FictionPress.com - let the words flow| FictionPress.com - let the words flow |
| Home Just In Communities Forums Beta Readers Dictionary Search | Login Register Extras |
The sounds of crashing waves hitting the cliffs face forced wind onto the watcher overlooking the sea as it glittered under the setting sun. The blanket that had been wrapped so tightly around her fluttered in the blowing wind, trying to fly off into the sky. Her long luscious mahogany hair whipped at the wind with its delicate fingers, dancing to the music of the crashing waves & few birds that sung their tunes. Tears stained the woman’s face as she let the air stream caress her skin & dry away the drops that hadn’t seemed to stop for a week.
Aithwayth Mornoa let her thoughts role over themselves in her mind, wondering how she had come to the fork in the road of her life. She thought of her life before her quest & where it might lead. Lost in her thoughts, she never even heard the approaching of one of her dear friends.
“Aithwayth… it is time to go,” Kal, the Drow that attended to her, spoke softly beside her while placing a gentle arm around her shoulders.
“I know…” turning her head slightly, she stared up into his dark skinned face. Only to her had he ever taken his hood off fully during the daylight. The sun was bright to his eyes & she could always tell that he was at least trying to show her that he cared.
“Kal?”
“Yes, Aithwayth?” he replied softly with care penetrating through his words.
“How did I get here? I mean, to this point in my life where I am so angry & feeling so revengeful, yet so alone…” Aithwayth rambled.
“You got to this point by forces not of your control. But you are strong spirited & will avenge his death,” Kal took both of her shoulders in his hands to face her to him to look into her eyes.
“We’ll get him…”
“What has brought this about?” yelled the King, strapping on his armor & grabbing his claymore.
“I don’t know, my love. Lianad, are you sure that we should go out there, considering it seems like a strategy to pull us from the safety of our protected walls?” Queen Aithwayth spoke with frustration in her voice while getting into her warring gear as well, grabbing for her claymore & walking to her lover’s side.
“We must save our people, even if it means to risk our own lives. We cannot let this happen,” Lianad spoke briskly in his deep voice, taking his wife into his arms in an ever-embracing hug.
“I know, my love, I know,” Aithwayth whispered softly, knowing the task at hand as well as what needed to be done.
“You are strong, Aithwayth. I have taught you all that I can for combat & sword fighting. You have even bested me several times because of your abilities to learn quickly and also for your intelligence. Aithwayth, if something ever happened to me, I know that you will prevail. You must protect yourself,” Lianad placed a gentle hand to her cheek & kissed her deeply.
“Don’t speak as though you are not returning. You must so we can raise children together, as well as be with me for the rest of our lives.”
Smiling at each other, they knew deep inside that something tonight would change the rest of their lives. Charging off hand in hand, they ran to the stables to gather their horses.
In the town, shrieking screams & cries for mercy flooded every hearing ear. Children were cowering in dark corners hoping to go unnoticed. Women ran terrified, running from the dark creatures that wanted to feast on their life force. Some men tried to fight back with pitchforks or other types of weapons wanting to survive. The townspeople were falling left & right from the skies from vampires taking them into their arms & carrying them to heights to drink their blood & drop the innocents to their final deaths. Bones breaking, skin tearing, the sight beheld the worst nightmare that ever existed.
Two dark figures rode through the town on their horses trying to save their people, knights fighting close behind them. Lianad & Aithwayth fought with everything they had. Fear gripped both of their hearts at the thought that maybe they were too late. Metal crashing filled the air & screeches from the undead sounded as they hit the ground in dust.
“Aithwayth, stay by me!” Lianad yelled over the battle to his beloved.
The street lamps started shedding some light on their situation as they became surrounded; now being the focus of the enemy’s attention. The townspeople ran in flight away from the terror, watching behind doorways & windows at the sight that conjured. The knights that were left were held back by the enemy to keep them from the King & Queen.
Backs together, Aithwayth & Lianad circled around, staring at the mix of vampires that held them captive. The vampires snarled & hissed at the two lovers trapped, ready to accept their fate. Feeling the energy pumping, Aithwayth & Lianad struck out, causing chaos to explode.
