Xavier led Sparrow into the Palace. A beautiful young woman with long blonde hair and a gorgeous smile said, “Sparrow, welcome to our family. I’m Teagan.”
“Hello.” Sparrow extended her hand but was given a warm hug instead.
The woman exuded a sweet kindness that made Sparrow feel like she actually belonged. A male stood at the woman’s side. He was a warrior with white eyes and light-grey hair, but his lethalness was disguised by the expensive suit he wore. Soon, Sparrow had met more people than she could ever remember. Xavier stayed beside her. Everyone she met already seemed to know everything there was to know about her.
Like a chill upon her flesh, something sent Sparrow’s inner alarms blaring. From the corner of her eye, she saw a huge monster gliding toward them on several long legs. Sparrow was too frightened to scream but not to climb. Before she knew it, she had her legs wrapped around Xavier’s neck and had her hands fisted in his short brown hair.
“Run!” she yelled at him.
A long, drawn out silence erupted into gales of laughter. The monster made a chittering sound at her.
Once Teagan had stopped laughing, she wiped at her eyes. “This is Thunderdrop. He won’t hurt you. He’s my bonded Arachnean Silk spider and dearest friend.”
“Chirp!” Thunderdrop said before scampering off to play with a ball.
Xavier looked up at Sparrow and laughed at her. With a frown, she popped him on top of his head. He laughed harder.
“Here. Let me help you down,” said Nico. The man was taller than anyone she had ever before seen. He took her from Xavier’s shoulders and put her to her feet. Sparrow came up somewhere around the man’s elbows.
“Do you want to pet him?” Teagan asked.
Sparrow froze.
“Maybe after she becomes more settled,” Xavier said on her behalf. “Teagan, may we borrow your barge this evening?”
“Of course!”
Once the captain had them out on the lake, Sparrow and Xavier held hands and looked out over the water and up at the majestic mountains.
“What do you think of your new home world?”
Sparrow gazed in wonder at the sky as it turned a deeper shade of orange, at the tall trees, the mountains, and the still water. She pointed down at the lake. “Can we get in that?” she asked.
“Yes, but it is very cold.”
“Can we walk out in that forest and climb the big rocks?”
“Yes.”
“When?” She looked up at his face with eagerness written all over her own expression.
“Can you wait until daylight?”
“Yes, that would be prudent. I want to explore everything outside. What was that?” Sparrow asked excitedly as she pointed up.
“A falcon.”
Sparrow jumped when a fish splashed in the lake. “What was that?”
“A fish.” Xavier had a grin from ear to ear. His wife had never before experienced nature, and each and everything mystified her. She made the world new to him and showed him beauty and wonder where before he had taken it for granted.
“Things really live in there? I’ve seen such things in documentaries and in my studies, but it’s real. That was alive. Everything here is alive.”
Xavier put his arms around his wife. She was right. Everything was vibrant and alive, especially his soul, and it was all because of her.
The End
Thank you for reading Xavier’s story! If you enjoyed it, please let me know by leaving a review on Amazon. I would love to hear from you. Next, I have plans for Jazon. Are you interested?
Xavier: An Omnes Videntes Novel Page 16