A bright light awoke Aurora and she peered her eyes opened.
"Ouch." She groaned in pain as she struggled to sit up.
"Be careful you're really hurt. If you keep moving, it'll worsen."
Aurora turned her head sharply to the right, flinching at the pain that came with the sudden movement.
"I told you not to move. Humans never listen."
Humans? Did that mean that the person who was talking was not a human?
Aurora traced where the voice came from. She made out a shadow of a man at the darkest part of the room. His voice sounded deep but still light to the ear as though he were singing.
"Did you save me?"
"We're the only ones here. What do you think? But yes, I did."
"Who are you?" She asked, curious about her saviour.
"I have many names."
Aurora rolled her eyes at his response and chose to observe the room since he obviously didn't want to say his name and reveal his face.
It looked like she was in a hut, and judging by the clear sound of nature, she was probably in a place surrounded by trees and secluded.
Aurora felt his gaze on her, and she looked at the spot that he was.
Was he on the run? A criminal? A bandit? But would a bandit save her?
Speaking of saving her, she looked at her body and noticed that the green dress that she had had one was shredded, barely covering her skin. It was expected considering what she had gone through. However, as she looked closer, she realized that there was not even as much as a scratch on her body.
"What did you do?" She observed her body in bewilderment, trying to find a scar on herself.
"Like I said, I saved you."
Was everything in her head? Did she imagine those creatures?
No. She looked at her shredded clothes once again. They were the proof of what she had gone through.
"Are you a healer?"
"Would a healer be able to make scars go?"
Aurora shook her head. "No, but that is the only thing that makes sense."
"Then I advise that you stop trying to make things make sense because there's a world that's beyond your wildest imagination."
Aurora felt calm and wondered how he was able to make her nerves still. And why did she feel calm with a total stranger?
"If you can't tell me your name, can I at least know how you look?" Her curiosity skyrocketed out of the roof. Aside from that, she wanted to be in equal footing with him.
He chuckled as though he could read her mind. "Fine."
Aurora remained silent as she watched him emerge out of the darkness, and when she saw his face, her eyes widened in shock.
To say that he was beautiful was an understatement. His beauty was, in fact, outwardly and unnatural.
His hair was as white as snow, and it flowed down his back. His silver eyes matched his hair color, and his face was perfectly sculpted as though God had spent years creating him. His pink lips turned up in a smirk, understanding her reaction. He folded his hands, and she had an image of his built lean body. And boy, was he tall.
"You are free to speak your mind." He said arrogantly.
"Goodness, sir, you are beyond beautiful." The words blurted out of her mouth before she could even stop them.
His was taken aback at her forwardness and threw his head back as he laughed.
Even his laugh was mesmerizing. Was it allowed for one person to be this perfect?
"I didn't expect you to be this blunt."
"And I didn't expect you to be this good looking. It seems we're both acting out of expectations."
He nodded and sat on a chair close to where she laid and smiled slightly. "Woman, you undress me with your gaze."
"Don't mind me."
"How can I not when you seem to burn holes into me?"
Aurora smiled apologetically, and she looked into his silver eyes. "Are those real? Your hair, too?"
"Would you like to find out?" He stretched out his hand.
Aurora nodded and placed her palm in his outstretched hands. "Yes."
He pulled her towards him and smirked. "Observe this specimen, my lady."
Aurora ignored his body heat as she leaned towards him. She stopped when she was a few breaths away, and she raised her hands and ran it through his locs.
It was silky and perfect to touch. She looked at the roots— it didn't seem like he had dyed his hair.
Her fingers ran across his face till he got to his eyes, stopping when she was close.
"Do you want to blind me?" He teased her.
Aurora smiled before she leaned closer and blew air into his eyes, causing his lashes to flutter. "Those seem real too." She sat back when she was done observing him. "Why did you save me?"
"I decided to do a good deed?"
"Why would someone like you save me?"
"And what do you think I am?"
"There are many things I do not know because I have been locked up all my life, but I know a human when I see one and you are not one."
He brought out a blade from his boots and played with it. "How are you so sure?"
Aurora shrugged, surprised at her own courage.
Why was she not afraid of him? Why did she feel so comfortable as though she had known him all her life?
"My mother has books. Fairy tales she called them. They spoke of mystical creatures and how they could be attributed to their hair and eye colour and their supernatural abilities." Aurora recalled the black book that her mother had tried to hide, but she had found out when she was five years and spent her days reading it till the pages had worn out. In a normal world, it would be deemed impossible, but she lived in a town that was ruled by dark forces and evil.
"So what do you think I am?" He asked, amused at where the conversation was headed.
"I'd say a werewolf, but wolves are afraid of silver, and you, sir, have a silver necklace around your neck." She pointed at his necklace on his exposed skin.
"Impressive. Is that all?"
"My next guess is a ghoul, but you're holding a ruby dagger. Ghouls can't stand ruby, and you can't be a water spirit since you're too far away from water."
"What's your final guess?"
"I have another guess. You can't possibly be a vampire."
"Why is that?" He asked curiously.
"Because you would have killed me. They are the most dangerous creatures of the night, and they show no mercy, only hunt for pleasure and dine on the terror of man. They are akin to the devil himself."
He chuckled and looked towards a window. "It is almost day break break."
Aurora followed his line of sight and was surprised to see outside. Just as she was suspected, she was surrounded by trees, and a faint light shone from the window. "Where are we?"
"In the middle of the forest." He replied automatically.
"What?!" She stood up and ran to the door, flinging it open.
"Why are you panicking?"
She stepped outside the hut, and just like he said, they were in the middle of a forest. Tall old trees surrounded them. She had thought they were close to the forest but never would have expected to be inside it.
Aurora turned back to look at him. He had already stood up from the chair, confused at her sudden change in attitude.
"Are we really inside the forest? The cursed forest?"
"We are indeed inside the forest, but I am not sure about the cursed part."
"Impossible." She whispered, and she turned back to face the trees. She took a slight step and hesitated when her feet were about to touch the first ground.
"Careful there, you could hurt yourself."
Aurora looked back at him and smiled slightly. "You'll heal me again, won't you?"
He looked at her and frowned at her trust in him. "I'm worse than these creatures that tried to hurt you."
"Then I will take the risk with you."
Aurora turned away from him and placed her barefoot on the ground. She giggled as she felt the cool sensation and turned to beam at him. "Can you see me?" She laughed as she danced around in the grass, touching as many flowers as she could. All her life, she was made to fear nature, but a part of her longed that one day, she would be able to find freedom.
She stopped on a branch, which caused her to lose her footing. She began to fall, but he caught her just in time before her body made an impact on the ground.
"You child, I told you to be careful!"
Aurora giggled at the worried expression on his face. Why did he look that way when they just first met? Why did he look like he was holding his world?
"Aurora." She said breathlessly.
"What?"
"My name is Aurora, not a child or my lady. Can you remember it?"
He stared into her eyes, and different emotions rushed into her, and a burning sensation that she had never felt before came from within her very being. "Do you know what game you are playing?"
"I play no games. Neither do I fear you."
"I hope you remember this when you find out what I really am."
He leaned forward and kissed her on her forehead. "As much as I'd love to keep you forever, you have to go back to your world. There are some things that must happen before we can be together."
"Tell me your name." She muttered sleepily as her eyes began to shut.
"I am death."
***