Fated Fantasy Adventure

by Humphrey Quinn

  Colin scurried up the ladder. Meghan sat laughing in the hallway, explaining to Jae that her brother apparently had a new best friend.

  “Ha ha, very funny, Sis. Don’t think you’d be laughing if it were you.”

  “No, but I would,” laughed Jae. “Sorry, but Corny taking to anyone, is pretty funny. You’re the first person he’s gotten close to since he came to live with us.”

  “Great. Thrilling. Can we eat now?” he asked through his teeth, laying the scribbled pages on the stair without a second glance.

  “We don’t eat the holiday meal here,” said Jae, still laughing. “We all gather together for the real feast, later tonight,” he explained.

  “Is this one of those occasions we dress up for?” hoped Meghan.

  “Definitely,” he replied.

  Back in the sitting room, the supply of pumpkin brandy dwindled. Sheila permitted the twins and Jae to try a small glass. It was like drinking pumpkin pie, but with a warming tingle at the end.

  Irving, Sheila, Billie and the Jackal sisters sat around the fire, with brandy loosened tongues. Sheila listened intently to a story being told by the Jackal sisters. Meghan watched as Ivan glanced over the sisters, one of whom caught his eye and winked; he shifted away, frowning smugly.

  “Something tells me those sisters aren’t so prim and proper,” said Meghan.

  “They are quite proper, but the brandy does tend to bring out a sinister side,” whispered Jae.

  Billie smiled at them, tipping her glass in their direction; she caught it just before the brandy sloshed over the edge. She made a funny face and put her fingers to her lips mouthing, “Oops...” and then nearly did it again.

  “They’re looped,” said Colin, feeling cheerful.

  Ivan left the room without a word. The sisters and Billie were laughing hysterically; the older sister named Kalila was finishing a story.

  “And to think, I came that close, that week, of publishing that story as our moral of the week.”

  “I caught it just in time,” yelped the sister named Kalida. “It was already headed to press.”

  “I say, that would have been mighty funny to see the look on Garner and Ravana’s faces, if that story’d been published,” exclaimed Irving Mochrie, in tears from laughing so hard.

  Sheila slid out of her chair.

  Irving rolled his eyes in uncharacteristic bemusement. “No offense, Billie, being he’s your brother and all.”

  Billie gave him an even larger eye roll, and they all wailed in laughter.

  “They’re beyond looped,” muttered Jae.

  “What’s a moral of the week?” asked Colin.

  “It’s an article in The Jackal Lantern, a small story each week. There’s always some moral at the end, some lesson we’re supposed to learn.”

  It reminded Colin of Kanda Macawi’s fireside stories. He was also surprised the Mochries held no ill feelings towards the sisters, after they’d allowed a story to be printed in their paper about Jae, and the family, after he’d been demoted in school.

  There was so much about this world that made no sense.

  Kalida Jackal excused herself after a bit, and wobbled her way to the spider filled outhouse. It took a long time before she returned, and when she did, her sister Kalila accosted her.

  “Did you take a wrong turn, sister? Fall in perhaps? Maybe find a handsome young man along the way?” she winked, perniciously.

  “All... of the above,” Kalida responded, her speech slurred. This caused the adults to roar again, this time so much so, that Meghan, Colin, and Jae decided it was time to leave the room. As they exited, they ran into Ivan coming in from the back.

  “Are the festivities ending, then?” he asked.

  “No,” droned Jae. “More like just getting started.”

  Ivan opened his mouth to speak but closed it, instead heading upstairs. “I’ll be down for the festival later.” He paused, glancing over the scribbled pages Colin had set on the stairs.

  “He is a strange cat,” thought Colin as they followed him up the stairs a moment later. Meghan caught onto that thought.

  “Speaking of cats, I haven’t seen Nona all day.”

  “Sorry, Sis, haven’t seen her,” Colin sent back.

  “She’s come to spending more time on her own. She’s probably out scrounging for a nice juicy Thanksgiving mouse.”

  “Ick,” Colin shuddered as they entered the bedroom.

