Chapter 98 - The Decision: Why?

>> Maya

“I want to stay here.” I said and realized what I had said and got confused. It was a slip of tongue. I didn’t mean to say that, what I wanted to say was, ‘I don’t want to stay here’ but it came out wrong but after I said that the anxiety that was filling inside me suddenly disappeared.

“You-” He started, “You want to stay?” He asked, looking almost relieved.

I nodded, looking a little confused, “I want to stay.” I answered him again and when the words came out of my mouth with my own consent, I felt a lot lighter. I felt calmer for some reason, like this is how it was supposed to be. I smiled, “I can’t?”

Just the next moment the rain stopped.

The man smiled. A relaxed grin spread across his face and he looked even more handsome than before. It made my heart beat a little faster.

The heavy wind came to a calm. The sun began to come out and a rainbow formed across the forest.

Wow.

It was very strange how all that happened in a matter of seconds.

“Of course!” He said, “Of course you can.” He removed his wings from above my head and flapped them a bit to get them dry. It was very fascinating to watch.

“Are-” I started and he paused.

“Yes?” His voice was so sweet, I felt like I could ask him anything.

“Are your wings really real?”

He smiled at me, “They are. I am a raven-maid after all.”

“A raven-maid?” I had never heard of that.

“You saw the other species of mystical beings in the forest right? Just like centaurs, fauns and fairies, there are raven-maids.”

“All of them.” I gulped, “All of them were real?” He nodded, “What is this place?” I looked around. I knew I wasn’t in my city. There was no way the air would be so clean and the sky so clear and the forest so healthy and natural.

“Like I said before.” I looked at him as he answered, “You’re in the realm of magic. This is the enchanted forest and I’m the king here.” He gave me a short formal introductory bow.

“And you’re a raven-maid? So your species can transform into a raven?” I remembered the first time I saw him. He was indeed a bird.

He nodded, “Yes, although I am a half.”

“Half?”

“Yes, my mother was a raven-maid, the previous ruler of the forest while my father was a werewolf.”

My eyes grew a bit wider with excitement, “So, you’re a half werewolf?!”

“Yes.”

“That is so cool.” He was delighted by my response but it all felt so unreal. I scratched my neck, “This doesn’t feel real.”

“Yes” His gaze dropped, “For a normal human. Mystical beings, magic and another world seem like a myth. It’s actually the same for all beings that live here. Humans, technology, another world, a very handful of them know about it while the rest believe humans are a myth. Except Vampires I guess.”

“Vampires??!!” I was shocked, “Vampires are real too?!”

“Yes. But they live in the dark continent. On the other side of the world while us Fae live in the light continent.”

“Woah.”

I felt goosebumps on my body and shook it once in denial.

“If you want,” He spoke in a very sweet voice. For some reason I just can’t get enough of it, “I can take you to see it. The people here, the land, the mythical beings and,” He snapped his fingers and a small flame appeared on top of his index finger, “Magic.”

…

I was in awe. This was amazing. Too realistic to be a joke. I looked around at the never ending forest. Too vast to be a set up.

I gulped and wanted to say something but in amazement all I could do was nod.

Yohan smiled and closed his hand. With that, the small flame hovering on his index finger disappeared.

The sun shone pretty brightly now and the clouds were completely gone. Along with that, the rainbow was too. It only appeared for a few seconds.

“Say,” I rubbed my head, “I never got to know your name.” It’s strange, he already knew me. He called my name as if it was a natural thing to do.

“My name…” He spoke in a low voice as he looked down, it almost seemed like he was very disappointed by my words. He sighed and looked back at me, smiled and answered, “Yohan.”

“Yohan...” As I said that name my heart skipped a beat. Like, that name was very important, something very precious. “Yohan?”

“Yes?”

“You said we made a promise, what-”

“It’s fine.” He cut my words, “If you do not remember, it’s fine. Nothing else matters now that you’re here.” He extended his hands out for me, as if asking me if he could hold mine, “May I ask something?”

I extended my hands and slipped them in his, “Uh, sure. What is it?”

He held my hands gently with his, “What made you decide to stay?” He looked me in the eyes, “I thought you wouldn’t want to stay here.”

I looked back into his deep forest colored eyes. They were so beautiful- Heck! This whole man was so beautiful, he’s making my heart race.

I gulped and let my gaze drop. If I kept looking into his eyes I would probably not be able to answer him properly, “I-” I started, “I don’t really know. When I said I wanted to stay, I felt like it was the right thing to do.” I licked my lips, “I felt all my anxiety and worries suddenly vanished when I decided to stay here.”

“I see…” I glanced at him and it seemed like he was lost in thought, “So, you really don’t remember me?” We both looked at each other, “Our past. You really remember nothing?”

It was a bit hard to look at him. I could see that he was expecting something but I did not have it so I looked away and then shook my head, “I’m sorry. I don’t”

A gust of very strong wind blew as I finished my words. Yohan’s expression showed that he was a bit dejected. Then he took a deep breath and the wind calmed down, “You don’t need to apologize. I’m just glad you're here and decided to stay.” He let go of my hands, “Would you like to eat something? I’ll have someone prepare something.”

He began to walk towards the lounge when I asked, “Can you tell me?” He stopped and looked back, “About our past?”

I was really curious. What were we? What did we share? Was our relationship really that strong that he waited for me for decades? Were we perhaps lovers?

Yohan smiled, “No.” His answer shocked me, I wasn’t expecting a flat out ‘no’, “I will not tell you anything.”

“Why not??!”

“Because me telling you will mean nothing. I do not want to force anything on you.” He looked back at the palace, “For now I am happy that you decided to stay.” He began to walk in, “And if I tell you. I would expect more from you too.” He reached the sliding window, “That would be torture to myself aswell and a burden to you.” He walked in, “Come. Let’s eat.”

I stood there for a few seconds.

His words revolved around in my head.

If he tells me it will be torture for him??? A burden for me????

Why????