Pina Tuvo was livid because they had both the prince and the legendary leader of the Nevernights slip through his fingers. Renmar was travelling alongside the fearsome chieftain and had only been allowed to live because the others were not found.
Renmar wished he had gone with his friends. It was a foolish idea to place himself among villains. He longed for home as they trudged towards the dock.
Nevernights could not travel outside of the island. It was an act of treason to do so. Only Estelians were allowed to pass. Each child was marked at birth in Nevernight. It was both a rite of passage and later used as a means to identify them at docks.
Pina Tuvo looked at Renmar and said, “If you want me to spare your life, bring me back the prince and Aurum. If you do not complete this mission, I will come for you and your family. No one will be spared. Do you hear me, young one?”
Renmar nodded whilst preventing his tears from falling. He muttered a prayer for the gods to help him. He needed to find his friends and betray them otherwise he would be slain and his tribe’s ancient bloodline decimated by the Nevernights.
Chapter 11: Aurum’s Homecoming
The six of them promised to meet up on the inn on the other side of the dock of Estelia. When they were altogether again, they were treated to a pleasant surprise. Renmar walked in with Felip and Vester.
“Look what we picked up at the docks this morning?” Felip raised Renmar’s left arm. His right one was bandaged up and his face was badly beaten up.
“Oh my gods, Renmar! What happened to you?” Aurum was already crying from the mixture of pity and anger. Pity for Renmar’s state and anger towards herself for letting him talk her into leaving him behind.
“They didn’t actually buy the whole excuse of not knowing you guys were planning to escape part. I guess I am not a very good liar after all.” Renmar winced when Dios hugged him.
“I am glad that you came back to us in one piece.”
“Just barely.” Nase looked at Renmar with a wide smile, “But it’s good for us to all be home. I am sure your family would be very happy.”
“I barely escaped. I should take care of my wounds first. I don’t want to give my mother a fright.”
“You should come home with me. My mother would be able to heal you up in no time.” Aurum was still feeling responsible for him after seeing him badly injured.
“That would be fantastic. I am pretty sure my mother would make me the most bitter tonics to expedite my healing.” Renmar’s face was contorted, as if he was already remembering the past tonics he had to down.
“Well then, let’s all march up this boy to his mom.” Dios looked both excited and nervous.
The seven of them walked from the docks to the palace gates. They were shocked with the way the whole place has changed since the last time they were there. People were wary of each other and there were very few of them on the street. The Estelian soldiers were wearing a new kind of armor.
“My mother used my suggestion!” He was happy because his design was used but he was unhappy over the fact that it caused a great disturbance before it came about.
When they reached the main plaza, there was a new shrine there, there were candles and flowers placed there. On a large rock the words, “Come home to us,” was etched. Small portrait paintings were placed around the rock and the seven of them realized it was a shrine for all the young men who were taken by the NEO.
Their families had been praying on this living rock, something common in Estelian religion, to bring their children back. It was a reminder of both their wish and their resolve. The Queen must have made this shrine as she also felt the need to remind the people that she too is a mother who lost her son.
Dios all but ran to the palace gates when he saw the rock. He knew that rock from somewhere. “My mother took the living rock from the castle and placed it here.”
The rest of them were touched by the Queen’s gesture. They had been worried how their parents were going to get through the times they were away. But the queen did not abandon their parents and the people.
They walked hurriedly to reach the palace gate. Felip had to carry Renmar to catch up with the others. Once they reached it Dios stood and raised his right arm. “I am Prince Dios of the House of Duena and Estelia, first of my name, heir apparent to the royal house of Estelia, descendant of the goddess and rightful owner of the Nevernight islands.” His voice boomed in the gateway and the guards looked at him with shock in their faces. Almost everyone in the kingdom had thought him dead when the queen came back without the soldiers empty-handed during their daring rescue mission.
In her royal nightdress, the queen of Estelia ran down the palace stairs and towards the gates where a band of young men were claiming to have brought the prince back.
There had been many of those, and she has grown weary of the deceit of some fools who wanted to gain power. But she felt a tug in her heart that she knew meant that this time it was different. Her royal maid had to use magic to deliver her rob to the queen. She was properly dressed by the time the gates were opened.
“Mother, I am home.” Those words from her son’s lips were the only thing she wanted in the world at that moment. She didn’t even get to see the other young men there due to the tears that were clouding her vision. She brushed them aside and hugged her son fiercely.
Aurum and the rest bowed to the queen. Dios introduced them to his mother. “They are the ones who saved me all that time I was away. Without them, I would have died in that camp.”
The queen urged them all to stand up. They had thought that she would talk to them and thank them. But the queen bowed deeply that everyone else in the palace who came out to greet them went down bowing too.
It was unheard of in the queen’s reign that she had bowed down to anyone. The only time was when she got married and that was part of the ritual. Six normal teenagers were the first ones to ever receive such a royal treatment.
