Hidden Princess

by M. A. Roth

  “When I left, I truly believed I would never see Saskia again. So I never told you of it.” She gives a small laugh and glances towards me. “Would you have believed me if I told you this existed?”

  “No. I guess seeing really is believing.” My feet start to get cold so I pull them out and let them dry in the sun’s rays.

  “I was out walking Charlie when I was taken. I recognized Taurus, the queen’s guard, and knew I wouldn’t be able to escape. I thought I knew why they had come for me, but it turned out differently.” My mother falls into silence, but I’m holding my breath.

  “Why?” I whisper. Her eyes are pleading, asking me to understand. A tear slides free down her cheek.

  “I can’t lose you, Sarajane.” The fear on her face makes me hug her.

  “You’ll never lose me, Mum. I promise.”

  Kissing my forehead, she wipes her tears away. “In Saskia, we are matched with our husband or wives at the age of twenty- five. Until then, you can’t take a lover.” I want to laugh, but don’t. My mum’s face is pale now.

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “It’s our way, but I broke the rules, as I was already in love and pregnant with you.” I feel sorry for her.

  “So they brought you back here because you fell in love before you were allowed to. And did you bring me here in case they tried to take me back also?”

  She swallows and meets my eye. “Yes,” was her reply, but her eyes say no. I don’t push her; she looks too distraught. I wonder who my father is. It doesn’t matter. Soon we will go home, and in my eyes, John is my dad.

  Panic boils in my stomach. John isn’t my dad. And then a calm washes over me. Everything will be okay, I tell myself, but thinking of John gives me a pang of homesickness.

  “When are we going home?” I ask.

  “Morrick is sorting out a few matters. It could take another two weeks.”

  My eyes widen in alarm. “Two weeks?” I put on my socks and boots roughly. Two more weeks.

  “Sarajane, we don’t have a choice.”

  I exhale, my anger resides, and a calm falls over me again. “Sorry, I-I just miss home.”

  She embraces me. “Me too, love.” When we gather everything up, we continue walking. “I want to show you something.”

  We walk through long grass that brushes our knees. There are trees every fifty feet. It’s not like a forest, as the trees are too spaced out. As the sun shines, it gives a golden light to our surroundings. It is beautiful. The colors are so bright and strong and there isn’t a cloud in the sky. We start to climb uphill and when we reach the top, the view takes my breath away with the sheer beauty of it. No painting or picture could do it justice. There are loads of trees, but they have thick brown trunks about the width of five men. They shoot up into the air at a magnificent height. All the leaves are snow white; they flutter to the ground, giving the illusion of falling snowflakes, yet the trees never go bare. Under the trees sit snow-white wolves. You wouldn’t notice them if not for their bright blue eyes.

  “Will they harm us?”

  My mum glances at me. She’s in awe of what she sees too. “No. As long as you do not harm them.” I have to laugh at the stupidity of attacking a wolf. We walk down the hill and as we come to a slight bend, a spring comes into view, set into the side of a large red bank. Water pours from above and sparkles, crystal clear. I stand there and just admire it.

  “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful,” I say, mostly to myself.

  “Our world is full of beauty. One day you will see it all.” We turn back to the wolves and make our way across the grass. As we get closer, the wolves become very alert. They all rise, their blue eyes fixated on me. It’s a terrifying and amazing moment, to capture the attention of such creatures. Mum seems taken aback also as she stops in her tracks. “I have never seen them behave this way.”

  “Maybe they know I’m a stranger?” It sounds like a weak excuse. Maybe they’re hungry. The thought sends a chill down my spine. I start to get nervous, fiddling with my hands. Mum notices and reassures me. “It is all right. I would not let anything happen to you.”

  We move slowly under the trees. Mum sits down, pulling me gently with her. The wolves are huge up close. Their coats look so soft and shiny. They all fall on their front legs as if in a bowing gesture and their eyes are all set on me. One by one, the wolves rise. It’s the most unnerving moment of my life. They gather around me and one of the wolves reaches me and lies down, placing his head in my lap. I hold my breath.

