Song: https://youtu.be/h9aNLL2zG_k

We watched the caravan start to head past while laying on our stomachs. They moved slowly, as if expecting an attack. I frowned while watching them pass, if only we could get down there and talk with the prince. Perhaps we could convince him to turn around before it was too late. Barrett shuffled while I was still in my thoughts.

"We should keep moving."

"If we were just going to do that, what was the point of lying here in the first place?" I mumbled at him, watching him get up, and brush off his front.

"Well, I didn't know if they'd spotted us before. But if we stay away from the edge, they shouldn't notice us at all." He retorted simply, as if it were a perfectly reasonable action on his part.

"That's the prince's caravan, you know." I told him, making him pause and look down at me in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"The first caravan in my dream. That's the very same one. Last night, I overheard Lord Dominic talking about expecting the prince at his place. It's the prince who is in danger. If we went down there and warned him-"

"No." Barrett's gaze hardened as I got to my feet, but now wasn't a time that I would let his burning eyes bother me.

"He's going to die, Barrett. If we warn him now, he'll stay away from Dominic." I told him, but he shook his head.

"What makes you think he'd believe a random stranger?"

"Well maybe if I told him I'm a seer-"

"No."

"We have to do something."

"No, we don't, we just got done talking about this, Mon. Nobles are nothing but trouble. This isn't a fairytale, stop trying to be a hero." He told me as I clenched my fists at my sides.

"He's the prince! Not every person in the world is a horrible monster! Why can't you just trust me for once? That is a person down there, a person who needs our help."

"I Don't Care!" He snapped at me. I flinched involuntarily, but he kept talking. "You're such a child. You can't understand even after being betrayed back in that village. No one cares about you, only what they can take from you. If you go down there right now, you'll be selling yourself to a selfish rich man. Who will probably throw you away as soon as he has no further use for you."

He turned away from me, starting to head further down the path as tears stung my eyes. My breath shook as I breathed out, but then my feet started moving, picking up speed.

Screaming in rage, I tackled the raven haired male off the road and down into the valley. We landed harshly, tumbling down the hillside before landing in a heap on the forest floor. I ended up on top of him.

"Let me guess, that's what you were planning from the beginning, isn't it? You wanted to use my abilities until you didn't need me anymore?!" I glared at his dizzy expression before smacking him. He blocked his face with his arms as I started hitting him, over and over.

"You never listen to me, and yet you want me to do everything you say! Then you tell me that it's the nobles that are the problem in this world!" I yelled at him, beating on him as hard as I could. "You're the one who doesn't care, not about anyone! Sure you act like it once and a while. That's sadly the only moments my dreams ever showed me! They made me believe you were more than what you really are. A selfish, Infuriating, pigheaded, insufferable, son of a-"

Barrett suddenly flipped us around, grappling me to the ground before pressing his arm over my mouth. Then, while he leaned close to me, I grit my teeth against the weight of his arm. Now I recognised the scene. It was the dream I'd had just before finding the door. I couldn't believe I'd thought we were having a special moment back then.

"Will you be quiet? We're going to get caught with all your shouting." He whispered harshly. The sting of tears mixed with my anger as I yanked my head to the side, glaring straight into those wine colored eyes.

"I. Don't. Care."

He breathed in sharply through his nose, his face turning red in anger. But before he could speak, we heard someone else's voice.

"It came from over here."

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure."

We both looked in the direction of the voices before I inhaled to scream. It would serve Barrett right to get caught at this point. Then perhaps I'd be able to talk with the prince on my own.

What I didn't expect was the feeling of hands clasping both sides of my face as Barrett's lips slammed onto mine. Any sounds of surprise I made were drowned in the kiss. I could beat on him all I wanted, but Barrett was solely focused on keeping me quiet. But instead of fighting, I froze entirely, staring up at him in silent shock.

I'd been so angry with him just a moment ago, but now, staring into his eyes. The feeling faded like a lost wind. He glared back at me, Desperation and anger was all I saw in his eyes, no room for love. He had been telling the truth, though I hadn't wanted to admit it. He didn't care about me.

