It had been about 3 weeks since he last saw Kalani, and Dante was itching to go back to Sulani. He couldn’t focus on anything else – even spellcasting, which used to be his favorite thing to do. He buried himself in studying the specimens he’d collected, figuring if he actually learned about them, it would be much easier to convince everyone at home that he was invested in this work. Finally, after 21 days had passed, Dante brought it up to his parents. “I’ve learned so much about these flora and fauna…I think it’s time I go back and collect more,” he casually mentioned to his father at breakfast one morning, trying to sound nonchalant. Tobias seemed excited, saying “I am just so proud of you for taking such an interest in this research, Dante! By all means, whenever you’re ready to collect more, go ahead.” That was all Dante needed to hear, and his bag was packed within the hour.
Kalani was showing a bit now, with a little but noticeable belly bump. No one from the village had seemed to notice – or if they had, they hadn’t mentioned anything, probably out of fear of being rude. She knew that the time was coming quickly, however, where it would be extremely difficult to hide her pregnancy.
Dante wasted no time heading directly for Kalani’s house the moment he landed on the island. He waved and smiled at residents as he jogged to her front door, realizing that people might be starting to recognize him. He peered through the glass door, and his stomach flipped as he saw her silhouette in the living room. He knocked quietly, and as Kalani turned to see who it was, Dante could see her emotions clear as day on her face – surprise, then excitement, and then worry. Kalani opened the door gingerly, unable to wipe the beaming smile off her face regardless of how nervous she was.
The first thing Dante did was embrace her. They hadn’t gotten to hold one another in almost a month, and the pair stayed in that embrace for almost a minute. Finally, Kalani pulled away, an anxious look on her face. She took a step back and held her hands out; “Dante…I’m pregnant,” she explained, smiling with the hope that he might be happy about this. She watched him process the news – first shock and worry, but then a warm grin crossing his face. He looked at her like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and embraced her once again. “So, we’re…having a baby?” She nodded gingerly. “Wow…I can’t believe it…” he paused long enough for her to grow concerned. “You are going to be the best mother,” he finally said, kissing her cheek. A wave of relief washed over Kalani, and the two walked to her deck to talk things over.
Dante was ecstatic that he was going to be a father, and with the love of his life at that. He could picture their future together – nothing but love, sunshine, sand and sea. When worry began to creep into his thoughts, he pushed it down deep, refusing to taint this moment with the societal pressure of his life back at home. Kalani was elated as well; she had always wanted to be a mother from the time she was a little girl, but had never met anyone whom she was remotely interested in romantically. Now that she could see that Dante was happy about this, she let herself be excited too.
The happy couple spent the next few days in a blissful bubble, not leaving the house at all except to spend time soaking in the sun and ocean together. Dante could feel that this is where he belonged, and wanted nothing more than to stay here forever and never go back. Sadly, he realized that was not an option – at least not yet. Unable to sleep on their last night together, the looming dread of Forgotten Hollow clouding his mind, Dante got out of bed at first light and decided to get his “collecting” over with while his love slept. He caught a couple of fish and grabbed a plant or two, but decided he would rather come home with less this time.
Before going to bed the night before, Dante and Kalani had a serious talk about their future. She wanted him to stay more than anything, but knew that the risks were too high – if his family or other members of their spellcaster society found out about her, the consequences could be dangerous for both of them. They crafted a plan together, deciding that for now, he would drag this research out for as long as possible, insisting on needing to come back to conduct research regularly. Eventually, the plan was for Dante to tell his parents he wants to set up a base camp here on the island and move here “temporarily,” although in truth he would never return. They both thought this could work, but Kalani was silently skeptical.
Saying good-bye was excruciating for both of them, but the excitement of coming back soon and going through this pregnancy together was enough to keep them going. Dante promised to be back within the month, and made sure that Kalani had someone looking after her while he was gone (Keala).
Dante returned home, equal parts excited and stressed – he just wanted to find a way to stay there forever, or for them to move away together. But he knew it had to be done a certain way; he couldn’t risk the wrath of his family or the other spellcasters in their circle – the Luz’s only had one child, and he unfortunately bore the weight of their desires for their lineage.
The Luz’s were being especially nice to their son, and he really didn’t know why. Camilla was actually cheery, an emotion Dante wasn’t sure he’d ever seen her exhibit. When he showed them the new specimen he’d collected, both she and Tobias seemed overly excited.
