Bloodlines

by Trisha Lynn

Chapter Twenty-Four

  As she lay on the unfamiliar - yet ridiculously comfortable – bed, she took a deep breath. As confusing and messed up as her emotions were, three things were clear. These were her parents. There was no doubt. The physical resemblances were undeniable and shocking. Secondly, she believed them. All of it. Every bit. Their sincerity had come off them in waves, and with her renewed senses it was hard to deny. Thirdly, and more surprisingly then all of it, was the absence of that restless feeling that had been plaguing her for months. She felt, oddly, at peace. Even if she was emotionally at turmoil, she still felt a sense of calm. Just being here settled everything within her. She felt accepted, at peace, and not crazy like she thought she was. Her fears of a mental institute in her future were gone, at least for now.

  In the human realm she had been starting to feel uncomfortable in her own skin. Now she felt alive. She buzzed with energy from deep within her core, but was unusually calm at the same time. It was a weird mixture, but it wasn't exactly unpleasant.

  She thought back to the castle tour. Her parents had taken her to every room, every nook and cranny. She'd asked a thousand questions. She'd discovered that magic was all around them. Each light in the castle was made of flames or other magical glowing orbs, and that the castle manager was in charge of ensuring that the magic remained strong, especially during the night. She learned that magic lives in the earth and you must remain closer to its natural abundance for magic to pulse and feed. That is why there are trees, flowers, vines and water everywhere within the castle so that the magic can be alive throughout it. Each Fae pulls it's magic from the energy around them and within them, and being around natural things, keeps your magic alive and thriving.

  In the human realm the magic is dulled because the earth is not taken care of. The pollution and chemicals in the air, ground and water make it nearly impossible for magic to thrive. The humans are slowly killing off their Goddess, or mother Earth. The Queen - her mother - spoke often of the Earth Goddess, named Lh'eanah. Their religious and spiritual beliefs were something that Adeila would have to learn someday. She felt lost when they spoke of such things, and it proved that not growing up here had left her completely in the dark. She tried not to feel bitter, but she hated that she understood so little about the Fae world. She hoped that with time she could pick things up.

  On the tour her favorite spot had easily been the library. It was right at the heart of the large oak tree in the center of the castle. One level housed book shelves, wooden tables and comfortable couches; the next was a loft level that had smaller bookcases and seats carved right into the large branches, she'd also noticed several hammocks tied along the branches. It was a haven, a quiet spot to think and read and she looked forward to spending time there. Not that she'd probably have time over the weekend. She expected they'd keep her pretty busy, but she liked that she knew a spot to find peace and quiet.

  She was thrilled when they showed her to her own room, which was only a hallway away from the library. It wasn't until she caught her own reflection in the mirror that she completely came unglued. Her father had left her, but her mother had remained to pick up the pieces of her shock; explaining everything that Loki had already told her. The image in the mirror was her own, there was no mistaking it, and the changes may outwardly seem fairly insignificant, but to her it was breathtakingly different.

  Her skin was slightly more tanned and glowed, as if there was a light from within her body. She'd already known her body had changed by feeling it, and what she could see from her eyes, but it was her reflection that glowed and seemed so much... More.

  Her eyes were exact replicas in color and shape as her fathers. In the human realm they had been an unusually light blue, here in this realm, they were ringed with lighter blue, almost white. The very outer circle was slightly darker than the rest, giving her eyes multicolored rings. Her nose, brows and cheeks were of her mothers.

  Standing next to the woman in the mirror showcased that. Her body was also similar to that of her mother’s; long and willowy with slender bone structure. Her hair was the perfect mixture between the two parents. Dark and light blonde highlights over a very light brown base; the multicolored dimensions almost as mesmerizing as that of her eyes. The package was much like that of her human reflection, but everything was just showcased in a brighter, more otherworldly way.

  It was astounding, she'd never felt more beautiful or alive or confident. She truly felt like she could wear a brown paper bag and still look beautiful. It was a confidence so few could ever wish to obtain. No wonder all the Fae were so otherworldly stunning and unapologetically confident.

  After talking to her mother for a few hours, learning everything she could and her mother learning everything she could about her, they had confirmed that it was just too much for Adeila to dine with everyone and instead they ordered dinner up to them, just as Loki had suggested to Sorryn. The King made a brief appearance again, and seemed thrilled that they were getting along so well. During his visit to her room, she had promised them two days. Two full days to see the Fae realm in all its glory, mystery and luster. Adeila knew in her heart that this just might be where she belonged, but there was much in the human realm that she felt she'd leave undone. Without a doubt she'd need to return there to at least finish out high school. This world may be hers yet, but she wanted to be a normal teenage girl just a bit longer.

  It was uplifting to have her mother want to learn so much about her. She'd never experienced that. It was also kind of fun having to explain things to her that she didn't know about the human realm, it was a nice change from her learning things about the Fae realm. Her mother asked her a lot about her human mom and her human family, and Adeila made no qualms to lie. She told her exactly how they were. All tech savvy and emotionless. It brought Deleana to tears, and Adeila felt bad but she wasn't going to lie or sugar coat anything. She had no interest in making them feel bad at this point, but she did still have a tiny trace of bitterness in her heart for them not coming to find her sooner. Even a few years sooner would have made all the difference. She missed out on a real family to love, to share things with, to grow with. She missed out on a childhood of compassion that these two people were already showing her in such a short time. She felt completely excluded from a life that she could have led here. It felt as though her real life, the one she was supposed to lead, had been taken away from her when they'd left her in the human world almost eighteen years ago. She felt like she may always feel a small bit of bitterness for that fact.

