by L. C. Mawson
Ku shook her head. “The same concerns you have in other realms don’t always exist down here. You should get some rest and then do as you would normally do here in the morning. You’ll probably stumble across your answer.”
Freya narrowed her eyes. “Why do I feel as if you know more than you’re saying?”
“Because you are incredibly astute,” Ku replied. “But first, as I said, you should probably rest.”
Freya frowned, though she did feel tired. “Aren’t I already asleep?”
“You have needs here, just as you do on Earth. While you’re here, you need to take care of this body.”
Freya nodded, following as Ku led her to her room.
Chapter Twelve
Freya woke up in her poorly-repaired room of the castle and wondered if the Shadow Realm version of herself lived there all the time. Leaks were patched with odd pieces of wood and only a few patches seemed to have been cleaned.
She wondered why she lived here. Was she just a scavenger? Did she stumble across the abandoned structure and claim it as her own? Queen of a broken castle... That seemed like something she would do.
“Freya? You up yet?”
She froze. It wasn’t Ku or Juni yelling for her. Actually, it sounded like Damon.
She ventured out of her room and onto the landing, which looked down onto the floor below, where Damon was standing, waiting for her. Except, instead of his usual clothes, he was wearing a fancy black tunic with silver linings.
“Damon?” she asked.
“Who else would I be?”
She took a moment to organise her thoughts before responding. “I... I’m not the Freya from this realm.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
“Okay? Just okay?”
He frowned. “Of course. You spend a third of your time as the you from Earth.”
“So you... You’re aware that this realm is just a reflection?”
“I wasn’t until you told me. What’s going on, Freya? You’re acting like this is your first time here.”
She nodded as she made her way down the stairs to him. “That’s because it is. At least, kind of. I know I’ve been here before and it’s familiar but... I was sent here by a curse, so I don’t remember anything from this realm.”
He seemed caught off guard by that. “Nothing? Truly?”
She shrugged. “Sorry. It looks like I’m stuck here without my memory too, so you’d better fill me in. How do I know you here?”
“You broke into my house.”
She couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her. “I did? Really? Why?”
“You were hired to kill my father.”
“I... Wait, what?”
He shrugged. “As I understand it, you were starving and desperate for work.”
“So, what happened?”
“He wasn’t home and you found me. After that, my aunt stepped in and I became her ward. I used my freedom to track you down.”
“And once you found me?”
He shrugged. “We’ve been trying to find a way to revive the castle.”
“Revive it?”
He nodded. “One of the Ancient bloodline must always be in residence. They’re the only ones with a real claim to the throne.”
“Well, where are they?”
He shrugged. “The Old Queen was dying and her throne was usurped. Most said the usurper killed her, but the rumour was that she lived. After a few years, the Rebel Queen appeared and claimed to be the Old Queen’s heir. The usurper was killed in an unrelated incident and then it was his son, the prince, that the Rebel Queen was fighting.”
“And then what?”
“And then the Rebel Queen just... disappeared. There was a fight and the prince was killed. The Rebel Queen and the prince’s wife both just vanished mid-fight. No one knows what happened to them.”
“So we’ve been trying to find them?”
Damon nodded. “You’ve been pretty insistent on it and I agree. The land is dying. One of the Old Blood needs to take the throne again. We were planning on leaving today, actually.”
“Leaving? To go where?”
“There’s a lake out past the eastern road. It’s said to house the spirit of the Old Queen. Your plan was to ask her.”
Freya nodded. Ku had said that she should follow things as they progressed here, so she supposed that following Damon was exactly what she should be doing.
“I should let Ku know that we’re going,” Freya said.
“No need,” she heard from behind her.
She spun around to see that Ku was standing there, leaning against the staircase.
“You think I’ll find a way to break the curse by going?” Freya asked.
Ku smiled. “I will be surprised if it takes to sunset.”
“I GUESS KU WAS WRONG about the sunset thing,” Freya said as the glittering of the sea above them seemed to start to dim. “Not that there actually appears to be a sun here...”
“The road is just up ahead,” Damon said, marking the first time he had spoken since they had left the castle.
To say that he had been withdrawn would have been an understatement. She supposed that it made sense. She had essentially become a stranger to him. But it was difficult. As much as he wasn’t the Damon she knew on Earth, nothing about the way he spoke or carried himself told her that.
“So, how far down the road is the lake?”
“Not long. We should reach the lake just as it gets dark. It is rather fortuitous.”
“Why?”
“Legend says that the spirit in the lake will only meet with you at dark.”
“Anything else I need to know before we arrive?”
“Lilies are common to the area. You’ll need one to give as an offering to the spirit.”
Freya nodded, realising that the other her had probably known all of that.
“I know that telling me things that I should already know must be annoying for you,” Freya eventually said in an effort to get him talking, “but it would be better than silence.”
“I know,” he conceded, looking sheepish. “I just... I’m not sure where to begin. And there are some things that I would rather not relive.”
