by K. L. Morton
"You ladies look good, you could almost get away with being Fairon wearing that, apart from your short hair Emma." Garus said.
"What's wrong with my hair?" Emma asked in a slightly offended tone.
"Fairon women have their hair long, maybe you should wear a scarf when you go into Taeith." Morthos answered.
"Or they may think you're a giant pixie." Garus declared with a grin on his face. Emma didn't answer, she felt Trinny squeeze her arm, so all she could do was try and burn a hole in Garus's face with her glare. Although Aarion stayed quiet, he didn't try to hide the fact that he was watching Trinny while the others bantered. His bloodstained clothing had been replaced with fitting charcoal leather pants and black boots, an ivory long sleeve shirt showed under a black finely woven tunic that clung to his tone shape, his belt sat on his hips with his silver short sword attached. This is who he really is, the warrior, Trinny thought. There were gold symbols that ran down his right sleeve, she wondered what they meant, the others didn't have it on their tunics.
"My mother said to meet her by the river." Trinny said looking at Morthos, trying to avoid meeting Aarion's eyes.
"Just out that archway." He directed Trinny to a high arched doorway that had carvings like the ones on the bench seats. Emma and Trinny walked under several archways with large pillars either side before they reached an outside area that was right next to a huge flowing river.
"Trinny!" Her mother called out, she was sitting by the edge of the water and urged the girls to join her. Trinny sat next to her mum on the soft earth and Emma sat along side her. "Beautiful here isn't it?" Lucille said looking out over the moving water. "I've tried so many times to capture the beauty of this place in my paintings, but there are no colors that could ever get it looking the same."
"Of course, all those paintings in the cafe, no wonder I've been experiencing deja vu." Trinny looked at her mum. "...Who are you, and where is my real mother?" Lucille laughed.
"Oh Trinny, there is so much to tell you...but just so you know, I am your real mother, no one else could love you as much as I do. I just don't know where to start."
"How about the beginning?" Trinny said softly, Lucille took her hand and looked at the silver ring that was on her middle finger.
"I see you've meet your grandmother."
"The Nixie Queen?" Emma asked with a shocked look on her face. Trinny just stared at the ring.
"Yes, she's my mother."
"How can she be your mother, you look around the same age?" Emma was dumbfounded at this revelation.
"We age like a normal human when we are in the mortal world, the Fae realm is like drinking from the fountain of youth everyday. Eventually it does catch up on you, but it takes a very long time." Lucille looked back over the water and she took a deep breath. "I was about your age Trinny, when I meet your father, he was so handsome, but it wasn't that that made me fall in love with him. He was gentle and wise, with such a respect for all living things. He was traveling through Elven Wood when we met, a Dragus had been injured by a Dire Wolf, your father fought it off and I watched silently as he healed the Dragus of it's wounds.”
“What’s a Dragus?” Emma asked.
“A Dragus is very similar to a Pegasus, but when it is in full flight or battle, it’s wings ignite in flames and it breathes fire.”
“Wow.”
Lucille continued her story.
“When I saw how your father smiled when the Dragus flew to the safety of the skies, I fell in love instantly and had to reveal myself to him. We spent hours that first night talking under the stars. We understood each other, we were both heirs to thrones, and we both had dreams that differed from leading a life serving our people as their monarchs. He would visit me secretly; we knew our people wouldn't understand. You see, it is forbidden to mix races, so we had to hide our love. My sister discovered us in an embrace one evening and threatened to tell our mother, your father calmed her down, he always had a way with people. She promised to keep our secret and would often come and spend time with us as well, she grew fond of your father also." Lucille looked sad at that moment, Trinny felt her mother wanted to share something more, but she seemed to be holding back. "When I found that I was having you, your father and I made the decision to hide you in the mortal world, as we knew that a mixed child would be considered a sin. We told no one our plans or that we were having you. Your fathers people had been destroyed by then, he had nothing left but me, and there was nothing more he wanted than to protect you. Your father was one of the original Elementals who saved Taeith, but he didn't go into the mortal world when the others did, he couldn't bear to leave me. He would travel through the portals and keep in contact with each generation, only King Toron of the Fairon and the Air Elemental Micah Govad knew who he really was, to everyone else, he was just the son of the Elemental before him. Your father's and my story started over 500 years ago Trinny, it's been nearly seventeen years since I have been back here. The mortal world aged us a little faster than we would have liked, but it was worth it to save you, to have you grow into this beautiful young woman. Your father would be so proud right now." Tears were rolling down Lucille’s face.