  “It is all right; you can touch him.” Mum assures me, yet her face says something else. She looks confused. “I have never seen them like this. It makes no sense.” I reach out with a trembling hand and let my fingers sink into the wolf’s fur. “Wow.” He doesn’t even move. I let out a sigh of relief. “This is amazing. I’ve never seen a wolf before, let alone touched one.”

  I look all around me. There are wolves under every tree, their blue eyes staring at us. This all feels so surreal. “Why do they sit under the trees?” I ask Mum.

  “They protect them. The trees are known as weeping willows… The story goes that a man named Willow lived out here on the outskirts by himself. He didn’t want to live amongst us. To the villagers, he was odd as he always had a pack of wolves with him. He was known to have a very powerful earth affinity. They say he created the spring you just saw by reshaping the landscape.”

  “Wow, that seems hard to believe.”

  “Willow was intrigued by the mortal world, but he felt very sorry for them, as their lifespans were so short, so he started planting trees in their memory.” Mum moves her hand around us, motioning to all the trees. “So for every leaf that falls, a soul has passed from the mortal world, but the trees will never go bare, as mortals will always reproduce and exist. So when Willow died, they say he whispered into the wolves’ souls and made them promise they would always guard his trees. They have never left the trees unguarded since Willow died. They are friendly as long as you mean them no harm, but they would kill in an instant if you posed a threat to them.”

  I sit there thinking about Willow speaking to wolves, whispering into their souls. It all seems like something from a fairy tale. This world was so full of magic and beauty. “Why did Willow feel sorry for us?” I ask.

  “Because an average mortal lives between seventy and one hundred years.”

  I roll my eyes and point at myself. “I know. I’m a mortal, but everyone dies, right?”

  Mum begins to look uncomfortable. “Yes, of course everybody dies, Sarajane, but you are just like us, part immortal.” She rises abruptly, startling the wolf that looks up at her with sharp eyes but then just strolls away sensing no danger. “We must return.”

  I pat the wolf on my lap and say my goodbyes before leaving.

  I follow Mum. She’s walking very fast now, making it hard to keep up with her. “What’s wrong? What did I say, Mum?”

  She stops. “You are saying nothing. That’s the problem. It… it’s just not like you.” She walks back to the caves. I don’t understand what she means, yet a voice in the back of my mind tells me I understand her perfectly well. By the time we arrive, it’s getting dark. The main room is alive with laughter. Kiar, Neve and Alana lounge on the chairs. When Alana notices us, she jumps to her feet. My mother stops her. “Stay, Alana. I am going to lie down for a while.”

  “Are you all right here?” she asks me.

  “Yes, I’m fine.”

  Neve pipes up. “I will mind her.” He winks at me playfully.

  ***

  Kiar and Neve become my friends over the next couple of days. My mother is never around, always off with Morrick. Tristan and Legis are off on a secret mission nobody will tell me about, and Alana avoids me like the plague. When she’s around, she’s just plain nasty.

  I explore the caves with Neve and Kiar whenever we’re left alone, which seems like always lately. The cave tunnels are a maze and I would get lost if I were on my own.


  One of the days, I ask Neve about his fire affinity. “Could you show me?”

  Neve and Kiar exchange looks and both of them answer in unison with a big grinning yes. We find a small room and place our torches in holders on the walls. Neve takes center stage and tells Kiar and me to stand back, which deserves an eye roll. Neve and drama go hand in hand. “Welcome, all.” The annoyed look on our faces makes him less dramatic.

  “Fine. Fine. Okay.” He holds out his hand, palm up, and spreads his fingers. “Lux,” he says. A small ball of fire hovers above his hand. I stumble back in astonishment. Kiar steadies me. Neve is delighted with himself.

  “I can’t believe I did it on the first go.” Kiar answers my confused look. “He is not very powerful with fire. Air is his main affinity.” “I can be good with fire. Watch,” Neve says, self-assured.

