CHAPTER FOUR

Boys and Cards Shouldn't Be Trusted

"You still haven't placed a bid on that apartment?"

Dylis frowned, twirling the glass of red wine in her hands. Then she downed the last bit of it.

"No," she replied, looking sideways to Hannah, her best friend. "I keep thinking that maybe… something else will come along… I can't really explain." It was a strange sense of… well, Dylis wouldn't call it foreboding, but what else was she going to call it? She had the feeling something would happen, that soon, she wouldn't need to look for an apartment anymore.

Maybe she'd finally win the lottery. That would be a real windfall. She wouldn't look for an apartment then, but for a mansion. Wouldn't that be amazing?

Dylis internally rolled her eyes. She'd been in this place for far too long, daydreaming about money and villas like that.

Hannah sighed and leaned back into the couch cushions. "I mean, your studio is very cosy, sure," she said as she looked around, "but don't you think it's time to really have a place for your own? You're thirty-six, for god's sake!"

"Oh, please," Dylis said with a wave of her hand. "You'd hardly think it belongs to Abigail's property."

Hannah shrugged and took a last sip of her own wine. "Still." She paused and looked at Dylis with narrowed eyes. "You've got to tell me your secret of not ageing, though. Nearing forty and still looking like you're in your mid-twenties? Unnatural, is what it is."

Dylis feigned a gasp. "Nearing forty?" she repeated, mock-outraged. "I'd like to think I'm still twenty-eight."

Hefting her empty glass, Hannah grinned. "Twenty-eight is the perfect age, that's true." She sighed, probably thinking back on that time. Hannah was already forty, and liked to point out to Dylis that she should respect 'her senior'. She said this mostly at work, when Dylis would shout in the kitchen to make haste with a certain dish. Hannah was the head cook of the lunchroom of which Dylis was now manager, and though she and her friend might clash on the work floor during rush hour, they never fought. They usually stuck with sarcastic banter or eye rolls.

Hannah looked at the clock hanging above the flat screen. "Well," she said with a sigh, "I'd better get going. Tom's probably still not figured out how to boil potatoes. Honestly, I still can't believe that 18-year-old is my kid."

Dylis let out a laugh, setting her glass on the coffee table. "He's welcome to come and learn how to cook at work," she said with a grin as she followed Hannah to the door.

"I'm afraid he's too delicate for your harsh criticism," Hannah said with a chuckle as she looked back at her. "Sometimes I ask myself what I've done wrong in raising him. He can't take a joke, he can't take any feedback because he sees it as an attack… Much like his father, really."

Dylis handed Hannah her kimono; this one was black and white. Hannah had a new obsession with kimono vests— Dylis swore she'd seen Hannah wear a total of ten different types the last two months. The mid-August air had allowed Hannah to wear a new one instead of a jacket almost every everyday.

"Once he's away studying, he will learn to go through ups and downs," Dylis reassured her with a smile. "It certainly made Ariel tougher."

"I hope so," Hannah muttered. Then she gave Dylis a quick hug. "You'll be working Saturday, right?" Dylis nodded. "Alright, I'll see you then."

"See you then," Dylis replied. She opened the door and waved. She was just about to close the door when she heard Hannah say, "Oh, hi Ariel!"

Dylis tilted her head to the side, a bit surprised— Ariel was two days early. She'd come over for two weeks this summer to celebrate her 21st birthday, but she'd said she'd arrive Friday. It was Wednesday.

When she stepped outside to see the girl walk over the path to her studio, Dylis smiled broadly, happy to see her again.

Then her smile faltered. Ariel's face was tense and sad and utterly broken. She wasn't crying— yet. Dylis waited as Ariel approached her, worry etching her face. She also noticed the girl was alone. Dylis could've sworn Ariel had told her she'd bring—

Ariel stopped, only looking at her. Her eyes were red, her lower lip was trembling.

"Ariel," Dylis breathed. "What's wrong?"

The girl fell apart. Tears streamed down her face and Dylis encircled her with her arms, holding her as Ariel sobbed. She stroke her hair gently.

"Come, let's get inside," she said, pulling Ariel with her.