"Mum, I understand you know, I'm not mad or anything, I just want to know who I really am? I never felt like I belonged in the mortal world, and now I hear you telling me I may not belong here either, that I'm some dirty secret that has been hidden away. And now I'm meant to help save some Ora thing with powers I don't know how to use in a world that considers me some half cast." Trinny was fighting back her tears.
"No grandchild of mine is a dirty secret, you are a princess of water, graceful and powerful. Lucianna should never have feared to reveal you to me, losing one daughter was painful enough, but losing two broke my heart. When I heard you sing my child, I felt a joy I had not known for half a millennia." No one had noticed the Nixie Queen sitting in the darkness of the water watching.
"Mother! Mother I am sorry for the pain I caused you, I was sure my child would be punished if I stayed." Lucille hung her head low, not wanting to look her mother in the eye.
"Maybe at that time you were right Lucianna, but I do not want to lose you again, and I will not allow my grandchild to be harmed." The Nixie Queen lifted her daughter’s head and embraced her for a long time. Trinny was feeling joy and sadness all at once, she was so happy for her mother to be reunited with her family and to know that she had a grandmother, but she was sad for the pain that her birth had caused them. She sat silently, not even Emma, who always had something to say could find words. The Nixie Queen approached Trinny and took her hand. "You are strong my child, royal Nixie blood runs through your veins, I will be watching over you, I will never be far when you are near water." She kissed Trinny on the forehead and turned to Lucille. "Make sure King Toron knows we are by his side when the Dark Empress attacks." Her face was hard when she mentioned the Dark Empress, then she turned and disappeared into the deep river. It was like a huge weight had been lifted from Lucille’s shoulders, she looked to where her mother had just left.
"Well, you can't pick your family." Emma said to break the silence. "But if I could pick mine Trin, I would definitely go for a Nixie Princess for a mum and an Earth Elemental prince for a dad." Trinny and Lucille laughed; Emma could always lighten a heavy moment. Trinny put her arm around her mum and her friend.
"I have all the family I need here." She said holding them tight. "Mum? Is your real name really Lucianna? It's such a beautiful name, why don't you use it?"
"Yes it is. I have not been called Lucianna in a long time. I did’nt use it in the Mortal world as I did not want to be found, but in this realm I am Lucianna, Nixie Princess, in the human realm, I am just Lucille, cafe owner and full time mother."
"Looks like you are both now." Trinny said with a smile.
Aarion had followed Trinny and Emma outside, hiding himself behind a large tree near where they sat on the riverbank. He was amazed by the story of Trinny's parents, he understood some of th
e feelings they must have felt when they feared to let people know of their love, just as he feared his own feelings he felt for someone he could never be with. His people would never accept an Elemental as their future Queen, even if she were a princess. He pushed himself tightly against the tree as Trinny, Emma and Lucille walked toward the inner Sanctuary.
"It must of been what Micah meant when he said your blood wasn't tainted Trinny, because your dad is one of the original Elementals and your mum is a princess, it makes sense now." Emma said as they entered the archway.
"There is one more thing Trinny." Lucille stopped at the door.
"There's more?" Trinny asked in an unbelieving tone.
"Your father called you Trinity for a reason. Did I ever tell you you were born with no hair, not one strand, you were three before you grew any."
"What's that got to do with my name?" Trinny was confused.
"Your father knew the moment you were born how special you really are."
