The Queen

by C. J. Abedi

  My mind raced.

  “You do like puzzles, don’t you?” I asked him.

  “Always.”

  I took a moment.

  “You hold the Sword of Nuada; I hold nothing in my hands.”

  “You state the obvious.”

  “I’d like a fair chance,” I said.

  “I’ve been more than fair—” Puck began.

  “Don’t you want the stories they write to be of an epic battle until the end? How would it sound if I just turned myself over to you, and you plunged the sword through my heart?”

  “The idea has merit,” Puck replied with a sadistic smile.

  “But you will not seem brave or fearless.” My voice was devoid of emotion. “Or clever.”

  That got his attention.

  “There’s a maze,” I explained. “What a great end to the battle would it be—if you chased me through the maze to my end—”

  “Caroline, no—” Tatiana interrupted.

  “Odin’s maze?” Puck asked with a raised brow.

  “Odin is dead.” It even hurt to say the words.

  “Yes, tragic,” Puck said.

  Liar. I wanted to scream at him in fury but I kept my voice even.

  “There is no spell over Odin’s land with him gone,” I stated. “Think of the drama. The story. Your hero’s ending.”

  I gambled.

  “Or I can just lay on the ground, and you can plunge the sword through my chest.”

  Puck began to pace as he mulled over my proposition. It felt like hours went by.

  “I agree.”

  I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until then.

  “We go now,” he said as he waved the sword in the air. “I’ll even give you a head start. But I must have your word before we go. And your full agreement to continue on this little journey of ours.”

  “Caroline—” Rowan tried again.

  “Yes,” I said softly, ignoring my friend. “I agree. I go willingly.”

  “Seems you lose this argument,” Puck laughed at Rowan and Tatiana.

  I had a moment of fear but I brushed it aside. I could not afford that now. I had to try and outrun this master manipulator, who had crafted this entire event for the sake of having his very own dramatic ending. It was all a game to him. Another story he could tell. I understood that now.

  As we ran into the forest, I had realized one grave thing—since we had willingly participated in the play that evening, we were all stuck in the magikal realm that Puck had created. All the stages, even the forest we moved through now, had been designed by Puck.

  There was no outwitting him here.

  He would inevitably have the upper hand.

  But in the maze I had come to study, in the maze I had run through every night during my stay at Odin’s home, in that creation of his, there was hope. I didn’t know how I would destroy him. But I knew I had a chance.

  And that flicker of hope was all I needed.

  Rowan and Tatiana were suspiciously quiet.

  I turned to them.

  “Thank you,” I said with gratitude.

  Rowan could not even look at me.

  “Will you tell Devilyn,” I said to Tatiana, and the words came out fast. I did not want either of them to hear my sadness. “Will you tell him that I love him?”

  “Caroline—” Tatiana began.

  But then she was no longer in front of me.

  I was standing at the edge of Odin’s maze and Puck had yet to arrive. He had used his magik to move me.

  I didn’t waste any time.

  I began to run.

  Running was what I was best at. And now that I knew I had Fae powers, it only enhanced my ability.

  Dana.

  Mother.

  Odin.

  I silently called out their names, asking for prayers. Since the maze no longer carried Odin’s magik, I would need all the help I could get.

  Puck didn’t give me much time. I knew the second he moved into the maze.

  The energy shifted around me and my body felt danger.

  I took turns. Lost myself in the depths. The shrubs seemed taller than usual, more daunting.

  “Caroline!” I heard Puck’s voice call out to me. “Do you know I can smell the human on you?”

  I did not respond.

  “You were right about this ending. It will be glorious!” he shouted again.

  He began to hum a tune as he chased me.

  I looked up at the moon and watched as two ravens flew across the white light. It was beautiful.

  Odin had once said that if I lost myself in the depths of the maze, I could be protected forever. But if I ran too deep, my chance of seeing Devilyn again would grow slimmer.

  The more I ran, the less chance I had of living my life. On my own. On my own terms.

  At some point, the cat and mouse chase had to stop.

  “Can’t you find me, Puck?” I called out, goading him on. “After all, I’m only a mortal girl!”

  Puck was suspiciously silent.

  I made new turns, went on a route I had never traveled before. It felt as if I had been running forever. All the twists and angles morphed into one, like I was spinning myself into a circle. A web of my own accord.

  Until the maze ended.

  And I had to stop.

  I came up on a giant marble and granite statue. I knew it portrayed the three Fates.

  Their palms faced the sky, as if they were soaking in the energy from the moon. Their limbs were intertwined with one another, their long hair seemed so real against the light from the stars. Even though the statue was made of marble, it seemed as though they were almost alive. Their eyes were closed, but it was like they were waiting for the right reason to open them.

  I must have stood there for a long time. I couldn’t believe that I had only found this statue now. I would have come out here every day to gaze at it.

  “You are incredible,” I whispered in awe.

  And that’s how I died.

  Staring up at a thing of beauty.

  I didn’t even really feel the pain from the sword piercing me from behind.

