Tatyanna

by Lindsay Johnston

  “Walk with me, m'lady,” he said softly, not demanding, but she knew he wouldn't take no for an answer. She gently placed her hand in his and was fascinated by how huge his hand was, and how it engulfed her own nicely.

  They walked in silence, and she thanked her lucky stars she finally found peace and quiet, even if it was in the presence of the bastard.

  “I'm sorry,” he said mutely. Tatyanna turned her head sharply at his words. She could tell he wasn't one to apologize often, but when he was in the wrong, he would admit to it.

  “I know I screwed up, but when I saw you, all thought and reason flew out of my head. I instantly knew who you were. I always carried a picture of what I thought you'd look like in my mind, but actually seeing you there, right in front of me. You blew me away. When I'm nervous, I say stupid things, I do stupid things, and I am sorry.”

  Tatyanna didn't say anything at first, but she could tell that he meant his words and she nodded her head. “Then, I'm sorry, too. I let my anger get the better of me.”

  “Are you sorry for slapping me?”

  “No, I'm sorry for trying to drown your town.”

  Marek laughed, rubbing the back of his neck with his other hand. “Yeah, I've been getting grief about that all afternoon. It wasn't one of my best moments, and it's not something my people will just forget about.”

  They came to a giant structure that had a ladder attached to it. “Are you game?” Marek asked, pointing to it. “It's the best seat in the house.”

  Tatyanna strained her neck to see how high the platform went, and saw it wasn't very wide. She looked behind her at the people milling about, and grabbed onto the ladder quite eager to get away from it all.

  She paced herself, and finally made it to the top in a few minutes. Tatyanna waited for Marek, and was surprised they were overlooking a giant camp fire. The tips of the fire were almost as high up as they were and she was surprised.

  “What is this?”

  Marek didn't answer her, because he could see his men and people forming a circle around the campfire, chanting his name. He lifted the hood off his face, and Tatyanna saw he was younger than when they first met. Gone was the pasty skin and wrinkles, and in its place was a face that could easily pass for at least sixty.

  “What is happening to you?” she asked. “How is it possible you are getting younger?”

  Marek grasped both her hands into his. “Do you trust me?”

  “I...I...I...” she stammered. “I don't know. I hardly know you.”

  “I am sorry. It is hard to explain, and easier if you just watched.”

  “What are you talking about?” she asked confused.

  Marek leaned forward, and kissed her on the mouth. Two men in one day, this was a record for her. But, the kiss was different from Cale's. This one was more intense, like there were fireworks going off in her mouth. His lips were just as warm, but with a determined purpose behind them.

  “Forgive me,” he whispered to her, letting go of her hands to take a running start, then leaping off the platform, and into the fire.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  The Phoenix

  Tatyanna stood in shock as she watched Marek fling himself off the platform toward the raging fire below them. She screamed out in agony as she felt a part of herself fall with him. She almost ran off the platform after him, when a giant black bird flew in front of her forcing her to step back. She stared in amazement as the bird dropped down next to her, and she watched Emmett unfold from a squatting position into himself. She knew he could change into other animals, but other than her memory as a child, this was the first time she saw him do it. It threw her off for a second, before she remembered Marek was falling to his death.

  She grabbed onto Emmett's arm, and turned to him with pleading eyes, “Emmett, you have to get him,” she begged.

  Emmett gently placed his hands on hers, trying to get her to loosen her grip on him and just smiled at her. “He is okay. You have to trust him.” He then turned Tatyanna toward the bonfire, and she watched as Marek's people cheered him on.

  The scene unfolding before her eyes was breathtakingly beautiful and sad. She saw Marek's body flow downwards toward the top of the fire, and he hung suspended in the flames, as if he were floating on top of it. She saw the flames weaving in and out of his body, but his body stayed the same, no burn marks or anything to reflect that he was on a bed of fire. The flames grew, starting to take shape. Before her eyes, Tatyanna saw yellows, oranges, and reds blend together to create a bird. The same bird before her was the exact same one tattooed on her wrist. The bird continued to grow in shape, until it filled the whole sky. The fire raged on, as if the growth of the bird spurred the flames on.

