by Kealohilani
Justin looked down and scratched his head nervously for a second but quickly put his hands in the pockets of his tunic with his arms relaxed. He tilted his head a little and looked at her out of the corner of his eye— clearing his throat and lifting his head up once in casual acknowledgement. He spoke with a slightly deeper voice than normal.
“It’s Tierza, right?”
Justin held his breath as he waited for her answer, desperately hoping that he had said her name right.
“Yes, my name is Tierza. Although your accent is quite strong. What land are you from?”
Justin choked on a nervous laugh and made it sound like he was just clearing his throat again. He had never been told he had an accent before and she was the one with the accent according to his ears.
She sounded very regal. He couldn’t tell what her first language might have been, had she been on Earth, but he didn’t care. He just loved the way she sounded.
He shook his head slightly to snap his attention back to the question she had just asked him. What had it been?
Something about where he was from— yeah, that was it. He smiled at her and spoke again with his slightly deeper than normal voice.
“It’s called the United States of America. And we call ourselves Americans.”
“United States of America? I have never heard of such a place.”
“It’s not on this planet.”
“Ah, I see. That explains the great flash of light and your sudden appearance back in the forest. That must be how you got here. It all makes sense now.”
“You saw that?” Justin asked, reverting to his normal tone.
“It was quite surprising. I was out for a hunt for some Trisaknen fowl that my people consider delicacies. They are plentiful just past the border of Kelamosa, where you were found, and— after the bright rainbow light disappeared— I saw six of you lying on the ground. There are only five of you here. Where did the sixth go?”
“We think she got sent home.”
“If so, she is probably much safer now.”
“Totally.”
Lani watched as Justin and Tierza hit it off. She smiled at the fact that Justin was so obviously taken with Tierza. Some of his posture and mannerisms made her laugh as he continued to flirt.
Kendra’s smiles crinkled her nose as she teased Laern. Lani knew from the first moment she saw Laern that Kendra would like him. He was completely Kendra’s type after all.
Come to think of it, there were probably few women who would not be attracted to Laern. He had the whole mysterious-yet-still-a-good-boy vibe going for him— along with his super model good looks, well-muscled body, and natural charms.
Kendra had been searching far and wide for a guy like that on Earth. Lani thought perhaps Kendra had finally succeeded in finding her impossibly-tall order. Maybe he had been the motivation behind her wearing makeup this evening.
Meanwhile, Erik and Arante were making the most of their time together. The two of them talked and laughed freely as they snuggled on a very plushy couch in a teal sunken conversation area— not far from the cream colored area where Justin and Tierza stood. Every now and again, Erik and Arante would steal a kiss from one another and they periodically fed each other grapes.
Lani felt a little uncomfortable witnessing all of this. Love was blossoming all around her. She was very happy for the individuals. But she felt a deep stinging sensation in her heart as she beheld the contrast between the lovey-dovey couples and her and Jharate everywhere she turned.
Lani saw Jharate standing against one of the walls opposite her by one of the works of art— his eyes on Tierza and Justin. She felt a bubbling rage inside of her. Why is he still looking at her? Tierza had made her preference obvious.
Besides, Lani knew that Jharate still loved her! Whatever kind of stupid spell he was under was not wearing off fast enough— and enough was enough! Lani felt a rallying courage swell up within her, which precluded her usual wisdom. She marched directly to Jharate and launched straight into the heart of the matter.
“Haven’t we both suffered long enough, Jharate?”
No answer.
He did not look at her. He did not even move his eyes from Tierza and Justin.
Lani’s hands closed into fists as she tried to keep from exploding. She exhaled slowly through pursed lips. Then, with a deep breath, she tried again.
“Talk to me, Jharate. I know you can. We need to stop this. It is obvious that we are meant to be together. I’m sorry I was under a spell and I messed things up. But I had a vision and I know you are—”
Lani paused— remembering Karsenia’s warnings. But it felt as though she could safely tell him at least this one little part right now while no one was paying attention to them.
“You are under a spell, Jharate. Remember me! Remember us! Let’s stop wasting time. True love isn’t something that anyone should just throw away. It’s far too precious.”
“As you may recall, you are the one who terminated the relationship.”
“I know! Again, I was under a spell. I take back everything I said and did while under that spell— and I apologize deeply for all of the pain that I caused you. Can’t you just forgive me and move forward?”
“You will only do it again.”
His voice stayed in its normal quiet tone, but the frigidness of the words cut her worse than any knife ever could. She felt another jolt to her heart and she backed up a little as if she had been struck in the face.
“No, I won’t. I didn’t know a spell could do something like that before. I didn’t even know spells existed. I know now— so I can fight it.”
“You need to forget me and I need to forget you. It is too late. We are simply not meant to be. We did our utmost. We failed— and now it is over.”
“ ‘Our utmost’? Agree to disagree. It seems to me that ‘our utmost’ could not even begin before our first relationship challenge. And ‘It’s over’ is the worst excuse ever! You once told me that you would never do to me what Josiah did. Why don’t you keep that promise now?
