Avalon (21 page)

Avalon

Leo lay in bed wondering how he had let things get so out of hand. He looked at the ceiling thinking about Holly, another day, another night alone. He had been unable to return to Earth for eighteen months, believing if he waited for Avalon’s Royal League and his own parent’s authority to do so, then he might actually get what he wanted. Now he was sick of waiting. There was always an excuse as to why they could not make a decision at any given particular time. He’d been taught from a young age, that patience is a virtue, one that was important for someone who would one day be the King of Avalon. He turned to lie on his side thinking about how lonely he felt without Holly. He wondered if she would ever forgive him for leaving and not returning. He closed his eyes and smiled at the thought of having her in his arms again, remembering how she had felt in that space before. He wanted to get back to her; he had no more patience left.

Leo had only one thing on his mind; he was going to return to Earth to see the girl he loved. Ready for confrontation, he showered, changed and joined his parents in the smallest dining room situated within the palace. This room was the smallest, yet still large.

Leo burst into the room and announced, “You have kept me here way too long. I am returning to Earth with or without Royal League consent.” Leo placed himself in the middle of the ten seated table, sitting directly opposite his parents on the other side. “I have waited for an answer for
more than
a year and you keep telling me that it’s difficult to get every member of the Royal League together to vote at the same time. Father I have been very patient. Every day I wait for an answer I am losing time with the person I want to be with. Now it doesn’t matter to me either way what their answer is. I’ve made my own mind up, I don’t need anyone’s consent; I’m going to Earth to be with my chosen one. The one I choose, not the one you choose.”

“And how do you propose to get to Earth?”

“I’ll get there, don’t worry about me. We have several boats, I know speed boats and I know how to sail.”

“Yes, but you don’t know where the vortex is.”

“I’ll find a way to get back if it’s the last thing I ever do. And I’ve lost my appetite,” he said standing up to leave.

“You must get an answer, Maurice.” His mother turned to his father.

“Fine, I will gather the Royal League tomorrow night and get an answer,” his father promised.

“It doesn’t matter either way.” Leo shrugged.

“Stop that, of course you care and it does matter.”

“I’ve had enough of your fun and games at my expense. Holly might never want to see me again, and if that’s the case I will never forgive you.”

“Son, it’s not the end of the world.”

“Not for you.”

His father got up from his seat. He had had enough of his son’s nonsense, “Does she know where you are from?”

“She, you mean Holly?”

“Yes, Holly. Does Holly know where you are from and who you are? Does she know you are destined to be the King of Avalon?”

“No, because I’m not allowed to tell anyone. You said as much when you agreed to let me go to Earth. I respected your rules, but I wanted to tell her and I will when I find her again.”

“You can’t expect to have a real relationship with someone when she doesn’t even know who you are. Your relationship was based on lies, she will want nothing to do with you when she realises the truth. She won’t be able to believe a word you say because your relationship was based on lies.”

“She will understand.” Leo was convinced that they could survive anything.

“You lied to her about who you are because you were afraid if she knew the truth she wouldn’t want you.”

“No, Holly isn’t like that at all, I know her, you don’t. You won’t even give her the time of day.”

“Because she is from Earth. She wouldn’t understand our rules here on Avalon, she would think those with abilities are strange; our worlds are too different. Imagine what she would think of you when she finds out you have an ability, two for that matter. Bringing her here is like taking a fish out of its natural habitat.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do. I have years of experience.”

“You might have years of experience, but you don’t know her. You have never met her, you have never had someone from Earth living on Avalon, so you can’t answer that.”

“You are defiant, Leo. You won’t give up.”

“No I won’t and you wouldn’t either if it were mum on Earth.”

“Leo, son, you have to give up this idea of returning to Earth. You have responsibilities on Avalon. Tell you what, if I get an answer from the Royal League tonight, will you accept the decision.”

