Hereditary

by Jane Washington

  He was off me in an instant, and I only caught a glimpse of him on the other side of the game trail, staring at me with an astonished expression, his fists clenched by his sides, before he turned and disappeared without another world. I ran home after that, my heart thumping in my chest and tears of very real fear threatening at the edges of my eyes as I fought carelessly back into the village, not stopping until I reached the cottage. The lights were off, and everything was quiet, which probably meant that my father had stayed inside the kingdom as he usually did, but I crept in anyway, hoping not to wake him up if he was sleeping.

  After checking his bedroom to make sure he wasn’t there, I ran back to my own room and swung open my wardrobe to consult the long mirror nailed to the inside of the door. I had intended to examine the cut on my lip, but I froze as soon as I saw myself, my mouth falling open in shock. The once deep red of my hair had darkened to predominately golden, and the violet tint to my eyes had turned amber. The rest of me simply seemed amplified, just as the nature around me did whenever I opened my connection to it. My skin glimmered as I turned in the soft light of the room, and my stare was stronger, not exactly more forceful, but more… compelling. Feeling light-headed, I stumbled away from the mirror and fell onto my bed, my eyes turning to the ceiling.

  “What’s happening to me?” I whispered into the darkness.

  At some point, I must have fallen asleep, because the next time I opened my eyes, the sun was once again streaming through my window. I struggled into a sitting position, catching sight of myself in the mirror of my still-open wardrobe as I ran a hand tiredly through my hair.

  Back to normal.

  I almost decided then and there that it had all just been a crazy dream, until I caught sight of something else, and stumbled over to the mirror to get a closer look. The cut didn’t appear as painful as it had felt, just a slight bust that was a little off from the centre, on my bottom lip, causing only minimal swelling. Really, it looked as if someone had punched me, which I supposed was preferable to what had really happened. With a heavy sigh and a quick glance to my bedroom clock, I soon resigned myself to the fact that I had already missed my first two classes, and I took my time showering and pulling my hair into a braid. I knew I couldn’t skip breakfast today, especially not with all the meals I already seemed to be missing lately, and quickly ate before heading out the door.

  The walk to the Academy was thankfully uneventful, and I seemed to arrive halfway through lunch. Having just eaten, I ambled over to my usual chair, which was blessedly unoccupied, and sat upon it cross-legged, pulling a textbook out of my bag at random.

  Domestic Manipulation of Common Specialties stared back at me, and with a sigh, I flicked it open to a random page and started reading, soon losing myself in the mundane world of unthreatening information.

  “I was beginning to worry. Good to see you’re all in one piece, little synfee.”

  I glanced up as Cale slumped down next to me, and offered him a faint smile, which in turn caused him to frown.

  “Almost in one piece,” he amended, “what happened to you?”

  “I fell.”

  Arching one eyebrow, he reached out and flicked my textbook closed.

  “I wanted to apologise, for yesterday.”

  “No need,” I quickly interjected, already feeling the blush start to rise, “I told you it’s not your fault.”

  He narrowed his eyes, his hand moving away from my textbook.

  “You sell yourself short Bea. There’s plenty to be interested in, that has nothing to do with your heritage.”

  Looking away from him, across the sea of mostly empty grass before me, I opened myself to the possibility that he might be right. Someone really could like me, despite my heritage. Unfortunately, that line of thought was bound to lead to Nareon, and his disturbing kiss, so I quickly shook my head to chase the thought away and said the first thing that came to my lips.

  “When’s our next lesson?”

  “Tomorrow afternoon, can you meet us at the castle again? I’m beginning to think the garden was a good idea.”

  “Sure.”

  The bell rang then, and Cale walked me to my next class, which was uneventful, if you discount the stares and whisperings of my ‘performance’ with Kaylee the day before. I was relieved when the day was over, and in the interests of avoiding Nareon, I walked over to the barracks, hoping to catch my father and maybe persuade him to walk back to the cottage with me.

