A midnight walk through the woods, not something Arden had in mind when the first snow began to fall. The chill of the snowflakes melting on her hand sent shivers up her arms. Her breath was heavy, mixing with the warm air coming from her horse. The bare trees were coated in a light blanket of fresh white, but the ground wasn’t thick enough yet for the horses’ hooves to make a sound. She looked over to Luca, who was being oddly quiet. He had one hand in his pocket, not on his leg like usual. “It’s getting cold, huh?” she commented to see if he was even listening.

Luca didn’t react, though. Not a nod of his head or a shrug of his shoulder. In fact, his skin was almost paler than the snow itself. He was radiating with nerves on the inside, and Arden was sensing it. He vibrated so hard that he could hardly feel the bite of the cold on his cheeks or his open hand. He could only stare straight ahead and follow the thin trail through the trees.

“Luca!”

He snapped his head to Arden, and his heart stopped. She was beautiful, glowing even, under the moonlight. He picked this night especially, and he was right in doing so. She had an air under the full moon, one he couldn’t put his finger on, but to him she was pure magic on these nights. “Y-yes?” he replied, his voice unusually shaky.

“I’ve said your name like four times. What’s going on?” Arden asked.

“We need to stop up ahead,” he answered and cleared his throat, finally realizing how dry his mouth was from walking through the freezing air.

Arden pulled back on the reins and stopped her horse where they were. “Tell me what’s going on,” she said. Her tone firmer than before. “Is this because of the other night? It was a nightmare, I swear it was,” she added.

Luca stopped his horse in time with hers. “No, Arden, please, just up ahead, okay?” he persisted and nudged his horse forward. Arden caught up to him, only to pull her horse directly in front of his and stop once again.

Both steeds threw their head up and backed away nervously. They could feel the tension rising.

“Luca! It’s dark and we’re in the middle of the woods and you’re acting like you’ve done something awful. If I didn't know you, I’d swear you were about to murder me or show me something terrible. Hell, just take your hand out of your pocket!”

Luca looked Arden straight in the eyes. His green eyes were glassy and red, which took Arden back. "Please, just trust me," he answered her.

She now knew this was something serious. She let out a soft breath and nodded her head, then pushed forth.

A few moments later they arrived at the edge of a clearing, a perfectly round open field where trees didn’t dare to grow except for one. There in the middle, basking in the moonlight was a large willow tree. Somehow the tree was still in bloom and Arden was mesmerized.

“How?” She asked, looking over her shoulder at Luca.

“It grows year-round, but blooms at the first of winter,” Luca replied quietly and came up next to her.

“Why haven’t you shown me this before?”

And in that moment, Luca cracked the slightest smile. “Because I needed to show you now,” he replied. He dismounted from his horse and left the rein loose for him to graze. Unlike Arden, the horses were used to this place.

Arden followed suit and dismounted, letting her horse wander off with the other. Luca took her hand in his and walked her out into the clearing towards the tree. Surrounding the tree was another perfect circle of knee-high stone, though the surface was worn and uneven. The stones had been there for centuries, if not longer, and were covered in moss.

“It’s too cold for this,” Arden observed as they climbed over the wall. She approached the tree calmly and slowly, as if it was a majestic animal. She delicately ran her fingers over the wispy branches and a few petals fell on her hand, only to be lightly dusted with snow.

“This place is magic, Arden,” said Luca, watching her from the corner of his eye, “Like you.”

Arden shook her head in disbelief. “I’m not magic, Luca,” she answered. But Luca disagreed. He watched her fondly, taking in the snow as it glistened in her black hair. Her eyes were twinkly mysteriously and he felt his heart skip a beat.

Luca squeezed her hand and pulled her close. “You’re more than magic, babe,” he whispered in her ear and buried his face in her wild hair. “I -” he paused and took in a choking breath, “I need to do something,” he said and pulled away. He cupped her face in his hands and pressed his forehead to hers. “I can’t live without you,” his voice was as soft as the petals in her hands. She placed her palms over his and closed her eyes.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Marry me, Arden,” he whispered, then stopped and stepped down on one knee. He knew he had to still be proper about this. He reached into his pocket and stopped suddenly. A look of shock on his face. He patted down his jacket frantically, then his jean pockets. “No, no no no...” he stood quickly and began rummaging around her feet.

Arden chuckled and swiped tears from her eyes. “You lost it, didn’t you?”

Luca pushed the snow around the base of the tree, only to come up empty. He climbed back over the wall and shuffled his way back to the horses, retracing their fresh steps in the snow, keeping his eyes peeled in the darkness for the little box. He pleaded under his breath to whatever would listen and hoped with all his heart that he’d find it hidden somewhere in the grass.

