Yazen (Ponith) (17 page)

Ovvar heads back and breaks the news to his fellow Dwarves. They seem visibly relieved by the news, some of them nodding and smiling.

“We will see
you soon,” Laderic says to the Dwarves. We begin to head back home. It feels like a long walk back home.

We camp overnight by a few trees, not having to worry about being attacked as we sleep. We get up early the next day head back to the
Deeproot Forest homes, then we get back late and everyone gets ready to go to bed for the night.

Narissa comes back to our room and sleeps with us.
Alex takes the bed near Jenn, offering up his bed so that we can sleep near one another. It feels so good to be lying in a bed. I roll over and face Narissa.

“Would you like to sleep in my bed with me tonight?” I whisper to her. She quickly
but quietly jumps out of her bed and crawls in bed next to me. We give each other a big kiss and she falls asleep in my arms. I pass out quickly after Narissa falls asleep.

I dream of the fight. It’s horrible
and I wake up suddenly in a sweat. I look over and Narissa’s still asleep. I’m glad I didn’t wake her up. I slide my arm out from under her and step outside. I lean against the branch and enjoy the cool air.

Narissa wakes up and stands next to me outside. What am I going to do? I don’t want to leave her, but I do want to go home at the same time. It’s a hard choice for me. I’m not sure what to do. I don’t want to hurt Narissa
’s feelings.

We
stand in silence for a few minutes, holding hands. I know I have to tell Narissa how I feel. I want her to know my true feelings. We need to talk and figure out what we are going to do. I turn to my side and face her.

“Narissa, I want you to know that I care for you a lot. I feel complete when I am with you. You know how to make me smile a
nd laugh. I have fallen for you and when you got kidnapped, my chest hurt. I had to save you and but I wasn’t sure how.”

“
When I saw you in the cage, I was relieved to see that you weren’t hurt. When you ran up the stairs and kissed me, I felt complete again. I want you to know that,” I tell her. She turns to face me as well and gives me a smirk.

“I have liked you ever since I first met you. You made my heart melt. I had to get to know you, and I wanted any time alone with you I could get. I was scared when the
Dark Elves took me, and the whole time I was in that cage I kept repeating to myself that you would come for me. When I heard your voice, I knew I was saved. I really don’t want to lose you again when you have to go home. I don’t know how I will live with myself,” she explains to me.

“This is a tough situation for me, Narissa. I don’t know what I
’m going to do. I know my friends will be going back home, and I would like to do the same to see my grandpa again. I don’t want to leave because I care for you and your family. I have grown to love Yazen altogether. I’m torn apart and not sure what I am going to do,” I say while turning back with my shoulders against our guest house.

“Do you think I can come back with you?” she asks me. I don’t see why she couldn’t. People may look at her differently because of her ears but we could hide them with her hair in public. We do
have both the Yazen gem and Earth gem so we could travel back and forth.

“We can talk to your family about it tomorrow and get their opinions on it. I don’t want to take you away from them when they just got you back. I would love for you to come with me, but only with your family’s approval,” I reply to her. She gives me a big kiss
. We decide to head back inside and get some sleep.

We both pass out quickly and sleep through the rest of the night. Laderic wakes us up in the morning to ask us to come down to breakfast. We go to the King and Queen’s home to eat.

We are greeted by everyone and take a seat at their table.

“I know that you will be leaving to go home soon. We would like to ask if you will stay with us for one more night. We want to have a party tonight
celebrating our victory. You can leave first thing in the morning after if you’d like. We invited everyone to come,” Nytril says.

I look over to
Alex and Jenn to see their decisions. I’m okay to stay for one more day myself but I want to check with them anyway.

“It’s fine with me as long as it is okay with
Alex and Jenn,” I tell him.

“I would like to party one more night,”
Alex says laughing. I’m glad that Alex has enjoyed himself on this trip.

“It’s okay with me,” Jenn says. I think she’s having fun, but I can tell she’s ready to go home. Hopefully the party tonight will get her mind off of everything.