  The phoenix stood proudly in front of all the people, but when it made eye contact with Tatyanna it bowed toward her, leaning over to kiss the tribal phoenix tattoo on her wrist. She stared in utter amazement as her tattoo took life, and rose from her arm to greet the bigger of the two. In seconds, both birds disappeared. Tatyanna looked down at her tattoo and saw it was no longer a plain tribal tattoo, but a miniature version of the one she just stared at, colors and all. She brought her hand closer to her face, and could have sworn she saw it wink at her. She quickly dropped her hand, chalking it up to her overactive imagination, and went toward the edge of the platform to check on Marek.

  She looked down to the flames and saw Marek's body start to change. When they met hours earlier, he was an elderly man, but the heat from the flames burned his skin away to reveal a younger version of the man. Gone were the wrinkles and gray hair, left in his place was a young man, she placed to be in his late twenties, with a taunt muscular body. He laid in the ashes, naked as the day he was born. Tatyanna couldn't help but to gawk at him.

  His chest was broad, and she could see the indentations of every individual muscle in his entire body. She took in the smattering of dark hair around his belly that went south, and tried to show him some respect and not look any further, but she had seen enough to show her he wasn't lacking in that department. Not that it mattered to her, she didn't like him that way. She forced her eyes back up his body, and saw his hair becoming darker until it grew past his shoulders into wavy locks, she was tempted to touch his hair, to see if it was as soft as it looked. The last change to appear was the stubble showing off his wide chin, giving him a very distinguished look.

  Tatyanna knew this man. This was the grown up version of the boy she had been dreaming about back at her castle. She was linked to him in a way she wasn't quite sure how, or if, she even wanted to know.

  Tatyanna understood why he didn't tell her. She didn't think she would have believed it, even if he tried. How could one explain they could reverse the aging process in a matter of minutes? This wasn't Hollywood, but it was a magical land.

  Suddenly, their conversation earlier when she initially met him made sense. He wasn't expecting her. He was hoping she would come after his birthday so he would be his true self, and not the older man. It was easier to be a jerk to someone, if they didn't know who you were. She smiled.

  “What are you smiling about?” Emmett asked beside her.

  Tatyanna had forgotten he was even there. “I think I understand what he was trying to do earlier.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He came off as a jerk, but I think he was just trying to keep me away. He handled the situation wrong, but I can understand why now. What happened to him?”

  Emmett turned back toward the fire to see that the fire was dying down, and Marek's body was being lowered down into the ashes. “It is the power of the Phoenix. Every year, he will age into an old man. On the day of his birthday, he will be reborn, but one year older.”

  “Does he have to jump into a fire to accomplish that?”

  “No,” Emmett said smiling. “It's something he started to do when he was in his teens. Now, he does it more for his people than himself. He wanted to stay inside tonight, but he had already promised his men. This will
be the last time he ages.”

  “Why?” she asked curiously. Watching as Marek's men came forward with water and towels to clean him off.

  Emmett simply stared off into the darkness. He turned his head to meet her eyes and smiled. Tatyanna sighed. “Yeah, yeah. You can't tell me. Blah, blah, blah. It's all a big mystery,” she responded sarcastically.

  “At least you are getting the hang of things here. Come on. I'll walk you back to your room. Any other questions you have can wait until tomorrow. You need to talk to Marek.”

  “Will he answer me?” she asked as she climbed down the steep ladder.

  “One can only hope,” came her friend's vague response.

  Cale watched from a distance as Tatyanna and her shadow, Emmett, descended from the platform. He stood there, stewing. He had seen the whole exchange between the fool Marek and her. He felt himself losing Tatyanna, and he couldn't fail Larik again. He barely survived being carried on a giant fireball and dropped from the sky to land outside Tatyanna's castle. He was afraid the next time he admitted failure it would cost him his life.

