A/N:

So if anyone's wondering who I pictured as Maurelle, just see the photo I inserted above!!

***

"Maurelle, dear, do you mind if I go out for a while?" my nana asked me while we were having a breakfast of beans, oats, buttered toast and sweet tea.

"I don't mind," I said and took a bite of my toast. "But where will you be going?" I asked.

"I’ll just be going to visit an old friend of mine in Kozire, it’s not that far from here," my nana said without looking at me.

Oh. Is this it? Is this where she’ll be going to meet Drizella and Anastasia?

"Hmm." I nodded, and then we continued to eat in silence. I didn’t know whether I should ask my nana about what I had seen the other night. I didn’t know if I should ask her about who Drizella and Anastasia were. I sighed. "Um, nana? Can I ask you something?" I carefully asked, keeping my gaze fixed on the toast in my hand.

"What is it, dear?"

"I … well ... um ..." I stuttered. I was so nervous that my heart was beating wildly in my chest.

"Stop tearing the toast to shreds, my dear," My nana said sweetly.
I drew my eyebrows together in confusion, but then gasped when I looked down and saw that my plate was full of shredded toast.

"Oh! I'm sorry," I apologized, and embarrassment coloured my face.

"So you were asking me?"

"Uh … yes. About that ... um well, you see I suddenly remembered something," I said almost in a whisper while fidgeting in my chair.

"And what is it you remembered?"

"Do you know who Drizella and Anastasia are? I'm sure I've heard these names somewhere," I asked and looked at my nana to measure her reaction.

Her eyes widened slightly. She took a sip of her tea before answering, "Did your mother ever tell you about the queen's tale?" she asked, placing the teacup down on top of the black wooden table in front of her.

"Yes, of course," I answered, reminiscing the way my mother would speak softly when she told me the queen's tale, how I listened intently to every word that came out of her mouth, how she laughed heartily whenever I frowned when the queen's stepmother and stepsisters —

I jumped out of my chair. "Oh! They are the queen's stepsisters!" I exclaimed. I can't believe I forgot them.

"Yes, they are," my nana said, looking at me with a poker face. "Now, can I ask you something?" she asked.

"Uh, yes. What is it?" I said and returned back to my seat, my excitement dying.

"Why are you asking me if I knew them?" My nana was eyeing me carefully.

I frowned. "I don't know, really. It's just that their names popped up in my head out of the blue," I lied straight to my nana's face. I felt guilty for lying to her but if I had told her the truth I would have been in a lot of trouble.

"Very well. I must go now," my nana said while standing up and headed over to our small living room to fetch her cloak.

"Take care, nana," I said and waved my hand in goodbye as she opened the door and closed it behind her.

I sighed before I picked up the wooden made plates on the table and brought them to the sink. After I had washed the plates I pulled a book out of my nana's floating bookshelf in the small living room called ‘Herbal Grimoire’. These types of books were strictly banned by the queen, along with anything else that had anything to do with magic. Anyone who broke that rule was severely punished, like the woman who had been burned to death in the town square. There had been news spreading like wildfire that the queen was also hunting down magical creatures, like fairies, nymphs, unicorns and such to extinction. I had heard that she hated witches so badly that she had killed some of the most powerful ones from Ashecá herself.

I sat down on a ratty old couch with the book in my hand. I didn’t know why my nana owned these types of books and why she kept them when the queen had banned such things.

I was in the middle of reading about this herb called coltsfoot when I noticed something small and shimmering like a ball of light flitting outside of the cottage. I closed the book I was reading and neatly returned it to the bookshelf before rushing to the front door.

When I opened the door I came face-to-face with a small creature. "What are you?" I gasped. My brain faltered for a moment and I suddenly forgot how to breathe as I stood in the doorway stunned.

The creature was only a few inches tall, airy and had a very delicate form. It had golden hair with porcelain skin that glowed, and almost transparent glittering wings. It gave a tiny squeak before flying away.

Is that a fairy?

"Wait!" I shouted and ran after it. "Hold on! Wait!" I shouted again as I continued to follow it. It was so fast. It flew like a shooting star which made it hard for me to keep up. It suddenly turned to the right and disappeared. What?

I looked around and was shocked to find myself surrounded by hundreds of trees, stretching high above the ground, their roots twisted. I couldn’t see an end in sight. Where am I? I hadn’t noticed which path I had taken when I had been following the fairy.

