by Robyn Fraser
“Oh my dog,” said Rose, flopping on a beanbag chair as soon as they were inside. “My head.” She pointed to the desk. “D, can you check the drawers for a bottle of white willow bark? I’m sure Percival must have some in there somewhere.”
“Sure.” Dean searched and, even through the mess, found what Rose wanted.
“Thanks,” said Rose, taking the bottle and popping a couple of capsules into her mouth. “That’ll help.
“Now, I was thinking about that poem your mother wrote,” she continued, gesturing for Dean to take the beanbag seat beside her. “Can you read it to me again?”
Dean unzipped their backpack and pulled out their mother’s letter. “Okay, here it is.” They read:
“Crimson blood packed in black stone,
Place in my hand to bring me home.
Recite your trip through Illusiland
Remember all the detail you can.
End with this phrase amongst trinity
“I love you until________”
Dean fiddled with the ring on their finger as they mulled over what the poem could mean. “I just really have no idea, Rose. What does—”
Rose was waving her wing wildly at Dean’s right hand. “That’s it, D! Your ring!”
Dean looked down at the black stone with flecks of red running through it. Then they took it off and stared at the infinity sign on the inside. “You think that these red bits are the crimson blood? And that my mother means the black stone of this ring?”
Rose was nodding her head vigorously. “Yes! Yes, that’s exactly what I think! Your mother said you’d always have it on, even in Mundaland. That’s how I’d be able to find you—through it’s homing powers. But what…what if she also enchanted it so that it would break the forgetting potion when you followed the instructions in the poem?”
Dean had never seen Rose so excited. It was contagious. “‘Place in my hand to bring me home’. So I need to give the ring to her when I see her.”
Rose nodded. “And then you need to tell her all about your travels to get here! Which is why she wouldn’t let me use the transporter from the Juggernaut Jungle to Magus Manor! She had told me that very specifically; we would have to travel by foot to get here.”
Dean frowned. “But is that going to work? I mean, we ended up traveling more through Concreta than Magitoria. Do you think that’s going to be good enough to break the potion?”
Rose shrugged. “Probably. I vote we take the quick route back to your parents and if it doesn’t work the first time, we can always come back here and explore the rest of Magitoria so you’ll have more to describe.”
Dean rubbed their goatee and thought about that. It made sense. “So I tell her everything I can about my time here and then ‘End with this phrase amongst trinity’. Rose, what does trinity mean?”
“It means a union of three.” She paused, cocked her head. “I think it means that you and both your parents should all be together when you’re telling of your adventures and especially when you say the last bit. What was it again?”
Dean glanced down at the letter. “I love you until blank.” They gasped. “Oh, I know! Until infinity!” They held out the ring to their friend. “There’s an infinity symbol inside this ring. That must be it!” Dean’s heart fluttered.
“Yes, it must be, D! You’ve got it!” Rose jumped up. “You know what? Let’s not delay one more minute. Let’s get back to Mundaland and get our Queen and her King by Marriage back.”
Dean stood. “And get my parents back too,” they said, feeling suddenly melancholy. “My real ones. The ones I’ve barely ever known.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Where We Meet the Queen (and her King by Marriage)
Together, Rose and Dean stepped into the purple hula-hoop labeled ‘Juggernaut Jungle’. A dizzying moment later, they both collapsed on mossy green ground, surrounded by trees and vines.
“So how far is it to the transporter that takes us back to my school yard slide?” asked Dean as they stood and brushed themselves off.
Rose held her wing in the air and did a circle. And then another one. And then she reversed it and backtracked a bit and, finally, pointed east. “It’s this way, I think,” she said. “Maybe a twenty-minute walk.”
As the duo trekked through the jungle, pushing through ferns and pulling vines out of their way, Dean began to feel more and more nervous. They’d been only four years old when the family had moved to Mundaland and their parents had taken the forgetting potion and become, well, not really their parents. But still, as distant as they’d always been, that was all Dean knew of them. What would they be like when the potion was broken and they had their memories back? Would they love Dean? Maybe hug them? Or would it be more of the same coldness, only with royal titles? And what would they think of Dean feeling more ‘they’ than ‘she’? Would they understand, or would they reject them? A part of Dean wanted to turn
and run away. Get lost in the jungle so they’d never have to meet their real parents.
