Finding Eden

by Camilla Beavers

  I walk out of the house, my purse dangling on my elbow. My eyes, despite my clumsiness, are glued to my phone as I’m dialing Evaughn’s phone number. I walk down a step and slam into something, my cell phone clattering to the ground. Then I feel the tug on the back of my brain.

  A hand reaches down and picks up my phone and a familiar smoke smell scent enters my nose.

  “Here you go.”

  “Thank you,” I say.

  I look up at Sahariel, goose bumps receding from my body.

  “I'm sorry,” he says, “you know, for earlier. I'm just stressed out is all.”

  “It's okay,” I say, “just don't do it again.”

  He laughs.

  “Understood,” he says.

  I hear the front door open behind me and I freeze.

  “Eden, I just wanted to tell y‒” I hear dad say.

  I cringe and turn around slowly, embarrassingly aware of the small amount of space between Sahariel and me. I look at dad and he just stares at Sahariel.

  “Good evening, James,” Sahariel says.

  I look up at him. How does he know my dad’s first name?

  “Hello, Sahariel,” dad says.

  My head whips around and I stare at dad, my mouth hanging open.

  “I guess it’s about that time then, huh?” Dad asks.

  “I’m afraid so,” I feel Sahariel shift behind me.

  “Wait. What?” What the hell is going on? “You two know each other?” My eyes dart back and forth between the two men.

  “Sahariel, would you like to join us for dinner?” Dad asks.

  “I think that would probably be best,” Sahariel says.

  “You two are insane,” I say and step away from Sahariel, my mind moving at a hundred miles an hour, never stopping on one idea for more than a millisecond, “I’m going shopping.”

  I walk away from them and to my car. As I’m driving, I call Evaughn, telling her I have a shopping emergency. An hour later I’ve picked Evaughn up and we are at the mall ready to shop.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Maybe it’s some sort of business thing,” Evaughn suggests as she looks through racks of dresses, “I mean, your dad is a lawyer and all, maybe he is hiring Sahariel as an aid or something.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” I hold a dress up to myself, “how about this one?”

  Evaughn looks at the shimmery, emerald green dress that I’ve held up to myself, “How nice of a restaurant are we talking about?”

  “Uh,” my eyes graze the ceiling, “the guys would require a tie sort of fancy.”

  “Then yeah,” she says, “that dress is perfect.”

  I smile at her and we make our way to the shoes to find some that match.

  “So,” I say, “I was approved for early graduation.”

  “That’s great!” Evaughn gives me a huge smile.

  “I’ve also already been accepted into Julliard,” I try not to be embarrassed.

  “Are you serious!” She’s says, “I didn’t even know you had applied.”

  “I didn’t.”

  “Then how?”

  “My dad.”

  “Oh,” she says in revelation.

  We look through the shoes silently for a few minutes

  “Okay so how about these?” I model a pair of shoes for her.

  “Those are amazing,” she says, “you’re going to look great.”

  “Thanks.”

  With the dress and shoes paid for, I drive Evaughn home and head back to my house. My father’s Lexus is still in the driveway, and despite the fact that there isn’t another car in front of the house, I know that Sahariel is still in the house, in my dad’s study. I walk inside and clomp up the stairs, letting them know that yes, I am home, and no, I’m not happy.

  I take a shower quickly. I stand in front of my bathroom mirror applying my makeup, hoping I can get the smoky eye look just right. I dab on a little shimmery lip gloss and head for my closet. I pull on the dress and notice that the dark green and emerald colors it shimmers match my eyes and the makeup I applied. I strap on my heels and walk out of the room.

  I walk down the stairs, and as I come into view, the voices stop. I hear someone say “wow,” but I’m unable to see who said it.

  At some point Sahariel had managed to change from his very casual blue jeans and shirt to a black suit and green tie; the same color green as my dress. I look into his eyes, and just like every other time I do, I feel a tug on the string that connects us.

  “Wow, you look great, honey,” dad hugs me and smiles.

  “Thanks dad,” I say and pat his back, my eyes staying on Sahariel.

  “Shall we head out?” Dad asks.

  My dad leads the way out and Sahariel opens the car door for me. I catch his eyes and see a strange expression glittering in them. Without his colors I can’t tell what he’s thinking, and through our connection I can’t sense anything. He closes the door behind me and sits next to me in the backseat.

  The drive is quiet. Dad is acting weird. He's usually so reserved around me. Hell I haven't even had a meal with him in a long time and now we're going out to dinner. What is going on?

  The restaurant is really nice. Chandeliers hang from the ceiling and crystal stem wear glitters from all the table tops. Our waitress leads us to our table and I can’t help but notice how tense Sahariel is as he walks beside me.

  “Eden,” dad begins after we order our food, “There’s something we need to talk about.”

  “Is this about Julliard?” I ask, “Because I already told Evaughn that I was accepted.”

  “About that,” he says.

  “I’m still going, right?”

  “No,” dad says, “you’re not going.”

  I stare at him.

  “What?” I say.

  People a few tables over glance at me.

  “You’re not going,” he repeats a little quieter, “you can’t go. You have other things you need to do.”

