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She sighed in anger and hastily tied her dress in a knot around her thighs. She never wanted to wear this dress and was thankful
that it was slit to her hip so that she could tie it up comfortably above her ankles in a knot that would stay. When she knew
the matron wasn't looking, she slipped off her painfully high high-heeled shoes in the corner before rushing off to light
more candles throughout the house.
It was three hours before All Hallow's Eve, and Teagan and the rest of the maids were all busily running around the castle
fulfilling last minute preparations before the guests arrived. The head of the maids, Lady Watson, stood at the base of the
stairs with her hands folded across her ample bosom and occasionally yelled out orders to the poor skinny maids around her.
Several girls tripped over the terribly revealing skirts and rolled their ankles on the high shoes, but Lady Watson didn't
miss a beat in perfecting the scene. By nine thirty, preparations were finished and Lady Watson shoved the maids into a line
down the left wall of the hall. Teagan ran to the corner where she left her shoes and struggled to slip them on as she ran
for her post at the door of the library. In one final nervous gesture, she brushed off the knot she had tied her skirt into
and stood perfectly straight, careful to stare cautiously down her perfectly straight nose bridge.
As the lord and lady of the Devlin Manor came down the main hall stairs, Lady Watson bustled down the line, perfecting posture
and fixing hair and makeup that had been carelessly ruined in the haste. Teagan stood breathlessly as Lady Watson whisked
her pudgy fingers with surprising grace over the corner of her eye to correct a small smudge of eyeliner. Then the matron
was off to the next girl to correct her appearance.
"That's quite enough, Lady Watson," Lord Devlin said politely, but firmly. Lady Watson stopped in her bustling and stood staring
at him as if he had just walked over to her and smacked her across the face. She wrung her hands, but kept perfect posture
as he lent his arm to his wife and continued down the hall past the statues of breathing women to the dining room.
"Hmph," Lady Watson snorted, storming over to the door at the side of the stairs leading to the basement where the maids'
slept. "If anyone needs me, I'll be down in the rooms helping to wrap Celia's ankle. Everything should go according to plan
if you all just stand like we rehearsed."
She closed the door with a loud bang. Her hurried footsteps were heard in the silence that followed before the clock took
over the rhythm filling the space. A tall redhead girl turned to face Teagan, her blue eyes flashing with excitement.
"My, doesn't Lady Watson hate Lord Devlin?" she suppressed a giggle and faced the hall again. "I don't suppose you know the
story?"
Teagan sighed. "You might as well tell it, Talia. What sort of Hallow's Eve would this be if you didn't tell the story again?"
There were mutterings along the line of girls, some with excited murmurs, some girls voicing displeasure.
"How about the abbreviated version? Lady Watson used to be the prettiest lady in all of the courts, but one day she-" The
girl's story was cut off by the hollow ring of the doorbell and the clicking heels of the butler. All the girls spontaneously
stood straighter and all their heads snapped to straightforward attention. The guests filled into the dining room, a few stopping
to try and evoke a response from the maids when no one else was looking. When the room was quiet, the girls relaxed again
as they had learned to do and tried to listen to the conversation within the dining room. The cook came out of the kitchen
and signaled Teagan and Talia forward to the help serve. Teagan grabbed a large plate of a mashed vegetable and walked forward
into the room.
"I don't see why this is such a large political advancement. The boy was clearly not meant to rule or The Forces would have
kept him alive. We shouldn't be tampering with Their plans like this," a portly gentleman hit the edge of the table with his
open hand causing several wine glasses to shake. His thinner wife put a hand out to steady him, but remained silent. Her red
eyes glanced at Teagan as she moved around the table scooping out generous amounts of food, but Teagan kept her eyes downward
on her work.
"If I might be so bold," Lady Devlin said firmly, "but the fact of the matter can not be denied that he was murdered for being
involved in the Breckenridge fortune and not, in fact, for purely political purposes."
"We all can say that he was involved as far as the money is concerned, but I don't think taking such drastic measures to bring
him back are necessary. I'm simply saying that if he's dead someone meant him dead and we cannot afford to delve into the
problems of the past again."
"He is not your son," an average-looking woman said looking down at her plate as Talia filled it with bread stuffing. Her
hands moved gracefully to smooth out the wrinkles in the napkin on her lap. "You could not possibly understand the pain."
"We understand what you must be going through," said the portly man's wife cautiously, "but it's unclear what part he had
to play in the entire affair and to bring him back would be blasphemous to the Gods. It might do more harm to bring him back
than to keep him dead."
The graceful woman looked up in protest, her jade-like eyes flashing, but Lord Devlin raised his hand and the two women kept
silent. "I believe at this point, discussing the moralities of such an operation is out of any one's hands. If it is any consolation,
Sir Albertson, we have considered the Forces in our decision and they have answered affirmatively."
