I had a strong feeling that it was Cornelius who was supposed to bring it back. Not sure how, but I had to trust my gut.
The heat started to bubble against my skin and prickle into the air as the anger took over my conscience. Everything taking place was out of my control, but I was not afraid. There was something lying within me all the this time that was finally awakening from its dormant state, and I needed to know what it was.
I needed to know who I was. There were no inhibitions anymore.
Light started emanating from the grass as I ran on my toes, leaving behind purple and gold dust. It felt like mother nature was fuelling me, and I realised my skin was glowing. Sparkling dust gathered and spiralled around me as energy ran down my arms and into my palms. Light started to collect between my fingers, and I yelled while charging toward Cornelius and the guards who had started to attack each other with swords and magic.
The men turned in surprised, and I saw their jaws drop and eyes open wide in shock. I did not know how I looked, but I hoped the sight was terrifying. There was a surge of warmth blooming in my chest as my legs propelled me off the ground. I jumped over Cornelius as I was flying, eyes trained on the guards turning and running away from me in fear. Their yells only amplified the power that was surging through my body as I pulled an arm back and sent a hug ball of light flying at them. I hurled the other one at them, seeing a trail of deep purple runes follow the path it took.
The attack engulfed the two in an explosion that came from the air around them, throwing them up. They flew into the nearby trees as they screamed, disappearing in the lush branches. I allowed a smirk onto my face. It was satisfying, even though I understood that most of their actions came from fear of Sylius’s wrath.
I looked up the palace windows at Sylius’s room, panting and staring right into the Dark King’s shocked eyes as the high of the attack faded away. I knew he had seen what I had done. I hoped it was testament to my awakening from this mindless slumber that I was lulled into by his supposed affection.
He should’ve realised it would take more than feeble attention to keep me here.
I turned and looked at Cornelius, who was very dazed. In awe or the injury? I could figure that out later. I walked to him, and he still towered over me when hunched over with pain. I held out my hand, determined to leave.
“Don’t die on me yet,” I breathed, begging a little. His eyes twinkled in the moonlight, and there was a light smile on his face. But it was soon interrupted as he groaned and stumbled forward. I stepped forward and caught him, but goodness, he was heavy.
“Are you two all right?” the red-head fae was with us again, “Martha what was that?”
“I’m not sure,” I shook my head, “but it seems like I’d been holding it back for a long time.”
As odd as it seemed then, but even without my memories I had started to feel strangely whole again. Maybe it was my magic.
“We need to leave,” I said as my skin prickled, picking up Sylius’s familiar dark magic, “He’s coming.”
The red head nodded and reached into the pouch at her waist, throwing up dust in the air. The winds picked up around us as a vacuum generated at the centre, ripping into the fabric of space time.
Cornelius groaned and I looked at him. He looked worse than a second ago and I gasped.
“He’s been poisoned!” I cry out.
“We’ll help him when we get out of here.”
I kept my eyes on him as a portal started to form in its molten silver glory. Something was not entirely right, and I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me until I realised that Cornelius’s form was literally falling away as another skin started to appear from under, tan and rugged.
That…that was not Cornelius.
“Cornelius…” I breathed and let go of him, backing away slowly as my heart lurched in my chest. Tears pooled in my eyes as I realised I had been lied to and this was just another kidnapping attempt. What if Sylius had been right all along? How could I have just tried running off with someone who had literally broken into the Unseelie Court with nothing to prove?
I felt like an idiot.
“Martha, my Queen,” he whispered, voice deeper than the one I knew, “I know this looks bad, but you must trust me.”
“No,” I shook my head and backed away, “No, this isn’t…this doesn’t make sense anymore. Why do you look so familiar? What did you do to me?”
How had this man in disguise managed to convince me to come with him so easily? I grew suspicious of a charm-speak spell being at play whilst he conversed with me on the balcony. I was upset, vulnerable, and desperate. And then I was strong, determined, and desperate. Now I’m back to square one, confused.
I was going through so many emotions within a span of fifteen minutes and I wasn’t sure what was real anymore.
“Your answers lie beyond the Unseelie Court, Martha,” the female fae begged, “I’ll swear on the Sinful River if you need me to.”
I didn’t even remember what the Sinful River was, but she made it sound serious. But the fae was right, there is nothing to find in the Unseelie Court besides pain and suffering.
I hesitantly put my arm out, and Cornelius–or whoever this man really was–dragged me into the portal.
The world fell away into a bright oblivion.
* * *
My eyes stung as if I’d dipped head first into salt water. It took a minute for the brightness to fall away, and I gasped when I found myself back in the Unseelie Court. I started to panic, thinking that perhaps the portal had worked wrong, or Sylius managed to intercept it and redirect the route.
But…it looked different. While the court was already quite gloomy, it was washed in a surreal gold plasma, making it look much younger. The colours were brighter, livelier, but the energy around the place oozed with…something I could only describe as demonic.
The place was empty. No Sylius, no guards, and…no Cornelius either.
A loud creak sounded from behind me, and I quickly turn to watch the doors swing open. In walked a man with dark robes lined with gold, royal and regel. My heart almost stopped, thinking it was Sylius until I realised this man looked far too old to be him at all. Also, his hair wasn’t exactly blonde, it was a little darker. A beard graced his face, although it seemed a little unkempt. The man looked like he had just returned from a long journey.
