A Darkness Awakens

by Helena Lancaster

  “They say she is the one we have been waiting on. That my daughter is the one spoken of in the prophecy. She is only a babe and already there is a burden for her to bear!”

  Résalyn dropped the veil of Queen in that moment to become only a mother, a mother with a frightened daughter. She moved closer to her eldest daughter and pulled her into her arms. She made it so her protective yet loving move enveloped both Kélinae and the sleeping babe. While they had been waiting on the prophesized one to be born, she would have never expected it to be in her lifetime. She would have never expected it to be her granddaughter.

  “Are they certain?” she asked her daughter, concern filling her voice.

  “They are more than certain, Mother. They are confident. They said it had always been known that the woman who was spoken of would descend not only from the great King Henry and his wife Anna but Queen Maelyn as well,” Kélinae answered her mother, her voice shaking slightly.

  “Do not be afraid, Kélinae. We will keep her safe.”

  “How? Léla will discover her! I will die before I let her near my daughter!”

  “We can shield her from the Empress.”

  “We do not have that power, Mother, not even with the help of the Elves.”

  “There will be a way.”

  “There is only one way. I must take her to this other world our people have been fleeing to so they can escape the power of the dark forces. It is the only way to keep her safe.”

  Résalyn was taken aback. Her daughter take her grandchildren and leave? Never to be seen again? This could not happen! She could not let it happen! She sat back and looked deep into her daughter’s eyes seeking to find a spark of hope in there that this would not be the path taken.

  “Mother, do not try to use your magic on me,” Kélinae said in a warning tone.

  “I am not! I am only trying to see if there is any hope that you will not do this,” her mother responded defensively.

  “I need you to understand that I must do this. She must be able to live her life and come into this prophecy if she is truly the one it speaks of. I cannot watch her grow up in the shadow of what the Empress might do to get to her. This is the only way!”

  “So you will go there with both of your children to never return?” Résalyn questioned her daughter, feeling overwhelmed at the thought of never seeing them again.

  “I will take them there but I will not remain,” Kélinae answered. “I will find an Ilysian family and leave both of the children in their care. I will return to this land as if I never left it and as if I never gave birth to a child of prophecy.”

  “And William?”

  “He cannot know this and I cannot return here. I will live between the worlds, my eyes on as much as I can but away from all that I love. I must sacrifice my own happiness for the safety of my children. The words of the Oracles will spread, Mother. Their Oracles will speak of the birth. This is the only path that gives them a safe and ordinary life that they deserve for as long as they possibly can. If I remain here with them then they will always be in danger.”

  Résalyn leaned down to place a soft kiss on her granddaughter’s head. She knew it would be the only one for a long time. She knew that when she saw this babe again she would likely be a woman grown or nearly one at least. As her daughter was determined to take this path, she would help the only way she could. Her own first love and Kélinae’s father was currently present at their court. John Daesyn was a gifted Witch and known to be able to work the portals to the mysterious land her people called Corinthia rather well. She would insist that he help make this happen for her daughter and grandchildren. She would not let her daughter do this alone.

  “Your Father is at court, Kélinae, and you know he is a gifted Witch. I beg you to allow him to help you,” she sincerely pleaded to her beloved daughter.

  “Yes, Mother. I will allow him to help me do this but when I return I will remain separate from all of you,” Kélinae responded calmly. “My only focus will be keeping my children safe. This war will be properly fought once they are of age. Sinéad must be free to follow her own path to the direction of her choice. She will never be free or safe to do so here, there will always be someone trying to pressure her to choose their side.”

  It was in that moment that Résalyn finally and truly understood all the reasons her daughter was making this decision. If the Oracles said Sinéad was the one from the prophecy, then she deserved to be able to live a happy and safe life without anyone trying to force her hand in one direction or another. Kélinae was willing to sacrifice everything for her daughter to have this. It was in that moment that Résalyn admired her eldest daughter more than she could have ever imagined.

  Five days old. His granddaughter was only five days old and he was playing a role in an event that would whisk her away from all her family, save her brother. She was just a babe and the Oracles had already labeled her as the prophesied one. John silently shook his head. He knew how to work the portal between the worlds well as he had spent his entire life helping Ilysians use it to flee to a new world, a world they called Corinthia. He lived between them both, his travel keeping him close to those who had left and those that remained. Now he would be escorting his own grandchildren away and passing this ability onto his only child. His romance with Résalyn might have been short lived but it did give him Kélinae. She turned out to be more than he could have imagined and stronger than anyone he had ever known. He watched her determined face every time he began to teach her how to work the portal with her magic. She would learn this if only to protect Sinéad, even if he felt she was trying to rush this.

  “How am I ever going to do this on my own?” she asked him.

  “Kélinae, you have only just begun to learn,” he answered. “I will not allow you to slip off on your own unless you can confidently do this.”

