Out of The Woods (COMPLETED)

Chapter 25

I left the castle, heading towards the nearest village. I didn't want to worry Isaac but i didn't want to feel imprisoned there either. The idea of finally leaving Arden just for my experience of the outside world to be limited to within the grounds of the castle set me ill at ease. I longed to walk the streets of Paris, to see the Eiffel Tower and eat at little cafes. I longed to see new towns and lose myself in a crowd of faces. I wanted to explode new places and new cultures. Although I was so grateful for what I had experienced with Isaac, I also wanted to experience the world.

My chain of thought led me to think about all that had happened. Something had happened in Isaac's past, something he hadn't told me and I don't know if he ever would. However Gloria knowing more about his past wasn't a huge factor in why I was disappointed, it stung a little but no, it was a much bigger picture. Firstly, I understood how someone could become so easily manipulated, take Arden for example, an entire city who relied on a magical spell that went back centuries to exist. An entire species entrapped in the old way of life.

However, that Isaac wasn't someone I had met, therefore I could make no judgements on that Isaac. All I knew is that he failed to mention to me that they had a romantic relationship before he assigned her to train me. Why? That's the main question. The only reasoning I could come up with is that he was trying to protect me because that's always the most obvious reason, isn't it? Was he afraid? Did he think I'd react in a bad way?

I wasn't angry. Everyone had a past, I just wish he would've felt comfortable enough to trust me with that information, to trust that telling me would be better than leaving me in the dark. If not for Lily's warning I would've found out about their previous .. relationship in front on the entire pack. I also was a bit unnerved by how little I knew Isaac. He knew almost everything about me , he had met my father and my best friends, he had been in my childhood home, he knew my favorite artist and books and colors. Yet he never seemed to open himself up to me.

I stopped when I finally reached the village and after a quick scope of the place I found a small bookshop hidden away in the corner of the store. I searched through the shelves, before a book at the end of the room caught my eye. I pulled out a book to see it lined with pages and pages of beautiful towns and landmarks all over the world. I looked up, seeing nobody in the shop so I gingerly sat on the floor and spent the next half an hour flipping through the pages and getting lost in new places.

I almost didn't hear the door open until a loud squeak resonates through the small shop and I jumped slightly, on high alert as I looked up with wide eyes. An older woman stared down at me, a lilac shawl wrapped around her graying hair.

"My god child, what are you doing reading on the floor? You almost gave me a heart attack!"

I rose slowly, offering her a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I was so absorbed, I lost track of time."

She gave me a small, knowing smile. "It happens to the best of us. Here let's see what's gotten you so interested. Ahh, travel." She waved her finger at me, waggling her eyebrows. "Young people should try to travel as much as they can. We didn't have those kinds of opportunities back in my day."

I let out a light laugh. "I definitely agree with you."

She crossed her hands over her chest. "Is something on your mind? I know I long to escape whenever things get hectic."

And that's how I found myself having tea with the old lady who owned the bookshop. She assured me she knew who I was, being part of the werewolf community so then I told her all that had happened. She slammed her mug of chamomile tea down on the coffee table and my eyes went wide, wondering how that table has lasted this long without an indent or scratch.