Everyone nodded.
“We all know how vague the prophecy was. A baby girl would be born in the Wedelven woods. It was said the Majs would find her and train her for the sole purpose of destroying the queen. When Hayden was found, those involved were sworn to secrecy to inhibit the Majs from reaching this goal.”
Everyone stared at her in shock except for Brinnan.
“Twenty five years ago, something unheard of happened and changed the lives of two beings.” Brinnan frowned. “Twenty five years ago, a Wedelve discovered she was fated to a human from the other world. Her family shunned her when she decided to bring him back to these lands. They had each other, and though she missed her family, they were happy.
She sent letters to keep her family up to date, always hoping that one day they would find it in their hearts to accept her mate. In one such letter, she let them know that she was with child. She begged them to change their minds.
She was in labor when one lone relative, her brother, came to see her. Her mate was losing his mind. Things weren’t going well. Her brother ran to find a healer, but by the time we reached her it was too late.
We managed to save the child, but her mother had lost too much blood. Before passing she told me to take the baby and keep her safe. That she had seen armies colliding over the life of this little girl. Until her mother told me of her dream, I hadn’t realized this might be the girl we had been told about.”
Fillian’s eyes were glazed over as she thought back to those moments. “The father took his own life, unable to live without his mate.” Her eyes refocused and turned to me.
“I remember you were a week old when you started playing with the colors!”
Brinnan laughed. “Remember when she set off the hurricane in your house? I thought we were all going to drown trying to get out!”
Fillian grinned and continued. “That’s when we sat down with Melana and decided itt was best to send you to a place void of magic until you were old enough to control it.”
I was staring at Brinnan. “You’re my uncle.”
He nodded. “You look exactly like your mother. Well, except for the coloring.” He smiled. “Brayanne had the same hair and eye color, but her skin was a warm tan color. She was the kindest soul ever to live. When our parents banished her from our home, I tried to leave with her. She wouldn’t let me.” His eyes filled with pain. “When I received the letter stating she was with child, I went to her as quickly as I could but I was too late.”
I didn’t realize I was crying until Jasper pulled me onto his lap and held me against his chest.
“This is the worst story ever,” I mumbled.
“What did your parents tell you of your origins?” asked Fillian.
“Just that they couldn’t have their own children and had adopted me as a baby.”
She nodded. “That is true. What they didn’t tell you was that your adoptive father was your real father’s friend. He knew of your mother and our world. When we approached him about keeping you safe, he was willing to take on the task.”
“Do they know I’m here now?”
“Do you remember when I sent all those blue birds away the first day you were here?” asked Jasper.
“Yes.”
“Some of them went to them to let them know.”
A wave of relief washed over me. My mom and dad didn’t think I had run away, or been killed by some psychopath. They knew where I was.
“So that’s why I can see the bridge!” I looked at Fillian. “And the dreams?”
“Those are unique to your mother and yourself. Brinnan doesn’t recall anyone else in the family having them. There are other dream seers, but not many.”
Jasper asked the next question. “What about the fact that Hayden’s mother was fated to a human. Does that happen more often than we are told?”
Fillian shook her head. “No. I have searched and inquired. They are the exception. The only two beings to have ever been fated with one of a different kind.”
Jasper and I looked at each other.
“Until now!” stated Phlann.
Brinnan looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“Well, Hayden and Jasper are fated.”
Fillian looked closely at us. “Unbelievable. The only half Wedelve in existence fated to a Namael.”
“You may want to keep your amazement down,” laughed Shanus. “There aren’t any trees in this courtyard.”
Our little group laughed at my blush.
“What did we miss?” inquired Brinnan.
“When she gets mad,” explained Zane, “she loses control of those colors Fillian was talking about and she sets trees on fire.”
“Only by accident!” I exclaimed. “It was either the trees or you!”
Fillian was shaking her head. “Now that doesn’t make sense at all. There is no way a healer could use the reds. We can see them, but if you try to touch them they should just evaporate. It goes against everything.”
Dodge snorted. “That right,” Jasper translated. “A couple of days ago, she used a green and made a dead stump grow.”
“So healing and sorcery together.” Fillian looked just as awed by me as the rest. “Do you mind if we continue this tomorrow? I have some research I need to do.”
Everyone looked at me. I wanted to roll my eyes. This was going to get old fast.
“That’s fine. I think it’s almost time for lunch anyway.” I looked over to my uncle. “Will you have lunch with us?”
He looked surprised. “You would want me to stay?”
“Of course! I just found out I have an uncle. Maybe you could tell me more about my mom.”
Brinnan smiled. “Of course. I just thought that with everything that had happened...” He looked sad again.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, with your parents dying and us sending you away.”
“It’s not your fault my parents died.”
His head snapped up. “If I had gotten there sooner, or simply gone to live with them in the first place...”
I shook my head. “You’ve been blaming yourself for twenty five years, haven’t you?”
He shrugged.
