Chapter Two

A Chapter by Elle

Chapter 2:

Arden hung up the phone and turned around. His eyes searched the dance floor for Grace, but to his dismay, he did not see her. He walked through the crowd of dancers. The music was now upbeat and energetic. "Grace?" Arden called out from the crowd. He walked over to the last place he saw her, near punch and snacks.

"Have any of you seen Grace?" He asked a group of boys snacking on chips. "Yeah, I saw her go outside," One said mid laugh, pointing at the exit. Arden felt his heart still as he headed for the exit. It should have been racing, but he was oddly calm, and yet, panicking at the same time. He opened the door went outside. If the music wasn't blaring inside the gym, the night would be completely still. He looked around the parking lot for some sign of a blue dress or blonde curls.

"Grace!?" Arden called, louder than he would have liked. Something was wrong. He could feel it, and the reason he could feel it was because he couldn't feel anything, and that worried him. "GRACE!?" He yelled again, running now, going around the school building. "GRACE!"

Apparently his heart was racing now. He'd only just noticed. His pupils dilated from fear. Why couldn't he find her?

"GRACE!! GRACE!! GRAAAAACE!" He cried again and again, until he came full circle around the school. His hands were shaking. His mouth felt dry. He wondered what he should do? What could he do? Where was he again? He shook his head gently and reminded himself he was at school. He ran back inside. He had to get help.

Something was wrong.

The cheerful dance music that hit his ears annoyed him, and at the same time, he couldn't hear it. He ran up to one of his teachers, it was his math teacher. "Mr. Gebling," Arden said, his voice shaking. He grabbed Mr. Gebling's shoulder tightly, unaware of how tight he was squeezing him.

"Clydeson? You look pale." He remarked.

"She's gone. She's missing, I went to look for her and she's not there," Arden sputtered anxiously. Mr. Gebling didn't have to ask. He knew who Arden meant. Everyone would have known.

"What do you mean she's missing?" Mr. Gebling said calmly. "I mean she's MISSING!" Arden yelled, startling even himself. His yelling attracted curious stares from dancing couples nearest him. Arden felt like he knew something, but he didn't know what it was. He just knew something was wrong. A group of teachers walked over to see what the fuss was about.

"Arden, where did you last see her?" Mr. Gebling asked a little too condescendingly for Arden's liking. This was serious. Why wasn't he as panicked as Arden? "What's going on here?" Mrs. Cliffawd, Arden's geography teacher, asked.

Mr. Gebling recounted to the others what Arden had said to him.

"Oh, my " well, where did she go?" Another teacher asked. Arden explained that someone said they saw her leave through the exit, and he went looking for her without success. The rest of the teachers agreed they'd all go outside and look for her as well. At last, they were doing something. They all went outside and wandered the parking lot, calling her name. Some students eventually came out, curious what was going on. When they learned Grace was missing, they, too, began calling her name.

They all spread out, and some of the teachers even walked down a few blocks, calling Grace. At some point, it was decided that they should call the police. They arrived shortly after, and Arden stood there, next to the boy who'd seen her last. The boy told them he'd watched her leave, and Arden, barely able to hear his own voice, told the police he went out looking for her, and then told the teachers she was missing. Arden's mom arrived, shortly followed by Grace's parents who'd been called. Vanessa Clydeson rushed to her son and held him tightly. When she released him, Arden looked to where Grace's parents were, speaking with the sheriff. Their eyes looked nearly as haunted as his. A search party was gathered, and everyone left in a different direction in search of Grace Richards.

After over two hours of searching, Vanessa put a hand on her son's shoulder.

"GRACE!" Arden called, sweat freely dripping down his forehead. By the time they entered the woods, he'd taken off his jacket and put it around his waist. His back and chest were visible from the sweat seeping through his white dress shirt.

He turned to see who touched him and saw his mother. Her eyebrows were furrowed in sympathetic concern.

"Sweety, I think we've done all we can for now." His mother said. "No, we haven't. We haven't found her, so we haven't done all we can." Arden said, yanking his shoulder away from his mother. She winced. She wasn't used to her son behaving like that.

"There are people still looking for her, people far more trained than you or me. Let me take you home." Vanessa said. Arden scoffed at how ridiculous she was being.

"And you think they'll find her? Do you think they'll FIND HER?" He turned and yelled, not at his mother, but out of frustration. "Listen "" She began.

"No, you listen, she's out there. And you want me to what, go home with you? You want me to go back to my nice, comfy home while she's out there?" He gestured around the woods. "You don't know what's happened to her. You don't know who got her." Arden all but shouted.