Arden was still giggling as she watched him. The calm and collected Luca was now panicking, such a rare sight, she thought. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the small red box standing out against the white snow. It was already open and the ring had fallen out next to it.

“Babe,” she called after him, brushing the snow off the box and placing the ring back inside.

“Hold on! I promise it’s here!” he shouted back at her, now on his hands and knees looking.

“Babe!” she yelled again.

“Just let me find it!” he insisted as he looked back at her, “I promise -” he stopped in dismay. She was proudly holding the box in her hand.

“I think I found it,” she said, and a bright smile had stretched across her entire face.

Luca jumped up and ran to her, not caring if alarmed the horses and sent them trotting off. His heart was pounding in his chest and his stomach was a flutter. He cleared the wall in one leap. He couldn’t wait, not anymore. Not after all this time. He snatched the box out of her hand and dropped down to one knee in one swift motion.

“Arden, Arden Hollow, will you marry me?” His smile matched hers, along with the tears that slipped down his cheeks.

Arden let the moment breathe. She thumbed his cheek and slowly nodded her head. "Of course." The words were so simple, yet they felt so heavy in that moment. She could feel the weight of the promise on her heart.

He stood, his hands shaking as he slipped the gold ring on her finger, a beautiful garnet shining in the middle. “It’s the strongest stone,” he commented, “Like us.”

Arden looked up at him, her lip trembling as she spoke. “It’s beautiful,” she said and wrapped her arms around him. She needed that moment to be still. She didn't know how many times she'd promised her love to someone, but for whatever reason this time felt real and right. Their hearts beat together, the breath matching, and she buried her face in his chest to take in the musky smell of his day. She loved him. She loved him more than she could think to say.

She held her hand up behind him to admire their new commitment, but the ring wasn’t what caught her attention. Rather, it was the glowing red eyes from behind the trees.

“Luca,” she whispered, and her gut twisted painfully.

He was holding her tightly, repeatedly kissing the top of her head.

“Luca please,” she tried to pull away, but he was holding her so tightly. Luca needed that moment to last forever, too. His entire life was there in his arms, and he'd never felt so complete.

“I’m never letting you go,” he said sheepishly and leaned down to kiss her, but she was frozen. She didn’t kiss him back or even close her eyes, and his chest tightened. “What? Is it the ring? Is it my dad? I promise it doesn’t matter, I’ll find you a new one -”

Arden pressed her finger to his lips and shook her head slowly. “Luca,” her voice quivered. “Pro-promise me,” she was trembling. The pure bliss had completely washed from her face. “Promise me you’ll take care of Emmett,” she whispered.

“Of - of course. We both will. Arden, what’s wrong?”

She took his hand and placed the ring inside his palm, gently curling his fingers around it. She swallowed hard, “Give...Give this to me-” she stopped, choking on her words. She looked all over his face, memorizing every detail as quickly as she could. “Give this to me next time, okay?”

Luca searched her eyes frantically. He pulled her hand back and tried to give her the ring again. “No, no-no-no-no,” his hand was holding hers so tightly he was shaking them both.

Tears burst forth and she kissed him quickly. “We’ll find each other again, okay?”

Luca grabbed her and held on. He was determined to hold her there, fighting time and space itself. He shook his head repeatedly and squeezed as tightly as he could. “I’m not letting you go, I’m not, I’m not letting you go. I’m not. I won’t. Not now! We’re forever!” he fought, his entire soul resisting and demanding.

“I'll remember you,” her was but a whisper taken by a strong wind that whipped around the branches of the tree.

“No!” he cried as his body slumped forward and folded around the now empty space. He fell to the ground. His body heaving with sorrow. “Come back...come back!” he pleaded through strangled cries, his hands rummaging around the snow as if she was the ring and he'd find her at any moment.

If only those cries had followed her. If only they had been there when she opened her eyes. If only his love was the comfort she felt as her body shocked itself awake. Awake. That was the only way to describe what she felt. But did she? No. She hadn’t been dreaming. She wasn’t even lying down.

Rather, she was staring at a white padded wall she’d never seen, and her head pounded from the larrup of her jump.

A man knelt beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Welcome back, Arden,” he greeted. She looked over to him with dazed eyes. Her skin was pale and sallow, and her lips dry and cracked. He brushed his thumb against her cheek and she winced. He felt like sandpaper. “You don’t remember me, but my name’s Charlie. I’m here to help.”