CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
I remembered little of the journey. Short goodbyes were said at the gates. Only Nereida would come down to the shore with us; we would be less noticeable that way. They might have been tearful and emotional if they had been less hurried and full of last-minute information. Eran said nothing throughout. He would obey when someone gave an order, moved along with the rest of us, but his eyes never rose above knee level and his face was a blank slate. We were put in a small rowboat, with no provisions other than a folder holding all our necessary documents and some degree of American currency.
"Your journey will be timed so that you reach the shore shortly before dusk," Nereida said. "The boat will bring you through the least visible areas, and you should come up near the ruins at Cape Elizabeth. A car will be in the parking lot. It's registered for you. The key is in the folder, too, as is the key to your apartment and your address. It should be easy enough to find."
"Okay," I said. The boat started to rock gently. She gave it a gentle push.
"Good luck."
We sailed at an unnerving speed across the water. It almost made me ill. Everything was dark as far as the eye could see, only the clouds above dully glowing from the moon behind them. Eran said nothing, so I said nothing, and we waited. The world slowly lightened, and the clouds blew away so that we had a spectacular view of sunrise at sea. It was beautiful, dying the water shades of orange and pink. Then it faded up to daylight, and the hours slipped by.
"How are you feeling?" I asked Eran. He met my eyes for the briefest of seconds and then looked away.
"Fine."
"Are you hungry?"
"No."
And no more was said.
My hair rippled slightly. Nereida had put a spell on the boat that cut the air around us as the boat cut through the water. If I put my hand out I could feel the wind, strong and cold. A trail splashed in the sea behind us. I watched as the waves crashed and then rippled out into nothing.
Land began to form in front of us. It slowly grew bigger. Soon I could make out buildings and trees. I grew tense, waiting for someone to sweep out of nowhere and grab us, but nothing happened. We weren't noticed at all, and finally, the cliffs by Portland Headlight loomed up in front of us. The boat steered a gentle course along the coast and dug slightly into the ground not far from the park area and came to an unsteady halt. I grabbed hold of one of the rocks that jutted out in this part of the water. It scraped my flesh. There was a less-than-clear path to the shore, up and over the boulders divided by long drops back into the water. It wouldn't be a big deal once we got up. Not normally. But I was worried about Eran.
"Can you get up?" I asked.
"Yes."
He didn't move. I cleared my throat.
"You go ahead. I'll follow."
He climbed out fine. His body was working. Just his mind seemed gone. My stomach clenched in a feeling that was entirely my own.
I handed him the folder and scrambled atop the rocks myself. The boat slipped from my foot as soon as I began to pull away from it; before I was on top of the rock it was speeding away. I took a deep berath. Wind slapped across my face.
Make haste, it said. I blinked hard.
"Come on," I said. "The parking lot's up here."
There was a good number of people there, kids picking up driftwood and snail shells along the small beach, families picnicking on the grass, and a couple of girls squealing about the spiders that lived in abundance on the rocks between the two. No one paid attention to us.
I found a maroon car from the late nineties, with scratched paint and dirt on the tires, a beaded keychain hanging from the rearview mirror. It had a seashell dangling from the bottom; the license plate matched the number in the folder.
"This is it," I said. I unlocked the door, got it, and pushed the tab to unlock the other doors. Eran stood outside, looking at the car with a vague expression. Slowly he walked to his door and stared at it.
"Get in," I said.
"I don't know how."
"The handle on the door. Put your fingers under it and lift."
He did so. The door opened. He got in. I started the car, and told him how to put on the seatbelt. He obeyed everything without question or expression.
Driving was strange and unfamiliar. The concept of right-of-way, when encountered, made me jump and clench the steering wheel. Stranger still was the world outside. Trees remained the same, but he paved road, the musty smell of the car, the sight of the buildings, all conspired to make my heart pound, and it about leapt out of my chest as soon as I neared downtown Portland.
The people, above all, were bizarre. They were like alien creatures from a dream or memory. Everything seemed dirtier, cheaper, and litter lined the roads, not bad but shocking after Merlana. Eran glanced out the window once or twice put otherwise looked straight ahead.
Our apartment was part of a mundane-looking brick building off a side street. It was divided into four residences. We were in the front of the building, upstairs. I took a deep breath as we got out of the car. This would be home sweet home for the next… whenever.
There was a note on the door from the landlady, something about how the place had been cleaned and if there were problems to call her. Inside, the place was bland, but not as grim as I had expected. It was clean, the furniture was decent, and whatever lacks there were could be supplied by the debit card Lisette had given me to a amply-supplied bank account. There were two bedrooms. One was set up as a master, the other as an office with a bed in it.
"You take this one," I said, standing in the doorway of the master. "I'll need the desk in the other room when I start working."
