The next morning found Demon sitting in the great hall when Beast and Celestial entered the room. Demon did not look happy; he had a far away look in his eyes. Beast wanted to approach him but wasn't sure; the feeling he got from Demon was to stay away.
Starchild
came into the room and sat down opposite Demon.
"What
is wrong Demon? Didn't last night go
very well?" Starchild asked.
Demon
shrugged his shoulders.
Beast
chimed in, "Demon, you did not take her back to her room until almost
daybreak and then you stayed there with her for a long time. Do not tell me you did not enjoy yourself
last night."
Demon
looked at Beast and then looked out the window. "It is not that."
"What
is wrong Demon?" Starchild asked.
"Tomorrow
is her birthday."
"Yes,
we know that.”
"What
if she decides not to become The Lady?"
"Why
would you think that?" asked Celestial.
"She
hesitated about coming to my room last night.
In fact, she was there and then left.
She walked away. I did not think
she would come back. What if she does
not want to be The Lady? What if she
changes her mind?"
The
room lit up and Miranda appeared in front of her fireplace.
"Why
do you look so sad my Dragon? Tomorrow
is The Lady's birthday. Tomorrow the
prophecy will be fulfilled."
"How
can you be so sure Miranda?" Demon asked.
"What if she changes her mind?"
Miranda
smiled. She looked at Demon then her
gaze went to Celestial, Beast, and Starchild.
She could see the worried looks on all of their faces.
"Oh
my Dragon. Don't you understand that
all of these feelings you have come from The Dark Ones? They know the prophecy and they know that
the prophecy is about to be fulfilled so they are filling your minds with
doubt. They are filling you with fear
and confusion just like they have done to Andrea. They couldn't attack so they have filled your minds with
fear. Don't let them win. Andrea won't change her mind. She will be The Lady, the prophecy will be
fulfilled."
Starchild
looked at Miranda, "Are you sure Miranda?"
"Yes,
I am sure. Don't let The Dark Ones
win." Miranda was gone.
They
all exchanged glances. They all knew
that she was right, they had never felt this fear and confusion before, not
until Andrea had arrived. Andrea had
said the same thing. ‘Could Miranda
be right?’ Could The Dark Ones be
playing tricks on their minds so that the prophecy would not be fulfilled?
*****
Starchild
put his hands to his head as if he was in pain and then went flying across the
room hitting the wall with a loud thud.
"Starchild
I am angry at you!"
"Stephen?"
Starchild said weakly.
"What
have you done with my Andy? My Andy
does not talk to me, what have you done to her?"
"Stephen,
don't…stop….don't yell."
"I
want my Andy! What did you do to my
Andy?! I told you that you wouldn't like me if I got angry!"
Starchild
could not get up, the pain in his head was so intense he could not talk or
think. The Masters did not know what to
do for him. They did not know what was
happening. Could it be The Dark Ones
attacking?
Andrea
walked into the room and saw Starchild in a heap on the floor with his hands to
his head and all he could do was whisper "Stephen."
"Oh
no." said Andrea. She closed her
eyes and bowed her head and she was gone.
"Where
did she go?" exclaimed Demon.
"Celestial you have to bring her back!"
"I
don't know where she went. I have never
been able to follow her."
"Andy!"
The
pain in Starchild's head was gone. He
lay there for a moment dazed, but regaining his composure he sat up.
"Starchild
what happened?" asked Demon
"It
was Stephen. He was looking for
Andrea."
"Are
you sure it was Stephen?" asked Beast
"Oh
yes, it was definitely Stephen."
"Where
did Andrea go?" asked Beast
"She
is with him."
"Are
you sure?" Demon sounded worried.
"Yes."
"Then
we need to go after her."
"No
Demon. Let her come back on her
own. She will come back, she just has
to take care of some things."
They
helped Starchild to stand and took him to his chair where he could rest.
*****
"Stephen,
what did you do?"
"Oh
Andy, I have been looking for you. They
wouldn't tell me where you were and nobody would talk to me. You didn't answer me."
"Stephen,
you hurt Starchild."
"He
made me mad."
"I
know. But you can't do that. You must tell Starchild you are sorry and do
it quietly."
"Do
I have to Andy?"
"Yes
Dot, you have to."
*****
"Starchild…Starchild."
"Yes
Stephen." Starchild said weakly.
"I'm
sorry. I didn't mean to get mad at
you. Andy says I have to tell you I am
sorry."
"It
is okay Stephen."
*****
"Andy,
I don't want you to go back."
"Dot,
I have to go back."
"But
tomorrow is your birthday and I want to be with you on your birthday."
"Dot,
you can come and visit in a few days but I have to go back now."
Andrea
picked up her little brother and held him in her arms. They sat in the chair together as she put
her arms around him and hugged him.
"Andy,
did you fall in love yet?"
"Well
Dot, I think I might have."
"And
are you gunna get married and have a baby?"
"I
think we had a wedding and if I don't go back then I'm not going to have a
baby."
"Oh…okay."
"Now
Dot, you have to promise me not to get mad again. And you can't yell any more."
"I
promise Andy."
"And
you have to promise not to tell anyone I was here. No one can know I married The Masters and they cannot know that I
am trying to have a baby. Do you think
you can remember not to tell people or should I erase your memory?"
"Andy,
maybe you should erase my memory, just in case. Sometimes I have trouble with secrets."
Andrea
smiled at her little brother.
"Okay Dot how about we erase the memory and in a few days you can
come and visit me. I will send The
Masters here and they will bring you back."
"But
can't you come get me Andy?"
"But
Dot, if The Masters come and get you then father cannot tell you no. If I come to get you he might not let you go
with me."
"Oh…I
had not thought about that Andy. Maybe
you should send The Masters to get me."