He looked so sad. I got up and walked over to him. His eyes widened in surprise as I gave him a hug. He hugged me back shyly.
“Now,” I smiled at him. “Let’s go have lunch. We have a lot of catching up to do.”
As we ate, Brinnan told me about my mother. The games and tricks they had played together. He had me laughing so hard I could barely finish my lunch.
He got quieter as he started telling me about when she had met my father. They had seen each other on the same hill that I had first seen Jasper. She had gone to the other world to be with him, knowing that her parents wouldn’t accept how things were.
“It’s never happened! She was scared of what people would do or think. But she missed us and the magic of this world. When they came here, it was just as she had thought. People stared, talked. The worst for her I think was when people simply ignored them. That was when they decided to build their home farther into the woods. They would come get supplies when they needed them and that was when I would meet her in secret.
I’m told it is hard for twins to be too far apart from each other for any length of time.”
“You were twins!”
He nodded. “That was one reason I was so upset with our parents. As far as any of us new, there has never been a set of Wedelven twins. And as far as anyone else knows, there never has been. For the first few years of our lives my parents would only take Brayanne or I out separately. When we got a bit older they would take both of us, telling people I was a year younger. We were the first and the last as far as I’ve been able to find out. And yet they had no trouble judging her for being different.
Brayanne was the most loving person I ever knew. She was forever taking care of sick animals, helping people who were around her. She never asked for anything in return. When I lost her, it almost did m
e in. But it was also because of her that I found Fillian. I don’t think I ever would have found the one I was fated with had I not shown up at that moment.”
He looked at me closely. “I still can’t believe how much you look like her. You’re taller. That must be the human in you.” He smiled. “That, and you’re missing the pointy ears.”
I smiled back at him.
He looked thoughtful. “I’m afraid there isn’t much I can tell you about your father. Though I can tell you with absolute certainty that he made your mother happy, and that he loved her more than life itself.”
“Is everyone done eating?” asked Tara.
“I’m done. Thanks, Tara. That was great.”
She smiled. “Let’s go practice some moves, then.”
The whole group decided to come watch and help where they could.
I was sparring with Phlann at the moment. Jasper sat cross legged on the ground, glaring at the whole affair. Every time someone would pretend to attack me he would tense, his muscles twitching.
My uncle had excused himself after lunch and came back a little while later, sitting down by Jasper to watch. He placed what looked like blankets on the ground.
Phlann charged at me and faked to the left. I caught him glancing to the right and blocked his blow.
“She’s a natural!” Brinnan commented.
The only response he got from Jasper was a growl.
I made my way back to Jasper and sat beside him, catching my breath. He handed me a canteen.
“Very well done,” complemented my uncle.
“Thanks!”
“I brought you something I thought your mother would want you to have.” He reached down and handed me the blankets.
I stared, speechless, as I unfolded them and saw two short swords.
Jasper seemed about to say something but stopped and glared at the ground.
“They were your mothers. Watching you move around like you were makes me think these are going to be perfect for you. You handle yourself exactly like her!” He sounded both awed and sad.
“Thank you.”
I looked at Jasper who was still sulking beside me. “Maybe you or Zane could shift so I could practice against an animal?”
His head snapped up, the look in his eyes made me catch my breath. He looked like he was being tortured.
“Or not,” I mumbled. I looked at the rest of the group, knowing they were waiting for me to say something. “I’m all played out, guys. Let’s call it quits for today.”
They all nodded and left. I stood and held my hand out for Jasper’s. “Let’s go put these in our room.”
I said goodbye to my uncle, who promised to come back the next day.
Once back in our room I put the short swords under the bed so Jasper wouldn’t be able to glare at them.
I sat on the bed. Jasper was standing by the window, looking out.
“Jasper.”
He didn’t turn.
I walked over to him and hugged his back. He relaxed a little as I leaned into him.
“I can’t lose you,” he whispered. “The thought of you getting hurt, or worse...,” His voice caught in his throat. He took a deep breath then turned and looked down at me. “I finally just found you.” His eyes were full of worry.
“You won’t lose me, Jasper. You couldn’t get rid of me now even if you wanted to.” I stood on my tip toes and kissed him lightly. “But I’m what they’re after. If for some reason they happen to get close enough to try and take me, I have to be able to make sure that they can’t.”
I didn’t tell him about my second dream in which I was surrounded by four dogs.
He still looked worried as he hugged me close and leaned his head on top of mine.
“I suppose I’ll have to get used to the idea that you can take care of yourself.” He glanced down at me with a sheepish grin. “And by what I saw of you today, I don’t think it will take too long before you can teach me a thing or two!”
I grinned back at him. “So you’ll help me?”
He nodded. “You know,” he said, the look in his eyes changing, “watching you this afternoon...” He blushed a little. “What I mean is, the way you were moving, with your hair flying everywhere...” Jasper stopped trying to explain himself and crushed my lips with his, his fingers lacing in my hair.
