The queen stuck up her nose. “The old, high and mighty druids can kiss myarse.”
My mother smiled lazily. “You forget I am a high and mightydruid?”
The queen shrugged. “You’re nothing like them. Besides, you’re a fire druid. You’re abovethem.”
My mom looked uncomfortable. “I don’t want to be aboveanyone.”
“Hold on,” Eva spoke then. “I’m going to try to go forward a bit but keep us in this place.” The room fast-forwarded lightning-quick, people zooming in and out of the room until Eva stopped it and the queen was looking sullen, sitting shrunken in her chair, my mother standing overher.
“The people have heard of your love for the human,” my motherdeclared.
The queen looked up into my mother’s eyes. “Thomas. His name is Thomas, and I do love him. I love all ofthem.”
My mother winced slightly. “I’m concerned for your safety. People are saying you love the humans more than our own kind. They say you’ve lost sight of what’s best forFaery.”
The queen stood so abruptly my mother stumbled back a step. Yellow puffs of smoky magic leaked off of the queen’s skin as power crackled in the air. “What’s best for Faery is to open our arms to these people. Have you seen how many of them there are? They outnumber us ten to one. Have you seen their weapons? Those small canisters, the projectiles … the...?” She was snapping her fingers, trying toremember.
My mother nodded. “They call them guns. Yes, I’veseen.”
The queen nodded. “But most of them are harmless. Look how infatuated they are with us when we visit. If we keep dialog open with their leaders, I know that both of us can co-existbeautifully.”
My mother did something then that she always did when she was stressed. She pinched her thumb and pointer finger together, like a nervoustic.
“If you go ahead with this plan, then I fear an assassination plot, Your Majesty,” my mother pleaded withher.
The queen laughed. “Oh, Racine. No one will kill me. I have you.” She smiled. The yellow magic had dissipated, but it let me know one thing. The queen, in part, was asorceress.
It was clear her vision was clouded by love. My mother looked defeated, like she knew she wouldn’t be able to talk sense intoher.
“This is getting intense. Should I go forward? To the dark times?” Eva asked. I could tell she wanted to see, but also wanted to protectme.
“Yes. I can handle it,” I told her, my eyes glued to my beautiful, strong warrior mother. I needed to know more. To knoweverything.
The room fast-forwarded then, and when Eva stopped there was a weeping figure huddled on the ground. Two female attendants tried to pull her up but she wailed. My mother ran inthen.
“I came as soon as I could? What happened?” My mother wasbreathless.
An attendant stepped forward and lowered her voice. “Thomas … hedied.”
My mother’s face fell and I saw actual sadness there. I don’t know how many years had passed since the last scene, but it was clear she had come to love the humans. “How did he die? Was hemurdered?”
The queen stopped her wailing then and looked at my mother; her white hair limp, she looked absolutely devastated. “No. It was a simple ailment. I could have healed him had he been with me, but he was back there, in the frail human world, visiting his family. I didn’t go with him because I had the druids to contend with. It’s all my fault!” she screamed. “We barely had any time together. No children.Nothing!”
My mother fell to her knees before the queen. “I … don’t know what to say. My heart bleeds for you. But the fact is, the humans are weak. Their lives are a blink compared to ours. Simple diseases ravage their world and attack their fragile bodies. There is nothing you could have done. They don’t have the magic wedo.”
The queen stilled then, as if something my mother said had shook her. “Dragons,” shewhispered.
My mother looked confused and motioned to the two attendants. “Why don’t you bring the queen a nice strongdrink…”
The queen was staring at nothing, but she looked in awe. “Dragon magic could have healedhim.”
My mother grabbed the queen by the armpits and hauled her up firmly. “But it didn’t, and we can’t have dragons flying around Earth, so you need to just let itgo.”
The queen reached up tenderly and cupped my mother’s face. “Oh, Racine, you’ve never known love. Not like what I had. When you have it, you’ll do anything in your power to keep it. Trust me.” She straightened her back and let her hands fall away from my mother, marching over to the far wall, where the weapons were kept. She pulled free a shining sword and brandished it before her, holding it firmly in theair.
“I will not let it go,” the queen declared with a shaky voice, and the room crackled with unseen power. “I will do better by Thomas’ people. I will protect them all from befalling his fate. He died tooyoung.”
My mother sighed, looking defeated, and walked over to the wall, pulling her sword out as well and touching it to the queen’s. “I’m with you until the end. Now what would you have usdo?”