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His mother was also making strange comments; after mentioning that they’ve been spending some time with the Youngbloods, she coyly stated “and I know Kyera has really missed you while you were gone, Dante.” Dante was taken aback by the comment, questioning why she would feel that way. “I barely know her, why would she miss me?” he asked with genuine confusion in his voice. His mother’s voice grew tenser, thinly veiled by her attempt to be casual and cheery, “I think she took quite a liking to you when you last met, Dante. At least, that’s what her parents have told us.” Camilla looked at Tobias, who was in the living room as well, paying hardly any attention to the conversation as he skimmed the newspaper. Camilla cleared her throat loudly, clearly signaling her husband to add to her thoughts. “What was that?” Tobias asked, admitting his lack of attention. Camilla’s pretend cheeriness now fell, and she was clearly annoyed when she snapped, “What the Youngbloods were saying about their daughter, dear. How she liked Dante a lot…” Tobias finally caught on, quickly adding, “Oh yes, they couldn’t stop talking about how highly Kyera thinks of you! Maybe the two of you should spend some time together, son.”
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Camilla’s face reflected the triumph she believed she had earned, making her son more aware of the young spellcaster’s affection toward him. Dante didn’t really know how to respond…he had not thought of this girl once since they first met, and had absolutely no interest in spending a moment of his time with her. However, he did not want to rock the boat with his family, especially after learning that he was going to be a father with another woman. “Oh, yeah, she was…um…really nice, when we met. Maybe we can go out together soon,” he tried to feign interest. This seemed to satisfy his parents, as they nodded in approval and went about their business.
After the strange encounter with his family, Dante headed to Caster’s Alley in the magic realm to search the shops for a special gift for Kalani. He wanted to bring her something magical that represented this part of his life that she didn’t really know. Dante hated that she couldn’t join in on this part of his life; he just wanted to be with her every day and everywhere.
While browsing through a selection of gemstones, wands and other magical trinkets, Dante’s phone started vibrating repeatedly. He really did not have any close friends, just other spellcasters who he used to hang out and party with, and his parents did not text. Yet a handful of texts started coming through from an unknown number, reading:
Hey handsome! Are you back in town? I’ve been missing you a lot. Are you going to come see me soon? Thinking someone might have texted the wrong number, he simply replied, Uh, who is this? Oh it’s Kyera!
Dante was piecing the puzzle together now – his parents had clearly given her his number, and she apparently was pretty interested in him. Rather than being flattered, though, Dante was annoyed to receive the messages. He just wanted to focus on doing his research here until an appropriate amount of time passed that he could return to Sulani; he had no interest in making friends here, or doing anything else that might tie him to Forgotten Hollow. He thought about ignoring the texts, but realized that would likely only cause him problems. He responded: Oh, sorry, I’m busy today.
He continued his browsing, examining each item closely to determine if it was special enough to bring back for Kalani. Lost in thought, Dante was startled by a tap on the shoulder. He turns around to find Kyera standing behind him, smiling ear to ear. “Oh…hey…”he said, clearly confused. “Hey stranger!” she responded cheerily. “It’s been awhile since we’ve seen each other!” “Yeah…”Dante replied, not sure how to feel about the fact that she found him here. Had she been looking for him after he told her he was busy, or was this just a weird coincidence? Kyera was very chatty, making small talk about every topic under the sun, laughing at every other thing Dante said. He was trying to be polite and not offend the girl, but he was also wracking his brain for any excuse to escape this awkward encounter. “Well, I better get going…have a lot of research work to do…”he clumsily excused himself.
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Still trying to piece together whatever was happening with Kyera, between his parents talking about her nonstop and her texting and bumping into him, Dante headed to the Magic Headquarters to read a few tomes about exotic plants. As he entered the huge building, his magic mentor Silversweater called out to him. “Dante! I haven’t seen you in weeks. Have you been keeping up with your training?” he asked, and Dante sighed as he realized he’d gotten himself into another annoying situation that he didn’t want to deal with. “I mean, I’ve been really busy lately,” he tried to excuse his lack of spell-casting practice, but Silversweater didn’t want to hear it. He shook his head, scolding Dante, “You know how your parents feel about your magic! You need to be keeping up with your practice, Dante. You have the gift of a strong bloodline, don’t waste it by letting your abilities fade away.”