  An hour later, Sheila, slightly more stable, announced it was nearly time to depart for the feast. The boys and Mireya were finished dressing, and astonishingly, so was Meghan. Mrs. Mochrie had sewn Colin’s jacket, and it now fit perfectly. Downstairs, the company had gone, and Irving and Sheila had also changed into their holiday best.

  It had been decided, in Sheila and Irving’s weekly SLC meetings (Svoda Liberation Committee), that this year their zone would bring the pies, after Sheila Mochrie’s somewhat slurred suggestion on Halloween. Sheila and Mireya had been baking all the previous day. They were each ordered to carefully grab a pie before leaving the house. Irving and Sheila each carried two.

  Along the way, they met up with neighbors the twins had never properly met before, all holding various food items. Unsure of where they were heading, the twins let the Mochries lead the way. Soon they veered onto a path following a steep cliff, which poured down into the ocean. They stopped when they could go no further. The path ended when it met a scallop shell shaped cavern, punched into a rocky wall. There was just enough of an overhang to avoid getting rained on, if it should choose to do so. However, though on the cool side, the sky was lit up bright without a cloud nearby.

  Candle sconces had been attached to the cavern walls. Hanging candle chandeliers swung softly overhead. It was surprisingly nice and toasty inside the cavern. Two long tables filled a good portion of the space. The first was laden with food. The second, lined with chairs.

  They worked their way to the food table, setting down their pies. The twins were shocked at the variety of foods already there; turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes (cooked in brown sugar), and cranberry sauce, along with marshmallow salad, a strange large noodle, and at least seven different sorts of pies, and best of all, ployes! The twins could not believe it, seeing as it was a staple at many meals back home, and yet not a well known item elsewhere. Then they remembered that the Svoda’s island was off the coast of Maine, and were grateful that ployes were a staple in many Maine homes.

  Meghan took a sad breath and tried to hide it with a forced smile. Colin didn’t need to barrage her thoughts to know what she was thinking about.

  Home. Their real home. The place they most wanted to be, but could not.

  And Uncle Arnon. Kanda. Sebastien and the Jendayas. All the people they wanted to see, but could not.

  They took in their new family and friends. It wasn’t the same. They weren’t family. Or friends they’d known almost their whole lives. They wished they could see Uncle Eddy, and even Timothy out in Grimble. But it wasn’t safe.

  Meghan shook her head and nudged Colin’s shoulder. He nodded bleakly in reply to her. Thinking about these things wouldn’t do them any good, and only get them depressed and worried about things they had no control over.

  The twins took seats alongside the Mochrie family, and to their delight, Billie Sadorus sat next to them. Jae explained a short speech would be given before the feast began.

  An announcement by her Pantin, Meghan remembered her name was Hollee, proclaimed the arrival of Juliska Nandalia Blackwell, and seconds later, she stepped into the cavern, in fine fashion. The three members of the Viancourt and their families sat nearest the Banon, and all Svoda rose from their chairs and bowed slightly as Banon Blackwell arrived, claiming the head position at the table.

  “Welcome all, to another Thanksgiving Day,” her speech began. “We have much to be thankful for this year. First and foremost, that we are still here to celebrate another Thanksgiving Day.”

  Cheers
went up through the crowd. Banon Blackwell smiled, pleased.

  “Secondly, that each and every day, we take steps that get us closer to celebrating this magnificent holiday in our true home.”

  She paused as the crowd cheered again.

  “And lastly, to knowing that whilst we are stuck in our ever shifting world, that magic still lives, as seen by the arrival of our newest Svoda, Colin and Meghan Jacoby.”

  The crowd turned their heads unexpectedly toward the twins. Colin was instantly red all over, but Meghan, determined that nothing else would ruin her day, lifted her chin and nodded a greeting with great enthusiasm.

  Darcy Scraggs, sitting next to the Sadorus’, brooded over the attention Meghan was receiving. Garner focused his cold stares on Colin, who leaned back into a shadow to avoid them.

  “We’re in a public place,” he muttered. “He can’t try anything here.”

  Jae cast Colin a side-glance, hoping his thinking had been correct, and that Garner would not try anything. A public event like this would almost be too perfect to set up some sort of trap. But his icy stares removed themselves from Colin and returned to the Banon, who continued her speech.

