Pov, William
As soon as he's inside me, I start running as fast as I can towards the mountain slope. I'm ready to throw myself off and die, not letting them take my son away from me.
I look up at the sky, and a bunch of goblins are floating around. I start sliding down the slope without thinking, not knowing where it would take me. I'm ignoring the pain that keeps killing me as I hit the stones on my way, until I get lost in the spooky forest.
I'm out of sight, but I'm lost.
"It really hurts," I say, sitting on the ground and checking the scratches on both my hands. Then Eva calls out to me before flying away. "Follow me, William!"
"You're not seriously thinking I should hide here, are you?" I swallow hard and flinch when Eva grabs the hood of my jacket and pulls me towards a giant tree whose branches are so long and hang down in an unusual way. I approach it and notice a small pond between the tree branches, as if the tree is hiding the pond from view.
I bend down to take a closer look, and I see my reflection on it clearly, like it's a mirror. I'm surprised when I touch the surface and see that my reflection isn't distorted, but is actually fixed in place.
"How beautiful." I say quietly, then listen to Eva, my eyes still on the magical pond.
"Just jump in. It's a hidden passageway that leads right to your world. No one but Luciana knows about it. She asked the magicians to make it so she could visit the human world."
I smile a little and don't say anything, and then I realize that even though Rose broke up with me, she still comes by sometimes on the down low.
Does that mean she still has feelings for me?
I nod slowly, gather my courage, and jump into the pond. After that, I don't remember any more details.
...
I slowly open my eyes and feel a severe headache, like someone hit me with a hammer to the head. I'm sitting on the cold floor, holding my head with both hands, and all I can see is a blurry image of the goblin's face staring intently at me.
"You all right, father?"
"What?"
Then, I somehow end up in a mirror and fall to the bathroom floor.
In my house.
I finally figured out how Evander managed to break in without raising any eyebrows.
I'm startled and pull him close, wrapping my arms around him and petting his soft hair. Then, I gently cup his face and check that he's okay. "You're not hurt, are you?"
I keep an eye on every corner of the bathroom because I'm still feeling the effects of that scary scene.
A swarm of goblins is about to swoop down on you.
He keeps staring at me until his lips curve up and he shakes his head, and then I exhale, feeling relieved.
A weird silence falls as he lowers his head and says in a low voice, "I'm sorry I disappeared so suddenly, and I'm also sorry for putting your life in danger."
I sigh, and then I hold his chin to lift his head and make eye contact again. "Rose is the one who asked me." I say.
I see his surprised expression as he stares at me silently, and then he asks a question that makes my smile disappear. "What? Have you met her?"
I shake my head, feeling something I can't put my finger on.
I'll sum it up for you: it's a really bad situation.
"I didn't, maybe because she's not interested." I reply before taking my eyes off him.
"I met Lucy, my mother's fairy, and when I asked her to show me where Cynthia had imprisoned her again, she refused. My mom asked her not to tell anyone, not because she didn't want to meet you again." He says this, and I look at him again with raised eyebrows. Then he continues, holding my hands.
"It's because that place is dangerous and full of guards. Cynthia's really put a lid on things this time, so my mom's not going to risk any of our lives. She's just waiting for the right time."
I blink twice without taking my eyes off him, and then I get it, even though I've got a million questions in my head. "We'll break the curse, and then that time will come, right? It's the only solution."
"Yes," he says, then smiles. "You don't have to worry about Cynthia either. She's not here for a few days, at least."
The sound of the bathroom door opening makes both of us flinch. I turn my head toward my cousin, who is standing in front of us. He's staring at us in shock.
"Where've you two been?" He asks, "What do you think?" I bit my lower lip, shooting my son a glance.
Where should I begin? I'm still trying to wrap my head around what just went down.
"Don't ask me anything, please. I just want to sleep." I get up from the floor and head out of the bathroom.
...
I don't even realize how many hours I've spent in my room. It's dark outside. I'm just lying on my bed, hugging the pillow I use to deal with feeling lonely.
The sound of the door opening makes me grumble, and I stuff my face into the pillow, "Go away, Harry, I'm not ready for questions."
"I'm Evander."
I hear his calm voice and slowly move the pillow away from my face. I catch sight of him out of the corner of my eye, sitting on the bed and gently stroking my shoulder.
"Dad, are you hungry?" He asks.
Why does it feel like I'm being mocked?
I quickly pull his hand off my shoulder and sit on the bed, glaring at him. I'm annoyed, so I cross my arms over my chest and say, "Why do I feel like you're keeping so much from me? I'm your dad, right? Shouldn't you tell me everything?"
He tilts his head and bites his lower lip in a strange way, like a woman trying to catch her prey, and then he says with a smile, "You're mad at my mom, aren't you? So, you can't really be mad at me, can you? This is your issue, so solve it like adults."
"What?" I'm totally shocked by how rudely he speaks, and I can't think of what to say. So, I slap his ass and say, "Hey, how can you talk to your father like that?"
He gives his butt a little rub with a frown, then looks at me with a weird smile that I don't get, like he didn't just get scolded by me.
Then, out of the blue, he jumps on me and gets on top of me. He grabs my wrists and holds them to the bed so I can't move. I can only see his face almost touching mine.
What are you watching on TV, Evander?
"What are you doing!"
He puts his index finger on my lips to stop me from screaming, and then he whispers, and his weird smile is still confusing me. "Good night, Daddy. Dream of roses."
I'm suddenly drawn to the strange blue of his eyes, and I almost drowned.
Why do my eyes feel heavy and suddenly drowsy?
I can't take it anymore. I surrender and slowly close my eyes.
...