by J. M. Page
Lina climbed into her palm and hugged Mom’s fingers with all her strength. "We'll see each other again. I promise," she said suddenly, having no reason to believe she could make good on that promise, but it felt like the right thing to say.
Mom just nodded, setting her back on the table. "You take good care of her, you hear me?" she said, a threatening tone toward Bain.
Bain held up his hand and gave her a solemn nod. "You have my word as the sovereign prince of Mabnoa; I will do everything in my power to keep Lina safe and happy."
"You better," Mom said, tears gathering anew.
"Okay, we should go before this turns into a bigger mess," Lina said, her emotions clogging her throat. She didn't want to break down. Not now. Not in front of Bain.
When she left before, she had no idea it was happening, no time to say goodbye. That almost seemed preferable to this. But it also left her feeling like she needed closure and now she finally had it.
"You're right," Mom said, pushing a small staircase up against the base of the transporter. Lina and Bain climbed it together, hand in hand, the metal ring of the portal still dark and dormant.
"You ready?" Lina asked, turning to Bain.
He nodded. "As I'll ever be."
"Hold on," Mom said, flipping the switch.
The transporter whirred to life, the motor starting to fire, the fans starting to spin. The whole platform under their feet vibrated, and Lina listened closely for any unusual sounds. But there were no pings or clanks or screeches. There was no smoke or sparks, only the crackling blue energy that started around the metal ring and moved inward.
This time, with Bain at her side, holding onto her hand with all his might, the transporter didn't suck her in like a tornado. The wind pulled at them and their hair flew around like crazy, papers fluttering around the room, but they were able to stay rooted in place, watching as the lush green landscape became visible on the other side.
"This is going to feel really weird," Lina told Bain, reminding him of what she'd already warned him about. They'd had lots of time for him to worry and ask again and again what it felt like to travel through the portal. She'd told him everything she remembered, not sparing any details about how strange and uncomfortable the journey was.
"Deep breath," he said, nodding.
In unison, they inhaled and stepped forward. Lina looked over her shoulder at Mom one last time as they disappeared through the portal, falling into space.
Wind rushed by and the feeling of falling and floating and being pushed and pulled in all directions all happened simultaneously. Colors swam and danced, and electricity crackled over her skin, making all the hairs on her arms stand on end.
Lina's entire body felt like it was being compressed into one tiny point at the same time it felt like she was being stretched into a long strand of spaghetti. But through it all, she felt Bain's hand in hers and knew they were still together. They would come out on the other side.
She'd forgotten how long the trip seemed to take, though. They floated in the colorful void where no sounds could manifest, where no breaths could be drawn. Her lungs burned with the held breath and she was desperate to take another, but she couldn't seem to operate her own body. Her limbs didn't respond, even her eyes wouldn't blink, though they were stinging and dry.
And then, all at once, there was grass, and fresh air, and the songs of birds in the trees.
Lina and Bain both laid face-down in the grass, not moving or saying anything for a long time. She didn't know if he felt the same way, but she was content to just soak up the sunshine. Happy to not feel like a piece of clay being manipulated through space and time.
The sun's warmth seeped into her, warming her inside and out. The grass tickled her skin and hummed all around her. She had never really noticed plants reacting like that to her before, but maybe she just hadn't known what to look for. Now, it happened without any conscious thought. Bain — and to a lesser extent, his mother — had opened her eyes to the life and energy in all the things around her and now it was inescapable.
Not that she minded. The feeling of being connected to everything was much better than the feeling of being isolated from everything.
"Weird was an understatement, my love," Bain finally croaked.
Lina managed a laugh, but he was right. It was stranger than even she remembered it.
"I wasn't really in the right frame of mind to pay much attention last time." She'd been too busy panicking, worrying about Mom, convincing herself that she'd be floating in space adrift forever.
"Fair enough," Bain said, rolling over onto his side with a groan, facing her. "Are you alright?" he asked.
She nodded, but the gesture made her head spin and she winced. "I think so. I'd be perfectly fine if I never ever do that again, though."
"Agreed. I feel like I was pushed through a sieve and forced back together."
"We made it though," Lina said grinning.
He grinned back and her heart skipped a beat. It always did. "We did." His hand found hers and squeezed and Lina fought to keep her eyelids from falling. The journey through the matter transporter was no less exhausting the second time through, and after the first time she'd been bedridden for days.
"There's only one problem," Bain said, his voice straining.
"Oh?" she asked, losing the battle with her eyelids, letting them drift closed as a soft, fragrant breeze rustled her hair.
"I don't think I have the energy to stand."
She sighed. "That happens."
"But we can't rely on someone finding us... I was the one who found you last time."
Lina knew she should be more worried about Bain's concerns, but she wasn't. She was just happy to be back. Happy to know that they'd been successful, they were still together, and they were going to do everything they could to help the Mabnoans and the Fibbuns return to lives of normalcy.
Also, talking required a tremendous effort and she was already tired of it. She just wanted to sleep.
"Perhaps I can stand, after a nap..." she said dreamily, her thoughts already growing fuzzy around the edges.
