Weaving Destinies

For just a moment, I decided to consider the very slim possibility that Alec was actually telling the truth. This was much more terrifying. I’d actually rather be with a psycho than on an entirely different planet where he was their High Prince. If he wasn’t lying, I’d actually be marrying him. How was I supposed to handle this if I was on another planet? How would I ever get back to Earth? I’d been gone for a day now. What would happen if I ever made it back? What would my parents say? What would Julia say?

A tall, regal woman with long blond hair and wise blue-gray eyes strode gracefully into the room. I turned around to stare.

“Oh, look how beautiful you are!” the lady gasped, raising her arms slightly in acknowledgement. “I’m so happy Alec is finally settling down with someone!”

“Um, does that mean…” I blinked at her.

“Yes, I am Anne,” she replied, “Alec’s mother and High Queen of all Torm. But you may call me Mom if you’d like.” She looked pretty young to be his mother.

“I’d prefer not,” I glared angrily. I sighed and sat down in a pew.

“I’m really sorry about how quickly this is going,” Anne said softly, sitting down beside me. “This isn’t the way I would’ve liked it to happen, but there’s a sense of urgency, you understand. I know how you feel, though. It was hard for me when I first came to Torm. The traditions here are so different from those on Earth.”

“Wait a minute!” I jerked upright sharply. “You’re from Earth too?”

“Well, not really. I’m Torman, but I lived the first fifteen years of my life on Earth,” she answered.

“How did you… I mean… were you kidnapped also?” I asked eagerly.

“Kidnapped?” she repeated in surprise. “Heavens, no! Do you mean to tell me that Alec brought you here against your will?”

“To say the least!”

“Oh my. I’m terribly sorry! You see, ever since Alec heard the fate-readers describing you, he has been madly in love with you. He raved to my husband and me about how wonderful you were. Finally, we decided to let him go to Earth to fetch you for the wedding.”

“He doesn’t even know me! And don’t I get to decide? I don’t want to get married!” I protested.

“You see, that’s one of the differences here on Torm. Love at first sight is a reality for us Tormans. The moment we first see our soul mates, we fall in love and usually get married within the week. I thought for sure you would know love at first sight as well,” Anne replied.

“If he’s really my soul mate, apparently I don’t,” I sighed. “But please, is there any way you can cancel the wedding? I’m too young to be eternally bound to someone!”

“I’m sorry, but the decision has already been finalized,” Queen Anne said, standing up.

“Please!” I begged. “Is there nothing you can do? After all, you are the High Queen!”

“I do apologize, but this is entirely out of my hands. This is a matter much greater than just a joining of two people or even a royal wedding. Don’t worry about your age, either. I was already Alec’s mother by the time I was seventeen. I’m going to go have a little chat with my son about how he got you here, but rest assured that you’ll be happy with Alec,” she smiled comfortingly and walked out of the chapel.

“Wait!” I called to her. She spoke over her shoulder as she walked away.

“The ceremony shall begin in a few moments. I hear the chef wants to see you in the kitchen. It’s the ninth door on your right down this hallway.”

By the time I had run after her (which was quite difficult in my wedding dress), she was already gone.

As impossible as it seemed, everything Alec said was checking out with all these other people. Either I was with a clan of wackos who somehow got their hands on a magnificent castle or I was genuinely about to marry the High Prince of another planet.

I finally made my way to the kitchen and saw a beautiful white cake on display, decorated with real roses as well as icing ones and what looked like actual pearls. There were nine layers, all suspended over each other in an artful fashion. There was absolutely no way something like this would be created for just a prank. I actually gasped aloud at its splendor, and a voice behind me chuckled.

“Do you like it?” a man asked. I turned to see a middle-aged man with a brown mustache grinning at me.

“I-it’s amazing!” I stuttered. “I’ve never seen anything like it before in my life!”

“Thank you,” he laughed. “I need to check on the rest of the meal. The florist will be by shortly to give you your wedding bouquet.” He walked off, and I examined the large kitchen. I was alone, so there had to be another kitchen filled with people preparing everything else.

A moment later, a very tall woman with short black hair walked in with a large bouquet of white lilies.

“Aren’t they perfect?” she sighed happily, obviously pleased with her flowers. “Alec picked them out for you. They symbolize purity, majesty, and virginity, and when given by a lover, they mean he believes it’s heavenly to be with you,” she winked. I winced slightly and gave a weak smile. She shoved the bouquet into my arms and led me back to the chapel. She instructed me on how I would walk outside when it was time and what to say in the ceremony.

