Page 77 of The Heir

I am sorry that we are not here to tell you this; we thought we were doing what was best for you in giving you a normal life without the magic of Terra being shown to you. You know some things about Terra from the stories in your mother’s storybook. Those are not fairy tales; they are true stories, passed down by oral tradition for generations. We did not tell you all the truth about who you are and about your melody because we did not want you to long for Terra the way we do. Mary has told you everything, I hope, as we have asked her to do that. Ryker, also, I suppose, has told you.

I paused,Ryker?Yes–Mary thought Ryker had told me. I re-read that line, and paused again. Suddenly, all his worry over my safety over the years clicked.

He knew about me the entire time? He—Is he even really my friend? Or has he just been working for my father, the Prince, to keep an eye on me. Is that why he was mentioned in the letter my father wrote to my mother long ago? When he said that he cared for my father–that they were friends–he meant that more literally than I had thought. I felt sick as I continued to read:

If we have left you, it is most likely because our greatest fears were realized, and we were discovered and killed. I am so sorry that we are not able to be there with you, Emma. You are no longer safe in this Earth realm if we have been killed. No one can shield your soul’s melody more thoroughly than your mother and I, which puts you in danger, now, of the Dark Prince who hunts down melodies and destroys them. Ryker and I, for years, have searched and searched for the portal back home, through which we traveled long ago to get to Earth. Ancients do not dwell on Earth, or we would have asked for their help. We simply cannot remember where it is. Ryker thinks he is close to finding it, so I hope that is true, and I hope that as soon as you read this, you can be back to where it is safe—on Terra. You cannot return right away to your kingdom, Haleston, but there are many other kingdoms on Terra that still fight for melodies. I hope there are, at least. Terra is a beautiful place, and I have always wanted you to see it for yourself. If you think about it, I know it will shift into place for you and not be so hard to understand and accept. The people are at war on Terra, and they may not even understand it. Corruption, for so long, has attempted to creep into the souls of our people, and eventually, it succeeded. Terra, currently, may not be the same as I remember it, but there is a chance for you to defeat the evil that has been slowly corrupting our people. I know your melody would not be so strong and so powerful for no reason, dearest. You are stronger and have more ability than you think. I have faith in you, Emma, and if you return home, I know that you will be an amazing queen one day. I truly believe that your soul is the brightest soul everborn, and it calls for home. I know that the Ancients blessed you with it for an important purpose—to heal our world. Let your soul sing, Emma. Ryker will show you the way.

I will always love you,

Father

I put the letter down on Mary’s bed and sat there, staring at the ink. I was a princess. I was going to die if I remained on Earth. Ryker, my parents, and Mary have all known that, and they hadn't told me. Something resonated from within me, and I knew from the bottom of my soul that my father’s words were true, andthatscared me the most. I suddenly realized why Ryker believed that my parents’ accident was probably not an accident at all. It was true; they must have been murdered by that Dark Prince, who wanted to steal my melody. I heard a knock on the door and realized that I had been sitting and staring at the paper for a long while. I wiped away my tears.

“Come in.”

Mary poked her head in and then walked to me. “I am sorry it all happened this way.”

“Ryker—he is Terran, too?”

She nodded.

“So, I was the only one who didn’t know.”

“You had no need to burden yourself with this information, unless something like this happened. We could only hope you would have a normal human life here in this realm.”

“My head is just spinning–”

“I know; take your time, Emma, I know it probably seems too unbelievable,” she said, sitting back down on the bed beside me, placing her hand on my knee.

“No, I mean—yes, maybe, but this actually feels right.”

She looked at me in shock. “Emma?”

I looked back at her with a soft smile.

“Truly, Mary, I have always felt different. I didn’t really fit in other than with Ryker, and lately, after my parents’ deaths, I have been full of so many emotions and feelings, I have been afraid that I might burst. I thought I was going crazy. And I kept thinking Shad was a fey or vampire or something–”

“Those books will be the end of you and your imagination,” Mary laughed.

“But I was right.”

“He is something, just not some blood sucking supernatural, not a fairy.”

“Fey, but yes,” I corrected.

Mary laughed.

“Not to frighten you, but those, and other creatures, are here–in this realm, for different reasons.”

“Shad mentioned something about that–so I was not as crazy as I thought.”

“No, you are not crazy, Emma,” Mary said, placing a hand over my shoulder and pulling me into her for a side hug. She kissed the top of my head and placed her cheek there as she began to speak.

“When your parents died, your melody, which your parents have shielded, or suppressed, since your birth was released. With its release came all the feelings and emotions we feel as human beings. Your memories are also connected with that shielding, and it may take a while for them, if ever, to return to you. Shieldings at birth are rare, and we do not understandall that results from doing it. They thought that by suppressing your melody, you would blend in better with the humans here on Earth, as well as hide you from the Dark Prince so he couldn’t hunt you down. Earth does not have its own magic, like I said. Any magic here, now, is from another realm. It must have been so strange to feel it overwhelm you, all at once. Ryker and I both tried to suppress it like your parents had, but we were not able to do it in the same way. It is easier for parents and offspring to shield melodies.”

“I felt like I awoke from a dream—like when my parents were alive, that was a dream, and after they died, I wanted to die, too, because the feelings of misery and sorrow were too much for me. But meeting Shad–hearing his melody, it filled a hole inside of me, and it pulled me from those dark feelings and emotions. Having a melody, and him having one–that explains so much. This, all this, it clicks for me,” I whispered. “Although I'm still shocked.”

“Your parents would be so proud of you, dear.”

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