  “Neve, don’t,” Kiar warns. But it’s too late. The room becomes engulfed with flames. The flames cling to the walls and ceiling, sweeping through the room.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  SARAJANE

  The wall of fire is roaring towards us and I’m frozen, unable to move. Fingers tighten around mine as Kiar pulls me into him. I stay there buried in his chest. I’m not ready yet to look up. What if we are dead? What if the fire was that intense we didn’t even feel it burn? Smoke inhalation can kill first I heard. But the air doesn’t seem smokey, it still tastes hot. My pounding heart tells me I am very much alive and I chance a quick glance around me. Stunned, I move out of Kiar’s arms but still hold his hand. We are in an air bubble. I can see Neve in his own bubble of air, but sweat soaks his clothes.

  “He is hurt,” Kiar says while pushing our air bubble through the flames as we make our way towards Neve. The fire is circling around the room. It reminds me of our log fire at home. Dad would have it roaring on cold winter nights. The doors of the fireplace has glass so you can see inside. The flames would cling to the roof of the log fire, but that’s because no air can get to it. When Dad opens a little vent, the air rushes in, and the flames return to normal.

  “Why are the flames not leaving the room?” I ask Kiar as we continue to make our way over to Neve.

  “Because Neve called it here.” Kiar is sweating by the time he reaches Neve and encapsulates him in our bubble. Neve collapses to the ground; his hands are badly burnt. I drop to my knees. “Neve, can you hear me?” No reply. His face flashes to Josh’s but I push it away, as my stomach squeezes. My fingers move to his neck and I check for a heartbeat. It flutters under my fingertips. He’s unconscious, but thankfully not dead. “We need to get help, Kiar,” I shout up at him, starting to panic.

  “Hold my hand and try to help me.”

  I start to feel frantic. “Help you how, Kiar? Shall I fly us out of here?” My voice has reached a hysterical pitch, making me sound unrecognisable. Kiar is panting now.

  “Neve is the one with the strong air affinity, not me. So please just take my hand.” He’s as frightened as I am. I grab his hand. “Close your eyes and picture our bubble expanding into the room until all the flames are out.”

  Kiar’s hand is slick with sweat. I try so hard, but when I open my eyes, I see our bubble is getting smaller. Kiar collapses to his knees. “I can’t hold it much longer.” The strain is visible on his face. I pull Neve’s heavy body closer with a serious amount of effort and it drains all my energy. I have to lie down as the bubble is caving in, making it hard to breathe. Oh God, we’re going to die, I think. Kiar’s breath is becoming shallow and Neve is still unconscious.

  “Kiar… do… something.” My own breath is hard to catch. The air is so hot now. Kiar lies beside me, still trying to hold the air around us, but it’s starting to shimmer. Dots appear in front of my eyes. The heat is intense. My own body is covered in sweat. I lick my dry lips. Water, sweet water, I think. I am picturing a tall glass of water, then my mind snaps to a stream until it stops at a crystal waterfall. It’s so clear, sparkly. The back of my throat burns, my skin feels like it’s shirking, stretching over my bones. Turning my head towards Kiar, I try to speak, the bubble is an inch above our heads, the oxygen nearly gone. Cracking noise erupts above us, and I look at the ceiling. I can’t see anything through the raging fire, but I know that’s where the noise came from. A drop of water makes me blink, as it hits the bubble and rolls along the side of it. Am I seeing what I want to see, or is this real? Then more noises erupt and it’s like someone has turned a sprinkler on. The fire hisses at the onslaught and the sprinkling water grows faster, hitting the bubble with louder thuds. Kiar rolls slightly at the noise. The boom of thunder has my heart hammering, a thunderous crack has part of the roof collapsing in. I reach for Kiar’s hand as a wave of water pours out, rushing towards us. The impact bursts our tiny bubble and sweeps us up in its path. On a wave we are launched down the cave until my back bashes against the rock wall taking my breath away and filling my lungs with water.

  I wake to Kiar screaming at me. He rolls me on my side and hits me several times on the back as I painfully cough up water. My back is in agony from hitting the wall and the slaps that Kiar is giving it, aren’t helping. When I stop coughing, I wave him away and he goes to Neve. Sitting up slowly in a puddle of water, I cough into my hand. But now everything hurts. My attention is drawn to Kiar as he shakes Neve awake. Letting out a sigh of relief that we are alive I look around me and my eyes fall on Morrick who’s standing in the entryway, his eyes are heavy but his lips are tight. Neve grunts with pain while holding his hands up to examine them, but when his eyes fall on Morrick, the color drains from his face. None of us move.

