Cassima's face disappeared. Edgar had no idea how she had divined an answer from the stone circle, but he sincerely hoped that it was the right answer. He also had no idea how the sorcerer could help them, but Cassima seemed to be confident that the man could.

Edgar looked at the circle, which was still hovering in midair and glowing. He wondered how he could split it into its twelve sections again – a thought that was swiftly answered when he gave it a tap with his finger. Instantly, the light vanished and the circle crashed onto the bench beneath it, sending its pieces flying everywhere.

Edgar was scrambling on the floor trying to gather all twelve trinkets when a soft noise made him look up. He slowly raised his head to see that the girl resting on the bed – Ashni – had finally awakened. It seemed as if his kiss had broken the spell after all.

She stared at him out of large brown eyes, occasionally glancing down or looking somewhere other than his face. She seemed afraid to look at him directly, and her quiet, nervous demeanor reminded Edgar of a frightened animal. She was confused, but there was still an odd alertness about her.

"Hello," Ashni said in a voice as soft as goose down and as quiet as a cat's footstep. "Who are you?"

"I'm…I'm not the one who's come to rescue you," Edgar said, in the hopes of getting that awkwardness out of the way.

"You're not?"

"No – but my name is Edgar."

Ashni narrowed her eyes, which darted about, examining every facet of his appearance.

"Hello…Edgar," she said slowly.

"I woke you, but the one who loves you is on his way here…"

Right on cue, there was the sound of footsteps clumping up the stairs, and presently, the door to the room burst open. Aubrey stood in the doorway, his chest heaving. One look at Ashni, however, and his breathing ceased abruptly.

"Ashni?" he gasped in disbelief.

Ashni gazed up at him, looking as fearful as if he were a three-headed dragon. As Aubrey approached her bed, however, she became calmer and more curious. Aubrey stood silently by the bed while she repeatedly cast her eyes down, alternately looking at him and not looking at him.

Then Aubrey extended a hand, which Ashni stared at cautiously. Then she gently extended one of her own hands and tentatively touched, then clasped, Aubrey's hand. She then gripped it firmly, and for the first time, she looked into Aubrey's eyes. She didn't merely glance at them as she had done before – she looked. She looked deeply into them with the expression of someone who has finally learned how to trust another person after a lifetime of betrayal and suspicion. Holding his hand, she was a completely different person. She no longer looked fragile and frightened – now she looked strong and confident and unafraid.

Aubrey seemed changed, too – Edgar's recollection of their conversation came to mind, and the prince suspected that Aubrey had indeed found his purpose in life as well as his "missing half." As inexperienced as Edgar was in the ways of love, he knew true love when he saw it – which was what Aubrey and Ashni had for each other in vast quantities.

Ashni was the first to break the thick silence:

"You're the one who Edgar said would rescue me?"

"Huh?" Aubrey asked, glancing over his shoulder at Edgar, whom he hadn't even noticed upon his arrival at the top of the tower.

"Edgar!"

"Yes."

"I can't thank you enough for your help," Aubrey said. "By the way, I saw several people downstairs waking as I ran up. Did you do something to break the curse?"

Drat. Edgar felt certain that he had avoided this subject, but it looked as if there was nothing to do but confess, despite the consequences it was liable to bring.

"Yes," he muttered. "I…I kissed Ashni to do it."

To Edgar's astonishment, Aubrey looked completely perplexed upon hearing these words.

"Kissed her? I never would have associated that with breaking a curse. I thought I would have to do something like summon the god of sleep to undo the spell or counter it with a spell of my own. I honestly never heard of kissing someone to lift a curse."

Apparently, Aubrey had grown up reading storybooks in Etheria that were far different than the ones Edgar read as a child in Tamir.

"I read about it somewhere," Edgar confessed. "It's just a little confusing because…in every documented case of this happening…well, the man who kisses the maiden marries her."

Aubrey contemplated this for a moment while Ashni stared inquisitively at Edgar.

"Why?" Aubrey finally asked. "Because he loves her or because he is fated to and has no choice in the matter?"

It was now Edgar's turn to contemplate this information.

"I think it's always because he loves her."

"And you love this human girl you mentioned, not Ashni?"

"Of course."

"Well, there you have it," Aubrey said matter-of-factly. "If you don't love the girl you set free from a curse and there's no ironclad rule that says you have to marry her, then you don't have to."

"And certainly the maiden has to have some say in the matter," Ashni piped up. Aubrey looked down at her in surprise.

"What does that mean?" he asked, taken aback. "What are you saying, Ashni?"

"I'd just like to know the name of the man who loves me before I tell him that I love him, too," Ashni smiled.

"Oh," Aubrey faltered. "Sorry – I am Aubrey."

Ashni squeezed his hand tightly, pushed back the sheets that covered her and delicately placed her feet on the floor, standing up rather stiffly – not that Edgar could blame her, after her being in an enchanted sleep for goodness knows how long. She moved closer to him, touched his shoulders gently, then embraced him warmly.

"Thank you, Aubrey," she said softly. "Thank you so much."

"Well," Edgar said after what he felt was an adequate pause, "I'm glad you two found each other, but I should be going now. I need to help a friend of mine find a dark sorcerer named Shadrack."

Aubrey's cloudy blue eyes stared deeply into Edgar's.

"Hmm…" Aubrey said, his brow furrowed. "What land are you headed for?"

"Daventry, but it's not in this time. It's several decades in the past."

"Really?" Aubrey said, sounding intrigued by the concept. "You can step into different times?"

"Yes, we can…my friend and I, I mean. Well…I may not see either of you again, so I'd like to say good-bye to the both of you."

Aubrey didn't reply to him. The young man was looking heavenward with an expression of deep concentration on his face, muttering quietly to himself.

"Daventry…several decades ago…hmm…"

Then he appeared to return to normal.

"Ah, yes, Edgar," he said, freeing one arm from Ashni's grasp to wave to him. "Bon Voyage."

"Yes, farewell, Edgar," Ashni added, waving as well.

The couple linked arms and slowly left the room, closing the door behind them. Edgar didn't know how Aubrey had gotten here nor how he planned to leave, but if he had managed to get here looking as fresh as if he had just left home, Edgar was sure Aubrey had some trick up his sleeve that he could use to return himself and Ashni to wherever he had departed from.

Edgar finished gathering the scattered pieces of the stone circle and returned to the cushioned bench under the window. He felt ready to leave Lycathia, but he decided to see if Cassima had been successful with the sorcerer first…

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