by K. G. Wilkie
Aeron nodded and hmmed in answer. It was meant to sound patronizing, and his brother clearly understood it that way. "While you go off continuing to do the rounds with the various delegates, I'm off to check in on Alyss. Unlike some people, I have more than just fans, I actually have friends," Aeron continued.
Richard laughed. "Surely you don't mean that? I don't think Alyss thinks of you as a friend at all anymore," he said.
Aeron frowned at him. "What makes you say that? You haven't seen or spoken to her in years."
Richard grinned to bare his fangs. "Oh contraire. I just went to see her a few days ago. When I spoke to her she seemed to be under our roof. And, imagine this even, somehow and in some way she was even shockingly in your private quarters!" Then Richard smirked. "So I asked her why she was there, and she told me she would be quite happy to leave. Naturally, being the gentleman that I am, I obliged her. I opened a portal to let her get away, and you'll probably never find her at this point."
Aeron pinned the man's arms to his sides and squeezed until they popped. "What do you mean? Where did you take her?" he demanded.
Richard frowned at him. "Naturally, when she asked to be sent away, I escorted her off the grounds and through the divide so she is back somewhere in her world now. It was clearly the right thing to do, under the circumstances."
"What?" Aeron roared. He stomped out of the council room as the delegates stared after him.
The king stood up. "He has to attend to some matters of business, but I'm sure he'll return in time for our meeting," he explained. "For now, let us continue to enjoy our time together." The representatives' egos were soothed, and they went back to their chatting.
The king, however, looked at his remaining son with thunder in his eyes. His face promised retribution for the naughtiness.
Richard blanched and turned away from his parent to speak to one of the wizard elders gathered there.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Bound to Meet
Priscilla held Jackie's hand as they were led through the halls of the palace. Hours after Aeron had left Layel's safe house sealed envelopes bound by his seal had appeared in their packs. The two nymphs' orders had come in two different sets of papers. The first set had told them to wait at the hall with the guys until he picked them up to do some project for him. He didn't give any details of the project or warn them how long they'd have to wait on him, but after a week of kicking their heels, both girls started to show their tempers. Priscilla ransacked the library and read all of Layel's collection and began spouting off an endless stream of did-you-knows and trivia questions until she finally found a fact one of the others didn't know, then she'd gloat over it. Jackie took to stomping around the house when she wasn't demanding that all the trees around the property go against her in hand-to-hand sparring for hours on end. A few days in, he'd dropped in and refused to answer any of their demands for explanations about his plans for them and just insisted that he'd returned to tell all of them that they weren't to go anywhere outside of the palace's walls until he came back and gave them their marching orders. Both Cillean and Daerick shrugged at these orders and went into their rooms without being seen again. They had clearly adapted easily to the tenuous plans for their future and gone into their rooms to enter hibernation so they wouldn't be bored while they waited, but the two nymphs didn't have that option and had been forced to wander around the echoing rooms and try to make up games to play with each other. It had been nice, of course, to see each other after so long, but a person got bored of a place more quickly if they know they were stuck in it. When Aeron had dropped in, he'd approved Darien's release from the cell but specified the wizard was to be trapped in the grounds as well, and he took to practicing his magic when he was alone and fighting about his decisions and the quality of his character when Jackie entered the room. Layel did his best as a good host to soothe his guests and keep them as occupied and happy as possible, but it was a difficult task he made no headway in.
By the time Aeron had come back, Jackie had practically leapt at the chance to leave. He hadn't told her any specifics of his plans for her right now, preferring instead to have the illusion of mysteriousness, but he had said it would be safe for Priscilla to come along for now if she wanted. The younger girl hadn't waited for his permission and had tagged along after them both with her long-since repacked bag in tow, but his approval of her coming made it a smoother process setting up to leave. The portal was planned to be set up just beyond the safe house grounds to maintain the integrity of its secrecy spells, but he stopped in the front hall instead of walking on. "I'm going to need to speak to each of you first," he said.