When I was finally alone, I looked out the window at the multitude of people that had gathered on the wide lawn to watch my wedding. There looked to be several thousand of them. The more I saw, the more I knew that this wasn’t a trick or a dream.

I didn’t want to be marrying Alec. I wanted to go home, even with all the pain that involved. Why did all of these things happen to me? Was I still being punished over a year later?

I tried to relive the memories leading up to that fateful day in my head. They were the clearest escape, the only thing that could distract me now. When had it even started? Of course. The day I had received the casual invitation, the day Madison had convinced me to go.

“Biggest. Party. Of the year,” Madison grinned, her eyes shining. “It’s going to be amazing. And you got the invite from Josh himself. How cool is that?”

“Well, I was thinking maybe I shouldn’t go…” I hesitated. Madison squealed.

“You can’t be serious! Livvy, this is huge! We’re finally going to be in the ‘in’ crowd!” she practically bounced up and down. Not like she hadn’t tried her hardest. We weren’t exactly bottom feeders, but the popular kids typically didn’t pay attention to us. It was just luck that Josh was my lab partner in Biology.

“Josh invited everyone,” I reminded her. “There’s going to be at least fifty people there.”

“But we can prove to them that we’re awesome!” Madison exclaimed. “Please please please can we go?”

“Why do you need my permission?” I asked.

“Because you’re my only friend with a car and a license. Who would go,” she added. Emily had a car too, but there was no way studious, bookworm Emily would drive us to that party.

“You’re my best friend!” Madison begged dramatically. “We’ve always done everything together. I don’t want that to stop now!”

“All right,” I finally conceded. Madison jumped up and down, shrieking in excitement. I smiled, but inside, I was worried. What if my parents found out? I was supposed to be the good little girl with perfect grades and numerous volleyball trophies. I would really be breaking their trust by sneaking out to go to this party.

“Why can’t you just have a party here?” Dad had asked when he heard about a party my freshman year. My parents had several “serious conversations” about it and finally allowed me to throw a party of my own.

Madison and three other people showed up. We ate popcorn, drank soda, and watched a movie. It was all extremely tame, considering my parents were lurking in the other room. Mom would even embarrassingly pop her head through the doorway and ask if we needed anything.

I felt bad for them. It wasn’t their fault that they weren’t cool like Josh’s parents, who voluntarily went out of town and told their son to throw the biggest bash our high school had ever seen. But I did care about being popular and well-liked, and Madison was right. This party was our way in to the highest cliques. We needed to go to this party. I prayed my parents wouldn’t find out.

The very next day, I had strategically stood outside my house shooting hoops until Lucas saw me and came over.

“Do you think you’re going to Josh’s party?” I asked Lucas, who was also a sophomore at the time. He had moved in with his parents and younger brother that summer, and Madison and I had sat in my room peering out the window at his golden blond hair, muscular arms, and perfect jawline.

“Oh, he’s gorgeous,” Madison had stated, completely serious.

“I know. I have to meet him,” I determined. Madison and I spent days planning our attack, and on one sunny day, we knocked on the door with a plate of cookies to welcome the Richardsons to the neighborhood. I had found Lucas to be surprisingly easy to talk to, although his twelve-year-old brother was an annoying brat who latched onto Madison. Lucas and I had a lot in common, and Madison even put up with his brother’s long, rambling stories for a while to make sure Lucas would have no reason to dislike me. To my chagrin, he started dating junior Sophie Carson not long after school started, but we remained friends. I dutifully tried to crush my feelings for him, but it was hard sometimes, especially if he was shirtless.

“Don’t tell me you were actually invited,” Lucas teased lightly, tossing the basketball into the hoop. It swished through and bounced to me.

“Of course I was! Madison and I are going, but it’d be fun if you came with us,” I said, dribbling and preparing to shoot. I quickly added, “You can bring Sophie.”

“Sure. Sounds great,” Lucas smiled, and I promptly missed my shot. The basketball bounced off the rim, but Lucas tossed it back to me.

“Who else is going?” he asked.

“You’re the only other one so far,” I replied. “And Sophie if she agrees.” I hoped she wouldn’t, although I knew she loved parties and probably would.

