Woven Fates - The Prophecy

Puppies!

Esmeralda sighed as Wyatt began to cry. At the age of two, he was still very dependent on his parents for everything.

Esmeralda often reflected on his birth and the two years since. She missed her daughter, missed what she could have had with her if circumstances had been different.

Liam and Jordan had been captured at the same time she had gone into labour. Will had been distracted by the news, as had everyone else. She remembered her mother and sister in tears for days after Wyatt had made his way into the world. Although they had shared her womb, they had been born on two different days. Wyatt had been weak, and they had struggled to deliver him. It was almost as if he had been to afraid to make his way into the world. Whitney had been whisked away to be cared for by Everly and Jaime while Esmeralda recovered.

Wyatt had spent 6 months in special care. To look at the two children you would never have thought they were twins. Whitney with her black hair and eyes and chubby body was exuberant and active, inquisitive and bright. Wyatt with his blonde hair and blue eyes was withdrawn and irritable.

Esmeralda smiled as she thought about her daughter. Sabrina had organised a camera for Everly to keep Esmeralda and Will up to date with their daughter's progress. They had tried to visit her many times, but it caused Whitney so much distress that they had stopped. They were aware of the violent meltdowns that could follow their visits and worried about the impact on Everly and Jaime. They would be forever grateful for their intervention and them raising Whitney.

A tear slid down Esmeralda's cheek as she got up to see to her son. Wyatt could still not walk and could not speak clearly. When he was born, he didn’t respond at all to anyone around him. He didn’t smile or laugh or interact. He was a solemn child, the polar opposite to his sister.

Esmeralda entered Wyatts room where he lay screaming. Dr Michaels was still pushing for her to attend regular physio appointments despite the fact they had not made much difference at all over the last 18 months. Will had organised for a pool to be put into the back yard and he took Wyatt in for a swim on all of his days off. Sometimes one of Wyatts many uncles would take him out into the woods or for a swim when Will worked.

Will had also struggled with the loss of Liam. Everyone he was connected to still felt he was alive, but they couldn’t mind link with him at all, not even Sabrina could. They had not given up, but it had left a heavy sadness over their community. Todd had stepped in to oversee Jordans pack as Heath took care of the day to day running of the village that had grown dramatically in Jordans absence.

Esmeralda picked Wyatt up and cuddled him. He squirmed and pushed away, smacking the side of her face. She began to bounce him on her hip, singing to him. She finally got a small smile for her efforts, and she smiled in return.

She took him over to his change table and changed his nappy before dressing him. A knock on the door broke through her thoughts and she took Wyatt down the stairs to answer it. On the doorstep was Sabrina and Rose, each holding a puppy.

“Ummmmm, hi.” Esmeralda eyed them both suspiciously.

“We brought the twins a puppy each!” Rose cried out excitedly, holding one of the puppies out towards Wyatt. Esmeralda heard a noise and looked at Wyatt in surprise. He was holding his hands out and giggling. He was giggling! She laughed as she watched him reach for the puppy. Rose put the puppy on the ground and Wyatt twisted in his mother's arms to watch it sniff around. Esmeralda put Wyatt down expecting him to sit and watch but he began to move, rolling and dragging himself along the ground to reach the pup. The pup wagged its tail and ran over to Wyatt, licking his face. Wyatt continued to laugh happily as he cuddled the pup.

“Goddess, thankyou. The two of you have made my day.” Esmeralda gushed, hugging them both.

Lachlan promised Whitney a puppy so we thought we would get one for each of them.” Sabrina smiled.

“Lachlan?” Esmeralda looked confused.

“Thats the other reason we came to see you. Lachlan and Miranda have Whitney for a little while. They thought with her being magical and he being a werewolf, it might be good for Whitney to be amongst her own people for a little while. I think it takes their minds off Liam a little.” Rose smiled sadly.

“Oh, what a wonderful idea.” Esmeralda smiled. “I just miss her so much, do you think she might be able to come home soon?” Esmeralda asked hopefully.

Sabrina and Rose looked at each other. “She will need to learn to control her powers first Em. There’s something you should probably know. Whitney has no great love for Lola. Two days ago, Lola and Magnus were entering a portal Lola had opened. It was her signature purple but as they walked through it suddenly turned black and sucked them in. They have disappeared Em, nobody knows where.” Rose said quietly.

“And you think that was Whitney? Rose, she is two!” Esmeralda frowned.

“One of the reasons she has gone with Miranda and Lachlan is we were worried about Isabella somehow influencing her. Jaime and Everly have no notion of magic and with Magnus now gone we thought it safer to move her away from any chance of meeting Isabella. She is quite mobile now, she left yesterday on her own horse being led by Lachlan.” Sabrina added with a smile.

