Chapter 36: From These Tales, We Are Born

“What a freaking bomb!” Tani was the first to interrupt the shocked silence that followed Luna Celeste’s confession about who Sebastian’s parents were. “Does he know?”

Luna shook her head. “No. Reya,” she began and shook her head for a moment, “she’s quite the willful kind. For many, she might seem cold and unfeeling--”

“Yeah, like who lets her son without protection after fighting the bad guys, right?” Kai said and then quickly put his palms up in apology. “Sorry, my big mouth got ahead of me.”

“I believe I should tell you a bit about myself and how I got to serve the ice goddess,” Luna said and offered a small forgiving smile.

“You’re ... her Lelian, right?” Kai asked, a bit cautiously.

“That explains a lot,” Galien commented. “And she had us all believe that she’s powerful enough to conjure life from thin air. Icy thin air, but still.”

“Don’t act so spoiled, Galien,” Luna shot him down with a well-aimed stare. “Whereas Sebastian received nothing but a rigid education, you were left to your own devices a bit too much. No wonder you have the reputation you enjoy today.”

Galien scoffed, but under Luna’s gaze, he eventually conceded. “My apologies, my lady.”

“Good. I know you to be a well-mannered young man.”

Tani pulled at Kai’s sleeve. “She can be a little scary,” she whispered.

“I heard that,” Luna said, but right away chuckled with mirth. “I should start by telling you that I was born in the far north, in a poor village of farmers and craftsmen.”

“And how come we know you to come from a well-established family of witches?” Galien asked. “Please, ignore me,” he added hastily, “we would very much like to hear the truth.”

“As I was saying, my origins are humble. I was born a Lelian and my talents for creating charms manifested at a young age. The people in the village were frightened by me. I shouldn’t have been born to a family of farmers with fear of magic or anything beyond their comprehension. My parents were good people, and once they realized that I was ... different,” she added after a short moment of hesitation, “they decided to protect me in the only way they knew how.”

“Did they send you to Reya?” Tani asked, her eyes as big as saucers.

“No, unfortunately. They hid me, kept me away from the eyes of the other villagers, afraid that they might hurt me due to their ignorance and superstitions. But, I wasn’t the kind to spend all my waking hours hidden in a barn. I quickly devised ways to get out and enjoy the big world out there. And I always came back before my parents would notice I was gone. However, one day, shortly after turning eighteen, I went on a longer trip because I really wanted to see the fair organized by a village located at a good distance from ours.”

Luna Celeste stopped for a bit, and her eyes flooded with memories. Her smile was fond, though, and that gave Kai peace of mind. At least, Luna’s story wasn’t a sad one, not all the way, and it was all that mattered. She offered him a tiny smile. “Yes, you are right, young man,” she said.

“You are kind of reading minds, aren’t you?” he asked, throwing her a suspicious glance.

“You’re easy to read.”

“Ah,” Kai said as the sudden realization struck him, “so, as long as there’s a happy end...”

“Is there going to be a happy end? I want to see it, now!” Tani jumped on her seat, most probably high on sugar and meeting amazing people like a lady with charms.

Luna’s smile grew all-knowing and a tiny bit strange. “Do you care to hear mine?”

“Totally,” Kai said eagerly. “Everyone, let’s just keep silent so that Luna can tell us her story.”

“Who put you in charge?” Tani mumbled. “But, yes, we want to hear Luna’s story. Sorry for interrupting.”

“No need to apologize,” Luna replied. “That day, at the fair, it was the first time in my life I had mulled wine. And emboldened by the strength offered to me by the drink, I began making charms and offering them to anyone who happened to walk by. Soon enough, there was a long line, and people were even throwing coins at me.”

“I would have totally thrown all my coins, too, for cakes like these,” Tani said with conviction.

“However, people who had stalls at the fair and had paid hefty sums for them got mad, and soon, I was surrounded by guards. Needless to say, I found myself thrown in jail, on the account that I was trying to fool people out of their money.”

“Weren’t they aware that you had magic?”

“The northern lands are not that rich in magic. So no, they just thought I was playing tricks and trying to sell confectionery at higher prices than allowed. It was not my fault people thought it a good idea to pay me so much. Although I appreciated their appreciation of my charms,” Luna added with a small laugh.

