Elysium's Love Triangle

by Aoife Metcalfe

  It doesn’t sound like he means it.

  Greg welcomes him in.

  Riley explains his first comment, “I thought the Black Widow curse would have struck you down by now Greg. Death must be on your side.”

  Greg looks at me. We both can’t help smiling now.

  “Yeah,” Greg replies. “I’m lucky I suppose. Death decided not to come for me.”

  Concerned people have been asking Greg whether he ‘feels well’ all day. They all assume that we slept together last night, being married and all. They think the curse is going to take him at any minute.

  A few of the Chefs notice Riley’s arrival. They give us all a glass of ‘Pure Fright’ to sip on, while we wait for the meal. This is their version of champagne I suppose.

  I drink it reluctantly.

  Riley begins talking about ‘loyalty’. He thinks it is a good trait.

  Greg tenses up at this. He knows that he hasn’t been loyal to Riley after all. He told Nate’s group all about the weapon.

  Riley changes the subject to weapons.

  Then Greg really looks uncomfortable. He knows that Riley has figured it out.

  I take Greg’s hand.

  This is to show Riley whose side I am on. It is also to remind him that he can’t hurt Greg. He’s my ‘husband’ after all.

  Greg glances at our entwined hands. Then he gives me a smile.

  Cairo’s family don’t ring the doorbell. They just arrive into the dining room. All fourteen of them.

  I wonder at how the parents only had one boy in the middle of all those girls.

  This might have been why they took Greg in. Cairo would have a brother.

  Mr. Vale, the father, could easily be mistaken for a professional wrestler. He’s a big man with muscles that are slightly scary. Mrs. Vale is much smaller; Cairo got his silver eyes from her. She would be much prettier if her lips weren’t permanently pursed together. Right now she is regarding me with an exceedingly suspicious glare. Mr. Vale is also studying me very carefully.

  They both thought I’d be dead by now, I realise. The words Cairo said last night, about me being a beast, were taught to him by them.

  I put on my best smile and welcome them. The woman shakes my hand when I offer it. The man is still too bewildered at my being alive to do so. Cairo arrives into the room last. He looks extremely guilty.

  I look at his fears. ‘Ethereal’ is one of them. He is terrified that someone will make me feel threatened, or otherwise heighten my emotions.

  I hope that Riley will not check what his fears are. I pray that he doesn’t.

  We are all introduced to each other. After this Mr. Vale announces that he would like to perform a fortune telling. He would just love to gaze into the future of the newlyweds, he says.

  I know exactly why he wants to look into my future. He doesn’t trust me.

  Cairo rebukes his father, “Let them find out their future as it happens. There’s no use in taking the surprise out of it.”

  I want Greg’s family to trust me. Letting Mr Vale perform this psychic reading on me may be the only way to gain this trust.

  “I’d like to know my future,” I say cheerily.

  Mr. Vale’s grin goes from ear to ear.

  I sit down at the table. I offer Mr. Vale my hand to study. Then I realise why Cairo was so against the idea. His family are actually psychic.

  They will find out my secret.

  I pull my hand away just as Mr. Vale is about to trace the lines in it. I give the excuse that I am not feeling ‘readable’ today. I instantly curse myself for not thinking of something smarter to say.

  These people think that I’m evil. I need to convince them that this is not the case.

  Mr. Vale is slowly, and quite discreetly, reaching for a knife that has been set in his place at the table.

  No fear, no anger. I repeat these four words over and over.

  He could kill me. He is such a strong man.

  Things are okay. This is a good place. I say it to myself five times.

  A plan forms from nowhere.

  I try to make my voice as sweet and innocent as possible, “Mr. Vale, actually, we could do the reading now. Just, if you would do me a favour, could you use my name ‘Katy’ when you are asking the universe about my future? I am not used to people calling me Ethereal yet so the universe mightn’t recognise this name as mine . . .”

  Greg told me all about fortune telling and his family’s abilities earlier. They can ask the universe and spirits about the person’s future. Sometimes they get answers, sometimes they don’t. The spirits are very picky about the wording of the questions put to them.

  My ‘husband’ gives me a relieved smile and I know that my last move was a good one. The spirits will only tell them about my good side if asked specifically about ‘Katy’. They won’t mention anything about Ethereal. The future shown won’t include the bad side of my soul. They won’t see her motivations within me.

  Mr. Vale doesn’t suspect any kind of trickery in my demands. He quickly agrees to them and takes my hand again. Riley and Greg look very interested now too. They are probably hoping to hear something about themselves. Mrs. Vale looks, as always, like she has just swallowed a prune.

  Mr. Vale starts off by explaining that the universe usually takes about half an hour to give him a reading about someone’s future. It can’t just be hurried up and there are a series of delicate steps that one must go through before they can possibly expect a spirit to show them something.

  He is about to tell me of stage one of this process when his eyes go completely blank. The colour in them just completely disappears and it freaks me out so much. I almost scream.

  I breathe in quickly a couple of times; one must not get scared so easily.

