Switched (17 page)

Suddenly, my crush on him felt very weird. He wasn’t my brother, but he was my brother’s brother, even though Matt wasn’t really my brother. It still felt… not right, somehow.

“Michael?” Finn looked perplexed.

“Yeah, that’s what my mother – Kim, my fake mom – named him. She knew she had a son, and that’s Rhys.” My mind swirled. “But how… how did they do that? How did they switch us?”

“It’s relatively simple,” Finn explained, almost tiredly. “After Rhys was born, she induced labor with you, and using persuasion on the family and hospital staff, she switched you out for him.”

“It can’t be that simple. The persuasion didn’t really work on Kim,” I pointed out. 

“We normally do same-sex exchanges, a girl for a girl, a boy for a boy, but Elora had her mind set on the Everlys,” Finn said. “It doesn’t work as well when you do a boy to girl switch like that. Mothers are more likely to pick up on something being wrong, as was the case with your host mother.”

“Wait, wait!” I held up my hands and looked at him. “She knew it was more dangerous, that Kim would be more likely to snap? But she did it anyway?”

“Elora believed that the Everlys would be the best for you,” Finn maintained. “And she wasn’t completely wrong. Even you freely admit that the aunt and the brother were good to you.”

I had always kind of hated Kim. I thought she had been terrible and cruel, as had everyone else, but she had known that I wasn’t her child. Kim had really been an insanely good mother. She had remembered her son, even when she shouldn’t have been able to, and she refused to give up on him. It was tragic, when I thought about it.

“So that’s why they don’t want me with the mänsklig? Cause he’s like a step-brother?” I wrinkled my nose at the thought.

“He’s not your brother,” Finn emphasized. “Trylle and mänsklig have absolutely no relation. The problem is that they’re human.”

“Are we like… physically incompatible?” I asked carefully.

“No. Many Trylle have left the compound to live with humans and have normal offspring,” Finn said. “That’s part of the reason our populations are going down.”

“What happens to Rhys now that I’m back?” I asked, ignoring the clinical way Finn addressed everything. He was nothing if not professional.

“Nothing. He’ll live here for as long as he wants. Leave if he decides to. Whatever he chooses,” Finn shrugged. “Mänsklig aren’t treated badly here. For example, Rhiannon is Willa’s mänsklig.”

“That makes sense,” I nodded. Rhiannon seemed so skittish and nervous, but also rather normal, unlike everyone else. “So… what do they do with mänsklig?

“They aren’t exactly raised as their children, but they are given everything to keep them happy and content,” Finn said. “They receive an education at our schools. They even have a small trust fund set up for them. When they are eighteen, they are free to do as they please.”

“But they’re not equals,” I realized. Elora tended to talk down to everyone, but she was worse with Rhys and Rhiannon. I couldn’t imagine that Willa was much nicer either.

“This is a monarchy. There are no equals.” For an instant, Finn looked almost sad, then he walked over and sat on the bed next to me. “That’s part of what Elora is angry with me for not explaining sooner. There is a distinct hierarchy in how we live.

“In our community, there are classes. There is royalty, of which you are on the top,” Finn gestured to me. “After Elora, of course. Below you, there are the Markis and Marksinna, but they can become Kings and Queens through marriage. Then there is your average Trylle, the common folk if you will. Below that, there are trackers. And at the very bottom, there is mänsklig.”

“What? Why are trackers so low?” I asked incredulously.

“We are Trylle, but we only track. My parents were trackers, and their parents before them, and so on,” Finn explained. “We have no changeling population. Ever. That means that we have no income. We bring nothing into the community. We provide a service for other Trylle, and in return, we are provided a home and food.”

“You’re like an indentured servant?” I gasped.

“Not exactly,” Finn tried to smile, but it looked forced. “Until we retire from tracking, we don’t need to do anything else. Many trackers, such as myself, will work as a guard for some of the families in town. All of the service jobs, like the nannies, the teachers, the chefs, the maids, are almost entirely retired trackers, and they make an hourly wage. Some are also mänsklig, but they stick around less and less.”

“That’s why you always bow to Elora,” I said thoughtfully.

“She is the Queen, Wendy. Everyone bows to her,” Finn corrected me. “Except for you and Rhys, but he’s rather impossible.”