“Is Johan coming?” he asked, referring to Madison’s boyfriend of two years. Johan Dickson was a freshman at another high school not too far away. Madison met him at summer camp, and what started as just a fling flourished into something Madison was sure would last forever.

“I’m going to marry him someday,” she had told me resolutely. “I just know it. We’ve even talked about it, but we want to wait until after college.”

I didn’t argue. I had often heard adults talking about how they knew they’d end up with their current spouses after just the second or third date, and Madison had been with Johan for two whole years. Besides, I liked Johan. He was funny and smart and never minded if Madison chose to come to my house for a girl’s night in instead of going out with him.

“No, Johan isn’t coming,” I said. “He hates parties. I’m sure he’d rather stay at home and do logarithms all day.” Johan was also a total nerd.

Lucas ended up asking not only Sophie but his friends Aldo Daniels and Liam Clark as well.

“In case you and Madison needed guys to dance with,” he explained, but then Sophie asked her friend Kiyoshi Gardner to come and messed up the guy to girl ratio again. More unsettling was the fact that we had seven people all expecting a spot in my five-person car. It was a recipe for disaster, in my opinion, but Madison assured me that it would be fine.

A small tear rolled down my cheek as I remembered these joyful, carefree days. Something inside of me snapped, and the misery turned to rage. I examined the small, sharp knife that I had taken with me from the kitchen. I had absolutely nothing left to lose. As unhappy as I was in Louisville, I would be unspeakably miserable here.

I slipped the knife into the middle of the bouquet and prepared myself for the ceremony. Once the guards outside the chapel opened the door for me, I walked outside, not even trying to hide the angry glint in my eyes. Someone released a flock of doves in front of me, and I pushed through them as the crowd gasped in delight. I glanced around the crowd and was shocked to see that not everyone looked entirely human. Either Alec had some incredible special effects, or I really was on a different planet with strange creatures.

I stood by Alec as the wedding began. The man who looked sort of like a priest started to talk about sacred oaths and everlasting loyalty and burning love. His words were meaningless to me. My heart pounded with anticipation. When Alec drew closer to me, the moment was right.

Quickly, I pulled out the knife and tossed my bouquet aside. I captured Alec in a headlock and held the knife to his throat. The crowd gasped in shock.

“Nobody move!” I commanded in a loud but shaky voice. “One move, and I’ll kill your precious High Prince. I swear I will!”

“My beloved Faith, what are you doing?” Alec struggled. I held the knife closer to his throat.

“Shut up! I’m not your beloved Faith. I’m just Olivia, and I want to go home! Tell me how to get back!” I commanded, my eyes filled with desperate tears.

“But my darling…”

“Now!” I shouted, pressing the knife up against his skin so that it drew a little blood. Several women in the crowd were sobbing in fear, and the men looked outraged but helpless to do anything.

“Fine!” Alec managed to whisper hoarsely. “There is a portal directly north of here in the forest. Go through it, and it will take you back!”

I didn’t waste any time. I pulled the knife away from Alec and kicked open a box of doves intended for after the wedding. I glanced quickly at the sun and ran north while everyone scrambled to get past the doves.

“Guards! After her! Return her to me alive and as unharmed as possible!” Alec’s voice rang out. I cried out in shock as I looked over my shoulder and saw that at least fifty armed guards and Alec were racing after me. I kicked off my useless high-heeled shoes as fear and adrenaline took over.

“Find the portal, find the portal, have to find the portal!” I muttered under my breath, scrambling down the hill into the forest. I looked around while running, zigzagging between the trees. I suddenly saw a large, glowing silver circle and decided that that looked enough like a portal to me. I leapt through it and found myself tumbling out into an alley.

I landed hard on the ground. Looking around, I discovered that I was in downtown Louisville back on good old Earth.

I had a brief moment of relief until I heard Alec’s voice shouting from the other side of the portal. He was coming through!

I scrambled to my feet and began running again. I ran out of the alley and into the busy sidewalks of Louisville.

“Faith!” I heard Alec calling. “You cannot run for long! I will catch you!” I choked back a scream and pushed people out of my way.

“Help! Someone, please help me! This guy is a lunatic and a kidnapper!” I yelled to them, hoping someone in authority like a police officer would capture Alec or help me escape. It had to be an odd sight. My dress was torn and dirty, and I was barefoot. I was the one who looked crazy, so I really shouldn’t have been so surprised when people gave me funny looks and didn’t even stop to ask what was wrong.