Zion

As a child my mother told me of the elves, of their kind. How they placed themselves above all the rest, claiming they were the true beauty of the moon and as powerful as the darkest star. She said the elves still lived in the past, never wanting to acknowledge that their age of supreme power had faded away.

Fifteen guards surround me, armed to the max, ready to die for me if anything goes wrong. Elijah stands by my side as we await the gates to open.

To most it would look easy to break into, the walls made of stones stacked upon one another, the gate made of thick wood with designs. To most they would not think that the gate and walls were guarded by the most powerful spell of the ancient world.

“You speak of Keva?” The elf asks, looking down upon me. His skin is flawless like the rest, not a single deformity, his eyes a bright green, his ears pointed, and his height tall. “That is who you say will let you in?”

“I am sure,” I reply, nodding my head as the crown upon it makes me wish t was not there. It not the crown I wore when I was crowned Queen, but a traveling crown, one light crown made of silver with small sapphire placed around it, fitting my head perfectly. “She will let us in.”

“Your whole party together?” The man asks, looking at the guards. “Or you alone.”

She would only let me in. She wouldn’t even think of inviting the others in.

“I alone.”

Elijah grabs my arm, his eyes meeting mine as he warns me. I know what I am putting myself in. I know what Keva is like and that she is not to be trusted.

“I’ll be fine.”

Elijah releases his hold, the gates opening as a woman dressed in pale blue greets me. Her brunette hair falls to her waist, her gold eyes watching me, her posture straight as she holds her head high. “Welcome.”

Entering past the walls, my eyes widen at the beautiful world before me.

A road lays before me, one of white stone as trees surround me. Trees with pale brown trunks and white or pale green leaves, planted with no uniform as they grow where they please. Ahead of me lays the first building, one of a massive dome, a huge gazebo that reaches the top of the trees, made of white stone, narrow and tall windows, bushes containing little pale pink flowers surrounding the building.

“When will Keva see me?” I ask the elf, watching as she leads me towards the first building.

“Keva is very busy.”

“What does she do?” I ask, placing my hands behind my back as I feel nervous. It is not common at all for a rogue or even normal wolf to enter the realm of elves. But I am not just a rogue now. I am a Queen. Goddess that still sounds weird.

“Keva is a astrologist.”

I raise an eyebrow. Usually the fairies are known for looking at the stars. Astrologists for the supernatural community are known for watching the stars and interpreting their meaning. Every night it is said that the souls within the stars come to life, and those who have dedicated their lives to reading them can hear the voices.

“Follow me.”

We walk around the first building, multiple others just like it following as the road we take winds around multiple to one upon a hill. The building upon the hill is a beautiful and small palace, seven towers that are thin, going up seven stories, each holding multiple windows, the main section of the building being unique in that it has the dome shape in many areas.

“Keva is just finishing up her second rest from the night. By the time we arrive she shall be ready.”

I nod.

Keva reads the souls of fate. Could that mean that’s the whole reason why she came to me: to warn me of something she heard or had a vision of?

In another fifteen minutes we are before a massive tree, a home contacted to it, a dome like all the rest. The tree by it is the only one around, the ceiling completely made of glass as candles light the building.

As the elf knocks upon the door, I sit in the silence.

Lavender eyes.

“Sybil.”

I enter the building, the scents of hundreds of herbs overwhelming my nostrils as they hang from the ceiling, roses with them to help mask the scent.

A simple queen bed lays on one side of the house, the bed on the floor, a beautiful white fur blanket covering the bed, a candle next to it. Looking up, I’m amazed to see the sky, the moon faint as the clouds are still.

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” I speak, watching as Keva heads over to the fireplace of her home, a teapot just over the small flames as she watches me.

“You ended up marrying him after all-

“I need your help.”

“You never took my help before,” Keva states, cocking her head to the side as I nod. That is true. I never took her help. I never understood why she wanted to aid me.

“I know.”

Grabbing my wedding ring, I inspect the diamond, looking upon every precise carving. “Zion must be pleased.”