“D, you okay?”
Rose was twenty feet ahead. Dean hadn’t even realized they’d stopped.
“Yeah. Just a little nervous.”
Rose nodded. “That’s understandable. You know, your parents loved you so very, very much before they took the forgetting potion. You were the mango of their eye, so to speak. They took you everywhere with them and told everyone how much they adored you.” She smiled. “It’ll be okay, D. I promise.”
A knot Dean hadn’t known was there released in their chest. “Okay.”
They found their way to the transporter without running into any pleongers or other jungle folk. The thick slide-shaped vine looked just like Dean remembered it from a little over a week ago. It felt like forever.
“Follow me,” said Rose and she began to climb the low branches of the tree from which the vine hung. Dean followed and soon they were both standing on a thick limb, staring down at the vine-slide.
“I’ll go first,” said Rose. “You follow right away.” She sat her feathery butt on the vine. “And you should know that, by the time you arrive on the other side, my wings and feathers will all be gone.”
“I’m sorry about that,” said Dean. “Are you sure you want to come? I can go get them by myself.”
“Bumplepoop to that. I made a promise to your mother and I’m seeing it through.” She smiled. “And we’re friends, D. I’m not about to let you go this last bit alone.” Rose returned her focus to the vine. “See you on the other side!”
With that, Rose pushed herself down the slippery slide and disappeared into thin air. Dean took a deep breath, sat down and did the same. They landed a moment later, head dizzy from the trip, in soft sand.
The schoolyard was quiet. Dean stood and checked their watch: 5:00pm. Rose was a few feet away, shivering in the October chill, featherless and wingless, just like she’d said she would be.
Dean swung their backpack onto the ground, pulled out their hoodie and handed it to Rose. They’d actually bathed and changed into a shirt and pants that Percival had rounded up earlier in the day. They had to admit, it felt good to get out of the old underwear.
“Thanks D. But maybe, you know, you can slip it over my head?”
“Oh right, I keep forgetting. Sorry.” Dean placed the hoodie over Rose. It dragged on the ground, but at least their friend stopped shivering.
Rose pointed at Dean’s face. “I hate to say this, D, but it might be better if you remove that. I think it might throw your parents off a little bit in their current state.”
Sadly, Rose was right, and with a mix of regret and sharp pain, Dean pulled the mustache and goatee from their face and pocketed the items. Once that was done, the duo began their short trek.
“I don’t even know if they’ll be home when we get there,” said Dean, chest tightening up again. “They tend to work late.”
“Well, we can wait for them as long as we need to,” said Rose. “There’s no hurry anymore.”
&nb
sp; Dean’s house was three blocks away on a quiet crescent. A few cars passed them as they walked and a few heads turned and stared wide-eyed at the duo—well, mainly at the strange chicken-like creature in the too-large sweatshirt—but nobody stopped them.
When they arrived at the house, Dean was surprised to see that both parents’ cars were in the driveway. They took off their house-key necklace and unlocked the door. Before opening it, they turned to Rose.
“Um, maybe you should wait here until I’ve undone the potion? It’s just that, you know, you might be a bit of a distraction to them.” Dean decided not to mention the worry that their parents might want to eat Rose for dinner or something. After all, that’s how their chicken friend came to be in their freezer. The forgetting potion must have made Dean’s parents forget that Rose, and chickens in general, were real beings with feelings and all that.
Thankfully, Rose nodded. “I agree. Just come and get me once they remember again.” She pointed to the bushes lining the front of the house. “I’ll stay hidden in here.”
Dean placed a hand on the door handle. “Okay, wish me luck.”
“Good luck, D. It’ll be fine, I know it.”
Dean opened the door and stepped in, closing it quietly behind them. “Hello?” they called.
“Deanna? Is that you?” Their parents came rushing out from the kitchen, astonishment on their faces. They both looked haggard, as though they hadn’t slept for a week. For a second Dean thought they were going to give them a hug, but they stopped a foot short and stared down.
“Where have you been for the past eight days?” said the doctor. “Do you know what your father and I have been going through? We’ve both had to take time off work!”
“And we had to call the police, too,” said the maid service owner, frowning. “It’s not good for business. We really need an explanation from you right this minute, young lady.”
