Chosen One

by Katie Holland

  Jack and Logan went upstairs. Alix, Ben and Shay remained in the foyer. Alix told Shay everything that happened after they left her with Sara. Shay had a lot of questions about what happened since the Ceremony. Alix and Ben told her everything. Shay was quiet for a while, but the real Shay was never very far away.

  “Well, at least I get to meet a cute boy all over again,” she said and grinned.

  “And there she is everyone, Shay is back.”

  * * *

  Alix, Shay and Ben, went and found the rest of their group and told them what they learned about Logan. There were a few skeptical looks but eventually Alix convinced them all to give him another chance.

  At 3:00 they were at the bus and ready to go to London. Jack and Logan decided it was best if they stayed at Fox Hollow, Ruth and Gordon stayed with them.

  Shay was really looking forward to seeing London since she didn’t remember the shopping trip. They got settled for the hour-long bus ride.

  “Alix,” Ben said about half way to London, “why did you fight so hard for everyone to give Logan another chance? I mean he hurt you and Shay. I don’t understand.”

  “I think it was the look on his face when I’d told him what he’d done. He was horrified. That told me a lot about him.”

  “Hmm, I guess I can understand that but I’m still having a hard time with this.”

  “That’s okay Ben. I don’t expect everyone to all get along right away. I’d just like you to give him the benefit of the doubt. He was used by the Grynn as a tool, those weren’t his actions. Don’t get me wrong, I’m going to keep my eye on him, but I don’t think anything else will happen.”

  “The longer I know you the more you continue to impress me Alix. No wonder you’re the Chosen One. You’re treating Logan with a fairness I don’t think I possess.”

  Alix blushed at the compliment. “I’m not sure about all of that.”

  “Well I am, and you know I’m always right,” Ben said smiling and nudging Alix in the side.

  “I’m glad you think so,” she said back and smacked him in the arm.

  As they got closer to London Shay was getting more excited. Alix felt bad that she didn’t remember the shopping trip. She hoped that they had another chance to do that.

  The bus drove them around the city. They saw the Tower of London, the London Eye, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace. Alix got some beautiful pictures of the sun setting over London. The bus took them to a local restaurant. It was busy, so it must have been good. Everyone had a great time at dinner. They all took some pictures at the restaurant and got back on the bus to head back to Fox Hollow. The next thing Alix knew Ben was shaking her awake.

  “Alix, were back,” Ben said.

  “Huh?” Alix mumbled.

  “You fell asleep on me on the way back from London.”

  “Oh, sorry. What time is it?”

  “Almost 8:30. I didn’t mind.”

  Alix, Ben, and Shay went inside and made their way upstairs to Alix’s room.

  “I’m really tired,” Alix said flopping down on the couch. “How about you guys?”

  “I know I am,” Shay said.

  “Well it’s been a rough couple of days,” Ben said. “Should we just chill out for the rest of the night.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Alix said. “Hey, what’s on the agenda for tomorrow anyway?”

  No one knew so Alix got up and looked at the itinerary.

  Tuesday November 8

  - 8:00 am – breakfast

  - 9:00 am – leave for London

  - 10:00 am – tour of Buckingham Palace

  - 1:30 pm – lunch

  - 2:00 pm – tour Tower of London

  - 5:30 pm – London Eye

  - 7:00 pm – dinner

  - 9:00 pm – arrive back at Fox Hollow

  “Wow, it’s a busy day tomorrow. Look,” Alix said and showed Shay and Ben the itinerary.

  “Awesome,” Shay said when she read it. “I can’t wait. I’d better get lots of sleep tonight.”

  “Do you want to stay here again?” Alix asked her.

  “If you don’t mind,” Shay said.

  “Of course, we don’t mind,” Alix told her.

  “We?” Shay asked.

  “Uh, yeah, Ben has been sleeping here since we found out about Logan and trying to get Ben to let me be by myself is like talking to a wall.”

