Maiolaine took a leaf out of her mother's book and start meditations early in the morning. She settled herself on top of the large rock she found yesterday. She closed her eyes, but just as she took a deep breath, she felt something fall on her head. Grabbing whatever it was from her hair, and she saw it was a piece of tree bark. Then she saw more pieces falling around her. She peered up and before she could process what was going on, someone fell out of the tree and landed on top of her. He put his hand over her mouth to muffle a scream.

“Sh!” he whispered as he eased his grip. “Are you trying to get caught?”

“If you don’t want someone to make a commotion, then you should try to not jump on them from a tree branch.” Maiolaine pushed the boy off of her. “Who are you?”

The boy was handsome and around her age. He had sharp angles to his face. His warm chocolate brown eyes darted around, assessing the scene. His dark hair was wavy and damp from sweat. He looked shocked when a blue light waved out from around her and then he smiled.

“Calm yourself. There’s no need for all that.”

Maiolaine looked at her hands. She was conjuring without realizing it. She shook her hands and grabbed the dagger that was concealed in her boot.

With a swift motion, her dagger touched his neck, and he retreated backwards until one of the giant trees stopped his movement. He raised his hands up in surrender and beamed at her. A funny feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"You didn't answer my question," Mai said.

“I'm Aundray," he said, slowly raising his hands. "And I know you’re trying too hard with your meditation.”

“What? How could you possibly-”

“I’ve been watching you for a couple days now.”

“That is the creepiest thing that has happened to me in this forest and I’ve had bugs crawl up my skirt.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to startle you. It seemed you needed to focus. I chose to not interrupt. Now it's your turn.”

She pulled her dagger away and said, “My name is Maiolaine.”

“That’s a beautiful name.”

“Thanks,” she said. She stared at the ground and tucked an unruly curl behind her ear.

She glanced up to see Aundray still staring and smiling at her. She felt a warm flush blossoming in her cheeks. This boy was strange.

"So you've been in a tree spying on me? Why?"

"Would you believe me if I said I really didn't know why? I was drawn to you."

"That answer sounds like you just sprung from a romance novel," Mai laughed.

"I'm not trying to be gross or weird, but it's honestly the truth. I came into the forest looking for truffles and I saw you. I just felt..."

"Drawn to me?"

"For lack of better words, yes," Aundray smiled sheepishly.

"Why did you come to the forest? I know you said that you were hunting for truffles. I just mean, why are you here? I've never seen you before. Where are you from?"

"I'm from Noirechat. I'm staying with my uncle. Helping him with his farm. I wanted to find truffles to make something special for him. He's been so kind to me."

"That's very sweet of you."

"Thank you," Aundray said. "It's the least I could do for him."

Mai looked up to see that the sun was rising higher in the sky. They will serve soon breakfast.

"I've got to go. It's almost time for breakfast."

“Oh. OK,” he said, sounding dejected. “Can I see you again?”

"Um," Mai hesitated. "I'm not sure if that's a good idea. I don't even know you except for the fact that you have been stalking me for the past few days."

“I guess you’re right. Will it sweeten the deal if I told you I have mastered the art of meditation?”

Maiolaine didn’t know why she had an uncontrollable urge to trust this strange boy. Her brain was screaming for her to stop talking to him, but her heart told her something different.

“I have a free period this afternoon. And since I wasn’t able to meditate. Perhaps we can meet up then?”

"Really,” a grin spread across his cheeks and Mai couldn’t help herself and smiled herself. “I’ll see you this afternoon then.”

“Okay. Bye.”

Maiolaine ran off, not looking back. She ran up the front steps of the fortress and caught her breath, forgetting the reason she ran into the forest. Considering returning to meet with that boy could be dangerous. The only thing she knew of him was his name. One thing was clear, she will not tell Emmaline of this encounter.