by Katie Cherry
“So why all the soldiers, then?” Nathan asks, still unmoved by his explanation.
“I just heard you need them,” he sighs, quickly growing tired of over-explaining himself. “I can’t ever go back to Quagon now. So I was hoping that if I helped you out, you’d at least hear me out and hopefully allow me to stay with you. Besides, there’s twenty men- is that really such a threat to your entire realm?” he adds sarcastically. I can’t help but smile and side with him on that. It really wasn’t a large group, and the Villagers, untrained as they were, would easily be able to take them if needed.
“I see,” Vlad finally says after a few terse moments pass. “I will, of course, let Crystal make her own decisions, but I can see that you truly do not intend to harm her.”
“Thank you,” he sighs, tension going out of his broad shoulders at last.
“Well I guess if you’re going to stay here, you should meet my family,” I say with a smile, feeling strangely happy that my Quagon friend was able to come with me after all.
<<
I can’t believe she’s so okay with this, Nathan thinks, feeling enormously uncomfortable as he trails along behind them, Vlad at his side and the Quagon soldiers marching behind them. I mean, the entire time we were there, we were tiptoeing around him, fearing for our lives, and here she is, walking and chatting with him, telling him all about our home. Who says just because he didn’t bring an entire army, that he isn’t here to wage war on us? King Thayre could have sent him as a scouting party for this exact reason- Crystal, for some reason, trusts him. They’re friends, somehow… in spite of everything. An image of them kissing at the party flashes through his mind and his lip curls into a snarl. Or more than that. He’s obviously another person trying to control her. He may even be with the Dragon Hunters. I can’t believe she’s just blindly trusting him!
Lucky for her, I’ll never leave her side again. If anyone wants to get to her, they’ll have to go through me.
When they reach the castle, Vlad steps forward and quickly knocks the secret code. Luckily, Savitri seemed to be enamored by Crystal’s tale of dragons, so he likely didn’t notice the code to get in. I should still alert them that they should change it often while he’s here, Nathan thinks, making a mental note of what to tell the King and Queen.
The door opens and they’re ushered inside, quickly greeted by Chet and Angela, who rush he and Crystal as soon as they step in the door. “Nathan!” Angela cries excitedly, clinging to his neck. His arms automatically go around her in response, but his gaze is still heavy upon the foreign prince. “I’m so glad you’re finally back. I can come with you next time you leave, right? Oh, I couldn’t stand to be away from you while you may have been in danger!” she gushes. Nathan catches a similar plea from Chet as he clings to Crystal. Noting Savitri looking at Chet in confusion and alarm, Nathan smirks.
“Of course, you can come with,” he decides. “You and Chet.”
“Wait, what? I don’t know how many people we should really be taking with us across the realms,” Crystal murmurs to Nathan, trying to be confidential. “It’s not safe.”
“You’re… leaving to go somewhere else?” Savitri asks, looking pale at the prospect. “Isn’t this your home? Why are you going to more realms?”
“Ah… Savitri, I’ll explain everything to you when we get a moment,” Crystal promises, glancing at everyone gathered in the room. They were all staring at her once again. Chet and Angela anxiously waiting for her to approve them joining, Savitri pleading with his gaze for understanding, and Vlad, who looks weary at the drama rushing just below the surface. Tension hangs thickly in the air until the King, Queen, Thaddeus, Kate, and Zeke enter the room.
“Crystal! Home safe and sound,” Alexander booms in appreciation, rushing over to scoop her into his arms with his wife close behind. “It’s good to have you back.”
“It’s good to be back,” she grunts from within his arms. When he releases her, Pearl rushes in to take his place.
“I know you weren’t gone for very long, but I’m still so relieved that you’re back!”
“Me too…”
“I love what you’ve done with your hair- both of you! Though I hope those tatoos aren’t permanent,” she adds with a slight frown, pulling back from Crystal. “Oh, and Kate has an announcement!” she beams, causing Crystal to look at the former doctor in confusion.