  Unfortunately, I didn’t see him anywhere, and when I asked one of his men, I was informed that he had been deployed suddenly for a short mission. I was used to this, and had even come to expect it after a time, but I was still disappointed. Still trying to buy myself some time, I went down to the training yard, and put myself through the obstacle course a few times, until the pleasant burn of exercise turned into a dull, throbbing pain, and then I knew I couldn’t push myself anymore. I stopped to chat with those that I knew in the dining hall, grabbing my dinner there, and then I finally resigned myself to the walk home.

  It wasn’t until then that I remembered the pouch Nareon had given me, and when I pulled it from my bag, a shadow disentangled itself from the edge of trees as if on cue, moving toward me. Seconds from upending the contents of the pouch onto my palm, I closed it in my fist and froze, waiting for the outline to solidify before I acted. This was clearly a woman, but I didn’t relax until she came close enough for me to see her face. She was elven.

  “I thought I was the only one who used this path.” She said, laughter in her voice.

  I realised why, when she slipped a dagger back into her belt. I hadn’t even seen her draw it.

  “Me too.” I started to move around her, wanting more than anything to run back to the cottage and bury myself beneath a pile of blankets after the unnecessary fright.

  She must have realised how much she had scared me then, for she flicked me a sympathetic smile, and continued past me. I waited until she had disappeared into the darkness, and then I opened my fist again, tipping the pouch upside down. A smooth wooden carving fell into my hand, and I lifted it to my face, examining the unfamiliar coat-of-arms. The shield was separated down the centre by a thorny vine, and from each side of the vine sprouted an unfurling wing. They could have belonged an eagles, or a hawk. What was strange was that the left wing seemed to be disintegrating, while the right had been carved with obvious strength, even beauty. Shrugging, I dropped the carving back into my bag and then jogged the rest of the way home without incident.

  Four days passed, two more lessons with Cale and Hazen, and no word from my father. My moods were growing darker, but I was also getting better at keeping it all contained. I knew it wasn’t healthy for me, because there was only so much that I could shove to the back of my mind, before there was no room left, and my mind imploded, as Cale had put it.

  Nareon had said that he would help me, but he was nowhere to be found, and when I thought about our last moment together, I wasn’t sure how to feel about his sudden disappearance. Not that I had much time to deliberate over it, with my eighteenth birthday now only nine hours away.

  What would happen when that clock struck midnight and I came into this power that Nareon had spoken about? Would I kill myself from the overload, as that other boy had, or simply go insane, not knowing how to deal with the tripling darkness that hovered on the edges of my vision?

  I had a very volatile plan, which I had deliberated over since yesterday’s session with Cale and Hazen, in which my darkness had gotten a little too much for me to handle, and Hazen had once again stepped in to help me. I didn’t know whether it was a good plan or not, but it was all I could think of, and I was very quickly running out of time.

  I was once again in Specialised Elven Elementals, and Hazen was actually sitting right beside me. He was the only one to ever sit so close to me, especially since Cale seemed to always be skipping class. I pulled out a fresh sheath of paper and wrote carefully.

  Are we friends?r />
  I slid the paper over to his desk and he stiffened immediately, probably because even though he had started sitting next to me, we never actually spoke. I watched out of the corner of my eye as he scribbled something down below my question and nudged the paper back to me.

  Yes.

  Despite the fact that this was all supposed to be a part of some bigger plan to prevent a probable disaster tonight, the three letters sparked something warm in my chest, and it took me a few moments to remember what to write next.

  It’s my birthday tonight, my father is away, I was hoping you and Cale would want to come and celebrate. I’d invite more people, but they wouldn’t come.

  It was sketchy at best, I wasn’t a very good liar, even on paper it seemed, but I pushed it back to him all the same, and waited for him to write his response.

  I can throw a party; nobody has to know that it’s for you. Then lots of people will come.

