The Broken Myth

Chapter Nineteen

                                                        Maxine

It goes dead silent as no one says a thing. Mom just sighs, Leo's looking at his feet  and Tiffany is zoned out. I can't say anything to break the silence because for some reason my mouth has been snapped shut. 

Suddenly my stomach rumbles. I feel my face turn bright red with embarrassment. Everyones eyes close in on me. Leo tries his best not to laugh but does a very poor job at doing so. 

Mom cuts his laughs short and says "Ah yes, we were going to get food weren't we." I Nod. Leo looks down at me and leans in slightly to whisper "Grab my hand..." I do as I'm told. My face is still bright red.  Tiffany joins my mother in front of us as we walk into the food hall. 

More memories flood my head as I remember coming here as a kid with Leo and Tiffany. We used to steal the apple turn overs. Only cause I asked them too  and if I'm remembering correctly, they were delicious. 

We enter the Dining Hall which is full of rows of seats, bench style seating. There are specific rows of different wood. I remember there were different types of wood to represent what type of fairy you are, I just can't remember the different types. 

"Burch is for the sky fairies. Evergreen is ground. Cedar is  for water fairies. Redwood is for fire fairies." Leo says answering my questioning expression. Now that makes more sense. Though what type am I? What type are they? Will we have to split up to our different sections? 

"Don't worry Max we can all sit together. It's more for when everyone is around. I'm a water fairy and Tiffany is a sky fairy like you. The Queen is  a sky kind but when she has her crown, she rules all. It's how we can all fly." He says smiling down at me. 

Mom and Tiffany take left and go down the column of birch wood seats so Leo and I follow suit. We take a seat and I forget that Leo and I are still holding hands as Mom hands us our menus.

Leo lets go of my hand to grab his, so I grab mine with that hand too so I don't look weird.  I scan it down trying to look for something delicious. I feel eyes staring at me but I don't look. I clear my throat getting ready to speak but nothing comes. I forgot that I can't speak. 

My moms eyes widen as she realizes and says "Oh my god, I'm sorry honey! You can speak." 

I feel the tension of my mouth  relax as I move my jaw around because of how stiff it was. I clear my throat again and ask "Can I get the fruit salad?" Before I know it, a  fruit salad pops up In front of me. Everyone chuckles including mom. 

"I should have said something about that. If you ask for a certain meal, it pops up in front of you fresh and ready to go." Tiffany says with a bright smile. Huh, that's pretty cool! 

Mom orders a bowl of yogurt with fruit, Leo orders a protein smoothie and Tiffany gets a berry blast smoothie. They love fruit. I can't be one to talk though because I love fruit too, especially tangerines. 

Mom breaks away from her concentration of the yogurt bowl and asks "You up for a celebration?" She's not focusing on Leo or Tiffany. Her eyes are dead set on me. She has a smile of kindness but her eyes look hollow, as if she has no soul. I shake away my train of thought. 

"What celebration?" I ask. As far as I know there isn't anything important going on. Unless they're hiding something from me but I don't think thats the case. 

"It was your birthday yesterday! Did you forget already?" Tiffany exclaims with a shocked expression. Wait it was? That means I'm 16 now! 

"Remember? Every time its someones birthday we celebrate, but since your the Queens daughter the whole kingdom celebrates with a huge bonfire, music, dancing, food and so much more! All the fairies come to celebrate and bring one gift each. Like when you turned four, the ground fairies gifted you with crystals that showed your mood! Except they weren't cheap ones that go off by your body heat. It actually reads your brain waves to determine your emotions." Leo states. 

However, the way he described the celebration makes it sounds amazing! Especially the Bonfire part. I've always loved the smell of bonfires. Even roasting marshmallows and making s'mores.  

"I'll take that as a Yes?" Mom asks with a raised eyebrow. I nod my head. 

"Will it be hosted tonight or?" I ask. 

"Yes. Since your birthday was yesterday we would have to do it tonight." 

"Isn't there planning that goes into this sort of thing?" 

"Yes but it's been planned for a while so we are well prepared." 

Before I can say anything else there's a loud slam that comes from the entrance. I whirl around in my seat like everyone else to see what's going on. Theres a guy dressed in armour that looks out of breath.

"Kane, what's the problem?" Mom asks standing up. Somethings wrong. 

"My Queen!" he exclaims and bows. 

"Someone has entered the forest! It seems that he has help and he is a disowned fairy!" he Continues. A disowned fairy? A turned fairy...or a back stabber...? What kind of help? Questions swarm in my head. 

"Leo, Tiffany, you know what to do." Mom states. Leo and Tiffany exchange glances and look as if they just had a whole conversation in one look. 

"Whats going on?" I ask starring up at Leo. He doesn't look down at me, he just grabs my hand and pulls me out of my seat. I rip my hand out of his grasp. 

"Max we don't have time we have to go!" he yells. His eyes stare me down and his mouth is in a one straight set line. 

"No! Tell me what's going on! I'm done with being oblivious to everything." I yell back at him. His eyes go to looking pleading within seconds but before he can say anything my mom yells at me. 

"Max just shut up! Hurry up and grab Leo's hand so he can get you to safety!" 

Before I know it, I have hold of Leo's hand, my mouth is snapped shut again and I'm running out with him and Tiffany right behind us. 

I try my best to listen to what's going on but all I hear is "Cast out gecko... portal.... Collin...forgotten fairy...spirit animal... impossible forest and survival..." Wait. Theres that name again. Collin. Why is he such a big deal? Does he have a spirit animal? Is that who the Gecko is? Is that the extra help? What do they mean Impossible forest? Survival? A portal? My head starts to swell with pain. So many un-answered questions. 

That's all I can hear before I'm pulled out of earshot. Away from all the questions I want answers too.