Twisting & turning herself, Aithwayth lost sight of her husband, being separated from him by half of the mob of undead. Fighting with all of her might, Aithwayth kept glancing in the direction that she had last seen Lianad.
Seconds went by, which turned to minutes with still no sign of Lianad. The shrills & clashing metal filled Aithwayth’s ears, fighting the fiends at hand with her claymore & short sword, sending the undead into a pile of ash.
Twirling & swishing, she spun to kill a Vampire, getting scratched by its nails in the arm. Screaming out in pain for how deep it had cut, Aithwayth dropped her claymore. Laughing, the vampires closed in on her. Panic seized at her heart, for she knew that showing them a slight indication of weakness they had her beat.
“Aithwayth!” her husband cried out in pain. More trepidation filled Aithwayth at hearing his voice for the first time in half an hour of fighting.
Falling to her knees, she saw her husband briefly. Bloody & nearly passing out, he had fallen to the ground. For a brief moment they locked sights, saying their silent farewells & I love you’s before his body suddenly disappeared into the air, trailing her name in the wind. Anger filled Aithwayth as she stood & stared down her enemies. She hesitated for a moment though at the sinister laughter that they made.
“You will die now for the deaths that you have caused to our clan,” one of them spoke out, its eyes glowing blood red, teeth unsheathed & blood stained.
“Try if you dare! You will pay for what you have done to my people as well as my husband,” she seethed, taking her warring stance with her short sword still in hand.
They came at her as though they hadn’t attacked in centuries. Fighting with the last bit of strength that she had left, she downed six or seven of them before they finally brought her to the earth.
Three months later…
The town bustled with excitement & energy. Feast preparations were in the making for the news that their queen had finally come out of her deep sleep. Everyone had been in gloom from not only the loss of their King but almost their lovely queen as well.
Deep within the castle servants bustled about getting their home clean & presentable. They wanted everything to be perfect for Aithwayth when she emerged from her room. No one had come even close to the room except those who were Aithwayth’s right hand & dear friends.
There were four to be exact…
The First…
His name is Kal, of the fallen house of El' Urden Drow. His skin as dark as the night without a full moon & eyes of lavender & hair as white as snow. His clothes were of attire in dark blues & reds when he remained in the castle, always wearing a cloak to shield out the light. Hardly anyone had ever seen his face except Aithwayth, who he showed himself willingly. He came to Aandelig Takkalter during his journeys in search of a woman. On one eventful day, he found himself in the company of Aithwayth & Lianad. Eventually after months of getting to know one another, they became dear friends & Lianad asked him to be on his court. Deciding that this might be his new journey in life, Kal decided to stay.
The Second…
Rilerol Silandrieth, an elf in search of her true identity. Her long flowing hair resembled that of the cleared blue waters & eyes the shade of jade. Two years prior she got caught in the line of fire between two elves of rival background. In the midst of their brawl, they knocked Rilerol against the wall where she hit her head just right, causing amnesia. To the present, she still searched for her true identity.
The Third…
A fairy by the name of Neen accompanied Rilerol Silandrieth. Petite & half the size of that of a regular human she looked to be full grown. Never once had Neen been seen wearing anything other than shimmering dark green leaves that blended well with her natural tree bark shade hair & green eyes that glittered with her ever-glowing smile. Rilerol found Neen half-dead one day on her travels. While nursing Neen back to health the two became inseparable. Eventually Neen gave Rilerol a gift that she could not turn down. She gave her the gifts of magic that she herself contained. A gift of glamour, levitation, invisibility, & shape shifting. The ability to bestow good or ill luck, control over the weather, keepers to secrets of great healing & other treasures & the ability to instill sleep or other altered states.