  Both Jae and Colin let out a simultaneous relieved breath. Meghan had refused to act as though anything were wrong at all. And continued to hold her chin high in defiance.

  On Banon Blackwell’s cue, all Svoda raised their glasses.

  “To our fellow traveling friends and family. One day, we will all raise our glasses together!”

  An enormous cheer reverberated throughout the cavern and the feast officially began. There were no servers, except on behalf of Juliska Blackwell, whose Pantin took care of her every need. Soon, empty bottles of wine and brandy lined the table, along with dirty dishes and leftover food. After a few hours, the crowd began to disperse and Sheila Mochrie, still a little tipsy, boasted about being glad that her zone wasn’t assigned to clean up the festival that year.

  “Jae, what does your mother mean when she says her zone?” asked Colin.

  “Each member of the Svoda Liberation Committee, the SLC, belongs to a specific zone; it goes by where you live. I think we have nine zones here, so about fifteen people or so in each zone.”

  “You said the SLC is an initiated Svoda thing?” questioned Meghan.

  “Yeah, they attend meetings every week with other zone members, to keep up with news, announcements, work on ways to get us back home, stuff like that.” They reached the Mochrie cottage. “Boring adult stuff,” he added with a yawn.

  “I am full and tired,” said Meghan, yawning with him. “I think I might take a nap and change.”

  “Don’t wrinkle your clothes,” giggled Mireya, dancing in circles. “You’ll want to wear them again later.”

  “What’s happening later?”

  “The story of the real Thanksgiving,” she answered, dancing her way upstairs.

  “Oh, right,” said the twins, in unison.

  “You said our history has the story wrong,” recalled Colin. Jae was about to speak when another voice broke in.

  “It’s the Retelling Festival.” Ivan Crane had said it. He’d just come up behind them. “It’s a very interesting and informative event,” he boasted.

  “Great,” teased Colin. “You’ll have lost my sister’s attention. She doesn’t go for interesting. Or informative.”

  Meghan was not given the chance to defend herself. Ivan let out a harsh breath.

  “Why would I give your sister my attention? She seems to have more than enough to go around.”

  Everyone froze at Ivan’s icy reply, but none more so than Meghan, who stood in complete awed silence.

  AN HOUR LATER, IRVING Mochrie announced it was time to depart for the Retelling Festival. Meghan still fumed over Ivan’s insult, and was not even close to blocking her thoughts from Colin.

  “Me, need attention? I’m simply trying to fit in, and show people I’m not afraid. I do not need attention. Where does he get off?”

  The ranting continued until finally, they arrived at the pathway leading to the festival. Magnificently carved pumpkins and old looking lanterns lined the pathway. Candles flickered inside to light the way. Some sat on the ground. Some hung overhead. Some were pitched on spikes, hammered into the ground. It cast a warm, hazy glow around them all. But it did nothing to soothe Meghan’s temper.

  A short distance later, they arrived at an outdoor amphitheater. Irving and Sheila directed them to sit near the middle. A roped off section ran across the first row.

  “Two guesses who sits there,” said Colin, hoping to avoid Garner’s cold stares.

  “They do like to make a grand entrance,” whispered Mireya. Sheila gave her a stern look, indicating that wasn’t nice, but then joined with her daughter in a giggle, realizing it was true.

  “Think the drink’s still got our mom,” said Jae, as the twins got seated next to him.

  One good thing, Meghan decided; Jae was a lot happier and she hadn’t had any more frightening visions of him lately. To her complete dismay, this thought was instantly followed by Ivan Crane plunking down stubbornly in the seat next to her. He forced an irritated grin on his face and turned away, to look anywhere else.

  Colin wondered why he did it. He looked just as miserable as Meghan.

  She sat with her nose in the air, thinking, two can play this game. I wonder if he is aware of how unlikeable he is. I mean, is he trying to piss me off, on purpose? Or is it just a natural talent?

  “I wouldn’t take it personal, Sis,” Colin sent to her. “Ivan doesn’t appear to like anyone. Much.”

