New Life
Once again, I don't own Keys to the Kingdom or any of the related characters.
It was Arthur's last day in the Secondary Realms, my last day of seeing him, probably forever. It was bad for the Secondary Realms to have influence from the House, and bad for me if I visit the House too much. For the good of most, Arthur and I would be parted.
We strolled along the river, the woods around us coming alive with the sounds of morning—birds chirped, insects hummed, even the trees seemed to whisper among themselves.
Arthur sat down on a large, rocky overhang and paddled his sandaled feet in the water, but quickly withdrew them.
"It's like ice," he informed me.
I smiled and mussed his hair. We tussled for a bit, getting into a tickling war. This ended quickly when Arthur used his superior Denizen strength to pin me down on my back.
"Unfair!" I gasped, breathless. I realized the position we were in and blushed. Arthur must have been thinking along those same lines, for he rolled off me fairly quickly and helped me to my feet.
After a few seconds of throat-clearing and eye-avoiding, Arthur spotted a path of stepping stones that led across the fast-flowing water.
"Follow me!" he cried, just a boy again.
I laughed and obliged.
Arthur leaped gracefully across the stones to the far bank. I imitated him, until I got a quarter of the way across.
Then-a pain in my ankle-a slipping sensation-the world turned on its side. I cartwheeled my arms, but it was no use.
I gasped as I hit the river. The icy water knocked the breath out of my lungs. I could feel the rocky bottom, but the strong current swept me out to the middle of the river and my feet lost contact with the ground. An undertow pulled me to the bottom of the river and tangled weeds about my legs. I couldn't tell which way was up. So cold. Arthur shouted something…what did he say? Too cold. Going numb…
"Goodbye, Arthur," I whispered. Blackness washed over me, and I drifted.
A warm golden light…strength…a whooshing sound…pain in my nose…if this was death, I didn't like it much…
How strange. Two bright blue suns burned in a flesh-colored sky, close enough for me to touch. Where was I?
I blinked a few times, and things started to make sense as the sky resolved itself into Arthur's worried features. His eyes still burned bright as suns.
"Leaf," Arthur sighed. "I thought you were dead!"
"I nearly was." I sat up, a feat that should have been nearly impossible so soon after my brush with death. "I feel…different." A suspicion struck me. "Arthur, what did you do to me?"
Arthur looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Um, let me just say that you would have died otherwise…" His voice trailed off as I looked daggers at him.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?"
"I turned you into a Denizen," Arthur mumbled so low I couldn't hear him.
"What was that?" I demanded.
"I turned you into a Denizen," he admitted.
I was stunned. "A—a Denizen?" I stuttered.
"Well, not exactly a Denizen, but you're immortal now," Arthur amended quickly.
I felt numb. "I'm…I'm immortal?"
"Yeah…" Arthur looked distinctly uncomfortable.
"Does this mean I can't live in the Secondary Realms anymore?"
"Well…yes. I'm sorry." He did look it.
"But…but what about Ed and Mum and Dad and Mango and school…and everything?"
"I can change your record and theirs so that they don't remember you and you don't remember them--"
"No!" I interrupted vehemently. "Can't we just explain?"
"What…tell them everything? About the House…and me…and…"
"Yeah, why not?" I was starting to get excited. "Ed can tell the teachers I've started homeschooling, it could work!"
"You'll never be able to talk to them again." Arthur was uncertain.
"Wait…since I'm not a Denizen or a Nithling…I won't do as much damage in the Secondary Realms. And you can easily repair what damage I do…"
"That is true. I suppose we can arrange occasional visits. Your idea just might work…"