"Hmph, I shall believe it when I see it, heathen," the portly gentleman said under his breath. His wife shushed him, angrily,
but Lord Devlin made no motion of hearing the comment.
"The rest of the guests here have agreed to take part best they can in the operation based mostly on the fact that The Forces
have accepted this turn of fate and require that he is restored to life. I hope this is acceptable to you, Sir Albertson."
The portly gentleman stood up and made a motion to bang the table again, when his eyes rested on Teagan, hurrying to the kitchen
to get another dish. She turned around just as he sat down, keeping his rat-like red eyes fixed on her. She blushed and kept
the bowl of soup close to her, although it started to burn her skin through the thin dress.
"Many complements on the meal," one of the guests commented after Lord Devlin had signaled to start eating. The speaker was
strangely androgynous with a voice to low to be female and too high to male. When Teagan accidentally bumped into the figure,
it's dark gray skin felt rubbery to the touch. As trained, she moved away as quickly, but as nonchalantly as she could.
Teagan was honored with carrying the roasted and stuffed pig to the dinner table. She tried not to look into its black eyes
cloudy with death, but she couldn't help but wonder how anyone would want to eat this delicacy with the head still attached.
In her thoughts, she glanced at the perfectly round pig glistening with fat and suppressed a gag. As she placed it in front
of Lord Devlin, she noticed the room get suddenly quiet and cold.
"I don't suppose you know who is going to perform the ceremony?" the androgynous guest asked after a discrete sip of wine.
"Let us not ruin our dinner with talk of more politics," Lady Devlin said sitting back as her husband started cutting up the
pig. Teagan looked down in disgust and walked away quickly towards the kitchen. "But yes, we do know who will be going down
to the cemetery to do the...honors."
Dinner finished quite uneventfully besides the bit and pieces of forced conversation throughout the night. Sir and Lady Albertson
remained stone cold and purposely avoided Lord and Lady Breckenridge. Lady Albertson was a long, thin woman with long gray
hair left to fall down her back. Her hands were slender and smooth without a hint of wrinkles or discoloration. She stood
a head taller than her husband and seemed to glide across the floor. Teagan thought she would very much like to talk to this
obviously prominent woman, though her ruby eyes were disconcerting especially when they glowed at the mention of a Breckenridge's
name.
Lady Breckenridge seemed the exact opposite except for her stony disposition. She however had more prominence of the two women
and even seemed to overpower than her husband on matters of state. Her hair was the golden brown of toasted marshmallows and
was pulled neatly behind her head in a bun revealing pointed ears. The tips of her ears were green as were the tips of her
graceful fingers. She was not too tall in comparison to Lady Albertson and her husband, but nearly towered over Lady Devlin,
who was not much taller than Teagan.
The two women were the most composed and secretive, but when only Teagan was observing, their looks fought silent battles
in the space between them. Lady Devlin led Lady Breckenridge quickly out of the dining room long before the Albertson couple
had even a chance to end their conversation with another prominent family. Teagan closed the shutters of the window to the
dining room and started moving the dirty dishes to the sink.
"Don't you girls worry about washing," Sinead, the cook, said. She was a large muscular woman who acted as the all the maid's
mother, second only to Lady Watson, of course. Talia licked the gravy off her fingers from a messy person's plate and nodded.
"We better go back to our posts," she said motioning to leave. "Any spot left open and Lord Devlin will torture us. There's
really nothing to see now, anyway."
Teagan and Talia ran back to their spot in front of the library as quickly and quietly as their hideous high-heels would allow.
Both girls were thankful they were there before Lord Devlin left and he nodded to both of them as he passed with the Sir Albertson.
Lady Albertson was nowhere to be seen.
The noise of conversation was heard throughout the hall as the Devlin's rarely closed the door to the parlor, but the words
were tangled within other's words so much that it didn't seem to make a difference at all that the girls could eavesdrop.
There was a single ding of a spoon against crystal and the noise died down. The door was shut and all other conversation was
blocked from the waiting maids in the hall. A few girls dared to mutter displeasure, but they were quickly silenced as Lady
Devlin came out of the parlor.
"You girls are exempt from any other duties for the night. I will have Lady Watson lock the doors, and you are all to go to
bed and not come up from your rooms until the festivities have ended tomorrow. We can stand until noon to have the rooms still
unkempt. That's an order," she finished with uncharacterized anger. The maids quickly filed down the stairs to the basement.
Some of the girls later in the line slipped off their shoes and held them expectantly under their arms.
"Talia, dear," Lady Devlin said sweetly as she watched the procession, "could you send Lady Watson up here?"
