The Frituals E-Book

Katelyn Costello

• Herausgeber: Katelyn Costello
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Serie: The Frituals Saga
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 336

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

Is having Magick worth the cost? 
Each year men and elves are tested to see if the Fritual of their kingdom will be revealed, a powerful person able to control an elemental magick. Shauna Flynn has always wanted to meet a Fritual, but these magick users had all but disappeared in the war of men and elves nearly two hundred years before. Shauna has always wanted to meet a Fritual, she never thought she would be the fritual. Shauna is the first human to ever be able to control magick. Forced from her home by a group of elves known as the Dark Ones who want to control the first human Fritual, Shauna has to find the other Frituals and stop the Dark Ones, to save herself, her family, and the home she has always known.

Leseprobe

A Frituals Saga Novel

Katelyn Costello

Copyright

Katelyn Costello

All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by an electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

First paperback edition September 2018

2nd Edition, 2023

Cover Design, Jane Farrell, 2018

ISBN- 978-1-7335293-6-5

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

For Grandma Costello, who taught me home was where you could get lost in many, many stacks of books.

ALSO, By Katelyn Costello

The Frituals

Rebellion

Legacy

Until All the Stars are Found

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Shauna

Chapter 2 Shauna

Chapter 3 Shauna

Chapter 4 Taytra

Chapter 5 Shauna

Chapter 6 Jamie

Chapter 7 Shauna

Chapter 8 Shauna

Chapter 9 The Sisters

Chapter 10 The Sisters

Chapter 11 Shauna

Chapter 12 Taytra

Chapter 13 Shauna

Chapter 14 Moraine

Chapter 15 Shauna

Chapter 16 Shauna

Chapter 17 Shauna

Chapter 18 Paulo

Chapter 19 Jamie

Chapter 20 Shauna

Chapter 21 Paulo

Chapter 22 Barin

Chapter 23 Barin

Chapter 24 Paulo

Chapter 25 Barin

Chapter 26 Philippe

Chapter 27 Shauna

Chapter 28 Lyra

Chapter 29 Philippe

Chapter 30 Taytra

Chapter 31 Barin

Chapter 32 Ward

Chapter 33 Shauna

Chapter 34 Taytra

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Chapter 1 Shauna

When she came in, Shauna stood in a sea of skirts and bodices. Some fabrics were thick linens, tightly woven fabrics in soft shades of greens, blues and browns that hold their shape when thrown over a chair back. Other dresses were a slippery silk that drew the eye with their vibrant hues. “Taytra, what do I wear?” She asked as she waded through the sea of fabric, looking for a dress to wear to the Fritual testing. 

“I told you at lunch, it doesn’t matter what you wear. After the water test, they have a change of clothes for you,” her older sister replied from the doorway to their bedroom. She was in her signature red gown.

“Why am I given a new dress again?” Shauna asked, discarding a soft yellow piece. 

“What? All your research hasn’t given you all the answers you need?” Taytra teased.

“Come on Tay. You know I’ve done as much as I can.”

“Alright,” she said, “I can tell you this.” Taytra waited until she turned from the mirror. “You will need a new dress because you will have to get into the water. I don’t know why they don’t warn people beforehand, so they don’t wear something that could be ruined. But I guess they want it to be more natural. They said something about letting the water react to you. I don’t know why. It didn’t really make all that much sense to me. I just know I went swimming, took a bath, and then went to an amazing feast where they told us we had all failed the test and none of us were the water Fritual. I think they wanted all the candidates to look the same.”

“You got to go to a feast with mother and I had to sit here and do extra chores?” Shauna asked, finally settling on a soft green dress.

“That may be what happened,” Taytra said. “Hurry, Father is waiting. You may have to go alphabetically, but we have to catch the first boat to the city we can.”

“I’ll be quick,” she said, turning from her sister and flinging the green dress over her underdress.

Shauna was struggling with the lacing at the back of her dress when Taytra called from the hall, “Shauna, let’s go! We’re going to be late!” She poked her head back in and noticed that her sister was struggling. “Father is waiting outside,” she said, coming up behind Shauna to fix the dress. Taytra headed back toward the door. “Come on, we don’t want to be late.” Shauna pushed a thick lock of hair out of her face and hurried after her sister.

