I knew the first words he’d see.
I sank down in the chair and began to wait.
I—
—CUPPED MY hands together, hiding the little bird away.
I didn’t think of anything else.
No wishes upon the stars.
No ancient words in the tongue of those that came before me.
And there was this pulse, and I thought maybe I cracked, just a little, the pieces jagged and sharp. There was green and gold, the colors of the forest around me. It was almost effortless, really, more so than magic had ever been before. It started in my heart; I knew that for a fact. It felt lightning-struck, the beat erratic and heavy.
The colors whirled around me, a spinning corona of light that pooled between my cupped hands, so bright I almost had to look away. It began to cascade downward, like a waterfall, the drops of light spreading along the ground, pulsating slowly. The forest disappeared around me. The sky above darkened. Everything else faded away.
I thought, It isn’t fair.
And then something hooked itself into my head and heart and pulled.
The air sizzled around me.
The lights grew brighter and I had to—
There was a flutter of wings against my palm, the barest of touches.
I took in a great, gasping breath.
The magic around me began to weaken, the light and sounds of the Dark Woods returning as if they’d never been silenced at all.
And from my closed hands came the smallest of chirps.
I looked down as I lifted my fingers away.
The bird blinked slowly up at me.
Its feet opened and closed.
The crooked wing moved back into place even as I watched, the feathers scraping against my fingers.
It took a moment, maybe two, before it righted itself, the talons digging lightly into my skin. There was a little smear of blood across my palm. The bird hopped around, looked up and down, to the left and the right. As it turned its head, I saw the ruffled feathers on its neck, but the skin looked intact. It chirped again.
And then it flew away into the trees, lost amongst the branches and leaves.
I sat there for a long time, in those Dark Woods.
Eventually I decided to head for home. My heart was still heavy, but it no longer felt shattered in my chest. I could do this. I could be who everyone wanted me to be. I didn’t need the knight. He had the Prince, and I… well. One day I’d find someone made for me. And I would show them why I was made for them. It was going to be okay.
I put my hands in the grass to push myself up and—
I stopped, because the grass crunched under my fingers.
I looked down.
It was blackened. Burned.
All around me. In a large circle. And everything in that circle was charred. The ground. The shrubbery. The trees. Everything. It was as if I’d burned the life out of it. To… to give—