Talia curtseyed as best she could in the tight skirt and went bustling off to fulfill the lady of the house's request. Lady
Devlin grabbed Teagan's arm and pulled her off to the side, but made no motion to explain. Teagan stood next to the Lady as
if she was her apprentice, their exact shade black hair and matching hazel eyes specked with gold watching the line of maids
go down the stairs. Teagan noted that she was a bit taller than her mistress and her hair was cut short, like a page, upon
request to keep it out of her eyes. Lady Devlin's hair fell perfectly straight down her back, tiny braids pulling the side
pieces of hair to another braid in the back. It was this perfection and the perfection in her flawless pale skin compared
to Teagan's freckled light brown that reminded Teagan of her place as a maid and not as the countess of a great sum of land
that many of the guests this night borrowed.
When the last maid had returned to her bedchambers, the heavy clomping of Lady Watson arriving was heard up the stairs. Despite
her quite rotund size, Lady Watson never seemed to breath heavy or break a sweat running up and down the stairs of the mansion.
This had never occurred to Teagan before until she saw her arrive at the top of the stairs. It was also the first time that
Teagan had ever seen Lady Watson visibly surprised.
"I need you to lock all of the doors to the rooms we won't need," Lady Devlin said. Without another warning, she grabbed Teagan's
arm and led her towards the parlor. "Stay by the door," she whispered before opening it and walking in. No one made any move
to recognize her entrance and she pulled in as swiftly as she had left to a spot close to the door next to Lord and Lady Breckenridge.
"...and that is why I don't think we should bring the boy back from the dead," Lord Albertson was red at this point in his
obviously long speech. His wife was shaking her head to the side of the group, but remained silent.
"Please," she said to the Breckenridge couple standing by the door fuming, "Ignore his antics. If the Lord Devlin believes
that this course of action is for the best according to the Forces, we are not going to stand in the way." Her final words
were directed at her husband in a burning gaze of her eyes glowing with unknown intensity. Her husband moved his mouth to
speak, but decided against it and closed his mouth again.
"Ah, Lady Teagan," Lord Devlin said walking towards her. She felt a push as some unknown force persuaded her forward into
the room. "I'm glad to see you could join us. Please sit down."
She glanced around the room at the colorful frowning faces of expectant people. She felt as if she was a child in a doll shop
that she had visited many times before, but now the dolls didn't look right. They weren't smiling or serene, but full of hatred
and annoyance. A few expressions calmed at her presence, but many remained porcelain still. She shook her head and remained
focused on Lord Devlin.
But the more she focused on him, the more warped his image became. Who she once thought of as a powerful master, she now saw
as someone struggling to keep control. He was drowning in his problems and he needed her in a last desperate attempt to keep
the lands he ruled safe. She suddenly became incredibly scared, but she swallowed her fear and remained standing.
"Does she know the story?" Lord Breckenridge asked from somewhere behind her.
Lord Devlin shook his head. "I kept the situation secret from her, of course. She's been a maid in my household, nothing more."
"Then we should tell her," the androgynous figure said stepping out from the shadows. "Seeing as I am clearly one of a third
party here, I should be the one to tell her. Does anyone object?"
When no one answered, Lord Devlin waved his hand for the guest to continue and stepped back. Teagan followed its movements
as it walked to the center of the room and gazed at the fire.
"We'll start it like any other story starts: Once upon a time the queen of the fairies gave birth with her human husband a
boy and naturally, both worlds were outraged. It was a fragile situation to begin with since the fairies were not coping well
that their king was human and the humans were not pleased that their duke's wife was fae. Never the less, the true trouble
began when the child was born for while neither race would claim him, neither race wanted the other to have him.
"Since the child was one of both worlds, he was entitled to all of the riches therein. Anything his mother or father chose
to give him upon their deaths was his. He would, also, receive the title that his parent had left behind; both races agreed
upon that. So if someone interposed, they would get the fortune promised to him as well as the power over the fae and the
humans.
"I suppose this the time to mention that the duke was a very good friend of the king. In fact, this particular duke was the
king's younger brother, so, while the king did not agree with his brother marrying the queen of the fae, he was not going
to ostracize him. The child being the king's nephew, he might in fact be entitled to the throne if a few strings were pulled.
If not, he was still protected by the royal family and all the riches and privileges they owned.
"A retired knight of the current king was getting tired of owning very little land and like everyone else in the kingdom aspired
to raise to a higher class. Thus being ruled by this duke, and weighing his options, he kept his eye on the duke's son. Unfortunately
for the knight, the duke's son was murdered and, because of his particular attention to the family, the knight was accused.
No one knows who the real murder is or if the knight is indeed guilty, but whatever really happened, the duke and his family
became enemies with the knight's family and threw them off their land. Another knight was given the land and eventually everything
returned to normal. The first knight had managed to be given land by the king under another duke for his previous service
to the king.
"The two families remained rivals, however, especially when political ties were broken off between the fae and the humans.
Trade plummeted and the land fell into famine and disaster. Eventually the king's second brother took control of most of the
land and managed to cut down the crime.
"This brings us to the situation we have now where for political reasons between the fae, the Breckenridge and Devlin families
wish to resurrect the dead prince and bring the government back to its original state."
