Queen of Rosewood Forest (On Hold)

Chapter 33

We walk back to the village and there is obviously a sense of urgency in Eben's pace. As we enter the gates of the village I see a small group of people gathering in front of the town hall. Walking closer I see that Eben hasn't noticed it yet and is walking away from the crowd towards Aaden's house.

"Please Danol forgive me!" a woman yells from the center of the crowd, which makes Eben turn around.

"Let's hurry. You don't need to see this." Eben grabs my hand and starts sprinting towards Aaden's house.

As we approach, Aaden comes out with a worried expression. "Did something happen?"

"It's your mother," Eben says kind of tensely. "She's in front of town hall and she's amassed quite the crowd this time."

"That woman was his mom?" I ask frantically. "What's wrong? We should go help her."

"No." Aaden grabs my shoulder. "She was yelling about Danol in the square again. She's just being dramatic." He gently pushes my lower back, making it quite clear he wants me inside and the topic dropped.

"Who's Danol?" I ask going inside but not dropping the questions about what is happening. If I'm going to stay here I want to know about these things.

"It's her religion's name for god," Aaden rolls his eyes as he speaks. "She's a zealot, and she just wants attention so she can try to coerce me into believing again. She's obsessed with the idea of me giving up my sinful ways and begging for forgiveness."

"What sins?" I ask curiously.

"Not now," Aaden says a little too curtly for my liking but I know it's not really geared towards me.

"Okay," I say nodding briefly. If he needs to calm down before talking then fine. Something in me tells me he will explain when he feels ready and now is not the time. If me waiting shows him I trust him then fine I will wait.

Both Eben and him look at me kind of shocked, "Thank you," Aaden says before heading to the kitchen. Eben smiles softly when I glance at him and a small part of me feels proud.

I glance around and notice that Neven and Alun are no longer here. "They are helping with the situation," Eben offers before standing. "I'm going to help in the kitchen. Promise you won't leave the house?"

I nod before barely smiling, "I promise I'll stay in the house."

"Good," Eben smiles in relief before going into the kitchen.

I hear them softly talking before walking to my room. I sit on the bed and open the nightstand drawer. Spotting something towards the back, I reach in and pull out the letter from the castle. I study the envelope further. Most wax seals I've seen on letters are red, but this one is dark purple with swirls of silver. The azalea looks completely purple at first glance, but with closer examination I realize that the center is a black that fades into the purple.

I hear someone walking towards my room and quickly place the letter back in the drawer. Aaden walks through the door and sits next to me on the bed. "How do you feel?" he asks gently.

"Better," I admit truthfully. "I like talking with Eben. He helps me rationalize things."

For a second Aden looks away and then I hear glass breaking out in the street. "Oh fuck."

"What was that?" I stand to look out the window and I see the street lights start to pop one by one breaking the glass and sending the people in the streets scattering and covering their heads. I turn to Aaden and walk up to grab his hands. "Are you ok?"

He takes a breath which seems to calm him. "I'll be fine. I think after today we're all just a little on edge." The softness returns to his voice, but I can't help but notice a hint of fear in his eyes.

"Are you sure you don't need to lie down for a bit, or get a drink of water?" I know the issue isn't physical but I realize I've never had to comfort him before. After all of this time he's done nothing but help me and I still don't know how to return the favor.

"Don't worry about me." He lifts his hand and brushes my hair back behind my ear before whispering, "I hate to see you worry."

My face begins to warm and I wonder if it's because of his powers. "We should probably go clean up the glass in the yard," I whisper, breaking this little bubble we were in.

"Yeah," he clears his throat before stepping back then walking out the door.

I turn to grab a pair of shoes from the wardrobe and notice a small bunch of red azaleas growing on the wardrobe. I pull them off and put them in the trash before going outside to help Aaden. I briefly wondered if he saw them but now is not the time to think about that. He doesn't need to worry about that on top of this thing with his mother.