Myth

by Terri Todosey

  They got a kick out of my shoe toss and word is that although no one was hurt, the fire consumed Ludo’s entire palace. Nothing survived but the charred remnants of the white marble foundation, which is partially still there under all the ice in the barren desert that her land had decayed to.

  “She found the charred shoe too!” said Justin. “You’re a freak’n legend Tal!” he laughed.

  “But everyone thinks it was the Myth who tossed it,” said Emily.

  “Which infuriates Ludo even more!” Justin giggled.

  “Can you imagine?” snickered Emily. “They say Ludo spent moons searching for the other shoe, hoping it would lead her to the Myth.”

  “And let’s be grateful that she found neither,” said Alfred.

  We cheered and clinked our china cups, and I couldn’t help but feel a certain amount of victory for being directly responsible for upsetting Ludo as I had done. “Figures the Myth would get the credit!” I yawned. “If only they knew the truth.”

  Henry leaned towards me and whispered, “You really should get some rest.”

  I yawned again and could barely stand up straight as I grabbed my knapsack and staggered into the hall.

  “Shall I turn her bed down for her?” I heard Ethal asking behind me. “She looks dreadfully tired.”

  “Here let me help you, as I’m feeling terribly tired myself,” said Henry. “We’ve had a longer day than one sun should allow.”

  I was happy to have Henry walk me up the stairs to the purple and scarlet room he had laid out for me. It was likely our last night together, but my worn body was too tired to mourn the dreadful thought of it.

  “Good night,” he whispered as he took my hand and gently kissed it. “I will make you a breakfast fit for a princess in the morning.”

  “Oh, and this letter came for you just today,” said Ethal taking a small envelope out from her apron pocket, she handed it to Henry. I glanced down at it and saw that it was addressed to Mr. Maker Sir and the return address hadn’t an address at all, but just the name Yerik Guzalak.

  “Wait,” I grabbed his arm. “That letter... it’s from Yeri.”

  Henry looked down and read the front. “You know him?” He looked up at me.

  “Yes. He took us through Tesqua and Lily Palus and all the way to Saltus. How is he?”

  “I enjoy getting letters from him, though we’ve never met face to face. He always talks about his family. He misses them.” Henry ripped open the letter and unfolding it he began to read it under his breath.

  Mr. Maker Sir,

  My hope is letter finds you well, but it is of grave importance I write you. Two young human girls and human boy have fallen into trap in Demoror Ari. I do not know how long it take for me to dig way in to them, but trust I will do all I can. There is dark magic here, that I am unfamiliar with and I do not know if my efforts will be success. If you receive this, please send help!

  Sincerely, Yerik Guzalak

  As soon as Henry had finished reading, the letter and envelope disintegrated to sand. I watched as the sand slipped through his fingers and fell to his feet.

  “Hmmm,” he stood for a moment, staring at the sand on the floor.

  “He’s talking about us,” I mumbled, nearly too tired to talk. “We were trapped inside the ice castle. He dug in. He said he sent word to you. He woke us up!”

  “Ah yes,” Henry looked back at me. “I have just the thing to help.”

  I must have been staring blankly at him, as my mind had embarked on a tangled journey through my memories of that time, perhaps I was already dreaming of the cold castle, as he continued.

  “A cloud,” he said. “A simple unexpected cloud should do the trick!”

  My mind wandered back to the small cloud he had sent that day. The one that had darkened the sun that had blinded me from seeing the true form of Demoror Ari - Ludo’s castle. I must have been unresponsive, because he grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me towards Ethal.

  “Sleep fast my lady,” he whispered from behind. “You have a busy day tomorrow.”

  Ethal took my arm and guided me into the bedroom as Henry departed down the hall to his own quarters.

  —

  I vaguely remembered Ethal helping me into my night clothes when I suddenly awoke to someone whispering my name.

  “Tali!” I heard again and although the room was dark I could tell it was Emily who had snuck into my room and hopped up on my bed.

