by Vivian Venus
Rhys looked at her, his face shocked. “Heather, no.”
“I’ll do it,” she repeated. “I’ll take the rite of passage and prove that Rhys and I are meant to be together.”
The king’s face softened. “Your dedication is admirable, Heather. But how could you expect to complete the dragon rite? You have no training, no experience. You would be killed.”
“It’s true that she has no combat training,” the queen said, “but then, I had hardly any when I took my rite. If you are cunning and clever, you can still succeed.”
“It would be a lie to say you had hardly any combat training,” the king protested.
“I’ll do it,” Heather said again. “I can prove myself.”
The room was silent. Rhys wanted to convince her to change her mind, but he knew that he couldn’t. The king and queen mulled over it.
“I suppose I should be happy,” the king said. “In the chance she succeeds…I’ll finally have myself a daughter-in-law.”
CHAPTER NINE
Heather slipped a sheathed dagger under her belt. She had adorned the traditional garb of the seer, a robe tied at the waist with a cloth belt, and flowing, airy pants. Despite the change in outfit, she still wore her running shoes. It had only been a week since she had come to Van-Raspharion, but in that time it felt like she had discovered herself. Her love for Rhys had deepened, as they spent almost every moment together. During the day they trained relentlessly. She learned combat with Rhys, and studied the art of foresight with the Oracle. In that short amount of time, she had already nearly mastered everything the Oracle had to show her. At night when the tower had gone to sleep, Rhys would sneak to her quarters and the two would make love until morning.
“You don’t have to do this, you know,” Rhys said as he sat down at the controls of the Fang and Claw. He already knew Heather’s response would be the same she had given him over the past week of her crash course training. “We could just run away. Leave.”
“I wouldn’t have you do that for me, Rhys,” she said. “Besides, this is what I need to do. I can feel it. I can’t explain it but somehow I feel that this is what I was destined to do.”
Rhys took a deep breath and sealed the door. A thin smile formed on his face as he looked at Heather with admiration. He touched her hand. “You’re truly something else, did you know that?”
For the first time in a long time, Heather felt a deep sense of purpose. She would do what she had to prove that she belonged there with Rhys.
She took the seat next to him, and he fired up the main thrusters to bring the ship to a hover. Out in the landing bay, the king and queen, the Oracle, Kyp, and a gathering of officials had come to watch their departure. They watched silently as Rhys turned the ship around and then blasted off into the distance.
Heather felt the thrust pushing her back into the chair. She was amazed that the last time she had been in this seat she was screaming in terror at Rhys’ landing. That had only been a week ago…
When they broke the atmosphere and leveled out in space, Heather closed her eyes and concentrated on relaxing her mind. She powers of foresight would be her strongest bet in making it to the portal alive. She felt Rhys’ hand touch hers and she opened her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he said, “I know you’re concentrating.” He smiled, but Heather could see that he was masking his worry.
Heather took his hand. “I’ll be fine, Rhys,” she reassured him.
“I don’t want to lose you. Not after just finding you…”
“You aren’t going to lose me. Have some faith in me?”
“I do. I just…” He leaned in and kissed her. “I love you.”
She rubbed his hand. “Why don’t we use that magic bathtub of yours? Together.”
His smile was pure this time. “Sure.” Rhys brought up the holographic display and set the ship on auto guidance, then led Heather to the rear. He tapped the tub console and it slowly filled up with water. He turned and was captured by the sight of Heather removing her robe, dropping it down off her shoulders and across her long back. He was entranced by the fabric slowly revealing the elegant bumps of her spine, and he thought that she looked gorgeous. He removed his own clothes, not bothering to store them. Heather walked over to him and placed a hand on his chest and kissed him.
“The water’s ready,” he said, and they slipped into the tub. Heather laid back against Rhys, his arms draped around her. His strong and muscled body made her feel delicate, despite her tall and lanky form. They sat quietly, each in their own thoughts.
Heather knew that the despite the training, despite her abilities and despite her reassurances, there was a good chance that she wouldn’t make it. She knew what she was doing was not a joke, that it was something that normally took years of training to prepare for. Yet…she couldn’t shake the feeling it was something she absolutely needed to do. She had never felt this way about anything before in her life.
Feeling the warmth of the water around her and the reassuring feeling of Rhys’ body against her skin, Heather thought about destiny. Despite her years telling fortunes to her friends, and despite her talent at it, she realized she never really had believed in destiny before. It wasn’t until now, until coming to this place, that she did. She was destined to be with Rhys.
After some time, the ship pinged an alert as it reached the perimeter of the moon Younger Sister and the two of them slowly stood from the bath, having soaked in each other’s arms for the entire flight. Heather smiled. “My fingers aren’t wrinkled,” she observed.
