“Well now, don’t go, I’ve only just met you.”
But it was too late; I had already turned around and was heading back to Ben and Emerlee. I wanted to meet my biological father, but he petrified me. In just a few sentences, I could see how charming he was, just as my mother said. I ran into Ben’s arms as tears fell from my eyes. I had made a mistake. I wanted to go.
“Is everything okay?” Ben asked as he tried to wipe the tears from my face.
I was still dizzy and felt sick to my stomach. I couldn’t even find the words to speak as Ben held me tight.
“I want to go,” was all I could manage to say.
We began walking towards the stairs; Ben was guiding me, as I was still shaky from meeting my birth father.
When we passed the young blond woman once more, she began calling out to me, “Please Sweetheart. Please be careful. You have the baby to think about.”
Chapter 16
I stopped.
I walked to her cell as Ben and Emerlee remained behind. When I reached her cell, I said softly, “What baby?”
“Oh my, you don’t know?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about!” I hissed.
“Well...I guess it is too soon.” She looked me up and down.
“What’s too soon? What baby are you talking about?”
“My dear, you are pregnant!”
I gave her a strange look. The woman must have been crazy. How could she know I was pregnant just by looking at me?
“Who are you?” I asked.
“I am the Queen.” she replied.
“But the Queen is upstairs, she is running the castle.”
“She is not the Queen, she is my younger sister. She took my crown from me and threw me in the dungeon. I am the real Queen…that is, until our true King is born. Come closer, let me have a look.”
I didn't move; I didn’t trust her. This woman seemed out of her mind. When I didn’t move in, she moved as close to me as she could. She looked me up and down, then shut her eyes and was silent. When she opened them she said, “You are my kin, I can feel it. And your baby,” she smiled, “he will rule all of this one day. After I die...he will be King, the true King, born from our bloodline. He will be the first of our line with fairy, superhuman and vampire in his blood.”
As she continued, I felt intrigued by her words, but she was scaring me. I started to walk away.
“Please be careful my dear. She will kill your son. She think’s she is the true Queen, but she is not,” the woman called out.
Suddenly I felt sick and dizzy all at once. I felt like I was going to be sick, but nothing came out. My hands began to tremble, and a feeling of death washed through my entire body. I was terribly freaked out by everything going on. By the time I reached Ben and Emerlee, I felt like I could hardly stand.
Ben looked at me and said, “Are you okay? You’re as white as a ghost?” That was all I heard, because moments later, all went dark.
When I opened my eyes, I was back in our room. Ben was looking over me with a very worried look on his face.
“Are you okay? You collapsed.”
“I need to speak to my aunt!” I said immediately.
“You need to rest. You must still be ill from bringing your mother back.”
“No,” I cried, “Please get my aunt.”
“Okay,” he said as he kissed me and left the room.
When he returned with my aunt, I asked Ben to leave. He seemed agitated by my request, but he did what I asked.
As soon as my aunt entered the room, I said, “Aunt Allison, can you tell if a woman is pregnant?”
She raised her eyebrows and said, “I’m not really sure. I have never tried.”
“Could you...try?”
“On who?” she asked, looking confused.
“Me.”
My aunt slapped her hand over her mouth, smiled and said, “My God, do you think you’re pregnant?
“Please don’t say anything, can you just try. I don’t think they have pregnancy tests here. I need to know”
“Sure, I can try.” She smiled, then lit some candles and turned off the lights. She sat down on the bed and placed her hand on my stomach. She shut her eyes and began to concentrate. After a few moments she pulled her hand away and squealed. “Miranda, I felt it! The baby! Its tiny, but I felt its energy.”
“He,” I said, “It’s a he.”
“How do you know?”
I explained to her what happened in the dungeon. She looked shocked and worried all at the same time. The woman was right, I was pregnant, but how could I know if everything else was the truth. I didn’t know what to do.
“Can you send Ben back? I need to tell him. Please don’t tell anyone else.”
My aunt nodded and left the room. Ben returned shortly after. He looked very worried.
When he sat down on the bed he said, “What’s wrong Baby?”
I sat there quietly for several moments as I thought about everything he said only a few months back about never wanting children. I recalled how he told me he never wanted to outlive another child. My stomach felt sour and I began to gag. I held my hand over my mouth as I tried not to vomit. Ben quickly grabbed a trashcan and held it in front of me. After a few minutes, the sick feeling faded away and I gestured for Ben to pull the trashcan away.
“Please just tell me what’s wrong. I love you so much, Miranda. Tell me you’re okay,” he said as he sat on the bed and rubbed my shoulder.
I took a few deep breaths as my hands trembled in fear. “Ben I’m not ill,” I said softly. Ben looked a little puzzled as he waited for me to continue. So I said, “Ben, I’m pregnant.”
Ben jumped up and threw his hands in the air. “A baby! I’m going to be a dad!” He smiled and started walking around in circles. It was like he had forgotten that only a few months ago, he told me he didn’t want children ever again. His reaction was shocking, but I felt relieved.
