Tagan's Child

by ammyford1

  I looked over Toby’s head at Ahran and Elaya, at a loss as to how to express my thanks for what they had done.

  “Thank you,” I mouthed.

  Elaya smiled at me through her own tears and Ahran gave me a wink with his good eye, his other eye still looked painfully swollen. I thought I would die from the relief and happiness I felt at that very moment.

  Toby’s sobs gradually died down and he pulled away from me, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. “Auntie Sophie, your clothes stink,” he said, scrunching up his nose.

  I chuckled. “It’s a long story,” I said, leaning towards him. I didn’t want to burden him with the drama of my own capture. I had so many questions to ask them all but they would have to wait. It was too noisy in the plane to have any kind of meaningful conversation.

  I sat back in my seat and held my arm out to Toby gesturing for him to cuddle up next to me. A peace I hadn’t felt for some time settled over me. Toby was out of Bazeera’s clutches and back with me. He settled in under my arm and started to suck his thumb.

  “Try and get some sleep, we can have a good talk about everything when we get back,” I said into his ear and rested my cheek against the top of his head. It was so good to feel his little body nestled into mine.

  “Where are we going?” he asked around his thumb.

  “I’m not sure,” I said, glancing over my shoulder at Ahran. It was the first time I’d had a proper look at him since our dramatic departure. My eyes drank him in, the full force of my feelings for him threatening to burst out of my chest. Even battered as he was, he took my breath away. The love and gratitude I felt for him at that moment were so strong I wasn’t sure I had the strength to leave.

  “We’re flying to the nearest commercial airport. Halsan has chartered a plane to take us back to Dinara, we should be there in a few hours,” he said in a raised voice.

  Ahran’s eyes smouldered back at me. It was clear he wanted to hold me in his arms as much as I wanted to be there but the voice in my head reminded me of how impossible our situation was. I brought my thoughts to an abrupt halt. I wasn’t going to let anything dampen the elation I was feeling. I deserved these moments of happiness.

  “Who’s Halsan?” Toby asked sleepily.

  “There’s a lot we’ve got to talk about my darling,” I said, stroking his hair. “You need to get some sleep, it can all wait.” I wasn’t quite sure where I would begin but it was a conversation we needed to have once we’d had a good bath, eaten and slept. For the moment I was just glad to be leaving Morana behind us.

  Elaya found a blanket under my seat in front of her and draped it over us. I welcomed her thoughtfulness. “Thanks.”

  Suddenly it occurred to me that Galius was missing. “Where’s Galius?” I asked, not sure I wanted to hear the answer.

  “We split up once we left the island. He wanted to get back to Salara as quickly as he could,” Ahran replied.

  “Does he know what happened to her?”

  “Yes, one of their grooms found her. He contacted Galius from the hospital.”

  “Is she alright?” I asked, fearing the answer.

  “She’s got a nasty cut to her head and concussion but she’s going to be fine.”

  “And Raffy?”

  “Slept through everything, blissfully unaware,” Ahran replied.

  “Thank God for that, I was so worried about them both, I thought she was...” I didn’t want to say what I was about to say in front of Toby.

  Ahran shook his head in response. “She’s fine,” he reassured again.

  It’s hard to describe how relieved I felt.

  I looked around the cramped cabin. There were only eight seats including the pilot’s. The pilot concentrated on flying the plane and every now and again he spoke into the microphone attached to his headset. I had no idea who he was but I could have cheerfully kissed him. Elaya had settled down with her head on a folded blanket, her eyes closed. She must have been exhausted. My eyes turned back to Ahran. I fought the urge to reach out to him.

  “Are you alright?” I mouthed.

  He leant towards me. “Nothing that a meal and a decent night’s sleep won’t put right,” he replied as he stroked the back of my neck. I was undone by the tenderness of his touch and I closed my eyes to the warmth that spread down my neck and across my shoulders.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  “Ecstatic. I can’t thank you enough for what you have done.”

