The Definer

Chapter 25

We arrived at the train station later in the afternoon. Estelle climbed awkwardly out of the car. She had been very nervous in it the whole way. My guess was that she'd never actually been in a car. We entered the station and headed up to get tickets. The whole time, the two of them followed me, eyes wide in awe as they looked around.
"Don't tell me you've never been to a train station?" I said, absolutely dumbfounded.
"I have seen it from the outside but I usually steer clear of it. The noise alone is enough to drive me away." James replied.
"I barely ever even come to the Human Realm for anything but missions anyway." Estelle added.
I shook my head and walked toward the booth. "Three tickets into the harbour please."
Behind the glass was an old wrinkled woman who looked like she really didn't want to be there.
"That'll be sixty dollars." She grumbled in a low, worn out voice.
I looked her directly in the eyes until her eyes narrowed and her pupils shrank. "We don't need to pay. We need to go into the harbour for free."
"You don't need to pay. You need to go to the harbour for free." She repeated in a robotic voice and slid the tickets under the glass.
"Impressive." Estelle complimented.
I looked at her proudly, handed them each a ticket and led them to the platform.

We stood waiting on the platform for about half an hour before the train came into sight in the distance. It got closer and closer with every passing second. James pressed his palm to his head and stumbled over his feet, catching himself on the bench seat just before he fell.
I rushed over and held his shoulders. "Are you okay?" I asked. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing princess, I'm... I'm fine." He replied weakly.
"I need you to tell me what is wrong." I urged.
"Let's just say he doesn't stay away from here just because of the noise." Estelle answered. "The amount of metal here weakens his strength and his powers."
"Will you be alright? We can find another way to get there if you want." I offered, cupping his face in my hands.
He straightened himself up and began walking towards the train which had stopped and now had doors open. "I'm fine."
I gave in and followed after him onto the train. We went straight for the Middle floor. The seats only came in twos and there was only one left.
"I'll find seating on another level." Estelle announced and she disappeared before I could argue.

I helped James into the spare seat and plonked down next to him. I swung my backpack onto my lap and rested my head back against the seat. I shut my eyes for what felt ten minutes but when I finally opened them, half an hour had passed. I looked at James and found him staring at me but he quickly turned away when I looked at him.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing." He replied.
"Why were you looking at me?"
"Because you looked beautiful and relaxed for about the first time since I started helping you. You should relax more often. You look beyond magnificent when you're relaxed."
My cheeks flushed and I looked down at the bag strap I was fiddling with. "Lately, there hasn't been much to be relaxed about." I told him sadly.
"Did you know, deciding to disappear from you when you were younger was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I think it's because I cared more about you than anyone or anything else in the universe. Now that you are next to me, I feel it even more. I want you to feel protected with me because I promise, I will never, ever let anything happen to you." He said sincerely.
"I'm not scared of anything hurting or taking me. I'm scared of myself. You know the prophecies as well as anyone. I'm so afraid that one day I'll wake up as an evil person in love with a prince whose heart is as cold as ice." I admitted.
He pulled my head gently onto his lap and stroked my hair. It wasn't long until I was fast asleep in his warm embrace.

I woke up to James' whispers in my ear. The heat of his breath sent shivers down my spine.
"Time to wake up princess. We're here." He whispered.
He helped me sit up and get my bag on before we got off of the train. I placed my bag on the bench seat and shuffled through, looking for a water bottle. I pulled one out and unscrewed the lid. Just as I did, I noticed a piece of rolled up paper stuck to the side. I pulled it off and unrolled it. Much to my surprise, the paper felt as soft as velvet against my fingers. The now familiar handwritten words were scribbled across the page.
"What's that?" James asked.
I didn't answer. I just read the words on the paper.