4.4 Impossible Dreams

“Alistair, come here and sit with us!” Sienna waved her arms wildly.

“Guys, no offense, but really, I just want some alone time to think.” I tried to brush them off but Sienna was ruthless.

“I get it, not the ideal way to meet your grandfather. I’m sorry about your father, but please sit down, we have something important discuss and I think you’re going to want to hear it.”

“Sienna-” I began.

“She’s going to keep asking until you sit down, so just come over,” Miles said.

I mumbled something incoherent and took a seat. “What is it?”

“It’s obvious that you’re here because you want revenge on Damian, for killing your dad,” She said.

Revenge? Is that what I wanted? Revenge? No, that wasn’t right. I held a certain disdain for Damian but I’d be lying if I said that was the only reason I was here. All I wanted was to piece my family back together. If Damian stood in my way, I’d take action. But for now, my only concern was getting through to Lucas. Nothing else mattered. “You’re wrong, I’m here to find my siblings.”

“While I don’t doubt that claim, I do still think you harbor some sort of resentment towards Damian. What if he’s behind their disappearance?” Miles asked. “You must hate him for that.”

“How can I hate someone I know nothing about?” I murmured. “I don’t know anything other than what my book says, and even then…how do I know what of that is true?” I didn’t ask for this life. It was handed to me on a silver platter. But, when I took a bite, what looked wonderful, tasted terrible. It wasn’t like it was my first choice to be out here. I was chosen, and when you’re chosen, you’re subject to a life of close scrutinization and loss. I shouldn’t have had to listen to some purple haired genie, I shouldn’t have had to continue on with something so terrible.

“Everyone hates Damian,” Sienna began. “He’s like an evil dictator. He has to approve all humans that come in and out of Moonlight Falls, and they’re paired up with one of his supernaturals, kind of like pets. How is that okay? How can you support someone like that?”

“I don’t know!” I cried. “I don’t know anything about this. I thought…when I came here I thought I knew, but…I don’t want to do this. Whatever it is that I’m trying to accomplish. I just don’t. He isn’t going to help me find them anyway, so who cares anymore?”

“He will help you strengthen your magic!” She argued.

“Because he feels bad for never being there for my dad! You don’t understand what it’s like to be me, Sienna. You just think you guys know everything because you’re these powerful mages. Guess what, I have powers, but I don’t identify with you guys.”

“Are you done with your self realizations? Because, we don’t have much time before Declan comes home and I need you to come with me.” Sienna grabbed my shoulders and leaned closer to me. “I get it, you’re confused. Heck, I’m confused by you. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you come with me, I’ll introduce you to some people, and all I want you to do is hear us out. Maybe it’ll spark some kind of purpose in your life.”

“And why can’t Declan be home for this?” I asked.

“Lucas is training the three of us, but only one will become his successor. He had lost hope of his son ever returning, and now that it’s official, Declan will take over so Lucas can age gracefully. Miles and I have no chance. But that’s okay, because Lucas and Declan…they don’t exactly see eye to eye with Miles and I.  We want different things, that Lucas could never approve of,” Sienna answered. “What do you say kid, come along?”

I didn’t want to. Sienna’s argument wasn’t even that great. It sounded suspicious to me. But, one thing was obvious. There was a division within the group he had just aligned himself with. Miles and Sienna were on one side, and Lucas and Declan were on the other. Technically, I couldn’t really choose a side if I wasn’t familiar with both. What were they siding over anyway? Damian?

“Hey, Alistair, we’re here!” Sienna said happily.

“Sienna…” I looked at her. “All we did was walk up the block and turn.”

“Well yeah, that’s where our secret hideout is,” She said.

“Our? There’s more of you?” I asked. Miles had decided to stay home and avert Declan’s attention. Frankly, I wished I was with him right now and not the pink haired female. She was hyperactive and rebellious. Her over the top attitude would no doubt get him into trouble.

“Yepp, four more to be exact. They’re waiting for us inside.” She grabbed my hand tightly, preventing me from slipping out of her grasp.

Once we were inside, I glanced around. “Is this…a museum?”

