The Roselands

Chapter 3

   I felt like I'd just seen a miracle. No, not a miracle. A disaster. As timid and scared as my mother always was, she had just encountered one of the most dangerous creatures of the Roselands and kissed him. My heartbeat accelerated and I felt like if my breathing got any louder they'd hear me, but I kept silent, watching. The Zytrey wrapped his arms around her back and, surprisingly, moved his wings up over their heads so it worked as an umbrella and kept the rain off of them.

   My mother pulled back and chuckled. I was close enough to hear their conversation. "I'm glad you could make it, Thyte."

   He smiled and rubbed his forehead on hers, kissing her nose. "I could say the same. It was you who was late last time."

   So this was the old friend she'd always come to meet on the third Sundays. Judging from the kiss and the way they nuzzled each other's faces, they were just a bit more than old friends. She sighed and hugged his shoulders, resting her cheek on his chest. "I think Zeek is starting to unravel the secret."

   "Then let me meet him. I've always wanted to. Does he…?"

   "No. He doesn't show any signs. Thank God. It keeps him safe from the public, but I still hide him. It's for the best."

   He sighed and took her shoulders gently, shaking his wings off to the side to rid them of the heavy water before he put them back over their heads. He slipped the hood off her head and kissed her forehead, hugging her close. "I so wish to meet him. Will you ever let me?"

   She looked up at him and nodded, stroking his neck and then letting her hands slide down his chest. "Of course, but not this time. I don't think he's ready."

   Thyte nodded and began to speak, but as I leaned in closer to listen, my boot slipped off the root of the tree I was standing behind. I fell into a puddle, making a splash and a loud grunt which echoed around the clearing.

   I looked up and mother whirled around, making Thyte jump back in surprise. She gasped as she saw it was me and her eyes narrowed in anger. "Zeek! I told you to stay home."

   I stood and squeezed the majority of the water out of my shirt. "No. You told me to hang the clothes up. You never said stay at home."

   She humphed and raised a finger as if to scold me further when the man put a hand on her shoulder and stepped forward. He easily dwarfed me with his height and muscle capacity, but his wings made him look gigantic. Up close, he was a giant. "You're her son? Her only son?"

   I gulped and nodded, too dumbfounded to speak. His thoughtful eyes softened and he smiled fondly, reaching over and putting his hands on my shoulders. "Wow. A perfect specimen. How old is he, Fay?"

   She came over and her expression meant she'd gone back into her timid, scared mode. "Eighteen. Now don't scare him please."

   Thyte chuckled and walked around me, patting my back and prodding my shoulders. "I won't, Fay. Wow. You were right. Not a sign to be seen."

   I swallowed and then backed away from them a little, just to make some room. "Umm…ok so…now that we've cleared up who I am…how about we clear up who he is?"

   Fay sighed and walked over to Thyte who stretched up his wings and made a canopy over all three of us. "This is Thyte, if you didn't eavesdrop on that. I met him nineteen years ago in this very spot. I'd been hunting for rabbits with my brother and I suddenly heard him scream. I ran through the woods and came to this clearing to see my brother was being murdered by a Focks in the center. I ran over and tried to help him, but the Focks killed him and then shoved me to my back. I was sure he'd rape me, but then something attacked him from behind. When I finally got the courage to look up, Thyte was standing there, holding the dead Focks."

   Thyte smiled and pressed his forehead to hers. "I had heard her screams and felt like I should help. When I killed the Focks, she ran over and hugged me, weeping for her brother. I took pity on her and helped her hunt for food for a few months."

   Mother took over again. "Over those few months, I grew closer to him than either of us expected and a year later…you were conceived. Then the law was passed that said no humans could have hybrid children with creatures from the Roselands and so Thyte had to go into hiding, but we agreed to meet here every third Sunday of every month. When you were born, I was so afraid you'd have wings that showed your lineage, but you didn't. I was thrilled. I wouldn't have to hide you, but…I still feared the soldiers who prowl the woods looking for hybrids. I kept you hidden in case they somehow found out."

   I was frozen to the spot, my jaw hanging open and my eyes locked on Thyte and my mother. "He's…"

   Fay nodded and put a hand on Thyte's chest. "Yes, Zeek. He's your father."