Fate Undone (high fantasy romance)

Part 1: A Heart-wrenching Farewell

It was a late summer’s afternoon in the old country. A gentle breeze carried the scent of wild roses.

We came to the top of the hill where a wire fence wound along the ridgeline. The hazy view revealed a smattering of huts among the moorlands.

It was time to say goodbye.

Once he steps over the stile, we’ll probably never see each other again, I thought.

We’d gone through a lot together — laughed, cried, shared stories and unreservedly revealed to each other our true selves during private moments. But we were only friends.

He turned to me, and I was overcome with a bundle of emotions. I stood there transfixed with a lump in my throat. “Take good care,” is all I could manage.

“You too, good lady … I’ll never forget your kindness,” he said.

He set off down the hill and turned back to wave one last time. Tears started streaming down my face, and I couldn’t help but wonder what could have been had we met years earlier. We were clearly meant for each other, but our paths in life had crossed too late.

Far in the distance, I saw him catch up with a young boy frolicking among the pink heather. It was his son.

Watching the two of them, I knew it was too late, but I couldn’t deny my feelings for him.

And that’s when my surroundings froze in suspended animation. Right before me appeared an apparition. It was Banedon, mage of the Brotherhood of the Crystal Star.

“I’ve made a rent in the fabric of spacetime, and I’m taking you back,” he said as he touched me on the shoulder.

A wailing cacophony and bright rainbow light engulfed me.

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