Chapter Nine
(Atheness)
The journey to the sea was a lot further than Katie had thought. The sun had already begun to set over the mountain they had left behind them. ‘Had we been in the cave all day?’ Katie thought to herself. It really didn’t feel like that long. They were running out of time very fast. She grew tired and laid her head on Simona’s neck as they flew towards the sea. Katie soon fell fast asleep.
Dreams soon came flowing to her, as she slept. She was back at home again, sitting at the dining room table while James began cooking her breakfast. The smell of eggs filled the room. He looked over at her and smiled a crooked smile.
“You know I love you, don’t you?” He asked her.
“I know you do,” She replied, almost puzzled at the question.
“Just never forget that I do. I love you, Katie, I love you.” James said, suddenly disappearing.
“James! Don’t leave me, I can’t do this alone! I need you!” Katie yelled out to him. She was now standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down at the thick fog below.
“You’ll never save Atheness. You’re just one woman. It’s a hopeless task; you might as well just give up now.” A voice said behind her. Katie turned around to see a pixie with a green dress and crimson hair standing before her. Her smile made Katie shiver. She looked so familiar to Katie. It was like she had seen her before in a forgotten dream. Who was this pixie standing before her? Then the pixie reached out her hand to Katie and pushed her off the edge of the cliff.
Katie couldn’t get out a scream, not a sound. Was this really a dream? She asked herself; it felt so real. Tears flowed off her face and back up into the sky. So this is it, this is how I’m going to die; in a land I don’t even belong to.
Something caught her, she felt it under her, but she still felt like she was falling. “Katie! Katie, you need to wake up! Snap out of it!” Katie’s eyes flew open.
“What…what happened?” Katie asked, a little disoriented.
“You fell off of Simona’s back. Varek saved you, but you were in such a deep sleep, we thought you would never wake up.” Chait said, curling up next to Katie.
She looked around; they were still up in the air and now she was on Varek’s back. The soft whoosh of his wings could be heard as he flapped them. She became overwhelmed by the dream she had, about James and what the pixie had said to her. She began to cry, once more. She couldn’t help it or stop it. Warm tears began to roll down her cheeks and disappeared in the fabric of her cape. Chait rubbed his head against her arm. “It’s going to be fine Katie, you have me, remember.”
“I know, Chait, thank you for being here with me.” Katie said, sniffling. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and held on tightly to Prince Varek’s neck, being careful not to fall off again.
“We’re almost to the sea, keep hanging on and you’ll be fine, my lady.” Varek said, looking back at them, trying to flash a smile, though he never got the hang of showing emotions as a Unicus did.
Katie gave an uneasy laugh. “I promise I won’t fall asleep again.” Then she thought about the dream she had and shivered a little. Was it really a dream? It felt so real, and who was the pixie that had pushed her off the cliff? It was almost as if she met her before. She had thought about these questions and opened her mouth to ask the Prince; she then quickly shut it. It was better not to ask Varek about a stupid dream she had. He was a Prince after all; he wouldn’t want to hear about a dream…would he? She looked up and saw the sea in the distance. Varek’s speed increased until he was almost near the Sea of Evandor. He slowed down and landed on the sandy shore next to Princess Simona and Chadwick. Prince Varek stopped next to a large bush and Katie climbed down. Chait remained on his back.
“Alright, Katie, we’re here. Remember, the city of Derya is beneath the sea. If accepted by the Mermaids, you will be offered some seaweed. Eating this seaweed will allow you to breathe and see beneath the water for 3 hours. You must return with a piece of the stone of Evandor in that time or you may drown.”
“My friend Niela, you have met her before, will take you to Derya and you will meet the Queen. The King is away tending to some business in a further part of the sea. The Queen knows where the stone is, and if she sees fit, she will take you there. You’re going to be fine. I will return in a few hours. I’m going to rally the troops to prepare for war.” Katie walked up to Prince Varek and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Be careful, Varek. I won’t fail you. I know I can do it this time.” She walked around to his side, to pet Chait on the head. “Do whatever they ask, Chait. Don’t worry about me; Chadwick is going to be with me. I’ll see you in a few hours.” Chait nodded and did a few circles on Varek’s back, until he found a comfortable spot and lay down.
Katie moved next to Princess Simona. “Please try to be back when I return; we do only have five days left with four tasks to do.”
“Well, look who is finally taking charge. You are growing in such a short time. There is hope for you, yet.” Princess Simona smiled and then joined her brother. They both bowed and ran off towards the forest.
“Well, we better get to it Katie.” Chadwick said, taking her hand and walking to the water’s edge.
Suddenly, Niela appeared out of the water from nowhere and looked up at Katie and Chadwick. “You don’t have to say a word, Katie; I know why you’re here. You need the Stone of Evandor to free Prince Varek and Princess Simona from their beastly bodies.”
“That is exactly why I’m here. How did you know?”
“We’re Mermaids, we know everything. Besides, I did tell you that you would be back, didn’t I?”
“Well, if you knew I needed it before, when I came by, then why didn’t you give it to me in the first place?”
“The Stone of Evandor can’t be placed just anywhere. Besides, you only need a piece of it and you have to do that yourself.”
“Alright then, let’s get to it. Prince Varek said something about having to eat seaweed of some sort.”
“Yes, you both will need that. Wait right here and I’ll get it for you.” She disappeared beneath the water and returned only a few minutes later with two long stands of sea weed and handed them over.
“We have to eat the whole thing?” Katie asked, holding the slimy green plant.
“Oh, you humans are really finicky, aren’t you? I love this stuff. Varek protested the first time too, but now he loves it. If you want the stone, you will have to eat it all.”
Katie sighed and took a large bite of the slimy plant. A bitter and salty taste filled her mouth. She chewed and swallowed over and over until the plant was gone. She almost gagged on the last piece, but was able to hold it down. The air seemed to thicken around her and suddenly, she felt a strong desire to jump into the sea. It must be working, she thought.
“Katie, come on, we don’t have much time.” Chadwick called to her from the water below. He must have already jumped in when she was trying to eat the last piece, Katie thought to herself. She walked up to a rocky ledge and dove into the sea.
Up on the shore, a bush that Prince Varek had just stood by began to rustle. A small butterfly fairy flew out and then grew to the size of a human. She was once a highly sought after fairy, but was banished when she joined the pixies in the rebellion a hundred years ago. Her pale complexion turned almost pink against her pink dress and wings. Her blonde hair draped over her dress in messy strands, as if she didn't care for her looks. She glared down at the sea, watching Katie and Chadwick follow Niela deeper and deeper until they could no longer be seen beneath the sea.
“Stupid fools. They will surely fail for putting a human in charge.” She then turned back into her small form and flew off toward the Forest of Rugonden.