The forest had been cloaked in mist.
A fine dew danced on the tall grasses, caressed by the evening breeze.
Aria had left earlier than usual.
A strange premonition urged her forward, following a path she did not know.
Her steps were slow, almost hesitant, but her heart was racing. Very fast.
Around an old oak, she looked up... and there he was.
Wilfred.
Standing alone, draped in his black cloak.
He gazed at the sky, as if carrying the world's sorrows upon his shoulders.
Silence fell like a sacred breath.
Aria dared not move. Her heart leapt in her chest.
Then, gently, she stepped closer.
— "I knew it was you…" she whispered.
— "You were in my dream…"
The king didn't turn around.
But his body tensed at the mention of that word.
Dream.
— "It was nothing… You were lost in the shadows."
— "And you refuse the light," Aria replied.
He spun around abruptly.
His red eyes gleamed in the dimness.
But instead of frightening, they looked lost, vulnerable, almost… human.
— "You don't understand," he breathed.
— "I am an ancient evil, a poison in the night. I could break you with a single breath."
— "Then why don't you?" she asked softly.
The king lowered his gaze.
> "Because I can't. Because I don't want to."
He turned away, fists clenched, as if battling an inner monster.
— "You shouldn't come near me, Aria. I'm already half consumed by what I am. If you stay… you will burn too."
But Aria stepped forward. Then another step.
Until she was very close.
She raised her hand… hesitated… then placed it on his cold arm.
A shiver ran through Wilfred.
His breath caught.
— "You feel it too, don't you?" she said.
— "That strange thing… this bond between us."
He closed his eyes. His jaw tightened.
Then… he stepped back abruptly.
— "No!" he growled.
— "You must leave. Before it's too late."
He vanished then, in a breath of shadow, leaving behind a cold breeze… and a trembling heart.
---
Aria stood alone, her gaze lost toward the treetops.
Her heart pounded hard, but it was not fear.
> It was the echo of an ancient heart, that had beaten alongside hers… if only for a moment.