Follow the raven, my little demon.
I thought I was going crazy. Should I really listen to a voice I probably imagined out of fear of answering Alexander? There could be no way that the raven knew about my situation, so I assumed it must be an illusion, a way my brain was coping with the fear of marrying him.
“I would like to… Hmmm… I need a moment.”
I felt bad for showing off my hesitation. Nonetheless, I’d underestimated the effect the question would have on me. The intense looks of his parents and the worry of what might come if I said yes made me feel anxious. My answer would influence the course of my life.
Now, run now. It is your time.
There was the voice again, urging me not to wait any longer.
So, I did what I wanted to do before…I ran.
The raven flew directly into the forest right at the end of the garden. I followed it. Maybe it was thelittle white rabbitI had prayed for. I ran and ran, not realizing until too late that the raven flew directly into a hedge of roses and disappeared. I tried to stop, but it was like an unknown power forced me to run further. Out of instinct, I crossed my hands over my face to protect my eyes, but instead of feeling thorns…
I felt like I was falling.
I was surrounded by endless darkness; I couldn’t see where I was or identify what was really happening until I felt a weightlessness that made me float through the air. Dimly, Iregistered some tiny lights nearby, making noises echoing the laughter of children. The longer I drifted through the depths, the more lights came to chase away the darkness, until finally I recognized that I was in some sort of a ravine or a drip cave. The walls of the cave were shimmering in unique shades of gold and silver, looking like the sun, moon, and stars all came together to celebrate.
All of a sudden, a light came directly at my face and set itself on my nose. It looked like a very small blueish branch which was not much bigger than my ring finger and appeared to have dragonfly wings.
Was this a pixie?
Very abruptly the floating stopped, and I fell down into the dark again. A scream escaped my lips, and I thought I was about to die until I felt a soft grip on my chin making me gaze into a pair of eyes. Their color resembled the brightest midwinter, lit with dancing northern lights that threatened to drown me on a snowy night.
“There you are,my little robin…” The words were spoken so softly and delicately as if after all the years he had been an illusion, he became reality. I felt his soft feathers caressing over my skin, embracing me in a kind of warmth I’ve always been yearning for.
“You are my angel, right?” My question was barely a whisper. Despite my soul craving for the confirmation, my body was starting to get tired.
“You’re safe with me, my love. Now close your eyes,” he replied.
Then… I drifted into darkness.
Chapter 2
The sunshine was tickling my skin, and my entire body felt relaxed, like I had slept for multiple days—although I could not remember going to sleep at all. The familiar smell of musk, moonflower, and sage invaded my nose again, causing a comforting feeling in my bones. I opened my eyes just to see the sun begin to rise over the horizon, the blue sky becoming aglow with different hues of red, yellow, and orange. The rays of the sun shimmered rainbow-like across the dewy green grass, making each colorful flower shine like a precious jewel.
After I got up, I looked around the place I had fallen into, which turned out to be the middle of a forest with twinkling lights that were so faint I didn’t notice them at first. I had no idea which way to go, as the paths before and behind me seemed identical.
So where should I go now?
How could I be sure I wasn’t simply dreaming, trapped in some twisted kind of Wonderland of my own, only to wake up and find myself facing Alexander’s gaze again, forced to make a choice? One that had never been mine from the beginning.
My feelings didn’t seem to matter, but did our feelings ever matter to men?
I tried to hike through the forest to see if I could hear any people nearby, but there were no familiar sounds of life. Wandering a little deeper in the woods, I came across a huge, ancient oak with twinkling lights in its leaves. In the trunk of the tree was a knothole fitted with a small golden door, its ornate knob shaped like a rose.
This was really strange.
I must certainly be dreaming… How could something like this exist?
As I touched the doorknob, an otherworldly female voice appeared out of nothing, whispering:
“Come this way, dear human child,
to the ancient springs and the whimsical wild
where magic lives and fairies dance,
