“I need a break from this,” Emily looked at Damarus.
“I understand. We can begin the exercises of the day later this evening or even tomorrow if you’d like,” he placed his hand on her shoulder.
“No, I mean from all of this. I need a break from Eden and everything that is going on. I need my home, my father.” She unintentionally choked on her words. “I need to think things over and I need to do it somewhere normal and familiar. We can work on things when I get back.”
She pivoted on the balls of her feet and headed for the Arena’s exit.
It wasn’t a legitimate promise. Emily was not positive whether she would ever return. All these problems began when she entered Eden. Alexander had changed the moment she’d agreed to fulfill her purpose here. That wouldn’t have happened if she’d stayed in her world.
She started to run when Olivia caught sight of her.
“Emily!” Olivia called out. “Emily, wait!”
She reluctantly slowed her pace to allow Olivia to catch up.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going home,” Emily stated, sounding sharper than intended.
“Home for a visit, or like, home for good?” The alarm on Olivia’s face was obvious, as her eyes and nose scrunched into a concerned frown.
“I don’t know yet,” she turned the corner sharply into the east gardens. The women’s quarters were a few hundred paces ahead. All she needed was her necklace. Her head was swimming and steaming all at the same time.
“How could Alexander say such a thing to me? Did he not just propose two weeks ago? Am I missing something I should have seen? We have been so happy. Now we’re back to him acting like a complete sociopath!”
Alexander’s Jekyll and Hyde characteristics were more than she knew how to deal with. His unpredictability was severely wearing on her heart. Since being in Eden she’d experienced a crazy rollercoaster of ups and downs all hinging on his actions.
She was done with it all, at least for now.
She’d already been planning a visit to her father at the end of next week for her birthday. It wasn’t a big deal to bump her visit up a whole week and possibly stay longer than planned. The thought of being with her father almost drew tears, but she fought the urge.
“Is anyone going with you?” Olivia interrupted Emily’s thoughts as she struggled to keep up with her and still make eye contact.
“It’s safe to say Alexander won’t be. For all I know he’s probably taken off again to some far corner of the earth where he can feed his split personality,” she barked.
She hadn’t really meant to sound so mean or even pass cruel comments about Alexander, but she was hurt and, after all, she was human. In fact she was only an eighteen-year-old girl and she reassured herself she’d already shown maturity beyond her years. A little pouting and backbiting was certainly acceptable.
“How are you going to get home without Alexander?”
They had reached the women’s quarters and had begun their ascent up the long staircase to the third floor. Emily hadn’t thought about that. She’d come here with Alexander, but in all reality she wasn’t sure he had actually done anything besides offer instruction and moral support. Thinking of him in that light, the way she’d known him to be just weeks ago, was the final blow to her self-control.
The tears began to flow freely, but she refused to acknowledge them. They fell silently to the ground.
“All I need to know is how to get back and then I can do the rest myself,” she looked at Olivia with a questioning expression, hoping she would divulge what Emily needed to know to escape.
“Don’t look at me. I haven’t been trained in travel. I don’t know how to get anywhere. That is one of the last things they teach us, and I am still undergoing my emotional development with Aldara. In fact, at this point your abilities exceed my own,” Olivia said, apologetically.
They soon reached her room. She headed straight for the vanity, violently pulling out the small drawer, as if taking out her anger on the dense wood could make her feel better. It didn’t, but the sight of the emerald necklace did because it was her passport out. It was a ticket to see her dad and receive the comfort only he could give her.
She placed it around her neck tucking it beneath her training tunic. And, just as fast as she’d come she left the room, with Olivia trailing behind like a timid puppy. Olivia was following her out of sheer fear of the unknown rather than dog-like loyalty.
Emily made a beeline for the gates, cutting across the grass, not bothering to stick to the stone paths. She still wasn’t sure how she was going to go home but she resolved to figure that out when she got to the gates.
The huge wooden doors of the entrance were in sight when she heard someone call for her.
“Emily. Hey, Em!” Xavier shouted through cupped hands as he jogged toward them.
Stopping short of the giant marbles stairs, he intercepted the two girls and held out his hands beckoning Emily to stop.
“Where are you going?” Xavier asked, a little out of breath.
“Where do you think?” She looked him up and down trying to get a feel for why he was here. “Let me guess, Alexander came to you all distraught and sad and needs you to tell me to forgive him?” Emily’s snide remark carried her pain and belted it out into the open for everyone to hear.
“No, I haven’t seen Alexander. Damarus came to me. He feared you were angry and upset and wouldn’t want to listen to him. What’s going on?” He was genuinely clueless.
“Just tell me how to get back home, Xavier. What do I need to do?” She crossed her arms.
She wasn’t up for a venting session, not with him.
“Okay, okay hold on there. I’ll help ya. I just want to know why you’re storming out in a fury,” he backed up a few steps indicating his submission.
“I want to see my father. And since he seems to be the only man I can truly count on, I need to know how to get back to him.”
Xavier glanced over at Olivia hunting for any more answers. She simply lifted her shoulders in defeat.
