Darlings (7 page)

“I know this is hard Gwen. Our friendship is
true, know that. Andrew will explain and I’ll meet you guys in at
the cabin later ok?” Gwen could tell she was torn between her work
and her friend. She could tell she desperately wanted to console
her, but couldn’t. Dreaming, yes dreaming that’s what she told
herself. Sleeping and can’t wake up. Hello? Wake me up someone. She
screamed inside but no one could hear her, not at the
moment. 

“Koli is outside the back door. I want you to
walk casually smiling and laughing ok? I’m sure there’s an audience
and fire trucks, the whole bit. Just don’t touch me. We’re not out
of the woods yet for all of the coma and brain stuff. Not to
mention the killer migraines again.”

“Trust me, touching you again is the last
thing on my mind,” Gwen snapped, her head still pounding. 
They opened the door and headed down the cement steps. Fortunately,
most of the spectators were gathered around the front of the
school, making for a smooth exit. They quickly opened the doors of
the black escalade and hopped in just as Koli sped off.

Koli adjusted his review mirror. “You guys
ok?” he asked in his high, overly worried voice. “That was some
crazy shit!” 

“Yah, I think so,” Andrew tentatively said,
glancing over at Gwen in affirmation. She was looking out the
window tears rolling down her face, head pressed against the cool
glass.  His voice softened. “Gwen? Are you ok?” 

She never took her head off the window. “Of
course I’m not ok,” she said through sobs. “Do you even know what I
just witnessed!?” she screamed. Slowly she lifted her head for fear
the change in position would intensify the ache. “All the blood…and
you!” she scolded Andrew. “What the hell are you!? What is all of
this sci-fi bullshit! Who were they? Oh god them,” Gwen heaved
forward putting her hand up to her mouth in hope to stop her vomit.
She contained herself. “This princess stuff, is everyone referring
to me!?” Her stomach contracted as she felt herself lose control of
her breathing. Hyperventilation was in her near future. 

“Gwen stop. You’re going to make yourself
sick. It’s not good to get this upset. You could cause some serious
brain damage after just being bonded.” Andrew attempted to calm her
through their connection. 

Stop!” Gwen cried. “If it’s you whose making
me lose my ability to feel anything, don’t. I want to be mad I have
the right to be pissed off. No one is telling me anything. I just
saw something that belonged in a fucking horror movie, and it
happened in my high school gym! I want answers and I want them
now!” she demanded, slightly embarrassed she swore. 

Koli looked at Andrew in the review mirror,
shaking his head. “I have to. She does have the right to know,”
Andrew said convincing himself more than his brother.

They stared at each other, having a
conversation only they could hear.

Koli threw up his hands in defeat. “Pete’s
going to be furious, but ok, tell her what you want. I’m just the
driver.”

Gwen wiped her tears, quickly turning her
body on the tan leather seat to face Andrew. She eagerly awaited
his explanation. There had to be some logical
explanation. 

He rubbed his furrowed brow as if struggling
over whether to tell her or not, giving in he sighed. “Ok. I guess
we’ll start with us.” He motioned to himself and Koli. “We’re not
from Baltimore...” Ugh you idiot he thought to himself. How was he
going to explain it all and not scare her into a heart
attack? 

Gwen stared blankly at him. “No.
Kidding.” 

“Yah, that’s kind of obvious I guess. We’re
not from this dimension, a different world you could say. We’re
from a place called Everland, and…well, so are you, sort of.” He
paused, making sure she was alright. 

“I’m from a parallel dimension. Right. This
is ridiculous. Please take me home.” Gwen had had enough.
“Now.” 

“Well, the proofs on your chest
.
”
Not to mention in your head
his voice appeared inside her.
That Gwen couldn’t deny. The mark. That was true. She examined the
mark with her finger.
It is beautiful.
She thought to
herself, well she thought anyways.  

“Yah I always thought so too.” Andrew
answered aloud. Gwen shot him a surprised look. “Yah when you touch
your mark, I can hear you too. Kinda like walkie-talkies.” Quickly,
Gwen dropped her hand from the mark blushing. “And before you ask,
no, we can’t hear each other unless we press our marks.” He half
smiled. What a difference he was now from what he had become.
Shivers ran down Gwen’s spine. 

