Chosen One

by Katie Holland

  “Oh my God, I know. If fact this is my second one. I even asked if they made them here, but I was told they get them from a bakery in town.”

  Sara started laughing.

  “What’s so funny?” Alix asked.

  “I asked them the same thing earlier. I loves me a good pastry. I need to learn how to make these.”

  “You bake?”

  “You bet I do. My goal is to open up my own bakery someday.”

  “That would be super cool. I love to bake too. You know, I just realized that I don’t know what you are. Can I see your tattoo?”

  “Of course,” Sara said and turned her hand over. It was an angelfish.

  “Oh, so you’re an Artist, cool. I hate to admit this, but I really don’t know what most people are when I meet them, and I don’t ever think to look at their tattoos. Is that weird?”

  “I don’t think it’s weird for you since you grew up knowing nothing about us, but most people make a point of seeing what tattoos others have.”

  “Okay, note to self, look at tattoos of new people.”

  Sara laughed at her. “You’re so refreshing to be around.”

  “Huh, why?” Alix asked.

  “Every Nykara I know grew up knowing what they were and what would happen when they turned seventeen. But you had no idea, so I get a kick out of the questions you ask.”

  “I’m not sure if I should be insulted or not?” Alix said but had a smile on her face.

  “Not at all, I love it. So, what are your plans for the day?”

  “I’m not sure. The picnic sounds good later.”

  “I agree. We didn’t have a chance to look around since we just got here late yesterday.”

  “We’ve been here a couple of days and we got to do a lot of exploring our first day here. This place rocks, inside and out," Alix told her.

  “So that sounds great for later, but what about now? What were you planning on doing?”

  “I actually hadn’t thought past getting something to eat and after trying those Danishes I hadn’t really thought about anything else. I sure would like to get a better look at this kitchen though. Do you think they’ll mind?”

  “I doubt it, you are the Kaelneth after all,” Sara said smirking at Alix.

  “Ha ha. I’m not using that to get me anything. Come on, come take a look with me. If they don’t want us poking around I’m sure they’ll tell us.”

  So, the girls finished their pastries and started wandering around the kitchen. A few of the staff gave them funny looks but no one said anything. Just as they were finishing their tour a woman came into the kitchen with an authoritative look on her face.

  “Can I help you ladies?” she said briskly.

  “We were just having a look at this amazing kitchen. We’re both jealous and would love to be able to own something like it one day," Alix said.

  “Oh, Kaelneth, I didn’t realize it was you. I apologize if I sounded rude, I’m just not a big fan of strangers in my kitchen.”

  “Your kitchen?” Alix asked.

  “Yes, I’m sorry, I should have introduced myself. My name is Merideth and I run this kitchen.”

  “It’s nice to meet you Merideth. Please call me Alix and this is Sara. I’ve been dying to know since dinner last night, who made that fantastically wonderful dessert? I think it was the best I’ve ever had.”

  A huge grin broke out on Meredith’s face. “It’s an honor to hear you say that. I was the one that created the dessert for last night’s dinner. Desserts are kind of a passion of mine.”

  “What was the dessert?” Sara asked.

  “Oh my God Sara, I’m really sad that you missed it. It was a white chocolate cup with lemon mousse, fresh raspberries and raspberry sauce. But that description doesn’t do it justice. Hey, Merideth, you wouldn’t happen to have any extra dessert from last night, would you?” Alix said smiling.

  Merideth had to smile back. “Let’s check the fridge, I might be able to whip up a couple.”

  The girls followed her to one of the many fridges in the kitchen. She pulled out several containers and assembled three desserts for them to see. Alix could hardly wait to try it again. She was sure she could eat it every day and never get sick of it. She watched as Sara took her first bite. The look on her face said it all. She was in heaven.

  “See, it’s good right?” Alix said to Sara.

  “Good doesn’t even come close to describing how this tastes. It’s an explosion of flavor in my mouth but the texture is so smooth, and everything goes perfectly together. Merideth, I think you’re my new hero," Sara said and took another bite.

  Alix and Merideth had to laugh at that.

