Chapter ~ 4

Rakia's POV

"Happy Birthday, dear Rakia. Happy Birthday to you. Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray!"

The confetti rained down as I cut my birthday cake. Riley and his family were here along with a few of my friends from school to celebrate my birthday. I didn't have much in life, but it felt wonderful to have all these people around.

We had just finished with my birthday dinner and I was so stuffed that I didn't think there was space in my tummy for cake. Mother picked up the chocolate-covered cake and cut it into slices. Father brought out the vanilla pudding, cream puffs, apple pie and set them on the table.

Marina, Riley's younger sister, cheerfully followed Father with a big round bowl of cherry punch. All of a sudden, she shrieked, tripping over the floor rug. The punch flew out of her hands and I leaped onto my feet, trying to catch the transparent bowl of liquid before it hit the ground. But the strangest thing happened.

I caught the bowl but the punch floated in the air. Everyone gasped, eyes wide with shock.

"How is that happening?" Riley asked.

Marina stretched out her hand to touch the red liquid in the air. She didn't get too close then the punch rushed down like it was released from its suspended state. I quickly put the bowl under and caught majority whilst a little of it poured on the rug.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief and I put the punch on the table, but before I left the bowl, it had turned cold.

"Look! It's frozen solid." Riley stared in awe, running his hand over the frozen punch. All my friends gathered around to look at it.

"What kind of party trick is this, Rakia?" Jerome asked.

"I don't know," I answered honestly, "I'm as surprised as you are. But maybe my father knows." I turned around to see the adults gathered together, whispering in a corner.

"Father?" My eyebrows gathered. "What's going on?"

He turned around with a plastered smile and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Nothing, sweetie."

"Riley, Marina. Come now, It's time to leave," Riley's mother called her children and walked past me.

"Yes, I think it's time everyone left." Mother stated, rubbing her temples. She began to usher everyone out.

"Wait. Why?" I protested. "The party isn't over."

"It is now," Mother replied.

Riley threw me one of those what's-going-on looks and I just mouthed 'I don't know.' He followed his parents out the door. "See you later, Rakia," he called out before Mother shut the door behind him.

She leaned against it, sighing, "I feared this day would come."

A frown grazed my forehead. They just ended my birthday party without a tangible reason. "What day?" I walked towards her. "What's going on? First you and Father put up these strange tricks that no--"

"Those weren't tricks, Rakia!" she interjected. "And we had nothing to do with it."

I folded my arms, angrier that she was accusing me. "So what? I did that? I have no idea how it happened!"

"Trina, we have to tell her." Father turned to Mother. "It's the only way she'll understand what's happening to her."

"Nothing is happening to me!" I blurted out.

"Rakia, you need to calm down." Father pushed me gently into the couch. "We have something to tell you." He grimaced. "Something we should have told you a long time ago."

Mother sighed and plummeted into the arm chair. Father sat on the rug on the floor.

All of a sudden, my nerves were on red alert. What were they keeping from me? I'd never kept secrets from them. Ever since I was a child, I've told Mother everything that ever happened to me. They were both quiet which was making me itch with curiosity.

"I don't know how or where to start," Mother mumbled, prepping herself. She and Father shared a look of agreement then her eyes came back to me.

My stomach twisted into a knot and my heart beat faster as both of them spilled the beans.

This was not the kind of secret I was expecting. They told me I wasn't their daughter. Mother found me in a haystack and my real mother died during the war.

I felt my anger dissipate after each passing second. I wasn't their real daughter and all these years, they treated me as their own. They could have left me to die during the war but they didn't. I wasn't the perfect daughter either. There were days I troubled and worried them but they never threw me out or dumped me wherever they found me in Hartland.

My heart felt heavy as I paced back and forth in the living room, questions popping up in my head every second. "What about my father? Where is he?"

They both exchanged glances before turning back to me. "He's alive," Mother said bluntly.

I frowned. "Then why didn't he come for me? Why wasn't my mother with him?"

"After the war," Father started. "A wizard came to us and told us that your father is King Reginald. We didn't believe him at first..." he paused. "Until now."

My brain wasn't far from exploding at this point. "Wait. What do you mean until now?"

"The thing that happened with the punch," Mother answered. "It can only be done by a Hartland royal."

My head was buzzing. "That was a trick, Mother. I didn't do it."

Without looking at me, she moved to the kitchen, returning with the wash basin, half filled with soapy water. She set it down on the center table. "Touch the water, Rakia."

I didn't. I stared at the basin before letting my eyes flicker up to meet hers. She looked back expectantly. "Go on."

I turned to Father for help but he just nodded, telling me to do it.

My heart was pounding in my chest when I took a step forward. Slowly, I placed my palm over the soapy water, gently splaying my fingers. I heard a slight crackle before feeling the whitish liquid solidify under my palm. Gasping, I pulled my hand back, revealing a frozen handprint. The rest of the water had turned into a thin film of ice.

My eyes darted from the basin to my hands. They weren't lying and what happened during the party wasn't a trick or a prank. It was me.

Mother's words echoed in my ears. It can only be done by a Hartland Royal. My emotions were in a fritz. I didn't know whether to cry, freak out or jump about happily. I just stood there, staring at my hands.

Mother shuffled around before standing next to me and placing a hand on my shoulder. She put a hand in her dress pocket, pulling out a pendant. "This was around your neck when I found you. It bears your real name."

