35
In the next few days, the portal was installed in the castle. It would allow Katja and Rachel to visit places in the Other World without having to travel clear to the waterfall and cave. All they had to do was to inform the Guardians where and when they wished to travel.
“Come with me,” Katja begged Adrick. “Meet my mother.”
“If you insist,” he replied.
Rachel used the covering spell on them.
“The portal is good,” Katja noted. “We’re only a block away. A short walk by our standards!”
Adrick took her hand and pretended to not be nervous. She wasn’t fooled.
“What, the Crown Prince… nervous?” she teased.
“That is my title in my … our world… not in this one,” he replied.
“You’ll be fine!” she said, squeezing his hand.
“What are all these strange boxes?”
“These are cars – they are like carriages, but they don’t require horses,” Katja explained realizing that the spell used this time was different than the one used when they went to England before.
“They are loud!” he replied as one passed them. “And fast!” They approached the door of her parents’ house. She knocked nervously.
The door opened and her mother took a look at her. “Katja!” she cried and gave the girl a hug. “Come in! Who is this?”
“This is Adrick, my fiancé,” Katja replied.
“Come, sit down! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?! I would have been more prepared.”
“I don’t have a phone any more, Mom,” Katja explained, sitting on the couch, Adrick sitting next to her. Her hand rested on her stomach subconsciously.
“Why not? This day and age, there are no places without a phone somewhere!” the woman demanded. “Or an internet connection at least. Or post office?”
“Well, where I am, it is different, Mom,” Katja tried to explain consciously taking her hand away from her stomach.
“Do you have a new mailing address, then?”
“No Mom, but I want to invite you to our wedding next week,” Katja said resting her hand on her abdomen again.
“A wedding!!! Why didn’t you tell me?!” the woman demanded, looking at Adrick too.
“We have been a bit busy until now.”
“I guess you have… Looking at you, tell me if I am wrong, but I would say you are pregnant!”
“We just found out,” Katja admitted, realizing that the conversation wasn’t going anywhere good. She tried again. “You can finally be a grandmother, Mom!”
“Didn’t you learn anything as a child?! Any moral values? Heard of getting married before getting pregnant? And you,… Rick, or whatever your name was… Is this how you treat my daughter?! Don’t you have any common sense!”
“It just happened, Mom,” Katja defended. “If you knew who Adrick was...”
“I don’t care who he is! Sex doesn’t just happen!” her mother expressed.
“So do you want to come to the wedding or not?!” Katja demanded standing up, her eyes filling with angry tears.
“It seems to me that it’s already happened.” The woman said as Katja headed towards the door, Adrick holding her hand for comfort. “Don’t come crying to me when things don’t work out!”
“Don’t worry. I won’t be bothering you,” Katja said struggling to keep her anger contained as they left the house without a glance backwards.
“I don’t know why you are bothering now. No phone, no email, no letters! Nonsense!” The door closed with a bang.
Katja walked blinded by rage and pain. Adrick kept pace with her, wondering where they were going. Katja found the park where she had gone as a child whenever she was angry like she was now. She sat atop the climbing structure and lay down, the tears pouring from her eyes.
Adrick climbed next to her and lay down, putting his arm around her, kissing her neck. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“I am her only child! And this is how she treats me! I offered so many times to pay for tickets to come and see me in England. Never once did she want to see me! Now, I see her for the selfish woman she is!”
“And now I know why the Guardians brought you to me… so that I can treat you better – like the Queen you will be some day for me,” Adrick said soothingly.
Katja’s tears cleared, replaced by her love for Adrick and Velantia. “You are right,” she said sitting up, then stood proudly. “I am Lady Katja! Future Queen of Velantia! I don’t care that you don’t see it!” she shouted towards her childhood home.
“That you are, my love!” Adrick said, squeezing her to him again. “Shall we go?”
“Yes, my love… my prince… my future King!” she said kissing him. “I will show you all sorts of amazing places with the help of the portal. But I won’t be wasting any more time in this neighbourhood.”
He took her hand as they climbed off the play equipment and back towards the portal. They walked to the shops hand-in-hand. “I just thought you might like to see some of the things I like,” she said.
“Why can I see all of your strange world?” he asked. “It’s not like when we visited England.”
“I think Rachel used a different covering spell – this one was only one direction,” Katja surmised. “Or maybe the Guardians feel they can trust you with the knowledge you gain.”
