Chapter 3

She fell from the tree. She was so stunned by what she heard that she fell out of the tree. He was no longer smiling but made no move to make sure she was okay. She stared at him, gaping, but her mind was running with this information. She got to her feet, turned around, and ran. She ran blindly through the forest as fast as she could. The world blurred and she tripped over something in her path. She went sprawling to the ground and laid there, crying quietly. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think, didn't know what to think. Who was this strange man? Why was he looking for her? She laid there for a long while before she began to feel again and the rain finally brought her back to the present. She had been gone for hours. The Kellers would be home by now and she would be punished for her absence. She stood, brushing herself off and looked around. She spun in a circle and realized she didn't know where she was. Panic was setting in and she was fearing what would happen to her when she returned. Her mind was screaming with her fear as she tried to control it and figure out her situation. "Stop screaming. It hurts my ears." She stopped. He could still connect with her! Wait... he could hear her! "Help me!" She screamed to him out loud and he came leisurely striding on his horse between the trees. "You don't have to yell. I'm right here."

"I need to get back to the Kellers manor house as fast as possible!"

"Why would you want to do that? They're terrible people."

"I know, but I belong to them and they are going to punish me for being out here. I'm not allowed in the forest and I'm not allowed to talk to people outside the manor."

"You always do what you're supposed to?"

"No", she says defiantly, "but I don't usually get caught when I'm not following orders. Could you please just point me in the direction of the manor?"

"No, but I can take you there."

"No, I'll run. Just show me where. Please!" She begged.

He points toward the north and she thanks him before running back to the manor house. As she approached cautiously she saw one of the cooks outside getting a chicken to prepare for supper. The cook glanced up at her sound and sighed relief. "Syrah, they just arrived. Quickly get yourself cleaned up and get to your chores before they notice." Syrah nodded and swiftly went to her room to put on clean clothes. She emerged into the kitchen, received a nod of approval from the cook, and entered the sitting room with a tray of tea. She placed the tea on the table and took her place in the corner of the room with her head down. There was knock at the door and the butler greeted the guest. She was thinking about the strange man in the forest when the Kellers entered the room with the guest. Their excited voices brought her from her reverie but she was sure to keep her eyes down as everyone sat. She remained quiet, thinking about the man again but was quickly distracted by a voice. Forgetting herself, she glanced up and was met by a pair of bright green eyes. She couldn't break away and was inadvertently saved by Mrs. Keller, who began speaking with the man as she made up her tea. Syrah began listening to the conversation though she was not supposed to. She was hoping for a hint of who this man was and why he was relieved to have found her.

"What took you so long to come visit us? You haven't been here in ages and we were worried about you." Mrs. Keller inquired.

"Work has kept me very busy," he replied. "I have been searching for something to bring the kingdom prosperity once more."

"The kingdom is already prosperous!" Mr. Keller interjected, "and we really have been worried sick about you. You don't write, you don't visit. It's like you're trying to avoid us."

Syrah could hear the smirk in his voice when he replied, "I'm sure you were just beside yourselves with worry."

Mrs. Keller gasped. "Anthony, you're family and we love you very much."

Anthony? Syrah thought she must have misheard. It couldn't be the eldest child of the Kellers.

"Mother," Anthony replied, "your quote, unquote love sent me away at 10 years old to live at the castle with only annual visits with my so called family. You don't miss me now any more than you missed me then."

Syrah was stunned and in the following silence she heard his voice in her head, "stop reacting or they'll turn you into fish bait." She quickly realized her mouth was hanging open and she snapped it closed. She adjusted her posture and redirected her eyes to the floor. She felt an approval from him and knew she could make it through this. She had so many questions for Anthony. Why didn't tell her who he was before? Was she what he was searching for? Why did he suddenly return?