She only nodded. “Yep, an abandoned museum.”

“It looks like it’s in pretty good shape to me,” I began.

 “That’s because it isn’t really abandoned, it just never gets any visitors.” I turned my attention to the back of the room, locking eyes with the man speaking. “My name is Robin and I’m the owner of this place.” The light purple haired male waved us over. “You should really warn me when guests are coming, I’d dust some things off.”

“You could probably invest in some glass cases,” I mumbled. “You know, so no one tries to steal the artifacts.”

“Alistair, he wasn’t kidding when he said that no one comes here.” Sienna laid a hand on my arm. “Do these things look even the slightest bit familiar?”

I looked around the room. “I wouldn’t be able to point anything out but I have seen things in similar styles,” I admitted.

“And you said you were from Sunlit Tides, right?” She asked, earning a nod from me in response.

“No way, you’re really not from here?” The purple haired girl asked excitedly. “What’s it like in Sunlit Tides!?”

“Hold on a minute!” I waved my hands in front of me. “You brought me as some kind of show piece?” I turned to Sienna.

“No! It’s not like that!” She exclaimed. “Geez, I thought you’d have gotten it by now. Nobody believes that there’s other worlds out there. The humans that come in are scarce, there’s only been a few, and instantly Damian hauls them away and takes them under his wing. But, they’re coming from somewhere right? These artifacts are all from different worlds populated by humans, but everyone thinks it’s a hoax. But it isn’t, these are real pieces of history from your world and others, and your presence just confirmed it!”

“How did a human get here on his own?” The seated girl asked.

“You guys are all annoying me,” The remaining man said as he stood up. I couldn’t help but flinch as he approached us. But, he ignored my presence completely and reached for Sienna’s hand. “How is my beautiful sorceress doing?”

“Patrick…” Sienna blushed. “I’ve been good. Declan’s been giving me a hard time, but you know, it’s whatever.”

His lips moved from her hand to her cheek, causing the pink girl to turn a dark shade of red. “One day, we’ll leave this place and we can be together.”

“What the heck is going on?” I asked, hesitant to break up the moment. “I didn’t come here to meet some gang of art thieves or something. So, if I could just go back home now so that I can rest before tomorrow-”

“Alistair,” She said firmly. “You promised that you’d come with me. Don’t let a little PDA scare you away. What happened, I thought you said you had a girlfriend back at home? Obviously, you must kiss, right?” She taunted.

“Listen lady,” I said angrily. “I’m eighteen years old, and just a few weeks ago I was at home getting ready for my graduation and preparing for my father to come home. Well guess what? I graduated, and when I looked out into the audience, he wasn’t there. So, do you think that I have anything on my mind other than getting this done as quickly as possible so I can see my father and siblings once again!?”

The man, Patrick stood in front of me, staring me down. “The name’s Patrick Black. Raise your voice at my woman again and you’ll regret it. I’ll make sure I tear you limb from limb and pass your carcass around my pack.”

My eyes widened as I involuntarily stepped back, reaching for my wand. “I’d back up if I were you,” I taunted nervously. “I’m not a human. I’m a witch.”

“Patrick! Stop it!” Sienna exclaimed. “I appreciate how protective you are of me, but please, Alistair is a friend. He’s Lucas’ grandson. He can help us, I know it. You just have to be nice to him, okay?” He snarled but backed off.

“Are we done fighting now?” The orange haired girl approached us. “I’d like to intorduce myself to this really attractive man.”

“Wow, you’re forward,” Robin muttered. “But you won’t go out with me? What does he have that I don’t?”

“Those deep brown eyes, and a spicy attitude,” The purple haired girl joined in.

I felt uncomfortable with their expectant gazes on me. “Uh..thanks?”

“This girl right here,” Patrick pointed towards the purple haired fairy. “Is my sister Katrina Black. You’d be wise not to flirt with her.”

“You and Declan are more alike then you’d think,” Sienna giggled. “He said the same thing to Alistair.”

“So we can agree that he’s a sleezeball?” Patrick lowered his gaze.

