Lucid Waking

Silence filled her ears. It was hard to imagine death, but this was close. She thought it was before dawn, before her family awoke. She fought the urge to stir and wondered whether or not she was the only one pretending to sleep. She watched the sun reach its tendril fingers over the edge of the horizon cliff and pull itself up atop the ground. The sun took a step forward and jumped into the air taking a magnificent dive over the edge of the horizon again, splashing darkness and stars over the sky. She reflected the sun’s dive as the moon rose in a similar way and dived over the horizon in a splash of purple and blue. As the sun reached out of its pool to dive again, she bent her head down and went to sleep.

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Butterfly wasn’t feeling cheerful
The sun just didn’t feel right.
Summer was supposed to be joyful
Not full of disaster and plight.

The children within her grew tired
She had carried them long and far
But a leaf she had really desired
Was not found in this horrible jar.

The sun she could see was exhausting
Her wings could not carry her on
This burden she carried was costing
Her children wouldn’t last until dawn

Her troubles were piercing her chest
But her life was slipping away
Lay them and hope for the best?
Or let them die with her that day?

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            “Damn I need a cup of tea,” Sarah said rolling out of bed as the alarm went off for her to get ready for her shift and head to the cockpit.
            She heard a laugh over the intercom as her coworker came onto the speakers to fill her in for her shift. “That’s very un-American of you. Very British,” he said in a thick Scottish accent.
            “Just because I don’t like coffee,” she said smiling, “doesn’t make me un-American.”
            “Right,” he said, “just like I don’t like whiskey, my friends think I’m un-Scottish. But that doesn’t matter, now. We seem to have a little Whisperer on our tails and she’s been flitting in and out of our radar. I don’t like it, but the captain said to leave it alone.”
            “Why is that not surprising?” Sarah said rolling her eyes.
            “Hey now, you don’t have a right to complain about Captain Banks. I’m not going to say that I like him and his leadership, but you gave up the position. I don’t have a choice and you don’t see me complaining.”
            “Is that all?” she said clipping on her tool belt.
            “I think that’s it. We’ve got little more than a day’s fuel so we’ve got to stop for refreshments at the next station.”
            “Alright, check and over, Sean. I’m on my way.”
            The intercom crackled off and she headed down the dimly lit corridor of the resident rooms where people were still sleeping. Getting night shift had its advantages: the captain was asleep for most of it so she didn’t have to deal with him. She also got to skip his after meal speeches twice a day where he ordered the crew around. But she had to deal with him breathing down her neck after her shift when he was awake enough to notice she wasn’t working. Several times when she was caught, she was sent to triple check that the system was working or help the cleaning bots with various manual things.
            She reached the brightly lit control station and sat down in her seat next to Sean. She took the output cord where she had left it the night before and plugged it into the input behind her ear. There was a click as the ships data quickly filed into her brain. The controls flashed under her fingers in a blue light and she could see the radar screen in her left field of vision. It would flash red occasionally when a small dot appeared on the very edge of the radar, but went green again when the dot disappeared. She heard Sean pull the plug out of his input and place it on the manual controls. He stood up and walked over to her, bending down so his mouth was level with her other ear.
            “Good luck,” he whispered and patted her on the shoulder before walking off the way she came to go to sleep. She watched him go through the various computer maps and controls before losing sight of him and watching the blank sky ahead of her.
            The clock at the bottom of the screen ran at the universal twenty-four hour system and when it said it was four twenty three, she buzzed into the nearest headquarters.
            “Titan Base IV,” a woman’s voice came on, “reading ship 46571, the Diana.”
            Sarah sighed at the woman’s use of the article but continued, “Diana requesting landing for fuel. Stay for three hours in our own docking point.”
            “Access granted. Your code is being sent and downloaded now. Present this to the guard computers when asked. If I may ask,” the woman added after a pause, “if I’m speaking with the famed Sarah Meluski?”
            “Yes you are, Carla.”
            The woman laughed. “You’ve always been so good at guessing. Anyway, security is heightened since that incident at Betelgeuse VII. The earth federation is going haywire over that psychologist Cindy coming back with evidence of the supplementary mafia, but what are you going to do?”
            “Oh so that’s what this war is about. I try to keep myself out of politics. To me, this is a shooting game like I played with my brothers. Keeps me detached and has kept me alive.”
            “I know,” Carla said. “Look if they’re monitoring our conversation, I’m in big trouble.”
            “Same here.”
            “I’d better go. Say hello to Sean for me. I miss him so much.”
            “Will do. Just get me in with no trouble and I’ll send him over to you.”
            She laughed. “I wish I could see him. Anyway, I have to go.”
            “Wait,” Sarah said quickly glancing at the red radar in the corner of her screen, “I’ve got a Whisperer on my tail just floating out of my sight. You might want to have Security check it out when I get closer or at least get them in on the fact that I’ve got a leech following me.”
            “I’m putting that request in right now. We’ll see what we can do.”
            “Thanks.”
            “No problem, bye.”
            Sarah laughed at her sister’s demeanor as soon as she knew she was off of their speaker. There was bustling behind her in the kitchen as soon as they pulled up into the station. She turned on the intercom over the ship and cleared her throat gently.
            “Good morning crew of Diana,” she said in her best announcer voice. “We’re coming into port at Titan Base IV on the Earth Federation. We’ll be stopping for fuel but we have our own private dock and a three-hour lease to it. If you would like breakfast on this ship, you’re welcome to eat provided you come to an agreement with the chef. Otherwise, I suggest you wait until we land,” she shut off the intercom and smiled. She watched the clock in the corner of the screen click off seconds until she heard her captain’s footsteps coming down into the cockpit, exactly as she had expected.
            “Who gave you permission to access a three hour lease to port, let alone to land?” he said calmly. She shivered; his calm demeanor was not what she expected and was harder to deal with than his screaming. It must be too early, she thought.
            “I thought we could do with a small break. Besides, we’ll be under protection of the Earth Federation and we’ve got a whisperer on our tails. I needed to get us in and approved so they could help us if the leech decided to take over.”
            He yawned. Yep, definitely too early, she said relaxing, saved by it being morning. “Fine,” he said. “I’m getting breakfast.”
            She wondered if he even heard a thing she said, but she was thankful that he wasn’t grumpier the earlier in the morning it was. As the base came into site, Sean ran down and sat in the chair next to her.
            “Need help landing?” he asked as he plugged himself into the console.
            “Not really.”
            He shrugged. “My wife’s in charge of this base, I just want to hear her voice.”
            Sarah smiled. “I know.”
            “Titan Base VI calling Diana. State your business,” a man’s voice said. Sarah saw Sean lean back annoyed in her peripheral vision.
            “I was given this code,” Sarah said pressing a blue key to transmit the data.
            “Your code was processed and acceptable. Welcome to Titan Base IV and enjoy your stay.”
            “Sorry,” Sarah said turning to Sean.
            “It doesn’t matter,” he said unplugging himself from the console. She steered the ship into the small port door, which shut quickly behind her and glided neatly to the floor. She unplugged herself from the console and shut off the ship, taking out the activation key. She turned to Sean who had stayed in his seat and smiled.
            “Welcome to Titan Base IV.”