The Fourth & Last…
Mikaila Dorn, born in Aandelig Takkalter Kingdom, her parents were killed when she hit a young age of five. The townspeople thought that her father had killed someone due to that he contained the only ability of magic in the Kingdom. Not even the King could save him. The hungry mob took things into their own hands & hung both husband & wife. Mikaila had been taken in as a slave to one of the townspeople. She had been five then. Five years later, an elf came into town. She saw how the owner of Mikaila treated her & paid thrice the amount that the owner asked. Taking Mikaila home with her, she fed, clothed, & taught Mikaila of her ways & even blessed her with Elf & Fae magic, one in particular of immortality. Mikaila’s new family taught her many things of magic, how to use it, conceal it, & most of all… control it. When Mikaila turned the age of 20, she returned to Aandelig Takkalter to visit her parents’ grave. There she met Aithwayth… eventually becoming her White Mage, & always helping to calm down the King & Queen with her magenta eyes that calmed even the wildest beasts.
Unfortunately the Queens dearest friends could not have been there when she needed them most. They had been sent on a mission for objects that only Aithwayth knew about.
For the past three months, they all stood by her bedside, healing her wounds & taking care of Aithwayth’s needs as she slept in her coma. None knew though of when she would awaken. Mikaila had even tried several times to go within Aithwayth’s mind to find her, only to find herself deep within a jungle with not even a sign of the woman she so desperately wanted to find. There had been a few times that Mikaila had been successful of finding her Queen, only to find that Aithwayth had no idea who the White Mage was, or even herself for that matter. Eventually when Mikaila realized that she wasn’t getting anywhere with her, she would leave the jungle & come back to the real world.
Now Aithwayth showed the first sign of coming back to them. She had opened her eyes. The morning light shined brightly into the castle windows, playing on the stained glass to make rainbows of color dance across the rooms. One room in particular had been closed off to all light except that of flames from candles. Aithwayth lay in a king size bed surrounded by silk sheets & pillows stuffed with goose feathers. Opening her eyes took much effort. The room contained dark blurry shadows & a few flickers of scattered stars. For three months her body had not moved once & felt like dried wood. Her mind was a cluster of thoughts, not knowing which one came first in the jigsaw.
“Aithwayth, are you okay?” a male voice lined with a fine brogue of Celtic accent came to her as she noticed the blurry shadows getting closer.
“Who are you? Who’s there?” she blurted out, pushing herself deeper into the lush pillows.
“Oh dear… She doesn’t know who we are & may not know who she is…” a female voice spoke off to her side with a voice slightly high pitched like that of a caring mother.
“Quite the contrary. I know who I am I just can’t see anything. Everything is a big blur,” Aithwayth placed her hands to her head to help stable the blood rush.
“Here, my Queen, this will help,” another female voice that could sooth & yet hypnotize came closer to her as she felt hands touch her temples sending heat waves through her skin & into her eyes. At first the vision got worse & then slowly came into focus as if someone turned a lamp up. Standing & sitting around her & the bed were a Drow, an Elf, a Fairy, & a woman who leaned away from Aithwayth.
“That’s much better,” the Queen responded.
No one spoke for what felt like an eternity. The group of visitors sat in silence with worry tinted across their faces. Aithwayth tried getting her jigsaw thoughts in order.
“How long have I been here?”
“Three months,” Kal responded.
“Lianad?”
“Don’t know,” Mikaila whispered.
Aithwayth fought back the tears. The knowledge of what had happened came flooding back. She had fallen to the ground, watching her beloved being flown away & the vampires beating her into oblivion. Looking down at her body, she saw no signs of a battle. Even the deep gash on her arm didn’t exist.
Mikaila noticed the confusion on Aithwayth’s face & filled in the blanks. She informed the Queen that she as well as Rilerol & Neen worked hard day & night for a week to relieve the scars & wounds.
“There’s more,” Rilerol spoke from the foot of the bed. She quickly wanted to retreat her words from the expression on everyone’s faces.
“Tell me.”
No one uttered a word. They only looked away in pain.
“Tell me, damn it!”
“Aithwayth, my Queen,” Neen came & sat beside her. Taking the Queen’s hands in her own, she told the horrible news in her innocent childlike voice.
“We couldn’t save the baby. When we returned with the items that you asked us to retrieve for the baby, we were barely able to even save you. I’m so sorry. We tried everything.”