  “Merideth, do you think you could teach me and Sara how to make this?”

  “Alix, that’s a fabulous idea. Please, please, please Merideth, teach us how to make the best dessert I’ve ever tasted," Sara begged.

  “How can I say no to that," Merideth said with a smile. “But we can’t do it right now. I have the picnic to prepare for.”

  “Is there anything we can do to help?” Alix asked.

  “I’m sure there are other things you’d rather be doing right now than be stuck in a kitchen," Merideth said to them.

  “Not really," Alix said. “Sara?”

  “I’m game to help. The kitchen is one of my favorite places to be.”

  “Me too," Alix said. “Put us to work Merideth.”

  So she did. Alix and Sara started off by making individual bags of cookies. Each one had chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin and a sugar cookie.

  “How many people are going on this picnic?” Alix asked. “This seems like a lot of cookies.”

  “We need enough in case all the current guests want to go, so that would be thirty-one. And I always make sure there’s extra of everything," Merideth told her.

  Next the girls helped make individual fruit salads. By the time they were done that the kitchen staff had finished making the rest of the lunch. There were all varieties of sandwiches and potato chips, or crisps as Merideth had called them. Alix loved her accent. It was different than Gordon’s but still an awesome English accent.

  “This is an awful lot of food," Alix said. “How do you get all of it out to the lake?”

  “We have an ATV that we use to get around the property. It has a little trailer that we’ll use to load up all the food and everything else we’ll need,” Merideth told her.

  “Cool, that kind of sounds like fun. Do you need any more help?” Alix asked.

  “No, but thank you girls and you’re both welcome in my kitchen any time. Next time you have some free time let me know and I’ll teach you how to make that dessert. See you in a bit.”

  Alix checked the time as they were heading out of the kitchen. They had about fifteen minutes until the picnic was supposed to start. She wondered where everyone was but as they walked into the main area of the castle she saw a bunch of people standing around. She eventually found Ben talking to her parents.

  “Hey there kiddo, where have you been all morning?” her mom asked.

  “Well, I slept in until almost 11:00. I got ready and went to eat in the kitchen. That’s where I ran into Sara. We were wandering around admiring the kitchen when we met Merideth. She’s the head chef and the one who made that scrumptious dessert last night. We got talking to her and then we helped a little with preparing the picnic lunch.”

  “Sounds like fun,” her mom said. “I know how much you enjoy being in the kitchen.”

  “It was. Has anyone seen Shay this morning? I haven’t seen her since the party last night and she didn’t answer her door when I needed help with my zipper last night.”

  They all shook their heads. Alix wasn’t sure if she should be worried or not. It had only been a few hours since she saw her, and she’d spent most of that time sleeping. Shay could be anywhere in the castle or surrounding grounds.

  Gordon announced it was time
to go out to the lake for the picnic. It was a nice walk. Alix had thought that England was kind of rainy but so far, the weather had been very good. When they got to the lake Alix was shocked to see the difference from a couple of days ago. Someone had been busy. There were small round tables with chairs set up in front of the lake and also a few blankets scattered around for anyone who wanted a more authentic picnic experience. Merideth and some of the people from the kitchen were putting the food out on a separate table. Alix waved when she saw her.

  Most everyone started lining up to get their food. Alix was waiting with her parents, Ben and Sara. She still hadn’t seen Shay.

  “Mom, dad, after you eat you guys should really go for a walk in the woods. Now that you can see what I see your walk will be amazing. There are so many things out there that you’ve never seen before, you’re going to love it.” She turned to Ben, “Did you have a chance to look at those books we got from the library?”

  “No but after we eat I think I’ll run back and get my sketch book. I’d like to draw some of the new creatures we saw in case I never get back here.”

  After they got their food her parents joined Natalie and Rick. Alix, Ben and Sara decided to eat on one of the blankets. They had finished their food and were eating the cookies when Alix couldn’t hold it in any more.

  “I’m worried about Shay,” she said interrupting Ben and Sara. “I haven’t seen her since last night and she’s not here to eat. She loves food and I’m sure can smell good cookies a mile away. And to be honest there was something about Logan that bugged me.”

