Book One of the KARDIA Trilogy; Queen of Hearts

CHAPTER ONE

Am in a ship waving goodbye to my mother. How emotional she gets. I sighed relieved that now am walking to a place that's far from home. Excited. Anxious. Afraid. But  what could possibly happen?
   Am Etheldreda Nathan. Yeah, few call me Ethela.
Am the one and only heir or daughter to Nathan and Helena. My birth has always been termed as a blessed, since my mom  was known to be a barren woman. I was and will always be their bright happiness. I've always lived a life of being well taken care of and I thank my parents for that.
   I've been termed to be a sweet lovely girl but a strange one. Gray eyes that see things I shouldn't possibly see, hands that do things that a girl like me shouldn't do, a mind that holds a strong intuition that people wish they had it. How my mom kept saying I was beautiful. Yes I believe her, but it doesn't matter.
    Am eighteen now and am heading to a place that my mom has been dreading for quite sometime. Mostly she really hoped I'd never grow up, because she was scared of what I was to meet when I grew up.
    I sighed as I gazed at the sea around me. Luckily I do not suffer from sea sickness. I gazed at the waves and how the color of the sky is reflected on the water to make it look beautiful. A wave that is beautiful only to drown you to death if you are not careful.
  When I think of where am headed to, I keep questioning myself. Mostly when I was back home I saw things , felt things that were beyond human capability. When I told my mom, she always said it's normal. But I rarely felt normal.
   I took out the card my mom gave to me. I sighed. Banks island. A place I've never been before . She kept saying that was the best institution I had to go to, for that was where I belonged. Belong. I though home was where I belonged. But as for the time I've been with them, sometimes I felt out of place and I would not want to tell them how I feel.

I kept the card back in the pocket and fantasized how the place would be. A normal college, with friends , weird and annoying teachers. I just hoped whatever am going to meet there, won't definitely disappoint me.
   I decided to take a nap for a short while so as I could rest my raging thoughts. I sighed peacefully as I slept on a cushion right next to my one suitcase and a bag pack.

As I kept sleeping I saw a way in my dreams of a place I should be. It felt magical. And as I saw myself in it, I saw power.
   I opened my eyes to be sure that am not fantasizing all this. Honestly I wasn't.
   "Time to go aboard lad," a bearded man said to me .  I smiled forcefully and took my luggages and stood up. I gazed  at the island before me. It was huge, and it felt, spacious. Very large but few habitation. I kept asking myself , where exactly am I supposed to be?

I got off the ship and gazed around. My mom said they will have a ride prepared for me. I was already tired with this new place let alone stand here and wait for a ride. I didn't even have a phone with me. I stood aside near to a road that I felt was the way to my destination. Am glad my intuition has always been strong.
    "Ethela?" I heard a voice behind me. I turned around just to face a huge man with a very long beard and a huge nose. His eyes were small, but enticing.
   "Yes.." I said suavely. "And you might be?"
"Jace." He replied as he smiled genuinely . "Your energy is so strong. I definitely felt it. Anyway am your ride to your destination. Please follow me." He said to me as he started walking towards the same road I felt being connected to. Well , it's going to be a tough ride.
    He walked past some vegetable vendors and cattle sellers in addition to cons and beggars. The place was old, and the walls used mostly were built of stone. Few people but the place seemed busy.
   "So," I asked curiously. "Where exactly are you taking me?"
   He chuckled lightly and as he replied. "Home."
I gazed at him curiously and questioned myself if wherever I am right now is a safe place and if the man am associated with right now is a lunatic.
   "But where I come from is home." I emphasized
"Was it?" He asked me as he turned to face me. I gazed at him intensely and I decided not to have this conversation.
    "Well, it's your first day here. You will find it wrong and even weirder to fit in, but in reality, This is where you belong."
Where you belong. That's exactly what my mom said. I sighed in an irritated tone. I gaze around and kept asking myself millions of questions possibly realizing the man am walking with now won't respond.
    "Here is your ride." He said as he opened the carriage door. It was small inside and it wants grand really. I think this was his job, to get students to the rightful place and they wouldn't bother asking the kind of ride he uses.
  I got in and felt comfortable. He climbed onto the horse and held the reins, after a while the carriage was off to who knows where.