Crossing Paths

I had been home almost a week and still I felt as if I were being held hostage.

Gideon had laid down strict rules for Gerritt (which really meant they were for me, since the first rule was that Gerritt be with me at all “appropriate times”) to make sure that he was always ready to come to my defense, if needed.

Gerritt seemed to have decided that Gideon’s plan was the most sensible (because then he had more time to ‘work on me’) so he was sure to follow the rules to perfection.

I was not happy. The only time I had alone was in the bathroom or in bed. Vampires don’t need to relieve themselves so that left a lot of baths, naps and showers as the only way to escape the two overprotective men attempting to run my life.

Bed was where I was now, covers pulled over my head and lights off, hoping for a few minutes to think.

Then, there was a knock on my door.

I sighed, but I didn’t answer the intrusive sound. Hopefully, whoever it was would go away.

I closed my eyes and thought about this hopelessly crazy situation I was in.

In the span of a year, I had gone from human to vampire to whatever I was now. I had lost my baby and my human life. I had lost the man I thought I loved. I was kidnapped, tortured and experimented on, without my permission.

The second knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. It sounded more insistent this time.

“What is it?” I said, not in a kind manner.

The door cracked open, and Gerritt poked his head inside.

“We need you in the office,” he said, “My aunt contacted your father.”

I grunted then said, “Fine! Get out!”

Gerritt pulled the door shut and I heard him chuckle as he headed down the hall.

‘Jerk,’ I thought to him.

Our connection came in very handy when I wanted to privately insult him.

I went to the big vanity in my bathroom to check my hair and stall a little longer.

This is where things went wrong.

I looked in the mirror, expecting to see myself, but instead, there was a taller, thinner version of myself with pale, silvery skin and a silver curtain of hair draped over her bare shoulders.

I screamed. What else could I do?

The reflection did not scream but held a finger up to her lips as if to ask for my silence.

I didn’t scream again, but since I lived in a house with vampires and Fae, protected by werewolves, the bathroom door suddenly burst open and I jumped, turning and snarling in irritation at Gerritt and Gideon.

I looked back to the mirror, but the strange reflection was gone. I was looking at myself now.

Gerritt and Gideon looked around as if ready to fight off an invader, but finding nothing, they both turned to me.

“What? Sometimes a girl just needs to scream,” I said, hoping neither of them sensed my deceit.

“You do realize that your thoughts are always open to me,” Gideon said, and he did not seem amused that I had been trying to lie to him.

“That’s the problem! I have no privacy! You listen to my thoughts! He listens to my thoughts and feels my feelings! Why don’t I just hook up to a satellite and broadcast my train of thought to the whole damn world!” I screamed, then I shoved past them and headed to the office, leaving them to murmur to each other in irritation.

When they finally joined me in the office, I had been sitting alone for ten minutes with the memory of that reflection of a different me, and I had decided I should tell them the truth, but first I needed to get through this portal call.

They each sat down, then Gideon turned to the portal on the wall behind him.

“We are all listening, Queen Finna, if you are ready,” he said, then looked at me, pointedly.

I defiantly stuck my chin out, acting like the child he was treating me as.

“Hello Melissa, dear. You look tired. Are you resting well?”

I turned and addressed the portal, where Queen Finna’s face appeared, “Hello, Your Highness. I’m having some trouble sleeping since these two don’t want to give me a moments peace.”

She laughed, “That does sound like men...” she trailed off, then sighed, “But I have not called to chat, I’m afraid. Something of dire importance was overheard and I felt it necessary to alert you, immediately.”

“What is it?” Gerritt said, looking concerned.

It irritated me that he cared so much.

“Prince… excuse me, no longer prince Almin,” Queen Finna began, but I gasped, and she turned her attention to me, “Melissa?”

“What do you mean? He’s not a prince anymore?” I said, eyes wide.

“Of course not. His father was beheaded for his crimes against our people. The same will become of Almin when he is brought to us,” The Queen said, as if it was silly of me to ask.

“Please go on, Queen Finna,” Gideon said then he glared at me.

I looked back at the queen and waited for her to continue.

“Almin has been spotted in your vicinity. He was seen speaking with a werewolf, but the informant did not recognize the werewolf, so we do not know his identity. Could it have been one of your acquaintances, Gideon?” she said.

“I can speak to the pack leader. He is a close friend.” Gideon responded.

“I will let you know if I learn more. Please do the same. Farewell.” the queen said, and then her face faded from the wobbly, watery portal.

I stared at the spot where her perfectly symmetrical face had been and tried to imagine seeing Almin here. It definitely gave me the creeps to think he may already be watching me. It also made me wonder why he was so interested in me. Just for the sake of his “experiment”?

Gerritt got up and went to the window. He pulled the curtain back a tiny bit, careful not to let the light in, and stood there, looking out.

Gideon’s eyes were distant, so I figured he was thinking up new and more torturous rules to put on me.

“There was another person’s reflection in the mirror,” I blurted out.

