To read part 1, Click here
Gartu knocked. I backed up and hid my face in Coral’s mane. A moment later the door was opened by a little boy with an angelic face and eyes the color of liquid silver. His hair was light blonde, running on white, which was the only other color besides Coral’s tail that I had seen today. I smiled at him, but he frowned at me, and I noticed the little tail that smoothly connected to his waist.
“Garth, come in. Father and Mother are waiting,” the little boy said. Wait, so Gartu was Garth? Wait, that was confusing. I felt Coral pull me into the castle. When she stopped, I looked up and gasped. The king was all silver, but the queen was a riot of color. Her eyes were bright green, and her hair was red like mine, except longer and fuller.
“Irene? I gasped. Irene was our oldest sister. She was twenty now, but looked older, more mature, queenly, even. She wore a silver gown, of course, and her mouth was turned up at the corners.
“Delilah. How you’ve grown,” she said. Her voice was cool. “Meet your new husband, Elijah.” Into the room swam a man who very closely resembled the king, except his eyes were blue.
“NO!” I yelled, which made Coral whinney nervously. Elijah smiled slowly, and his eyes glittered cruelly. I backed up.
“Is there any other option, Irene?” I asked my sister.
“You will address me as Your Holiness or Your Savior of the Land,” my sister said. She had a glint in her eye, a lust for power.
“Your Holiness,” I repeated. Irene nodded. “Is there any other choice?” I repeated.
“Well, you could spend the rest of your time as a swan,” the king said, and immediately I knew what appealed to me.
“Swan,” I said. The king looked shocked.
“Are you sure?” He asked. I nodded. “There hasn’t been a female living here in many years,” he said, but I wasn’t swayed. He sighed.
“We cannot force you into this,” Irene said. She brought me into a room made completely out of hardened silica.
“Why silica?” I asked. She said nothing. “We will put a pool in your family’s backyard, big enough for eight swans. You will live there for the rest of your life, unless you can shed a tear, which is impossible because swans do not feel like humans. And silica is a good magic heightener.” Irene started to leave.
“Will our family now who I am? Will you ever come back?” I bombarded her with questions, trying to make her stay.
“Yes, and no. I am one of the five women left in this Silver City. As much as I wish, I cannot go back,” Irene said sadly. “If you are freed from your spell, surf extra hard for me. Compete. For me, okay?” Irene walked out of the room, and there was a humming in the air. I felt a tugging in my gut, like when I hit a rough wave and am on the verge of wiping out. The silica room started spinning, and then I was floating.
It had been a year since I was turned into a swan, and I hadn’t been able to shed a tear. I was used to seeing a beak and long neck in the water, but what really made me sad was the ocean. The waves were huge, and the water a cool blue. I felt tugging in my feathered body at all times, though I loved watching Maddie and Kevin learning how to surf. Mike was eighteen now, so we didn’t see him often because he was off at Stanford, doing whatever college kids do. I looked up and cawed happily. Chelsea, at twelve now, came forward holding a cup of lemon citrus tea. I found I still liked it, even after I had been turned into a swan. Chelsea still found time to visit me, even after I had been turned. She still loved me. That was good. David, at fourteen avoided me, and I could hear him muttering words like “unnatural” and “false.” It made me sad.
“Hi, Delilah,” Chelsea said. Her grey eyes were filled with sadness. Sadness, if I had been able to, would’ve made me cry. I gave another call, and Chelsea smiled, tears dripping down her cheeks. She let me drink the tea, and then I put my head in her lap. I was so filled with emotion, moved by Chelsea’s tears. I felt an odd prickling sensation, and out of my eye spilled something wet.
“Shh. Don’t cry…Delilah?” Chelsea picked something up from her lap. It was a pearl, white and creamy. It looked like my feathers when they were wet, creamy and smooth. I sat up. I felt a warm tingling feeling in my body, and took flight out of Chelsea’s lap. I felt her eyes follow me. I landed, and began to sparkle.
“MOMMA! DAD! DAVID! MADDIE AND KEVIN!” Chelsea screeched, and the rest of my family came running. They couldn’t even say anything.
The sparkling stopped and I looked up. My hair--red hair, surrounded my vision. I touched it. It was smooth and silky. I sat up. I was wearing my suit, but my shirt was gone. My hair had grown to well past my shoulders, almost at waist length. Another moment passed, and my whole family collapsed on me, hugging and kissing one another.
I was free.
I had shed a swan tear. 
No comments:
Post a Comment