Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
“Remind me again, Mary. Why am I going to school?” I asked as Mary handed me a plate with bacon, scrambled eggs, and a piece of toast. My mouth watered.
“You are still only sixteen.”
No it didn’t.
She handed me a fork. “You are still going to school. For now, while we try to help Shad and plan our next move, we need to blend in. We don't need the government getting involved in things.”
“What is our next move?” I asked as I shoved a forkful of eggs into my mouth.
She gave me a look, and I gulped down the eggs.
“Sorry,” I cleared my throat, “I mean we need to save Shad, but are we going back to Terra?”
“We need to return. If Shad can be saved, then we will go home. Of course, only if we find the cave with the portal.”
“See! There are bigger things going on than spelling tests and math.” I set my fork down as she turned away from the kitchen island and opened the fridge. I noticed that Mary said, “if” not when, we saved Shad, and I tried not to let that bother me, but it did.
“Keil is working with Shad, and we are not sure how long it will take before we can figure out which cave has the portal.”
“Did anyone ever think to search for Cade and follow him?” I asked as I stuck a piece of bacon into my mouth.
I was sure that it had been entirely too long since I had enjoyed bacon.
I was going to fix that; wait, do they have bacon on Terra?
Shad had joked about flying pigs being on Terra.
I knew that was probably a joke, but still what if?
Did I even know what animals they had there?
Were there entirely different species of animals running around?
Wait, Ryker had referred to Glasson as a lion, so there must be lions or at least something similar?
My thoughts seemed to wander more than ever before, and I tried to forget about the animal life on Terra in order to listen to Mary.
I felt like it had been a long time since we had really talked.
“We have a few Terrans working on that,” Mary said as she poured me a glass of milk. She poured one for herself, too, but I was still stuck thinking about the lions, and I could not get them out of my brain.
“Are there lions on Terra?” I asked as I placed a piece of toast in my mouth with a loud crunch. Crispy bacon was the best.
“What?”
I cleared my throat before I answered, swallowing a bite of toast down quickly after the bacon. “I was just thinking, or well, wondering about the animals on Terra. Are they like the ones here on Earth, or are they different?”
“Oh—well, there are a few similarities for sure to Earth, even in the animals, but there are some animals on Earth that Terra doesn’t have, and some on Terra that Earth doesn’t have.”
“So are their lions?” I asked, looking and waiting for her answer. For some reason, that was important for me to know, and I had no idea why.
“Yes, they look a little different, but very similar. There are many different animals, but many are very similar to this realm.”
“Wow, that’s cool.” I looked at my plate for a moment, then finished off the last of the eggs and bacon. Why did it feel nice to know something so trivial about Terra?
“So, like I was saying, I guess Keil has a networking system here, and even Glasson has knowledge of Terran groups around here."
"What is the deal with Glasson?"
"What do you mean?" Mary asked, taking a bite out of her bacon.
"I mean, like, he's a prince, right? But Ry knows him; then he's also a knight and guards Ash, who is a princess of Sorra?"
"Glasson is the Crown Prince of Torren. Their kingdom was blessed with incredible knights. Their knights, those who guard over others, are called the guardian knights. It is one of the highest honors a knight of Torren can obtain.”
“So, the story about Princess Scarlet and Knight Ronin are real? The Princess of Torren married a knight and saved her kingdom from her curse of beauty?”
“Yes, they have a rich history. Once Princess Scarlet and her knight broke her curse, they were never cursed again; they were blessed.”
“I will say, at least I have a little knowledge from mom’s story book.”
“Yes, she loved telling you those stories,” Mary said, seemingly happy, but sad at the same time. Her lips held a smile, but her eyes were distant–as if looking at a memory.
“So, Glasson is from the Kingdom of Torren.”
“Yes, however, Ryker was born there, too."
“But he left to guard my dad? He left Torren to live in Haleston?”
“Yes.”
"Is it normal for a Crown Prince to become a knight for someone?"