"So no, no, no I'm not going to stop. You go home. I'm not going to stop." His voice was strained from fighting back a sob. Vanessa watched her son walk ahead of her, and covered her mouth with one hand. She prayed that Grace be found.

A few hours later, the search was called off, and everyone returned home, saying they'd try again after they'd rested up. The Richards, with a heavy heart, walked back to their car and left. Arden, who was barely blinking, got into his mom's car, and she drove him home. When he got out of the car, he walked slowly, and went straight upstairs to his room without another word to his mother. He collapsed on his bed and stared up at his ceiling.

"Grace?" He said.

Arden closed his eyes. He tried to feel her. He always felt her. He focused on his heart. He felt his love for her. But he could not feel her.

"Grace?"

Every time he wanted to know where she was, how she was doing, all he had to do was think of her, all he had to do was concentrate, and he felt her, he saw her. Sometimes he didn't even have to try. Most of the time, anyway, whatever she was feeling, he felt, as well. They always shared the same dreams, the same experiences. No two people were more in sync than they were because they were each other. He was her, and she was him. He was also him, and she was also her. They were one, yet different. They were a coin. She was the night, and he was the day. They were always together and created one and other.

Although, he'd call her the day, the way she lit up his life.

"Grace," He gently cried.

---

I opened my eyes and was met with a glaring, blinding light. It was the sun. I closed my eyes again and waited for the sting to go away. I was cold. I was freezing, actually. I felt the ground beneath me and I was on top of something cold. Snow? I turned my face away and opened my eyes yet again. I was on the ground, atop a thick layer of snow. I sat up and looked at myself. My blue dress was covered in dirt stains, along with my white jacket and shoes. I looked around me and found that I was in the middle of a glaringly white clearing, surrounded by bare trees. Where was I?

I weakly stood up. It was supposed to be late spring. I rarely ever saw snow as a child. I wasn't anywhere near home. I chose a direction and began to walk. It was only after a minute that I noticed something was wrong. Of course, the whole situation wasn't right, but something worse than that.

"Arden?" I said aloud. I put my hand up to my chest. I couldn't feel him anymore. I began to panic.

"ARDEN?" I cried. My breathing quickened. I broke into a run. I had no idea where I was going. I just ran. I needed to find someone, find some way to get back to him.

I ran into the forest. I thought I saw something. I turned my head just for a second to see what it was, and then I collided with something. I was knocked off my feet and landed on my back.

"Hey, c'mon. How did you not see me?" A feminine voice grumbled. I sat up and saw a young woman sitting before me, snow atop her long, black hair. She was very pale and was wearing a long white gown with gold accents, and a thick fur coat. Her clothing, too, seemed to have dirt stains.

"I'm sorry." I blurted automatically. The woman, who was strikingly pretty, looked me up and down.

"Are you nobility?" She asked, standing and helping me up. Her hands were warm compared to my icicles. "Nobility?" I knew more or less what that meant. I think it was a word used for rich people. Though, I hadn't ever heard anyone ask me something like that before.

"Not really. I mean, I'm not poor, but I'm not noble or anything." I stuttered from the cold. I reached my hand up and brushed the snow out of her long black hair. She blinked at me, perplexedly.

"You're very young to be out here all by yourself." She remarked.

"And where is here? Where am I?" I asked. "Child, you don't even know where you are?" She said, bemused. I shook my head.

"We're in Taraelia " or, rather, the outskirts of it."

My eyebrows furrowed. "Taraelia?" I repeated. I put my arms around myself, fighting back a shiver.

The woman looked at me with soft concern.

"Come now, let's get you inside before we continue." She said in a pleasant tone, beckoning me to follow her.

"Thank you." Was all I could muster. I was too cold to think properly. "By the way, what's your name?" She asked.

"My name is Grace." I said.

"It's nice to meet you, Grace, I'm Luia Shai." She turned and smiled at me.

"You don't seem very shy." I said. She chuckled.

I looked, taking in my surroundings. When I looked back at her, she seemed to be blinking at perplexedly again.

After a several minute walk, we came upon a large, mound-like heap of snow with a door in the middle. There was a small metal pipe sticking out of the middle of the mound which was emitting thick smoke. Luia Shai walked up to the mound and opened the front door, and gestured for me to walk inside. I did so, and was met by the warmth of a slowly fading fire. I was also met by the obvious aroma of something delicious. My stomach growled from hunger. Luia Shai closed the door and walked over to the fireplace, which had a small cauldron resting above it. She picked up a stick and lit it on fire, and then walked around the cabin lighting candles.