He roused the hibernating vampires and gave both of them further details on his orders in the privacy of their shared room. When he came out, the others demanded, as strongly as one could demand anything of their prince, that he explain the vague meaning of all their individual orders, but he refused and insisted that he'd tell them what they needed to know only when they needed to know it. The wizard especially complained at his high-handedness but subsided at a reminder that the cell was still available for his use again if he couldn't respect his elders. The point that in dragon years at least Aeron was barely the equivalent of a year older than Darien didn't seem to matter much. Still Layel at least asked for clearer orders and was eventually taken aside and briefed in person, though he returned to the hall looking more confused than ever before. Finally he insisted it was time to go and any other concerns the group had could wait. The nymphs were both cheered up by this sign of action and trotted along after him into the portal fires he instantly summoned for the three of them where he'd pulled the two nymphs along with him to supposedly go on a joyride side trip, whatever that meant.
They all materialized in the grand salon of the main palace building. Aeron tread along without waiting for the girls, so they ended up jogging after him to catch up. He could have set them down in the room he actually wanted to be in, but it was a royal policy to reserve the royal privilege of portal use for those of royal blood or mere citizens in more urgent cases, and, while he tended to stretch that tradition as much as possible, he still mostly saved that as a gift for those actively carrying out his orders or for his most-favored retainers. Slowly, they went on foot deeper and higher into the palace. Pris stared at the walls that were solid gold in this section and had no undecorated plaster in sight. Her eyes grew wide as saucers and she began to cling to her big sister. Everyone knew the deepest part of the highest floor was the heart of the palace itself, and moving so close to it must mean they were bound in the direction of some very high security place. Guards were posted along every few feet of wall space in this area. Their eyes followed the girls as they walked onward and upward. Priscilla shivered.
Jackie blithely walked on at her side. In the early days, she had been even more afraid to walk through here with a bossy prince she didn't trust barking out orders to her and the guards staring at her all on her lonesome, but years of work here had dulled the instinctive response to eyes stuck on her face and envious words spoken behind her back.
Aeron finally stopped at a dragon-sized door, the only one of its kind on the corridor full of doors tailored to the human guises most of the creatures who lived here wore on a daily basis. He stood, waiting, until Priscilla moved to open it for him, and then he glided right in. He went straight to his chair and left the two girls to get their own.
"I've called you here today, Jackie, for a little side project. As you know the fate of both the Original and the Shadeworld is at risk," he said. "Obviously, I'm not a fan of that," he added, "but I can't change that. What I can change, and did change, was how likely that was to affect Alyss." Neither of them responded to that.
He looked over and saw that Priscilla was not even paying attention to what he'd said. She was instead squirming in her chair and twiddling her thumbs. Aeron dug around in his desk until he pulled out a gleaming gold contraption that he handed to her. Her eyes widened when it slowly u
nfurled to reveal metal figurines dancing and making silly faces for her and she became absorbed in its antics while the teens talked.
"I made sure Alyss was brought somewhere she would be safe," he continued. "Unfortunately, she's not a huge fan of how I've done that."
Jackie gave him a look. "No, I'm sure not. You've always been known for rationality, practicality, and restraining yourself." Now Aeron squirmed some in his chair. His tutors would have smacked his hands with their rulers if they'd seen such undignified royal behavior growing up, but Jackie zeroed in on it for a different reason. "You look awfully guilty. What did you do, kidnap her," Jackie asked. Aeron nodded and she tsked at him.
He just shrugged. "I had to do what I thought was the right thing, and this was it." Aeron leaned back in his chair and flicked on the screen behind him. It showed Alyss pacing back and forth in her room. "I have her here, but Murray and Veronica report that she is bored and feeling cooped up. She actually seems to think I'm treating her like a prisoner, can you imagine?"
