Aurora was, admittedly, a little odd. She lived in a cottage hidden from the neighborhood, tucked away in a forest of trees and secrets. And despite having a very young-looking face, Phillip had never seen her at school.

He liked to sneak out at dawn, kicking off his boots when he got close so she couldn't hear the crunch of his shoes on the twigs. Phillip would just sit there, hiding in the bushes as he watched the doe-eyed maiden tend to her garden. He had done this since his junior year, ever since he had caught sight of her on the way home from the grocery store, a bag of medicine and ointments for cuts hanging from her small wrist.

There was one hitch in this otherwise marvelous routine: her stupid pet crow. The bird seemed to absolutely hate him, and also had the uncanny ability to sense when Phillip was near. He had almost lost his eyes a couple of times from that nasty crow's talons.

So Phillip decided to put on his big boy pants one lazy summer evening and go over there to introduce himself properly. It was kind of scary and he almost turned back a few times. He wasn't scared of Aurora, but once or twice Phillip swore he had seen the shadow of two horns against the girl's wall before. And the woods just had a strange vibe to them, like he wasn't supposed to be there.

Stop being an idiot and just go in, Philip told himself firmly as he opened the wooden gate. He was a step or two down the dirt path that led up to the house when the front door flew open and instead of the blonde beauty, there was a scowling man with black hair and pale skin cut with scars.

A brother, maybe…? With dyed hair? Things weren't looking so good for the lovestruck Phillip as he stared up a the imposing figure guarding the entrance.

"I-Is Aurora at home?" He stammered up at the guard.

The man glowered. "What is it to you if she's here or not?"

Then Aurora appeared, her eyes glittering with a sweet innocence as she squeezed in beside the man, carefully balancing a large plate of cookies against her hip.

"Who is this, Diaval?" She asked, peering curiously out at the boy standing star-struck in her front garden.

Diaval shrugged, raising a hand to ruffle her hair affectionately though his dark eyes never left their guest. "Dunno, pet. Probably a Boy Scout or one of those weasels down from the Mayor's office."

"No, I'm not!" Phillip shouted, his cheeks flushing.

Diaval narrowed his eyes and hastily moved to cover Aurora with his body, though the girl's face still peeked out.

"Well, who are you, then?" She wondered.

Now was the time! "I am in love with you," Phillip announced, raising his chin to look her right in those big eyes. "I was wondering if you would want to go out with me."

Diaval had gone stiff during the speech, his lips slowly pulling back to reveal shiny white teeth. Aurora shot her protector a gentle smile, then turned back to Phillip.

"I am sorry, but I'm already promised to someone." Here she stood up on the toes of her bare feet and planted a huge, wet kiss on Diaval's scarred cheek. "Isn't that right, Diaval?"

"It is, love."

The two lovers gazed at each other until an alarm went off behind them. Aurora spun around, shoving the plate of cookies into Diaval's arms.

"Oh shit, my soufflé!" She gasped.

Aurora rushed off and Diaval smirked at the stricken boy. "You'd best be off now, eh? There isn't anything here for you."

And then he slammed the door shut.

Phillip stared blankly at the worn wood for a long, long time before spinning on his heel and marching awkwardly down the dirt path, still a little in shock as he gently closed the gate behind him. It was only then that he remembered: Hey, wasn't that horrible crow's name Diaval?