Teagan nodded, her head swirling with information. "Where to I come into this?"
Lady Devlin stepped forward and put her cold hand on Teagan's shoulder. "I believe we should start getting preparations under
way for the ceremony. The conservatory is clean and open and has a clear view to the graveyard. We've made it accessible for
any work you need to do before hand, Sir Drummond. Everyone else, please carry on." The androgynous guest, who Teagan assumed
to be Sir Drummond, bowed deeply and walked away down the hall. Lady Devlin pulled Teagan away from the crowd to a corner
in front of the windows.
The night outside was like a snow globe. The world was surrounded by blue crystal and allowed just a hint of purple from the
world beyond the glass. Just barely shining through were the tiny little lights of stars serving as the backdrop for the gigantic
sparkling moon casting shadows on the garden below it. Lady Devlin stopped and sat down on the window seat under the flawless
sky.
"I suppose you've figured out that Lord and Lady Breckenridge are the duke and queen of the fae respectively. Sir Albertson
was the knight suspected of killing the prince. My husband and I were the third party involved with restoring the land in
the king's poor health. That would mean," she raised her hand to cut off Teagan's interruption, "that Lord Breckenridge and
my husband are brothers and kin to the king."
The information clicked like keys in locks and all the emotions behind the locked doors came rushing out in a whirlwind. Teagan
staggered under the epiphanies. "Oh my Gods," she whispered. Her servant instincts kicked in and she stared at dustless trampled
carpeting. Lady Devlin put her hand on Teagan's knee and waited patiently for all the shock to dissipate.
Lady Devlin was not watching her come to, but instead, kept an eye at the crowd starting to form into groups around her. A
few at the telling of the story felt bold enough to side with Sir Albertson, but would not remain by him when he suggested
several times to go against the operation. An equally opposing force was Lady Breckenridge who insisted that this had to be
done, not just for the good of her people, but for the human kingdom as well. Lord Devlin and Lord Breckenridge seemed to
keep together with a third party not partial either way. The two strongly opposed sides stood staring at each other and whispering
where the third party laughed and pretended not to notice the drastic change in aura.
Teagan put her warm hands on Lady Devlin's causing the Lady to snap back to the girl's side. "But you still haven't answered
where I come in to all this."
Lady Devlin smiled, but her face kept its melancholy seriousness. "The ceremony has to be preformed by one of kin to the deceased
to be taken in place of the body restored." She patted Teagan's knee and stared out at the crowd, tears starting to fill her
eyes. "Devils are very possessive of their soul collection."
"Well, if that's my part, how am I related to this prince? I was the daughter of a miller who wanted his daughter to have
a better life than he did. That's what Lady Watson told me, anyway. I suppose that's not it at all, anymore."
"This house has so many secrets, I'm surprised it hasn't cracked much earlier than this. But no one knows how much longer
it could last," she stood up and carefully brushed the tears off her cheeks. "May I show you something Teagan?"
Teagan agreed heartily and followed Lady Devlin out of the parlor. Lady Devlin closed the door behind them quietly and then
hurried into the library. She pulled out a key from a ring of keys around her neck, and unlocked the door, returning it to
its shut position before walking over to a particular shelf near the ground.
"Teagan Miller," she said thoughtfully as she pulled a large book from the shelf and put it onto the spotless table. The tome
was stuffed carelessly with various papers of ownership and borrowing. She opened up the book and flipped through a few pages
until she found a certificate of birth. She handed this to Teagan. "Teagan Miller is in fact Teagan Devlin. Given up by her
parents to become a maid in their very house so that she could be kept safe from prying eyes," Lady Devlin walked over to
Teagan and put her arm around Teagan's shoulder. "Teagan, people were furious at the king and his descendants and we were
afraid that if things got difficult someone would come to kill you as the niece of the king. We didn't just want to give you
up to a peasant family since we didn't know whom to trust; anyone might be turned by some money. Besides, we couldn't be sure
that the family we would give you to had completely sincere claims. We thought it best to keep a strict eye on you, so your
father and I let Lady Watson take care of you until you were old enough to do chores around the house. I'm sorry to tell you
this way, but I had no idea this entire affair was going to unravel around us."
The door opened slightly and Lord Devlin came in, quietly. "You told her, didn't you?" he said closing the door behind him
and locking it. "I'm sorry, Teagan."
Teagan looked from Lady Devlin to Lord Devlin, but neither one would return her gaze. Her childhood fantasies of a father
who cared conflicted with the facts she knew, but she stood up and took a deep breath. Despite an intense feeling of despair,
she felt no need to cry. She sighed. "I must do what my duty demands of me," she said diplomatically. "Let's go to the conservatory
and see what's going on."
