There were too many questions I didn’t know the answer too. And soon I couldn’t think anymore. I closed my eyes and forced myself to sleep.
The next day on my ride back to Ethydon, a plan began to form in my head. I felt a need for answers, but I knew there was only one place that I might be able to get them. Eventually, the feeling became strong enough that I changed my course.
Instead of heading for the castle, I kept to the hills, just below the mountains. I stayed in the safety of the trees, in the direction of the colorful pinpoint in the distance. It was so faint I could barely see it. But when the night came and the only lights in the sky were the stars and the moon, it shone even more brightly. It was nestled in the mountains, not too far from where Aveladon used to be. It was the Spirit Tree. It flickered all different shades, the glowing masterpiece quickly becoming my guiding light.
THIRTY-THREE
The journey required one more night of sleep on the forest floor, and I found myself much less comfortable without Sunn around. I barely slept, waking at every click or snap in the trees that surrounded me. I was grateful when the sun rose, warming my body and pushing away the eerie shadows of the night.
The walls housing the beautiful tree came into view later that afternoon, and I couldn’t help but admire its grandness. The forest had the same quiet atmosphere as before, and the pathway leading up to the gate was lined with elegant trees and bushes. A twinge of sadness filled me at the sight of the familiar sanctuary.
As I neared closer to the gate, I slowed to a stop and jumped tediously off the dapple gray’s back to the ground. I patted the beautiful horse in thanks for enduring the long journey. Once I’d carefully secured the steed to one of the nearby trees, I began walking up the path.
It wasn’t long until I came face to face with the gate guards. One of them looked me up and down, not seeming phased by my appearance.
“Who are you?” The sentry that acknowledged me had golden blond hair and handsome brown eyes. He had on sentry armor, and in his left hand he held a silver sword. Standing beside him was a beautiful Graceling steed. Its pointed horn on its head twinkled in the morning dawn.
“Sabeara Aigoviel, princess of Aveladon.”
The sentry thankfully slid his sword back into his sheath. “What brings you to the tree?” he asked.
I didn’t know how to answer, so I quickly said the first thing that came to my mind.
“I am seeking Elsmith, the Reminant.” This seemed to be enough for the guard. He pulled the ornate crystal key I remembered from Jasper’s Granting day from beneath his cloak.
He walked up to the large gate and put the key into the lock. As he turned it, the bars on the gate began moving and unwinding, until the inside of the tree was revealed. I could see the beautiful grass and the colorful flowers just over the threshold of the gate.
“Thank you,” I said to the guard, and he nodded stiffly, shifting to the side to let me pass through.
When I stepped inside, the familiar feeling of the atmosphere overwhelmed me. It was like I was reliving the time I’d come only months before. The air was thick, the grass peculiarly soft. But it seemed different this time. Something was missing.
When I laid eyes on the tree, instantaneously I knew something was wrong
The tree, nearly two hundred feet tall, with vast leaves and branches, looked to be dying. Gray and black tinting had appeared in the limbs of the tree. The bright colorful glow that usually occupied the bark was dim and barely pulsing. The white almost translucent whirling of spirits could be seen flying around the top of the tree, but not so frantically as before.
I walked up close to the tree, coming to the edge of the glass bridge that provided access across the obstacles of large, gangly roots below.
“I heard one of the princesses of Aveladon seeks me.” Elsmith came walking across the bridge toward me, his white clothes making him almost spiritual in that moment. When he got close, he reached out and grasped my hand, his eyes holding an expression of deep sadness.
“I heard about the kingdom. I am so sorry, Princess Sabeara.”
I shook my head, fighting back the emotions that were threatening to resurface.
“We will make it through. We always do,” I said, as hopefully as I could muster.
“You are a strong girl,” he said gently, while giving my hand a small squeeze. And it reminded me of when Sydidel had told me the very same thing in Eslecaster.
“Elsmith, I need to see my mother,” I said, blurting out the words before I could stop myself.
