11:37pm the clock on a cracked cellphone screen read in a blindingly bright white glow.
Ora stared out the dirty window of the city bus and out into the night streets of Terratown. She had been waiting for the bus to take her home for over an hour and she was growing drowsy as the night went on.
The bus stopped and let out a sigh as the door squeaked open.
"Huntington Street, last stop" a burly man looked back and called out. Ora was the last one on the bus and she hurried to the front to get off when the driver stopped her a moment. "Do I know you?"
"I don't believe so, sir..." Her eyes drifted downward to her feet, avoiding the prying Kal's gaze.
"Hm... Alright ma'am, have a nice night..." He closed the doors behind her as she hopped on to the cobbled driveway of an old prewar house.
The house was small and was quite a bit aways from most things, surrounding by a thin spry of trees. It looked only semi-inhabitable and appeared to be slowly being taken back by nature.
Ora stepped inside and placed her purse and keys down on the table.
"Thomas, I'm home!" A tiny black house cat hobbled up to her on three legs, meowing excitedly. She picked him up and walked into the kitchen, kicking her shoes off.
"I don't know about you, but I'm hungry..." She put him up on the counter and turned on the mini tv that sat there while gathering items to prepare a meal.
"- local authorities had donated over $400 to the fund, the rest of the goal is now at $768. If you would like to donate-" Ora groaned and started chopping a carrot at a face pace in annoyance.
"I can't stand this man. "Oh, I'm Chuck Worthy, I'm so handsome so I don't have to actually report anything worth while blah blah blah", lazy" she stuck her tongue out and shook her head.
Thomas watched her closely, tilting his head in a worrying look as she cut faster and faster.
The handsome Kal on the screen turned from a smile to a more somber appearance.
"Today, I had an interview with a local scientist who went into the forest around the edge of Luna Lake... And had discovered something interesting. Viola?"
A pretty young lady appeared on screen next.
"Thanks Chuck, well I was going out to investigate some new rare fauna when-"
Ora was cutting furiously now muttering to herself angrily, Thomas stepped back to avoid any accident that would possibly come from this.
"- he started yelling something about a witch-"
Ora yanked her head up to look at the tv and accidentally cut her finger slightly. She stuck the injured appendage in her mouth and moved closer to the screen.
"He was frantic, fearful... And blind. He kept raving something about a nurse and how I shouldn't be there. It took a while before I recognized this man from the market place, Roman Prince. He grows and sells produce for the local grocers and delivers them himself, but no one knows where he came from... Until today. He advices everyone to stay away and not to come looking for him..." An image of the Kal in question came on the screen.
He was beautiful and had the most hauntingly enticing eyes Ora had ever seen. She fell in love instantly, and looked to her companion.
"I have to meet him..." Her cat meowed in a tone that seemed questioning.
"N-not because I like him or anything... He said something about a witch's curse. And if it wasn't me... Then who was it?"
Ora groaned when her cat looked like he was doubting her truth.
"Okay, so maybe he's cute too and I like the exiled loner types, are you happy?" Thomas purred. "God, I had interrogations... And falling in love with a complete stranger that I saw a glimpse of on TV and nothing more. Why do I have to be this foolish?"
She walked into the living room and got a backpack set with food and clothes and such.
"You coming?" Thomas chirped and hopped into her backpack, his head poking out slightly.
Ora padded through the woods on wary feet, anxious of every branch break and rustling leaf.
"Hello?" She called out. "Is there a Roman here?"
She stumbled over tree stumps hidden by leaves and logs that stood in her way. Hours and hours of walking finally lead her to a clearing that appeared to be growing a golden orange light.
"Hello?" She stepped closer and suddenly dropped. A ditch opened up beneath her and swallowed her whole, and she fell awkwardly on her leg. "Ow! Help!" She cried out. Foot steps started drawing near and Ora felt tears well up in her eyes.
"You shouldn't have come here" a soft but terrified voice called down to her followed by the appearance of a cream colored face marked with purple accents.
"It's you!" Ora tried standing but her leg sent shooting pain up her whole body and she crashed back down once more.
"You know me? Who are you?"
"My name is Oracle Ramirez, I saw you on the news and I heard what you said... About a witch? And I want to know more".
The male Kal was silent and then disappeared.
"No wait! I won't hurt you!"
A rope dropped down next to her.
