CHAPTER I - FRIENDSHIP

 

 

 

My eyes were still shut. I was afraid to open them, for as soon as I did, I knew that everything would change, and it would all be too real. But I had no choice; I had to face it and accept that, even if nothing made sense, it was still reality. I took a deep breath, opening my eyes wide.

White snow appeared in front of me, each flake sparkling diamond-like as it fell to the ground, before settling down onto the wide, silvery expanse before me. The snow was so flawless that the ground appeared to be covered in an endless silk sheet, extending beyond the horizon. I took a deep breath of the clean, cold air, and as I did so, the wind gently stroked my face, like a caress from the sky.

The freshness of the air only enhanced the beauty of the breathtaking landscape, and my senses were both overwhelmed and enraptured. I had never thought that I could feel well in such cold, but I felt more than well; every cell in my body was tingling with life.

I placed my hand gently onto the ground beside me and realised that my eyes had been right about this perfect place. Touch was as useful as my other senses. The white, powdery snow froze my fingers, vanishing into the air like thousands of shining crystals as the wind softly lifted it out of my hand. I had never seen snow so vibrant. How could it be lighter than air?

“Fada, look at this land. This is your world, your kingdom, and from now on, you will live here with us.”

Angel’s tone was grave, and as I looked up at him, he bent his head to meet my eyes. I did not know where I was, or how I had ended up here; everything seemed perfect, but the seriousness of his voice confused my elated spirit.

“What can I say? Everything is so magical…” I managed to utter. I was bewitched by this enchanted garden. It felt like home.

“You should not judge a place by its appearance. Soon, this will be your nightmare.”

I shuddered. I did not understand his words. “But how? Can’t you see this snow? A place like this could never be anything but peaceful.” I smiled. The snow made me happy. But Angel’s near constant good mood appeared to have vanished. “What’s happening? Why are you so serious?”

“Fada, I repeat, you should not judge a place by its appearance.”

“Oh, Angel, please. Look at this snow… look at this landscape. How could anything be dreadful in this place?”

Angel took my arm and we began to walk. His behaviour was so different to usual that my initial delight at the beauty before me was quickly replaced by curiosity and confusion. What was this place? Should I be afraid?

I remember the first time I met Angel, a couple of months ago. Back then, I was living and studying in London, and spent my free time going to museums.

The day started just like all the others, and as usual, I was not expecting much. I left my flat early, reaching the museum just as the front doors opened, though a crowd of people were already standing outside. It was such an amazing museum; there were so many things to discover, and it was impossible to see everything in one day. On that day, I intended to visit the Egyptian section, my favourite part of the museum. The Egyptian jewellery was particularly fascinating to look at; the pieces were all so delicate and precise, and I loved to imagine a magnificent queen of Egypt, like Nefertiti or Cleopatra, wearing them.

That day, I discovered a new exhibit, which included the most beautiful piece of jewellery I had ever seen. It was an arm bracelet in the shape of a golden snake – designed to encircle the wearer’s arm three times – set with beautiful rubies and other gems. Overwhelmed with a desire to draw it, I took my pencil and sketch pad out of my backpack. After a couple of minutes spent frantically sketching, I heard a deep, melodious voice coming from behind me.

“Your artwork is exquisite.”

Turning my head, I realised that there was a man standing right behind me. My gaze instantly settled on his mesmerising aquamarine eyes. I had never seen such a bright blue. He smiled, revealing straight, white teeth hidden behind his fine lips.

“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to intrude. I simply wished to praise your work; I have never seen anyone depict this bracelet so beautifully.”

I continued to scrutinise him. The man exuded charisma, and he had fine features: his jawline was so straight that it could have been carved from marble, and his short, straight hair was black as ebony, like mine. He had a presence, an aura unlike any that I had ever encountered before.

“Thank you…” I managed to mumble, before I was rendered speechless. I tried to concentrate on what he was saying, and the responses forming in my head, but my limbs were shaking uncontrollably. It was as though I had been hypnotised by this man; I could not understand what was happening to me. I was trembling so much that I dropped my pencil on the floor. Bending down, the stranger plucked my pencil from the ground, handing it back to me with a flourish.

“You seem nervous… am I mistaken?” he asked, looking into my eyes.

“Well…” I stuttered, before my voice was stolen again.

The stranger chuckled, introducing himself as Angel. Strangely, he did not ask for my name.

“Are you studying at art school?” he asked, smiling.

“No… I’m a history student,” I succeeded in saying.

“Oh, I see. You must really like history then?”