  Cairo can’t believe it. His Dad is getting a prophecy already without even asking any questions. Now everyone else is deeply intrigued. I’m getting the feeling that this kind of thing has never happened before, or else it is an extremely rare occurrence.

  Mr .Vale suddenly speaks. His voice is lower and it sounds as if someone else is speaking through him. I guess it must be one of those spirits Greg told me of.

  Mr. Vale grips my hand tighter, “The girl before me is good hearted but her destiny is entwined with that of two boys. One of the boys has the power to permanently change her into an evil queen and will stop at nothing to do so. The other boy, the only good one, has the power to keep her as she sits before me now, good hearted. Who she will be, forever, will be decided by which boy she loves and chooses to be with. Once she chooses, her identity will be locked and irreversible. This is what we know; this is what is to be.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Riley stays long after the Vale family leave.

  I am still reeling from the revelation.

  My future will be decided by who I choose to love.

  There are two boys.

  Loving the wrong one will change me permanently into Ethereal.

  Loving the right one will keep me, forever, as Katy.

  I know who the two boys are. They are Greg and Daniel. There is no doubt in my mind about that.

  I just don’t understand how either of them could ever want to be with her.

  One of them has been lying to me. One of them is evil and wants me gone.

  I have no idea which one.

  Riley thinks that it’s all very interesting, “So, Ethereal is a dark part of your very own soul. . . Tell me, how do we bring her out?”

  I don’t answer him.

  Greg does, “You don’t want to bring her out, Riley, trust me.”

  “You’ve seen her?” Riley asks, amused.

  Greg nods in response.

  “So not fair!” Riley complains. “I really wanted to meet her.”

  I shake my head, “You don’t.”

  There is a whirlwind inside my head.

  I keep seeing the world, covered in ice.

  I cannot choose the wrong boy.

  I look
at Greg. I cannot regard him without a certain amount of suspicion now. Neither can I think of Daniel without a certain amount of wariness.

  I wish I could trust them both again. This prophecy has really decimated my world completely.

  Riley snaps his fingers, “Threatening you, making your emotions peak. That’s how you bring her out. That’s why young Cairo was so afraid of someone upsetting you.”

  Greg and I meet each other’s eyes.

  Rejon has just figured it out.

  Greg tells him that he is completely wrong. Isn’t it time he was going home anyway?

  Riley ignores this comment about him overstaying his welcome.

  My uncle is now staring at me with renewed interest, “Katy, let me tell you a story. Once there was this boy, right, and he was a really annoying boy. He was always getting in the way of bigger plans and just, in general, ruining things.”

  I wonder what he is talking about.

  He continues, scrutinising me, “I can’t even tell you how much this jerk used to ruin everything. Somehow, I don’t even know how, a wonderful girl fell in love with him. Now this just wasn’t right at all. She should never have been with someone as lousy as him. She made a total mistake and got herself knocked up by this loser.”

  This story is beginning to sound familiar.

  I don’t like the way it is being told.

  Greg stands up very quickly, “Riley you should leave. Right now.”

  Riley shakes his head, smiling, “Oh no, I’m not even at the good part yet.”

  “Leave,” Greg demands.

  My uncle ignores him, “The teenage girl had this loser’s baby. She was a very beautiful teenage girl, but she was stupid. She agreed to marry the loser. Now, none of this was right at all. Somebody decided to step in and put things right, not a moment too soon.”

  He stops.

  I can feel the rage rising within me.

  How dare he talk about my Dad like that.

  His own brother.

  “What do you mean somebody put things right?” My voice sounds slightly lower.

  Alarm flashes across Greg’s eyes, “Riley, Shut Up!”

  Greg turns to me. He tells me not to listen.

  Everything is fine, he assures me.

  I look into his eyes.

  I cannot let her come back. She would hurt him.

  I keep my gaze on his. It calms me.

  “What I didn’t tell you was that this loser-boy had an awesome older brother,” Riley smiles as he continues. “His older brother was an Arachne. Not just any ordinary one either. One with special powers.”

  I notice that something changes in Greg’s eyes.

  There was alarm there before.

  Now there’s something else. Recognition.

  He has just figured something out.

  Greg speaks, trying to keep a calm tone for my sake, “Riley, I beg you to shut up.”

  Riley doesn’t heed this warning, “You see loser-boy had a great fear of sharks. His older brother decided it would be funny to manifest this fear . . . you know, make it appear. One day he did. Everyone lived happy ever after.”

  I’ve never felt like this before.

  The whole world seems to go dark.

  Everything is decimated.

  I look at Riley.

  He looks pleased.

  I can’t control it.

  In a second I am running for him.

  I am screaming.

  He murdered my father.

  He is the reason I had to live without him all these years.

  Greg is holding me back. He is trying to get my attention, to calm me.

  “Your Mom always belonged with me, Katy. I just saved her from making a huge mistake,” Riley says.

  I can hear Ethereal’s thoughts now.

  The dark part of my soul is majorly concerned with the weather. It isn’t nearly cold enough, in her opinion.

  Riley is a funny guy, she thinks. She likes him.

  I spot the tips of my hair. They are going ever so slightly red.

