Almost two seasons after the war ended, on a late summer day, he lay on the beach just outside his house, like he did every afternoon. The sun was on the last mile of its journey for that day, and was preparing to say its goodbye. The air was still hot outside, despite a cool breeze blowing in from the ocean.
Daniel relished in the warm lovely feeling of the sand under his feet, while his mind went to the usual topics, like waves running towards the same old rock. He thought of the first night he spent on this beach and smiled to himself. He had been convinced then that this was all nothing but a dream. To this day, he still wasn’t sure that he was wrong; he half expected to wake up at any moment and find himself back in his bedroom, at his London flat with his dad. He missed home and his dad, but he had fallen in love with this place and knew that this was now his home.
The sound of light footsteps approaching behind him drew his attention, and he turned to see who it was. Hëna walked towards him, wearing a simple white dress and hair loose much like the first time he had seen her. Her big black eyes were focused on him, full of light, while her beautiful red lips formed the loveliest smile he had ever seen on her. Her bare feet stepped gracefully on the dry sand, causing his heart to beat in sync with their rhythm. The rays of sunshine bounced off her perfect white skin, coming away even brighter than before. It seemed she still had some light left in her.
Daniel was so surprised to see her that he failed to even get up, as was the polite thing to do.
‘Hi,’ she simply said as she sat beside him on the warm sand. The breeze blowing in from the sea played with her long black hair, carrying her enticing scent over to him. Daniel inhaled deeply, cherishing it like he would never get another chance.
‘Your mother told me I would find you here,’ her voice was as melodious as he remembered it.
‘Yes, I live here now,’ he answered, all the while trying to control the crazy pounding of his heart, which had never obeyed him before. ‘I’ve always loved the sea, plus I get to hang out with Nemo a lot.’
Hëna smiled, but did not ask of Nemo like he thought she might. Instead, she cast her gaze at the horizon before her, far where the sky met the ocean, and allowed herself to take it all in.
‘It’s so beautiful here, so peaceful; I understand why you like it so much. I should come out here more often.’
Daniel said nothing; this wasn’t really a conversation, more like an ice-breaker. He sensed that she was simply stalling, and would soon say whatever she had come here to say, so he just waited.
‘My father says “hello”,’ she continued, clearly biding her time. ‘He wonders when you’ll be visiting Arba again; he says he’s got a couple of ideas he’d like to run by you.’
This wasn’t news to Daniel; he’d already received this message from Autumn through his mother. And he’d already replied that Damien would be the one to deal with these things from now on. Ever since his brother had taken over his life back in the real world, they now both shared in the responsibility of being the Great Lord over Endërland. Daniel much preferred it this way. He wasn’t cut out to lead an entire kingdom, or maybe just wasn’t ready. So he was more than happy to delegate this part to Damien instead.
‘Thank you,’ he decided to reply to her, before things got awkward. ‘I will go and visit soon, though it’s really Damien he should talk to about these things now.’
‘That’s right,’ she said, though she didn’t seem as intrigued as she sounded. ‘You’re both Great Lords now. How does that work?’
‘I don’t think I even know myself,’ Daniel answered. ‘I let him go through my portal, giving him possession of my body along with the right to the lordship of Endërland, I guess.’
‘And, you’re okay with that?’ she asked, though what she really wanted to know was why he had decided to stay in the first place.
‘I would give it all away if I could; it was never what I wanted. I was happy being just Daniel and wouldn’t really mind going back to that.’
Hëna understood. She’d been a lightbringer for so long that she had forgotten what life actually was like. And now that she was no longer in charge of the night, she could be herself again and experience everything that she had put aside in favor of her duty. She continued to stare at the horizon ahead, all the while playing with the sand between her fingers. For the first time ever since he’d met her, Daniel realized that she was nervous.
She took a little more time, during which he just sat there, waiting, and then, without looking at him, she finally spoke again.
‘Why didn’t you come to me? For a long time after the battle I waited for you to come and find me, but you never did.’
Finally, she’d said it.
‘I didn’t think you wanted to see me again,’ Daniel replied, not knowing what else to say. Deep inside, however, he was happy that she brought this up. It was about time they had this conversation, and the fact that she started it, was a good sign.
She looked at him only for a moment and smiled feebly.
‘I guess I must have been very convincing,’ she said and then looked down and away from him, as if guilty.
‘I did not really want you to leave, Daniel; I didn’t mean any of what I said that day. I just…, when I heard the White Lord threaten to kill you, I panicked. I thought, convincing you to go back, was the only way to save you. I knew there was no hope for the rest of us here, but there was still a chance for you. I guess, I didn’t have enough faith in you; I’m sorry.’
Daniel felt like smiling. A part of him had always known it had been an act, but he couldn’t allow himself to actually believe it.
‘Don’t be,’ he said, ‘I doubted myself for a very long time before that day, and until the very last moment, I never really believed I was the Great Lord.’
‘Still, I should not have doubted you. Heli always knew, and for a while his faith became mine. But my fear got the better of me.’
‘That’s funny, I never thought you were afraid of anything.’
‘Me neither, until I met you.’ She now turned again to look at him in the eyes and held his gaze.
‘I was afraid I would lose you forever, and I couldn’t live with that. I thought, as long as you were safe, I could deal with anything.’
Daniel’s heart began to race even faster now, as he realized what she was actually saying. He reached for her hands, drawing closer to her, and this time she did not push him away.
‘Well, you didn’t lose me, though I must admit, you were pretty convincing; I almost left.’
‘I’m glad you didn’t,’ she said, and he knew she meant it. They sat like that for a while, still looking at each other, not really knowing what to do next.
Then Hëna spoke again.
‘I’ve been meaning to ask you something. Did you know Heli would return that night with the rest of them?’
‘No,’ Daniel replied, smiling as he thought back on that night, ‘I didn’t. But I think I wanted him too.’
Hëna smiled.
‘I had a feeling you might have. Thank you.’
They were too close now, and her eyes suddenly sparkled with that mischievous look he knew all too well.
‘There’s something else I’ve been meaning to say, or rather, do since the first day I saw you.’
‘Oh yeah? What’s that?’ Daniel asked, thoughts running wild in his head. Hëna drew closer as if to kiss him, and at the last moment, raised her hands and dipped her fingers in his hair, messing it all up.
She laughed heartily, as did Daniel, lifting his hands to fix his hair again. She then leaned even closer and placed her lips on top of his, kissing him softly. Daniel ignored his hair and held her face with both his hands, kissing her back.
‘I love you, Daniel,’ she whispered, taking her lips back for a moment, ‘I always have.’
Hearing her say those three simple words, he knew that it was true. He knew that she was the reason why he would always choose this world; he knew that with her was where he belonged.
He drew back, looked into her beautiful bright eyes again and answered.
‘I love you!’
(End of Volume I)
The
ENDËRLAND
Chronicles
Volume II
‘BOOK OF SERENA’
(Coming 30/09/2016)
The Other World