"Tie it around your waist and pull yourself up. I'll take a look at your leg..."
Ora did as she was told and let the stranger half-carry her into the lit clearing.
The trees spread to reveal the ruins of an old kingdom, littered with beautiful lanterns and torches. There were contained flames around every corner and each collumn of collapsed marble glowed like a setting sun.
"Sit here and wait" he dipped into a crevice and came back out moments later carrying first aid supplies and food.
"Why did you come find me?" He asked while attending to her wounds.
"Someone on the news was talking about you and they talked about how you mentioned a witch and a curse. I might be able to help you, but I need to know more... If you really are Roman Prince".
The stranger looked up at her with a raised eyebrow and then quickly to her bag as a black cat popped out unharmed and sat next to her.
"Okay... Yes, I'm Roman. And yes... This place is cursed. You shouldn't be here..."
"But I want to know more... Please..." She looked into his eyes and noticed just how much they held in them despite not being able to see. "Your eyes are beautiful..."
Roman blushed and cleared his throat focusing back on the wounded leg.
"There was... A witch. I don't know her name, but... She was jealous of me I think. Or maybe I had harmed her in some way I'm not aware of?" He got lost in thought a moment before shaking his head.
"I was once a..." He shifted uncomfortably and mumbled the next part barely audible, "
princess..." He sighed. "But, once I became a prince, my father had to crown me as his next heir before he passed... And I guess that didn't please this lady or whatever. So she destroyed my kingdom and... Cursed me... And this land..." He drifted off into a memory but Ora snapped him back.
"What curse?" She whispered.
Roman looked at her and she swore his eyes glittered with more fire than what burned around them.
"I was cursed with immortality... Anyone who steps foot on this land is doomed to the opposite; rapid aging".
Ora looked moritifed.
"How do we stop this?"
"I don't know," Roman scratched his ears and put the supplies away, handing Ora a small bowl of grapes, "she told me a riddle and vanished. Here, I wrote it..." He dug in his pocket and handed her a dirty piece of paper.
United you stand
Divided you fall
Free yourself from prison
And answer your call
Leave behind old lives
And start anew
Find the one who possesses
The glass of you
Ora shook her head.
"Looks like we have to find... A piece of glass? I think?" She handed the paper back and Roman shoved it roughly in his pocket.
"I guess... But I don't know where to start".
"I'll help," Ora grinned and rubbed her injured leg, "after this heals... Which shouldn't be long. I'm, uh, a fast healer..." She didn't want to reveal that she was a witch to him in fear that he'd think she was the one who cursed him.
Roman smiled for the first time since she arrived.
"Well, since you're willing to risk your life to help a sap like me... Is it okay if I ask more about you? And I'll answer stuff about myself, you know vice versa. Seems fair"
Ora was surprised at how quickly this Kal started to open up to her.
"I guess so..."
Roman stole one of the grapes.
"So I told you my legacy of becoming a doomed Prince... I ended up becoming a farmer here instead. What about you?"
Ora shifted, feeling like she was in the spotlight.
"When I was little... I didn't know what I wanted to be, but I knew that u wanted to help people. Now I just kinda... Sit around at a desk filing papers all day" she sighed.
Roman placed a paw on her shoulder comfortingly.
"Well, you're helping me now" he smiled.
"Yeah, but I wasn't always like that..." Ora blushed at his touch but shifted her mouth sideways as she felt weird opening up like this, especially since being questioned was the one thing she hated the most... Besides Chuck. "I used to do... Bad things. I would graffiti buildings, vandalize things, steal for food... I was homeless and I... Didn't have the nicest parents. Now I'm kinda trying to make up for that..."
Roman patted her shoulder again.
"We all make mistakes. But that's nothing you can't recover from".
Ora wished so much she could tell him the truth, that she was a witch, and with each passing moment that she lied about a human life and left out all the magical details, she regretted it. She wanted to be honest to him... She had feelings for him that kept growing as they talked through the night. But she knew if she wanted to keep her new friend, she had to keep that part of her identity a secret.
"The universe is full of chances and mistakes, but opportunities to correct them as well. And I think that's beautiful" Roman nodded.
"I think I should head home... It's getting dark" she tried to stand but fell back in pain.
"I think you better stay here for the night..." And he dug around for some blankets and pillows. "Get as comfortable as you want..." And he pulled out an old lute, sat on a pillar, and began to play a soft tune.
