Golden Prophecy

X X V I

BACK AT Eve's house, the three of them sat in the backyard. The sun was slipping behind the trees, leaving a streak of warm reds behind. Callum wasn't making a lantern, but Andorra had spent the last few hours making hers.

Eve's looked professional. Hers was covered in portraits of what Andorra guessed were grandparents. The painting looked like it belonged in an art gallery.

Andorra's lantern did not look like that. Instead, she'd painted different scenes on hers. One side of the lantern had the small pond behind her house in Maine, covered in snow. One side had her home back in California, two nods to her old life. Then, she had painted her mother's favorite flowers, tied in with her father's love for books. She added in their favorite colors as well.

It wasn't professional, but it was her old life. Everything she missed. Everything she wanted back, but knew she'd never have again.

Eve stood up with a groan. "Let's let these dry. We still have letters to write."

"I vote on us taking a break to eat some food," Callum grumbled, remaining seated on the grass. The way he was lounging made it look like he didn't have a single care in the world, but Andorra knew there was tension in his shoulders. Was he waiting for someone to strike them down?

"Food later, letters first." Eve left no room for debate as she and Andorra headed inside. Eve grabbed a few sheets of lined paper, setting them down on the dining room table. She fished around for two pens, then they settled together at the table.

Andorra thought long and hard about what she wanted to write to her parents. She grabbed one piece of paper and got started. Dear mom and dad,

She had so much to say. Life in Anlithamy is not like life in Maine. Or life in California. It's so much different here. The words flowed pretty easily once she got started. You'd never believe how beautiful it is here and I wish you could see it! I wish you were here with me. It seemed to bleed from her pen onto the sheet, her hand cramping from how tightly she held it. It was like she couldn't get the words out fast enough. I miss you, I miss you, I miss you! She felt like she had to rush through it. I don't know what I'm doing without you and you never gave up on me, but it feels like I'm giving up on you. She pressed her pen harder to the paper, like it would help get her thoughts out. I never wanted to leave. I never wanted to disappear. You're the only parents I've ever known, and I will love you for forever.

She saw the tears drip onto her paper before she felt them. It smudged the ink on the word forever, smearing it, and it made Andorra drop her pen down to the table.

She tried to stop the sob, but she couldn't. It wracked her body, hard, and Andorra fisted the sheet of paper in her hands. The letter didn't matter; they would never read it anyway.

"Hey, hey," Eve was suddenly there, prying her fingers gently from the letter. "Andy, it's okay."

It didn't feel okay. Nothing felt okay, not since she'd found out she was a faerie.

"I miss them!" She choked out. "I miss them so much."

"Hey, what's going on in here? Is the Princess okay?" Callum was suddenly there too, crowding her space. It was overwhelming; she felt like she was suffocating. And she couldn't stop the tears, or the way her body was violently heaving up the sobs.

Callum put his hands on her shoulders. His shadows washed over her in an instant, closing her in darkness. And instead of it being scary, or it being annoying, Andorra felt the calm clamp onto her. It was like the shadows were washing away the intense sadness that had creeped up.