“It’s nice to know that being the Princess has some perks, like not bowing,” I smirked.

“Elora may seem cold and aloof, but she is a very powerful woman,” Finn looked at me seriously. “
You
will be a very powerful woman. You will be given every opportunity the world has to offer you. I know you can’t see it now, but you will have a very charmed life.”

“You’re right. I cannot see it,” I admitted. “It probably didn’t help that I just got in trouble this morning, and I don’t feel very powerful.”

“You’re still very young,” Finn said with a trace of a smile.

“I guess.” I remembered how angry he had been this morning, and I turned to him. “I didn’t do anything with Rhys. You know that, right? Nothing happened.”

Finn stared thoughtfully at the ground. I studied him, trying to catch a glimpse of something, but his face was a mask. Eventually, he nodded. “Yes. I know that.”

“You didn’t this morning, though, did you?” I asked.

This time, Finn chose not to answer. He stood up and said he needed to shower. He gathered his clothes and went into the bathroom.

I thought this might be a good time to explore his room, but I suddenly felt very tired. He’d woken me early, and this morning had been draining. Lying back down, I rolled over and curled up in his blankets. They were soft and smelled like him, and I easily fell asleep.

14. Kingdom

Other than the garden out back, I’d seen little of the palace grounds. After breakfast, Finn took me outside to show me around. The sky was overcast and gloomy, and he stared up at it with a skeptical eye.

“Is it going to rain?” I asked.

“You never can tell around here.” Finn sounded almost angry, then shook his head and walked ahead, apparently deciding to risk it.

We’d gone out the front door of the mansion this time, stepping out on the cobblestone driveway. Trees overshadowed the palace, arching high into the sky. Immediately at the edge of the driveway, lush ferns and plants filled in the gaps between the pines and maples.

Finn walked into the trees, pushing the plants aside gently to make a pathway. He’d insisted I wear shoes today, and as I followed behind him, I understood why. A rough trail had been made, but it was overgrown with moss and twigs and stones.

“Where are you going?” I asked, as the path climbed upwards.

“I’m showing you Förening.”

“Haven’t I already seen Förening?” I stopped and looked around. Through the trees, I couldn’t see much of anything, but I suspected it all looked about the same as what I was seeing.

“You’ve barely seen anything yet.” Finn glanced back at me, smiling. “Come on, Wendy.”

Without waiting for my answer, he climbed on. The trail already had a steep incline, and it looked slick with mud and moss. Finn maneuvered it easily, grabbing onto the occasional branch or protruding root.

My climb wasn’t anywhere near as graceful. I slipped and stumbled the whole way up, scraping my palm and knees on several sharp rocks. Finn didn’t slow and rarely glanced back. He had more faith in my abilities than I did, but I suppose that was nothing new.

If I hadn’t been mastering a slippery slope, I might’ve enjoyed the time. The air smelled green and wet from all the pine and leaves. The river below seemed to echo through everything, reminding me of when I put a conch shell to my ear. Over it, I heard birds chirping, singing a fevered song.

Finn waited for me next to a giant boulder, and when I reached him, he made no comment about my slow pace. I didn’t have a chance to catch my breath before he grabbed onto a small handhold in the boulder and started pulling himself up.

“I’m pretty sure I can’t climb up that,” I said, eyeing up the slick surfaces of the rock.

“I’ll help you.” He had his feet in a crevice, and he reached back, holding his hand out to me.

Logically speaking, if I grabbed onto him, my body weight would pull him back off the boulder. But he didn’t doubt his ability to pull us both up, so neither did I. Finn had this way of making me believe anything, and it scared me sometimes.

I took his hand, barely getting a chance to enjoy how strong and warm it felt before he started pulling me towards the rock. I squealed, which only made him laugh. He directed me to a crevice, and I found myself hanging to the boulder for dear life.

Finn climbed up, always keeping one hand out for me to grab if I slipped, but I did most of the actual climbing myself. I was surprised when my fingers didn’t give and my shoes didn’t slide, and I had to admit, when I pushed myself up to the top of the boulder, I couldn’t help to feel a bit of pride.

