Desire of the Soul (10 page)

“You have already broken the Wall, and our souls are now one. Our souls connected when you kissed me in your soul form. The test was to see if the prophecy was about you and me. I tested your truth by proving that you were indeed the Queen mentioned in the first prophecy, and you saved me from a fate of wandering the Earth alone while my body ravaged on innocents.

The last part, well I assume we are to find out soon what it’s meaning is. Please Tammy...please sleep now. We cannot heal unless we have rested, and to face what we are soon to face....we need to be in top form.” Duke smiled tiredly at me as he talked, then closed his eyes and immediately fell asleep.
 

‘
You cannot save what has been lost,

Without a tiny price.

You cannot save the chosen ones,

Because they have not fought.’

The ending of the prophecy ran through my mind as I tried to process its meaning. Was it about Duke? Was it saying that by saving him from wandering forever in search of me, I have doomed him? That by bringing his soul back to his body, we were both to pay the price? And the chosen ones?

Maybe Duke had been chosen by whatever thing controlled the Universe to let go. To give in to the Beast, the Red. Maybe because he had given up without a fight, he was forever lost. Or maybe I was getting everything completely wrong, and should just go to sleep and ponder over this when I wake up. Yeah that definitely sounded like a better idea.

Within seconds of thinking that, I fell into the haze that was sleep. I don’t recall dreaming of anything, I just remember a black void surrounding me, suffocating me to the point where I woke up and could still feel the dream around me. My breath came out in short gasps as I bolted up from the tiny metal bed I’d been asleep on. I could feel Duke sleeping on the bed beside me, and so I quickly calmed my breathing down.

I knew that if my soul felt off, then Duke would wake up. And right now, he looked like he needed a good night’s sleep more than anything else in the world. He was pale, a little less pale than he was when his body was taken over by the Red, and he looked haggard. I wanted so badly to run my hand along his face and just absorb his pain, but that wasn’t possible and would only make things worse.
 

‘
The Energy. Use it to help heal him.’
 
voice trilled throughout my mind, bouncing off the walls of my brain. The Energy....I thought that was only temporary. I thought the Wall went back up after I went into soul form.
 
’The Wall is gone until you decide to put it back up. Though there is great power within the secrets of the Wall, so I should warn you to only tell the secrets to those you trust most. Even then do not tell all. Some people will turn at the first sight of power. And the Wall’s power surpasses all else’s. Right now you are keeper on how to destroy said Wall. Be careful who you teach.’
 
what seemed to happen normally, the voice disappeared without even a simple goodbye, leaving me to think over what she said.

If the Wall was still up, why did I not feel it? Shouldn’t my vision be focusing in and out like it had done before? Why did I not see the Energy? Before I could think of a reason, a young girl shuffled into the room. She had short black hair pulled into a high ponytail, her face a dark caramel. Briefly she lifted up her head, only enough for me to see that her eyes were a dark blue. They shimmered in the light; in fact her whole body shimmered in the light. She quickly turned around, and I stepped back in surprise. The girl had large golden wings poking out of her thin blue shirt, and her ears were slightly pointed.
 

“Holy shit! You’re a fairy!” I blurted out, and then covered my mouth immediately. I wasn’t sure whether or not the girl would get pissed off at me for calling her a fairy. I mean for all I knew, that was like an extreme insult. But she just laughed softly, her laugh sounding like bells jingling.
 

“Yes, I am. Or rather, I am that of the fey. My name...well my given name is not one that those from the Earth can pronounce. And many have told me of the danger of telling your given name, for as a fey it can be used in ways to bind the fey to-I’m sorry, I am rambling aren’t I? You may call me my Earth name, Aness.” The fey, her name oddly pronounced Ah-ness, had turned around and looked at me with a smile. Her voice was soft and sweet, her looks the same. As soon as I looked at her I felt safe, something I’d definitely not been feeling lately.

“Oh, uh, hi Aness. I am-” Before I could finish, Aness laughed once again, her voice sparking happiness inside me.

I looked to the side to make sure Duke was still asleep, hoping the talking hadn’t woken him. Thankfully though, he was sound asleep. He looked so sad though, and I felt his sadness inside of me. I wondered what he was dreaming, what was making him seem so somber. How could I use the Energy to help him, if I didn’t even know how to control it?

“You are Queen Tammy. Yes, I know. I have come here to help you get ready for your Coronation. A male fey, his Earth name Robin, will come soon to wake and collect King Duke. Now let us go to prepare my Queen!” Aness declared, her voice full of power. She grabbed my hand before I could protest,
 
and then pulled me out of the room through a dark wooden door I had neglected to see. Wasn’t I a great Amatores? Unable to see what’s right in front of me.

Aness dragged me through multiple rooms, only staying in each one long enough for me to see a blur of colors. People drifted by us, their bodies passing by mine as we went by, and their whispers the only thing I could hear.

“
That’s her!”

“
That cannot be her!”

“
She looks so young!”
 

“
Are they absolutely sure?”

“
She is the one who passed the test?”
 

“
The Council cannot honestly believe that, that young child is Her. The one made to save us all from death and disaster. No I do not believe that at all. It must be nothing more than possibly a maid. Nothing more at all.”

The words passed by me as the colors did, breezing against my skin like the summer wind. The last ones words pierced me for some reason, his extreme disbelief in me like a knife in my heart. Alright, maybe before I’d been doubting myself too, but come on! That was me. I’m allowed to doubt myself. Other people though? No, they can only bask in my amazingness.
 

I snickered silently at how ridiculous that sounded. If I actually thought of myself like that, well I would be homeless and friendless by now. Who’d want to be friends with someone that full of themselves? Certainly not me. Definitely not me. It took me a moment to notice that we’d come to a stop, and I looked around, confused. Then my mouth literally dropped, and it took an extreme amount of will not to salivate.