  This made me want to laugh, but then I began to seriously consider his offer. If there were more people around, it might prove more of a distraction for me, and in an added bonus, it would prevent Nareon from showing up unexpectedly.

  Thank you. I wrote back.

  When the bell sounded and we headed outside for lunch, I was surprised that Hazen didn’t immediately wander off to his usual table, instead lingering back with Cale and me near the greenhouse. He seemed to teeter there for a moment, and then, much to my surprise, lowered himself gracefully down onto the grass, and pulled out his lunch as though he did this everyday. Cale acted much the same way, laughing and joking in his usual manner, though it died off a little when the rest of their group appeared, hovering around us confusedly. They greeted Cale and Hazen, and ignored me completely. All except for Kaylee, who shot Hazen a sully look and stormed off.

  “Trouble in paradise?” laughed Cale.

  One of the other boys, whose name I had learned to be Alton, threw me a grimacing look and answered for Hazen.

  “She’s upset with all the… changes around here.”

  “What changes?” Piped Cale innocently, making it my turn to grimace.

  “I heard about the party tonight, what’s that all about?” interrupted Rose, who didn’t seem so afraid of me anymore, though she still kept her distance.

  “I just felt like having a party.” Hazen answered without so much as batting an eyelid.

  Wow, why can’t I lie like that?

  Kaylee came back just before lunch ended, and drew Hazen away for a ‘talk’, which Cale and I embarrassingly stumbled upon on our way back to class. I’ll admit, it was strange seeing the sullen, non-emotional Hazen in such a compromising position, though it really did appear as if Kaylee was the one doing most of the work. He was leaning up against the side of the building, and she was plastered to his tall form, her hands fisted in his hair and her mouth locked onto his.

  I must have made some sound of surprise, or perhaps it was Cale’s sudden laughter, but the couple broke apart, and while Kaylee looked equal parts embarrassed and angry, it was Hazen that held my attention. He didn’t look to Cale, who was now saying something to deepen Kaylee’s embarrassment, but instead to me, and perhaps that was why I blushed. I had never really seen Hazen smile, but he did in that moment, and the transformation was breathtaking. There was a single, roguish dimple in his left cheek, and an enchanting glimmer in those sable eyes of his that always seemed so arresting. My flush deepened, and I quickly muttered my apologies, turning on my heel and stalking in the other direction, ignoring Cale’s calls to wait.

  The last class of the day dragged out, possibly because of my nervousness, and when the bell signalled the end of the Academy workday, I was almost trembling. Thankfully, Cale had waited to walk me to the castle, and we set off to arrive there before the crowds, with him chatting along the way and me occasionally agreeing with whatever he said. We got there before even Hazen himself, but it seemed that Rose had taken over the ‘party’ idea, and was busy ordering the servants into preparation mode when we walked into the entrance chamber. She greeted Cale warmly, and me politely, and then did a double take, flicking her eyes over the loose dress that I wore, and then moving on critically to my book bag.

  “Tell me you have something else to wear in there?” She asked skeptically.

  It took me a moment to realise that she had directed the question at me, probably because this was the most that she had ever said to me, and I almost felt disappointed that I couldn’t offer her anything.

  “No, sorry.”

  She winced and then gave Cale an imploring look, which he chuckled at.

  “Alright, she’s all yours, I’ll take over party preparations.”

  The fae girl seemed so excited about this prospect that I was momentarily mollified into allowing her to drag me out of the entrance chamber.

  “You’re touching me.” I said, shocked.

  She looked back, and for a second, I could have sworn that she was just as surprised as me.

  “Does it bother you?”

  “No.”

  She smiled then, almost as warmly as she had smiled at Cale, and pulled me up a flight of stairs, down another corridor, and up another three flights of stairs, until finally we burst into a large bedchamber. The evening sun was streaming through the full-length, bay windows at the other end of the room, and it was my only way of telling how much time was passing as Rose sat me down at a polished vanity, and began throwing random things at me to try on from a disturbingly large wardrobe. She frowned at the first few choices, occasionally muttering things like too much, or, not enough, until she was satisfied, and then she finally let me see what she had chosen.

