The Isle (Chronicles of the Irish Princess Book 1)

I felt him get up before there was even a knock on the door. It was Luca. I knew from his power source. I could feel it. Kai had stepped out believing I was asleep. I could hear them, though they were trying to be quiet.

“You are seriously going to take his side Luca? After everything that you and Leah have been though. You’ll just bow down to this man.”

“He’s my father. He has more knowledge on who we are than anyone. He has more experience in all of this.”

“I don’t care if he is your father. Neither does your sister. The same person who defended you in your greatest moment of weakness, who came to your aid in that courtroom. The same sister who has been there for you since the second she was born. And you’ll give all that up for him.”

“No, I won’t. But we need answers. He won’t just hand them over with her acting like this.” Luca sighed. “He’s not the same person he was when he left. This power his time here away from us has changed him.”

I opened the door surprising them. “Well, then it looks like we need to figure out who he really is and whose side he is on. Ours or someone else’s. We also need to figure out where the rest of our family stands. Kia's included. We need to know who the wolves will follow.”

“They’ll follow the king. But if your father has my grandpa in some sort of trap, then it might be too late for him. We might need to alter a few things if we need to fix the rule around here.”

“Aren’t we basically planning a mutiny which is treason, if someone finds out our plan,” Kai trailed off.

“Don’t worry Kai, you aren’t the only one with a telepathic link to my sister. Her and I just have to unlock it.”

“Weird but okay… as long as it’s only used for this. First things first, figure out where Sarah is in all this.”

We all sat in the room Kai and I shared in a circle with a candle lit in the middle. Sarah and I sat across from each other Kai and Luca the same. It looked like we were preparing for a séance like you saw in a crappy witch movie or horror movie.

“Sarah, it’s not that we don’t love you, but we need to know. If push came to shove who would you stand with? Your friends and family who are close to you? Or a king who has gone mad?”

“If we are talking about how your father has changed then you should know my father is aware of things also. It was the other reason he came to get us, not just because of your mother. You know you and Luca are my family. Always.”

“You knew he was coming?”

“Yes but not so soon, that was your mother’s doing. My father was going to try and handle things on his own before sending for us. But when she got free, your father freaked out and demanded our return immediately. We also think that the king has been tricked or alluded in all this. Like there is some sort of spell.”

Kai looked down, “I noticed how different he sounded when we came in. He was never that grand about things.”

“I noticed it too. Grandpa wasn’t himself Kai, could it be a spell?”

“Yes. It could. But I don’t know enough about them or how to undo them yet,” I said. “I’ll need to work more with Aunt Em in order to unlock it all.”

We all sat and thought about things for a moment, trying to think of other possibilities. Any other options that could make sense. I thought back to last night sitting through a small dinner with just my father and Luca. Father looked pale, for how beautiful and sunny this place was it was hard to be as pale as him. I could also see more of his facial features. His eyes had sunken in some and he had slight dark circles around his eyes. Like he hadn't been sleeping well. His hairline looked as if it had receded, but at a glance you could chalk it up to getting older. Maybe there was a spell, but what if something was wrong.

"What if it isn't a spell, maybe my father isn't losing his mind on his own, but he could be sick." I spoke up. "He didn't look well at dinner last night."

"That could be true, but I think we need to try and see where everyone else lies with their loyalty. I think Aunt Em would be a good place to start," Luca added. “The only problem with all that is that Aunt Em can get in our heads too.”

"Do you really think she would?

Luca sighed. “I'm not sure.”

“What if I can get in her head first?”

Luca looked at me like I was crazy. “Leah, do you think you could? Honestly?”

“Maybe… there’s only one way to find out. Try.”

Back in the safety of our room I began to unpack. I started with my smallest suitcase figuring I would work my way up to the big ones. Kai sat on the couch, I could hear him listening to the news channels. Most of which was talking about our arrival and my father's grand welcoming ball tomorrow night. Luca and I had yet to decide if we wanted to be coronated, but they were throwing this welcoming regardless. Juju hopped up on the little ottoman in the closet and began to lick her paws.

"Glad you're enjoying yourself little one." I said giving her a scratch. "Did you find some places to hide?"

She began to purr as my scratches continued. Another moment in and she was on her back ready for a belly rub. I gave it a quick rub then went back to putting away my clothes. While I packed I reached out to feel how she was doing. From what I could tell, with what little experience I had she was calm, but for all I knew she probably was still under the influence of the tranquilizers. As I continued putting away my clothes, I pondered just how formal was formal. Most everyone I saw today looked like business professionals.

Kai stood in the doorway of the closet, watching me. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to unpack some of this and get rid of some boxes. Ya know when you said formal, I thought it was like dresses all the time. Not my cute ones either, but like the ones you see in the historical tv shows."

"No, just dressy, really dressy. Though some of the ladies will wear dresses from time to time, not the heavy ones, but cute ones, as you put it. Usually it stays between 70 and 75. It gets cooler when it rains or there is bad weather surrounding the isle, but its always sunny here."

I milled through my clothes and put all my farm clothes in one drawer in the back. "So a lot of what I wore to school can stay. All my colored jeans and cute tops."

"Yeah, I suppose so. You can keep out some regular jeans too. For when you go into town or something."

Smiling I quickly hung up all my pants followed by my blouses and cute tops. "So, if I do this whole princess thing, will I get a crown?"

Kai sat next to Juju. "Yes, and a sash. But you wont necessarily need to wear them every day. Just for important meetings and events. Oh and when you go into town."

"Interesting."

"But it isn't all about the fun things. The meetings are important. The duties of a princess aren't just to be a public figure. We are meant to learn how to guide and protect our people. To implement laws and mandates that keep us all safe and under control. Having you and your Aunt around is going to be a good thing. We can reinforce the boundaries again and all the protective wards. I know its a blessing to have you both here on the Isle for the wolves."

"Because of the birth thing?"

"Yes, you're not just a healer and a protector, Leah. Being a descendant of Meara, you promote life among the wolves. Alone your aunt only has so much power. But you are stronger and with both of you it means repopulating. It means packs become stronger again."

"I'm meant to save the world aren't I?"

He shrugged, "Maybe. But you can only do that if you become who you're meant to be."

"A Princess."