Dylis made some coffee, knowing Ariel preferred it over tea, while Ariel went to sit on the couch. The wine glasses were still on the coffee table. Perhaps Dylis ought to give her some. Yes, she was officially still underage, but it appeared Ariel could do well with a glass of wine— perhaps even a stiff drink.

"Here," Dylis said softly as she handed the hot coffee mug to Ariel. She went to sit beside her, watching her take a sip. "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

Ariel wiped her face, setting her coffee down on the table. She swallowed thickly. "Vincent," she said, gritting her teeth. "He dumped me."

Dylis' face softened in sympathy. "Oh, Ariel," she sighed, putting a hand on Ariel's knee. Ariel leaned into her, her head resting on Dylis' shoulder.

"I should've seen it coming," she said, voice laced with tears. "He was starting to look at other girls… getting annoyed with me often… But I never— I never thought…"

Dylis caressed her cheek and hushed. "Do not blame yourself, Ariel," she said. "Vincent isn't worth it. Some boys can't be trusted."

"I just thought—" She hiccuped, "I thought that after two— two years…"

At a loss for words, Dylis kept stroking her hair softly, hushing her.

Two years ago, only a few months after the start of her first year in Boston, Ariel had confessed that she might've started seeing Vincent as more than her best friend. Only a month after that they were officially in a relationship. It seemed Dylis had been right all along.

At first, the two had been perfect together. Vincent was, next to being her boyfriend, still her best friend, and they were already comfortable around each other. They joked and laughed and sparred and loved, and Dylis had never seen Ariel so happy.

But the last couple of months, they fought more often. It wasn't just bickering anymore— Ariel would cry on the phone with Dylis, telling her Vincent was ignoring her again. It seemed they'd started to know each other too well, and things went downhill from then on. Vincent wanted more independence, Ariel wanted to do things together. It was pushing and pulling, fighting and making up only to start fighting again.

In all honesty, Dylis had seen it coming. She knew it'd only been a matter of time before one of them would draw the line. But seeing Ariel like this… Dylis' heart ached for the girl.

Ariel and Dylis sat like this for a long time, until Dylis decided to let Abby and Hugh know that Ariel was here. Will's parents were already in their sixties, Hugh nearing seventy. Abby worked part-time and usually came home in the afternoon, and every evening, Dylis had dinner with them. It was a lot more enjoyable than eating alone in her studio.

Abby was surprised to see Ariel and gave her a tight hug when Dylis told her and Hugh what happened. Luckily, Abby always cooked as if she was hosting a dinner party, so Ariel could easily join the table. It was good to sit and eat like this again, despite the circumstances. The only one missing was Will, but he'd come over next week with Russell, for Ariel's birthday.

After dinner, when Dylis, Abby and Hugh sat around the table with coffee and tea, Ariel went straight to bed. Dylis had never removed Ariel's bed from her studio; Ariel's bedroom in the house had now become Hugh's study (the Brookes liked to do a room makeover every so often), so whenever Ariel went home for the weekend, she slept at Dylis'.

Dylis watched her go through the back door into the yard.

"She'll be fine," Abby assured her, seeing the worry on the blonde's face. "It's just going to take some time."

"I ought to rearrange that boy's face, hurting my girl like that," Hugh grumbled into his coffee.

Dylis chuckled. "Not before I kick him in the gut," she muttered.

From the corner of her eye, Dylis could see Abby shake her head. "You two are ruthless," she said. Then paused. "Though I would gladly help hiding the body."

The three grinned at each other. Suddenly, Dylis had this overwhelming sense of having to hold on to moments like these. Moments when they laughed, or just talked animatedly, or just when they were together. As if at any moment, Abby and Hugh would not be there anymore and Dylis would only have these memories.

She blinked. Where had that come from? Sure, Abby and Hugh had lost their black and brown hair for grey, and their hands were wrinkled and slightly more bony than ten years ago, but that didn't mean they'd die anytime soon.

Dylis shifted uncomfortably, at once aware of the fact that they were, indeed, getting older. Her thoughts turned to her father. Before Hannah came over, Dylis had silently raised a glass (or a mug of tea, but it was the gesture that counted, right?) for her father. It was the 16th of August. His birthday.