Once Ben settled down, I proceeded to tell him everything the woman in the dungeon had told me. I told Ben that my aunt Allison had verified that I was truly pregnant and we were having a son. Ben was overjoyed, but terrified all at once. The two of us were going to be parents, but we had to do something to protect our child from the crazy Queen. I always knew the Queen was insane, but after confirming the woman from the dungeon’s theory of my pregnancy, I knew something was very wrong with the Queen. There were only a few people on the realm that we could trust, and we needed their help.
“We need my mom,” I said. “We need my mom and aunt’s help. We should keep this between the four of us for now. I don’t even know if I can trust Roger.”
“I agree. I’ll go get them.”
Ben left and returned quickly with my mom and aunt.
“Is everything okay?” my mother asked.
“Mom, I’m pregnant!”
She threw her hand over her mouth and quickly hugged me. “I’m so happy for you!” she cried.
“Mom, we don’t know what to do. If the Queen finds out...I think she will kill our son.” I quickly told my mom about the woman in the dungeon.
My mother frowned. “I have only met with the Queen a few times, and I think you’re right. She comes across as self-center and manipulative. I don’t trust her either, but can we trust the woman who claims to be her sister?”
“What about Melody, Laura and Sean?” Ben asked, “Can we trust them?”
“I don’t know…” my mother said, “I would say yes, but we don’t know how they feel about the Queen. What if the Queen has them manipulated them just as her other companions? Is that a risk we want to take?”
“What about Roger?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” my aunt cried. “The more we get to know him, the more trustworthy he seems. But he did lie to us, and the Queen has been controlling him for a long time.”
“I would feel best if we keep this between the four of us,” Ben said.
“I agree,” I added. “But what do we d
o? I don’t really know how far along I am, and what happens when I begin to show? We have to figure something out...soon!”
“What if we try to kill the Queen?” Ben asked.
My mom, aunt and I all made faces, “She’s still family.” I said carefully. Then I said, “I don’t even know if that’s possible.”
“What if we try to go back to Pine Lake? We would have the warriors, powerful fairies and superhumans at our side.” My aunt suggested. “Your son would be much safer back home, and we are getting much better at magic.”
“That’s a good idea, but the Queen said it’s too difficult to open another portal, and the two of us don’t even have full fairy power.” I looked at my mom, “Mom, doesn’t even know her powers yet or how to use them. What if we try talking to the Queen’s sister? Mom, you could go with me. If anyone asks questions, we can just tell them we are visiting Taylor again.”
“We could try?” she said. “ I mean...I guess it couldn’t hurt.”
It was agreed. My mother and I would speak to the Queen’s sister the next day, and we would go from there.
The next morning, my mother fetched me very early. The two of us were going to visit the Queen’s sister before the rest of the castle woke. The dungeon was guarded, but they wouldn’t be suspicious, as Taylor was my biological father. It made sense for me to want to see him. The two of us went down the dreadful dungeon, and headed to the cell where the blond woman was held.
When we reached her cell, my mother and I walked towards it. We stopped just close enough to talk to her, but far enough from harm's way. When the woman saw us again, she smiled. “You returned.”
“You were right,” I said, “I am pregnant.”
“Well of course,” she said, “I am old, and I may not be able to do magic in the dungeon, but my power is strong. I could feel your son the moment you walked past my cell. Your son is very…very powerful! I could feel our connection.” She looked at my mother and smiled, “You are my kin as well. Our blood is very close. You are my...great-niece?”
“Well...the Queen is my grandmother. You would be correct,” my mother responded. Then her face tightened in concern, “We don’t know what to do. We are trapped on Sidhe. The Queen has many vampire guards and companions. What do we do?”
The woman looked thoughtful. She looked at me and said, “If you can help me escape, I may be able to help send you home.”
“How can we trust you?” my mother asked.
She smiled kindly, then she began to tell her story, “My sister and I are the strongest fairies in existence; we are the original fairies. I was created first. I am the fairy of order. Many…many…many years ago, I created order in the universe—among the humans and among the supernatural. I ruled Sidhe alone as Queen. Sidhe is where all magic originated from.”
She paused and took a step forward, “As I was the only fairy, too much order was abundant and balance was needed. There was no joy, excitement or creativity. People lived and people died with no purpose, except that of order. I created my sister to add chaos—excitement. Chaos would balance order.”
My mother and I nodded our heads in interest as she continued with her story. “My sister and I created fairies from ice and sent them to earth to watch over the humans.”
“Yes,” my mother said smiling, “We know of the ice fairies, many of them live in our town.”
The Queen’s sister smiled at my mother and nodded her head. She took a deep breath and continued, “For many years, all was well and the universe was balanced.” She frowned, “One day my sister grew jealous and bored and wanted to take over Sidhe. As Queen, I always strived for balance, but my sister wanted only chaos. Desmorelda only wanted what was best for her…and to have fun. I soon realized I had made a mistake by creating a single fairy to balance me.” She paused and frowned, “I refused to let chaos rule the universe, and I tried to keep her under control. My sister grew angry and created new creatures—the vampires and superhumans. She began sending her creatures to the earth to overwhelm the balance.”
