Chapter Three

“You can take me there?” Freja enquired.

“Of course, it isn’t that difficult for us to travel between worlds.”

“How many worlds are there?”

“To be honest, I don’t think anyone knows how many there are. We find new ones yearly and sometimes they find us. Some are more advanced than us, some are more backward, and some are ahead in so many ways, but so far behind in other.” Tad was getting enthusiastic talking about this large universe that existed.

“Wow, it all sounds so amazing. I would love to see all these places. I always wanted to travel, but I lost sight of that when all that was on my mind was finding my parent’s killers.” Freja was starting to feel like her old self, her happy self.

“It is pretty amazing. But you have to remember, it can also be a bit brutal in these places. Especially when magic is involved.” Tad warned Freja, and also damped her spirits a little.

“I think anywhere can be brutal, its just in different ways. There is a lot of evil wherever you go. You can never completely escape it. But I would like to be somewhere I actually belonged.”

Freja stood up and walked into her bedroom, she was in there for about five minutes before she reappeared in the living room. She was carrying a full, and what looked very heavy, rucksack and had a holdall.

“I’m ready.” She announced.

“What for?” Tad looked slightly confused and shocked at how much luggage she had.

“To go home, of course.”

“Right now? Don’t you want to rest or have some time to think? Don’t you have things to tie up here before you just run off? And how much stuff do you need?” Questioned Tad.

Freja felt like she was being asked twenty questions.

“You said you would show me home. I want to go. This is what I have been waiting for! I need to know the truth about my parents and I need to find my family and people I belong with. I am so lonely here and I am tired of chasing ghosts. I don’t have anything to tie up, I was going to get fired from the job soon anyway and I rent this flat. I have want I need in these bags, because I won’t be coming back. Not for a long time. And this holdall is just my favourite weapons, I don’t know who I am going to encounter there.” Freja was talking so fast and choking on tears,Tad barely caught it all.

“Whoa, slow down! Okay, we can go. I am going to assume that you believe what I am saying?” Tad felt like he was the one in a whirlpool now.

“I used to always be an optimist, I miss that side of me. I have never had any decent leads here. No one seems to know anything. The only people that did were my Nana and Grandpa and now they are dead. I am tired of wasting my time here. I need answers and I think you can lead me to them.” Freja was adamant that she was going.

“Okay then, lets go.”

They had been driving for almost three hours now and Freja was beginning to feel it was all a farce. If she had skipped work again for something that was something a looney had made up in his head she was screwed and going to be very pissed. It didn’t help that Thaddeus had one CD in the car and it was some awful country singer and the radio was just getting static. The one time her iPod was flat.

“How long do we have to drive for? I thought you said it was easy to travel to another realm?” Freja was getting a bit agitated.

“It isn’t much longer, about forty minutes. It is easy, once you get to one. Your parents wanted to make sure that you weren’t near a portal to make it harder for the Royals to locate you.” Tad explained.

“Do you know what my parents did?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t. My parents wouldn’t tell me either. They thought I was too young to understand.” 

Tad felt guilty that he couldn’t help Freja learn exactly what had happened to them. He couldn’t imagine how it must feel to lose your mum and dad and not know why. He could understand why it took over her life, especially when most of her life had been hidden from her. It was no wondered she had changed so much, but it was such a shame. He remembered before when she was too young to comprehend what had fully happened. She was so full of life and she seemed to glow like the stars on a clear night. It is what made her that extra bit more beautiful. He saw the way everyone looked at her, like she was a piece of art. She was too beautiful for this realm, for any realm. 

“Yeah, I get that. I understand why they didn’t tell you. And I understand why no one told me when I was younger. I just wish my grandparents had before they passed, especially my nana. Surely I was old enough then?” Freja was disappointed that he couldn’t tell her, but she truly did understand.

“I think for you grandparents, it was too painful for them to talk about it and remember it. It is painful for a lot of people who were close to them. Including my family. Every time I tried to ask my mum or dad, they would well up with tears and make an excuse why they couldn’t tell me.” Tad could feel the sadness of his parents just thinking of those memories.

“Maybe.” That was all Freja could muster.