Still processing it all, she said “Okay…if
this is true…I want to know everything. Like why we have this
ability? What happened to you back there? And if I am this long
lost princess of Everland why am I here and not there? Oh and what
does Pete have to do with all of this? Not to mention Ashton?” Gwen
asked utterly overwhelmed. She couldn’t get the questions out fast
enough. 

“Whoa hold on. One at a time.” He began.
“Everland is completely different from everything you know. Like
Koli and I. We are guardians, handpicked from our kind to protect
your kind, the immortal humans.”

Gwen examined their tan skin and dark hair.
“So, you guys are like Indians or something?” Koli laughed. 
“Yah, actually not like Indians, we are the original Indians. The
Native American population here is actually native to
Everland…”

Gwen looked confused. 

“One of our ancestors, a young woman Abeytu,
found her lover to be unfaithful and left the Manticans, that’s our
real name,” he began. “She befriended a fairy, who showed Abeytu a
portal into your world, which by the way we call the middle world.
I guess I should explain fairies first. The only way we can travel
between worlds is with a fairy. They possess the powder of the
stones. Each fairy colony is centered around a mother stone, from
which the fairies harvest their energy and powders. 

Our fairy is Tina, well, she’s Pete’s fairy I
guess. Her stone is Emerald, therefore her powder is green. Okay
back to Abeytu. Abeytu befriended an Emerald fairy, who had a great
respect for nature, as Emerald fairies do. After being brought to
the middle world, Abeytu, full of rage, disrespected the fairy by
killing animals repeatedly out of pure hate in gruesome messed up
ways. The fairy punished Abeytu by leaving her in Middle Earth and
cursing her to forever protect the animals of the middle. The fairy
stripped her of her transforming abilities, which is what happened
to me back there, leaving her defenseless just as her victims
were.  Therefore, in

theory, she didn’t carry on the gene which
explains why we have the ability and our ancestors here
don’t.” 

Overwhelmed, Gwen rubbed her forehead. Was he
lying? The burn surrounding the golden mark on her chest answered
her question. “Wow, ok so what is this immortal human stuff?” Gwen
was beleaguered. 

“Your kind rule Everland. You are the
immortal humans,” he said it with a touch of sarcasm. “You don’t
age after you’ve been sworn. You’re hearts beat purest of pure, and
make you a target of the dark ones, we refer to as pirates. They
feed on immortal humans gaining their life-force from eating the
hearts of your kind. You are so important to them because if they
devour your heart, they become closer to gaining your immortality.
Pete is the natural born king and you the natural
born…queen.” 

Koli piped in from the front. “Yah and your
mother still would be queen if she hadn’t left and been completely
shunned-”

“Koli!” Andrew’s deep voice boomed. Koli took
his scolding in his head. 

“My mother? She knows about all of this? She
has something to do with this?” Andrew still glaring at his brother
answered, “Yah, I’m sorry Gwen, we should have been more
sensitive.” He frowned at Koli harder.

“Well, tell me. What happened?” Gwen
worriedly fiddled with the bottom edge of her sweater. Her
mother?

“She was Queen for a long time…two hundred
years or so I think. Everland flourished under her rule. The dark
ones attacks were infrequent. Everyone loved her.”

“What happened?” 

“Well… you. She was on a trip to the middle
world on business with the Alchemists, when she met your father.
She became pregnant and lost her immortality. The kingdom disowned
her. Pete’s father, her husband, wanted nothing to do with her. She
had ruined any chance at ever conceiving a completely pure royal.
Once she lost her immortality, it could not be restored. She was
forced out of Everland, never to return. Forced to leave her
kingdom, family and friends. Forced to age and eventually,
die.” 

Gwen felt a lump beginning to form in her
throat. Her mother was married before? To Pete’s father? She had
virtually aided in killing her mother. Her mother would have lived
forever if she would have had a pure royal child, not an unwanted
one like herself. Gwen’s head was swimming. This story was
beginning to sound familiar. “Then what could anyone want with me?
I’m the daughter of the runaway queen.” 

