Stay (12 page)

“Tomorrow you and I can go together and try
to bring as much back as we can.” Kailen said, straightening
himself.

The two of them went about preparing the fish
and I went and sat on one of the blankets and leaned against the
wall.

Why did Kailen have to keep insisting on me
taking over and being queen? I was content to stay right here and
just be a normal girl. Well, as normal as I could be under the
circumstances.

Maybe he didn’t really like me as much as I
had hoped. Maybe this was his way of pushing me away. My emotions
were starting to get the best of me and I was full of doubt and
self-pity.

I had always thought my first kiss would have
been with somebody that really loved me. Now I was beginning to
regret that I had let him do it. Why did men have to be so
complicated?

Tuck brought me a few pieces of the fish once
it was cooked, but I didn’t really feel like eating. I just felt
really drained. I looked at the three separate sleeping areas. The
realization of what that meant hit me hard. He didn’t even want to
be close to me, or sleep near me.

I felt sure that after the night that we
spent in the hole over the tunnel he would be holding me like that
every night. I guess that I misjudged him. Maybe that night was
just a fluke.

I pushed myself down from the wall and lay on
my side. Night was beginning to set in and the only remaining light
was the soft glow of the fire. I was grateful for that, because I
definitely didn’t want either of them to see my tears. I couldn’t
hold them back any longer.

I had never felt as alone as I had since I
was brought to this horrible place. My parents were gone, the
people from Petrona were evil. Tuck was just a kid and Kailen had
pushed me away. Could things possibly suck anymore than right now?
I certainly hoped not.

The only thing left for me to do was to fight
for what I wanted, I resigned. I just wasn’t sure what that was
exactly. If my parents loved me enough to take me away and protect
me the way that they did so that I could be queen someday, then
maybe that was what I would have to do.

I hated the idea of it though. Not just the
fighting, but I hated the idea of being a queen. I just wanted a
normal life. I wanted to date a cute guy, and maybe even get
married. I wanted to go to college and teach Literature or History
someday. Now all of those dreams were gone in an instant.

I started hating Brokk more and more for
taking me from my home. It just wasn’t fair. Nobody had ever even
told me that this world existed. I was never given a choice in the
matter. They could have at least given me a heads up and let me
prepare for it.

Prepared on not I was here. I was stuck in a
world that I never even knew existed, and I had lost everything
that I had ever loved because of it. I could not just sit here and
let one evil person destroy everything about my life and do nothing
to stop her.

I made up my mind. I would learn all of the
ins and outs of being a fairy, and I would get Tuck to teach me to
fight like a warrior. I would go to Petrona and take my place. I
would do it for my mother.

I might spend the rest of my life alone, but
I would honor my mother and the choices that she made for me when
she was queen.

Once I had made up my mind, I started getting
excited. I could no longer lay there, sleep was far from my mind. I
got up and sat close to the fire pit, the fire had gone out but the
stones still put out a cozy warmth. I spent the rest of the night
trying to figure out all that I needed to do to get myself in
shape. It may take me a while, but I was willing to work hard to
get what I wanted.

Chapter 12

The next day I woke up early and found that I
was still curled up on the cold stone next to the fire pit. I
jumped up and quickly rummaged through my small stack of clothes
until I found something suitable to wear for the day. I pulled on a
pair of silky grey sweats and a loose fitting white t-shirt. I
didn’t really have any good shoes so I stayed barefoot. It wasn’t
so bad anymore, my feet were starting to toughen up after all that
I had put them through.

Tuck and Kailen were nowhere in sight so I
assumed that they were already out gathering what driftwood they
could find along the river.

I moved to the center of the cave, it was a
great open area and the ceiling was pretty high. It would be
perfect for what I wanted to do. Slowly I began to stretch and
prepare myself for the day.

I practiced controlling my wings, which had
pretty much stayed flattened against my back since we left Drake. I
found that they responded pretty much like any other body part. I
stretched them and fluttered them a few times until I was
comfortable with them.

