"I love him
But when the night is over
He is gone
The river's just a river
Without him
The world around me changes
The trees are bare and everywhere
The streets are full of strangers."

Les Miserables

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marya and Vasilisa grew up.

The two girls never left their forest. Aloysius continued to teach Marya ruthless magic, and at night, Marya continued to sneak and visit her friend, Vasilisa.

During the first week after casting the spell, the girls tried to run away together. The bruises on Marya and the introduction of Vasilisa brought about a camaraderie, and that resulted in the plan to escape. Marya took the bread and cheese from the cottage's stores, along with as much as she could carry strapped to her back with tools and spare clothes, and left one night, Vasilisa in tow. They got to the edge of the forest before Vasilisa turned back into a swan. As it transpired, Vasilisa couldn't leave her confinement; Marya's crudely cast spell only worked when the swan girl remained near to the lake.

So, Marya and Vasilisa stayed.

Aloysius continued to tutor Marya, alluding to the day she would claim back the land of the Fort and restore magical rights across the kingdom. Marya continued to study enough that he would beat her less often than he would if she slacked, but not enough to care about taking back the country.

Aloysius would occasionally go to the local town for a market or to gather intelligence, and even more occasionally would he make Marya accompany him. On the way, he would remind her about how oppressed the people now were. How much they hated their tyrannous king, and the travesty that was banning magic. And whilst Marya agreed that banning magic seemed unfair, the villagers they passed never appeared distressed. They didn't appear to suffer anything apart from illnesses.

She would return and relay everything she saw to Vasilisa, who would question every detail. What colour clothes did the women wear? Did the men have beards? How big were the buildings? Even after many years passed, and the Marya continued to relay the same story, Vasilisa would still be as intrigued as she was the day Marya first visited beyond the forest.

And so, their lives remained unchanged, stuck in an endless loop, until the day a prince got lost in the forest on the way to an old, ruined fort.

***

The water's edge lapped near Marya's feet.

Behind it, the forest was starting to talk. People who were not used to nature's ways would only hear silence, but Marya had grown among nature, and she knew every bird's call, and why the grey wolves howled.

During the day, like Marya herself, the forest slumbered. Marya had long grown used to her uncle Aloysius's nocturnal ways, until it became second nature herself to burrow asleep when dawn came. Over the years, she had learned that by leaving at night, when her uncle was out, she was never asked questions.

Somewhere, out in the trees, an owl screeched. Marya cocked her head, hearing the guttural sound as something much deeper than Aloysius's call.

The forest was big, but not so large that Marya didn't comprehend that she and her uncle might run into one another. Thankfully, the spot that she and Vasi occupied was secluded, and besides, Marya could sense whenever her uncle was around. His magic left a faint bitter taste in her mouth, like a sense of carrion. They were safe from him in their secluded part of the forest, the waterfall that plunged into Vasi's lake, surrounded by foliage and dense thickets.

To Marya, it was paradise.

The waterfall was a cascade of beauty and music, a good ten-foot plunge of clear water. Behind it, she'd found a small cave, and set it up as her own; enough that, after several weeks, other animals got that it was her territory.

Setting up her second home to actually look like a home was more difficult; Aloysius may not be a watchful guardian, but he knew what was in his house. Marya tried to sneak a lamplight once, to take with her in that pitch-black cave, and he'd snatched it from her. So she'd broken it instead, cracking the glass, and when Aloysius had discarded it, Marya had taken it up.

A splashing sound came from further towards the end of the cave. A young man blundered in, huffing as he manoeuvred to avoid the water, and failing as badly as Marya's suppressed smile.

'Hello, Sig,' she said.

Sig— full name Prince Siegfried of Illychia— let out a gasp and flopped onto the floor of the cave. Nearby, Marya's candle flickered with the movement, before returning to full force. The warm yellow danced across Sig's face, leaving him blinking in disarray.

He groaned, lying a hand over his eyes.

Marya frowned, leaning towards him in concern. 'What's wrong?'

The prince fell silent, his body turning still.

Marya sensed something. 'You've seemed stressed lately.'

And Sig, one of her two best friends, never kept anything from her.

The prince turned his head toward Marya, so that she was kneeling over him, and his face only a few inches below. Her pulse thudded in her throat, and she prayed that he didn't notice the blush in the dim candlelight.

