Chapter 6...
When they arrived back at the house, Isabel was not there yet. Meckenzie suggested they get showers and get ready for school. She only wanted to tell her story once, and she wanted both her siblings and Isabel to be there.
Meckenzie ran upstairs, the flowers of the Heather plant still in her hand. She sat them on her dresser and got her things ready for a shower. She knew there was only a small window of time to get ready for school and possibly speak to Isabel. Meckenzie wanted more than anything to blow off school, that way she could just go through all the events from last night and this morning with Isabel.
Climbing out of the shower she heard Kellan calling her name.
"In here."
Meckenzie grabbed her towel and headed for the bedroom. No one was in the room. She stuck her head out the door of her bedroom thinking that maybe Kellan was in the common room their two bedrooms shared. No one was in this room either. Meckenzie got dressed and put her hair into a pony tail. She grabbed her school books and bag. She decided to check Kellan's room before heading downstairs.
She knocked, but there was no response. She knocked again calling out her sister's name, "Kellan."
"Meckenzie!" She heard it loud this time coming from behind her. She turned, but no one was there. Meckenzie opened the door to her sister's room, she searched for the light switch in the darkness, flipping it on and illuminating the empty room. Kellan's bathroom door was open and dark inside. Meckenzie quickly ran across the room and flipped on the bathroom lights as well, but no one was there.
She headed for the stairs thinking that maybe Kellan was already in the kitchen. Meckenzie couldn't understand why she had heard her sister's voice so clearly, as if she were in the same room or at least on the same floor.
As Meckenzie passed Taggart's room on the third floor, she knocked on his door and told him she would meet him in the kitchen. She passed her father's study on the second floor; he sat behind his desk talking seriously on the phone. Meckenzie waved and headed down to the kitchen. She reached the kitchen only to find that no one was in this room either. Where had Kellan gone? Meckenzie decided to check the two lower floors for Kellan.
The lights were all out on the garden level. Meckenzie took a quick peak into all the rooms anyway, but no there was no sign of Kellan. As she reached the sub terrain level, the lights were burning in the gym area.
"Kellan?" Meckenzie shouted over the music playing on the speaker system. There was no response, but all the lights would be out if no one were down here. Surely Kellan had been down here at some point. Meckenzie stuck her head into the changing room that the family had added for all the swim parties the kids had thrown over their childhood.
"Kellan?" There was still no response.
Meckenzie headed to the weight lifting area to see if Kellan had possibly been too busy to hear her sister's beckoning. As she rounded the leg press that Kellan had begged her dad for during their freshman year, Meckenzie saw Kellan lying unconscious on the floor. Her right forearm lay at an odd angle and seemed to be bleeding.
Meckenzie quickly opened her cell phone and dialed Taggart's number. She ran to Kellan, grabbing a towel off one of the pieces of equipment hoping to stop the bleeding. Quickly she checked Kellan's pulse.
"Kellan can you hear me?" Moaning Kellan stirred, but did not open her eyes. Her pulse seemed fast. Lying across Kellan's body was a free weight pole and several weights were scattered around the floor.
Just then Taggart answered the phone, "Why are you calling me and why aren't you in the kitchen?"
"Kellan is hurt in the gym. Get dad and come downstairs."
"What happened?"
"I don't know, it looks like a broken arm and she is bleeding."
Taggart yelled up to his father, "Dad, Kellan's hurt in the gym."
Meckenzie could not hear her father's response, but Taggart was yelling back at him the same things she had previously told him about Kellan's injuries. Then Taggart hung up the phone.
Meckenzie lifted the pole off her sister and sat it to the side. She couldn't decide if moving Kellan would hurt her more, she just knew she needed to get the bleeding stopped.
Taggart came bounding down the stairs, "Meckenzie?"
"Down here." Meckenzie was gently pressing the towel against the open wound created from the bone piercing the skin where it had broken. She tried not to move the arm afraid she would cause more bleeding. Taggart slid in beside Meckenzie and removed her hand from the towel.
"Has Kellan been unconscious since you found her."
"Yes."
Taggart lifted Kellan's army gently and tried to evaluate the damage. Their father rushed down the stairs with Isabel behind him. As Taggart touched Kellan's arm trying to clean away any blood, a strange thing started to happen. The bone seemed to be sliding back into the skin.
Lawrence Desmond turned pale as he rounded the corner into the weight area. He blocked the path for Isabel who was trying to get around him.
