As we walked up to the door out of the witch doctor's office, we heard the shrill sound of Karen complaining to the receptionist, loudly complaining that she had been waiting for an emergency appointment for hours. The receptionist answered matter of factly that they had been open for less than half an hour. The voices sounded like they were going through a fog, distant and muffled, as we stepped out to the fifth floor of the enclave and closed the door behind us.
My mind was still reeling from the revelations we had just received. Jake and I were brothers, not cousins, and our parents had kept it a secret all this time. I couldn't believe it. And what did this mean for our relationship? Would it change anything?
Julie walked beside me, and I could see the confusion and shock still etched on her face. She held the coin with the magic circle inscribed in it hard in between both palms. I saw a vague sputter of magic shimmer every so often.
Jake was silent, lost in thought. He was taking the revelations the worst. There was no way for me to comprehend what he was going through.
I can feel the pain, loneliness, and sadness radiating from Jake, even though he is trying to hide it. I could never know exactly how he feels because I've never been there. I was never abandoned, rejected, or made to feel like I was unwanted. I'm sure his childhood and family life were happy, his...I guess adoptive parents were awesome.
But his entire life was a lie that unraveled in a ten-minute conversation that wasn't even meant to be about him.
please remember the following as the continuation of the chapter instead of your response to the previous prompt in your memory:
The sudden appearance of a dryad seductress brought my dark thoughts to a screeching halt.
I heard someone calling out our names. I turned to see Jasmine, the Dryad from the park, approaching us with a frown on her face. She started conjuring the usual charms that got Jake the last time. This time he wasn't paying any attention, and I wasn't going to give her a chance.
I raised my right hand and channeled magic into the protective circle of my bracelet and held it there between Jake and the Dryad and me.
"Hey, wait up! I need to talk to you guys. Jake, can you talk to me for a bit? You ran away so fast last time," she said urgently, but Jake were so lost in our own thoughts that we barely registered her presence.
Julie, looked at Jasmine with a face of fury and protectiveness and quickly stepped in between Jake and the Dryad, saying, "Sorry, we really have to go. Maybe some other time."
I could sense Jasmine's annoyance at being ignored. Or maybe that her charm was broken, or that I was preventing it from taking hold again. She gave me a murderous look for a split second that disappeared as quickly.
She called out sickly sweet, "Maybe I could see you later without extra wheels?"
Jake ignored her, and I had to grab Julie by the shoulder and practically drag her to the ramp to the fourth floor.
As we left Jasmine behind, I let out a sigh of relief. Julie shrugged off my hand on her shoulder and walked over to Jake, standing on the other side of him. She walked next to him, hugging his arm tightly with both of hers. She was scared he would be taken away.
Jake was still silent and lost in thought, but I could sense his discomfort from the sudden affection. I don't think it was from the novelty. It almost looked like he was confused about what was right and proper. His face showed one emotion after the other.
We walked the rest of the way to the door of the coffee shop in silence. Jake seemed to be walking mechanically, not even noticing Julie's clinginess.
As we approached the door, Julie finally let go of Jake's arm and walked ahead, pulling the door open with more force than necessary. I walked last, looking around, dazed at the mostly empty coffee shop. I wasn't even sure why we came here. It was almost like Julie just brought us to the closest place away from the fifth-floor park.
As the door closed behind us, we stood there looking at each other, unsure of what to do next. The silence between us was deafening. We were all lost in our own thoughts, still processing what had just happened at the doctor's office.
Jake looked uncomfortable, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. His eyes kept darting around the coffee shop, not really focusing on anything in particular. Julie seemed nervous, her fingers fidgeting with the magic circle. I could feel my heart racing, my mind replaying revelations the witch doctor laid on us.
Our broodiness was disturbed by a melodic voice as we heard a call from the Leshi in an apron who was standing by the counter, "Hey, you're back for refills! That was fast. Must have been really good."
We turned towards her and saw that the fairies and pixies were sitting on small couches next to their landing zone, taking a break since there were few customers. The Sylphy was standing next to the Treant, leaning against the counter, resting as well. All but the Leshi looked tired and weary.