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            It was winter. It was one of those winter days where you sit at home and watch the roses wilting on your newly polished dining room table with your back to the snow. I was hungry, but I dared not eat, my stomach could last just a little bit longer. I remember that my gaze had moved from the wilting roses on the dining room table to the ballet slippers on the piano when the phone rang. Like I was walking through jell-o I reached the phone and listened.
            “Look, Misaki, I’m sorry,” he said through the static of his cell phone.
            I had waited for that call. I knew the entire situation was my fault, but had been too proud to admit it. That Saturday was a difficult one. The university had called to cancel my foreign exchange and my parents were suing to get me back. The Thursday before I found out I was betrothed and that Friday I was sent plane tickets from my parents with a note saying that they would cancel my registration with the academy, bring me home, and marry me off. I was numb and so numb in fact, that I hadn’t watched my language in regards to the people I held close. I broke up with my American boyfriend without a word on the matter and had prepared myself for my descent back to the traditions I fought so hard to avoid.
            “Why?” I asked. It was the only word I could manage to get out. I knew I was using up his phone minutes and after he was out of those, he was out of luck. There was nothing to do in Michigan in winter with five feet of snow and if I used up his lifeline out of the house, I would have destroyed him for sure. I know it sounds superficial that he would rely so much on a cell phone, but he was stuck in the house as they couldn’t open the door for the snow and their phone lines were down because of the blizzard; this was his key to talking to someone other than his immediate family up there. He was already staying there for longer than he had originally expected.
            He didn’t wait for more on my end. “I just heard you were leaving. I’m sorry for whatever I did to get you angry.”
            “Jack,” I slammed my fist on the table to get my courage back. It was an odd habit, but for some reason, it cleared my head enough to continue. “It’s not your fault. It’s been a rough week. I find out my parents have pulled me out of school in order to be married to someone I’ve never met. I had to let you go free and I thought that if I took the first step, it would be easier for both of us.”
            There was silence and I felt the tension between us slowly tick away with the minutes.
            “Just tell me next time,” he said.
            “I’m sorry,” I said, obviously cutting him off. I loved him, but I didn’t want to talk to him. I had no choice but to let go and I didn’t want to prolong the pain.
            “If things get rough, don’t be afraid to talk to me. And if you come back, you’ll always have a place to stay. I understand you’ll be a married woman and it might be too hard to talk to your ex-boyfriend. You made quite an impression on my parents, Misaki. Don’t be afraid to ask for their help if you can’t stand talking to me.” There was a pause when neither one of us dared to speak. “I miss you already.”
            I bit my lip to choke back tears. “I’ve missed you since you left for Michigan,” I joked. “But this is going to be a lot harder. I’m afraid he’s going to abuse me like Dad abuses Mom.”
            Jack took in a sharp intake of breath and his phone crackled again slicing his next words. I didn’t care to have him repeat it, though at this point I would have done anything to continue our phone conversation. I knew I couldn’t call him again and I might not get away with contacting him for years. I choked back tears and listened to his voice ebb in and out of the static. If there was one thing I had to say before leaving, now was the time to do it. I prayed his phone would be clear enough just this once to get it out.
            “You know how to find me,” he said once the static cleared.
            I took a deep breath. “I love you,” I stammered. It was strange; in the two years of our relationship we had never said those three words to each other. I suppose we implied without words through flowers and smiles and various longing glance. Even though you can’t say everything, and in the art of conversation, there is much that isn’t said but understood anyway, there are some things that you have to say. And this was one of them.
            “I love you, too,” he said without missing a beat. My heart snapped and my tears rolled down my cheeks in great waves. I knew he meant it and I knew I was losing the one man who would love me forever. It was genuine, I felt it, and it tore me to shreds.
            “Bye,” he said. I could hear him crying on the other end.
            “Good bye.”

Filed under: Paradise Lost, Realistic Fiction by Bri
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I looked through the storefront window
and behind a case of glass
stood a lovely child-like woman
living behind a mask.

Her mask was ornately decorated,
but she really was quite plain
And when she took off one facade,
another mask took its place.

She winked at me to come closer;
For fear of the doubt I said no.
For I wasn’t sure if it was her
Or the mask that had wanted me so.