“Magic water,” Rhys said with a grin. He put his clothes on, and then sat down in the pilot’s chair and began to punch in the landing sequence. Heather took her seat.
“Remember,” he said, “You’ll need to move quickly. The portal will not stay open for long.”
“I know,” she said.
“And be weary at all times. I don’t know what creatures you’ll encounter down there.”
The ship banked and the purple surface of the moon filled the window, and Rhys began the ships descent into its atmosphere. They looked below and saw the ancient temple’s spires protruding out from the wicked and gnarled canopy of the moon’s forest. Somewhere down there, hidden, was the portal resting at the top of the temple pyramid. He maneuvered the ship to the same clearing where he had landed before, dirt and dust flying wildly around as the engines flared the ground. There was a shudder as they touched land.
Silently, Rhys and Heather stood. The surface of the ring felt as comforting as always under her fingers, and as she moved from her seat to the door her hand wandered to the handle of her dagger. It had taken on its own level of comfort in her grasp after the last week of constant practice with it. It was her second most important tool for survival here.
Rhys flicked switches along the wall behind the pilot’s chair enabling the standby sequence and then came next to her. He took her hand and looked at her. Her eyes were strong and confident, the most confident he had ever seen them in their time together. He grinned. “You should see yourself. My warrior bride.”
She smiled and kissed him. Back on earth, a life that already felt like it was long in the past, she could never have felt that either of those words would ever describe her. Certainly not the second one. “Time to do this,” she said.
Rhys hit the door release, and with a hiss of air the door slid open. The dry, musty wind of the moon hit their faces, and Heather jumped down.
“I’ll be waiting for you!” Rhys called. Heather nodded at him, then turned. She took a breath, and then dashed off into the forest.
Rhys watched after her, his hair whipping in the wind. He wanted to follow her to make sure she was safe, but he resisted. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had lost the love that he had never believed he would ever find.
Heather ran, her hand on the handle of her dagger. She kept herself low and stealth-like and she reached out with her mind to sense the way towards the portal. The path seemed to
illuminate before her and she quickened her pace, dodging the low hanging branches that seemed to grab at her like claws. The last time she was here she was following behind Rhys, confused and angry and scared. She had been a normal girl, on the doorstep of resigning to a life of mediocrity.
How fast things can change.
She broke through a dense patch of trees, turning her shoulder to smash her way through, and then skidded to a stop. Before her lay the labyrinth of stairs and spires that made up the ancient temple ruins. She knew that going the wrong way here could mean getting lost and trapped in. She focused, and proceeded.
The carcasses of the creatures that Rhys had defeated during his trial were no longer scattering the trail, probably devoured by the other wildlife of the forest. She heard a strange call sound out from somewhere off in the distance, and she looked around nervously. I can do this. I can do this. She slowly drew the gleaming dagger out of its sheath in a reverse grip, and held it up at a defensive angle. The weathered stairs of the temple looked menacing and foreboding, but her sense was telling her this was the way and she moved on.
The air was still and Heather thought she could hear her own breath echoing off the stone. She shivered. She had expected to have encountered one of those tentacle creatures again or some other monster, but so far the place seemed completely devoid of life. The trees had grown up and through the temple itself, and it was hard to tell exactly what was part of the path and what was overgrowth.
Heather ducked under some thick roots and stopped. Just ahead was the stepped pyramid, the rectangular doorframe-like portal standing at the top. She looked around. How was it she had gotten here so easily? She lowered her dagger to her side and started towards the cracked steps of the temple. The canopy was open overhead, and through it was the glowing yellow face of the gas giant Elder Brother surrounded by a vivid tapestry of stars and vibrant space gasses.
Movement out of the corner of her eye. Heather’s heart leapt, and she turned quickly, raising her dagger. She frowned in confusion, and lowered the knife again.
The figure, sitting in the shadows, stepped forward. The light shimmered off her golden hair and set her white skin aglow.
“Princess Tana?” she said, looking around nervously.
“My, if it isn’t the servant girl,” she said, her lips curling into a smile.
Heather suppressed her annoyance. “What are you doing here?”
“I should be asking you the same question,” she said. She brushed her hair back, revealing her slender neck. Heather couldn’t help but notice how annoyingly perfect everything was about her. Every movement, every action she did seemed like it had been practiced to feminine perfection. “This is no place for someone like you.”
“Someone like me?”
“Yes. A commoner.” She smiled, then began to walk towards Heather. “It’s very dangerous, you know.”
“I—I have training,” Heather said.
“Oh, yes. You do know it takes years of training to complete the rite? How could you ever think you could do it with the training you have?”
“I’ve made it this far. Anyway, princess. You haven’t told me what you’re doing here.”
“Well, the same thing you are.”
“You’re here to complete a rite?”
