“But?” I gasped, fully intrigued and enraptured by his story already.
“The beauty of your mother’s heart radiated so brightly, her presence alone had me utterly captivated. The grace and goodness of her heart outshone her outward allure, which was unrivaled in all the kingdoms. Oh, for she certainly was exquisite to the eyes, but my dear child, on the inside, she was much more. Her legend will be known in our history for all of time to come as the most cherished and beloved queen to rule the Kingdom of Lassaira. Even my Kingdom of Aselaira thought of her kindly, though it was forbidden to voice such opinions. She was the most elegant, graceful, majestic, and compassionate elda to have ever existed among our species.”
“How did you meet?”
“I had been patrolling the border with Remycah during the night, he was but a young babe at the time. It was my task to instruct him on all things of our kingdom, including where our borders lie, from the moment he was birthed. I had been interrupted by a plunk on my head. An apple. Gazing upward, there I saw Queen Nariella perched in our apple tree.”
“Nuh-uh,” I interrupted, with complete shock.
“There is an ancient rivalry between the Kingdom of Lassaira and the Kingdom of Aselaira. The hurt and betrayal runs so deeply, the need for vengeance is on both sides. Yet once my eyes lay upon her straddling the branch of a tree, I could see nothing but pureness—her true beauty. I could not hate her. I could not harm her, despite her being defenseless whilst on our land in the late hours of the night, which was unusual for a Tavas’Elda, and instead I found myself with the desire to speak to her. She did not resemble a typical queen or of any such importance. She was young of heart and adventurous, with no desire for her duty. I cared not that it meant my life forfeit in the eyes of my people and in the eyes of my king. I was intrigued, and over time in secret, I would have done anything for her. However, it was, in fact, the beginning of the end for us.”
“I wish I could’ve met her, even if just for a second,” I whispered.
“I do not regret a single moment I had the privilege of sharing with her. She was a gift. To which she then bestowed upon me the greatest gift of all when she had you. I could not have asked for better gifts in all my immortal years,” Ender finished.
I laid my head on his shoulder and used his words to paint the picture of my mother in my mind. Before, it would have been impossible to imagine her. It had been a burning desire in me to know why she had abandoned me and whether or not she was still out there somewhere, but I never could’ve imagined what she’d be like.
So many times I thought of her and wondered about her. But it wasn’t until after I lost Elizabeth, my foster mother, that I even knew I had another mother out there. I would cry out for her in the night when I’d wake from my nightmares. I had no idea she was dead, like Elizabeth, and would never answer my cries.
But I was at least grateful to have had Elizabeth, though only briefly. I turned my face into Ender’s shoulder and squeezed my eyes closed tight. The guilt over what happened to her was harsh and constant. Add my birth mother’s death on top of it and it was more than I could take at the moment. Half-way through the flight, I fell asleep on my father’s arm. A few times I was woken by Rydan and Mycah arguing, but I chose to ignore it.
Chapter Twenty-Six
~Naminé~
I could not stop myself from grasping onto Rydan’s arm with the full force of my strength. I hoped Ender would not notice from his seat across the aisle from ours. The iron, man-made contraption we were contained in felt anything but safe as we hung high in the sky. I did not wish to show fear; however, I had only heard whisperings of aircrafts in the Earthly realm by the form of tales, and the source had been from High-Elda with the gift of peering into other realms. Never had a personal experience been retold to me, giving any sort of insight on what it would be like, and neither had I had the privilege of soaring in the sky by way of griffin, dragon, or eagle. Needless to say, the entire ordeal was quite new for me.
“It’s okay, I promise,” Rydan soothed, laying his fingers over mine. Calen was curled on my lap, her large tail-feathers falling on his arm. Lómë was hidden as a small mouse somewhere in one of his pockets.
A loud voice captured my attention. “Tawnya! It’s J-o-o-o-d.”
“Yeah, I know you like it that way, you hooligan. But this is an official document. Your name has to be spelled properly,” a second voice argued back, equally as loud.