  “I’ll tell you what,” Ben said. “If we don’t see her in the next thirty minutes I’ll help you look for her. Deal?”

  “Deal,” Alix replied.

  They finished their cookies and took a walk around the lake. They talked about nothing in particular. Alix was glad that Sara was close to their age. It was nice to talk to someone who wasn’t an ‘adult’. She learned that Sara was supposed to have started college, but because the Grynn kidnapped her she missed the start of the year.

  “So, what are you going to do now?” Ben asked Sara.

  “I’m not sure. I guess when I get home I’ll find a job until I figure out what I want to do. Travelling the world sounds nice but I don’t think anyone is going to pay me to do that," she said smiling.

  “Probably not,” Ben agreed with a smile. He looked at his watch. “Well it’s been thirty minutes Alix. Do you still want to go searching for Shay?”

  “Yeah. It’s very unusual to not have seen her for so long.”

  “Okay. Where do you want to start?” Ben asked.

  “Well, I doubt she’s outside. Shay’s not very outdoorsy. So, I guess we’ll head to the castle and just start a room by room search. I’ve tried to call and text her, but she doesn’t answer. I really don’t know what else to do.”

  “Alright, let’s start looking. Sara, do you want to join us?”

  “I would really like to but I promised my mom that I’d spend the afternoon with her. But I’m sure I can probably talk to her and change our plans," Sara said.

  “No, it’s okay Sara,” Alix told her. “Go spend the time with your mom. It’s really beautiful to walk around here and I’d hate for you to miss it. If we don’t see you in a while we’ll catch up with you at dinner.”

  “Okay. See you later,” Sara said with a wave and went to find her mom.

  Chapter 19

  Alix and Ben walked back to the castle and started going from room to room. After about twenty minutes of searching Alix finally heard Shay talking.

  “Shay!” Alix yelled.

  “Alix?” Shay replied.

  Alix followed the sound of her voice and found her in the room where the three of them had gone the first day and looked at their itineraries. Shay was sitting on one of the couches and not to Alix’s surprise Logan was right there sitting beside her.

  “Shay, I need to talk to you,” Alix said looking at Shay, then at Logan. “Alone.”

  Alix walked out of the room without saying another word. Shay followed her into another room a few doors down.

  “Is everything okay?” Shay asked as Alix paced around the room.

  “I don’t know Shay is everything okay? I haven’t heard from you since the party last night. I tried your room after everyone left because I needed help with my zipper and had to get Ben to help me. I didn’t see you this morning or at the picnic. Where have you been?”

  Shay giggled. “Ben had to help you with your zipper, I bet that was fun.”

  “Stop it Shay, this isn’t funny. “I’ve been worried about you and you’re making jokes.”

  “Wait,” Shay said really looking at Alix, “You’re actually mad at me aren’t you?”

  “Yes, no, I don’t know,” Alix said continuing to pace. “Please, just tell me where you’ve been since the party last night.”

  “Um … well Logan didn’t want to stay at the party last night and so we decided to go for a moonlight walk around the castle grounds. We talked and talked and ended up staying up and watching the sunrise. I went to bed and got a couple of hours sleep. He knocked on my door this morning and wanted to spend more time together. See, no big deal.”

  “Seriously, no big deal? You disappear for hours with someone you hardly know in a foreign country. If it was me, you’d have a fit if you couldn’t find me for hours and the last person you saw me with was a boy I’d just met. And besides, something about Logan doesn’t sit well with me.”

  Shay thought about what Alix said for a minute before saying anything. “Okay, I can see where you’re coming from but I’m perfectly fine. All we’ve done is talk, he hasn’t even tried to kiss me yet.”

  Alix let out an exasperated sigh. “Shay, you’re missing the point. I’ve been worried sick about you. I’ve been waiting for you to show up at some point this morning and you even missed the picnic. You’re not acting like yourself.”

