The Queen

by C. J. Abedi

  Alderon protected me against the more vocal opponents, but when he was not there I was faced with the reality of our situation. I did not make many friends, but I didn’t care. The only thing that mattered to me was Alderon and his promise to love me and my people, to bring an end to the division of our two worlds.

  I could handle the taunts or whispers because I knew that in time, they would grow to accept that my beloved and I would always be one.

  I walked the halls of the Dark and felt only love, for I believed that it was all we needed to survive the divisive world that we had been born into.

  “You are radiant this evening,” Alderon said to me as he came up behind me on the great terrace that overlooked the kingdom.

  It had become my favorite place to spend time. I could see the entire Dark Forest stretch out before me for miles, and it breathed new life into my soul. It allowed me to see the beauty within this kingdom, for even on the most somber of days, Light seemed to always shine like shards of glass, illuminating the magikal trees and casting a glow that seemed to radiate from within.

  Alderon’s arms circled my waist as he pulled me up against his strong body. He buried his head in my neck and kissed me softly.

  “I cannot be away from you for even a day,” he told me.

  “Then don’t, my king,” I told him as I pulled him even closer.

  I could feel him smile against my skin.

  “I must see to the Kingdom,” he said. “There are many duties that I have avoided since I set eyes on you.”

  I turned in his arms so that I could look up at his handsome face.

  “Must you go?” I asked.

  He pulled me in for a kiss that left me breathless.

  “I must,” he sighed. “As much as it pains me to leave you, my people have needs.”

  “When will you return?” I asked.

  “I do not know,” Alderon said sadly. “A few days, possibly a week’s time.”

  I closed my eyes in dread, but I knew that he had responsibilities to attend to.

  “Can I come with you?” I asked him quietly.

  He pulled me in his arms and shook his head.

  “I would never send you into danger, my love,” he told me. “I could not concentrate on the tasks at hand if you were near and if I had to worry about your safety.”

  “Will you be in danger then?” I could not keep my voice from trembling.

  “Rest easy, my beautiful bride,” Alderon replied soothingly. “I will come back to you.”

  And I believed him. I believed everything he told me. He was so powerful that I knew in my heart no harm would befall him, but I still needed to hear the words of reassurance.

  “I understand, my King,” I told him. “I will count the days until your return.”

  He ran the back of his hand tenderly down my cheek.

  “I did not know that such a love was possible,” he told me. “I long for you always. You are in my blood, Tara. I fear that without you, I would be lost in an abyss of excruciating pain.”

  I turned my face and grabbed hold of his hand and kissed it. He was my life.

  “I love you,” I told him.

  “I love you,” he replied.

  We stared into each other’s eyes, and the passion we felt for one another and the depth of our love was palpable.

  “Go then,” I said softly. “And return quickly.”

  He gave me one last lingering kiss, then disappeared into the night.

  When he was gone I felt an emptiness unlike any I had ever known. Like he had taken half my soul with him. I faced the Dark Forest again.

  “May I join you, my queen?”

  I smiled as I turned to look at my husband’s most loyal subject, the only one who had made any effort to make me feel welcome.

  “Puck,” I replied. “Your company is always welcome.”

  “No kingdom has ever had such a beautiful queen,” Puck went on as he came to stand beside me on the balcony. “You are the Queen of all queens.” He bowed deeply.

  “You flatter me,” I said.

  “I speak only truth,” he told me. “You are like the moon that illuminates the dark night, regardless of what the rest might believe.”

  “And what is that they believe?” I asked him.

  Puck sighed. “That your union will bring about our demise.”

  A shiver of fear ran down my spine. “That is ridiculous.”

  “Forget not that we are a superstitious lot, my queen,” Puck said. “But I am here to reassure you that I am confident your tale with my king will be legendary.”

  D

  Darkness surrounded me.

  Like the vicious web of a spider, it had trapped me in its strong grip. I was trying to fight through it and get back to the surface, my surface, the only one I had known my whole life, but all I saw was a black hole that prevented me from going there.

  How did it feel?

  Alderon’s voice echoed in my mind. Whether it was imagination or reality, I could feel him so strongly coursing through my veins.

  That’s it, accept who and what you are. After years of disappointment, today, I am finally proud.

  My mother’s Light was slowly receding, retracting into the recesses of my heart where it would soon give way to the dark rise of my soul.

  I fell to the ground from the force of the power circling me. I knew what I had done. Banishing Rowan into a yew was the worst offense I could bestow upon another Fae. I had to get him out within a certain time, or his release would send him to the afterlife.

  I got up on my knees and threw my head back up toward the sky.

  Help me.

  The sky opened up above me and rain poured from the heavens. I looked at my palms and could see the Light begin to fade as the darkness grew strong, enticing me into its trap.

  Please.

  And then I saw a creature of pure Light running toward me. She was an angel. A beautiful, pure angel coming to my aid.

  “Devilyn!” Caroline cried out to me.

  I held up my hand, showing her my palm.

  “Stay away from me!” I roared.