Lord and Lady Devlin exchanged looks, but made no sign of protest. Teagan unlocked the door and started making her way down
the eerily silent hall. She felt as if she was walking through water that slowly turned to ice. When she lost feeling in her
fingers and toes, she turned towards her parents, but couldn't see anything beyond the slowly dissipating image of the hall.
Her heels didn't even click on the polished surface as she continued to walk through the pool of silence. She arrived at the
conservatory with surprisingly no fear and opened the door.
Sir Drummond had set up a large purple pentacle in the center of stone floor. The five points of the star had candles burning
steadily with a purple flame. At her entrance they flashed and slowly spread along the circle of the pentacle like someone
had spilled the flame on gunpowder. She looked around the room, but found her self utterly alone. She stepped over the low
flame of the circle, careful to not smudge the chalk and sat down in the middle of the five-pointed star. All at once a ripping
sensation over came her, and she made motion to scream. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before, but she didn't feel
any pain. Only when she opened her eyes did she realize she closed them and almost instinctively she looked up at the moon.
She became enticed by the ethereal ocean of light. Reaching a hand out to touch the liquid beams she realized that her soul
was now outside the graveyard and her body was, presumably, still in the pentacle. Her skin was a transparent purple like
the chalk and she could see through her hand to the corporeal world beyond. Taking a deep breath, Teagan walked into the cemetery.
Gravestones with cold angels loomed over her sobbing in the pale moonlight. Their tears were held fast to their cheeks where
the artists had tried to capture the essence of rolling and their faces were warped into what one might have thought of as
sadness, but came to her as anger and fear. Out of nowhere, she tripped over an invisible thread and landed on a large tombstone
on the ground. Her joints were jarred from her fall, but otherwise she was, unsurprisingly, not hurt. Neatly wiping imaginary
dust off her skirt to regain composure, she glanced at the stone. "Here sleeps the body of Prince Aidan Breckenridge, son
of Duke Eric of the western empire and Queen Nostariel of the woodland fae. May his soul be held with peace he never found
in this world." At the bottom of the stone was the royal seal of both the woodland fae and the king. Teagan was compelled
to press the seal of her king and all at once the tombstone rose up lifting a crude elevator with it. With a loud click of
mechanics, it stopped at the ground and swung open its door for her. Her first instinct was to be afraid of the rickety vehicle,
but that was soon replaced by the rationality that her soul couldn't die, nor be harmed. With a final look over her shoulder,
she stepped into the elevator. The door closed behind her and the elevator started its descent.
The elevator stopped at the bottom on a mat of moss with the same click of mechanisms that it had previously sounded when
it arrived to retrieve her. The door swung open to let her out before disappearing into the darkness. Strange, she
thought, though she couldn't fathom why. A disappearing elevator seemed to be the least strange thing of the evening. She
herself emitted a bit of purple light, but not enough to see by as she groped forward in the dark. Still, she kept walking
forward into a steadily increasing green light.
"Lady Teagan?" a man's voice sounded from behind the light source. He sounded tired and young, but a little wary of the ethereal
intruder to his resting place.
"Yes," she answered, blocking her eyes from the now white light.
"Oh, thank Gods," the voice answered. All at once the light dimmed and she could see a glowing blue figure like herself. The
man who came forward looked much like Lady Breckenridge with small pointed ears and defined bone structure, but mostly like
his father with very muscular features. She shifted weight nervously as this stranger, who she presumed to be her cousin,
came forward and embraced her. "They said you would come," he said holding her at arms length and looking into her eyes as
tears rolled down his cheeks. "Ah, forgive me," he said glancing at her expression and letting his arm drop to his sides,
"you never knew who I was."
"Well, neither did you. Unless I am mistaken, we've never met."
"Never in person. Not any time you would remember," he stepped away from her and looked at the green light. "The Forces argued
a lot about my death. They kept saying that it was never supposed to happen and that I was supposed to stay alive. Lots of
them argued with each other. When they agreed to bring visions to the local priest and tell my parents to bring me back, they
started talking a lot about you. They would let me go up to the corporeal world as a spirit and see the things I was missing.
So that when I come back, I would..." his voice trailed off and his tears started again. "I'm so sorry," he whispered and
slumped down to a crouch. She stood above him looking into the dim green light listening to his sobs.
Teagan felt sorrow, not for her fate, for his. She felt his despair as he fathomed the possibilities of coming back to life
at the cost of a family stranger and how when he came back, war would break out again. She felt his anger at everything he
knows will happen at his return and after everything he's heard from the Forces, that they would allow the worst to happen.
She felt pain as she realized he was becoming one of the Forces, one of the Gods, to fulfill a fate that he might not believe
in. She realized that the only thing he could control were his own tears. She fought back her own tears and lent her cousin
her hand.
"Please stand up," she said, "if I'm going to stay here for you to fulfill your fate, then you must go back. I refuse to die
for you if you won't change things for the better."
He grabbed her hand and propelled himself so he was standing up. He gave her a small smile and wiped the tears from his cheeks.
