I wouldn’t have known it was morning unless Oliver said it was. He led the way down the narrow corridor and into the dining room. I stopped breathing. The dining room was the most elegant room I had ever seen. The table was made from white marble and the chairs were made from gold with a red cushion. The red curtains were held to the side by a golden rope revealing the awesome light. Thein was already seated at the head of the rectangular table. Oliver and I took our seats opposite one another.
“I apologise for my son waking you”, he said sternly as he looked at Oliver.
“It’s fine. He answered some questions, so that was helpful”, I said in reassurance. I turned my attention to the sun. I knew it was just my imagination but I felt like it was smiling at me, as if it was saying ‘hi, long time, no see’. Thein must have realised where my attention had been switched to.
“Ah yes, Helios”, he said in awe. What was Helios? I looked at Thein in confusion, beckoning him to explain his vague observation. He pushed his chair back and walked over to the window.
“Helios is god of the sun and god of the gift of sight. We believe he protected you from our feud”, he said without once turning his attention away from the sun. One would think his eyes would be burning and he’d be blind, but he continued to look into the boiling magma with the smallest smile playing at the corner of his lips. “We tirelessly fought for you. Over time I realised you didn’t just belong to us, you belonged to them. I am going to tell you a story that will answer all your questions”, he said with a short glance towards Oliver and me. I nodded once before he immediately began.
“On our planets we age much slower and so for every year on Earth, it is one thousand years for us. What started this war happened twenty three thousand years ago. My wife fell in love with Kai and it created a great feud between our worlds. We were literally opposites. Our bodies function completely differently; we are poison to one another. Yet, they continued to fight to be with each other”, he said and I could tell his mind had gone back twenty three thousand years. If I spoke, he would not hear me so I stayed quiet and waited for him to continue.
“I didn’t understand and truthfully I still don’t. I loved her but she didn’t feel the same, I guess I could always see that but I ignored it. I was angry and so I attacked Kai’s world. We battled for many years and when I realised that you in fact were my wife’s daughter, it was too late. Helios believed we didn’t deserve you, so he took you from us both”, he said with a pained expression.
“My wife died in the battle and so I took it upon myself to keep a watch on all our neighbouring planets in search for you. When I found you, I sent Oliver to watch over you and report back to me. I told your mother the truth and she took Oliver in with much convincing”, he said as his attention slowly came back to the present. He turned around and looked at me straight in the eyes. “I was and still am angry with Kai and this is why I ceased fire. He has suffered and now his people must suffer too”, he said fiercely. I looked away as his need for revenge was overwhelming. I coughed to find my voice once more. He wanted to protect me, yet destroy part of where I came from. This did not make any sense at all. I wasn’t going to attempt to convince otherwise, at least not yet. There was no convincing him yet.
“Thank you for the story and the breakfast. I would like to go back now if you’ll take me?” I asked quietly. His expression changed as if he realised his penetrating glare.
“Of course, Oliver will take you to Earth”, he said as he turned away again. I turned to Oliver who was sitting opposite me. He was just as horrified and surprised as me. Was this the first time he heard this story too?
He stood up, pushed the seat with the back of his knees and wiped his mouth with his hand. “Let’s go then”, he said with a rough throat as a result of not speaking for so long.
Flying. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before. It wasn’t like in the movies when everything is still and you are the only thing moving or perhaps it was like that. We were moving too fast for me to take notice and, frankly, I never wanted to do it again. It was horrible. When we landed, I was sure I was going to throw up, but somehow I kept my insides, inside. Oliver laughed at me and how I was trying to not lose my breakfast. I hadn’t heard such a happy noise in a long time. It was nice.
“Shut up”, I said jokingly. This only made him laugh harder. I began walking toward the house which was only a few houses away.
“Sorry”, he said unconvincingly. He jogged a little to catch up with me while almost tripping on a fallen branch.
We reached the house and when Oliver looked at me, I tried to decide whether he should come or if I should’ve talked to my mother alone.
“Does she know that you weren’t trying to kill me?” I asked him quietly. He frowned and stared at the flower beds that were perfect as always.
“No, but we can explain that to her now”, he said reassuringly. I nodded and proceeded towards my home.
I opened the door as quietly as possible. Oliver grabbed my shoulder and spun me around slowly.
“She will probably think that you are still wherever you were when you first left Earth”, he whispered. He must have seen my wildly confused expression as he continued. “It’s the time thing”, he said. Oh. That would make sense. I nodded and continued down the hall. With each step, voices grew louder and louder. She was talking to someone.
“Maybe we should come back later”, I whispered to him. He was frozen and starring at the arch way between the hall and the kitchen. “Oliver?”
I didn’t even have time to blink before he ran into the kitchen and had a ball of fire in his hand.
“Oliver!” What was he doing? He was going to frighten her even more. We were there to reassure her, not to make her more afraid. I ran after him and I stopped right behind him as I realised who she was talking to. It was Katell.
“Acacia, there you are! I just came to see if you were here, you left the library quickly and you seemed a bit confused”, she turned her attention toward Oliver and then back to me. “Now I’m a little confused”, she questioned with the concern in her voice.
“I know the truth about you now”, I blurted out without even thinking about it. She cocked her head to the side confusingly.
“I’m not sure I know what you mean”, she said without removing her eyes from Oliver’s. It was almost as if they were having a conversation that my mother and I were not a part of. How was I going to handle this? If she was as powerful as Thein said, then how was I going to stop her? I had started and now I had to continue.
“I know you have been here since the beginning and I know all you want is power”, I said plainly. I thought about beating around the bush, but that would waste time. It was better to just say it and get it over with. She straightened her back and returned her attention toward me in shock that I knew.
“Well, when you put it like that it doesn’t sound as impressive”, she said slyly. I frowned. “Don’t you get it Acacia? Your home planets have been fighting for thousands of years and yet none of them have seen it until now. Power is everything”, she said. “Kadar gets that”, she added.
Kadar wouldn’t do that, would he? Though, Thein said he had been blocking him and Oliver from speaking with me.
“Everyone stop talking!” Mum yelled at the top of her lungs. Not many of us were talking but she was getting frustrated. When she’s frustrated, I have learned not to speak. “Katell, I don’t know what’s going on but get out of my house. I need to speak with my children”, she said staring into her deep brown eyes that seem to always win everyone over. However, if you look at them now, they don’t symbolise safety anymore. They symbolise darkness.
“As you wish”, she said and walked past Oliver and I without saying a word. The door slammed behind her. Why would she just leave? This made me feel uneasy and it seemed like she had something up her sleeve. However, for now I gulped at the threatening look that mum was giving us. I guess nothing has changed. She was going to ask for answers and then express her opinions about them at the top of her lungs.