  She stopped only a few feet away. She was breathing hard. I knew she must have heard the call, alerting her of the transformation of my soul. She had to know what I had just done to Rowan as well.

  “Devilyn, stop—” she whispered.

  She studied my face and knew the dark was about to consume me. She had minutes to leave before I brought hell upon her.

  “Caroline, please,” I said in agony. “Go. Go before I hurt you—”

  “I will not,” she said strongly. “I will never leave you.”

  “I can’t control it,” I told her. “It’s too powerful to deny—”

  “Look at me!” Caroline commanded. “Look into my eyes, Devilyn.”

  I met her gaze and allowed her to see the ugly darkness that had hibernated within me.

  “You know what I’ve done,” I said.

  “Yes,” she whispered sadly. “But there is still time—”

  “I don’t want to free him,” I snapped at her in a voice I hardly recognized.

  “Yes, you do,” she told me. “This isn’t you who are.”

  I laughed bitterly.

  “This is the me you’ve refused to see,” I said harshly.

  “Rowan is our friend.”

  “He wants you,” I told her softly. “And I won’t let him have you.”

  Destroy her now, so that she will always have been yours, Alderon’s voice echoed in my mind.

  My chest heaved as the call became stronger.

  “GO!” I shouted at her. “I don’t know what will happen when my transformation is complete.”

  Caroline looked around wildly.

  “There is no transformation!” she shouted at me. “You are not one or the other. You are both.”

  Do it now, Alderon said again.

  “Caroline.” My voice was in agony. “Please.”

  I looked behind Caroline and sa
w Tatiana standing only a few feet behind. She watched me with wide eyes. She stared at my dark gaze then looked past me to the Yew.

  “What have you done?” Tatiana whispered.

  “Leave me!”

  “Odin, help us!” Tatiana cried up to the sky.

  But there was no answer. Perhaps even Odin knew that my time had finally come. Now was the time that I would truly embrace who and what I was, in the truest of ways.

  “Devilyn,” Caroline whispered. “Come back to us.”

  I closed my eyes against her pleas.

  Don’t listen to her, my son. This is who you are.

  “You are Light, more Light than any man I’ve ever known,” Caroline went on. “You know how I know this?”

  It was like Caroline’s voice was coming to me through a tunnel while hell raged on around me. And as the seconds went by her voice became more and more of a distant memory.

  “I know this because you would sacrifice us,” she whispered. “You would sacrifice our love for my life. Your happiness for my life. That is not dark. That is Light in its purest form, because it’s love, Devilyn. It’s love.”

  Love.

  Don’t listen to her. She is trying to trick you so you will free Rowan. Don’t you see? She wants to be with him.

  I covered my ears with my hands, trying to block Alderon’s voice, even though I knew it came from within.

  “Don’t listen to him,” Caroline said. “Please don’t listen to him. He is lying to you.”

  “Brother,” Tatiana called out. “He is trying to manipulate—”

  Before she could finish her thought I lifted my palm and hit her with Dark light. She flew through the sky, hitting a giant tree as the earth shook violently beneath us from the sheer force of her fall.

  “NO!” Caroline screamed at me. “No, Devilyn!”

  She threw her body at me unexpectedly and the impact caused me to fall to the ground. But Caroline was no match for my strength.

  I didn’t think.

  I grabbed hold of her, pushed her onto her back, and threw my body on top of hers.

  End it. Once this is done, it will all be over.

  “I love you,” Caroline said to me as my hands crawled up to circle her neck. “Come back to me.”

  I felt as though I had a ferocious animal within my body trying to rip itself free.

  My fingers tightened around her neck. It would be so easy for me to choke the life out of her.

  “Don’t do this.” Her voice trembled.

  The tears she shed were mingling with the rain from above. But I was oblivious to it all.

  I applied more pressure and watched as she gasped for air.

  “Remember who you are,” she said again.

  I closed my eyes against the Light and love I saw in hers.

  Finish it.

  C

  I was dying.

  The oxygen was leaving my lungs.

  The Light inside was slowly extinguishing.

  One cell at a time.

  Each one shutting down. Causing a chain reaction, forcing each vein to stop pumping blood, each organ to slow down. This was it.

  Just as they always said, my life flashed before my eyes. From childhood memories to moments with my family, with Teddy, and with Devilyn. I was the spectator watching the story of my life. Watching the man I loved end it.

  I stared up at Devilyn’s face. Watching darkness consume him, and praying that the Light would somehow prevail.

  It would be so easy to let go and fall into the blissful Light of heaven. I would be finished with all the stress. All the prophecies, all the danger to myself, and more importantly to the ones I loved. I would just be in the Light for eternity.

  The only reason I fought against it was because I knew that it would destroy the man I loved forever. And with this on his conscience who knew what he’d be capable of in the future.

  I fought for Devilyn.

  For his humanity.

  For his Light.

  “I hope you remember me when we meet again on the other side,” I whispered.

  His eyes widened when he heard my words. His grip loosened slightly.