He widened a little at my sudden request. “It is possible to see your mother. . .” he said slowly. “But I will say, we don’t normally let just any person visit with the Spirits.” He had a hint of hesitation in his voice.
“Please, show me,” I pleaded.
He must’ve seen the desperation in my eyes, because he finally nodded his head and gestured for me to follow him.
“The only place we can talk to Spirits is in the roots of the tree,” he explained.
I looked down at the dark abyss of roots as we walked, fear coursing through me. “Down there?” I asked, feeling suddenly queasy.
“It is closest to the power of the tree where spiritual visitation can be possible.”
We walked across the bridge to the base of the tree, where we entered an archway. But this time, instead of going upwards as we did for Jasper’s Granting, we headed down a twisted staircase, leading us into the roots. It was eerily quiet as we walked, and I could hear the faint beating of my racing heart.
“I’ve been waiting for you, princess,” he said softly, his expression hidden in the dim hallway. The only lights guiding us were the candles placed in shaved out compartments of the trunk. Each carving in the tree was immaculate, cut with perfect precision and accuracy.
“You’ve been waiting?” I questioned, uncertain why a Reminant would be waiting for me. He nodded again and I found myself feeling uneasy at his words.
“Yes, the Spirits have told me of someone seeking the tree.”
“It is dying,” I said sadly.
“Yes, the curse is nigh at hand.” It was unusually factual the way he spoke, making it hard to read his emotions.
We walked down the stairs for what seemed like hours, and then finally, we came upon another door, where Elsmith abruptly stopped. “This is as far as I can take you,” he said.
I felt fear thread through me. “Can’t you come with me?” I asked him.
He smiled faintly. “It is your destiny to go alone. I cannot interfere.”
I didn’t know exactly what he was talking about; it was all a little disturbing, as if he knew something I didn’t.
“My destiny?”
“You must go in and see for yourself,” he said and turned to walk back up the stairs. I watched the remains of his alabaster robe slither from sight before facing the door again.
I didn’t open the door for many moments, too afraid to move forward. I clutched the amulet around my neck, and after several long minutes, I finally found the will power to open the door.
I immediately noticed how cold and dark it was. As the door closed, the only light became the azure glow in my amulet. I took several steps forward, trying to make out my surroundings. I was completely obscured in a blanket of blackness, and it was as if it was pushing against me. My lungs constricted in fear, and it suddenly became hard to breathe.
I looked to be in the roots of the tree, my footsteps echoing off the thick gangly appendages. I shivered in the frigid air, not sure exactly where I was headed, and continued to walk. The sweet familiar smell that greeted me when I first entered the tree came to my nostrils. Only down in the roots, it was thicker, much thicker. The more I breathed, the more I began to feel dizzy. Something was happening to me and my vision began to blur.
In the darkness, a light began to illuminate the roots of the tree. I squinted ahead to see where it was coming from. Whispers began to fill the darkness. At first it was small,
like a quiet whistling breeze. And then it began to get louder, gaining momentum, and whirling around me like harsh gusts of wind.
“My daughter, why have you come to see me?” I heard the voice clearer than the other whispers. It was recognizable as the voice that once used to give me comfort and guidance.
When I opened my eyes again, my vision was no longer blurry and standing before me was my mother. She looked the same with her long dark hair and blue eyes, except she was glowing angelically and hovering above the ground. Spirits churned around her, somehow leaving her untouched in their encapsulating movement. Her eyes were looking at me with fondness, a smile on her face.
“Mother, please tell me what to do,” I asked and tears filled my eyes at the sight of her.
“You know what to do, Sabeara. You were always meant to begin this.”
“I don’t know what you mean. Please tell me what I have to begin?” My words were filled with a desperate pleading.
“The curse. The heart of our realm must experience the flames to live again.” She came closer to me and wrapped her arms around me. I couldn’t feel anything except for a light, chilled pressure on my back. I closed my eyes and let the tears fall. When she pulled away, her soft nearly translucent fingers reached out to touch the amulet around my neck.
