The Night Rider

Chapter 58

I take the last sip of my coffee before setting the mug down in front of me. I look at the blonde woman in her bright blue eyes. I find her story impressive, intriguing to say the least. 'What did they die of?', I ask breathlessly. 'Tim passed away at the age of 79 from a heart attack, Lisa I haven't seen since she was in her late thirties but I assume that after all this time she is no longer alive'

'How did you meet Elien?'. Now that I'm in conversation with the lady I don't let any question go unanswered. A smile appears on Chea's lips. 'I was walking in the forest with Alysha, a long time ago. We had just been at a meeting with the Alpha of wolves, preparing for the war that was coming. I heard a rustling in the tops and a seconds later a boy with very dark eyes and dark hair stood before me'

'Entirely dressed in black, a black long coat, black pants and just-too-ten shoes'. I turn around and speaking of the devil, Elien walks in. His black hair is neatly styled, his long coat hangs over his body and his black pants are just barely tight around his legs. He walks in slow steps toward Chea. His hands place on the seat back before he places a kiss on her head. A sweet gesture that makes Chea smile.

'What were you doing there?'. The man looks at me penetratingly with his dark eyes. Chea has her head resting against the back of the chair and pulls her legs up. She places her feet on the end of the chair and grabs the mug from the table. 'I was looking for Celeste, for quite some time to be exact.' I raise an eyebrow from his unexpected reply. 'As you know Celeste fled from our father and Christiaan'

I get more confused with every word. I slowly shake my head. Elien nods understandingly and pushes himself to stand. He pulls back a wooden chair in which he takes a seat. Chea, meanwhile, grabs a mug from the table and pours him a cup of tea. 'Maybe it's not my story to tell but I'll give you a brief summary. Celeste was married off at eighteen by our father to a man called Christiaan, he abused her and treated her..'

'Treated her like a piece of dirt'. So brother so sister Celeste ends the sentence this time. She walks in our direction and grabs her dress with her hands. 'Christiaan was the worst husband you could wish for. I fought against the marriage, tried to stop it but I had no choice. For an entire time, I was treated like the biggest piece of trash you could wish for before my father decided to go and exterminate The Night Riders. I not only fled from my father, I fled from my husband'.

I knew small portions of Celeste's story but this confirms my thought of how strong she is. I give her a compassionate look and a small smile. She waves it away but on her face you can see the pain returning. It runs deep for her, it's obvious. 'I didn't necessarily come here to share my past but to put a proposal on the table'

She continues her way to the chair next to me and takes a seat. 'I have good and bad news. The good news is that we are going to have a big party for your eighteenth birthday, the bad news is that that is also the day of the divorce'. For a moment I do not contain what has just been said. I look at Celeste perplexed, staring into her eyes. She says it so airily, as if it's the most normal thing in the world.

Although I won't remember anything for the next eighty years, I don't want to remember my eighteenth birthday as the day I was exiled. The thought of a party on that day, it doesn't fit together in my head with the event. Slowly I begin to shake my head. 'No' the word left rather mumbles my mouth than sounding like a strong decision. The sympathy in the eyes opposite me is visible but does not soften the idea.

The echoing sound of my father's shoes, tell me his presence. I don't look back, I just stare at the table in front of me. 'Think about it,' Celeste tries. I don't even respond and sit breathlessly nailed to the chair. 'There's no more time to think about it I'm afraid' my father's words don't carry any weight in this story. He has walked to the table, only then do I see the letter in his hand.

The blue seal holding the paper together tells me enough about the sender. 'The requisition has come in. The day after your birthday they are summoning you to appear for murder. The attached photos and confessions tell you that there is no chance of a defense. This means that you could be convicted of magic disqualification and the deposition from the throne' I close my eyes and try to let everything sink in, however I cannot.

This means that I have just over a week left to realize that I am being banished to the human world. 'How will they react to the disappearance?'. Chea asks a question that has been playing in my head for a while, will it help anything against this situation? 'You can't try someone in a coma, as long as Rafiki's body is working they can't do anything' my father's words reassure me somewhat on this front.

I have no choice, none at all. Not that I ever had an actual choice. It feels like I'm being pushed around in a maze and don't know where I'm going myself. Every time I feel like I'm getting closer to an exit, someone pushes me around a corner. 'Then I fear we have no choice'. Celeste confirms my observation. All the new information and the shortened time I appear to have are causing a rising nausea, which seems to be getting worse and worse.