Midnight Beauty

It’s been about…three and a half hours since I became lost here. The trees have far past begun to seem more like my foes and less like my friends.

Who knew I’d get lost in a forest?

Oh yeah, my grandmother did. She told me not to come out here this late at night, but when else was I supposed to travel to pick up the blue rose?

The most magical rose of all. It only blooms at midnight on a full moon and it only stays alive for an hour. After that, you have to wait a month.

I’m impatient, though. I was not about to sit there and wait for my father to get home. No, I decided to take the matter into my own hands.

So, here I am.

Wandering around the forest.

Alone.

And, as suspected, lost.

Because we need that flower now. We cannot wait any longer. If we did, darkness would take over and light would be banished forever.

It seems to be getting dangerously close to midnight and I have not yet been able to locate this mysterious flower.

I glance all around me, trying to find which way would be the fastest way to get to the very center of the forest.

A shadow from a tree seems to jump out at me and I shrink back away from it, clutching my cloak tight against me, as if it could protect me from all the dangers of the night.

I stop and close my eyes, trying to regain my senses. My logic.

You are safe. Nothing can hurt you. Not now. Not ever. You are a special kid. Daughter of a good witch. You are protected by many forms of magic, both good and bad.

There. I’m good now. I’m fine. I give a small nod to myself and continue walking down the narrow path that I’ve been on for the past twenty minutes.

Let’s hope I haven’t been timing this all wrong. If I have, I'm doomed. I’ll never make it to the flower and back home.

And just like that, all the sounds come at the same time, like the chime of a clock. A scary clock.

The howling of wolves. The cackle of an evil witch. The banging of a troll’s bat. The roaring of a dragon.

I take a deep breath, trying to stay calm, despite the fear rising in the pit of my stomach. My hands are shaking around the handle of the basket I am carrying that is supposed to hold the flower.

I hear a rustling sound behind me, and I don’t dare to even look back. I take off, fleeing from whatever predator was planning to make me their prey tonight.

I don’t stop running, even when my hips start hurting. Even when my breathing becomes ragged, thanks to my asthma. Even when I almost trip and fall on the root of a tree.

I stumble into a small clearing and freeze.

A blotch of moonlight shines through the trees in the middle of the clearing, sparkling like fairy dust.

What I see in the spotlight fills me with relief. The rose. The blue rose.

I slowly and cautiously approach it, being mindful of anything that may try to spring on me as soon as I let my guard down.

Stepping into the light, I lift an arm to cover my eyes, so that I do not become blind. If I’ve heard correctly, this light comes directly from the moon and it is a thousand times more powerful than any light source that may have been born here on Earth.

The flower needs to be cut specially. One cannot just use a normal knife or their hands. That can cause magical contamination.

I set down the basket and pull out a small dagger that my mother gave me and crouch down beside the flower, bringing the tip of the dagger to the bottom of the flower.

I make a quick, neat cut and catch the rose before it hits the ground. Already I can feel the power emitting from it.

I gently place it in the basket and stand back up, planning to just turn around and walk back to my house, but the realization hits me like a punch to the face.

I’m lost. In a dark forest, possibly with monsters lurking around. I don’t know how to get home.

The rustling sound startles me again and this time, I turn around to come face to face with…

“Aaron?” My voice comes out small, as if it had been out of use for a while.

My best friend stands in front of me, full werewolf form, a timid grin on his face.

“Hi, Emilia…” he says, almost as quietly as me.

I step back, taking in his whole appearance. His claws, his teeth, the fur covering only patches of his skin, as if he was stuck between human and monster.

“What…what…?” I partially ask, my voice filled with confusion, holding the basket to my chest. Since when was he a werewolf? I take another step back, a hint of fear shaking my body.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. I won’t do anything,” he says softly, his voice kind of shaky as he holds up his hands in a surrendering gesture.

A moment of silence passes through the air as each of us studies the other.

Okay, so my friend is a werewolf and I am alone with him in the forest. Or rather, I assume we’re alone. He doesn’t seem to want to hurt me, though. In fact, he looks almost as scared as I am.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I relax slightly as I realize that he isn’t going to harm me.

“I was scared of how you would react. Plus, it’s only one night a month. I can handle it,” he says almost defensively, but I can see how tense he is, like he expects me to start scolding him. I’d never yell at him for being frightened. What kind of friend would that make me?

He crosses his arms and looks at me.

“Aaron, you don’t have to be scared to share something with me. I’m still your friend. Even if you are a…werewolf,” I say kindly, regaining some of my calmness.

He opens his mouth to say something, but then seems to decide against it and he gives a small nod.

“Do you perhaps know how to get home? I need to get the rose home before it dies, so we can put it in a glass container. It’s the only thing that’ll sustain its life long enough for us to use it,” I explain, looking down at the basket in my hand. It feels like it’s getting heavier by the second, weighing me down.

“Yes. But, you’d never make it home fast enough before the hour of one.” He pauses and puts on a thoughtful look. Then he turns around. “Here. Hop on. I’m quicker than you’ll ever be.”

I raise an eyebrow and he looks back at me with a hint of guilt. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you,” he says.

“It’s fine.” I climb onto his back and brace myself as he starts sprinting into the night.

I feel the wind blow my hair into my face and I feel more free than I have ever in my whole entire life. I wish I could stay like this forever, but alas, a mission awaits me at home.

Before I know it, I open my eyes to see the lights of my house shining through the windows.

Aaron lowers me to the ground and gently grabs my arms to steady me when I stumble.

“Thanks for the ride,” I say, now smiling. “That was surprisingly fun.”

He lets go and takes a step back. “No problem. I wish you the best of luck with the flower.”

I give a small wave. “See you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow.” he nods in confirmation and turns back to face the black void which is the nighttime forest.

Now, time to harness the blue rose’s power and save the Kingdom.