  “What’s up?” I asked, still groggy from the lack of sleep and abrupt awakening.

  “I had a dream about home,” she said. “It got me feeling lonely. You don’t mind if I share your bed with you, do you?” The bed creaked as she slipped in under the covers with me.

  “Yeah, no problem,” I sighed.

  “I thought I’d love a big mansion like this,” she whispered. “But I gotta say these last few days have been crazy without you. Sleeping in that big room by myself kinda gives me the creeps.”

  “Uhuh,” I mumbled.

  “Isn’t it weird to think we’ll be going home soon? I mean, we’ve been gone for so long now I hardly remember what it’s gonna be like being able to text and watch TV, and shop! I can’t wait to see mom and dad! Do you think they’ve missed us? I mean with the time difference and all, Alfred says it will only seem like minutes have passed for them, but I...”

  I couldn’t help but drift out of her ramblings and back to the stairwell where Henry had first kissed me. His green eyes through the mask were hypnotic as he playfully teased me, hovering the ripe cherry near my lips, but I wanted him. Leaning in I waited for his kiss, but something had grabbed him and suddenly we were back in the water and he was being pulled away from me just like the dreams before. I reached for him but he was too far away. I tried to kick myself towards him, but I couldn’t move, and the more I tried the more frustrated I got. I was trapped in my own body, unable to do anything but watch him fade away.

  —

  “Up and at ‘em, daylights burning!”

  I woke again to the sun pouring into my room after Ethal had pulled back the large curtains over my window. Emily must have gotten up earlier as I found myself to be alone again in my bed.

  “Henry has the most splendid breakfast ready for you downstairs. He insisted that he be the one to make it and he spent all morning fussing over it,” she giggled. “You’d think he was a regular homemaker.”

  Ethal was such a pleasant and cheerful woman. I imagined if there was a Mrs. Claus for Santa, she’d have fit the role perfectly. But it was Alfred who had won her heart, or at least it seemed that way. It’s not as though they made it obvious and in fact were quite modest in the way they waltzed around each other in the house, but it was the small things they did that gave it away, like the way Alfred pulled out her chair for her, or helped her do the dishes, or the way Ethal knew to give Alfred an extra little piece of the strudel.

  “I see you brought your washed clothes with you,” she continued, looking at the open knapsack on my night table. “Henry left implicit instructions for me to tell you that he had the town’s brightest seamstress create an assortment of colourful dresses for you. He’s filled the armoire with them! Although he adamantly warned me against helping you decide, and told me to tell you that whatever you should choose for today would be the perfect choice.”

  “Did he now?” I looked at the large armoire sitting in the corner, its closed doors beckoning for me to come and feed my curiosities. I ignored them and shirked the idea of a dress in place of my comfy shorts. Jumping out of bed, I headed for the wash basin, nearly tripping on the overly long white cotton nightgown I had been dressed in the night prior. ‘I must have been tired,’ I laughed inside myself.

  Feeling my energy return, I wandered behind the screen to brush my teeth and rinse my face at the washstand.

  ‘Why would he have made
me all those clothes if I’m expected to go home shortly?’ I wondered. If I choose to wear one of the dresses, he might think I’ve given up on that idea. He’s probably wooed many girls this way, with his status and wealth, adorable smile and irresistible charm. I couldn’t help but smile just thinking about him. But, if I wear my own clothes then I might disappoint him, and I’d feel so badly after he made such a fuss over breakfast. If I could just figure out what his intentions were. Who he REALLY was.

  “What’s he really like?” I popped my head around the screen to find Ethal making up the bed already.

  “Henry?” she asked.

  “Yes, I mean... he must have a girlfriend in town already with him being so....” I thought of the words, ‘incredibly handsome, ridiculously sexy, and insanely charismatic.’ But instead I opted for, “charming, has he not?”