“Anyway, as I was saying, the baby platypire was the cutest—”
I stopped listening then, confused, and turned to Rydan. “What is a platypire?”
“Uhh, I have no idea.” He laughed lightly. “Don’t worry about it, though. You’ll probably overhear a lot of people’s conversations and not understand.”
Yes, I was beginning to gather that. There was much to learn of in this realm, much that I had difficulty deciphering. At the same time, I reminded myself that I could not learn it all in only a few short weeks. I smiled at Rydan to let him know I was all right. At the very least, the women had distracted my fear of the aircraft.
We were handed small pouches of food with an outer wrapping that was noisy and strange. Rydan explained they were cheese crackers and peanuts as he opened them and handed me a few to try. I was familiar with nuts and the concept of crackers, but the flavor was quite different and unusual.
Rydan had shown me how to recline my seat backward if I wished to sleep, but I did not. I had much going on in my mind at the moment. Sitting in my chair properly once again, I contemplated what exactly might lie ahead for us. It did not seem possible to imagine, nor could I fully understand what Ohtar would conjure after he realized our arrival. Never before had I feared going into war, for being a female servant as I was, I did not need to. We were not used that way. Our male elda were the only ones allowed into battle, and even if they were few, they called to our young boys before ever giving thought to us females. Yet even here, while in the Earthly realm and my ties to Luïnil dissolved, I could not deny the concern and terror shown in Nariella’s face that I had seen every day of our training from taking a place on my own.
“You okay?” Rydan asked softly, his elbow grazing mine accidentally.
“Yes, thank you,” I responded, matching his volume. “A bit perplexed, but nothing I cannot handle.”
“Perplexed about what?”
“The battle plan against Ohtar and his army,” I began. “I do not pretend to understand what he is capable of, Rydan. The unknown is a bit unsettling, to say the least. I have never fought in war before. What are we to do once we arrive into Aselaira?”
“I don’t know either.” Rydan covered my hand with his. “But I won’t let anything happen to you or Nari. I’ll protect you both with my life. You don’t have to worry about anything, Naminé.”
My eyes went to his then, for his words were like medicine. “I am grateful to you, dear Rydan, but I do not wish for you to be concerned with my well-being. I will focus on myself when we are to fight, and all I ask is for you to keep yourself alive as well. If you worry over me, it may cause a bitter distraction resulting in your undoing. I could not bear it.”
I did not mention it then, but I knew very well that he would be more fixated on Nariella’s protection than on mine, or even his, and that was the way it should be. She would be his priority. Nariella would always be his one and only priority.
The pain the concept elicited in my heart could not be helped, though I did my best not to give mind to it. Rydan and I could not be more than friendly companions. His mother would be arranging his union with an elda worthy of his affection, if Ohtar and all his evil were to indeed be defeated. A lowly servant, such as myself, did not have the luxury of entertaining prospects of a prince.
I had no doubt Remycah would rightly take his place as king. And upon doing so, my role in this tale would cease, and my presence would be irrelevant. My task to return our only hope—our savior—home to Aselaira would be complete.
&nb
sp; “That’s just silly. Of course I’m gonna look out for you. And nothing will happen to me, either,” Rydan interrupted my thoughts. He had yet to learn of his true duties and where I stood on the line of importance. I was nobody. There was no need to protect me. “It’ll be okay. You’ll see.”
“How do you have such confidence?” the words slipped out of my mouth unexpectedly without any true intention of voicing them aloud. I covered my lips with my fingers, for I did not wish to create doubt in him or anyone else.
“Listen, I’m not saying it’s gonna be easy.” Rydan lowered his face to my ear, intending to whisper, and my heartbeat skipped. “But Ohtar is stupid if he thinks he can win against us. Have you seen Mycah fight? I mean, don’t tell anyone I said this, ‘cause I don’t want them thinking I like the guy, but…he’s like a fighting genius. There’s no way Ohtar stands a chance. And I’m pretty sure once we get there, he or Ender will have a plan. They probably already have one as it is.”
