"Wait, what?" Jeff asked.
"You all are royalty, Heirs to thrones of my father and his companions," Tabitha said.
"Really?" Gen asked.
"Yes. Jeff is the son of the Dwarf Lord, my uncle Boden, and Heir to the throne of the dwarves. Rusty is the daughter of the Lady of the Elves, my aunt and Boden's wife Dyani, and she is Heir to the throne of the elves. Jake is the son and Heir of my father, King Uriah, and is destined to take his place as King of Narabithia on the day of his eighteenth birthday. That is why I brought you here now and not any later, because you would be completely unprepared to reign if you are not taught and trained now," Tabitha explained.
"And what about me?" Gen asked.
"Well..." Tabitha said.
"What is it?" Gen said.
"You are of Earth," Tabitha said. "You are a Normal, a being without any magical or supernatural gifts. The only person's Heir who you could possibly be is my mother's, Queen Miriam. However... even that is not proven fact."
Gen hung her head, she had been excited at the possibility of having gifts and going on adventures, and saving lives. But apparently, that was not an opportunity open to her. "So, why am I here?" she asked half-heartedly.
"You're my best friend," Tabitha said. "I couldn't possibly leave you behind."
Gen smiled weakly. "Thanks," she replied.
"So, if we're actually Narabithian royalty, then why did we grow up on Earth?" Jeff asked.
"Hundreds of years ago, the High Priestess had a vision foreshadowing the Great War. In this vision, she saw that Narabithians would be victorious against the demonic sorcerer, The Kindler. However, he would not be vanquished so easily. They would win, but The Kindler would survive until three powerful Heirs arose and battled him. Only then would he be vanquished and sent to Sheol, hell, where he belongs," Tabitha explained.
"Once it was apparent that my father's Heir was born, demons of all kinds began attacking my parents. It became apparent to my father and my uncle and aunt that their Heirs would have to be hidden away simply so that they could survive. They put off sending their children away for as long as they could, but finally, after half my brother's heart was taken from him, they knew they could no longer wait.
"They sent their Heirs, they sent you, to the last place anyone would have expected; Earth. They put you in the homes of families they knew from their vacations and work conferences on Earth. They were always able to communicate with the families and they were able to keep an eye on you. There were unexpected trails that each of you faced, but you not only survived, but you thrived in those circumstances, and my parents were proud of all that you had become.
"That is why you were raised on Earth. Why they kept your heritage from you, I have no clue; but I know that they loved you and did what they thought was best for you," Tabitha finished explaining. "In the hopes that you would one day save Narabithia from a destructive fate."
"What's the prophecy?" Jake asked. "The one that caused your family to send us to Earth."
Tabitha cleared her throat and started singing:
Three of royal blood shall rise
To expose the sinner's guise;
To finally conquer the hell-sent Beast
And finally bring forth Heaven's Feast.
A hard road ahead of them is lain
To master Death and conquer Pain.
She stopped singing and looked at each of the four teens in turn.
"Wow," Rusty said. She picked at the black leather gloves she wore, like she always did when she was nervous.
Gen suddenly appreciated not being a part of the Narabithian royal bloodline. Tabitha looked at them fear, joy, and excitement mixed in her eyes. She looked Gen in the eyes, trying to figure out what she thought of it all.
When she did, something came over her. She began convulsing and shaking fitfully. Then suddenly, her body stood rigid, her mouth and eyes closed. For a second, she was still and silent, not one of her muscles moved. Then she gasped, opening her eyes and mouth as if she had just come up out of the water. However, instead of her luminescent green eyes and her playful laughter, blue light shone forth from her eyes and mouth. She rose into the air, and her short black hair blew about as if in a storm, even though there was no wind at all.
From her mouth came a beautiful but unearthly voice. It sang:
A noble from birth,
An Heir from Earth
To two thrones of might.
She will be the light
That pierces the darkness
And overthrows the night.
When the song ended, she was lowered gently to the ground by some unseen force. It laid her body on the ground, and then all was still. Gen and the four teens surround the Catling, and they waited to see if she was alright. After a minute, when Gen was beginning to fear the worst, she gasped for air and sat up, blinking her large eyes.