The inside was small, yet charming. There wasn't a whole lot to behold. At the far end of the room was a bed. There was one table with two stools. There were a couple of shelves with books, rustic looking dirt covered bottles, ingredients and tools atop them. A couple of fabrics, barrels, and buckets. Above the small fireplace were hung various utensils, pots and pans. It looked like something she'd seen in a history book. There wasn't a single modern commodity, which greatly puzzled Grace.

"Come, sit by the fire." Luia Shai said. Grace happily complied and sat down on a small, knitted rug and reached her hands out to the flames.

"So, where is Tarealia? What country?" I asked, feeling soothed by the fire.

"Country?" Luia Shai repeated. I looked over at her, wide eyed.

"Um, okay, well, can you tell me exactly what this place is then?"

Luia Shai took off her large fur coat and set it on her bed. She then took two small clay bowls from a shelf and walked over to me.

"Are you hungry?" She asked. I was getting a little impatient with her lack of answers. But, I was actually starving.

"Yes!" I groaned enthusiastically. She removed the chaldron lid with a potholder and ladled out soup into each bowl. She placed them on the small table and sat down on a stool. I stood up and did the same. Luia shai picked up the bowl and took a couple of delicate sips. I looked down at the soup and saw what looked like giant, fat worms. Floating in the center was what looked like a strange, creepy isopode.

"Um," I said. I looked up at her with a horrified expression. I watched as she gently picked up the isopode between her finger and her thumb and bite of its head. I lost my appetite.

She looked at me with understanding.

"I know it's not pheasant or turkey, but it's what we've got. It tastes good, anyway." Luia Shai said, finishing off the rest of the isopode.

She then picked up her bowl again and sucked in a long worm as if it were spaghetti. I sat there, stunned.

"So," Luia Shai Began. "The Kingdom of Taraelia has been around only a few hundred years. Like I said before, we're on the outskirts, bordering a separate Kingdom, known as Eira."

I ran my hand through my hair trying to wrap my head around what she just said.

"So, I'm guessing you don't know what a train is?" I said.

"A train?"

"Or a plane?"

"What is that?" Luia Shai said.

"We're not on Earth, are we?" I asked.

Luia Shai gasped.

"You're from Earth?" She whispered.

"You know it?" I said.

"Of course I know it. I've been there." Luia Shai said.

"You've been there? So, do you know how to get back?" I asked.

Luia Shai's expression became forlorn, then somber.

"Yes, I know how, but, it's nearly impossible." She said.

"Why is it impossible?"

"Because the way there is in the castle, and we have no business going anywhere near it."

"But, why? Can't we go there and ask the king or something?" I said.

"There is no king. Only an impress, and she is not to be trifled with." Luia shai said Darkly.

I sighed. I needed to get back home. My family must be worried sick about me. And when I say family, I mean Arden as well, and his mom, too.

"I need to get back home. I don't belong here. My family is probably devastated that I'm gone." I said.

Luia Shai took the last sip of her soup. I watched her chew and knew it must be a worm. I shuddered.

"I can try to get you in there, but I can't make any promises." Luia Shai said.

I smiled.

"It'll be dangerous, and our lives will be put at risk if we simply step foot in the village."

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Because, if they see me, we'll both be captured " or worse, killed." Luia Shai sais with a haunted look in her eyes.

"Is that why you live out here? Because you're not allowed close to the castle?" I asked.

"Yes." Luia Shai said curtly.

"And why is that? Did you do something?" I stopped and my eyes widened. "You didn't kill someone, did you?"

"What? No, no. I'm banished because I'm the impress." Luia Shai confessed.

My jaw dropped.

---

It'd been several months since Grace went missing. Arden spent most of his days locked in his room, avoiding everything and everybody. S&R called off their search party a little over a month ago, saying she was probably gone for good. They didn't want to waste anymore manpower looking for her, especially not since a little boy went missing. They found him, but they didn't find Grace, and this was what was plaguing Arden's heart as he lay on his bed.

There was a cup of untouched ice tea sitting on his bedside table. He didn't need to try it to know he wouldn't like it. He didn't like anything anymore. Nothing tasted good. Sunsets were no longer beautiful. Smells were offensive, even if they should be good. Sound hurt his skin. A picture of Grace on his dresser had been turned around so he couldn't look at it and feel sick. He wanted to believe she was alive, but the fact that he could no longer feel her made him doubt.

His mother scheduled a visit for him with a psychologist. He'd gotten into an argument with her about how he didn't need one, but he realized in hindsight, that maybe shouting at her about how he didn't need one made her believe he needed one even more. To him, how he felt was normal. How else did they want him to be? Did they want him to smile like nothing happened?

His mother knocked on his door.

Arden didn't answer.

Vanessa was getting used to him not answering her anymore.

"Honey, come down please. We're leaving in a minute." She said. Arden swallowed. There was no where he wanted to be, so he might as well go, since he couldn't want to be there any more or less than he did in his own bedroom.

