The Bridge Between Worlds

Victoria led the way to the front door and knocked. Quite loudly.

“You don’t have to sound like the police,” Regina told her, raising an eyebrow.

“Desperate measures,” Victoria replied with a shrug. “If this Beth really is Mom’s sister, she’ll have answers for the both of us.”

Regina sighed, nodding. Her sister was right. They both wanted and needed answers. She closed her eyes as a sharp pang jolted her forehead.”

“Ssk, aah.”

“Whoa, are you okay?” she heard Victoria ask. “Sis, hey. What’s going on?”

She was slowly crumbling on the doorstep. This wasn’t like a migraine. It felt different somehow. More painful to be certain.

The usual pounding filled Regina’s ears, but then it changed. The pain subsided and she was hearing what sounded like footsteps. Distant and growing nearer. A soft sound, much like a gasp and a sharp intake of air followed. Pursued by the sound of skin touching cold metal. How Regina knew this sound, she didn’t know.

Her eyes opened as the door swung open. The hinges creaked with the need to be oiled.

“I was wondering when you would appear on my doorstep.”

A woman with dark blond hair stood in the doorway. She was looking at Victoria. But then her gaze turned cold as she looked Regina’s way.

“Why are you here?” she asked, her voice filled with contempt. “Why are you here with my niece?”

Regina couldn’t formulate words. Her head had gone back to pounding. Far away, she could hear sirens. Car horns of impatient drivers. Tires screeching; clashing objects.

“May she have some water?” asked Victoria as she helped Regina to stand. “She’s having one of her usual dizzy spells. Provided you are, in fact, Beth Heartsword. Otherwise, we’ll leave and never bother you again. We just came for some answers.”

Regina scrunched her eyes, trying to limit the amount of light entering them. The woman sighed; Regina watched her close her eyes briefly before motioning for the sisters to follow.

“Fine,” she said, her voice softening.

Regina leaned on her sister’s shoulder. Her legs felt like they were made of rubber. The pounding growing louder in her head.

“I know you’re not doing this intentionally,” Victoria whispered as she helped Regina to the sofa. “But pulling the I need assistance card definitely kept her from slamming the door in our faces.”

Regina closed her eyes as she tried to smile. The jolt in her forehead was going away now. She was glad for a place to rest, and for the water.

“Here.”

The woman had returned, but Regina couldn’t look to her face. She kept her eyes closed as she drank the water. Her sister immediately launched into her interrogation; Regina could only listen.

“You called me your niece,” she said, patting Regina’s shoulder. “Why haven’t I known about you until today? Why would my mother keep such information from me? Any why show hostility to my sister? Because she is my sister.”

Beth sighed, “Bridgette had told me she’d put the baby up for adoption,” she explained in a frustrated tone. “At least, that’s what she led me to believe.”

“She told you the truth,” Regina said, exhaling as she finally looked into the woman’s eyes. “Victoria and I have only recently been acquainted. We were at the Library when your name appeared in one of the journals. We were hoping you could explain a few things to us.”

“You want answers. What kind of answers?”

“We want to know about the boy with the surname Bortælus,” Victoria interjected. “In one of your entries, you mention him being from the Æmienix. If you are able to clear up this puzzle, Regina can put the thought to rest. She just wants to know who her father was.”

Regina watched Beth’s expression change. So many emotions passed through her yellow-brown eyes. Anger. Hatred. Regret. Mourning and sadness. Regina sat straighter as Beth turned her gaze on her.

“He had led my sister to believe she meant something to him,” she explained, shaking her head. “But he left after they had spent their first night together. It surprised, considering how Bridgette fawned over him. We never saw him again . . . When Bridgette learned she was pregnant and told me he was the father, I was furious. I told her I would never support raising you.”

The sharp pain returned. Only this time it was within Regina’s chest and her back. She clenched her teeth and closed her eyes. It was becoming unbearable. She wasn’t sure whether to equate the pain to Beth’s words, or if it had to do with everything Victoria and she had been trying to research.

Regina cried out. Victoria was asking her what to do. She felt Beth at her side, trying to have her look at her. But all she could do was curl in on herself. And then, like all the times before, she fell into the darkness.

* * *

Regina opened her eyes. The pain was gone. However, she wasn’t sitting in a living room with Victoria and Beth Heartsword. She was sitting beneath the old tree. What was the connection between her and this tree? Why wasn’t she passing out again?

