35. Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Five
Simon
She knew about my parents, my family.
Overcome with frustration, I wanted to shake her until she told me everything, but I refrained. I knew I was more than an animal now, and I couldn’t just jump at the chance to harm her. I was more than just a wild beast.
Lucy gently caressed her hand up and down my arm, her touch providing a comforting sensation. Then she stopped and gripped my arm and conveyed a sense of urgency, as if she was trying to anchor me in place. I could feel the tension coursing through my body, causing my muscles to tighten. The weight of my body pressed down on the tips of my hooves, grounding me to the spot. Meanwhile, Sable’s vigilant gaze added an air of caution to the scene, her eyes fixed on me.
“Why don’t we sit? Outside, maybe?” She adjusted the glasses on her head and walked to the door. Her gait was more confident than it was before.
Lucy nudged me but didn’t step away. I would have fallen over if she had. “You got this,” she whispered, linking her arm with mine. “Every step of the way.”
I let out a trembling breath, the sound escaping my quivering lips, as my hooves clicked rhythmically against the rough texture of the freshly laid wooden floors.
Since when did we have a treehouse?
Once outside, Sable seated herself on a nearby rock. She crossed her legs the best she could and tried to look regal.
I sat on a nearby patch of moss where I was most comfortable and pulled my mate between my legs. I buried my nose into her hair, huffing and puffing through it until I reached her mark. She shivered and wrapped her arms around mine that were placed already around her waist.
Sable cleared her throat and flipped through her notebook to halfway through. “What would you like to know first? You have already bonded, so obviously we can skip that part. Your souls are linked. You can feel each other’s emotions, you’re paired together in this life and the next,” she explained what we already knew.
Lucy hummed as I licked the bite mark on her skin. “And I can see his memories, too,” Lucy added. “He stopped remembering right when they dragged him into the forest.”
Sable hummed and bit on the end of her pen. “Yes, the Moon Goddess is aware. She will halt a memory and will continue it when the owner is ready.”
I huffed and shook my head. “I don’t want to see it.” I pressed my horns to the back of my mate’s head. “Can you just tell me instead? I don’t want to relive it.”
Sable wobbled her head back and forth. “That can be arranged.”
I squeezed Lucy, fear enveloping me, but curiosity was winning. “Yes,” Lucy said for me.
Sable sighed. “There was a witch hired by humans. They wanted to steal Simon so they would have power over the herd since Simon was the prince. They wanted your father, Field, to help them with their crops. The witch agreed, only if you were not harmed.”
I lifted my head from Lucy’s back to stare back at Sable. She frowned and rested her head on her hand.
“When the witch saw she had taken you just as Poseidon had taken all the fauns, she felt extremely guilty. She planned on helping the humans so far to help them with the growing season. She didn’t want to keep a young faun away from their family for long. Just enough to get coin to get her back to Bergarian.
“Unfortunately, with Poseidon taking all the fauns, including Field, the wielder of the forest, there was no way for the bargain to be completed. With your father gone, the forest had no one to listen to and serve. The branches and limbs gave way, allowing the humans into the forest. They were coming for the witch and her promise. If they came, they would find you, extort you. Since they knew of the witch's plan, they would keep you with them as their slave. Humans didn’t understand magic, and with their emotions at an all-time high, they would have tried to make you wield the forest.
“Being so young, the forest had not yet recognized you as its commander, you see. The witch feared for your life.”
I ground my teeth and looked away.
Either way, the witch should not have taken me from my family.
“The witch did what she could at that moment. She used all the magic she could from her body, draining herself of everything she had, and turned you into what you spent most of your life as: a goat. She had little magic left after such a spell. It would have replenished in time to turn you back into your faun form, but…
Lucy laced her fingers with mine and squeezed.
“She had to deplete all her magic to defend herself and you from their outrage of the humans, for not fulfilling her promise. She was beaten and left for dead but kept you safe from all harm. And you stayed, Simon. You stayed with her until she was well enough to stand.”
Lucy rubbed her thumb over my fingers.
“With you being so young, you lost a lot of your memories when you were turned into a goat. You didn’t understand right from wrong or what even had happened to you. But you are loyal, and your true character has shone through your trials, Simon.”
I huffed, still annoyed.
