Conflicted: Keegan's Chronicles (2 page)

Keegan noticed a glance exchanged between
Anna and Lauren, and wondered what that was all about. She shrugged
it off and led the way through the back doors of the school.

It was a bright day outside without a cloud
in sight. Some of their classmates lounged around the quad with
their lunches and sodas, enjoying the mild weather and sunshine.
Laughter and the distant sound of cars on the main road were the
only sounds the girls heard while they headed for the shade of an
old oak tree.

Keegan turned with her hands planted on her
hips once they were hidden behind the bushes that surrounded the
tree. "So how long have you guys known I wasn’t human?"

Lauren looked down sheepishly, unable to
make eye contact. Anna smiled from ear to ear. "Finally! Do you
know how hard it has been all these years not to be able to talk
about the elephant in the room?"

Keegan wasn't sure if she should laugh or
cry, or stomp her feet like a little kid and scream
not fair!
She crossed her
arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at her friends. "You have
both
known
all this time?"

Anna shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, it's not
our fault that elves like to be so secretive."

Keegan turned her attention to Lauren. “So,
you’re a fairy?”

Lauren looked from side to side to make sure
no one was looking. All of the sudden, flecks appeared in the air
like stars, and almost translucent wings flapped open behind her.
Lauren floated in the air with a big grin across her face.

"Wow, that’s really neat." Keegan looked
over at Anna. "What's your story? I hear people aren't quite sure
about you, because your dad is human?"

Anna lifted her hands in the air and closed
her eyes. Keegan’s mouth dropped open as flames appeared in her
palms.

Keegan jumped up and down, clapped her hands
and squealed, "We are like the coolest kids ever!"

Anna's face scrunched up. "I don't know, I
think Calvron might be the coolest kid ever." Lauren nodded her
head in agreement. "He is awesome!"

Keegan crossed her arms across her chest and
stared back and forth at them. It was not fair that they all knew
about each other and she was the only one left out. She thought
they were her friends. She gave in and asked, "Why is he so
cool?"

Lauren flashed a mysterious smiled and said,
"He's a very powerful wizard, and they are rare these days. He can
do almost anything; at least, that's how it seems."

Anna looked wistful. “I wish I had a quarter
of his power.”

“What are you, Anna?” Keegan raised an
eyebrow. “You're not a spirit walker like your mom, are you?"

Anna’s eyes squinted. "How did you know my
mom is a spirit walker?"

Keegan was stunned into silence for a
moment. "You guys didn't hear?"

They exchanged another glance and looked
confused. Anna shook her head. "Hear what?"

Keegan took a deep breath and told them the
long version of how she lost and regained her life. They both
stared at her with their mouths hung open.

“You guys know about the battle between the
light and dark elves, right?”

Anna’s face fell and she nodded. “Yeah, we
heard something about it.”

“Well, I was there,” Keegan told them. She
gave them a wry grin when they both gasped. Lauren covered her
mouth with one hand and touched Keegan’s shoulder with the other.
“So were Donald and the other guys. Donald was hurt and I ran onto
the field to help him. My mom is a Healer, and she was able to
treat his wounds, but we were in the middle of the fight.” Keegan
paused and cleared her throat as she remembered the clash of
old-fashioned weaponry, the stench of hundreds of sweaty bodies,
and the ground drenched in blood. “I was hit by an arrow and
killed.”

Anna and Lauren looked at her in horror, but
Keegan plunged on, “Anna, your mom somehow knew I was dead and
showed up. She brought me back to life with dark magic.”

Lauren spoke first when she had finished,
"Oh my god, you were dead? Keegan you were dead!" She pulled Keegan
into a tight hug. “I can’t believe we could have lost you for
good.”

Anna was quiet for several moments before
she whispered, "My mom knows dark magic?"

Neither Lauren nor Keegan knew what to say.
The look on Anna’s face made Keegan change the subject. "What do
you guys know about elves?" She was curious if they really knew
anything, and if so, whether any of it was accurate. She also
wanted to clear the gloom that had followed her story.

