Meanmna: Book One of the Daearen Realms (9 page)

Nora looked
back and forth between Peggy and Elwin while staying firmly in Mathew’s arms. “The queen saw a picture of you about six months ago, Princess Penelope. It was your eyes that gave you away. She recognized you and sent me to confirm her suspicions. I have watched out for Mathew ever since. Two weeks ago, the queen sent word for me to meet Mathew and be ready for this moment.” She looked at Mathew and said, “I do like you; I think I might be falling for you, but it is my duty to get you to Meanmna, and I will do whatever it takes to get you there safely. Do you understand?” Clearly swept in up in the moment, Mathew started to bend down to kiss her when Elwin cleared his throat. They looked at him.

“
Why wasn’t I informed?” he asked again.

Nora
shrugged her shoulders and said, “I don’t know . . . more fun this way?”

“
Nora
.”

“
Elwin
, you have your own task. You have the priority package; I’m still your second if you die or something. Mathew and I won’t leave until you two reach Meanmna. Okay?”

“
Why would my mother do this to me?” Peggy asked no one in particular. She held her head in her hands.

Mom answered
, “Because this is bigger than all of us, and we can’t fathom what is really going on at this point.” She got up and headed to the kitchen. “Who wants cake? I need cake.”

I
lay in my bed and
looked at the stars on my ceiling for the last time. I ran through the plan we had come up with while eating cake. Elwin would pick me up at
8 a.m.
and take me to meet Celine at Visions. Celine was a practicing witch and had put together supplies for us. After that, we would head to the cave where my mom and dad had met; it was the portal closest to Meanmna castle. There, Elwin and I would cross over into Fey-Ville. My very existence was a secret in Daearen; there had been rumors that had grown to legend but the truth was still unknown. It shouldn’t be too dangerous, as long as we kept a low profile.

Elwin and
Nora had also explained the rift amongst the fey over the darkness that had come to Daearen. Some of the fey felt that my family, the Keltois, has failed in their duty and should step down and allow another family to take over the throne. Others felt that the only way the magic held by the spirit king and queen could be passed to another family would be to take the throne by bloody force. The fey who still support my family believe that because we are the only family to have ever held the spirit throne, we are the only ones who can. They believe a solution will present itself and that I will be that solution. When I was presented to the court as an heir and chose a mate, the theory was that we should be able to appease almost everyone— except, of course, the fey who wanted to kill us.

Each fey is dependent on the balance in the Daearen realm.
Once a fey has become unbalanced because of greed, power, changes—even love—darkness can take over their soul. There are no obvious signs that a fey has turned. If the Keltoi family turned over the throne, we wouldn’t know until it was too late and darkness came into power. If the Keltoi family lost the throne by force, it pretty much guaranteed that darkness would be in power.

I could be
killed on the way. If not, I would have to choose my mate immediately.
Married at eighteen. Can’t wait.
This mate would have to be strong enough to make up for my weak human half—one who is “good enough” for me, which Elwin
wasn’t
, according to everyone, including him. I would get to be queen, but I could never leave or I would upset the balance, or the throne would be taken by force and I’d still die
. A winner all around!
At least I’d have Mathew, and he’d have Nora. No fair. It is not Mathew’s destiny to rule and, unlike me, he’s a whole fey with plenty of magic, so there was no problem with their relationship.

Mathew and Nora
planned to start training tomorrow. There was a good chance we could keep Mathew a secret until he reached the court.  No fey had known Peggy was pregnant when she disappeared, and they certainly didn’t know that she was still alive. It was therefore likely that his trip would be uneventful.

Elwin wanted to meet in the dream plane
tonight so he could teach me a couple of basics before we started our journey
tomorrow. I decided there was nothing I want to do less on my last night in my home.

Elwin?

Yes, Princess.

Please don’t call me that. I only have one more night to be
just Sarette.

You could never be
‘just Sarette’.

I’m packing the amazonite away. I don’t w
ant to train tonight.

I don’t think that’s wise.

