ce correct?” 

“Utmost importance.” I nodded.

“Then I will stay with you until the end of our journey,” he announced. “I will ensure that Princess Aurora goes back to sleep.”

The certainty and finality in his voice felt real. Still, it was hard to believe for he was the princess’ true love. How certain was he that he would never sabotage my plans just to save the love of his life?

Instead of saying any of my thoughts aloud, I just gave Henry a smile. 

 Once our conversation had ended, the sleep that escaped came back suddenly. With that, my night ended with my head filled with bothered and worried thoughts.

The sound of Eos’ loud squeaks woke me. The streaks of sunlight went straight to my eyes, making it hard to adjust to the light at first. When my eyes were finally open, my friends and Henry were preparing for our departure. However, it felt like something had changed.

They were not giving deathly glares nor throwing fits towards the prince. Henry looked more comfortable, as well, as he folded the clothes that Scylla had handed him. It was an unusual and unsettling sight to see. 

As we continued our travels, things were much puzzling to see. The prince had asked me for the map again, and Eos did not seem to mind that the two of us were conversing. Scylla’s fighting face was nowhere to be found, replaced by her peaceful expression, the one that she uses whenever allies surrounded her. She had not had that expression for three days now, due to Henry’s presence, but today was different. 

I wonder what has caused this.

After a six-hour walk and one-hour rest, the trail of dust became a clear road again, and we were welcomed with a sight of a town protected by gigantic walls and gates. It was too far to see every detail, and yet, it was enough to excite me. 

“Cola! Do you see that? That was where I met the love of my life!” Eos stated as he pointed at its direction.

“You have a lot of ‘love of your life’, you have to be more specific,” Kalare humored as Scylla, Farrio and I laughed; the prince turned in my direction because of the sound I made.

Eos grunted. “The one with the colors of the ocean! Maybe I could see her again once we visit?” His eyes bulged with enthusiasm and hope.

This would be my first time visiting a town, or any place aside from the kingdom. I was only imagining it before in my dreams; now, I stand a few feet away. The possibilities of places to explore and people to meet made my eagerness to reach that place intensified. 

The prince and I had already discussed the possible routes for our journey, and this town was one of them. We planned to buy another horse and acquire a few more meals before we make our way to the roads again. It was not in our plan to stay there, but the selfish side of me wishes that we could stay, even just for a day.

The dream that occurred to me last night resurfaced in my mind; the flaming roses, the crying children, the burning kingdom…

A heavy and deep sigh escaped my lips as all hopes of exploring evaporated into thin air.