Forever
Max
I woke up to my sisters squabbling... again. They are both really competitive, and being Ancient Ones allows us to take more anger out on each other than normal humans would be able to. I rolled over, trying to get some more of the haven that allowed me to see her when she wasn’t by my side. She was my only friend, the only person that made me feel normal. She was a princess but she didn’t care about her title very much. In fact, I don’t think she cared much for being a princess at all. It bugged her to even speak of herself as if she were higher than anyone else. I respect that about her.
Karamia growled and it was the only warning I had before all of my twin’s weight landed on me. “Goddammit, Maxianna! Karamia!” I yelled, sitting up and shoving Maxianna off me forcefully. I glared, then slipped out of bed as the two girls stared at me. Then they gave each other that look. The look that made me groan because of course now it would be as if they were best friends so they could relentlessly tease me. I didn’t get the chance to snap at them again before Maxianna had her arm around my shoulders.
“Did Piper reject you yet? Or are you still too scared to ask her out?” She teased, looking at me with those deep amber eyes that always seemed to say a thousand unsaid words. Her long, orangish-brown hair was a mess in the right way, I don’t know how she managed that. She was still wearing her fiery night gown that honestly looked like a strange evening dress. The freckles on her pale cheeks were slightly lopsided with her grin.
I rolled my eyes and it was Karamia’s turn to be snarky. “Hey, tell me, when you roll your eyes do you see anything back there?”
Before I could respond to them, our oldest sister walked in. “Girls! Leave your brother alone!” Maxianna let go of my shoulders and backed away. Karamia put her hands up in surrender. When Fantasia looked at me, I stepped towards her. It was an unspoken code, she wanted to speak to me. I was curious so I followed her out of the room. We walked silently until we reached the balcony in Fantasia’s room.
Her room was the biggest, with the best view of a beautiful landscape. Green trees spread for miles, a long light blue river cutting down the center. Before I could take in the full beauty of the view, Fantasia’s expression caught my eye. I turned my attention to her, tilting my head slightly. “Sis? What is it?”
She smiled, a small smile that usually only came out when she was truly happy. “Maxwell, you know that I love you and your sisters, right?”
Now I was really confused. “Yeah, of course. As we do you.”
“I have to ask you something. Are you okay?”
I flinched. I knew what she was referring to. She meant the fact that I felt useless. Who wants to have the power of destruction in a world where creating things is the main goal? I have only ever had to use my power once and it ended horribly. Now, I’m basically locked away here, only able to go to one other place. Not that I don’t like going to Piper’s castle… in Hell. I just wish I could take my best friend other places. She always wanted to see the world. The real world. The one with blue skies, endless seas, large forests that smelled of nature. However, Fantasia made me agree to not bring one of the princesses of Hell to our home on Earth. “I’m going to be fine,” I said after a long moment of silence. Then I added, “Better than fine actually, I think I’m happy… But I have no idea how to react to the emotion.”
She nodded. “I understand what you mean, we may be like normal people now, but we couldn’t always feel these emotions. Hell, I’m still learning to understand most of the emotions that humans feel. It’s difficult, and it makes my job extra hard. It makes me regret some of the things I have done.” She sighed, leaning her forearms on the railing that kept us from falling off the edge. “I’m sorry for everything, Max.” I smiled, that was a name that only she called me. Well… Her and Piper were the only two that called me that. Everyone else was always formal with me. I never did like the name ‘Maxwell’. I don’t know why. I don’t know a lot of things.
I turned so I could grab the railing and look out at the scenery. It really was beautiful and peaceful, and I loved every second I was able to stand here. “Fantasia, you don’t need to feel sorry for me. I don’t need your pity.” I didn’t mean for it to sound as harsh as it did, and I instantly felt guilt burrow down inside me. But she didn’t get mad or sad. She smiled still.
“I know you don’t, you are strong, Max. Stronger than anyone I have ever met. Stronger than me, even. You just don’t know your strength yet. But you will. And I hope to God that when you do, it’s a good thing, and not bad.” Fantasia’s blue eyes scanned the scenery, and I saw its beauty reflected on the surface. Her long, royal blue hair was blown off her shoulder as a slight breeze picked up. She looked human in her matching blue crop top and dark gray-ish jean shorts.
I thought about her words. “Why was I created if my only purpose is to destroy?” It was a question I asked Piper all the time, but she had no idea how to answer. Fantasia seemed to have that problem at first, before I saw her eyes light up. She had an answer.
“You and Maxianna are twins. She was made to create new things, but when too many new things are created, you need something to take them out and make more room. You two cancel each other out to create the perfect balance for the world. Now, if we were to lose one of you, it would be chaotic.” Like always, her answer was perfect. More than perfect. Sometimes I wondered if my eldest sister’s true power was perfection. Then I remembered that she had made mistakes before too. We aren’t perfect. Nothing is.