The queen stood up and faced the six again, “Ask for it and I shall give it to you. I am in your debt.”
Renmar was about to say something but Aurum stopped him, “We only wish to come home to our families, Your Majesty.”
The queen’s eyes shone the deepest gratitude the six have ever seen in their lives. “As you wish then. But I shall ask for your tale next time we meet as well as your names.”
“I’ll tell you their names later, mother. We should let them get home. Their parents must hear their stories first.” Dios bowed at them and helped his mother walk away from his friends.
“Time to go home then.” Cullen turned around and walked towards the palace gates.
“You know we should have asked to be part of Dios’ royal court advisers in the future. Imagine how wonderful that would be!” Renmar’s frustration was showing.
“A leopard really can’t change their spots.” Vester shook his head.
“I should have left him in the docks to bleed.” Felip blew out air in disappointment.
“I am just saying that we should get rewarded for doing something good.” Renmar tried to explain.
“The real reward is coming back alive.” Nase’s words struck each of their hearts.
“I wish everyone was also going home.” Aurum said in a whisper.
“They will. We just need to make a better plan next time.” Nase winked at her. Aurum high-fived with him.
When Aurum opened the door to her home, her father was sitting next to his mother while they looked at the notebooks she wrote her ideas on. “Didn’t you know that reading your daughter’s diary is not a good thing for a parent to do?”
Matias and Awa looked up and burst into tears when they saw their daughter at the door. No words were exchanged but tight hugs and kisses. Aurum didn’t need the words for she knew that they had missed her as terribly as she has missed them.
Chapter 12: Price To Pay
The next day Queen Raina summoned all six of them into the palace for a royal dinner. They eat good food and talked a
bout their adventure and what really went down in the NEO youth camp.
The head of the Queen’s Guard wanted to send a rescue mission immediately. Renmar looked like he was about to throw up. He burst out in frustration, “You can’t rescue something that is in a different dimension!”
“What are you talking about, Renmar?” Aurum had a feeling that he knew something more that he wasn’t sharing to everyone.
“The night we made that machine work was the worst disservice we did to Estelia.” Renmar was shaking in terror.
“What did you do?” Dios stood up, looking like he was in pain too. “What did you do to them?” Dios was enraged. He could feel the memories that Renmar was trying to hide from Nase and Cullen’s powers.
“They asked every person there who wanted to be a part of the NEO militia. If they said no, they were placed on the machine and sent to an awful place.” Renmar broke down in tears. He didn’t care anymore about what the NEO leadership could do to him and his family. What they had already done was enough to turn against them.
The rest of the people listening were stunned. Aurum had hoped that they could rescue the children in the camp. But they couldn’t possibly rescue those children without a machine of their own.
“We have to make that machine.” Aurum said firmly.
“How can we when all the designs are with them?” Cullen asked her.
“They are all here.” Aurum pointed in her mind. “Once I make something work, I never forget a single thing about it. We can make our own steampunk intergalactic travel machine. But we need to know where they took those lost boys.”
“They sent them to an awful planet called Earth. It was a part of the NEO legend that the shining dawn, which is Aurum, would take their people to that new land.” Renmar drank a whole glass of water to quench his thirst.
“So they were sending those teenagers as test subjects?” Vester’s operatic voice cracked a few glasses.
Renmar nodded. Vester’s groan broke the glasses. Felip hugged Vester to calm him down. “Don’t break any of the antiques. We don’t have enough money to pay for them. Felip’s odd humor worked on Vester who started to breathe in and out to calm himself down.
“What do you need to free our children?” Queen Raina asked Aurum.
“I need you to let me bring your son on a dangerous quest, Your Majesty.” Aurum was trying to test the queen’s resolve.
“I do not wish for him to be in harm’s way again.”
“The Nevernights said that the Estelians took everything from them. You are showing off your true Estelian nature then. You would rather preserve your bloodline than bring back the children of those who are not you.”
It was treason to question the queen’s words and intentions but Aurum knew that there was no other way to rile up Dios. “Do not speak as if you know how it is to be queen, Aurum.” He didn’t want the two most important women in his life to start on the wrong foot.
“We are making this machine, with or without you. We are going to give your military the whereabouts of the youth camp. But if you do not join us in rescuing those who were sent to Earth, then I will never talk to you again.” Aurum bowed but kept her body very rigid in front of Dios.
The other five were waiting for Dios’ answer. They knew Aurum well enough that they knew she would not budge.
“Mother, I have to go.” Prince Dios was holding Queen Raina’s hands, giving her what little comfort he could give to him.
“You can go under on condition.” Prince Dios was worried of the condition that his mother would lay down on them.
Aurum faced the queen and said, “We would do anything within the realm of reason.”
“You have to marry my son right now.” Queen Raina’s words made all of them choke on air. “I cannot trust my son to just anyone. If you are his princess then I can let you drag him anywhere you wish.”
Prince Dios and Aurum was beet red. The queen didn’t look like she was joking so no one could call her out for it.