"Mum, what do you mean?" Lucille looked into her daughter's amber eyes.
"You were not the first half cast. The day I met your father, he was aimlessly traveling through the Fae realm, he had run away in anger from Cassis. He'd overheard his parents fighting, and was struggling with what he had learnt." Lucille paused, taking in Trinny's lost expression. "He had learnt that his mother had had an affair with the King of the Air Elementals, his parents kept it secret from him and of course their people, they were worried James would be rejected, but when he was born, he had all the traits of Earth, and his mother didn't worry any further. All Air Elementals are born with no hair, the males never grow hair at all, and the females only get hair when they are young children. Your father named you Trinity because it means 'threefold'. I was never really sure, but when I saw you stop the wind in that wheat field, I knew. You have the power of Earth, Air and Water Trinny, when you grasp hold of your abilities, no one will be able to defeat you, not even the Dark Empress herself." Trinny's mouth had nearly dropped to her chest. She couldn't speak.
"Mrs. Gaia, I think we need to give Trinny some time out for a minute or two and let her collect her thoughts." Emma could see Trinny needed to process all this information.
"Of course. Trinny, we'll be inside if you need us." Lucille and Emma left Trinny alone; her head was spinning from all the information. But she wasn't alone, Aarion came out from behind the tree, Trinny met his emerald green eyes she adored so much.
"You heard all that?" She asked in a whisper. Aarion nodded. "I guess you don't want anything to do with me now, all the mixing of races stuff and the half cast thing." Aarion moved toward Trinny, he cupped her face in both his hands, her lips slightly parted as she realized what he was doing. He brushed his lips against hers, his hands dropped to her arms; he squeezed them gently as he kissed her lips fully. She felt a tingle spreading over her body from where his lips touched hers, and where his hands caressed her. His kiss became more passionate as his arms moved around her, he now embraced her so strongly she didn't even know if she could take another breath, but she didn't care, she never wanted him to let go, even if this moment was her last. His kiss softened and his lips parted from hers, his eyes were closed as he gently leant his forehead against hers.
"I just wanted to do that once." He said in a breathy whisper. "I wanted you to have a memory of me kissing you, something that can only be ours." He had opened his large green eyes and was looking with such tenderness into Trinny's.
"You make it sound like a goodbye." She could sense there was more he had to say.
"Your mother and father were never meant to be together, they had to hide their love and leave their families just so they could be. I can't do that to my family Trinny, I have a responsibility to my people."
"Why do you feel all this is your responsibility? Why would you give up your happiness and what you want, just to make your people happy? I am proud of my parents for the choice they made, they followed their hearts, I really hope that's a lesson I can take from them and put into my own life." Trinny's convictions hit a nerve with Aarion.
"I don't have the same luxuries as you. I'm sorry." He kissed Trinny slowly on the forehead and walked quickly into the darkness of the Willow trees. Trinny felt overwhelmed, she was just discovering who she was, and now her heart was being ripped out of her chest, longing to run after the person she wanted to be with more than anyone. But she also knew that she could never be with someone who wasn't willing to give her their whole heart. She didn't want to be alone anymore, she walked into the old stone building and put on her bravest face, she huddled up beside her mum like she did when she was little.
"Are you okay honey, I know this is a lot to handle?" Lucille put her arm around her daughter.
"No, I'm not." Trinny looked up as Aarion came into the room, he looked at Trinny then quickly turned away, joining Morthos and Garus.
"You're growing up faster than I would have liked." Lucille spoke lovingly into her daughter’s ear.
"When we were in the forest, how much did you see?" Trinny asked her mum.
"I've been with you since you arrived in the Fae realm, I was waiting in the forest for your arrival. Once I organized someone to look after the cafe I used your fathers Cipher to portal me through. I haven't really missed much since then." Lucille smiled at Trinny.
"Oh...I don't really know what to say then, can we just not talk about it right now?" Trinny was feeling a bit embarrassed, the last thing she ever wanted was for her mum to see her kiss a boy.