“We don’t have to be over. It’s not like we cheated on each other! We just made some bad choices based on bad information. It happens sometimes. It’s forgivable. Most importantly— we can fix it.
“And you are under a spell! Think about it! Are you even acting like yourself? Is this how your parents raised you? Is this the person you know you have worked to become? If not, it makes sense that you are under a spell— and that you should fight it!”
Lani looked at him intently, hoping against hope that appealing to his logic might trigger something in his brain if his emotions could not be reached. A glimmer returned to his eyes and he paused much longer than before.
“No. It is simply over. And you must accept that fact.”
“I don’t want to accept that. I love you, Jharate. I love you!”
“You will only hurt me again. Furthermore, I do not wish to repair our relationship. Therefore, it is over.”
With that, he walked away. What little hope she had left faded as she watched his back get farther and farther away. She unconsciously leaned against the wall behind her as he disappeared from her view and stared at the point where she had last seen him.
Maybe Jharate is right. Maybe I do need to forget him. I can’t waste my whole life longing for the day that he might come back.
The words Jharate’s mother had spoken to her in the vision came flooding into her mind. But what could she do alone if Jharate refused to forgive her? She didn’t have the power to remove the spell. And Jharate showed no signs of getting out of it.
Tears stung Lani’s eyes. She looked up and tried to blink them back. She didn’t want to cry anymore. She was sick of it.
She never used to cry before she started dating. These guys had all driven her to tears. A few of the hot tears trickled down her cheeks.
No! Pull it together, Lani! You are not going to cry!
Lani defiantly wiped away the rogue tears from her chee
ks that had escaped her eyes and managed to hold back the rest. But despite her outward mastery, her heart and soul were crying louder and longer than a wolf cries to the moon.
Everything inside her ached for Jharate. But this could not go on. It was clear that getting over him was necessary for her mental, emotional, and maybe even her physical health. She simply couldn’t take this pain anymore.
She had given up a year of her life for him! If that wasn’t good enough to break him out of whatever spell he is under— nothing ever will be.
Even after saving his life, she had tried hard to fix their relationship— harder and longer than logic and self-respect should permit. Jharate is right. It is over.
She officially gave up.
Hitchhiking Elves
As morning came, the rebels arose with peaceful expressions. They had all slept more deeply than any of them had, since before they had started running. Besides the obvious luxurious comfort— there was something mystical about Alavnoran Sier that made them feel safe.
They quickly changed back into their own clothing and packed everything up. As they were in the process of gathering the rest of their things to leave, Tierza approached them— wearing the same outfit they had met her in— with her naturally elegant smile on her beautiful face and her sweet yet powerful tone of voice.
“My brother and I are coming with you.”
Arante froze in her tracks and turned to face Tierza.
“I’m not sure you want to do that. You probably shouldn’t leave your people without a leader. And we’ve managed this far on our own without you— mostly by your choice I might add— so you don’t have to worry about us now.”
“We appreciate your concern, Princess Arante— but Laern and I have a second-in-command who is more than capable of overseeing our kingdom whilst we assist you in your journey to Destavnia. We can easily return when we are ready to do so.”
Arante’s displeasure was etched into her face. She made no real attempt to cover it up either. She opened her mouth to speak again, but Jharate cut her off before she had the chance.
“We would be honored to have you and your brother, Laern, accompany us on our journey, Tierza.”
Arante turned her back and rolled her eyes, tensing her hands to contain her frustration. When she was sure she had gotten a hold of herself, she turned back, just in time to see Jharate smiling intently at Tierza.
Arante exhaled slowly through her lips and looked at Tierza to see what kind of a reaction Jharate’s advances were receiving. The right corner of Arante’s mouth went up into a smirk with a slight puff of air as she saw Tierza frowning at him. Arante smiled even wider when she heard the short, barely courteous tone with which Tierza replied.
“Thank you.”
Arante had to fight back a laugh as Tierza walked away from Jharate to stand, instead, at Justin’s side. She also noticed how quickly Laern— who was also in the identical battle outfit they had met him in— found Kendra and took his place next to her. But Arante felt indifferent about that match.
However, Arante was still severely irritated. Even if Tierza was not after Jharate, she did not want her with them on their journey. Tierza is so bossy! Worse— she’s useless!
Lani bit her tongue as she watched all of this. She was now one hundred percent positive that Jharate was trying to throw himself at Tierza in order to get over her.
Oh well. Tierza didn’t seem even the slightest bit interested, and it wasn’t her fault that Jharate was behaving like such a dingbat. Lani took a deep breath and decided to attempt to get over her unfounded resentment of Tierza— but realized that succeeding in doing so might take a while.
Justin, on the other hand, lit up as he realized that not only was Tierza by his side again— at this very moment— but, even better, he would not have to say goodbye to her just yet.
“Ah-hem!” Arante looked mainly at Erik and Lani as she spoke. “We should make it to the first town in Zenastra before nightfall. When we get there, we need to buy the five of you some different clothing, so that you won’t keep calling attention to yourselves.”
“Agreed,” Tierza chimed in, uninvited.