“Why me?” I asked, my voice strangled with emotion.
“Because only you know what I sent you here to do.”
I could feel the corners of my vision getting blurry again, my body succumbing back into the foggy delirium.
“Mother, why is Obsidian doing this, what happened?” I needed to understand the ties of our blood and the reason for his hatred.
“The feud of our family will become known to you in time. Be patient and you will soon know.” It was then I began to feel her spirit pulling from me, evaporating into the tree's embrace.
“Goodbye, Mother,” I said frantically, seeing that she was slipping away, her body nearly invisible now.
“Goodbye, Little Bear,” was her last whispering farewell and then, she was gone. All I could feel were the sweeping threads of the spirits whipping around my hair and clothes. Struggling against the harsh winds, I looked down at the amulet around my neck and clutched the azure stone in my hands. After speaking with my mother, I felt that I finally knew what I needed to do next.
I needed to burn the tree.
It was almost instinctive to produce the blue sparks and send them into the roots. At first the blaze was small, and then as it began eating at the rotting flesh of the tree, the dead wood was enveloped in the bright fire, creating a massive rush of flames. I turned around and began running back to the door.
I was unnervingly close to the fiery roots, weaving through the smoke and coughing as seeped into my lungs. My limbs were sluggishly slow. As I ran, I felt as if I was in a dream, unable to move, trapped in the psychological fog of the tree’s roots.
I began to scream, the vermillion fire but a bright light behind my tears. I knew I was lost, and the fear pierced every nerve in my body. I wasn’t going to escape. Maybe this was my destiny. Dying in the fire of the limbs of the tree and sacrificing myself for the sake of Aveladon.
Images of the dragon king and the princess from my mother's story filled my head. I had become the dragon. Burning the tree was my destiny. I had to be the one to take the last of what the universe needed in order for our realm to be spiraled into the curse, so that one day it could be broken, and Aveladon could be one again.
I fell to the ground, unable to keep running against the thickness and rolled onto my back, gasping for air. I felt tears leak down my cheeks at the horrible, crushing pain. The fire was surrounding me now, taking me with it. I could feel the gentle sting of ashes falling onto my face. The crackle of burning roots all around me was the only sound, along with my gasping breaths.
Then I felt the earth shift beneath me. It was subtle, but enough that I could feel something was altered. There was a change in the atmosphere, and in the way my heart began beating. It was then that I knew the curse had begun. Golden white speckles began to pepper the corners of my vision. And instead of succumbing into darkness, a beautiful, peaceful feeling enveloped me, and then I was taken into the light.
Epilogue
The crisp scent of rusting metal and the stench of sewer water was overwhelming when I awoke, nearly causing me to vomit. When I opened my eyes, I was aware I’d surfaced from the dreamlessness I’d fallen into. The thought of ever emerging had at times seemed futile.
I allowed myself to breathe, not caring that it was a nearly toxic whiff of fumes entering my body.
“She’s awake,” a voice echoed from the corner of the darkroom.
My eyes were downcast, unable to see who was speaking. I could see my dangling feet, stifled by a set of thick chains nailed into the floor. My wrists were in a matching entanglement, a pendant from the ceiling.
“Go tell the Commission. They’ll want to see her.”
My foggy mind slowly began to awaken as the heavy sleep wore away. I could see now that I was in a cell with a window giving a small barrel of light to the nearly impenetrable darkness. I could make out the musty smell of rain over the venomous stink. A gentle pattering sounded on the roof of the cell, and I could feel the drip of water droplets from a leak in the ceiling. The lukewarm beads fell onto my bare skin and made puddles on the dirt floor.
I could hear the conversing of the two men in the room, as they contemplated my revival. The door was opened and closed several times, and the screeching of the metal caused me to flinch. The sound somehow seemed more articulate against my fragile ears.
I caught a small twinkle of light from one of the puddles below me, and my eyes became transfixed on my reflection. I suddenly became confused. The person looking back at me was someone completely different from who I’d known before.
