Love’s Eternal Fire

Chapter 3: Goodbye

Kesiray's POV

The following day came, and I was trying to find a time to sneak out to see Solaris. The time we usually met was getting closer and closer. Typically, Thazel had tutoring at three when I was planning to leave. Ensuring she was distracted was key to getting out of unseen territory. I might need to tell Solaris that we would need to take a break from seeing each other, that is, until things cooled down and my sister put her guard down. Sitting in my tutoring session, I was trying to pay attention to Mrs. Juiper talking about the history of soil, but my mind was elsewhere. The sun shone brightly through the window; fluffy white clouds dotted the sky. It was the perfect day to be outside; maybe Solaris and I could swim in the river.

"Kesiray!" Mrs. Juniper barked, making me jump out of my daydream.

"Sorry, what?" I asked, shaking my head and coming back to reality.

"Can you tell me how perlite is used in the soil during the summer months?" she repeated, looking annoyed that I hadn't listened the first time.

"Um, it helps with water drainage," I replied, looking out the second-story window to see Thazel approaching the school where I was.

"Excellent," Mrs. Juiper chirped. "I think that's it for today. Your sister should be here any second."

"Thanks, Mrs. Juniper," I said, slamming my book closed and picking it up.

"Be safe out there, my dear," she called as I ran from the room and bounded down the stairs. Thazel and I came face to face on the first-floor landing.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" she asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

"I'm just happy to be done for the day; Mrs. Juniper gave me the most boring lesson. I'm trying to leave before she asks me to sit in on yours," I told her, going around her and running from the building.

Sprinting the short distance to my house, I dropped my book off in my bedroom before running back out again. My parents were in a meeting with the Queen and wouldn't be back for a while. It wasn't uncommon for fairy children to be left alone once they reached ten or so. We had so many people walking around. Usually, someone would check in on us during the day, and our parents were never gone for longer than a couple of hours. I had read in books that human children had to be looked after until they were much older, which seemed too strange to me.

"Solaris!" I yelled, coming to a stop by our usual meet-up spot. I didn't see him immediately, so I started worrying. "Solaris!"

"I'm here!" he called from somewhere above me. Looking up, I saw him standing on what looked like a platform made from a few pieces of wood.

"What's that?" I called, looking at the large nails holding the whole thing together.

"It's our ship!" he called excitedly, holding both arms out, hammer in hand.

"You did that by yourself?" I asked, wondering how long he'd been working for.

"Yeah, there was some leftover wood from a renovation project, and I helped myself to a few boards. My dad has been teaching me how to build stuff like this since I was little. He thinks it's important as the future leader of the clan that I know stuff like this," Solaris explained. "I'm still working on the steering wheel."

"I love it!" I said excitedly.

"Come up here and join me! I promise it won't fall," he laughed.

"I'm coming!" I called, grabbing hold of the lowest branch. When I tried to lift my leg to climb, I realized I couldn't move it. Something was holding me in place. Looking down at my legs, I saw hundreds of small roots wrapped around my feet and ankles, preventing me from moving.

"KESIRAY WREN WILLOWBEAD!" a deep voice bellowed. I froze. That was my father's furious voice. Not only were the roots holding me in place, but now my fear had frozen every inch of my body. Managing to turn my head slightly, I saw the figures of both my parents landing just a short distance from me, their wings folding behind them as they glared at me. Thazel climbed from my father's back and looked at the ground as she hid behind him. Many other fairy guards emerged into the tiny clearing, forming a semi-circle around us.

"I didn't want to believe it, but I guess it's true," my mom's stern voice cut through me. Looking up, I saw Solaris' terrified face, looking at the twenty fairy warriors around him. I could see the red swirling in my parent's green eyes even at this distance. The nostrils on my dad's small nose were flared with rage at seeing me near a phoenix, let alone playing with one. My mom's slender nose was turned up slightly, almost like there was a foul smell in the air.

"I can't believe you've been playing with this creature for a month and lying to us about it!" my dad yelled. My eyes darted to my sister, who still wouldn't look at me. This had to be her doing; she told them what I had been up to. Noise nearby caught everyone's attention, and on the other side of the clearing, two people came soaring out of the sky, large father-like wings on their backs that retracted once they had landed. My mom gasped, and the roots moved me away from the tree and towards my family.

"Maevellia, Paric," the man said, his voice deep and commanding. He was intimidating me with only the names of my parents.

"Brim, Deya," my dad commented back, face stiff and fists clenched.

"Mom, Dad..." Solaris said, looking at the two newcomers.

"We'll deal with you later," his dad spat at him, making Solaris lower his head. Brim and Deya were both tall and muscular, towering over my family, who looked minuscule in comparison. It might have been my imagination, but it looked like smoke was coming from both Solaris' parents. Brim had sharp blue eyes, but they looked small, almost like my sisters, in that they didn't match the rest of his large body or face. His short brown hair looked very similar to Solaris', but his mother had long, fiery red hair and piercing amber eyes that looked like they could see into your soul. She had a sharp, pointed nose and thin lips, giving me the impression she wasn't someone to mess with.

"It seems my daughter has been ignoring our rules," my dad said to Brim and Deya.

"It appears that way on our end as well," Brim commented, glaring up at Solaris. Was this about to start a whole new war?

"Since we are in no man's land and no one crossed into the other's territory, I think we can chalk this up to children being children," Brim said, calming my heart slightly. I could feel it beating in my throat, threatening to leap from my body and run away.