“And yet, I have to stay here. I’m unable to go anywhere except for Piper’s home. It hurts to be separated from humans, because I don’t feel normal. That’s all I want. To feel human. To feel like I can go out with friends and have fun and not worry that I’ll lose control because I don’t know how the hell to control my power. I feel the darkness inside me. It surrounds me when I’m alone and I feel like letting go. Going crazy-”
She cut me off. “But you don’t want to hurt anyone. Max, I know you better than you think I do. You are my one and only little brother.” She straightened her back, turned to face me and slowly wrapped her arms around me. I stiffened as she patted my back. Neither of us spoke as I let her do whatever she was doing. Then she pulled away. “Let’s not do that again. I read about them. They are called hugs, meant to bring comfort or just something between friends.”
“Never again. That was awkward…” I rubbed my arm, looking at the ground. She just laughed.
“Agreed.” I looked up and she was looking at me. I was slightly shorter than her, a comfortable height considering I was younger. “Now, go. You have a sleepover with your best friend to get to. Better hurry or she might replace you.” My sister was teasing, we both knew that Piper would never leave. I didn’t mind Fantasia’s teasing either. She was nicer about it than Maxianna and Karamia.
I perked up, nodding and running out of the room. I ran straight to the room I share with Maxianna, thankful to see that Karamia and her weren’t there anymore. The bag I had packed yesterday was still under my bed and I grabbed it. I jogged over to the door that was mine. The only door that let me get out of the house. I took in a deep breath, closing my eyes as I slowly turned the doorknob and pulled the door open. Then I stepped through, only opening my eyes when I felt the humid air and smelled death. Piper was waiting for me.
The sight of her took my breath away as it always did. Long black hair with red highlights, beautiful red eyes that twinkled when she smiled, and soft pale skin. Today she was wearing her blood red shirt with the cut-out back, the bottom of her shirt barely grazing her black skinny jeans. Her black high heel ankle boots made her taller than normal. I still was about a few inches taller though. She smiled at me, jumping slightly in excitement. “Max!” She said my name and my heart raced as she stepped in front of me. “I’m so excited for you to be here!”
“Not as excited as I am that Fantasia let me stay here tonight! Then again, they are having some friends over, magic friends and they don’t want me to ruin it. Of course, my sister would never tell me that to my face,” I said, as we started to walk towards the doors of the castle.
Piper looked at me, thinking before responding, “Fantasia won’t say that because it isn’t true. You are able to be around other people, and you don’t ruin things.”
“Pipes, I appreciate that, but my ‘Ancient One’ power is destruction.”
She didn’t hesitate. “Max, every act of creation is first an act of destruction.” I looked at her to see her red eyes trained on me. I felt my heart skip a beat when she wrapped her arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to her. “You think you are a horrible thing that does nothing but harm. But that’s not all you are. You are my best friend, you are a kind person that hates doing bad. You are a pure heart that was stuck with an unfortunate gift that you were never taught to control. It’s not your fault.”
My heart was racing when she pulled me close and I could smell her. She somehow managed to smell of roses, even down here where everything else smelled of death. “I guess you are right. But I want to learn to control it, so I don’t hurt people. So I can leave my house and see someplace other than the forest. Not that I’m saying the forest is ugly, it’s beautiful, but I want to see more.”
She gave me a sad smile. “So do I, but you know my mother would never willingly let me leave Hell.”
I frowned. “I know, but what if we sneak away? You can bring your brother, if you want.” Her arm lost some of its strength and I felt her droop as if the weight of hope was dragging her down. I felt worse for Piper than I did for myself. She had to stay in Hell. She couldn’t even visit my house. She had never seen the sky. Never smelled the glorious and relaxing scent of the wilderness. She had never lived.
“I would love to! We can run away together! Have the best adventure as friends!” She was excited now. Really excited. I flinched when she said ‘friends’ as if that word alone was enough to make me lose my mind. Friends. That’s all I was to her. A friend that she could talk to and tell everything to. But I didn’t want to just be friends.
My voice was sad. “Yeah. The best adventure!” I said with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. She didn’t notice. Normally she would. But today was different. Piper was simply happy because I was her only real friend. She had no friends outside of her family. I realized that just being here made her happy… only it wasn’t for the same reason that I was happy to see her. She was also my one and only friend since I had stopped going outside.
“Okay, so, we can plan our epic run away tonight! My mother had to go for the night to do some royal business so us kids have the house to ourselves!” She giggled, shaking me slightly in excitement. I smiled at her because she was happy. Even if she had never seen all the brilliant things I had. It amazed me that she could stay happy being stuck in Hell. As we neared the large doors to the palace, I saw a small flash of flames and my smile grew. Her dog. Not a normal dog, but at least her mother had let her have him. She had saved the poor little fiery creature from a trap the one time she had ever left the house. She was trying to find her sister and instead she found a dog stuck in some branches. It was trying to get loose, trying to burn everything, but nothing new burned because this was Hell. Everything was already burning.
The huge dog tackled me when I opened my arms. A giant Great Dane landing right on my chest. “Seymour!” I laughed, scratching him behind his ears. His tail wagged happily as he slowly fell off of me to the side, perfectly happy. Piper was giggling, kneeling beside me and partaking in rubbing Seymour’s stomach. Her smile made her whole face light up and my heart skipped a beat.
