Chapter 1
A Pained Reality
Eirwyn could sense the girl standing on the other side of the field, as a gentle breeze played with her long hair, blowing it into her face. On the outside, she was sure she looked calm and collected as she stared down the traitor; however on the inside she was a burning mess. How dare this girl think to come near the village again after stabbing her in the back, choosing instead to work for a more powerful nearby kingdom. Eirwyn's opponent shifted, and she couldn't help the smirk that came to her face. It was obvious that the other girl was nervous, knowing who she was pitted against, but at the same time having no idea of the power Eirwyn possessed.
"Well, what are you waiting for sorceress," A sneer came from across the field, "Or perhaps you are to scared to face me alone?" The mocking tone in the female's voice sent shivers of anger racing throughout Eirwyn's body. She lifted a hand, pointing an open palm at where she had heard the voice coming from.
"Do not test me, Sadie." She stated calmly, ignoring the raging emotions that threatened to burst from within her chest, "I am not someone you should be taking lightly."
"Such mighty talk, but tell me Eirwyn, how exactly do you plan on hitting something you can't even see?" To that the young girl, Eirwyn, simply smirked, amused by how little knowledge her opponent had of magic.
"Who said anything about needing to see you?" Eirwyn asked playfully, "After all, your annoying voice is so loud I can tell exactly where you are, with or without my eye sight." Eirwyn heard a growl of annoyance from the other side of the field, and she could feel the shift in the air. Her opponent had begun charging at her; however the girl named Sadie never made it to her. Instead Eirwyn felt a hand rest gently on her shoulder, and a voice calling to her.
"Evie…Evie darling it's time to come back." Eirwyn smiled at the soothing voice of her mother as she felt herself being pulled away from the field, "Are you back Evie?"
As Evie finally became aware of her own surroundings, she felt the softness of her bed underneath her. She was perched on the edge, with her legs crossed, and she could figure that she had probably been staring at the wall for quite a while. Next to her Evie could feel the bed dip,anda hand being placed on her shoulder.
Evie reached up to scratch the side of her neck sheepishly, "Yeah, sorry about that, guess I must have gotten caught up in my battle."
"A battle you say?" came the amused voice of Eirwyn's mother.
"Yeah, it was the traitor Sadie again," Eirwyn said excitedly, "She appeared and began attacking the village just outside the palace, so of course I had to go out and stop her!" The older woman laughed as Eirwyn excitedly told her of her adventures in her little fantasy world.
"Well that sound like quite the adventure; however it is time for you to get ready for school. You don't want to be late again, do you?
"Do I have to go?" Eirwyn groaned, "All anyone ever does is make fun of me, whether it's because I'm albino, or because I can't see."
"Oh, it can't be that bad." Eirwyn gave her mother a raised eyebrow, and the woman sighed, "Well you have already missed to much school; you can't afford to miss anymore. You don't want to fail the eighth grade, do you?"
Eirwyn felt her mother stand before taking her hand, and helping her up as well. Eirwyn could hear her mother rummaging around in her closet, most likely looking for some decent clothes for Eirwyn to wear to school. After a few moments, Eirwyn's mother walked back over to the bed, and began helping Eirwyn undress.
"Why can't you just home school me or something?" Eirwyn mumbled.
"You know that's not going to happen Evie." Eirwyn pouted as her mother finished dressing her in a long sleeve shirt and a pair of jeans, before leading the girl into the dining room. Eirwyn sat down at the table, while her mother went into the kitchen to start on breakfast. While her mother worked on breakfast, Eirwyn sunk into her seat, absentmindedly drawing designs on the table with her finger. After a moment, Eirwyn herd the sound of a plate being set down in front of her.
"How about this," Eirwyn's mother said after a moment, "If you promise to go to school and behave you and I can go see a movie later tonight, how does that sound?" Eirwyn looked to where she believed her mother was; so she could either sit at home, and not have to deal with all of the kids at school who did nothing but harass her behind her back, or she could go to school, and have an awesome night with her mother.
"Fine," Eirwyn sighed after a moment, "But you have to promise me that we'll go tonight, meaning no working late!" Eirwyn's mother laughed.
"Alright I promise, but you had better be on your best behavior, got it?"
"Yes!" Eirwyn cheered, jumping up and hugging her mother, "I love you mom!"