She handed it to me. It looked like it was made of ice. Very hard or special ice because it wasn't melting. It glowed in my hand as I study all its features. The Hartland emblem--a crescent moon half immersed in wavy lines that signified water--was chiseled on it, decorating the name 'Araknee' which sat boldly in the middle of the pendant.

"Araknee." It sounded familiar. Where had I heard that name before?... Then it hit me.

"That woman!" I exclaimed. "The woman who came here earlier today. She was talking about me! Wasn't she? That's why she called me Araknee before leaving." And here I thought she was mad and obnoxious but she was speaking the truth. The truth Mother was hiding from me. My eyes moved to her and there was a sad look on her face. She wasn't expecting me to figure that part out.

"Why did you keep me?" The question was out before I even thought about it. "Why didn't you take me to the castle as soon as you found out who I was?"

Mother swallowed hard. Her eyes brimmed with guilt. "I... I... I couldn't. I didn't want to." She plummeted back into the armchair, slouching. "For six years, Ronald and I struggled to have children of our own. We were just about to call it quits, then the war happened and... that's when I found you."

She toyed with her fingers, unable to meet my eyes. "Granark appeared not long after, telling us who you really were and giving us instructions to send you over as soon as your powers showed up. Every single day, I prayed, hoping that what he said wasn't true and I wouldn't have to send you to him." She cupped her face in her hands. "But how could I stop something that was bound to happen?"

I didn't know what to say or think. All this was so overwhelming and surreal. My life was simple. Mother and Father weren't wealthy but they provided me with everything I needed. So why did these powers have to show up and ruin everything?

My ears perked up at the sound of clanking metal, coming from a distance. Father walked to the window to see what was going on. "Rakia, get up! Now!"

"What's wrong, Ronald?" Mother asked.

"Leon must have reported the punch incident," Father answered. "The warriors are coming for Rakia."

Riley's father sold me out? The jerk!

Mother grabbed my arm, dragging me out of the kitchen and into the stables behind the farmhouse. "W-we can't let them take you." Her voice trembled.

"Why?" I asked out of curiosity, "They'll just take me to my real father."

Mother's expression changed to one of gloom. "Trust me Rakia, not everyone is going to be pleased with your existence."

Mother removed a saddle gear from the hook and fixed it on Luca, my favourite horse. I took a quick peek outside. The silohuette of warriors were in the farmhouse, ripping the place apart. Fear crept up my spine.

"There!" Mother exclaimed after fixing everything on Luca. She then took of her cloak, putting it on me. Next, she took off her locket. "Listen, Rakia. I want you to ride to the boundary. When you get there, hold the locket in front of the boundary. Cross the passageway as fast as you can and when you get to the Midlands, look for a man named Granark and give him the locket. He'll tell you what you need to know."

I stared at her in shock before snapping out of it to ask, "Wait! Why do I have to go to the--"

"No time for questions!" she hissed then ordered me to get on Luca. Just when she pulled us out of the stall, a warrior came in.

"They're over here!" he shouted.

"Rakia go! Use the back door!" Mother yelled as more warriors entered the stables with their bows and arrows, ready to shoot.

I wheeled Luca in the direction of the back door. He whinnied and galloped as fast as he could, making our getaway really quick. Luca burst through the doors, galloping even faster than before. Luckily, we didn't live far from the boundary so it didn't take long getting there.

I cast a glance behind me to see the home I knew for the past seventeen years, on fire. I hoped Mother and Father were fine. I didn't even get to say thank you to them for being the best parents a girl could ever ask for. May the Creator protect them.

A number of warriors were mounting horses to follow me but they were at a distance.

Luca and I arrived at the boundary--the black and green magic barrier stood tall, disappearing into the clouds. Quickly, I followed Mother's instructions to hold out the locket in front of the boundary.

The locket glowed and a narrow passageway appeared in between the magic that formed the boundary. My mouth dropped open. How long has Mother had this? For years, no one had been able to get past this thing. No matter how much magic they used.

Neighs from the warrior's horses were drawing closer and I pushed my heels into Luca's side, telling him to move but he hesitated out of fright.

"It's ok, boy," I cooed at him whilst patting his brown mane. "It won't bite."

He snorted a response before moving through the boundary slowly, careful not to let the magic touch him. When we got through, Luca picked up the pace. An unexpected arrow shot into his butt, but not so deep. Luca whinnied loudly and I quickly pulled the arrow out to lessen his pain. Another one shot past, missing my head slightly. I tried bending to dodge the flying arrows.

It looked like we were in the woods. I didn't know where we were going and I didn't care. As long as I got away from the warriors. The cold wind bit into my cheeks as we sped through the plants.

I gasped when pain seared through my body from the side. An arrow planted itself deep in the side of my stomach, spilling blood. How did I not see it coming? I tried pulling it out but being jostled on Luca made my wound hurt more.

Luca made a sharp turn, avoiding the warriors and another arrow. With a mighty grunt, I yanked the arrow out and used my left hand to try to stop the blood flow. Then I realised how difficult it was to ride a horse with one hand.

Everything started dancing in my eyes. I shut them and shook my head, trying to get my vision back but it only made it worse. The world started to spin and I couldn't hold onto the reins anymore.

I felt my body slip and hit solid ground before everything turned black.