Eclipsed Fates of Ever After

CH 9: Truth In Every Story

~Beth~

“I asked you, Valor King, what in the Goddess’s name do you mean?” We all turn to Queenie. OH! ‘Queenie’ I get it now! Oh, right. She’s fuming.

“Mother, I meant that he took my… woman. He KNEW and hid it from everyone.” He seemed to be choosing his words very carefully. I could see Lieutenant Starr’s eyes darting between the rest of us in the room. Did she say ‘Goddess?’

“I know you all just got here, but maybe we should meet for dinner.” I stand up and suggest. “The Kings have some family matters they need to talk about immediately. Mr. David, Mr. King wanted to talk to you later. I give my full permission for you two to do what you need.”

“Gladly, kiddo.” He pulls me into a hug. “I know my ladies love dramas, but they can agree to get the cliff notes later.” He winks at me. I smirk and try not to laugh. Now isn't the time. I lead them out. Lieutenant Starr stayed behind. She drove, so I can't exactly get rid of her with the ‘your ride is leaving’ excuse.

She watches me come back into the living room suspiciously. They’re talking their language again. I’m fairly certain it’s Elvish now. Some of the words sound familiar.

“With me. They need privacy.” I instruct her and head towards the kitchen. I get out stuff for my favorite salad. Romaine lettuce, baby spinach, shaved carrots, cucumber, sweet grapes, strawberries, and walnuts. She watches as I put it together. I grab some oranges, bananas, Fuji apples, berries, grapes, melon, and pineapple to make a fruit salad. Huh, Momma was allergic to pineapple.

“It isn’t going to come alive, is it?” I blink and look up at Lieutenant Starr.

“Huh?”

“The pineapple.”

“Oh, I was just thinking. I could never use pineapple around my Mom. She was allergic.”

“Oh. Do, do you need any help?”

“Um, sure. Do they eat meat?” She gives me an odd look.

“Her Majesty will eat poultry and seafood. His Majesty can eat anything but won’t touch pork.” I smile.

“Good, this is a kosher house.” She smiles. I pull out some mahi-mahi someone caught for Ms. G and begin prepping it. We won’t eat the whole thing. My blades move swiftly and skillfully. I’m learning that a lot of things I like aren’t kosher.

Lieutenant Starr watches in fascination until I finish. I take the pieces and soak them in salt water. I gather the bits and take them to the compost. There’s a heavy-duty garbage disposal and sink in the garden shed. The pipes lead to a compost bin. Having the food and everything in tiny bits really helps the worms go through it faster. The fish is great for the fruit trees.

“Miss Beth! Let me take care of that for you.” I jump a bit. The gardeners are sneaky. Everyone calls this one Pops. He’s nearly 80 but still as active as a 20 year old!

“I appreciate it, Pops! Have you eaten?”

“Yes, Ma’am. I won’t let you catch me hungry again.” I laugh and hug him. A week after I moved in, I found him passed out because he refused to eat. I drug him inside and fed him like a baby. I understood that he was mourning, now more than ever, but he has an entire family who needs and loves him. His wife would have kicked his rear if she had still been alive.

“I have to get back to it. We have guests for a bit.” He looks behind me and sighs. “Not her. Queenie and Valor King.” He stiffens, eyes wide. Following a hunch, I let a bit of information slip. “We found evidence about Ella for them.” I look at the blood. He looks absolutely horrified. “Some messages in bottles washed up with the storm.” He looks relieved.

“They are discussing family matters but will be around for a bit. Remember not to use Sire or other honorifics around others. They’re lovely people, so don’t worry, okay?” He nods and walks off in thought. I turn back to see Lieutenant Starr giving me a curious look.

After washing up, I get some of the fish wrapped in banana leaves with lemon, olive oil, salt, and basil. I wash up again and set my timer. 4-5 minutes on each side, and it’ll be perfect. I set the table while waiting on my timer. When it’s done, I place a big board platter in the center of the table for the mahi-mahi to sit on.

“I’ll go get everyone if you want to get drinks.” The Lieutenant nods and starts getting cool drinks.

“Um, excuse me. Aes na- húrin.” (Food is ready). They both stop talking, and three sets of eyes turn to me. I point to the dining room with a knowing smirk before going to wake up Ms. G and Suri. I help them up, and we head down to lunch.

