by SL Perrine
“Where are you going?” Chris jumped up and headed after Farlow.
“There’s a town down there. I’m going to get some pancakes.” He laughed and continued on his way.
“You really think we should be out in the open getting pancakes and risk someone finding us?” Chris asked, a bit callously.
“Chris,” Tabby moaned. “We’ve had nothing but powdered eggs for months now.” She all but begged her for some real food.
“They kept us fed, didn’t they?” Chris commented. “There is too much at stake to risk it on a plate of food.” She tended to the small fire and set about making breakfast. With Chris’s back to them, Tabby and Farlow looked for more twigs to keep the fire going. Chris was right. There was too much at risk and far too great a danger, especially since they were almost at their destination. She had to keep a clear head and remember what they would need to do once they had reached the others.
Farlow took advantage of the distance they had from Chris. “She doesn’t know, does she?” he asked her in a whisper.
“No, and let’s keep it that way,” she responded.
“But it’s going to come out when we get there. You’re…” Farlow was cut short by Tabby’s hand.
“I will deal with that then. Chris took me in when I was all alone here. I don’t know how she’ll react. I’ll tell her in my time.” Tabby stood to bring Chris the twigs, but Farlow stopped her.
“As soon as we get to them, she will know,” he cautioned.
“I know,” she said, leaving him there.
They continued their travels soon after breakfast. Walking out of the cover of trees, they stared at a never-ending field of dew-covered grass. The autumn air was warm and humid in the afternoon, but most of the mornings were cold as ice. The girls continued to follow Farlow and kept to themselves. He hadn’t pressured Tabby again, and she was thankful for it.
“So, Farlow,” Chris started. “Is it okay for me to call you Farlow?”
“Yes, Christina, that is my name. However, you may call me whatever you’d like.” He winked an eye at her.
Chris was taken aback by such a formal use of her name, and she felt as if they were back home. “It’s just Chris,” she quickly added.
“Why? I like your name, Christina. Does it offend you?” he asked.
“No, it’s just what everyone has always called me.” She shrugged. “When we were home, it was Christina, but that was a long time ago.”
“Well, not me. Now, what did you want to ask?”
“I was just wondering. Are you normally this tall, or is it a result of the curse?” Tabby laughed so abruptly she made a snorting sound.
“I’m always this tall. I have seen what they call fairies here. We’re not two-inch-tall bugs with wings.” He sounded a little upset at the suggestion. Tabby couldn’t help but loose another laugh at that remark as well. Farlow gave her a look, but he quickly recovered.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. My mother always said there was more to the curse than she told me. I was just wondering. I never met a fairy. Well, not that I know of, I guess.” Chris pondered whether she had ever been in contact with a fairy back home but quickly dismissed it.
“Oh, you would know if you met one. Fairies tend to be a bit conceited. We are known for pointing out who and what we are. Not to mention the wings,” he said as his wings flapped. They streaked the air with blue light, which lingered as they disappeared again.
“Oh wow. They're beautiful. How is it we can’t see them?” Chris asked, knowing she definitely had never met a fairy before.
“They are flat against my back and translucent. You can really only see them when we use them. The faster they go, the more color they have,” he said with a playful smile.
Tabby could tell he enjoyed showing off.
“Hmmm,” Chris said, pretending not to be impressed. “What color do yours get…or are they always blue?”
“As blue as your eyes,” he answered before heading off in front of them.
“Wow, Chris, you got a thing for the fairy prince?” Tabby elbow jabbed her friend.
“I don’t.” She tried to recall her cool demeanor.
“Well, looks like the fairy prince has a thing for you.” Tabby smirked and took off, ahead of Chris.
“Wait…really?”
Tabby laughed at her.
“I mean, no.” Chris threw the twig she toyed with and quickened her pace.
“So, how much longer? Two days? Because that was your answer three days ago,” Tabby asked.
“Sorry, Tabby. I don’t really know anymore. Maybe Farlow has a better estimate,” Chris told her friend with a shrug.
They were all tired of traveling. Money was getting low, and more and more buio were coming out of the woodwork. They seemed to be everywhere. The incident with the shadow beasts had not repeated itself, nor did anything like it, which they were all thankful for and disappointed by. If it had happened again, they would know the passage was closer to being reopened. Chris could finally find her family.
There had been another interesting point, made by Farlow, of course. If the passage were to reopen before they reached their destination, the buio would again be beasts. They would encounter them along the rest of their journey, which would only prolong them further. The girls continued to follow Farlow and kept an eye out for anyone along the way. When he stopped ahead of them, they hadn’t even noticed until they caught up.
“Oh ladies…” he said with a gleeful smile. “I do believe we have arrived.
As they all looked ahead of them, they could see the outline of a town nestled deep within a large valley. The outskirts of the town were surrounded by a vast field in almost a perfect circle, which stretched out two miles to the forest line. They were standing at the edge of those trees and felt as if a short run would have them there in no time.
“How do we know this is it?” Tabby asked Chris.
