Weaving Destinies

Coincidence. It had to be a coincidence. Despite all the mentions of a famous Julia, there was no way that Julia Elgin and this long-dead Princess Julia could be the same person.

“Dead?” I repeated in protest. “She was perfectly alive when I met her! She can’t be dead! It has to be a different Julia.”

“Her death was reported long before I was born. I do not see any possible way for her to still be living, yet that dagger is very unique. I would recognize it anywhere,” Alec replied. “It is also a key part of the prophecy.”

I did remember that now that he mentioned it. There was something about blood dripping from Julia’s dagger. Could it really be Julia Elgin’s dagger?

“Well, if by some odd chance we’re talking about the same Julia, and this dagger is the one which destroyed Nayan, I still don’t understand something. Didn’t your mother kill Nayan?” I asked.

“Yes, but she used her elder sister’s dagger to defeat him.”

“So how does that make Julia dead?”

“Julia was heir to the throne, and when my mother returned alone to restore the monarchy of Torm, she told everyone Julia had been killed,” he explained. I was stunned. My head was reeling with possibilities. It was strange to think that Julia, who I had known so closely for months, could have been the long lost princess of Torm. Julia had seemed to know about Torm. Maybe she had just gone to Earth for a while and somehow ended up meeting me. Or maybe she knew that I was going to get involved in this mess and sought me out…

“By any chance, was Julia able to see the future?” I asked, feeling stupid for even suggesting it.

“Why, yes. She was a very skilled fate-reader,” Alec replied in surprise. Then that confirmed my suspicions. My journey on Torm had started before I had even known of its existence.

I noticed another figure enter the room.

“Hello, Mr. Ingraham,” I said politely. I sat up so that my head was no longer in Alec’s lap and tried to not blush. It was never fun to be caught in an intimate situation.

“Hello, Faith. Alec, I have worse news than we thought possible,” Gregory Ingraham said gravely.

“Has the apprentice returned to join the master?” Alec asked in concern.

“Yes, I’m afraid so. But I still can’t see how this is possible. Callagroth was created from the remnants of Nayan, but when Tariq died, he didn’t leave a trace behind. And why has he taken the form of a female this time?” Gregory murmured.

“In the past, Nayan had a follower named Tariq,” Alec explained to me. “Tariq was killed, and I suppose it only makes sense that he would return as well.”

Suddenly, it all came back. I gasped in horror as I remembered Madison standing in front of me, smirking. How did she get here? I alone knew that she wasn’t a reincarnation of Tariq. She was a new apprentice. Why had Callagroth picked her? He had to have seen her in my memories.

She had murdered so many servants and let those vicious unicorns into the ballroom, but at least she had spared the children in the nursery. I doubted that Callagroth would have done that.

A high-pitched scream echoed throughout the mansion.

“I thought the mansion was evacuated!” I exclaimed.

“Someone must have returned!” Alec replied. “I am sorry if you still are not feeling well, my love.”

Alec grabbed my hand and ran with me in the direction of the sound, Gregory not far behind. It didn’t take us long to find the source.

Clarissa would later tell me that the servants had noticed one child was missing, and she went back alone to look around the mansion. Now she was sitting on the ground in the empty nursery shivering in fear. Floating in front of her was the figure of Madison. She looked exactly the same as she had in all of my dreams. Her red hair was like fire around coal black eyes, and her silver dress appeared to float around her. Tattered gray wings with bones clearly showing helped her stay suspended in the air over Clarissa. In her long-nailed hand, she was holding a small child by the throat. It was Tari.

“Put her down!” I commanded, terror quickly filling my voice. Alec looked so pale that I thought he might pass out. Madison sneered at me.

“As you wish,” she said in a sly voice. She tossed Tari high into the air and watched as she fell to the ground.

“No!” I screamed. She caught the small angel in her arms.

“I have a message for you. Callagroth would like you to come visit. Really, you don’t go to see him at all. The poor man feels so lonely,” she said with a fake pout. I could still remember the day we stood in front of the mirror practicing our sexiest pouts together.

“You will not use Princess Nefertari like this!” Gregory growled at her. He started chanting.

“Stay out of this, old man,” Madison frowned. With one pump of her wings, she sent a powerful blast of air his way. He stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, hitting his head on the wall and crumpling to a heap.

“And I’m assuming that Tari dies if I don’t come along?” I narrowed my eyes. In response, Madison used a fingernail to make a long cut down Tari’s cheek. Tari cried in pain and fear. Madison licked the blood off her cheek.

“You’re disgusting!” I yelled. “Madison, why are you like this?” She didn’t have to answer though. Callagroth had brought her here, given her wings, and poisoned her mind.

Or maybe I was the reason she had changed for the worse.

Either way, a pulsation of anger at this mistreatment of a young child rippled through my body. A large pair of silvery gold dragon wings burst from Alec’s back, and he flew at Madison. She dodged him and used one hand to throw a ball of fire. I ran underneath Alec to make sure the barrier didn’t create any problems. Alec easily flew above the fireball and made a beeline for Madison. She gave an exaggerated sigh.

“Well, if you won’t come with me like a good little boy, then I suppose I’ll just have to take action to ensure you’ll behave yourself,” she shrugged nonchalantly. She dropped Tari and flew right at him. Clarissa surprised me by running over, catching Tari, and sprinting from the room, still sobbing the entire time. Madison flew up at the last possible moment and brought her elbow sharply down on the back of Alec’s neck. He dropped like a rock, plummeting to the ground.

“Alec!” I shouted, running over to his still body. A cold hand suddenly wrapped its fingers around the back of my neck.