“I have been expecting you.”

She turned her head, but was careful not to move any other part of her body. A young woman with a bright smile and luscious, golden hair was sitting just a few feet away. Before her was a small fire. Her hands were extended before her, but her gaze was on Regina.

“You are confused,” she went on, her smile never fading. “I must admit, I was quite puzzled myself, but I do not fear you.”

“Where am I?” Regina asked. “Why do I keep coming here?”

“This is the Wandering Wood. The Tree of Wanderers has taken pity on you and given you refuge. Souls who are caught mid-transport often come here until they can return to where they were, originally. You are in early stages of Manifesting. You are worn and startled. You are from one of two sister-dimensions: the Æmienix dimension, or the Xiphis continent. People from these two place Manifest. Your powers must be very great if the Tree has brought you here more than once.”

Regina felt like the young woman was speaking a completely different language. Manifesting? Great powers? A tree with a soul?

The girl still smiled. “Yes, you are in the early stages of Manifestation. Your father should have trained you to expect this.”

“I have never met my father,” Regina said, speaking softly as she turned her gaze away. “I was adopted at a young age.”

“Oh . . . I am sorry.”

“I’ve grown used to it.”

She glanced back at the girl, finding her watching intently. Her smile was gone. Her expression was absent, but curious. Regina felt no discomfort in being watched, not like on other occasions, but she was now curious to know who this young woman was.

“What is your name?” she asked, gently pushing herself up and walking toward the fire.

“I am Annabel Fogkeep,” the girl replied as the smile returned to her face. “I am the Keeper of the Tree. What is your name?”

She hesitated, “Regina . . . Bortælus is the surname of my birth.”

Annabel gasped, “Bortælus is the surname of the Anerathian ambassadors. The Brothers Bortælus, yes?”

Her gaze wandered, as if she were asking the question to someone else.

Regina shook her head and replied, “I do not know any such brothers. I do believe this surname belonged to my father, whoever he was. I have been searching for information about him.”

Annabel nodded and rose to her feet so swiftly Regina thought she might fall over in losing her balance. But she appeared sturdy. Regina thought of standing herself, but the girl came and pressed a gentle hand to her forehead. A strong wind surrounded her. She covered her face with her arms, shielding her skin from the lashed of her hair as it was whipped about. She tried calling to Annabel, but she heard no reply.

The wind died until it became nothing but a gentle breeze. Until it ceased all together. Regina opened her eyes and found herself back in front of Beth and Victoria. Beth was staring as if she’d seen a ghost. However, Victoria was gloating.

“I did say she would be back,” said Victoria, touching Regina’s forehead. “What happened this time, sis?”

“Same as before,” she replied, turning her gaze to Beth. “But this time, I have more to go on. Ms. Heartsword, was my father’s surname Bortælus or not? And was he one of the Brothers Bortælus of Anerathia?”

All the color blanched from Beth’s face. As if she were seeing another ghost.

Regina went on, “Please, tell me what you know.”

She’d decided to withhold certain details because she wasn’t certain whether the woman would speak openly. She needed to approach each detail with caution.

“Bridgette gave you his name?” asked Beth as the color slowly returned to her cheeks. “Of course she did. I explicitly told her to sever all ties to the bastard.”

“Bastard or not,” replied Regina as her breathing became heavy. “If he is my father, I deserve answers. There are things happening to me I think only he would have answers for. I don’t want to live in darkness. You can start with telling me about my mother.”

Beth pressed her lips tightly together as she glanced at Victoria. When she glanced back at Regina, there was resolve in her eyes.

“I will tell you,” she whispered as tears welled in her eyes. “Everything.”

Regina and Victoria exchanged a look. Her eyes sparkled with excitement. She was truly enjoying the adventure.

“Bridgette was always the sensible one,” Beth explained fondly, patting her cheekbones with the back of her hand. “Or at least, I believed she was because she was the eldest. Our parents often left us with the nanny. They were always traveling and visiting friends from abroad. They did their best to give us everything we could ever want and need. We attended a private school for children and teenagers with special genetics.”

“So you are Celestials,” Victoria interjected from her spot on the couch behind me. She’d had me move to the floor in front of her so she could braid my hair. I was enjoying it.