“What?” Gideon said, looking at me with concern.

Gerritt closed the curtain and came back to sit in the chair next to mine.

“I went to fix myself up and when I looked in the mirror it wasn’t me,” I said, looking from one to the other and back, “I mean, it looked like me but not the same me.”

They both looked confused.

“It was my face, but I was glowing, and I had silver eyes and hair,” I said.

“The Argents commonly had all of those traits,” Gerritt said, looking thoughtful.

Oh, great. Another fun Fae fact.

“Why would I see an Argent in my mirror?” I said, rolling my eyes.

“Because you are one,” Gerritt said, matter-of-factly.

I looked to Gideon in hopes of finding him as annoyed with Gerritt’s comment as I was, but he was nodding and still had that calculating expression.

“Gideon? Have you ever heard of this?” I asked him.

“No, dear. You are in fairly new territory for me. I have known Fae in the past, but I have not studied them or their history. Gerritt is the resident expert in all things Fae,” he said, smiling at Gerritt.

“I think it would be best if we took her back to Oceania,” Gerritt said.

“You may be right,” Gideon responded, “I don’t know how powerful this Almin is. I’m afraid the wolves have little defense against Fae magic.”

“I can go make the arrangements,” Gerritt said, standing up.

“No!” I shouted, getting to my feet, “I am not going back to that place. This is my home.”

“Of course, it is, dear, but right now we need to keep you safe and that is more important than you sleeping in your own bed,” Gideon said, using the sire connection to make me submit.

“Gideon...” I started to argue, but a sharp pain seared through my forehead, causing me to cry out in pain and fall to the ground, holding my head.

Both Gerritt and Gideon rushed to my aid, helping me into a chair, then to the couch when I couldn’t hold myself up to sit.

“Jeez! Did you need to split my brain open?” I said angrily to Gideon. I assumed he had used his sire powers to push me to agree with them about Oceania.

“This was not me, Melissa,” Gideon said.

A sharp pain shot through my skull, again.

I screamed and clasped my head in my hands.

Gerritt and Gideon both jumped up, but I didn’t pay any attention to what they were doing.

My head felt like someone had shove an ice pick into it.

‘Stop fighting me, you twit! You’re making this harder than it needs to be.’

I didn’t recognize the voice that I was hearing in my mind now, and the pain was so intense that I had no room to wonder where it came from.

I screamed again, clutching my head in my hands as if I could squeeze the pain out.

‘Just let me in!’

The voice said again, but I didn’t know what she meant by ‘let me in’.

The pain increased for a few seconds, and I was about to let out another banshee howl of pain when suddenly, the pain was gone.

For a moment, I was hesitant to believe it was gone. I thought it would come searing into my brain again. When it didn’t, I slowly released my death grip on my head.

I had my eyes closed, so I slowly opened my eyes, making sure the light wouldn’t cause them pain. Maybe that was only with migraines. And humans. Who knows?

Everything seemed fine. No pain.

I smoothed my hair and said, “It’s okay, I think.”

No response. Even if Gideon was in another room, which would have been strange since he was here only a second ago, he should’ve heard me.

‘Gerritt?’ I thought, reaching out to feel his location.

No response. I couldn’t sense Gerritt at all.

“Hello?” I called out, then I stood and turned to go look for the two men who normally would not let me out of their sight but were suddenly AWOL.

That’s when I noticed her sitting in a chair behind me. It was the same woman I had seen in the mirror, but now she was sprawled lazily across Gideon’s antique chair, nude, with a large, silvery owl perched on her shoulder.

“You are really a pain in the ass, kid,” she said, “You couldn’t just open your mind and let me out. Now, here we both are, trapped in your weak, vampire mind.”

I would have screamed, but something about this woman felt familiar and I knew I could handle one, strange-looking lady on my own, if the need arose.

“Who the hell are you and what the hell are you doing in my house?” I demanded.

Forget the fact that our house was a fortress. Forget that werewolves prowled the grounds as guards. Forget that some of us were vampires with heightened senses. This lady was stark naked, silver and had a huge owl on her shoulder. How did she even get here?

“I am Esther Sitara,” she said, then she stood abruptly, disturbing the owl resting on her shoulder, and walked towards me.

I got behind the desk, putting it between me and this Esther.

“Just stop there,” I said, holding up my hand.

Esther laughed and said, “I was just going to shake your hand. Isn’t that what people do here?”

“What do you want?” I said, trying to sound demanding.

“By the gods, you’re much more fun in your memories,” she said with a sigh, then she said, “Could you imagine some clothing for me? This is a bit breezy.”

She seemed totally at home here, in my father’s office, wearing nothing but an owl.

“Imagine you…. what?” I said, as the meaning of her words processed.

“This is all you,” she said, waving her arms around, “We’re in your head, twit.”

“That’s ridiculous. Why are you here if this is my head?” I said, looking around me quickly as if I’d notice something out of place.

“That is all thanks to that freak of a prince and his dumb experiment,” she said.

