The Skye Trilogy: Isle of Skye, Isle of Night, and Isle of Dawn. * Bonus: Scrumptious Skye Confections Cookbook*

by Shannon Barczak

  I forced a smile, “Sounds good. Although your hospitality has been amazing, I’m more than ready to leave, I desperately miss my parents."

  “Well then follow me." Marilei said. We followed her back down the staircase and through a long corridor before finally stopping at the last door on the right. The room Marilei brought us in was small and housed just one thing, a big, wide mirror.

  “Willa, please call the elements,” she said

  Taking a deep breath, I blocked everything out and focused on reaching out to the Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. After only a few short minutes, they gathered around me, bolstering my spirit.

  “Now, remember the throne Room...” Marilei started to say, but I was already on it. I felt myself fly through time and space, over land and sea, until finally the throne room.

  I opened my eyes I gave a little cry as I saw my parents. For the first time in their life, they looked terrible. I could see that I had caused them so much worry, and I was anxious to go through and be near them.

  “Marilei, again thank you so much, I sensed you there at the end, and I appreciate that,” I said

  “Well, it was only a little push, I’m sure after a few more tries you will be able to do it on your own. I am honored to have met you Princess and hope to meet again someday,” she said before leaning in to give me a quick hug which I returned.

  “Thank you,” Mathias said

  “Guardian Worthing, it’s been a pleasure, the invitation stands for you as well." Marilei said kindly.

  Nodding at Marilei, Mathias then turned to me and took my hand. “It’s the same as last time, we go in together."

  Mathias and I walked forward towards the mirror. I gingerly put one foot towards the surface and was immediately drawn into the portal. Similar to stepping through into the Fae dimension I again felt like I was swimming around in a bowl full of jelly, as well, like being sucked into a small tornado at the same time.

  Suddenly I sensed smooth ground beneath my feet. I opened my eyes and saw that I was in the throne room. Before I could even take in my surroundings, Mathias’s hand left mine, and was replaced by my parents’ warm, loving embrace.

  I was now on the Isle of Skye.

  Part Two

  Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit

  from pole to pole,

  I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul.

  In the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced or cried aloud.

  Under the bludgeoning’s of chance My head is bloody and unbowed.

  Beyond this place of wrath and tears looms but the horror of the shades,

  and yet the menace of the years Finds and shall find me unafraid

  It matters not how strait the gait, How charged with punishments the scroll.

  I am Master of my fate: I am captain of my soul.

  Invictus by William Ernest Henley.

  Chapter Eleven

  The first few minutes after Mathias and I walked through the portal was a complete blur. My parents enveloped me in their waiting arms, and we all shed a few tears. After having my life uprooted, been shot at, driven across country and lusting/ fighting with Mathias I had pretty much reached my threshold of exhaustion.

  Finally entangling myself from my parents I saw Frank and Serena standing off to our left. I gave them a small smile and looked around the room to see where Mathias had gone. He appeared to be in a deep conversation with Winifred in the corner.

  It was then my brain registered the fact that there were about a dozen other people in the room, and they were all staring at me.

  I was instantly self-conscience and turned my attention back to my parents. It was a huge relief when my mom grabbed my hand and led me from the room.

  “Come sweetheart, you must be exhausted. Let’s go and get you settled in your room,” she said as we started across the room.

  I glanced back and saw Mathias had turned his attention to our departure. Not sure whether to even acknowledge him; I turned and stared straight ahead. I was anxious to get out of that room, and have a little privacy. My mother led me down long corridors and up two flights of stairs before she finally stopped in front of a set of double doors. When she opened them, I followed her into a large sitting room decorated in ivory and gold.

  “This is our apartment. Now your room, complete with its own bath is through there,” she said as she pointed to the door off the right. “Why don’t get you take a nice, long hot shower? When you're done, come back out and join your father and me.”

  “Sure, sounds great but let’s clarify something first, our apartment and my room?" I asked sarcastically. “Not to sound ungrateful, because I’m not, I’ve never been so happy to see you both in my life. I can pretty much tell you though sharing an apartment is not going to work for me."

  “It’s only temporary,” my father said sighing. “There are other small apartments in the castle but that should be your choice."

  I was slightly mollified. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound like a brat, I’m just tired and you threw me a little."

  “Understandable,” my mom said smiling. “Now go and get cleaned up with a shower."

  “You’re pushing this shower thing. Is that a subtle way of saying you're smelling ripe?"

  “Of course not!" my mom exclaimed. “I just thought you would want a few minutes to yourself to relax and decompress."

  “I’m just teasing. Through there?" I pointed as I made my way across the room

  My father nodded. “When you get out we have a little treat for you."