  “Ah, he pretty much keeps to himself I’m afraid. He does do a lot of writing. Mind you, I haven’t paid much attention to what the women in town think of him. Truthfully I think they’re a bit intimidated by him, being the Maker and all.”

  “But he must have had someone over for dinner perhaps?” I mumbled with the toothbrush still in my mouth.

  “Oh, I don’t recall him ever bringing a lady over if that’s what you mean, although can’t say I blame him, as Lustro would have been horrified.”

  “You mean Ludo?”

  “That horrid beast...” she stopped and as if she had said too much she said, “Oh dear... Please don’t tell him I said that.”

  “No of course not,” I assured her.

  “So what will it be then?” she asked as I came around the screen. “The clothes you came in or something in the armoire?”

  Stepping up to the wide, decorative closet I took hold of the doors and swung them open. The inside of the closet was lined beautifully with a lovely scented cedar. A rail ran the entire width of the wardrobe where a row of splendid dresses with differing textures and colours of fabric hung. Below the dresses was a tidy line-up of shoes and fancy high-heeled boots. It appeared that each dress had its match, however at one side was a single shoe by itself: the match to the one I had thrown back at the castle. I picked up the shoe and found a note inside:

  I thought you may want to keep this. It might help you to remember.

  Love Always,

  Henry

  I couldn’t help but feel like Cinderella after the ball, and I treasured the gift he had given me. ‘How on earth did he find it though?’ I wondered, remembering when he had tossed it into the carriage that night at her palace. I didn’t recall him having anything other than the Troth with him when we travelled to this time. Regardless, I put the shoe along with Henry’s note into my knapsack and danced back to the armoire to pull down a periwinkle dress that seemed casual and comfortable enough for me to enjoy our last day together.

  “Very good choice my lady,” Ethal smiled and got straight to helping me get ready.

  —

  It was better than I expected, Henry’s face beaming as I came into the kitchen wearing one of the dresses he’d chosen for me.

  “Looks like you slept well,” giggled Justin.

  “Yes, thanks,” I replied, smiling at Henry, who appeared exceptionally energetic as he pulled out a chair for me to sit at the table.

  “You look lovely,” he whispered to me.

  “Tell me you heard Justin snoring last night,” said Emily, as Justin reached across her to take a couple of pancakes from the platter.

  “I was so tired last night. Didn’t hear a thing,” I said, shaking my head.

  “HA!” Justin laughed with his fork pointing at Emily. “Told ya I don’t snore!”

  “Yes you do!” scolded Emily. “And Tali talks in her sleep!”

  “I do not!” I scoffed, as Henry pushed my chair towards the table.

  “Do too!” she said. “You kept me up all night, talking about fruit.”

  “I did not!” I blushed, seeing the smile widen on Henry’s face. He knew exactly what I had been dreaming of.

  “Did too!” sang Emily.

  “Well, I have just the thing to quell your craving,” said Henry lifting a tea towel that had been covering a bowl of berries. “Fresh strawberries I picked this morning to have with your pancakes.”

  “So other than going home,” I said as a firm reminder. “What else is on the agenda for today?”

  “Oh, I have a few surprises, but perhaps we should just eat and let the day take us where it may.” He sat down in the chair beside me, grabbed a fork, and stabbed a pancake to transfer it to my plate. “Berries?” he grinned holding the plate out for me, and I couldn’t prevent a smile from creeping over my face, as I delicately wrapped a small piece of warm buttery pancake around a ripe berry and popped it into my mouth.

  “Mmm!” I grinned, savouring the hint of vanilla he had fried into its crispy outer layer.

  —

  After breakfast I quickly washed up and got ready for the day, curious to learn about the special surprise that Henry had promised.

  I grabbed my knapsack and looked around the room one last time. As I did I noticed a pad of paper on a small desk off in the corner, and I decided to write Henry a quick farewell note before we left.

  ‘Now, where would he keep a pen?’ I opened the single the drawer in the front, but found nothing. Then I had an idea.