Esmeralda looked at Wyatt tearfully. “I’ve missed so much.” She whispered.

“She was very calm when she left with Lachlan and Miranda. Perhaps they can help her control her urges and then you will be able to see her again.” Rose smiled, hugging her sister.

“I hope so.” Esmeralda sniffed.

“Well, we must keep moving and keep our promise to deliver this one to his new owner. We gave you the girl for the more even temperament, we chose a boy for Whitney.” Sabrina smiled. “I will bring back photos, I promise.”

Esmeralda nodded and smiled as she hugged her mother and sister. She closed the door behind them and turned to see Wyatt using a chair to try to pull himself up. Esmeralda ran for her phone, switching the camera to video to capture this moment. Wyatt pulled himself most of the way up, the puppy by his feet. At the last minute he twisted just enough for him to lose his balance.

Preparing herself for the bout of screaming she was about to endure, she braced herself and bent to pick him up. But Wyatt didn’t cry.

Esmeralda stepped back and watched, switching the video back on. She stood, recording, while Wyatt turned and began to pull himself up again. Butterflies spread through Esmeralda's stomach as Wyatt stood, holding onto the chair as the puppy danced around his feet. He turned towards his mother with a triumphant smile that matched her own.

Esmeralda quickly sent the video to Will.

Will smiled as his phone pinged a message from Esmeralda with a video attachment. He opened it and watched tearfully as his son stood for the first time.

“Captain.” He called out holding up his phone. James and Todd came running, snatching the phone from Wills hands and watching the video. Todd turned, scooping Will out of his seat and into a hug. “Damn proud of that boy!” He boomed happily. “Send it to me so I can show Amelia next time I see her!”

“Hang on, when did you get a puppy?” James asked.

Will stopped for a moment and watched the video again. He had been so busy watching his son he hadn't noticed the puppy jumping around by his feet.

“Ummm, I’m guessing today since I’ve never seen it before.” Will shrugged.

Todd and James laughed.

“Keep laughing James, wait til Mack sees it.” Will warned. James groaned. James and Matilda's son Mack was the exact opposite of Wyatt. He was exuberant and loud, always climbing something. Todd began to laugh.

“One day Alpha.” Will warned.

“I look forward to it.” Todd promised.

Sabrina and Rose stepped out of the portal in the forest beyond Miranda and Lachlan’s house. Since the incident with Magnus and Lola they had decided to keep portals away from Whitney, so they had a fair walk in front of them. Sabrina put the puppy down and it ran along by their feet. As they walked, the puppy began to bark. They stopped, peering into the tree line. Suddenly a great black wolf jumped out in front of them, a child hanging on to its scruff for dear life.

Rose and Sabrina laughed as Whitney hopped down and ran towards her puppy. Lachlan sat back on his haunches and watched protectively.

“Come on Whitney, let’s take the puppy home to show Miranda,” Rose called out as they began to walk towards the house. Lachlan fell into step beside them.

Miranda came out to greet them as they walked beyond the tree line towards the house. She smiled brightly when she saw it was Rose and Sabrina. In the two years since they had discovered they were Liams parents she had built a strong bond with Sabrina. They both wanted to see Liam so desperately.

Miranda stepped off the porch and hugged Sabrina and Rose as Lachlan walked past them through the open door and into their bedroom to dress.

Lachlan had been working on some ideas for extensions to the house to make more space for Whitney and because he and Miranda had discussed adding to their family.

“Look at her!” Miranda cried happily as Whitney squealed in delight at the puppy jumping and licking her.

“I don’t think that is all the puppy though. She looked pretty relaxed when we first came upon them.” Sabrina smiled.

“She has been great to be honest. We only arrived last night though. Lachlan has already promised to teach her how to fish.” Miranda smiled as Lachlan re-emerged from their bedroom dressed. He kissed her cheek before taking a seat at the table.

“How is my brother, Grandmother?” Whitney asked as she came up to stand beside Sabrina.

“He stood up for the first time today.” Sabrina said excitedly.

Whitney looked at Sabrina and nodded her head.

“Your mother misses you. She asked if I might get some photos of you today.” Sabrina added.

Whitney shrugged and ran outside with her puppy.

“We would like a picture of Will and Esmeralda for the house if you can Sabrina. We can't do that in this world, but I know that you can in the human world.

Sabrina nodded. “Absolutely.” She agreed.

“Anything new on Liam and Jordan?” Rose asked hopefully. Lachlan shook his head.

“We have patrols watching night and day for any change but nothing. We haven't seen Sergio and Valentina since the attack, but the barrier remains in place so we cannot storm the castle. We are just waiting for the next attempt to kidnap Bastian I guess.” He shrugged sadly.

