A Battle of Pride and Desire

Chapter Seven

"Come, I'll show you to your sleeping quarters," Taran said, leading her down through the landing.

Brigette followed blindly, as she had been doing all day. She still struggled to fully believe that she was in the Otherworld right now. There was just no way this was happening, she was certain that next she would see fairies flying through the skies. She wondered if and when they did figure out how Brigette found Juno's necklace how she would get home. Was there some sort of portal that permitted transport between worlds? If so, when did it open, or how could she open it? She racked her brain for anything she had heard as a child about the Otherworld. The storytellers of Dune Bríd had mentioned portals before, but they only opened at sunrise and sunset. Taran had entered her world in the dark, at nighttime. She took in the tall man ahead of her who was one hundred and one years her senior. He didn't look a day over twenty though. And his mother, the queen, how old was she? If he were 119 then she should be around 150 in human years. But, if he looked 19 and was 119, his mother could be well over two hundred. Brigette struggled to fully comprehend the gravity of the situation. She knew what was happening was crazy, but she was just trying not to fall apart at the seams. In her own world, Taran would have been very popular with the teenagers and young girls of Dune Bríd. He was handsome and his physique was something of a God, and with how her day was going, if that turned out to be the case she wouldn't be surprised.

Suddenly, Taran halted and stood outside a door, "You can stay in the guest room of close friends."

Close friends? Brigette nearly laughed. Taran didn't give her time to and opened the door to the largest bedroom Brigette had ever laid her eyes on. The carpet was plush and a deep velvet, Brigette's favourite colour. The bed was a four-post bed fit for a queen, and she supposed it was, considering it was the queen's home. There was another door in the corner that led to a bathroom. A bathroom in a bedroom? Brigette had heard tales of the houses on Cobbler's Lane having such a thing but had always dismissed it as hearsay. But here she was, and there it was. Very real. She walked in slowly, taking in her surroundings. Behind the bed - her bed - was a large window that overlooked the garden of the castle. There were more stars in the Otherworld and they were so bright they lit up the garden nicely. She could see the flowers blooming beneath her and she had the best birds-eye view. She sighed contentedly but instantly felt guilty at the thought of her mother and sister in their dingy little home. At least their debts were paid and she would be home soon. The Otherworld was only going to be for a short time until she got to her world, the only world that mattered. She turned to Taran who was watching her, a slight smile playing on his lips which caused her to frown. When he noticed her looking his face switched immediately to bored, as though he could change emotions whenever he wished. Perhaps another gift. She didn't know how many gifts someone could have. She had so many questions.

"What do you call the Otherworld?" she asked him to begin.

"We call it Magmella," he answered.

"What does that mean?"

"In your language?" he thought for a moment. "The delightful land? The land of delights?"

Brigette paused, "That's lovely."

"You never knew what it was called?" he asked.

"No. We always called it the Otherworld and in the stories I heard as a child, a woman would come to an Erinean hero with an apple and lure him here," she said. "You're not a woman, nor do you have an apple. I'm rather disappointed."

He laughed, "Some of the stories are true, but it's been so long since we last came into your world other than to collect our offerings. Over time, things became blurred."

Brigette nodded, still not quite believing that this was her life, "Did Oisín live here?"

"You're going to have to be more specific," he said.