  I remember falling to my knees.

  Seeing their ethereal faces.

  There were no flashes of my short life.

  Just a Light that surrounded me.

  Fully and completely.

  I lifted my hand toward it and touched the energy.

  It felt as though I had finally come home.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Not until we are lost do we begin to find ourselves.”

  —Thoreau

  D

  Alderon’s gaze was locked with mine.

  Maybe he was as shocked as I was over the words I had just uttered. But it was what I felt.

  It was my truth.

  And then the impossible occurred.

  He slowly lowered the spear and stood up. I could see the emotions moving through him. This was a defining moment for him, a destiny of sorts and he knew it just as I did.

  “Go,” his voice was a whisper.

  I could barely move. He heaved in great breaths, as if he was coming to terms with this decision.

  “To what end?” I asked.

  He looked away from me.

  “Till the end of your life,” he replied quietly.

  I slowly stood, unable to believe this was actually happening. It could not be easy. He had spent centuries living with this hate.

  “And Caroline,” I whispered. “Puck?”

  I saw Alderon clench his hands in anger.

  “I will see to Puck.” He faced me, eyes blazing with hatred. “He has betrayed me for all these years.”

  There was such a fury in his gaze that I almost felt sorry for Puck.

  Almost.

  “You haven’t answered me about Caroline,” I persisted. I needed to hear him say it.

  He ignored me, picking up my mother’s lifeless body in his arms and cradling it to his chest. He held her as if she was th
e most precious thing to him in the world.

  His tortured gaze met mine.

  “See to your queen.”

  It was the only answer he would ever give me. Did it mean he would leave us alone?

  I could only hope.

  Alderon chanted something into the air and immediately the magikal forces lifted. We were no longer in the forest by the great tree.

  We were backstage at Manteo High.

  As if nothing had happened.

  Alderon and my mother were gone. I stood in the hall surrounded by students shuffling around.

  “The show was great!” Mr. Copeland said as he clapped me on my back. “Incredible performance! I’m impressed, Devilyn.”

  It took a moment for me to comprehend that this was not the teacher who had been taken over by Puck’s magik.

  “Thanks,” I replied before I walked away.

  I ran down the hall to find Caroline, and instead flew into right Teddy, who fell backward.

  “Whoa!” he said as my body slammed into his. “I can see why you’re quarterback.”

  “Sorry,” I mumbled as I helped me to his feet.

  “No worries,” he said.

  But he seemed confused.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “My head,” he replied as he scratched his hair. “I feel like I was in—”

  “A fog,” I told him. “You were. I don’t have the time to explain, but I promise I will.”

  I moved the dazed Teddy aside and was relieved to see Rowan and Tatiana run up to me.

  “What happened?” Tatiana asked me as her eyes moved over my body to make sure I was okay.

  “Later,” I said. “Where’s Caroline?”

  The two exchanged somber looks.

  “We were coming to find you—” Tatiana rushed out.

  “Devilyn,” Rowan began.

  I shook my head in denial.

  “No!” I replied. “Don’t you dare—”

  “She left with Puck,” Tatiana finished in a hurry. “To go to Odin’s maze—”

  She wasn’t able to finish her sentence.

  I was gone.

  I didn’t even care if anyone saw me use magik. I would deal with that later. Caroline’s face was all I could see. I had to get to her.

  When I hit the maze I began running, and within moments after I arrived, it hit me.

  A surge of pain unlike anything I had ever felt.

  In my chest. All at once.

  Caroline.

  I saw the flash of Light that was before her eyes.

  And then nothing.

  No Light.

  No Dark.

  Emptiness where her thoughts had once lived.

  “Caroline!” I roared as I raced through the maze.

  I came upon the scene.

  And my life stopped.

  My heart.

  Gone.

  My reason to live.

  Gone.

  Caroline was hunched over the statue of the Fates that Odin had brought from Valhalla.

  And the sword of Nuada had impaled her back.

  “No!” I rushed toward her.

  But I was too late.

  Her eyes were closed.

  Her face was pale. My hand moved over her heart. It had ceased to beat. It couldn’t be happening. Not like this.

  My queen was dead.

  I cradled her body in my arms and cried out against the gods. The Fates. Even Odin.

  “Please,” I begged. “Please.”

  I sobbed as I rocked her lifeless body. How could I even continue to exist in a world without her?

  “God!” I cried out.

  I brushed her silky hair away from her face and cradled her cheeks in my hands.

  “Caroline,” I whispered. “Please. Don’t be gone.”

  But she did not answer.

  Nor did she open her eyes. My sweet love had ascended to another level of life, past my comprehension, to a place where even I could not find her.

  “What a scene I see before me,” Puck’s cursed voice broke through my haze of pain.

  My entire body began to tremble in rage.

  This vicious Fae was responsible for this, and I would give my own life to see him pay.

  I looked over to where I heard his miserable voice and watched as Puck slowly made his way from behind the statue. Even the thought of him witnessing my moment with Caroline enraged me.

