Never Let You Fall (The Prophecy of Tyalbrook)

by Michele G Miller

  It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Selene, but I just didn’t know how to handle everything that was going on. My feelings, especially, were driving me crazy.

  “Skye, I get it. It’s hard to not love a Guardian. He stands for everything that you’ve missed most of your life. He promises to keep you safe, to love you, and you’ve missed that.”

  “No, that’s not why I have these feelings for him. I…” I began, and then found myself trailing off. I let her words sink in. Maybe my feelings were based on the comfort he had provided to me after ten years of loneliness. Maybe I had latched onto him because he made me feel safe. The tingling in my chest, the warmth that spread through me when was around… it wouldn’t be hard to mistake those feelings for more than they were.

  The tingling warmth!

  I couldn’t feel it anymore. For the first time in days I felt cold in my core and I wanted to cry out.

  “Skye, if you want to love him, then love him. You just need to decide if you’re willing to let that love go for the sake of the Kingdom. You’re the only one who can save them all, but to do it you may have to sacrifice your own happiness. Are you ready for that?”

  Just when I was about to answer her, Xander popped his head into the mirror and made me jump.

  “It’s all good! Come on home, princess.”

  The smile on his face was brighter than the North Star. He was happy, extremely happy. I put my hands out in front of me and stepped towards the mirror. My hands went right through with nothing but a slight whoosh sound. I took one, two, three steps, and then I was through the mirror.

  As a child, I had seen movies like Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz enough to be wary of the new land I now found myself in. The famous line Dorothy had uttered was well in my head when I opened my eyes and found myself in a cave.

  What a letdown! Just a cave?

  “Where are the rainbows and mermaids?” I muttered as I stepped away from the portal entrance. Water was streaming all around and I realized that the portal was actually positioned behind a small waterfall.

  Not only that, but Xander was soaked.

  “Why are you wet?” I asked, looking at how dry I was.

  “Apparently to go back from this side, you actually have to go through the waterfall. But I didn’t know that little nugget when I decided to stick my head through to get you!” he laughed. He was in a good mood despite getting soaked, and I was glad for that. I smiled with him, determined to be happy to be here too.

  It was time to find justice for my family and his. Time to find justice for all the people of Tyalbrook. Selene stepped through a moment later, and we stood there for a moment to let her get her bearings.

  “It smells like home,” she croaked, and her eyes filled with unshed tears.

  Her happiness, as well as Xander’s, brought tears to my own eyes. I wished that I was able to remember being here. I wished that it felt more like home to me.

  Selene cupped some water in her palm and ran her hand under the waterfall. Lifting the water to her lips, she closed her eyes and drank from her palm.

  “Ahhh, it’s so clean!”

  Xander and I just stood there watching her. She drank more water and then bent down and snatched a clump of dirt into her fist. Smelling the ground and smiling she looked at our faces.

  “You have no idea what this dimension smells like, compared to your own. It’s amazing how clean and fresh…I missed it more than I realized.”

  ‘Clean dirt?’ I thought to myself as Selene headed for the exit of the cave. Xander shrugged with a smile and followed after her, leaving me behind him.

  The mouth of the cave was only about twenty feet away around a bend. It opened up into a forest much like the one where Selene’s cabin had been. As I stood there and surveyed the forest, I was struck at how similar it was to home.

  Again, the expectations I’d of unicorns and magical dancing faeries were dispelled. This was just a regular old forest!

  “You look disappointed,” Xander commented when he came to stand next to me.

  “Well, I guess it’s not what I expected. I was looking for ‘magical’, and instead I got a plain forest.”

  “Don’t be fooled, princess,” hinted Xander, leaning closer to me. “There IS magic in this forest.”

  Every time he called me princess I felt shivers run through my body. The familiar warmth that meant Xander was near had returned as soon as I’d walked through the waterfall, and I felt complete again.

  His eyes twinkled at me and I couldn’t help but feel as if he were talking about me, and not anything else that might have been in the forest.

  Doing my best to stare into his eyes, I murmured back at him, “You’re right, there is magic here.”

  His swift intake of breath and the way his hand reached for mine told me he knew I was speaking of him. I felt my knees weaken as we stood there, our faces a foot apart and my hand held in his warm one. This was way more than him just being my protector.

  His smile. His eyes. The way his fingers curled around mine. All of those things made me want him. I’d never wanted anything like I wanted Xander. I wanted to stay by his side forever. The feelings I got when he was near, the tingling warmth in my heart, in my chest… my whole body sang when he was near. That couldn’t be nothing. It couldn’t be just gratitude.

  “You two ready?” coughed Selene, not so subtly. Talk about cutting the tension with a knife! Xander’s face snapped to hers and he actually growled under his breath. I hid a smile at his reaction.

