Opening the door to the hallway quietly proved to be difficult, as it creaked and popped with every inch. He didn’t bother looking back to see if anyone had stirred or not. He quickly shuffled out and made the short walk into the common room, flagging down the first waitress he saw. After ordering breakfast for three and asking to have it sent to their room, he slowly walked back, wondering if they would be up by now and also accepting the possibility it was his fault because of the loud door.
As he carefully opened the door and peeked in, he saw his caution had been wasted, as both were awake now, stirring in their beds. There were no chairs or furniture in this room aside from one nightstand with a mirror attached and a filled washbowl on its base. “Breakfast will be coming shortly guys,” he said rather softly, considering he was unsure of everyone’s mood this morning. Nobody answered, so he remained unsure. Drifting over to Jade’s bed, he cautiously took a seat beside her. “How are you feeling this morning?” he asked, softly placing a hand on her shoulder.
She tilted her head a bit, looking at him with messy hair wrapped around her face. “I’m much better than yesterday. Thank you,” she said, brushing the hair from her eyes with one hand and lifting her shirt with the other, revealing a cut that looked like it had healed significantly. It had very good stitching, coupled with some kind of brown herbs she had dressed the wound with. There were other cuts, certainly, but they were not as deep as this one had been. Whatever those herbs were, they were performing nothing short of a miracle, as far as Eric was concerned.
“Eric, we really need to—” A knock on the door interrupted her as Jacob sprung from the bed to get it, driven by his stomach more than anything else. A tall girl with green eyes and a matching dress stood at the door, pushing a cart with covered plates of fried eggs and bacon. There were also bowls of porridge sprinkled with fruit and a pitcher of tea. Jade smiled at Eric as she stood up to go pay for the banquet.
“I didn’t know they were going to send this much,” Eric said, a little embarrassed about being so vague when he ordered. After all, neither he nor Jacob had any money. Everything so far had been Jade’s treat. He started to wonder why she had so much coin.
“It’s OK. Don’t worry about it,” she replied over her shoulder as she pushed three coins into the girl’s hand. “This gets pretty normal the farther north we travel.” She took a deep breath. “I have so much to teach you, to tell you, so hurry up and finish, because that part starts today. We have to talk.” Jacob nodded as he chewed, even though she was not really talking to him at the time.
Once everyone finished eating, Jade gathered the two guys next to the bed. “Eric, I can see that you trust Jacob as much as I trust you, so I will not send him away for this.” She sat on the bed with her legs crossed, putting her head in her hands. “This is going to sound unbelievable, and for that I will understand your initial doubt and resistance to accept that what I am going to tell you is fact, fact that should have been told to you years ago by your surrogate father. All I ask for right now is that you let me finish, and don’t interrupt. Please keep an open mind.” They nodded, but both looked a bit uneasy, especially Eric. How ironic, he thought. All this time I’ve been waiting to find out why my whole world had changed right before my eyes, and now that the time has come, I’m not sure I want to hear it anymore.
Jade tried to picture being on the other side of this conversation. She knew how crazy this was all going to sound, but she had their word they would let her finish before coming to any conclusions, so she just let it all out like a flood. Everything! Everything, from the well-documented prophecies to what would happen when the planets were aligned in the power phase; her own personal struggles with not remembering her parents; being drafted into this chaos since birth and having no other purpose than to find and guide him; the Gate Keeper’s role in this when the planets became aligned.
She would never forget the looks on both their faces as she detailed that part. To help ease some of the madness, she would tell stories of her time with Ben, even though it pained her greatly to speak of him. They needed to see the human side to all of this, to see that many had lost loved ones and many more would, unless they acted.
“I can’t even imagine how hard this must be to accept,” she said with great compassion and patience in her voice, which bordered on pleading, “but I want each of you to search your hearts for the truth, for I can’t make you accept it. All I can do is show you the facts. You must come to your own conclusions,” she finished as she bowed her head low.
She couldn’t imagine what they must be thinking. The only reason she believed this madness was because it had been her life for as long as she could remember. “Do you guys need a minute? I can go to the common room and return later, if that’s what you wish.”