  Shay looked at him and he just shrugged. “It’s true. I’ve been sleeping on the couch.”

  “Okay … so can I sleep with you Alix?”

  “Sure. Let’s go get some of your stuff from your room then.”

  Ben went to his room to get his sleeping stuff and the girls went to Shay’s. They watched TV for a while then the three of them got settled for the night. After the previous night’s activities, they were all still quite tired and fell asleep quickly.

  Chapter 29

  Everyone was up bright and early the next morning. Alix was pretty sure that they all wanted to put the Logan thing behind them and focus on the rest of the time they had in England.

  Merideth had gone all out this morning with a huge breakfast. She had also packed them a bunch of snacks and lunch since they were going to be gone all day. Everyone was on the bus and ready to go by 10:00, including Jack and Logan. They had been fairly quiet at breakfast, but Alix was happy to see that no one was giving Logan any death glares. Even Ben was acting civil.

  Ben ended up sitting next to Alix and that put Shay and Sara together. Jack and Logan had opted to sit at the very back not wanting to cause any unnecessary tension.

  Alix had brought her eReader with her today. She read until they were on the outskirts of London. She didn’t think she’d ever tire of seeing it. The bus drove them to Buckingham Palace. Alix noticed that there were lots of people outside looking at the palace but that the front gates were closed. They passed the gates and went on another road that took them to what looked like the back of the palace. The bus stopped and let them out. Alix’s curiosity was getting the better of her and she had to ask Ruth what was going on.

  “Ruth, what are we doing here? I mean shouldn’t we be at the front of the palace where the guards are?”

  “Actually Alix, the palace is only open for public tours during the summer months. We’re getting a private tour.”

  “Oh,” Alix said and thought for a second. “Is this because of me?”

  “Yes, mostly. And the Queen is actually a Nykara Alix.”

  “No way! Really?”

  “Yes, really. I believe the Book of Nykara mentioned that there are many of us in high ranking positions did it not?”

  “It did but this still surprises me. I sure have a lot left to learn," Alix said.

  “That will come with time,” Ruth told her.

  “Good morning and welcome to Buckingham Palace and an extra warm welcome to the Kaelneth,” a man said as he approached them.

  He walked straight to Alix and did a little bow. She was at a loss for words.

  “Um … hi?”

  “Kaelneth, it’s an honor to meet you. My name is Robert. I’ll be your tour guide today. Please let me know if there is anything I can assist you with.”

  “Uh, hi Robert,” Alix said. “Please call me Alix. I’m not used to formality and everyone here calls me by my name.”

  “Alright,” he said looking a little uncomfortable. “Miss Alix.”

  She smiled. “You don’t happen to know Gordon from Fox Hollow, do you?”

  “Why yes, he’s my brother.”

  Alix smiled harder. When he had called her Miss Alix, he sounded just like Gordon. “It’s okay Robert. Your brother had a hard time using my first name as well.”

  “Everyone please follow m,e and we’ll begin the tour,” Robert announced.

  They followed him through a small gate and into a courtyard of some sort. From there they entered a door and into the palace.

  As th
ey were walking to their first destination Alix got Shay and Ben’s attention. “Hey, guess what I learned. The Queen is Nykara. That’s why we’re getting this tour. Normally they only do them in the summer.”

  “Wow,” Shay said. “I wonder if we’ll get to meet her.”

  “I doubt it,” Alix said. “But wouldn’t that be something if we actually did.”

  Not a lot more was said because they were all too busy staring at what was around them. It was amazing. Alix had only seen something like this on TV before. Everything was so elegant and ornate. She couldn’t imagine living in such a place. They were shown the entire palace except for the Queen’s private rooms. It was more than any of them could have asked for.

  They were scheduled to have lunch later, but Robert had arranged for them to eat lunch at the palace in one of the formal dining rooms. Alix loved it. The meal was wonderful. She was glad Merideth had been able to go with them today since she would have hated to miss that meal.

