Chapter 18

Believe indeed; believe I do,

For when you believe, life unfolds to you.

Half a day later, as they continued through the dark forest, Deliah saw a red glow coming from her bag. Until now, she had all but forgotten about the ruby Dedrik had given her. Upon seeing its ravishing red glow, Kristoff flew over and stood somewhat hypnotized. Ostephen flew over and hovered beside him, waving his hands and snapping his blue fingers in front of Kristoff’s face, finally breaking his hypnotic trance. Somewhat embarrassed, Kristoff nodded appreciatively and hovered back a few feet.

The ruby projected a red light into the air, and as if watching a movie unfold before them, they saw the Dark Corner, the Dark King, the Kahorgis, and his other loyal followers. The Kahorgis had apparently grown in number. The picture the ruby reflected was one Deliah didn’t care for. They saw the Dark King sitting on his dingy throne. Slightly disarmed at the number of Dark Ones and Kahorgis, Finvarra released a sigh before the picture faded, and he turned to his friends. Ostephen, Deliah, and Kristoff were all holding hands, trying hard to be brave.

“Deliah, walk with me,” Finvarra said. Ostephen and Kristoff followed, but Finvarra kindly asked them for privacy. “This needs to be between a—well, just us, you see.” They nodded understandingly and went to talk with Edwin and Trin.

Deliah had a million things running through her mind: Are we in trouble? Does he think we’ll lose Faye and that we should give in and turn back? Have I messed up somewhere, somehow?

Finvarra stopped, and they each took a seat across from each other on two large rocks.

“I’m not sure how to tell you this, Deliah, but there is only one person who can help us right now.”

“Wonderful!” she answered excited. “Who is he?”

“It is the one who is of my blood, one who has the blood of Faye coursing through their very veins. It is the only one who has access to Hallimer’s Halls and all the soul prints of Faye.”

“Like Faye royalty?”

“Yes, exactly. This is the only being with blood born of the King of Faye, the only soul who has access to the divine records in Hallimer’s Halls, the only one who can access the records and call forth whatever souls are needed.”

“So we’re not outnumbered!” Deliah grasped enthusiastically.

“Right, this person is only entitled because it is written in the prophecy that the only child of Finvarra, King of Faye, shall have access. Only the one in the prophecy. Only she….”

He stared at Deliah intently searching for some kind of recognition, but she appeared lost.

“So there’s another? Another girl who is part of the prophecy? Another girl who is half-human, half-elemental?”

“No, there is only one, dear child.”

“But, it can’t be. It doesn’t make any sense. We’re not….I’m not….It can’t be.”

“Deliah, you are of my blood. You have Faye coursing through your very veins.”

Deliah held on to the side of her rock, feeling the need to be grounded.

“My father is Sam,” she stated.

“I won’t deny this. In every way he has been and will forever be your father. Yet you, Deliah, were born in Faye, to Faye, of Faye. Upon my being captured, you were brought to Sam shortly after your arrival by Mayweather and Cordelia. They left you with him to be raised in protection, to be shielded and kept secret from the Dark King.

“Why are you doing this? Why are you saying this?” she asked as she kicked at her rock with both heels.

“Because the time is now. You need to know the truth to fulfill your purpose.”

Deliah thought back to times when she had questioned Papa about her mother or other family. He never answered her directly; he just said that he was always alone and that he never knew love until the glorious gift of baby Deliah landed in his life. Because she was so happy with him and felt so loved, she let it go. She felt she had all she needed. The two of them were always enough.

“Deliah, you were born unto Faye in a sparkle of silver light, a shine so bright the stars called you their very own. You are Deliah, Fairy Princess of Faye, daughter of Finvarra and Maeve.”

“Maeve? Fairy princess? Maeve is Queen of Faye?”

Deliah’s head was spinning. The last time she had felt this confused, she had been lying in the grass before stumbling upon a lot of little people and somehow winding up here!

“Yes, she is a queen by every right and my one true love. It has forever been in the prophecy that the girl who would fulfill it would be deemed our child and would indeed be born half–human blood, half–Faye blood. You see, unlike Maeve, I have incarnated in human form many lifetimes to understand the human realm and their reasons for not seeing us and trusting in Mother Nature. Because of these lifetimes, I am also like you: half–human, half–fairy.”

Deliah momentarily lost all sense of time and space, even forgetting about the gravity of the situation. She let herself get lost in a daydream of being a fairy princess—something she had always dreamed of. In the daydream, she was in a beautiful gown and had wings! She was dancing with a very cute fairy prince… very cute….

“Deliah! Deliah! Deliah!”

She heard her name echoing throughout her dream and suddenly snapped back to reality.

“Oh, why wasn’t I born one or the other? Why am I not fully fairy or fully human?”

“That is a very good question, my child. It is because of your purpose. You are protected by the prophecy. This is why you are special, Deliah. The Dark King and his servants cannot steal your energy or your soul. You are protected and unique by being born of Faye yet holding the energy of two realms. This is how it must be to fulfill the prophecy. Humans like you who are so deeply connected to Faye and the fairy realm never lose their fairy characteristics or traits. It is innate; we know how to coexist in each realm. Soon all humans will discover that this coexistence is possible and natural. I may suggest that your future holds a bridging of the two worlds. Perhaps if you continue to embrace your truth as well as you have, you may very well be the bridge. I can only dream that one day all humans will come to accept our existence and welcome our help, stop hurting Mother Earth, and learn to live in harmony with all of nature and its creations.”

Deliah was staring past Finvarra in a haze of mixed emotions, all the while feeling overwhelmed.

“So, my dear, Maeve will be joyously happy to see you. Immediately after your arrival, I was captured. I sent word with Sidney the squirrel, one of a few nearby who saw me as I was taken. I had Maeve flee Faye to honor the prophecy and to keep her safe as well. Thank God for that squirrel. I have sent word for Maeve’s return; she shall arrive back in Faye any day now. Twelve years has been a long time to wait.”

Deliah smiled as she saw Finvarra soften at the very thought of her. He sighed and then cleared his throat and got back to business.

“So, Hallimer’s Halls. It is a large building full of books, records, and scrolls of all kinds. You must find your way, unseen by any Dark Ones and find the book marked with the seal of Faye. It will have an F marked in purple wax. Upon finding this book, you will bring it back to me, and together we are to open it and access the fairies, humans, knights, gods and goddess—the past and present friends who will come forth and join us.”

“Like in the rainbow?” she asked.

“Yes, but that was only the start. We will intensify that very energy and even move the moon if that’s what it takes to defend Faye! Are you all right? Can you handle this?” he asked tentatively.

Deliah looked at him solemnly before her eyes fell to the rock, and Finvarra prepared himself for her to say “No.” With her answer, Faye could forever vanish. He shuddered at the thought.

Deliah stood in front of the rock, locked eyes with her fairy father, and said, “I’m a fairy princess!”

Finvarra laughed and hugged her heartily. He cupped his hands over hers, and they said in unison, “To Hallimer’s Halls!”