“Pardon? Are you saying you can get an answer tonight? And all along I have been waiting painstakingly for an answer and now you tell me when push comes to shove, you can get an answer immediately?”

“Well I can pull some strings.” His father shrugged.

“I don’t think you understand how important this girl is to me, you never did and you never will. I asked you for an answer a year ago, and you kept telling me you are on it, that the members of the Royal League are considering my request. You said some members didn’t turn up. You always have an excuse. Even on my eighteenth birthday I asked you to let me go to Earth, but you wouldn’t let me, you told me to be patient, I have lost all my patience, especially in light of what you just said.”

“Well we thought you would get over her. They say time heals.”

“Perhaps when you have lost someone that might be true. But when that someone is living and very much feels the same as I do and you can’t be with them, it is worse. Of course you would not understand that having known your chosen one all your life.”

“But you have a chosen one.”

“Technically, only because you say so. Only because you are convinced that she’s the one, but she’s not the one. If she was, I would not have wanted Holly. I wouldn’t have been attracted to her at all, and she is all I think about day and night.”

Leo’s father and mother looked at each other. “You are a peculiar person, do you know that?” his mother said. “You have two abilities instead of one and don’t feel anything for your chosen one. Nothing adds up with you. It’s all wrong.”

“Not everything goes as planned.”

“What are we to do with you?”

“I will summon all the Royal League immediately, and give you their decision this evening or, at the latest, tomorrow morning.” his father finished.

“Thank you. At last we are getting somewhere,” Leo said, not that the decision would make any difference to his decision to return to Earth anyway. Leo had been brought up to believe that if he didn’t like something, he should change it. He had been taught a leader should be confident in his decisions and see them through – and he had decided to find a way back to the person who gave him a reason to be alive. Without her, life wasn’t the same; it would never be the same.

“Right, well I’ll leave you both to it,” Leo said exiting the room. He shut the door behind him and rested his head on the door for a moment. He heard his parents talking.

“This Holly is becoming a problem,” Maurice said to Catherine.

“Yes, we didn’t anticipate this at all,” Catherine agreed.

“We will need to get her eliminated.”

“How?”

“I’ll discuss it with the Royal League and get someone on it. Then and only then will he stay here on Avalon willingly. We cannot risk our future King  stepping down to resume a life on Earth. He has responsibilities.”

“I know,” Catherine agreed.

Leo moved his head from the door and stood up straight, his eyes wide. They were going to have her eliminated because of him. Time was of the essence, he had to find a way back and now.

Leo jogged back to his room trying not to look panicked and got a box of maps out of one of his drawers. He had studied map reading and learnt to sail with his father. He found a map of Avalon’s oceans, collected all his books and his own personal notes on navigation and placed everything he had on his bedroom floor in full view. He had been to Earth with Ryan and the two of them had travelled there on one of the Royal Family boats. Leo had assisted Ryan with the navigation; now he would have to draw on that experience and find a way to get back to earth on his own.

Having planned most his trip and drawn out his voyage on the map, Leo
looked at his watch. It was just after midnight,
a good time to leave the palace. He would take very little with him, a backpack, with the maps he needed, a jacket and a little food and water. He was good at sailing, years of experience sailing with his father who had taught him everything he needed to know. Leo felt confident about making thi
s journey on his own. After all, he had
no
other
option.

Leo would not be able to leave the palace the traditional way, instead he would have to sneak out, without being seen. He knew exactly how to do that; as a child he had planned spy games with the security staff on the grounds, he had asked the head of security to watch the monitors and see if he was able to get by without being caught on screen. Security had shown him how the cameras and monitors work; when the camera views changed. Leo drew back on those memories of his spy games and hoped the cameras hadn’t been changed and the systems remained the same.

Leo chose his clothing carefully; beige chino jeans and an olive green t-shirt; this he hoped would be the best colour to camouflage him as he entered the palace garden, which in turn was surrounded by woodlands. With his strength and speed, he could move through each area quickly. With his knowledge of security procedures in the palace, he should be able to get out unseen.