“So you were in prison,” Kai reminded her where her story stopped.

“Badass,” Tani murmured.

“Yes, and it wasn’t an easy time for me. But I suppose that it was just my luck that one day, Reya stopped by in search of hard workers. She needed laborers for making Ifigia into the magnificent place you see today.”

“And she just picked criminals for that kind of job?” Milo asked, visibly distraught by that revelation.

“The northern territories are harsh, and people are harsh, too. Many farmers who end up stealing because they cannot feed their families are thrown in jail. I didn’t tell you something you cannot know since you’re from a different world. Those lands are not part of Ifigia, but free of any ruler. They govern themselves, and I cannot tell, hand on heart, that they are doing that great by this choice. Reya was allowed to pick her laborers against a generous amount of grains and other types of food she brought with carriages by the dozens. You see, she can tell when someone has evil in their heart, just by touching them. So she knew who to pick.”

“What happened when she saw you?” Tani asked excitedly.

“I was overlooked at first, being a woman, and therefore useless for hard labor, but the guards were mean enough to want to play a trick on Reya. They had me dressed in men’s clothes, cut my hair, and sent me in front of her. They didn’t care if I ended up dying of exhaustion in a work camp somewhere, just to get more from Reya for the workforce they exchanged.”

“But you’re really pretty,” Tani intervened again. “Couldn’t everyone tell you weren’t some farmer or laborer or something? Reya, all the more, since she’s a goddess and all that.”

Luna smiled, clearly flattered by the compliment. “Let me just tell you the story of how it happened. I was sent to her, and she placed her hand on my forehead. Then, she stared into my eyes, and I froze on the spot. Her eyes can be so intense, you wish you’re anywhere else but in front of her. She opened her mouth, and at first, I couldn’t make out what she was saying. I was afraid, I have to admit.”

“And what did she say?” Tani asked. “Did she know you were a lady with charms?”

“She knew all right. But what she said was that she had been looking everywhere for a handsome young man to serve her tea in the morning.”

“So you began making tea?” Kai asked, just as curious as his sister.

“Yes, all the while not believing that the ice goddess could have been fooled by the rough fabric of my clothes. I lived in fear that night, fear that she might just decide to abandon me by the side of the road, somewhere in those cold lands, or worse. Therefore, imagine my surprise when, the next morning, while we were camped at a fair distance from the prison where I had spent long months, filled with suffering and deprivations, she asked me a question.”

“What question? Just tell us already,” Galien demanded, in an exasperated tone, as Luna stopped and looked at all of them like she was gauging whether she had all their attention or not.

She appeared satisfied by his impatience. “She asked, and these were her words to the letter, ‘And where would my charm be?’ as I served her tea.”

“She knew! She totally knew!” Tani cried out.

Luna Celeste grinned and wiggled her eyebrows. “Yes, she knew. And so I was promptly raised from being a tea boy to a lady with charms.”

“Wait, this cannot be all,” Milo said this time when she fell silent. “How did she find out you were a Lelian and could carry an heir to Ifigia?”

“That happened later. I wasn’t aware myself why it meant that I was one. When I was a child, a passing witch had said that about me, but my parents and the other villagers didn’t know what that meant. They were more scared of my magic, as benign as it was.

“I believe I’ve always been in love with Reya,” Luna continued. “But in secret. One day, she told me that she had to search for a Lelian and secure an heir for Ifigia, since, as a goddess, she was bound to create a world for humans, but she couldn’t be the one to rule it, at the same time. When I understood what that meant, my heart was broken. But the word Lelian stuck with me, and I knew I had heard it before. At the time, I didn’t remember that it had been a word thrown at me as an insult as a small child. My parents made sure to shield me quickly of the villagers’ bad words.”

Another small pause followed. “I knew Reya would soon become sworn to this Lelian she was searching for, and I wanted her to know how I felt, even though I was nothing but a servant to her. So I gathered all my courage and wits and asked her, ‘What if I am a Lelian and you don’t know?’ What possessed me to say that to her, I cannot tell, but I knew I had to do something to stop her from belonging to someone else. She knew I loved her, so she said that she would grant me my wish and see if I were one. To this day, I believe she indulged me only because she was fond of me and loved my charms. Otherwise, I could have been banished for daring to impose upon the ice goddess in such a shameless manner.”

