The morning sun came streaming in through the skylight in my room. I tried to open my eyes and then closed them again against the brightness of the morning. I turned onto my side then I remembered, today is the first day of training. The week went by fast and with no more incidents. It was now Saturday. My eyes flew open, and I jumped out of bed.
After breakfast and an hour later, I was standing in the middle of the large living room facing Bryden.“Okay now, close your eyes and take a deep breath. Now relax that’s good.” He began, “Focus on your bedroom here. See it in your mind.”I began to concentrate on the room listening to his voice when I no longer heard him I opened my eyes. I was in my old room, and I looked around and saw it was completely ransacked. I couldn’t believe it. My room, what were they looking for? I closed my eyes and began to think of my mom.“Rayna?” I heard my mother’s voice as clear as day. I opened my eyes and saw her. She was sitting on a hard stone like a slab. She stood and began to walk towards me.“Mom?” I whispered then suddenly; I felt her arms around me.“How did you get here?” She cried on my shoulder. Then she held me at arm’s length and stared at me.“Mom, I can’t believe I am here with you.”“You were not captured, were you?” She asked with concern.“No, I wasn’t. I discovered I have a special gift. I am what Bryden calls a teleporter.”“A teleporter?”“Yeah, this is the first time I was able to be here completely. I have seen you here before mom. Only I thought I was dreaming.”“I saw you. I thought I was seeing things.” Just then my mom began to fade, “Rayna? – Rayna!”“Mom?”Suddenly I was back at the Weston’s home. I looked at each and every face. Then I noticed Galen in the background. He was staring at me, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him.“Rayna, are you alright?” I heard Bryden ask me.“Uh yeah, I think so…” I answered. “I was with my mom…” I whispered.“You saw your mom?” Bryden asked.I looked up at him and said, “Yeah, I spoke with her.”“That is good. You must have been more focused on your mother to have teleported to her.”“Was I completely gone this time?”“Yes, you were completely gone.” Answered Kieran. “Not like the other times.” She hugged me, “I never met a teleporter before, let alone be a friend to one. Teleporters are rare.”“How was your mother doing?” Asked Galen this time.I looked at him and shrugged. “She seemed alright. Just confused as to why I was there.” I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his stare.“Well, I am glad that no one else saw you.” Added Bryden. “We need to be more careful next time.”“Next time? What do you mean next time? I demand that this will be the last time.” Galen spoke like he had the authority to do so.“Yes, you are right.” I saw Bryden back down, which perplexed me.“Good,” Then he turned and walked out the door. I stood there staring after him and turned to Bryden.“That will be enough training for today. I will be in my study if you need me.” He said turning and heading into his study.Later in my room, I was laying on the bed staring up at the ceiling and trying to make sense of what happened. Why would Galen treat his father in that manner? And why did his dad back down? It didn’t make any sense.I closed my eyes and thought of Galen and the way he looked at me. Suddenly I felt chilled, and I opened my eyes and noticed I wasn’t in the room on the bed anymore. I was in the cave near the waterfall and the green plants; I was laying on a bed of grass surrounded by flowers near the pond at the base of the waterfall.I heard a sound, and I sat up and looked around. On the stone stairs standing there staring at me was Galen. I stood up and slowly walked towards him. We both kept staring at each other. Then he was the first one to speak.“I thought I said no more teleporting.” His voice sounded a little husky.“I – I wasn’t intending on… I mean it just happened.” Before I knew what was happening, I was suddenly in his arms.“Rayna, I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you. You have no idea how important you are.” He whispered kissing the top of my head.“I’m sorry, I still don’t have this thing under control,” I whispered back as my arms went automatically around his waist. Then as suddenly as the hug began it ended. Right before my eyes, Galen changed and once again the mystery surrounding him was back.How can he just turn off his emotions like that? What I just witnessed was the same Galen from the online messages, that night of my rescue. And yet I cannot help being drawn to this man of mystery. There is something so different about him. I stood there looking at him. Then something snapped inside of me. I rounded my shoulders and stood even straighter.“How dare you!” I snapped at him. It was his turn to look stunned. “How dare you act as you actually care, then become distant…” His lips came down on mine cutting off my words. He was holding me tight and kissing me with such passion. That made me respond. I have never been kissed before, and it felt magical. I didn’t want it to end. And for the first time that missing feeling I always felt my whole life was gone. I felt complete. What was happening? The kiss wasn’t long enough for me. Feelings were being stirred up inside of me, and I want more than anything for this feeling to never go away. He pulled away and said in a husky voice, “Go home, Rayna.” And he walked out the cave leaving me to stare after him.The next morning after a restless night I took a lingering shower. I just couldn’t get that kiss out of my mind. I dried off and dressed then left the bathroom. Tomorrow was another school day, and I still have homework to do. So, I sat at the table in my room with my books and began to study. I must have been in there for hours when a knock sounded at the door. “Come in,” I said as the door was already opening.Kieran peeked around the corner. “Are you going to stay in here all day and not eat?”“What time is it?” I asked closing the books that I barely read.“Past one in the afternoon. We all were beginning to wonder where you were.”“All of you?”“Well, all except Galen, he took off before sunrise and had not returned.”“I’m sorry I concerned you all. I was doing my studies.” I stood up and followed Kieran out the door.“Mom has an excellent lunch warming for you.” I smiled at her and walked into the kitchen.“Afternoon, Rayana. You missed breakfast, so I made something special for