  “Here he is, heir to the throne of darkness. A beautiful immortal, sitting in all of his glorious misery, cradling his human love in his arms,” he began. “Staring down at her dead, lifeless body. Which alas, will never return.”

  My eyes lit up with black fire.

  “A Light gone,” Puck goaded me on. “A queen, dead.”

  I moved my hand to Caroline’s back and took hold of the hilt of the sword.

  “Will you take your own life now?” he asked me. I could hear the frantic pleasure in his voice. “What a beautiful finale to this tragic tale it will be. Shakespeare himself could not have written a more beautiful ending.”

  Forgive me, I prayed to Caroline.

  When Puck reached my side, I pulled the sword from her body in one sweeping motion. Just as I was about to plunge it into his deceitful head, the sword was ripped out of my hand from behind.

  “Devilyn!”

  It was Alderon, there to stop me.

  Betraying me yet again.

  “Oh!” Puck clapped in delight, “This is better than I could have even imagined! The great king of the dark will kill his son himself. Bravo! I can hear the sadness echoing through the theater now!”

  Alderon’s gaze met mine.

  “I think not,” his voice was cold.

  And then Alderon did the unthinkable.

  He plunged the sword into Puck’s heart.

  “You think I would ever let the one who betrayed me all these years live?” he whispered into Puck’s surprised face.

  I watched as his black blood seeped through his gaudy attire.

  “You, who have kept me from my love?” Alderon went on. “You, who have uttered every type of deceit from those despicable lips? My own servant, betraying me until the very end?”

  Puck looked down at the sword.

  “You were blinded,” he whispered.

  “And so shall you be,” Alderon raged. He pulled the sword out of Puck’s chest and with magnificent precision decapitated the hateful Fae.

  We stood there for a moment. In complete silence.

  Alderon and I.

  United in our hatred for the Fae who had taken what we loved most in the world.

  “It is finished.” His voice was solemn. His gaze flicked over Caroline’s lifeless body and then met mine. For a brief second I thought I saw pity. And sorrow.

  His dark eyes then moved to rest on the statue of the Fates.

  “Curse you!” he whispered in rage. Then he was gone as quickly as he had arrived.

  I fell to my knees and pulled my love into my arms. Her body was still warm, her face just as exquisite as it had always been.

  “I’m so sorry I didn’t protect you,” I whispered. “Forgive me, Caroline. Please forgive me. I don’t know what I will do without you.”

  I felt a shift in energy.

  I looked over to the path I had come down, expecting another enemy, but it was empty. Caroline and I were still alone.

  And then I heard movement.

  I looked up at the statue of the Fates and watched in awe as they began to shift. Their bodies undulating together in a rhythmic dance, until they opened their eyes to stare down at me.

  I met their wise gaze.

  These three Fates who had created my destiny.

  I let them see my tears.

  The pain inside my heart.

  “Please,” I begged. “I love her.”

  They looked down at Caroline and back to me. I watched as their clear eyes became bright with tears.

  One by one each Fate shed a tear on Caroline’s face.
/>   A circle of Light emerged around us, protecting us from the outside world. I saw twinkling stars, the universe in its vast oblivion.

  The heavens.

  The brief glimpse was gone as quickly as it arrived.

  When it had vanished I looked down at Caroline’s face.

  Her eyes were open.

  C

  I felt as though I was in a golden cocoon of Light. It was so beautiful.

  I was surrounded by people I loved.

  They welcomed me and showered me with unconditional love. I felt my mother and father’s presence. Even my grandmother and Arthur, my grandfather, were there.

  They whispered secrets to me. Ones that were only realized when you crossed over. And I knew all would be well. I was not afraid.

  I danced with them through the heavens, reveling in the beauty that was around me. It was all so magnificent.

  But something was missing.

  There was a longing in my soul.

  For Devilyn.

  I could feel a pull. An energy reaching out to me. Begging me to come back.

  But did I want to leave this beauty.

  Did I want to give up what I saw?

  I need you.

  I heard the call from him. I heard his grief. His pain.

  Please. Caroline. I love you.

  His pull reached across time, across the universe, imploring me to come back.

  And so I did. I raced through the stars and Light until I came upon my earthly body again.

  I opened my eyes and stared up at Devilyn’s tearstained face.

  “I love you,” I whispered.

  He raised my face to his sweet lips and kissed me with all the passion and love in the world.

  “I love you so much,” he chanted over and over again.

  I pulled away from him for a brief second.

  Thank you, I said to the Fates.

  I could swear they said you are most welcome.

  D

  I walked into Odin’s study and stared at his favorite chairs. We had sat in them countless times and discussed life, and I had listened as he told me all the great tales of his epic battles. When I was a little boy I had craved those stories.

  I had hoped to be just like him one day.

  But who could be?

  There would never be another Odin.

  I stepped into the night, walking across the grounds. The moon was slowly falling, giving way to what I knew would be a magnificent sunrise.