“Yes, I love it; it’s my passion.”

He gave a melancholy half-smile that I did not understand.

“This may be a little forward of me, but would you like to have a coffee in one of the cafés nearby? You see, I’m currently writing an article about the influence of historical events and technologies on modern day life; given your apparent knowledge and interest in ancient history, I would be interested to hear your take on it. It’s always useful to include different perspectives in articles such as this, and there is only so much you can research.” He smiled benignly, his eyes pleading.

I looked at him, astounded. We had only just met; we had barely spoken, and yet he wanted us to go and have a coffee together. Not only that, but he wanted me to talk to him about history. I have always found it difficult to refuse when someone asks me to share my knowledge, and I reasoned that potentially having my name on an article might be good for my career. Besides, I was curious; I wanted to find out more about this strange man. I had never cared much for men, or friends in general, yet he intrigued me. I needed to understand why he made me feel this way.

We made our way to a café in front of the museum, and once we had found ourselves a table, he began to ask me questions about Egypt. He seemed genuinely interested, so I assumed that I was making sense; despite trying to concentrate on what was coming out of my mouth, I could not take my eyes away from his face… his eyes. His pupils looked like jewels… real jewels.

We were still chatting when I realised that a couple of hours had already passed. Time had flown by; I had spent most of my morning with a stranger yet had not once felt uncomfortable in his presence.

“I’ve really enjoyed talking to you, but I should be going now. I have to catch the train soon,” I explained politely, reluctant to leave him.

“I understand. Is it a long way from here?” he asked in his rich, sophisticated voice.

“No, not really. It’s only a twenty-minute walk.”

“Then allow me to come with you.”

I did not know what to say. He was extremely polite and seemed like a good person, but I had only known him for a few hours. I could not put my trust in someone so quickly. At the same time, he felt special; once I had got over my shyness, he had been easy to talk to. I felt more relaxed around him than I had ever felt around anyone else. Pausing for a moment to think it through, I reasoned that it was safe to let him accompany me. After all, it was the middle of the day, and he was only walking me to the station, not to my house.

On the way, we continued to talk.

“Tell me,” I asked. “Why did you decide to come and talk to me earlier? What made you choose me?”

“Well, you seemed really intent on what you were drawing, and your work was beautiful, so I wanted to compliment you.”

He gave me an angelic smile and I felt my cheeks grow warm.

After a few more minutes of walking, we arrived at the station.

“Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me.”

He took my hand and kissed it gently. Raising his head, he smiled warmly.

“I hope to see you soon at the museum.”

“Yes, me too. Bye, Angel,” I murmured softly.

“Goodbye, Fada.”

I stared after him in shock as he walked away, my mouth trapped in an O of disbelief. How did he know my name? I was certain that I had not given it to him. Maybe I had said something without realising it? I had been staring at his face for most of our conversation… yes, I must have told him my name, or referred to myself while we were talking.

As I walked towards the train, I thought back on my morning with Angel. I had really appreciated his company, and he had been polite and courteous; he was nothing like the other men that I had met before. There was something powerful about him; something that drew me to him, but I could not put my finger on it. I wanted to see him again, and I was fairly certain that my wish would be granted. After all, he had promised to see me again. With other people, conversation was always flat and monotonous, but with Angel, I felt understood.

Why was I feeling this way about him when I had never felt the need to make friends with others? The change in myself scared me. I did not want to change. I wanted to stay who I was. To be friends with someone implicated suffering. The best way not to suffer was to have no feelings. Solitude was, and had always been, my only friend. Yet I wanted to see this man, Angel, again. It felt like I had finally found someone who I could talk to; someone who I could be myself with. I could not let him go.

For the next few months, I met Angel by the rock bench in front of the museum a couple of times a week. We stayed there for hours, talking; he was clever and loved to learn, but he seemed to know nothing about history, which was strange given that he seemed to be so well-educated. Still, he had an incredible way of speaking, and his presence and charisma more than made up for his lack of knowledge.

I always looked forward to seeing him, and day by day, we grew closer, and I began to trust him. It was a new feeling. I had never trusted anyone before. I suppose I was what one might call a misfit, though not in the conventional sense. I was not out there doing wild, crazy things; everything about me was quite plain. I was a history student, living in London, who visited museums for fun. But my mind did not seem to work like the minds of people of my own age. I was quite happy in my own company; friendship did not attract me because it felt like nobody understood me. I could not explain what it was, but everything in my life seemed dull. I always felt forced to be sociable; I had to pretend to care about parties and other things that a twenty-year-old should be enjoying. I found my happiness in fiction books and history. Whenever I was reading, nothing else mattered. I would let my mind wander through the pages, and imagine myself living the lives of the characters, even though I felt that my path was already written: I would finish my studies; get a job in a museum or a library; get married to a man who I would pretend to love… it felt so wrong, and yet I could see no other options.