  He felt a fire grow in his belly when he watched Marek lay his hands on Tatyanna. He could only hope Tatyanna didn't fall for the jerk. If not, he would have to resort to Plan B, and get her to use his power for evil and lose control. Larik would be glad if she joined him in his campaign.

  He glanced around and saw the area around the bonfire was emptying out rather quickly. Most of the men had women hanging over them, and they were going off to their quarters to finish the birthday celebration. He saw Marek was still lying in the middle of the ashes, and he was tempted to hurt him, but he knew he couldn't, without his master's permission. He knew better than to go against Larik's orders.

  Cale took one last glance at Marek, feeling the fire in his belly grow hotter, and he had to stamp his hatred down and walk away from the defenseless man. He had a meeting to keep. He walked away from the camp, but in the opposite direction of the lake. After his encounter with the lake woman, he didn't want to go back there, if he didn't have to. He didn't want who he was getting back to Tatyanna, and failing to be helpful to Larik.

  After walking for several minutes in the darkness, Cale could barely see the lights of the village. He bent down and grabbed a few sticks so he could create a fire and then he waited.

  He didn't have to wait long. It was as if Larik was waiting for him, and the object of his obsession, and service, came walking out of the small fire. “What have you got for me?” Larik asked, skipping the small talk.

  Cale was used to it by now. He knew Larik thought little of him until he could prove himself worthy and the man's equal. “Tatyanna has a fire burning inside her,” he said, deciding not to tell him about the kiss shared between the two, both his kiss and Marek's.

  “A fire?” Larik questioned. “You realize she has no control over fire, right? Her power is water. Don't you pay attention?” he said with disdain.

  “I meant, she has anger growing inside of her. She was mad after meeting Marek earlier today, and lashed out by sending a storm over the village. She calmed herself down, but I think I might be able to help that anger grow. She will lose control, and use her gift for evil instead.”

  Larik rubbed his chin thoughtfully at the idea, and started to pace. “Kaia,” he whispered under his breath.

  This was an opportunity he had been looking for. He needed to get all the royals together, on the same side, to become unstoppable. He already had Seraphina, even if she refused to admit to it. He had men looking for Terran's lost sister. He would do anything to protect his sister. That just left Tatyanna. He glanced at the sniveling human in front of him. Maybe he was right. If Tatyanna could use her power for evil, there would be no turning back for her. If he could keep her and Marek away from each other, her power wouldn't be given a chance to grow, and he would continue to be undefeated. He looked at Cale again, thoughtfully. Maybe there was hope for him after all. He should thank Seraphina for talking him out of killing the fool. At least he would wait until after the other three royals are on his side. He has no intentions of sharing any of his power to a stupid human.

  The wind around him started to pick up, and Larik glanced up at the trees as they started to sway frantically around him. Someone was there. He had to get out of there. He walked quickly toward the fire and stepped inside it. As he felt the flames crawl up his body, he turned to Cale. “Continue to fuel this fire in Tatyanna, any chance you get, and keep her away from Marek. Those two cannot be together, or else your plan will fail. And you know what will happen to you if you fail me.” At his parting words, the fire consumed the prince, and he disappeared.

  “Crap,” Cale said to himself. He had a lot riding on him being right about Tatyanna, and even more if he could sway her away from Marek. The only way to do that was to feed into her insecurities. After all, she had spent her whole life feeling invisible. It was only fair she would be unsure of the allure she held.

  Cale looked around him as the trees continued to sway, and he heard the branches rustling. “Shit,” he said again, feeling a chill run down his spine. Something wasn't right, and he wasn't about to stand there and find out. He rubbed his face with both hands, and then kicked dirt over the fire, running back to the camp to plot his next move.

