A TMC Story

Chapter 6

"We've decided that we want to go sightseeing," Kaiden said.

"Yep," D.C. said. "We decided to tick off shopping, because we've already seen a Freyan mall."

"We also ticked off eating Freyan food, and watching Freyan sport," Bear added.

"Which left us with riding a bike, riding in a car, and sailing -" Declan began.

"-And sightseeing," Jordan finished.

"Well, great, then." Alex thought for a moment. "Let's go sightseeing first, and then we can do Declan's things in between."

The rest of their afternoon was spent at locations like Paris, London, New York, Australian beaches, Germany where they ate more Freyan food, Finland to see the snow up north, Brazil, and more. Every time they wanted to go somewhere, they'd go to an empty building or quiet lane, and call for Soraya who would whisk them away to their new destination.

They took a cab in Paris, which ticked one thing off Declan's list. They went sailing in Australia, and rode Alex's parent's bikes at their house in Cannon Beach. When her friends had been playing outside the house, Alex had decided to use the family computer and book in something that she was sure they would love.

"Have you guys ever gone ziplining?"

"Um...no?" D.C. answered.

Alex grinned. "Well, I booked in a ziplining experience a few hours ago, and it starts in ten minutes."

"What's ziplining?" D.C. asked hesitantly.

Alex's demeanour softened. "It's a wire, and you zip across it, basically. And..."

"And?" D.C. prompted.

"It's really high up," Alex blurted out. "As in, top-of-the-trees high up."

D.C.'s eyes widened. "Oh," she breathed shakily.

"It's okay, Dix," Jordan soothed. "It'll be fun!"

"Right," D.C. replied in a small voice.

"Don't worry, you won't fall. And even if you do, which would be extremely, extremely unlikely to happen, Soraya will catch you. Soraya!" Alex called. Her Shadow Wolf appeared in an instant and flashed them away to an empty alleyway in Juneau, Alaska. Soon enough, they found their way to the ziplining, and they were all strapped up and ready to go.

"Are we all ready for this?" the instructor, asked.

"No," D.C. mumbled, too low for anyone without Meyarin hearing to detect, and Alex had to suppress a smile, because she knew that her friend would go ziplining with them no matter what.

"Yes!" Bear said, pumping a fist in the air.

Kaiden grinned at Alex. "You go first, sweetheart."

Alex rolled her eyes. "If you insist."

She pushed off the platform, and then she was flying through the air.

"Wheeeee!" Alex cried happily.

She heard Declan laughing from somewhere behind her, and D.C. screaming in either exhiliration or terror. Probably terror.

Alex soared through the canopy, freedom settling at the bottom of her heart. Suddenly she felt nostalgic as she remembered jumping off the cliffs in Meya with her Meyarin friends of the past-past. It had been thousands of years ago for them, but only a few years ago for her, and she realised that ziplining through a forest was nowhere near as thrilling as that.

Determined to enjoy the experience for what it was, Alex soaked up her surroundings as she whizzed between the trees, high, high up from the ground. Eventually D.C.'s screams quietened, and soon she was whooping delightedly with the rest of them.

"Alex."

Alex turned around at the mention of her name, which was admittedly hard, because she was bundled in straps and, well essentially, zipping down the line.

"Yes?" She looked at Kaiden.

"It's good," Kaiden said. "I mean, what you're doing. What you did here. And not just this whole ziplining thing, but also taking us to Freya and everything. I appreciate it. We all do."

Alex smiled at him softly. "Thanks, Kaiden. And you're welcome. I know how much you've all been dying to come here, and I'm glad you enjoyed it."

They ziplined from platform to platform, and when they were done, Soraya transported them back to Alex's house in Cannon Beach.

"I had a great day," Bear said between yawns.

"Same," Kaiden, D.C., Jordan and Declan said in unison.

Alex smiled. "That's good. But now we have to get back to Medora."

"It's nice here in Freya," D.C. said. "Even if I don't know how all of this stuff works."

"Well, our time in Freya was just as good as we thought it would be," Jordan observed. "So let's get back to Medora."

Alex willed a doorway to appear in front of them. She looked at her home, realising that it had been a long, long time since she'd really called this place home. Her home wasn't even in this world. Her home was Medora.

Everyone stepped through until it was just Alex and Kaiden left. When they were alone, Kaiden pulled her close and kissed her tenderly.

Mostly, it was a thank you. For bringing him to Freya, for letting him see a place that no Medoran had ever seen before. But there was another part of the kiss, a part that told Alex that he knew what she had left behind to stay in Medora, and he knew that she would stay, for him, for her friends, for her life. It told her that he knew the risks she took, the sacrifices she made to keep Medora safe. But the most vital part was just there, like a clinging mist. And that was the part that said:

I love you.

Alex kissed him back with just as much love. He was her forever. She knew they'd end up together, and only time would tell when that would happen, but whether it was in seven days or seven years, it didn't matter to Alex. It didn't change what they felt for each other. It didn't change how much they loved each other. It didn't change how long they'd spend together.

When they finally parted, Alex felt warm all over when she saw the emotion radiating from Kaiden's eyes, and from the smile on his face, she could tell that she had the same look in her eyes.

Stepping through the door, Alex was transported to the foyer of the Library. Her friends looked suggestively between Alex and Kaiden. Once upon a time she would have felt her cheeks begin to burn, but now, she just grinned along with Kaiden, unashamed.

"Okay, let's get out of here," Declan said, breaking the silence.

Alex summoned four doorways: the first led to Chateau Shondelle, the second led to Woodhaven, the third led to Declan's house, and the fourth led to Kaiden and Alex's house in Tryllin.

"See you soon," Alex farewelled, before tugging Kaiden through the doorway with her and landing inside their living room.

They were both tired, so after a quick dinner and showers, they both fell asleep instantly.