The nymph rolled her eyes. "Looking at that setup, I can't see how it would be possible for her to think anything else. Send me over there and I'll try my best to sort things out, but I make no promises. You terrify me, sir, but she's going to be pretty mad, and I won't go as far as you might like and risk enraging the beast."
He smiled. "I know you can't make any promises, but I think you can do this. I've seen your many failures with getting Alyss to feel less at war with me," he glared at her, "but now that she's here I have more time and can afford to be more lenient with your mistakes." He sighed. "If you can't make any progress on her relationship with me, I might consider this at least not a complete failure if you can manage to put her in a happier mindset about her stay here," he said as he transported both nymphs to stand outside a new door.
The two girls looked at the door. Jackie shrugged and knocked on it.
"Go away," Alyss said. "I'm not interested in your nonsense."
"Nope," Jackie said cheerfully. "I'm stuck being here so we might as well hang out. You'll like it anyways," the nymph added.
At more grumbles from behind the door, Priscilla sighed in defeat and moved to walk away. Jackie motioned for her to stay put as she continued knocking on the door. Priscilla tried to move off and give Alyss space but her sister insisted that they follow through on their orders right away. Jackie determinedly continued to haul the blue-haired girl`s arm until the other finally conceded defeat and threw up her hands.
They banged at the door together. Alyss cracked it open, peeking around the gap. "What is so important that you have to keep harassing me? I'll have you know I might forgive Murray, but if it's that Aeron, you can go away right now. I'm sick of you being a humongous jerk," Alyss said. She finally slammed the door open and stared at the two nymphs on the other side.
"We're none of the above," Jackie said cheerfully. "It`s me and my sis. Priss, meet Alyss. Alyss, meet Priscilla."
Alyss swung the door wide open. She stood, jaw agape, staring at the blonde- and blue-streaked Priscilla`s and the auburn- and green-streaked Jaqueline's appearances. "I didn't think you'd be daring enough to dye your hair," Alyss said, finally smiling.
"It's not dyed," Jackie said. She brushed past her friend and went assuredly into the room. Priscilla, looking apologetic, followed behind her. "It's natural for us to look this way, because we gained the other color when we joined our contractor," Jackie explained.
"What foreign language are you speaking?" Alyss asked, closing the door behind them.
"Cantonese," Jackie said sarcastically.
Priscilla rolled her eyes. "It's because we are in the Shadeworld," she said. At Jackie's confused look she continued her explanation. "The place you went through a portal to is where we are now. Up is down, right is left, East is West, and all of that. It's basically a mirrored copy of Earth. That's why we call it the Shadeworld, because everything here started out like just a shadow of what existed on the Original," the younger girl said. She waved around to point out all the gold in the hall. "Obviously, things got better here and with all the magic floating around, it's officially considered to be better than Earth, at least according to our teachers here," Priscilla added.
Alyss had no trouble believing any of what they said. Somehow, to her it all just felt like truth and agreed with her gut instincts. There was still something that confused her though. "Wait," Alyss said. "What you just said about this crazy place we're in. How do you know any of that? You guys are normal humans just like me," Alyss said.
Jackie blushed. "Well, I might have sort of, kind of implied that. Truth is that both of us are magical weirdos like everyone else here. Maybe you are, too," Jackie added.
"Well, that's an interesting theory. Enough of magic powers and stuff though," Alyss said uncomfortably. She was obviously rattled as much by Jackie's confession of her heritage as by her far-too-probing question, but bringing the attention away from that was more important than thinking it over for now. Alyss quickly shook the matter off in pursuit of her questions. "How can you destroy a divide, a planet, without everyone being aware of it anyways?" she asked.
"It's not a planet!" Jackie exclaimed.
"How can a thing be a planet, but not at all?" Alyss asked confusedly.