  When the subject of school was breached, Deleana, of course, didn't understand most of the classes that she was taking, but seemed very interested when Adeila explained biology to her. She also let slip about her love for planting flowers, and her own little rock flower garden that she'd agonized over.

  Deleana had clasped her hands together. “Oh, Adeila, sweetheart you must be like me. You have an affinity for the Earth. Your father is of Earth as well, but even he cannot bloom things, he has more of an intuitive connection with the Earth. He can hear the plants growing, and feel horses’ hooves on the Earth from miles and miles away just by touching his face to a blade of grass. I, on the other hand, can manipulate and heal it, as I'm sure you can from the sounds. Everything you grow will have more life, more color, and bloom more often and bigger. You will enjoy such a power immensely, once you are trained in it. I can show you much of that myself.”

  Adeila was excited about that. She'd known it was unusual at the time, that the blooms of her little rock garden flowers were huge and immensely colorful, now she knew why. Her mother seemed so pleased at the prospect, and the happiness bubbled over into her, she couldn't help the wide smile that engraved her face the remainder of the night.

  All in all, the experience so far was more amazing then she'd anticipated. She had briefly touched upon the whole betrothal thing, but Deleana had simply whisked the thought away. “We will worry of that another time, it is something that I am sure can be undone i
f that is your choosing. Nothing to worry of now.“

  So Adeila decided she would indeed heed that advice and worry of it on a later date since it could be undone.

  She couldn't help but feel thankful, and the weight seemed to shift from her shoulders. Two days. She had given them two days, to tell her and show her everything they felt was important for her to hear and see. She knew they were going to try to change her mind, to get her to stay, and she was willing to let them try, but she knew deep down she needed to return. She needed to confront her parents, she needed to say a real good bye to her friends, to say a real goodbye to Erik and cut him loose officially. She still felt like she'd push it off until she graduated, at the very least. The human world was the only one she'd known for the past seventeen plus years, she couldn't just leave it without a backward glance, could she?

  .~.

  Finally exhaustion hit her limbs, hard, and she fell into a fitful sleep. She awoke only a few hours later with hot sweats and violent shaking and trembling from within. She heard voices and felt a cold cloth on her forehead. She fell again into slumber but what seemed like mere moments later, awoke to hushed voices.

  “I'm surprised it only took this short of time for her Fae blood to force the change like this. I would have thought it would have taken at least two or three days, like it had Kami.”

  “She is stronger in will and bloodline than Kami. The doorway and realm responded to her instantly... and we forget she was actually born here.”

  This voice she recognized and she tossed in the bed. Why was he in her room? Didn't they believe in privacy here?

  The next time she woke, lifting her head up slightly, she saw a large glass of ice water next to her on the night stand. She lifted shaky limbs to grab the cup and gulped down the clear liquid, she felt so parched. She felt achy all over, rundown and feverish, like she'd been sick with the flu. She then remembered the hot sweats, and the voices and the cold cloths. Had they poisoned her?

  She lifted herself from the bed. Still feeling groggy, her body tingled all over, she looked over at the dresser, with the large mirror above it and caught the reflection of herself in the moonlight. Her skin seemed to glow even more in the darkness. It must be a trick of the light in this Fae realm making everyone and everything seem so ethereal. She lay back down in the ridiculously puffy and soft blankets and was out again.

  Her dreams were vivid. A steel gray wolf sat next to her on a stump in a moss filled forest. She absently ran her fingers through the thick fur of his shoulder; it was coarse but soft all at once. She felt her fingertips glide through the pelt, and the amber eyes of the wolf looked out over the land that stretched in front of them. A feeling of camaraderie and peace settled over her. Like this animal and she, were teammates of some kind.

  Then the dream flitted to a golden colored horse. It wasn't until she walked up to the animal that she saw what graced its forehead. A long ivory horn. A unicorn.

  This was insane, even in her dream land she knew this was insane. But in her heart she was happy to see the animal, and not a stitch of fear settled over her. Only peace, recognition and... Love. She was so happy, in fact, of seeing him in her dream, that she ran up and threw her arms around his thick, silken neck. The horse made a gentle whinny noise, and leaned his head down across her back, clearly returning the affection.

  She thought back to the tapestry she'd seen hanging in the castle, were Unicorn’s real? Her dreaming mind even questioned such a thing.

  Next the dream threw her into a wildflower meadow; she was walking next to Loki, his hand in hers. His golden eyes peaked at her from below dark inked lashes. Her other hand trailed over the tops of dark purple lupines, brilliant yellow sunflowers and tall multi-colored wildflowers, she had no idea the names of. She physically gulped, and tried to push this from her dream. She could not handle dreaming of him.

  Then she was running. Running for her life. A black panther like creature chasing her, his hot breath on her bared calves. Her hair whipped across her face, and branches stung as they dug across her bare arms and the thin silk of her night gown.