Darlings (13 page)

“Well let’s see. Move something.” Tina
suggested. 

Pete held up his hand and moved a log across
the grassy field. 

Tina looked relieved. “Well she’s not a
taker…yet.”  

“Taker? Borrower? What do you mean? Am I
going to be okay?” Gwen brushed and tucked her hair, nervously. She
looked at Jonah, who appeared to share her fears. 

Pete explained. “Yah, you’re more than fine.
You’re actually pretty amazing. You are one of very, very few
royals with this ability. If we’re correct, you can borrow other
regals abilities through touch.” 

“Does it have any effect on you?” she
questioned Pete. 

“Not really. You only borrowed a piece for a
little while. Not much is known about borrowers and takers. Like I
said, they’re extremely rare.” 

“Try again,” Jonah suggested wide
eyed. 

Gwen looked from Pete to Tina. 

“Go ahead; it’s actually a good idea. We’ll
need to experiment with this anyways.” Pete said. Tina shook her
head in agreement. 

She closed her eyes and searched for that
fluttering feeling way down in the depths of her chest. The others
stood around her, watching anxiously. It was gone. 

“I don’t think I have it anymore,” she
revealed. 

“Let me see if I can tell a difference.” Pete
raised his hand to a passing robin. The bird continued to flap its
steel gray wings attempting to override the force that had come
upon it. Pete slowly lowered the animal out of the blue sky to his
finger. There it sat until he released it from his invisible
hold. 

“I don’t feel a loss in energy anymore. I
have it back,” he announced. 

Tina’s head seemed to be reeling. “I’ll have
to get back to the house and go through my books to find more on
this. Ashton may have some sort of knowledge as well. Oh and
there’s Andrew. Call Andrew, you’ll be stronger with him nearer to
you.” 

“Whoa, Tina slow down,” Pete said with raised
hands. 

“Slow down? Slow down! We have five days well
four and a half now until we have to go into battle with her. She
needs to figure out how to use this ability. We need to find the
rules and limits or…” 

“Or what, Tina?” Jonah asked, flipping his
ebony hair out of his worried eyes. 

Tina picked at her freshly painted nails.
“Limits come with abilities. There are rules to what she can and
can’t do with it. There are rules for every regal regarding their
ability.” 

“Okay? So why are you so worried? Sounds
simple enough. Find the rules and don’t break ‘em, right?” Jonah
asked attempting to pacify himself as well as his
sister.  

“Yup. Find the rules and don’t break them.
Okay lets practice, slowly.” Tina said quickly. “You stand here
Gwen and you-”

Gwen cut her off. “You’re not telling us
something Tina.” Gwen looked at Pete. “You aren’t either.
What?”

“Nothing Gwen. Let’s practice okay? This is
exciting, you should be excited too,” he said, forcing a
smile. 

She knew they were hiding something, but
decided not to push the issue. Pete seemed to always have her best
interest at heart, and she knew she needed to practice. She was so
out of breath from that one act that she thought she could sleep
for days…something that they didn’t have. 

“Okay, call Andrew,” Tina said. Gwen complied
and put her hand to her chest. 

“This is going to be so awesome,” Jonah
whispered. “You’re the sh-”

“Jonah James, don’t you finish that
sentence,” Gwen corrected. 

The teen rolled his eyes and walked away,
taking a seat on the boulder, ready to enjoy the show.

Gwen placed a hand gently on her mark.
Andrew, they want you to come back
.  

On my way
he thought back, full of
excitement. 

In an instant Andrew appeared. He was soaring
from tree to tree, touching the ground only to build up more speed.
He hurdled branches like they were cracks in an old sidewalk.
Slowing just in time, he trotted over to the group.
Holy smokes,
this is incredible! Did you see that! Gwen I’ve never moved like
that before! I thought I’d finally  be able to keep up with
Tok and Koli but I’m ten times faster than them. What the heck is
your ability? Must be something outstanding!
 

Gwen smiled as she spoke silently to him.
That was pretty awesome! They say I’m a borrower.
 

Andrew tensed and stepped backwards. He
looked from Tina to Pete, who was standing behind Gwen. He shook
his head, warning Andrew not to divulge the true meaning of her
fate. 

What!
He sounded furious yet quickly
composed himself.
That’s great Gwen. It’s a very coveted
ability. I’m really happy for you…us. 

