Aurora's Vision (Arc1:Chp5)

 Arc 1

Chapter 5 - King of Roses

Castyr exited the budding chamber, moving the vines out of his way without touching them with an effortless wave of his arm. They stayed open like a secured curtain as he stepped outside to talk. From what Ruby could see, the chamber behind was cold, dark and lifeless. Unusual, from what she’d heard about it. Castyr stepped to the side to block her view.

He appeared lax and inviting, plastering an easy smile onto a handsome face. But the regal nature of his stance and authoritative aura was undeniable, emphasised further by his impeccably black and gold-tailored suit and pristine, shoulder-length blonde hair. The dark circles under his grey eyes belied his well-put-together and friendly façade… that, and the obvious threat within them.

The reigning monarch of the fae was not someone you trifled with. Even Emma, the strongest fae she knew, baulked under his intense glare.

“Castyr, I’m…” she stammered.

“Trying to brute force your way in as usual. I gathered as much,” he cut in with a tired frown.

“I’ve come to take my place as successor. I realise –”

“It’s too late for that,” he interrupted, flicking his hand to wave her away. His eyes landed on Ruby before turning to re-enter the chamber. “You know this. Your sacrifice is no longer necessary. Take your fallen friend home and rest.”

Emma squared her jaw, gathering her faltering courage with a deep breath. “Then, let me help with this ritual you’re planning,” she offered. She was not going to be dismissed so easily.

Castyr looked to the heavens and released a long, beleaguered sigh. “Myrrah, for the Fae of Secrets, you sure do have a big mouth!”

“Castyr –“

“No!” Castyr snapped, his patience at its limit. The word was thunderous, and the area darkened and crackled with electric tension. Ruby, Emma and the guards flinched as liquid fear pierced their bellies. “Do you think I’m not wise to your tricks? This ritual will go ahead as planned with or without your blessing.” He turned to the guard and ordered, “Escort them home!”

The guard pushed Ruby’s shoulder, and she spun around to leave, but Emma stiffened as the other guard touched her, shrugging the offending hand from her shoulder. She frowned and glared at Castyr. Ruby knew that look. So be it, she thought to herself.

The guard moved to push against Emma’s shoulder again, but she side-stepped it and grabbed her arm, pulling the guard off her feet and tossing her onto her back with such alarming speed, Ruby’s eyes could barely keep up. The guard gasped from the force of the landing.

“Brilliance!” Ruby called her polearm, the action sending a crippling pain through her body. Every time she summoned her, she could feel something break inside – something she would never fix or get back. She turned and swung at the remaining guard, intending to knock her out. The guard deftly dodged and grabbed her polearm, turning it to the side and preventing Ruby from aiming it forward. They tussled over the weapon before Ruby fell back. The pain as she landed on her broken wings was excruciating, but she pushed through it, using the momentum to kick the guard up and over her. She landed with a heavy thud and a gasp.

“Nature’s Might!” she heard Emma shout.

She sat up to see Emma jump toward Castyr, hammer overhead, bearing down on the waiting monarch.

He stopped it midswing with the palm of one hand, unfazed by the attempt. Emma broke down in tears, trying and failing to follow through with her swing. Ruby rushed at Castyr, bringing her polearm forward. She knew she wasn’t going to impale him, but she could distract him enough for Emma to gain the upper hand or slip into the chamber.

A light flashed in her eyes, blinding her momentarily. She had just lifted her hand to block it before she was knocked from her feet and smashed to the ground. This time, it was her turn to gasp for air. The pain of falling on her wings shot through her body, numbing it. The sandaled foot that pressed heavily on her sternum ensured the pain from her back lingered.

Ruby grimaced and looked up at her opponent through the crack of one eye.

She was tall, clad in a white silk frock that emphasised her full hips and bosom. A silver belt cinched her slender waist. Her serene face was framed by pale pink, waist-length hair with similarly coloured eyes glaring down at her with displeasure. The silver feathers of her wings shone in the light as they twitched with agitation.

Solaris take me! Ruby thought. What’s an accursed Lumeen doing among the fae? Those angels had little pity… She flinched as the Lumeen’s foot pressed down harder in an unspoken warning for her not to move. And even less mercy.

“Castyr, you’ll kill the tree! I cannot allow that!” Emma shrieked hysterically.

“You have no choice!” Castyr snarled and then sighed.

He unsummoned Emma’s hammer and caught the butterfly it turned into. Cradling it tenderly in the cage of his hand as she fell to the ground in defeat. He blew on it gently, displacing some of its sparkling fairy dust and whispered, “Take your friend home and rest. Neither of you is to come back to the Budding Chamber unless I call for you.”

Emma’s eyes dimmed as her butterfly returned to her hair.  She stood mechanically and walked over to Ruby, effortlessly picking her up when the Lumeen removed her foot and threw her over her shoulder like a sack of feathers. She walked silently back down the staircase.

Ruby tried to wiggle off but the fae's hold was unbreakable. She felt like a gnat trying to move a boulder.

“Emma?” she called in alarm, but her friend was deaf to her voice.

She turned to glare at Castyr, only for the monarch to smirk back at her. Her gaze was drawn away by movement in the chamber behind him.

A silenus boy peered at them curiously from the entryway. He had a short mop of blonde hair curling around a single white horn on his forehead. Even when she lost sight of his light purple eyes around the bend, they made her feel calm, like everything was going to be alright.

“Damn Nature Fae and their insane strength,” Castyr muttered angrily, his lips curling into a snarl as he looked at his palm. “Even in her state, she manages to body a guard and bruise me.”

Soluna sidled up to him, the sensuality of it ineffectual as he wondered what her true intention was here. The Lumeni had had very little interest and no patience for dual-natured beings. They had left H’trea and its races to its fate during the war, knowing full well the world would end with them included if the Great Tree fell. A decision he would return in kind one day when they inevitably mire themselves in trouble. But now one appears at the end of it to offer salvation? And without strings no less. It was too good to be true. Not that he was in a position to turn away help.

“I’m not sure if I should commend or admonish you for your weakness,” she said coldly.

“And I’m not currently in the mood to entertain your sermons, Soluna,” he growled impatiently, ensuring the threat in his voice was clearly heard.

“Very well,” she said with a nonchalant shrug. “Then I will only ask you once. Are you still willing to risk the ritual now that you know she is willing? She is right, this may take all the tree’s strength, and it may die.”

“If we allow her to succeed the tree in her weakened state, they both will die. This is the only chance where they both could live. If the worst happens, then you may use me instead,” he stated without hesitation.

Soluna smiled and nodded, “Understood, then let us begin.”

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