But my encounter with Angel in the museum changed my outlook on life, and my perception of myself. I finally realised that I could feel understood; that I could have conversations without faking interest; that I could smile without pretending. Little by little, I grew increasingly fond of him, and I began to believe that he liked me too. He was such a gentleman, and always so courteous. As the days went by, my connection with him grew stronger, and even though I hated it, he was always on my mind.

Despite my blossoming affection for Angel, there was a niggling feeling in the back of my mind that something was not right. He had an accent, but I could not pinpoint which country it was from, and when I asked him, he answered vaguely, saying that it was a small country and that it was unlikely I would ever have heard of it. I should have found his evasiveness suspicious and instantly stopped seeing him, but my trust in him overrode any doubt; I could do nothing but accept his vague answers to my questions.

In contrast, I was very open with him about life; my family; my childhood and teenage years. He seemed fascinated by everything I said, and we would talk for hours about all manner of things. I did not understand how I could get on so well with someone. Before meeting Angel, I had assumed that I would live out my life without ever really connecting with anyone, but here I was, enjoying a conversation with another human being. The more time I spent with him, the more I felt like someone had lit a torch inside my chest, the flames burning ever brighter the more time we spent together.

He became closer to me as well, but he never held me in his arms; when he greeted me, it was always with a nod or with a gentle kiss on my hand. Yet I still felt that there was a connection between us, and I could not help but hope that he had feelings for me. He was constantly in my thoughts, and I found myself wanting to feel his lips on mine. It was such a strange sensation for me, and I struggled to accept it. I had always assumed that I could not love; could not feel that physical pull towards another human being. At twenty years old, I had never hooked up with anyone, or been in a relationship. Love and sex were entirely unknown to me, and I had always assumed that things would remain like that for a long time; I had never been attracted to anyone enough to consider those possibilities. But being with Angel was intoxicating; I had never felt so many emotions and sensations all at once, and I wanted our meetings to go on forever.

After the first few weeks, Angel began to accompany me back to my flat after our meetings, and each night, I asked him whether he wanted to come inside, but he always courteously refused. Nevertheless, my brother, who I shared the flat with, saw him often, though Angel was always so quick to leave that they never had the chance to talk. Over the coming weeks, my brother bombarded me with questions about this mystery man, as did my father when we visited him at the weekends. Neither of them had ever seen me laughing and joking with another person before, so they were rather surprised, but both clearly overjoyed that I had finally found myself a friend. Little did we know that the greatest surprise was yet to come.

“Angel, where are you taking me?” I asked.

“I don’t know. My task is to take you to Netis’ palace, but I don’t really want to…” he answered, his voice grave.

“Netis? Who is Netis?”

“Someone you would be better off not meeting.”

I had no idea what was happening, or what Angel was talking about. We were still walking through the empty snowfield; it felt like we were going nowhere.

“What are you talking about?”

“I have to take you to him, Fada. I have no choice.”

“What do you mean you ‘have no choice’? That’s ridiculous.”

Angel turned to face me, gripping my shoulders with his hands. I could feel him trying to control his emotions. I had never seen him like this before.

“Fada, please do not make light of this matter. You are not safe here.”

“What? If I’m in danger, why did you bring me here?”

“You don’t understand… I had to. At first, bringing you here was not a problem for me; it was simply a mission I had to accomplish. But now that I know you… I feel responsible, Fada. It’s like I’m taking you to your end.”

“My end?” I stammered.

“Netis is full of wrath and hate. If I take you to him, you could get hurt…”

I tried to concentrate on what he was saying and not lose myself in a sea of emotions. I needed to analyse the situation logically. I did not know where I was, or how I had come to be here. Two seconds ago, I had been in London; now, I was in a strange land, and Angel was talking some nonsense about taking me to my end and delivering me to a man named Netis. He seemed to be afraid of this mystery man, so why was he taking me to him? I put my hands on Angel’s face.

“Angel, where are we? Who is Netis? Why does he want to see me? How does he know who I am?”

Angel took my hands off his face and looked down.

“This place is called Hagalaz—”

“Hagalaz? What are you talking about? I’ve never heard of it.”

“Hagalaz is not on Earth, Fada. It exists elsewhere. This is where we live—”

“We?”

