The Queen

by C. J. Abedi

  I couldn’t believe I was just going to trust her, but then again I wasn’t left with many options. I couldn’t stay in this spot forever and wait for another one of Alderon’s monsters to find me. If I placed my fate in her hands, Katya could ultimately betray me, yet my life was already in danger. I searched her face looking for any signs of deception, but I saw none.

  “I’m not standing here all day, Caroline,” she snapped.

  I took a leap of faith and slowly walked over to her.

  “Hold out your hands,” she demanded, and I did as I was told. “You’re going to feel some pressure as the vines wrap around your body, but they’ll block you from Alderon and Puck’s sight.”

  Pressure was the understatement of the year. Within seconds, the black vines formed a tight trail around my body, practically choking me.

  “Katya?” I asked her in alarm.

  She then gave me a sugar sweet smile and for a moment I wondered if she had in fact betrayed me.

  “You’re not going to die,” she told me. “Yet.”

  “I can barely breathe,” I said to her as the vines slithered like snakes around my chest and neck.

  “That’s not my problem,” she retorted. “Now stop whining and let’s go.”

  She tugged me forward. The vines were constricting my energy, preventing me from moving at her lightning pace, but I did my best as she guided me through the forest. It was clear from her speed that she was enjoying making it difficult for me to keep up. Her hatred for me was evidently still there swimming on the surface of her mind. She might be helping, but she still wanted to see me suffer. It took only minutes, but with the suffocating suit of darkness around my body, it felt like hours.

  Katya came to a full stop at the edge of a clearing. Behind us were rows and rows of dark trees and bushes. In front of us a road of black grass that led to what looked like a large reflection of the forest behind us.

  Like a giant mirror.

  “We’re here,” she said stepping onto the grass. “It is far more difficult to track you outside the Dark Forest.”

  “How is that possible?” I asked. “They found me so easily at a party.”

  “They found you the very first time through your spilled blood. The party was too easy. I’m sure Puck even planned it and knew you’d want to go. This forest is a different playground,” she described. “There’s a specific current that runs through that only we can sense. This energy coupled with our innate skills allows us to see and hear everything going on. There are very limited ways in which we can mask ourselves. You are experiencing one of those ways, and only a member of the Dark Fae would know this secret.”

  I listened carefully to everything she said as she continued on.

  “And no one but a Dark Fae who knows the land can get out. So there is no way they would ever think that you got away,” Katya explained.

  “But if they can’t see me right now they must be searching for me,” I replied. “Wondering where I’ve gone. And once I step out there and this cloak falls away, they’ll know where I am.”

  Katya smiled.

  “Again. That’s not my problem. It’s your decision to step outside and search for a way home. What lies ahead, is not on me. And they could be here already for all we know.”

  Katya was unapologetic. It didn’t matter to her that in a few moments I could die. As far as she was concerned she had repaid me for my small act of kindness and the rest was up to me. I realized I really didn’t have any other choice. I could either stand at the edge of the clearing with the vines surrounding my body, barely being able to breathe, or I could make a run for it.

  So I ran.

  As soon as I took my first step out of the forest and onto the black grass, the vines on my body instantly retreated.

  I glanced back. Katya had disappeared.

  I was alone again.

  I silently wondered how long it would take her to tell the rest of them where I was? Would she try and help them to gain back their trust? Probably. But I wasn’t planning on waiting around to find out. I made my way up the path until I reached the giant mirror which so vividly reflected the forest that I had left behind.

  I couldn’t go any further.

  I tapped against the glass and stared at my reflection. I looked exhausted. My hair was wild around my small face. My gray eyes seemed bigger than usual; the dark circles only made my appearance seem more gaunt and frail.

  Despite my attempts to appear strong, the person staring back at me knew different. It was written all over her face.

  I looked so fragile.

  I reached out and touched my face in the mirror, not even recognizing myself. And then the tears began to flow. Unstoppable. One by one. Even though probably only a day had gone by, it felt as though I’d been out here in the Dark Kingdom forever.

  I wondered what my parents were doing. What Famous was up to, if he knew something was terribly wrong. I just wanted to hold him and be safe in my own bed, the way life used to be. I missed home.

  “Caroline?”

  I turned around and saw nothing behind me. When I faced the mirror again, a woman took shape against the trees behind me. She walked in my direction until her reflection was facing me through the mirror.

  When she got close enough, I saw her clearly.

  And I knew.

  I knew who she was and fell to my knees.

  Eyes the same color as my own stared back at me. Her hair was long and blonde, her smile just like mine.

  She placed her palm against the mirror as tears streamed down her face.

  This can’t be real, I told myself. It can’t be real.

  “It is real,” she said to me.

  I placed my palm up against hers on the glass as we stared into each other’s eyes.

  “Look at you.”

  “I am looking at you,” I replied as the tears flowed down my face.

  “You are so beautiful.”

  Virginia Dare stood right before me.

  “Are you my mother?”

  D

  “Let her go. And stop this now,” I demanded.