“Take him as your husband or leave for Earth without him.” Aurum wanted to pull her hair off her head. How did a request end up becoming a marriage trap?
“If that is what my queen requests,” Dios tried to not look so happy but the other guys knew better. Aurum was the one who was reeling from the new development. This was a win on Prince Dios’ part.
“We will call on your parents soon, Aurum. Be prepared for that.” The queen stood up and left the room. The rest of them were looking at each other until the queen completely left. The room echoed as the other five laughed Aurum’s dumbstruck face.
“I suppose congratulations are in order for you, Prince Dios.” Nase winked at his friend.
“It’s more of condolences. Aurum has a terrible temper.” Felip’s words were stopped by a steak hitting square in the face.
“Are you really going through with this wedding sham?”Cullen asked Aurum.
“We have to make the queen believe that we are willing to do anything so you guys can just request for a long engagement.” Vester suggested.
“The queen won’t fall for that. She even pulled a fast one on Aurum. They are on different levels of cunning.” Renmar was impressed with Queen Raina’s condition.
“I think they would get along just fine. They are cut from the same cloth.” Nase said.
And so in ten days time, Prince Dios and Aurum of Estelia were wed in a grand wedding that lifted the spirits of the kingdom. The people were told that the prince and his new princess would be taking trips around the world and would not be seen in public often for the prince’s safety.
After the royal wedding announcement, the people were given leave to hold a three-day festival. After that, the prince and his princess took their leave in their new home, a reclusive mountain castle near the sea.
Chapter 13: Back To Godsgrave
The squad began their next big project after Dios and Aurum’s grand wedding festival. They had to gather the information and build the machine from scratch. The queen’s guard had started the campaign against the NEO who chose to stay in Nevernight. The used the information Nase and Cullen saved up in their mind in order to map out the location of the camp.
“I have sent the designs for the armor and the weapons we made in the camp to the engineers. They would be able to re-maker them with the help of the other skilled workers.” Aurum declared on morning, “My father is going to work with them to pick the best ones to join us in building this machine.”
“Why not just ask your father to join us?” Nase asked her.
“My father has a discerning eye for talent. If he can find them there, where the best are picked then we can have more than one master builder in our midst.” Aurum’s idea was much better than they had expected.
They spent most of their time working on the machine that they had totally forgotten that there was a civil war being fought in Estelia. A royal guard came to the small castle with news one day.
“Queen Raina and King Min need Prince Dios and Princess Aurum to come to Godsgrave at once!”
Fearing the worst, all seven of them started their swift journey to Nevernight Island. When they arrived there, the camp where the Queen’s guards were stationed was a dreary sight. There were so many injured soldiers that it tore at Dios’ heart and mind.
Aurum helped him stay upright until they go to the queen’s tent. King Min was on the bed and Queen Raina was crying by her side. “Father!” Dios rushed to the king’s bedside.
Aurum was also crying, the king had been very nice to her since they met. He always treated her parents like they were his equals. It endeared the king to her family. Aurum looked at Nase who was concentrating on reading the king’s condition.
“He would live. He isn’t dying.” Nase couldn’t help but say it outloud.
Queen Raina looked at Nase with frustration. “You have to learn how to hold your tongue, mindreader. You would make a horrible spy.”
Renmar stepped forward, “My queen they
are too pure of heart to be able to spy on enemies. However, that is my expertise.”
“You are disloyal and so that makes you an even worse choice.” The queen teased Renmar. “But later my son would need a realist like you. So I hope you hone your loyalty skills for later.”
King Min opened his eyes and groaned in pain. When he saw that Dios and Aurum were at his bedside he asked, “Am I dying and not aware of it?”
The king’s joke made everyone laugh. But the queen faced them and told them the real reason why she made them come urgently. “Nevernights knew we were coming and are evacuating to whatever that Earth place is. We fear that they would come back with even more advanced technology and destroy the kingdom of Estelia.”
“We are the only ones who can make that machine. Even with all the information present to them, they still couldn’t put things together. Pina Tuvo knows that, that’s why he is fleeing.” Cullen told the queen.
“Then we must destroy that machine.” That was the last thing all of them wanted. The plan was to capture the camp and keep the machine. It was way faster than making the machine from scratch.
Although they loved the machine that they made, they all knew it was the right thing to do. “What do you want us to do then?” Dios asked his mother.
“Go inside the camp and dismantle or blow up the machine.” The queen’s words weighed over their heads. “At all costs.”
“I will pretend you didn’t just say at all costs, Your Majesty.” Nase said to Queen Raina. “We will destroy it but it doesn’t mean we have to blow it up.
“What do you plan to do then?” Nase’s smirk made Aurum remember something important. “We don’t have to blow up the machine. We just need to turn it off.”
Nase offered a high-five that Aurum offered. She faced the rest of them and told them the plan. That night, they would execute it.
The Wonders of Estelia- Aurum’s Shining Dawn Page 5