Later that day at school, Eirwyn plopped down at her usual table in the lunch room with an exasperated sigh. The day had been incredibly frustrating; however, by simply staying to herself and not reacting to anything anyone said about her, Eirwyn had been able to get through the day without causing any trouble. Eirwyn was going to take a bite of her lunch when she heard someone sit down in the seat across from her. She could tell from the nauseating smell of perfume, and the annoying clicking of heels, that whoever was sitting across from her could only be one person.
"Sadie, what do you want?" Eirwyn mumbled.
"Oh, what's wrong, you don't want to actually sit with someone for once?" Sadie asked, the sound of her voice grating Eirwyn's nerves, "Or maybe you like being an outcast loser." Again, Eirwyn said nothing, not wanting to give into the girl's attempts to push her buttons.
"Sadie, why don't you go bother someone else for once?" Eirwyn asked with a sigh, "I mean, I figured since we use to be friends you would want to stay as far away as possible." Eirwyn felt a kind of grim satisfaction when she herd Sadie growl from the other side of the table. Eirwyn hears the chair squeak as Sadie shifts uncomfortably, and figures that there is probably other people standing around who Eirwyn hadn't noticed before.
"How does it feel?" Sadie asks, ignoring Eirwyn's comment, "To be completely shunned by pretty much everyone, I bet even your own parents hate you." Eirwyn growls, jumping up and slamming her fist down on the table.
"Don't you dare talk about my mother!" Eirwyn growled. Her mother was the only person who loved her, that cared about her. How dare this traitor talk about her!
"What is going on here?" Eirwyn felt her heart sink as she herd the teacher walk up to them.
"Evie just started yelling at me for no reason!" Sadie said, playing the part of innocent victim. Eirwyn balled her hands into fists, resisting the urge to punch the other girl in the face.
"Both of you to the principal's office now." Eirwyn's shoulder was grabbed by the teacher, and the two girls where lead away.
Eirwyn fiddled with her hands nervously in her seat as she waited for the principle to come back from where he was talking to Sadie. She prayed to anyone she could think of that the principle didn't call her mother, or that would mean no movie night! She suddenly jumped as she herd the door to the principal's office open, and two sets of feet walk back out into the waiting area.
"Miss. Fairfax, it's your turn." Eirwyn stood up, and was guided into the office by the principle.
"Alright you want to explain to me what happened?" The principle didn't sound angry or mean; however Eirwyn still refused to say anything. She already knew what kind of people worked at this school. Even if she tried to defend herself, Eirwyn knew that nothing was going to happen to Sadie. Just like nothing ever happened to the kids who bullied her. The principle sighed, and Eirwyn can hear the sounds of him writing something down, before it stopped. "Well you have two choices, you can either go out there and apologize to Miss. Anderson for yelling at her, or I can call your mother, and you'll have detention for a week."
Eirwyn didn't say anything for a moment. Why did she have to apologize, it wasn't like she had done anything wrong! It was Sadie that started everything! After a moment Eirwyn crossed her arms over her chest in defeat.
"Alright I'll apologize." Eirwyn muttered standing up, and letting the principle guide her back into the waiting area, where Eirwyn could practically feel the smugness rolling off the brat Sadie. "Sadie…I'm sorry." Eirwyn felt nauseated as she muttered her halfhearted apology.
"You should be!" Eirwyn was about the yell at the girl again, but the principles hand on her shoulder held her back.
"That's enough Miss. Anderson." Eirwyn barely kept the smug grin off her face as Sadie scowled, "Now that that is all settled, both of you two head back to class." Eirwyn walked out of the office, where her teacher Ms. Neali was waiting for her.
Eirwyn took the steps on to the bus two at a time, quickly choosing her usual seat behind the bus driver. She could barely contain herself, settling for just bouncing her leg against the floor. She heard the doors to the bus close, and felt the bus set into motion. Eirwyn placed her hand against the window, enjoying the cool feeling of the glass, and a smile broke out over her face.
Fifteen minutes pass before Eirwyn finally reaches her stop, "Alright, here you go Hun," The bus driver said. Eirwyn jumped up and had to slow herself down to stop herself from falling down the steps as she made her way off the bus. As she exited the bus, she felt someone put a hand on her shoulder.