"Don't fall asleep," he said, his voice tinged with worry. "We need Farita," he groaned. "We still don't understand how this affects the body. We could be in danger." He tried to push himself up to sitting, but his arms trembled and couldn't support his weight. He fell back to the grass with a grunt, but the grass welcomed him with a soft cushion, happy to cradle him.
It was just happy to be around them at all, it seemed. The plants she'd encountered were all so happy, so willing to help and bend to her will. The ivy had been the hardest to convince and even that, when she'd finally focused properly, jumped at the chance to obey her.
"I have an idea," she said, squeezing his hand.
Then the grass lifted them, listening to her silent plea. The blades bent and grew, carrying them over the land like a wave. Bain didn't even seem to notice what was happening until he asked, "Are we... moving?" Lina laughed softly in response, her eyes so very heavy.
The grass carried them all the way to the copse of trees that made the heart of the village. Lina pried her eyes open and saw the lush canopy, glowing overhead, golden sunlight filtering through the few breaks in the leaves. It was so far above them. They needed to get up.
"Whoa... hey—!" Bain cried as the grass lifted them up higher and tree branches bent to scoop them up, climbing higher and higher until they were in the trees, where they belonged, but still too far away.
"We need Farita," Lina repeated, more to the plants than to Bain.
"Lina, don't fall asleep," Bain pleaded, but even he was struggling to keep his eyes open. Neither of them would be able to fight it off much longer, and if they didn't get help before they fell asleep for days it might be too late.
"You too," she mumbled, not even sure that made sense. But the plants heard her. Surely they'd help.
They both laid cradled by a tree branch, resting against one of the massive trunks, all that energy s
urrounding them, wanting to help them. But it was already too late. She couldn't stay awake anymore.
"Bain?" she asked, her eyes too heavy to open.
The only answer from him was the soft breathing of someone in a deep slumber. She squeezed his hand once more, and let the sleep drag her under.
Chapter Thirty-One
"Oh my word!" the cry was sudden enough that Lina's body reacted on instinct, her eyes flying open before her body remembered all it had been through.
"Oh my dear, are you alright?" It was Farita's face in front of her, almost nose to nose. What a welcome face it was. "Where have you two been? Oh my goodness," she worried over them, pacing before she called to someone nearby and told them to fetch the royal guard.
"Got to get you to the hospital. Disappear for weeks only to pop back in looking like you're on Death's door," she tutted, muttering to herself more than Lina. Bain still slept, the only sign of life coming from him were soft snores and incomprehensible mutters.
"We're fine," Lina tried to say, but her mouth didn't really cooperate and what came out instead was a strange strangled cry, rasping from her parched throat. It didn't calm Farita like she'd intended. If anything, it just made her worry more, her pacing picking up speed, her muttering getting more and more frantic.
"Where are those guards? Can't carry you myself... Like to hear the excuse for this, driving me and the poor queen crazy with grief. Finally, what took you so long?" she griped as more footsteps approached. Lina tried to watch, she wanted to be lucid for what was happening, but her body had other ideas.
The branch under them rustled with the shifting weight and hands slipped under Lina from all sides, lifting her, then setting her back down again. When she was lifted again, it wasn't by hands, but by some kind of stretcher carried between the guards. Now she forced her eyes open and saw Bain on another, just beside her. It's going to be okay, she tried to tell him telepathically. Even if he wasn't awake, she hoped he'd be able to feel that. Feel that he shouldn't be worried anymore. Feel that this whole harrowing experience was finally drawing to a close.
"No, no, where are you taking them?" Farita grumbled.
One of the guards answered, but his voice sounded like it was moving through water.
"The hospital of course!" Farita said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"—Queen Neara says—"
"Well, the queen can talk to me about it then. They're my patients and they're going to the hospital."
Lina didn't care where they were going. She was just glad they were here. She stopped straining to listen and eventually, sleep returned.
She had no idea how long she'd been sleeping, but when Lina woke again, she was in a room bathed in light, glittering with all the colors of the rainbow. She blinked, trying to force away the sleep that was crusted in the corners of her eyes, but it didn't do any good.
Turning her head required a monumental effort, and she was rewarded with the sight of Bain in a separate bed next to her. At least they were still close to one another.
The room was huge, with a grand vaulted ceiling and windows twice as tall as Lina lining the walls. Each window was a mosaic of iridescent glass that cast the beautiful colors around the room, without actually coloring the light.
It was so different from the room she'd woken up in the last time she came to Mabnoa, and Lina struggled to remember the events that had led them here after traveling through the portal.
"Bain?" she rasped, her mouth and throat too dry to really make any sound at all.
He still slept soundly and Lina frowned.
"Bain!" she hissed.
A door on the far side of the room creaked open, but no one appeared on the other side. Lina pushed herself up to sitting, getting dizzy just from that exertion, and looked for anything to help her cause. She needed water. She needed to speak to the queen. She needed Bain to be awake. And she needed for the fog in her brain to clear so she could actually manage to accomplish one of those things.
