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When he was certain that everything had been
cooked enough, he arranged the food on a flat rock and offered for
me to come and eat. I was so hungry by then that I did not
hesitate. It all smelled so good and I tore into the meat without
any delay.

It was heavenly. The savory juices of the
meat washed over my pallet and only left me craving more. I looked
for Brokk, he had not come to sit with me.

“You are not going to eat?” I asked as he
stood a few feet away, watching me.

“I will eat when I am sure that you have had
enough.” He said with his arms folded across his chest.

“But there is plenty!” I said as I gestured
toward the spread of food that he had created. “There is no way
that I can eat all of this. Please, come and sit. Plus, I can not
take you just standing there staring at me like that.”

His mouth started to turn up into a small
grin, and he moved toward me. He sat onto the ground on the
opposite side of the rock from where I was sitting and began to
eat.

The meal was delicious and though Brokk did
not say very much his eyes never left me as we ate. I started
feeling a little bit self-conscious. I had suddenly remembered that
I had not bathed or brushed my teeth, and my hair felt like it was
in tangles. I was still in my pajamas from the night before. I
looked down at myself in dismay. I started to rake my fingers
through my knotted blonde hair as I scrutinized my now tattered and
stained T-shirt and sighed.

“You have grown to be so beautiful, it has
been far too long since I have been able to look at you like this.”
Brokk said in a whisper that made my heart skip a few beats.

I looked up at him, studying him hard in the
hope of finding some answers. “Why do you keep talking as if you
have known me all of my life? I have tried really hard but I just
can’t seem to remember you at all.”

He looked a little hurt by my comment, but in
a hushed voice he answered. “We knew each other when we were very
young, before you and your family were forced to flee Petrona.”

I stared back at him for a moment. “How can
that be? I was born in Baton Rouge. I have lived my whole life in
the house that you took me from. I don’t think that I am the girl
that you were looking for. I really wish that you could see that
and take me back home, back to my real home.” It actually hurt a
little to say those words, but it must be true. I never lived
anywhere other than my home in Louisiana. I did not even have a
clue where in the heck Petrona was.

He looked down briefly. I thought maybe I was
starting to get through to him, but then he looked back up and met
my eyes. “I know exactly who you are, Callie Rose. There is no
mistaking you. Soon you will see it too. I do not understand why
you can’t remember me. Maybe it will come to you once I get you
back home to Petrona. You are one of us, Callie. Just trust me. All
of this will be explained to you soon. They need you there more
than you could ever understand.”

Those blue eyes pleaded with me once again
and I was too mesmerized to think of a decent reply. I opted for
nodding my head like an idiot instead. I was turning into a
complete loon.

Brokk sat for a few more moments just staring
off. Then quickly he said. “We need to be moving. They have been
waiting for you to return for a long time.”

There he went again. Who was he talking
about? He kept saying things like
they
need me and you are one of
us
, like I was supposed to know who
he was talking about. Maybe he really was crazy.

He stood and offered me his hand. I took it
hesitantly, I was afraid of what touching him might do to me. The
last thing that I needed was to have my brain scrambled anymore
than it already was. He pulled me to my feet.

He turned to start cleaning up and to put out
the fire.

“Wait, I can’t go anywhere like this.” I said
gesturing to myself. “I am not even wearing shoes and the ground
here has already done a number on my feet.”

“Then I will carry you.” He answered without
looking up.

“No way!” I said holding my hands up and
taking a step backwards. “I am already going to have major bruises
from the way that you carried me yesterday! You are not about to do
that again!”

He furrowed his brow and stepped towards me
hesitantly. “I never meant to hurt you Callie. Please, let me have
a look to be sure that your injuries are not serious. I promise, I
am not going to harm you further.”

He held my eyes with his and against my
better judgment, I found myself wanting to trust him again. I began
lifting my shirt just enough to expose my sore and aching ribs.

“Oh no! What have I done!” He gasped as he
collapsed to the floor on his knees in front of me. He held out his
hands as if he wanted to touch me, but stopped as if he were afraid
that he might hurt me more. I looked down at myself to see a dark
purple band spread across my entire lower chest. No wonder I was so
sore.

“I’m okay, really. It is just a little
uncomfortable, but I do not think that I could spend another day
traveling like that.” I shrugged.

He looked down at my bare feet for a moment,
then picked up the blankets from the ground and began tearing them
into long strips. When he was satisfied with his little pile of
scraps, he nodded to himself and turned to me.

“Sit.” He said and so of course, I did. He
took my feet into his lap and started to wrap the strips of torn
blanket around each foot like huge bandages.

When he was finished, he helped me back onto
my feet. It was a bit awkward, but I could stand and walk if I
leaned on him for support. He cautiously led me out of the cavern
and back into the tunnel. It was slow going with my mummy feet.
Plus, I was back in the complete darkness again. I could not see
two inches in front of me, so of course, I tripped and stumbled
over every little bump.

I started thinking that maybe Brokk was
enjoying my handicap a little more than he thought that he would.
Each trip over a rock sent me farther into his arms and he held me
even tighter.

“Why are we going further into the cave?” I
asked as I began to notice that we still had not made it back
outside. “I thought we were going to that Petrona place?”

“We are going to Petrona, Callie.” He said.
“It is beneath the surface. These tunnels will lead us there.” I
stopped, pulling him back towards me.

“What do you mean beneath the surface?” I
made little quote marks in the air with my fingers and mocked him.
“Like underground? Are you telling me that you are taking me to a
city that is under the ground? Like as in the Land of the Lost or
something?”

He just laughed. “Something like that I
guess. Callie, our people were forced to move underground. It was
many years ago, after living in the upper world became too
dangerous for us.”