Chris’s internal GPS still pulled in the direction of the town. “I can feel it. This is where we’re supposed to be going.” She looked from Tabby to Farlow.
“Okay then. Let’s go.” Farlow grabbed Chris’s hand and led the way.
Chapter -21-
“So, what do you want to know?” I woke in the morning, startled and confused. Ty woke, hearing me stir, and reminded me I was in his room. We decided the kitchen would be more suitable to have our conversation, as it was a neutral room without memories more distant than a few weeks. The dream I had the night before weighed heavy on my mind. I couldn’t stop them, yet I couldn’t get them to come to me as I wanted. I felt as if I’d not slept at all.
“I would like to finally know all of it, please.” I repeated my request from the night before. “Even the parts you might think I’m not ready for.” I sat on a stool at the island.
“Okay, stop me if it gets to be too much,” he said, handing me a cup of coffee. He told the story as he paced the kitchen. “My father is Ourobus, lord of my clan. When my mother, Sheree, gave birth to me, he approached your father, Rowan, about a betrothal,” he started slow. I imagined it was so I could keep up. Then I realized he had mentioned who my father was, but that would have to wait for later.
“Was my mother already pregnant with me?” I took a chance and asked him.
“I don’t think so. Your parents were just married and my father asked that I be betrothed to their first-born daughter. Which in the end, you were their only child,” he added. “There are four kingdoms in Pylira and one king that rules over those four kingdoms...” He trailed off, not sure if he should continue.
I gave him a reassuring look. “For heaven’s sake, I’m not going to pass out.”
“Okay, I just need you to tell me if it gets to be too much.” He wore his emotions on his face more than he ever did before I figured out the truth of everything.
“I’m good. Keep going.”
He looked at me. “Your father rules the four kingdoms.”
“My father is the ruler of
the four clans?” I asked, twisting my hands together.
“Yes,” Ty whispered, continuing with a stronger breath. “When you were sixteen… Are you okay with me saying 'you' or would you rather I just say 'Renella?'” he asked.
“I’m Renella. We established that last night, right? I just need the holes filled in. I can’t help with anything until I remember it all. I can’t remember it when I try to. So, you have to fill in the blanks. We don’t have much time, do we?” I asked, knowing my words to be truth. I just didn’t know how I knew they were truth.
“Yes, but …”
“It’s alright,” I answered before he could ask. “When I was sixteen... keep going.”
He relaxed a little and continued as I listened and drank my coffee. “When you were sixteen, you moved in with us. However, your parents were not aware that my father had started using buio magia when I was very young. By the time you moved in with us, there was already conflict within my family, and the whole clan really. My father had declared himself a king.” He stopped for a minute and gave me a look.
“I’m good. Keep going.”
“Okay. You and I were not very friendly to each other at first. You were mad about having to leave your family and your home. I was mad because I really liked this blonde in my own clan.” He stopped and considered. “Here, she’s your best friend, which I find oddly amusing.” He giggled and I jabbed him in the ribs.
“Ouch, I’m just kidding.” He played at being injured.
“Keep going.” I laughed at him and sipped more coffee.
“You were with us for a year, during which my parents forced us to have dinner every night together in the dining hall, just the two of us. They hoped we would eventually speak to one another and bond.” Ty rolled his eyes at the thought of it. “My mother didn’t think it would work, but it did. We both skipped out on dinner one night, but not together. We both ended up at the pond. You were on one side and I was walking the edge of the other side. We started talking, and amidst my showing off, I fell in. That was the first time we really touched. You grabbed my hand to help me out, and our magic linked together.”
“Linked together?” I asked.
“The night we did the protection spell, I didn’t just stay the night because I was worried about you. I stayed because if you drain, I do too. I didn’t completely because I draw from nature. You see? That’s how I know you are Renella, not because you look the same. Our magic unlinked when the curse was started. That’s one of the reasons why I couldn’t find you.”
“You said you knew a year ago.” I looked at him over my mug.
“Yes, well, that was on looks alone. Without the queen here to verify it, I had to wait a while to figure it out.” His words made me do a double take.
I stood and the mug was left to rattle on the table. “Queen? You mean my mother?”
“Yes, but that’s getting ahead of ourselves.” He sat for a moment, then seemed to think better of it.
“Why didn’t you just tell me that? I mean, about our linked magic. I might have believed this weird reincarnation business a whole lot sooner.” I became flustered, but I didn’t want him to get off course, so I sat back down. “Never mind. Keep going.”
“Are you sure?”
I clenched my jaw. “Yes.”
“We started doing more things together; mostly things that upset my father, so he tried to tear us apart using his dark magic. You were keeping me in the light, and he wanted me to follow in his footsteps. He truly believes power is the most important thing. I used to, but I stopped believing that when I fell in love.”
I blushed and he glanced around the room, grabbing an apple from the bowl on the island. The table, I noticed, was nowhere in sight.