The room was huge, with the two beds at one end, both draped in light gauzy fabric, and a fireplace at the other end, with a seating area around it. There was a fountain on that side of the room too. Whether it was for washing, drinking, or purely decorative, Lina didn't know. All she knew was that she desperately needed a drink. It was just so far. It would take at least thirty steps to cross the room and that seemed like thirty more than she'd be able to manage. But without anyone to help her, what choice did she have. Every swallow was painful. Every breath brought a wheeze and a cough. She had to get water.
The distance seemed to stretch and grow further away as she shuffled one leg to the edge of the bed and let it drop to the cold floor. A shiver ran through her, but she pushed it aside, shifting the rest of her body to the edge of the bed, trying to turn to get both feet on the floor.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a familiar voice said from the open doorway.
The door creaked a bit more as the queen pushed it open and stepped into the room. "You're likely to just fall over. What is it you want?"
"Wa—" Lina's voice cracked and she licked her chapped lips, looking pointedly at the fountain. "Wat—"
"Relus, will you please get our guest a pitcher of water?" she said, looking over her shoulder through the doorway that was too dark for Lina to see past.
Lina lifted her leg back onto the bed and slumped back.
Somehow, that little movement must've taken a great deal of time — it certainly took effort, though everything did right now, but she hadn't thought it took that long — because the guard was already back with a tray bearing a pitcher and three glasses. He set it on the table between the two beds and bowed at the queen before retreating. She poured Lina a glass and held it while Lina drank deeply, water dribbling down her chin.
"Better?" the queen asked.
Lina nodded. "Much." She looked over at the other bed and the queen seemed to read her thoughts.
"Bain hasn't woken yet, but I have every reason to believe he will. It's only been two days."
Lina's brows shot up.
"Yes," the queen said nodding. "Two days. You've caused quite the stir around the village."
Lina knew she should apologize for directly disobeying the queen's wishes. She knew she should explain why they left, why she felt she had to go. And of course, why they came back. But that all seemed too difficult without Bain there to tell his side, too.
"Don't worry," she added, nearly reading Lina's mind again. "I won't ask for any explanations until you're both feeling up to it. But I will be asking for them."
Lina swallowed — gulped, more like it — and nodded slowly. After all this, it would be terrible for the queen to ignore them or punish them for breaking their laws. She only hoped that Bain's mother was as understanding as he seemed to think she was.
"In the meantime, if you need anything, there's a string here you can pull. It will ring a bell and alert the staff that you need assistance. I suspect Farita will also be visiting as soon as she hears you're awake. She's been hovering over you both nonstop since you arrived."
Lina smiled a little at that. If anyone in the Universe was going to be her second mom, it would be Farita.
The queen looked over to Bain, something sad glittering in her eyes, her normally composed expression belying the worry and anxiousness she felt over her only son. Finally, she turned back to Lina, her expression more placid again.
"I am happy you've returned. When you left, and Bain with you, I thought..." She turned toward the window, the warm afternoon sun streaming in, the iridescent glass painting her face with rainbows as she stared off into the distance for a long moment of silence. "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter what I thought. Only that you're back and in one piece." She offered a small smile and patted Lina's knee in an affectionate way that made Lina's brows knit together.
Was the queen upset with her or not? She never could tell. Bain was much better at decoding his mother's emotions and translating
them, but he was useless at the moment and Lina wasn't sure how to navigate this. Luckily, her current state gave her a good excuse to stay quiet.
"Would you like another drink?" the queen asked.
Lina nodded, eyeing the pitcher like she was straight from a trek across the desert.
The queen poured her another glass and dutifully held it while she drank. The gesture was oddly maternal. Not a queen caring for a guest or a subject, but a mother, caring for her son's friend.
...The engagement was a whole other bomb to drop when the time was right. She'd almost forgotten about it herself, but now that she remembered it, a warm glow spread through her all the way to her extremities and she smiled, looking over at the other bed.
"Well, I'll leave you to your rest. I'm happy to see you're awake. Please don't do anything foolish to jeopardize your recovery." That last part was a very pointed comment, one brow arched, a smirk turning up the corners of the queen's mouth.
"Thank you. I won't," Lina croaked, nodding.
The queen left, and the door she'd come through closed behind her, leaving Lina alone again with a sleeping Bain. She wished they were in the same bed again, just so she could have him next to her, to feel his warmth, to rest her head on his chest as it softly rose and fell with each breath, to feel his arms around her... But of course they couldn't do that now. They were in the palace, under his mother's roof. And if she'd wanted them to be able to share a bed, it didn't seem like something that should be too hard.
Of course, she could probably sneak into his bed and leave again later without the queen ever being any wiser. Somehow, it just felt disrespectful, especially given she had no idea how their whole talk was going to go after Bain woke up.
"I wish you were awake," she sighed, watching him sleep. "I don't know how to do this without you." Though, thankfully, it didn't seem like the queen was going to force her. Maybe she knew how upset Bain would be about that once he did wake up. She still couldn't believe how he'd defied his mother for her before. It wasn't something she'd ever wish for, but it always brought that warm glow back.