"Oh Evie there you are," Eirwyn visibly deflated as she heard a voice that doesn't belong to her mother. The voice belong to her neighbor Sarah, who was only a few years older than Eirwyn herself. If she was there, then that meant that Eirwyn's mother wasn't home yet.
"Hey Sarah, what are you doing here?" Eirwyn asked as the older teen as she was lead over to her apartment.
"Your mom called me after I got out of school, and she wanted me to let you know that her boss asked her to work late, and that she'll need to take a rain check on that movie." Eirwyn felt her heart break. Her mother promised that she wasn't going to stay late, she promised! When Sarah let Eirwyn into the apartment, Eirwyn went straight to her room, and decided to try to do some homework.
For ten minutes Eirwyn sat in front of her laptop, listening to her computer read off the problems; however her mind just couldn't get over the disappointment of her mother not being home. Finally Eirwyn became fed up, slamming her laptop closed, and flopping back on her bed. She just wanted to get away, to go to her own little world where everything was perfect. Closing her eyes, Eirwyn allowed herself to fall out of reality.
When Eirwyn opens her eyes again, she could feel the grass underneath her dress, from where she was sitting on the ground. The cool air around her told the sorceress that she was sitting next to a body of water. Placing her hand just a little ways away, Eirwyn felt the water, and smiled gently swirling her hand around playfully.
"Having fun Eirwyn?" Eirwyn looked up to where she heard the voice of her mother, and smiled, nodding her head in the direction of the voice.
"Hello your highness, what can I do for you?" Eirwyn asked, standing up so she could talk to the queen properly. She heard the sound of the queen walking closer until she was standing next to her.
"There was a report of people getting sick in the village," The Queen replied, "It is led to belief that Sadie may have something to do with it." Eirwyn growled at the mention of the traitor's name.
"Don't worry, your majesty, I will go to the village immediately and look over the situation myself." The Queen was silent for a moment.
"Just please be careful Eirwyn."
"Of course." Eirwyn replied with a little bow. She walked away, allowing her magic to lead her to where her horse was waiting for her.
Everything was oddly silent as Eirwyn and a few of the guards made their way through the small village. It made Eirwyn nervous as she got down from her horse and walked to the small store. "Hello?" Eirwyn called out as she entered the shop.
"Ah Lady Eirwyn, how kind of you to visit me!" Came the voice of an older gentleman. Eirwyn smiled as the man came up and embraced her, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I need to know about the people who have been getting sick recently." Eirwyn asked sitting down in a chair, "Do you have any idea what could be causing it?" Eirwyn hears the man moving around, playing with something that was made of glass.
"I am not sure, but I do know that it has something to do with the water." The man replied; however, before the man could continue, a guard walked into the small shop.
"Lady Eirwyn, there has been an emergency at the palace, and they need you to return immediately!" Eirwyn stood up from her chair so quickly that she accidentally knocked the item over. Without saying anything, Eirwyn ran passed the guards, trying to get to the palace as quickly as possible.
Eirwyn ran through the palace as she was met with one of the queen's personal servants. Eirwyn could vaguely hear the maid telling Eirwyn something; however the younger girl was not paying attention.
"Your Majesty!" Eirwyn cried as she ran into the Queens quarters. There was no reply, and Eirwyn makes her way over to the bed, and sat down next to where she could feel the queen's body. A hand suddenly rested itself on Eirwyn's, making the girl wince at the feeling of coldness.
"My Eirwyn." The Queen whispered, and for the first time in her life, Eirwyn wished she could see the face that looked so much like her mothers.
"I am here your majesty." Eirwyn replied, biting back the tears that threaten to fall, "Don't worry your majesty, everything will be alright." The queen gave a breathy laugh.
"My dearest Eirwyn, you must promise me, promise me that you will continue to be strong, for in my death they will need someone to lead them—"
"Do not say such things!" Eirwyn protested, "Tell me what is wrong, there must be something I can do with my magic to help you!" Queen grabbed Eirwyn's hand tightly, and brought it to her chest, wear Eirwyn could feel thick bandages wrapped around her chest, already wet with a sticky liquid Eirwyn could only assume to be blood.
"I do not have much time," The Queen whispered, "Please promise me." Finally letting the tears run down her face, Eirwyn nodded her head.