I mean...I was in a closet so big, it would take a million of me to fit in the room. And they’d have to be fat, three thousand pound versions of me. The clothes hung delicately on the racks, everything on a hanger no matter what article of clothing it was.
 

“This has been the Queens wardrobe for a millennia. When you have officially become Queen, when the Coronation is over, this wardrobe will belong solely to you. I will be your stylist as I am today, helping you choose outfits that best suit what you are to do that day. For today there is only one dress you are to wear. It is the Coronation dress. It has been worn for each Queens Coronation, so treat it with care. I will help fit it on you, then take you to get both your makeup and hair done.” Aness chuckled as she showed me to the part of the ‘wardrobe’ that held my dress.
 

As soon as I saw the dress, I swear I was almost a second away from fainting. It was a crème color, diamonds sewn into the hemming of it, so whenever I moved they shone in the light. The dress would obviously drag onto the ground, and was cut low. Its sleeves were long, stretching out to my wrists, and there were gloves beside the dress. And the tiara! Oh god, it was so pretty.
 

The tiara had diamonds encrusted in every inch of it, but still managed not to look too showy. It was small, a diamond shape at the top the only thing that marked it as something more than just an odd headband.
 

I felt like I’d died and gone to heaven, and my heart was filled with immense joy. Who knew that material values could make someone feel so good? I couldn’t wait to put both the dress and tiara on me, knowing without a doubt they’d both fit perfectly. I didn’t care about shoes; I just wanted to wear the dress and tiara. They were what mattered right now.
 

My eyes widened when Aness slid the dress on me and placed the delicate tiara onto my head, my whole look completely transforming. “Holy shit....I look....I look-” I couldn’t even get the words out, I was so shocked. I’d never been really self-conscious, but wearing all this made any shred of self-consciousness just drop away. I looked like an honest to God....Queen. Like those Queens you see on TV, except like a century younger.
 

I smiled, probably looking like a lunatic to Aness, as I twirled in the full length mirror. “Thank you so much!” I gushed, biting my bottom lip with excitement. A laugh bubbled out of my mouth as I thought of how just before I was freaking out over this whole Queen thing, but now that I learned it comes with a huge amount of clothing...well I am definitely looking forward to being crowned.
 

“That is what I am here for Queen Tammy. Just think of me as almost...your fairy godmother. I will be here to grant your wish, serving you until you are no longer my Queen.” Suddenly Aness looked at me with concern, her eyebrows furrowed deeply. “You do not look well Queen. What is troubling you?”
 

Until she said something, I hadn’t noticed the burn. It must’ve been burning softly enough for me to not bother thinking about it, but now that I was thinking about it...let’s just say that it felt like a wildfire inside of my throat. I slid to the ground, my eyes trained on Aness’s neck. I wonder what Fey blood would taste like.
 

“Queen...If you desire something to drink, we have many humans on hand to cater your need,” Aness said, looking at me with caution. “I will go now and retrieve a human.” Walking backwards carefully, Aness left the closet without another word. The burn inside of me flared as I looked again at my reflection. My skin had paled to the point where it was extremely chalky, and my eyes were a light pink.
 

I looked at my eyes closer, seeing that they looked extremely off. And not just because they were pink. It took me only seconds before I noticed it, noticed how the color was brighter. It looked as if someone had flipped a switch in my eyes, making them look more exotic. As I focused on my iris’s, the pink color that had been so prominent before faded to my normal...my thoughts trailed off as I stared at my eyes.

They weren’t their normal ocean blue color. They weren’t red either. They were turning...my eyes were turning purple! A screech erupted from within me as my hands grabbed tightly to my hair. My eyes were turning purple! Holy fucking shit. They were turning purple! That wasn’t-that couldn’t be-but it was happening. Right in front of me. My body shook with fright as I watched the transformation. The purple looked the same color as a thistle plant, and just as sharp.

Only seconds must’ve passed since I’d yelled out, and those seconds triggered a lot of commotion. I heard male voices from outside the closet, and then watched, as the door was pulled open. Instead of a crowd of people, only Duke ran in, a wild look on his face. “Tammy!” he called out, then spotted me and sagged with relief. “Oh thank god, you’re okay. I thought-I mean I heard-I was dreaming when I just woke up and felt that you needed me. I thought something....something....bad....”
 

Duke’s mouth dropped as he looked at me, taking in the elegance that the dress gave me. His eyes went up and down, looking as if he was drinking me in with each second. “Uh, Tammy...you look...amazing,” he murmured, his voice husky. I felt a blush creep up my cheeks, then grinned seductively.
 

“Thanks Duke,” I purred, batting my eyes at him. That’s about the moment when he noticed my eyes, and his jaw dropped once again.

“Tammy! Your eyes! They’re purple!” He sounded so amazed as he leaned forward, his fingers grazing my cheek softly and sending shocks throughout my body. Shocks that, unfortunately, were not enough to block out the disgust I felt when I looked back at my eyes.

“I know! They’re hideous! I don’t know how the hell this happened! One minute, they were a light pink....and the next they just turned into this!” My voice was thick with the tears I was holding in, not wanting to cry in front of the audience Duke had brought with him when he’d run into here.
 

“Ah Tammy, have we not talked about how as a Queen you are to not talk like this?
 
I believe we have talked about this. But onto more important things, your eyes have changed for a reason darling. You have broken the Wall. Power is now gathering within you, Energy. Energy of immense proportions.

Child, your eyes are just a sign that the Energy gathering has begun. Which means the Coronation will have to begin even earlier than planned. We do not want to have it begin once the transformation fully takes place. That would not be good for anyone.” Atmaja had appeared from the now growing crowd, her face smooth and kind as she spoke to me. But her body language did nothing to soothe me.