He opened his bedroom door, looked outside and clocked the camera and the angle in which it pointed. If he ran now, he could make it to the end of the long corridor before it spotted him. At the end of the corridor he watched the camera move and then made his way down the large hall, being as quiet as possible. A left turn and down another corridor to the top of the stairs. There were two cameras circling this space, a rotating camera discretely placed on the chandelier, the other on the wall of each floor. He had to make his way down four levels and had to be fast, calculated and quiet. He might come up on the security screen as a blur, but he couldn’t afford any attention being brought to himself. If anyone caught on, they would watch him like a hawk; it was easier for him to make a clean break now, when his movements were not being watched. He had dutifully and stupidly waited for an answer on Holly and now none of it mattered. They had lied to him and her safety was his responsibility and only he could now protect her from the Royal League.

He wondered if she would forgive him and have him back? He could only hope. He didn’t deserve to be forgiven, but he had to try. No matter, he would protect her until the day he died, he owed her that much. This wasn’t Holly’s fight, it was his.

He reached the bottom of the stairs and placed his back flush to the wall as the camera rotated the space. He ran down another corridor, took a right and entered the small dining room. Leo sped across the room to the double doors and opened them and quietly stood at the far corner of the enormous palace kitchen. He took a deep breath and considered his next move. The camera remained stationary in the corner. He considered blacking it out, but this would only bring attention to the kitchen area and might raise alarm bells. He had to think outside the box. Leo took a deep breath and sped to the locked kitchen delivery door which led directly onto the gravelled drive. He could break the lock easily. Leo counted to three, ran across to the delivery door and crushed the lock with his hand. He stood and looked at the lawn in front of him.

Time was of the essence now and this was where it would get tricky. If he was going to be seen outside, it would be here. He sped across the 200 metre plush lawn and through the 500 metre garden, full of the most beautiful foliage and hedge maze. Leo knew how to get through it with his eyes closed having played in it as a child. He was quick. He looked at the two metre concrete wall and walked towards the corner joins, jumped up, his hands touching the top. He pulled himself up and over then jumped to the ground. He wiped the sweat from his brow and looked at the woodlands in front of him then began to jog, trying to reserve a little energy. It would be a long night.

After two miles Leo kicked up his tempo and raced through the ten mile woodlands until he reached the open road. He stopped for a moment, took a few mouthfuls of water and wiped his mouth clean with the back of his hand. He calculated about another twelve miles to run until he reached the marina. He started out with an easy jog again, then broke all running records ever made using his ability to get him to the marina the fastest way possible, with super speed. He could beat any train, plane or automobile when he wanted to.

The marina gate made out of cast iron was dead bolted, so Leo looked for another way to get in. He jogged down to the far end of the gate and put his two hands on either side of the cast iron poles, took a deep breath and pulled them apart until he could fit his body through the space.

He climbed through and pushed the poles back to their original shape, so that no one would detect a break in. Leo walked to the jetty where his father kept several boats. He would use the boat he was most familiar with; the luxury yacht his father told him would be his one day. Leo took a brief look at the boat; she looked good, well maintained and as stunning as the day he had first seen her. He smiled and turned to walk to the marina office. The door was locked as expected, so Leo pushed the handle down and pushed his body hand at the door. It opened immediately. No alarms – lucky. He walked a couple of metres and opened the door to the front office and continued until he reached the green key cabinet on the wall. He opened it and took the key for his boat and closed the key cabinet. By morning they would realise the boat was gone, but by then it would be too late. He closed up the best he could and jogged over
to
the yacht and climbed aboard. He released the ropes, pulled up the anchor and navigated his way to the open waters. Leo got the maps out and placed them in view, so he could use them as a reference even though the boat was well equipped with modern technology and navigation tools. He set a route to the vortex
Sudden
and tried to relax a little, for once he got to the vortex he would have to be alert.