  By the time they left Buckingham Palace Alix was sure she’d taken five hundred pictures. She was glad she’d remembered to charge her camera the night before since she knew she was going to be taking a lot more.

  They arrived at the Tower of London in much the same fashion as they’d arrived at the palace. Alix wasn’t really surprised that they were being given another private tour. She didn’t mind in the least. It meant they got to see things that no one ever got to see.

  Everyone was amazed at the things they were seeing and the lady giving them the tour was extremely knowledgeable. If Alix could learn all history like this she might not hate it.

  When they got back on the bus Meredith handed out snacks to everyone as it was still going to be a while until they ate dinner. They arrived at the London Eye at 5:30. They were booked for 6:00 so they were able to take a look at the information about it before they boarded. It was going to take about thirty minutes to go around. Alix loved being up high and was really looking forward to it. They boarded just as the sun was setting. Seeing London from the Eye was incredible and doing so at sunset was breathtaking. Alix didn’t know who planned this, but they did a wonderful job. She was guessing it was Gordon.

  By the time they had made it all the way around it was pretty much dark. Alix would have loved to go again but that wasn’t on the schedule for today, maybe another day. They all had a chance to go to the gift shop and find a souvenir or two. They got on the bus again and were taken to a different place for dinner than last night.

  Tonight’s restaurant served French cuisine. Alix was excited when she saw the menu. She’d never had real French food, and this was as close to Paris as she was getting right now so she ordered and appetizer, an entrée and a dessert. She knew she couldn’t eat it all but was hoping that Ben, or possibly Logan could help her.

  Alix noticed over the course of the day that mostly everyone in their group had spoken to or at least acknowledged Logan. That was a good sign she thought. She even noticed Shay looking at him when he wasn’t paying attention. He was cute in the boy next door meets rock star way. She knew that was totally Shay’s type and hoped that they could at least all be friends. Alix really hoped that she cured him of everything the Grynn did. She couldn’t give him the six weeks back but at least he wasn’t being controlled by them anymore.

  Alix was practically giddy by the time her appetizer arrived. Shay’s mouth dropped open when she saw what Alix ordered.

  “What is that?” Shay asked with a look of horror on her face.

  “It’s escargot,” Alix replied with a smile.

  “Isn’t that snails?” Shay asked.

  “Yep, in a garlic butter sauce.”

  “Oh my God Alix, that looks completely gross. Why would you order that?”

  “I’ve been waiting to try real French food for a long time. I wasn’t going to waste the opportunity. They smell great.”

  Alix speared one with her fork and put it in her mouth. She heard Shay say “Eww. Alix wasn’t sure what she expected when she bit into it, but it wasn’t what she thought. The garlic butter sauce was great, but she was having trouble with the texture. She thought maybe it was something that you just got used to the more you tried it. But for tonight trying one was enough. She asked if anyone else wanted to taste one. She managed to give the other seven away. The only one who seemed to really like it was Ben, but she was sure he’d eat anything.

  The rest of the dinner went by too quickly for Alix. She loved what she’d ordered for her meal and the dessert was to die for. She thought that if she ever had the time and money she’d go to France and study at a pastry school.

  Alix was so full by the time they left she was sure Shay was going to have to push her up the three steps of the bus. To keep from falling asleep again on the way back Alix read. Shay was talking to Sara and Ben was talking to his dad. She noticed that Jack and Logan didn’t sit at the very back of the bus this time which was encouraging.

  By the time they got back to Fox Hollow it was a little after 9:00 pm and Alix was exhausted. She realized she didn’t have a clue what was on the schedule for tomorrow. She also hadn’t really talked to her parents much in the last couple of days. She just always seemed so busy but planned to see them before she went to bed.

  Alix, Ben and Shay went up to her room. The girls changed into comfy clothes and checked out the itinerary for tomorrow.