“Oh,” Freya said, not sure what else to say, though she desperately didn’t want to lapse into silence once more.
Unfortunately, Damon wasn’t in a talkative mood, and Freya ended up too anxious to find her words.
They spent the rest of the trek in silence and, by the time they could see the lake, she was thoroughly sick of it.
“So, where are these lilies?” Freya asked, thankful for the excuse to break the silence, and Damon indicated a little way off the road.
“I’m sorry for my evasiveness before,” Damon said as Freya decided which flower to take. She was glad that there was only one kind. She didn’t really pay attention to anything that wasn’t interesting to her, which meant that she ended up pretty oblivious to a lot of things, including exactly what a lily looked like.
“It must be difficult for you,” Freya sympathised. “I imagine I’m quite different to how I usually am here.”
“I... Not exactly. But in some ways, yes. Just a few, but... they’re important.”
Freya found her gut wrenching at that. It wasn’t her fault that she wasn’t the other her! He didn’t have to sound so goddamn sad about it. She cursed her throat for burning a little. He hadn’t meant anything by it, he just wanted the other Freya. Her Damon would probably say the same if she was replaced by the Shadow Realm version of herself.
“Alright,” she said as she tore one of the flowers from the ground. “Where’s this spirit then?”
Damon indicated back to the lake.
Freya stormed over, knowing that she should calm down before meeting the spirit, but also kind of not caring. She had been ripped from her realm and forced to adapt to this one, in a move that would probably result in the destruction of Creation, and now she was being made to feel bad because Damon’s friend was gone.
She threw the flower at the lake.
“We call to the spirit of the lake,” she yelled, making only the most minimal effort to keep the annoyance from her voice.
Her petty irritation at Damon quickly faded, however, as the water began to stir. It rose up from the lake, taking the form of a woman.
A very familiar woman.
“Amber?” Freya said in recognition. “You were the Old Queen?”
She supposed it made sense. Everything here was symbolic, and Amber had been the most powerful being on Earth. So, she was the queen. Which would probably make her successor... Freya didn’t want to believe that it was her, but she was pretty sure that she knew how this was going to end.
“You are not of this realm,” the water Amber said.
“No, I’m not,” Freya replied. “But I have nothing better to do, so I’m fulfilling the quest of the me from here.”
“There is no other. It is always you. You have simply forgotten.”
“I don’t suppose you have a way to fix that?”
Amber smiled. “True love’s kiss should remind you of what you have forgotten in the trauma of coming here.”
Freya gave a frustrated sigh. “Why is that always the answer to everything? Alright, fine. Since I’m not getting my memories back, or returning home, can you help us locate someone of Ancient Blood? We want to restore them to the throne.”
“None who are not tainted.”
Freya definitely had not been expecting that.
“Tainted? What do you mean?”
The water started the bubble beneath Amber as she rose even further.
“The bloodline has been tainted. It should be allowed to die. The people care little for the struggle for the throne. This fighting is a vanity, nothing more.”
There was a clap of thunder and the sea above them began to swirl rapidly. A second after the whirlpool fully formed, a bolt of lightning appeared from the centre, striking Freya down.
Chapter Thirteen
“Freya!”
Freya groaned as her senses returned to her. Part of her expected to awaken on Earth, but she opened her eyes to see the Shadow Realm version of Damon hovering over her, his face fraught with concern.
“Think she was trying to kill me?” Freya asked as she tried to sit up. Her chest hurt, as if someone had hit it dead-on with a battering ram.
Damon frowned. “But why would she?”
“If I had to take a guess? I think I might be the ‘tainted’ one she was talking about.”
“What? How?”
“Ku. I’m pretty sure Ancient Blood just means whoever she’s bonded with. First it was Amber, and I’d bet good money on the Rebel Queen being my mother when she was here. And now, technically, me. Except Ku is refusing to properly bond with me, so I’m her host in little more than name.”
“Is that what she meant by ‘tainted’?”
“I have no idea.”
“Freya... Are you sure you’re okay?”
She raised an eyebrow at his concern. “Why do you care? I’m not your Freya.”
“You are,” he said, reminding her of what Amber had told them. “You just don’t remember.”
“And I won’t. Even if I had a true love, which I don’t, their kiss would send me home, not return my memories.”
She sighed, frowning in thought as the gears of her mind turned.
“If I can’t get home, there has to be a way to stop Peter from this side,” she eventually said.
“Peter?”
“The one who cursed me. Ku and Juni seemed convinced that I could break the curse from this side, but I don’t think that I could. Not the way I’m meant to, anyway. But if everyone has a counterpart here, shouldn’t Peter? Can’t I stop him on this side?”
“But we’d have to find him first. Who is he on your side?”
“A Faerie. I’m not quite sure how the Fae work, but he seemed to be something of an authority.”
He shook his head. “Fae don’t have Shadow Realm counterparts. They’re the only beings who don’t, apart from non-Sensitive Humans.”
