“Are you going to ask me what it is you want or are you just going to stand there blubbering, wasting my time?” he asked, his voice laced with annoyance. “I am a bit busy here.” His eyes, so like Rykerian’s, bore into her.
“Yeah, sorry. See, I, um...well, you see I have these two friends from college that I love like sisters, and they are both in serious financial trouble—they just don’t have any money.”
“And you want me to do what? Rob a bank?” he asked sarcastically.
“No, no...that’s not what I want at all.” She shook her head as if to clear it.
“Then, by all means, please enlighten me already so that I can get back to my work here,” he replied with frustration.
“Well, as I was saying, I have these two friends...”
“You already said that. They are equivalent to sisters and have financial trouble. I am not deaf, nor is my memory short.” It was evident he didn’t care to hear any of this, but her mind was made up. She was determined to help Cat and January.
“Please, Xarrid, give me a chance. I’m a bit nervous and uncomfortable here. Please?” She felt so darned awkward around him.
At his curt nod, she took a deep breath and began again. The words began rapidly pouring from her mouth, and she dared not stop because she knew she would lose her nerve.
“One of them, Cat, may have to leave school because of it, and the other one, January, simply works herself to death. Honestly, I think January is orphaned or something because she is all alone.”
She paused, took a deep breath and then continued with her question. “Anyway, what I would love to do would be to get into their bank accounts and anonymously deposit money for them to have for their college expenses. I have it available, and it is just sitting in the bank. I guess I won’t need it anymore. Do you think you can help me?”
She had spoken so rapidly that it took him a second to digest what she was asking of him. He saw that her eyes were shimmering and pleading with him.
Xarrid looked at Maddie with an odd expression on his face. She wondered what he was thinking because he was silently staring at her, really staring; his eyes were literally boring into hers.
What Maddie didn’t know, couldn’t have known, was that Xarrid was feeling terribly guilty over his treatment of her and how he so unnerved her. At the same time, he was assessing how sincere she was and found her motives to be so pure...absolutely pure.
Misinterpreting his silence, she dropped her head and said, “Look, never mind. Forget about it, and I’m truly sorry for interrupting you and taking up so much of your time.” She turned away to leave the room.
“Wait!” he blurted out. “I will help you. It should be relatively simple to do. Yes, I can do it for you,” he decided. His eyes never left her, and Maddie had this strange feeling that he was evaluating her true motives.
“Really, Xarrid, I can figure something else out. I don’t want to be a burden or cause you any trouble or inconvenience.” She turned away again.
His voice stopped her again. “Maddie, wait! It is no trouble. I was just thinking what a selfless act that was. I am sorry if I seemed a bit put out and that you. It was extremely rude of me. Please forgive me. I will be glad to do it.”
Then he smiled at her! Was that admiration she detected?
Now, it was Maddie’s turn to look thoughtfully at Xarrid.
“Look, I know how you feel about me, Xarrid, but I so wish you would give me a chance. I’m not perfect by any means and would never ever claim to be, but I don’t try to intentionally hurt people. I know I’ve caused a load of problems here. It seems trouble and bad luck follow me wherever I go. I honestly didn’t mean to start those fires and do those other gosh awful things. I know I’ve made a mess out of things. Zanna doesn’t want me near her kitchen, and I must admit I don’t blame her. And as far as Rayn goes, I didn’t set out to do anything; it just sort of all happened. If you want to know the truth, for the life of me, I honestly can’t figure out what he sees in me. It seems all he ever does is rescue me from the hands of death.”
She gave a loud snort and shook her head. “Geez, I’m sorry. Here I go babbling again. I can’t seem to help myself. I’m sorry I’ve taken up so much of your time.” She released a huge sigh when she finished speaking. Again, she turned away to leave.
“Well, you must be blind or daft not to know what Rayn sees in you. Look in the mirror, Maddie. Rayn also sees what I just experienced: the good in you. It literally radiates from you, which is why I’ve been staring at you. Forgive me for that. Maddie, it is not
you
I have the problem with. It is the situation. There is just so much more to it than meets the eye. I wish I could explain it to you.”
