Page 154 of A Soul’s Awakening

I wish I could help her, Atlas said.

Me too, Helena agreed. All I can do is be here for her. An ear when she needs to talk and a shoulder when she needs to cry.

That is helping her, Len, the Dragon said firmly. Besides, whose shoulder do you get to cry on?

What do you mean? she asked.

It was an unintended side effect when you were cursed, but has something similar not happened to you? Has your body not also changed?

Helena flushed with the Dragon’s observations. Of course it had, but she could not bring herself to address that right now. She had Eleanor to think of. Helena turned her attention back to her daughter, who resealed the water bag and handed it back.

“There it is!” Lance sang from the front.

Helena shifted. In her periphery, just peeking on the horizon, she could see the sapphire blue of the ocean.

Her heart fluttered with joy. Home.

Eleanor was bubbling over with excitement. All she could feel was the butterflies in her belly by the time Goliath clopped onto the stone causeway that led them from the mainland of Archipelago of Sol to Majora, their home island in the Clusters. She fidgeted next to her mother in the back of the cart, and could no longer concentrate on asking Atlas questions.

She ached to be home. She craved some sort of normality.

If even Atlas doesn’t really know what I am or how it happened, I think it means I will be staying this way. She wrung her hands, distracting herself by observing the patterns in the landscape.

Blue-green grasses carpeted the rocky soils, with small blossoms of white peppered through like tiny stars. Oleander bushes interrupted the swathes of grass with their pastel pink flowers, the beauty hiding the poison within. Rosemary and thyme grew in clumps along the rocky road, their fragrances mingling with the salt tang of the sea. Eleanor sniffed appreciatively, letting out a contented sigh as the familiar scent reached her nose.

Lance steered Goliath through another village, and Eleanor felt a jolt of excitement tingle down her limbs. They had one more settlement to pass through, and their home villa would be in sight.

“We’ll move quicker through this one,” Lance called over his shoulder.

“Until I figure out how to hide this...” Helena held up her obsidian arm and pointed to her Dragon eye with a claw. “…it’s for the best the villagers don’t see me.”

Eleanor brushed her fingers over her ears. At least I look like a Fae. How is Mum going to explain what happened to her? I could at least hide the ears under my hair, maybe explain the rest somehow. What’s she going to do?

The teenager heard Lance click his tongue against his teeth, and the Seelie Stallion shifted from a fast trot to a canter as they entered the boundaries of the ramshackle village.

Eleanor studied the settlement, keen to see any changes, anything new. How long was I gone for? Maybe a month? A little longer? Why would anything be different? She sighed, shaking her head. Just because I’ve changed, doesn’t mean everything else has.

It was later in the afternoon, and many shops were beginning to close, the narrow streets beginning to thin out from crowds. A group of human children were tossing a ball over the road to one another, quickly darting out of the way as Goliath thundered up to them. Eleanor giggled at their open-mouthed awe at the sight of the mountainous stallion.

She leant forward and spoke into Helena’s ear. “They’ll be home, right? School would have finished a while ago. Aunty Rose would have had time to pick up the boys and take them home?” she asked eagerly.

Helena nodded. “Yes, the timing is perfect. I can’t wait to see them. I’ve missed them so much.”

Eleanor leant back and bounced her knee as the cart jostled on. The rocky road made the ride rougher. A particularly bumpy jolt sent a jar up her spine, making her shift with unease.

C’mon. She tapped her foot anxiously against the wooden bottom of the cart.

Then, Eleanor flared her nostrils at the scent of the rosemary hedge and her ears twitched at the distinct crash of waves at the bottom of the cliff. Excitement finally took over and she launched to her feet, bracing her legs against the sway and bounce of the cart. Eleanor was careful not to step on her mother, but she stood tall, her keen eyes searching for the rest of the family. The Changeling could see a wide-brimmed hat bobbing up and down in the garden, and then heard the distinctive huffing bark of Biscuit.

Eleanor watched as the person wearing the hat stood to attention as Goliath clomped onto the grounds, and dropped her dusty gardening tools. Eleanor leapt from the still-rolling cart, landing neatly on the balls of her feet, and sprinted towards Rose.

“EL!” Rose yelled, dashing towards her, Biscuit on her heels.

The Changeling barrelled into her adopted aunt, who she was now taller than, and threw her arms around Rose’s sweaty neck. Eleanor knocked her aunt’s hat askew, and it fell to the dirt, as the two collapsed to their knees. Eleanor wept onto Rose’s neck, crushing her into a hug, which the woman fiercely returned.

She felt Biscuit press his nose to her ear, and she giggled. Eleanor pulled back from the hug and patted the dog’s shaggy head. Rose’s eyes met Eleanor’s, and her mouth dropped open.

“What happened to you, my darling?” Rose asked through her sniffles. “You look like you have stars in your eyes.”