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"I can only imagine the horrors you have been through. I would have given anything to shelter you from them."
"Who took me?" I ask.
Aiden looks angry at my question. He stands up and walks over to my window, his fists clenched at his side.
"I don't know," he says, "but whoever it was will pay."
I feel a chill at his pronouncement but can't think further on it. I have a million more questions, but my brain is aching, and terrible images keep floating through it.
"Do you have anything that will actually help me to sleep? Everything keeps running through my mind. Please make it stop," I sob, a plea sounding in my voice.
I shouldn't trust any other potion he gives me after what he just put me through, but I'm desperate to escape from what I just saw. Maybe I really am suffering a mental breakdown and imagining this world if that is what my life was like.
Aiden pulls a tiny vial out of his pocket that contains a clear liquid. He hands it to me, giving my hand a sympathetic squeeze as he does so.
"This will help you to have a dreamless sleep," he tells me. I give him a dubious look.
"Please forgive me for tricking you earlier, but I didn't think you would drink it voluntarily."
"Why was it so important to you that I remember all of that?" I ask, a little hurt leaking out of my voice.
His gaze locks on mine. His eyes hold a steely strength that is both inspiring, and intimidating, at the same time.
"You can't become the Queen I know you are capable of being without first confronting your past," he tells me steadfastly. "If it is as awful as I imagine it was, then you must be able to use it to become stronger."
I'm impressed by how much he seems to believe in me, but an errant thought distracts me from the message he is trying to get across.
"Everything that I remembered seems to have happened recently. Yet, you said that I've been missing for close to forever. Why can't I remember all of that?"
There's a flash of what looks like panic in his eyes for a moment that I must imagine because it's gone in a second.
"I've never known the potion not to work," he answers, not actually sounding that perplexed by my question considering the fact that he's telling me that my continued memory loss is a novelty.
"You might have had some kind of mental block put on you at some point. Maybe you did it yourself to protect yourself from the horrors that you've been through," he guesses. "I'll tell the court historians to be looking for answers first thing in the morning."
I nod wearily. I feel more tired than ever and unscrew the vial to take the sleeping aid he gave me. He takes it from me quickly after I fill the syringe.
"No, my darling," he says in a cautioning voice. "It only takes one or two drops. Any more than that and you could be sleeping for days."
Nodding my understanding, I drop two drips on my tongue, erring on the heavier dose to make sure that my memories don't come tearing through my dreams anymore tonight. I settle back in bed and immediately start to fall asleep. I feel Aiden's presence hovering over me and a light brush of his lips against mine before I drift into a blissfully, dreamless sleep.
Chapter 5
I can tell that I've slept quite late when I finally wake up the following day. I stretch out my stiff arms and look around. There's a platter of various baked goods sitting on the dining table in my room, and I'm grateful that Gwenny allowed me to sleep in after my trying night.
I put on a robe that's been laid out on the trunk at the foot of my bed, and grab a few pastries from off the table before walking out to the balcony to survey the village waiting just beyond the castle walls. Just like the day before, it's a perfectly sunny day with not a cloud visible in the sky. The sky here is a strange lavender color and I see the white outline of two moons in the distance.
As I look at the picturesque village laid out beneath me, it's easy to forget about the horrors of the night and imagine that I really am in some sort of fairytale kingdom where fairies and magic are real. I can see that the streets in the village are made of cobblestones, and that the buildings are all painted different bright colors. One thing that strikes me though is that there is no one wandering the streets. As far as I can see, the village looks abandoned. How odd. A knock on my door distracts me from my musings. I walk back into my room from the balcony, pulling my robe tight around me.
"Who's there?" I call.
Aiden comes walking in without answering, stopping abruptly when he sees that I'm still in my robe.
"I apologize darling, I've just been eager to start the day," he tells me, looking me up and down with heat in his eyes.
"I'll be right out," I tell him shyly, keeping my gaze averted from his hungry stare.
"I'll just wait outside," he says, his voice even deeper than usual.