  Wednesday November 9

  - 8:00 am – breakfast

  - 9:00 am – leave for London

  - 10:00 am – Trafalgar Square

  - 12:00 pm – lunch – vendors at the square

  - 1:00 pm – Big Ben

  - 3:00 pm – airport

  - 3:30 pm – shopping

  - 6:00 pm – leave for Fox Hollow

  - 7:00 pm – dinner

  - 8:00 pm – games night

  Shay did a little happy dance when she saw they were going shopping tomorrow.

  “I wonder where they’re taking us? I hope it’s some really cute clothing boutiques. Wait a minute, the schedule says airport. Why?”

  “Sara and Samantha have to go back home tomorrow. Jack and Logan were supposed to be going with them but because of what happened they have to stay," Alix told her.

  “Aww, that sucks. I’m going to miss Sara.”

  “Oh my God Shay!” Alix said scaring Shay, “I can’t believe I forgot to tell you this. After the meeting with all of us and the Council members I had another meeting. Me, mom, dad, Ben, Natalie and Rick all had to talk to the council. They wanted me to move here and live or be homeschooled and live in the Nykara house back home. I told them no. I talked to mom and dad as well as Ben and his parents. We decided on a compromise. Mom, dad and I are going to live with Ben and his parents in their house. And Sara had mentioned wanting to come to Sunset Creek so I’m going to ask if she wants to rent our house.”

  Shay was quiet for a minute. “Um … okay, that’s actually kind of intense. I can’t imagine you not living in your house, I mean I kind of grew up there too.”

  “I know it’ll be weird, at least at first but just think, I’ll be closer to you and you can still come over and hang out as much as you want. I wasn’t going to miss out on my senior year, especially if you would still be going. I understand they were only thinking about my safety, but I told them no and came up with another idea. I’m trying to minimize the things that make me different, not stand out more.”

  “Okay,” was all Shay said.

  “Just okay?”

  “Yep. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe too.”

  “Aww, I love you, you know that, right?” Alix told Shay.

  “Yep and I love you too,” Shay said and hugged Alix.

  “Can I get in on this hug too?” Ben said laughing.

  “Crap, I forgot you were here,” Shay said.

  “That hurts my feelings,” Ben said making a sad face at Shay.

  Alix just laughed at the two of them. “I’m
going to go see if my parents are still up. I haven’t had much of a chance to talk to them. Are you two going to be okay by yourselves?” she asked grinning at them.

  “I think we can manage. We might fight over the remote, but I don’t think it’ll get violent,” Ben said grabbing the remote.

  “Okay, I’ll be back in a little bit.”

  Alix left the room with Shay trying to get the remote from Ben. She was pretty sure Ben was going to win that one. She knocked on her parent’s door.

  “Hi honey, what’s up?” her dad asked.

  “Nothing really. I just haven’t had all that much time to talk to you and I kind of missed it.”

  “Well then you’d better come in then. We can’t have our baby girl missing us.”

  She laughed at her dad’s tone. Even though she was still only seventeen and the Chosen One she was pretty sure she was going to need her parents for the rest of her life. She got comfy in the chair and her parents sat on the couch. They started talking and before they knew it over an hour had passed. When she realized the time, she got up to leave.

  “I’d better go see if Shay and Ben are still alive and haven’t killed each other yet. I love you guys,” Alix said hugging both of them.

  “We love you too honey,” her mom said.

  When Alix went back to her room she found Shay and Ben watching a show that looked like it was about seals.

  “What on earth are you guys watching?” she asked.

  “Blue Planet,” Shay answered. “It was the only thing we could agree on.

  Alix just laughed at them.

  “I’m exhausted. Is anyone else ready to go to sleep?” she asked.

  “I am,” they both answered.

  “Okay, that settles it. Everyone in bed. We have to be up early again.”

  Ben made his bed on the couch and Shay got on the other side of the bed from Alix. It didn’t take anyone very long to fall asleep.

  Chapter 30

  At breakfast the next morning Alix sat next to Sara. She wanted to talk to her about the idea of her moving to Sunset Creek.