  He was fighting inside. He was fighting, but because of what he’d done to Rowan, the odds were against him.

  Only a true queen can stop time.

  Dana’s voice came from the heavens and vibrated through my body. I closed my eyes and let out a breath. I pictured the world around us stopping. Time itself coming to a halt. There would be no breaths to take. We would just be.

  I felt a rattle from the earth around me and when I opened my eyes and looked up at Devilyn, it had worked. He was halted in that moment, anguish and pain in his eyes. I slowly peeled his hands off my neck and slipped out from underneath him.

  The rain had even stopped falling, the droplets paused in the air. I ran over to Tatiana. She had been trying to get up, stumbling, from the blast Devilyn had given her. Now she was frozen in that moment.

  I stood between them and did not know what to do. It was a lonely place to be. The world had stopped, every part of it, and here I was, trying to decide how to make things right again.

  “You don’t have much time.”

  I jumped when I heard Odin’s voice. He was standing a good distance away in all of his Viking glory, observing the scene.

  “I don’t know what to do,” I confessed.

  “You must bring him back to us,” Odin said.

  “But how?” I cried. “And why didn’t you come when Tatiana called out to you?”

  “Because this is not a battle I can fight. This is his destiny. This is the moment in his life when he must choose,” Odin explained.

  “What if he chooses dark?” I asked, the one question I was afraid to know the answer to.

  “Then he is lost,” Odin said sadly. “And both he and Rowan will be gone forever.”

  I couldn’t bear the thought of it.

  “And the longer Rowan spends in the yew, the more depleted his power and Light becomes, until he reaches a point where he’ll not survive life outside the yew. If he’s released then, he will go to the true Light of the heavens above.”

  I closed my eyes in dread.

  “Odin—” I told him. “I’m scared.”

  Odin made his way to me.

  “I know, child,” he said gently. “But this is the way of the world. We are all tasked with making the right choice every day. I pray and have the faith that my son will remember who he is, and you will guide him there.”

  Remember who he is.

  “You are the only one who can bring him back to us.”

  I knew that was true.

  I walked back to Devilyn and scooted back underneath his arms. I moved one of his hands to my waist and the other to the ground and then I placed both of mine on his head, cradling it in my palms. I gave him all the Light and love that I could gather in my body, and then I asked for time to begin again.

  When Devilyn’s eyes came to life after the brief hibernation he was momentarily confused.

  I held his gaze and kept moving my Light through him.

  Remember us.

  His body began to tremble.

  “Caroline.” His voice was ragged.

  “See me,” I begged. “See my love.”

  The dark was strong and fought against me, but the pause in time had given me the advantage I needed. I had been able to move my energy through his, pull his Light out as it responded to my own.

  “Please, Devilyn,” I told him. “Come back to me.”

  His body trembled violently. His veins seemed to bulge out; they had been all black before, but now there were shimmers of Light breaking through. I kept my hands on him and just kept sending him all my Light.

  “I love you,” I whispered.

  His eyes closed and his body stopped trembling. Then suddenly an unseen force lifted him off me. The two energies moved around him in a ball of black and white light, faster and faster until there was only one victor.
/>   He fell to the ground.

  By this time, Tatiana was able to stand and get over to me. She helped me up and I looked over at her. If Devilyn opened his eyes and they were dark, there would be no way she would survive another blast from him.

  “Get out of here,” I told her.

  “No,” she said. “I won’t leave you.”

  “You will!” I shouted. “I will not watch you die.”

  “Caroline—” Tatiana pleaded.

  “No!” My voice was filled with strength. “Go! This is not your destiny. This is ours.”

  Tatiana stared at me for a moment, looked over at her unmoving brother, then disappeared out of the forest.

  When she was gone I crouched down next to Devilyn. His eyes were closed and he looked peaceful.

  I placed my hand on his heart.

  My love.

  It took only a moment and then he opened his eyes.

  I felt the tears stream down my face when I saw that it was my Devilyn. And that he was back.

  “Thank you, God!” I cried out and threw myself into his arms. They encircled me and crushed me to his chest. His body vibrated with love and Light.

  “I’m so sorry!” he whispered against my hair. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t be,” I whispered. “It wasn’t you. That person wasn’t you.”

  “I love you,” he replied.

  And I loved him.

  “Rowan!” Devilyn said suddenly, rising to his feet and pulling me with him.

  He pushed me behind him as he blasted the yew with his energy. A combination of Light and Dark came out of his palms, the balance that he was made to carry for life.

  Slowly, the tree opened.

  Rowan did not come out.

  Did it mean that he was too weak and would not be able to survive on Earth?

  “No!” I cried out.

  Devilyn rushed inside and when he returned seconds later, he was holding Rowan in his arms.

  He laid him gently on the ground.

  “Rowan!” I fell to my knees and brushed his blond hair away from his handsome face. He looked so pale, and so weak.

  “You’re strong,” I whispered to him. “You can survive this.”

  Devilyn fell to his other side.

  “I beg you,” he said in an anguished voice. “Please.”