  “Father, I must know before the children are left there.”

  “You are pressuring yourself and that is what is causing you to have difficulties. You are making it harder than it is. I will get you there, you can be sure of it.”

  “But how do I find the right family to leave them with?”

  “Leave that to me. I have connections there. I already have a good idea of a place for them where they would be safe and well treated.”

  “William is going to be so angry with me,” she said quietly as the babe began to cry out.

  She watched as his daughter went to her own babe and instinctively knew just what she needed. She was a wonderful mother with natural instincts. He just hated that she felt she had to make such a sacrifice to safeguard her newborn daughter. He was just grateful for his connections within the Ilysian community in Corinthia because it gave him the idea of the perfect home for his grandchildren. They were leading a movement to start a full-scale rebellion against the Empress. They had not begun to fight back yet but they were preparing for it. There would be no safer place for them. Kélinae may have said she wants Sinéad to grow up with the freedom to choose but she also wants her to be safe from the Empress. It lead him to feel that he needed to present this as the ideal home for both Rovén and Sinéad to grow up in. This way he would be able to watch over them from a distance himself, perhaps even know them as a friend if they would not be able to know him as their grandfather.

  Half a fortnight later, William arrived at Ílkésarén castle, home of the White Fae court, to discover that his love and children were gone. Kélinae had taken both of the children and disappeared without a word. He suspected that Résalyn knew more than she was telling him but knew that he had no power to push her for more information. He was told that his daughter had been born healthy and beautiful. Oh how he longed to see her with his own eyes. Sinéad was her name and while he could always picture his son in his mind, he would always wonder what she looked like.

  “I understand you are discouraged, William,” Résalyn said to him, as she entered the chambers he had shared with Kélinae.

  “Discouraged is not the c
orrect word, Your Grace,” he replied quietly, as he continued to examine the room.

  “You are my firstborn daughter’s love. I believe you have more than earned the right to call me by name.”

  “She is gone and so are my children. Does that not forfeit such right?”

  “You act as if I know something more than I have told you.”

  “My instinct says that you do.”

  “I know very little, only that I have a scared daughter.”

  William looked at her with confusion. Why would Kélinae be afraid? What would cause such a feeling? She was safe here, as were the children. What was Résalyn not telling him?

  “What reason does she have to be afraid of anything?” he asked, expecting to finally be given the truth. “Do not try to hide what you know from me! I love her and those are my children! I need to know!”

  “The Oracles made a visit shortly after Sinéad’s birth,” she began to say, her voice slightly quivering.

  “What did they say that made her leave?”

  “It is your daughter. She is the one.”

  William looked at Résalyn for a few short moments in complete astonishment. Those words only meant one thing, the long-standing prophecy. His daughter? It would be his daughter? No! It just could not be true!

  “No!” he exclaimed aloud. “My daughter the one from the prophecy? That is preposterous!”

  “No it is not,” Résalyn responded. “The woman in the prophecy descends not only from Henry and Anna but our Queen Maelyn. It makes perfect sense as you and my daughter are the first royal heirs of both kingdoms to have a daughter.”

  “So she ran away with the children?”

  “All I know is she is taking them to the other world for their safety. We do not have the power to shield Sinéad from the Empress.”

  “And she will be safe there?”

  “It was the only way.”

  “She could not have waited, so that I could do this with her?”

  “She must have felt she had no time to wait. She left during the night and I have heard nothing since her departure. If I cannot find her, then I doubt anyone can.”

  “John cannot? He is her father!”

  “He disappeared from court when she did. I believe he is assisting her.”

  “Then he can take me to my children.”

  “You would be a fool to believe that John would tell that information to anyone, if our daughter even allows him to be privy to the knowledge of their exact location.”

  William yelled aloud in frustration, heartbreak, and grief. How was he to live without them? How was he to keep this secret? Why was his beloved insisting on going through this alone and without him? He should be at her side for this. When he gave her his heart, it was not for her to do this. As much as it pained him, he would never be able to love another. His heart and soul were hers, wherever she was, and he could only pray that one day they would reunite. If he hoped for anything, it would be to have her in his arms again.

  Two weeks and it already felt like it had taken too long. It had taken two weeks for her to learn how to create the portal to travel from Ilysia to Corinthia. Kélinae was frustrated in fear. She felt as if each day it took to get her children out of Ilysia the less safe they were going to be. She fought tears every day as her father taught her the magic it would take to open the portal but those tears found her every night as she slept. This would be the hardest thing she had ever done and she only prayed that one day they would forgive her. She hoped that William would forgive her as well. She ran away without even telling him or letting him see their daughter. She would never be able to love another but for Sinéad’s safety she would sacrifice everything.

  “Now that we are here, Father. Where do I take them?” she asked her father, as she held her daughter close to her chest.