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            “Seven days past New Years and you’re still drunk? We’ve really got to clean you up, Sam.” A golden voice from a brown haired angel came from behind him. Sam turned around in a drunken whirl and smiled. But before he could come up with at witty catchphrase she had picked up an empty glass among the collection on the table and held it in her hands.
            “God, how much have you spent already on drinks?” she asked disgustedly, replacing the glass. Sam just laughed.
            “Not enough to drown every last one of those sorrows.”
            “Oh, shut up,” she said sitting across from him and taking off her gloves. “Now I remember why I left you, everything was about booze and sex. Jesus, you haven’t changed a bit.”
            Her hair was in a low bun at the base of her neck and her coat was unbuttoned to reveal her khaki business suit and blue shell.
            “Still working at the library?” Sam asked, putting down his now empty glass.
            “Yes,” she sighed, “but I really came here to see how you’ve been fairing. It’s been two months since he died.”
            “He was your boyfriend.”
            “And your brother. I can move on, but you’ve lost someone so dear to you…” her voice trailed off into the din of the noisy bar.
            “My brother and I were never that close.”
            “Of course you were. Look how much alcohol you’ve consumed. You’ve got to be at least twice the legal limit. You just never forgave him for dating me after I left you. And yes, I take the blame for the end of our relationship and everything that you’ve become. I know you’ve gotten worse at this drinking game you play with your demons.”
            “Always been poetic, huh, Diane?”
            She started to button up her coat again. “You don’t care.”
            “Is it that I don’t care or you’re not willing to work with anyone different from you? I was never perfect and I always drank and yet, you were convinced you could help me. Even then, you never gave me a chance to talk to you about my problems. You never gave up your time to help me and I just gave up on you being my savior. Then you called it off and went with my brother. It isn’t the fact that you went with him; it was just that you corrupted him to think like you. He never looked at me the same way again. So yes, I’m upset at his death, but seeing you will make it worse. No, not because you left me for him. But because you will make my pain worse by true indifference which you hide as aid.”
            There was a pause where no other conversation continued. She put her gloves on and stood up. “And a happy New Years to you, too,” she said angrily and walked out of the bar.

Filed under: Realistic Fiction by Bri
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            King Aidan stood up and walked across the room to the windows. He looked outside at his kingdom between the trees. The merchants were busy selling their wares in the open market and beyond that, the farmers in the countryside were having a usual day at work. Birds flew by the window and perched on a nearby branch, chirping wildly at the topaz blue sky. It was a beautiful rain-free day, the first they had had in months and Aidan hadn’t believed until then that it could get any worse.
            “When was the last time anyone saw her?” he said turning to the messenger.
            “Last night,” the boy said bowing again. “She wasn’t present to perform tarot readings this morning and several of the people were worried.”
            “It was completely dark?”
            “Yes, sire.”
            Aidan sighed. “We’ll wait until morning. Perhaps she’s just gone on a small pilgrimage. I’m not one to bother a priestess of Goddess Fate. If she is not back by morning, send a small search party. But do not continue searching for her; if you haven’t found her after two weeks, she’s gone.”
            The boy nodded and exited the throne room. Aidan sighed and sat down again thinking. It had been years since Teagan had been raised from the dead and started making her livelihood with the fae. After she arrived, she made home with an old priestess of Lady Fate. Teagan learned the trade and became an avid follower of the Goddess. Beyond this and the occasional visits from Aidan, she tried to block out the world entirely. But much to her dismay, the coachman who had brought her there was not going to keep his mouth shut. Soon the entire fairy county was bubbling with news that the Prince’s cousin was staying right under their noses. Any problems they had that she was dead, no one made any objection, most likely because they had the imperial army breathing down their necks waiting for something to go wrong.
            Teagan had decided to live in the palace after all and watch over things in the kingdom when Aidan wasn’t there. Although she was the advisor, she would often visit the woods where she had previously lived. She remained out of the official nunnery of Goddess Fate, but every week, she would do a morning tarot reading for the few close friends and family of the King.
            Today, she was found completely gone from her chambers in the castle and those who had dared check the cottage, reported she wasn’t there either. Aidan stood up and walked over to the small servants door next to the throne.
            “Talia, what am I going to do?” he asked. A tall redheaded woman handed the spoon she was stirring with to another servant and walked over to him. She hadn’t seemed to age a day and she still looked like a child when she sighed and tilted her head to look at him.
            “She finally left did she?” Talia said disregarding his start of an explanation.
            “So its not another one of those visits she takes to visit Fate from time to time.”
            “I don’t think so.”
            Talia went back to the kitchen and grabbed a knife to start peeling carrots. Aidan followed her, ignoring the servants rushing away from him and trying not to stare. “She said she would,” Talia said engrossed in her peeling, “‘Peace has come,’ she told me last night. What a bunch of rubbish. She also said that Fate called her back to her soul. You might not want to start a search party.”
            “It seems a little late for that. Might as well give them something to do, though, the troops are getting bored. Word will get out anyway that she’s gone, so I might as well just let them find that out on their own.”
            “Maybe she’ll be back,” Talia said. She was uncomfortable at his despair and even though she didn’t believe what she was saying, she didn’t want to be the bringer of bad news for the rest of the kingdom.
            Aidan laughed. “If she told you she was leaving, then she’s gone. If I know Teagan, she isn’t coming back.”