  “Glad to be of service, ma’am,” he said in a terrible impression of an American accent.

  I felt a smile tug at the corners of my mouth.

  I gave him a mock salute. “Good work soldier.” He smiled but the humour in his eyes was quickly replaced by something hotter. I took his hand from my neck and gently pressed a kiss on his knuckles. I exhaled a shaky breath and dared to look him in the face.

  *****

  We arrived at the airport in the early hours of the morning where armed guards were waiting to escort us onto our plane. I was pleased to see that Halsan wasn’t taking any chances. We boarded quickly and were on our way in a matter of minutes. It was a much bigger plane than the one we had just been on and we had more room to stretch out. Toby hardly woke up as we transferred aeroplanes and Ahran and Elaya soon fell asleep. I slept fitfully and dreamt a series of senseless dreams of faceless people and nameless places. I spent the last hour or so looking out the window at the rising sun. Everyone was asleep. I glanced over at Ahran’s peaceful face and the tears started falling silently down my cheeks, it was a new dawn, a new chapter in Toby’s life and the end of mine.

  A car was waiting for us at the airport in Dinara and it took us the short journey to Halsan’s palace. I stayed a safe distance away from Ahran and tried not to even look at him, it was better that way. He was unaware that our relationship had ended the moment we stepped onto Dinaran soil. We swept through the gates of the palace.

  “Wow, whose place is this?” Toby asked. The look of fear a few hours ago had been replaced by one of excitement as we pulled up in front of the steps. Toby had no idea who Halsan was and how much of a part he was going to be playing in his life from now on.

  Halsan, Leylana and Sulaan were waiting anxiously at the bottom of the steps.

  “This is King Halsan’s palace,” I said.

  “What? So he’s like royalty?” Toby said in awe.

  I glanced over at Ahran and Elaya’s smiling faces. “Yep,” I said, smiling at Toby’s reaction. He had no idea he was royalty himself.

  Sulaan opened the door and we all got out. I couldn’t help feeling embarrassed by my state of dress and stood behind Toby. We must have all looked pretty dishevelled but no-one seemed to notice as the eagerly anticipated introductions ensued.

  The King stepped forward. He looked tired and older somehow.

  “It is very good to see you all,” he said. He hugged Ahran and clapped him on the back, expressing his gratitude in Ramian. He hugged and kissed Elaya before giving me a hug and a kiss on both cheeks. Gone was the formality of our previous meetings.

  “And you must be Toby,” he said stooping down in a mock bow. Leylana was hovering at his elbow with teary eyes.

  Toby looked up at me and I nodded at him encouragingly. He shook the King’s hand like a grown up. “Pleased to meet you King,” he said politely.

  “You can call me...” he hesitated, looking back at his wife questioningly. “What can he call me?”

  “Afgharran?” Leylana replied, equally unsure. I hadn’t known that this was his first name.

  “That’s a bit of a mouthful. Why don’t you just call me Halsan for now? Most people do.”

  Toby nodded.

  Leylana stepped forward.

  “Do you mind if I give you a hug?” she asked. It was touching to see the King and Queen behaving so awkwardly around Toby, they were such powerful people in their world and yet in front of their young grandson they had no idea how to behave.

  “Sure,” Toby said shrugg
ing his shoulders.

  Leylana bent down and gave Toby a hug. She closed her eyes and, as she did so, a tear rolled down each cheek. “We are so pleased to finally meet you Toby,” she said, choked.

  “Um, it’s good to meet you too,” Toby responded, a little nonplussed by all the fuss.

  He stepped back towards me and took my hand. I gave it a little squeeze.

  “Well, you must all be exhausted after your journey. Let’s go inside, you can freshen up and have something to eat,” the King said, clearly more comfortable in the role of host than that of grandfather.

  A handful of servants were waiting for us in the entrance, ready to show us to our rooms.

  “You and Toby are sharing a suite of rooms and there are clothes in the wardrobes,” Leylana said.