"I won't let you be forgotten," he said and kissed her on the forehead. "I'll be back for you, Teagan."
Teagan nodded and watched him go back into the darkness. She sat down on the ground and finally, cried.
The fire had gone out and Teagan's body fell from its sitting position to a slump on the floor. Sir Drummond smudged the chalk
lines and started to pick the stubs of candles off of the stands. Aidan stood in the corner looking out the window.
"Don't bother looking for her. She can't follow you and she's not coming back," Sir Drummond said, annoyed. "Stop being such
a child."
"I am a child," Aidan said just as annoyed. He walked over to the candle stand on the opposite side of the circle and kicked
it over. It fell with a loud crash and the candle popped of the stand and rolled across the room. "Everything I've learned
was from Death, herself."
"Do not disrespect the Forces. They know more than you ever will."
"Quite," Aidan said and walked out of the conservatory.
"Child don't cry," a woman clad in white came out of the shadows and put her arm around Teagan. "Goddess Fate has seen your
future and she insists that you see her right away."
Teagan wiped her tears away with her hand and stood up. The light had moved from behind her to in front and illuminated a
long straight tunnel leading to a door.
"I am Death," the woman said before Teagan had a chance to inquire. "I was sent here on an errand to bring you back. My sister,
Fate, has much in store for you, but she would not tell us what it was she wanted. She only promised that while you have to
stay here, there was a way for you to go back."
Teagan grabbed the woman's outstretched hand and followed her glowing white figure out of the darkness in into a cavernous
room. The walls were lined with tapestries of kings and famous battles. The table in the center of the room was carved from
ivory and had the thousands of names of heroes from every race carved into the legs and edge. Cloaked figures of various colors
were seated at the table, some with their hoods down to reveal beautiful faces, some remaining anonymous with their hoods
covering their features.
At the head of the table in a large gold throne sat a golden skinned woman, who Teagan presumed to be Goddess Fate. She had
her gold hair pulled back by flowers and she sat with her hood down at her neck. She looked at Teagan with pupil-less gold
eyes and nodded for Teagan to take the seat across from her at the table. Death pulled the chair out for Teagan before walking
to her own place beside two brightly colored figures with their hoods up.
"Now that our final guest is here, I will do the honor of revealing what plans we have in store. It's imperative for the future
that Teagan is still alive. With careful consideration of our rules, I have come to the conclusion that we need to reanimate
her body."
The crowd stayed silent, but a red hooded figure stood up and looked at Goddess Fate. "Should we tamper with the mortals again?
They must be going through a lot to fathom the possibilities of trading the dead and then reanimating the bodies. Imagine
how history will be different when the Children realize that all their heroes and lovers who have died can be brought back
just by killing their brother or enemy. This power cannot be revealed. And if we animate her body? The Children will get the
impression that as long as they keep the body, their loved ones can come back to them and live with them forever more."
"Your concern is one we must consider, but these actions should not lead to undesirable ends like you fear. We will animate
her ourselves without the mortals knowing. Then she will complete the tasks set before her like Prince Aidan will complete
his fate. And then both of them will die like their fates were written. We have no time," Goddess Fate said waving her hand
to cut off another protest, "we have to do this now, or it will be too late. Forgive me, my brothers and sisters, but we cannot
debate this." At once, she was next to Teagan and lifting her up from her chair. "All you have to do is sleep," she said while
leading Teagan out of the room and down the hall to a green-lit chamber. "We will do the rest."
Teagan shook her head to rid herself of the splitting headache. Her eyes were blurring everything and the only things she
could make out on her surroundings were the large rosy windows. The floor was clean, but slippery and the light in the room
was increasing. She propped herself up on one elbow and groaned from the pain in her head. The room was starting to focus,
but she couldn't look at the light for the pain. But as the room got brighter, her head started to clear. Finally, she sat
up and examined her "animated" body. Her skin was a slight silver hue that shimmered in the light. The Forces had also changed
her clothes: her dreadful dress was replaced by a page's outfit with pants and her shoes were missing. Her hair had also been
extended to long tresses reaching her shoulder blades. She stood up and leaned over the plants to look at the glass as a mirror.
The only features that had visibly changed were her eyes. They were still hazel, but the gold flecks had disappeared. It was
hard to tell in the crude mirror, but she guessed that her eyes were cloudier than they had been when she was fully alive.
She sighed and started towards the door.
The hall way was silent again, but the ocean of silence had dissipated and she heard the hall clock was ticking with familiar
rhythm. She could hear Sinead in the kitchen making breakfast, but there was no other sound in the house of anyone stirring.
The library door was open and Teagan glanced in. Aidan was sitting with his back to her reading a book. He remained engrossed
in the text even when she walked in and sat down across from him at the table. After some time, he closed the book and looked
at her annoyed for interrupting. His expression melted into pure surprise and he leapt up from his chair and ran over to her.
