Chapter 19: The One Who Remembered
724 Words
Selene checked her palm again.
Nothing.
No silver crescent.
No trace of moonlight.
Only smooth skin.
"You've looked at your hand eighteen times."
She glanced at Lucian.
"I have not."
"You have."
She sighed.
"I wish you'd stop counting."
"I wish you'd stop worrying."
For a moment...
Neither of them won.
The forest felt different.
Not dangerous.
Aware.
As they walked, birds remained perched on low branches instead of flying away.
A fox paused beside the path.
It watched Selene quietly before disappearing into the undergrowth.
Even the deer no longer fled at her scent.
Lucian noticed.
"So did she.
Neither understood why.
Near sunset, they discovered an old stone shrine almost hidden beneath climbing ivy.
Its roof had long since collapsed.
Wildflowers grew between the cracked stones.
Someone had swept the floor recently.
Selene frowned.
"We're not alone."
"No."
Lucian's hand rested near his sword.
"But we're expected."
A gentle humming drifted through the trees.
Not eerie.
Comforting.
Like a lullaby someone had sung thousands of times.
An elderly woman emerged carrying a basket overflowing with herbs and wildflowers.
She didn't look surprised to find them.
"Oh good."
She smiled warmly.
"I was beginning to think you'd taken the wrong path."
Selene blinked.
"Were you expecting us?"
"I made tea."
The old woman lifted the basket slightly.
"It gets cold if people are late."
Lucian and Selene exchanged a confused look.
The woman noticed.
"You both have the same expression."
She laughed softly.
"Your mothers did too."
Her cottage stood only a short walk beyond the shrine.
It was small.
Simple.
Smoke curled lazily from the chimney.
Bundles of drying herbs hung beneath the roof.
Inside...
Everything smelled of cedar, honey, and fresh bread.
The old woman poured tea as though entertaining neighbors.
Not strangers.
"You may sit."
Neither moved.
She raised an eyebrow.
"The tea is not cursed."
Lucian smiled despite himself.
"I wasn't worried about the tea."
"I know."
She handed him a cup anyway.
For several peaceful minutes...
No one mentioned the curse.
They spoke about the weather.
The forest.
The unusually early autumn.
Selene found herself relaxing.
It had been so long since anyone had spoken to her without suspicion that she had almost forgotten what normal conversation felt like.
Then the old woman's gaze drifted to Selene's hand.
Not dramatically.
Almost absentmindedly.
"You've seen the mark."
The room became still.
Lucian slowly lowered his cup.
Selene's heartbeat quickened.
"You know about it?"
"I know enough."
"What does it mean?"
The woman stirred her tea.
"If I answer that question..."
She smiled gently.
"...you'll stop asking the one that truly matters."
Selene frowned.
"And what's that?"
The old woman looked directly into her eyes.
"Not what are you."
She paused.
"Who were you?"
Silence settled over the cottage.
The fire cracked softly.
Outside, evening birds called to one another.
Inside...
Neither Selene nor Lucian moved.
The old woman reached beneath the table.
She placed a smooth stone in front of Selene.
It had been broken perfectly in half.
"Take it."
Selene picked it up.
It was warm.
Almost impossibly warm.
"When something is broken..."
The woman said quietly,
"...people spend their lives asking how."
Her smile faded.
"They almost never ask..."
"...who broke it."
Lucian leaned forward.
"Who are you?"
The old woman chuckled.
"I've had many names."
She stood and carried the empty teapot toward the window.
"But the one I miss most..."
She looked out at the moon rising above the trees.
"...is the one your grandmother used to call me."
Lucian frowned.
"My grandmother died before I was born."
"I know."
She smiled sadly.
"I was there."
When they finally stepped outside, the night air felt colder.
Selene looked down at the broken stone in her hand.
"You trust her?"
Lucian thought for a long moment.
"I trust one thing."
"What?"
"She never asked your name."
Selene stopped walking.
He looked at her.
"She spoke as though she'd known you all your life."
The forest suddenly felt much larger.
Behind them...
The old woman stood in the doorway of her little cottage.
She watched until they disappeared between the trees.
Only then did she whisper into the night.
"I've found you at last..."
A breeze carried away the rest of her words.
The moon listened.
The forest remembered.
And somewhere deep inside Selene...
Something ancient stirred.
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