  Once Cale was out of sight, a young woman, with waist length hair the color of the moon, appeared. She wore leaves in her hair, and a shimmering white dress that accented her figure, falling to her ankles with a slight train. She stepped out of the willow tree and walked to where the fire once burned. She glanced up at the moon, and held her hands out, as she swayed with the trees around her. She could hear the branches rustling, speaking to her. They were saying a name, but she couldn't make it out with so many trees talking at once.

  “Stop,” she commanded, and all around her the trees quieted. She pointed to the tree across from her. “Speak.”

  The tree dropped its branches and bowed down to her, showing her respect. “Kaia.”

  She raised her hand to signal the tree could stand. Kaia, she thought. The holder of Earth's Wisdom. She knew the princess was once believed to be the next in line to be queen, and was put into hiding. It was a huge sacrifice on Terran's part. She was there that day, when he was saying goodbye to his sister. She tried to keep tabs on the other girl, but over the years, she spent most of her time trailing after Terran, making sure he was safe.

  “Who knows where the princess is?” she called out to the tree.

  Each tree swayed back and forth, as if looking around to see if anyone would come forward. No one stepped forward, and the woman was afraid that she would never be able to find her when finally, an old Oak tree took a step toward her. The tree bowed, and said, “I know where to find her. Come with me, and I will show you.”

  The woman smiled, moving toward the old Oak, and walked inside it. Both her and the tree disappeared, and the trees around started to sway in the wind and rustle in excitement for the lost princess to return.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Spreading Doubt

  Tatyanna felt like she had floated to her cabin. She kept replaying the kiss she shared with Marek all night long. She didn't really have anything to compare it to, other than the kiss she shared with Cale. With Cale, it felt almost forced, with Marek, it felt surreal. It felt like there were thousands of fireworks going off in her mouth in every direction. He kissed with passion, with expertise, and then she stopped to wonder just what his expertise was, and what he expected of her. She knew she was an innocent when it came to guys, but she wasn't so innocent she didn't know what guys expected. She had stood outside her sister's bedroom door several times, listening to Lilah talk to her girlfriends about guys and sex.

  There was no way a guy learned to kiss the way Marek did, without some experience behind it...right? Crap. Now, she was taking something wonderful and making it ugly. Tatyanna was jealous of Marek, or at the very least, jealous of the women he had been with. She knew it was stupid,
but it was how she felt. She wanted to talk to someone about Marek, but she didn't know who.

  She was sharing a cabin with Lilly, but the dwarf warrior hardly said two words to her, and had left as soon as the sun was up. She knew she could ask Dimitri, or Emmett, but she felt uncomfortable asking them such a personal question. She viewed them both as if they were brothers.

  Tatyanna walked over to the bathroom, and was surprised she didn't see it the night before. It was gorgeous, with natural light shining through the windows and cherry wood paneling. In the middle of the room was a large porcelain tub, with classic footed feet. She walked around the tub, her hand gliding around the smooth surface. She couldn't wait to take a soak in it later, but she felt the lake calling to her.

  She walked back toward her bed, and saw that a simple blue dress was laid out for her. Tatyanna didn't know where it came from, and glanced down at her wrinkled dress. As beautiful as it was, she felt out of place in it. She eyed the simple blue dress again, and wished for blue jeans and a t-shirt instead, but knew this world was different. She quickly exchanged her gown for the other dress, running her fingers down the soft material. She never thought she was a dressy sort of girl, but she could get used to this if all dresses felt this comfortable. The material was a combination of silk and fleece. It was almost like wearing pajamas.

  Tatyanna left her cabin, and could hear swords being hit against one another, and a man yelling orders. She saw kids playing in the open, running around with wooden swords, as if they were like the trained warriors who lived with them. Women were everywhere, some carrying large baskets of clothes, others carrying pots of water toward other houses, and she could smell bread cooking from a cabin nearby. Tatyanna had the feeling she could belong somewhere for the first time.

  As she walked toward the lake, men and women alike stopped to bow or curtsy to her, and children stopped in their games as they stared at her in fascination. Tatyanna didn't know how to take the sudden interest in her, and just nodded her head and smiled at everyone she passed.