How old would he be now? She forced herself to feel relieved she wouldn't have to see her dear father wither in age. Sure, they were both Dúnedain, but her father was already nearing old age before she… you know.

Her eyebrows were pinched, her face obviously troubled. She wasn't aware of Abby and Hugh eyeing her with concern.

"Dyl?" Abby asked carefully. "You alright?"

"Hmm?" Dylis looked up. "Oh. I'm fine. I was just thinking about my father."

Abby nodded, understanding. "That's right," she said, remembering now. "Congratulations."

Dylis forced a smile on her face. "I never did understand why you congratulate others beside the one whose birthday it is." She inhaled deeply, straightened the already straight table cloth, breathed out. "Well, I should go to Ariel. She is probably covering her pillow with tears and snot."

Abby and Hugh nodded. "Good night, Dylis," Hugh said, smiling tightly.

Dylis couldn't help the guilt she felt at seeing them worried. In all the years she'd been here, she'd talked only minimally about how she missed home. Not even Will could convince her to talk about how she felt, even though he told her enough times that it wasn't weak to feel homesick, or to miss something or someone so bad it made you depressed.

She was shutting them out again, and Abby and Hugh knew it.

"Good night," Dylis replied, then brought her tea mug to the kitchen and left the house.

o0o

Dylis awoke with a start.

She wasn't sure what she'd dreamed of, if it was a dream or a nightmare. Maybe it was a memory.

She sat up and stared into the darkness, her eyebrows furrowed deeply. What was that feeling she couldn't shake? Why was she thinking about home so much? Why was she distancing herself from Abby and Hugh again?

It made no sense. No sense at all.

She heard the rustling of a bed duvet, the squeak of a bed frame.

"Dylis?" came a soft voice to her left.

"Ariel?" Dylis asked surprised. "Why are you awake?" She glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table, at the moment the only source of light in her studio. "It's three in the morning."

More rustling, a click, and then light. Ariel was sitting on the edge of her bed. There were dark circles beneath her red eyes.

"Can't sleep," she mumbled. "Haven't slept well lately."

Ariel gave Dylis a questioning look, and Dylis instantly moved over to make room for her. Ariel went to sit next to her.

"How so?" Dylis asked. "Is it about Vincent?"

Ariel shook her head. "You'd think that's what I'm most worried about," she muttered, huffing bitterly as she rubbed a hand over her face. "But strangely enough, it's something else entirely."

Dylis wasn't aware she was holding her breath. "What is it?" she asked, but she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer to her question.

"It'll sound weird," Ariel said, shaking her head again.

"No, tell me."

Ariel looked at her, puzzled. Then she sighed. "Well, I keep having the feeling like I have to…" She fumbled for words. "Like I have to do everything I can to make the most of it. Like I have to use my time well before it slips from my fingers. I've decided to write every happy moment down, so that when something… happens, I'll still have it. Those moments, I mean. I don't know why I keep thinking something will happen, though." She looked at her hands, played with the ring around her finger. It had become a nervous tick of Ariel. "Maybe that's why I've so clingy, as Vincent calls it. I felt like I had to spend every moment with him before… well, I don't know." She faltered, having difficulty putting it to words.

Dylis let out a whoosh of air. "That's exactly how I feel."

With a frown, Ariel turned to her. "What?" she asked, baffled. "What do you mean?"

Dylis shook her head, confused. "It's been pestering me this whole week," she explained. "It is just like you said. As though I have to enjoy every moment while I… still can. I do not know why I feel this way, why it's bothering me so much."

They sat in silence, both of them deep in thought. This was just so strange. Ariel had described precisely what Dylis felt. Even now, she felt uneasy, anxious even.

"You know what?" Ariel asked, disrupting the nightly quiet. Dylis looked at her sideways. "Maybe we should ask Abby to do a reading for us."

Dylis arched an eyebrow. "Now you choose to believe it?" she asked.

Ariel rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I've never not believed her and those cards," she replied. "I've just been a bit sceptical, is all."