While in the car, they remained silent as Vanessa drove. She'd given up trying to make small talk with him. He'd become monosyllabic. There was nothing to say. There was nothing he was interested in saying. She dropped him off, saying she'd be back in an hour after shopping. He went into the small building and found himself in a waiting room with just three empty chairs. There was a woman behind a desk. He walked up to her and introduced himself.

"Hello, I'm Arden Clydeson. I have an appointment." Facts were the most he cared to share. Anything else was obsolete.

"Oh, well aren't you a handsome young man!" The secretary said a little too enthusiastically. Arden flinched. The woman looked slightly taken aback by his unfavorable reaction, and stared at him, squinting her eyes, as if he hadn't even registered what she'd said.

"Ahem!" She cleared her throat and flipped through a small booklet. "You can go ahead and knock. He should be ready." She said, pointing to the door next to her.

Arden walked up to the door and knocked.

"Come in," A man's voice boomed.

Arden went inside, closing the door behind him. He looked around the small room. It was a typical setup: a chaise longue with another chair in front, and a desk directly opposite the door. Arden tried to remind himself what to do.

"Hi," He said. That's what people said when they saw someone. "I'm Arden Clydeson." That's what people say when they meet someone for the first time. It's important to know names, Arden reminded himself.

The man stood up and walked over to Arden. He grabbed his hand and shook it. Arden reminded himself that men respect each other if the handshake is firm. He held the man's hand tightly. He also reminded himself that smiling was a good thing. He lifted up the corners of his mouth. "My name is Doctor Owen Olicresh."

Arden looked up at him. He was balding, in a black suit, and had large glasses on. "Please, take a seat." Dr. Olicresh said, gesturing his hand toward the chaise longue.

Arden walked over and sat down, and the Dr. Did the same and sat down opposite him. He picked up his notebook from a chair beside him.

"So, Arden, can I get you anything before we begin? A snack? A drink, maybe?" He asked.

Nothing appealed to Arden. "No," he hesitated. "thank you." He reminded himself manners were important.

"Now, I've heard from your mother that you're quite down since you lost your girlfriend." Dr. Olicresh began. Arden's chest froze. No one had been so direct with him for a while. And ‘lost'? He lost his girlfriend? To him, lost didn't sound right, but it was. Girlfriend didn't sound right either. She wasn't just his girlfriend. She was him. She was his other half. Girlfriend sounded too plain to express what she was to him. He began to hate words. They were so weak. Compared to how he felt, he couldn't express what went on inside of him. Words were so hollow.

Arden licked his lips, preparing himself to speak. "And?" He said.

"And I'd like to know how you're feeling now." Dr. Olicresh said.

How was he feeling now? Arden had to think about that. No answer seemed complete. He just decided to throw out whatever the Doctor sounded like he wanted.

"Empty." Arden managed to utter. Although it was far from the truth, it was the only way he could describe how he felt. He was full, but full of emptiness, and for him, that was something.

"That's perfectly normal. Everyone experiences what your feeling, in their own way, with regards to losing someone they love. It's completely natural."

Natural? Arden thought.

"If what I'm feeling is natural, then why am I here?" Arden asked. Dr. Olicresh put his hands together, carefully considering his words.

"You're here because you're in pain, and the people who love you don't know how to help you. I'm here to help you."

Arden swallowed. He knew that Dr. Olicresh couldn't help him, but came up with something to keep the conversation flowing. "How?" Arden asked.

"Well, we'll talk about how you're feeling and gradually, after some days, or even weeks, you'll begin to process your pain, and you'll start to feel better."

Arden shook his head in disbelief.

"You don't understand. You don't just feel better from something like this. You just don't understand. There is only being with her. And that's the problem. I'm not with her now." Arden said, his voice quivering.

Dr. Olicresh sat back in his chair.

"Can you tell me about her?" He asked. "Tell me what made her so special?"

Arden coughed to clear his throat.

"I could tell you everything about her, and everything about her would be special. She is simply special. She doesn't need to do anything to be special to me." Arden said.

"She sounds like someone you loved a lot." Dr. Olicresh.

"Someone I Love." Arden corrected him with a sneer. Dr. Olicresh briefly opened his mouth as if to argue, then stopped himself.

"Our love is eternal." Arden began. "We are the definition of ‘meant to be together'" Arden said fervently.

"I can tell. And why do you feel that way?" Dr. Olicresh said.

"Because it just is, okay!? She and I are forever, no matter what. She is mine, and I am hers, and yet neither of us belong to each other. We are just one. That's all you need to know. There is no getting over her. Ever."

TBC..

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