"Although, she knew that her aunts were hiding something from her, she didn't bring up the subject again. One thing you need to know about Adelaide is that she had a pure heart. She always put others first."

"And that is why she didn't ask her aunts about their conversation. She knew that they wanted to keep whatever it was that she overheard a secret, she respected them and waited for them to tell it rather than to ask them about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How come that you never left the forest?" Philip asked me.

We were at the clearing again, sitting on the grass while talking about random topics.

"What do you mean?" I asked him while biting into an apple.

"Don't you want to know what's out there?"

I swallowed down the apple and thought about his question. "I asked my aunts if I could visit a village."

"And what did they say?"

"Well, they said, that they would think about it and in about two weeks they would give me the answer," I told him. "For how long will you stay in the Kingdom of Gilion?"

"Three more days," he said while running a hand through his hair. I could tell that he was upset.

"Will you come back?" I asked while staring at him.

He looked at me for a moment and then answered. "I will be gone for a week, there are some things I have to take care of. But I will come back, I promise."

I nodded and looked ahead. "I will be here," I told him with a slight smile.

"So," I said, changing the subject. "Do you have siblings?"

"No, I don't. My mother died shortly after giving birth to me."

"Oh, I am so sorry. I didn't know." Now I felt bad for asking him such a question.

"No, it's fine," he assured me.

"My mother died while giving birth to me." I didn't know why I told him this. For some unknown reason I trusted him enough to tell him about my past.

"I am sorry to hear that," he said, a sincere look in eyes.

"It's fine. My aunts say that I look just like her," I added after a while.

"Is that why your father never visits you?"

I looked at him, surprised by his question. "No, he's just very busy with all the traveling."

We stayed quiet for a while, watching as Ray flew above our heads. It was a warm day, the sun hadn't reached its highest stake yet. Soon I would have to return back home. I wished that I could stay here longer, but if I wasn't back in time my aunts would worry about me.

I let out a sigh and looked up to the sky. Only a few clouds could be seen, it was a beautiful day. A thought suddenly crossed my mind. I jumped up and looked around to see which tree was the highest.

"What are you doing?" Philip asked me as I started to climb up a tree.

"I want to see the towers that you talked about."

"But you can't just climb up a tree! You could fall down and hurt yourself!"

"I know what I am doing, don't worry," I told him as I climbed higher and higher.

The higher I climbed, the more excited I became. I had climbed hundreds of trees when I was younger, but never did I reach to their top. It had been a while since I last did something like that, but it felt so natural to me. My body knew exactly what to do, where to put my feet, which branch not to use.

After a while the sky came closer and closer while the ground seemed farther away. And then I finally reached it, the top of the tree. I looked around, astonished by what I saw. There were trees where ever you looked, the sun shined against the green leaves. But at some point the forest seemed to end, and open fields took its place.

And then I saw them. In the distance I could make out three towers. They looked just like Philip had described them. I stared at them for a while, imagining how beautiful everything must look from up close.

"Did you see them?" Philip asked as soon as my feet touched the ground again.

"Yes, they look even more beautiful than I imagined," I told him.

We sat down on the grass and let silence overcome us for a moment while I tried to catch my breath.

"When do you have to go back?" he asked me after a while.

"Soon."

"How long do you need to get back?" I asked him, curious as to how far we were away from the kingdom.

"With my horse, it takes me about two hours," he answered.

I nodded and looked around. "Where is your horse?"

"Come on, I will introduce you to him." He pointed with his head in the right direction and started to walk into it. I followed him curiously. I had never seen a horse before, there didn't live any in the forest.

We walked through the brushwood for a while when I suddenly heard a strange noise. Startle and afraid of the unknown sound I touched Philip's arm. He stopped walking and turned around with a questioning gaze. "What is it?" he asked me worried.

"Did you hear that?" I asked him, my eyebrows furrowed.

"What?" he asked me confused. And then I heard it again.

"There, didn't you hear that?" I asked him, looking around concerned.

"You mean the whicker?"

I nodded, not sure what he meant with 'whicker'.

He let out a laugh. "That's just my horse. Come on, we are almost there."

I followed him, still a little bit confused. After a while I saw something standing near a tree. It looked similar to a deer, only that it didn't have antlers. It was also bigger, with hair on its head and its tail and its fur was black. "Is that a horse?"

Philip looked into the direction I pointed at and nodded. "Yes, that is my horse."

We walked closer to it and it let out this strange sound again. I hid behind Philip, thinking it would hurt me.

"You don't have to be afraid of him, come on I will introduce you to him." He took my hand in his and slowly lead me towards it. The horse nudged my hand with its slightly wet muzzle. If it wasn't for Philip's hand holding mine, I would have probably pulled it away.

"See, it won't hurt you," he told me with a slight smile on his face.

The horse shook his head and let out another, what did he call it again, whicker?

"Do you want to pet him?" Philip asked me when he saw that I was less afraid.

I nodded and he led my hand to the horse's long neck. He slowly put my hand on it and showed me how to pet it. After a moment he let go of my hand and let me do it on my own. A smile appeared on my face.

"He looks beautiful. What's his name?" I asked him. As I turned around I almost bumped into him, I had realized how close we were standing to each other. He quickly took a step back, letting me enough space to breath. A nervous smile appeared on my face as I tugged a strand of blond hair behind my ear.

"His name is Doner," he told me with a smile.

I turned back around to the horse and carefully petted his neck. "Doner," I tried out the name. At the sound of his name the horse pricked up its ears. "I like the name."

After a while of silence, I took a step back and turned to Philip. He stood there, his eyes focused on me. "I should go home now," I told him, almost feeling sad that I couldn't stay longer.

"Of course." He walked to Doner and patted his head. "I will see you tomorrow, then."

I nodded, a smile tugging at my lips as I turned around and left, but not without turning around one more time only to see Philip staring after me as I disappeared into the undergrowth.

When I got back home, I ran into Aunt Melody. Her dress was covered with brown stains.

"What's that smile for?"

I looked at her confused and realized that the whole way back I had been smiling. "Nothing," I told her. "It's just a beautiful day. Have you been working in the garden?"

"Ah, yes, I was just going to get the carrot seeds. Do you want to help me sow them?"

"Sure."

We worked in silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts. Though she was messy most of the time, Aunt Melody always had a beautiful garden. Not once did I find weeds, everything was where it was supposed to be.

"So, your birthday is coming up soon," she said.

"Yes, six more weeks to go. You know what else is going to be in six weeks?" I asked her excitedly.

"No, tell me."

"The roses will be blooming."

Hey guys! As promised, here's the next chapter! Let me know what you think and don't forget to leave a comment/ vote. Thank you!

~Tessa