The sudden shriek of a goat caused us both to flinch as the animal ran past us and out towards the guards.

"Just a goat." One sighed and I heard the sheathing of weapons.

"Well at least you weren't hearing things that weren't there." The other consoled the first as their footsteps faded.

Their conversation snapped me back to reality as I stared up at the male still leaning over me. Clenching my fist, I decked Barrett square in the face, finally getting him to sit back up and away from me.

He suppressed a groan before popping his jaw and spitting off to the side. "If you want to get caught that badly, fine. But leave me out of...it."

His sentence drifted into silence as I tried to wipe away the tears that were streaking from my eyes into my hair, but my hands were trembling too much to effectively rid my eyes of all the water.

"J-Just...get off me." I stammered.

After a minute, he did so, allowing me to scoot away from him and sit up. A small hiccup escaped my now bruised lips as I turned away from him, curling up in a ball.

Ever since I'd come here, my dreams had only continued to turn into nightmares, if they weren't already nightmares to begin with. Now the only thing I'd ever truly wanted from Barrett had been tainted. I felt something shattered inside me as I cried, and I couldn't bear to look at him anymore. I was done, with the dreams, with Astra, all of it.

"I want to go home."

He stared at me for another moment before grunting as he got to his feet. "Mon." My tears blurred my vision at this point, but I simply looked at the ground, no longer acknowledging the name he'd given me. I didn't want anything more from him. It all felt fake. "I..I'll do my best." He said, but as I got to my feet, I simply started back through the trees.

I headed up the slope towards the road we had been following beforehand. My wrists and lips were sore and bruised from what had happened, but by far, neither could compare to the heavy pain I felt in my chest. As if glass was lodged all over and I couldn't pull it out.

At the same time however, my fingers felt numb as I climbed back up to the road, not looking back. Barrett could follow well enough on his own. That's what he wanted, to do everything on his own, fine. I was done helping him.

The rocks under my feet were a bit unsteady sometimes, but I managed to stay on my feet as I made it to the short cliff at the edge of the path.

"How good are you at climbing?" I heard him ask from behind me. But I didn't answer. Instead, I silently gathered my skirts up, tying them up around my hips so they wouldn't get in the way. I was very glad I had put my jeans on underneath now, as the skirt would have been very annoying to navigate with.

I climbed up on my own before waiting for him at the top. He struggled, I could tell, but he was able to use his leg far more than I'd expected. Even so, when he reached the top, it was entirely by himself. I didn't even look at him as he rolled onto the path. Simply getting to my feet and untying my skirts, letting them fall back down over my ankles.

We had a short pause to let him catch his breath before continuing in the direction we had been going.

The prince's caravan was long gone at that point, and I knew there was nothing more I could do. Barrett wasn't going to help me, and had even stopped me. So what point was there? I couldn't do anything, unless I wandered into the woods by myself. But that wouldn't accomplish anything except perhaps my own demise. The best thing for me now, was just to head home.

That was easier said than done however. Firstly, I'd need to leave the dark forest somehow, and then find the door. That was an entirely different challenge. The door's tree seemed to move, and I knew nothing about where it would be, or how long it stayed still.

There wasn't any mention of a magic tree on the map I'd seen of Astra, and Barrett had mentioned that my grandfather had simply disappeared after helping the current King's family take power.

I hadn't the slightest idea what it meant, or how it could possibly work. Which meant, there really was no hope of me returning home. That's what I get I suppose. Running off into a mysterious land, thinking of nothing but of how I thought the world was. I was wrong. So, so very wrong.

It would be more likely for me to die here than to find my way home. Unless I somehow learned how to summon the door to my side. But I highly doubted it was possible.

Ohhhhhh, he's done it now. Stealing first kisses like that, UNACCEPTABLE! Remember boys, and gentlemen alike. Consent is so very important. Girlies too! You're not exempt from this.

A kiss is a promise, like a leaf full of dew. If taken by force, there's no love in that. And don't worry if it's awkward, it doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be wanted by both parties.

Be gentle this evening,

G'Night Stars