Conflicted: Keegan's Chronicles (5 page)

The excitement was written all over her
face, and it seemed hard for her to sit still whiles she flitted
from flower to tree to rock and touched everything. With the
background of the forest and her auburn hair over that long, green
dress, Donald thought she looked like a nymph of autumn. She was
magnificent.

Donald rose to all fours and gave his head a
good shake. He circled around Keegan and wrapped his tail around
her leg trying to tug her forward. A loud roar escaped from deep
within him and he took off running. He heard Keegan laugh as she
chased after him down to the water.

Submerging his powerful body under the water
felt wonderful. It was the perfect temperature, like a warm bath.
Keegan made it to the edge of the lake, a little out of breath
after chasing him. She had a mischievous grin on her face when she
saw him in the water. “Is it deep enough to dive?” Keegan yelled,
her hands on her hips.

The tiger nodded his head yes, and she dove
in, graceful, like a dolphin. His heart raced. Just the sight of
her had such an effect on him.

Keegan’s arms splashed gently through the
water while she swam up to the tiger. “It is freezing.”

Donald treaded water with all four legs.
“You’re crazy. This water is warm,” he answered.

“Maybe when you are covered in fur, it’s
warm. Hey, wait a minute! I didn’t think you could speak?”

“In here we can pretty much do anything we
want.”

Keegan cocked her head at him, her hair
plastered to her head in a way that was more endearing than
unflattering. “I have to admit this is the most amazing place I
have ever seen.”

“Yeah, Calvron is something else. He can do
just about anything. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have
that kind of power.”

“Do you think he could bring my bond back to
my chosen?”

Donald’s whole body tensed. “No idea, why
don’t you ask him?” After a slight pause, he added, “Are you even
sure you would want him to?”

Keegan stared at him like he was crazy. “Why
wouldn’t I want him to?”

“Well, don’t you think it’s a little strange
that you’re not comfortable around the person who is supposed to be
your perfect match? Wouldn’t you rather know that it was real and
not just some magic bond that made you want to be with him?”

Her eyes on the large tiger before her, she
realized she had never thought of it that way. What if he was
right? She would rather have true love than a magic spell that made
them believe they were perfect together. Shouldn’t she feel
something for Rourk even if the bond was broken? Ugh, it was all so
confusing. She lay back in the water and floated with her head on
the tiger. She was always so comfortable around Donald; too bad he
wasn’t interested in her more than a friend. “You know,” she said,
“you really are smart for a tiger.”

He wasn’t sure if it was the place that gave
him the courage, or the fact that he was in his tiger form. Before
he could stop the words, they spilled out. “I think you should give
me a chance. What if we are perfect together without a bond?”

“Donald, don’t joke around,” Keegan said
with a sigh. “You already made it clear that you’re not interested
in me.”

“That was before your bond was broken.
Keegan, I have always been crazy about you. I just didn’t want to
get hurt. I knew you were an elf and that you were bound to
another.”

She stared across the expanse of water into
the bright blue eyes of the tiger.
This is absurd,
she thought.
I’m talking to a tiger who wants
to date me. Well, then why is your heart beating a mile a
minute,
she wondered. This did feel perfect. “Are you
serious?”

“I have never been more serious about
anything in my life. I know I joke around a lot,” he went on.
Keegan thought it was so weird to hear Donald’s voice come from the
tiger. “This is not a laughing matter. Keegan, every time I see you
I feel like I am on an elevator that has dropped. I think about you
all the time. Maybe fate has stepped in and broken the bond so we
can be together.”

Keegan backed up enough to find the ground
and stood in the water. “I’m sorry, I need to think.”

She disappeared before his eyes. Her main
power was invisibility; it was the first time he had seen her use
it. Donald hoped he hadn’t pushed her away. He couldn’t imagine not
having her in his life, even if she only wanted to be friends. He
rolled over and stared up at the sky. He had done all he could; it
was up to her now.

