“You are Henrik’s key,” they explained. “When we were cast into this world, my desperate spell gave my knights a loophole, a hope for escape, and it attached them to a key on this side that would break their curse and set them free. Daniella is Trey’s. You are Henrik’s. You are his connection to the strange magic here, his soulmate, and you are the one who will unlock him as you learn to love him. Much of this mess is my own fault, but there is a possibility that we can recover. My world is gone, but we can still saveyours,if you come with me and fight for it.”
“So, you’re not actually Tinker Bell,” Gwen observed, joking to cover her struggle with the enchanting idea of asoulmate.
“Fable,” Robin corrected angrily.
“You’re Merryweather from Sleeping Beauty,” Gwen declared. “You tempered Maleficent's curse so that Aurora fell into a deep sleep instead of dying.”
Robin opened their mouth in outrage and clamped it shut again. “That’s almost worse than Tinker Bell,” they said.
They gave Gwen a piercing look. “The veil will be weakest where it was broken before, and that is where the battle for our world will be. You need to come with me, and the time isnow. Bring your blade and your courage and meet your destiny! You will be the sword to Henrik’s axe, and we will triumph, and if not, we will go gloriously.”
Their regard grew pointed as they spoke and Gwen shivered under the power of their galaxy gaze and the implication of their words.
Gwen had always dreamed of being Chosen.
Notlowercasechosen like reluctantly picked for a sports team from a pool of disinterested players, orYou’ve Been Chosen!publications that will print your name and a feature of your business for the low investment of one copy of the beautiful hardcover book at a cost of $225 plus shipping and handling.
(Nevermind that Gwen didn’t have a business and had long ago run out of bookshelf space.)
Gwen wanted uppercase Chosen.
The kind of Chosen that came with quests and destiny.
She felt like, until now, she’d been stuck in the world’s worst video game, constantly trying to keep her avatar’s lifepoints up with mindless employment, grinding away at the same level forever, unable to find the clues to advance or escape, not even sure what her objective ultimately was.
And now, finally, would she understand her purpose?
Common sense quenched Gwen’s excitement. It was more likely to be a bug or a fluke. If it looked too good to be true, it probably was. Especially when it came to true love.
And she was afraid.
She always failed under pressure. She never met her expectations, or anyone else’s. Who would even want to be her soulmate?
“As fun as it is to think that I can save the world, really, I’m a math major with a minor in wasting my life. I’ll help you file a missing persons report for Henrik if you want, but I honestly think you’re barking up the wrong tree here.”
“You said you are a warrior,” Robin pointed out.
“I am an athlete,” Gwen said. “I’ve never been in an actual battle for blood. It’s closer to gymnastics than it is to brawling.”
But Robin didn’t seem discouraged as they steepled their hands and continued to regard Gwen. “It’s a starting place. If we survive the turning of the year, I can train you from there.”
“That’s assuming Iwantto help you,” Gwen said sharply.
“You can’t ignore your destiny.”
Gwen bristled. “Are you expecting me to, what? Quit my job and spend my life savings on a plane ticket on the weight of your words and some vague Internet research? I have a career, Tinker Bell, and a family, and commitments. I can’t just leave everything behind to join your fantasy crusade!”
“I believe it is worth expending the magic to make a portal, even large enough for you, but I will only be able to do it once.”
Gwen was not sensitive about her weight and kept herself in fit fighting form, but she still felt a little stung by Robin’s implication that she was inconveniently large.
“A portal? Is that how you got in here? I figured you came in through the air conditioning vents.”
Robin gestured impatiently. “The time for jokes has passed. You are the key to finding the rest of my knights and saving the world.” Robin seemed to sizzle righteous outrage, larger for a moment, and more solid.
“This is more important than your job and your life savings! This is the fate of your entire world and all the innocent people who live here! You haven’t watched a world crumble, and you don’t know the pain and horror that you’ll suffer if you turn aside now in self-serving cowardice. This isn’t a crusade of vanity or a self-serving agenda; this is your life, and your world, and if you shirk your duty now, you will have nothing but regret for the remainder of your pitiful mortal existence.”
Gwen wasn’t sure how something less than two feet tall could be that vehement. “Look,” she said, retreating to the stubbornness that had always served her well. “It’s not that I don’t want to save the world. It’s not that I don’t want to be important. It’s definitely not that I don’t want to find a hunky knight and be his everything. But that’s someone else’s story, not mine. Find someone else to live your fairy tale!”