“The power source is running low. All of
Everland is struggling to create enough magic to stay alive, let
alone protect themselves. The dark ones have risen up. They have
taken over most of Everland and killed many of the regals. It’s a
blood bath. Pete is the only semi pure regal left… and you are the
next most regal female. Only the two of you can produce another
regal with enough percent of pure blood to keep the immortal human
race alive...and mine. Without your

race, mine won’t exist. If a mantican’s meant
to be sworn and they don’t swear, we die. You have to recharge the
mother stone by spilling your blood into the lagoon, to keep
Everland’s power source alive. Pete alone isn’t enough anymore.
Without you, Everland will could cease to exist. My family
could…die.”

“Wait. So okay my…child” Gwen could hardly
say the word. “Pete and my future child will eventually save your
world, but for now my blood will suffice? But he or she will be the
last regal. How can Everland continue?”

“He or she will possess enough regal blood to
choose another royal, and the percentage of royal blood will just
continue upwards from there, if everyone carries out their royal
duties by picking properly.” Gwen could hardly process this.
Arranged marriages all around. She shook her head. 

“So what about us? Why do we have a
bond?” 

“My kind are the natural born protectors of
your kind. We become one. We feel what each other feel. We hurt
when one another hurts.  My sole mission in life is to protect
you whether I want to or not. It’s not an option. The bond usually
takes place when we turn eighteen though it can happen sooner if
the immortals race is threatened. We don’t know who we will bond
to. It’s a trial and error type thing. The bond either takes or it
doesn’t. The more regal you are, the more guardians you can be
bonded to.  Like Pete is bonded to Koli, Tok, and Arthur.
He’ll eventually have more, you might as well, but my goal is to do
such an outstanding job you won’t need another.” Koli
snickered.

“So if we don’t age how do we even get to
eighteen?” 

“As I said, you stop aging after you turn
eighteen when you’re sworn. Old people don’t exist in Everland, at
least not physically. When you’re mark loses its energy, you’re
simply gone. If you continue to drink from the lagoon, you can live
forever, unless you get physically hurt that is. 

“We’re here.” Koli put the SUV into park, and
handed Gwen a bottle of water. She drank it quickly. 

“Pete’s been living in hiding for one hundred
and twenty years, making the risky journey back to Everland every
five years to drink from the lagoon. You’ll need to spill your
blood and drink now too that you’re sworn…I’m sorry Gwen.” Andrew
got out of the car and shut the door. Leaning his back against the
window, he mentally tore himself to shreds. He had destroyed her
life with one touch. 

Gwen wasn’t sure whether to get out or cry
herself into oblivion. She stared out the window to the cabin. It
was magnificent. Nothing like the cabin she’d remembered out there.
It was made from beautiful blond wood, with stone embedded in the
faces of the house. There were so many entrances, Gwen wasn’t sure
what one they would use. The third story was decorated with large
French doors and a thick balcony made from actual tree limbs, where
she saw Tok pacing from one side to the next, surveying the land.
It was as if he hadn’t even noticed their arrival. Beautiful
shimmering boulders edged the property. As Gwen looked closer, she
noticed Green sparkles dancing off the rocks like fireflies jumping
in the night. Stunning, she thought. Even their landscape was
gorgeous.  

Pete walked out like some sort of fitness
equipment model. He had on black athletic shorts and a tight gray
T-shirt that hugged his bulging arms. He stared lingeringly at the
Escalade. Gwen knew she should get out and talk to him, her
betrothed, she guessed. She desperately wanted to be alone. She
knew there had to be a reason he wanted her over the others. It
wasn’t her looks or her personality. It was her pure blood. She
wanted to resent him, hate him even, but something about him still
intrigued her. Still made her sweat at just the sight of him.
Andrew walked to the oversized door and shook hands the way guys do
patting each other on the back, huh. At least that’s universal she
thought. Andrew proceeded inside as Pete began walking to the SUV.
Gwen wanted to lock the door. He knocked softly on the
glass. 

“Can I come in?” he asked opening the door a
crack. She wanted to knock his face in, but stare at it for a while
first. 

“Yah, I guess.” Gwen slid over and looked the
other way. She could feel his eyes on her. 

“I know you probably have a lot of
questions,” he began.

“That would be an understatement.” Gwen
couldn’t look at him. It felt so awkward sitting next to him
now.