He did it again. He said
our people,
as in something other
than people, people. I thought back about how strong he must have
been to be able to carry me for as long as he did. Plus he was so
fast. I knew that he was not your average teenage guy, but what was
he talking about?

“Brokk, what is going on? I have never heard
of any underground city.” This was getting crazier by the minute.
“Where are you taking me and who are you exactly?”

He let out a long sigh, and finally he began.
“We are going to the true city of your birth. We are going to
Petrona, the home of our people. The Fae, Callie.”

Okay, this boy has really lost his
mind. “The Fae? As in fairy? Are you trying to tell me that you are
a fairy? That
we
are fairies?
That
I
am a fairy? Is this
some kind of joke?” I started looking around for movie
cameras.

He just stood there watching me for a few
moments while I let all of what he said sink in.

“You are crazy.” I exclaimed. “You kidnapped
me and brought into some strange underground tunnels, and now you
are talking about fairies as if they truly exist. Is there some
kind of dungeon or torture chamber down here that you are taking me
to? Are you some kind of psychotic serial killer?”

He moved towards me and caught one of my
hands in each of his. “Callie please, I know this must sound
strange to you right now, but I am telling you the truth. I was
sent to the surface by Queen Lilith to find you. She has been the
acting queen since your family left. There has been talk of a
revolt by some of the other Fae. She thinks that if she has a true
heir to the throne to assist her, then she may be able to bring
peace back to our people.”

I took a deep breath as I tried to understand
all of this. “A true heir? Acting queen? What are you saying
Brokk?”

He growled in frustration. “You Callie. You
are the true heir. Your mother was queen when you were born, but a
group of rogue Fae attempted to kidnap you. They were trying to
force the queen to change some of the rules that were preventing
them from coming to the surface and harming the humans. Your mother
and father decided to take you away and hide with you until you
were old enough to return and reclaim your title for yourself.”

“There was an old Fae woman.” He continued.
“Some believed that she could foretell the future. She told your
mother that you would someday become a great ruler to our people
and that you would lead us out of the darkness and back to the
surface where we can be free. After the rebels were stopped, your
mother feared that others would try to harm you to get to her. That
is when she gave up her throne and fled with you. It took me a long
time to find you Callie, and now that I have, you can take your
rightful place as the future queen. You are the chosen one, Callie.
The one to free us all.”

He looked at me again with those pleading
blue eyes, but I could not help but laugh. “You actually believe
all of this.” I said. “You think that I am some chosen one, who is
a fairy and supposed to save the world.”

“I am just a normal eighteen year old girl,
Brokk. I live in a normal house. I go to a normal school. I do not
have any super powers, and I am definitely not the savior of your
people. My mother is not some fairy queen, she is just my mom. She
cooks me dinner and helps me with my homework. My dad works for the
phone company. He likes watching football and going fishing and
hunting on his days off. He is not a king.”

He just shook his head. “Please Callie. Just
trust me. Just come to Petrona with me and you can see for yourself
that what I am saying is the truth.” He held out his hand to me.
“Please Callie.”

What choice did I really have? He was not
about to take me back home, there was no convincing him. I could
not find my own way back, even if I really wanted to. I still was
not sure what I really wanted anymore. All that I knew is that my
heart and my body wanted to be wherever Brokk was going be. I
nodded sheepishly at him and took his hand. He began to lead me
further into the tunnels.

Chapter 3

It felt like we had walked for hours through
the inky blackness of the tunnel. My makeshift slippers were
beginning to fray and come loose. I did not think that I was going
to be able to make it another step. I sat down on a large rock.

Brokk turned and saw me struggling to wind
the scraps of fabric back around my feet. “Let me carry you the
rest of the way. I promise that I will be more careful this time.
We can get there a lot faster if I can run.”

I made a grimace as I thought about that.
“Why do you seem to have all of these super powers, while I can
barely walk in a straight line without falling on my face? I
thought I was supposed to be some kind of fairy princess?”

He smiled and I swooned. He really did not
smile nearly enough. “I do not have super powers really. I have
been training for this position all of my life. You will master
some of the same things with practice.”

He reached for me and scooped me up, cradling
me in his arms. “Hold on tight.” He said with a laugh and took off
running with blinding speed.

We ran through the darkness of the tunnel for
some time. His grip on me never faltered. I kept my face buried in
his chest to block my eyes from the wind. I drank in his manly
scent and it set my head spinning. I could really get used to this,
I thought.

“Look Callie.” He said as I felt him start to
slow.

I lifted my head and looked out at an
enormous city built within a large hollow beneath the earth. I
could hardly believe my eyes. There were twinkling lights strung
along the rocky streets. Every street was lined with elaborate
buildings. Some of them appeared to be homes. They were mostly
wooden one or two story structures. Each had been painted with dark
shades of either blue, red, or green. Every one had a couple of
quaint little windows and a door made of heavy yellow wood.

The businesses were made of both wood and
brick. The wooden storefronts were also painted in bright colors.
Over the top of each large glass door was an elaborate sign bearing
the store’s name and what they offered. The merchants had all sorts
of food and wares proudly displayed in large glass windows. It was
just as I had always imagined that New York City might have looked
two-hundred years ago.

I could hear children laughing and playing
somewhere close by. I took a deep breath and drank in the delicious
aroma of fresh brewed coffee and baked goods. Fairies drink coffee?
Who knew?

We made our way down what appeared to be the
main street through the city. People, fairy people I assumed,
stepped out of their shops and homes to watch us as Brokk carried
me passed them. He just nodded to them here and there as we went
by. For the most part, I kept my face buried in his shirt. I did
not want anyone to see me looking so rough. I was starting to feel
a little embarrassed.