  I fall to the floor. I put my hands on my head.

  This cannot happen.

  Greg kneels down beside me, “I’m here. I’ll never leave you. Take my hand.”

  I do.

  Riley keeps talking, saying horrible things.

  Greg talks too. I cling onto every word he says.

  He won’t let anyone take me away from him.

  He knows who I truly am.

  We can get through this.

  I let his words build my world back up. The world Riley broke a few moments ago.

  I focus on the warmth of every look Greg gives me.

  Eventually I can’t hear her thoughts anymore.

  I stand up.

  I tell Riley to get out.

  I tell him that he made a big mistake the day he killed my father.

  His empire will crumble. It will topple.

  I will build up a new one. I will show the Arachne people true justice. I will show them that they don’t need to be monsters, like him.

  He just smirks.

  He has no idea just how serious I am.

  Then he leaves.

  I wait until I know that he won’t hear me. Then I cry.

  My Dad trusted him. He was his brother.

  Greg lets me cry onto his shoulder for a few minutes. He doesn’t say anything.

  The doorbell rings. Greg goes to get it. I try to compose myself a bit. It could be some visitors after all.

  “You better come to the front door,” Greg arrives back in the dining room. “It’s London, and she says it’s really important.”

  London is wearing a purple robe. It seems very formal.

  She looks relieved to see me, “Oh great, you’re here. Your presence is requested at a trial in the court-building. It is a big case. The judges want the guidance of the Great Goddess on what to do in the matter.”

  At first I don’t like the sound of it. I’ve been at a trial before, my own. It really wasn’t that much fun.

  Then I realise that this is the chance I’ve been waiting for. I can show the guy on trail some mercy. Maybe the judges will follow my example, in future, and stop feeding people to animals.

  I could use this opportunity to make a point about the justice system around here.

  I tell London that I’ll be there in a few minutes.

  Greg says that he will accompany me there. He wants to see this trial after all. The whole town does. Trials are their form of entertainment here. This one is being touted as ‘the must see trial of the century’.

  This is good news. The more people there the better.

  I wonder what is so exciting about this particular trial. They really are building it up for the people.

  Greg and I hold hands as we walk there. We are meant to be smitten newlyweds after all. There are crowds of people making their way to the court-building. They are all wearing brightly coloured robes. Seeing all these people makes me nervous. I am going to have to talk in front of all of them.

  I tell myself that I can do this.

  Greg assures me that I’ll be fine. The audience will probably be distracted by Judge One’s outfit. He has an outrageous fashion sense. He and his clothes are all anyone ever talks about after the trials. Chances are they won’t even notice anyone else on the panel.

  I try to think back. I didn’t notice anything different or outrageous about his outfit at my trail. I smile. The people here are a wonder really.

  We enter the court-building. Unfortunately Greg can’t sit with me. He has to sit in the audience. I must sit with the judges, at their table.

  Riley is at this table too. I sit at the opposite end of the table from him, wishing to be as far away as possible.

  This must be a huge trial if they want Rejon’s help. I wonder who is going to be brought before us.

  It isn’t long before Judge One starts the trial.

  He stands up and speaks to a hushed audience, “Ladies and Gentlemen, the
trial you are about to see today is no ordinary trial, oh no. The people on trial here tonight are outsiders. They are not just any ordinary outsiders either. Tonight, here, we are judging people who actively worked against Rejon himself. They plotted to kill our great master!”

  Most of the room gasps. This reminds me of my own trial again.

  They are ever so excitable, these people.

  The people who stand accused are dragged into the court-building now, for the beginning of their trial.

  They stand before us.

  I cannot believe what I am seeing.

  There are three of them, all bound with rope.

  Nate. The leader of my old group.

  Andrew. The ‘expert’ we brought in to help us identify Rejon.

  Daniel.

  My heart jumps when I first see my boyfriend. Then it sinks.

  Riley is here. They have been caught. This is not a good situation.

  I want to run and hug Daniel. I am so happy to just see him again.

  I can’t. I must be professional right now. My people are watching. They all believe that I’m married to Greg. I can’t just show my feelings for Daniel in front of them.

  At least I must try not to.

  I look over at Riley. He gives me a smile.

  He has all the power right now. The boy I love is completely at his mercy.

  I find myself wishing to wake up. I wish this was all just a nightmare.

  Judge One, who is wearing yellow robes and a belt, asks them the same question he asked Greg and I. Would they like to speak at their trial or would they prefer to be fed to the animals now?

  This question must be part of the plantation’s court process.

  Nate says that they’ll stand trial. Then he asks which one of us is Rejon.

  People gasp. This traitor dared say their great master’s name.

  Andrew answers the question, gesturing towards Riley, “That man, up there, sitting with the old guys.”

  Nate asks him how he knew that.

  I smile. Andrew knows because he is Andrew. I think it’s as simple as that.

  “Well, that’s him,” Andrew explains. “He’s not dressed as flamboyantly as the others. He has no need to prove his status. When you said his name he was the only one who didn’t react . . . He holds himself in high enough regard not to care if you ‘insult’ him.”