After Shauna locked the door to the house, she turned to see her father leaning against the fence that lined their property. He stepped to the side to walk next to Taytra as the two girls approached. Father struck up a conversation with them, smiling and looking around at the sunshine; but behind those dancing eyes, Shauna could see that he was hurting. She knew he wished her mother was here to see her take the test. She wanted her too. It was a year of firsts that had just begun. Shauna shook her head, trying to push the vision of her mother lying under the quilt she had spent months making. Shivering, unable to keep down any of the food they tried to give her. The sight was burned into her mind. She came down with the flu and couldn’t shake it. At least that was what the doctors said. They had all tried so hard to help her get better, but no matter what they did, she just seemed to get worse. Shauna shifted her thoughts to that year’s Beltane, the celebration of summer and when classes finished, and the joy as she watched her parents’ dance.

“Shauna,” Taytra called to her in her shrill voice, breaking her from the memory. “You don’t need to walk so fast.”

Shauna paused and gave them a chance to catch up. “Sorry, I’m just eager to get there. I didn’t realize you had fallen behind.”

“You were in your little world again,” Taytra said, rolling her eyes. She turned to Father, catching her skirt in her hand, to stop it from getting tangled in her legs as she took long strides. Shauna knew by the way her sister gripped the fabric would have rather worn pants or at least a shorter skirt, but for events like this, Father has always been strict about following tradition in what we wear.

“Father, do you think you could tell me the story again?” Shauna asked, watching birds dance on the path in front of them.

“I think I can do that,” he said, with his soft, lilting voice bouncing off the leaves, wrapping them up in the story too. “Many years following the fall of Queen Chima and after Queen Moraine took her sister’s place, Moraine drafted a treaty that ended the war. The rebel groups that had helped her stop her sister from destroying both races tried to return to their homes.”  

“A young elf named Matron, and a girl named Serena struck up an unlikely friendship. Serena met Matron as a client through his blacksmithing business. As she was half elf- half human, she spent most of her life in fear that people would find her out. But when Matron didn’t care, they became fast friends. Some, like Matron’s Father, thought they were too close. Even in this time of peace, the races could still be at each other’s throats. The two were advised to cut ties, but they continued to fight for their friendship; inevitably falling in love.” Here, Father made a face, scrunching it up playfully in fake disgust. He always got so flustered when a suitor came to the door for Taytra. He wasn’t ready to see the two of them grow up and leave him yet. Especially after the events of this summer. So, whenever he got to this point in the story, Father tried to pretend that love wasn’t all that it was made out to be. But Taytra and I knew better. We saw him with Mother.

“Now Matron was gifted with the ability to control four of the five elements: earth, air, water, and fire. Only the descendants of royalty could control the last element, spirit. These descendants didn’t have to take the throne, just be related to those on it. While most elves here could only control water, the Goddess blessed Matron with his extended abilities. The people didn’t know how he could control so many Magicks, so they created a name for this anomaly, a Fritual. With so many people hating their love, the young elf wanted to make sure his partner was protected. But he needn’t have worried. Serena had her own set of skills. Her father was well trained in the art of swordplay, and he had taught her all he knew. Between the two of them, Matron and Serena made a formidable team.” 

“Serena and Matron were married, but in secret, for their safety. Sadly, when their enemies found out, disaster struck. Matron’s father led an attack against his own blood. Matron fought them off long enough to give Serena the time she needed to escape, but it cost him his life. Some rumor that Serena had a son named Amicus. A child that would continue the line, but no one knows who he was, or if he inherited any of his father’s magick.”

“It was discovered over time as our races came together, that human blood blocks the magick, making the offspring of an elf and a human unable to control it. So, the powers that were held in the time of old faltered. Legend says that Matron’s blood and his magick run through the two races. After two hundred years, the two races tested young people as they came of age for magick. Now humans and elves are tested together. We live on Cabineral Lake where we test seventeen-year-olds to see if they have power over water.” Coming to the story’s end, Father smiled and turned to Shauna. “Today you shall join the ranks of tested children.”

“So, what happens now that I have taken the test? What do I get to do?” Taytra asked eagerly, cutting off Shauna’s attempts to ask further questions. She let her sister roll over her. Someone was bound to be able to answer any of her questions today.

“I wouldn’t sound so excited over there. There isn’t anything special planned for those who have failed the test already. We just get to meet the candidates later and eat good food,” Father said.

“So, what you’re telling me is I have all day to do as much exploring as I want?” Taytra asked, a mischievous grin splitting her face.