“Then we’ll have the party tonight,” Nytril says while eating some of his breakfast.

Laderic, Calina, Drakoe, Korla, and Narissa clap and cheer for us staying for one more night. I look at Narissa and can see she’s starting to get teary eyed again.

“Nytril, can I ask you and your family a rather big question?” I ask Nytril. I’m starting to get nervous. I begin to fidget with my fingers to help calm me down.

“You know you can ask me anything, Zac. What is on your mind?” Nytril asks.

“As you know, I really care for your daughter Narissa. I’m so glad that we got her back home safely. I know that you just got her back, but I was wondering if it was okay for Narissa to come home with me for a little while to meet my grandpa. I will return her back to you in a few weeks. I will always have the Earth gem, and you’ll have the Yazen gem when I leave, so we can travel back and forth at any time. May I have your family’s permission to take Narissa with me tomorrow?” I say while my voice starts to crack just a bit. My hands are sweating tremendously as I rub them together.

The whole family looks at each other in
visible discomfort. Alex and Jenn look at me like I’m crazy. Narissa’s smiling at me.

“Zac, we’ll make a family vote right now. Everyone who is okay
with Zac taking Narissa with him, raise your hand,” Korla says.

Korla is the first to raise her hand. Laderic and Drakoe put their hands up rather quickly. Nytril slowly raises his hand. Calina is the only one left. I don’t know if she will raise her hand because I know she’s overly protective of her sister. I look down at the table, knowing I won’t be able to take Narissa with me now.

I look back up after a nudge from Narissa and Calina’s raising her hand high over her head. She gives me a smile and says, “You are a great guy in my book. You have my permission to take my little sister with you. Remember, though, you better take care of her because if you don’t, I’ll come after you,” Calina says.

Narissa jumps up with joy, thanking her family. She goes around hugging each one of
them.

“Thank you all for being so understanding. I p
romise to take good care of her and return her to you,” I say to them.

“You are like our son, Zac, and you are welcome here anytime, as well as
Alex and Jenn,” Nytril says.

We all finish our meal and go work in the fields. I want to help them get their crops back up and going. We work in the fields for
about two hours and then all go to the lake to bathe. We’re all extremely filthy. We all laugh, play, and joke around and the day goes by rather quickly.

I go with Narissa to her room and help her pack her items so she is ready to leave with us in the morning. She packs a few bags and then leaves them in our room so everything is together.

“I’m happy that you are going with us, Narissa,” I tell her. I give her a kiss and then spin her around. She giggles.

“Thank you for asking my family if I could go with you. I wasn’t sure if Calina would agree to it, but I guess you have won her over,” she says to me.

We hang out in the room until it’s time to go down for the party.

“It looks like they are setting up for the party,”
Alex says while looking out the window. He looks really excited to go.

“We should go down and help them set up,” I tell them.

We all decide to head down to where Laderic and Drakoe are. They’re setting up some tables to put food on. So far they have set up five tables.

“What can we do to help?” Jenn asks Laderic as she puts her hand on his bicep.

He smiles big at her and then looks at all of us, “We have about 20 more tables to put up if you would like to help set them up, and then we will be bringing all of the food out. We still need to set up a campfire and bring some chairs out and blankets. Just jump in; we appreciate any help you can give. The guests should be arriving soon,” Laderic says.

Alex
and I help finish setting up the tables while Narissa and Jenn set up the chairs and blankets. After we set up the tables, we start up a huge campfire in the middle.

Everyone begins to show up, one after another. Kolin and Rowin are the f
irst to show up with the other Fauns and Centaurs. The Dwarves show up next, surprising us, as I thought they were staying behind. I wonder if the Dryads will come; I really wanted to thank Summer.

Before I know it, everyone is there. Even the
Dryads came. Alex is already talking to Summer, so I will thank her later.

The
Fauns begin to play some music, so Narissa and I decide to dance around the campfire. I spin her around and then dip her down, trying not to drop her.

Kolin’s flirting with Calina, and she’s actually flirting back for once. The
Dwarves are having drinking contests to see who can drink their beer the fastest. The Halflings are sitting quietly and talking with Nytril and Korla.

