The Hidden Object

She always kept the object safe and close to her. Mama made her repeat the promise over and over again during those last days. "I will never show it to a living soul. I will never show it to a living soul."

She cried about Mama less now, not as much as she had before. She was missing Mama as she did each night when she removed her scuffed shoes. She then carefully peeled the gray sock off her foot, and waited for the familiar object to fall out. Nothing happened. Panicked, she quickly turned her sock inside-out. It was gone.

There was no way to lose it. Something else must have happened. It was always tucked away at the bottom of her foot, reminding her of her promise to her mom.

She jumped at the sound of a knock at the door. No one visited her, not since Mama died.

The man pushed past her as she opened the door. He walked around the one room hovel, stood in the corner and motioned for her to close the door.

"I believe I have what you're missing."

"Didn't your mother tell you what this object is?" He held it up for her to see that he did indeed have it.

"Didn't she explain how to use it? I was in need of it and so I called for it and here it is in my hand."

Her now trembling hands still clung to the doorknob. She contemplated running for her life, but she had to know more.

"Tell me, sir. Did you know my Mama?"

"I would think that would be obvious by now. She and I were partners. She asked me not to show myself to you, so I respected her wishes, but things are different now. I need your assistance."

"Me? What can I do?"

"Call to it."

"What?"

"Concentrate on the object and call it to you as I did to get it away from you."

She pulled her hands away from the doorknob to see it in her palms.

"You're a natural. It took me quite a while to get that good. I can see your mother entrusted it to the right person."

"What is it?"

"It does not have a name, only a function. It allows the holder to hide from this world and to slip into other dimensions parallel to this one. Come, let me show you." He put his hands around hers and they shimmered into invisibility.

"Walk with me down the street."

She watched as people did not stir, did not see them, did not even hear them.

"Now come with me to my home." She saw a beautiful land filled with flowers, grassy hills, trees and a house near a stream.

"This is Starry Grove, your rightful home. You are the Queen of Starland, as your mother was before you. I am just the one tending to your duties until you were old enough to take your rightful place as Queen. Your mother felt it was best to raise you in the other world to help you appreciate the life of the commoner. She felt it would make you a better ruler."

All the years of poverty were behind her now. As the ruler of a magical land, she watched it flourish and prosper. She took a mate late in life, had a daughter and went back to the other world. She left her trusted mate to rule the land while she raised her daughter as it has been done for centuries, passing the scepter from mother to daughter with a trusted mate to bridge the gap and bring the next Queen to power.