Chapter 16

When Shay entered her father’s chambers, he was asleep on the bed.

She remembered Fiere’s kiss and how she had felt. A part of her yearned to see him again now even though she had only wished him good night a short while ago. At the same time, she felt so much guilt. Guilt for lying to him and guilt for not telling him things she knew. She was truly afraid he would hate her and dislike her if he found out that Maica was her mother. And now that her mother was with the King’s child, everything was so much worse. He could argue that she had planned this.

Shay did not believe that he would ever believe that their meeting in the forest was purely coincidental.

If Fiere discovered she was linked to Maica, Shay believed Fiere would never speak to her again. He would believe she had plotted to steal the throne from him with her mother. There was just too much that looked like a coincidence.

On the other hand, it might just be the right thing to do. If she told him, he could tell his father and maybe the wedding would be called off. It would serve them both if that happened. And yet Shay just could not bring herself to do it. As much as her mother hurt her with what she was doing and by having left in the first place, Shay just could not be the one to destroy the royal engagement and ruin a wedding.

There was of course also a strong possibility that telling the truth would be even worse. Both Shay and her father could be accused of plotting against the kingdom and for that she did not doubt that they would be put to death.

She wondered at the irony of the situation. Her father had created this entire world and everyone in it and now they could be near to finding themselves at the mercy of the characters he had created.

Shay thought about simply taking the book and returning home with her father. After all, he was in no state to resist now. He said he believed their enemy might be waiting for them but she doubted it. She believed that the man who her father had fought in his study had been after something. He would not be waiting for them to return. If anything, he had probably returned to their house in their absence and searched the house for what he wanted. Regardless of whether he found it or not, Shay doubted he would stay and wait for them.

She sat on the bed beside her father and gently shook him. He woke after a few nudges and smiled when he saw Shay. He looked at her dress and sat up slowly.

“Where have you been? Did you go on a date while I was sleeping?”

“You might call it that, Dad.”

Andy frowned. “With who?”

He had been joking but was not so happy when she confirmed it.

“With Prince Fiere.”

Andy looked at Shay worried. “Do not get involved with these people Shay. They are merely characters in a book.”

“The thought crossed my mind Dad but right now so are we. Besides I cannot sit in the chambers all the time. I will go out of my mind. That having been said, I think we should leave now and go home. It is too dangerous here.”

Andy was confused. “What do you mean?”

Shay told her father that she had told Fiere they had come using sorcery and that they were searching for her mother. She then told her father what she had learned about their mother, Maica, and what it meant for the succession to the throne.

If Fiere connected the dots there was little hope they would ever leave here alive. Andy paled visibly at the news. There was a sadness in his eyes which Shay had not seen before. When Shay told him of the gravity of the situation, Andy did not disagree, but when Shay suggested they take the book and leave, Andy resisted. “I need to talk to your mom. I cannot just leave this as is. Besides, I have to have the book. If your mom has become Maica and she has the book, there is more danger to Earth than we can imagine. I cannot leave an opportunity for anyone to return to Earth using the book.”

“Why?”

“Because who knows what ideas they will get in their head. This book is about finding a power great enough to overthrow and rule all the kingdoms referred to in it. You have already seen that these people can cross over to our world and cause real harm and damage. Surely then if they secure that power they can wield it in our world. Besides, there is only one point of entry. Our home. We will never be safe.”

Andy looked very worried. More than just as a result of the news she had given him about Rhian and what he had explained to her.

“You seem worried about more than just Mom.”

Andy sighed, “Events are digressing from the book, Shay. I had not written that Maica would have King Mayle’s child. That is something new.”

“Yes but you never expected that Mom would become Maica. Perhaps our interference in this world is changing the story.”

“I don’t think so. We are missing something Shay. And I cannot understand what it is. I need to think,” Andy replied perplexed.

Shay watched her father. He had been wounded by all that Shay had told him. He tried to keep a brave face but Shay knew he was hurting. She reached out to her father and put her hand on his arm. He looked at her and she could see he was fighting back tears. She leaned over and hugged Andy at which point a flood of tears spilled forth. Shay held him silently and let him cry until he calmed down.

“I think we should be honest and tell Fiere that Maica is mom. I wanted to but was also afraid to. I wanted to talk to you first.”

“Don’t Shay!” Andy’s voice rose in fear and then he coughed. “What do you think will happen when you tell him?”

“I don’t know. He stands to lose his right to the throne so why would he not be happy if we told him and averted whatever treachery is going on here?”