“I see. Perhaps you are right,” I responded a bit breathlessly. I did not have to worry then. There may be a war, but we were on the good side. What could darkness possibly do against light?
My mind roamed to another topic that I felt more greatly in my heart. “Rydan, how long do you think it shall be before we are once again reunited with our home? With Luïnil? I am quite excited about returning home, I can hardly keep still. The first chance I am able, I will be dream-weaving with Cathar to learn of my family’s circumstances.”
I worried more than words could ever say over the well-being of my mother, father, and brother. Time was passing by, and the further it did, the deeper my concern grew over their safety. It would be comforting if I had my ability to dream-weave even in this moment, for I then could verify their current condition without another second’s delay. Yet I could not, despite how many times I tried over the last fortnight, and the unknown drove me mad.
“I think after this flight, we’ll have one night in London, and then we’ll be using the Sindora tomorrow some time, as far as I’m aware. So, not much longer now. I’m kinda excited too, despite knowing we’ll be walking straight into a nasty war,” he said.
“The war aspect of it is a bit frightening. What worries me most, and what I cannot help wondering, is if Ohtar’s hunters will be waiting on our return,” I responded in a low voice.
“They shouldn’t be. We’re opening a whole new gateway that will take us into Luïnil somewhere else than where the other one had led us. There’d be no way they could know of our coming, especially not the location. You don’t have to worry about that. Then once we’re through, I’m sure we’ll be going straight to the castle to get this whole thing over with.” He let out a long exhale of breath. “Although, I’m sure Ender will disagree or have some sort of other plan already.”
“Rydan, you are our prince. The true Prince of Aselaira. It matters not what Ender commands, as far as you are concerned. You have the power to command him, not the other way around.” That did not apply to me, however. I was lower than Ender, who was a royal Guardian. It was my duty to follow his wishes and demands, if he so chose to bestow them upon me. That was not the case for Rydan, though. Only King Remycah and their mother held power over Rydan’s will.
“Really?” Rydan questioned, a slight pull on his left brow.
“Mm, yes.” I lowered my voice even more, barely a whisper escaping me. “Ender is Remycah’s appointed servant, Guardian, and advisor. His desires do not have to be your own.”
“I never thought of it like that,” Rydan mused softly.
“You would do best to follow through on his advice, of course. Guardians are quite wise and respected. Their sole will is to keep the royal heirs alive and loved by our people.” My chest tightened suddenly, remembering Ender’s chastisement of my warming to a prince. It could not be denied that he was rightly so in his statements, as much as I did not like it.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Rydan replied with a smile, taking a drink of his requested beverage. Yes, I thought. Unfortunately for me, I would keep that in mind as well. “It’s probably best we train some more first while there, before running through Ohtar’s door like it was no big deal.”
“I do agree. I fear a fortnight was both neither enough and too great a time. Not enough to strengthen ourselves, but too long for our people to wait.” I laid my head backward against the seat, clarity ringing in my mind like a bell. “Either way, I trust you and Remycah to do what is best. Ohtar will be defeated in the end. It will not be much longer now until our kingdom is finally saved.”
And I knew those words to be true. As long as Remycah and Rydan Zafriel were on the side of virtue—Nothing could stand in the way of it. Good would certainly overtake evil.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
~Nari~
The glorious moment the wheels of the aircraft touched down onto the hard earth below finally came, and it couldn’t have been soon enough.
“Where are we going?” I asked once we stepped out into the chilly London air. It was overcast and a little drizzly.
“To my flat. It isn’t far from here,” Mycah answered. He hailed us a typical London taxi and opened the door for us. There were five seats total for us to squeeze into.
The driver had a similar accent to Mycah’s. I suspected everyone here would, though. It wasn’t that Mycah’s sounded truly English; it was more of a mix between the Luïnil accent and the one here. A lot of times he spoke just like they did in the other realm, but there were moments he sounded like he came straight out of the London Tube or something.
And I loved every minute of it.