Father pursed his lips. “And just who will you be exploring with?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow at his eldest daughter.

“I was going to go looking for fabrics with Jacinta. She got an order for a new yule ball gown, and she needs to get some new fabric swatches,” Taytra said.

“Uh huh, sure. Would you lie to me if you had plans to go see that soldier boy?”

Both sister’s roll their eyes at this. “Father, his name is Andrew. He asked me for one dance at Beltane. One dance! You just don’t like him because he wants to be a soldier. Andrew and I are just friends. Nothing more.” She crosses her arms. “Besides he is engaged, remember?”

“All it takes is one dance. That’s what it took for your mother and me.” He misses a step as his thoughts turn inward for a moment. He shakes his head, clearing away the past. “I’m sorry. This day is about Shauna.”

“Hang on, why are you so against him wanting to be a soldier?” she accused.

“Because he is training to be a soldier. We aren’t in a time of war; we don’t need soldiers. I don’t see the point in training for something that isn’t likely to happen soon.”

Taytra scoffed. “So what? There may not be a war coming, but since he is training, he gets to live in Cabineral City. He doesn’t have to stay in this sad little town. He can make a better life for himself over there. I am proud of him. I hope he does well. Him and Ward, you don’t seem to mind as much when it is your best friend’s son.” 

“The city isn’t as great as you think. It’s a lot more expensive,” their father countered.

Taytra rolled her eyes. “Whatever, money isn’t the only thing that is important to us.”

“Us?” Father snapped, and Shauna picked up the pace again. She didn’t want to listen to them bicker the entire way to the waterfront.

“Yes. Us. You, me, Shauna. Men. The race of man. Us. There are more important things to us than money,” she said, sighing in exasperation. 

“Shauna, where are you going?” Father called, ending the fight.

“I was trying to avoid being seen with you,” she replied, waiting for them to catch up.

“I am sorry. That wasn’t right of me. I should have paid more attention to you. It’s—”

“—It’s my special day. I know.” She said, cutting him off. “Sorry, where do I have to go? I want to be there before they get to the D’s, so I know I have plenty of time to get in the lineup.”

“Your mother would have been so proud of you. I know you are hurting. You never show me an attitude.” He looked down at her with a sad smile, then he pushed a lock of hair from her face and kissed her cheek. “You need to go to the first pier. They are splitting the alphabet into three to get the process to run smoother this year. We,” he pointed to Taytra and himself, “will be at pier six. They wanted to put the parents in the water far enough away that we can’t shout things at you. Not that we can help. No one knows what the test looks for. Anyhow, we will see you at the banquet,” Father points to the crowd of people she is going to have to sift through. “We will let you get to it,” he says, turning from Shauna to her older sister. “Tell me more about these fabric swatches.”

Taytra shot her a look over her shoulder that could only be described as a desperate plea to help her escape. But Shauna turned from her sister with a small wave. She has to try to fight and find which pier ‘Shauna Flynn’ is going to be called from. She wouldn’t want to be late for the Fritual testing.

Chapter 2 Shauna

The road from her home was closer to the fifth dock than the first. Which meant she had a bit more work to get to her assigned place than Taytra and Father would. She was glad she hadn’t chosen a dress with a fuller skirt. There were nearly three hundred humans and elves all packed in along the boardwalk. Just as the children of man are tested every year, so are the children of the elves. Shauna weaved her way through all these people that talk in excited clumps, discussing the day and all that would occur. 

The war of men and elves is long over, but many humans have never met an elf before their testing. Shauna had met elves a few times prior to today. Last year was her most recent encounter. They had been one of the many callers that Taytra had. The elf had been quite beautiful, but as Taytra said, “I don’t want to have the person I love to watch me die because they will outlive me for another two hundred years,” which Shauna had thought was fair.

 The surrounding elves are at least one hundred years old; The birthday when elves are deemed mature enough to be adults. To Shauna, they look like humans a few years older than herself, who had the natural glow of life to them. Like they always get a full night’s sleep, or like they never had to lift a pinky.

Well, they have those pointed ears too. That gives them away. I wonder if it is annoying to do their hair. Would it catch on their ears? She mused as a group of elves glided past her. She had once seen two elves lift a cart to help a man whose wagon had broken. They each took a side of the cart and lifted it, so he could slip a new wheel on the axle. They made what would have been hard for half a dozen men look easy. 

