Beautiful Beast

Chapter 26

At my silence, he adds, "That is, if you know the way."

Now I find myself rather put off. Who does he think he is to speak to me so? But I bite down upon my irritation and motion forwards. "That way."

"But I just came from that direction," he exclaims.

I scowl at him. "Do you want my help or not? Because I will happily leave you out here till dusk."

He must know the terrors that accompany the night because his mouth snaps shut, and he moves in the direction I command.

Tauren fumbles along in front of me as I give directions. It is clear that he is absolutely hopeless as a forester. How could Kalista tolerate such clumsiness? They likely never went riding together and I doubt she would allow him to help her in the rose gardens.

After all this time, what could he possibly want with Kalista? To betray her? I do not know, but I do not trust him. There is something akin to fear in his eyes and fear will drive a man to reckless acts of desperation.

Once again, Tauren stumbles over a root and reflexively, I catch his arm. Flustered, he regains his balance and continues marching onward. In the wrong direction.

"Sir, you will not come to the palace that way," I call and point to my right. "This way."

He stops and spins about. "But if we go that way, we'll have gone in a circle."

I arch an eyebrow and give him the commanding look of a king. "This is an enchanted forest—it doesn't work the same way as other forests. Like I said before, you may come with me, or you may wait for other, less agreeable beings to find you."

He curses under his breath but does as I say and in a short while, the trees thin and give way to the meadow. As we wade through the tall grass, I cannot help but wonder how Kalista will react to his appearance. Joy? Hurt at his abandoning her? I cannot say, but I do wish he had not come here.

KALISTA

Another rebellious shoot hangs across the path and I use my pruning shears to remove the branch. It bears no buds and will only steal the nutrients from the rest of the plant. Over the past weeks, my rose garden has grown wilder and wilder. It does not matter how much time I spend with it; I do not seem to be able to tame it back to its former glory. Yet, the roses are still blooming and that is what matters most. Despite the rambling branches and thorns, beauty can still be found.

"Kalista?"

I turn to find Arawn striding toward me. There is an expression of irritation and worry burning upon his features. What is the matter with him? I thought he was out hunting?

"Are you alright?" I ask, tucking the sheers into the pocket of my apron.

"No. Yes, I am fine," he huffs. "It's just that I found someone in the forest."

"What do you mean?"

"Well... Tauren is here."

His words fall like a raindrop in a forest pool that sends waves across its surface. Tauren. Here.

"Why?" I breathe as my mind spins with the news. After all this time, he returned. He never forgot about me.

"He wouldn't tell me. He only wanted to speak to you."

I nod numbly and mechanically remove my gardening apron. "Where is he?"

"On the front drive."

"Alright, tell him I will be there shortly," I say, already ascending the terrace steps.