Once Upon a Lost Prince

Chapter 3

Those three words were enough to brighten Irwin's whole life. His eyes shining with adoration and respect as he looked at Faye. And as if he was a seer, he was able to picture their future together, as if a line of memories that were yet to come was forming right in front of his eyes. They were standing in front of a priest reciting their vows, and then came the pregnant woman that's welcoming her husband home after a long day away. And finally, he saw them old. Sitting as the sun was setting behind the trees of the forest, their rocking chairs moving with the soft breeze. Hand in hand. Giving life one last farewell. Together.

But only if he knew that future cannot continue without the past. Only if he knew that the past is something one can never escape; something that will come hunt your psych and open doors for the unknown.

At first, things were happening the way they were planned. Fate played no tricks on Irwin and Faye's life then and soon the two got married. They lived in the small cottage in the clearing behind the woods, the place that actually got them together.

But things can't always be easy, life is just like a mountain chain; it has its peaks and its rifts. Time passed and it had been seven months since their marriage when things started to go downhill. Irwin would be going around his daily business when it would strike him; a figure of a child standing at the edge of the forest would look at him with longing then flashbacks of forgotten memories would burn his mind and blur his vision making him go numb.

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"DON'T GO!" Someone shouts, the voice coming from far behind yet it was from the young boy's own mouth, "father, stop her. Please." The same voice whispered, broken.
"Please…"
"PLEASE IRWIN!"
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"-Please calm down Irwin," She shook him again causing his eyes to shoot open and his sweating body to sit from its laying position from the ground.

"The same vision," Faye stated, dabbing at his forehead with a cloth. It's been a while since she stopped asking the question for it simply became a fact that she stated each and every day when her husband would go uneasy.

"I saw her face," Irwin said, his breathing ragged.

"That's good. Right?" Faye didn't know what to feel for her husband, the woman in his dreams, supposedly his mother, finally showed her face.

"It was burnt." Irwin’s breath hitched, a tear slipping through his lashes as he tightly closed his eyes, hugging his knees to his chest while sitting on the soily ground of their small farm, Faye crouching next to him and bringing his head closer to her chest, trying to shield him from his pain. "Her face was scarred Faye, it was so horrible, but for some reason I wasn't afraid. Her eyes were on me the whole time giving me the comfort I needed, but I was lost, I didn't know what to do. I kept screaming for someone to stop her, but no one did. No one heard me Faye."

"Tomorrow we'll go to Peteonia," Faye finally uttered with a new burst of determination, holding him by the shoulders, "we'll find someone to help. And we'll know wha-"

"I don't want any help-"

"Hush now..." She brought him to her heart again, "everything will be fine. We'll be fine. Tomorrow we go together and we find an answer for whatever it is that you seek."

"I'm so sorry," Irwin's voice broke a notch towards the end; the shame he felt was overwhelming. "Have I known this was going to happen with me, I wouldn't have called on your commitment?"

"WHAT?" Faye gasped, "is that your way of saying that you don't want me?!" Going from the maximum level of giving comfort to the maximum level of insecurity.

"Huh?" Irwin's eyebrows rose, not understanding what shifted his wife’s mood causing her to leave him and walk inside, turning her back on him as she busied herself with something on the wooden table suddenly shifting the mood around them, "Whatever it is that you understood, it's not what I meant."

"Oh really?" She turned to face him, her eyes giving an exasperated look, "so how do you explain: I wouldn't have called on your commitment." Faye mocked her husband's voice "And just so that you know, it's too late to go back now." She finished and placed her hand on her little baby-bump.

"Darling I mean I wouldn't want to put you and our child through this." Irwin's gaze locked with hers as he took some steps in her direction until he was able to hold her face. "I love you." He said kissing her forehead. "I want you to-no! I need you to understand that I love you more than anything."

Faye leaned into his touch, her hands rising to wipe the wet trails on his cheeks, those caused by what he saw in his visions. "I love you even more than that." She whispered. The few months she had been with him, she came to see how much of a considerate man he was, and how much he loved and cherished her.
Irwin hugged her and smoothed her hair while she took his chest as her support, her body getting more exhausted as her five months baby bump was consuming what's left of her energy. Irwin held her and carried her to their bed, placing her between the warm duvets then going to lay beside her, her frame snuggling into his. That was to be their last day with questions. It was becoming unbearable, his curiosity killing him and ghosts of the past clawing at his mind for memories that were left forgotten. Memories that were thrashing to break free and be released again.

The next day, the husband and wife prepared themselves for the 3 hours walk through the forest; it was to be even longer for a pregnant woman. So, as soon as they were ready, they went on their way, the whole time Irwin keeping step with Faye, afraid of losing her between the huge green mass of trees.

They reached their destination after many pauses and went straight to a small tavern. Faye needed to stay with a low profile in addition to the fact that she had to rest. Irwin stayed with her for a while then left some time later to sell his goods with a promise that he'd do his business then come back to fetch her. They'll be meeting the oracle together.