The Queen

by C. J. Abedi

  And this time my friend disappeared.

  “No!!!” I screamed, running out from where I hid.

  Alderon’s shocked gaze met mine.

  My happy world crumbled before my eyes.

  C

  The curtains were drawn.

  The stage lit.

  Backstage, I could hear the audience gasp in pleasure as they stared at the magical scene before them.

  It even caused me to pause. Without a doubt this was pure magik. This was no ordinary school play. There were live trees onstage, flowers that looked as though they grew from the floor. Lights glowed from the trees like tiny stars.

  I waited on the right side of the stage for my cue from Mr. Copeland. I knew Devilyn was on the other. He walked out and my breath caught in my throat.

  He was the spitting image of Alderon. He wore the dark crystal crown on his head, with the identical black cape that flew behind him like he was standing in a windstorm. Even looking so ominous he was still incredibly beautiful. I could hear a few of the girls from my class sigh.

  “I have searched high and low,” Devilyn began as he read the words from the monitor. “And I have not caught the scent of the half human spawn.”

  Teddy walked onstage and stood behind Devilyn. He was dressed in a bright purple coat and embroidered pants.

  “My King,” Teddy began. “Fear not. You will find her.”

  “She must be destroyed,” Devilyn said. “And I will gladly kill whoever or whatever stands in my path.”

  Devilyn paused and I wondered what the line was that caused him to stumble.

  “Even if it is own my son,” he said.

  Teddy clapped in pleasure.

  “And Tara?”

  “Even my wife,” Devilyn whispered. “Though the love I once had for her has faded into the darkest of hate.”

  “She betrayed you,” Teddy said.

  “Aye,” Devilyn replied.

  “Let us look into the crystal stones, my King,” Teddy urged. “Perhaps we shall see Virginia.”

  Smoke went up around them and they disappeared offstage. The audience ooohed and ahhhed. And then Copeland motioned for me to take the stage.

  The lights grew brighter as I walked out.

  I turned to look at the monitor, but for a moment all I could see were hideous laughing faces in the audience. They were distorted and grotesque, just as they had been at the Halloween party. I could feel the darkness growing around me. Thankfully, it wasn’t my line.

  “Who goes there?” Rowan’s voice boomed. He was dressed in black velvet clothing laced with gold, colors made for a king, and he looked every bit the part. And just as handsome as Devilyn. Life would be so different if he had made my heart beat the way Devilyn had.

  My dialogue came up on the screen.

  “My name is Virginia,” I told him. “Who are you?”

  Rowan stood before me.

  “I am Royce de Dannan,” he said. “King of the Light.”

  Rowan circled me as his gaze moved over my body.

  “How have I not ever seen you?” he asked.

  “I live in the forest,” I read. “With Esmerelda, my grandmother.”

  “There is something different about you,” he said.

  “I don’t know what you mean,” I replied.

  “You are not Fae,” he said again. “Or at least, you are not all Fae.”

  I shook my head.

  “I must go,” I told him.

  He reached out and took hold of my arm.

  “It is true then,” he went on.

  “What?”

  “The legend of a half-human, half-Fae child.”

  I pulled away from his touch. A strange feeling was coming over me, like I was being lulled into a trance. It wasn’t just a character I was playing—I was becoming my mother; or if possible, reliving her life and feeling it as she had.

  “I don’t know what you mean,” I said.

  “Do you not?” he asked. “A child conceived in a forbidden love between a Fae from the Light Kingdom and a mortal woman. A child hidden from both worlds to ensure her safety. A child, who from conception has been hunted by Alderon, King of the Dark Kingdom. A child who is now a woman in her prime, who must still hide for fear of her life.”

  “I must go,” I told him. “My grandmother will be expecting me.”

  “I am a King,” he told me. “I have not given you permission to leave.”

  “She will worry,” I replied.

  Even Rowan seemed to take on another form. There was a strange light that swirled in his eyes.

  “Then I will see you home,” he said.

  “Please,” I said. “You must let me go alone.”

  “I think not, Virginia Dare.”

  The curtains began to close, signifying the end of the act.

  As the audience applauded, we were bathed in darkness.

  “Caroline?” Rowan whispered.

  “Yes?”

  “Something is happening to me.”

  “I know,” I told him. “I feel like—”

  I couldn’t seem to form the words.

  “You’re shifting?” he said.

  “Rowan,” I shook my head. “It’s like I’m somehow living a parallel life.”

  D

  This was madness.

  Pure and utter madness.

  I couldn’t stand idly by.

  As I watched Caroline and Rowan play out the scene between Virginia and Royce, I saw the magikal energy move between them.

  We all knew how this story ended.

  With the deaths of Royce and Virginia.

  And Alderon seemingly victorious.

  There were four more acts to go. I did not know if that would give me enough time to figure out the source of the magik, or if I would be able to stop it.

  Caroline and Rowan walked off stage and the curtains opened for another scene with some of the other students playing Fae in the forest. Nothing was out of the ordinary, and since none of the key players were involved, I took the moment to go and meet Caroline.