Arante shot a look of complete and utter disdain at Tierza, but said nothing. She simply picked up her bag and exited Alavnoran Sier to return to the outer mountain pass.
Once again, the elves have proven themselves useless! Arante derided in her mind. They could have given our five friends from Earth the clothing that they need! But all they were good for was loaning party outfits and pajamas for one night— and showing off their servants’ laundering and mending skills— in order to keep their precious house as pretentious as possible!
Lani and Erik kept close to Arante as she left, fuming. Everyone else followed in turn.
Drakne teleported back just in time to see them leaving Alavnoran Sier and followed them once more— still completely invisible to them. He had a wide smile on his face and a spring in his step.
Lani looked over her right shoulder, just a few feet behind her. She saw everyone she expected to see— but no one was in the spot where she was looking. She continued to walk, without pausing, but looked over her shoulder from time to time.
This feeling was not letting up. However, the last two times she had felt like this— she had been wrong. Unless she counted the kitten. She couldn’t shake the feeling that this was not a kitten, or anything of the sort— but she didn’t want to make a scene.
Raoul noticed. He looked where she looked, each time. He was certain that there was a reason behind her feelings but he couldn’t figure it out. At one point he stretched his hand out to touch where she kept staring. But there was nothing there.
Or, rather— Drakne dodged Raoul’s attempt by the narrowest of margins. Unbelievable! thought Drakne. Good thing she isn’t trusting herself anymore!
Lani finally shrugged her feeling off and did not look back again. And when she stopped trying to discover Drakne’s presence, so did Raoul. The spring in Drakne’s step returned and he continued to follow them.
No one spoke for a while. The silence was pleasant— almost welcome. All were focused on the path and going forward. The one drawback of this silence, however, was that the journey felt as if it were taking a lot longer than it really was. This wore on each person to a certain degree— but none more so than Justin, who began to sing.
“Ninety-nine bottles of milk on the wall! Ninety-nine bottles of milk! Take one down— pass it around! Ninety-eight bottles of milk on the wall!” Justin took a huge breath in and then continued. “Ninety-eight bottles of milk on the wall, ninety-eight bottles of milk! Take one down, pass it around—”
“Justin,” Kendra warned.
“Infinite bottles of milk on the wall. Infinite bottles of milk! Take one down, pass it around! Still infinite bottles of milk on the wall!”
“Justin!” Erik growled.
“No more bottles of milk on the wall. No more bottles of milk! Go to the store, buy some more! Ninety-nine bottles of milk on the—”
“Shut up, Justin!” Kendra, Erik, and even Raoul snapped in unison.
“What?!”
Lani laughed. It hadn’t really been annoying her. Probably because long gone were the days that Justin could annoy her with such a simple thing. She was surprised it had gotten to Raoul for the same reason. And it hadn’t seemed to have annoyed Tierza either. Wow. She must really like him!
“Can I at least sing The Misty Mountains Cold from The Hobbit?”
“If you must,” Kendra conceded.
“That would at least be better,” Erik agreed.
Raoul didn’t say anything but Justin took that as consent and began to sing the song. It was oddly appropriate. A fine mist materialized mere seconds after he started and the mountains were already cold and stark.
The tune was so haunting. So lovely. So moving. It actually helped calm Lani’s nerves. She was anxious to get out of this mountain pass. And she could tell everyone else felt the same way. But Ju
stin’s excellent singing voice, combined with that song, made it more bearable.
The last part of this journey was surprisingly treacherous. They were on a vague trail in a lava field with big, black, jagged, razor-sharp rocks, which threatened to trip anyone who did not pay close attention to their every step. Everyone became quiet once more in order to concentrate.
There was a sticky heat in this area that contrasted sharply with the cool temperature of the rest of the mountain pass. A tinge of sulfur wafted through the air. Lani saw rivulets of lava flowing in the distance. This only made her desire to keep on the path even stronger— for fear of a misstep plunging her through a thin volcanic crust to a ghastly death. She tried not to think about it.
To make matters worse, what had begun as a fine mist turned into a thick fog. It rolled in lightning-fast and soon Lani could barely even see Raoul— who was directly in front of her. Her ears echoed with the sporadic sounds of owls hooting as their wings flapped soundlessly— almost floating through the mist.
Despite the heat that had existed only moments ago, she could feel the cool fog on her skin as droplets formed on her eyelashes and arm hair. She wasn’t dressed properly for the suddenly-cooler climate and she began to shiver as she walked forward— holding tightly onto Raoul’s shoulders.
They all stayed close together— knowing that if they were to wander even a little bit off of the trail, they would surely be hopelessly lost in the impenetrable fog.
Tierza and Laern were the only two not having any difficulty, whatsoever. Every last pebble of their mountainous homeland was known to them.
Additionally, elven eyesight was vastly superior to human eyesight. They were able to see quite well in the fog. And so they helped keep everyone together. Although Tierza had to fight the urge to let Arante wander off the trail several times.
After a seeming eternity of walking through the ominous haze, they reached the point where the mountains opened up. The fog began to thin and Lani could see the shape of a small town— situated on a picturesque green hill— just on the other side of the same verdant green valley they now stood on the edge of.