  It was like nothing that I had seen before, and certainly unlike anything I had ever worn before. The material was so soft; I felt that it didn’t even touch my skin, merely floated around me. The dress ended mid-thigh, and was a light lavender colour that seemed to bring out the violet of my eyes, it had a ruffled trim that somehow wasn’t garish. I thought it was a little too tight from the waist up, but Rose disagreed, and I was beginning to find that she could be quite persuasive. I also simply didn’t want her to pick one of the other dresses, as they all boasted the swooping neckline that Rose insisted was the current fashion. I was glad when the dress debacle had been solved, and even accepted the matching lavender slippers that she forced on me, but when I realised she wasn’t even half done with me, I began to look for possible escape options.

  “You know,” she said, as she pushed me back onto her vanity stool and began to unbraid my hair, “I don’t know why I was scared of you for so long. You’re even more frightened than me, and no wonder, with the way people treat you.”

  I blinked at her in the mirror, but she was busy brushing out my hair, and didn’t catch my bewildered glance.

  “Thanks.” I finally said.

  She smiled, and skipped away, returning with a vase of flowers that I remembered seeing in the hallway. She picked a sprig of small white cream cups out of the bunch, and began to pin them into the waves that she had styled down my back.

  “You’re really good at this,” I said once she was finished, “but I’m not sure I should let anyone see me.”

  Her expression fell, and I wanted to slap myself for so obviously hurting her feelings.

  “Oh no, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I just mean… I don’t like to, you know, dress myself up. I don’t want to remind people of what I am.”

  I could see the relief in her eyes, though she did a good job of quickly covering it up.

  “Don’t be silly, your beauty is natural, if anyone should be ashamed of playing up their beauty, it’s those shape-changers. Don’t you ever wonder if they are all fat and ugly beneath the masks they put on every morning, fooling us all?”

  I found myself laughing, “maybe.”

  To keep Rose happy, I let her lead me back down the darkening corridors and staircases to the entrance chamber, which now held a scattering of people, who all seemed to be moving t
hrough into another room. They didn’t stare at me as much as they usually did, and certainly not with the same amount of disgust or fear, and I realised that it was Rose’s doing. Either me being on her arm, or me looking so utterly different, was working in my favour, or perhaps they didn’t even recognise me at all. Rose led me through to another chamber off the main one, which was where most of the people had gathered—or so I thought—until I saw the outside grounds beyond.

  “Wow… did Hazen invite the whole kingdom or something?”

  “Word spreads quickly around here.” Came the voice of Hazen himself, close behind us.

  We both turned, and Hazen barely glanced at me, allowing his sister to give him a kiss on the cheek, but I could see a group of girls waving her over to them, so I was unsurprised with her next words.

  “Well, you’re in capable hands now, Hazen will look after you, I’m sure.” She said as she gave me a pat on the arm and then ran off.

  Hazen stared after her confusedly, and then began to turn from me, “look I’m sorry, but—” he began, before something made him pause, and he slowly turned back around to face me.

  His eyes widened and swept over me, before flying back up to meet mine. It was strange, that whatever sparked in his dark gaze had my breath catching, and the silence stretched between us, sizzling with something indefinable as I waited for him to speak. Finally, another voice broke through whatever held us, and Cale walked up, ignoring me just as Hazen had.

  “Hey, have you seen— wow…”

  He had followed Hazen’s stare to me, and his eyes swept over me in much the same way, until a small flicker of discomfort passed over his features, and he turned to Hazen, who still hadn’t spoken a word. Hazen himself had gone blank again, and had tilted his head slightly to return the stare with an arch of one dark eyebrow.

  “Rose got to me.” I finally said, by way of explanation, though it was more of a desperate attempt to break the weird tension.

  Both heads snapped back to me, and Cale, as reliable as always, picked up the conversation from there.