The Enchantment

Chapter 13

Susanna

"This is all my fault" I murmured as I paced backwards and forwards, the soft crunching of grass sounding underneath my feet

"No it isn't, you never knew who I was... And you've done me a favour really. If it wasn't for you I would never had told him," Eugene's father said. I looked at him hopefully, trying to find truth in his eyes.

"I need to go and find him" I shook my head in finality "Standing here doing jack shit isn't helping"

"You don't think he'd want a few minutes on his own?" He pondered, causing me to stop pacing and look up at him, my head ticking over the thought.

"I'm Windsor" he held out a firm hand, a small, tired smile worn on his lips

"Windsor" I repeated, letting the name drip off my tongue and shaking his hand "Well, you kind of already know who I am" I smiled weakly as he gave a nervous chuckle as a reply. An uncomfortable silence filled between us, giving me chance to think about whether I should find Eugene or leave him be. He would always come to see if I was ok, then again, he always preferred to keep things to himself. Nevertheless, I didn't want him to be alone at a time like this.

"Look, I need to find him" I stated uneasily "I've got my answer, which I now kind of regret but... I can't not go to him"

"Ok, I understand." He nodded, "I guess I'll be seeing you soon anyway. Hopefully"

Giving Windsor a firm nod, I smiled gently before turning my back on him and walking out of the circle.

My instincts led me to more trees and greenery, but no Eugene. My feet led me to more dirty grounds, but again, no Eugene. I searched and searched and searched until I had no more of the forest to search. I began to think that maybe he was in the Fae Realm, but then a trickling sound led me away from that thought, and towards a part of the forest that, apparently, I hadn't explored.

The sound of water had led me to a narrow brook that did actually look quite deep because of its murky waters. Suddenly, something on my far right plopped into it, sending it splashing into small droplets that rippled in the water. It then happened again, only this time, it skimmed across the water until it reached the other side, landing on the bank and tumbling back in the murky depths again. I looked up, and on the other side of the brook was Eugene, a melancholy expression on his face. I walked towards where the stone had landed and looked at him, waiting for him to notice I was standing opposite him. "Eugene" I prompted, "Are you ok?" He didn't reply, instead he kept on skimming stones as if he was oblivious to the fact I was there. I knew he wouldn't reply, so I decided to approach him in a different way. "How did you get over there?" I asked. He stopped and looked at me

"Oh, I jumped" He shrugged and carried on skimming the stones in his hands

"Do you want to talk?" I asked, slowly stepping onto the bank. He shook his head in reply, skimmed his last stone and sat down, studying the dirt beneath him. Sighing, I dipped my hand into the cold water, just to check how deep it was before I attempted to jump over. I noticed Eugene watch me from the corner of his eye, a small smile playing at his lips.

"You won't jump from there you know" he said. I rolled my eyes playfully at him and took a step up the steep bank, but as I did, my foot slipped from underneath the mud and I fell backwards, landing not on the bank, but splashing into the brook.

I gave out a yelp as my hands hit some sharp rocks from underneath the harsh waters that jabbed at my freezing body. The water came just past my waist, but as I stood up, I accidently stepped deeper into the brook, which nearly ended in me being completely submerged in water. With the blood freezing water prickling at my skin, I stood up, my whole body and half my hair dripping wet. I looked at Eugene, who was crouched down on the opposite bank, a panicked expression on his face, which soon turned into a large grin once he knew I was ok. I burst into a fit of uncontrollable giggles, still in the water. Eugene joined me, laughing at my clumsiness. "Here" he said between laughter, offering me his hand. I took it eagerly and he pulled me out, still chuckling to himself. "You really know how to cheer me up," He said, about to take off his jumper, then realising he didn't have one on; he only had the layer he was wearing now.

"I swear I didn't do that on purpose" I giggled, feeling a lot better knowing that I had cheered him up. "I know, I know" He smirked and sat down and I watched him, his smile soon fading. "I can't believe he's actually here," He said after a couple of minutes silence "There hasn't been a day when I haven't thought about him, yet I've wanted to forget him so badly. If I forgot he even existed, then I would never have known him right? Which would mean I wouldn't feel so damn hurt all the time" He shook his head and I sat down next to him. I felt the warmth of his arms rap around my shoulders and I buried into his chest, not wanting him to let go, even though I wasn't the one that needed to be comforted.

"Hey, stop beating yourself up about it" I said "he's here so you can't forget him anymore"

"But I don't know what to do now that he's here" I felt him shrug "All my life I thought about what I'd say to him if I saw him, but now, all of it's just... gone"

"You don't need to say anything"

"But I want to" He sighed "There's so much I want to say, to ask. I'm so furious yet so unbelievably shocked and happy."

"Remember he had a good reason to leave though"

"Yes" he admitted "But he said he's been watching us grow up, so why didn't he come and see us?"
"Maybe it was to hard for him" I said simply "You couldn't commit to telling me I had a prophecy to outlive could you? Maybe he just couldn't find the courage to knock on your door?"

"But..." He stuttered, tears beginning to well in his eyes "What about Aaron? What about Marcus? What about mom?" He let go of me and put his head in his hands, and what he did next saddened me to say the least. To see someone as strong and independent as himself let the salty waves of what maybe relief, confusion and anger pour out his emerald eyes.

He sat there, silent, head in hands, shaking slightly, and I realised he was crying. Not sobbing, just silently crying. I moved so I was sat on my knees opposite him and gently placed my hands on his. "Please don't cry," I begged

"I'm not crying" He wiped his eyes with his hands and seemed to hold his breath before covering his face again. "Eugene, I'm not stupid" he gave a slight muffled chuckle and peeped out from a gap between his fingers before closing them again. I carefully removed his hands from his face and held them in his lap. Sure enough, his eyes were ever so slightly blotchy and his bronzed cheeks slightly pink. I wiped the remaining tears from his eyes and smiled weakly "You don't always have to hold everything in you know"

"I know" He smiled a genuine smile and I wrapped my arms around him, not wanting to see him upset any longer and he squeezed his strong arms around me, not wanting to let go. After a couple of minutes, when I thought he had calmed down, I let go of him and stood up.

"Are you coming or do you want to stay here?" I asked

"I'm coming" he stood up and looked at my dripping wet self and smiled. "I still can't believe you fell in" He smirked. I grinned and rolled my eyes playfully "Yeah, yeah, I know you'll never let me live it down" I replied, knowing that he was ok... for now