Keegan was so confused and, oddly, a little
angry. She tried to think positive thoughts to warm herself up
while she trudged out of the water. Her dress and skin dried in an
instant; she guessed it was Calvron’s magic that did it. She sat
down on a large, flat rock in the warm sunshine and recalled the
photos of her weekend with Rourk. They looked so happy together.
Was she ready to give up on her chosen to give Donald a chance?
Could she ever be that happy again without the bond?

Keegan always knew there was something
special about Donald. He was the only boy that held her interest
for more than a couple of weeks. However, she needed to think it
over. Donald was a shape shifter and she was an elf. What if she
fell in love with him and they got married? What would that mean
for their children? She thought of her cousin Keara. She was the
only half elf that Keegan knew. Keara always felt so out of place
among the rest of the elves. Did she really want to do that to her
own children? Ugh, she was ashamed of herself. She was a hypocrite.
How many times had she sat down and told Keara how special she was
for being different? And she truly meant it: Keara was amazing. It
was obvious that she was just looking for an excuse, an easy way
out of her predicament.

What if she did lose her bond so she could
have a chance with Donald? Could she really turn her back on
that?

The real question was could she turn her
back on Rourk? He was her chosen after all.

A voice shook her out of her thoughts.
"Keegan, you’re it. You could have picked a better hiding spot."
Sam gave her a strange look, his blonde mane windblown from his
romp through the woods. He was a magnificent lion, but she was
still fond of certain tiger.

She hadn’t even noticed that she’d become
visible again. "Hide and seek? Well, you guys are about to lose."
Keegan smirking and he roared and ran away.

She leapt to her feet and took off running,
trying to decide whether she would play the game without magic at
first. She looked everywhere for several minutes, but could find no
one. She passed through a small clearing near a clear, trickling
brook and saw movement from the corner of her eyes. Wait, were
those stars she had seen? In a swift movement, she changed
directions and headed toward a group of large, freestanding
boulders. Yes, she saw them again. She closed her eyes and with her
mind, she saw Lauren, her best friend, the fairy. Once again Keegan
was struck by her beauty. "Lauren, you’re it."

Lauren came out from behind the huge
boulder, put her hands palm up and shrugged. "I let you find me. I
know you’re still unsure about how to play in the big leagues."

What the hell did that mean?
Keegan wondered.
Whatever, she would just disappear if anyone was close enough to
catch her. She sprinted towards the forest and searched for a great
hiding spot. The trees were huge, their trunks the biggest she had
ever seen. The colors were so vibrant it was mesmerizing.

Something compelled Keegan to head further
into the woods. She kept going deeper into the shadows, the brush
under her feet cracked, and she didn't want to stop. There was no
way they would find her way back here.

She was sidetracked by the sound of whispers
coming from the large hot pink flowers lining the path upon which
she walked.
Were
they talking?
Keegan leaned down to put her ear next to the
largest and she heard Calvron's voice say, "You're it again." His
laugh could be heard throughout the forest.

"Calvron, is that you? You are a flower?"
Keegan was aghast. She poked one of the silky petals. The flower
swayed back and forth a couple times, and vapor appeared, hiding
the flower and growing larger when Keegan stepped away from it.

In just a few seconds, Calvron stood before
her. He was a tall, lanky guy with shaggy dark blonde hair and pale
blue eyes. Keegan had always thought he was kinda cute, but he was
also too arrogant. "You really suck at this game Keegan."

"What? How can you say that? You
cheated!"

"I cheated? How is that?" He crossed his
long arms over his chest. He looked rather outlandish, but somehow
suave, in a pair of black cotton pants tucked into high leather
boots, topped with his white cocktail jacket. The collar of a
satiny shirt was open under his coat and there were white gloves on
his hands.

"You were a flower."

"Keegan, this is the land of magic, of
course magic will be used. Are you going to tell me you didn't
think your little disappearing act would give you a leg up?"

She felt the anger rise in her and coldness
seeped through her body.

"Keegan, you need to stop being a baby. I
got you fair and square. You are no longer playing with a bunch of
elves and humans. We all have powers here and we use them."

