Abandonment is one word to describe Evelyn Ward's childhood.
Known as an orphan freak and paranoid schizophrenic, she was dragged through years of therapy after admitting to hearing whispering voices and seeing creatures and living shadows.
...
Worry continued to nag at me while I sat at my mother's bedside and refused to leave even when the doctor examinations confirmed she had no physical injury and simply needed rest.
"Your Grace," the doctor called from the doorway on his way out. "Get lots of rest and you'll be back on your feet tomorrow. No sooner. And Evelyn, it's a pleasure to have you back with us, you take care. And try not to worry, your mother is going to be just fine."
My mother reached up to stroke my cheek, brushing away the rogue tear that fell from my eye. "Evelyn, darling, why are you crying?"
"I thought I was going to lose you. I spent so many years dreaming about having a mother, and I was so scared you were going to die."
"Oh, my darling girl." She sat up to pull me into a hug, soothing me with a gentle hand, stroking my hair. "I'm okay now, I'm alright."
"You're not, though." I pulled away, blinking to hold back the tears threatening to spill. "If the demon didn't touch you, didn't hurt you, why did using your power exhaust you so much? I've seen Zev fight them and it doesn't affect him so much. You're Queen -- the most powerful -- so why did it weaken you so much? You keep saying you're okay, but you're not, I know you're not. There's something you're not telling me, so stop telling me you're fine." My voice broke on the last note of my fevered crescendo, and I fell silent, swallowing the tears in my throat.
The heavy sigh my mother let out dragged down the atmosphere, drowning any hope I may have harbored. "I never wanted to worry you, but I suppose there's no hiding anything from you." She took my hands between hers and sat in silence for a moment before turning her azure gaze up to my crystalline stare. "You know that as Queen, my powers are tied to the strength of the veil that divides the worlds, that holds the demons at bay."
"So long as a powerful Queen leads the fey, the veil will remain strong... And the veil's been weakening, hasn't it? Your powers are waning."
The sadness darkening her eyes left no shroud of doubt my conclusion was correct.
"But why? What's gone wrong? It's not something to do with me, is it? Because I'm here, it's taxing your power, is that it?"
"No, darling, never that." She shook her head and squeezed my hands tighter. "Having you here has only strengthened me in a dark time. The truth, I'm afraid, is far more sinister. Twenty-one years ago, the demons rallied their strength to attack the fae here in Terradstrum. In the chaos, they stole you away. They left you abandoned in the human world and sequestered you into a life of suffering. While it left them weakened, it left us more so and they were content to bide their time and grow strong again, knowing we only continued to weaken. For at the same time they took you, they poisoned me."
Her words sent my mind reeling and my heart pounding as fear and hope collided in a ferocious battle within me. If it was a poison that weakened her, maybe there was still a chance to save her. "Poisoned? Then we just need to find the antidote, and you'll be okay, right? Do you know what it was?"
"It was not a mortal poison, my darling. There is no cure for what ails me. They used the blackest of magicks to poison my very soul with a darkness that fights to snuff out my light. The constant battle is what weakens me. Using my power only adds to that strain, which is why I reacted the way I did when I fought off the demon. But if I were to stop fighting, it would kill me."
"So if you fight it, it's going to kill you, and if you don't, you'll still die?" My whispered question left the bitter taste of defeat on my tongue, coating my insides with a sickening despair. "It's not fair."
"I know, sweetheart, I know."
"There has to be something we can do. Something has to make you better. Somebody has to know something. You can't -- you just... please." My restrained tears broke through as I curled against her side like a small child seeking comfort.
"Evelyn, I know it's hard to hear, but there's nothing to be done. It is what it is, but I'm not leaving you anytime soon, my darling. You're a fighter, my daughter. A fierce woman who fights till the bitter end -- that same fire blazes in my heart. I'm not giving in yet, and neither will you."
And she was right. I was and always will be a fighter. No matter the battle, no matter how broken, I'd always find a way back to my feet. And now was no time to give in even though I had been gutted and torn apart.
Rubbing the tears from my eyes, I nodded and inhaled, gasping in the air I needed to regain my composure. "Tell me what to do to be better. If I only have a short time to have a mother, I don't want to be a disappointment. I want to be a daughter you can be proud of, a daughter you can feel confident in leaving your throne to."
A single tear rolled from her eye and she pressed a kiss to the top of my head. "You already are, Evelyn, you already are."
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Emotions are running high, and nothing is going right. What are your predictions for what is to come? Let me know your thoughts - I love hearing what you have to say