Silversweater challenged him to a duel to prove his point about Dante’s need to practice. Not one to back down from a challenge, Dante reluctantly agreed. The duel did not last long, and Dante ended up face-down on the cobblestone. Silversweater scolded him once again, and set up a training schedule that Dante would need to follow.
Rather than flying home, Dante walked the long way back to his house. He ruminated on how much he disliked this place – the focus on magic and training, on snobby societal rules, on family legacies and keeping the family image up. When he was in Sulani, with Kalani, he felt free, happy, alive…all he wanted was to fly right back, but he knew he couldn’t. Not yet.
Dante’s family had been purposely keeping him extra busy with work in Forgotten Hollow. He had, however, used this time to hone his spellcasting, and had grown quite a bit in his abilities. After sparring and practicing for weeks, he challenged his mentor, Silversweater, to a re-match – and it ended in a draw! After 6 weeks he finally found an opening for a reason to return to Sulani – his parents would be away on business, and they seemed to believe him when he said he needed to collect more specimens as it had been awhile since his last collection.
Meanwhile, Kalani had been filling her days as best as she could, but longing for Dante to return. He had said he’d come back every month, but she knew he was keeping up appearances with his parents, and that there would be bumps along the road. She tried to surround herself with friends and neighbors, if for no other reason than to distract herself while she waited.
Finally, the day arrived that Dante could fly back to Sulani. After finding her on the beach, that first embrace was enough to make Dante never want to return to Forgotten Hollow. Dante was so excited to see that Kalani’s belly had grown; it hit him that he’s really going to have a child soon, really be a father. The only anxiety he felt about the situation was about finding a way to make this peace they felt here in Sulani last forever. He gave her two presents – a wand made of turquoise, not functional but beautiful just the same, and a magical baby rattle hand-crafted by his favorite vender from Caster’s Alley. The pair spent a magical week with only each other for company, never leaving the other’s side.
Dante returned home as miserable as always – leaving Kalani each time he visited was the hardest part of this whole situation. As he walked through his front door, hoping to head straight to his bedroom and lock himself away for the day, he was greeted with an unnatural enthusiasm from both of his parents. “Dante, you’re back! Your timing is impeccable, dear,” Camilla said in a cheery tone that he was not familiar with coming from his mother. “And why is that?” he asked in a dejected voice, already heading up the stairs. “Because tomorrow evening is the dinner party!” she exclaimed. He stopped mid-step, turning toward his parents, not even attempting to mask his annoyance at the announcement. “Mother, I’m really tired from my research…I may just skip this one to cat-,” but before he could get the words out, his father chimed in. “You won’t want to skip this party, son.” He gave his parents a questioning look. “It’s in celebration of you! All of this work you’ve been putting in on that swamp of an island, the research you’ve been contributing at the headquarters…its high time we celebrate your accomplishments!” Dante realized he may have been doing his job a bit too well. The last thing he wanted was a stuffy dinner party in his honor, where he’d have to contend with and entertain snobby elite spellcasters. Knowing his parents, though, he knew he had no choice. He sulked upstairs to his room and shut the door, not intending to open it until the party began tomorrow evening.
Dante dragged himself down from his room as he heard the doorbell ring. Time to paste a fake smile on his face and give out false compliments to the shallow snobs that would be in his home for the next few hours; nothing new. The soiree was going as they always do – people were drinking, laughing, gossiping about one another and bragging about themselves. Kyera had been hovering around Dante the whole night; he constantly tried finding ways to get away from her but she found him each time.
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After a few hours of tedious, phony conversation and drinking, Dante started feeling very lightheaded. He decided to step out onto his balcony for some fresh air and to get a break from the phony conversations. He was feeling so out of it that he wasn’t even bothered when Kyera found him. He noticed that she had had a faint pink glow at the beginning of the evening, but now wasn’t sure if that was real or just due to his befuddled state. She began flirting with him as she always did, but in his intoxicated state he didn’t try to stop her or leave this time. “I just think that we would make a great team, Dante,” she said enticingly while stroking his arm. Slurring his words, Dante agreed dispassionately. Kyera saw her opening and seized it – she kissed Dante out of nowhere, and he didn’t resist.