“Do you still believe them to be alive?” Sabrina asked quietly.

“Yes, we do. We have had opportunities to speak to George and he also believes Jordan is alive.”

“They never reopened the portals into the human world, how are they feeding?” Rose asked. I lived there, as did Sabrina. They feed each night. There are not enough animals in the area to keep them fed.

Miranda and Lachlan both looked at Rose.

“I can’t believe we didn’t think of that. When you return, ask Todd to do a missing persons check. We are looking for mass abductions or deaths.”

“I would think more abductions because they will at least attempt to set up a facility to bleed humans to keep them alive as a continuous source of blood. It has been Hadley's strategy and one the Generals are likely to stick to since they rarely hunt themselves.” Sabrina said, thinking out loud.

“If we can work out where they might be, we may be able to use their portal to enter the castle.” Lachlan replied.

“Does that barrier prevent us from portalling in?” Miranda asked.

“We don’t believe so, but we know those siblings are extraordinarily powerful and it won't help if we all end up in their dungeons.” Rose shrugged.

“There is a safe room in the library. I was told about it before the fall of the kingdom, and it was where I was attempting to take Ingrid when Hadley arrived. If we could portal into there we could come out during the day when most of them sleep. Our only mission would be to get Liam and Jordan out of there.” Lachlan began.

“Why are we not portalling directly into the dungeons? It’s how they got father and I out.” Rose asked.

“They deemed the risk to high.” Sabrina replied sadly. “I can't help but wonder if it was one of the kings or Todd, would they be trying harder?”

Sabrina had often mentioned that she thought Liam had not been rescued because he wasn’t deemed important enough, although Lachlan and Miranda had never gotten that feeling. Miranda had mentioned that she could feel Todds pain at the loss of Liam.

“The siblings have converted the stables into housing, they do not actually reside in the castle. The question is, how long would it take for them to arrive at the dungeon if we tried it?” Lachlan continued.

“So, the reality is we might only get one of them out if we tried it and that’s not guaranteed.” Rose murmured.

“I can't help but wonder if they have been turned and that is why we can't feel them anymore.” Sabrina said sadly.

“We will cross that bridge when we come to it.” Miranda said, squeezing Sabrinas hand.

“Can they survive the turning?” Lachlan asked curiously.

“Well, Eva did so I guess so.” Rose shrugged.

“What about simultaneous portals?” Miranda asked.

Rose and Sabrina looked at Miranda in surprise.

“Well, I mean the energy signature would be off the charts and there is no way the siblings wouldn’t feel it, but if we were quick enough it’s a possibility.” Sabrina said.

“We’d only get one chance so we would need to be sure of where they were.” Rose said thoughtfully. “The two most likely cells are the ones my father and I were in, but I couldn’t 100% guarantee I was correct.”

“Let’s speak to the council and see what they think. We would need as many beings as possible involved for a better chance of success.” Miranda replied.

“Let’s do that.” Lachlan nodded. The feeling of utter hopelessness had plagued him for the last two years. He wanted his son safe, and he was willing to volunteer to be the one to get him out of that cell if that’s what it took.

“Tea?” Miranda asked as the kettle on the woodstove boiled. She got up and made a pot, placing it on the table before retrieving four cups.

Whitney ran inside with her puppy yapping at her feet. Rose and Sabrina couldn’t believe how happy she looked. Gone was the constant scowl and the dirty looks. She actually seemed happy.

“Can I call my dog Wyatt?” She asked.

“We’ll discuss that later.” Miranda laughed as Whitney turned around and ran back outside, her puppy following close behind.

“I can't get over how well she speaks for a two year old.” Sabrina said, shaking her head.

“Everly spoke to her constantly, we aren't sure if it's that or the fact that she presents more like a four or five year old in intelligence. I can tell you she talked our ears off on the way home.” Miranda laughed.

“I had never heard a sound out of her until that day. Nothing, not even a babble.” Sabrina smiled. “I hope Wyatt can catch up soon.”

“How is he doing?” Miranda asked.

“He also received a puppy today and he finally stood up. He was so excited with the puppy and Esmeralda is over the moon to see him stand. She misses Whitney so much.” Sabrina said sadly.

“Keep bringing us photos and we will keep working on it.” Miranda smiled.

“Will and Esmeralda have asked for videos and photos. I’ll take some now., then we can address the council.” Rose said as she stood up and walked outside.

“I feel her turmoil.” Miranda whispered.

“Jordan is being held by his ex and she can no longer feel him.” Sabrina shrugged. “It’s hard.”

“I will come with you to the council.” Lachlan said. “Enough time has passed, and I am tired of the dallying. They must be rescued.”

Miranda nodded in agreement.