            Teagan brushed the hair out of her eyes and looked down at the tombstone. Ironically, the words still stayed the same and she wondered if he was going to be buried there when he died again. Why would they have changed, she thought pressing the seal of the king and waiting for the elevator to rise, who wants to visit the grave of a live man, even if you are just changing the stone. She walked into the elevator like an actress in a well-rehearsed play and got off the elevator like she was going home to a place she knew quite well. Expertly, she walked down the passages towards the large meeting hall and entered.
            “You shouldn’t be allowed in here,” an older God said standing up quickly.
            “Where’s Lady Fate?”
            “This is only for the Gods and Goddesses. Get out!”
            “I am a Goddess. Any one who is dead, but lives is most certainly not a Child. Tell me where Lady Fate is.”
            The God made motion to speak, but was cut off by a golden voice. “Ah, my disciple is here again. I’m proud that you’ve answered my calls. Tonight you’re going to sleep; I’m done with you.”
            Teagan nodded. “I thought it was that.”
            “You’re taking this lightly,” Fate said pulling alongside Teagan and leading her down the corridor to the familiar room with the green light.
            Teagan shrugged. “My life was empty. I had no purpose for myself and I had no future that I could control. I came here to help a cousin I didn’t even know; I sacrificed myself for a stranger. Yet, I came back a lesser human in order to fulfill the tasks the Gods and Goddesses had in mind for me. A marionette has nothing to look forward to but the smiles on people’s faces at its performance. I had nothing to hold onto except the reassurance that I was really helping people and even then, I was not so sure. It’s time to end this and to bring things back to the way they should be.”
            Fate stopped her and opened a glass door set in the stone. Sleeping soundly was a glowing purple woman exactly like Teagan now. Her hair was longer and lay like a halo around her head. Her chest moved up and down lightly in the satin bed.
            “Please,” Teagan moved forward just as Fate was about to wake up her soul. “Could you at least give me my own grave?”
            Fate smiled and reached over to wake up Teagan’s soul. Teagan turned and watched her body fall to the floor. Fate pulled Teagan from her bed and led her out of the glass case, closing the door at her exit.

            Aidan went down to Teagan’s room as the sun went down to look for a clue of her leaving. Everything was as she left it: the bed was made and all her clothes were in the chest at the foot of the bed. Her tarot cards were in the top drawer of the armoire and some of her better dresses were hung up. He sighed and turned towards the door. A rustling sound behind him caused him to turn around and spot a dove in the window. It cocked its head before flying off to wherever it wanted to go. It was getting dark, but in his peripheral vision, the bed was no longer empty. He lit a candle and moved it over to illuminate the intruder, but only saw Teagan sleeping in her own bed. He held her hand and tried to wake her, but she didn’t move. Ah well, he thought sadly, she really has gone and left us.

            Three years afterwards, Duchess Talia went to the graveyard near the Devlin mansion with her husband. They said nothing to each other even when they split up, but while Talia chose the roundabout way around the cemetery, Aidan walked straight towards the grave. When she caught up, Talia put her hand on his shoulder, but remained silent. They both stared at the small gray gravestone in silence: “Here sleeps the body of Teagan Devlin, daughter of Count Liam and Countess Aingeal. May her body rest in peace forevermore.”

Filed under: Fantasy, God Teacher, Hero Cycle by Bri
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            The fire had gone out and Teagan’s body fell from its sitting position to a slump on the floor. Sir Drummond smudged the chalk lines and started to pick the stubs of candles off of the stands. Aidan stood in the corner looking out the window.
            “Don’t bother looking for her. She can’t follow you and she’s not coming back,” Sir Drummond said, annoyed. “Stop being such a child.”
            “I am a child,” Aidan said just as annoyed. He walked over to the candle stand on the opposite side of the circle and kicked it over. It fell with a loud crash and the candle popped of the stand and rolled across the room. “Everything I’ve learned was from Death, herself.”
            “Do not disrespect the Forces. They know more than you ever will.”
            “Quite,” Aidan said and walked out of the conservatory.