"I agree," my dad told him. "This will never happen again."

"See to it that it doesn't," Brim said. "The next time, we might not be so forgiving."

"Yes, you can expect retaliation on our part if we see your son or anyone else from your clan close to our territory," my dad told him.

"Solaris, get down here. We're going home," Deya commanded. Solaris hurried down as best he could, falling the last few feet and landing on his back. The roots were no longer holding me in my place next to my mother, and I took a step forward to help him. Her hand closed painfully tight around my upper arm, and when I looked at her face, I saw her glaring at me and shaking her head. His mother went to help him to his feet, and he looked at me, tears running down his face.

"Come," my dad instructed, turning to leave. Looking at Solaris, his mother was trying to drag him from the area.

"NO!" he yelled, breaking free and sprinting at me. My mom had loosened her grip on my arm, and I slipped free, running at Solaris and meeting him halfway, where he engulfed me in a hug. "Here," he whispered, placing a piece of paper into my back pocket. There was a scuffle behind us, and hands took hold of me, ripping me from Solaris' arms. I tried desperately to cling to him, but our strength was no match for our parents. They pulled us apart and began dragging us in opposite directions. Looking over my shoulder, the last thing I saw of him was his hazel blue eyes as he turned around to look at me one last time. I tried to commit his beautiful eyes to memory, staring at one another until the trees obscured our line of sight.

No one said anything as we marched back through the forest. My parents weren't saying anything, but I could feel the rage coming off them in waves. Silent rage seemed to be worse than if they were screaming at me. I was in for it now, and I knew it. The best thing to do would be to accept my punishment and move on. There was no question I would never see Solaris again, at least not anytime soon.

"What were you thinking?" my mom's screech finally broke the silence as she shoved me through our front door. Stumbling inside, I turned around to face them. "When Thazel told us what was happening, I didn't want to believe her."

"You know the rules; you know you're not to be anywhere near those monsters," my dad added, his eyes more red than green with anger.

"Solaris isn't a monster!" I yelled back.

"He's a phoenix, isn't he?" my dad confirmed.

"Yes," I replied, shrinking back at how calm he seemed.

"Then he's dangerous," he told me. "Kesiray, you are forbidden from leaving the confines of this house. You are only to go to the school for tutoring and nowhere else. Do you understand?"

"But that's not fair!" I yelled.

"Do you understand?" he repeated, teeth clenched this time.

"Yes, sir," I said, looking at the floor.

"We trusted you," my mom said. "You broke that trust, and it's going to be very hard to earn it back."

"Go to your room and stay there," my dad ordered. Walking past them, I caught Thazel's eye for the first time since she arrived in the woods. Her eyes were red, and tears still spilled from them as she looked at me. I didn't feel sorry that she was upset; she told on me, and now I would never see Solaris again. I glared at her as I passed, pursing my lips. Why did she feel so bad? She did what she loved; she got me in trouble for breaking the rules. That was something she had been doing since the day I was born. Storming into my bedroom, I slammed the door shut behind me, pacing back and forth. I couldn't leave the house; how would I say goodbye to Solaris? I at least thought I was going to be able to do that. There was a timid knock on my door, and I knew it had to be my sister.

"Go away!" I said, sitting down on the edge of my bed.

"Ray..." my sister's sad voice called behind the door. "I'm sorry. I saw you leaving, and I knew what you were up to. I had to tell Mom and Dad. For your safety."

"All you did was get me confined to the house and cost me my best friend!" I called back.

"I'm sorry, Ray," she told me.

"I'm never going to forget this!" I told her. "Now go away!" She said nothing, but I heard her bedroom door open and close. It took a few moments, but I remembered the piece of paper Solaris had slipped me during our last encounter. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the crumbled piece of paper. Unfolding it, I found some hastily scribbled words I knew belonged to Solaris. He must have written this while he was still up on the platform. We had a few pencils hidden in that hollow opening of the tree. Written on the paper, his last words to me read,

"One day, I'll find you again."

When I woke up the following day, a commotion came from downstairs. Going to investigate what was happening, it looked like my entire house had been turned upside down. Boxes were everywhere, our belongings were strewn on the floor, and my parents threw things inside the boxes, flitting everywhere. What was happening?

"What's going on?" I questioned, peering into one of the boxes to see all our family photos inside.

"We're moving," my mom informed me.

"What? Moving where?" I asked my dad, walking past me and carrying a large box labeled kitchen.

"To the east of the territory," my mom informed me. "There's a beautiful house just built and ready for move-in."

"What's wrong with this house?" I questioned. My parents exchanged weird looks and ignored my question. This had to be because of me; this was another punishment. Moving us as far from the woods as possible by going closer to where move people lived. More people meant more eyes to watch my every move.

"Don't worry about packing your things," my mom said. "We're going to have people come and help."

"Go and get dressed; we're all heading to our new home in an hour," my dad informed me. I wanted to protest, scream, and tell them I wasn't going, but I knew that was pointless. I was going with them whether I wanted to or not. Storming back upstairs, Thazel opened her door while I opened mine.

"What's happening?" she questioned, rubbing her eyes.

"We're moving," I told her coldly.

"What?" she questioned, staring at me like she didn't understand.

"Yeah, we're moving to the east," I explained.

"Why?" she asked like she didn't know.

"You know why," I replied, going into my room and closing the door.