  “Goody-goody gumdrops,” I smiled as I went into the bedroom. It was not a huge room, but I adored the dark, wooden, beautiful four- poster bed that had soft, fluffy pillows and a white down comforter. The small fireplace was ablaze with warm flames, and the four windows were covered with light gold curtains, pulled tightly together.

  The bathroom was also done up with white and gold, and as I stepped under the hot water in the shower, I let out a long sigh. While I lathered up, my mind was still racing with several things. Mathias was one of them and my grandmother who didn’t even bother to say hi was another. I made my mind up then and there that there was no way I was going to be living under the same roof as her.

  I stepped out of the shower and dried off with a soft towel. I headed back in the bedroom and looked in the armoire that was between two windows. I let out a sigh of relief that only a few pieces of clothing were unpacked. I had slipped into my navy blue silk bottoms and tank top before I went back out into the living room to rejoin my parents.

  My father was sitting on the couch holding out a mug for me. I grabbed it and took a long drink before I plopped next to him.

  “Ahh, hot chocolate and Bailey’s, thanks dad,” I said wrapping my hands around the warmth of the cup.

  “I figured you could use a drink,” he said

  “I’m going to have to agree with you on that one,” I answered

  We both looked up as my mother came back into the room from a door on the left side of the room. She plucked a cup for herself off the tray on the coffee table she sat opposite us on an oversized stuffed chair. Cecily raised her cup in a silent toast, and we all took a sip and let out identical sighs.

  “So, now what?" I asked

  “Now, you relax and get some sleep. Tomorrow, or today, we’ll start figuring things out." Cecily answered

  “I want to relax, but there’re so many things swirling in my head right now. I don’t even know where to begin."

  “Why don’t you write down all of your questions? That way you can get it out of your head and on paper. It will free your mind for sleep,” my father offered.

  “Why that’s very therapist of you Dad, can you write me a prescription for Xanax as well?"

  “The doctor is in,” he said gesturing for me to recline and lay on the sofa.

  “I think that’s an excellent idea,” my mother said

  “Me too,” I said emphatically. “Do they have a twen
ty-four hour pharmacy open here?"

  “I meant the writing down of everything, not the medication, silly, besides you don’t need medication to relax yourself. If you had read the book, you would know there's plenty of spells to help you with that. Did you study it at all?"

  “Yes I did look it over and did the masking of the scent thing every twelve hours.”

  “What about the invisibility spell?" she asked eagerly

  “Well, let’s just say I was all for the invisibility spell. Mathias, of course, said there was no need. ‘Mr. I’m not worried about getting pulled over by a human policeman’ thought it was unnecessary."

  “It’s a little ridiculous,” my father said. “It’s not like Mathias needs any magical help. He’s quite capable of handling any situation."

  “I don’t know about that,” I murmured, recalling him sucking on my finger a few hours ago.

  “Mathias is a fine Guardian. I’m sure he had his reasons." Cecily said

  “He has many of those."

  “I hope you both got along all right." my mom said as she gathered our empty cups onto the tray.

  “Yes, I can honestly say there were several moments we got along rather well." I stood up and let out a yawn.

  “We should all retire for bed. It’s been a long couple of days, and I for one have no wish to watch the sunrise in a few minutes." said Cormac.

  “A few minutes? It’s only like midnight, one o’clock." I asked confused.

  “Willa, we’re in a different time zone now, it’s almost five o’clock in the morning,” my mother said

  “Oh, right, I forgot about that,” I said shaking my head. “You're right. Time for bed, I am so beat right now.”

  I gave my parents a short hug and walked back into my room and shut the door. I climbed into bed and pulled the covers around me. I was asleep in minutes.

  I woke up the next morning a little confused. For one, I had no idea where I was at first. The second thing that freaked me out was the clock next to the bed said it was noontime. I cannot even remember the last time I slept that late, maybe in college, but even that had been rare. I pushed off the covers and went over to the windows to open the drapes.

  My heart melted, simply melted, when I first took in the view of the island. Small rolling hills gently crested around the castle where in the middle a long winding road dotted in and out of view. The blue gray ocean was spread out around as far as the eye could see. To my right I could make out small houses that started at the bottom of the hill lining the road and beyond that what looked to be a town.

  Energized, I grabbed some clothes and went in to take a quick shower before I set out to explore. Twenty minutes later, garbed in a brown turtleneck sweater and faded to perfection jeans, I slipped on my low heeled half boots and went into the living room.

  Serena stood by the fireplace scrolling through her phone. Her face lit up when I came into the room. “Good morning Willa."

  “Good afternoon is more like it,” I replied returning her infectious smile. “So what’s up Serena? Where are my darling parents?"