"Many heirs haven't, but Glasson chose to use his gift, I guess. Ash and Glasson must have been linked, kind of like how you and Ryker were, or it might have happened here on Earth out of necessity. It is good that she has a guardian knight. For an Ancient Heir, knights are so important."
"This is all so–much, you know? But I think I am getting used to all this crazy,” I said with a laugh.
"Glasson knows Terran groups, or colonies, as he calls them. Many Terrans were forced to seek safety and refuge in this unknown world. Others remained on Terra because being close to their own people helped them band together to survive. All of the believers in the Ancients, at the beginning, when the corruption started, were sent here. There is also an organization that Keil built with Prince Shad, and it helps them keep in touch and network with each other. It is a hard balance to keep. Sometimes, it can be hard to figure out how things work in a new realm. I had your mom, and I was so grateful for that. Then we found your dad and Rykerian. There are many things you need to learn. Coming to Earth was a huge eye-opener for me, but the most important thing for you to learn is about you, and then everything else will follow. All I will say, now, is that you have much to learn about things.”
“I saw Shad's company the other day when I trained there. It is pretty incredible what Shad and
Keil have built.” I paused, going over her words again in my mind. “I can’t believe that this is real life.”
Sometimes, talking about this stuff out loud makes it sound way too impossible, I thought.
It’s not impossible, Emma, that unknown voice whispered within my soul.
That voice is not mine. Is it Shad? The monster? Maybe, I need to tell someone about it.
Please don’t, I heard it again within me, and I froze.
Mary looked at me as if I were losing my mind.
I probably am, I thought.
“Sorry, uh, I was just thinking.”
You are not losing your mind.
It came to me that it was Shad’s voice I was hearing in my soul, and he seemed to laugh, and I wanted to cry from the joy of hearing him inside of me. It was more than I could have ever hoped for.
It is Shad, right? You are Shad?
“Are you alright?” Mary asked.
The voice didn’t answer.
“Sorry, Mary, yes, I am fine.”
“I worry about you, Emma; you have had so much thrown at you in such a short amount of time.
I am always here to talk with you need me, even if I'm working. I only work in order to pass the time, anyway, instead of just sitting here, worrying. It feels good to help others. I hope you will still come in for shifts, too.”
“Mary, I am fine; I promise—” Well, I was as fine as anyone could be in my situation. “I am still going to the flower shop; that place is a second home to me. It would be too strange not to go there, just because I now know that magic and other realms exist and that I am part of it all.”
“Please know, I am sorry, Emma. I am trying to go slow with telling you things.”
“Is Earth the only realm where their people don’t know about all this?”
“I think some Terrans tried telling them a few hundred years ago, but they didn't want to know about it. It works for all the others who live here, but it is sad that humans on earth are the only humans who know nothing about magic.”
“Shad told me some things, too, like about kissing and how important it is and how special it is on Terra, but then he kissed me in the cave, so—”
“Yes, kisses are special. Your first kiss is a marked kiss—a sign of sorts of who belongs to you— You belong to each other.”
“So, I am this marked-thing with Shad?”
“It doesn't appear so.”
“Why is that?”
Mary turned her back to me, and I wondered what it was that she wasn't saying. “Mary, is something wrong with me? If Terrans mark when they kiss—”
“No, dear, nothing is wrong with you— Ask Ryker about these things. He knows more than I ever could.”
“This is all so overwhelming.”
“Well, I won’t be leaving you.”
“My parents left me; Shad left me; even Ryker left for a time. Who is to say something bad won’t happen to you, too?”
“You are right. I do not know what will happen. I only know that for the duration of this life, I have, Emma, I will be at your side.”
“Thank you, Mary.”
“Now, School.”
I rolled my eyes. One thing I was sure of, my life was not boring. I set my dishes in the sink and slung my backpack over my shoulder.
There is no subject in school that teaches you about loss.
Life is the only thing that can teach you that.
When loss after loss hits you, that’s when you discover how strong of a person you really are.
Even if you are bloody and bruised and broken, if you are still standing, it means you haven’t lost yet.
I woke up to those words buzzing around in my soul.
If you are still standing, it means you haven’t lost yet.
You haven’t lost yet.