“I bet she got the surprise of her life!” Tani exclaimed.

“She had to take me to the Shimmering Cavern and perform the ritual to see whether I was a Lelian or not. It wasn’t an easy endeavor, and yet, she remained patient through it all.” Luna smiled at the memory playing in front of her eyes for no one else to see. “And when she discovered I was, indeed, a Lelian, I could tell she was even happier than I was. Well,” she clapped her hands suddenly, “that is how I become Sebastian’s mother.”

“But why does Reya keep it a secret?” Milo asked. “That you are her Lelian, and Sebastian’s mother, too?”

Kai had to admit that he admired his best friend for asking the most important questions.

“I told you, she can be quite willful. And possessive, but also very clever,” Luna replied. “Lelians are very rare. They are the only ones that can offer heirs to kingdoms in this world. Goddesses can create kingdoms, but the heirs are not something in their power to create. And goddesses aren’t supposed to pair with them, only mortals.”

“She totally broke the law for love,” Tani decided. “So cool.”

“Yes, she did. A Lelian considered unpaired can be claimed, hence her decision to keep my secret.”

“But wait ... wasn’t everyone like really surprised to learn that Reya suddenly made herself an heir to Ifigia, when other goddesses cannot?” Kai asked.

“As I said, she’s clever. The Shimmering Cavern is her creation. It is capable of creating life, and that is why Pepin brought you here, Kai. He knew you would be healed. Other Lelians create heirs, let’s say, the old-fashioned way. So no one could really contradict her when she appeared with Sebastian in her arms and placed him on the throne of Ifigia. They just thought she was that special.”

“Gawd, this is better than any reality TV,” Tani decided. “But why couldn’t she say she got herself a Lelian? Is that against the law?”

“You could say that. An unwritten law, a law of witches,” Luna explained. “But the witches didn’t think of ever condemning a goddess creating an heir by herself since they thought that wasn’t possible to begin with.”

“Reya really likes to live dangerously,” Tani concluded.

That earned him a chuckle from Luna. “I suppose you could say that. She didn’t want to abandon the kingdom she created to some stranger, hence her decision to have Sebastian. And now, I believe you should go home and have some rest. Let my charms guide you in your dreams.”

“Are we going to leave Sebastian all alone here?” Tani asked.

“He’s not alone,” Luna replied. “I will watch over him as I’ve always done, while we untangle this incredible tale of you, Kai, and he being made to travel to the other’s world.”

“Well, you’re his mom, you know better,” Kai said and stood. He helped Tani off her seat by offering his hand. Not that they would just sit idle, now that they knew so much. “By the way, do you have any idea why we are here, I mean, the three of us?” He pointed at Milo and his sister, then at himself.

“Milo is easy,” Luna said as she tapped her lips with her index finger. “Sebastian loves him. You are explainable, because Pepin loves you. As for your adorable little sister,” she added and threw Tani a thoughtful look, “it must have happened because she swore to protect you all her life.”

Kai felt his jaw-dropping. He looked at Tani, who also had her mouth hanging open, and stared at Luna Celeste in disbelief.

“How do you know that?” Tani whispered.

“What? Is it for real?” Kai asked. “I’m the older brother, I’m supposed to protect my sister!”

Luna shrugged. “We never choose the way people love us. That’s entirely up to them.”

“Tani, do you really think I’m incapable of fending for myself?” Kai asked his sister.

Tani shifted in her place. “It’s not like that. Just that, after dad ... passed away,” she said with difficulty, “you were just so sad all the time and not eating. So I began sneaking food onto your plate when you weren’t watching. And mom always insisted that you eat everything, and at least, when she was there, you were forced to clean the plate,” she said quickly. “And I might have promised to Lulu-chan that I’d protect my skinny brother all my life. There, now you know.”

Kai didn’t know what to say and just leaned in and kissed Tani on the top of her head. “Thank you, butthead, for making promises to some random magical girl for my sake,” he whispered, too overwhelmed to find better words to say. Then he knelt and gestured at his back. “I bet you don’t want to mess up those pretty slippers on your way back.”