  Meghan, for some reason, found her brother funny and laughed, loudly. Her steaming animosity melted, and Ivan made an obvious point to converse with one of the Jackal sisters, sitting in the row behind them.

  Meghan looked around, unsure what everyone was so excited about; listening to a speech was not her idea of fun. She hated to admit it, but interesting and informative, was not her thing.

  A man came onto the stage. His voice reverberated clearly through the amphitheater.

  “Welcome, welcome, the Retelling will begin shortly, please be seated.” He jumped off the stage and took a seat a few rows in.

  After the announcement, Juliska Blackwell arrived in high fashion, wearing a woolen, but sleek, form fitting long coat, with streaks of black and deep red. At her sides were the same two Balaton that had been guarding the gate the day Meghan had gone to visit.

  “Juliska rarely goes anywhere without those two. The Wandrer brothers,” explained Jae. “They’re the last in their family line. The one on the left is Jenner, and the one on the right is Jelen. Real tough men, don’t want to piss off that crew.”

  Meghan smiled slyly as she’d already met them. The Banon’s perceptive gaze swept across their row and landed on Meghan. Colin wasn’t certain, but he could have sworn Juliska winked at his sister. Meghan returned the gesture with a tug at her lip, and by lowering her head to hide her smile.

  Colin watched Juliska smile wider, her gaze landing on the seat next to his sister. Not on him, but on Ivan. He nodded at the Banon, in a polite, distant greeting. She nodded back, a pleased look on her face.

  Why? What was this all about? Why was she so happy to see Ivan sitting next to Meghan? Colin scowled. He didn’t like it. He didn’t even know what he didn’t like, but something about their silent interaction felt off. Why could his sister not see this? Oh, right. Because she was too blinded by some strange motherly infatuation with this woman.

  The Banon took her seat and right after, the Viancourt members entered, along with their families. Garner wore a flamboyant coat that was so thick he could barely take his seat. It wasn’t one the twins had seen before, but just as ridiculous looking. He’d smoothed out the spikes in his hair and slicked it back. His wife, Ravana, was simply, but elegantly dressed and took the seat by his side. At first glance, one would think her thin and frail, but to inspect her more closely, her features were strong. Her gaze tenacious.
She carried herself as if she held some high position of rank that required the respect of everyone around her. Almost more so than the Banon herself.

  They heard a snicker and Billie Sadorus muttering behind them. “Leave it to my brother to outdo Juliska Blackwell, the queen of entrances... bothersome pig.”

  The twins and Jae tried not to laugh, and Meghan noticed from the corner of her eye, that even Ivan, the cold-hearted wonder, cracked a small resemblance of a smile.

  Tanzea Chase entered alone, using a cane to help push herself along. She wore a drab looking jacket that looked so old the twins swore they could smell mothballs way back in their seats.

  She was followed by Darius Hadrian and his wife, Hannelore. No one gave them much mind. They were simply dressed, and completely lacked any defining, standout features at all. They were almost the exact opposite of Garner and his wife, taking the route of blending in, almost to the point of being able to just disappear amongst a crowd.

  What followed behind them however...

  Their daughter, Dulcy, and clung to her arm, her wiser and fiercer counterpart, Darcy Scraggs. She waved up at the twins with friend-faked enthusiasm. She let go of Dulcy and tapped at her wrist. She wasn’t wearing a watch, but the twins got the point. Darcy still expected them to hand over the Magicante.

  Meghan, Colin, and Jae cast each other quick wary glances.

  Ivan caught them. He peered back and forth between Darcy and them, an inquisitive look swimming in his eyes. But he said nothing, or asked nothing.

  Someone doused the lights. Darkness descended around them. The crowd was instantly still and quiet. A single spot light shimmered on the stage, where a young boy sat on a chair.

  He grinned. It was hard not to smile in return. Even with a missing tooth, he was elated to be on the stage. He spoke in a young, charming manner, with a slight lisp because of the gap in his teeth.

  “Welcome to the Retelling Festival. The story of our journey to the Bedgewood Isles.”

  Squeals of excitement raced through the audience.