We made our way to the bed, dropping clothes on the floor as we went.
Chapter 4
It was dark when I woke, covered in sweat and barely able to breath. I sat up trying to catch my breath. Jasper sat up with me, pulling me close to him a fraction of a second later.
“What is it? What did you see?”
“They’re coming here!” I whispered.
“When?”
“Not very long. A week. Two weeks?”
“Let’s go! Pack your stuff. We’re leaving. I’ll go let the others know.”
He jumped out of bed and started pulling his clothes on.
“No.”
“Hayden, we have time to move. Let’s go!”
“No.”
He stopped trying to get his shirt on and stood looking at me.
“No more running.”
“We don’t have enough men! A week or two is not enough time to plan! This isn’t the time to be stubborn!”
“The Wedelves will help.”
His mouth fell open. “The Wedelves don’t mix themselves in everyone else’s business. You saw them in the dream?”
I shook my head. “No. It’s just a feeling I have. In the dream it’s just me and you. We’re on a ridge with a waterfall. They start to come out of the woods and cross a clearing. That’s pretty much all I saw.”
He tried another approach. “Let’s go to the castle. We’ll warn Queen Melana. When they decide to attack there, we will be ready for them.”
I simply shook my head. “They are coming here regardless. I won’t run and leave the Wedelves to fight alone.”
He sat heavily on the bed, his head in his hands.
I reached over and put a hand on his arm. “I can’t leave them,” I whispered.
“Did you see how it ends?”
I shook my head. “I woke up too soon.”
He looked over at me shaking his head in disbelief. “You are amazing.”
I blushed.
“Two weeks ago, the most excitement you had was running circles on Dodge. Now you are willing to face the Majs to save the Wedelves. And what is even more amazing than all of that, is the fact that you are mine.” He leaned down and kissed me tenderly, his hands cupping my face. “Even if it may be for a shorter amount of time than I had anticipated.”
I reminded myself to breathe as his words sank in.
“So do we have a plan?” he whispered, his forehead against mine.
I glanced out the window into the darkness. Maybe running was the best option. I screamed in my head, telling myself I should have finished the dream. What if he died? What if I did? Was it possible that we only have a week or two left together? I pushed the thought out of my head. Somehow, I wouldn’t let that happen.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him to me. I moaned as Jasper explored me with a new urgency, as if trying to get a lifetime of touches and kisses into the next few hours.
When the sun came up, I took a deep breath. “Let’s go warn the others.”
We got dressed, Jasper showing me how to put my short swords on my back.
Outside, we ran into Phlann. I quickly explained that he needed to find Fillian and Brinnan and get them back as soon as possible.
We then tracked down Tara and Ben. After letting them know what was about to happen they ran off to round up as many of the Wedelves as they could find.
Jasper called down some of the blue birds and sent then to find any of the Namaels who might be willing to help. It was a long shot, but any little bit of help was better than none.
It was a long day filled with waiting.
Jasper, Shanus, and Zane questioned me
over and over trying to get any minute detail I might remember from the dream. When they weren’t planning the three of them were working with me and my short swords.
Late that afternoon, Fillian, Brinnan and Phlann came running into the courtyard.
I quickly explained what was happening. Brinnan and Jasper stepped to the side so Jasper could explain their defense plan to him.
Tara and Ben were the next to come back two nights later. They had ten Wedelves with them. “More are coming,” explained Tara. “Friends of ours offered to keep up the recruiting so we could get back.”
Ben turned to me. “Where will they come from?”
“From the direction of the bridge we came across. They have Wedelves with them.”
He nodded. “The hunger for power runs in all beings, unfortunately. What else?”
“We need to set up on the ridge over the waterfall.”
Jasper cut in. “From what she could see we will need to have most of the Wedelven archers in the trees on the ridge. You should be able to take out quite a few of them as they step out into the clearing.”
Ben nodded.
I remembered something I hadn’t thought of before. “They have more than just wolves and Wedelves. There’s all sorts of dogs and minotaur looking things too. They had bulls’ heads on a human torso but cows’ legs. Oh! And four arms and a lizard tail.”
“Those are Bailaus,” explained Jasper.
“We’ll take care of the cows!” grumbled Shanus.
As if on cue, a half a dozen centaurs galloped into the courtyard
Not centaurs, Hayden. Scannoves, I reminded myself.
One of the females trotted up to Shanus and hooked her arm over his back. She was amazing to look at. She was the color of a blue roan, her waist long hair grey streaked with black. She wore a sort of leather halter top that didn’t quite cover her six pack.
Shanus leaned down and kissed her passionately in front of everyone.
She blushed.
“Hayden, I would like for you to meet my mate, Prense.” She nodded to me, smiling.
“Hi,” I smiled back.
She turned to Shanus. “The Wedelve Cholta found us and explained what was happening.”
Crossover 'The Chosen One Trilogy: Book One' Page 10