“Well…” he rubbed the back of his neck, nervously looking around, searching for help, for something who could make sense of what was going on. “It’s the same concept as getting here. You exit through those gates there and then concentrate on the feelings of where you need to be. In your case, it would be home. Envision how you feel when you’re home, it is the same concept if you want to go someplace else as well.”
Someplace else sounded just fine to Emily at this point. Even if she ended up in the middle of some lake in South America she would be happier than she was in this moment.
“Thank you,” she said curtly, and then began taking the steps.
“Wait Emily, you’re safer here in Eden. This valley offers you the only sure protection available. If you’re gonna go you need to have Alexander with you… Or if he’s the cause of all this,” which Xavier was beginning to understand he was, “then I’ll go with you. You need to have someone with you to make sure you stay safe.”
His smoky green eyes begged her even more so than his words. But, they weren’t the eyes she wanted pleading with her. Where was Alexander? Why had he not come to stop her?
No, she needed to get away from all of this and that included anyone who was associated with this mess.
Emily straightened her frame, haughtily. “I’ll be just fine. I do not want any Guardians to follow me and that is an order,” she was taking advantage of the fact that the Governing Five had announced she was a leader and should be treated as such. She knew they all had to listen if she gave instructions, which she hadn’t done until now.
“Besides, if something does happen I’m sure Alexander will come to my rescue. He’s good at that. I’m beginning to think that’s all I am to him, a girl who needs his protection. He thinks I’m defenseless and it is starting to seem like protecting me is all he really cares about.” She turned toward the doors before she could see Xavier’s hurt expression.
Home was all she wanted right now. She could not be deterred from going.
Placing her hands on the heavy wooden doors she gave a hard shove. She expected light to peek through the crack but there was only darkness.
Moving forward, she pushed the doors open enough to let her squeeze through and into the coldness awaiting her.
Chapter 16
Emily ran her fingers along the smooth surface of her desk. The familiar aroma of berries hung in the air. The scent was a fake one put off from the plug-in air freshener, but she didn’t mind. It certainly wasn’t the overpowering smell of the fruits growing on the trees in Eden, but it offered reassurance she really was home, and that was what she was looking for.
At first she’d felt slightly disoriented when she appeared in her room. She’d even taken a moment to slump down in her chair as the walls and ceiling seemed to spin just a little. As soon as her senses righted themselves she glanced at the clock. It was 4:30 in the afternoon, which meant her dad was bound to be home soon.
Her eyes scanned the room.
Not a single thing had been moved. Everything was just the way she’d left it. The old copy of Gone With the Wind was still out on her desk instead of in its rightful place on her bookshelf. It had been her mother’s favorite book and Emily had often taken to turning its pages over and over hoping to catch her mother’s essence somehow. But, it always just smelled like an old book. She’d never caught a hint of her mother’s smell, not even now when she felt like she needed it the most.
Emily quickly changed into some comfy clothes and headed for the kitchen. She opened the fridge, hunting for something to munch on. It was almost bare. Only a half-gallon of milk and a few Tupperware containers remained on the empty shelves.
“He is probably starving all by himself. Either that, or he is eating out way too much.”
A wave of guilt washed over Emily. Her father needed her, he was alone and she hadn’t been here for him for almost two months.
What had she been thinking? What made her put her childish desires for adventure and romance above the needs of her family? She only had her father left and she never wanted to regret not having enough time with him like she did with her mother.
Just then there was a rattling at the door and a burst of laughter, not just from one person, but two. Emily peeked around the corner in time to see her dad enter with Rob following closely behind him.
Everyone was shocked with the unexpected presence of each member in the room.
“Emily, hey!” Her father raced over and hugged her tightly, showcasing a silent, panicked look. Showing up earlier than expected apparently raised a red flag.
“Hi, Daddy.” She finally felt relaxed. It was so good to be close to him again. “I, uuh,” she was trying to think on her toes. “I thought I’d surprise you early!”
He stepped back from her a little, searching her face for answers.
“Hey, Emily.” Rob gave a short and abrupt wave as their eyes met over her father’s shoulder.
He looked different. How was it possible he had changed in only four months? Even though Emily had only been gone for just under two, she’d avoided Rob for the two months prior to that for Alexander’s sake. Still, four months didn’t seem long enough for someone to change; yet there seemed to be something about him which was different.
“It’s good to see you, Rob,” she walked over to give him a warm hug. She wasn’t just being cordial. It was a breath of fresh air to be around the more normal two men who had been in her life. It brought a rush of memories back and all the hang up’s she had concerning Rob seemed silly and insignificant.
At this point she would gladly take the issues she had before over what she was dealing with in the present.
“Back from Dartmouth, huh? How’s college life?” Rob questioned as she stepped back.
“Uh, well…,” Emily had almost forgotten everyone besides her father thought she was at Dartmouth. She hadn’t prepared any responses. “Um, it’s college, you know. What can you say about it?”
“Exactly!” Rob smiled “And that is why I skipped it.”