When I stood up on the massive rock, wiping mud off my knees, I started to make some comment about my amazing agility, but then I caught sight of the view. On top of the boulder had to be the highest point, sitting high atop the bluffs. From here, I could see everything, and somehow, it was even more amazing than the view from the palace.

Chimneys dotted out amongst the trees, and I could see the plumes of smoke blowing away in the wind. Roads curved and winded through the town, and a few people walked along them. Elora’s palace had been masked with vines and trees, but it still looked startlingly large hanging on the edge of the bluff.

With the wind whipping through my hair, it made it somehow exhilarating. Almost like I was flying, even though I was just standing there.

“This is Förening.” Finn gestured to the hidden houses buried amongst the green foliage.

“It is breathtaking,” I admitted, letting him see how in awe I felt.

“It’s all yours,” he said gravely, and I turned to look at him, certain I’d misunderstood.

“What are you talking about?”

“You’ll be Queen, Wendy.” His dark eyes met mine, emphasizing the severity of his words, and then he looked away, scanning the trees. “This is your kingdom.”

“Yeah, but… it’s not actually mine.”

“Actually, it kind of is.” He offered me a small smile.

I looked back at the bluff, and in the realm of kingdoms, I knew it was relatively small. It wasn’t as if I’d inherited the Roman Empire or anything, but it felt strange to me that I might possess any amount of a kingdom. 

“What’s the point?” I asked softly. When Finn didn’t answer, I thought my words might have been carried away by the wind, so I asked louder. “Why do I get this? What am I to do with it?”

“Rule over it.” Finn had been standing behind me, but he stepped closer, moving next to me. “Make the decisions. Keep the peace. Declare the wars.”

“Declare the wars?” I looked at him sharply. “That’s really something we do?” He shrugged. “I don’t understand.”

“Most things will already be decided when you take the throne,” Finn said, staring down at the houses instead of me. “The order is already in place. You just have to uphold it, enforce it. Mostly, you live in the palace, attend parties, trivial governmental meetings, and occasionally, decide on something substantial.”

“Like what?” I asked, not liking the hard tone his voice had taken on.

“Banishments, for one.” He looked thoughtful. “Your mother once banished a Marksinna. It hadn’t been done in years, but its entrusted in her to make the decisions that best protect our people and our way of life.”

“Why did she banish her?” I asked.

“She corrupted a bloodline.” He didn’t say anything for a minute, and I looked at him questioningly. “She had a child with a human.”

I wanted to ask him more about that but I felt a drop of rain splash on my forehead. I looked up to the sky, to be certain I’d felt rain, and the clouds seemed to rip open, pouring water down before I had a chance to shield myself.

“Come on!” Finn grabbed my hand, pulling me.

We slid down the side of the rock, my back scraping against the rough surface of it, and fell heavily into a thicket of ferns. Rain soaked through my clothes already, chilling my skin, and still holding my hand, Finn led me to a shelter underneath a giant pine tree.

“That came on really suddenly,” I said, peering out from around the branches. We weren’t completely dry under the tree, but only a few fat drops of rain made their way through.

“The weather is so temperamental here. The locals blame it on the river, but the Trylle have more to do with it,” Finn explained.

I thought back to Willa, and her complaint that she could only control the wind and her mother, the clouds. The garden behind the palace bloomed year round thanks to Trylle abilities, and it wouldn’t be hard to fathom that they played a role in the rain.

The birds had fallen silent, and over the sound of the rainfall, I couldn’t hear the river. The air smelled thick with pine, and even in the middle of the rainstorm, I felt oddly peaceful. I couldn’t stop the growing chill inside me, and my teeth began to chatter.

“You’re cold.”

“I’m fine,” I shook my head.

Without further prompting, Finn put his arm around me, pulling me closer to him. The abruptness of it made me forget to breathe, and even though he felt no warmer than I did, the strength of his arm wrapping around me made a warmth spread inside of me.

“I suppose I’m not much help,” he said, his voice low and deep.

“I’ve stopped shivering,” I pointed out quietly.

“We should get back inside, so you can change into dry clothes.” He breathed deeply, looking at me a moment longer.

Just as abruptly as he grabbed me, he pulled away and started heading back down the bluff. The rain came down fast and cold, and without him to warm me, I had no urge to stay in it longer than I had to. I went down after him, half-running half-sliding to the bottom.