“Mm.” She smiled, her eyes sparkling. “Yes. And when I do, I’ll be fit to marry Prince Rhys.”
Heather’s heart jumped. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh, you didn’t think that a prince would fall for someone like you, did you?”
Heather stared at her, her eyes narrowing.
“Oh, you poor dear. You poor, poor thing. You did!” Princess Tana came forward and wrapped her arms around Heather and stroked her hair. Heather was too shocked to move. The sweet fragrance of the princess filled her senses.
“The prince must marry a princess you know, and he and I are very much in love. Poor thing. A man of his quality would never fall for someone like you.”
Princess Tana held Heather out at arm’s length. “After all, you’re just a commoner. Just a nobody. You could never satisfy him, not with a body like yours. Not with a plain, unshapely body like yours.” She smiled sweetly. “Now, not to worry. Just go back. It’s not too late. You don’t need to get hurt.”
Heather shook. It can’t be true. Rhys…?
She thought of him, their time together. She thought of his kiss, his touch, of the moment they first slept together on top of that hill. She shut her eyes, tears filling them.
She felt a warmth on her finger, and she touched her ring. The stone was warm under her finger tips. She looked up, and the princess still stood in front of her, smiling. Heather steeled her heart and focused her mind, concentrating the power she had developed.
No.
You’re wrong.
“You’re wrong,” Heather said firmly.
“Whatever do you mean?”
Heather smiled. “You’re not Princess Tana.” Her blade flashed as swept her arm in an arc in front of her. The princess’ eyes widened, and then she let out piercing shriek as her body split in two and melted away revealing what looked like a floating, bubbling mass of slime. The creature’s body suddenly shot out long tendril appendages straight for Heather’s throat. Heather saw it coming. She dodged and rolled, whipping her blade left and right and severing them. Then she leapt forward, her dagger pointed straight out, her free hand behind its handle to provide extra thrust, and then drove it deep into the creature’s body. The monster shivered and shrieked, and then its body hardened and crashed to the ground.
Heather placed her foot on it and yanked her dagger out from its shell. She wiped the blade clean on the cloth of her robe and slid it back into the sheath as she breathed a heavy breath. Up at the top of the pyramid a bright light filled the stone frame of the portal.
It was open.
Heather sprinted up the steps to the top. She stood at the portal’s vortex of energy, closed her eyes, and then stepped through.
CHAPTER TEN
There was blackness.
Then a crack of energy, and Heather felt herself falling. A moment later her feet hit solid ground and she opened her eyes. She blinked, still unable to see. Where was she?
She took a breath of the cool air – why did it smell so familiar? Her eyes adjusted…
Familiar sites came into resolution: a TV, a couch, kitchen table… A house. She was inside someone’s house on Earth. Dim moonlight filtered in through windows and Heather walked to look outside. The neighborhood didn’t look familiar. She turned and quietly walked across the room to a dresser covered in photos.
“Oh my God…” Heather whispered, covering her mouth. She picked up one of the picture frames. In it was a photo of a woman and a man, a couple, holding each other and smiling. “Rachel…” She set the photo down.
“Heather?”
She looked up. There stood her friend, her eyes wide with disbelief. She was in her pajamas. “Is it really you?” Her face softened. “Oh, you must be a ghost. Or maybe I have gone crazy…”
Heather walked to her friend. “It’s me, Rachel. It’s really me.”
Rachel hesitantly touched Heather’s hand as if she were unsure that she was actually standing in front of her.
“Where have you been, Heather? This past year...”
“Year...” Heather murmured. “It’s been one year?”
“What happened to you? Did someone…?”
Heather smiled. “It’s hard for me to explain, Rachel. But I’m safe. I’m in a place where I belong. With someone special.”
Tears formed in Rachel’s eyes. “They thought you had been kidnapped. The police, they never could find anything. But I, somehow, I felt like you had just left here. Left…earth. I can’t explain it. Your readings maybe. It always seemed like you belonged somewhere else.”
Heather hugged her friend and fought tears. Somehow, a year had passed on earth. Jesus. A whole year. “I’m so sorry, Rachel. But you�
��re right. And it’s amazing. I wish I could show you.”
Rachel squeezed Heather’s arm. “I’m just glad you came back to tell me.”
Heather slipped her ring off her finger. She took Rachel’s hand and placed the ring in her palm, then closed her hand around it. “Take this. Proof that I really was here.”
“Oh, Heather… you really have to go?”
Heather nodded. “I do.” She felt something, like her body was being tugged back by an invisible force. She squeezed her friend’s hand, and then took a step back. “Goodbye Rachel. Take care of yourself.”
Rachel held the ring in her hand. It looked like a weight had been lifted from her, and a smile crossed her tired face. “I told you that you’d find your prince someday,” she said.