"No," he said. "It's too big."
"Are you sure? I ---"
"I'll move the desk in here," he said in a flat voice. "I don't need it."
I was going to say something else, but a look at him silenced me. What was the point?
There was food in brown paper bags on the table, with a note. They were from a grocery store and had been delivered earlier. Shaw's Supermarket. The name was weirdly familiar, the orange and green logo disconcerting. I quickly busied myself putting the groceries away. Eran tried to help, then shook his head and went and sat on the couch. I tried to avoid looking at him.
The lights inside were bright and artificial. Everything seemed artificial. Eran stood and walked into his room. The door shut. I folded up the last paper bag and slid it beside the fridge. The fridge. What a strange device, this big machinated closet to keep things cold. I shook my head; the unnerved feeling didn't budge.
Once everything was finished, I stood in the middle of the room and stared. It was so empty. The walls were plain white, the curtains a dull blue and white plaid. I needed sleep. There had been toothbrushes, toothpaste, and general kitchen and bathroom supplies with the groceries, but no clothes. We had no blankets or sheets or pillows, either.
"Eran?" I said, and knocked gently on the door. He opened it. "I'm going to the store. We need blankets and things. Will you be okay here?"
"Yes."
"Do you need anything?"
He stared at me, and I saw a flicker of something. I couldn't tell what it was.
"No."
Long pause. "Okay, then," I said. "I'll be back."
I hurried. The stores were huge, with their industrial lighting and shelves upon shelves of bright packages for twenty variations of the same thing. I bought what I needed to quickly, flinched from the talk of the cashiers, and sped back home. I would have sped, anyway. The car still made me nervous.
I knocked on Eran's door again. There was no answer, so I left his blankets and pillows and clothes in a pile outside. I didn't know what his size was, so just got a pair of pajamas and a clean t-shirt. We could go get more in the morning.
An hour later, I rolled over on the too-new pillow, curled up in the blanket, and stared out the window at the moon. At least the moon was the same here.
And the air… perhaps, it, too, would be the same. I went to the window and lifted it open. The old wood creaked. There was a screen, but I could feel the cool summery night air through it. I took a deep breath, then another, and finally sank into listening.
C'mon, you don't seriously think that I'm gonna take that from you?
Have you seen my hairdryer?
Yeah, Mandy and I are goin' over to Steve's barbeque tomorrow, but that's not 'til seven.
The voices were there, but they were so different. The accents, the inflections, the subjects, all strange.
Marea, I thought.
Princess.
It was her. My heart leapt. She laughed.
Princess sits at her window. Waiting for the white knight? Another laugh. He already saved you. Your turn!
What?
But she was gone, faded away on some wave. I bit my lip and stared at the stars for a while before I went back to bed.
A/N: So it's a short update. But it covers a lot of ground... literally. Or ocean, or whatever. (Seriously, this whole Maine thing is so much cooler than having them go live in the woods, which was the original plan.
Regarding the other Beauty and the Beast novel --- I kinda forgot to put contact info out there for those people who may be interested. SO... all interested parties please just send a quick note to maple. and we'll get this party started:D Thanks for all the kind offers, by the way... I'm actually looking forward to editing! (And, on that note, thanks again for following this story with me... it's a lot of fun on my part. Hopefully on yours too, lol.)
AudraLaudargue: I'm still in love with you for the Maine idea, lol. Hopefully your confidence in the ending will be deserved... I guess we'll see... wink wink...
KRM-EditorInChief: What's this? Do I have a fellow English major on my hands?! And yeah... I'm interested to see how their relationship develops too. How's it coming across right now?
Allyp: Aw, stop guessing or you're going to take all the fun out of it. (Secret: I don't know how Eran's going to end up. He hasn't told me yet. Shh.) This is a semi-recent idea... I usually only think about three chapters ahead on this particular story, so around the time he was teaching her to talk to trees this started forming. And I liked the flying thing too. Wouldn't it be sweet to act like a bird of prey whenever you wanted? (Oh, and I got your gutteresquely note earlier... about died laughing...)
InChrist-Billios: Squee! I have people in fangirl mode over one of my characters! This is an exciting day... I thought the "husband and wife" thing was a bit entertaining myself... and I've got a sneaking suspicion it's going to be used later. Mwahaha. And even if no one else got Orion's line, you definitely struck gold or something close. But I'm going to give it all away! Shephards aren't immortal --- they're like monks, kinda... lots of study and special training to be as in-touch with things as they are. (Thanks for asking that... I'll try and work something into the story to explain.) And I'm SO glad the Pearl/Lisette thing came across, I was really hoping it would.
ShadowedBeneathMoonlight: Glad to see you again:) And glad you're enjoying the story... definitely e-mail me about the other story, I'd love to get your insight.