With that, Aithwayth started off in a small whimper, which gradually grew into screams. She cried for the pain that her emotional spirit endured at the news. She knew that something went missing, something offset. Not only had she lost her darling husband but her first born child as well.
Her friends consoled her the best they could to no avail. Weeks went by with their Queen mourning around the castle or weeping tears that seeped through the walls to open ears. For the whole month not one word came from those pale lips. Aithwayth had not eaten & hardly drank anything. The only time she acknowledged anything was with a quick nod of approval or disapproval.
Five months later, after her love's death, a maid came to remove the last of his belongings from the room that had once seemed too small with the love they shared crowding around them. Resigned to her life without him, Aithwayth watched as the young maid packed various objects into containers. She saw her pick up his favorite nightshirt & something inside her snapped. She tore it out of the maid’s hands, saying that this one item stayed. Protesting, the maid pointed out that a year was all the time that remnants of the past could be kept, for fear that evil spirits would come & sour the remembrance. She clutched it to her chest, anger coloring her pale cheeks. At last the maid relented, washing her hands of any possible outcome.
"Then let it rest on my head." She said, bitterness dripping from her voice. She could not tell the maid that this shirt, worn so often by her lover, contained his essence. She could not have known that smells are the most potent memory trigger. Could not have known that when she fell asleep holding it in her arms, her mind returned to the memories the scent evoked, allowing her to dream of her love. To her Lianad breathed again, his spirit coming back to her. She regarded the worn nightshirt as a talisman, causing her stomach to do jumping jacks to have the person that the smell belonged to wrap their arms around her & take her problems away.
Aithwayth wept even harder at the though that Lianad would never be coming back to her, never to kiss her, touch her, or to tell her he loved her ever again.
Kal & Rilerol sat around a table in the large front hall speaking of what they needed to do to get the Queen out of her state of misery. Ringing a crystal glass with his finger, Kal sat back with his feet on the table, listening contently to Rilerol & tried to decipher his own thoughts.
“I just don’t know what to do, Kal. I have tried everything in my power to cheer that woman up. She can’t keep doing this. She has lost too much weight. I have even seen her stumble through the halls trying to keep her balance considering her strength cannot even hold her already light weight.”
“Give her time. She needs this time to herself. Eventually she will come out of it. You need to remember that she lost her husband, child & half of the townspeople in one night. She’ll wake up when…”
The large oak doors that led into the hall flew open & Aithwayth ran past the two onlookers who quickly followed suite to see what her intentions were.
The kitchen bustled with sounds of cooks & maid preparing dinner in hope that the Queen might eat. None even heard Aithwayth enter the room & head straight towards the back of the kitchen. Reaching her hand out, she swung around a maid & started yelling at her.
“You stole it from me didn’t you?” Aithwayth had dried tears coming down her face, a red tint filling her cheeks.
“What are you talking about, my lady? I took nothing from you…” the maid stammered.
“Conthain, go & clear the court yard & make haste,” Kal whispered to one of the cooks, walking up to Aithwayth from behind.
“You took my husband’s shirt, did you not? You tried to take it from me before!” by this time Aithwayth began shaking the poor terrified girl. In one movement he had picked up the Queen & threw her over his shoulder to carry her out to the courtyard. Holding her tightly to him, she yelled & beat against his back with her hand, which felt like taps on the shoulder to him. At one point in the past, Aithwayth could almost knock Kal over with one swift kick. Now she could only yell & lightly pound him.
Marching over to a fountain in the middle of the courtyard, Kal swung her over his shoulder & dropped Aithwayth into the cold water, crossing his arms across his chest to wait until she surfaced.
Aithwayth struggled to get her head above the water. Her bones felt frazzled from the iciness of the water. Finally managing to get her head above the surface after flailing her arms in the air, she looked up at Kal, trembling & crying.
“Why did you do that? She stole Lianad’s shirt!” she wailed.
“Because, Aithwayth, I am the one who took it & I refuse to give it back. I can only take so much & what you did to that poor maid was overstepping the boundaries there. Get your head out of your ass & wake up. He’s gone! You need to realize that you are bringing everyone around you down with you. Start taking care of yourself before you too die. You have a kingdom that needs you,” Kal said smoothly.
