I found myself on the blue front step of my best friend’s house.  Looking up at his door, I did not hesitate in just walking in the house without knocking.  We had been best friends since preschool when we were the only two kids in our class that didn’t cry and sob about leaving our mothers.  I took a big whiff of the air because it always soothed my moods; it always smelled like cinnamon and air freshener.  Dalton’s room was up the spiraling staircase, down the hall, and the third door on the right.  Finally taking the time to knock, I waited impatiently for him to open the door.
“Eolande?” he asked.  I could have slapped him for using my Arethusa name, it was supposed to be secret and if anyone else had been behind the door, questions might have come up.  He was just pulling my chain though so I let it slide this one time.
“Dalton, it’s me. Can I come in?” I asked shakily, my earlier anger was starting to boil once more.
“Uh, sure; what’s wrong?” he asked hesitantly, opening the door to let me through.
“It’s my mom, Dalton.  She’s such a lying freak!”  I screamed.
Dalton looked shocked as he put his hand on my back and guided me toward his couch so I could sit down.  Looking at me through his black shaggy hair, his crystal blue eyes seemed to scream at me.
“What did she do now?”
“She vowed to me that I knew everything about her; I didn’t though.  She broke an Arethusa vow,” I said gravely.  I didn’t expect Dalton to understand since he was merely a Tressa, but it was nice having someone I could tell; even if it was forbidden and I wasn’t supposed to talk to Tressa’s about my Arethusa life.
“I know I’m just another human to you fairies but why are vows such a big thing?” he asked. His eyebrows crinkled in confusion and thought.
“To the Arethusa, promises are no longer promises.  They are bigger than promises and if broken, it is punishable by years in our Poj prisons.  To the Arethusa, vows are no longer vows.  They are you promising with your life that whatever you say is true.  If broken, it can be punishable by death.” I explained.
I watched as the blood from Dalton’s face drained down and suddenly he was very pale and ashen looking.  Worried, I put a hand to his cheek.
“Dalton, are you okay?” I asked worriedly.
“You’re not g-going to…k-kill your mother, are you?” he stuttered.  I was shocked that he would suggest such a thing, of course I wouldn’t. 
“No!  That’s a ridiculous thing to think!  Murder of our own kind is punishable by death too,” I sputtered off the top of my head.
“Oh, good,” Dalton breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly his cheeks were pink again.
“I’m thinking of running away…” I said softly, hoping maybe he hadn’t heard.  Leaning closer to my mouth, he turned his ear toward me and said, “What did you say?”
“I said…I think I’m going to go to Breena; even better, maybe I’ll find Faylinn.  Find my ancestors and maybe live there.”
With a determined look, Dalton got up and grabbed his school backpack.  He turned it upside down and started shoving some of his clothes and all of his money in it.
“What are you doing?!” I screech.
“If you’re leaving on this journey, so am I.  I won’t let you go there alone.  You told me it was dangerous and I don’t want you hurt,” he said in a muffled voice because his head was in the closet.
Shock coursed through my body and it was almost painful because Arethusa aren’t supposed to be able to feel shock.
“Y-you can’t do that!  It’s n-not safe for you.  I am not supposed t-to tell the Tressa anything about us.  Its top secret…I’d get in trouble.  Dalton, please.  You can’t do that!” I pleaded.
“Why the hell not, Elena? I mean, Eolande?”He asked knowing that I would flinch at him using my Arethusa name on purpose.
“Don’t curse, Dalton.  It’s unbecoming.  I don’t want you hurt, and the way we’re traveling is too dangerous for Tressa.  As much as I love you, you wouldn’t last long on the journey…” I lied partially.  He would survive if I had anything to do about it, but it was a difficult journey and most Tressa would not make it.
“I would do anything for you, Elena; seriously.  I…” he seemed to stop here and a fierce determined look came into his light crystal blue eyes.  He quickly strode over to me on the couch, and sat down next to me once more.  Taking my hand in his right hand, he brushed a lock of my hair out of my eyes with his left and all of a sudden, it seemed very intimate in the room.
“Ever since I met you, Elena, you have completely turned my life upside down. Not that I really remember what it was like before preschool.  Still, you understand what I mean.  I guess what I’m trying to say is…I love you,” he said.
My head was spinning and it felt like his room was suffocating me.  I found it ironic since I had been in his room millions of times without realizing how tiny it actually was.
“I…have to go. Bye,” I said, quickly getting up from his couch and heading toward the door.
“Elena, please…I’m not letting you go to Breena alone, even if it means following you at a distance and being alone.  Then I’d be in even a worse situation than if I was with you,” he said quietly, “I won’t say those three words anymore if that’s what freaked you out…”
My heart tugged and I had no idea on earth or in Breena why it did; I wasn’t in love with him…I thought.
“Fine.  I’ll talk to you later,” I whispered, and I couldn’t believe I had succumbed to his request.  Maybe he was secretly part Arethusa and had more of Elvena’s blood in him since he seemed to be able to convince me to do just about anything.
Walking out of his house, I focused on walking back to my house even though I wasn’t ready to face my mother.  With my head down and my mind racing, I could have easily been stopped by a police officer for looking lost.  Tressa police were the least of my worries; my biggest one was how to keep not only myself but also Dalton alive on this quest to Breena while sneaking behind my mothers back.