My eyes stayed glued out one of the windows as I continuously switched between leaning across Mycah’s lap or Rydan’s, afraid to miss anything. The city was fascinating. The old architecture was stunning and regal. It was better than I could’ve ever imagined London to be.
“Does it feel good being back here?” I inquired, not turning from the bustling city for even a second.
“It does. I’m quite fond of this place. I know it like the back of my hand.” Mycah kissed my shoulder. “But it’s even better now that you’re in it.”
I sucked in a breath. Always the charmer. And of course, it totally worked. But he was being awfully chummy today, and it was upsetting for him to show affection with Ender right there. He blatantly rebelled against my wishes. Well, more like Ender’s wishes, but I knew it was the right thing to do. I wasn’t part of Mycah’s destiny. I couldn’t keep pretending I was.
Rydan had his nose practically smushed against the glass as well, and I knew he was enjoying every bit of this as much as I was. He loved traveling; it was something we had in common and dreamed of doing together since we were kids.
“Can you believe we’re here?” I screeched, squeezing his shoulders and shaking him a little. Although we had a heavy burden riding on our shoulders for coming here, it felt amazing being in another country.
“No,” Rydan responded quietly as he continued to sightsee through the taxi window.
Evening grew as we continued on our way to Mycah’s apartment. Lights from the city and passing cars on the road flashed by, and I swear I could hear soothing piano music playing in my head. I suddenly felt so serene, calm, and satisfied being squished between my two most favorite boys in the universe while the crispness of the autumn-air filled my lungs. Their body heat kept me warm despite it being frigid outside.
When the cab stopped, a few butterflies flapped their wings in my chest. It was thrilling, being at the precipice of finally seeing where Mycah used to live—his official Earthly home. I couldn’t wait a second longer as I stood outside the taxi while Mycah paid. I devoured every detail of the Victorian building before me. It was a mix of grey brick and smooth cement, accented by thick, white, wooden beams that held up the matching balconies. Black iron stairs ran straight up and curved out in opposite directions, leading residents to their desired front-door entrance.
Mycah placed his fingertips at the sm
all of my back, guiding me up the stairs and through the massive wooden door. I gasped, taking in the interior. The walls were colored in a calm taupe with white crown molding at the ceiling and white chair rail running through the lower-middle, completed with white trim everywhere along the baseboards. But it wasn’t ordinary crown molding at the ceiling. It had an elegant, intricate design that appeared to be carved out of the wood. Some of it popped out of the ceiling and circled around the base of the simple chandelier that hung into the middle of the room. Rich, multi-colored wooden floors gave the space warmth, and on the opposite end of the room was a large bay window with a cushioned bench, surrounded by built-in shelves stuffed with old, antique-looking books.
There was no television, only a gorgeous wood-burning fireplace that took center of the far wall, demanding attention from every piece of comfy-looking furniture in the room. The décor was simple, minimal, and welcoming. Old paintings of every kind were scattered here and there of the otherwise bare walls.
I wanted to live here. I swore it was something out of a London Home magazine.
“Shower?” Rydan asked simply. Mycah directed him and everyone else on where to go, and then led me into the master bathroom where I could take a shower also. Jumping ahead into another day and time zone was exhausting and dirtying. I couldn’t wait to wash off the grime from the airplane.
“You, you have no idea what it was like being a kid with a screwy brain.” Rydan was drunk. He took another gulp of his icy-cold brew before pointing a finger in Mycah’s face. “Animals? Their, their…“feelings”…were like…in my head. But you. You weren’t there.”
Mycah took careful sips out of his own pint, watching Rydan from the corner of his eye. I sat on the other side, listening quietly. I had never seen Rydan like this before, and I couldn’t deny I found it totally interesting. We sat at the bar inside Mycah’s favorite pub. Ender stayed behind with Calen and Lómë. I should’ve stayed with them to rest, but I was dying to see London. My dark-circled, baggy eyes drooped heavy as I leaned against the bar, alerting me that I had made the wrong decision, but I couldn’t seem to regret it.
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