Dylis chuckled. "Right. I do remember someone saying that cards shouldn't be trusted, though."

"That's completely out of context," Ariel countered. "I said that after getting three— three— paper cuts."

Dylis chuckled at that. "As Abby says, everything important comes in three." She ignored the scowl on Ariel's face and rubbed a hand over her face. A soft sigh escaped her lips. "We'll ask Abby tomorrow after she is back from work."

o0o

The living room was almost filled with candle lights here and there, and there was a spicy aroma of incense in the air. The dark brown voile curtains made sure not too much sunlight filtered through, and there was even soft exotic music playing in the background.

"Is it too much?"

Ariel and Dylis turned around to see Abby straightening up, a deck of tarot cards in her hands. She shut the cabinet (filled with her collection of tarot deck and oracles and incense) and walked to the coffee table, which was covered with a deep red, Persian tablecloth.

"You do you," Ariel said with a shrug. Abby let out a mock-outraged gasp and Ariel chuckled. "I'm kidding. It certainly creates an ambiance."

Abby hummed, nodding. "Come, sit over there. I'll make you both some tea."

As Ariel settled down in front of the coffee table, Dylis reclined in the armchair. It had been a while since they saw Abby reading tarot, and even longer since she'd done a reading to one of them.

Ariel looked at the deck of cards on the coffee table and smiled. Abby had a lot of different decks, and she'd always told Ariel that this particular one was her favourite. Something about her spirit being drawn to this set of cards. It was all a bit… well, floaty and flimsy to Ariel. However, she couldn't help feel a bit excited, curious what was in store for her. If she spoke this thought aloud though, Dylis would definitely give her a look.

"Have you thought about what kind of reading you want?" Abby asked as she came back to the living room. She set down the tea mugs, then went to sit on her knees on the rug, before the coffee table. She beckoned Ariel to sit next to her and went to shuffle the cards three times, because, as she liked to say, 'all powerful things come in three'. "Would you like an open reading or a directed one?"

Ariel watched her movements. "A directed one. I have a question," she said, and Abby looked at her patiently. "I feel uneasy, as if I'm having a sense of…" She struggled to find a word.

"Foreboding?" Dylis suggested from her seat nearby.

Ariel nodded. "Yeah," she said, her stomach clenching at the idea of it. "I'd like to know why I'm having this sense of foreboding and why it makes me uneasy."

"Good." Abby nodded and made a spread. "I am going to read three cards for you," she explained as she put the deck down. "If you would cut the deck for me?"

"Alright."

Ariel didn't have to be explained how to do so. Sceptical as she was, she'd watched Abby do a reading often enough. She put her fingers around the deck and cut the deck in three stacks. Then she looked at Abby, hesitantly.

"This card," Abby started, pointing to the first pile, "will show you what happened in the past and how it is affecting you still."

Ariel swallowed. Well, she already knew what that card would show. She turned it over.

"Three of Swords," Abby said, nodding. She shot a sympathetic look at Ariel. "Not really a surprise, I think. It represents heartbreak, suffering, and grief."

"No surprise there," Ariel grumbled.

"It also shows," Abby went on, "that you have a choice. Either you stay knocked down, or you rise again. This card, luckily, doesn't show permanent suffering. This pain can make you stronger— if you believe so, too."

Ariel nodded slowly. It did feel permanent, though. She was probably being dramatic, but Vincent… he was her life, her rock, her everything since kindergarten. And now she'd lost him. Not only as her boyfriend, but she'd lost him as her best friend, too. Somehow, she doubted she'll ever get to reconcile with him. Things were just… done between them.

"Next card, the present," Abby said, smiling encouragingly. Ariel flipped it over and immediately regretted it. "Death. Interesting."

"Well, I'm not dead right now," Ariel said, tapping her fingers on the coffee table nervously.

Abby chuckled. "No," she agreed. "You're not. But this card doesn't mean death in itself, despite what the image might show you. It means change. According to this card, a major phase in your life has come or will come to an end, and a new door opens." From the corner of her eye, Ariel could see Dylis lean forward, interested. "It could mean two things. Either you aren't aware of this change now, but later on you will look back and say that this was the pivoting point, or it could mean that this change will be notable and will happen very soon."