Fear was pounding in my heart while I walked further into the woods without an ounce of a clue where I was heading. When I started to went south, I discovered beech trees with twisted branches forming an archway. It seemed like the world had gone. Surprisingly, I found assurance from the constant whistling of the wind, the buzzing of the insects, the croaking of the frogs, the chirping of the birds and the faint sound of twigs being broken as I stepped onto them.

As I walked further, I started to feel like someone was watching me. I walked faster, alert and nervous. I then heard footsteps coming from behind me, getting closer and closer, and I quickly turned around, my heart beating so loud in my ears that my breathing was rapid. At first I saw nothing but knew someone was there. I turned back around and broke into a run.

I risked a glance over my shoulder and saw a boy running after me. My jaw dropped and I ran faster. I then tripped over something and slammed into a tree, grazing my hands and knees in the process. When I managed to get to my feet someone grabbed hold of my hand. I yelped and jumped away, putting a safe distance between me and the boy who was standing a few feet away.

"Who are you? Why are you following me?" I asked him.

The boy had tousled black hair, a sharply carved but graceful jawline, arrogant cheekbones, thick eyebrows, and his eyes a vivid green, glinting and mesmerising. "I'm Arion. I saw you wandering around alone and thought you might be lost," he said, his voice thick like velvet.

"Well, yes. I'm lost," I said sheepishly and tucked my hair behind my ear.

"Right. Now, come on, follow me," Arion said and turned his back against me.

"What? No, I won't. Why would I?" I said, taking two steps backwards while shaking my head.

"It's not safe for you to be here. I saw some of the queen's hunters roaming around," Arion said, urgency clear in the tone of his voice as he turned to face me again and creased his forehead.

"And I'm safe to go with a stranger? No, I do not think so," I said firmly.

The galloping of horses and the rough voices of men suddenly sounded loudly in the distance before a group of men on horseback came rushing out from the thickness of the trees. "Sir! That’s where the voices came from!" a rugged-looking man said to his fellow hunters while pointing in our direction.

Arion’s eyes widened. "God's bones! Hurry! Hide!” he hissed, grabbing me by the arm and we started to run in the opposite direction of the hunters.

"Let me go! Stop!" I said while forcefully pulling my arm away from his grasp but he wouldn't budge.

"Shh. Quiet," Arion muttered under his breath as we crouched behind a huge dead tree. He was focusing on something ahead of him and I followed his stare to see the hunters. They had quiver with arrows slung over their shoulders and were holding bows.

"This way,” a man with white long hair and beard, who was standing in front of the others said to his fellow companions while pointing to the east.

When the hunters rode out of view, safely out of earshot I said, "Let me go now," and snatched my hand away from Arion.

"Didn't you see those hunters? It's not safe for you to wander around here," he said through gritted teeth and stood up straight.

"How can I be sure that you won't harm me?" I asked stubbornly, standing up after him and crossing my arms over my chest.

"It's either you come with me or I'll leave you here and let you deal with the hunters yourself. Your choice," Arion said, clearly frustrated.

"I didn’t do anything wrong so why should I be afraid of these hunters?" I argued, frowning at him.

"How about I put it this way," Arion said and put his hand on his hip, the other cupping his chin in a thoughtful position, before he continued, "a girl wandering off in Verbosil, alone. Not suspicious, is it?" He looked at me straight in the eye.

"Verbosil? You mean ... the magical forest?" I gasped and stared at my surroundings. It took a minute or two for the information to finally sink in.

"Verbosil ... faeries ... nymphs ... magical forest ... It's true, isn't it? I didn't know Verbosil was real, that it really exists. I thought ...” I mumbled mindlessly, staring at Arion in awe. He just looked at me as though I had suddenly grown two heads.

"Yes. Now, let's go," Arion said after a moment, and then started to head north. But then he stopped abruptly, thinking. "What's your name, by the way?" he asked, looking directly into my blue eyes, and my heart suddenly went wild.

I slowly breathed in and out through my nose, trying to calm my frenzied heart, and bit my lower lip. "Maurelle," I said after a minute of contemplating whether it was okay to tell him or not. "Where are we going?" I asked quietly, fearing that the hunters might hear the echoes of my voice.

"I'll get you out of here," Is all Arion said, his voice husky. He then took hold of my hand and started north once more. I stayed silent, feeling the heat creep up my cheeks.