  “You’re not making any sense. What do you mean ‘other things’?”

  “Well,” my father looks away from me then and looks at Sahariel, “maybe he should explain.”

  “Is this some sort of arranged marriage?” I ask before Sahariel can say a word.

  “No it’s not,” Sahariel says.

  “Then what is it?”

  “I told you the other day, at the carnival, what this is about.”

  I stare at him in bewilderment. The carnival was the truth? How is that possible?

  “You actually believe him?” I look at my dad, hoping he’s not insane.

  “Of course I believe him, Eden,” my father says, “I lived it.”

  I just look at him, the day of the carnival running through my head like a really crappy rerun film. From Evaughn getting sick, every ones weird behavior to Sahariel explaining to me that I’m an elf. Now he’s sitting in front of me, having somehow convinced my father of everything. But somewhere deep inside, a voice whispers and croons hopefully that it’s all true.

  “We need you to come as soon as possible,” Sahariel sounds very serious.

  “Why?”

  “We are without a leader.”

  “And that has to do with me because...?”

  “Our king was your grandfather.”

  “Alright.”

  “And he only had one child, who was the next in line for the throne. That was your mother, and without her here, that leaves you the only one left as a direct descendant of the royal blood line.”

  “Are you an elf, dad?” I feel like I’m losing my mind.

  “No, honey,” he says, “your mother was.”

  “And you’re an elf?” I look at Sahariel.

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Are you royalty?”

  “No,” he shakes his head, “not royalty, just a royal guard.”

  “Hmm,” I look down at my lap, “why now?”

  “Our king was assassinated.”

  “What if I say no?” I ask the all too complicat
ed question too simply.

  “I hope you don’t,” he looks at me almost as if he’s begging.

  “That’s not what I asked,” I say, “what if I say no?”

  Sahariel just looks at me for a long time. He’s torn. I know he wants me to say yes, but doesn’t want to force me.

  “Then we will have to have someone else assume the throne,” he says quietly.

  Our waitress walks up with our food and I find myself without an appetite. I ball the cloth napkin up in my lap as the waitress walks away from up. I stand and plop the napkin down next to my untouched food.

  “I’m not hungry,” I say, “I’m leaving. And don’t follow me. I’m not in the mood.”

  I walk away from the table, out the door, and call for a taxi to go home.

  Chapter Twelve

  Lying on my bed, my dress on the floor, I think about what my dad and Sahariel said to me. Am I really an elf, or is everyone I know insane? I hear the door open, close and then footsteps as they come up the stairs. My door opens and Marcia walks in.

  “Oh, Eden,” she says, looking surprised, “I thought you were out with your father.”

  “I was,” I said and sit up.

  “Did something happen?”

  “You could say that,” I say.

  Marcia doesn’t pry; she just walks around my room picking up my shoes and other clothes on the floor. As she’s about to walk out of the room carrying my dirty clothes, I stop her.

  “Marcia?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Do you think my father would ever lie to me?”

  “What?” she says, “No, of course not. I know he’s not around much, but he would never lie to you. Why do you ask?”

  “No reason,” I say, “Hey Marcia?”

  “Yeah?”

  She opens the door.

  “What do you do when something important has to be done, and you’re the only one who can do it, but you don’t want to do it? What do you do?”

  “It depends,” she moves to stand at the foot of my bed, “if it’s something important and you’re the only one who is affected by it, then I suppose it’s up to you how important it is. But if there are more people being affect by the outcome of what you decide to do, then well, you suck it up and do what you have to do.”

  “When many people are counting on you to succeed,” she says, “if you fail, you not only fail yourself, but you fail the others as well.”

  She smiles and leaves the room quietly without asking any questions.

  “I hate my life,” I say. I flop back on my bed

  An hour later I hear the door open and close, the murmuring voices of my dad and Sahariel float up to me. Sound of someone walking up the stairs comes through my door.

  “Eden,” my dad knocks on my door before opening it, “can we talk?”

  I sit up and look at him as he walks in, “I’m not going to Julliard, am I?”

  “I’m afraid not,” he says.

  “Well,” I say, “it’ll make a great cover story, I guess.”

  I feel a tug, a twinge, on the line with Sahariel and then it goes slack. In a blink of an eye Sahariel is standing in my room smiling down at me.

  “So that’s a yes?” He’s really happy, and I can see that in his eyes.

  “As much of one you’re going to get.”

  So quickly my eyes can barely see, Sahariel turns to my dad and says, “We need to leave as soon as possible. I’d like to leave tonight-“

  “Hold on,” I cut him off, “sorry to break it to you, but we’re not leaving until I’m done with high school. I’m not going to leave randomly. That will leave too many people asking too many questions.”

  “She’s right, you know,” my dad looks at Sahariel.

  “I know, I know,” Sahariel frowns and shakes his head, “I didn’t say I had to like it.”

  “Besides,” I say, “there’s actually only five weeks left in the year. I’m sure you people can wait.”

  “Your people,” Sahariel says.

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” he sighs.

  “Well, we should really start planning,” my dad motions for Sahariel to follow him out, “I don’t really want to have to deal with people who think she’s been kidnapped.”