“But that is all I had left of him!” she cried.
In one sweep of his arm, Kal had Aithwayth, holding her tightly as she beat against him in pain. Finally succumbing to him, Aithwayth went limp & wept uncontrollably against his chest.
Hours later, the Queen finally calmed down & had almost slipped into dreaming when Kal spoke. Gingerly he released his tight grip against her & with a free hand wiped the tears away. Watching her for a second more before talking, he placed her head in the arch of his arm, pushing her hair behind her ear.
“You know, it was pretty funny watching you in that fountain,” Kal chuckled, getting hit lightly in the chest. Aithwayth realized that it had been a pretty funny sight & for the first time in months, she smiled.
“Kal, do we know who took my husband?” she didn’t even look at him. Her vision locked onto an unknown object, zoning out.
“Yes.”
“Who is it?” still she made no indication of moving.
“His name is Galthor.”
Deep in the recesses of Carimung Mountain its insides stirred with sounds of breaking & bending metal. An entrance hidden from the naked eye led into deep tunnels that opened into caverns the deeper it went into its maze. Tunnels carved out of limestone & diamonds twisted & turned into the heart of the mountain where the first signs of life could be found. A large fissure contained creatures of the dark extracting something with hidden value for their master. A dark sinister man stood on the edge of a rock ledge gazing intently at his baleful plans coming into life. Sounds of hammers banging & nailing echoed off of the rock walls, sending sparks flying. There in the center of the room rested a large circular bowl like object standing thirty feet high & wide.
Galthor waited patiently for his minions to complete his work of art. Watching, he knew that soon the time would come to begin. The time would begin his life long wish for revenge on mankind.
“Come on, Aithwayth, hit harder!” Kal urged, gripping his padded gloves on his hands to prepare for a kick and punch.
Grunting and groaning, the Queen hit with all of her might, knocking Kal to the ground with a couple of kicks and punches to sidetrack him from seeing her spin around to swipe him in the back of his legs.
“Is that hard enough?” Aithwayth stopped to catch her breath and wipe sweat away from her brow. She listened to him curse in Gaelic before offering to help him up. A small group of watchers clapped and chuckled.
“Good show, my lady,” Kal responded in a low burr, disregarding her sarcastic question.
“So… am I back to my normal self now?” Aithwayth replied with a sly grin.
“I’d say so, Aithwayth. You have the weight and your strength back as well as that wittiness that we all love,” he replied sarcastically.
“Let us retire for the night. I would like to eat. I have worked up an appetite,” removing her gloves, Aithwayth strode up beside Kal to join him in the walk back to the castle. On the half mile journey back to the castle through the Kingdom they spoke of the past and the present, to the changes that had occurred to the townspeople.
“How are you nowadays, my Queen?” Kal stroked the conversation with a new topic.
For moments Aithwayth thought of the appropriate answer to respond with. Three months had gone since she surfaced from her mourning. Her people seemed to be happier and slept better through the night. From the oddity of it, they had not seen any vampires since the attack. The only reports had been from travelers stopping for a while to recuperate from an attack on their journeys.
“I am fair enough. I still have moments where I start to feel myself drawing back into that dark abyss of sorrow, but I manage to get back out okay. I do still miss him though… sometimes too much. I just wish sometimes that he could hold me in his arms again. Just to feel and smell him against me is overwhelming at times that I start to cry in the privacy of my room. It hurts to join you in your room for company considering him and I spent so many nights in there together… But I am okay. My people are getting back to their lives and I see smiles again. That is all that matters,” she knew that it wasn’t true that the only thing that mattered were her people, but her friends had been there for her to help drag her out of her deep misery.
She stated to them to help her get over Lianad, they moved her room to different quarters and had the castle redecorated in brighter colors. Once a week they held great festivities and feasts in the castle for all to join. Tonight they were to hold another ball with fine food and dancing, this time for the Queen’s birthday.
