To Come Home

Chapter 6: Do You Believe Me Now?

The car ride over to 'Stanley Park' is quiet at first. Bucky seems rather pensive right now, and I wouldn't want to interrupt his stream of thoughts. Either way, I don't mind the quiet. I'm going a little crazy in my mind right now, and need to sort out my thoughts; beyond not knowing whether my powers will even work once I'm reunited with the Elements, I'm also going through quite an unpleasant adjustment-period at the moment, trying to get used to the fact that I'm in a super-fast, rolling, metal box, is harder than I imagined it would be – not that I've ever imagined it before. I can't even focus on the scenery outside to calm my nerves, all the views from the window just speed away from my sight before I get the chance to fully capture and appreciate them.

"I think I remember where I've seen your tattoo before," Bucky says, breaking the silence, and dragging my wondering, drowning mind out of a deep stream of thoughts.

"really? Where from?" I ask curiously, turning my head away from the window.

"This one summer, when I was staying at my grandpa's cottage," he starts to say, then takes a little pause, gripping the wheel tighter, his eyes filling up with hurt, before continuing with evident hesitance, "uhh, at the cottage, an old friend and I, we broke into my grandpa's secret study, and one of the books we found there was made of wood, and had a carving of a tree on it, exactly like your tattoo I think. His journal had a scribbling of it too. We never found out what it meant," he looked forward distantly as he said this.

"are you absolutely sure it was the same symbol?"

He shrugs uncomfortably, "That memory has never come up before, so I've never really thought about it till now, but yeah, I'm pretty sure."

I wanted to ask him more questions about his grandfather's mysterious study, and his journals containing Phentyllia's Kingdom Crest; I needed to know how such a symbol made its way to another world, none the less one that's supposedly never heard of the place which the symbol represents. It was very curious indeed, and definitely required some answers, but right now it seemed like Bucky was getting a little distant and cold, his eyes glistening with misery, he didn't seem completely there.

"hey Bucky, you okay?"

"what? Yeah, of course. Why do you ask?"

"you just don't quite seem to be, how do I put this? I guess, fully there? If that makes any sense."

He chortles lightly under his breath, "Heh. yeah, yeah it does. Well, you're not completely wrong about that. It's nothing, just a little case of nostalgia I think," he says uncertainly.

"okay, whatever you say," I reply unconvinced.

"what, you don't believe me?" he tries to laugh it off.

"well I don't know, it seems like a little more than just nostalgia to me, seems like something deeper."

"wait, don't tell me, you're a psychic too!" he exclaims sarcastically.

I laugh at his attempt to offend me, "no, but being a princess, you have to learn to be able to read people, and your eyes are like a wide open book."

"oh wow, so you're a princess now too, huh?"

"well not all the sudden, I always have been, well at least officially since I was 13,"

He laughs at me, "well, I must say, your confidence is off the charts."

"it's not a conception of myself, damn it, I really am a princess," I say frustrated.

This makes him laugh even harder, "why not be queen too while you're at it?" he teases. I just roll my eyes and give up, until I'm able prove to him that I really am what I say I am, we're not going to make any progress talking about my personal life.