Daft? Who uses words like that?
Maddie wondered.
“Is daft not a common word for you?”
“Huh?”
“Daft…you wondered who used words like that?”
“Doggonnit, Xarrid! I always forget about you all reading minds! Now, I’m embarrassed.”
“I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I truly did think that daft was a common word.”
Maddie smiled and shook her head, “No, sorry. Anyway, it’s okay. Really, it is, and you don’t owe me an explanation at all. I’m just sorry I’ve caused all this strife between you and Rayn. I honestly hate that.”
He heard and felt the sincerity in her.
“Just for the record, I have never thought you were an evil person. Everything I see in you is good Maddie. I just wish the circumstances here were a bit different.”
“Well, thanks for that Xarrid,” she smiled.
“I can help you with your request. Do you know what banks they have accounts with?”
“I think they both use Bank of America, but I don’t know their account numbers or anything.”
“Do not worry about that. I can get in with simply their names. Our devices can get in and out without a hitch, so discovering that will be a piece of cake for me,” he said with a devilish grin. “How much do you want to transfer to them?”
“I was thinking in the neighborhood of $100,000.”
Xarrid’s jaw hit the floor. “Maddie, are you sure? $50,000 is a lot of money to give to someone.” He was shocked.
“No, I meant $100,000 each. Xarrid, these girls were the closest thing to family that I had since my dad died. I was as close to them as I am to Sharra. Like I said, Cat’s parents can’t afford to pay for her school, and I’m pretty sure January is an orphan. She works two jobs and goes to school full time and burns the candle at both ends. I worry about her a lot. She is carrying some kind of burden that she won’t discuss with anyone. I just feel so sad for her.”
“Maddie, what is an orphan, and why would anyone burn both ends of a candle?” he asked curiously.
Maddie let out a huge laugh. “Burning the candle at both ends is just a saying that means she is working herself to death and will burn herself out if she keeps up that pace. An orphan is someone who doesn’t have any family, parents or anything, kind of like I was. In any case, I don’t need the money, so I figured they could make better use of it than it just sitting there helping no one.”
Xarrid was staring at her with stark appreciation in his eyes. “Maddie, that is a very kind and noble thing to do. You are sure about this? I don’t want you to have any regrets later. Once it is done, it is done.”
“Nah, no regrets with it at all. I don’t need it, and there’s a lot more than that in the bank. I thought that when all of this is over for Rayn and I, I could transfer the rest of it to them at that point. I will also need someone to leave all of my assets as well.”
“If you want, I can draw up a will for you and put it in the proper place for it to be found by someone. That way you could tie up all your loose ends. But, Maddie, think about all of this before we go in and do it, because once it is done, it will be irreversible.”
“Xarrid, there isn’t much to think about here. Even if things go badly for me and Rayn, I can never go back to my old life according to the Vesturion covenants, so I won’t need any of that stuff.”
“I guess you are right. Just say the word, and I will make it all happen.”
“Do it and the sooner the better. Can I ask just one more favor?”
At his nod, she continued. “Would it be possible for someone to sneak into my condo and get all of my photographs? That is really all I would want. Well, that and my family videos. They’re all I have left of my parents, and I would love to have them here with me. And maybe some of my clothes,” she added sheepishly.
Xarrid knew they could retrieve that for her and told her so. He said he could do it himself one night. She would just need to list the things she wanted, and then, while he was there, he could place the will somewhere.
Maddie’s face lit up when he told her that. She never thought she would see her pictures of her parents again, so she was thrilled with the idea.
“Consider it done then.”
“Woohoo!” Maddie went up to Xarrid and gave him a big hug. “Thank you! I know you don’t have to do any of this, and I just want you to know how much I appreciate it.”
Xarrid sat there watching her as she walked away. “She is a most caring and honorable female,” he thought. He was beginning to understand Rayn’s feelings for her.