Gen gasped. "Tabitha, your eyes!" They had turned a bright luminescent blue, like the color of the light that poured from her body.
Tabitha looked lost for a moment. Then she shook her head and groaned. "What happened?" She asked, grabbing her head. "And what's wrong with my eyes?" The four teens recounted everything that had happened once she had started convulsing.
When they were done, Tabitha grinned excitedly. "I was wrong!" She said happily grabbing Gen's arms. Gen had never seen someone so happy to be wrong. Tabitha noticed the look of confusion on her face and said, "You are not here without reason! And not only are you an Heir, you are an Heir to two thrones of power! You have a more important part to play than anyone could've recognized!" Tabitha said excitedly. "I never should have doubted and underestimated your destiny. I just can't wait to find out what greatness your future holds."
Gen smiled, her eyes and face were full of excitement at the prospect of what her future may hold.
The group of teens followed Tabitha out of the field toward a long, low building made of stone. "My father abandoned this training camp almost ten years ago, when a better piece of property became available much closer to both the capital and the army base city of Cahir. After that, my father turned this into a hunting stop, so whenever we went out hunting together we would always stop here," Tabitha said, walking up to the building.
"However, it has been out of use since my father..." She couldn't finish her sentence. Gen saw the tears forming in her eyes.
"I'm sorry Tabs," she said, putting her arm around Tabitha's shoulder.
"What really sucks is that I don't even know what happened to him. He just vanished one day, never to be seen from again," Tabitha said. She wiped her eyes and straightened her back. "Well, it doesn't matter now; 'what's in the past must stay in the past, or we can never move on to the wonderful future ahead of us.' At least, that's what my mentor always told me."
She walked in the building and the others followed. They entered into a great hall with several hallways branching off of it. By each of the hallways was a plaque that had a subject on in it, like "Magic" and "Combat Strategies", in both Narabithian and English. At the end of the hall, there was a large oak door with a tree carved into it.
The closer the teens got, the more they realized that it was not a simple tree. It was huge, detailed, and spiraling, with large twisting branches full of leaves. A wreath of leaves emerged from the tree and completely encircled it. An ornately designed N was carved into its center.
"Whoa," Jeff said, placing his hand on the carving and admiring the handiwork.
"The Narabithia emblem," Tabitha said. She pushed open the heavy door and walked into the room behind it. The rest of the teens slowly followed.
They appeared to be in some sort of gym/cafeteria, it was a large empty court with hoops and goals on both ends of the room. There were tables and benches cluttered around, lazily shoved into a pile in the center of the room. Tabitha hopped over them with ease, showing off her acrobatic skills, and headed toward a door in the far left corner of the room. She walked through it, and the teens could hear crashes coming from behind it.
They started picking their way across the cluttered room. When they got about halfway, they heard a terrible screeching noise. They quickly turned and saw Tabitha shyly waving through a window as she pushed a metal blinder up. She dusted off her hands and bent down out of sight.
The teens quickly arrived at that end of the room. "Well, this place doesn't look abandoned at all," Jeff said sarcastically. Rusty elbowed him.
Tabitha grunted as she lifted a large box and plopped it down on the counter by the window. Gen looked in and noticed that the room Tabitha was standing in was the kitchen. It was industrial size, bigger than the one at McDonald's, where she had recently gotten a job. The sinks were extremely rusted, but all the other appliances were only slightly worn and still in great shape. The same could not be said for cabinets however. They were filled with dusty plates, bowls, and cups, which were exposed by doors that were hanging on one hinge, or had gaping holes were termites had eaten them.
Tabitha opened the box a little, looked in, and sighed with relief. "Good," she said. "They made it."
"What made it?" Jake asked.
"Your dinner," she said vaguely. "Now," she continued, changing the subject as she closed the box completely. "The first order of business is to repair the Hall, our rooms, and the Kitchen. The cleaning supplies are in the closet over there," she said, pointing to the right. "Jake, Jeff, you will clean the Hall; Gen and Rusty will clean the Kitchen. Then, we will all clean out own rooms. You may begin."
"Wait, while we're in here, what are you gonna do?" Rusty asked.
"Hmm... can't tell you. It'll ruin the surprise," Tabitha said, grinning secretively and wiggling her eyebrows. "Have fun!"