Page 28 of Enchanted in Time
“Absolutely not! I should have cleared the forest long before sundown.”
The bear looked at her. In the tiny bit of starlight that still shone through the treetops, she could see his massive figure looming over her at one and a half times her size. “There’s no escaping this forest,” he said.
Hannah shifted from one foot to the other. “That can’t be! I came here by coach from my city less than five hours ago, so I just need to follow the same road to get back home.”
“Hasn’t it dawned on you yet? This forest is cursed. Otherwise, the wolves would have never attacked you. Everything here is cursed—just like me!”
“Cursed? An entire forest? That’s nonsense. That’s impossible. I don’t know what game you’re playing here, but I don’t believe a word that you or Frieda say.”
“Frieda?” The bear pricked up his ears. “Who is Frieda? Did she send you here?”
“Frieda is my old neighbor. And yes, she’s the one who got me into this whole mess. It seems she’s not the little gray mouse she pretends to be. She’s supposedly an enchantress—and your godmother!” Hannah laughed bitterly.
“Friederike the Enchantress? Thank God!” The bear grabbed Hannah by the arms. “When did you speak with her? How did you speak with her?”
“Through the fountain in the castle garden.”
“We need to go back immediately. I must speak with her!”
“I’m not going back. I’m a mother. My children are waiting at home. Let go of me! I...”
The bear moved away his paws and looked at her. Although she barely recognized his eyes, his gaze gave her goosebumps. “You can’t go back. Trust me, I’ve searched the forest up and down for a way out. All night long, for decades. There is none. Now come. There are far more dangerous things in this forest than a pack of wolves.”
“I’m not going! I... no!”
“I understand your concern for your children, but you have no choice. You won’t find a way back home. And in the morning, you’ll be dead.”
Hannah crossed her arms. There was no way any of this could be true. Or had Frieda been telling the truth after all? Was she, in fact, in another time from which there was no escape?
Hannah took a deep breath. She didn’t really want to be all by herself in the forest after dark. “Fine, I’ll go with you, but with the first ray of sunlight, I’m continuing my search until I find my way home!”
The bear tromped off, and she struggled to keep pace with him.
“How did you find me, anyway?” she asked. “Were you looking for prey yourself?”
He growled. “No, your scream could be heard throughout the entire forest.”
Indignant, Hannah sucked in her breath. Who wouldn’t have screamed when faced with a pack of wolves?
The bear heaved a sigh. “Otherwise, the woods are completely silent. No sound at all. Every night has been the same. For a many, many years now. You’ve broken through what is usual—your presence has turned things upside down. It’s like a play you’ve seen a hundred times, and suddenly another actor appears onstage and immediately jumps out at you. Every sound, every movement they make, you notice right away. The moment I saw you at the ball, I knew something was different.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’ve been living through that night for a long, long time. No matter where I fall asleep at night, I wake up in my chamber as a human being at the same time every morning. Whether I dance at the ball or roam the forest by day, every day at the same time, my father dies and I turn into a bear. I’ve been struck by the curse that was once pronounced on my father.”
“A time loop of sorts? But that’s impossible!”
The bear stopped, turned toward Hannah, and held out his paws. “I suppose this is impossible as well?”
“No.” Her anger disappeared. The prince most likely had no control over this disaster.
“When I get my hands on Frieda...” Hannah mumbled more to herself as the two of them trudged through the forest. They had come to the little road and were following it through the woods and back to the castle.
“How is it that you’re unaware of all this? I thought my godmother had explained it all to you. Where are you from?”
“Frieda conjured me here—through time, she said. I’m from the future!” How dumb did that sound?
“From the future?”
