Raven & The Angel

Chapter 19 - Back to the Present...

Both Raven and Harper were sitting on the edge of their seats, open-mouthed and holding their breaths, but Ma stopped talking.
"Well?" Raven prompted "What happened next? What was Savon like? How long did you stay and what happened between you and The Reef?"
"Whoa, just stop with the questions girl.  I promise I'll answer them all one day, but now isn't the time to tell you about my stay on Savon.  I need to tell you the consequences of the stay so that we can get these visitors on their way as soon as we can." Ma took a deep breath before continuing.

"So, The Reef and I did make it to Savon and I was treated like a friend by everyone.  Some did not approve of my relationship with The Reef, but no-one interfered. I lived there for 40 earth years.  We made one trip back to earth a month after I had left my parents but I was met by terrible news.  The night after I had left earth, there was an explosion at the house. Both mum and dad had died... It's thought that an experiment had gone horribly wrong - the whole house was reduced to a pile of rubble. It took two days to find my parents bodies. Rescuers searched for another two days trying to find me, but of course they failed. It was assumed that the blast had been so severe that it would be impossible to find my remains and I was 'presumed dead'. I don't even know if my parents had read my letter before they died.

I returned to Savon and made it my home. The Reef and I were kind of married - in that there was a bonding ceremony, as is their tradition. The Reef was their Leader which gave me high status in the Realm, which was frowned upon by some. A couple of years later I gave birth to a beautiful daughter - The Jade Eve.  Savonians name their children after things that nature provides - like Reef and Dune, so we chose 'Jade' like the black rock and it described her glossy black hair perfectly. We also chose an earth name - Eve, after my mother. When Savonians call someone by their name, they always begin with 'The' - it is their custom."

"Wait - you had an alien baby?" Raven choked. "Eugh..."
"Yes I did and don't judge - especially before you have heard the full story..." Ma chided.  Raven shut her mouth and leaned forward, waiting for Ma to carry on.

"Jade had all human features but also had the telepathy-like gift of a Savonian. She was also incredibly intelligent. We taught her all about both Earth and Savon. Although Jade was interested in her human heritage, she was fascinated by Savonian culture and beliefs about learning from other species. As The Reef's only child she became heir to the leadership of the Realm. This is where the trouble began.

There were a minority of Savonians that had not approved of me becoming The Reef's partner. When we had Jade this angered the objectors even more and many became rebels, vowing to somehow overthrow our daughter - the half human heir. However, The Reef ensured that Jade was protected from any kind of attempt on her safety by the rebel factions. The more the rebels caused trouble, the more Jade was determined to follow in her father's footsteps.   I've got no idea where she got her stubborn streak from..." Ma smiled.  "Anyway, when Jade was 20 she met and fell in love with a Savonian called The Storm.  They married (well, bonded) and three years later Jade gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. He was called The River.

As time passed The Reef began to pull back as the Leader so he could hand control to Jade.  Although Storm was 100% Savonian, the leadership still went to Jade because she had The Reef's blood line. At 29 Jade became The Leader.  This is when the rebels began to attack in earnest. Small armies were formed and Jade had to defend the Realm with armies of her own. 

When Jade was 31 she gave birth to another beautiful baby, this time a girl. Like Jade she also had all human features, but the Savonian gift was weaker for both her and her brother River.  Jade and Storm called their daughter, my grand daughter... The Angel, after me... As battles raged on, we feared for our lives. When The Angel was two years old, The Leader, Jade, asked me to take The Angel from Savon and, for her protection, to come back to earth. I pleaded with her to let me bring River too, but at 10 years old, he was already being groomed as next leader by Jade and Storm, as per Savonian tradition. River was also adamant that he would stay and once he was old enough, he would join the army to defend the Realm before taking over as The Leader.

Raven, my dearest girl... you are The Angel. You are my grand daughter..." Ma's shoulders slumped and she began to weep.