From the looks of things, they divided the piers into three groups. Pier three looks to be for elves only while one and two are for men. That came as no surprise as the population of man has a much higher birth rate. Where the elves have around twenty representatives, the rest in attendance are the children of man. 

Shauna made her way through and found an elf in the pale blue of the queen’s colors. “Name?” he asked, not looking up from the long piece of parchment in his hand. 

“Shauna Flynn,” she replied, scanning the crowd for any of her friends.

“Right,” the elf shuffled the parchment up, searching for the Fs. “Ah, there you are, oh your birthday was just last month. Happy birthday.”

“Thanks,” she said, smiling when she saw someone she knew.

“You are going to have a bit of a wait. I’d say about twenty minutes. We will call the letters E through H then assign you boats,” he rattled off, already turning to the next person who arrived behind her.

“Thank you,” she said, walking towards a tree off to the side. She looked over and tilted her head toward the tree. Indicating for him to meet her there. They could talk without being jostled by the crowd and would have a shred of privacy. She looked out at the sea of people, wondering just what the day would bring. She pressed her back to the tree, letting the bark ground her, and glanced to her right to see Philippe already looking down at her. Shauna glanced away, her cheeks flushing in surprise.

“What? Are we going to play coy now?” Philippe asked, leaning against the tree. 

“Well, there are a lot of people here. I don’t really wanna bring attention to myself,” she said, looking at a group of elves as they take a boat out onto the water. They all sit with their backs so straight, she can’t imagine that it is comfortable.

“Well, maybe they should pay attention to you,” he said. She can feel his gaze searching her face, and her cheeks go a deeper crimson. “What? Why does that embarrass you? Is it me or the idea of having to put yourself out there?”

She glanced down at the hem of her skirt and kicked away a small pinecone. “I still think it is crazy.” 

“Us courting?”

She nodded. “You could go anywhere. You travel so much. You could be with anyone.” She said, feeling small.

“Shauna, I like you. I really, really do. You don’t need to doubt that.” He moved in front of her, blocking her view of the crowds before them. Gently, he took her hand. When she tried to pull away, he said, “Let them look. Who cares? I know your father may not approve of me, but hey—” He nudges her chin up to look at him. “If I can make you blush like that because you feel you don’t deserve me, I must be doing something right, huh? Let me prove that to him. I can take care of you. You won’t have to worry about anything.” 

“I guess I just—” 

“Can we have letters C and D at pier two and E through H at pier one for sorting, thank you,” an elf called, using a sort of cone-like horn to amplify his voice.

“So much for twenty minutes.” Philippe sighed and glared at the elf for cutting off their conversation. “Please, meet me on the other side of the lake. I have something I want to talk about.” Shauna nodded, and he bent kissing her hand. “I’ll see you soon,” he said, then he turned, melting into the crowd.

Shauna doesn’t have time to wonder what he could have up his sleeve as the sea of people carries her over to the docks. The boats that they take are old, worn-out canoes. Its sides are a dark brown, waterlogged from years of sailing from one side of the lake to the other, with those being tested to find the Fritual. The elf who paddled this canoe moved it as close as he could to the pier, so the edge bumped against it with the pull of the waves. He was kind enough to put a steady hand out to help Shauna and her fellow passengers into the boat. 

“What do we do for this test?” A young man whose last name is Hilton asked, peering over at the murky water at the shore. 

The elf shrugged. It is a movement that both seemed strange for an elf to make but also looked entirely normal for this elf.

“How do you do a test if you don’t know what to do?” the other girl in the boat asked. The elf shrugged. 

“You are up first, Miss Edward, as your name comes first,” the elf said, pointing to the girl. 

“But what do I do?”

He shrugged a third time. “Just get in the water.”

“Ugh,” she grumbled and dived in with a large splash. 

While she waited for the girl to resurface, Shauna sat looking over the edge of the boat. She watched as the girl swam down a few feet, did a small circle, then headed back toward the surface. 

“Well, are you going to help me up?” she panted, splashing around in the water as she struggled to get back into the boat.

Shauna reached over to help the elf drag Miss. Edward up into the boat.

“Right Miss Flynn, you are next.” The elf said as he wrapped a towel around the other girl.