"I
think that would be a good idea Dot.
Now let me erase your memory."
With that Andrea put her hands on Dot's head, blinked her eyes.
"Andy,
what are you doing here? I did not know
you were coming home."
"Oh
Dot, I just came for a minute, just to make sure you were okay. I have to go back now."
"Can't
you stay Andy?"
"No,
but in a few days you can come visit me."
"Okay,
are we gunna have a baby yet?
"No,
not yet Dot."
"You
work on it."
"Okay
dot I will."
Andrea
closed her eyes, bowed her head and she disappeared from Dot's room to end up
back in the great hall.
*****
"Starchild
I am so sorry. He was just worried
about me. He has always been able to
talk to me when he wants but this time, well he hasn't been able to talk to me
for the past few days and he was scared."
"He
sure can pack a wallop."
"Dot
is stronger than you think. When he was
three he blew up a building. He was
angry and the building just exploded when he looked at it. I try to keep him under control and the only
time he does things like that is when he gets upset or if he is afraid. That is why I took him off the roof that
first day, I was afraid he would do something to you, he was so scared that
day."
"It
is okay Andrea, I understand. I
wouldn't want him mad at me again."
"I
am really very tired, I am going to my room now." Andrea told them.
"Are
you all right Andrea?" Demon asked.
"I
am fine, I am just tired. I just need
some rest."
"Are
you sure? Is there something we can
do?"
"No
my Dragon, I will be fine." Andrea
walked out of the room.
Suddenly
Demon looked up and smiled. "She called
me my Dragon. It is going to be
okay."
Andrea stayed in her room the rest of the day. She stayed in bed and slept, her body was exhausted it had been used so much the last 4 days that she had no energy left. She slept all night peacefully.
She
awoke to a bright sunlit morning. 'It
is my birthday' she thought.
'What
will today bring?'
Andrea was still a bit tired so she lounged in bed until the servants came in to prepare her bath. This day the servants were a bit more excited, you could tell something was in the air.
Today
was the day. Today Andrea was to
conceive the child of The Masters. She
had to remember what Miranda told her, that all these feelings were a battle
with The Dark Ones. They were the cause
of her confusion and fear.
Today
the prophecy would be fulfilled.
Andrea's mind drifted in thought.
'What have I gotten myself into?
They expect so much of me.
Everyone knows what will happen today.
Am I allowed no privacy?'
Andrea's emotions were getting the better of her; she rolled over in bed
as tears ran down her face. 'This
isn't how it is supposed to be.'
"Something
is wrong." Starchild suddenly
said.
"Now
you are starting to sound like Demon." Remarked Celestial.
"It’s
Andrea.” Demon looked very serious.
"I feel it too."
"Is
she in danger? Are any of us in
danger?" Beast said looking out the window.
"No
danger. It is just a
feeling." Starchild told them.
"We
must check on Andrea." Demon left
the room with The Masters behind him.
There
was a knock on Andrea's door but she did not answer, she remained in bed. The knock came again but still she did not
move. On the third knock, which by now
had grown increasingly louder, the servants answered the door.
"Where
is she?" Demon wanted to know.
"Why didn't someone answer the door?"
"Demon…"
Starchild began.
They
all looked at the bed and there she was rolled up in a ball crying. She did not even know they were there.
"How
long has she been like this?" Starchild asked the servant.
"We
just found her. We were preparing her
bath and did not hear you knock."
"Is
her bath ready?" Starchild asked.
"Yes."
"Then
you may go. We will take care of
her." Starchild closed the door
behind the exiting servants.
As
Demon watched her cry he felt as if a knife had pierced his heart. She had given up so much, they had expected
so much from her, and now she was giving up.
He knew she had changed her mind.
Starchild
sat down on the side of the bed and stroked her hair. Andrea did not realize anyone was there. Starchild took her in his arms and cradled
her there.
"Andrea,
tell me why you are crying so." He
coaxed.
Andrea
stopped crying and lifted her head suddenly aware of her surroundings. She looked at Starchild then saw the faces
of The Masters.
"Please
tell me what has brought this on." Starchild again coaxed.
Andrea
looked at Starchild and then laid her head on his shoulder. "It is so much." She started. "I always thought that marriage and
children would be a private matter between people who love each other. But here, everyone knows what I do, where I
spend my evenings. They seem to know my
intimate thoughts."
She
was not changing her mind. What normal
people considered a private matter was public knowledge in the manor and Andrea
was having trouble coping with that.
"Rest
now. We will take care of you. No one else needs to know what is happening
now."
Andrea
closed her eyes and relaxed. She knew
that Starchild would protect her. She
ceased her crying as Starchild held her close.
There
was a knock at the door. Celestial
opened the door to find a servant had brought a tray to Andrea.
"I
will take that." Celestial told the servant as he dismissed her.
Celestial
brought the tray to the bed.
"Andrea, breakfast is here.
I fixed it myself."
Andrea
opened her eyes and saw the smiling Celestial.
"If
you don't hurry Demon will beat you to it and there will be nothing left for
you." laughed Celestial.
"I
wouldn't do that." grumbled Demon.
"I
am rather hungry." She admitted shyly. "I did have a long night."
Demon
looked at the ceiling feigning innocence.
They all laughed.
"Are
you feeling better now?" asked Starchild.
"Yes,
I guess I was just a bit overwhelmed."
Andrea admitted.
"Will
you be all right now?" asked Starchild.
"Yes. You can go." Andrea told them.
One
by one The Masters headed for the door stopping before they went out.
"Andrea?"
Andrea
looked up from her breakfast tray.
"Happy
Birthday."
Andrea
smiled at them as The Masters turned and left the room.