The Forbidden Lands (Wattys 2015 Winner)

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen
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The thing my brother had been speaking of? It was connected to the whole Forbidden Lands issue? A thousand questions swarmed through my head, but I could not articulate what I needed to say.

"Please, no questions," Dianthe said. "I cannot tell any more. That is all I know. You need to get back to your human land as swiftly as possible."

"Why?" I asked. "Why me? What is special about me that singles me as the one chosen to help?"

"You don't know?" she said. "You're the Enchanta."

I recoiled. "Impossible. The Enchanta is an object used to break the spell. The elves told me so."

"Were the elves alive at the time? No. But I was a little girl. The Enchanta is a person who is necessary for the spell. He or she is chosen at birth."

"I was not chosen."

"Were you not?"

I thought back to my dream. It had showed me as a baby. The day when everyone saw me. The day of my birth.

Dianthe seemed to read my mind. "One of the people at your birth was the Enchanter of the humans. And even if he or she does not know it, he or she chose you as the Enchanta that day. You will be the one to save us, Evelin. It can only be you."

"I don't believe you . . . " I said.

She looked down. "Would I lie to you? I saw the first Enchanta, long, long ago."

"How can you prove it to me? I don't have any magic or anything."

"I cannot prove it, but it is what I believe is true," she said. "Let me show you something."

She led me over to a mural on one of her walls. It depicted a battle between humans and other creatures. One human stood in the middle, surrounded by a silvery light. He held a piece of parchment in his hand.

"See," Dianthe said softly. "This is what I remember from when I was young." She stroked the mural at the man in the silvery light. "I didn't understand why the humans imprisoned us. I met the Enchanta. As a young girl, I even adored him. I never believed it was truly the humans intention  to lock us away."

I sighed. Too many questions swirled in my mind. I could not focus. How could I be this important figure? "Fine. Perhaps I'm chosen to do this, but it is not worth it. None of the races appreciate me."

"I do," she said.

I sighed. "How soon do I need to go?"

"Leave tomorrow early in the morning. I'll let my wind take you to the coast, and I'll provide you with food," Dianthe said.

"Your wind can do that?"

She smiled mysteriously. "I can do a lot of things."

"Once I get onto the shore, what shall I do?" I asked. I had no money.

"I'll find you a gem to sell. Using that money, go to the king and tell him of the problems at hand. He knows something about it, I can tell. I'm sure that he'll be able to help you find the lost Enchanters. Which ones are those?"

"The merrow king, the troll chieftain, the human, . . . and the faery, unless you know where he or she is."

"I do know."

"You do?"

"Yes. And she is not in Krialle."

"Where is she?" I asked excitedly.

"Right . . . in front of you."

My jaw dropped, and I pointed at her. "You're the Enchanter?"

"Yes. And my great-uncle was the previous one. It is genetic in some way, I believe."

It seemed logical. She seemed to be wiser than the other faeries, not fighting in the war and all. "So what should we do for the rest of the day? How can I prepare myself for what is to come?"

"I will teach you how to do a spell to break the Enchantment." She tapped the parchment the Enchanta in the mural was holding. "A counter spell to this one."

"But . . . what about the bad thing that is to come?" I asked.

"I do not know. But I can try my best to help you think of ways to defeat it," she said.

"I still do not understand why it must be me to do everything," I said. "Why can it not be you? You already know all of this."

"It is the way it was fated. We cannot change fate. The day you were born, a little bit of each Enchanters' power went to you. And so, it must be you. Some say it was the Enchanter at your birth who chose you. I believe anyone can be the Enchanta. It is fate. An Enchanta is only made for a special purpose. This is yours."

I did not believe it. Could not believe it. I was not special. I was ordinary. I was.

"You are not ordinary," Dianthe continued, as if reading my mind. "You are necessary to the spell, and you cannot help the world if you do not accept your fate."

"Let's just talk about that spell," I muttered.

She clasped her hands together. "Indeed. You must have the six Enchanters stand in a circle, at the edge of Havene, holding each other's wrists. You will recite the spell, and the Enchanters will repeat after you. You must continue to say it and have them repeat it, until the spell works."

I nodded slowly. "Do you have a copy of the spell?"

She searched through some drawers. "Ah! Here it is. The words will not mean anything to you, so there is no point in practicing them. Just make sure you have it once you perform the spell." I hoped I would be able to keep it safe.

"Is there anything else you can tell me?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I suppose I could tell you about the faeries."

"Go on," I said.

"Faeries use a glamour when they want to appear as something else. I use it to look younger or to have different hair colors. But it has no substance, and it cannot change the complete appearance of the person using it. I cannot change my face shape, body shape, nor eye color, but some extremely powerful faeries can. None alive can do that today. And they cannot change their voice."

"Interesting," I said. I spent the rest of my time there learning about the faeries, and preparing to leave.

The next morning, Dianthe handed me an empty container. "Only use this in a time of mortal peril," she said.

"Why?" I asked. "It's empty.

"No," she said. "It's filled with wind. A receptacle of wind. It will surround you with a column of wind that you will be able to control."

I smiled gratefully. Dianthe had done so much for me. "Thank you."

Dianthe let me ride on her wind to the shore of the Western Sea. I used Dianthe's gem to hitch a ride from a fisherman, and then I hired a carriage ride to Velia.

It was time for my audience with King Davi. With his help, I'd be able to find all the Enchanters, and eventually stop the threat in northern Krialle.

I hoped.
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