Shauna turned towards the water. She took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the murky lake air before jumping in headfirst. Unlike Miss Edward, Shauna enjoyed swimming. She streaks downward like an arrow, her hands forming the point high over her head, the weight of her dress helping to bring her deeper. At about ten feet under, her downward pull slows, and she pulls herself through the water with steady strokes. She always loved the water. She spent many summers swimming and later trying to scrub the smell of the lake water from her hair.

As she reached the deeper water, it became dark. She glanced up at the surface, where she could see the broken white reflections of the water. Fish drift past as she swims to the right. Something in her gut guided her through the water, though she didn’t know where she was going. To her surprise, a pile of dark rocks stack high into the water. In the center, a dark crevice came into view. Shauna quickly swam over toward it even though the tight feeling in her chest, warning she would need air soon, was growing.

Ignoring the lightheaded feeling, she grabs the side of the crevice and pulls herself closer. She kicked hard as the fabric of her dress bunched up around her calves. A small stream of bubbles escaped her lips when she accidentally kicked the side of the entrance. She looked down, but her slipper stayed on her foot. She probably would just have a bruise later on.

Shauna glanced from the entrance to the crevice and back to the surface before pulling herself downward. A precious stream of bubbles escaped her lips when she saw what was inside. A beautiful girl with long black hair that fans out around her sits on a rock. Leaning back casually, like she is bored, sitting down here in the depths of the lake. Her skin was pale as porcelain, and she had dark, almost black looking eyes. But most striking is what she has instead of legs. A tail; the scales shimmering a soft green in the dim light. She smiled when she saw Shauna. With one kick of her powerful tail, she is at Shauna’s side, her hand reaching for the girl.

“I am Ragna. Can you understand me?” Her soft voice is beautiful and captivating, like the sweet bells that the children play on celebration days. Shauna longs to stay with her in the depths and just take in her beauty, but her brain sends frantic signals to her limbs urging them upward. She glances behind her, calculating how long it will take her to swim to the surface.

“Take a breath,” Ragna said calmly, taking in the upward glances. Shauna stared at her aghast for a moment as she repeated: “take a breath.”

Shauna shakes her head, pushing back from the entrance.

“Shauna, please. You were meant to find me. But I need you to breathe. Finding me was your first step.” She said, quickly swimming around her and blocking her path, hands out, inviting the girl to stay.

Shauna processes this slowly. Watching as another string of bubbles rise to the surface. Either this whole thing is a hallucination brought on by lack of air, and as soon as she takes a breath, she can rush to the surface. The illusion broken.

Or she is real. How does she know my name? Shauna reaches out and takes Ragna’s proffered hand. If anything, I can push off her, the Ragna smiles as Shauna’s eyes widen in surprise. The fingers are soft and warm to the touch. She is real! She takes a shallow, tentative breath. And gasps when she feels a bubble of relief bloom in her chest. Shauna feels a tingling sensation on the side of her neck, and when her fingers find the skin on her neck, they are met by three raised slices of skin. Gills. 

“Wh—what?” She spluttered, her voice sounding muffled and strange under the water.

“I told you it would be alright. As soon as you entered the water, I felt a difference.” The mermaid said, squeezing her hand. “You were meant to find me.”

Shauna looked around, watching the creatures of the lake navigate their life, oblivious to the monumental change occurring in hers. She had gone swimming in the lake before. Just last week, she had jumped in with Philippe and her friend Safiya. Gills had never appeared. “Why? Why did this happen now?” She asked slowly, cringing at the way her voice sounded under the water. It is like a child’s weak attempts at the flute compared to the creatures.

“It happened today because your powers have been awakened. It could only happen when the water Magicks are strongest. Shauna, for obvious reasons, you cannot stay down with me much longer or people will worry. So I will be brief. You, my dear, are going to meet with the queen today. Yes, you heard me correctly. The Queen, Moraine, will send for you. She will know what to do from there, but you must trust her completely.” She pushed Shauna upward toward the surface.

Shauna put her arms out, slowing her ascent. “Wait, so does this mean I passed the test?” She asked. Pointing to her apparent gills, and to the lake at large.

Ragna smiled. “Yes, my child, you are the one we have been waiting for.”

Chapter 3 Shauna

She broke the water’s surface, coughing and sputtering, for effect more than anything. She turns scanning the area and finds she only drifted about twenty feet from the boat. Miss Edward whipped her head around when she heard me and yelled at the elf. “Are you okay?” she asked as she helped pull Shauna into the boat. “How could you hold your breath that long?” 