  She was walking toward her dressing room. Her gaze had a faraway look. I called out to her and she turned to face me.

  “Caroline?”

  She stared up at me.

  “Caroline?” I shook her, grabbing her hand. “It’s me, Devilyn.”

  “I know who you are,” she returned in a daze. But the way she said the words made my blood run cold.

  She pulled her hand free and walked into her dressing room, shutting the door on me. I stood there for a moment like a helpless bystander, then shook away my fear and entered her room.

  She was sitting in front of the mirror, brushing her long hair. I stood behind her.

  “Caroline,” I said.

  She shook her head.

  “My name is Virginia,” she told me. “I’m Virginia Dare.”

  I put my hands on her shoulders and used my own Light to jolt her back into this reality. From the look on her face, I knew it did not work.

  Was her human blood being manipulated?

  “Do you know what I’ve learned?” Caroline asked me with narrowed eyes. Her gaze met mine in the mirror.

  I shook my head.

  “Those that are born to be together are quite often torn apart,” she told me. “It’s a twisted joke the Fates play on us. Showing us what love should be, then taking it away.”

  “That’s not always true—”

  “I’ve seen it,” she said, her eyes glazed over. “I’ve seen it over and over in my dreams.”

  Devilyn.

  Tatiana called out to me. Her voice sounded panicked. I looked at Caroline as she robotically touched up her make-up.

  Brother.

  Something was wrong. I had no other choice. I left Caroline and stepped outside her door. Rowan was standing right in front of me.

  “This is not good,” Rowan’s voice had an edge.

  “No,” I told him, thankful that the Fae I knew was back, that he was not as affec
ted as Caroline. “She’s in some sort of trance. I’m not sure how they got to her, but I think they’ve been able to attack her human blood.”

  “But she’s a queen,” Rowan said. “Her gifts are different; she should be more powerful—”

  I shook my head.

  “The blood is key,” I said to him. “It is the chink in her armor. It’s the only way in for Alderon and Puck to manipulate her. She is feeling her mother’s soul.”

  “What can we do?” Rowan asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said. I felt helpless. “Stay with her now; you have time before you have to go back onstage. I need to find my sister.”

  I left him before he could ask me any questions. I searched for Tatiana everywhere.

  Sister. Show me where you are.

  But no images came before me.

  Tatiana.

  “There you are,” Mr. Copeland said as I rounded a corner. “I’ve been searching everywhere for my Dark King.”

  A nervous energy surrounded him. He rubbed his hands together in excitement.

  “Isn’t this grand?” he asked.

  I wanted to grab him by his tiny neck and throw him against the wall. Even though I knew this had nothing to do with him, it seemed something twisted inside Mr. Copeland could so easily be bent to Puck’s will.

  I chose to smile and agree.

  “Am I up next?” I asked him.

  “Almost, almost,” Mr. Copeland said. “Have you seen our star?”

  “She’s with her Romeo,” I replied.

  “Sorry about that,” he said.

  “About what?” I asked even though I knew what his angle was.

  “That I didn’t cast you as her Romeo,” Mr. Copeland laughed.

  “Why on earth would I want that?” I said, watching with immense satisfaction as Copeland’s eyes widened in surprise.

  “I assumed—” he began.

  “Romeo and Juliet die,” I told him. “That’s not the way our story will end.”

  “Right.” Mr. Copeland gave me an icy smile.

  I returned the favor.

  “See you onstage,” he told me after a minute.

  “You mean you’ll watch me onstage,” I corrected him.

  “Oh no, Devilyn,” he laughed. “I’ve cast myself in this great tragedy. I’ll be playing the great All-Father, Odin.”

  I tightened my hand into a fist. How I wished I could have punched the arrogance out of his face.

  But I had a role to play.

  I was back onstage.

  I hadn’t been able to find Tatiana. And worse, I couldn’t hear her anymore. The magik that surrounded the stage was powerful, like a thick fog clamping down my abilities. I couldn’t even call out to Odin, though I knew he was here, watching it all unfold, unable to stop the madness.

  Unable to stop our fate.

  Teddy stood across from me, dressed in yet another loud costume. The set had changed and we were now surrounded by black crystals. They vibrated around us with a dark energy that was only found in my kingdom. They only aided the power of the Dark Fae.

  “Were you able to see her in the crystals?” Teddy asked as he danced around me in a manner that was associated with Puck. He was slowly morphing into my hated enemy.

  “No,” I told him.

  “What of this Wrath?” he asked. “You captured him centuries ago and now you finally have his mate.”

  My heart began to pound as the words came up on screen.

  “Wrath and his mate will finally be able to destroy the one man that I loathe above all.”

  “Odin,” Teddy said in delight. “Oh the joy it will bring me to watch him die by your hands.”

  My heart stopped.

  “When will you unleash them, my king?” Teddy asked in a mischievous voice.

  The words appeared on the monitor.

  One.

  By.

  One.