"I promise your majesty, I will lead the people with the same strength you showed." Eirwyn couldn't see it, but she could almost feel the queen smile in relief.
"Thank you, my dearest Eirwyn." With that Eirwyn felt the Queen's chest stop moving. Everything seemed to freeze as Eirwyn realized that her queen had finally passed into the next life. It took a moment for her mind to catch up to her body, which was already clinging to the dead body of her beloved mother and Queen. Time seemed to pass usually slow, as Eirwyn finally felt someone pulling her away from the body, gently comforting her.
"No, you will not take her from me!" The fourteen year old sorceress protested, struggling to get back to the bed.
"My lady, you must wake up!" Eirwyn froze at the sound of her neighbor's voice. She had never shown up in this world before, so what was she doing here, "Eirwyn, wake up!"
"Eirwyn, wake up!" Eirwyn was startled from her dream by the sound of her babysitter's voice, causing herself to fall off the bed.
"Ow, what's wrong?" Eirwyn groaned as she sat up, and gently rubbed her head. Sarah was silent for a moment, before walking over to where Eirwyn was sitting on the floor and helping the girl up.
"There are some people hear that need to speak with you," Eirwyn was confused, since no one ever came to talk to her. Sarah led her into the living room where she could hear to people talking softly in the doorway.
"Hello, is there something I can help you with?" Eirwyn asked as she reached the door way.
"Are you Eirwyn Fairfax?" A woman asked, and Eirwyn had the gut feeling that these had to be police officers.
"Yeah, that's me, what going on?" The officers where silent for a moment, before another voice, this time male, spoke up.
"Miss. Fairfax, my name is Detective Morgan and this is my partner Detective Campbell, I'm going to need you to come with us to the station." The man laid a hand on her shoulder, and Eirwyn flinched, stepping just outside his reach.
"I'm sorry sir, but I'm waiting for my mother to get home." Eirwyn said, wondering for a split second why her mother wasn't home, before turning back to the problem at hand. Eirwyn felt the air shift as one of the officer knelt down, most likely to look the teen in the eye. Not like it would help much, thought Eirwyn.
"Miss. Fairfax, your mother's been involved in an accident." It was the female again. Eirwyn's heart fell into her stomach at those words. It was just like in her world all over again. This couldn't be happening, "We really do need for you to come to the station with us okay? Don't worry someone will come and pick you up from there." At this point Eirwyn had gone numb, and Eirwyn could vaguely hear the officers talking to Sarah, as the female placed her arm around Eirwyn's shoulder and lead her to the back of the police car.
When they arrived at the police station Eirwyn was assaulted by the noise and chaos of the station, but Eirwyn ignored them. All she wanted to know was what had happened to her mother. Detective Campbell led the girl into a room, and shut the door, sitting Eirwyn down at a table, and placed a cup in front of her.
"What happened?" Eirwyn finally asked, "Where is my mom?" The officer was silent a moment, before sitting down in a chair across from Eirwyn with a sigh.
"Miss. Fairfax, I need to know, did your mother usually work late?"
"Yeah," Eirwyn asked confused by the odd question, and just wanting to know where her mother was, "She worked as a waitress, and sometimes when she didn't make enough tips during the day, she would work night to make up for it." Eirwyn paused and looked to where she believed the officer to be sitting, "Now will you tell me where my mom is?"
"Miss. Fairfax I am so sorry," Detective Campbell said, and Eirwyn could already feel the tears pricking at the back of her eyes, "Your mother was hit by a drunk driver on her way home from work, and she didn't make it." At first Eirwyn was numb, not really believing what she was hearing.
"You're lying," Eirwyn whimpered, "You're lying she can't be gone!" Tears poured down the young girl's face. She vaguely herd Detective Campbell stand up, and put an arm around her shoulder.
Then everything shattered.
Everything became quiet, except for the soft mumbling Eirwyn assumed was coming from the Detective.She heard something about a group home, before her mind just decided to shut down. Everything was becoming black, as the two worlds fighting in her head began to mesh. She didn't want this comfort that the officer was trying to give her, she wanted her mother back! Eirwyn couldn't find the energy to move, choosing to stay in that one spot, unmoving, barely breathing. She wanted so badly to retreat into the world inside her head where everything was perfect, but even that was shattered, destroyed by the events of reality.