Lauren bounced up and down. "I've heard that
elves put on a front that they live among humans, but in reality
they live underground. Is that true?”

Keegan couldn't help but smile. “There is a
sliver of truth. We have underground safe houses in case of
emergencies. Elves prefer living in nature over living in a
city."

Anna spoke up, her voice a little clearer
than it had been moments before. "Well, we are all envious that
elves have the key to finding your perfect partner. We think that
is the real reason you are all so secretive. Although we wish elves
would share what they know. It doesn’t seem fair they are the only
ones that know their soul mates without the search.”

Anna’s observation brought all of Keegan’s
problems back to the surface, and she pouted.

Anna reached out to Keegan and shook her,
gently. What’s wrong?"

"It is true about the perfect partner. We
call them our chosen since they are chosen for us at birth. We’re
not supposed to meet them until we turn eighteen. Apparently, I
have already met my chosen, but because of the dark magic I don't
recall him." It felt good to have someone to talk to about all of
this; it was all so confusing for her. She pulled out her phone and
showed them a picture she had saved on it of her and Rourk near the
waterfall. She explained how they had spent the weekend together
and she couldn't remember.

“When I was brought back,” Keegan said,
shooting a glance at Anna, “and I met him, I felt nothing for him.”
The look on her friend’s faces let her know how bad they felt for
her. People searched high and low for their perfect match. To have
it handed to you and then taken away seemed too cruel.

“He’s hot.” Anna grinned. She handed the
phone back to Keegan who managed a weak smile.

Anna continued, "You asked what I was,
because of my parents.” Anna fidgeted with her sweater. “Well, I am
a witch." After a brief pause she added, "On the side of the
light."

Keegan could tell she was bothered that her
mother knew dark magic.

"I wonder if there are any spells to bring
back the bond?” Anna said. “It would seem if it was taken away that
it could be given back."

For the first time Keegan allowed herself to
feel hopeful. "Do you think that’s possible?"

"I will have to look into it, there is still
so much I don't know, and I've never had anyone to teach me. Maybe
I can talk to Calvron; he might be able to help or at least point
me in the right direction."

Keegan glanced down at the photo one more
time before she put her phone away. "Thank you, Anna; you have no
idea how much this means to me."

Keegan was excited and relieved that she
could finally share who she
really
was with her best friends. She wondered if
this was why they stayed friends no matter how different their
personalities were. Perhaps creatures of the light could sense one
another. Keegan smiled and thought of all the times she’d made up
stories in her mind of people and guessed whether they were
creatures or human. Not once had she given thought to the fact that
her friends might not be. Oh, the irony of it.

A huge smile spread across her face, and she
couldn't wait to see what adventures they would share together now
that their powers were out in the open.

Rourk looked through his closet trying to
decide what to wear. It was their first date and he wanted it to be
perfect, but he had no idea what humans wore for such things.

He pushed his hangers further to the left.
Then again to the right; his wardrobe was useless. There had to be
something for him to wear. All of his clothes looked alike: shirts
were all earth tones and a few pairs of jeans and khakis. He smiled
and thought Keegan would probably love to go shopping with him.

His father came to the door and stared in at
him. The gray hair at his temples had gotten lighter since the
battle, though it only heightened his movie-star good looks. Every
time he looked at his dad, Rourk thought how different they were.
His father stared at the clothes strewn across the bed. “What are
you doing?”

Embarrased, Rourk answered, “Trying to
figure out what to wear.”

His father’s booming laugh filled the room
which shocked Rourk. The man didn’t smile much, let alone laugh.
“Son, in 18 years I have never seen you debate your clothing
choices.”

Rourk’s shoulders slumped. He took a deep
breath and closed his eyes. “Dad, this sucks. How do humans deal
with this on a regular basis? I'm nervous, what's up with that? I
am a warrior, we do not get nervous, let alone over a silly
date.”

His father placed his hand on Rourk’s
shoulder, catching his son’s gray eyes with his own intense blues.
“I’m sorry this is not going as easy as you expected. Just know
that it will be worth it in the long run.”

His dad walked away with a grin on his face,
which rather annoyed Rourk.