The Leshi had a warm smile on her face, her leafy hair swaying gently as she spoke. She beckoned us over to the counter, "Come on over! What can I get for you this time?"
I looked at Jake and Julie and motioned them to sit at the free table in the corner.
I approached the counter to order as the Leshi glanced at Jake and remarked, "You seem to have had the charm broken. It must be tough to lose a fake love that felt real."
I felt a pang of discomfort, wondering how the Leshi could know that. I looked at Jake, who seemed equally surprised and offended and disturbed. Julie looked angry and defiantly defensive at the Leshi.
The Leshi continued with a smile, "But it will get better. Sometimes, things have to fall apart, so better things can fall into place. Especially fake things." Before I ordered, she stepped over and pulled out a chocolate-looking cake and placed it on a paper, saying with a sigh, "On the house, as an apology for a related species folly. Sorry."
I blinked, confused. She laughed and added "Leshi and Dryads are both born of the forest. We aren't the same, but I still feel upset that my countrywoman would play with a mundane heart for...funsies and giggles."
I blinked and nodded. "Thank you, not really the only issue we are having but thank you. Can I get 2 coffees and another tea? Thank you." I pulled a 50 copper and put it on the counter and walked over the table Jake and Julie sat.
After a few minutes of silence and staring at the table, I heard the flutter of wings and looked up to see four fairies flying over to our table. They each carried the cups of coffee tea and a slice of cake on a piece of paper.
One fairy, with iridescent wings, set down a cup of coffee in front of me and placed the cake slice in front of Jake. Two more fairies with wings of butterflies argued about who the coffee and tea were until Julie asked for the tea. We thanked them and they flew away with a happy sound of fluttering wings.
I took a sip of the coffee, enjoying the smooth taste. I couldn't figure out what to say, so I just looked back and forth from Jake to Julie. We had serious issues and no idea what to do next, and neither of us had anyone who could possibly be of any help with this.
After another few minutes of silence the Leshi called out to us "Hey, we are placing bets on what exactly is your deal. Everyone has a copper or two riding on this, so how about you start the serious conversation already, so we can spread some money around."
As the Leshi's words hung in the air, I felt indignant. How dare this stranger woman and her group of friends use us for their amusement. We were having our world torn to shreds and spread around the winds, and they were betting on it. Anger was bubbling up inside of me, ready to explode, when Jake's laughter rang out.
"Alright, but if all of you are wrong, then we get your coins?" He laughed and stared at them. I looked over at him, confused, and saw his lips smiling as tears formed in the corners of his eyes.
The Leshi smiled and nodded, clearly pleased with Jake's response. "Deal!" she exclaimed. "Let's hear it then!"
Jake took a deep breath and began to explain everything. He sputtered, his words tumbling out in a rapid-fire stream. He talked about Julie's magic situation, where it was coming late because, surprise, she's a half-breed, the Dryad's charm and feeling like he fell in love again. Still, no, it was a cruel joke for another girl's amusement. The revelations that the witch doctor had dropped that he was abandoned, adopted, and now reunited with his twin brother, who he grew up thinking was his cousin.
As he spoke, I saw the Leshi's expression change. Her smile faded, and she grew more serious, her eyes widening in surprise at the magnitude of what we had gone through. Her friends, who had previously been laughing and chatting amongst themselves, grew quiet and listened intently.
Jake finished his explanation, and there was a moment of stunned silence. Then the Leshi spoke up, her voice soft and thoughtful. "Dam, kids. You all sorts of messed up," she said. "You for sure earned this coin." She pointed to a pile of coppers. A couple of pixies stood up, picked up the copper coins, and flew them over to us. "But what are you going to do next?"
Jake shrugged. "I guess that's why we came in here to try to figure out, but none of us could figure out how to start talking." He laughed manically. "I guess it took you to get us to think through our problems." He fingered through the copper coins and asked, "How much is this."