“I go swimming a lot,” she said, shrugging one of the fluffy white towels around her shoulders and watching as the last of their boat jumped in the water. He stays under even less time than Edwards did.

Shauna shivers and looks to the sky for the bright sun from earlier in the day. It hides behind a wall of clouds threatening a cool damp afternoon. Looking back across the water, she caught Philippe watching her boat. From here she can’t read his face, but he stands tight, his arms crossed. When she sees him, she waves and watches as his posture relaxes. He probably watched to see how long it took you to surface. She thought with a pang of guilt. Oh, Philippe, I don’t know how I am going to explain any of this to you. All she can picture is his face crinkled up in confusion. Best not to tell him for now, not till I understand it myself. She watches him load into his own boat for his testing as her boat crosses the water toward the city.

The air is cool as they quickly cross the space and line up on the pier. Shauna hopped off the boat and watched as the others headed up the path towards the gates to the city. She and Philippe never actually established where they would meet, so rather than try to track him down in the city, she wanders along the shore.

She walked along the beach a little way from the pier, where she found three large rocks stacked close to each other. A wave crashes over the stones, and to her delight, a small pool of water has collected within. Small fish dart around in their enclosure, dancing away from her fingers as she swirled them around. She climbed up on one rock and slipped off her sopping wet slippers, lying them on the warm stone to dry. Slowly, she dipped her toes into the water and flinched away, a laugh spilling from her lips when she felt a little fish nibble at her toes. Prepared for the sensation this time, she slipped her feet back into the water, watching the scales flash as they weave around her feet.

Shauna takes a deep breath and slowly releases it, using the quiet moment while she waits to try to digest the staggering information she had just been given. I am the chosen one of Cabineral Lake. I am the one who will be able to control water. I guess I am able to control water. It seems too crazy. She reaches up to touch her neck where the skin had parted for a set of gills. Nothing. The skin was smooth. Did they disappear as soon as I surfaced or just before? If I am the chosen one, what can I do? What can’t I do? Is it why I feel so calm near the water? Questions buzz in her head like bees, swirling without end. Her thoughts turn now to the actual process of the test. For years, they had been making the seventeen-year-olds jump into the lake in the hope that they would somehow reveal a spark of magick. Shauna can’t help but feel like that plan was flawed. There had to be a better way to show the powers a person possessed. Then again, just as the Ragna said, hers hadn’t appeared till now, when the celebration of water magick was the strongest.

Shauna turned and watched as Philippe executed a graceful dive into the water, slightly splashing his companion on the boat. After a short time, he emerged and climbed back into the boat. She smiled softly. He looked disappointed, but of course, he would. Everyone would be disappointed. Little did they know they would find out the result of the test. He shook the water from his hair, sending ripples scattering away from his boat. It’s then that he spots her, and he breaks out into a broad grin, he waves to her across the water and wrings some of the water from his shirt.

Shauna stood and struggled for a moment to slip the damp slippers back onto her feet. She points down the beach where the trail curls into the woods a bit, offering it as a place to meet. He grins and nods, and her heart skips a beat. She glances around, wondering if anyone else saw the exchange before she turned to move down the beach. She stumbled a bit as she transferred from the beach to the trail, careful to hold her dress away from the branches and thorns that try to snag and pull. She looks to her left and can just see the shimmer of the lake through the trees, while on her right there is a fallen tree just off the trail. The sun has come back out, but its rays are softer here, the leaves dappling the beams. She drops her skirt and leans on the bark, testing the tree to see if it could hold her weight before pulling herself up. She pulls her hair over her shoulder and began combing her fingers through the damp knots, before attempting to pull the still knotted hair into a messy braid.

Shauna turns back to the lake when she heard a stick snap. She smiled when she saw Philippe attempting to sneak up through the woods behind the tree.

He curses under his breath, his face breaking out into a wide grin. He shook his head, his hair still shimmers with the droplets that won’t let go. “I tried to surprise you.”

She grinned. “The Goddess said I wasn’t meant to be surprised.”

He moved to the tree, leaning forward and putting a hand on either side of her. “Hello.”

“Hello,” she replies, her voice small. He grins and he raised a hand to brush away a tendril of hair away from her face.

“I’ve missed you.” He whispered. The curl comes loose again, and he tucks it behind her ear, then he brushes his hand along her jaw. She leans into his hand, soaking in the warmth.

