Eternity

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Earth

It's all I have to bring today --

This, and my heart beside --

This, and my heart, and all the fields --

And all the meadows wide --

Be sure you count -- should I forget

Some one the sum could tell --

This, and my heart, and all the Bees

Which in the Clover dwell.

Emily Dickinson

          Grandma Liv served eggs and bacon for breakfast. I sat awkwardly with her at the large table as we ate in silence. Finally she spoke, her soft voice breaking the silence.

          “Finley’s family invited us up to the river tomorrow afternoon to go boating. Would you like to go?” Her face looked hopeful.

          I almost choked on my bacon. I chewed carefully and swallowed, thinking  hard. I had been planning on returning to Eternity as soon as possible but…an afternoon on a boat…with Finley…that was just too good to pass up. Huh, ironic how last year I would have retched at the thought.

          I swallowed. “Um, sure, sounds good.”

          Grandma Liv’s face lit up. “Perfect! I’ll call Charlotte and let her know.”   I smiled back. It actually felt kind of good to make Grandma Liv happy. Maybe she wasn’t all that bad.

          I rinsed off my plate and went back upstairs while Grandma Liv chatted to someone on the other end of the phone. I changed into a purple tank top and jean shorts and ran a brush through my shoulder-length hair. It fell in auburn waves and looked pretty in the mirror. I smiled at my reflection and whispered, “Hey Finley, what’s up?” I shook my head, embarrassed at myself. I sighed and fished the journal out of my bag. I might as well research some more while I had time to kill.

          Some entries were boring, but every once in a while I’d find something worth while. I found a map of Eternity, naming all of the regions and castles. There was Marcha, Storman, Decca, and Sunder; spring, summer, winter, and fall. It also said who all the queens were, and where they ruled; there was Lysander, Tamsin, Devodie, and Sable. Some of this I already knew from Dalacie but a lot of it was helpful, so I dove into the material again.

          Something else caught my eye. I scanned another entry curiously and found information about Eternity in the past. Before the four queens, there had been a queen and king, the current queens’ parents. Their names were Deson and Olina Grayeveire. Deson died when the girls were in their teens. Their mother disappeared shortly after. That’s right-disappeared.

          I was confused. How could a mother just leave her children like that? It made them pretty much orphans. They had no parents: What else could they be? I shook my head and closed the book, stuffing it back into my bag. I was done for now.

          I ran down the stairs and almost bumped into Grandma Liv at the bottom.

          “Whoa, where’s the fire?” She said.

          “Oh, uh, sorry, I didn’t see you,” I blurted out, “I’m going for a walk.”

          “Okay dear, be careful,” she said and patted me on the shoulder before going back upstairs.

          I made my way to the back door and pushed against the screen. It creaked open and I hopped down the old wooden stairs. The sun was high and shone bright in my eyes. I wished I had my Seahawks hat.