Heart Song (13 page)

“Why?” I asked
,
amused at the way he spoke his words.

“I had to bring Farrah.”

“Who?”
I asked.

“Farrah is one of the servants. She's taken a liking to me and
I—
let’s just say I don't share her interest.” He shivered as though an ice cold wind encompassed him.

“I thought you had to share a heart song?” I had to stifle a giggle.

“No, that is a rare thing. Mostly only Ancients have that capability.”

“So, why did you have to bring her?”

“She was to be the go between—their informant. But when she got here, she swore allegiance to Marren. He believed her until recently.”

“Why, do you think she's the one that told the Ancients about me?”

“We haven't seen her since before the Cyrs arrived. Marren's been looking for her. And he was told it was her by another servant.”

“Do you really think she was the one that told the Cyrs about me?”

“We know she was,” he said.

“I don’t understand. Why would she do something like that?”

“That's the other part of my story.” He took a seat next to me on the bench. “When the races made it to the immortal realm, Marren's grandmother told him of a vision she had. One of
him reuniting
the races, both mortal and immortal, but that it wouldn't happen until he found his heart song.”

“I thought he was the first?” I distinctly remembered him telling me he had no family.

“He's one of the first—a direct descendant of the first.”

I pursed my eyebrows and stared at the floor in front of me trying to make sense of all the information. It bothered me that Marren still held things from me. I bared my deepest darkest nightmare to him and he still felt the need to not fill in the blanks. 

“You see, he needs you for more reasons than just because you and he are bound together in spirit, but because there are races on our realm that want to come back and can’t. They never wanted to leave this realm. Most feel that we are only living a half existence, and that’s not far off from the truth. We are meant to live with humans in unity on common ground. There's even word that the mortal realm will slowly un-thread itself from the immortal world and become lost in the Netherworld.”

“I need some air.” It came out nearly unintelligible. I was dizzy with confusion and conflicting emotions.

Standing on the balcony to mull over everything that had been uncovered, I couldn’t help but feel this was the underlying catch I was waiting for when I first arrived.  The stone of the balcony had warmed to the point that it burned slightly when I touched it.
It felt as though
s
pring was rapidly changing into summer. As many other things have rapidly changed.
Me
, to name just one, and my change seems to be the most profound of them all. Not just because I was changing from human to werewolf but because of the way my life has been changed as a whole. I was wanted. Instead of being shunned, I was held and loved and accepted.

I turned to face Enid and asked, “Why be so threatened by a man who wants to save the world?”

“Your friend, the one that taught you to fight, do you know who he is?”

I was confused by the change of subject. Still, I was running out of energy to process anything else.
“Danst?
Yeah, he's dead to me. And he'll really be dead once I get my hands on him.”

“I've been looking for him since Marren found out he was set up by your father… who discovered
what
Danst is.”

“What do you mean ‘what’?”

“He’s half-elven. It explains why he's incredibly skilled at fighting and how he was able to teach you so well.”

“Tarn set him up?
To get rid of me?
That low-life, bottom dwelling...Ah!”
I scrunched over as wave of searing pain tore through my stomach. My knees buckled, hitting the floor hard enough to feel them crack. I braced myself on my hands and knees as a series of cramps overtook my body, feeling like every muscle was being ripped from my bones. Each wave was worse than the one before and seemed to hang on to me for a longer period of time. 

As the pain left
, leaving me nauseated
, I wondered if having my intestines removed would feel the same. I pressed my head against the marble, its coolness helped calm me further.

When I was breathing evenly enough to speak I said, “I don’t believe it. All this time I thought Danst had turned his back against me. He was protecting himself. I shouldn’t have expected any less of him.
Although, he could've warned me.”

“A'lainn…
are
you okay?” Enid asked worriedly.  I looked up to catch him staring down at me with wide eyes. His pupils were dilated, only a small band of blue was left.

I nodded. “You know, if you are going to have a pet name for me, I think I deserve one for you.”

His eyes returned to normal and held a light in them that was a relief compared to the sadness that once clouded them. He didn’t try to hide his smile. “Very well, what do you wish to name me?”

“You said that you called your daughter A'lainn and that I reminded you of her.” He nodded. “What is the term for father in your native language?”

“Athair,” he said. His lips stretched into another smile, fading as quickly as it appeared. “But you never called Tarn father.”

“No, I didn't. That's because he forbid it and to be honest, he was a sorry excuse for a father.”

“Well, I'd be honored if you were to call me Athair.” He smiled again.

“Then it's settled. Athair it is!”

Marren walked in with a rush. His eyes wide with worry, which increased when he saw me on my knees on the balcony floor. He ran up to me. “Are you alright, Relena?”

“I'm fine, just another cramp.”

His arms wrapped under mine and lifted me onto my feet. He placed several quick kisses all over my face. “I'm sorry I wasn't here. I'll try not to leave your side for very long until the change happens.”

“Do you think it's going to happen that soon?” I asked anxiously.

“The moon will be at its fullest tonight. It's quite possible that with what you've been experiencing, you will change.”

My heart flipped fitfully with the idea. I tried to hide it from Marren, but it was too late. He tightened his arms around me. “Better to get it done and over with, right?”

He let out a nervous chuckle.
“Right.
First, we have to prepare you so you can be presented to the Ancients.”