“Creatures like me.” He looked deep into my eyes. “I’m not human, Fada. No one who lives here is. They are like me. Like you.”

“Like me? Angel, that’s crazy. I’m human. I live in London. I’m not some creature, and neither are you!” I was completely confused.

“I suppose you could call us human beings, we’re just not from planet Earth…”

This was a joke; it had to be. There was no other explanation.

“Ha, I almost believed you. You really do have a gift for making up crazy stories!” I laughed.

“Fada, this isn’t a joke. I’m from this planet, and so are you.”

His face and voice were so serious that I stopped laughing and stared at him. He had to be messing around; it was such a ridiculous statement. But his eyes told me otherwise.

“I can’t tell you more, that isn’t my role. I’m Netis’ slave, nothing more.”

His voice was mournful, his expression bleak. I could see his lips trembling as he spoke. It was unbearable to see him this way; he was usually so confident, so charismatic. I could not just keep denying his claims. I had to try and believe him.

“Okay, I understand that you can’t answer my questions. But you must realise how confused I feel right now. Is there anyone who can explain to me what is going on here? You’re scaring me, Angel. I need to know,” I muttered, trying to keep calm.

“Netis will explain well enough.”

His tone was final, but he seemed to pause for a moment, as though debating whether to say something.

“No,” he mumbled. “I can’t take you to her.”

“Who? Take me to who? I’m so confused, Angel.” I wanted to remain calm, but I could hear my voice rising in panic.

“I can’t, Fada. If I take you to her, Netis will never forgive me.”

“What are you talking about? Who is she?”

“Maheliah… Netis’ sister. They are at war, Fada. I can’t take you to her. I would be betraying him.”

“Can’t you just send me through a portal, like the one we used to come here?”

“No, I can’t use the power Netis gave me to betray him.”

“The power he gave you? What do you mean?” I asked.

“Not everyone in this kingdom can open portals; only those who belong to the royal family. It’s an ancestral technique, which only the people who govern Hagalaz are allowed to master. But Netis taught me because he knew that I would need it to get to you and bring you here. That’s why I can’t use it against him; it would be yet another betrayal.”

Angel was looking at me with sadness. I knew that what I was doing was unkind, but I needed answers. I did not want Angel to be in danger, but I had to understand the truth behind this impossible situation.

“I don’t want you to get in trouble, Angel. But please… you must understand that I need answers. If you can’t give me answers, just take me home—”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. You deserve the truth, Fada. You deserve to know who you are.”

He smiled, but I could see that it required a huge amount of effort. Desperate to offer him some comfort, I hugged him tightly, hating how cruel I felt. When I left his embrace, his face remained close to mine, and I could feel his breath caressing my cheek. His two sparkling aquamarine eyes gazed into mine, and time seemed to stop. The emotions flickering behind his pupils were a mess.

“It’s okay, Angel. You can take me to Netis—”

“No.”

His voice was thick with emotion.

“Then what?” I asked gently, my gaze fixed on his eyes, staring into his soul.

Eventually, he came to a decision, releasing me and holding out his hand for me to take.

“I will take you to Maheliah. I could not live with myself if I took you to Netis knowing that he might hurt you. You mean more to me than my loyalty to him. And you deserve answers.”

 

We walked side by side through the snow without speaking; by some miracle, I managed to keep a lid on my burning curiosity. I wanted to ask Angel so many questions. London had changed into Hagalaz: a kingdom on another planet. I was too confused. I loved to read fantasy novels and ancient myths and legends, but I had never imagined that anything depicted in those stories could be real. They were just wonderful fictions, invented by humans. Finding myself on what was supposedly another planet, inhabited by a magical, humanoid race, was strange beyond words.

Not only was I curious about Hagalaz, I was also intrigued by the man Angel had spoken of: Netis. He seemed to possess a huge amount of power, not only over Angel but over this land in general. I wondered what he wanted from me, and more importantly, how he knew who I was. Angel had always seemed so nonchalant, yet whenever he spoke the name of this man, his behaviour changed. I was not sure that I wanted to meet Netis after everything Angel had said about him, yet he also fascinated me. I wanted to understand what a man like him could possibly want from me.

My day had started so normally, yet here I was, in a kingdom called Hagalaz, following Angel to meet a woman I knew nothing of; fleeing a mystery enemy that I had not known existed, and I was supposed to believe that none of this was a dream? Nothing made sense anymore, but I was determined that, by the end of the day, I would be at least one step closer to knowing the truth.