Page 43 of The Tricksters Deception

“Oh, cool. Hey, I assume the Wizard’s Tower has been repaired since I last left, and that’s where he and his son are? I have some news for them.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Great,” I grin as she helps me into the awkwardly layered casual dress. This is something I need to get used to. She also plaits my hair with small pink flowers. Sandy really is amazing. I thank her, tuck an envelope into a sewn pocket, and start heading outside.

I can’t believe it. This is my home now.

As I reach the bottom of the Wizard’s Tower, Corvu joins me with a quick good morning kiss. It’s a nice surprise. As we go up the stairs, I replay what I want to say in my head over and over again. Upon entering the room, I see Gildre busy with his many trinkets scattered all over the desk in the center of the room. I can’t see J’san. I notice that many of his items have been moved to the right side of the room, likely to make space for a strange contraption he is building.

“Ah, Tia.” He says, “I heard you had returned, although I apologize, not until this morning when I had some of the knights seeing me for a cure for alcohol induced headaches.” I chuckled at that one, I’m going to teach them about easy words like ‘hangover’. “What can I do for you?”

“Before I left, J’san gave me a photo. He said it was of a lost sibling.” Bringing out the envelope from the dress pocket I hand it to him.

“I’m surprised he even remembered I had this. It’s been a long time. And it’s his half sibling.” That's an interesting development.

“By your half or his mothers?” I question.

“Mine.” He sighs, pulling out the photo and looking at it with deep sadness. “You see I had once loved a Witch, and as kind as she was, the King at that time would not hear of it and ordered her head. She disappeared for some time after that. She was pregnant with our child at the time. Some, nearly twenty years later she reappeared, with a photograph of the child. She handed it to me and then pleaded with the King about the cause of Witches,” He sighs, it was obviously a painful memory. “, but unlike his son, that King wasn’t kind and she did not have the power to flee again. She had left the child in the other world and I was unable to travel there to retrieve them, with all my power I can breach immortality but I cannot help my own child.” Corvu walks over to Gildre and leans over to take a look at the photo. The photo itself was of a toddler, around two years of age, lying stomach down on the floor with her feet in the air, leaning up on her hands smiling with crooked teeth.

“That girl has a birthmark on her foot like you do. Is that normal for humans in your world?” He states. I smile widely prior to responding.

“No, it’s almost impossible for two people in our world to share birthmark similarities without being related. Or in this case, the same person.” Both Gildre and Corvu’s heads snap up to look at me. “I have plenty of photos of myself as a child. I know that’s me. I could tell you even if the birthmark at the bottom of the foot wasn’t there.” Gildre stands and walks over to me, grabbing my face and turning it side to side.

“You have your mother's eyes. And chin.” He smiles. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. I had sworn to myself not to cry but as he embraces me I can’t help it.

I did have family. Here. In Skiora. I was always meant to come here, to come home. Now I have. As he lets go, J’san appears from behind a few bookcases, oblivious to our presence.

“Son,” Gildre begins, “, as it turns out, your lost sister is our Witch Saviour, Tia.” Witch Saviour? Is that how I was known around here now? J’san looks at me and smiles.

“Okay.” He says, turning back into the bookcases. That was not the magical brother and sister moment I had imagined.

“Wait for it.” My father whispers to me. In a cloud of magical glittering dust, J’san appears beside me.

“Just kidding!” He embraces me in a hug big enough to lift me off the floor and settles me back on my feet again. “I had a feeling you’d find her.” He winks.

I feel like we’re going to get along just fine.

Chapter twenty-four

Being knighted is an adventure all of its own. I manage to single-handedly tear my specially designed dress right before entering the Throne Room, which means Sandy has to rush a last-minute repair—literal last minute. But other than that, it all goes fairly smoothly. The ceremony is grand, with the entire court present, and I can't help but feel a surge of pride as the king places the ceremonial sword on my shoulder.

Corvu and I are now part of a six-man squad frequently sent out on missions. Since Shelia is around to teach me the magic I need to know, those missions go quite smoothly. I promise, I’m not in any real danger. Corvu protects me with his life, almost turning it into a game to see how many times in a month he has to save me. It’s a little embarrassing—one month he got up to about seven. Guess I’m still a klutz. The other squad members are a little strange and not all human, but they have my back.

Gecko is really enjoying himself, learning new things with the Council. Since he’s royalty, he can pretty much do whatever he wants, and he loves it. While Corvu and him were looking for a Witch to send them to New York, an act of bravery gave him his wings. What I didn’t know is what that actually meant. He can now transform at will into a tiny pixie with wings and then back into a regular boy. It’s really amazing. They still won't tell me what the act was, but one day I'll wear them down.

Before leaving New York, I spent days online ordering gear and searching through the markets for the things I needed. Did you know there is such a thing as a solar laptop charger? I didn’t. But it works really well. I leave my laptop on the balcony most of the day, and it’s charged by the time I use it in the afternoon or at night. I also have a few spare batteries and solar chargers for the tablet I was given last Christmas. Gecko loves playing on it, but of course, it’s not really used to its full potential since they don’t have the internet here. I also have a battery-operated camera, so I’ll be able to record some of the amazing things here.

As for Corvu and me, well, it’s been a few months now, and things are actually going really well. We’re still waiting to hear news of his sister. Apparently, she comes and goes as she pleases but does live somewhere in the Capital. He’s taken me out on a few dates. I had to tell him what it was like dating in our world, so I’m hoping that’s what we’re doing when we go out to dinner, although Gecko likes to frequently join us. Corvu has been acting a little strange lately, whispering and planning things a lot with Gecko. I don’t recall telling them when my birthday was, but I might have. That would be a nice surprise.

As I sit by the window, looking out at the bustling city below, I can't help but think about Kai. I miss her and wish she could see all of this. Maybe one day, I’ll bring her over to meet my new friends and see this world for herself. It's a thought that brings a smile to my face as I close my journal, ready to face whatever adventure comes next.

To be continued...