You don’t sound like it
. She said with
somewhat of a bite in her tone, probably more than she
anticipated. 

I just don’t think anyone really knows a
lot about it.
He attempted to rectify to no avail.

So I’ve heard
, she meekly
thought. 

“Okay let’s begin,” Pete said. “Gwen, I want
you to take my telekinesis and move this small stick. Tina you time
this.” Pete laid a stick about the size of his palm at Gwen’s feet.
She took a big breath and cleared her thoughts. He held out his
hand and Gwen took it, searching for the feeling. She could feel
Pete’s eyes on her, which made a clear mind difficult to achieve.
Pushing all of her thoughts to the furthest depths of her mind she
sought out the feeling. Suddenly, she felt the shock and then the
flutter. 

“I have it!” Gwen said excitedly. Pete slowly
slid his hand from hers. 

“Start, Tina,” he commanded. Tina took
Jonah’s arm and held it in hers, as she used his watch to time. He
didn’t seem to mind from the silly grin plastered on his
face. 

“Okay hold on to it and lift the stick just
like the rock before,” Pete instructed. “Hold it as long as you
can.” 

Gwen raised her ballerina-like hand, palm
down, to shoulder height. The stick followed. It sat in the air a
few feet from her fingers, hovering. Gwen, surprised at her
strength, started to let go of the energy and the stick did a quick
dip.

“Hold it! Don’t drop it Gwen. Stay strong.”
Pete coached from beside her. “Push it further away.” 

“How…do…I do that” Gwen got out through
clenched teeth. 

“Bring your elbow in and give the stick a
little bump with your energy. You might not get it to go very far
but that’s ok. Andrew can help you through your channel. Andrew,
touch your chest and let your energy flow to her. Stand slightly in
front of her in battle position and try it. It could take a few
tries. Clear your thoughts Andrew.” 

Andrew obeyed and stood a good four feet in
front of her. He looked so noble; muscles bulged like mountains on
his chest. He raised a paw and covered his mark.  Gwen brought
her quivering arm back a bit and pushed forward. Crack! The stick
didn’t move a few inches, it didn’t even move a few feet. It flew a
good twenty feet before it slammed against a tree at a speed no
match for a bullet. A gaping hole in the giant trunk was the only
thing left of the stick. Silence.

“Holy shit!” Jonah hollered. “That was the
coolest thing I have ever seen! Who needs a gun! Gwen, you’re like
a regular war machine! Wait, are you ok?” he asked noticing her
begin to lose her footing.

Gwen flopped down on the ground. Letting her
head hit the dirt with a slight thump. “Anyone have any water?” she
asked. 

Pete’s face dropped. Tina eyes reflected her
concern. Andrew just dropped his head. 

Just then a man in a flannel shirt, holding a
shot gun, came slowly tromping through the forest, his hound close
to his side. He appeared to be late aged from his salt and pepper
beard and sideburns. Thick unkempt eyebrows lay just centimeters
from the bill of his green john deer hat. The dog sensed them and
began barking. The smoking tree suddenly caught the man’s droopy
eye. 

“What in the world?” he muttered under his
breath. Putting one eye up to the hole he peered through. “Well
Skip we’ve gotta tell the ranger bout this.” 

The protective dog placed itself between
Andrew and its master, bearing its teeth. 

“Great! Tina shouted. “Ugh, get dog, go away!
Now we’re going to have to fix that hole before he brings Ranger
Danger out here.” 

The man didn’t even look up. 

“Can’t he see us?” Jonah asked. 

“No he can’t see or hear a damn thing. The
dog can. Just a nuisance is all,” Tina complained. She began to
giggle mischievously. Walking over to the man, who was still
examining the hole, she placed her hand over the plants injury, and
said a few words, healing the tree right before his eyes. 

The man staggered backwards dropping his gun.
His hat flew off to reveal his shiny bald head. “What in Sam hell!”
he shouted. “Skip, come on skip!” he hollered while running
desperately away. Skip was too busy attempting a face-off with
Andrew. The poor pup only stood to Andrew’s front knees. Batting at
the dog, Andrew decided it was time to give that dog a little
incentive to leave. He let out a short roar, which resulted in the
dog whining and high tailing it out of there. 