“The witch, still hurt, took you to the portal to Bergarian. You would be safe there, and hopefully, she would find a way to change you back. Magic wasn’t the same back then as it is now. Magic grows, and it took a lot of planning to change things back to the way things were, back then. She wasn’t able to complete the full journey to the coven of witches in the Bergarian Realm. She did, thankfully, make it to Bergarian where you have been safe.”
Sable shrugged her shoulders sheepishly. “I am sorry it was because of a witch. I swear we aren’t all like that though, just like not all humans are selfish, evil, and want to pillage everything. Sorry,” she said to Lucy.
Lucy shrugged her shoulders as well. “No offence taken.”
Lucy’s shoulders dropped. I felt her sadness through our bond. I wrapped my arms around to comfort her this time and nuzzled my nose into her neck. “It’s alright,” I said. “I don’t remember all that time I was alone. Time had no meaning to me when I was an animal.”
I lived my days blissfully unaware, until Calliope. I ate, drank, slept, and played. I didn’t have many friendships. I knew I was different, saw animals as idiots, enjoyed my extravagant nests to sleep in, and once I met Calliope, she was a new friend that understood me. Then Lucy—the one I always knew was meant to be mine was my new light source to follow.
“You know. Technically, a few weeks ago, I was supposed to go find you, Simon,” Sable said, drawing circles in her notebook, “on Poseidon’s orders, and bring you back to the herd.”
“No!” Lucy shouted and wrapped her arms around my neck. “You can’t take him!”
I snarled and pulled Lucy away from the witch.
Sable snorted and threw her head back in laughter. “Relax!” Sable held her hand out. “The Moon Goddess told Poseidon no way! That Simon’s mate was too close, and it would ruin everything. Poseidon had no choice but to let you stay.” Sable grinned and clapped her hands. “Poseidon wasn’t overly thrilled. You being his creation and all. He was ready to reunite you with all the fauns.”
I tilted my head, not sure what to feel. Did I want to see the rest of the herd? More than I wanted my mate? The answer was difficult.
In my cherished memories, my parents radiated pure joy as they twirled gracefully amidst the vibrant wildflowers in the light source-drenched meadow. The melodic symphony of rustling leaves and chirping birds served as the soundtrack to their love-filled dances in the enchanting forest. Their love for one another was real, a tender bond that overflowed with affection and tenderness.
I gazed down at Lucy, her eyes full of questions. She didn’t have any judgment as she touched my face. “You can want to see them,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to see my birth mother.”
I shook my head. “I would rather have you in my arms, right now,” I said. “I will see them again. I feel it here.” I touched my chest. “Won’t I?” I asked Sable.
Sable bit her lip nervously. “Yes, you will see them again.”
Lucy and I looked at each other.
Sable let out a breath. “It will be a long while. Poseidon is very protective of his creatures. Especially after the incidents that happened on Earth.”
“More incidents? More with other creatures, you mean? Humans hunting and trying to use them?” Lucy asked.
I didn’t let go of Lucy, too scared my world would take her away from me.
Sable stood from the rock and walked closer to the stream. The clean water created a melody that drowned out the noises I could hear from my memories of the humans screaming across the meadow. I could hear their cries to catch the fauns, to capture us and take what they wanted.
I shook my head, not wanting to listen anymore.
“While all realms have their problems,” Sable began. “Humans fear the unknown. What they fear, they destroy or take to use for themselves.” Her eyebrows furrowed, and her cheeks pinkened. “And on Earth, humans were persecuted for a long while by the supernatural kind before it was outlawed during the dark ages.”
“What—” Lucy began.
Sable held up her hand. “No history lesson on that. The gods have forbidden me to speak of that history. They are trying to be seen in a better light.” She let out a shaky breath. “Now that humans are becoming stable, we don’t need to kick up the dust on Earth. Humans are open to magic. We have shifters, witches and others living amongst humans. Monsters on Earth are a possibility for the future now. We have orcs here now in Bergarian; things are progressing.”
I stood, holding Lucy in my arms. “Were orcs living on Earth?” I asked.
Sable shook her head. “No, orcs have always lived here. The only way humans know about orcs was from when the shifters went to live on Earth, and humans heard of orcs as horrible, nasty creatures from thousands of years ago. You know how legends twist among themselves.”