"It was never a planet," Priscilla said, calmly sipping some tea. "It is, in fact, a magical construct meant to mirror the Original World, but is merely a shadow of the original shaped and solidified through the Great Wizard`s power," she continued. The chance to share everything she knew had overshadowed her shyness in dealing with a stranger. She continued to explain the formation of their world to her new friend in learning. Priscilla said that The Great Wizard and his retinue of apprentices and underlings replicated the Original Earth, then severed them. They separated the two with The Great Barrier, then left loose spots in the weave of the spell that allowed for travel, creating the portals.
"Why did they go to all of that effort?" Alyss asked curiously.
"Safety," Jackie replied.
The other nymph nodded. "During the terrible witch hunts, all beings of magic were hunted like mere animals, caged and killed for pleasure and amusement," Priscilla said. "Though not all of our races went over initially, over time they came to see the benefits in living in a world where you know you can sleep safely at night." Their planet did have a past marked by war and unrest, but still to most inhabitants, politics and the mess it caused was infinitely better than being killed just for the crime of existing.
"Then the Mundanes, or non-magic-wielding humans, spread their territories. They took up more and more of our land."
"Land is the source of our power. It makes us free," Priscilla said.
Something at that tugged at the back of Alyss's mind. Freedom. Fleeing your land and your home and everything you know for the good of everyone else, and how doing that just led to misery for everyone. But of course Alyss knew those thoughts had nothing to do with her and were just random ideas distracting her from the conversation. She tried to think back and remember what the kid had said while she was zoned out. "Wait a second, who was this important wizard? You never said his name. If you're going to do a history lesson for this crazy place, you should cover all the most important facts," Alyss said. The question snapped them all out of their ramblings and focused back on their main conversation.
Jackie shrugged. Who really knows anyways," she said. "I wasn't alive back then," Jackie said.
Priscilla piped up. "Aariz. The Great Wizard's name was Aariz Kadar. It means leader with power, and he was a great power. My history books say they used to name someone only once they were known for something," she said.
Jackie slowly nodded. "Yes, I-- I feel like I remember something about that being the way of the old days. And that name sounds a little familiar. How do you even know these things," she asked.
"I listen. I read. I learn. All kinds of smart people things," Priscilla smiled gently. "And I read it in that famous history book, The Ori
gin of Us. It said 'Aariz was The Great Leader who created a copy of The Original that was fully functional and livable like the Original had been though it was haunted still by the shade of our pasts," she said. She pursed her lips. "The other books said he was wrong on that and the name had nothing to do with his reason, but I think he was more sharing his opinion on the newly-created world than trying to actually explain it," Priscilla said.
The older girls' eyes were spinning at so much new information, but they went along with her and nodded in the right places. "That being said, what are you guys doing in my room anyways?" Alyss asked once the young nymph stopped. She spread her arms to gesture at the space. "Not that I'm ungrateful. I'm honestly very happy to see some familiar faces around me, but, you know, I wasn't expecting it. I thought you were back in my planet, you know?"
Jackie grinned and hugged her. "We're here to keep you company," she chirped. Finally, she shut the door behind them and got the other girls to sit down on the bed. It might have been so they could talk more comfortably, or to reduce the chance of Alyss running through an open door to freedom, but she kept her reasons to herself.
Whatever the reason, Alyss willingly sat. "Well, I seriously appreciate the visit, but, well. What on earth can we talk about?" Alyss asked. She gestured at the blank walls. "I know there's a TV-like thing hidden in there, but besides that I don't think there's anything to do; and the thing is basically just a 3-D version of those screensavers on old computers and is super boring.
"We could play charades," Priscilla said quietly.
"That`s no good," Jackie rejected it. "I can't act to save my life, and I don't really want to either." She smiled at them. I enjoy being myself far too much to waste my time pretending to be anyone else, even for the sake of fun." Jackie walked over to the storage wall and hit the top left corner. Three different cabinets popped open, overflowing with games and activities to choose from. "We don't need to resort to that anyways; there's plenty of this stuff here," she said.