We enter into a heated argument. They’re all talking Elvish. I hear a few familiar words. From the sounds of it, Lieutenant Starr is trying to convince them that I’m dangerous. I hear them saying my name and friend. Ugh, what a waste. Ms. G and Suri look at me in surprise. I shrug.

“Are you done yet? I think there’s enough drama and the food is getting cold. If you can’t behave, leave. Don’t insult Ms. G by starting unnecessary drama.” That stopped her quickly. Even Queenie and Val looked ashamed. I unwrapped the fish and took the lids off the salads.

Surprisingly, she stayed and ate. I just hope everything works out. This chick needs to chill. There’s too much going on for her to be acting like this. At least now I know why they look… wrong.

“You can drop the disguises. Glamors. Whatever they are.” Everyone at the table freezes and stares. “I’m not clueless, and you look wrong. It’s making me nauseous.” Queenie shrugs and drops hers after a minute. She’s pretty! A little of the nausea disappears.

Val and Ellis are next. I do everything I can to sit still. They’re wood elves! They’re stunning. They don’t look much different from their glamors. They have pointed ears and patterns on their skin like tree bark.

Queenie’s hair is more of a deep green, and there’s tiny flowered vines in it. Similar vines wind up her wrists. Val looks relatively normal, except for his eyes. They are golden yellow with slits. He looks my age now, and Queenie looks to be Suri’s age.

Ellis is… He’s freaking HUGE! He’s at least 7’ and muscles galore. His skin looks like a birch tree, and his jade green hair is in braids. I’m a terrible person! It seems they can smell my reaction, and they’re smirking. I can’t help it! These guys are… no. Don’t think that way. They’re taken. I take a few deep breaths and calm myself.

“Well done. I have never seen someone able to resist so well.” Queenie pats my back.

“I’m sorry, I just…”

“Don’t apologize or worry. Our kind, especially our family, tends to cause that reaction. I am curious, though. You are not surprised or afraid.” Val tends to lean forward a little when he’s interested in something.

“There’s been a lot of rumors, and I read these… books from an author. They are really good, but most of them are, well…” I look away in embarrassment.

“Are they physical or digital?” Queenie asks.

“Both. The app is easier when you have to move around a lot or people are looking at what you’re reading at work.” They nod and think a moment. I keep my eyes down in embarrassment at being found out.

“Would you mind sending me invites to the app and the first book. I would like to read it.”

“I would like them as well.” Val has a smirk in his voice.

“Here are mine and my mate’s numbers. Would you mind allowing us to read them as well?” My head flies up in surprise. Queenie slips me her number with a smirk and a wink.

I quickly add them to my contacts and open the app. I send them the request link in a group chat and see all of them immediately start downloading. I’ve never had this happen. We eat while it’s downloading. When I see it finish, I send them the book link.

Lieutenant Starr hasn’t said or done much. When she sees the book, she smirks. She opens her phone to the same app and shows me her library. It’s almost identical to mine. We start laughing. Hopefully, this means she’s going to chill out.

“Normally I wouldn’t do this, but may I borrow your phone, Beth?” Queenie asks. I trust her for some reason and quickly hand it to her. She opens a few black sights and signs in. When she hands it back, several applications are open. “Do not ask, just fill those out and trust me.” I nod and do as she says.

They’re typical forms to start. Then it gets strange. My personal data, medical history, family lineage, where my family came from, is anyone adopted that I know of, how they died if there was and accident, did anyone ever try to abduct me, did I ever notice strange people following us or outside of our home… I can’t eat anymore. I’m thinking back, and it’s getting hard to breathe.

“Beth? Beth, honey, what is it?” I'm suddenly picked up and carried off. I dropped my phone, and tears started streaming at some point. Was it really an accident? One of the electrician guys, he approached our house. He… he was offering security system installations. I’ve seen him before when I was young. It’s hard to breathe!

“Beth! Beth, come on and breathe! You need to calm down. Everything is going black. All the times someone tried to take me. The people harassing us and calling us monsters. The accident when that man blew the stoplight and T-boned us when I was little. How did they know?

A sudden sharp pain in my arm pulls my attention before the world goes black.