It felt like the room darkened at the words. Will happen very soon. Ariel shuddered. Was that what she was feeling? A change coming? Or was it already here?

She crossed eyes with Dylis, who looked equally uneasy. Ariel shifted.

"Alright."

"But," Abby continued, not yet done, "there is another meaning, which is older. It is why this card has this name. Perhaps you have to 'die' first— as in, let go of the old you— in order to be reborn into the new you. One thing I do know for certain is that you should welcome this change. It is, in the end, a positive one. Though it might not feel like that in the beginning."

Ariel nodded hesitantly, looking at the card. Somehow, she had this feeling that she would know when this particular change came. Somehow, she knew that it would occur very, very soon, and that she couldn't stop it. She shuddered.

"Next card?" she asked, a bit too hastily.

Abby looked at her a tad too long before she nodded. There was a crease in her forehead— not just wrinkles, but a pensive frown on her brow.

Ariel turned over the third and last card. It was reversed, and showed a girl barred behind two swords, with three other swords at each side. "A reversed eight of swords," Abby said, nodding. The smile on the woman's face confused Ariel; it didn't really look like a positive card.

Abby caught the look on the girl's face. "If this card were upright, it'd have a negative meaning," she explained. "This one, however, is reversed, which also reverses the negative meaning." She pointed to the woman. "Normally, it'd mean imprisonment and helplessness, among other things. In your case, it means freedom and release, taking control and facing your fears." Her hand went from the Death card to the reversed Eight of Swords. "As I said before, you should welcome change. If you do so, you will eventually come out as the new you— a stronger version. I do sense that you will be faced my many challenges; but in the end they will empower you. This card also signifies self-acceptance, so maybe you will have struggled for a while with who you are and who you are meant to be." Abby watched Ariel stare at the card, probably a million thoughts flying through her head. "Quite a positive card, isn't it?"

Slowly, Ariel nodded. "It is," she replied.

There was a heavy silence in the living room. This was… not really what Ariel had expected. She hadn't known what to expect, but this was something else entirely.

Dylis mulled over everything Abby had said, almost frozen in her seat. Who you are meant to be. Did that mean Ariel would learn about who she was? This change that would come to her… would it mean that she would be told about her heritage? Was Dylis even ready to tell Ariel about it?

She rolled her eyes. This wasn't about her. It was about Ariel. And the girl was already twenty, twenty-one in two weeks. According to most of her people, that would mean she was considered fully grown.

Perhaps it was time to tell Ariel. For her whole life, Dylis was reluctant to think about how to tell her about her past. Even now she didn't look forward to it.

Ariel would probably think Dylis was crazy, particularly because the girl thought Dylis had an obsession with Lord of the Rings. Which was sort of true, but not because of the reasons Ariel thought.

"Dylis?"

The blonde's head snapped up and she looked at Abby. The woman gave her a questioning look, and only now Dylis noticed she'd already put the cards together again.

"Do you want a reading, too?" Abby asked.

Dylis shook her head. "No, but thank you," she said with a terse smile. "You have made much clear, Abby."

Abby shot her a sympathetic look, no doubt understanding what Dylis was referring to.

o0o

Ariel and Dylis were walking in silence. The former was looking around her, sighing blissfully. The trees provided enough cover from the hot Saturday sun, and her denim jacket was hung over her shoulder.

The latter, however, didn't even seem to notice the way they were going. For a change, it was Dylis stumbling over the roots of a tree and swearing colourfully, not Ariel.

But Dylis had a lot on her mind, such as how to tell Ariel she was royalty of a land in a fictional world, just to name an example.

How she was going to this, she still had no clue— and she'd been pondering on this, lying awake at night, for sixteen years.

You are not who you think you are, Ariel.

Ominous. Overly dramatic.

What would you say if I told you that you were a princess of a fallen kingdom?

Pfft. That was just asking for an "I'd laugh, but luckily you're joking, right?"

Do you still remember those nightmares from when you were little? Well, they were real.

