Secrets Among the Trees
1008 Words
The sky had deepened into a heavy twilight as Aeloria and Kaelen trudged onward, weaving through dense trees that seemed to close in tighter the farther they went.
Neither had spoken for some time. The only sounds were the rustle of leaves beneath their feet and the soft whisper of the wind sighing through the branches — like a warning too quiet to heed.
Kaelen walked a pace ahead, his shoulders tense, his hand never straying far from the hilt of his dagger. Though Aeloria couldn’t see his face, she could feel the strain radiating from him like a taut wire ready to snap.
Her mind, however, was anything but still.
Princess.
The word refused to leave her alone, circling her thoughts like a predator stalking prey.
She knew Kaelen was a prince. He hadn't exactly hidden that, though he'd offered precious little else. But why would the Shadowborn call her a princess? It hadn’t sounded like mere mockery — there had been something sharper, something that had cut deep, as though it was a truth long buried.
As though he knew something she didn’t.
Finally, the silence grew too much to bear.
"Why did he call me that?" she asked, her voice breaking the stillness like a blade.
Kaelen didn’t turn. "Call you what?"
"You know what." She quickened her pace until she was beside him, forcing him to look at her. "Princess."
For a moment, Kaelen said nothing. His jaw was tight, his eyes fixed ahead on the shadowed path.
"He was mocking us," he said at last, but the words sounded hollow.
Aeloria narrowed her eyes. "Was he?"
Kaelen stopped walking, but he still didn’t meet her gaze.
"Kaelen," she pressed, her voice harder now. "Tell me the truth."
A long silence stretched between them, heavy with things unsaid.
At last, Kaelen turned to face her. His golden eyes were shadowed in the dim light, unreadable.
"There are things you don’t remember," he said quietly.
Her breath caught. "Things like what?"
He ran a hand through his hair, clearly searching for words he didn’t want to speak.
"Things about who you are," he said finally. "About where you came from. Things that were..." He hesitated, as though the next word might break her. "Taken from you."
Her heart hammered painfully. "Taken?"
Kaelen nodded once. Grim.
"But—"
A sudden sharp sound tore through the forest — the unmistakable pounding of hooves, fast and relentless.
Kaelen's eyes darkened. He caught her arm, pulling her close. "We have to move. Now."
They sprinted through the underbrush, dodging low-hanging branches and brambles that clawed at their clothes. The sound of the approaching riders grew louder, closer.
"Are they Shadowborn?" Aeloria gasped, stumbling over a root.
Kaelen shook his head. "No. Worse."
Her blood ran cold.
They broke through the trees into a clearing just as three riders thundered out of the opposite side — cloaked figures atop massive black horses, eyes gleaming like embers in the dusk.
Kaelen yanked her behind him, his hand on his dagger. "Don’t run," he hissed. "They'll hunt us down for sport if we do."
The lead rider dismounted in one smooth motion, tossing back her hood.
A woman — sharp-featured, her piercing gray eyes catching every flicker of movement. Her black hair was streaked with silver and braided tightly down her back. Her presence was like a blade unsheathed — dangerous and unyielding.
"Kaelen," she said coolly, her gaze sweeping over them both. "You're a long way from home."
Aeloria tensed, glancing at Kaelen, who stood frozen.
"Elira," he said, voice tight.
So this was the mentor he had spoken of.
Elira's lips curled in a faint smile. "Running from your troubles again? And with... her?" Her sharp eyes landed on Aeloria, and something in her gaze seemed to search deeper than skin.
"A strange companion for a runaway prince."
Kaelen bristled but said nothing.
Elira took a step closer, studying Aeloria now with open curiosity. "I heard rumors, but I didn’t believe them. Yet here you are. Alive."
Aeloria’s throat dried. "You know me?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
Elira smiled faintly, though her eyes glinted like steel. "Not as well as I thought I did, it seems."
Kaelen shot her a warning glare, but Elira only tilted her head, amused.
"You haven't told her, have you?" Elira said softly, almost pitying. "Keeping secrets, Kaelen? Some things never change."
"I didn’t come here to discuss the past," Kaelen snapped, his voice low and dangerous.
"No," Elira said, eyes narrowing. "You came because you're desperate."
Kaelen's silence was answer enough.
Elira’s gaze softened — though only a fraction. "You’re lucky I still owe you a debt, otherwise I’d leave you to the wolves — or worse."
Aeloria's mind spun as she looked between them. Secrets. Kaelen’s silence. Elira's cryptic words.
Kaelen was a prince. She knew that much. But what was she?
Elira turned to her riders, giving a sharp nod. "Take them to the Hollow."
Without waiting for a reply, she mounted her horse and, with a flick of her reins, disappeared into the trees, as silent and swift as smoke.
The other two riders gestured for Aeloria and Kaelen to follow.
As they walked, Aeloria cast a sideways glance at Kaelen. His face was unreadable, his eyes focused on the ground ahead.
"You said you would explain," she whispered, her voice tight.
Kaelen’s jaw worked as if holding back words. Finally, he said quietly, "I will. When we’re safe."
But Aeloria wasn’t sure what "safe" meant anymore — or if they’d ever reach it.
She pressed her hands into fists, her mind a whirlwind of half-formed questions and gnawing fear.
Princess.
Taken.
Who was she — really?
And why did she feel like the shadows themselves were closing in, waiting for her to remember?
As they disappeared deeper into the forest, the truth felt like a storm gathering on the horizon — dark and inevitable.
And Aeloria knew when it broke, nothing would ever be the same.
- Writer
