Young Writers Society

~1,111 words

The next days were filled with a flurry of activity. At first, Jay panicked, thinking of how stressful the previous months had been. However, he soon began to realize that there was a difference between running for your life all the time and planning for weddings: one was supposed to make you scared, and one you were supposed to be happy about. So Jay tried to force himself to be happy. He saw Ato smiling with his young face, and that certainly helped. Being able to spend time with Fleta didn’t hurt either.

Yet Jay was feeling somewhat dissatisfied. All through the wedding procedures, he kept thinking about home, and how the weddings in Trevon were so different from the weddings on Earth. On Trevon, there was no fancy cake, but rather a feast that lasted for a week. That was only because it was a royal wedding. Peasant weddings had almost no ceremony at all: one day you were single, the next you were married. Simple as that.

Even though Jay wasn’t usually one for stuffy events like weddings, he found that some part within him missed the silver wrapping paper, the hokey-pokey, the rice throwing, the attaching cans to the bumper of the couple’s car. He sighed. Fleta—who was sitting next to him—nudged him, nodding. She must have known what he was thinking about. Or maybe she was sympathetic to Jay’s dislike of duck. Duck seemed to be the meat of the week.

Jay pushed roast duck around in the gravy on his plate. Fleta discretely speared it and pulled it onto her own plate. “They sure look happy.” She nodded toward where Ato was telling a story. It probably one of the stories from his quest to find the sheep—that’s all anyone seemed to be asking him to tell about. The Enchantress was beaming up at him like they hadn’t been enemies for years while Ato, then Shep, searched for the Sheep.

“Did you have any idea about… this?” Jay struggled to find a word. He signaled a servant to bring him a refill of the delicious purple fruitwash Ato had recommended personally for Jay, knowing he liked the drink.

“No,” Fleta said, widening her eyes. “I thought the Enchantress was the worst woman I had ever heard of, turning Ato’s family into sheep like that. I had no idea they were actually in love. It must have been really hard for him when she did that. It must be really hard for him now.”

Jay nodded. “I thought the same, though of course I didn’t know that the sheep were his family. Just that they were royalty.”

“I thought he had told me everything when we’d met, but apparently not,” said Fleta.

A servant rang a bell, signaling the next dish to be brought out. Out came a simple garden salad topped with duck chunks. Jay sighed again. It was nice to be treated as an honored guest of royalty, but he wished there was a little less duck involved.

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After the feasting was over, the castle decorations were put away, and the royal guests from other regions had gone home, Ato and the Enchantress, called Jay into the throne room. They were the crown prince and crown princess: once the King died, they would inherit the title, the crown, and the province. But they were in no rush. Ato had confided in Jay that he was dreading being King. The province really was in shambles.

Jay stepped into the throne room, opulent despite the many years it had been left to rot. Unsure of proper procedure, Jay bowed when he entered the room. Ato chuckled.

“I may be crown prince, but I’m still your friend,” Ato said. “To you, I can always be Shep. An old, doddering man without a title. You’re not even from my province, or world for that matter. You’re under no law to bow to me.”

Jay gratefully stood up. “Why did you call me in?”

“Well,” said Ato, glancing at the Enchantress, who squeezed his hand, “We were thinking you might want to go home.”

Jay’s mouth went dry.

“I know this has always been a hard question for you,” Ato went on, “but if my personal opinion matters here, I think there’s little left for you here, and there’s a lot for you back home.” He crossed his arms and cleared his throat. “And I think you should go,” He ended awkwardly making the statement sound more like a question.

Jay nodded. It was true, he did want to go home, and it was true that there was little left for him here. Other than an entirely unknown world, said the voice in his head, but he quashed it. There was so many things he didn’t know about Earth either. Plus, indoor plumbing. It always comes down to indoor plumbing. He’d miss Fleta and his friends, but only as much as he had missed his mother. “Yes,” he said, nodding again, “I’ll go.”

The Enchantress brightened. “I’ll help you then, Jay.”

“If you’ll excuse me, Jay, I have something to attend to,” said Ato, coming close. “I’d like to give you my final farewell.” They embraced.

“Tell everyone… goodbye from me, and thanks,” Jay managed.

“I will,” Ato said with a wink that was all old shepherd. He exited the room with a swish from his robes.

The Enchantress smiled kindly at him. “I know Attolicus couldn’t have done it without you, and for that I am forever grateful.” She pushed something into his hand.

Jay studied the shiny round object she had given him. It was a golden coin with an unknown man’s profile on the side. It was unlike any of the coinage he had seen so far in Trevon. “I’m honored,” he started slowly, “but I don’t think this will buy me anything on Earth without raising some questions as to where I got it.”

“You’re not going to spend it, silly. You’re going to treasure it. And, if you ever should need to come back to Trevon, it’s a one-way ticket. Turn it thrice in your hand and then whisper ‘Acacia.’ That’s my name.” She smiled again. “I will hear you.”

Jay clutched the coin close. “Acacia. Thank you, Acacia.”

“Are you ready to go now?” she asked. Jay nodded. “Then prepare to step into the World Between Worlds. I’m sending you back to your time, back to your home.”

The Enchantress closed her eyes, and everything around Jay folded into the gray-purple of the World Between Worlds. Jay pushed between the hazy, velvety layers… right into his mother’s arms.