  “Yeah, what’s the plan here? Are we just going to storm the Castle?” I straightened up and walked out of the cave into the full daylight. Xander, still holding my hand, followed behind me.

  “We’re going to head southeast towards the village of Sheridan, and we’ll look for a man named Cillian. He was a close friend of Rioden’s and a staunch supporter of your parents, Skye. When McClintock became King, Cillian actually defected from his royal duty.”

  “How do we know where to find him? How do we know there is still a village that way?” asked Xander impatiently as he looked toward the east.

  “You’re right, Xander…we don’t really know where to find him. We’re going to just have to ask around. Look - there are still so many things that you don’t know yet, Xander. Rioden has been planning this for years, and although I wish he were here to fill you in, he isn’t.”

  “Then you fill me in, Selene. Hell, I’m starting to wonder if I ever really knew anything about him at all! He kept you a secret, he even kept all of his elaborate plans secret!” Xander pulled away from me and walked up to Selene. He stood toe to toe with her and glared down into her face. “Tell me what he planned, Selene! Tell me now!” he yelled.

  “Xander! Stop it!” I warned, as I made haste to reach them.

  “Why, Skye? Aren’t you tired of this? The secrets, the not knowing what’s going on? I’ve been following the rules so far, but I’m done with going into this blind! How did he plan all of this, Selene? How do we even know where to go and who to seek out?”

  Selene stepped back slightly and the three of us stood in a triangle. Xander was fuming mad, but I couldn’t understand his anger. What had upset him so? Selene looked serene, although perhaps a little worried at his outburst.

  “Do you not trust your own uncle, Xander? The man who gave his life to protect you? To protect your family?!” Selene snapped out.

  “How dare you! Do not question my loyalty to Rioden, Selene. I didn’t ask him to give up his life for me. He did that willingly. I was only a child! Who do you think you are?!”

  Selene smiled a deliciously wicked smile at that question. My insides churned at the meaning behind this argument. I knew that nothing good could come from this fight. I wanted to step in, but the overwhelming anger and pride that both of them exuded caused me to step back.

  “Xander, you forget your place. I am the one who is privy to Rioden’s plans - not you. If you want to move forward, you will listen to me.�
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  “Oh really? Are you threatening me? What exactly are your intentions, Sorceress?” He strung out the word ‘sorceress’ as if it were a curse word.

  Selene raised her hands from her sides and I saw sparks of energy crackle between them. Her long, raven hair actually began to float up, almost as if she’d been zapped by electricity. Xander’s hand rested on his dagger but he didn’t unsheathe it; not yet. Things were quickly getting out of hand!

  “STOP,” I finally interrupted them; speaking in the most royal voice I could command. “What is wrong with you two? You both forget your place! You will listen to me from now on!”

  The cackle of laughter that rolled out of Selene actually scared the crap out of me for about two seconds, until Xander rushed her and knocked her to the ground.

  He held a dagger to her throat as he straddled her; his weight pressing down on her so that she couldn’t move.

  “You will never, NEVER disrespect the Princess of Tyalbrook in that manner again. Do you understand me? I don’t care who you are to my uncle…I will kill you.”

  “Xander, no! It’s okay! She was just angry! What are you doing?” I cried out, as I tried to figure out how to get things back to the way they had been just twenty short minutes ago when we had first walked through that portal and were actually happy to be here. “Please?”

  With his face concentrated on Selene, his body still tense and holding her captive, he didn’t bother to lift his head as he spoke. “No, Skye. I think it’s time we set some ground rules. You are the Princess here, and you’re the one in charge. Selene here is just a guide who is going to answer our questions now.”

  “Fine!” Selene shouted out at last. “Fine. Get the hell off of me, though.”

  Xander eyed her warily.

  “I’m not going to hurt her, Xander! I’m not stupid. If you didn’t kill me right away Rioden would; his loyalty is to her, not me.”

  I couldn’t help but note the sadness in her tone. Was she upset that Rioden would choose me over her? Yes, it seemed like she was. I made a mental note to be watchful of her from then on.

  After a few tense moments, Xander finally pulled himself off of Selene and helped her into a sitting position. He still gripped his dagger, but no longer had it pointed at her.

  “Tell us the plan and how Rioden came up with it,” he urged.

  Selene took a deep breath and looked at me first. “Skye, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything against you with my laughter, nor was I planning to hurt you. Please know that I am now, and have always been, loyal to you.”

  I hesitated for a moment and then nodded my head in acceptance of her apology.

  “Answers, Selene!” Xander snapped out impatiently.

  Dang! He was so hot when he took charge! In the moments since he had risen up against Selene, I’d seen a new side of Xander. This was my Guardian in full force, much like he had been back in Freedom Park when I was being attacked by the Semvon. This was the take charge, I-will-keep-you-safe guy. I really liked this guy!

