Two Worlds; True Mates

Chapter 7

Falyn Pov

I blinked, staring at my mother in surprise as Victoria hopped into the room, jumping onto the table and upsetting a plate of meat, making my father gasp in surprise as she jumped down and hopped onto the window sill. Before any of us had time to move, she jumped out the window as Amelia ran into the room, a scowl on her face, before opening the door and chasing after her. We were silent for a few minutes, trying to stop ourselves from laughing, my mother failing miserably, before I finally had a minute to speak. “Mother, are you sure? You look exhausted, and even if we do ask him, I doubt he’ll be ready within those ten minutes for us.” I said helplessly.

She shook her head at me, one of her hands having left mine as she pressed it against her chest, trying to stop the laughter from bubbling out of her as her eyes glistened in humor. “No, I spoke to him after you did, and he said just in case, he’d get bags ready. He’d talk to Rhys’s father and see about them watching Rune, because he knows I’m not good at getting a precise time and location. He knows the return trip might be hours or weeks off, and he said he’d be ready for it if it came around. So he’s ready, Falyn, I spoke to him about it. And if he’s not, well…we’re fine with waiting another two months to try again. We’ll make sure Sage is at your wedding. If you were to agree to the wedding and have it without him there he’d be absolutely furious, and we’re not ready to make both of our children upset. Plus, Sage would want to meet Arlo as well. We’ve been so busy that he’s never even met him yet,” She said with an apologetic smile towards Arlo.

“It’s quite alright, I understand. I’m sure we’ll get along wonderfully. I’ve heard such amazing things about him. He’s all Falyn and princess Amelia talk about, after all.” He said with a wink at me as I looked at him. “I’d be honored to meet him. Knowing he approves of me will make me feel a lot better.” He said with a smile.

My mother clapped her hands eagerly, a bright smile on her face. “That’s settled then! How about right now? We can leave now, and have him here overnight. I’m so excited to be seeing him for a longer period, him and Rhys. He’s such a sweet man.” She said, her eyes bright as she spoke. It’s not a secret how much she loves Rhys. In a way, she’s probably his biggest fan. She’s always gushing over the man who made her son smile and laugh, absolutely smitten with him. I couldn’t blame her, Rhys was adorable. Every time we go to see them, I can’t help but hug him and pet his hair, even though he’s taller than me, and pinch his cheeks. He’s like the little brother I’ve never had, and I have to admit I’m going to love getting to spend more time with him as well.

My father stood up, a bright smile on his face. “Sure, we’re all finished eating, right? Let’s go to the hill.” He said with a soft smile. The hill was meaningful to him and my mother, the hill they were married on, the one that overlooked the clearing Ana would dance in on the nights of the solstice with the fairies that passed through the veil.

As we all started to stand, a knock was heard on the door, and my father frowned, confused, before going to answer it. He let out a soft laugh as Ren walked in, and they slapped their hands against their upper arms in greeting, gripping each other tightly as they said hello. “I’m sorry to say I’m not here for a happy conversation. There was a fight over a woman between two drunken men, and they’re all three in custody right now. They’re refusing to say a word, only to you, Jem. I’ve threatened to throw them all in the cell and have them there for life, but they don’t care. They won’t talk unless you’re there.” He said with an apologetic frown, knowing that this was such a stupid and minor situation, but he couldn’t do anything about it.

Dad sighed, smacking his hand lightly against his forehead with a shrug. “I guess there’s nothing I can do about it.” He muttered. He looked over to my mother as she came up behind him, and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a soft kiss on the forehead. I felt a throb of longing racing through me, watching them wrapped around each other tightly in a hug that neither of them wanted to let go of. I looked at Arlo, watching him gathering the plates and carrying them to the sink, and bit my lip, shaking my head back and forth as I started to help him. These things must take time to develop. They’ve been married for over thirty years, I believe, and maybe it took time to develop the longing to touch a little bit longer, to kiss like they’ll never get to kiss again. “It’ll be fine, my love,” he whispered to my mother, running his nose against hers. “I will see Sage and Rhys when they get here.” He said with a sigh.