“We are,” I whisper. “But I need an answer from you.”

Keva nods, facing me as she grabs from a pot some herbs that are a red color. “Ask away, my dear Sybil, after all, don’t you ever get tired of asking questions.”

My throat runs dry.

“Asking should be second nature by now.”

“I just want an answer.”

“Let’s hear it then, oh dearest Queen.”

My lips form a firm line as Keva takes a seat upon a wooden chair next to the fireplace.

“Did you try and help me because the stars spoke of my future?”

No emotion runs across her face.

“Did the stars- or whatever voices up there- show you my future and you went to warn me?”

“Astrologists see and hear many things, Sybil.” Keva leans back in her chair as she sips upon her tea. “I’ve been alive for over a millennium and have seen and heard many things, so many that the human mind would die from lack of energy to comprehend these things.”

“What did they say?”

“They showed me a fate.”

“How my future would play out?”

“How you would end, your soul lost in the grips of death.”

My skin pales as my heart skips a beat.

“You wanted me to leave Zion.”

“But you did not. I was foolish.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, looking up to the sky as Keva shakes her head.

“I tried to change fate, but fate cannot be changed. You cannot bend it to you will.”

“Why did you try and change my fate?” I ask, my voice hardening as Keva stands to her feet.

“I’ve seen so many wronged. Death is not a person to side with anyone. People end left and right no matter if they deserve another fifteen years or if they deserve the darkest life in hell. Death does not care, death just does its job.” My hands begin to shake. “I cannot simple alter your future.”

“You’re speaking of my death,” I whisper.

Keva shakes her head. “No, an individual’s death. Someone who died all because of you staying with the walls of the palace your husband loves so very much.”

Is she saying Zion will die? What is she saying!? Who will die? “Death is a heartless birch.”

I nod, crossing my arms. “I wanted you out of there because you would of had so many joyful years if you would have left. The stars showed me a vision of you, happy, healthy, on your third child, married to a sweet human male. You became a nurse and he was a teacher. That make is still alive, but he will never have you now.”

I would of had a life without Zion yet I cannot think of one without him. I cannot think of a world without Zion, where he is not beside me, holding me, smiling with me, loving me. I just had a dream one night ago of our son, a beautiful baby boy, running through the palace walls as Zion chased after him, playing a game. I awoke after that dream to cry myself to sleep again.

“What do they show of my life with Zion?” I ask, my voice weak as I did not want to ask that at all.

Keva shakes her head. “White, bright as a star.”

“Does that many anything?” I ask, feeling my stomach become multiple knots tied into one massive one. “Does it? Does it mean good or bad? Death? Life? Clouds? What the hell does it mean?” I ask, my voice cracking as my eyes begin to brim.

I need Zion. I miss him. I was with him for so short after we tied the knot and now he is gone. I hate war.

Keva stands to her fear, shaking her head as my heart skips a beat.

“I cannot tell what thy have told me. That piece of information you have just asked for is held from you.”

My heart falls to my stomach.

“What was the deal?”

“What do you mean?” Keva asks, looking down into my eyes.

“The deal you made with Zion. For archers from your realm what must he pay you?” I ask, watching as Keva’s eyes show defeat. But why defeat? What does she want? What does the Elvish Kingdom want?

“I am forbidden to tell you.”

“Why?”

“Will you stop with these question!” Keva exclaims, throwing her hands up in the air as my eyes widen with her small outburst. “Question after question is all you want. It’s so horrible to hear! You want answers that I cannot give you, either against code or even my compass of knowledge.”

Keva is right. Much of what I ask she cannot give me and I can never get out of her. So much she will not tell me nor will ever. The deal with Zion is one I will never know until she asks for what she wants. When she comes to collect her prize at the end of the day.

Whatever prize that may be, I pray it is not to damage the world I’ve made with Zion.

“Have hope, Sybil,” Keva whispers, a pale and cold hand coming up to caress my cheek in a motherly way.

“Why should I when Zion may die,” I whisper, meeting those lavender eyes.

“Because Zion will return back to the palace when he said he would....alive.”