She took another deep breath in as she held onto the bar in front of her, “Not only did she send her superhumans and vampire’s to earth, but she brought humans to Sidhe. She purposely mated with a human who had superhuman DNA in his blood. Roger was born...a new line of fairies were created—the dark fairies.”
I could feel my eyes growing in interest as she told her story, “As chaos took over, my sister needed control. Instead of using my order to create balance, she collected ice fairies, vampires and superhumans from earth to help her take over Sidhe Realm. With her minions, she was able to remove me from the throne and take full control.”
The Queen’s sister bit her lip and frowned, “I have been in the dungeon for years. She kept her son around as a pet, abusing him and taking his powers away. She lied and told him he was vile. Roger isn’t a vile and never was. He is only good and always has been. He was just damaged from her abuse.”
My mom and I both gasped.
The Queen’s sister huffed, “Desmorelda sent Roger to earth for a short time to find a mate. She wanted Roger to create grandchildren.” She shook her head, “More new toys, more objects to control, more minions.
“Roger met his human wife, but was much too damaged to be a husband or father. When Roger spiraled out of control, my sister brought him back. Desmorelda found out about her grandchildren, and made it her mission to bring the two of you here. She didn’t even know she had a great-granddaughter—I didn’t either.” She stopped for a moment so we could take it all in.
She continued, “The truth is; we are flawed. Being two separate fairies, there is chance that one can always overpower the other. Without balance in the universe, all supernatural and human life will spiral out of control. There is one solution, and that is the true fairy king.”
I looked deep into her eyes and moved closer to her cell. “Now that vampires and superhumans roam the earth and have mated with humans, there is no ending their kind. The true fairy king will have blood from all supernatural beings—born from a fairy and superhuman mother, with a vampire father. He must also be from our bloodline. I have been waiting in this dungeon a long time for this baby to be conceived. In order for your son to take the throne, both my sister and I must die. Your son will be both fairy of chaos and order. He will be the fairy of balance.”
My Mom and I both gasped, “I am willing to give me life, but my sister will not.” She looked at me, “If she finds out you are pregnant with a vampire’s child, she will kill you, before the baby is even born. She will remove any threat to her crown.”
“So what do we do?” I cried.
“First we must protect your child. Your child is not safe here. The ice fairies of earth can protect him. The Queen may send her minions, but she will never leave her realm. We must kill my sister, and when she is dead, I will end my life.”
“This is the only way?” I asked feeling disappointed by her probable sacrifice.
“This is the only way,” she replied. “If we do not kill Desmorelda, the universe will eventually turn so chaotic, all life as we know it will end. The storms on earth are already brewing, but it will only grow worse. There will be unending storms, torrential hurricanes, explosive volcanic eruptions and uncontrolled weapons that will destroy humanity. It may take many years, but life cannot be sustained by so much chaos.”
I gasped as I remembered the sudden outbreak of storms back on earth. The unexplainable tornado that touched down and days of volatile storm—it all made sense. The world was coming to an end, and my son was the only salvation.
Chapter 17
My mother and I headed back to our rooms. The two of us were completely silent on the way up as we had a lot to take in. We needed to talk with Ben and my aunt before taking any action. The four of us met in my room once more, and my mother and I shared what we learned. My aunt and Ben were in shock and we all wondered—could we trust the Queen’s sister?
The four of us debated for a lon
g while, but it was obvious, our number one priority was sending my unborn child and I back to Pine Lake. We had to take a chance and release the Queen’s sister. It would be difficult to release her, but we had to find a way. Once we released the Queen’s sister, we would open a portal, and I would return to Pine Lake alone.
Once I returned to Pine Lake, I would use the ice fairies magic to protect my baby and me. With the help of the safe room and the warriors, we hoped the fairies could keep my baby and I safe. Once my son was born, I would leave him behind, protected by the ice fairies magic. I would return with any help I could find, to save the others and kill the Queen. Our plan was long winded, but our only hope.
“I want my son out of her as soon as possible. I think we should send Miranda back tonight,” Ben said softly.
“I don’t really know how to use magic yet,” My mom cried.
“I can spend the day showing you,” Aunt Allison said.
“You’re right Ben. We need to protect our son, but I’m not ready to leave you…any of you” I cried. “There has to be some way we can all go back.”
“Miranda, we don’t have enough power to send all of us back. Only you. You have to get your son to Pine Lake and bring back help. It’s the only way.”
“But the Queen…what will she do to you?”
“She will probably throw us in the dungeon…but it’s fine. I have faith that your dad will send an army to rescue us,” my mom said with a hopeful smile.
I nodded my head and hoped she was right.
“We need more help,” my aunt cried. “The three of us can’t take out the dungeon guards and create a portal on our own…even with the Queen’s sister’s help.”
I nodded my head.
“What about Melody, Laura and Sean. Can we trust them?”
“I think so,” my mom said, “They are good superhumans—we’ve fought side-by-side before.”
“What about Roger?” I asked. “Three fairies aren’t enough to open a portal. I’ve looked into it. The magic is much too strong, and it will kill the three of you.”
The Portal to Sidhe: Book 1 Page 18