  “I know a couple that would be perfect,” He answered as he tightened his grip on Rovén.

  “Tell me of them.”

  “James and Katie are wonderful people. They are heading a resistance movement here among our people, to return and take our home back from the dark forces.”

  She nodded at her Father’s statement. They were strong Ilysians that wished to return one day. It would not be a bad place for her children. That was part of what she wished for them but more than that, she wished for them to be loved.

  “But can they give them love?” she asked inquisitively.

  “Yes they can,” John replied with a smile. “They wed around two years ago and have yet to have any children of their own. They have a warmth about them, especially Katie.”

  “Then we will entrust the children to them.”

  “We?”

  “I cannot just leave them and hope they are found. I will write a letter and in the morn, I would like you to deliver it to them, along with my children.”

  “You wish for me to take them to James and Katie?” he questioned.

  “I trust you, Father. I also know that you will not tell them the truth of their ties to you,” she responded with confidence. “This is hard enough for me to do but I will be watching from a distance. I never expected I would do something in my life that would hurt this much.”

  John took his free arm and placed it around his daughter, pulling her close. He leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead, something he had not done since she was a small girl. She was more brave than both he and Résalyn combined. Her current actions were proving this. He was just grateful that she was trusting him to help her. He would watch over his grandchildren closely to be sure that his daughter’s sacrifice would never be in vain.

  The next morn, John approached the home of James and Katie Moore quietly. He held both Rovén and Sinéad close to him as he climbed the steps to the entrance of their home. He knocked quietly but hard enough to be heard before stepping back to await an answer.

  It only took a moment for Katie to make her way to the door after hearing the knock. They were not expecting visitors so the sound was a bit alarming. She had quietly smiled at her husband as she turned from his gaze in the sitting room to open the main door to their home to find their friend John Daesyn standing on the other side with a babe and small boy in his arms.

  “John!” she exclaimed. “We were not expecting you. Please come in.”

  John nodded with a slight smile as he entered the large home of his friends. He followed behind Katie as she lead him into a sitting room where James was on the couch reading a newspaper.

  “James!” Katie said aloud to get her husband’s attention. “We have a guest.”

  James Moore sat his newspaper down on the table beside him to find John standing before him with a small boy and babe in his arms. What was he doing here so unexpectedly? This was unlike his friend. John did not leave their homeland without good reason except to meet with the growing resistance.

  “John!” James spoke with a smile. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?”

  “A favor for a dear friend, James. I would trust no one else but you and Katie with this matter,” he responded.

  “What can we do?” Katie asked curiously.

  “Raise these children in your home as your own. They will never be safe in Ilysia as long as dark forces are in control of the land.”

  The young couple was taken aback by this request. They had barely been married two years and had not even discussed when they would begin to have children. Why would they be the ones asked to do this? Who were these children and why were they in danger?

  “I am honestly shocked, John,” Katie stated. “I never would have expected this.”

  “Nor would I,” James added. “But why us?”

  “As I said before there is no one else to be trusted,” John quickly replied.

  “Just who are these children?”

  “Just know that they need protecting and have a mother who loves them greatly. She has sacrificed a great deal for their safety. She has written a letter for you.”

  “Let me read the letter,�
� Katie spoke aloud. “I would like to see her words.”

  “I must put the children down first.”

  John made a move to lay Sinéad on the couch when Katie quickly took her from his arms. He looked over to see James reaching out his arms and placed Rovén in them. The scene before him looked right. It felt right. He had made the right decision by choosing them. He smiled inside as he reached into his pocket for the letter that his daughter had written for the adopted parents of her children and placed it in Katie’s eager hand.

  Katie unfolded the letter to find a neat scroll of writing that was slightly damaged by tear marks. It hurt her heart to see the faded place where the mother of these beautiful children had cried as she wrote the letter that gave her children away.

  James and Katie,

  John ensured me that you were the perfect pair to raise my children. I wish I could tell you why I must leave them with you, but for their safety I must keep that secret with me. My son, Rovén Zakary, was a year old this midsummer past. My daughter, Sinéad Adríenésalyn, was born on Samhain. Please change their names to whatever you wish but know that in my heart this will be who they are until my dying day. All I ask is that you love them, keep them safe, and teach them of our homeland. I will forever be grateful to you. Thank you from the depths of my heart.

  A loving mother

  She looked up from reading the letter with tears forming in her own eyes. They had to do this. She and James knew they wanted children. They were just being asked to love two as their own and keep them safe from an unknown danger. She would not say no.

  “James, we must do this. This mother needs our help,” Katie said quietly.

  “Then we are now parents of two children,” James responded with a smile.

  John looked at them both and tried to hide his happiness to their response. They would be safe and loved. It was all he wanted for them himself. He could return to where Kélinae was and let her know that he left her children in a good home.