  I opened my knapsack to find my own roller ball pen and began to write:

  Dear Henry,

  I miss you already and I haven’t even left yet. How will I possibly endure a life without you? Is it too much to ask the Maker to make us a world in which we both could live? Yes, I admit, I have fallen under your spell and if by choice I could re-enter this fantasy I would do it all over again if it meant I’d have more time with you. Take my pen, as you have given away yours and please write. Perhaps you will be able to conjure up a postal service that would deliver our letters across our dividing worlds.

  XO Tali

  I folded the note, wrote ‘Henry’ on the front and placed it and my pen beside the oil lamp on the table.

  “Ready to go?” Henry’s voice startled me from behind. He was dressed casually with two leather bags slumped over his shoulder. “And what is this?” he said cruising over to the small table and snatching up the folded note I had just written.”

  “You can’t read it!” I blurted out, as I tried to grab the note back from him.

  He quickly pulled the letter out of my reach and his eyes widened in surprise. “Oh? But it’s addressed to me!” he teased, pointing to his name on the front. “See, right here!”

  “Not yet!” I said firmly. “You have to wait...” I tried to take back the letter but instead he seized my hand and playfully tugged me closer to him. “And why must I wait?” he whispered. “Shouldn’t I read it now before we leave?”

  “I think you’d be disappointed,” I whispered back, trying to keep my breath steady.

  He stopped and looked straight at me. I got his attention.

  “Really?” he let go of me and began unfolding the note.

  “No!” I squealed and sprung for the letter, but Henry dodged me. A chase ensued as I fought to regain possession of the letter I had so foolishly written and left for him to find much sooner than I had anticipated. I jumped onto his back, reached over his shoulder and tried to grab the letter from his hand, but I only succeeded in pulling the hanky out from his vest pocket. I threw the hanky over his eyes like a blindfold, causing him to stumble with me on his back and finally seized the letter with one final snatch.

  “Not yet!” I scolded and smacked his hands with his own hanky. “You can read it once I’m gone.” The word ‘gone’ resonated deeply and painfully inside me after I had said it. I felt that quickening of anxiety creep up from somewhere within. How could I possibly leave this place, this life... him? Will I ever find
a life like this again? I looked up at his playful green eyes.

  “Stop that,” I scolded.

  “Stop what?” he said, looking desperately innocent.

  “Stop making this harder than it has to be,” I said before I could even make sense of what I felt.

  Henry’s advance towards me halted. He looked puzzled and I knew I had already said too much.

  “It’s just... I’m so torn,” I burst out, trying to stop my emotions from puddling into my eyes. “I want to go home and see my parents and my brother and have my old life back, but I also want to stay here with you.”

  Henry’s green eyes softened as he starred at me. “I want you to stay too,” he whispered. Then taking my hand, he slowly peeled back my tightly wrapped fists around the letter and refolding it, he slipped it into his vest pocket. “For later,” he said quietly. Then he kissed my empty hands and pulled me towards the door.

  “Will I ever see this place again?” I asked.

  “That depends on how you write your story,” he said. “However, I still have a chapter to write before you leave; one that you may find exciting,” he smiled, with a sense of adventure, not seeming the least bit worried about the shortness of our time together.

  “Oh? And where does this chapter take place?” I asked.

  “Here you are!” Ethal interrupted us at the doorway to my room, somewhat short of breath.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Henry. He looked concerned.

  “It’s Ludo. She’s apparently on her way here! Alfred’s got the carriage ready for you and the other two are already waiting!” she said so quickly she nearly tripped over her own words. “Hurry! She’ll be here any minute.”

  “Grab your things,” Henry said to me.

  I grabbed my knapsack and looked down at the hanky I still had in my hands. It was all white, except for the fancy insignia HT&M that was embroidered on to it in black thread. I tossed it into my bag with the rest of my stuff, zipped the bag shut, and followed Henry out into the hall.