Freya frowned. “What about the girl he’s trying to turn? What if she’s Sensitive? Could we sever her from his magic?”
Damon thought on that for a moment. “We could maybe bring her here, just like you were brought. You’re fully realised, so you should have the power to enact that kind of change.”
“And that will hopefully break the curse.”
“But we have to find the girl first. I... I might be able to help with that.”
“What do you mean?”
“The prince may be gone, but those who were once loyal to him continue to maintain order. Including my aunt. We could ask her to look at the citizen registry. If you know the girl’s name, we should be able to find her.”
“And she’s not going to raise an eyebrow at you bringing a strange scavenger girl home?”
“Hmm... Think you could pass as a noble woman?”
“I... I guess. If I got some nicer clothes.”
“That can be arranged.”
DAMON’S AUNT’S MANOR was surprisingly close to the lake. Or maybe the strange way that time worked in the Shadow Realm simply made it feel that way.
Damon led her through the servant’s quarters, and the way that no one reacted to him as they moved through told Freya that this wasn’t unusual for him.
“Weren’t we going to sort out clothing?” Freya hissed under her breath as they moved through to what appeared to be the bed-chambers.
“All in due time,” Damon said before leading her into a room.
She doubted that it was his, given that the first thing that caught her eye was the crib by the window, with an intricate mobile of stars above it.
“Whose room is this?” Freya asked, unable to draw her eyes from the purple blanket draped over the side of the crib, with silver stars embroidered across it.
“This place originally belonged to the prince’s wife. He gifted it to her just after they wed.”
“And what’s with the crib?”
Damon shrugged. “I don’t know. This room - their room - was sealed after they died. I’ve never been in here before.”
“So why are we in here now?”
“Because if we steal one of my aunt’s dresses, she will recognise it.”
“So we’re stealing from the dead instead?”
“Or you could meet my aunt dressed like that.”
Freya looked down at her tattered dress, which was now singed from lightning and covered in the mud she fell into.
“I take your point.”
“I’m just hoping these fit. I have no sewing skill.”
“Me neither.”
Damon passed her a dress that was a deep, blood red, with intricate black lace. Freya gave him a grateful smile as she headed into the en suite, deciding that a fancy dress would be of no use to her if she was covered in mud, sweat and grime.
Thankfully, while the Shadow Realm seemed to lack electricity, magic was commonplace. As Freya stepped into the shower-like space, a cloud formed above her, giving off a low growl of thunder as it pelted her with warm, clean rain.
The cloud was replaced by a warm wind after Freya finally felt clean again, drying her off. Though she had to extract the water from her thick hair herself.
“This is going to take forever,” Freya decided as she examined the dress in front of her. There was some kind of corset involved and several straps in awkward places.
After what felt like an age wrestling with it, Freya finally managed to get herself into the dress, in what she assumed was the correct fashion.
Damon’s eyes widened at her as she left the en suite.
“What?” she asked, her tone a little sharp. The dress was nice, but she had liked her scavenger garb too. She didn’t want to be told that this was prettier. It would feel too much like being told that she had to wear it from now on.
“I just... I never thought of you here, with the nobility
. Having you look the part is... very strange.”
Freya frowned. She couldn’t tell what he meant by that from his inflection.
“Bad strange or good strange?” she asked, deciding to be direct.
“Both, if that makes sense. I... I don’t always like it here. There’s too much hiding. Too many games played with false smiles. I always liked that you didn’t belong to this world, but you were so far removed from it that being with you and then coming back here... It felt like living in two very different worlds. Having you here closes that gap, but I’m not sure how much I want it closed.”
Freya gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s just until we find Zoe. Then we can go back home.”
He raised an eyebrow and she blushed as she realised that she had just referred to the abandoned castle as their home.
“You know what I meant. I go back to my realm, and you can go back to wherever.”
Damon didn’t lower his eyebrow.
“Aren’t you supposed to be taking me to your aunt right now?”
DAMON TOOK HER THROUGH from the bed-chambers, leading her to the main part of the manor.
“She’ll probably be in her office,” Damon said as he led her up a tower. “Just... Be careful when speaking to her. My aunt is a Seer. If you lie to her, she’ll know.”
“So then why are we pretending I’m nobility?”
“Lying is impossible, but bending the truth is usually okay. And if you’re the Rebel Queen’s daughter...”
“Okay, I see what you’re doing.”
He knocked on the door at the top of the tower as they reached it, taking Freya’s hand before seemingly deciding better of it and letting go.
“Come in,” came the voice from beyond.
Damon opened the door, revealing a round room where the walls were completely covered with books, with just the smallest space for a single window. In the centre of the room was a desk, at which a woman in a beautifully simple black dress sat, with her dark hair tied up in an intricate knot.
“Aunt Seph?” Damon said, drawing her attention from the parchment in front of her.
She smiled at him. “Ah, Damon. Back from your ‘adventuring’, I see?”