“He is not,” Sienna rolled her eyes. “I told you, Alistair is on our side. Now, her name is Hayden, so we’re all introduced?”

“What are you?” My eyes fell on Patrick’s sharp teeth. “You look human, are you a witch?”

“Robin is a witch,” Sienna clarified. “Kat and Hayden are both faeries as you can tell. I’m surprised that you’re shocked over my pink skin but not that these two have wings coming out of their backs. Anyway, Patrick is a werewolf.”

“I’m so confused,” I muttered, refusing to make eye contact.

“Come and sit with me, and we can go over the details.” Hayden grabbed my arm, and for some reason, I had no urge to fight her grasp despite how angry I was feeling.

“She’s a mood enhancer,” Sienna pointed out. “She can make you feel so good that you don’t even mind if she plunges a knife in your chest. Not that she’d do that to you, but I’m just saying.”

“I know I should be alarmed, but…she’s just so calming,” I said aloud.

“Hey! Hands off, Alistair is MINE.” Katrina slid next to me and grabbed my arm. “You can call me Kat by the way.”

“Kat,” I mumbled, my head spinning.

“Kat is the opposite of Hayden. She can make you feel things you’ll never want to feel again. She is not one to take lightly,” Sienna continued.

“Both of you, turn your powers off if you’re going to suffocate the poor guy,” Robin instructed. “Now, take a deep breath Alistair and we’ll answer any questions you have if you answer ours.”

I nodded and paused to get my thoughts settled. I felt so woozy looking at Kat, but so wonderful looking at Hayden. Those two would make an incredible duo. “Kat,” I murmured again. “How are you a fairy and your brother a werewolf? I figured there’d be a rule against inter species mating or something considering that Lucas looks after only the mages.”

“My mom is a werewolf and my dad is a fairy. Technically, you’re right. Under Damian, there is a strict policy stating that you can only date within the same species. Making Sienna and my brother an impossible combination, and my parents one as well,” She answered. “And if you’re wondering about what happened to them, Damian found out and well you can guess what happened. We’ve been on the run ever since. Sienna brings us this potion that keeps us hidden. Without her, we’d be goners.”

As the night progressed, I found out more and more about the unique little group. Each of them had been affected by Damian’s harsh rule. Kat and Patrick’s parents were killed. Robin was ousted to the community as a fraud and con man, losing all business. He was struggling to get by. In a few months, he said he’d probably have to move into the museum and sell his house or sell the museum and get a regular job, which would be hard with his reputation. Hayden was best friends with Robin, and she hated that he was being treated this way. She left Damian a drunk message threatening him, yes, a drunk message to the crazy headmaster. Now she hangs back because she knows that she won’t be able to walk away scot free from that.  That left only Sienna, the girl who absolutely mystified me. She was a walking mystery novel.

“You want some sort of explanation from me, don’t you?” She asked, looking up from Patrick’s arms. “When I was seven years old, I ran away from home. My mother was frantic, so she sent my father out to find me. It was passed curfew, back then we had one because a lot of people were planning an uprising against Damian. It was after your dads left here I think, that caused him to be on such high alert.” She sighed but continued on. “Anyway, I left during a curfew day and my dad risked his life to come and find me. One of Damian’s soldiers found me before he could, and instead of letting him take me away, my dad fought to get me away. But I couldn’t move. How could I abandon him? I returned home, drenched in my father’s blood with a note from Damian himself. I don’t know what it said, all I know is after that day, my mother blamed me for his death and she left and tried to take Declan with her but he wouldn’t leave me. So, Alistair, I do know how you’re feeling. None of us have parents here. At least you have one of your dads.”

“Damnit,” I mumbled. “You can’t be serious. The headmaster did all of this to you guys?” I could feel the tears forming around my eyes, thinking back to how I crumbled when I saw Ethan’s lifeless body in the morgue. I thought to how Sienna must have felt, watching her dad die or how Kat and Patrick must have felt knowing they’d never see their parents again, because of mere love.