“You… have an announcement?”
“Yes… Zeke and I are getting married!” she explains, eyes twinkling with happiness.
Crystal gapes at her for a second before rushing forward and throwing her arms around her. “Oh, my goodness! Kate that’s amazing! I’m so happy for you! Wait, when’s the wedding?” she continues as she pulls back, looking concerned. Nathan gazes at her and realizes where her thoughts are headed. They weren’t likely to stay in Zilferia for long, thanks to the King being paranoid about his daughter being kidnapped by the Dragon Hunters, so they may not even make it to the wedding.
“As soon as possible. The Dragon Hunters seem to be waiting to make a renewed push in the war, so we want to get it in before the war makes it impossible,” Zeke replies. “Kate and your mother have been planning it, and they’re hoping to get it all together in the next few weeks, if I’m not mistaken.”
“Should everything go smoothly, yes, it should be in two to three weeks,” Pearl replies.
“So… we can stay here during that time?” Crystal asks hesitantly.
“Well, of course, that’s much more logical than sending you out and bringing you back again before it’s time,” Pearl smiles.
“Now then, who’s this dashing fellow?” Alexander finally asks, gesturing to Savitri. “He looks like he’s from Quagon.”
“He is,” Crystal replies. “He’s a friend, and one of the princes- so he was able to bring some soldiers like you asked,” she continues, gesturing to the twenty uncomfortable looking men standing just outside of the castle doors.
“Fantastic! A friend he is,” he booms, giving Savitri a firm, friendly slap on the back. “Much appreciated, my boy!”
“T-thank you,” Savitri murmurs, looking shell-shocked. “Uh- I mean… you’re welcome.”
Chuckling, Alexander turns and begins walking toward the troops. “I’ll go find them a place to stay,” he yells over his shoulder as he goes. “Pearl, would you find a room for our prince friend here… Crystal, what’s his name?”
“Savitri.”
“Find Savitri a room!” he says before turning and happily addressing the twenty Quagon men at his doorstep, walking through the group and finally leading them down the stairs.
Smiling, Pearl turns to the foreign prince and puts a comforting arm around his shoulders, leading him away from Nathan’s smoldering gaze.
<<
Savitri’s head hurts thinking back on the past few days. He was in a whole new world he never could have comprehended and Crystal, so eager to show it all to him, crams so much new, confusing information into his head it feels like splitting open by the end of the day. He’d gotten used to walking on dry land the first night they’d gotten there- which had been weird too, that he left in the morning and got there at night… which was also longer than he was used to- and from there, Crystal had been a list of fun facts about Zilferia.
Swinging his legs out of bed, he stumbles to the bathroom with a groan, dousing his face with water to help him wake up. Even in his dreams, he was lost and confused, and would wake feeling even more exhausted than he had felt the day before. Wiping at his face, he resigns himself to another day, feeling lost but playing it off. I’ll get a hang of this eventually. …I have to. I don’t have a home on Quagon anymore, not once my family figures out where I’ve gone, which they likely already have. Quagon isn’t that large a place to scour for someone. Hanging his head, he fights the despair that threatens to wash over him. He’d been so hopeful when he’d rushed to follow Crystal through that invisible portal. While she had technically
accepted him and his sacrifice, it was harder than he’d ever dreamed it would be. Quagon now seemed simplistic to him, with everything under the water besides the precious crops, but here… they not only had at least one ocean, there were so many trees it would take a lifetime to count them all, and islands… mountains so tall they cut into the sky. Not to mention all the creatures living there! There was so much diversity beneath the waves, but there was at least as much above the ground as well- creatures roaming the land on two feet, four, digging beneath the ground, or even flying above the ground with wings.
