Chapter 6 Pt 2

“Screw you, man. What you did was wrong and none of your business. This isn’t over, and we will be seeing each other, but it won’t be for talking.”

Kieren stomped off and went back into the great room where everyone else was.

“Arianna, I am sorry....”

“Stop. I don’t want to hear it. I know you have feelings for my daughter, and I know Caius likes you. Even though I do not approve of Kieren, I do not approve of you either and what you did. You stay away from my daughter.”

Arianna walked away leaving Relic standing in the hallway. She went out to the great room where Janus and Cora sat talking to Ridge and Slaten. Kieren was sitting in a chair by himself. Cora could not resist with her own agenda and her selfish obsession to have everyone’s attention. She took pleasure knowing what was happening, and he slight smile was the giveaway.

“Hey, are you all right?”

Cora stood over Kieren as he stared at the floor.

“Yes, I am fine, and I really don’t want to talk about it,” Kieren muttered.

“It’s cool; we don’t have to talk about anything. I just was concerned about you, and I know that it must bother you being new to all this. Relic, the one close friend you have right now you are fighting with can’t feel great,” Cora sat herself right next to Kieren who still maintained his eyes to the floor.

“Yeah, I know.... I know. I know I should talk to him, but I am too mad right now. He had no right to do that!” Kieren shouted as he brought his eyes up to Cora.

She could not help but seize her opportunity with Kieren and lead him right down the path to her even if it meant a little white lie.

“I don’t understand why Relic didn’t get angrier with you. I mean, they are somewhat of an item. They just keep it a secret. How could you blame them? I mean, look at what her mom did? Now she has Meridian locked up in a room alone. Not only is she mad that you and Meridian seemed to have something started, but Relic and Meridian will also have issues, and when the mom finds out about Relic, then there will surely come drama,” Cora snidely spun the story.

“What are you talking about? They are not an item, and I know that. Relic just likes Meridian and has for a while,” Kieren defensively remarked.

“That is what they want us all to think, silly. Do not feel bad. We all were fooled for a while. We all pretend not to know, or at least I do, but I know better.” Cora continued spinning her story.

Kieren sat in silence going over in his head what Relic told him before they left. He could not believe what Cora said, but then again, he was new to this world, and he doubted what both Meridian and Relic had told him. He could feel the anger building up inside. He had a hunch that Cora liked him, but he was no stranger to women having an attraction to him, and he understood the jealousy around love interests. Out of his frustration, he decided he had all he could deal with for one day. Kieren was facing a rollercoaster of emotions that were ignited by the kiss he shared with Meridian, fueled by the scrap with Relic and then added to by being told he had to stay away from Meridian. Before Cora could say another word, Kieren stood up and marched toward the door and took off.

“Kieren, no! Do not leave! You can’t risk us all!” Relic shouted hustling toward the doorway that now stood empty.

It was too late. Kieren had vanished from sight.

“Great! Now, look what you did because you let your stupid temper get in the way!” Slaten scolded Relic.

“Now what are we going to do? A new guide who has no control over his thoughts has left us vulnerable! Great! Way to go, Relic. I am going to kick your ass before my father gets hold of you, and then again after I am going to kick it some more! Geez, who is the damn brains of this operation?” Slaten ranted.

“Would you relax, Slaten? C’mon, you all really need to find ways for anger management. I can hear you all the way down the hall. I am sure you woke the fairy dead.”

Silence fell over the room, and there was Pramlee ignorantly saving the day. She looked puzzled as she stood there in mild amusement and confusion.

“What? Why is everyone staring? Kieren is fine. I ran into some of my fairy friend folk. They snatched him up in a flash and put him into another room.” Pramlee spoke with a grin on her face as she checked her black fingernails for signs of wear.

“So where is Meridian?”

“Wait just a minute. What do you mean they put him in another room?”

Slaten walked over to his sister.

“They all might not know how you are, but I do, and nothing you say is ever just what it is.... Spill it,” Slaten lectured.

“Oh, all right. You don’t have to be so cranky.” Pramlee snickered.

“No, no. No. Wait. You were with us when we left and came here to the fairy chambers.”

“What happened since then?” Slaten pressed.

Pramlee walked away from her pushy brother and sat down on the couch. As she took her seat and pushed Janus out of her way without apologies, she explained, “Well if you would calm down that is what I was trying to explain to you. So, after we got here, I took a little detour and went and visited one of my friends here on this side and we chatted a bit. When I finished, I was walking down the hall and saw Kieren running out. So, we had him put in a room to himself. I mean really, did you see his rage? He needed to be put away. Besides, who said we could all be running around anyway?” she questioned.