She heard laughter and glanced around to
find there were at least twenty creatures of the light of different
varieties staring and laughing at her. They popped out from behind
trees and morphed from inanimate objects of the forest, just as
Calvron had done from the flower.
How dare they!
They had some nerve making
fun of her. Her fingernails dug into her palms. All of the sudden,
one by one they disappeared and reappeared, blinking in and out of
existence before her while they muffled laughter filled the air.
Even Lauren and Anna laughed.

"Elf, you're not so special in here," echoed
through the land.

Keegan grew colder by the second, her lips
quivered and her body shook. A cracking sound startled her, like a
gunshot through the woods, and when she looked down, the ground had
turned to ice. The laugher had stopped.

Everyone had been turned to ice!
Oh my god, had she
done this?

A loud crack and pop sounded, and the ice
shattered around Calvron. He shook himself, brushing ice shards
from the sleeves of his white jacket. "Keegan, have you always had
the ability to turn things to ice?" he asked in a serious
voice.

She covered her mouth with her hand, her
eyes wide. "No, this is the first time it has happened. I don't
even know what I did."

"Well, it has to be a pretty strong power to
work in the land I made,” Calvron said, his jaw set in a hard line.
“Negative or destructive magic is forbidden in here. What were you
thinking when it happened?"

"I was angry that everyone was laughing at
me."

"So it is probably brought on by your
temper. I don't recall you having a bad temper in the past."

"I didn't, but since I was brought back to
life, I seem to get angry easily and when I do, I can feel myself
getting colder. I can usually warm myself up by thinking positive
thoughts. I guess this is the first time I’ve gotten so mad."

Calvron looked at her with interest. He had
never come across something like this before; he loved puzzles.
Keegan returned his look with pleading eyes. "Can you please help
me?"

He paced around for several minutes like he
was deep in thought, intrigued by the new power she just revealed.
He came to a pause and shook his head at her, his hands clasped
behind his back. "Keegan, I'm not sure I can. Whatever dark magic
is in you is stronger than me. Not to brag or anything, but I'm
pretty damn powerful. I will look into it and see if there is
anything I can do. The easiest thing is to try to avoid situations
that make you angry."

She wanted to cry.
How could she have done this?
"Can't you at least unfreeze them?"

"Nope, that is on you. I was strong enough
to break myself free. You need to figure out how to set them
free."

"Calvron, this is your made up world. You
fix it!" Keegan yelled. She watched in horror as the ice covered
him again. "No, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it. Please stop. I'm not
mad at you. You are one of my best friends. I know you would help
me if you could." The ice melted and Calvron was once again free,
though wet.

Just then, Donald strolled up in tiger form,
his tail flicked behind him. "What happened to them?" His big head
jerked in the direction of the icy creatures.

"Why is he not frozen?" Keegan’s voice
sounded panicked.

"Hmm, if I had to guess it's because you
were not angry at him at the time." Calvron turned and explained to
Donald what had happened.

Donald stared at her with intensity in his
eyes. "Keegan, this is not who you are. Do not let your anger turn
you into something you are not. You need to learn to control this.
Before, you told me when you started to get cold you would think
good thoughts to warm up. So think of something that warms your
heart."

She was still so angry that they mocked and
laughed at her, but she took a deep breath and tried to think of
something that would make her happy.
Why am I drawing a blank? It shouldn’t be so
hard.

Donald sprawled out next to her, using his
back paw to scratch his ear. "I can still picture the first time I
saw you and it always makes me smile."

Looking skeptical, Keegan responded, "You
do?"

He laughed and replied, "It was the first
day of high school and I believe it was in Latin class. The teacher
was giving a long speech. She was going on and on about how we were
freshman and had no idea what we were going to do with our lives.
That we were scared and not sure of ourselves. Inside we all
mentally agreed. You raised your hand." The tiger laughed and shook
his head. "The teacher called on you, and clear as can be you said,
‘I'm going to be awesome.’ I looked over at this auburn haired
beauty and couldn't help but laugh. I knew in that moment that I
had to meet you. I needed to know who this girl with such unabashed
confidence was."