            “Child don’t cry,” a woman clad in white came out of the shadows and put her arm around Teagan. “Goddess Fate has seen your future and she insists that you see her right away.”
            Teagan wiped her tears away with her hand and stood up. The light had moved from behind her to in front and illuminated a long straight tunnel leading to a door.
            “I am Death,” the woman said before Teagan had a chance to inquire. “I was sent here on an errand to bring you back. My sister, Fate, has much in store for you, but she would not tell us what it was she wanted. She only promised that while you have to stay here, there was a way for you to go back.”
            Teagan grabbed the woman’s outstretched hand and followed her glowing white figure out of the darkness in into a cavernous room. The walls were lined with tapestries of kings and famous battles. The table in the center of the room was carved from ivory and had the thousands of names of heroes from every race carved into the legs and edge. Cloaked figures of various colors were seated at the table, some with their hoods down to reveal beautiful faces, some remaining anonymous with their hoods covering their features.
            At the head of the table in a large gold throne sat a golden skinned woman, who Teagan presumed to be Goddess Fate. She had her gold hair pulled back by flowers and she sat with her hood down at her neck. She looked at Teagan with pupil-less gold eyes and nodded for Teagan to take the seat across from her at the table. Death pulled the chair out for Teagan before walking to her own place beside two brightly colored figures with their hoods up.
            “Now that our final guest is here, I will do the honor of revealing what plans we have in store. It’s imperative for the future that Teagan is still alive. With careful consideration of our rules, I have come to the conclusion that we need to reanimate her body.”
            The crowd stayed silent, but a red hooded figure stood up and looked at Goddess Fate. “Should we tamper with the mortals again? They must be going through a lot to fathom the possibilities of trading the dead and then reanimating the bodies. Imagine how history will be different when the Children realize that all their heroes and lovers who have died can be brought back just by killing their brother or enemy. This power cannot be revealed. And if we animate her body? The Children will get the impression that as long as they keep the body, their loved ones can come back to them and live with them forever more.”
            “Your concern is one we must consider, but these actions should not lead to undesirable ends like you fear. We will animate her ourselves without the mortals knowing. Then she will complete the tasks set before her like Prince Aidan will complete his fate. And then both of them will die like their fates were written. We have no time,” Goddess Fate said waving her hand to cut off another protest, “we have to do this now, or it will be too late. Forgive me, my brothers and sisters, but we cannot debate this.” At once, she was next to Teagan and lifting her up from her chair. “All you have to do is sleep,” she said while leading Teagan out of the room and down the hall to a green-lit chamber. “We will do the rest.”
            Teagan shook her head to rid herself of the splitting headache. Her eyes were blurring everything and the only things she could make out on her surroundings were the large rosy windows. The floor was clean, but slippery and the light in the room was increasing. She propped herself up on one elbow and groaned from the pain in her head. The room was starting to focus, but she couldn’t look at the light for the pain. But as the room got brighter, her head started to clear. Finally, she sat up and examined her “animated” body. Her skin was a slight silver hue that shimmered in the light. The Forces had also changed her clothes: her dreadful dress was replaced by a page’s outfit with pants and her shoes were missing. Her hair had also been extended to long tresses reaching her shoulder blades. She stood up and leaned over the plants to look at the glass as a mirror. The only features that had visibly changed were her eyes. They were still hazel, but the gold flecks had disappeared. It was hard to tell in the crude mirror, but she guessed that her eyes were cloudier than they had been when she was fully alive. She sighed and started towards the door.
            The hall way was silent again, but the ocean of silence had dissipated and she heard the hall clock was ticking with familiar rhythm. She could hear Sinead in the kitchen making breakfast, but there was no other sound in the house of anyone stirring. The library door was open and Teagan glanced in. Aidan was sitting with his back to her reading a book. He remained engrossed in the text even when she walked in and sat down across from him at the table. After some time, he closed the book and looked at her annoyed for interrupting. His expression melted into pure surprise and he leapt up from his chair and ran over to her.
            “Teagan? What in the hells happened? I thought you were dead. What did They do to you?”
            Teagan put her finger to her lips to silence him and stood up. “Goddess Fate said it was not my time to die, so they reanimated my body.”
            “I’m glad you’re back,” he said smiling, “even though you really aren’t,” he added sadly. He walked back to his seat at the table and opened the book. “It’s amazing the books you have here,” he said cheerfully. “I could read these stories for hours.”
            “Aidan,” Teagan said closing the library door. He looked up at her expectantly, realizing how serious she was that she had said his name for the first time. “We have to talk about this. Lady Fate said that I had a purpose to fulfill alive. She gave me the impression that I was supposed to help you, but I don’t know how. Besides, everyone believes that I’m dead, so if someone found me like this and talking…”
            Aidan put his book down again and turned to face her. “What’s on your mind?”
            “I think maybe it would be best if I just stay out of the picture. I’ll help you rule in whatever ways I can, but perhaps it would be best if no one else knows of my existence.”
            Aidan nodded. “An admirable plan, but don’t you think your parents should know?”
            Teagan shook her head. “I’m only here to continue my fate, nothing more.”
            “Then you’d better get ready for a journey. The rest of the household has either left or gone to sleep just a few hours ago. They won’t wake up as long as you’re careful. Then go to the coach house, I’ll have a carriage ready for you.”
            Teagan ran off to pack her things, grabbing only enough clothes to last her a week. She realized he had not known she was a servant, because the travel through the maids was proving difficult. The girls were almost awake and those that were still asleep were sleeping lightly. She tiptoed through the line of maids and just managed to get to the door when someone grabbed her by the shoulder.
            “Teagan? What’s wrong? You look sick,” Talia said fearfully. She held her friend by the shoulders and looked her up and down. “Where are you going?”
            “I’m not supposed to be here,” Teagan said giving Talia a hug, “I’ve got to leave.”
            “What happened?” Talia asked starting to cry.
            “You’ll find out later today.”
            “Don’t go,” Talia said feebly pulling Teagan’s arm towards her.
            “Talk to Prince Aidan,” she said finally and pulling herself away went up the stairs. Talia didn’t follow, but went back to bed repeating her friend’s words over in her head to try and make sense to them.
            Teagan managed to sneak a bit of food from the kitchen by sneaking into the pantry when Sinead wasn’t looking. Just as simply, she snuck out the servants’ door in the kitchen and ran to the coach house. The morning was frosty and glittering in the slowly rising sun. The frost was starting to melt and her footprints left wet puddles of grass where she stepped in her bare feet. Breathless, she peered into the coach house.
            “Good morning, ladyship,” a short fae man came out from behind the large brown horses and bowed. He was wearing all green except for a conspicuous red hat, which he took off in her presence. “The lad said you’d be going to Wintershire Cove. Is this correct?”
            She nodded. “Would you like any pay for this inconvenience?”
            “Already got it,” the man said holding up a gold coin. “Besides, the Prince commanded it. He mentioned you were the one to get him out. I don’t need any other money besides for the tolls.”
            She nodded as he continued talking about the bloody roads and blasted laws the fairy folk had set up. She looked back at manor and sighed. She was leaving home for good, now. She glanced through the library window as they passed and caught a glimpse through the sun reflecting off the glass of Aidan waving to her out the window. She waved back and faced forward again. I hope this is what Lady Fate means when I have to complete the tasks set before me, she thought. Because if this isn’t, it’s a pretty horrible beginning to these turn of events.

Filed under: Fantasy, God Teacher, Hero Cycle by Bri
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I have to explain something at this point in the story. Souls age. Souls age in the body and souls age on their own after they are separated from the body. If a child dies, their soul continues to get older until they reach a certain point. Then their soul continues to age, but it gets "younger" until it is a child again. These "baby" souls are then given a body and are born again. For example, if a parent had the ability to talk to his or her ten year old child who died four years ago, he or she would see his or her son or daughter at age fourteen. So it doesn’t matter when they died, they would still be the equivalent age that they would be if they were alive.