When he spoke, his voice was slightly hoarse. 'When...when Vasilisa returns to her family in the morning, I must speak with you.'

Marya felt her stomach flip. Sig was never that formal with her, and never did he look so intently at her! Her blush wouldn't stop creeping across her face, and she was certain she was now a shade of magenta.

'What about?' Her voice remained steady. Thank Dana.

Sig turned away from her again, sighing more audibly. His hand still covered his face from the light, and it hid his expression. All Marya could see was the finery of his clothes; the golden gloves, fitting his long fingers to perfection, and the red coat, a sign of the kingdom's militia. Marya knew politics as well as she could— she'd read enough to know about Sig's situation— yet she hadn't seen him openly wear the uniform of a guardsman until recently.

That, she knew, was a big change. Sig hadn't mentioned why, and Marya hadn't wanted to question him until he was ready to tell her.

Vasilisa had simply loved the colour, and missed the dark glance Marya and Sig shared when he'd first worn it.

Now it seemed like he was ready.

'The kingdom is on the verge of war,' the Prince of Illychia said. Marya shivered at the gravity in his voice, the way his arm slipped from hiding his eyes and she could see the haunted look there. 'Father is already gathering his troops, assessing battle strategies. I'm their only child, and he wants me to show my military leadership too.'

A lump formed in Marya's throat. She had known that beautiful red overcoat had been a bad omen, the sleek black belt a hidden noose for the prince to wear.

Sig shared her distaste for violence.

'At war?' Marya persisted. 'I thought the squabbles at the borders were through, and the islanders in Minoa cause no trouble.'

Sig shut his eyes, nodding appreciatively. 'You learn quickly, Marya.' It was Sig who had brought her books to read; books that detailed politics, relationships between countries— countries that Marya hadn't heard of from Aloysius. Aloysius's lessons had grown stale and dull. She could wield fire arrows whilst walking on air if she wanted, but Marya felt like her education was lacking in variety.

'Sadly, there's a new threat. One that's been rising, but...people don't believe it.'

Marya's heart had pulsed at Sig's praise, but started a dull ache as he finished the sentence. She stared hard at the boy she'd known for little more than three months, and marvelled at how much he'd changed.

Sig had clattered into their lives. He had been sent by his father, the king, to help rebuild the abandoned Fort to set up as a new army base. Aloysius had been so livid, he'd shouted himself hoarse at Marya, who had shrugged. So, the soldiers began to remove the rubble and rebuild the once great walls of their old home.

Marya hadn't felt a thing. Vasi had said she shouldn't: why should she feel pain for a home she'd hated? But Aloysius said she would bring him ruin.

Sig had been walking through the forest with other soldiers in his unit when he'd stumbled, quite literally, into their path. Lost and unable to see clearly in the dark, Sig had fallen down the thickets near the waterfall, to land in a heap on top of poor Vasilisa. Marya had come running when she'd heard her friend's scream, only to find a prince atop her.

They had been so curious that a stranger had wandered into their camp to really fear the consequences. Sig had apologised profusely, and they'd helped him find his way back to his friends. It was only when they addressed him as "Prince" did the two girls find their stomachs had dropped away. The prince of a kingdom that had banned magic spelled trouble.

When Sig had returned with food and gifts to thank them, they had begun a strange game of friendship, in which they never mentioned their elephant in the room: that Marya was a mage, and Vasi her creation. Sig believed that Vasilisa snuck out from the village each night to see Marya, and returned well before dawn. He didn't realise that she hid and awaited her transformation back into a swan come daylight.

Sig still looked the same as he had that first night. His hair was a mousey brown, and always ruffled, poking to one side. In one of the books he'd brought, Sig showed her his family. He had his father's high cheekbones that many remarked had an elflike quality, although Marya had never seen an elf to know if that were true. From his mother, Sig had her long neck and elegant jaw, as flawless on a man as it was her.

Over the past few months, Sig's shaved jawline had filled with stubble, and then a perfectly groomed beard. Marya had never been quite sure she preferred the beard to clean-shaven, but Vasilisa had been particularly certain that she liked the beard.