The Gnomes are eating food, sitting on a fence. The best part is that everyone is getting along and having a good time.

“Everyone, please settle down for a minute. I have an announcement to make,” Nytril says. Everyone settles down immediately and circles Nytril.

“I want to thank everyone for coming out here tonight. I
’m glad we have become friends and worked together to take Yazen back from the Dark Lords. We never would have had the courage to do this if Zac hadn’t come along. Zac, you and your friends are welcome here any time. Thank you for bringing us together, showing us true courage, and guiding us. If there is any way we can repay you, please let us know,” Nytril announces.

Cheers are coming from every direction. It feels good to be cared about
by all of these people. I know it’s my turn to make a speech.

“I just want to thank each and every one of you for taking us in and giving us a chance. Every single one of you is very special to me, and I consider you all my friends and family. I will definitely
come back to visit. Summer, I want to say thank you for helping us come up with a plan to start the fight. I don’t know how it would have gone if you hadn’t helped us,” I say while smiling at her.

The rest of the night we all talk, drink, dance, and just have fun. I’m relaxing with everyone until Nytril comes over and asks to talk to me. So I get up and follow him up to his home.

“I want to give you these books to take with you. They explain more about the different types of magic that we have. I think you are stronger than you know and have more tricks up your sleeve than even you yourself know about,” Nytril says as he hands me a handful of books.

“I really don’t understand what you mean by that. I don’t have magical abilities at all. I just copied what I saw you do with the gem. I tried without the gem and it didn’t work,” I try to explain to him.

“Oh, but you do have magical abilities, Zac. Not everyone can do that, with or without the gem. Humans are known to be inert when it comes to the arts, so you’re a true exception,” he tells me.

“I know you’re going to have lots of questions, but please do me a favor and read these books first. They explain a lot and then next time I see you, you can ask me anything and
I promise I’ll answer them as best as I’m able,” Nytril says. He puts his hand on my shoulder.

“Thank you,
Nytril,” I respond.

“Go out and finish having fun with everyone,” he pushes me out of his front door. I take the books back to our room and set them on my bed. Then I head back out to visit with everyone.

A few hours later, we say our goodbyes and then we lay down for the night. We’re going to get up early in the morning to head back home.

The morning comes quickly, and we head to the King and Queen’s home to say goodbye. I will miss them all. I’m ecstatic they are letting me take Narissa with us.

“Please take care of my daughter, and don’t let anything bad happen to her. We’ll walk with you to the portal,” Nytril says.

“I will
; that’s a promise to you,” I tell him. We all walk down to the portal together. I can see Korla beginning to tear up. Calina’s still half asleep, rubbing her eyes. Laderic and Drakoe seem sad that we are leaving.

Once we get to where the portal is, I pull the Yazen gem out of my pocket. I pull the branch that activates the portal, and the trees bind together.

We all say our goodbyes and give each other hugs. I can feel the tears building up in my eyes.

“Remember, Zac, take care of Narissa and please bring her back to us. You’re welcome here anytime,” Korla says while kissing me on the cheek.

“I will. I’m going to miss all of you. Thank you again for everything. We’ll see you soon.” I tell them. I hug Nytril and then put the green gem into the opening on the tree. I’ll be leaving the gem there so everyone in Yazen can use it. A clear, watery ripple appears before us, slowly coalescing into a portal.

Narissa’s eyes get big
, as I don’t think she has ever seen the portal activate before. I grab her hand and smile at her, and she smiles back. Jenn and Alex go through together. They disappear within seconds.

Right before we are about to enter the portal, I hear Champion neighing behind us. I turn around and there he is. I walk over to him and give him a big hug and kiss. I rub his nose and say to him, “I will miss you, Champion. I’ll be back to visit you, I promise. Thank you f
or all of your help.”

Champion licks the side of my face and runs off. I’m going to miss him the most.