I looked at her and she didn’t have a hint of a smile on her face, but I had to ask anyways, “Is that some kind of joke?”

“It wouldn’t be a good one if it was, but no. I am the ‘essence’ that Almin fused with your soul to make whatever the hell you are now,” Esther said, sounding irritated.

This was it. This is when I lose my mind completely.

“Gideon! Gerritt!” I shouted.

“They can’t hear you, twit. You are peacefully resting in this very depressing place, while they are trying to figure out why you passed out,” she said, running her hand over the bird now perched on Gideon’s desk.

“Prove it,” I said, unsure of how she possibly could do this.

She waved her hand in the air, theatrically, then when nothing happened, she said, “Oh yeah! I can’t. Your show, remember? Think me some clothes. That should prove it.”

I closed my eyes and imagined Esther wearing a clown costume, complete with red, squeaking nose.

I opened my eyes.

Esther looked down at herself and then up at me in confusion.

I burst into hysterical laughter at the sight of her because it had worked perfectly.

Esther stood where she was wearing a huge, round, clown outfit with rainbow polka dots and light up buttons. She wore a pointed polka dot hat on top of a bright green wig and a full face of clown make-up with sad face.

“This is not what I had in mind, but I can manage,” Esther said, “We don’t have a lot of time.”

I was still laughing and the sight of her face when she sounded so serious only made me laugh harder.

Esther watched me, rolling her eyes every now and then, until the laughter stopped, and I was staring awkwardly back at her, feeling foolish.

“Can we talk like normal people now, twit?” she asked me.

“If you keep calling me twit you can go suck it,” I said, smiling politely, mirroring her fake look.

“Fine, Melissa, you need to stop blocking us from your mind. I am not going anywhere, yet. Those two very irritating protectors of yours need to hear what I have to say, as well.” she said.

Oh good, I thought, another person wanting access to my mind.

“Hey, I’m already in here. I can’t get out if you guys don’t pull your heads out of your ass and do something,” she said, apparently responding to my thoughts.

“That is so irritating,” I said, “Why should I let you pick at my head?”

Esther made a face, “Ew, that sounds gross. The only reason I look at your memories is because I get bored. There’s nothing to do in here while you mope around sleeping and bathing.”

I could see that being true. I hadn’t done anything fun or interesting since we’d come home from Oceania. I was miserably bored myself.

“They told me the essence was from a great queen,” I said, looking her up and down, “You don’t really fit the part.”

“I was a great queen. Then, I was hunted like an animal and had to hide in tunnels with the dwarfs. It sucked. I finally consented to have my essence stored in a soul stone,” she said, looking distant, “I thought I could be rebirthed when the hunts stopped.”

I pushed away the curiosity that had perked when she’d mentioned dwarfs and focused on the story.

Esther sighed and said, “I don’t know what happened after that.”

She looked truly miserable as she stared into some memory she was reliving in her mind…

‘...he was going to protect me, where is he now? I have to find him. He’s the only one left who can...’

I heard the words in my mind as if Esther had spoken them out loud, but I had been watching her emotions play across her face and I had not seen her lips move.

Now, she was staring at me.

“Were you in my head?” she said, crossing her arms over her chest and attempting a serious tone.

Unfortunately, she forgot she was presently costumed as a clown, thanks to me, so, instead of taking her seriously, I burst into giggles, again.

She looked angry for a second, then seemed to remember her appearance.

“Oh,” she said, looking down at her giant, red shoes, “Yes, this is a sight, I’m sure.”

I nodded and continued trying to suppress the fits of girlish giggles that kept bubbling from my lips.

Esther suddenly started to laugh, softly and reserved at first, but the more she watched me, the more her laughter took over. Soon, we were both laughing so hard we were gasping, and tears were streaming down our faces.

I could feel Esther’s joy at letting go and feeling something besides anxiety or frustration. I realized it must be awful to be awakened thinking you would be a restored queen only to realize, you were an unwanted passenger in another person’s brain. No way to communicate. No way to learn of the fate of your friends and family. No way to live.

Our laughter died down after a few minutes, but it was clear to me, and I could tell to her also, that we had made an important connection with eachother.

“Who is ’he”?” I asked her, referring to the person in her thoughts who was supposed to protect her.

She smiled, but sadly, then responded, “He was the man I loved. He was my biggest supporter. He was my advisor and my best friend.”

“Was?” I pushed.

“He’d be long gone now. I can’t figure out much about your world, but I know a lot of time has passed. So many new things and noise,” Esther saying, making an expression of distaste.

For some reason, I suddenly thought of Gerritt.

Esther giggled and I looked up to see her grinning at me in an annoying way.

“What?” I said.

In a sing-song voice she chanted, “You like Gerrit...you like Gerritt...” then giggled even more.

“Oh my god, never say that out loud again or I’ll eat you alive,” I said, covering my face with my hands, which only made Esther laugh more.

Changing the subject, I said, “So, how do I open my mind to you?”

She smiled, “Easy. Just want it. Now, wake up!”