Finally, Rourk decided to play it safe and
picked a pair of khaki pants and a plain black t-shirt. He looked
in the mirror and ran his hand through his rust colored hair; he
needed a haircut. Rourk rubbed his face vigorously and thought,
well, there isn’t
much I can do about my looks.
Keegan had found him
attractive before the black magic, so hopefully that hadn’t
changed.

Rourk grabbed his keys from his dresser and
headed out. The closer her came to her house the more his stomach
was in knots.
What
is wrong with me? It’s just a date
.

***

The doorbell rang and Keegan’s father yelled
out his usual line, “Don’t forget the first rule of dating.”

“Dad, you say that every time I go on a
date. You know it gets old." She laughed and added, “If he breaks
that rule it’s your fault, since you trained him.”

Keegan glanced at herself once more in the
mirror and thought,
not bad
. Her auburn hair was behaving itself. She
had on just the right amount of makeup to bring out her features,
and the outfit she chose was a form fitting blue sweater and a pair
of jeans that flattered her figure.

She opened the door and hoped to feel a
spark or something. Yet again, she felt nothing.

He was hot, she would give him that. They
looked at one another and his grey eyes were so intense, and she
loved how strong his jawline was. She gave him a once over.
Nice,
she
thought to herself. She always thought guys looked hot in khakis
and his shirt was just tight enough to show off his defined chest.
The sleeves looked a little snug; she tried not to stare at his
muscled arms.

“Keegan, you look…um, you look good.” He
stared at the porch at his feet. The sky was rose-colored behind
him, a beautiful contrast to the trees surrounding the house.
Keegan loved the way it smelled outside when fall had arrived.

She smiled at him. “Thank you.”
You look good? That was the best
he had? Ugh, this might be a long night after all.

Keegan twirled a piece of her hair and
looked up at him. “So, where are we going to eat?” She hadn’t
stepped back to let him in the house, nor had she moved forward to
the porch. Of course, she didn’t notice his confusion over it.

“I figured we’d keep it low key and grab a
pizza, if that's okay with you?”

“That sounds great!” Her smile reached her
eyes which caused them to sparkle.

Rourk didn’t think he would ever get used to
her overwhelming beauty. She was perfection. Why couldn’t he say
the words?
Good?
That didn’t begin to do her justice. He was
going to have to do better than that if he was going to win her
back. Why did he feel so awkward? It wasn’t supposed to be this
way. When they had been together before it felt so natural, like
they’d known each other their entire lives. He would do anything to
get that back.

They rode to the restaurant in silence, and
not the pleasant kind. Rourk tried to think of something
interesting to talk about. Finally, he thought of a topic he knew
interested her. “How is your photography going? Have you gotten any
good shots lately?” He was relieved to see her face light up.

She rambled on about how much she loved
taking pictures. “I want to get a new lens so I can get better
pictures of animals in their natural environment. My parents have
been talking about going to Sri Lanka, and I’d love to get some
good shots of the elephants. If I’m lucky, maybe a tiger.”

Rourk tensed at the mention of a tiger, even
though he knew it was a well-known fact there were tigers in Sri
Lanka.

“When do you plan to go there?”

“I’m not sure. My parents tend to spring
trips on us out of nowhere. Hopefully soon.”

“How many countries have you been to?” It
was hard to keep his eyes on the road when he wanted so badly to
watch her face as she spoke.

Keegan paused to think and counted off on
her fingers in silence. “At least fourteen, but I’ve probably
missed some. I only count the ones I remember and not the ones from
when I was a baby.”

“I haven’t been many places. My father
doesn’t enjoy traveling anymore since my mother died. Do you have a
favorite place you have been?” Rourk glanced over at her.

“Hmm, I think that would have to be Nepal.
It’s so beautiful there and the people are so friendly even though
they live in poverty. It’s cool to see how the women dress in
bright colors and always have smiles on their faces. The hiking is
amazing there too. I think you would love it. Although, the first
time I went I couldn’t eat chicken for a long time. On the
sidewalks they slaughter them right in the open. Probably one of
the reasons I went on that vegetarian kick you mentioned.”