Dean nodded and swallowed. “I do have one, but I need you to both sit down for it. Here, let’s go to the sitting room.”
With some reluctance, their parents followed and sat down on the sofa that had never seen a buttock in its life. Dean stood before them, heart fluttering.
“Now, I have to tell you something that is very, very important. I’m going to warn you that it’s going to sound super fantastical until I get to the end. But I need you both to promise me that you won’t interrupt until I’m done. Okay?”
Their mother frowned. “Deanna. You’ve disappeared for over a week without a word to us and now you’re making demands? This is really unconscionable, young lady. I ought to—”
“Here, hold this.” Dean held out the ring to their mother, who took it automatically. Instantly, something changed in her expression.
“Yes, Deanna, I agree with your mother,” said their father. “I think we ought to send you to your room right now until—”
“Bob, be quiet,” said their mother with the slightly confused look she’d get whenever Dean had asked about the ring. “I’ve changed my mind. I want to hear Deanna’s story.”
“Well…okay, then.” Bob’s eyebrows furrowed as he sideways glanced at his wife. “Let’s hear it.”
Dean took a deep breath. And then began.
Twenty minutes later, after tales of pirates and V.E.G.A.N.S., trolls and sphinx, of not-so fantabulous forests and arts-as-weapons and almost getting killed, Dean ended by saying the words: “I love you until infinity.”
And then they watched. Watched the faces of their mother and father as first confusion, then the light of understanding and, finally, acceptance were expressed through them.
“Oh my dog! Deanna!” cried their mother. She reached out and pulled Dean into a bear hug.
“My dearest child,” exclaimed their father as he joined them.
The bodies entwining Dean were warm and filled with something that they knew immediately to be love. Dean loved them back.
“Oh, Deanna,” said their mother, pulling away just enough to look her child in the eyes. Both sets harbored tears. “I am so, so sorry that you had to go through all that. I’d only wanted you to break the forgetting potion for me. I’d never have sent Rose for you if I’d known what was going to happen.”
“It’s okay, Mom.” Their parents had pulled Dean up onto the sofa between them and their head was leaning in the crux of their mother’s arm, while their father had his arm around their shoulders. Dean felt like they were four years old again. Like they were safe and loved and wanted. But they had a sudden pang of doubt. “Is it okay to call you Mom?” They turned their head. “And Dad? I mean, instead of Mother and Father?”
“Of course it is, my love,” said their father, squeezing Dean into him. “Forever and always.”
“Forever and always,” agreed their mother. “Though you’re welcome to call me Mom or Dad,” she said with a chuckle. “I’ve always felt a little in-between, if you know what I mean?”
Dean’s brain froze. But just for a second. Then, they nodded. “Yeah, I do know what you mean,” they said, astounded. “I’ve kind of been feeling the same way.” She paused. “And I’m kind of going by Dean right now, if that’s okay? I mean, maybe not forever, I don’t know. I’m just figuring some stuff out.”
Their mother nodded, smile widening. “Of course it is, Dean. We’ll help you figure out whatever you need.” She pointed to her partner. He smiled in agreement. “Now, you must be exhausted, love. Do you want to lie down on your bed and take a nap? We’ll go with you, if you like.”
Dean was exhausted, and truly, they’d like nothing better than to sleep while wrapped in the warmth of their parents. They hadn’t realized how much they’d missed love until having it again. Dean wondered if maybe their parents had been wrong to take the forgetting potion so that they wouldn’t long for their real home. Maybe home wasn’t a physical place. Maybe home was wherever you felt loved.
But Dean shook their head. “No,” they said, willing their older self—the self who had made a perilous journey through a messy, scary and fantastic world, the self who had saved their homeland from an evil enemy—to take charge for at least a little while longer. “Rose is waiting outside for us right now. And the people of Magitoria can’t wait to have you back. It’s time for us to go home.” Dean paused, glanced out the sitting room window to the street beyond and added, “But we should come back here soon. Maybe we can help make this world a better place too.”
About The Author
Robyn Fraser
Robyn is a naturopathic doctor and osteopathic therapist in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. She enjoys long hikes with her pooch, Luna, trail-running and dark chocolate. This is her first published novel.
