II

I put on a black cloak, checked my appearance in the mirror, and remained opposite my reflection for a second, collecting my thoughts, and fully aware of the long walk in the cold that awaited me. I stared into my acid green eyes and they stared back. My cheeks looked hollow and my cheekbones seemed like wings of an eagle covered tautly with pale, nearly transparent skin.

I have always liked my eyes, they distinguished me from my parents and the rest of my folk, who nearly all had eyes blue like the ice, which surrounds us. And - in the case of my parents - turned us out.

The morning sun was shining faintly through my windows and let my room appear a lot warmer than it was. On the contrary, it was bitterly cold but I knew it would be worth it to make my way through the endless snowdrifts that had been created in last night's storm. I would have done nearly everything just to see him. Nobody has ever meant so much to me, my love could not be expressed in words, even my heart was not able to.

Not a single soul seemed to recognize me when I left the fortress. Either that or they simply did not care. Probably both. But I was used to it so I did not care much either.

My feet went numb nearly straight away and the fur that should protect my body from the frostbites itched uncomfortably around my neck. The cold air burned in my lungs but I did not stop walking fast to the place I had suggested to meet. It was the last tree of the Autumn's kingdom. It had only a few brown leaves left and the ground beneath it was already a bit frozen.

It was located exactly on the border between the Winter and the Autumn. So, both of us wouldn't break the most important rule in Sesania:

Never cross borders.

Not even warm-hearted Summer had given up this law. After millennia of war and bloodshed, we had finally merged to live in peace for almost half a century. Nobody remembered a Sesania that was united and peaceful, it seemed impossible to even imagine it after countless generations that suffered during and because of the war. Everyone knew that fraternizing with other kingdoms would be doom for each and every one of us living in Sesania. So just a few legends that were told secretly bequeathed a different yet unbelievable sounding story of one, united Sesania full of joy and equality between the folks.

The thought of it made me smile a bit inwardly. As if these legends were true. They are just some nice fairy tales for the children who had the hope that their life could be better than ours. They would be proven wrong someday. Like I was. At least I wasn't living in a dream anymore, I thought and concentrated on the layer of snow covering the ground which was thinning the nearer I came to the border.

In the distance, I could identify the tree line with its thin, gnarled branches rising towards the sky.

The sun was nearly at its highest position now and the air started to get a bit less freezing. I started walking even faster for the remaining part of the way although my legs and feet were tired and numb. I did not want to be late, maybe we would miss one another if I was.

Anticipation was rushing through my blood; I couldn't wait to fall into his arms again. The last time seemed like ages ago yet it was just half a moon cycle.

Often it wasn't easy for him to leave the castle of Autumn, because there were actually people who cared about him. It sounded crazy to me but he will be king of Autumn someday in the future and I couldn't stop thinking of me being his husband and fellow king. But this will never be our reality, I sadly realized once again. When my parents ever found out I was the boyfriend of the prince of Autumn I could be glad to get away with my life. They would never understand me. As if they would even try to.

One day I will be free, I told myself and speeded up my steps. I had nearly arrived at the tree line when a bird took off with a loud screech. I cringed and could hardly repress a scream. I did not want to attract any attention of the winter patrol that sometimes controls the borders although I was pretty sure they wouldn't be here today because of the anomalous event that would happen tomorrow.

But even though I knew it would happen, it bothered me that I did not know why. This occasion has to imply something highly special. Something like that has not happened for more than forty years and I did not know what to think about it. By any means, it was nothing good.

In the distance, I could see our tree and the silhouette of the man that was possibly the love of my life. My heart beat faster, my stomach jumped agreeably and new energy rushed through my body.

It seemed like ages later when I finally got to him. We fell into each other's arms and I enjoyed his familiar scent when I leaned my head against his neck.

"I missed you so much, Manu", he mumbled against my hair. "I missed you too" I replied softly and couldn't help myself but smile brightly. We released each other and I could see my reflection in his gentle-looking brown eyes.

He embraced my hand and I followed him to the protruding roots of the last tree of autumn. We sat down close to one another and I broke out almost immediately with the shocking news: "You won't believe the things my foster mother told me about!" My voice became much higher than usual both because of anger and excitement. "Probably I will" he answered and laughed a bit. Against my will, I had to smile too and nearly forgot what I wanted to tell him because I was sunken in his beautiful eyes that seemed to shine from within.

"Don't distract me" I moaned in an attempt to tear away from his glaze.

He blinked and smiled gently, making me blush.