Later I decided to approach Bryden alone in his office. “Mr. Weston, I was wondering about a plan to save my mother. You know the longer we wait the more in danger she is.”He stood and bowed addressing me as, “Your Highness?” I know he called me by my formal title to remind me of who I am. “I am completely aware of a timeline to rescue the Queen. But it is also my duty to protect you.” He placed the paper down that he was reading to focus on me. “And you are no way ready to be able to control your ability for a full rescue. After all, we have no idea if you can control it to travel with another person.”“There is only one way to find out. Teach me that technique now.” I was more than asking; I was just about demanding him, using my royal status. Two can play at the Royal game. I stood there straight and unmoving just looking at him.He nodded his head as he said, “You really are your father's daughter.” He sighed. “Alright let's get on with more training.”“I said no!” Galen said as
Back at the school I saw Galen roaming and looking for us. He looked fit to be tied as the saying goes. I took a deep breath as he noticed us walking across the field and began to walk our direction.“Well, I guess we will see you two tomorrow,” I said to Sara and Amanda.“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”Kieran and I walked to meet up with Galen. “Galen, I am sorry, I had Kieran with me for protection,” I said as we approached him.“Where did you all go?” He demanded.“I was concerned about Jason. He wasn't in school today and wanted to make sure nothing bad had happened to him, we just found out he is out of town. His mother in Washington is pretty sick according to his dad, so he is with his mom.” I saw Galen's expression soften.“I am sorry to hear. But you need to let me know anytime you decide to venture out like this. It is too dangerous.” He led us toward his car.“I will I promise.”As we pulled in and near the front door Galen spoke to Kieran, “Can you give us a bit of time alone Ki
Two weeks later, early November it snowed leaving a few inches on the ground. Since it was still coming down by morning school was canceled. Watching the snow landing on the skylight I began to wonder if Valaisha got snow. Sitting next to the fireplace in front of Galen on the big comfy chair with his arms around I had my head lying against him looking up at the skylight.The others were off doing their own thing with my mom and Luziann in the kitchen chatting, I wondered out loud, “Does it snow on Valaisha?”Galen resting his chin on my head kissed it before answering. “It rains and snows there. Only when it snows, it is a pale pink, and still pretty cold.”“Pink snow?” I said with a giggle, “Are you serious?”“Completely serious. You will see it for yourself one day.”“Wow,” I said with a sigh. “I look forward to it. So, there are seasons much like here then.” It felt good being held in his arms.“Yes, there are seasons. Any other questions?” He asked.“Yeah, with my mom and I being
As the weeks went by, I kept myself busy to keep my mind from thinking about Galen, my painful heartache, and the marriage to a complete stranger. Kieran was learning how to handle a horse really fast and was enjoying herself. The school was nearing Thanksgiving break and we planned on doing a celebration of the holiday here on earth.No one heard anything from Galen nor did anyone talk about him...at least not in front of me. And I did everything to keep my thoughts away from him it was too painful. Nighttime was another thing altogether when I am alone with my thoughts and pain. And it wasn't getting better only worse with nightmare screams that would wake everyone in the house.Thoughts of Galen then the thoughts of a total stranger, I am to marry plague my mind. Everyone was getting concerned about me, but I just blew it off and told them I was fine. They never pressed further. But it was only getting worse and realized I need to talk to someone. So, I finally sat down privately o
Bryden and my mother headed off into town to check Kieran and me out of school. Thus, begins homeschooling for us. Luziann already has books and work prepared for us to do. She is going light on the work with us today as this Thursday is Thanksgiving, and she has some new recipes she wants to try, and it takes a couple of days of prepping to do. Since living here, I have tried many new dishes from my home world, and I think Thanksgiving will be no different.We are sitting at the dining table doing our work, and I realized there are things about the worlds while reading a book on our history; made me realize I know nothing about it.“This whole book is about Valaisha?” I asked, and Luziann answered from the kitchen.“I realized as our Princess you don't know of our history. This might help you to understand about your world as well as the other two worlds; and why we must save them. You will also read about the fall of Kaihu when the good ruler died. At one time, the three worlds were
Thanksgiving was one day away, and I couldn't help but wonder how long Porter intended to stay. In the meantime, my mother instructed me to spend more time with Porter, so I decided to take him out and show him around on horseback. As we rode through the tall pines and my pointing out to him the different wildlife he came right out and asked me, “You don't like me much do you, Rayna?” I had not realized I was that obvious.“It's not that I don't like you, Porter, I have just been thrown so much in my life that it is a lot to take in. I mean to be told I am to be getting married to unite two worlds together...I mean to a...” I paused and bit my bottom lip.“To a complete stranger.” He finished. “I do understand Rayna. To be honest for me I feel as if I already know you. Can you try and get to know the real me? The man I am and not the enemy?”“I hadn't realized I made you feel that way. I am sorry. I sincerely am.” I looked deeply for the first time since he arrived in his eyes and a t
A week later Porter had decided to stay longer. We seem to be bonding in a nice friendship, but my heart belongs to Galen. I can't get over him and wondered where he is and what he is up to right now; and if he even misses me. I know he loves me and I can't help but wonder if he felt he needed to back out because of Porter. Maybe that was the deep conversation he and Bryden had that day; because he was suddenly gone with no word soon after.It had taken a week for the palace guards to locate Jason's dad, who had gone into hiding, but I can't help but wonder who that man Jason was talking to that day in the woods. And why were they in that particular spot? Well, I am not going to worry about it because the immediate danger, for now, has been eliminated.I have been finding quiet moments for myself and been visiting the cave with the gateway. I have hiked with Porter to the cave a few times, but today I was alone. I have been lying back on the soft grass and doing some heavy thinking. V