It was all too much for him, too unsettling… and he felt like he was learning it all at such a slow pace. Crystal was ever patient with him, but he knew it must be frustrating for him to know nothing about something as simple as grass, which she grew up with, despite not having grown up in Zilferia, but in a place called Second Earth. As different as Zilferia was from Second Earth, it was nothing compared to the differences between it and Quagon.
Part of him wished they would move on to Ponorama already. Crystal and Nathan didn’t know anything about it besides a word they kept repeating- desert. There, he would have a chance to learn everything along with them and not feel quite so hopelessly lost. It had to be better than everything Zilferia had to offer.
At least he might not have to try so hard to fit in.
Everyone here was nice to him, but still uncertain. He understood why there would be few visitors from Quagon, but he had a feeling a good share of them held him in suspicion as much as curiosity and uncertainty. He knew Nathan felt that way about him. Nathan seemed to be always at either Crystal’s side, or his, burying Savitri under his sharp scrutiny.
A knock sounds at his door. Quickly throwing on a shirt, he shuffles over to the door and opens it to Crystal’s smiling face. “Good morning!” she happily greets, sliding into the room with him. “Here, I got you some new clothes from Taylor,” she continues, handing him a pile of coarse feeling fabric. It wasn’t as soft as the moisture-wicking fabric made on Quagon, but his skin was gradually getting used to the rough fibers. “I’ll meet you downstairs for breakfast, okay? Thaddeus is finally healed, so we’re celebrating,” she beams before moving back out the door and disappearing without another word.
Sighing, he finishes preparing for the day, then heads toward the kitchen as directed, bracing himself for another conversation he may only half understand.
<<
Savitri enters the room and I smile kindly at him and gesture for him to sit by me. Nathan, at my other side, doesn’t say a word, though I can feel tension from him, just like I have the past few days since we all got back to Zilferia. As Savitri sits beside me, I notice he seems really tired. This must all be really hard for him, I sigh to myself. I’ve been trying to help him understand everything, but it’s clearly still too overwhelming. …I think I’ll take everything slower and let him ask me questions as he’s ready. …I only hope he’ll be able to withstand Ponorama, which is apparently extremely deserty. How would a man from a world made of water react to a world with none? …We should go to Zelon instead. But mom says there’s a reason they choose to send us where they do, and I don’t know that it’s worth fighting over. It’ll be a culture shock for all of us- especially Savitri- either way. There’s only so much I can do to protect him when he’s determined to stay by my side.
“Good morning, everyone,” Thaddeus greets as he enters the room, only a slight wobble to his walk, like before. He’s using his cane, but I think it’s more for security than anything else.
“Good morning!” we all chime back, everyone smiling at his recovery. Savitri’s smile is more to be polite than anything else since he still hardly knows him, and doesn’t know what happened to him in the first place. I figure that’s far too long of a story to tell, especially when he’s still trying to get used to Zilferia in the first place.
Matilda brings out the food then, and we all happily dig into the food, chatting amiably all the while. By the time the meal is winding up, though, I can tell that Thaddeus has something to say. A seriousness has settled in his features and he’s stopped talking. “Thaddeus,” I venture then, “What’s wrong?”
Everyone catches on and falls silent in their own conversations, turning to Thaddeus curiously. Clearing his throat, he slowly sets down his silverware. “I was hoping to avoid casting a heavy atmosphere upon this happy gathering, but… the future weighs on my heart lately. I fear… for a number of reasons… that not only will my time with you be cut short, but that this is only the calm before the storm. A terrible storm, that will rip into the very fiber of the realms and shake us all to our cores. I fear we will not know peace like this for a very long time… and if the war is won by the Dragon Hunters- or whoever directs them- it may never come again.” A stunned silence follows his words, and I can feel them echoing inside of me.
A part of me agrees with him, and I can feel the darkness approaching on the horizon as well, threatening to snuff out the spark of hope I’ve been working so hard to grow in myself as well as everyone else in Zilferia.
Gulping, I turn to look at Nathan, who meets my gaze in turn. Although his face is grim, like the rest of our faces, there’s also a determination deep in his eyes, that I cling to.