"Lawrence, you have to move so I can get to Kellan." Isabel prodded him out of the way and came to kneel on the other side of Kellan.
"Taggart, what are you doing? The bone is moving back into her arm." Meckenzie said.
Isabel lifted Kellan's shoulder and rotated her arm to match the angle of the broken bone. "If we line the bones up, and Taggart places his hands on top of the bones, I believe her arm will heal."
Taggart said nothing, he simply moved the forearm into place and then placed his right hand on top of the exposed bone. As they sat there for what seemed like an eternity, Kellan began to moan.
In less than a minute, Isabel removed Taggart's hand from Kellan's forearm. Meckenzie couldn't believe her eyes. There was no visible sign of trauma except for the blood that had begun to dry on her arm and the floor.
Kellan's eyes fluttered open. She jerked up out of everyone's hands. Sitting amongst them, all silent, all confused, Kellan examined her arm with unbelieving eyes.
Before she could say anything, Isabel spoke. "I think we should all go up to the kitchen and have some breakfast. I'll explain what I can."
Taggart drained of all color, stumbled to get up.
"Taggart will be a little weak from the healing. Maybe he should take the elevator." Isabel suggested. And with that, their father took Taggart by the arm and helped him up. Their father helped Kellan off the floor, and then they headed for the elevator. Meckenzie stared at Isabel, unable to process what had happened here this morning.
Isabel offered Meckenzie her hand to help her off the floor. As Meckenzie reached out to take it, there was a flash of blinding light in her mind. It was like static electricity pulsed directly from Isabel's fingers into Meckenzie's brain. She jumped back. "What was that?"
"What dear?" Isabel asked.
Meckenzie, untrustingly, looked into Isabel's eyes. Her eyes were the same color of blue as Taggart's. Her hair was darker then the triplets, it was brown, but had streaks of blond in it. Without pause, Meckenzie asked, "Are you our mom's cousin?"
Isabel laughed, "Well, I can see that cat is out of the bag. Let’s say that we are kin. Cousin is a term we could use. I'm more like a great-great aunt though. I am Deidra’s great aunt. I was your father's grandmother's cousin. You'll find that our family tree is an interesting twist and turn of events. Let's head up stairs and I'll fix you guys some breakfast. Taggart is going to need some special herbs to regain his strength."
As they headed up the stairs, Meckenzie tried to grasp the full extent of what had happened in the last twenty-four hours. It seemed almost impossible that they had met with the party planners yesterday. That the new kid Tynan had only started class yesterday morning. That they had just read their mother's letter last night. How was it that so much had changed in such a short period of time? Meckenzie didn't know how much more she could take till she would need to check herself into a mental
institution. She was obviously going crazy if she believed all this was true and happening.
Isabel set to making breakfast by pulling out eggs, fruit, and bagels. "Maybe you should ask any questions you have now while I prepare breakfast or would you prefer I tell you story of how I ended up here?"
“You said that you are our great-great aunt? How old are you?” Meckenzie asked, Isabel didn’t look much older than forty-five, so how was it possible for her to be their great-great aunt?
“I’m in my late forties. My father was married twice and I came from the second marriage. I was not really planned, so I was born only a few years after your mother. I was sent to live in the castle where your mother grew up. We were very close even with our ten year age difference. Diedra trusted me, so she sent for me when you were young, to help protect you. Then her brother was assassinated and she had to return to rule Aquanis. So I was then responsible for protecting you and helping to raise you.”
McKenzie spoke first, "I don't know what to make of all this but maybe we should tell you what we know. Also, I think maybe I should tell everybody about the dream I've been having. I don't know how much time we have before school, maybe with everything that's going on today we should call in sick. I think we really need to figure out what's going on before we put ourselves in the public eye."
At this Lawrence Desmond went to the phone. He dialed the number to the school and waited patiently pushing buttons that he must have been prompted to push by the schools automated phone system. He then explained that his children would be staying home today due to a family emergency. After he was done he placed the phone back in the cradle and went back to his barstool silently, he stared at his three children.
Kellan had yet to speak since this morning's incident. Taggart seem to be lost in his own thoughts still looking pale and drained from his morning’s experience. He sipped on tea that Isabel hadslipped in front of him.
Isabel spoke first, "I take it that the letters have been read."