Tina fell on the ground laughing, little legs
kicking with delight. The others laughed too, not at the poor
terrified old man, but more so at Tina’s hysterical little giggle.
She sat up, playful blond ponytail standing on end, realizing they
were laughing at her. “Humph,” she pouted. 

“Let’s call it a day,” Pete
suggested. 

“Yah. I’m beat,” Gwen said still lying on the
ground, panting slower now. 

“I’m going to go meet Ash,” Tina announced.
Jonah you want to come?” she asked sweetly. 

“You sure that’s a good idea? I mean with the
pirates and all,” Gwen questioned, reliving the scene in the
gym. 

The fairy folded her arms and looked down at
Gwen, clearly irritated. 

“Tina can hold her own against a good number
of them. Besides, they don’t want to expose themselves any more
than we do. They’d have a hard time staging an attack at the
library with so many people,” Pete reassured. “Jonah will be
fine.” 

“Yah Gwen, I’ll be fine,” Jonah shot his
sister a look as if to warn her to stop embarrassing him. 

“Tootles,” the fairy said, as the two started
back to the house. Gwen watched as Tina took her brother’s strong
arm and whispered in his ear playfully. Something was clearly going
on between the two of them, though Gwen wasn’t sure if it was a sad
attempt at making Pete jealous, her angry, or if she really did
like Jonah. She doubted the latter. Her thoughts were interrupted
by…more thoughts. 

I’m going to go change back before the
enchantment wears off,
Andrew said. But something distraught
lingered in his silent voice. Gwen reached for her mark but stopped
when she heard the loud thumping of Andrew’s paws. She sat up just
in time to see him disappear deeper into the woods. 

“Still need some water?” Pete asked as he
handed her a bottle. He took a seat beside her on the forest
floor. 

Gwen gulped and gulped until the clear
plastic container was empty. She fiddled with the white
lid. 

“So, plans tonight?” he smiled, looking at
Gwen out of the corner of his eye. 

“Clearly,” she solemnly stated, still
fiddling. 

“Well, Miss Darling, I was wondering if you
would be so kind as to join me for dinner,” he said
gentlemanly. 

Smirking, Gwen raised he thin eyebrow at him.
“Are you asking me out?” 

“Well…yes I guess I am. That is if you’re
going to say yes. Otherwise no, I am definitely not asking you
out.” 

“You sound so, chivalrous.” Gwen
joked.  

“Well, I guess the last time I asked a woman
to join me for dinner was…let’s just say it was a long time ago.”
He actually looked a bit embarrassed. 

“Well I like it and I guess I don’t have much
of a choice. You are kind of holding me hostage,” she dryly
teased. 

“It’s settled then. You find the box in your
bag?” he asked. 

“Oh, yah I did see that.” 

“Well open it when we get back,” he said
looking at her out of the corner of his eye. 

“Oh…um…I,” Gwen stammered. 

“I know. You opened it already. You really
have never been good at waiting for surprises. I’ve got to go out
today. I’ll be back to the house to pick you up around seven. If it
suits you, feel free to wear the dress.” He smiled. “Ready to go
back?” 

“I think I’ll stay here a while.” She was
tired and just wanted to be by herself.

“Okay, but no practicing alone,
alright?” 

She nodded and he walked slowly back to the
cabin. Gwen knew she should feel flattered. He was beautiful, kind
and funny. Not to mention the whole prince thing, but she couldn’t
help but to feel something…odd. He knew everything about her. He’d
known her all her life. Pete was so sure they were going to end up
together because it was just how things were going to be. She began
to feel anxious and trapped. What if this wasn’t at all what she
wanted her life to be? What if she didn’t care about this other
world…or the people in it? Gwen shook her head. It wasn’t like her
to be uncaring…at all. She’d always put everyone else first. She’d
spent almost her whole life caring for brothers, her mother, her
dog even. Putting herself first was never an option; she knew she
shouldn’t start now. 

Gwen crunched a brown flakey leaf between her
fingers. The leaf seemed to fall apart immediately. Would she, too,
become bits of nothing that no one noticed? Part of her longed to
become that decaying piece of nature. She picked up another leaf
and smiled. Under that last leaf in the pile stood a sprig of green
grass, still holding on to hopes of survival. Thanks a lot,
universe, for ruining my pity party, she thought.