I just hope it will be enough to carry us through the approaching war… and out the other side.
EPILOGUE
Tandoc and Dravyn
Pencil and notebook in hand, Beryl tiptoes through the house, careful not to wake her sleeping sister. The floor is cold on her bare feet- the sun had not yet risen. Scurrying to the door, she slips on her shoes before quietly leaving, closing the door softly behind her. The streets of Quagon were always empty this early in the morning, and today was no different. Why would it be? No one knew that it was her twenty-first birthday, and she wasn’t one to shout it from the rooftops. Neither, apparently, was her uncle. As King, one would think that he would be able to throw her the biggest birthday party she would ever care to see. Not that he couldn’t, he just didn’t care to. Once her father died of a disease a few years previous, her uncle had arranged to get her and her sister a house, but left it at that. Few people even remembered that she was part of the royal family.
Shaking away her loneliness, Beryl focuses on her task that morning- sneak into the castle gardens. No one is at the gate this early, but even if there was, many of the guards would let her through, recognizing her as part of the royal family. …Something her own uncle chose to ignore until it was convenient for him.
Creeping along the wall, she slips into the garden unseen as the sun rises above the watery horizon. A chorus of birds singing as they wake greets her. Smiling, Beryl slowly walks toward one tree in particular, where she had seen a yellow-breasted bird begin a nest not too long ago. Reaching the tree, she grins in triumph at the sight of three little eggs nestled among the twigs. Kneeling in the grass another king had imported from another realm years before, she flips to a new page in her blank notebook- the last gift she had received from her father before he passed. Pulling out the metal-encased graphite, she begins to scratch at the surface of the paper, glancing up now and then to remind herself exactly what the nest looked like.
Before long, the mother bird returns and perches on the edge of the nest. Sketching faster, Beryl hurries to capture the image of the proud little bird, its yellow and white chest thrust forward as its small black wings stretch toward the sky.
Just as she’s finishing, she feels a hand land on her shoulder. With a sharp intake of breath, Beryl rises to her feet and spins around, ready to defend herself to her uncle. But who she finds standing there instead changes everything.
“Tandoc!” she cries, rushing forward and wrapping her arms around him, nuzzling her face into his neck. “You were gone for so long this time,” she whimpers.
“I know,” he murmurs in reply, gingerly wrapping his own arms around her. He always held her like he was careful not to break her, and it always had a way of making
her feel oddly feminine in a way she’d never experienced before. “I’m sorry.”
“Oh, it’s alright,” Beryl chuckles, pulling back and wiping her eyes. “I’m just so happy to see you.”
“How could I miss your birthday?” he chuckles lightly, giving her a light kiss. “In fact, I have a special surprise for you today.”
“Really?” Looking down, she sees nothing in his hands. Looking back up at him curiously, he smiles and takes her hand, leading her away from the castle garden, her notebook and pencil forgotten. When he refuses to answer her questions, Beryl sighs but agrees to wait patiently. When he takes her to a boat, however, she can’t help but question him again. “Where are we going?”
Helping her onto the boat, he smiles at her, his deep blue eyes twinkling. “You’ll see. But I promise, you’ll love it.” He stops any protests with another kiss. “I promise.”
“Okay,” she sighs, settling into the seat of the boat. Tandoc’s smile doesn’t falter as he turns and begins piloting the boat out onto the water. Beryl’s confusion grows as they approach the island near Davenport. No one could step foot on there without the King’s permission- and her dad had died before he’d had the opportunity to take her. How had he gotten permission from her uncle?
The boat slows, and he turns into a smaller, faster moving body of water that cut into the land. When the water begins to end, he slows and stops the boat, anchoring it in the shallow water. “Come on,” he invites, jumping over the side and extending a hand to her. She takes it, feeling shaky from excitement- and fear. What if it’s not all I imagined it would be?