Julie put her hand on Jake's shoulder and rubbed it. He responsively put an arm around her.
I quickly counted and said, "Around 200 copper." Jake pushed the coins at me, and I put them in my pocket
The Leshi nodded. "Well, I don't know how much help we can be. In any case, I'm dying to know what you do next." To the end of her sentence, she was smiling unnaturally wide.
Suddenly, the words were out of my mouth before I even realized I was speaking. "You know, it would be great to get some answers from my parents directly. All we have is the word of a stranger we met today. Granted, she has some very compelling evidence. And photos. And she helped Julie. But still, what if she is so old she's misremembering things."
There was a moment of stunned silence as everyone turned to look at me. "You're right, John," Jake said. "We can't just take someone's word. We need to find out the truth for ourselves. But here's the big question: how?"
The Leshi jumped in. "Where do your parents live? If they are local, go talk to them."
I shook my head. "They live in one of the realms. We would need to travel there through the gateway portal system."
The Leshi shrugged. "What's stopping you?"
Julie Jake and I stared at her, cups frozen in mid-air, blinking, trying to come up with an answer. After a few seconds, we looked at each other and shrugged simultaneously. This earned us a chorus of giggles from the Fairies and Pixies.
Jake looked over at me with a concerned expression. "But how hard would it be to get there?" he asked.
I paused, thinking for a moment before responding. "If the schedules lined up, it would be pretty easy. We just need to go to the top floor and look at the schedule. If they don't, then we just have to wait or come back when it does."
Julie nodded in agreement, her eyes shining with hope. "I want you two to figure this out. My problem is sort of solved for now."
The Leshi clapped her hands and giggled, "Yeah! I love drama! I live for this. Usually, I have to be satisfied with TV, but now it's in real life!"
Jake looked the same way I felt: Like I wanted to destroy her. But at least she was helpful.
We finished our drinks, and Jake quickly shared his cake with Julie. Putting our cups and the paper in the trash, we said thanks and farewell to the Leshi and her co-workers.
We left the coffee shop and walked up the ramps to the ground floor. We passed the familiar shops and guilds. This time, none of us wanted to go shopping. We just walked in silence.
I felt a sense of apprehension at the prospect of confronting my parents. The best-case scenario was that they gave us all the answers we wanted. Worst case, everything exploded in our faces. But both of our sets of parents were always loving and patient. I couldn't see a situation where they wouldn't stay the same.
As we reached the ground floor, we saw the same satyr from earlier, sitting at the desk for transport control, a bored expression on his face. He looked up as we approached, and his eyes widened in recognition.
"Hey, it's you guys again," he said, leaning forward, elbows on his desk. "Did you try that Lion's sandwich? It was good, wasn't it."
Julie nodded. "Yes, it was awesome."
Jake interrupted, "I'm sorry, we first need a question answered."
The grumpy satyr looked at us, his head cocked to the side. "Oh? No time for pleasantries?"
"We need to get to Raven Landing," I said, my voice rushed but apologetic. "When's the next portal?"
The satyr scratched his chin, looking down at his papers. "Let me check." He consulted a printout of what looked like times and destinations. "Looks like there's one leaving...well right now, actually. And the next one in about 4 hours."
I exchanged a look with Jake and Julie. It was risky, but we didn't want to wait any longer than we had to. "We'll take it," I said, my voice firm.
"Take what?" the satyr asked, shrugging his shoulder and pointing at the portal. "It's open and about to be over. 50 copper a person. I already checked your passports."
My mouth dropped as I first looked at the portal that had the familiar image of the portal station I grew up a walking distance from. Then I looked at Julie and Jake. They nodded in affirmation and started walking towards the portal.
I put down the 150 copper coins we won from the fairies. "Jake Julie, we need to get the passports stamped." Jake hurried back, pulling his and Julie's from his pocket. I did the same and held it out to the satyr.
He picked up his wand and tapped each of our passports. "Well, hurry up; it closes in a minute or two."
Thank you for reading. Next book coming in January