“Well, a couple of weeks later, I was ready to turn myself in to Damian. I knew he was coming to get me and my brother anyway to recruit us,” Sienna continued, answering my question with her sorrowful gaze. “I met Patrick, and he convinced us not to do it. Well, he convinced Declan. They were both 10 years old, and Kat and I were both 7, we stared at each other, unaware of each other’s differences, and just smiled. From that point forward, we’ve always looked out for eachother. So when Patrick suggested that we start planning a way to get out of Moonlight Falls, I was all for it. Declan on the other hand…he became so obsessed with getting stronger, as if he could take Damian on by himself. He told us that we were cowards for wanting to run away, that Moonlight Falls was our home and he forbid me from seeing Patrick and Kat at all. But, here I am.”

“Isn’t he right?” I asked quietly. “Don’t you want to fight? You can make things right for everyone, instead of just yourselves.”

“It’s impossible, Declan is just walking into his own death,” Robin explained. “Damian is immortal, he can’t die and he doesn’t age.”

“There has to be a way, some kind of work around-” I began but was shot down by the others. “Fine, let’s say you can’t stop Damian. So then what? Everyone just leaves Moonlight Falls? Then what, where do you guys go?”

“This museum has been in my family for years,” Robin began to explain. “I could tell you where each artifact is from, when it was found and what it’s purpose was. Nobody believes that any of that information is correct. They don’t believe in other worlds, but I do. No, we do. We were going to try to find one of these worlds, any one as long as we could get out of here.”

“Do you even have a plan to get out of here unscathed? Apparently, my dad tried and he got shot. If Damian is as dangerous as I’m hearing, your plan is too risky.”

“How did you get here, hot shot?” Patrick asked.

“Oh, uhmmm…” I looked down. “Some guy from the guardians took me here. In a portal of some sort.”

“I was hoping he’d help us too, but he just disappeared until Alistair finds his siblings or something,” Sienna said.

“Is that how your dad got here?” Patrick asked.

I thought back to the book. “Shoot, it might day it in my family’s history. I gave the  book to Lucas though, so I don’t know.”

“Your family’s history?” Kat asked.

“Yeah, now that I think about it. The answers you’re looking for may be in it. I’ll show it to you guys the next time I come.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “It’s getting really late and this conversation is depressing the hell out of me, can we go home Sienna?”

Patrick frowned. “Babe, this guy is staying with you too?”

“Yes, because my brother made a deal with the guardians,” Sienna answered. “But you don’t have to worry because you know how protective Declan is.”

“I really do have a girlfriend at home,” I answered weakly. There was so much going through my mind right now. One was, of course Madelyn. Would she be there when I returned? Would she welcome me with open arms, or would she have moved on like I urged her too? Part of me dreaded the moment I locked eyes with her again, falling in love once more only to find out that her heart belonged to someone else. Then there was my present situation. It seemed like a hopeless battle on both sides. Declan wanting to take on Damian on his own seemed like a garunteed death for him. But, wanting to leave Moonlight Falls, was even riskier. Did they know the dangers they’d be bringing with them? I knew nothing about travel, but what if they opened the possibility of Damian entering new worlds? Even if that didn’t happen and they escaped Moonlight Falls undetected, what did they think would happen? People would accept them? I didn’t know if there were other worlds that housed their kind, but the ones that I was familiar with would either be frightened by the creatures, or want to do experiments on them. Would that be a better life for them than this? At least they had eachother here. Robin and Patrick would be able to blend in, but theres no ways the girls wouldn’t be scrutinized…shaking my head, I tried to rid my head of all the negative thoughts. “I’ll be waiting outside I need some air.”

“I’m coming now, don’t worry about it,” She said softly. “Thanks guys, you’ll have to find out about Alistair’s story next time. He promises to bring his picture book, right?” I only nodded, wanting the static to clear form my mind. “Alright, see you soon.”

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Hello everyone! Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and thank you for reading. Patrick Black and Katrina Black were actually made for me by Dandylion240 and Hayden Side and Robin Darich were created by phyrcracker93. Shout out to both of you. Thanks, they’ll play a big role in the story ^_^