Freja fell asleep seconds later and when she awoke she knew it hadn’t been long but it had felt like forever. She couldn’t remember the last time she had slept that well, even though it had only been half an hour.

“Well, we are here. Are you ready?” Tad asked.

“I think so. 

Tad parked the car behind thick bushes in an attempt to hide it. Freja got out the car and followed him round to the boot of the car and collected her bags, Tad pulled out his rucksack and a large cover sheet. He closed the boot, locked the car and then threw the cover sheet over the car, once the sheet had settled on the car, it and the car disappeared.

“What the hell?” Freja exclaimed and jumped back a little, before stepping forward and reaching her hand out to the car. Eventually she touched it, it was still there. “How did you do that?” She asked.

“Magic. And you had better get used to it, cos there is a lot of it back at home.” Tad grinned.

Tad began to walk on as Freja followed, still dumbfounded. The forest was dense and full of large, thick oak trees and bright, colourful flowers of various species. There were Bluebells, Foxgloves, Royal Helleborine, Dog-violet. It was all so beautiful. Freja hadn’t been in a forest for so long, she had forgotten what she was missing. The sense of relief and relaxation washed over her as she walked through the forest, her stress and worries disappeared as she forgot about the real world.

They must have been walking for about an hour when the sky began to darken, and the clouds started to cover the sun, small drops of rainwater fell on Freja’s face. She looked up and smiled and allowed the rain to fall on her and touch her skin. She wanted to feel the cool, crystal droplets against her overheated skin. Freja wanted to feel alive again, she was tired of being numb and looking for revenge. She hoped that by returning home, all her questions would be answered and all the holes in her memories would be filled. And the holes in her heart could be mended. 

Tad was leading her up a small, narrow path that was edged with pebbles and some gorgeous lilac petals. As she was looking at these petals she realised that it was no longer rain that was falling on her skin but the lilac petals. As she looked up she saw the most magnificent trees, they were tall and crooked and filled with lilac blossoms. 

“Tad, what are these trees? I have never seen anything like them in my life! They are stunning.” Freja was astonished.

“Those are Jacaranda Blossoms. They’re not usually found in England, they are sub-tropical trees.” He clarified.

“So is this another example of magic? Surely it is too cold here for them to thrive like this?”

“Yes, exactly. You are learning quickly. Hopefully, this will mean that you won’t be too overloaded, especially when we make it to the city.” Tad replied, feeling a little relieved.

Tad rubbed her shoulder to usher Freja on, and made a start on the final leg of the journey. It wasn’t much further but they really needed to get going. In the alternate realm, time was ahead and if they didn’t reach it soon, nightfall would be setting in. He lead her under a tunnel of Weeping Willows, that Freja was almost sure she actually heard crying. As they emerged from the tunnel, Tad and Freja approached a stream with stepping stones. Each stone they stepped on light up a different colour from the last and sang a different key like on a piano. Tad waited and allowed Freja to play and enjoy this new novelty. It was the first time, in a long time, that he had seen her so happy. Freja caught the grin on Tad’s face and felt a little foolish so finished the rest of the stones quickly and reached him on the edge. 

Following the twisting path up the hill, they finally arrived at the portal. It was a tree, the biggest tree Freja had ever seen. It was as tall as a New York skyscraper and had a thick, knotted trunk covered in Creeping Ivy and purple Wisteria. Tad walked up to the tree and pulled the biggest knot that was reachable. A door appeared on the trunk, Tad opened it to reveal the darkest darkness in existence. Tad stepped in with no hesitation, Freja on the other hand, was unsure. Tad held his hand out to her.

“Trust me, its safe.” Tad encouraged her.

Freja took his hand and allowed him to pull her in. There was light at the other end. A swirling light of gold and yellow. It was mesmerising. As they got closer the portal began to pull them, sucking them in. Tad was swallowed in first, his hand that was clasped around Freja’s was the last part of him to go through and the first of Freja’s. The portal was warm, like an inviting bubble bath, but dry like sand. Freja thought this must be what it is like to fall through quicksand. As Freja’s face touched the portal, she could smell fresh cut lawn, newly opened blossoms and sweets at an old fashioned sweet shop.

Eventually, her whole body had passed into the portal, and she had arrived in Coe's Galad.