In any case, it wasn't long; just enough that Sig was no longer the scrawny prince that had gotten lost a few months ago. He mentioned the Fort, mentioned that they had spent the first month trying to shift rubble, and the next laying out foundations. She supposed that by now they were building, and the muscle definition had come as a consequence.

She hadn't really changed at all in the last few months. She'd turned from nineteen to twenty. She was still living under her uncle's care. He still kept talking about the day they would take back Illychia, and restore magic.

Perhaps, if her dreams didn't revolve around the man lying vulnerable before her, she would want to leave.

'What threat?' she asked.

'Invasions from across the border,' Sig shrugged. 'They're getting worse. Supply lines that run through the mountains will disappear, presumably ambushed. There's unrest. The army is needed further north.'

'You? Leave the Fort?'

Sig nodded, opening his mouth to continue, when a noise echoed from beyond the waterfall: a voice, melodic and birdlike.

Sig rolled onto his front, and deftly jumped out of the cave. Marya followed behind him, taking care not to knock over the candle. She'd gathered a great number of personal items that she stored in the once-gloomy cave, including gifts from Sig, and she had no desire to set any of them alight.

As with her bird counterpart, Vasilisa was tall and slim, with a slender neck and a white complexion. The girl was still finger-combing her blonde hair, wearing the dress that Marya had stashed for her earlier: a white wrap dress, making her look like one of the young village milkmaids. How she kept the dress white, Marya couldn't understand; her own dark clothes tended to get filthy.

As if on cue, the prince looked over the two girls appraisingly. 'Very beautiful, Marya. I love how much effort you've put in today.'

He smirked at her, in her cropped, loose fitted trousers and a shirt that had once been a colour other than what it was now, a shade of midnight green. Then Sig gave Vasilisa a sheepish, tentative smile. Bristling, Marya jabbed him under his ribs gently, and Vasilisa rolled her eyes as the two fought.

'Children!' she said, 'I thought we promised to climb to the top of the trees so we could stargaze.'

Like every night, their time passed in a blur of laughter and chatter. They climbed trees just to look at the stars. Marya was undoubtedly the best at tree-climbing, and could easily swing between branches. Sig stayed to help Vasi up, gently ensuring she was alright. Sig and Marya talked no more of war, or of murder; in Vasilisa's presence, everything was joyous.

When she began to sense dawn's approach, Vasilisa made her farewell. 'I'd best get back to the farm,' she said, as she always did. And as she always did, she refused firmly Sig's expressed desire to accompany her out of the forest.

'Until tomorrow, Vasilisa,' Sig said softly.

Vasi made a goodbye gesture before heading into the trees and disappearing, a ghost in white dissipating through the darkness. Marya's mouth tugged. If only, she thought, things could stay this way forever; the three of them, side by side, best friends. If only time wouldn't bring change. When Marya glanced to the side, Sig was pulling a similar thoughtful, and pained, expression.

Heart hammering, Marya recalled what Sig had started to bring up earlier, before they had been interrupted by talk of war and Vasilisa's arrival. It had almost sounded like a declaration of love! Marya thought wildly, but had to tell herself she was being fanciful.

'So, um...what did you want to tell me? Earlier.'

Prince Siegfried wasn't making eye contact, but Marya could see the tips of his ears turn pink. He clenched and unclenched his fists before absently stroking along the red of his sleeve.

After several seconds of this, he turned around and faced her.

'I'm scared of change,' he began. Marya watched him chew his lip. Eloquent Sig was at a loss for words. She nodded encouragingly.

'I don't want to go to war,' he admitted, 'You understand me, Marya. You hate killing too.'

The prince looked at the earth floor and nudged a solid rock there. 'It's not dying I'm afraid of, but rather, I'm afraid of not saying how I feel and leaving here for war without declaring my intent.'

Marya's heart was now in her throat, and she felt like she was about to faint. Her ears thudded with her pulse, swaying on her feet in shock. Prince Siegfried, 'declaring his intent' to her?

Indeed, the prince turned to her, and clasped her hands in his.

This is it, Marya thought. This is where our paths change, never to be the same.

I've always wanted to leave Aloysius. I didn't expect marriage to be the reason.

But could I really abandon Vasi?

'I want to ask Vasilisa to marry me,' Prince Siegfried said.

'Oh,' was all Marya could manage.