Lucy wiggled for me to put her down. “And these monsters, fauns, minotaurs, all these Greek gods and creatures, was it Poseidon who created them?”
Sable eyed me. “Most. Ares had some help to create wolf shifters, specifically with the Moon Goddess. Other gods had requests to create other creatures, supernaturals, monsters for purposes that I don’t understand, with Poseidon’s help.” She clamped her mouth shut as if she had said too much.
“So, everything is wrong about history. Everything we have learned is.”
“Wrong. Yes, it’s wrong. Most of the things humans and the supernaturals believe are wrong. Now, we really must stop talking about all this before I say something I shouldn’t.” Sable sat back down on the rock and wiped away the sweat forming on her forehead.
“Kitty whiskers,” Lucy whispered.
“I think I am done with all this.” I scratched the base of my horns and wiped my hand down my face. “I suggest you do not do this to the next faun.”
Sable frowned and wrote in her notebook. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to just info-drop everything, but you asked.”
Lucy jabbed me in the stomach, and I stepped backward. Her strength matched my own now, and I rubbed my side. “Do not be so rude, Simon. It isn’t proper. She just gave us a lot of information here. Sable, he didn’t mean it. It’s just, well, it’s a lot. Emotionally. He can’t see his family. Do they know Simon is okay, at least? Is his family okay? Where exactly are they?”
Sable turned her back to us and crossed her arms. “I don’t know. Is that too much information?”
I huffed and stomped my foot. “That is information I need to know!”
Sable snickered. “I need to hear a please .”
I lowered my head and scuffed my hoof on the ground. The vines lowered from the trees and picked up Sable under her arms. She screamed as the vines held her steady for me. I didn’t ask them to do it, they just did it on their own.
Lucy jumped in front of me and held out her arms. “Don’t you dare! I don’t care if you are a prince of the whole Wood, you do not headbutt Sable.”
I stood up. “Just a little?” I held my finger and thumb close together. “It would make me feel better.”
She shook her head. “Absolutely not. I know you have been through a lot today, and if you are good, I’ll make you feel better.” She gave an exaggerated wink, which I knew as pleasure time . “But you cannot do this.”
I sighed, and the vines let Sable go. She pulled down her blazer and adjusted her glasses.
“Glad to know you have adjusted into your princely role.” Sable glared at Simon and sat down. “And to answer your question, your parents do not know you are missing.”
I frowned. “They don’t?”
Sable shook her head solemnly. “Poseidon knew you were missing, and he didn’t want them to be upset. He wiped everyone’s memories of the missing prince. Poseidon will return their memories of the missing prince once the fauns are placed here in the Wood. You are the test run for the fauns. You are to get the Wood ready for their return.”
That seemed to snap me out of the depression that had built inside of me. At least my parents were not suffering; they hadn’t missed me. I hadn’t missed them until recently. Knowing that I would be in charge of preparing for their return brought a new set of goals for me.
“We lived in the trees?” As I posed the question, I observed the flickering recollections that danced before me like vibrant bursts of light. The imagery was far superior to the dim confines of the cave, where the chill in the air could make it arduous for my companion to ascend the rugged terrain.
Sable gracefully flipped through the pages of her worn notebook, and the sound of paper rustling filled the air. She delicately turned it around, revealing a collection of sketches. As my eyes scanned the pages, I could see intricate drawings of charming little homes similar to the one the Wood had made for us. The sight of these bungalow-like dwellings, as Lucy had called them, brought back memories of one I lived in with my family. They were nestled amidst towering trees. I imagined the limbs of the trees stretching high above, their branches out of reach for the average human, but perfect for a nimble faun to jump from knot, limb or bark in the trees.
Would Lucy be able to climb?
Lucy looked down at her feet. While she didn’t have hooves, she didn’t flinch when she walked with her bare feet over tiny rocks and branches.
“I bet I can climb that now.” Lucy looked up at the tree. “Doesn’t seem so scary anymore.” She elbowed my side.
I dug deeper into our bond, and it was true, she didn’t seem afraid.
“The bond,” Sable said, as if she could read my mind. “And as time goes on, it will get stronger, more confident.”
I ran my hand over my horns. My past and future life’s mystery had been mostly answered.