I'm Coming Home
Indeed, when we returned home, we had a message from the university that stated we had orientation and books to pick up. It would be in two days, mother thought it would also be prudent to visit with Pretre Jean to see what he had to say about my having multiple abilities. I have to say that when we received the message, I was feeling the most nervous than I ever had in my entire life. Yet here I was dressed in a navy-blue pant suit with a teal silk under shirt, putting on the final touches of my makeup with a swipe of a deep burgundy lipstick. I did my eyeshadow to match my outfit, I wanted to make a good first impression in Vellum. Er, well it was a second impression but I was not cognizant of the first time I was in Vellum. I also was aware that I could very well run into Burnett and that thought made me want to put my best foot forward. Mother thought it would be best if I represented the Batiste family in our colors. She had also woken me up at the butt crack of dawn to finger wave my hair and place the length of it into a bun. I looked like a cross between a 1920′s gangster and a flapper. My mother entered the room clasping a bracelet to her right hand and she looked up, “Alexandra, you look gorgeous. Are you ready? Jess and the others are waiting for us downstairs.”
We emerged from the hallway and walked down the stairs where my father and grandfather were in foyer talking with Jess. My father was running through a checklist with Jess, “Do you have your locket?” She pulled the necklace out from under her shirt and then he continued, “Do you have that thing we discussed last night?” She knitted her brows and placed her hand in her pocket and nodded. He said to her, “You don’t have to show me but knowing you have it makes me feel better about sending you ladies off alone without me or my father.” She nodded again, “Of course Your Grace.” That caused me to pause on the stairs, “Your Grace” is only ever uttered to my father from Jess or father when they are on official business. I had wondered what it was that Jess had in her possession that made my father feel better. Knowing Jess’ chosen career path, it didn’t surprise me that my father would try to protect me by using Jess. She had told me that she had always wanted to join the Citadel and that her personal hero was my uncle. She read about his heroic deeds and how he died in the pursuit of protecting the King. She said there was nothing more noble than serving her country and perhaps dying a hero’s death. It had struck me as strange that this meek and shy girl would ever want to choose a military career but it made me admire that she had the conviction to follow her chosen path.
Meanwhile, here I was trying to get out of being a royal scribe because I didn’t want to be seen as pursuing the King as a woman entering the program. I had more of noble reason but I didn’t want to be hated by the men in program just because other women tried to get close to the King. I had no such ambitions, I’m sure the King was most attractive. It was his reputation after all, everyone from Vellum that I knew talked of how beautiful he was and how he was still single even though he was coming upon the age where he had to marry. During one of Vanessa’s many visits since my ceremony she had me take tea with her and my mom. She had said, “The King has to marry nobility, of course but I’m told he hasn’t so much as turned his head to any of the women in Vellum who are eligible. There are rumors that, since he doesn’t seem interest in women, that he must be into men. Vellum is forward thinking so, of course he can choose to be with men. That being said he is expected to produce an heir and must therefore marry a woman or he must abdicate to his older brother Blake.” I had stopped before I took a sip of my tea, “He inherited the throne before his older brother?” Vanessa chuckled, “In Vellum, the heir is determined by merit and not by order of birth. I wouldn’t be good to put someone on the throne who isn’t suited to it.” This confused me, “So why then, would they make the current King abdicate to another who is less qualified?” Mother interceded, “Because if a King doesn’t even try to produce an heir, he is not suitable either. The line of Doré needs to continue if Vellum is to continue to thrive. That is what the Grand Pretre has determined of the royal line.” At this line of thought, I was snapped back to reality by my mother who quite literally snapped in my face, “Quit spacing out, we are expected to meet with the headmaster soon so we need to get the lead out.” I hurried down the stairs realizing she was right, my high heeled black open toe shoes clacked on the black marble tile as soon as I stepped off of the green carpeted stairs.
I had turned to my father kissing him on the cheek after looking at his astonished face. He whispered in my ear as he kissed my cheek, “You look so beautiful. Try not to break hearts on your brief visit home and remember what’s to come tonight.” I pull away from him and wink, our conspiracy to throw mother a surprise party tonight was nearly complete. We just needed her to get out of the house so Vanessa could work her party magic. With that I raised my arm in the air and shouted, “Vámanos! We are running late!” We hurried out to the carriage and loaded all three of us off but not before my mother barked to the driver, “Quickly Maurice! We need to get to Vellum as soon as possible.” With that the carriage got off to a racing start and in no time, we were at the portal. Mother grabbed my hands before we left the carriage, “You will feel a little nauseous walking through the portal for the first time but you can put this candy in your mouth that Vanessa made and it should subside quickly. I’m going to walk you through the steps and you’ll go first.” I nodded and followed my mother out of the carriage. This time Maurice was helping us down, I turned to him and said, “I truly appreciate your work today, Maurice.” He blushed and bowed, “It was my honor Your Grace. I will be awaiting your return.” Maurice was a shorter man in his late 20s with ashy brown curly hair and brown eyes. He was always one to keep to himself. He was the bookish type, perfectly happy to lay in the barn’s hay and read. He would often recommend books to me and I enjoyed listening to his thoughts on literature. He was definitely a fan of Jane Austen, he loved Sense and Sensibility. My mother came over and said, “Xan, we haven’t time to spare.” I nodded, “Right.”
She led me up the stairs to the doorway and turned to me, “Okay, do you have your locket? I pulled it out from underneath my shirt.” She nodded and said, “Okay, so you will place it in the nook...right here.” She pointed at a dark spot in the stone in the shape of an oval with a lion’s head embossed in the center, just like the face of the locket. I placed the locket to line up the picture on my locket with the one in the nook. I felt a small buzz under my fingers as the nook held my locket. My mother then said, “You probably don’t know this but your magic was imbued within this locket when you were a baby. Everyone’s magic is like their Vellum DNA, everyone’s is unique and since this locket is imbued with your magic the portal can read who you are. This information is sent to the royal scribes in the visitor section and they log who comes and goes. They send this information to the Citadel who scrutinizes who comes and goes. It’s another way to keep Vellum safe.” Just then I felt a warm glow coming from the portal, it was glowing purple. My mother knitted her brow, “It should be white.” I grabbed her arm to reassure her, “Mother, I believe I will be safe. I think the Grand Pretre was right, I am being protected by Aphrodite.”
I stepped into the portal and immediately felt the warmth of an embrace. I heard a whisper in my ear and looked up to find the face of a beautiful glowing figure. She smiled at me, “My champion of love, I will keep you safe in your travels. You need not fear, I can sense this from you. Why are you apprehensive?” I blinked in disbelief at the sight of whom I believed to be Aphrodite. I bowed, “Great Aphrodite, I am afraid of what I don’t know. I have not been to Vellum before and I don’t know how my path will be.” She smiled again, “Live your life little one, I will put the One in your path that I have deemed worthy of you. You just need to meet him and cultivate that relationship so that you may provide your children for your country. One will be instrumental in the church; she will be my future envoy. The other, a son, will be instrumental in helping to shape the land of the Gods...our Vellum. Just breathe and steel your heart as you have always done. It will not be easy; nothing ever is but you are more powerful than you realize.” After she said that I had stepped onto a lush grassy field and immediately felt the need to vomit. I pushed the candy in my mouth and looked around. In front of me about a mile away, was bustling city that looked like something out of medieval Europe. There was a castle built of light grey stone in the center and off to the right, outside of the city was an equally impressive and large red bricked building that was surrounded by wrought ironed fence and a gate with a large moon on it. I presumed it was Lune de Minuit and to the left a vast forest with black trunked trees. I gasped and whispered to myself, “Blackwood, I’m home.”