            Lady Devlin smiled, but her face kept its melancholy seriousness. “The ceremony has to be preformed by one of kin to the deceased to be taken in place of the body restored.” She patted Teagan’s knee and stared out at the crowd, tears starting to fill her eyes. “Devils are very possessive of their soul collection.”
            “Well, if that’s my part, how am I related to this prince? I was the daughter of a miller who wanted his daughter to have a better life than he did. That’s what Lady Watson told me, anyway. I suppose that’s not it at all, anymore.”
            “This house has so many secrets, I’m surprised it hasn’t cracked much earlier than this. But no one knows how much longer it could last,” she stood up and carefully brushed the tears off her cheeks. “May I show you something Teagan?”
            Teagan agreed heartily and followed Lady Devlin out of the parlor. Lady Devlin closed the door behind them quietly and then hurried into the library. She pulled out a key from a ring of keys around her neck, and unlocked the door, returning it to its shut position before walking over to a particular shelf near the ground.
            “Teagan Miller,” she said thoughtfully as she pulled a large book from the shelf and put it onto the spotless table. The tome was stuffed carelessly with various papers of ownership and borrowing. She opened up the book and flipped through a few pages until she found a certificate of birth. She handed this to Teagan. “Teagan Miller is in fact Teagan Devlin. Given up by her parents to become a maid in their very house so that she could be kept safe from prying eyes,” Lady Devlin walked over to Teagan and put her arm around Teagan’s shoulder. “Teagan, people were furious at the king and his descendants and we were afraid that if things got difficult someone would come to kill you as the niece of the king. We didn’t just want to give you up to a peasant family since we didn’t know whom to trust; anyone might be turned by some money. Besides, we couldn’t be sure that the family we would give you to had completely sincere claims. We thought it best to keep a strict eye on you, so your father and I let Lady Watson take care of you until you were old enough to do chores around the house. I’m sorry to tell you this way, but I had no idea this entire affair was going to unravel around us.”
            The door opened slightly and Lord Devlin came in, quietly. “You told her, didn’t you?” he said closing the door behind him and locking it. “I’m sorry, Teagan.”
            Teagan looked from Lady Devlin to Lord Devlin, but neither one would return her gaze. Her childhood fantasies of a father who cared conflicted with the facts she knew, but she stood up and took a deep breath. Despite an intense feeling of despair, she felt no need to cry. She sighed. “I must do what my duty demands of me,” she said diplomatically. “Let’s go to the conservatory and see what’s going on.”
            Lord and Lady Devlin exchanged looks, but made no sign of protest. Teagan unlocked the door and started making her way down the eerily silent hall. She felt as if she was walking through water that slowly turned to ice. When she lost feeling in her fingers and toes, she turned towards her parents, but couldn’t see anything beyond the slowly dissipating image of the hall. Her heels didn’t even click on the polished surface as she continued to walk through the pool of silence. She arrived at the conservatory with surprisingly no fear and opened the door.
            Sir Drummond had set up a large purple pentacle in the center of stone floor. The five points of the star had candles burning steadily with a purple flame. At her entrance they flashed and slowly spread along the circle of the pentacle like someone had spilled the flame on gunpowder. She looked around the room, but found her self utterly alone. She stepped over the low flame of the circle, careful to not smudge the chalk and sat down in the middle of the five-pointed star. All at once a ripping sensation over came her, and she made motion to scream. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before, but she didn’t feel any pain. Only when she opened her eyes did she realize she closed them and almost instinctively she looked up at the moon. She became enticed by the ethereal ocean of light. Reaching a hand out to touch the liquid beams she realized that her soul was now outside the graveyard and her body was, presumably, still in the pentacle. Her skin was a transparent purple like the chalk and she could see through her hand to the corporeal world beyond. Taking a deep breath, Teagan walked into the cemetery.
            Gravestones with cold angels loomed over her sobbing in the pale moonlight. Their tears were held fast to their cheeks where the artists had tried to capture the essence of rolling and their faces were warped into what one might have thought of as sadness, but came to her as anger and fear. Out of nowhere, she tripped over an invisible thread and landed on a large tombstone on the ground. Her joints were jarred from her fall, but otherwise she was, unsurprisingly, not hurt. Neatly wiping imaginary dust off her skirt to regain composure, she glanced at the stone. “Here sleeps the body of Prince Aidan Breckenridge, son of Duke Eric of the western empire and Queen Nostariel of the woodland fae. May his soul be held with peace he never found in this world.” At the bottom of the stone was the royal seal of both the woodland fae and the king. Teagan was compelled to press the seal of her king and all at once the tombstone rose up lifting a crude elevator with it. With a loud click of mechanics, it stopped at the ground and swung open its door for her. Her first instinct was to be afraid of the rickety vehicle, but that was soon replaced by the rationality that her soul couldn’t die, nor be harmed. With a final look over her shoulder, she stepped into the elevator. The door closed behind her and the elevator started its descent.
            The elevator stopped at the bottom on a mat of moss with the same click of mechanisms that it had previously sounded when it arrived to retrieve her. The door swung open to let her out before disappearing into the darkness. Strange, she thought, though she couldn’t fathom why. A disappearing elevator seemed to be the least strange thing of the evening. She herself emitted a bit of purple light, but not enough to see by as she groped forward in the dark. Still, she kept walking forward into a steadily increasing green light.
            “Lady Teagan?” a man’s voice sounded from behind the light source. He sounded tired and young, but a little wary of the ethereal intruder to his resting place.
            “Yes,” she answered, blocking her eyes from the now white light.
            “Oh, thank Gods,” the voice answered. All at once the light dimmed and she could see a glowing blue figure like herself. The man who came forward looked much like Lady Breckenridge with small pointed ears and defined bone structure, but mostly like his father with very muscular features. She shifted weight nervously as this stranger, who she presumed to be her cousin, came forward and embraced her. “They said you would come,” he said holding her at arms length and looking into her eyes as tears rolled down his cheeks. “Ah, forgive me,” he said glancing at her expression and letting his arm drop to his sides, “you never knew who I was.”
            “Well, neither did you. Unless I am mistaken, we’ve never met.”
            “Never in person. Not any time you would remember,” he stepped away from her and looked at the green light. “The Forces argued a lot about my death. They kept saying that it was never supposed to happen and that I was supposed to stay alive. Lots of them argued with each other. When they agreed to bring visions to the local priest and tell my parents to bring me back, they started talking a lot about you. They would let me go up to the corporeal world as a spirit and see the things I was missing. So that when I come back, I would…” his voice trailed off and his tears started again. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered and slumped down to a crouch. She stood above him looking into the dim green light listening to his sobs.
            Teagan felt sorrow, not for her fate, for his. She felt his despair as he fathomed the possibilities of coming back to life at the cost of a family stranger and how when he came back, war would break out again. She felt his anger at everything he knows will happen at his return and after everything he’s heard from the Forces, that they would allow the worst to happen. She felt pain as she realized he was becoming one of the Forces, one of the Gods, to fulfill a fate that he might not believe in. She realized that the only thing he could control were his own tears. She fought back her own tears and lent her cousin her hand.
            “Please stand up,” she said, “if I’m going to stay here for you to fulfill your fate, then you must go back. I refuse to die for you if you won’t change things for the better.”
            He grabbed her hand and propelled himself so he was standing up. He gave her a small smile and wiped the tears from his cheeks. “I won’t let you be forgotten,” he said and kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll be back for you, Teagan.”
            Teagan nodded and watched him go back into the darkness. She sat down on the ground and finally, cried.