  “Like one of your tragic plays, my dear Puck,” my voice was practically a whisper, “all will take place in the final act.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “He will save his people from their sins.”

  —Matthew 1:21

  Kingdom of the Dark Fae

  Many Moons Ago

  Alderon

  Empty.

  My heart, once filled with a love that consumed my soul, was now empty.

  I stood in the room Tara and I shared and roared in fury. She was gone. My beloved wife, the light of my world, the reason for which my entire life had come to exist, had left me. She had taken our son and my daughter Tatiana, a child I had sired with another before Tara’s arrival, and left without a trace.

  The blind rage I felt was like nothing I had ever experienced. Within seconds, I had destroyed the room. Everything in it. Every memory we had shared together. I tried to erase it all, and yet, the more I destroyed, the less I could escape her.

  I could hear her laughter.

  When I closed my eyes I could see her smiling face.

  Her great beauty, that was not only in her countenance, but radiated from within her core.

  I could feel her touch.

  The love she had for me shining in her eyes.

  All of it.

  Gone.

  Had it all been a lie? Had she pretended to love me?

  No.

  It could not be.

  She was my chosen mate. A twisted manipulation from the Fates, put in my life, then quickly taken away.

  Had she truly loved Carrick, as Puck had whispered to me?

  “My King,” I heard his voice behind me.

  My rage had echoed through the kingdom and no one else would dare enter my room but Puck.

  My most loyal, and trusted servant.

  He had been the one to tell me about the unusual closeness between Tara and Carrick. He had told me that Carrick looked at her with longing and desire. That he believed if I had never entered Tara’s life, she would have married him.

  Puck had told me the way my wife’s eyes lit up with love when she had seen her friend.

  How she had kept her arms around him in an embrace that suggested familiarity.

  When Carrick arrived in my Dark Court Puck told me that he believed Carrick was there to steal Tara away. That Carrick intended to take her from me, and marry her himself.

  It was Puck who said he saw a secret message given to Tara, notifying her of Carrick’s arrival. That she had dressed to leave me, covered in her cape, to go undetected.

  And then Tara had stood before me, crying out in agony for Carrick’s demise. From that moment on, she refused to speak to me.

  Wanting me out of her life.

  I had tried.

  I had hoped that Devilyn, our son, would bring her back to me. But still she denied everything that I offered.

  And when Puck had suggested a hunting trip to ease my mind and soul, perhaps even to tempt me with the lure of another woman, which I would never have, that was when Tara had left.

  With the help of a demigod that was now my mortal enemy.

  Odin.

  The All-Father.

  “My King,” Puck said again.

  I dared not face him yet. My eyes were light with sorrow. The kind I did not know I would overcome. And did not want anyone to ever see. They would perceive my sorrow as weakness, and that was a quality not desired in a king.

  “Speak,” I said to him as my hands clenched and unclenched by my side.

  “The Fates,” he began.

  “What of them?” I cursed the three harpy sirens of the universe who had put Tara in my path that fateful day on the Cliffs of Moher.

  “They call.”

  They had not summoned me for centuries.

  “I will go,” I whispered.

  “I will join you.”

  “Alone.” I roared.

  Within a moment I stood in front of the massive Cauldron of Dagdas.

  I did not have to wait long.

  The magikal waters began to swirl, and I knew the Fate
s were about to take shape. They surged out of the water, the three she-devils that had cursed me with love. Their long hair fell to their knees; the branches from the Great Tree of Life intertwined within the silky blonde strands. When they emerged fully from the water, the branches went upright.

  “You called?” I did not care if they could hear how much I despised them.

  “Alderon,” they spoke in unison as their pale blue eyes turned obsidian black. “Renowned King of the Dark.”

  I remained silent.

  “You are in great pain,” they said.

  Their words were like a thousand knives in my heart. Hearing them out loud was worse than mourning in silence.

  “She is gone from your life, Great Alderon,” they continued. “You will not set eyes on her for many moons to come.”

  I hissed at them in rage. For even I carried hope.

  “You will be different,” the Fates said. “Not the man who stands before us now.”

  I did not want to hear any more. I wished I could banish them into oblivion. Destroy them from this cursed earth so that I would never have to set eyes on the three again.

  “There is more,” they spoke sharply.

  “Tell me,” I commanded.

  “Your son.”

  I closed my eyes. Devilyn. The child I would never know.

  “Conceived in love.” They swirled around in the Cauldron. “Devilyn will be a great King.”

  “Of the Dark,” I stated.

  “Of a new kingdom.” Their voice vibrated through the dark cave.

  “What Kingdom?”

  “Your son’s true love will bring about the downfall of your people.” Their eyes glowed with fire. “Of your Dark Kingdom.”

  They undulated in the water, rose high above it, and then slowly began to sink back into it.

  “You speak in riddles!” I shouted.

  “He will love a half-mortal,” they said with finality. “The first of her kind, but not the last. Her existence has set the wheels of destiny into motion. The awakening of her soul, woven into the fabric of time, is what has brought you to this very moment.”

  I shook with rage.