“I am glad that you are at least somewhat better, but enough talk. Let us bathe and celebrate your twenty-fifth birthday,” Kal knew that the subject contained still all too sensitive subjects. Not wanting to push the issue any further, he urged her to enter the castle before him and told her to march straight to a hot bath to wash away the sweat from their training.
The ball sounded with flutes, violins, and drums as the Queen entered the room. Dressed in an elegant gown of shimmering silver and hair finely pulled up in braids, her people greeted her with awes and applause. Aithwayth bowed to signal for them to continue the festivities before sitting.
Smiling faces danced around the room in a mix of colors intertwining their movements to the music that sounded. A singer stood with the musicians singing a light song that raised the spirit. Mikaila always had a way with doing that. Depending on the mood, she could always brighten any shadowy day or mood. Neen fluttered around on the floor, dancing in between the people following Rilerol and Kal, who laughed and skipped to the beat with their arrangements.
Aithwayth drew her attention to a knight that noticed her solitude and proposed for her to join him in the festivities. Not wanting to upset Aerniol, she took his hand and let him lead her down to the dance floor. Smiling with the excitement that she contained in her heart to just get out of her cocoon, Aithwayth went to her content, dancing… spinning… and jumping… she didn’t notice the onlooker’s smiles getting even bigger and everyone getting deeper into the drums and Mikaila’s voice. Letting her spirit fly, Aithwayth decided to let it all go, feeling herself soar and unravel to the music and tuned out the other sounds.
Hours went by before people started filtering out of the castle to return to their homes for sleep. Early into the morning, Aithwayth went to stand out on her balcony to watch the sunrise. She stood with her undergarments floating in the wind and her hair fluttering softly. Arms wrapped around herself Aithwayth released herself into the breeze to let it carry her worries away. She felt peaceful and calm for the first time in more than half a year.
“Beautiful, is it not?” Mikaila joined her, placing her hands on the railing to take a deep breath of the fresh crisp air as she listened to Aithwayth reply with a simple yes.
Looking out over the vastness of the Kingdom and beyond, the two women stood in silence for a long while. To them, sometimes the best moment didn’t require words. After a few more moments, it broke with the entrance of Neen, requesting the Queen’s approval.
“Shall I put the Kingdom to sleep, my lady?” Neen requested with her small voice. Sometimes Aithwayth had a hard time looking at her fairy friend as an adult for her small size and high voice.
“Not today. I think that they will sleep on their own, but thank you anyway,” Aithwayth replied. Word had gotten to her some months prior that her people could not sleep from the nightmares that they were subject to. Speaking to Neen, she complied with aiding in the well dreaming people of Aithwayth’s Kingdom.
“My Queen! We have urgent news from our scouts about Lianad!” Aernoil boomed into the room destroying the serenity.
“What news do they bring?” Aithwayth blurted, running up to her knight for answers.
“Galthor keeps him alive, my lady. Word has said that he will be preserved for 100 years hence with already a year gone from that. I do not know why, but that is the word that we have received. In addition, my lady, he has sent minions out after you to kill you… not take captive,” worry and concern filled the Knight’s face.
“What are his intentions? Why would he want to keep him alive for so long? None of this makes any sense…” Aithwayth expressed with confusion.
“But my lady, even if we were to save him, you would perish before that time ever comes. Besides, we will not be able to break Galthor’s spell… I have never heard of preserving someone in all of my ventures with spells and magic. Something just doesn’t make sense, none of this does,” chimed the motherly voice of Rilerol, who shortly entered the room after the commotion commenced.
“I need time to think,” Aithwayth whispered.
Several days had gone by since the recent news of Lianad had reached Aithwayth. She spent most of her days in her room passing it by with Mikaila. Not another soul could enter the Queen’s chambers except the white mage.
The rest of the small group of friends, along with Aernoil sat waiting impatiently for what plan the queen derived from behind those walls. They had even tried cornering Mikaila several times to squeal what she knew, but no success. Whatever the Queen counseled with Mikaila was not going to make it to other ears. Then one day Aithwayth emerged while the entire castle slept, slipping a letter beneath Kal’s large oak door addressed to everyone.