“Next time we travel, we need to make sure we have some goods to trade so that we can buy things. I’m sure there are things you’d love to have in Velantia!”
“Both for fun and for the good of the kingdom,” Katja replied.
“I can tell that I chose my bride wisely,” Adrick said squeezing her to him again. “I do think we need to get back though – I want some time alone with you!”
“Me too,” she said meeting his kisses with her own. Then, they saw the reflection. A girl about her age settled down for a cold winter night with only a sleeping bag around her. Katja went to her.
“Who are you?” asked the girl.
“My name is Katja. Don’t you have a home?”
“No,” she replied with sadness. “My parents kicked me out because they found me with a guy. He dumped me when I found out I was pregnant. I have no one now!”
“I am so sorry that you’ve had such a rough time. I would like to invite you to come and stay with me,” Katja said. “You could have a fresh start.”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course. What is your name?”
“Astra Galway.”
“Then come with me, Astra,” Katja invited. “Stella will be pleased to meet you!”
Supplemental Materials
Prologue, map, character list
The Legend of the Sacred Trio
Links to Buy the ebooks
(Note: If anyone knows how to make this table look better in markdown, please comment!)
| Please catch up! | Links to buy |
|---|---|
 |  |
| Birth of the Neví – 829 T.C.E. It is a tumultuous period of Terrenden history. As is all too common, there are those who wish to profit from the misfortune of others. Some of these come together in a new "charitable organization" and step on the toes of the notorious Uugli. Combine this with draconian new measures to combat pollution and Terrenden has a situation ripe for a power struggle. | Rebound of Power: 850 T.C.E. Collection of Romance Terrenden is being terrorized by a previously underestimated Neví who through the mysterious “Curator” have been controlling elections all over the planet. In this collection, we meet some interesting women. Iyva, a homeless teenager in Irola whose untrained power leaves her close to death; Marc’la, a breeder of prized caballus in Kasago whose heart lives in the past; Zukie, an abused widow whose heart is afraid to try for future happiness; Jenna, an elections assistant manager and masseuse who has a prejudice against A’mara; and Kami, a chola student in Varkevand who has been assigned to protect Ardin, a man who has his own reasons to distrust A’mara. |
| Coming | Soon! |
| Rise of the Neví - 830 T.C.E. The Neví begin their rise in power with the completion of several large housing projects that seem totally charitable, but also hide a great evil within. The draconian measures brought in the previous year has caused major distress throughout the world, perfect for giving the Neví a further foothold on the Terrenden stage. Will the A’mara, now removed from the Council of Peers, be able to shut down the Neví? | Acting the Part - 851 T.C.E. Collection of Romance - The Neví continue to make a nuisance of themselves, infiltrating the Terrenden Freedom Party who have been winning most elections around the world. Dr. Jarly is still on the run and the Curator still dominates a larger part of the Terrenden stage than most would like to know. What’s more, famous actor, Derick Aiden has decided to release his Neví expose film, causing them to issue a Death Edict on him, forcing him into hiding. In this collection, we meet more interesting women (and revisit some we’ve already got to know.) Kauri, a simple receptionist who doesn’t realize one of her wildest dreams has come true; Tirry, an elections manager who is always the bridesmaid and never the bride; Zara, a chef who has all but given up on finding love for herself; Dzani, who isn’t even looking, but has to chaperone her more vulnerable roommate; Soala, the daughter and heiress who is expected to marry, but refuses to marry someone she doesn’t love; and Moxara, one whose past griefs have locked away her heart. We also get updates on some of the lovely ladies we met previously. |
Don’t forget!
I’m still offering 1 Steem Basic Income share for any minnow who asks me a question which prompts an “Ask the Author” post! I’m thinking about putting these into a Dbooks ebook all its own, actually.
Image Credits:
Brighid's Blood cover art based on:
- Mountain background shot (on the border of Slovakia and Poland) – PublicDomainPictures.
All three images were under the creative commons licensing, (no attribution required.)
- Shaze picture developed from PXhere
Shaze divider based on:
- Sword image from Wikipedia Commons
All maps/editing by myself on GIMP and Photoscape, both free programs.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Although the penalty of knowing me in real life is that you will influence the creation of my characters; any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Writing and artwork copyright myself 2005-2018 – all rights reserved.
If you are interested in helping me publish these works, please contact me on Facebook or Discord, viking-ventures#2883.
Lori Svensen – A'mara Books & Viking Visual