  I couldn’t watch anymore. The water in the stream was now showing an unobstructed picture of the forest, and my beautiful Caroline facing the Mirror of Fate, believing that she was looking at her mother. I could only imagine the range of emotions she was feeling as I watched my world collide with her innocent one, and one she knew nothing about. Alderon was playing with her emotions. Teasing her. Giving her hope. Tugging at her heart so that he could shatter it into a thousand pieces.

  I knew this game.

  He played it with everyone.

  I had watched with satisfaction when he had lost sight of her in the forest. She certainly was a force to be reckoned with. She had made it so far and it couldn’t have been easy, unless there were some forces working in her favor. For a second, I had hoped that maybe Caroline was able to escape, but when she appeared at the edge of the Dark Forest and started up the Black Path, my heart sank.

  Now, so many emotions played across Caroline’s face. Sadness. Joy. Longing. And love. The love of a daughter for her mother.

  This obstacle was worse than some hideous forest monster. This could break her, and my father knew it.

  “Stop this,” I commanded again.

  “Why would I ever do that?” Alderon asked me with a raised brow. “This is the most fun I’ve had in years. Watching the pathetic human girl pining after her dead mother.”

  “This entire game you’ve arranged, all of it, is wrong. You’re operating under false presumptions,” I shouted.

  “False presumptions?”

  “You think that I would be willing to risk my entire existence for her life,” I said. “And you are mistaken.”

  Alderon laughed.

  “Do you think I am that easy to fool, Devilyn?”

  “No,” I said. “I don’t. But do you think that one life means more to me than the lives of thousands of Fae? Be them Light or Dark?”

&
nbsp; “You love her,” Alderon said. “Dare you deny it?”

  “I don’t,” I answered, as I thought back to Odin’s words to me. “But Caroline is one. A king must always do what is right for the masses. For his people. The scale is weighed against our love.”

  The finality of my words struck a chord in me. I wanted to always choose her above anything. Above anyone. Above all. But that’s not what Kings were born to do. A King was ultimately a master of his people, there to serve, by divine right. Chosen for this purpose and this purpose only. I had known the truth all along. But to say the words out loud was an entirely different matter.

  “Finally, my son speaks honestly.” Alderon clapped with joy.

  “Just leave her alone. You’re wrong in assuming that I would ever marry her.” The words came out before I could stop them and cut deep within my soul.

  It wasn’t that I would not marry her, it was that I could not.

  I watched as Alderon smiled. I know he had read my thoughts. And my misery pleased him.

  “Heartbreaking, isn’t it?” he asked me. “To want something so badly, but to know that if you take it you might destroy it with your own hands.”

  He was right.

  “Am I still lying to you?” I asked calmly.

  Alderon was contemplative.

  “If you tell me you don’t love her, you would be.”

  “I do love her,” I said solemnly. “But I will never marry Caroline.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  “I promised I would keep her safe.”

  C

  I heard every word.

  His soft, soothing voice reverberated throughout my body and through my soul. Devilyn’s voice broke through the fog that had surrounded me in the forest as I stared at the vision of my mother. I could hear him now. And the first words I heard shattered my heart.

  I will never marry her.

  I didn’t need anything else to attack me. His words hurt me more than anything Alderon sent for me ever could. I didn’t want to believe him. It couldn’t even possible. He had to be lying to his father.

  I looked at the vision of my mother, Virginia Dare, and everything suddenly became clear.

  This was all a lie.

  All of it.

  Every part of my life, including the angel that stood before me, was a lie.

  “You’re not real,” I whispered.

  “I’m here, my love,” she said back to me. “Real is what you see.”

  “No,” I said. “Real is what I feel.”

  I pushed away from the mirror and stepped back.

  It was funny. The vision of my mother didn’t hurt me as much as the possibility of Devilyn’s words being true. Her image began to blur until she disappeared.

  And then I was alone again.

  With only the Dark Forest behind me.

  And an empty canvas before me.

  I will never marry her.

  Devilyn and I had shared so many moments together. Moments I refused to believe were based on lies. I thought that we were soul mates, destined for one another. What was the point of it all if that wasn’t true? I wondered if perhaps the black magik of the forest was playing tricks on my mind again. But then his voice came through and I could hear it all again. And it was as clear as day.

  “My feelings for her do not matter,” he said as he betrayed every recent moment we had shared together. “I will never be with her. That I can promise you.”

  I wanted to throw up. He was lying. He had to be.

  “If there is one thing the Fates have taught us all, it is that love means nothing. It brings nothing but despair. And history always repeats itself. Like a vicious circle, it goes round and around. I stand here now telling you I will break the cycle.” Devilyn’s voice was strong and true.

  It rang with honesty.

  He was not lying.

  Devilyn’s words struck a chord deep within me. His behavior all this time coincided with everything he said. I was a burden to him. One that would cost him his legacy. A legacy that he had been born for, and one that he deserved because he was good. He was the King his people needed.