I don’t really care what you think; nobody cares what
I
think. As of 8 a.m. tomorrow, my life is no longer my own. I just want to sleep tonight. It’s the last night when it is not my duty to save the world. Okay?

Yes, Prin
—I mean, Sarette. I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight.

I
quickly turned off the part of my brain that communicated with Elwin.
Distance, I’ve got to keep my distance from him; it can’t end well for me. I’m sure it will be easy secretly traveling, just the two of us, across dangerous terrains with an unknown enemy lurking behind every corner. This sucks.
I got out of bed, walked downstairs, and knocked on my mother’s door.

“Come in.”

“Can I sleep with you tonight?” I asked as I stuck my head in her room.

“
Sure, honey.” She had been working. She moved the papers to the other side of the bed. I crawled in and she put her arm around me. She started brushing my forehead, just like she did when I was little.
My mommy. God, I’m going to miss her
. We lay there like that until we both fell asleep.

Monday December 15, 2014

I woke up at six, jumped into the shower, then put on the clothes I had sitting on the desk. I had to admit, I looked kind of cute in the neon cammo outfit. The utility pants, tank, and long john shirt made my boobs look big, my waist small, and my legs long and lean. I shoved my purse into my backpack and headed downstairs.

When I ca
me into the kitchen, Mom said in sugary-laced sarcasm, “Awe, look at my baby girl all grown up to be a warrior princess.”

“
Nice one. The warrior needs coffee.” I grinned as I reached for my cup and filled it with freshly brewed coffee. I took a quick sip before I headed back upstairs to put on socks and hiking boots. I grabbed my sword, my iPad, and the box with the dagger, stick, and bag of crystals in it. I looked around and headed down the stairs for my last time.

“
Do you want me to make some breakfast for you?” Mom asked when I got back.

“
No, I’m too nervous to eat. Do you know how I’m supposed to carry this stuff?” I motioned to the gear I was carrying.

“
I haven’t the faintest idea. An
iPad
?”

“I haven’
t been officially told it won’t work there. Besides, I should have enough power to finish the book I’m reading.” I put everything on the table and grabbed my coffee before I sat down. Mom joined me. We sat in silence, smiled, and looked misty. I was not to going cry, yet.

At
7:30
the front door opened and Peggy walked in. “You didn’t think I’d let you leave without saying goodbye, did you?” She got a cup of coffee and joined us at the table for another round of silence and smiles.

At
7:45,
Mathew walked in and I jumped into his arms. He picked me up and held me. I couldn’t help it, the tears came. Big fat tears dripped down my cheeks as he swayed me, lightly whispering words of encouragement and love. His words triggered some core resolve in me.
Yes, it will be okay. Yes, I am going to miss everyone. Yes, I can do this.
When he finally put me down, I saw Peggy and Mom hugging each other. They were crying. Mathew’s face was also streaked with tears. I had to look away from the three of them and take a deep breath to steady myself.
You can do this, Sarette. It will be okay.

Mathew
answered a knock at the door at
7:55
. Nora walked in ahead of Elwin and immediately wiped Mathew’s tears away. “My brother won’t let anything happen to her, I promise. He is the very best,” Nora said.

Elwin followed
his sister with a look that was equal parts pity and sadness. I felt like I was going to my own funeral.

In lieu of
a formal good morning, I said, “I need help with the sword and stuff. I have no idea how I’m supposed to carry it.”

“I
have something to help with that.” Elwin reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a wound-up piece of leather about three inches wide and let it unroll. It was a belt made of the same leather as my other items. He wrapped it around me, buckling it so it hung just over the widest part of my hips.

He
opened the box on the table, grabbed the pouch with the crystals, and came back to me.

“What are the crystals for?”

“Lots of different things, but mostly they are healing crystals.” He smiled as he reached around me like he was giving me a hug. He didn’t break eye contact as he attached the pouch to a hidden D ring on the back of the belt. I felt paralyzed as he brushed his fingers against my waist when he brought his hands to the front of my body. This seemed like a pretty intimate moment to be having in front of all these people, but I didn’t really care
. Elwin won’t be mine much longer, I’ll take what I can get.
Elwin took out the stick from my gear.