"Why? What happened? Am I missing something?" Emma didn't like being left out of anything.
"I'm sure Trinny will share when she's ready." Lucille said with a knowing smile. Emma looked disappointed, but she respected her friend enough to let her share in her own time, Emma had a very strong feeling it was about Aarion.
"We leave at midnight for Taeith, try and get some rest before then." Morthos bellowed out.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
'The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.' ~Marcel Proust
It was dark on the river, the evening was cooler than the last couple of nights, but the breeze felt refreshing on Trinny's face.
"This boat is pretty cool, kind of like those Viking ones, but without all the oars, good thing, because I wasn't going to offer to row." Emma declared to Trinny. The old style cog boat was very smooth on the water, it sailed through the river a lot faster than Trinny thought it could. It was about fifty feet long, with a curved bow and stern, there were carved scroll shapes on the tip of each curved end. The rear of the boat had a raised platform where Morthos, Garus and Aarion sat. One of the Elves was steering the rudder and another was keeping an eye on the square sail, which was on a tall single mask in the center of the boat. Trinny was pleased it had a wide flat deck, as she had always felt a little queasy on boats, but this was bigger than other ones she had been on.
"It's so dark tonight, no moon or stars, do you think it's going to rain?" Trinny asked her mother.
"I can smell it, most likely tomorrow, we should be fine tonight." Lucille said as she drew in the night air.
"You can smell if rain is coming?" Emma asked.
"It's just another form of water, I can smell or sense coming rain, or if there is a water source close." Lucille answered.
"Do you think I could do that?" Trinny asked.
"It will come to you, it'd be hard right now as we're on the river, but as your senses become more finely attuned, you should be able to know if rain is coming." Lucille stroked her daughter’s hair gently.
"So what can Trinny do Mrs. Gaia?" Emma asked.
"We have seen she can heal, and move earth mass, she has been able to stop the wind and use water to call upon her people, the Nixies, most of these things she has done without trying. Because she has a royal bloodline, she has more power than normal, like I froze the Gray Annis; only Nixie royals can do that. But I really don't know what she is capable of, I know she is powerful
, I feel it." Lucille smiled at her daughter.
"Do you think I will ever be able to shape shift like you?" Trinny asked.
"I don't know, time will tell."
"Shape shift? What do you mean by that?" Emma asked excitedly.
"Nixies can take the form of many types of animals from this realm, no other human forms, just animals. It takes many years of training to develop the skill and not all Nixies even bother, but as part of a royal bloodline I was required to learn all of our ancient ways."
"That is so cool." Emma shook her head in amazement, she felt like she had opened up a fairytale book and jumped straight into the pages to join the story.
"It can have its perks." Lucille looked out along the dark water of the river, she didn't want to let Trinny or Emma see the worry on her face. She knew her daughter may not be ready for what was ahead of her, and she didn't know what Trinny was really capable of, she was afraid for her.
"Mrs. Gaia, do you think Nina and Micah are still alive?" Emma had thought often about Nina, in the short time she had spent with her, she knew she had made a friend for life, she was just hoping that meant a very long life.
"The Elves have sent scouts out searching the realm for the Dark Empress's lair, there are no better trackers than Elves, we'll know soon enough if she has spared them. She'd only keep them alive if they were to serve some purpose to her, lets hope that's the case." Emma nodded at Lucille and lay back on the deck where she had laid her sleeping bag, hoping to get some sleep.
"Mum, when will we arrive in Taeith?" Trinny questioned.
"Early morning. I need to go ahead of you, there are a few old friends I need to see before you arrive in Taeith."
"Will you be safe?" Trinny looked worried.
"I'll be in the water, there is no safer place for a Nixie. I'll see you in the morning, try to get some sleep Trinny." Lucille gave her daughter a kiss and dived silently into the river, Trinny laid her head next to Emma.
"He kissed me!"
"What? Aarion? I knew it, I could tell something was going on...So, tell all." Emma had sat up on her elbow leaning toward Trinny.