Filed under: Fantasy, God Teacher, Hero Cycle by Bri
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            Dinner finished quite uneventfully besides the bit and pieces of forced conversation throughout the night. Sir and Lady Albertson remained stone cold and purposely avoided Lord and Lady Breckenridge. Lady Albertson was a long, thin woman with long gray hair left to fall down her back. Her hands were slender and smooth without a hint of wrinkles or discoloration. She stood a head taller than her husband and seemed to glide across the floor. Teagan thought she would very much like to talk to this obviously prominent woman, though her ruby eyes were disconcerting especially when they glowed at the mention of a Breckenridge’s name.
            Lady Breckenridge seemed the exact opposite except for her stony disposition. She however had more prominence of the two women and even seemed to overpower than her husband on matters of state. Her hair was the golden brown of toasted marshmallows and was pulled neatly behind her head in a bun revealing pointed ears. The tips of her ears were green as were the tips of her graceful fingers. She was not too tall in comparison to Lady Albertson and her husband, but nearly towered over Lady Devlin, who was not much taller than Teagan.
            The two women were the most composed and secretive, but when only Teagan was observing, their looks fought silent battles in the space between them. Lady Devlin led Lady Breckenridge quickly out of the dining room long before the Albertson couple had even a chance to end their conversation with another prominent family. Teagan closed the shutters of the window to the dining room and started moving the dirty dishes to the sink.
            “Don’t you girls worry about washing,” Sinead, the cook, said. She was a large muscular woman who acted as the all the maid’s mother, second only to Lady Watson, of course. Talia licked the gravy off her fingers from a messy person’s plate and nodded.
            “We better go back to our posts,” she said motioning to leave. “Any spot left open and Lord Devlin will torture us. There’s really nothing to see now, anyway.”
            Teagan and Talia ran back to their spot in front of the library as quickly and quietly as their hideous high-heels would allow. Both girls were thankful they were there before Lord Devlin left and he nodded to both of them as he passed with the Sir Albertson. Lady Albertson was nowhere to be seen.
            The noise of conversation was heard throughout the hall as the Devlin’s rarely closed the door to the parlor, but the words were tangled within other’s words so much that it didn’t seem to make a difference at all that the girls could eavesdrop. There was a single ding of a spoon against crystal and the noise died down. The door was shut and all other conversation was blocked from the waiting maids in the hall. A few girls dared to mutter displeasure, but they were quickly silenced as Lady Devlin came out of the parlor.
            “You girls are exempt from any other duties for the night. I will have Lady Watson lock the doors, and you are all to go to bed and not come up from your rooms until the festivities have ended tomorrow. We can stand until noon to have the rooms still unkempt. That’s an order,” she finished with uncharacterized anger. The maids quickly filed down the stairs to the basement. Some of the girls later in the line slipped off their shoes and held them expectantly under their arms.
            “Talia, dear,” Lady Devlin said sweetly as she watched the procession, “could you send Lady Watson up here?”
            Talia curtseyed as best she could in the tight skirt and went bustling off to fulfill the lady of the house’s request. Lady Devlin grabbed Teagan’s arm and pulled her off to the side, but made no motion to explain. Teagan stood next to the Lady as if she was her apprentice, their exact shade black hair and matching hazel eyes specked with gold watching the line of maids go down the stairs. Teagan noted that she was a bit taller than her mistress and her hair was cut short, like a page, upon request to keep it out of her eyes. Lady Devlin’s hair fell perfectly straight down her back, tiny braids pulling the side pieces of hair to another braid in the back. It was this perfection and the perfection in her flawless pale skin compared to Teagan’s freckled light brown that reminded Teagan of her place as a maid and not as the countess of a great sum of land that many of the guests this night borrowed.
            When the last maid had returned to her bedchambers, the heavy clomping of Lady Watson arriving was heard up the stairs. Despite her quite rotund size, Lady Watson never seemed to breath heavy or break a sweat running up and down the stairs of the mansion. This had never occurred to Teagan before until she saw her arrive at the top of the stairs. It was also the first time that Teagan had ever seen Lady Watson visibly surprised.
            “I need you to lock all of the doors to the rooms we won’t need,” Lady Devlin said. Without another warning, she grabbed Teagan’s arm and led her towards the parlor. “Stay by the door,” she whispered before opening it and walking in. No one made any move to recognize her entrance and she pulled in as swiftly as she had left to a spot close to the door next to Lord and Lady Breckenridge.
            “…and that is why I don’t think we should bring the boy back from the dead,” Lord Albertson was red at this point in his obviously long speech. His wife was shaking her head to the side of the group, but remained silent.
            “Please,” she said to the Breckenridge couple standing by the door fuming, “Ignore his antics. If the Lord Devlin believes that this course of action is for the best according to the Forces, we are not going to stand in the way.” Her final words were directed at her husband in a burning gaze of her eyes glowing with unknown intensity. Her husband moved his mouth to speak, but decided against it and closed his mouth again.
            “Ah, Lady Teagan,” Lord Devlin said walking towards her. She felt a push as some unknown force persuaded her forward into the room. “I’m glad to see you could join us. Please sit down.”
            She glanced around the room at the colorful frowning faces of expectant people. She felt as if she was a child in a doll shop that she had visited many times before, but now the dolls didn’t look right. They weren’t smiling or serene, but full of hatred and annoyance. A few expressions calmed at her presence, but many remained porcelain still. She shook her head and remained focused on Lord Devlin.