~ The Trial ~
Later that night, Maddie finally climbed between the sheets and tried to go to sleep. She was sure that it would elude her, as her mind was scrambling for ideas on how to free Rayn. To Maddie’s surprise, she felt herself promptly drifting.
“Mom, is that you again?” Maddie mumbled.
She was standing next to one of the huge four posters on the bed. Rayn’s room was massive. It had to be in order for this gigantic bed to fit. It was surely the biggest bed Maddie had ever seen; she could make 5 complete body rolls in it and not even come close to the other side. Maddie knew this to be true, for she had done it countless times since moving there. It would have been an awesome bed to have when she was a kid, Maddie often thought. She had a mental picture of all her friends and her jumping like pogo sticks all over the thing.
“Maddie! Wake up! Quit daydreaming!” she said with exasperation.
“What’s going on, Mom? Why the visit?”
“Are you happy here?” Maddie’s mom asked, returning her question with a question.
Maddie explained to her how much happier she would be if Rayn were there and that she was terribly worried about his upcoming trial.
Then, her mother said something very interesting. “That’s why I’m here. I need to talk to you about something.”
“Okay,” Maddie tried to stay awake, but she began to drift back to sleep. “But let’s talk later. I’m really tired now.”
“Maddie
! Wake
up
! This is important, and I need your attention!” Frustration was erupting from her.
“Mom, please calm down. I’m just sooo tired. I haven’t been sleeping much these days with the pressure of everything.”
“Madeline Mariah Pearce, you wake up and listen to me right now! I am not here for a little chitchat with you. I must tell you something. Actually, I must show you something, and I need your undivided attention. You can go back to sleep when I’m finished.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Maddie retorted. She knew it was serious when her mom used her full name.
Maddie grudgingly pulled herself out from underneath the cozy nest of blankets and said, “So what’s up? What’s so important that it couldn’t wait?”
“How important is it to you for you and Rayn to be together?” she countered.
“How about more important than my own life? What kind of question is that? He’s everything to me!” Maddie hotly replied. If she was here just to poke around about that, Maddie was definitely going back to sleep!
“Exactly. That’s why I need you to pay attention. Do you remember the stories I used to tell you about your grandmother and great-grandmother? I used to talk about the mystical place they came from and the beautiful people that were their ancestors.”
Maddie nodded, “Yeah, vaguely.”
“Well, those stories were passed down to me from my mother and she would tell me about her ‘people’ and the miraculous things they could do. My mother was very beautiful. She was dark haired and tall; she reminded me of a goddess. Maddie, you know the birthmark you have on your back? I always told you it was a very special mark; it was placed there for a reason. It means that you were destined for greatness.” Her voice was becoming more and more excited with each word she uttered.
“You always said that to me, but don’t all parents tell their children that?”
“Possibly, but this is different. You are special for many reasons and that mark is the mark of something special. Give me your hand. I want to take you somewhere.”
She took Maddie’s hand in hers, and suddenly they were swirling through the air, spinning, stars whooshing by, and finally, they came to a halt inside the caves of the Nunne’hi.
Maddie gave her mother a startled look. How could she know about this place?
“I’ve been here many times, Maddie,” she’d read her mind. “Even before you were born.”
“How? Why? I don’t understand.”
“Come, I’ll show you.”
She held onto Maddie’s hand as they walked throughout the maze of rock until they came to a group of women.
Maddie felt slightly uneasy, since they were intruders. Again, her mother must have read her mind.
“Don’t worry about that, dear. They can’t see or hear us.”
Now, how is that possible?
Maddie thought.
Her mother quickly answered, “We are but looking upon a scene from the past. Do you see that beautiful older woman standing there?”
Maddie nodded because she was impossible to miss. She was statuesque with coal black hair that hung down to her slender waist. She bore the features of perfection from her lovely eyes to her beautiful smile.
“She’s extraordinary,” Maddie breathed.
“That she is. Do you see the younger version of her standing next to her?”
The woman her mother was referring to was a carbon copy of the older woman, but younger and every bit as lovely. There was something else about them though, something Maddie couldn’t quite put her finger on.