“Celestials,” Beth repeated, nodding. “Nanny had her hands full, but she would do anything for us. As we grew older, we didn’t need constant supervision. Bridgette was almost seventeen the day she came home waltzing on air. Saying she had met the perfect boy and that she was completely in love with him. Having been raised to never give our love so easily, I was horrified she would given in, after keeping me in check just weeks before. At first, I was genuinely prepared to support her. No matter who the boy was.”

The elder woman frowned and shook her head. All fondness was now gone.

“She brought him home the following week,” she went on, glancing toward one of the four oval windows in the living room. “And from the moment I laid eyes on him, I knew there was something off about him. It was like he wasn’t in his right mind. As someone who had tried to run away countless times, I knew a runaway soul when I saw one.”

Regina furrowed her brow. She was tempted to ask why Beth had ever wanted to run away. But she thought better of it. If Beth wanted to divulge such information, she would have.

Beth went on to explain how Bridgette was courted by the boy for months. How her character seemed to change. It was as if the boy had a dark hold over her.

The thing is,” Beth sighed, “he never forced her to do anything she didn’t want to do already. There was a strange respect he had for her, but a hunger to devour her as well. As if she were the answer to all his problems, and she loved him unconditionally. Even when he never told her where he’d been, she adored him. He disappeared for days on end.”

“When you opened the door,” Victoria interjected, placing her hands on both of Regina’s shoulders. “You asked what Regina was doing here. You recognized him in her, didn’t you?”

“Yes. While I do see my sister in you, Regina, I see your father’s eyes. Black like his soul. He left my sister with a broken heart. Fled in the dark of night, after promising her everything. She came to her senses, pushing the heartache into the closet and never letting it back into her mind. But then she found out she was pregnant. If our father had known of her demise, he would have disowned her. Mother took pity and sent her away with the explanation Bridgette was taking a class abroad.

“But it was I who forced her to give up the baby. She would kept you, Regina, if I had let her.”

Regina met Beth’s gaze as she said this. She saw the truth in her eyes. If her mother had wanted to, she would have kept her. Regina knew and understood.

“I have a question that might take us away from the family history lesson,” she said as Victoria began to fiddle with her hair again. “Have you heard of a place called Xiphis? I don’t know why, but its a place I’ve heard of and it seems connected to where my father was from.”

Beth pursed her lips, glancing to Victoria.

“I was mostly unaware of such places,” she explained, looking back at Regina. “I knew the Bortælus boy was from the Æmienix. He’d said so himself. Many years later, the word was brought up again by the love of my life. It was not the only reason I broke it off with him, but I could not bear the broken heart.”

“What was his name?” Victoria cut in, causing Beth’s cheeks to flush.

“I would have married Ruperto, but he kept things from me until last minute and I felt it was a deal breaker. He wanted to raise a child, whom he wished to name after his stepfather. I couldn’t bear children, so he found someone willing to be our surrogate. I never learned what the name was . . . I regret walking away every waking hour.”

“But the love wasn’t in vain. You’re still here.”

Beth gave Regina’s sister the stink eye.

“Victoria’s a nut for the whole Death by Vain Love thing,” Regina snorted a laugh. “She loves researching about it.”

“I’ve actually come to the conclusion its just a myth,” explained Victoria as she draped the finished braid over her shoulder. “A tactic of fear used by not-so-nice figures, but never mind about that.”

Regina craned her neck to look at her sister, over her shoulder. Victoria winked and shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal.

“I only met your father on the day of the wedding,” Beth went on with a sigh. “But from that single meeting, I knew he was the one for Bridgette. Seeing her so alive when he was near was my proof. The Bortælus boy was long forgotten, as was the child. Until now.”

Her tone changed as she stared Regina down. Only this time, the hostility was accompanied by something else.

“My parents were gone by that point,” she continued, “I do not know how they died or whether their deaths were truly discovered. I never knew what they did for a living, but it had to be something big for them to leave Bridgette with enough money to have the wedding of her dreams. And then she cut me out of her life.”

The scene flashed before Regina’s eyes. She imagined her mother walking down the aisle to Victoria’s father. They were happy together. She’d seen the pictures; Beth wasn’t in any of them.

“This may seem a little rude,” said Regina as she rose from the wood carpeted floor. “But I need to see someone who knew your parents. Someone close.”

Beth shrugged, “The only person they knew around here was Shana Vanderbell. But she’s older now and doesn’t receive visitors.”

“She will make exception for me.”