Rabidity (Jane Loft-series #1)

Chapter 4

Amelia brings me back to Phostius, who has been waiting like a loyal dog right where Xavier and I said goodbye to him. Obviously he's not needed at the portal anymore and he has been waiting here for me to return for god knows how long. I feel a tad of guilt.

Amelia's hand has been on my lower back the whole time, but I feel how it retreats when we reach the guard. I turn to her and wish I knew what I need to say to her.

Her eyes search mine and it hits me I have the same blue colour. Light blue with a circle of gold surrounding the pupil.

"The Festival is tomorrow night. Summer and Trevor will be placed too. I asked Trevor to be a little nicer to you than when you were still at Zickenbridge, so please give him a chance."

"What do you -"

"Just... forget everything he did in Zickenbridge. He promised me he'll be a better person, he even wants to be your friend. But you have to give him a chance. Please," she pleads.

I nod my head. "Okay, I'll try."

"Good," she smiles heartily, "then I'll see you at the Festival. Good luck."

"Thanks," I say and she touches my cheek in a caring gesture before turning around and jumping in the nearest tree. My mother jumps into a tree. I shake my head, so I can clear it from my thoughts. Tonight, when I'm alone in bed, there will be time to cry and say goodbye to my old life. I look back up and the only thing I see from Amelia now, is her red hair, flying from tree to tree.

"What the -" I breath as she jumps over two trees and lands in the third.

Phostius clears his throat. "Her Majesty the Queen is very good in traveling fast and efficient," he says behind me.

"Yeah, I noticed," I chuckle and I turn to him. "Why do you call Xavier 'sir'?"

Phostius smiles and starts walking. I join him and he begins to talk: "Xavier is a Finder. Finders are people Queen Amelia trusts with her life and she sends out in the human world to find people who Are. They are higher ranked in our society than guards like me. We always have to be polite to them."

I don't reply, because I'm too busy looking around me. Macaria really is beautiful. When we follow the path to Trevor and the rest, we pass forests, meadows, fountains, rivers, hills and gigantic houses with all kinds of writings on them. My eyes nearly fall out of their sockets.

When we come across a big light blue mansion with a pond full of swans, I ask Phostius: "What does that mean?"

He stops walking and stares at the mansion. "Luister naar je hart," he reads aloud. "It's Dutch for 'listen to your heart'."

"Huh," I do, "what's Dutch, exactly?"

This is the first time I see how the guard loses his cool. He sighs deeply, but replies anyway. "It's a dead language. Hundreds of years ago, there were seven continents. In one of them, Europe, there was a little country called Belgium and a somewhat bigger, the Netherlands. The inhabitants spoke Dutch."

"What happened to them?"

"The Second Big Bang killed most of them, and the ones who survived live in other continents, like Africa and Asia."

I have nothing more to say.

To my great surprise, Phostius keeps talking. "Members of Tenderness live here, can't you tell?"

I mentally slap my head. "Of course! Blue, swans and the water!"

"Very good," he says. "Queen Amelia has informed you well. Although I must say Tenderness is the most interesting Blanga, so that gives you a head start in recognizing it."