“Never mind, Pramlee. At least we know where he is, right?” Slaten asked.

“Uh well, you see that is the kicker here. No, we do not. Honestly, what is the big deal? We are safe here, right?”

Pramlee was back to her confused self. “Where is Meridian?” she inquired further.

Ridge rolled his eyes back in his head.

“I can’t deal with this, really, Relic. By the way you both act, I don’t understand why you and Pramlee never were an item—always floating around causing chaos and never a clue what is really going on,” Ridge sarcastically remarked.

Arianna could see the tension rising as she walked over to Pramlee.

“Dear, she is in the back room. I will take you there.”

Relic and Ridge stepped out into the hallway to look for Luna to see if they could find out where Kieren was. All that were left in the room that had been destroyed by the fight was Cora, Slaten and Janus who had not spoken a whole lot until now.

“What is the plan now? Kieren is missing, Meridian, Arianna and Pramlee are in the back. Relic and Ridge are looking for Kieren, and we just sit here. I thought when we left the plan was we wait here for Chance to see what information he could find. With everyone fighting, I don’t see how we can all stay here like this,” Janus told Slaten.

“We have to stay here, Janus. We cannot move until I find out from Chance what he knows. My father would not ever tell my sister or me anything. Even though by living with him I pick up on things, he is always very guarded about guide business. I am sure Kieren is fine, and it may be good that he is alone for a while to cool off, and I know Relic is mad at himself right now for letting his temper get out of control. Chance will not take too long to give us an update. By the time you all had caught up with Pramlee and me, Caius had taken off, and no one knows where he went. The only person that would have a clue is Ridge. There just has not been any time for us all to talk,” Slaten explained.

“You are right,” Janus spoke up. “We all need to cool our heels and take solace that for the most part, we are all safe for a bit. We all need to talk together and get everyone on the same page.”

Janus was as promiscuous as she was logical. Slaten was not too fond of her or Cora, but he knew logic when he heard it. Looking across the room he noticed that Ridge and Relic had returned.

“Kieren is fine; he is in another holding room. We tracked down Luna. She cast a spell on Kieren and put him to sleep. She said he would be out for several hours. She also said we better get things under control too or Selena will not be doing us any more favors,” Relic lectured.

Ridge broke the silence. “You know we all are probably going to be cast away when we go back. Warrick will see this as betrayal, us helping Caius break out and hiding Arianna here.”

“That isn’t totally true. We do have an ally right here,” Relic interrupted.

“Who? Here in the fairy realm? Please, the fairies cannot be trusted, and whatever they do for us we always must return the favor. They never get involved in a guide’s business. In fact, they do not even get involved much in the affairs of humans anymore. We have not used them for resources in ages since the humans are so out of touch with the messages fairies would pass for us. We have lost our relationship,” Ridge stated dismissingly.

“Ridge, I know you are uptight, but really, just think about it.”

“Yes, I won Selena a favor or two, but she has always helped me out in the past. I think if I could talk to her and tell her what is going on she may help us out again. I know the fairies have never been fond of Warrick and his ways. They blame him since humans have lost their faith in them and even us,” Relic explained.

“It wasn’t always like this, guides being so limited with their interaction with humans, especially ones who needed us. Where do you think the humans get all their stories about ghosts and guardian angels and all that? At one time, we were revered and noticed—even loved. Now, any human who says they know they have a guardian angel or sense anything is made fun of or told they either crazy or a witch. Since Warrick took over and made the rule that we can’t be seen, and with the advances in technology, humans don’t look to us anymore. Now, we don’t need the fairies to send messages through the wolves,” Relic explained.

Humans have grown disconnected from nature and anything spiritual. Now, they spend all their time fighting over politics and religion, or they stay glued to their phones or watching television. It’s too bad that they don’t have any idea what is really in store for them, and even the ones now who have lived a few lives before still do not have a clue. They won’t know until they come here or learn their lessons as a human.” Relic stopped, and Ridge and Slaten sat in silence taking it all in. All three sat together in silence, lost in their own thoughts about what was happening and what could be.

“As much as I hate to agree with you, Relic, I think it’s worth a shot. But let us wait for Chance to get here and find out first before we debt ourselves even more to the fairies.”

Slaten muttered, “All of our lives will be different in a very brief time in many ways no matter what we do, what we find out, or where we go. One thing is for sure - all we have is each other now, and none of us will ever be the same again.”