“When you were eighteen, we were planning our wedding, but your family found out about a few things that my father had done. I’ll spare you the details. I’m sure you’ll remember in your own time.” He bit into the apple and made me wait.
“Your mother, Karen, came to my mother and told her about the curse.”
“Karen? But that was a hundred years ago. How?”
He put his hand up to stop me. “I told you. I’m getting to that.” He got up and threw away the apple core. “She told my mother that there was a balance for the type of magic they were performing. All four clans of Pylira were joining the cause to beat my father at his own game. The price would be great, but it would be worth it.”
“All the women would die.” I pointed out I knew that part. “Wait. All four clans, but isn’t the buio clan one of the four?”
“Yes, but we were only branded the buio clan because my father was using buio magia and had become a buio maga. Our clans are not small in numbers, and more than half of our clan didn’t agree with my father’s rule.”
“More than half of them? As in all of the women and children and most of the men that are there now, living with the curse?” He nodded and I knew I had answered my own question. “So every woman; even little girls, they all died?”
“Yes, every one of them died. We don’t see a lot of death normally, so understandably, that was not my favorite moment to relive. Moving on. ” He sat and grabbed my hand. “Your mother only told you what she knew you would believe, and it helped to keep you safe in this world. Just as she’s known all these years I would be looking for you.”
“What does that mean, that you don’t see a lot of death? Are we all immortal?” I asked, suddenly very confused.
He was slow in his reply. “Sort of. One year in Pylira would be one hundred years here.”
“But I remember growing up. It hasn’t been more than seventeen years. How is that possible?”
“That part is still confusing to me. I don’t know how, but each time you die here, you’re reborn.” I sat still, trying to process numbers, but I had to let him finish the story. We could always worry about specifics later.
“Your mother explained that the women’s souls would die.” He stopped again, reading the questions from my eyes. “They chose this as punishment for my father. They also chose this to spare the women of the clan. They haven’t had to endure the torture their king would no doubt inflict on them, since they were all on the side of luce.” He paused for a moment, got up, and walked around while he continued. “It was part of the curse that my father’s outer appearance would match what his inner appearance was, hence the beast form, and he never gets to go back to human form. He’s been that way for a hundred years.” He paused again.
“I know that part. The part I didn’t know about until a year ago was how you all change to a beast when you come here,” I said, picking at my nails.
`“Yes, that was my father trying to keep me from finding you.” He lifted my chin to meet my eyes. “Don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault. We knew what we were agreeing to. We discussed it, remember?” I couldn’t speak, so I nodded in response. That was something I did remember.
He kissed my cheek and stepped back from the counter to continue his pacing. “My uncles tell me the original curse would have ended as soon as our souls found each other again– that when the light magic won over the dark, my father would have been defeated. He would have died and all of this would be over. You and I would have been together sooner.” He stopped to catch his breath. I could see this took its toll on him as well.
“Your mother has given birth to you a few times. Since I was in beast form in this world, I could never find you. Then along the way, your family here started hunting us. All of the clans had thought the beasts were created by my father–pets to search for you and kill you–so they started killing us. They didn’t know it was actually us turned to beasts.” He looked tired and angry. “My father placed a curse on the entire clan. Our forms would change to the beast when we entered the tra monde. He did it so we couldn’t find each other. This was all to keep you and me apart. Your family had nothing to do with it.” He looked sad and angry.
“So, then why are there others here looking to har
m me?” I wondered this for so long. Still, with all the information laid at my feet, I couldn’t understand why I was a threat. They should want to lift the curse Ourobus placed on them.
“They’re working for my father. His new plan is to bring you back to Pylira and then kill you. He believes you can only be reborn if you die here, as part of the original curse.”
I gasped, not needing to feign surprise. I truly did not think about that possibility. “Wow, so why did your uncles bring you here before the passage closed? Do they know who closed it?” I asked. “Where do the uncles fit in?”
“There were many amongst the Clan that was not happy with my father’s use of buio magia. My uncles are a part of that group.” He ran his fingers through his hair and took my hands in his. “My uncles brought me here because they were involved with closing the passage. They found out closing the passages would allow me to be here, in my human form, so I could find you. I didn’t know you were you until I saw you out of my own eyes. In beast form, that first day, I’d no idea who you were”–he squeezed my hands–"until you jumped in front of me to protect me from Xander. Your powers started to regenerate then, and we were standing so close. I couldn’t see you, but I felt you.”
“What do you mean you couldn’t see me?” I laughed at him.
“My beast form changed my senses. Everything I saw was red and faces all looked alike. Even after I regenerated, it lasted for hours. Anyhow,” he said, getting back on topic, "you and I discussed the options. We had a month to prepare. We spent our last night together after you decided you would die with the rest, so we could fight my father and defeat him. That was your choice, and I was told only you could decide. You could have decided to stay with your family, and we would have lived separate lives always, or this.” He held our hands higher and I could feel the energy between us spark. “Or you could die, come back, and we could be together, always.”
“Why wait a year to tell me all of this? Why not tell me the very first day?” I felt hurt and angry.