"Yes, after dinner last night we sat down and read our letters." Kellan looked at her hands as she spoke. "I, for one, am hesitant to believe anything in them."
Taggart looked at her shocked, "Even after this morning?"
"I don't know what happened this morning. I was setting up the free weight bar, then I woke up and everyone was there."
"Kellan, your arm was broke. The bone was sticking out. You can see that you bled all over the place and Taggart healed you. I don't know how you cannot believe what was written in the letters now. Everything points to them being true and why would Mom lie to us?" Meckenzie said the last sentence with pain in her eyes. She was hurt by her mom's leaving, but she still didn't think that her mother would lie.
"Why would she leave us?" Kellan looked at her arm, "I just don't know."
Isabel interjected, "So let's say for the arguments sake that the letters are true. Let's also say that Taggart healed your arm this morning. And that each of you has a special gift that was bestowed upon you through your family lineage. You must understand above all else, that your mother loved you and if it was not for the war that is waging now in our land, she would be here. Diedra would never want to hurt you. She would never lie. Now, let's hear your dream Meckenzie. I think I can help explain a few things."
Meckenzie began to recount her dream. Explaining that it had been happening for weeks and that until last night it had ended when the woman had placed the Heather plant in her mouth and disappeared. Then she went on to tell them about last night’s dream. The fact that it was their mother in the dream and the fact that she exited the Trefoil Arch. Meckenzie also explained how she had seen the lockets around her mother's neck.
Isabel set plates of food in front of the family. She paused a moment after Meckenzie's story. Trying to find the words to explain what Meckenzie had seen.
"Your gift allows you to see the past, it would seem. You have seen your mother's journey to this world before you were born. Diedra came through the passage at the Trefoil Arch. She came here to find you," she said pointing at Lawrence. "Your grandmother had left Aquinas to start a family amongst the humans. She knew that the time of the war would be upon our people in less than a century. Her idea was to come here and start a family so that the blood line might live on, even if our people were destroyed. Several families did this."
"She brought a fairy tale book, we saw it last night." Taggart added.
"Yes, though to us, it is not fairy tales as you would think of, it is our history. The war that began the incubation of gifts was fought over power. The Clan Tine, also known as Fire Fairies, have long coveted the land of Aquinas. It was once the High Kingdom of all fairies. There King Treigold ruled all the clans. He was a fair and just king, but his son only wanted power. He set out to acquire an army, and from the Clan of Tine he drew much of his warriors. He wished to rule, though his father was still King. When he marched upon Aquinas, the king met his son on the hills with only a small contingency of soldiers. He banished him from Aquinas and threatened to bind his powers if he did not leave and never return. The fight never happened, and King Treigold separated the Clans into four distinct governments set to rule themselves. The Water clan, which you came from, held the land of Aquinas in the North and has lived there ever since. The Tine Clan, or fire clan, was relegated to the south. The Earth clan, or the Talamh clan, took the land to the west. The Air Clan, or Aeris, took the east."
"Each clan built their strongholds and began to brace for the eventuality of war. The Talamh built fortress of earth in the mountains. They have a beautiful city built upon a cliff that is only accessible through a series of tunnels that run deep into the mountain. The Aeris can control the wind and are quite ingenious. They have built floating islands that dwell among the clouds. The Tine have built their homes of fire and metal, using the hottest volcanoes to forge the metals to build their fortresses."
"King Treigold's son, who was known as Trienan Raven, dwelt with the Tine. He stroked the fires of their jealousy by claiming that Aquinas should belong to them. They forged weapons and armor and trained to kill. This was new to the fairies, as it was never our way."
"Trienan created an army that would march across the land killing out whole villages that refused to join his new kingdom. During this time, King Treigold died. The kingdom was then passed to Trienan's sister, Evelyn. She had never intended to rule the kingdom. Her gifts lay in healing, not leading. She had three children, triplets, two girls and a boy. They were being groomed to rule the Water Fae as a Trefoil, a balance of power."
"Evelyn had taken to healing all the refugees who had entered the land due to Trienan’s war. She would heal dozens in a day. And as you can tell by Taggart's state, healing takes its toll. Every time a fairy heals someone, a bit of their essence leaves them."
"Evelyn had gotten herself so worn out, that she could not even eat or drink. She instructed her children to prepare to take the throne as she would die soon. The oldest of the three had the ability to see the future. She foresaw her mother's death and the path that the three must take to bring peace."