“Could I…come with you?” Arlo asked, a plate still in his hand as he took a step towards them. “Sage might need to be at least told about me first before suddenly seeing me. I can go home afterward, and come back in the morning after he’s had time to know about me and get used to the idea. Plus, more time getting to know how you work, King Jeremiah. I admire everything about you, and you’re who I strive to become.” He said with a smile on his face.

My mom nodded, seeming to agree with the idea as Dad pulled away from her, clapping his hand on Arlo’s shoulder. “You’re a good man, Arlo. Sage is going to love you. Let’s get going,” he said, turning around and kissing my mother on the lips as Arlo came over towards me.

He placed the plate in his hands down on the table and smiled softly at me, his lips finding my forehead as he pressed a chaste kiss there. We’ve kissed a few times before, never for very long or anything passionate, but that was also another thing I assumed would come once we were finally married. I smiled up at him as he patted my cheek in goodbye, before turning around and following my father and Ren out the door. As always, I missed him when he left, my dragon moving around unhappily under my skin, and knowing he was going home afterward always made me frown. He had first come here to sleep on the couch while my mother got a room made for him with the scholars, and while she did get it made for him, he rarely used it, choosing to sleep on the couch here instead so we could be closer. I liked having him closer to me, it made my dragon happy. My mother startled me by grabbing my hand with a smile on her face, whisking me outside and towards the hill without a word. I felt uncomfortable, still wearing this beautiful dress and the tight corset around my chest, my hair flying around my cheeks, but I didn’t stop her. I knew we’d look strange to the people of Sage’s dimension in our attire, but they'd gotten used to us coming and going by now to not say much about it anymore. I watched in wonder, as always, as my tired mother waved her hands in the air, and a glowing portal formed in front of us. “Are you ready?” She asked, holding her hand out to me. She was breathing heavily from using her power, probably because she uses it all day with the children as well, and I nodded, wanting to go as fast as we could so she could get home and rest.

The feel of the portal around us as we gripped each other’s hands tightly always felt so strange to me. The colors were overwhelming and more than once I had to close my eyes to block it all out. As we stepped out of the portal, I gasped, nearly falling to my knees as my mother tried to hold me up, both of us tumbling out of the portal into the forest. “Where are we?” I asked, looking around the forest with a frown. “When…are we?” I asked after a few minutes.

My mother frowned, pulling out a small device that she had made with her magic to tell her exactly where we ended up, and what time period it was. As she started to turn it on, I looked around the forest, my eyes filled with wonder over the dull colors that always seemed to surprise me each time I saw them. The sound of animals running around the forest was heard, the chirping of birds, but I wasn’t scared. It looked like we were in the middle of nowhere and I felt my heart drop in my chest, knowing without her needing to tell me that we weren’t going to see Sage or Rhys today. “Crud, I missed both. We’re in the middle of the woods, too far away from the pack to make it there in ten minutes. And according to this…it’s not even the right year. This is before Rhys even came to our dimension…I’m so sorry Falyn. I must be exhausted. In two months when we try again, I’ll make sure to rest the whole day beforehand.” She said with a soft sigh.

I smiled warmly at her, shaking my head. I was disappointed, but I understood. “It’s alright, mother. You tried your best. We can just wait two more months, and from now on, as the future queen, I’ll start taking care of your load of the kingdom. I don’t need to be training all day long anymore, I need to be helping you more as it is.” I said as she turned around to go back into the portal.

She smiled at me, a bright smile on her tired face as she laughed. “We’ll see, we’ll talk at home. There are only seven minutes left, I don't want to be stuck here for two months,” she said with a soft laugh as she stepped through the portal.

I nodded, looking at the forest once more, before turning my back on it, and walking towards the portal with a sigh. “Wait!” A voice called out. I flinched, turning around with wide eyes, and found myself staring straight into beautiful light green eyes staring widely back at me.