            But the more she focused on him, the more warped his image became. Who she once thought of as a powerful master, she now saw as someone struggling to keep control. He was drowning in his problems and he needed her in a last desperate attempt to keep the lands he ruled safe. She suddenly became incredibly scared, but she swallowed her fear and remained standing.
            “Does she know the story?” Lord Breckenridge asked from somewhere behind her.
            Lord Devlin shook his head. “I kept the situation secret from her, of course. She’s been a maid in my household, nothing more.”
            “Then we should tell her,” the androgynous figure said stepping out from the shadows. “Seeing as I am clearly one of a third party here, I should be the one to tell her. Does anyone object?”
            When no one answered, Lord Devlin waved his hand for the guest to continue and stepped back. Teagan followed its movements as it walked to the center of the room and gazed at the fire.
            “We’ll start it like any other story starts: Once upon a time the queen of the fairies gave birth with her human husband a boy and naturally, both worlds were outraged. It was a fragile situation to begin with since the fairies were not coping well that their king was human and the humans were not pleased that their duke’s wife was fae. Never the less, the true trouble began when the child was born for while neither race would claim him, neither race wanted the other to have him.
            “Since the child was one of both worlds, he was entitled to all of the riches therein. Anything his mother or father chose to give him upon their deaths was his. He would, also, receive the title that his parent had left behind; both races agreed upon that. So if someone interposed, they would get the fortune promised to him as well as the power over the fae and the humans.
            “I suppose this the time to mention that the duke was a very good friend of the king. In fact, this particular duke was the king’s younger brother, so, while the king did not agree with his brother marrying the queen of the fae, he was not going to ostracize him. The child being the king’s nephew, he might in fact be entitled to the throne if a few strings were pulled. If not, he was still protected by the royal family and all the riches and privileges they owned.
            “A retired knight of the current king was getting tired of owning very little land and like everyone else in the kingdom aspired to raise to a higher class. Thus being ruled by this duke, and weighing his options, he kept his eye on the duke’s son. Unfortunately for the knight, the duke’s son was murdered and, because of his particular attention to the family, the knight was accused. No one knows who the real murder is or if the knight is indeed guilty, but whatever really happened, the duke and his family became enemies with the knight’s family and threw them off their land. Another knight was given the land and eventually everything returned to normal. The first knight had managed to be given land by the king under another duke for his previous service to the king.
            “The two families remained rivals, however, especially when political ties were broken off between the fae and the humans. Trade plummeted and the land fell into famine and disaster. Eventually the king’s second brother took control of most of the land and managed to cut down the crime.
            “This brings us to the situation we have now where for political reasons between the fae, the Breckenridge and Devlin families wish to resurrect the dead prince and bring the government back to its original state.”
            Teagan nodded, her head swirling with information. “Where to I come into this?”
            Lady Devlin stepped forward and put her cold hand on Teagan’s shoulder. “I believe we should start getting preparations under way for the ceremony. The conservatory is clean and open and has a clear view to the graveyard. We’ve made it accessible for any work you need to do before hand, Sir Drummond. Everyone else, please carry on.” The androgynous guest, who Teagan assumed to be Sir Drummond, bowed deeply and walked away down the hall. Lady Devlin pulled Teagan away from the crowd to a corner in front of the windows.
            The night outside was like a snow globe. The world was surrounded by blue crystal and allowed just a hint of purple from the world beyond the glass. Just barely shining through were the tiny little lights of stars serving as the backdrop for the gigantic sparkling moon casting shadows on the garden below it. Lady Devlin stopped and sat down on the window seat under the flawless sky.
            “I suppose you’ve figured out that Lord and Lady Breckenridge are the duke and queen of the fae respectively. Sir Albertson was the knight suspected of killing the prince. My husband and I were the third party involved with restoring the land in the king’s poor health. That would mean,” she raised her hand to cut off Teagan’s interruption, “that Lord Breckenridge and my husband are brothers and kin to the king.”
            The information clicked like keys in locks and all the emotions behind the locked doors came rushing out in a whirlwind. Teagan staggered under the epiphanies. “Oh my Gods,” she whispered. Her servant instincts kicked in and she stared at dustless trampled carpeting. Lady Devlin put her hand on Teagan’s knee and waited patiently for all the shock to dissipate.
            Lady Devlin was not watching her come to, but instead, kept and eye at the crowd starting to form into groups around her. A few at the telling of the story felt bold enough to side with Sir Albertson, but would not remain by him when he suggested several times to go against the operation. An equally opposing force was Lady Breckenridge who insisted that this had to be done, not just for the good of her people, but for the human kingdom as well. Lord Devlin and Lord Breckenridge seemed to keep together with a third party not partial either way. The two strongly opposed sides stood staring at each other and whispering where the third party laughed and pretended not to notice the drastic change in aura.
            Teagan put her warm hands on Lady Devlin’s causing the Lady to snap back to the girl’s side. “But you still haven’t answered where I come in to all this.”

Filed under: Fantasy, God Teacher, Hero Cycle by Bri
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