“And where will we be left? How is it that we know what is happening? Why are we telling him the truth after you have lied to him, Shay? Will he ever believe that he is simply a character in a book I have written? We will be thrown in prison and no doubt be sentenced to death when they have dealt with your mother. You have already admitted we are here by sorcery. It will not take much for them to turn on us.”

“Well, we have to stop the murder of the King!” Shay pleaded.

“No. We cannot change the story. The story is already changing and I can only imagine it is because your mother has been here longer than she should have been. That is the only change in all of what I have written. If we now stop the murder of the king who knows what will happen.”

“What about us? We are not meant to be here.”

“Sure, but I do not think we have been here long enough to have an impact. Besides we will return home as soon as we can get our hands on your mother’s book. As it is we will be held in suspicion after the events happen as I have written them.”

Anger finally broke through and Shay lost her composure.

“How could you do this to us Dad? What made you think it was a good idea to cross over into the world of your book from earth? Did you not think it strange that a stranger would give you power like this? And why. Why on God’s green earth did you think it a good idea to bring mother here? You knew the story you had written. You knew there was danger. And you knew,” Shay gulped in air, “you knew that you had used mother’s likeness for Maica’s character!”

Andy was silent as he looked back at Shay.

“I’m sorry Shay, I never imagined that things would turn out the way they have.”

“Yes, and that’s the problem Dad. People never think stupidity through until it’s too late.”

Andy’s face reddened. “I may be injured but it does not mean you have a right to be disrespectful even if your opinion differs!”

Shay realized that she had overstepped the mark. “I’m sorry Dad. It’s just that…”

“I know,” Andy interrupted waving her comment away. He carried enough guilt himself for all that he had done. He could understand how Shay felt and he truly sympathized with her. He had done his best to leave her out of this but had failed. He believed that secrets could never be kept forever. He just wished that this could have been kept forever. Hindsight was a wonderful thing and all that Shay had said was correct. He knew it, instinctively as she had said it. But it was all too late.

Shay turned away as she pondered what to do. As she did so, she crossed to the open window. A cool breeze entered carrying the crisp night air. As she looked out into the night the sounds of the guests at the dinner rose to her ears. She wondered what the wedding would be like tomorrow. She did not relish the thought of attending but she had already agreed and Fiere had asked her to be his partner. She could not very well change her mind now.

At the thought of Fiere, she felt guilt towards Josh. She had been committed to Josh while they dated and even though it was over now, realizing how fast she had moved on from him to reach the point of kissing Fiere this evening, she was filled with guilt.

She knew she had to resist Fiere. With the conflicting emotions inside her, there was little possibility she would make any reasonable decision regarding any relationship at the moment. Besides, anything she did, could be construed as trying to deceive him. That and the fact that all she had believed her mother to be was a lie. How much like her mother was she? Sadly, Shay felt she was more like her mother than she cared to admit. She had already shown herself how quickly she could move on from one person to another. How was it even possible? If anything was allowed to develop with Fiere, how long would it last? And what would her motivation be really?

Shay tried to shrug off the negative thoughts but they persisted. She had dreamed of a relationship such as that of her parents, but meeting her mother and discovering what she had become, shattered that ideal.

Shay felt a new fear twisting inside her. A fear with more heads than she could count. What if she was like her mother? Was her relationship with Josh indicative of that? A shiver passed down her spine as the similarity between the speed of her moving on from Josh, and her mother getting married tomorrow, presented itself to her. She tried to reason that at least she had ended her relationship with Josh first, albeit not in the best way. And yet, while the relationship had been ended with Josh clear enough, Fiere had not had anywhere near enough honesty from her that he deserved. It was not fair to him and Shay wanted to tell him everything but did not know how. Under the circumstances, she was compelled to continue lying. Her father was right. They could not interfere in the wedding. She laughed at the irony of it all.

Her father had created the characters and this world, and as long he was the author in his study with his computer in their home he was in control. He ruled supreme. Yet here they were in the world he had created, and powerless to do anything to change the course of events. At least in the manner in which her father was used to.

There was little doubt that if she revealed that Maica was her mother, they would all be imprisoned and Fiere would never talk with her again.

Andy had fallen asleep again and Shay picked up the book and began reading again. She was sure there was more Andy had not thought to tell her and she needed to ask him questions that arose when she read the book. As she read she realized that according to the book Prince Fiere had never found anyone in the forest. His meeting her in the forest was thus a departure from the story. That was obvious enough Shay told herself and read on.

The story continued with character building for several pages and Shay pushed on through it but skipped nothing for fear of missing something of importance. At some point, she dozed off as she had the night before learning nothing new from what she had read.