Sneaking out to the stables with Mikaila closely at her side they took two horses and rode briskly from the Kingdom. The sun was beginning to come over the crescent mountains as they made it to their destination about two miles from the kingdom in the middle of the forest where few ventured, but sun kept back the shadows.
“You know what to do, right,” Aithwayth asked, placing her hands squarely on Mikaila’s shoulders.
“Yes, Aithwayth, I know what to do. Do not worry about us. I will make sure that everything goes as planned. You rest now,” Mikaila responded, giving the Queen a quick embrace before stepping back from her.
Raising her arms, and closing her eyes, she began to chant. Knowing that this would take two whole days through to complete she took her time.
Aithwayth stood naked, watching her friend, hoping that their thorough plans would occur as promised. Releasing all of her fears and doubts, she went into a peaceful state, relaxed and ready. This ritual had not been performed in centuries and would take a clear mind on both ends to complete, or at least for the first stage of three. Feeling herself being lifted from the ground, Aithwayth watched in wonder as Mother Nature came to aid. Vines of thick foliage rose from the ground and lifted her up, wrapping themselves around the Queen gently to conceal her within them. Closing her eyes as the vines came closer to her face, Aithwayth’s heart slowed until she looked lifeless and completely disappeared. The vines slowly grew thick into a crooked tree with large branches sprouting with beautiful buds that turned into flowers of a variety of colors.
Twelve hours later, Mikaila began the second stage.
“Where have you been? Where is the Queen? Please tell me that you did not go through with that bizarre plan!” Kal had cornered Mikaila in the stables. She had just returned with the horses when Kal barged in and held her against the back wooden wall.
“If you read the note, then you know where I have been, where the Queen is, and that we also went through with our plans. Now if you will excuse me, I am exhausted and need rest,” Mikaila’s voice was not its usual swoon, but something more fatigued.
“No! You will take me to her and release her! She wasn’t assessing the situation correctly. We can find a different plan!” Kal growled the orders.
“Considering you are now the temporary King, I will although I warn you that I cannot release her without killing her. There are protection spells forbidding for her to be released until the correct time surfaces. She knew this risk and took it with a clear mind. The only way that we could make sure that she remained alive and well for the length of one hundred years was to place her in safety alongside with also placing her in a deep sleep so she will not age. Do you still wish for me to take you to her?” Mikaila spoke smoothly.
“No. I apologize for getting so angry… I am not meant to run a kingdom… I am a mere Drow. Also, you read this and tell me how you would feel,” Kal shoved the note at her and turned to walk away.
Before he left, he heard her speak one last time for that day. She said that he had been chosen by the queen and should not question her judgement. She knew that he would be successful.
Opening the note, Mikaila read the letter left for her friends.
Dear Friends of Mine,
I know that by the time you read this letter I will be long gone and Mikaila will be at my side, but do not worry, she will return.
And do not worry about me. I will be safe for Mikaila will see to that. Please do not be upset with me for not including you all in my plans. The less that knew at the time the less that will try to stop me. Do not think either that Mikaila did not put up a fight with me as well, for she did and nearly won.
There are reasons as to why this has occurred. For one, I need to be alive to save my husband, considering I am only mortal. And yes, we know that Mikaila is also mortal and she is the only one who will be able to release me. Do not fret though, for she also knows how to remedy this. She will be leaving for a self-journey of immortality.
Kal, I leave with you until my return my Kingdom. Please take care of my people. They will need a strong and caring ruler. I know that you can do this.
Rilerol, be sure to stand by Kal and his decisions. I am sure that he will need the extra hand and support, but please do not be too motherly to him, and I hope that some day soon you will recover your memory.
Neen, if the town is restless, you know what to do. I will miss your happiness until we are all reunited. Keep yourself cheery.
Mikaila… thank you.
I love you all for the friends that you are to me. Never forget that. I will return to all of you if all goes well. Please do not come for me. If I am released too early, I will die. I know that there might be a chance of me being released by unknown strangers, but this is a risk that I shall take. The less that know, the better.
Thank you for everything. Remember… I love you all. Take care you yourselves, please.
Aithwayth