  Then my dad and Sahariel leave me alone in my room, leaving me alone with too much time to think about the life I’m leaving.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The weeks seem to fly by, and before I know it, Evaughn is hosting a going away party for me the night before graduation, before I'm supposed to leave my human life behind for what may be forever.

  “Thanks for doing this,” I say to Evaughn.

  “No problem,” she smiles at me, “just promise me you’ll call me sometime.”

  “I’ll try my hardest,” I tried not to make a promise I’d have to break.

  We sit around Evaughn's kitchen table, just me, her and Brock, just talking about high school.

  “I remember your first day,” Brock says to me, “you managed to go from cool to, well, freak in just a couple of hours.”

  “Yeah, don’t remind me,” I roll my eyes, “pretty much the worst day of my life.”

  “What happened again?”

  “I ran into Miss Queen Bee between classes and made her spill her latte on her designer shoes. Apparently that’s bad.”

  “Oh I remember that,” Evaughn says, “I was in the bathroom when she ran in cursing your name.”

  “Yeah, it didn’t help that I just didn’t care either,” I say, “oh well.”

  “I’m sort of glad it happened,” Evaughn says, “those shoes were ugly.”

  After a few more hours of reminiscing, I tell Brock and Evaughn that I have to head home. Both of them give me a hug.

  “We’ll miss you,” Brock says, “stay in touch, alright?”

  “I’ll try,” again I try not to make any promises, hoping they won’t come looking for me if they don’t get a hold of me.

  I wave goodbye and smile as I see Brock twine his fingers with Evaughn's. At least they’ll be happy. I drive home and try not to be too sad. I’m just too emotional and nervous to think about anything else. I pull in the drive way and hop out of my car, contemplating what sort of trip I will be going on. I walk up the drive when there’s suddenly a hand on my shoulder.

  I try to scream but it gets lost in my throat and a hand clamps down over my mouth. I try to get away, but an arm wraps around my shoulders and lifts me off my feet. I try to bite, claw, kick, anything, but nothing works. Someone has me and I don’t know what to do and my heart is studding.

  “Eden, stop, relax,” I hear a voice in my ear and I immediately comply.

  The arms loosen and I’m able to look up at Sahariel's face. He’s on guard, his eyes darting back and forth in the darkness. My hand gripping my chest over my heart, I automatically tense and he silently and quickly carries me into the house. He sets me down just inside the door and closes it silently behind himself.

  “What’s going on?” I ask but Sahariel won’t stay still and won’t listen to me.

  “Sahariel,” I say his name hoping to infuse it with enough authority that he pays attention to me. He checks the front door and then locks it.

  “We’re leaving tonight,” he puts his hands on my shoulders and looks me straight in the eye.

  “What!”

  Leave now? Did I just hear him right?

  “What’s going on?” My dad comes out of his office and into the entryway.

  “He says we have to leave now,” I say.

  “Right now?”

  “That’s what he said.”

  I’m in disbelief.

  “Why?”

  “Because there is someone out there,” Sahariel nods toward the front of the house, “and they’re not friendly either.”

  Sahariel looks at me with a serious expression, “You’re not safe, and as your guard it is my duty to keep you safe. We are leaving. Tonight.”

  “What’s out t
here?” I can’t imagine who or what could make Sahariel so tense.

  “Nobody of importance,” he says and tries to walk away and pull me with him.

  “No,” I yank back with strength that surprises us both, “it is someone important. So tell me who.”

  “I don't know who exactly, but I can feel they're not too keen on your heart beating.”

  “Oh my god,” I’m frozen.

  “You’re the one who wanted to know.” He yanks my hand, “now come on, we have to go.”

  He tries to pull me toward the door, but I pull back again, wanting to go pack some clothes.

  “I can’t go yet,” I say, “I don’t have any clothes packed. I need to grab my pills.”

  I stumble up the stairs and he wordlessly follows me, but as soon as we enter my room he grabs my backpack, empties is and begins to shove random articles of clothing in it.

  “I can pack myself, thank you.” I take the bag from him and pack it myself. I repack the clothes and go to grab my mp3 player, but he stops me.

  “You won’t need that,” he shakes his head, “I assure you.”

  I give him a confused look but I don’t ask any questions. I discreetly throw some underwear in, then my heart pills on top of everything and zip the bag up. I throw the bag over my shoulders and follow Sahariel down the stairs to the front door. My dad is waiting there. I suck at goodbyes.

  “Dad,” I don’t know what to say.

  “I’m going to miss you,” my dad takes me into a big hug.

  “I’m going to miss you too,” I say back and hug him back as hard as I can.

  “Visit me,” he says.

  “I don’t know if I can,” I say.

  “I’ll bring her when she's able to,” Sahariel tells my dad.

  “Thank you,” my dad looks at Sahariel with gratitude then turns to me and says, “And Eden.”

  “Yes, dad?”

  “I'm sorry.”

  “What for?” I ask.

  “For not being a better father to you.”

  I look at him and then it all makes sense.

  “Dad,” I say. “I might be leaving, but you're not losing me. I know you don't act like it, but I know you love me. You always have.”