  “Alright! Rioden has used this portal several times over the last two years. Once you’d located Skye, he began to plan out our return home.” Her confession caused Xander to clench his fists. He started to speak, but Selene held up her hand.

  “Let me just tell you what I know before you yell at me again. After your parents were killed and Skye had been settled in the group home, I left the two of you and went into the mountains where I could hide and wait for the day when we would all go home. I didn’t see Rioden for almost eight years. Then one day out of the blue, he just showed up. He said that you guys had finally located Skye, and he thought that it was time to put the return plan into place. He came to the cabin and informed me that he would need to use the portal to scout out Tyalbrook.”

  Selene looked beseechingly at Xander and continued, “You have to remember that the Kingdom was already a very different place at the time he left, a full five years after you had. When he finally came to see me, it had been eight more years. He was worried about the condition of the Kingdom for our return.”

  “I don’t know all of the details of what he did when he took trips there, but I do know that he searched out old allies and began to put together a secret army that could rise up in the Princess’s name when the time came.”

  “This I can tell you, Xander: Rioden is true to the cause. He wants nothing more than to kill McClintock and replace him on the throne with Skye. Tyalbrook is his home, and he wants to see it go back to the way it was.”

  “He came back and didn’t tell me?” questioned Xander so softly I almost didn’t hear him.

  “Yes. He didn’t want to worry you. He knew how pained you were with what had happened with Skye, and he didn’t want you to be concerned about him. Plus, he didn’t want you to try to argue the logic of snatching Skye and returning home right away.”

  “Damn him! He knew how badly I wanted to grab her and come back here! Of course he kept it secret - you’re right. I can’t believe he didn’t tell me, though, at least in the past few days. Especially once it became apparent that we were going to have to run.”

  I finally butted in on that comment. “I don’t think he had time, Xander! The past few days have been a blur for all of us. I think he was trying to keep us safe in that dimension for as long as he could.”

  “Yes. Skye is correct. Rioden has been very worried about keeping you both safe. Initially this is going to be a dangerous place for you, Xander. Once we start this war we can’t un-start it. The enemy will stop at nothing to bring you down.”

  I couldn’t help the question that her last comment elicited from me. “Why? Why is it more dangerous for him?”

  Xander ran his fingers through his hair as he answered for her. “Because I’m your Guardian. Once McClintock sees the bond we share, he’ll want me out of the picture because he’s going to know that I’ll stop at nothing to protect you.”

  “But he doesn’t know about you yet, right?”

  “No, not that I know of. Rioden told me once that no one knew when you disappeared that you had gone with my parents and me. I think they thought that we had just ran away.”

  “Then we hide you!” I answered, as if I had solved all of the world’s problems with one magical answer.

  Xander looked at me like I was crazy. “Hide me? You want to explain that logic, hun?”

  “Don’t act like I’m the crazy one! We need to hide you - hide who you are to me. Nobody needs to know! I won’t risk you getting hurt, Xander.”

  “She has a point,” Selene agreed from her spot on the ground. “We were going to try to keep her identity secret for a while, but once we reveal it, we don’t have to say that the two of you are connected. You can just be the guy who brought her back - no connections, no feelings.”

  “You emphasized the ‘feelings’ part, Selene,” I remarked as I strolled to her side and extended my hand to help her up. “You’re right, though. Seems to me that we need to pretend to just be two people who happened to meet Xander. We can’t betray any feelings, or any other connection.”

  Selene thanked me for helping her and then offered her hand to Xander. “Look – I know this is stressful. I’m sorry for all the secrets, but I swore to Rioden that I wouldn’t tell you anything I didn’t have to. Let’s hope that he meets up with us soon and he can fill us in on everything else.”

  Still scowling slightly, Xander shook Selene’s hand but warned her in deep voice, “We’re trusting you because Ri did, but I’m telling you, Selene - if I sense that you mean any harm to Skye, I swear…”

  “She doesn’t,” I hastily jumped in to keep the peace again. “Xander, it was all a big misunderstanding. Let’s get moving – southeast, right?”

  Selene nodded to me again and started off in the right direction, leaving Xander and I to either follow or be left behind.

  Picking up the satchel he had tossed to the ground while arguing with Selene, Xander waited for me to reach his side before pulling me back
to whisper in my ear.

  “Don’t allow yourself to be alone with her, okay?”

  Hearing his concern only ratcheted up my own thoughts that perhaps she wasn’t ‘all in’ where I was concerned.

  “I think perhaps she’s just bitter. Could you blame her?”

  “Bitter? What makes you think that?”

  “Just like you and Rioden, she lost her life too. She lost her mother, she left her world behind, and it sounds to me like she feels she’s had to share her lover with me.”

  “What the… lover? What are you talking about?” he sputtered; his eyes popping out of his head. His expression reminded me of a Loony Tunes character.