My hair was several inches longer and in place of the light brown I was used to, soft strands of raven black fell around my face. It was a stark contrast to my pale pearl skin that was now smooth, and free of all blemishes. Where burns should have graced my flesh, new, nearly raw skin was in place. My nose was perfectly straight, my cheekbones more slender. My eyes once a dull blue had morphed into a glaring sapphire. I gasped when my gaze drifted to my chest, and I caught sight of the golden light gleaming beneath my now perfected skin.
One of the men stepped over to me, grasping my chin in his hands. He wrenched my gaze away from where I was looking at my reflection. The man had an angry tattoo breaching across his left cheek, snaking up to the corner of one of his fierce green eyes. He was staring intently at me, his lips set into a firm line.
“What’s your name?” he growled, seemingly angry with me.
I was still trying to understand how I had escaped the fire in the roots of the Spirit Tree, and how I hadn’t succumbed to ashes. I looked back at the man, trying to process the events, and not quite understanding the reality I was living within now.
The only explanation as to why I was caged, and on the path to interrogation by this terrifying man, was that I was now a captive criminal. Even though at the moment it had seemed to be the thing my mother wanted me to do, I had done an unforgivable act in the eyes of the kingdoms.
As I waited to respond, I knew I could no longer be Sabeara. My reflection had proven that much to me. It was as if my heart knew I could no longer be the princess, and a new identity had graced me.
The words came from my lips before I could think of the consequences that would follow.
“My name, is Ehren.”
Pronunciation Guide
Sabeara: Suh-behr-uh
Jasper: Jaas-per
Casimir: Caa-sih-mihr
Ehren: Eh-rehn
Midennen: Mih-dehn-ihn
Embrosine: Ehm-broh-sin
Sunn: Suhn
Ruby: Roo-Bee
Knadian: Nah-dih-ihn
Liony: Liy-uh-nee
Shar: Shahr
Olivine: Ahl-ih-vahyn
Sydidel: Sihd-ih-dehl
Elsmith: Ehl-Smihth
Obsidian: Uhb- sid-ee-uhn
King Elysian: Uh-Lee-See-ihn
Tassadar: Taas-uh-dahr
Aveladon: Aav-luh-dahn
Ethydon: Ehth-ih-dahn
Seversi: Seh-veer-ih-see
Obscurum: Uhb-skyoor-uhm
Wesoltinece: Weh-sohl-tuh-nees
Ennsleon: Ehn-slee-ahn
Linsulong: Lihn-soo-lawng
Yamdolor: Yaam-duh-lohr
Oxtwenel: Ahxt-weh-nehl
Acknowledgments
A want to start out by thanking my family and friends. Especially my father for helping me so much with my story. The map you created of Aveladon is just perfect. Sharing writing with you has been wonderful.
I want to give another big thanks to my mother and siblings for always pushing me to be my best self. And for standing by me and helping me to follow my dreams as a writer.
Thank you Kelsy Flanders, for being part of my story from the beginning and shaping Aveladon all these years by my side. Dane Williams for the beautiful poem, “The Only One” your gift for words will forever be remembered. Adriana Villalobos for being an inspiration in the creative process, these characters wouldn’t be complete without your wild spirit. Emily Nackos for being my best friend and always loving me. Thanks for listening and giggling with me over my story.
Thank you to my copy editor Chelsea Jackson, for perfecting all my mistakes.
And most of all, I want to thank my husband, for constantly loving me and pushing me to be the writer I’ve always dreamed of being. Without your attentiveness and undivided attention all those nights I read to you, I wouldn’t have been able to tell about the world inside my head. I love you, mi amor, always and endlessly
About the Author
Kendra Thomas is from Mapleton Utah, a small town pressed against the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Kendra has been an aspiring author since she was in sixth grade. She has a passion for fairytales and fiction books. She also loves songwriting, horse riding, and playing the guitar.
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