He leans in and the kiss is soft. Her hands slide up his arms, his shoulders, and rest on his neck, her fingers lacing in his hair at the base of his skull. She slides off the tree stepping into his arms. He lays a gentle, fleeting kiss on her lips, then the tip of her nose and finally he comes to rest on her forehead pausing there before she sinks her head on his chest and he hugs her close.

She smiles as she feels his head come to rest on the top of hers, and listens to the steady beat of his heart through the coarse linen of his shirt.

“Shauna, I have missed you so much,” he whispered.

“You’re the one who went away,” she mumbled back inhaling his comforting scent.

He sighed, “I know. I thought we would be coming back from the trade routes earlier. Father was committed to doing a longer run after the really good sales in Hollens.” he said running a hand over her back. “But I am back now.” His voice sounded a bit stronger, and he paused stepping back from the embrace. “Look at me Shauna; there is something I need to say.”

She looked up at him, searching his face for signs of a problem.

“While I was away I was able to do a lot of thinking.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pouch. He had tied it with a piece of neat black cord. Shauna gasped. Looking from his face to his hand, tears welling in her eyes. From the pouch, he pulls out a delicate silver ring, inlaid with blue stones. “Leaving did give me a chance to find this, so it brought some good. Shauna, will you take it, will you take me and be with me forever as my bride?”

She stared at the ring, her mind already overwhelmed by the information she had been given, freezing the many shining facets of the ring. “Yes! Yes! Absolutely!” She squealed, throwing her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

Before she could say another thing, Philippe lifted and pulled her in for another kiss. When they pull apart her lips full slightly numb from the pressure, and she can’t stop smiling. I touch my lips, still feeling the phantom pressure of his. It is almost like the phantom feeling of the gills that had been on my neck.

 “Why what’s wrong?” he asks his voice instantly softening.

She shakes her head pushing the thoughts away, wanting to stay in the moment with him. “Nothing, absolutely nothing. I was just thinking how much I love you,” She lied.

Chapter 4 Taytra

After making a not-so-graceful dismount from the boat, Taytra waited for her father to climb up on the shore beside her. She had been on this side of the lake a few times over the years with her lessons or with Jacinta when she needed an extra set of hands for an appointment. So, while the grandeur of the city made many drop their jaw in awe she only gave it a cursory glance and focused on holding up her dress. She flinched whenever the cold fabric hit her ankles. Of course, the boat her father had picked had a hole in it. Why wouldn’t it? We had to take the first boat so we could watch Shauna jump in the water.

“Where are you meeting Jacinta?” Father asked bending to squeeze some of the water from the hem of his pants.

“I told her I would meet her in the market on the south side. But I need to get dried off before I go do that,” she said. “I think I saw her come up the path when we were in line from docking so I am going to see if I can catch up with her.”

He held her gaze for a second like there was something else he wanted to say. “Okay, just stay safe? There will be a lot more people in the city today.” Taytra started to interrupt him, but he held up a hand. “I know, I know you already know this. But I still need to say it.”

She nods. “Okay, I am going to try to find her before I lose her. I’ll see you at the banquet later.”

“Go, have fun,” her father called as she hurried up the path.

Once through the gate, she spots a few wet teens gathered in front of an inn, she heads for them. They are probably waiting for their room assignments for the afternoon.

“Hey Ward,” Taytra said pausing by the crowd to say hello to one of Shauna’s friends.

“Hello, Taytra. Oh, you would know, cause you did this last year? It can’t have changed that much. They give us a room, food, and a change of clothes, right?”

“Yeah, you get this blue outfit to wear and get a bath and last year they had some stew for us to eat.”

He nodded. “And let me guess, it makes it easier for them to keep track of all of us?”

“Exactly, not really sure what perks you get after you have already been tested.” She said.

“Name?” an elven woman asked coming up behind Taytra and tapping on her shoulder.

She turned, “My name is Taytra Flynn. I was tested last year so, I don’t think I will be on your list.”

“Ah yes, you are correct.” The elf’s accent added a gentle lilt to the words. “Unfortunately, we don’t have anything for you. If the Family members of the candidates want rooms, they must find those for themselves. Now if you will excuse me.” She turns to Ward. “Name?”

“Ward Hendricks,” he replied sending a glance at Taytra that says sorry you just got ignored.