I started practicing being able to start and
stop, just as Kailen had briefly explained when I first discovered
that I had wings. I took off quickly as I envisioned myself on the
other side of the room. Panic set in for brief moment so I
hurriedly envisioned myself landing. I fell to ground with a thud,
twisting my ankle. I cried out in pain, but I pulled myself
together and got back up.

My ankle throbbed and I bent to rub it. I
needed to learn to start and stop more slowly or I would really
hurt myself. I had to try again.

This time I pictured myself moving a little
slower and more gracefully. I went soaring through the air. The
gentle wind that moved over my wings felt amazing. I set myself
back down more carefully, then sat down smiling.

I remembered being a little girl out in the
bayou with my dad. We were bundled up from head to toe in green
camouflage. I remember watching in awe as a large flock of wood
ducks soared overhead and landed on the water without so much as a
splash. This is what it must have felt like to the ducks. Only I
think they were a little more graceful.

I stood and took off again, this time I
circled the entire cavern. I looked around at the rocky walls and I
was amazed to see bird nests and intricate spider webs formed along
the outcroppings of rock.

I flew up to the cracked ceiling and hovered
close to one of the openings that allowed the sunlight to pour in.
A cool breeze carried fresh salty air over me. We must be close to
the ocean. I breathed in deeply and smiled to myself.

I hadn’t even noticed Kailen and Tuck
entering the cave, until I heard Tuck.

“Oh my god, look at that.”

I suddenly lost my concentration and started
falling towards them. I didn’t even have to scream.

“Land Callie!” Kailen yelled up at me.

But it was too late, I rammed into them at
full speed sending them crashing onto the floor with me on top of
them. I was definitely going to suffer for this tomorrow. I was
lucky I didn’t break anything.

I untangled myself from them and quickly
folded my wings back away. I tried to help Kailen up but he just
shrugged away from me.

“What are you trying to do?” He yelled as he
struggled to get to his feet. Wood was scattered all around
them.

“I was trying to fly.” I said defensively.
Who did he think he was yelling at me like that?

“Why didn’t you wait for me to help you?” His
tone was definitely angry.

“I-I just wanted to see if I could do it.” I
stammered but I quickly composed myself. “And I don’t recall you
making any effort.” This time I was more fierce and I crossed my
arms across my chest.

He let out a growl and turned to start
picking up the driftwood. “You should have waited for me.”

I turned my back to him and walked away. I
had to fight hard to keep from grimacing at the pain shooting
through my ankle. I definitely didn’t want anybody to find out that
I had injured myself. He would never let me hear the end of
that.

Tuck didn’t say anything more, he just
followed Kailen over to the makeshift fire pit and began to stack
the wood.

Nobody spoke to me or even bothered looked at
me for a long time. I felt that old familiar pain in my heart. I
don’t know why it always had to hurt so much when Kailen tried to
push me away. I had to get over that. I needed to get away for a
while.

While they were busy concentrating on the
wood and the fire, I slipped out of the cavern and into the tunnel.
I knew that I shouldn’t be wondering around out there alone, but
they didn’t seem to have a problem with leaving me alone today.
They didn’t even tell me that they were leaving.

I stomped toward the waterfall getting
angrier by the minute, but my throbbing ankle reminded me to slow
down. I reached the fall and stared at the water for a long time.
The tremendous sound of the crashing water helped me to think more
clearly. It blocked everything else out.

I had made up my mind the night before to do
everything that I could to live up to what my family wanted for me.
That included becoming a queen, even though I still didn’t know
what that meant exactly.

I was lost in my thoughts when I heard a loud
noise echo behind me. Even over the sound of the falls. It sounded
like rocks falling and hitting the rocky floor, but I couldn’t be
sure. It was probably Kailen or Tuck coming to make sure that I
wasn’t doing anything stupid.