“Really, Livvy. I’m disappointed in you,” Madison hissed. “First you go all punk rock on me, and now you’re impersonating a princess? I know you’re better than this. Really, what would Lucas think if he could see this handsome young man vying for your affections?” She laughed and squeezed her fingers, plunging me into a deep sleep.

When I finally woke up, I discovered something very bad. I was dangling by my chained wrists over a large, circular pool of lava. I gave a shout of dismay and looked around for a way to escape. There was safe ground, but it was at least nine feet away from me on every side. I was inside of what looked like a black dome. I also discovered that I was still in my ballroom gown, further complicating things. I was not exactly prepared to make an incredible ninja-leap out of here.

Laying near the edge of the steep drop into the pool was the still figure of Alec. He looked bruised and beaten with blood running from a cut on his head. He was wrapped in chains from head to foot, keeping him on the ground. I glanced up at the chains surrounding my wrists. There was definitely no way I could shake free. Even so, I wiggled around, swinging back and forth by my wrists. My tiara fell off as my hair came undone. The tiara dropped into the lava and disappeared instantly in a puff of smoke. Beads of sweat appeared on my forehead. I stopped swinging and hung motionless over the pit.

“This sucks,” I muttered, stating the obvious.

“Good, you have awakened,” came a sinister voice I had hoped I would never hear again.

“I’m not in the mood, Callagroth. Go away,” I growled angrily. I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. A black feather floated down in front of me, revealing how he could remain in the air.

“Not a chance,” he whispered, his lips brushing against my right ear. I shuddered in disgust.

“What have you done to Madison?” I demanded.

“Oh, the question is what have you done to Madison?” Callagroth leered.

“She’s not usually like this! The Madison I know loved children and would never hurt anyone!”

“Is that so? Don’t you think things might have changed since your little… mishap?”

I dropped the subject immediately.

“Where am I?” I asked angrily.

“Another castle of illusions, of course,” Callagroth answered.

“You never explained that to me! What exactly is a castle of illusions?”

“It’s all created from the mind, a mixture of magic and nightmares to make your worst dreams come to life.”

“So it really is all in my mind? I couldn’t die from any of it?”

“Don’t be so foolish! If you believe something is real, it is real,” Callagroth said. I had once heard of a hypnotist who made a girl believe that an ice cube he pressed against her arm was actually a hot coal. The ice left a blister on her skin. If Callagroth used dark magic to make me believe in his illusions, they were as good as real.

“And really, it took you so much longer to wake up than your dear prince,” Callagroth continued. “He woke up hours ago. But don’t worry; I quickly showed him that rebelling is not the proper behavior around here. With one slice of your dagger, you can end his misery. Merciful killing, hm?”

“Really, Callagroth? That’s the road you’re going to take?” I nearly laughed. “You think that you could persuade me to kill Alec with a tactic like that? You need to work on your charisma.”

“And why not? You can’t honestly be in love with the poor fellow, can you? Or do you just feel sorry for him?” Callagroth asked. “What about Lucas? What about the night you sat on your roof stargazing with him?”

I hated that he had access to all of my memories. If my hands had been free, I would’ve punched him right in the face.

“And surely you don’t believe Alec loves you,” Callagroth continued confidently. I knew that he knew that he was getting to me.

“Of course I do. He tells me at least five times a day,” I replied, although a bit uneasily.
Callagroth laughed long and hard. “Oh, really? He wouldn’t love you if you weren’t Faith. He’s supposed to marry Faith! That’s what the world expects him to do! He would never disappoint his people. If he found out you weren’t Faith, then he’d leave you behind.”

I’m ashamed to say that fear gripped my heart. I didn’t want to lose Alec.

“He loves you for being Faith. He could never love Olivia Jones.” Callagroth’s words were like an arrow piercing into my back. I was certain didn’t love Alec, but now that my suspicions that he didn’t truly love me either were confirmed, I felt like I was going to faint.

“I’ve known you for so long, Livvy,” Lucas suddenly said from behind me. I was surprised, but I didn’t question it. If Madison was here, who was to say Lucas wouldn’t be here either?

“I’m sorry about that night. I don’t care about Sophie, not the way I care about you,” Lucas continued softly. I closed my eyes and let him hug me from behind.

I opened my eyes, and I was standing in Lucas’s bedroom. His desk was cluttered with homework, tubes of paint, an old Taco Bell wrapper, and a DVD of The Ring. The familiar, Playboy-esque poster of Supergirl hung on the wall above his unmade bed. A reed diffuser smelling like apples was still where his mom had placed it in the corner. His black and red skateboard was propped against the wall next to his closet. Some dirty clothes were strewn about the room. He had once joked that I could come clean his room whenever I wanted, knowing that I cleaned whenever I was nervous about something.

“I’m sorry about everything that happened,” Lucas said, and I turned around to see him standing behind me. I smiled widely as I looked into his blue-green eyes. I had missed him so much.

“It wasn’t your fault,” he whispered, lightly touching my face. “I love you, Livvy, no matter what anyone says. No matter what Sophie says.”

I closed my eyes and let him gently kiss me.

That’s when I noticed that I couldn’t breathe.

I tried to push Lucas away, but he kept his lips pressed against mine. I was slowly suffocating.

I opened my eyes and saw that I was floating in a large tank of unnaturally blue water. Various wires were attached to needles below the surface of my skin. Callagroth had sent me to a dream world while he hooked me up to this ghastly contraption! My lungs were screaming for air. I had never imagined drowning to be this terrifying. I needed oxygen immediately, but I couldn’t move. My head fell forward, and my mind slowly gave way to the darkness.