That morning, over breakfast, Sera declared, “I cannot ignore Aquila’s words. I will be heading to Alexandria to give news of our discovery to my father. I trust he will make the correct decision.”
“We’ll go with you,” Aeolus said firmly. Wait, we will?
“Shouldn’t you be returning to your country?”
Next to me, Aeolus waved off her concern. “Julius will be fine for another few weeks, “ he gave Sera a confident smile “Besides, you helped me out when I needed it a few years ago. What kind of friend, let alone fiance, would I be if I didn’t return the favor?”
She looked to Azure and Sky for confirmation.
Azure shrugged, then gestured towards Aeolus. “I don’t make these decisions. He does.” He stated.
Eyebrows creased, Sky agreed, “I need–” he turned to look guiltily at me, “to know how we missed this.”
Everyone’s attention fell on me next, anticipating my answer. Aeolus threw his arm over my shoulder.
“He doesn’t have anything else to do. Besides, doesn’t Alexandria have one of the greatest libraries in the world?”
Well, if I hadn’t planned on going already, the library would have been a very effective bribe.
“I hate to admit it, but he’s right,” I said, jabbing my thumb toward Aeolus, who playfully recoiled at the insult. “We’ve exhausted our search options here, so there’s no point in me staying.”
For the first time since the cave yesterday, a little bit of warmth flooded Sera’s face. She looked us each in the eye and sincerely said, “Thank you. We’ll pack, then head out.”
The sun shone brightly as we grabbed Millie and Notus, along with our newly dried clothes (courtesy of Millie), from the stables and packed up the carriages to head out. I volunteered to ride with Aeolus and Sky in their carriage, not wanting to irritate Helia or let Ani bother Millie. Around lunchtime, we headed out, mailing out letters and picking up some food at the ancient equivalent to a drive-through window on our way. Nostalgia hit me full force, and I couldn’t help but miss even my least favorite of modern fast food, along with the shock absorbers of modern vehicles.
We rumbled out of the city, taking the same road I’d ridden with Sera into the city. Having planned the route, Sera and Helia took the lead in their red carriage, our light blue and silver one following close behind. To my disappointment, Aeolus’ carriage was pulled by normal horses, not the unicorns. Notus, unlike Millie, stayed inside the cabin. Ani, the bully, followed suit, and attempted to steal every snack or morsel Aeolus fed Notus. When I noticed his behavior, I trapped him in my arms, only for him to wiggle free moments later. Aeolus just laughed at the behavior while Sky poured over his notes from the original Heirs.
Helia had estimated it would take a week to get to the capital city, Alexandria, stopping to rest and bathe at four cities in between. Pouring over the map, I asked Aeolus why we couldn’t just take a ship, and he explained it was a long-standing group decision. When he refused to elaborate on his reasoning, my curiosity was piqued and I made a mental note to get the full story from Sky later.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
We camped the first night, pulling off the road into a designated area for travelers to camp. While Helia and Azure set up the tents, Sera and Aeolus used their royal prerogative, and Sky and I were assigned to collect the wood for the campfire.
Sky walked through the forest in a daze, his face slack and distant as he calculated.
With Aeolus’ refusal to elaborate on the boat travel stuck in my head, I tried to catch his attention.
“Sky. Sky. Sky!” On the third call, he finally snapped out of his stupor, stopping shortly before me. I could not stop before I walked into his back, nearly causing us to drop the sticks we’d gathered.
Sky was sheepish, and his voice distant, still caught up in his thoughts. “Sorry. I’m trying to reconcile what we learned with what I read in Heirs to see how I missed it.”
“I’ll help you think it through later if you want.” I offered. He gave me a grateful smile. “Aeolus got me curious–why do they refuse to take the boat?”
Immediately, Sky threw his head back and chucked, the force of his laughter shaking the sticks in his arms. “Oh, that? Their first time, they set the ship on fire in less than an hour of boarding. Luckily it hadn’t left yet.”
A laugh bubbled out of my throat. “In less than an hour?”
He shuffled the sticks back into place. “They were very embarrassed and swore everyone involved to secrecy.”
“I bet.” The public would go rabid over a story like that.
We started walking again, looking for anything larger than a twig, which we’d collected enough of already.
“So,” I decided to get right to the point, “None of the Chimeras were ever freed from Servius’ control in the original novel?”
Sky gripped his wood tightly and released a frustrated groan. “None. I’ve read over all my notes again and again. As far as I can tell, they were mindless beasts from beginning to end. Everyone believed it was the process that stole their mind. It never occurred to anyone or even mentioned that it was something else.”
His walking pace got faster with his frustration, and I struggled to keep up without dropping my sticks. “So, you believe they were mind controlled in the original too?”
He frowned and shook his head. “I don’t know. It was never mentioned, but just because It wasn’t mentioned doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. If that’s the case, what else have I missed? What if I missed something else?” Frustration leaked from every word.
My thoughts churned as I watched him move, frustrated, through the woods, aggressively picking up each new stick. It echoed my actions a few months ago when I’d accidentally sent broken code to one of our customers, costing us thousands of dollars. To comfort me, my sister had said…
“You have an opportunity to be better.“ The words escaped from my mouth before I could think them through.
Sky looked at me, puzzled.
Embarrassed, I motioned to rub the back of my neck, stopping when my precarious bundle of sticks nearly slipped. “It’s something my sister once told me. It means that you know to avoid making the same mistake in the future. You’ve been granted the opportunity to change. ” With a lack of feedback from Sky, I started babbling. “She said that when I did something stupid,but the principle still fits. The chimeras died under Servius and Hilarious’ control last time, with no one ever knowing they could be saved.
Like Mariana’s parents in the original timeline. Both had died empty and alone, without ever getting to meet, fall in love, and have Mariana. “You didn’t think outside the bounds of the story. You didn’t have a reason to. But this time,” I continued, “you know better. You know they can be saved. You know there’s more to this world than what explicitly happened in the novel, and you can use that.”
My kindling was nearly knocked from my arms as I felt warmth and pressure as Sky bumped our shoulders together.
There was a sigh from my left. “Hayden. Stop talking.” Sky said, a light smile lifting his words. Realizing I hadn’t been breathing, I took a deep breath and turned to see a grateful smile cross his face. My own flushed red, and his smile grew wider. “You’re right. I’ve been so focused on the original novel that I haven’t been paying attention to the world I’m living in. It’s time to change that, to be better.”
He let out a sudden, bitter laugh. “I suppose that’s rich, coming from the person who lectured you about seeing them as people instead of characters. It turns out I need to pay more attention to my own words.”
There were a myriad of responses to that. On an emotional roll, I picked the most heartfelt one. “Seeing the deviations from the original story is a little awe-inspiring.”
“Do you think things will go that differently? Do you think we can save them?”
I thought of Mariana again. Of her parents in both timelines. Of Helia and Aeolus blessing her despite their reservations.
Deep in my bones was a certainty. The knowledge that Mariana’s birth was only the beginning, that so many new and wondrous events were to come. Things that couldn’t have happened in the original. “I don’t think, I know. I can feel it.”
Relief relaxed his figure. “Well then, maybe it’s time to read that story instead.”