  I could no longer be an inconvenience to him. I did not want him to sacrifice any more for me. Or anyone else, for that matter. Devilyn was right about one thing. The circle had to end.

  And yet, I knew I would not go down without fighting for my life. Ever. If anything, Devilyn’s words gave me strength, fueled my need to survive no matter what the Fates brought me, whatever end that would be. Everything that transpired began to make my blood boil, giving me more strength and vigor than I had ever had.

  I turned abruptly and ran back into the forest at lightning speed. My feet were no longer my own; a force within had overtaken me. I knew then that all the powers given to me by the Fates were a fingertip away, and I had finally tapped into them.

  Something had shifted inside.

  Part of my desire before had been to fight for Devilyn; for us, for our love. But now, I was fighting for my own survival.

  I was fighting for me.

  I ran as if I were trying to escape the brutality of Devilyn’s words. I tried to shed them, turn them into something intangible. Like he never said them.

  As I made my way through the forest I heard Alderon’s voice again. This time I stopped and closed my eyes, concentrating on where the words were coming from.

  “If you’re so concerned about protecting her from harm, it might be easier if she is within reach,” Alderon said coldly. “Perhaps you should join her.”

  Just as he finished this statement, I saw a small stream form right before my feet. Within moments the stream began expanding and surging with water, forming giant waves. In between the powerful current something began to swirl in a whirlpool, and suddenly Devilyn came crashing through the center of it, landing right before me, breathing heavily.

  In that moment I had never been so happy and so sad to see someone. But after everything I had heard, I couldn’t help but wonder if the person sitting before me was really him.

  He ran his hands through his damp hair and slowly began to stand up as I stared at him in silence.

  “Caroline?”

  “Is it really you?” I asked.

  “It’s me,” he said, almost uncertain. “Are you okay?” He reached out for me, but I moved away from his touch.

  “I’m fine,” I told him. “Honestly, I’m okay, Devilyn.”

  “It is me,” he said again. Still clearly sensing my hesitance, he lifted his hand, palm facing me, offering it as the proof only I could understand.

  I didn’t hesitate. I stepped forward and placed my palm against his. I felt the surge of energy move through my body. I saw him. For what he was. To me. The snippets of our short life together played before my eyes and I knew in that moment that it was really him.

  He gave me a reassuring smile.

  “You need to stay close to me,” Devilyn said. “I promise I will get you out of here.”

  I thought back to what I had heard him say to his father and the joy I felt instantly turned to ice.

  “I’ve been managing quite well on my own,” I told him, stepping back again.

  “I didn’t mean to imply that you hadn’t been,” he said anxiously. “But I know this land. Please. Take my hand and follow me.”

  He held it out.

  “I don’t need to hold your hand, Devilyn. I’ve got this.”

  Chapter Four

  “Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”

  —Sun Tzu

  Roanoke Island, North Carolina

  The Year of our Lord, 1587

  Eleanor Dare

  When you’re in love, life is beautiful.

  You think you are capable of conquering any obstacle that comes your way. When true love enters your life, you are given a confidence that is unbreakable. No one can stop you. There is nothing that can stand between you and happiness. At least that’s what every
fairytale says.

  That’s what happened to me when Arthur arrived.

  I would sneak away every day and take my basket into the woods, pretending I had herbs and remedies to find. I was lucky that no one ever questioned me.

  But it wouldn’t matter if they had. The only thing that mattered to me was him.

  He would meet me on the outer banks, and we would spend the days talking and walking through the countryside. He would tell me great tales of the land, and I would listen in rapture.

  It was on a day like any other when he finally told me what he was. We were walking through the forest, along the path of a river, when I turned to him and waited to hear the truth.

  It was strange with Arthur. I never felt like I needed to explain myself. I never even had to ask him a question because before it came out, he’d always answer. Like he knew what I was thinking.

  “What are you waiting for me to say?” he asked.

  I memorized the look on his face.

  His golden Viking looks made my heart skip a beat as they always did. He was never forward with me. Never reaching past what was appropriate. Up until that moment our only physical contact had been when I saw him for the first time and he warmed my hands in the cold, hard rain.

  “The truth,” I told him.

  “About what?” he asked me. I knew he was just dancing around the question.

  “I want the truth,” I said again. “I know you are different. I want to know who you really are.”

  Arthur faced the water. I knew there was a storm that lived within him waiting to be unleashed, but it did not frighten me.

  Something deep inside me knew that he would always keep me safe.

  After a moment he took in a deep breath and faced me. His eyes were liquid blue, as if they moved with some force that defied heaven itself. They were alive with emotion and light. It was the most exciting thing I had ever seen in my life.

  “I am from the most ancient race on this earth,” he said solemnly. “I am Tuatha de Danann.”

  He moved his palms up and white light shined from them.

  “My people,” he began, “are the most ancient race to have ever walked these lands. We are blessed with powers that mortals could never understand. We are light. Pure and true like a beacon in the night. But there are dark ones amongst us. We are separated into two kingdoms. The Light and the Dark.”