  “What happened here?” Morrick’s anger twirls and tightens itself around each word he says. Right now he reminds me of the way Tristan often spoke. It had such a deadly feel to it. I don’t want Neve or Kiar to get into trouble. This was my idea, after all, I was leaving the world soon, they had to live here.

  “The roof collapsed,” I say while standing on wobbly legs. “We’re lucky to be alive.” I add, as my voice quivers, from the cold and shock of what just happened. Morrick stares at me, and I struggle to hold it.

  “Get up and go back to the main room,” I snap my head back up to him as he orders Neve and Kiar to leave. As Neve passes, Morrick touches his shoulder. “Get your hands looked at.”

  Neve’s face pales even further. “Yes, sir.”

  Damn, I forgot about his hands. How to explain that one away? Morrick doesn’t seem interested in further explanation. He turns and leaves, calling back to me over his shoulder. “Come on, Sarajane.” I follow him back to the main room.

  When I enter my mother is rubbing ointment into Neve’s burnt hands. When she sees me, she throws me a worried glance. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes. Fine. Just need to change.” I lie and make my way to my room. I can hear my mother telling Alana to help me. The last thing I need or want is her help. Slamming the door of my room, I hope Alana gets the message that she isn’t welcome, but it doesn’t stop her.

  “So did you have fun?” Her words are laced with mockery. I ignore her and start to remove my tunic. The ache in my back is torture. Alana goes to throw me another smart comment, but the sight of my back silences her. Turning to the mirror, I glance over my shoulder. It’s a mass of colors. It looks like someone has splattered colorful paint all over an easel. Jesus, it looks bad. Alana starts filling the bath quietly as I examine myself.

  “The bath will ease the pain and the lavender will relax you.” Another bath I groan internally, but Alana’s being nice and I am half stripped after all. When I slide into the bath, I hiss from the pain, but once I’m lying down, the pain eases and the lavender starts to work.

  Morrick keeps Neve and Kiar busy for the next two days so I never get to talk to them. My back is healing really fast. I wonder what Alana really put in my bath. I never ask as she’s back to being her usual obnoxious self. My mother has become distant and whispered conversations cease when I’m close by.

  Today it’s only Alana and me l
eft with Liber guarding us. The longer I’m here the more homesick I’m getting. It isn’t helping that I barely see my mother, and that I’m left in a cave most the time. Frustration pulls heavily at me.

  “I’m going to my room,” I announce. Alana continues her cleaning and Liber just nods. Yep, no one really cares. I leave and make my way down the corridor but pause before entering my room. Looking over my shoulder, I make sure no one is watching me. The door across from my room is left slightly open. Normally this door is locked. On days of exploring, I tried this door, but it was always locked. Not today, I think as giddiness fills me. Pretty sad that I was getting excited over an unlocked door. I take one final look before pushing open the door. My hand reaches for the light switch and I snort a laugh. Wasn’t going to find one here. I’m disappointed about what fills the room.

  From what I can make out in the darkened space is that it’s a study filled with really old books and scrolls. A writing desk is tucked away in the corner. I return to the hall and retrieve a torch from the wall. I find a holder in the study for it and it gives the room enough light that I can take a better look.

  The books are pretty old, the leather covers worn and even some parts have flaked off. I can’t read the titles. I’m not sure what language they are in. The scrolls are all sealed with a red wax circle, the image imprinted on them is a large tree. I slide the one I took out back in before moving to the desk. It’s neat and tidy but dust free, so it’s used. One sheet sits in the center of the desk. Two small stones are set in the corners to keep it in place, I lean in closer and my breath catches when I see my name, circled at the top of the page. I read down farther. The handwriting is squiggly and hard to understand, but I can make out some of it. Shows signs of water affinity, level three. But uncontrollable. Beside this is a list of five elements: