Realm of Wings

A/n: Nearly 2 months since last update... Sorry to leave you hanging like this. I'm sincerely doing my best to keep writing but I just have to find my sense of imagination again. Love you all!

Jade, waking up in Kallan’s arms:

I know I have a connection with Kallan and he cares deeply for me too. But ever since we thought to be cousins, things between us have shifted from loving to caring, and to get that back again is going to be a little complicated. There were moments I was joking about sex between us, I even told him that I was going to jump his bones as soon as we found out to not be related, but now that the curtain of secrecy dropped, I’m not so sure anymore.

Everything is just messed up.

“Look at your back.” A gentle voice whispered. I think it was the same voice as the one from within Kallan’s palace when the King had decided to capture me again, or even the same as the one I had heard when I was in the bubble…

“Where are you?” I softly whispered back, not wanting to wake up Kallan.

Carefully I crawled from between his arms and got out of bed. Searching for wherever this voice might have come from as I’m dying to know who it is.

“Look at your back.” It whispered again.

I sighed but decided to listen to it anyway, there was no danger in checking out my back while I’m in a room only with Kallan. So, I took off my shirt and cursed for a moment when I had realized Kallan to have hidden my tattoo again after the storm had started to breach the sky at E’ne Belanore.

“I’ll help you.” The voice whispered again.

A soft tingling sensation started right below my neck and quickly I went to step in front of the large mirror that was luckily in this room. The tingling continued to work its way around my back and when it reached for the branches of the tree I gasped. The orange flower buds that were on the ends of each branch were slowly blooming into little white and golden flowers!

I was happy to not have to use one of my energy balls to make the tree visible again, but I wasn’t expecting this to happen even though the voice told me to look at my back. Does this mean that I’m getting near a magical fountain? Is there one close to this palace?

A small crack in the floor made me turn around and I saw the door slightly open up. There even was a golden speck that was lighting up the hallway, urging for me to follow it on this early hour. I checked for Kallan to be asleep and noticed it was still dark outside so a lot of Fae should still be asleep. So, I took on my shirt again and decided to go for it.

The golden speck quickly changed course as soon as it had realized for me to follow it, I ran after it but tried to stay as silent as a mouse. After a few small corridors, a quick stop because of some sounds I heard and getting through a few squeaky doors, I was in a small inner courtyard, surrounded by four walls.

“This is your place.” The voice whispered again which made me feel comforted and relaxed. But also the words were strange to witness as I remembered the voice telling me that it was ‘not my place’ when I was in Kallan’s palace.

With awe, I slowly stepped forward to what I was witnessing now. The golden speck flew forward as well and collided with the object to light up one of the buds that were still growing.

A magnificent white, oak tree, filled the courtyard with its trunk and his branches overgrew the small turquoise rooftops, showering them with some of the golden leaves that fell from the branches every now and then. And even though it was still dark outside, this courtyard was lit by the golden buds and flowers that were on the tree.

And on the floor and base of the tree was a puddle of purple magic, just as Kallan described the fountains to be flowing. Four flowing streams of purple liquid fell from the spot where the branches grew out from and it was wonderful to see.

However, it wasn’t fully as magnificent as it may seem on the front when I started to walk around the wide trunk. I had counted for nine roots to have grown out of the base of the tree and around only four of them, the purple magic was flowing. The other five roots and thus also the branches above them were not showing any form of life or magic. The roots were shrivelled, the branches looked dead and no buds were growing out of them either. The whole back of this courtyard was dark and ominous and it just didn’t feel right.

When I returned to the front of the tree, my heart swelled again with the power that was radiating from the energy-filled side but still made me worry about its other half. Is it possible that the bad side of this tree is dead because of the lost connection to the other fountains, on the other side of the rift? It would be plausible as when I was on Earth, the tree on my back wasn’t living either.

But is there a way to heal this tree? Could it be that when the rift would be down, this tree would feel its connection to the other fountains again? I sure hope so, but it still wouldn’t be an easy matter. I have to find the orbs first, get the rift down and then heal this tree if it wouldn’t happen on its own. And also have to deal with all the Fae that are opposing this adventure and probably deal with dangerous things along the way too.

And in the end, I would become a Queen? How?

I sat myself down on a small patch of grass that was growing close to the purple puddle. Maybe I could go to the Oracle again and ask him more questions. He must have known for the tree to not be feeling well, so why didn’t he tell me? Is this part of my destiny? Figuring things out on my own?

And what about my feelings about all of this? I know I feel something about the sick tree, something awfully familiar as a connection you might have with an old friend, but I have never been here before, so how could I?

Sighing deeply I put my head in my hands and tried to rub the headache I was growing, away. But suddenly I felt a soft nudge on my hip and I looked up to see what it was.

A golden speck, maybe the same as earlier, was bumping against the pocket on my pants. In this pocket, I was keeping the grey marble of protection and I got curious as to why the golden speck would specifically want to ‘see’ it.

I took the grey orb out of its container and put it on the palm of my hand. The golden speck rushed over to it and instantly went inside the grey marble, lighting it up brightly! It buzzed and twitched around a little but eventually, it stopped moving and the light diminished to a softer and gentler look. And as it was a grey, stone orb before, it now was a softly glowing, glass marble! And right in the centre of it, there was the silver rune of protection.