  “Thank you very much, I’m not sure this look will catch on,” I said, looking down and grimacing at the oversized overalls I was wearing. Thankfully, one of the flight attendants had given me a spare pair of shoes but they were too big and didn’t really do anything for the outfit. I caught Ahran’s eye and the softness of his expression did funny things to my insides. How could he possibly look at me like that when I looked like I did? I quickly looked away.

  Ahran and Elaya went with the King and Queen, no doubt to debrief them about what had happened. I’d like to have joined them to hear what they had to say but I didn’t want to leave Toby for a second. We went to our rooms to have a shower and put on some clean clothes.

  “This place is massive. Who are these people?” Toby asked.

  “There is a lot I need to tell you. Let’s get showered and have something to eat and then I’ll explain everything,” I promised.

  The maid showed us to a suite of rooms that were expensively decorated in creams and olive greens. There was a central lounge area with comfortable chairs and sofas and a huge flat screen television embedded in the wall. Out of the window was the most spectacular view of the valley below. On one side of the room was a door to my bedroom and on the other was a door to Toby’s bedroom. Each of our rooms had a luxurious bathroom with a bath that was big enough to swim in, twin sinks and a double shower. It was five star accommodation and then some.

  Toby scooted around our rooms excitedly.

  “Wow, Auntie Sophie, I have never stayed in a place like this before, you wait until I tell Adam about this.”

  “It’s incredible isn’t it?” I didn’t just mean the rooms. It was incredible. We had got through the last few days alive and relatively unscathed and Toby was back with me. There had been so many times when I had wondered whether I would ever see him again and to see him running around like his old exuberant self, filled me with pure joy.

  I laughed as he threw himself onto his enormous double bed. “Careful,” I warned, “someone has laid some clothes out there for you and you’ve just knocked them onto the floor,” I said, still chuckling. I surprised myself by how quickly I had slipped back into parent mode.

  “I think I’ll have a bath.” I felt a desperate need to soak away the fear and anxiety of the last few days. “You need to have a shower and then you and I will have a chat about what’s going on. Change into those clothes,” I said, pointing to the floor, “and once you’re done, I’ll see you back in the lounge.”

  I left him exploring his room and went back into my bedroom, marvelling at how well he seemed to have coped with his ordeal. Of course, it could be a while before the horror of what he had been through really sank in.

  I went into the bathroom and turned on the taps. Hot steaming water streamed out in a rush, quickly filling the huge marble bath. I couldn’t get out of the musty overalls and night dress quickly enough and then lowered myself into the bath with a sigh.

  God it was good to be safe and to have Toby back by my side, but my feelings for Ahran were all over the place. The thought of leaving him made my chest feel like it was being crushed. But what choice did I have? I didn’t belong here, and I didn’t belong with him. No matter what he said it was better for both of us if I just stayed away. After a while he would realise that too. I would return home to my business, and be the friend I should have been to Audrey and Bennie and pick up the rest of the pieces of my life. I would survive. I’d survived the loss of my parents and my sister, nothing could be worse than that. That’s what this felt like, it was like a bereavement, the loss of what could have been. I had deluded myself into thinking that being with Ahran could have ever been a possibility. I should never have allowed myself to get in so deep.

  I slipped down under the water and welcomed the feel of it as it washed over my face. I’d come to realise that resistance was impossible whenever I was near him. I certainly wasn’t prepared to leave Toby just yet and I was pretty sure the King wouldn’t let Toby out of his sight all the time Bazeera remained a threat, so I would just have to avoid Ahran as much as possible during my time here. All I hoped was that he would be too busy with his farm.