Narissa and I wave goodbye. Then we enter the portal. I hear Narissa give out a slight yelp in fear. I continue to hold her hand tight so she knows that I’m not letting go of her.

We
walk from the grass in Ponith onto the hard rocky ground of Ponith. Alex and Jenn are already standing and waiting for us. I slowly get up and help Narissa to her feet.

“Are you okay?” I ask her. She looks like she’s going to be sick.

“Yes, I’m just a little sick feeling but I should be okay,” she says while holding her stomach. She is looking around in wonder, taking in all the different stars and planets overhead.

We head over to Earth’s portal. I let
Alex and Jenn go first so Narissa’s stomach can settle a little. They go through just fine.

“Are you sure you still want to go with us? If you don’t, I can take you back home now,” I tell her. I don’t want her to feel pressured into going with us.

“I want to go with you. I’m ready,” she says. We head over to the portal and jump in together. We land back on Earth right behind Alex and Jenn.

“Welcome to Earth,”
Alex says, and he waves his arms around in a slow circle, showing her our planet.

“It looks similar to Yazen, but it doesn’t seem as bright here,” Narissa says while scrunching her nose.

“I can’t wait to introduce you to my grandpa,” I tell her. We begin to head back home. It’s a long walk. We run part of the way out of excitement.

Out of nowhere, Jenn comes to a complete stop and grabs her mouth. I walk over to see what she is looking at. It’s Brad’s blue backpack. I wonder if he ever made it back home. I hope the wolves didn’t catch him.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” I say to her while grabbing a hold of her to hug her. She begins to weep, and then she falls down to her knees.

“It is my entire fault that this has happened. I was the one who let him come with us,” she whimpers.

“It is no one’s fault, Jenn, he probably just left it when he stopped to take a break and maybe something chased him home,” Alex says to her, trying to comfort her. Narissa looks scared. I don’t think she understands what is happening.

“Come on
, Jenn, we have to make it back home. We’ll see if Brad is home and if he’s not, we’ll have the cops come out here and look. Let’s leave his bag here so they know the exact location,” I tell her while dragging her away from Brad’s backpack.

It’s a quiet walk back. We finally make it to the end of the woods.

“Thank you all for going with me on this trip. Alex, will you please walk Jenn home for me?” I ask him politely. I really do not want her trying to walk home alone.

“Yes, I will. Thanks for bringing us back home
, Zac. It was nice to meet you, Narissa, I’m sure I’ll see you tomorrow,” Alex says while grabbing a hold of Jenn’s hand.

“Bye, Narissa. Bye, Zac,” Jenn says. She just stares at the ground and walks away.

“Is she going to be okay?” Narissa asks me. To be honest, I’m not sure.

“Once she talks to Brad, she’ll be fine,” I tell her. “Are you ready to come to my home and meet my grandpa?” I ask her.

“Yes, I really hope he likes me,” she says. We begin to head to my house. I see my grandpa’s truck in the driveway, so I know he’s home. I open the front door and head in.

“Grandpa, I’m home. Did you miss me?” I yell out. He comes running around the corner and gives me the biggest
bear hug.

“Who is this lovely young lady you brought home with you?” he asks me
as he lets me escape from his grasp.

“Grandpa, this is Narissa. Is it okay if she stays with us for a week
or so?” I ask him.

“Sure, she can stay in the guest room. It is nice to meet you, Narissa. By any chance, is your mother Korla?” he asks her.

“Yes? You know my mother?” she says in excitement.

“I met her a long time ago when she was about your age. She was just as beautiful as you are,” he tells her. Her cheeks turn red from embarrassment.

“I can’t wait to hear about your trip. Let me make you some dinner, and I want you to tell me all about it,” he says while running to the kitchen.

I look at Narissa, and I know I made the right choice in bringing her home with me. It was just like my dream. We all sit at the kitchen table and enjoy dinner together. We laugh and joke and tell him the entire story. I can tell my grandpa is proud of me. That makes me feel accomplished.

I wonder what the other planets are like. I hope Alex and Jenn will go with me again, and I hope Narissa stays in my life forever. She’s perfect!