For no reason, I decided to stand up and stretch out my limbs. I don’t know why, maybe because it made me feel at ease or… I don’t know, but I felt a little stronger than I was before and I was curious as to how my shield would show up now.

When Ren had come to pick us up at the camp right outside of the rift, I had used my shield to protect Neil. But those shields were just inches larger than my hands and I didn’t have enough energy to keep that trick going for a long time. But now that I have this enhanced, glass orb, I feel like it is going to be a little different.

While keeping the orb in my right hand, I held out my left hand. I pushed it forward and made my fingers sizzle with energy before I closed my eyes to focus on creating a shield. The energy was flowing forward as I could feel it leave my body but was instantly renewed again with new energy from my core. As soon as I was positive to have created something, I opened my eyes to see what it would look like.

And just as I had expected, it was a little different than before. Okay, much different!

A honeycomb figure was formed out of dozens of hexagon shapes, all glowing bright yellow and humming with the renewal of energy. Every single shape was radiating from within as it was fed with life from my core of energy, and it was much bigger than the simple shields I had created before. This one was taller and wider than my own body so I could protect myself with just one single shield, instead of using multiple ones and having to move them around too.

“Well, well, well.” It suddenly voiced out behind me.

“Ren.” I foully said while letting the shield dissipate into thin air.

“Good morning to you too. I see you have found our little tree and even managed to induce your orb with magic. Protection might come in handy when bad people would come at you, Princess.” He said and spat out the last word.

“Yes, it would, but I’m wondering what I could do when I find the second orb of power.” I snapped back, not willing to let out that I have actually four orbs to obtain in total, but still wanted to see how he would react to the fact that I have more markings on my wrist than him.

He growled displeasingly, knowing fully that I was taunting him into a reaction. “So what, you got another mark?! I don’t care! As long as my father is the ruler of Alash’Shanow you will never rise as Queen, no matter the connection you have with this place or the power you own!” He shouted and went away again.

I know this place was showing off an overload of magic and also had the presence of the great, white oak which is assumedly the original fountain of magic, but knowing that Ren’s father is the ruling King on this side of Kyalthemar and him saying that I have a connection with this place, made me fully aware of some new information.

Together with the fact that the Oracle is my supposed uncle and what the whispers said, that I was ‘in my place’ now, was enough to make something perfectly clear.

This palace is the place my parents had lived and died in! This palace is the place I was born in and taken away from!

I looked around aching to find some sort of resemblance to a spot in my memory, even though I could never have it as I haven’t been raised inside these walls. But no matter the urges I have about searching for something familiar… new questions arose too.

Why would Kallan’s great-grandmother, Queen Velorial, have moved herself and her family to the other side, to E’ne Belanore? Why not live here and rule Kyalthemar from this palace? It wouldn’t make sense for her to be on the other side, with less magic and thus also less power, to rule the planet when she could have everything right here!

Why was the rift created and how did she end up on the wrong side of it? How?!

I decided to run back to Kallan, to explain what happened just now. Maybe he knows more about this, even though I doubt it as well. His parents have lied to every Fae on the other side of the rift, for all these years, so I assume they didn’t tell their son about this either. But either way, I was going back to the bedroom.

“Each time I lose you, you make me stress out completely and by the time you finally decide to come back, you have more questions which are stressing me out further! What am I going to do with you?” Kallan said angry and annoyed while Trixie started to chuckle and Neil was just shaking his head.

They both had come into the room as soon as Kallan had lost me again and Echo was still searching the palace, looking for me, together with Zeph. But with a few knocks on the door without succeeding to find me, but looking relieved to see me here, they both came in as well.

“Bit crowded in here, right?” I chuckled.

“Don’t act like this is funny.” Echo said and I sighed.

“Okay, but I couldn’t help myself. Have you never wanted to follow a golden speck that was joyously floating around in the air?” I asked him, still feeling funny even though he told me not to. Besides, the relationship between me and Kallan still felt awkward so I just acted this way out of nervousness, I suppose.

“No.” The men all said together while Trixie and I chuckled again.

Needless to say Kallan didn’t have any of the answers I was searching for and after explaining everything to Echo and Zeph, neither did they. But there was something about Echo that was strange. I don’t know whether it is that he might have some answers after all and that he is not willing to share them with us, or that he knows something about something else, but either way, he was a little too much too quiet. I even tried to read his mind for it but came out empty. His mind seems a little stronger than I can breach right now, but maybe that will come later. I just need to train my abilities further I suppose.

“On our way back to this room, a maid informed me that Jade, Kallan and I are summoned to the King’s quarter. Trixie, Zeph and Neil, you go and gather supplies for travelling to search for the orbs.” Echo sighed and went for the door.

We still haven’t met any other people besides Ren and the Oracle, and Echo’s warning from the time at the campfire still hadn’t left my mind, so I was worried to proceed with our adventure inside this palace. Still, I nodded to Neil as he was searching for approval to leave with the others and then stood up to get ready too. I looked at how the others left and was starting to get worried for them as well, I know Neil is as loyal as people can be, as well as the others are, but I hope it will not be the death of them.