There was that same, familiar confidence she used to think was arrogance. Now she could appreciate his personality a little better. He was smart and knew exactly where he wanted to go and how to get there. And he wasn’t about to let anyone deter him. It wasn’t pride that drove him like she’d previously thought. It was a quest for excellence, for achieving what he knew he was capable of.
She envied his determination. She could unquestionably use a small dose of what he so easily displayed.
“So what are you two up to?” she questioned, trying to divert the conversation from anything having to do with college.
“Well, Rob and I had some extra work to do so we figured we’d do it in a more comfortable setting, and have some dinner while we’re at it.”
Rob then raised a plastic bag with a red Chinese symbol printed in the middle of it. Emily hadn’t noticed it until now but the second she did the overpowering scent of soy and ginger made her stomach rumble. She was starving.
“Do you have enough for me?” She walked over and playfully grabbed at the bag.
Her father chuckled. “I think we have enough for four of you! Have you been eating at all while you’ve been away? You look too thin.”
He had a concerned frown on his face.
She glanced down at herself. She hadn’t even thought about how much she weighed. Now she noticed her yoga pants and fitted tee were a bit looser than before. And Emily by no means was a girl who needed to lose weight. She’d prided herself on the fact that she sported a fit and curvy figure. An athletic build was what she called it. But now she had more of a twig-like figure, one she’d never thought was attractive.
“I’ve been kinda eating vegetarian since I left; mostly fruits and vegetables. I’ve also been working out a lot,” she glanced at her father.
The subject, once again, needed to be changed.
“Well, let’s not let the food get cold. I’m starving.” He motioned for Rob to set it on the table. “Let’s see, where is my usual? Ah, right there.” He pulled a white box from the bag that had the black markings of S-S-P.
“Your usual?” Emily shot her father a disappointed look, “How often have you been eating out, Daddy? The fridge is bare. You know eating out isn’t that healthy for you,” she scolded.
“Oh, it’s only a few times a week.” Her father shrugged as he sat down and opened up his box.
“Ha!” Rob laughed. “A few times a day,” he muttered under his breath.
Emily laughed at the jab. It felt so good to be in an ordinary setting again.
“Okay, okay, enough with everyone’s eating habits. I’ll lay off you, if you lay off me, agreed?” James playfully poked his daughter as she sat down next to him with a box of her own.
“Deal,” she agreed and then dug into the delicious lo mien that summoned her attention.
Their conversation was relaxed and enjoyable. Emily loved every minute of it. It was refreshing to engage in relaxed banter and discuss inconsequential things. It seemed to her everything she ever talked about in Eden was either very serious or exceptionally important. Especially the last three weeks. It had all been too much.
After dinner they decided to break out a card game and the laughter continued for hours as they each tried their best to outsmart one another.
Eventually they quit because, thus far, the two men hadn’t gotten any of the extra work they’d brought home for the weekend done. It was simple and mundane stuff like updating client’s accounts, stuff generally left for a secretary or assistant, but Emily knew her father had taken it on as a distraction, as a way to keep himself busy.
“Cindy has three little kids at home and needs to spend time with them. I didn’t want to keep her at work late.”
Her father had always carried a compassion for others and she’d loved him dearly for it. He never failed to see something from someone else’s
perspective. Nor did he ever hesitate to put himself in their shoes and try and grasp what he could not always see.
Emily finally excused herself for bed, giving her father a kiss on the back of the head.
Her bed, though less cushiony than the pad she’d slept on in Eden, was so welcoming and familiar, and simply sweet. It was only a matter of minutes before she was in a deep sleep.
She woke abruptly, sitting up and glancing around her. Light was flooding through her window although it was dim enough to indicate it was still early morning. Her breathing was labored and even though she could not remember the details of her dream she was left feeling like it had been a nightmare, a very real and frightening nightmare.
She glanced at the clock. It was 6:20, which was sleeping in for her compared to when she’d been awakened each morning these past weeks. She didn’t have a clock in Eden but Olivia never failed to get Emily up as the sun was rising.
Forgetting where she was for a moment she started to get out of bed, the thought of being late driving her feet to the floor but then the dreamy state dissipated and she remembered where she was. She also remembered she had absolutely nowhere to be.
Falling back down on her sheets, she let out a sigh. It felt good to have nothing on her agenda. Her time in Eden had not been like school, where she had weekends to look forward to. In fact, she was never even sure what day it was while she was there. Days and weeks seemed to be measured differently.
It took twenty minutes for Emily to accept that she was not going to fall back asleep, no matter how much she wanted to. She finally resolved to drag herself out of bed and groggily made her way to the kitchen.
Hunting for her mother’s mug was comfortingly familiar. Hot cocoa would hit the spot. It was a commodity she hadn’t realized she missed while in Eden.
Making her way to the living room with her steaming cup of cocoa, she was entranced by the demure view through the living room windows. It seemed so different even though she’d grown up with it. Eden had grown on her quickly; its extravagant beauty left an imprint on her mind which now made the city seem dull.
Daughter of Earth (Tales of the Guardian) Page 13