Healers' Call

Queen Orlaigh's Secret

Dinner was a quiet, intense affair. They ate their soup in silence, though Valda continued to look at Carrick and Mauve with confusion and a little apprehension. The siblings could tell that she was still in shock, but that was quickly changing to distrust. It was clear to see that she didn't believe what Ken had said.

Ken and his daughter cleared away the dirt dishes, leaving them on the kitchen counter to clean later.

They sat back at the dining table, both of them facing Carrick and Mauve, who were feeling decidedly better now that their stomachs were full.

"Okay, explain. How can this letter be from Mom? You told me she was dead." There was an accusation in Valda's voice and her father looked away, uncomfortable.

Carrick and Mauve glanced at each other, nodding to themselves as Valda confirmed what they'd been thinking. She really had no idea who she was. They doubted she even knew anything about Fae or Lania.

"I lied to protect you. There was no other choice." Ken turned and pleaded with his daughter.

"I don't understand. How does lying to me protect me? And what were you trying to protect me from?" Valda asked, hurt clear in her words.

Ken sighed, twirling the letter in his hands. His fingers brushed over the seal as if it would give him strength. 

"Carrick and Mauve are not from this world. They come from Adiocion, land of the Fae, the same place your mother came from. She came to the human world to explore and understand if there were things in this world that would improve her own. That's how we meet."

Valda's mouth hung open in surprise, but she didn't stop her father from talking. She wanted to know everything, even if deep down she was screaming to herself that it couldn't be true.

"In Adiocion relationships between Fae and humans are frowned upon, but I loved your mother and she loved me so much that we didn't care. We kept our love a secret, and she remained in this world with me. When you were born you made us so happy, your mother was overjoyed with you, so much so, that she went back to her parents to tell them about you." A dark expression descended on his face before he continued.

"When she returned to her realm, things weren't the same as when she'd left. Your mother was the second child born to the King and Queen of Lania and her, and everyone else, always thought her older brother, Lorcan, would take the throne."

Valda glanced at Carrick and Mauve as they stiffened at the man's name. She wasn't sure what to make of their reaction, so turned back to look at her father, who was also glancing at the siblings with an unreadable expression.

"Lorcan had become enthralled with dark magic and the King and Queen decided he would no longer be their heir. Your mother would instead be announced as the new Queen. Lorcan was furious and vowed revenge on your mother and Lania for stripping him of his birthright. The day he left, your grandparents fell ill and never recovered."

"He killed them?" Valda whispered.

Carrick and Mauve placed a hand over their hearts and whispered a few words as if warding away evil. "Nobody can say for certain if he was the cause." Mauve explained but from Carrick's thin lips Valda was positive that he, at least, blamed Lorcan.

"Your mother knew that you would be safer in this realm with me, hidden from Lorcan. Leaving you here was the hardest thing she ever had to do, and it broke her heart." Ken choked on his words, thinking back to the day he'd had to let the love of his life walk away from him and their baby girl.

Valda was too stunned to notice the tears running down her cheek. Her father had always said that her mother had died when she was very young. She'd never questioned him. It had never occurred to her that there was any reason to.