"Teagan? What in the hells happened? I thought you were dead. What did They do to you?"
Teagan put her finger to her lips to silence him and stood up. "Goddess Fate said it was not my time to die, so they reanimated
my body."
"I'm glad you're back," he said smiling, "even though you really aren't," he added sadly. He walked back to his seat at the
table and opened the book. "It's amazing the books you have here," he said cheerfully. "I could read these stories for hours."
"Aidan," Teagan said closing the library door. He looked up at her expectantly, realizing how serious she was that she had
said his name for the first time. "We have to talk about this. Lady Fate said that I had a purpose to fulfill alive. She gave
me the impression that I was supposed to help you, but I don't know how. Besides, everyone believes that I'm dead, so if someone
found me like this and talking..."
Aidan put his book down again and turned to face her. "What's on your mind?"
"I think maybe it would be best if I just stay out of the picture. I'll help you rule in whatever ways I can, but perhaps
it would be best if no one else knows of my existence."
Aidan nodded. "An admirable plan, but don't you think your parents should know?"
Teagan shook her head. "I'm only here to continue my fate, nothing more."
"Then you'd better get ready for a journey. The rest of the household has either left or gone to sleep just a few hours ago.
They won't wake up as long as you're careful. Then go to the coach house, I'll have a carriage ready for you."
Teagan ran off to pack her things, grabbing only enough clothes to last her a week. She realized he had not known she was
a servant, because the travel through the maids was proving difficult. The girls were almost awake and those that were still
asleep were sleeping lightly. She tiptoed through the line of maids and just managed to get to the door when someone grabbed
her by the shoulder.
"Teagan? What's wrong? You look sick," Talia said fearfully. She held her friend by the shoulders and looked her up and down.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm not supposed to be here," Teagan said giving Talia a hug, "I've got to leave."
"What happened?" Talia asked starting to cry.
"You'll find out later today."
"Don't go," Talia said feebly pulling Teagan's arm towards her.
"Talk to Prince Aidan," she said finally and pulling herself away went up the stairs. Talia didn't follow, but went back to
bed repeating her friend's words over in her head to try and make sense to them.
Teagan managed to sneak a bit of food from the kitchen by sneaking into the pantry when Sinead wasn't looking. Just as simply,
she snuck out the servants' door in the kitchen and ran to the coach house. The morning was frosty and glittering in the slowly
rising sun. The frost was starting to melt and her footprints left wet puddles of grass where she stepped in her bare feet.
Breathless, she peered into the coach house.
"Good morning, ladyship," a short fae man came out from behind the large brown horses and bowed. He was wearing all green
except for a conspicuous red hat, which he took off in her presence. "The lad said you'd be going to Wintershire Cove. Is
this correct?"
She nodded. "Would you like any pay for this inconvenience?"
"Already got it," the man said holding up a gold coin. "Besides, the Prince commanded it. He mentioned you were the one to
get him out. I don't need any other money besides for the tolls."
She nodded as he continued talking about the bloody roads and blasted laws the fairy folk had set up. She looked back at manor
and sighed. She was leaving home for good, now. She glanced through the library window as they passed and caught a glimpse
through the sun reflecting off the glass of Aidan waving to her out the window. She waved back and faced forward again. I
hope this is what Lady Fate means when I have to complete the tasks set before me, she thought. Because if this isn't,
it's a pretty horrible beginning to these turn of events.
King Aidan stood up and walked across the room to the windows. He looked outside at his kingdom between the trees. The merchants
were busy selling their wares in the open market and beyond that, the farmers in the countryside were having a usual day at
work. Birds flew by the window and perched on a nearby branch, chirping wildly at the topaz blue sky. It was a beautiful rain-free
day, the first they had had in months and Aidan hadn't believed until then that it could get any worse.
"When was the last time anyone saw her?" he said turning to the messenger.
"Last night," the boy said bowing again. "She wasn't present to perform tarot readings this morning and several of the people
were worried."
"It was completely dark?"
"Yes, sire."
Aidan sighed. "We'll wait until morning. Perhaps she's just gone on a small pilgrimage. I'm not one to bother a priestess
of Goddess Fate. If she is not back by morning, send a small search party. But do not continue searching for her; if you haven't
found her after two weeks, she's gone."
The boy nodded and exited the throne room. Aidan sighed and sat down again thinking. It had been years since Teagan had been
raised from the dead and started making her livelihood with the fae. After she arrived, she made home with an old priestess
of Lady Fate. Teagan learned the trade and became an avid follower of the Goddess. Beyond this and the occasional visits from
Aidan, she tried to block out the world entirely. But much to her dismay, the coachman who had brought her there was not going
to keep his mouth shut. Soon the entire fairy county was bubbling with news that the Prince's cousin was staying right under
their noses. Any problems they had that she was dead, no one made any objection, most likely because they had the imperial
army breathing down their necks waiting for something to go wrong.