I decided not to turn around. I just wanted
to be left alone, and I didn’t want to give Kailen the satisfaction
of thinking that he had gotten to me. I stood at the riverbank
listening to see how close they were when I suddenly felt a hand
clamp down over my mouth and I was violently jerked backward.

My eyes must have been as big as saucers, as
I struggled to break the hold that he had on me. He pulled me
backward toward the path that led to the top of the falls. I cried
out but my screams were muddled by his grip on my mouth.

“A pretty girl like you shouldn’t be
wandering around these dark tunnels by yourself” A strange voice
said in my ear.

Fear suddenly ripped through me. No, this was
definitely not Kailen or Tuck. I began fight against him with all
that I had in me, but it was no use. I hated feeling this
powerless.

“What have you got there, Sty” I heard
another voice call from above.

“I found us a little treat.” Sty called back
with a sinister laugh.

He yanked me up the path, and his friend met
him part of the way and helped him pull me to the top. Their stench
filled my nose and I wanted to gag. It had obviously been some time
since they had bathed and now I knew why he was called Sty.

On the top of the cliff, I was able to get a
good look at the buddy. He was tall and wiry thin. His greasy hair
was matted around his filthy face. He smiled at me with teeth that
were black and broken as he eyed me up and down.

“Nice catch old boy.” He said as he patted
Sty on the back. “Bring her in here.”

Sty drug me away from the ledge and threw me
hard against the wall.

“Somebody help me!” I screamed as the two of
them stood in front of me gawking.

“Scream all you want, nobody can hear you
over the sound of the water.” Sty said with a grin.

Sty was just as grimy as his friend. He was a
good bit shorter, but he had the same slick dark hair and toothless
grin. His breath was vile and I had to cough to keep myself from
vomiting.

“What do you want?” I said in disgust. They
just kept grinning, those gruesome toothless grins.

Sty grabbed me by my arms and pulled me to my
feet. “I just want a little kiss sweet thing. It’s been a long time
since I had a girl as pretty as you.”

He moved in with that mouth and I kicked him
hard in the shin. He reached down for it and I was about to make an
escape but his friend caught me by my hair and yanked me back.

“Now where do you think you’re going?” He
held me up by my hair and pain ripped across my scalp and my toes
barely grazed the floor. “You’re going to be a feisty one I see.
All the better.”

He dropped me back onto my feet but he did
not release my hair. Sty came back over and slapped me hard across
the face. The blow had my head swimming and I could taste fresh
blood in my mouth.

He just kept laughing that stupid laugh. “I
bet you won’t try that again.”

I spat at him, and he hit me again. The pain
was almost overwhelming and I nearly passed out. I needed to do
something to get away from these guys, I just wasn’t sure what.

“Hey!” I wasn’t sure where it came from but I
was relieved to hear it.

Sty and his buddy jerked around to see what
was going on. The problem is that tall and skinny never let go of
my hair. I felt sure that if he didn’t let go soon, I was going to
have a major bald spot.

“What do you want?” Sty yelled back.

“Just drop the girl and step away.”

I struggled to turn so that I could see who
was approaching, but as soon as I realized that it was Tuck my face
fell. He was too young to fight these guys alone. He was definitely
going to get hurt or worse, and it would be all my fault if he did.
I should never have stormed out like that.

“Boy, just get on out of here before you get
yourself in trouble.” Sty called to him as he took on a defiant
stance.

Tuck never faltered. He did not stop until he
was a few feet in front of us. He watched the two slime balls for a
minute and then he calmly lifted his arm back and pulled out a
thick shiny sword. It curved in the middle and the handle was
inlaid with gold.

“I’m only going to ask you one more time.”
Tuck stepped forward again.

“Drop the girl.”

Relief filled my body as the guy finally
released me. My head still ached and so did my ankle as I plopped
back down onto it, but I was free. I crawled to where I could
position myself behind Tuck and regroup.

“Now, get out of here!” Tuck yelled still
holding up the blade as if he were about to strike. “If I ever see
you around here again, that will be the last time!”