"So they set forth to rule the kingdom in a threefold plan. One they would build an army. The youngest, Sarah, was a warrior, she was strong of mind and body. Sarah raised the army and trained them for the inevitable fight. The middle triplet, Johan, was a healer, he set to building up the stocks of healing remedies and healers into a centralized location. Johan set up a sort of a fairy hospital. The oldest, Katirin, created a think tank of mind readers and future seers, together they consulted the future and sought out the paths to peace."
"Trienan, hearing of the new government had an idea to grab the throne and the power. He would assassinate the two younger triplets and take the older one hostage. He would then marry his niece and take the throne. Katirin had a dream to this effect."
Meckenzie interjected, "This is the part that we have read, th
is is when the necklace was created and the powers were bound."
"Yes," said Isabel, "and for generations, the fairy have been without powers, but some powers have come back over the last few years. Everyone in Aquinas believes the war will come back to our doorsteps soon. That is why your mother went back. The descendants of Trienan have begun building an army."
"Do you have powers?" Taggart asked Isabel.
"No, I have been trained in the art of espionage and self-defense though. So I was volunteered to come and stay with you while your mother was away. I have always been here to protect you."
"So when Deidra hired you before she left, she knew she was leaving. You worked for us for two years before our mother left."
"I was being trained to come to protect you since before you were born. It was known then that there would be a Trefoil. You three were the first triplets born to a royal family in eight hundred years. Your mother was never intending to leave you, her brother was assassinated and she had to return to rule."
Meckenzie suddenly stood up. "Wait. You said you were our great grandmother's cousin and our mom's great aunt, does that mean that mom and dad were related?"
Isabel laughed, "In a way."
"Ewwww." Kellan said.
"It is not as close as you would think. Your family tree is a direct line from King Treigold. His daughter Evelyn's son Johan was the only surviving child from the original Trefoil. His son Tristan had two son's Sedric and Josiah. Your mother is the great-great-great-great granddaughter of Josiah. Your father is the great-great-great-great grandson of Sedric. Which makes them fifth cousins."
"It may seem strange to you, but the Fae have a tendency to marry their cousins, many human royalty do the same thing. It is just the way life is. Your parents’ marriage was, although probably not known to you Lawrence, destined. When your grandmother came here, it was to protect the lineage so that one day, one of the line of the kings could come here and have the Trefoil in another place. So they might be protected from assassins. Your great grandmother Katirin was full Fae, and her son Taggart, whom you are named for, married a full Fae. Your father married a full Fae. Now your blood line is only fractional human. It was the only way to make sure that the powers were passed on, and yet protected." Isabel continued "You are royalty among the Fae and will be welcomed back as royalty should."
"Wait," Lawrence interjected, "Welcomed back? You mean to take my children to a place that is in a state of war."
"That was always the plan." Isabel said.
"No! I will not allow it. I will not allow you to drag my children into a war that they are not a part of."
"I am afraid that the war will come to them if we don't take them back. It is only a matter of time until someone figures out they are here."
Kellan angrily spoke from behind tears that had begun to fall down her cheeks. "Will we see mom?"
"Yes."
Meckenzie couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was expected to go with Isabel, who she had known almost her whole life, but who had been hiding her true identity. Could she really trust this woman? Was getting to see her mom enough for her to march off into battle for something she knew nothing about?
"What could we possibly do to help with a war? We are not even eighteen yet." Meckenzie added.
"You have more power than you know. Your simply being there will uplift the spirits of all of Aquinas. Plus, I will begin training you. You all have much to learn about what your powers can do."
"Will we go soon? Will we get to finish high school? There are only eight weeks left, I mean I have plans. I was accepted to Harvard and I want to be a doctor." Taggart interjected.
"I don't know when we will go. I do know that we have some time. I hope that we can hold out for a year. I need to train you as much as possible. Luckily you are all very smart and physically fit so you should be able to catch on pretty fast."
Lawrence Desmond stood up and left the room. He knew he was losing his children and he didn't know what to do. So he decided to go, he thought he might be able to clear his mind if he was away from them for a while. He needed to stop this, but he could tell his children were being swept up in this new found adventure. He could not lose them too. He didn’t think his heart could take it.
Isabel and the trips watched him silently leave the room. They had seen the look on his face before when their mother had gone and knew he needed some time to himself. He had lost so much in his life, letting him leave was all they could do.