“What is that going to be like?” Returning to this subject filled me with renewed apprehension. “If they want
me dead, won't they just kill me?”

“They'll have to go through me first.” He spoke with a seriousness that was both a challenge and a threat.

“What happens if you die? What then?”

“You'll soon follow.”

I looked at him more confused than before. “What is to stop them from just killing you and going straight for me? I don't understand.”

“They don't have the guts to kill me and because you and I share a heart song—which is very rare in my world, whenever you die I will follow after you. My spirit has found you and thusly, can't live without you.”

“You’ve survived hundreds of years without me just fine,” I said.

“That was until I found you. As soon as you
were born
, I was overcome with a desire to find you. Once I did, it was only a matter of waiting it out.” He released me and turned to Enid. “How much did you tell her?”

“I didn't go over the presentation to the Ancients yet.”

Marren nodded. “You’ll have to face each of the Ancients. They’ll be looking for anything that will disprove you. They'll do this by looking into your soul and your mind. Searching to find anything that will say you're a witch and have casted any enchantments on me, or I on you. They'll also get a glimpse into your past and your future,” he said to me.

“Each one is going to intrude into my mind?” I asked.

“You must let them,” Marren pleaded. “And not everyone will do the same thing. Only Joe'n has the ability to read minds. She's the Ancient of the elves’ but she also governs the races of
fae
, sprites and gnomes. Jiren is a Denai. He'll be trying to find fault in your energy. Ildir, who is not here, is the Ancient of dwarves. The only
skill he has is wielding an ax
and manipulating stone and metal.  Blyl is a serpentine who governs the drakes as well as other serpentines.  He'll be the one to look into your past and future. And lastly,
Gurth,
governs the goblins. He’s also not here.”

“Aren’t the Denai vampires that drink blood?”

He chuckled. “No. Only some Denai have turned themselves into vampires. Jiren transcended into energy, allowing him to take any form he wishes. But he has to consume the energy of that he is intending to become.”

I nodded. “Are there any more Ancients I need to know about?”

“
There's
me. All therianthropes and those races that decided to join under me, like the centaurs and tree spirits. But I’ve already found what I was looking for.” He pulled me back into his arms and held onto me.

“We better get started. We only have but a handful of hours before sundown,” Enid warned.

I tried to pull away but Marren wouldn't have it. “Marry me,” he whispered into my ear.

“I told you last night I already had.”

“Not in my terms.”

“Don't you think we should wait and discuss this after I get presented to the Ancients and after I've made the first change? You never know, the whole process could kill me.”

“The change won't kill you. It'll only feel like it. And you won't die while being presented to the Ancients. I promise you'll survive.” I smiled at him and tried to look past my own reflection in his eyes. “Marry me?” he whispered again.

“I will…someday.”

He picked me up and spun me in a circle.
“Gvgeyu waya uwoduhi.”
I relished the way those words buzzed around me. He kissed me deeply, but not nearly long enough. “I need to get the
ball
room ready. I'll be back soon.”

“Okay.” I watched him walk out the door and then I joined Enid at the table, to be prepared for my presentation to the Ancients.

My heart lurched forward
with each step down the stairs. I only had an idea of what to expect and didn't feel prepared. Luckily, there wasn't much to it. Yet, after a few times going over what would happen and the symb
olism of it, I still didn’t feel
ready.  I had to remain open to the Ancients and I had to remain polite, which I understood the reasoning behind. They had the power to say yes or no to my crossing over into the immortal realm and they also had the power to destroy me…and Marren.

Half way down the stairs, I started to feel faint. It's out of character for me to get this worked up over anything. I had to assume my body was under so much stress, going through the difficult process of changing, that it couldn't handle the added stress of meeting creatures that were thought to no longer be in existence. Of course, I suppose that would have been nerve wracking to begin with. I was also fighting off
nausea
from the last strike of cramps that happened just before leaving the room. I'd be lucky to make it out without retching, not to mention the possibility of losing my life.

“Are you okay?” Marren spoke under his breath.

I nodded. It was all I could do while clinging desperately to his arm and the railing on the way down the stairs. Besides, he knew my feelings because he could feel them as well.

“Don't worry, they will believe us. Remember, we have nothing to hide.” I nodded again, letting out a deep breath of air through pursed lips.

We reached the landing and turned towards the sealed doors of the
ball
room without
as
much as a slight cramp or slip of my feet. Two servants stood guard, dressed in white shirts with dark green long vests, black sashes with strands of silver woven throughout and tied around their waists, tan pants, and black boots. Their faces were shadowed by huge purple hats with white, gold and blue feathers bound to the brims. The sight made me falter slightly as my anxieties rose much higher.

“Marren, this seems like a much bigger ordeal than you led me to believe. This feels much more like a ceremony,” I said.

“Ceremonies frighten you?” he asked, feeling my nerves within his own. “It's only a formality. It doesn't change the meaning any. And it doesn't make it any more or less than it is. We just have to pass their first impressions. The bigger threat comes when we cross over.”

“Great,” I muttered.
Was that supposed to make me feel better?

From the corner of my eye, Marren's head nodded once. The two servants on each side of the doors opened their end, stepping in to allow us through. He walked us to the middle of the room then turned us to face the line of Ancients sitting in
a
row of
three
chairs, centered on a dais. My heart nearly stilled to look upon the company that was watching me.