No matter how long I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with any solid plan. I lacked any information about my surroundings. Having come to this place out of nowhere I had no idea how it looked outside.

Although there were many stories about witches living in forests near small villages I had no idea where Kathie lived.

But that didn’t mean I would let my opportunity go by like this!

I grabbed her arm, there was no time for planning anymore.

“I just need some fresh air”

I hadn’t looked around her house for long but I found the front door pretty easily, opening it in one push I was greeted by a slightly cold wind, it wasn’t cold enough that I’d need to put on more layers, although Shea might have disagreed, and it was not like I had brought any clothes with me.

This was not the time to think back, so I pulled a confused Kathie out of her house on an outing with me in her… garden?

The sights that greeted me on the outside left me speechless. What were we supposed to do in a forest? How could we share unforgettable memories surrounded by pretty flowers if all I could see were tall trees and plants growing everywhere?

I felt my soul leave my body, would I lose my opportunity due to something like this…

“Hmmm, taking a walk outside really does help one alleviate nerves”

A pensive Kathie said as if she had just read my mind.

How could I have lost sight of something so important, the scenery was a part of it, but what really mattered was us being by ourselves, and that’s all we needed!

 “I am glad you understand me”

I did my best to smile.

“So… can you lead the way?”

I let go of her arm and looked at her sheepishly. There was no way I’d be a better guide than her.

Although I felt a little bit sad that I didn’t have the courage to walk side by side with her, so close that our arms were touching…

Just thinking about it made me blush lightly. Get a hold of yourself, Ori!

 

---

 

The forest looked as though it hadn’t ever been explored for the most part, but Kathie let me down to one of many paths she apparently used to harvest herbs to brew potions.

We were currently crouched near some small white flowers growing near some trees.

“You can use these to make potions that are great for fevers”

She looked at me excitedly while explaining what every flower did, I wasn’t understanding or memorizing much of anything though.

“The only problem is that they taste really bad”

I remembered the many times Shea used to say ‘the worse the taste the better the medicine’ just to try and make me drink the bitter concoctions the royal physician used to make in his big tower when I had my usual fevers.

Just remembering it made me wanna puke.

“…”

While I was going on a trip down memory lane, Kathie had stopped talking.

“I guess a princess wouldn’t be interested in stuff like that…”

My heart ached as I saw her looking dejected, I looked around frantically trying to find a way to cheer her up.

“geez, I really am hopeless”

That’s a lie, you’re not the hopeless one!

“NO, YOU ARE NOT!”

In my panic, my words came out in a scream. We were alone in a forest so it’s probably alright.

She looked stunned.

“But I-”

I grabbed her outstretched hands.

“You’re not!”

We were now pretty close to each other, our eyes locked. I could feel my heart racing, my words usually easy flowing were now stuck in my throat.

As cold sweat ran down my back I realized, this was my golden opportunity, there was no one else but us, as we stayed still for a few more seconds I steeled my resolve.

Taking a deep breath to calm myself down I once again met her gaze.

“There’s no way I would think that about you…”

Silence, the only thing that filled my ears was the sound of the wind shaking the trees.

“To be honest, I kinda-”

No, this was not the time to falter.

“I kinda-”

Say it Ori, say it.

“I kinda…”

My opportunity was escaping me, if I didn’t do it now I felt like I would never be able to do it again. Do it now, in one go, you can do it, Ori.

Another deep breath.

“I kinda li-”

CRACK

The sky suddenly lit up with a roaring sound following it.

We were so caught up on everything when we left her house that we didn’t notice how dark the sky was.

And now the thunder had reminded us of our surroundings as if a spell had suddenly been broken, Kathie grabbed one of my hands and said.

“Let’s run back before it starts raining”

I just let myself get pulled, was this it? Had I let my opportunity go?

My chest tightened like never before, time seemed to slow down.

Tears ran down my cheeks, and as if in solidarity, the sky let down its own tears.

She pulled me along even faster. My only thought was how hard it was running with a dress on…

My foot got caught in a tree’s roots.

I fell face-first into the mud…