“Come on, buddy!” She pushed herself back up to her feet, Seymour moving with her. At times I thought it strange that they would move at the same time. Yet it was so adorable how much they love each other. She was petting his side even as they walked in front of me and I quickly jumped back up to my feet, elegant as ever. I followed her silently into the palace, smiling at the sight of her and Seymour. She loved that dog with all of her heart, and you could see the love flowing off her in waves like a soft blanket covering them and holding them in their own world.
Seymour barked, and suddenly I was being pushed along until I was next to her. I chuckled, scratching him behind the ears as we made our way up the stairs and to Piper’s room. Seymour barked again, pulling away from us and bounding over to the form sitting on the blue bed. I heard his muffled yelp as the dog landed on him. “Seymour! No! Down, boy!” Chris exclaimed as the dog began to lick his face.
Piper clapped her hands together twice and Seymour instantly jumped off Chris’ bed and ran to lay on hers. “Good boy! Chris, give me back my animals!” She turned on her brother, who sighed.
“It’s not fair that you have a dog that can find everything!” Chris groaned, getting up and walking over to a cabinet that had been hidden behind a bookshelf. He opened it and tossed her at least ten stuffed animals. She caught them all, setting them nicely on her bed.
“Selkie. Luna. Scout. Juna. Glamour. Mischief. Mayhem. Socks. Tricksy. Morse.” She said their names as she caught them and I smiled. I found it adorable that she named all the stuffed animals that her father had given her before he passed. Chris wasn’t a fan of their father though, he believed Isaac left because of his own free will because he didn’t love them. I knew the truth. I knew what truly happened to Isaac Gale the night he disappeared with all his stuff. Their mother made it look like he left. I had thought their mother loved him but I guess she didn’t. I wanted Piper and Chris and her sisters to run away with me because I knew what happened. The Lady In Red killed her husband because he tried to get in the way of her letting their child be taken. But it was only one child she signed over to someone else. That night, while I listened in and watched, my eyes widened because I knew what I had to do. That name was-
“Piper, you cheated! The deal was you had to find them to enhance your powers!” Chris complained though I suspected he was mainly upset she had won.
She stuck her tongue out at him, her red eyes narrowing to a playful glare. “Blah, blah, blah! I have a trainer for that! And I have a personal guard to protect me if anything bad happens!”
I touched her arm, and she turned to face me. “A personal guard? Since when?”
Piper thought for a long moment as if trying to recall the precise moment she got the guard. “I believe a week, at least. Chris said that Mother hired him because she had been receiving threats aimed at me. Her oldest daughter.” She shrugged. It didn’t bother her how ridiculous that sounded. The Lady In Red doesn’t care about any of her children enough to get a personal guard.
“Can I meet this personal guard?”
“Of course!” Piper bolted out the door and I stood in silence, awaiting her return. That’s when I saw him. Her new guard. “Max, I would like you to meet Connor Demgel.” He didn’t look like a normal guard, but it wasn’t in a bad way. He just seemed more laid back than normal guards are. He was tall, taller than all of us in the room but not to the point that standing by him was uncomfortable. He had black hair combed to the side, pale skin, and green eyes that twinkled with life. Connor wore a ring that seemed to be surrounded with magic. His clothes were plain: a black tee that showed off his muscles, and jeans.
He held out his hand, and we firmly shook hands. I was the only one in this room almost his height. We held each other’s gaze for a long moment as if sizing each other up. It felt more like we each had already decided we didn’t like each other. And ‘didn’t like’ was being generous. I didn’t know why, but from the moment I saw him, I hated him.
“It’s nice to meet you, you must be Max. Piper talks about you a lot.” He said, his voice deep and ‘manly’. It made me suddenly self conscious. My voice wasn’t that manly. Mine sounded more like a child’s in a nineteen year old’s body. It’s weird. I have too many freckles. My cheeks and arms dotted. I’m scrawny. He’s muscular and tall.
“That I am,” Was all I said, not knowing what else I could say. Did The Lady In Red hire him to make it easier to kidnap her? Chris looked at me, and we locked eyes. I felt like he wanted to say something but didn’t want to say it in front of Piper. I gave a small nod, small enough so that only Chris saw.
He looked away, and I turned my full attention back to Piper. She was so beautiful, her smile could light up the whole world if they ever got to see it. “So, Connor. Please, go back to your post! I’m going to hang out with my best friend!” She managed to not sound rude even when giving him an order and he silently obeyed, stepping out of the room. Piper turned back around to face me and she said, “Chris offered to sleep in Isabelle’s room, so that you can have his bed.”
“Sounds great.”
Chris shot me a look but Piper shoved him out of the room before he could say anything. I smiled. “You know, you seem extra excited. It’s not like this is our first sleepover.” I had to contain the happiness that threatened to make me explode when I tried to make this not seem like such a big deal. But it was. It meant more time with Piper.
“I know, but it’s our eighth one. You know what that means to me!”
I chuckled. I had almost forgotten. “Infinite. It means we will be friends forever.”