  “Oh, they went down to check on a few things. Now that I have been named your official Guardian I thought I would wait for you to get up so we can chat. How about I give you a tour of the grounds?"

  “Official Guardian huh? What does that entail exactly?"

  “Well, obviously, during the day you won’t need as much protection. If you go anywhere at night, I’m afraid I’ll have to tag along with you.” she said

  “Ok. That brings a whole new description to the term third wheel,” I mused

  “I’ll try not to be a downer. I’m not here to interfere, just to protect, and be there when you need me,” she explained.

  “It’s going to take a little getting used to I think."

  “So what would you like to do first?" she asked brightly

  “I was hoping to talk to my parents for a minute so if you could just take me to them that would be great. I’m afraid I will get hopelessly lost in about five seconds."

  “Umm...” Serena smile faltered. “I’m not sure where they are, but we can catch up to them later."

  “Nope, I want to see them now. Where are they Serena?" I asked perturbed

  “Prince Cormac and Princess Cecily are in a meeting with Queen Winifred. It shouldn’t take long and as soon as they're done we’ll meet up with them."

  “I’m going to go out on a limb and say the reason you are evasive is because this meeting is about me. If that’s the case, I’m going to demand you take me there. If you don’t, I will find my way."

  Serena looked like she was going to be sick. I get that this was her first day on the job as my baby-sitter, but we needed to establish a few rules right now. Hiding things from me and keeping me out of the loop was not going to cut it.

  “Please Serena. I’m not trying to be demanding. I just feel like everyone’s been hiding stuff from me and I’ve kind of reached my limit on being kept in the dark,” I pleaded

  “All right, come with me. I’m going to get fired the first day on the job,” she muttered.

  “You get me there and I will guarantee job security for as long as I live,” I promised

  We went out into the corridor and took a few turns before we descended a flight of stairs. At the end of a long hallway, Serena stopped in front of a door that was slightly opened.

  I hesitated before knocking a few short raps on the door and let myself in the room.

  The room, which I’m going to assume, was my grandmother’s office was not as ostentatious as I thought it was going to be. The big fireplace and windows swathed in purple velvet gave it an almost homey feel. My parents sat in front of the desk and behind it stood Winifred, who looked at me with a pretty pissed off expression on her face.

  I squared my shoulders and walked into the room only to stumble slightly when I noticed Mathias in the corner. Dressed all in black he looked devastating, slightly annoyed but gorgeous just the same.

  “Hi, I heard you all were having a little powwow, and I thought I would join you,” I said walking over to stand by my mother’s chair.

  “Serena, we must talk about your duties later,” Winifred said

  “Serena’s duties, as my Guardian, will be decided on by me,” I said

  “Sweetheart, why don’t you go and have something to eat, we’ll be along shortly, and then…." my mother started.

  “I’m good,” I interrupted. “When I heard you were here I thought this would be a perfect time for us all to be together and discuss things. Although it looks like you started without me. I’m a little hurt, but I will try to get over this slight."

  My parents looked stricken, Mathias seemed vaguely amused, and my grandmother was staring at me with daggers. Apparently I was not welcome. I couldn't care less though I was going to try to get to the bottom of her dislike of me one-way, or another.

  I decided you caught more bees with honey than vinegar so I put on my most sincere face and said, “Thank you so much Winifred for helping us get out of Yuma. Although there was a hiccup with the whole portal thing, I’m still grateful for your willingness to help and send the Guardians."

  “You’re welcome. I would do anything for my daughter,” she said formally as she searched my face for any sarcasm.

  “I’m sure that you would. I hope we can get better acquainted. I understand that this is all a bit of a shock. I’m certain we can get over that and move forward,” I said earnestly.

  ”That sounds lovely. Now if that is all, I would like to return to our meeting. The dining room is down the hall. I’m certain Serena can escort you." she said dismissing me with a condescending smile.

  It was the smile that did it. I glanced at my parents, whose expressions turned to one of pride to ‘Oh shit’ in a heartbeat the moment they saw my face.

  “No, that’s not all. I don’t understand any of this. I don’t understand why you don’t like me. I don’t understand why you are such a bitch. I’m utterly confounded
by your lackluster welcome. Now if you have a problem I suggest we get it out now because I am not playing mind games with an old witch, ok?"

  “Willa Cecelia...” my mother started to say

  “I’m trying to be honest Mom. I’ve had enough to deal with the past few days. I’m not putting up with some cold fish who’s looking down her nose at me for no reason."

  “No reason? Well, let’s see, how about the fact that you are here puts every man, woman and child at risk? I have sworn to protect this clan and by taking you in I have placed them all in danger. I am suggesting that you and Cormac leave at once for Fairlia."