No. Nope. That would definitely not do. Ariel would probably laugh at her straightaway and tell her she was crazy.

There was just no right way to start this conversation. There was no way on Earth that she was going to believe anything Dylis would say. No way on—

Earth.

Dylis paused in her musings.

There was no way on Earth that Ariel would believe her.

She shook her head. She shouldn't be getting her hopes up. There was no way she and Ariel would ever get back home.

Years ago, when Dylis had enough courage to ask Will to 'give her a ride', the first place they went was the place where she'd arrived.

Perhaps there'd be clues as to how she and Ariel had gotten here, she'd reasoned. For hours they roamed about, together. Will was sure not to push, not to hinder, not to ask when she'd be finished.

Only when the sky had started to darken did he say that searching in the dark wouldn't do them any good.

There was no way home. Dylis had forced herself to accept that brutal, heart-wrenching truth, so why was she suddenly thinking about it again?

Why was she suddenly hoping? The weight of those expectations would only crash down on her again.

"I've been thinking about them a lot, lately."

Dylis glanced sideways, to Ariel, questioningly.

Ariel shrugged. "My parents," she clarified, but Dylis had already guessed so. "Sometimes, in dreams, I see them. I'm in a great hall, the footfalls of my bare feet resonating loudly. And I'm walking toward some sort of stage or dais, and there they are, their backs turned to me." Her grey eyes stared into the distance as she saw the images fly before her eyes. "I call out to them, but I'm too far. And then I start to run to them, calling them. 'Mama, papa,' I shout. My voice is so small, so childlike. I come closer, call again, and when they finally start to turn around… I wake up." She blinked, suddenly back in reality, and turned her face to Dylis. "I never see their faces. I don't know what I think is worse: that, or the nightmare where I'm chased by those monsters."

For a long, long moment, Dylis was at a loss for words. She was still fumbling for words when Ariel spoke again.

"I know you've been hiding things, Dylis," she said, surprising the blonde even more. They had stopped walking by now. "Probably a whole lot, too. I've always trusted you to know what's best, you know that. But I think I'm ready now. Whatever you've been bottling up, I'm ready to hear it."

Dylis was utterly dumbstruck. Never before had she looked so baffled at Ariel— nor at anyone else.

Ariel was smarter than she'd given her credit for. Of course, Ariel did well at college and managed to get high grades for her essays and finals, but Dylis had not expected this.

She had not expected Ariel to realise she'd been lying to her this whole time. She felt the need to explain, to justify why she'd chosen to lie… But at this moment, Dylis wondered if maybe, she'd made the wrong choice.

Maybe she should have done everything to make sure the memories of her parents wouldn't be lost.

Guilt gnawed at her skin, and Dylis swore she could actually feel the ache.

"What if I'm not ready?" she whispered, finding she wasn't able to look Ariel in the eyes.

Ariel levelled her with a steady gaze. "The you won't tell me," she said. "But I've got a feeling the truth will come out eventually."

As if to prove her point, a slightly cooler breeze made the leaves in the trees whisper and dance. The girls— or women— both looked up curiously, momentarily forgetting their conversation and the heaviness of it.

Beams of sunlight flared through the foliage of the trees, and shadows played on their faces, their hair swept behind them.

A shiver ran over Ariel's spine, and she looked away from the treetops to the wood around her.

She yelped.

For a moment, everything was green.

It was like they were engulfed with the colour, a light, swirling around them. Her hand automatically sought Dylis', who was frozen at the sudden sensation of being trapped in light.

Dylis felt as if her body was being stretched out, then let loose again. The feeling was oddly familiar, and she'd never thought she'd welcome it.

The green light vanished just as quickly as it came.

Ariel was hugging herself, a stricken look on her face, not noticing anything, really. No doubt had she experienced the same eerie, deeply uncomfortable feeling. "Weird." Ariel tugged Dylis' hand. "Let's go. Abby said she'd make mac and cheese, and it's nearing lunchtime."

But Dylis was still looking around.

Ariel followed her gaze, away from the trees.

And found they weren't standing where they had been a moment before.