  The wounds on my legs had completely healed but I noticed there was still a tender spot on my head when I rinsed the shampoo from my hair. I had to put my own turmoil to the side for a while, a more pressing concern was how I was going to tell Toby who he was and how he fitted into all of this. When I had finished I climbed out of the bath and wrapped myself in a huge fluffy towel. I padded back into the bedroom and opened the wardrobe. There, hanging on the rails, were a number of outfits that must have cost a fortune. They had obviously been bought especially for me, their labels were still attached and they were all my size. I felt a little uncomfortable at the King and Queen’s generosity. It didn’t take long to choose a pair of flattering, tailored, navy, trousers and a pretty fitted, cream silk blouse. They were chic and beautiful and would have been completely out of my budget. I slipped on a pair of expensive looking navy, opened toe, wedged pumps and stood in front of the mirror. I didn’t look like myself. Instead, a sophisticated woman stared back at me, the fit of the blouse and the cut of the trousers emphasising my figure. I twisted my hair up with a clip from a selection in a basket on the dressing table. Once I had put on some mascara and lip gloss, which had also been sitting in its unopened packaging on the dressing table, I felt considerably better than when I arrived.

  I forced a smile at myself in the mirror and took a deep breath. Here goes!

  Toby was stretched out on one of the sofas watching a Ramian cartoon on the television with his thumb in his mouth, looking totally at home. I marvelled at how resilient children are, or was it just Toby?

  He looked up at me as I walked over.

  “You look nice Auntie Sophie.”

  “Thanks, anything’s better than those overalls,” I said. “Could you switch that off for a minute?” I asked, inclining my head towards the television. “We need to talk.”

  On the coffee table was a tray of pastries and a pot of hot coffee and I poured a cup for myself. Toby had already eaten a pastry and had made some headway with a fruit smoothie. He pointed the controller at the television before turning and facing me expectantly with one leg on the floor and the other bent under his bottom.

  “Did you bring my ted with you?” he asked.

  I knew it wouldn’t be long before he asked about his teddy. “I’m really sorry Tobes,” I said slowly, “but I had to leave my bag on a train and your teddy was in it.” I realised that my photo of Toby and Katie was also in that bag. At least the King had taken a copy of it before Ahran and I left.

  Toby looked crestfallen.

  “I know my darling. I’ll see what I can do to replace him when I get back home.” It was the only thing I could think of that would console him, but by the look on his face, he obviously wasn’t comforted by it.

  “Look,” I ploughed on. What I was about to tell him would probably take his mind of his lost ted. “I want to start by saying that I am not going to make you do anything you don’t want to do, but I do want you to think carefully about what I am about to say.” I paused. “You have as much time as you like to make your decision a
bout how we go forward from here, okay?”

  “Okay,” he said, still looking wobbly after the teddy thing.

  “There is a very important reason why you have been through this horrible ordeal.” I started slowly, carefully choosing my words. “The reason you were taken from school is because your dad was a very important person.”

  “So you knew who my dad was after all,” he said, looking hurt.

  “I didn’t for a long time, but I do now,” I confessed. “He was the son of King Halsan and Queen Leylana,” I said slowly. Toby’s eyebrows shot up. “Don’t get too excited, I’m afraid he died before you were born.”

  I saw the disappointment flicker across his face. He never really mentioned his dad but I think he had hoped that he would get to meet him one day.

  “So, he was a prince?” he asked. I watched his dawning realisation as the rest of what I was telling him began to percolate through his mind. “Which means, I must be a prince? And the King and Queen are my grandparents?” He looked at me for confirmation with a puzzled expression on his face.

  “Yes, that’s about it,” I replied.

  “No way! I am prince?” he said, his voice going up several octaves. “You wait until Adam hears about this!”

  “There’s more,” I continued in a measured tone, careful not to let his enthusiasm brim over too much. “Do you know where we are?” I searched his face for any comprehension of the magnitude of the answer.

  “Well I know we are somewhere foreign, I don’t understand the language at all,” he replied.

  Oh God, how was I going to explain it? I searched for an explanation that wouldn’t frighten him half to death. “We are somewhere foreign, but it isn’t anywhere on Earth,” I said carefully.