  “What you really mean is I’m not acting like you would right? Well guess what Alix, I’m not like you. I want a boy to find me attractive. I want a boy to take me on a date. I want a boy to kiss me. I’m not a stick in the mud. I want to have fun and not be boring like you," Shay said and stormed off.

  Ben found Alix a few minutes later standing exactly where she was when Shay had said those words that were so hurtful to Alix.

  “Alix, what happened?” Ben asked. “Shay came back, grabbed Logan and marched off.”

  Alix couldn’t talk yet. She was trying to hold back the tears and if she opened her mouth she knew the tears would start to fall.

  Ben could sense that Alix was upset but didn’t really know what to do. “You look like you could use a hug right now. Is it okay if I hug you?”

  Alix nodded, and Ben wrapped his arms around her. She was stiff at first but after a minute she relaxed and let the tears fall. It wasn’t an all-out sob fest but there were enough tears to make Ben’s shirt wet. After a few minutes she calmed down enough to talk.

  “Shay and I had a fight, I mean a real one, not like a couple of weeks ago when she pretended to be mad at me. This time she’s really mad. That’s never happened before.”

  “What did you fight about?” he asked in a gentle voice.

  “Basically, I told her I was worried that she disappeared for so many hours, that she wasn’t acting like herself, and that something about Logan bothered me. She said that she wasn’t like me and that I was boring. We’ve never said anything mean to each other, ever. I know most people wouldn’t consider being called boring mean, but I do. Shay has always encouraged me, she’s been like my cheerleader.”

  “I’m sorry. I know how much her friendship means to you. And for the record, I don’t think you’re boring at all," he said with a smile.

  “Thanks. I don’t really want to be around anyone else right now. Do you want to go upstairs and hang out?”

  “Sure.”

  They went upstairs to Alix’s r
oom and turned on the TV. Ben flipped through the channels. Alix didn’t care what they watched since her mind wasn’t on the TV.

  “Hey Ben, do you mind if I write in my journal? I won’t be good company until I get some of these thoughts down on paper.”

  “You keep a journal?” he said sounding surprised.

  “Yes. There’s been so much going on in the last month that I started writing in it just to clear my mind a bit.”

  “Does it work?”

  “It does for me.”

  “Do you want me to leave?” he asked her.

  “No, but you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. I’m just going to sit at the desk for a bit and when I’m done I can’t probably go back outside or do something else.”

  “Okay, I’m good right here. Do what you need to do," he said and put on a show about fast cars.

  Alix got her journal and her favorite pen and sat down. She took a minute to figure of where to start then began writing.

  Nov 4 – Trip to London Day 5

  So much has happened in the last day and a half. The trip to the spa, the “Induction” ceremony, but the thing that’s bothering me the most is Shay. We had our first fight ever today and I think it’s because of a boy. As soon as we met him yesterday Shay went off with him leaving me alone at the after-ceremony party, even though she promised she would stay with me to help me manage all the people. She thought he was hot, and I admit he is, but she broke her promise to me and I was hurt. She’s not acting like herself. I’ve seen her boy crazy before but above all we were friends first, boys always came second. She was gone for hours and when I finally found her to talk she seemed mad that I was worried about her. She said she wasn’t like me and that I was boring. She’s never been like that before. I know we are two very different people, but it’s been our differences that have been the best part of our friendship. And then there’s Logan. I don’t like him, and I don’t know why. There’s just something about him that doesn’t sit right with me. I just have a feeling that he’s up to no good and I know that Shay won’t listen to me about it. I mean he’s Nykara and from what I understand we’re the good guys, so I really don’t know why I feel the way I do about him. I think I’ll talk to Ben about it and see what he says. I might even get Sara to keep an eye on him, maybe see if she can hang out with Shay and Logan since I won’t be doing that. It’s only been like 15 minutes since Shay stormed out on me, but it feels like hours. I don’t know what to do. I’m not sure if I should apologize but I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong. Something is going on, I can feel it. Just like I knew something was going on before I turned seventeen and got my tattoo, it’s the same feeling. Except last time I had Shay to talk to and this time she’s involved. Even though I’m pretty sure she’s not talking to me I have to figure out what’s going on.