Teagan had decided to live in the palace after all and watch over things in the kingdom when Aidan wasn't there. Although
she was the advisor, she would often visit the woods where she had previously lived. She remained out of the official nunnery
of Goddess Fate, but every week, she would do a morning tarot reading for the few close friends and family of the King.
Today, she was found completely gone from her chambers in the castle and those who had dared check the cottage, reported she
wasn't there either. Aidan stood up and walked over to the small servants door next to the throne.
"Talia, what am I going to do?" he asked. A tall redheaded woman handed the spoon she was stirring with to another servant
and walked over to him. She hadn't seemed to age a day and she still looked like a child when she sighed and tilted her head
to look at him.
"She finally left did she?" Talia said disregarding his start of an explanation.
"So its not another one of those visits she takes to visit Fate from time to time."
"I don't think so."
Talia went back to the kitchen and grabbed a knife to start peeling carrots. Aidan followed her, ignoring the servants rushing
away from him and trying not to stare. "She said she would," Talia said engrossed in her peeling, "‘Peace has come,'
she told me last night. What a bunch of rubbish. She also said that Fate called her back to her soul. You might not want to
start a search party."
"It seems a little late for that. Might as well give them something to do, though, the troops are getting bored. Word will
get out anyway that she's gone, so I might as well just let them find that out on their own."
"Maybe she'll be back," Talia said. She was uncomfortable at his despair and even though she didn't believe what she was saying,
she didn't want to be the bringer of bad news for the rest of the kingdom.
Aidan laughed. "If she told you she was leaving, then she's gone. If I know Teagan, she isn't coming back."
Teagan brushed the hair out of her eyes and looked down at the tombstone. Ironically, the words still stayed the same and
she wondered if he was going to be buried there when he died again. Why would they have changed, she thought pressing
the seal of the king and waiting for the elevator to rise, who wants to visit the grave of a live man, even if you are
just changing the stone. She walked into the elevator like an actress in a well-rehearsed play and got off the elevator
like she was going home to a place she knew quite well. Expertly, she walked down the passages towards the large meeting hall
and entered.
"You shouldn't be allowed in here," an older God said standing up quickly.
"Where's Lady Fate?"
"This is only for the Gods and Goddesses. Get out!"
"I am a Goddess. Any one who is dead, but lives is most certainly not a Child. Tell me where Lady Fate is."
The God made motion to speak, but was cut off by a golden voice. "Ah, my disciple is here again. I'm proud that you've answered
my calls. Tonight you're going to sleep; I'm done with you."
Teagan nodded. "I thought it was that."
"You're taking this lightly," Fate said pulling alongside Teagan and leading her down the corridor to the familiar room with
the green light.
Teagan shrugged. "My life was empty. I had no purpose for myself and I had no future that I could control. I came here to
help a cousin I didn't even know; I sacrificed myself for a stranger. Yet, I came back a lesser human in order to fulfill
the tasks the Gods and Goddesses had in mind for me. A marionette has nothing to look forward to but the smiles on people's
faces at its performance. I had nothing to hold onto except the reassurance that I was really helping people and even then,
I was not so sure. It's time to end this and to bring things back to the way they should be."
Fate stopped her and opened a glass door set in the stone. Sleeping soundly was a glowing purple woman exactly like Teagan
now. Her hair was longer and lay like a halo around her head. Her chest moved up and down lightly in the satin bed.
"Please," Teagan moved forward just as Fate was about to wake up her soul. "Could you at least give me my own grave?"
Fate smiled and reached over to wake up Teagan's soul. Teagan turned and watched her body fall to the floor. Fate pulled Teagan
from her bed and led her out of the glass case, closing the door at her exit.
Aidan went down to Teagan's room as the sun went down to look for a clue of her leaving. Everything was as she left it: the
bed was made and all her clothes were in the chest at the foot of the bed. Her tarot cards were in the top drawer of the armoire
and some of her better dresses were hung up. He sighed and turned towards the door. A rustling sound behind him caused him
to turn around and spot a dove in the window. It cocked its head before flying off to wherever it wanted to go. It was getting
dark, but in his peripheral vision, the bed was no longer empty. He lit a candle and moved it over to illuminate the intruder,
but only saw Teagan sleeping in her own bed. He held her hand and tried to wake her, but she didn't move. Ah well,
he thought sadly, she really has gone and left us.
Three years afterwards, Duchess Talia went to the graveyard near the Devlin mansion with her husband. They said nothing to
each other even when they split up, but while Talia chose the roundabout way around the cemetery, Aidan walked straight towards
the grave. When she caught up, Talia put her hand on his shoulder, but remained silent. They both stared at the small gray
gravestone in silence: "Here sleeps the body of Teagan Devlin, daughter of Count Liam and Countess Aingeal. May her body rest
in peace forevermore."
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