“What
’s that for?”I asked.

“For now, it’s a stick. It
will be your wand once we bind it to you. Once bound, you cannot let anyone else handle it. Okay?” I nodded and he slid it into a hidden pocket on the side of my left thigh. The last boxed item was my dagger in its sheath. Elwin looked at me and said, “This is your spirit blade. The only times someone else should touch the blade are during a binding, or when you kill them.” I nodded and tried to swallow the lump that had suddenly formed in my throat.

Elwin moved to stand on my right side.
“Put your arm down. I need to line up the hilt with your hand.” I lowered my arm. He adjusted my belt so it lay diagonally with the highest part on my left hip and the lowest part on my right thigh. He took the dagger and very gently slid the sheath through a loop where the belt rested on my thigh. Then he placed my hand on the hilt and made another adjustment. I stopped breathing when Elwin got down on one knee in front of me. “Pull the spirit blade.” He watched me try to remove the dagger. It stuck a little so he moved the belt a bit more. “Try again.” This time I removed it easily from the sheath, raised it up, and looked at the blade. “Good.” He slowly moved his hands around my thigh and tied the bottom of the sheath to my leg. “Put it back and try again.” Again, I pulled it out smoothly.

Elwin looked up at me
, then stood, taking my hands in his own. We stared at each other until Mathew cleared his throat in an exaggerated fashion to break the hypnosis I was under. We both dropped our hands and guiltily slinked away from one another. I scanned the room to gauge everyone’s reaction to the intimate display. Mathew looked amused, Mom looked sad, Mama looked regretful, Nora looked scared, Elwin, embarrassed.

“
I guess I’m ready to…” I couldn’t say it. I looked down and tried to take some deep breaths so I wouldn’t start crying. I felt a set of arms around me. It was Mom. Mama walked over next. She kissed my cheek and joined the hug. Mathew wrapped his arms around all three of us.

Elwin and Nora
were across the room whispering to one another. As soon as they saw me looking at them, they stood straight and watched us stoically. I unwrapped everyone’s arms from me and said, “I’m ready.”

Elwin nodded, grabbed
my bag and sword, and walked out the door. Nora led Mathew out. Peggy looked at me again and squeezed my hand before following them out. My mom and I were left alone. She reached out and embraced me again. “You can do this, honey. I’m so proud of you.”

“
I’m not doing anything. There’s a whole lot happening
to
me, but it’s not like I’m
doing
anything. It’s destiny, so I’m off. It’s time to give up my free will and save the world,” I stated in my best super hero voice.

“
I think you’re going to like it there, but I’m going to miss you.” Mom put her arm over my shoulder and led me out. Everyone was lined up in front of a gray Honda Civic. I felt like I was approaching a firing squad. I gave Mom one last hug, took a deep breath, and walked to the car.

Mathew stopped me and picked me up to hug on his level. He whispered in my ear, “
I’m going to see you very soon. Love you, Cuz.”

“
Love you, too.”

He set
me down and I turned to find Nora with her arms ready for a hug. I didn’t really know her, but I needed all the support I could get right then, so I walked into her arms. “Elwin would never let anything happen to you. You know that, right?”

I nod
ded, then turned to car down Elwin had opened for me.

When I got in, he
shut the door and walked to Mathew. The two shook hands, then Elwin moved on to Mom. I could see she was saying something to him. He nodded and gave her a hug. Peggy grabbed him into a bear hug. She was crying. Nora and Elwin just looked at each other. They are vaki, so maybe they’re communicating telepathically. After a minute, they hugged and he mussed her hair. I couldn’t look at him when he got in the car. I kept looking at my family.

“
Are you ready?” he asked.

I shook my head no and said,
“Yes,” at the same time. Elwin put the car in drive and we started to pull away from the curb. I turned all the way around in my seat, waving and faking a smile at my family. When we turned onto Maumee Street, I turned around and wept into my hands.