With a grunt, he dusted off his robes and walked towards me, but his eyes were focused elsewhere. I stood there, frozen as he walked closer and then…through me.
Wait a minute… I realised, is this a memory?
Training my eyes on the man, I watched as he stood in the centre of the room.
“Mages,” he called out, his voice hollow and tired. From the shadows in the perimeter of the room walked out three cloaked figures, blood red and borders lined with white. They moved in a strangely unified motion which only made me feel uneasy. The took off their hoods, and I gasped. Their eyes were empty. And for some reason, it felt as if they could still see and were looking right at me even if they weren’t turned in my direction.
“Should we start the ritual, King Polius?” one of them, a female, hissed in a guttural voice.
King Polius. Sylius’s father, no?
The king only nodded, looking quite defeated and very tired. The mages circled around him at equidistance from each other, chanting under their breaths.
I felt an unsettled feeling creep into my heart as their chanting grew seemingly loud, until I realised it was the air in the room that had started to hiss. With each step the mages took, a rune appeared under their feet, forming a circle around Polius. The ground under Polius’s feet began to glow, and a point of light started splaying outwards in different directions, circling around him and moving away in different direction until I realised it was creating a rune of its own.
Abruptly, the chanting stopped. The mages stood in place and walked backwards, disappearing into the shadows.
A loud, low growl emanated throug
h the room, like that of a pained animal who was perhaps sinking into the ground. The air grew hot, and I saw King Polius’s pale skin start to take on a red tint. He started to sweat, but squared his shoulders and stood his ground.
The heat from the room seemed to suddenly pull away, gathering at a point not too far from Polius and a red glow appear mid-air that grew bigger and brighter with each second until all of a sudden, it was gone. In its stead was a…a demon.
My knees gave away as I looked at the creature. It wasn’t even facing me so I could not see its whole face, but the view from its side was enough to make me collapse to the ground. I dug my nails into the ground, my body trembling against its will. The fear that took over me was indescribable, and the demon was even more difficult to describe.
It was like…a sickly and deformed goat standing on its curved hind legs, too large for its own body. While its hide fell over his hunched over humanoid torso in dark clumps, its head was absolutely bald and devoid of any fur at all. Instead, sickly pink skin clung loosely to his skull underneath, and dark horns erupted from the crown of its head, curling and curving around precariously until it met at the centre in a gnarly knot like a deformed halo. The horns pulsated with some sickly dark magic and stood out somehow against the rest of its body, like it had blood vessels and a heart-beat of its own. I only realised when he moved that there was a red glow over his horns that was much more significant compared to the rest of his form.
“I have chosen to answer your summon,” the demon…spoke? It was more like the air was vibrating and somehow it just made sense as to what he was saying.
“I ask for a hefty bargain,” King Polius said. I looked at him, and even he seemed fearful. His eyes were red and I could see veins popping up from his neck to keep himself from looking away.
“You’re aware that you look away from my eyes once during the beginning of our contractual ritual, and I’ll be forced to banish your soul to the underworld,” the demon explained, but not unkindly which was strange to describe but there was a hint of empathy in it, “You may look away until the time come to seal the deal.”
“I must get accustomed,” King Polius admitted a little awkwardly, and I could tell he hoped he had not offended the demon.
“As you wish,” responded the demon, “What do you seek?”
“Elevated powers in the people of the Unseelie Court.”
“You mean just yourself and those who work directly under you,” the demon cocked its head to the side, almost sounding judgemental, “Specifics are vital. Are you aware of the price of such a request for one mortal of your kind?”
“Twenty thousand human souls,” Polius breathed, “but with Fae, a quarter the number.”
“Straight to the underworld for my servitude when the time comes,” the demon growled, “and until then, all control over those individuals will be upon you. I can tell you’ve selected your twenty people already.”
King Polius nodded.
“Once you indulge in the dark magic of hellfire,” groaned the demon softly, “there is no return from damnation. You, too, shall bear the consequences of these actions in your afterlife when the time comes. Are you aware of it?”
“Not quite…” King Polius admittedly uncertainly.
The demon sighed, slowly straightening up until he stood at least ten feet tall in height, overshadowing King Polius by a great degree. I was shocked to find dark breasts poke from under the hide, along with a somewhat swelling belly.
“My children,” breathed the demon, “are always in need of vessels. And I’ve been impregnated for far too long with none worthy to carry my heir…until now.”
I did not know how to describe King Polius’s face other than purely horrified, only realizing the dire consequences of his actions.
“Did you really believe that you could cheat your direct payment through your people?” the demon seemed to chuckle darkly, “the tendrils of hellfire take fondly to the blood of sinners.”
The demon placed a gentle hand on its belly, and I genuinely wanted to puke just thinking about how horrifying its child must be.
“She likes you,” lulled the demon almost affectionately, eyes holding King Polius’s in a competitive gaze, “Rebirth is the way of the demons. We reincarnate within ourselves, and shed the vessel for anew once we’re done milking it off its resources. And you, Polius…you’re as ripe as the pomegranates Hades so lovingly picked for his Persephone.”
King Polius’s mouth opened in shock, his eyes still boring into the demon’s as it reached out gently with its dark, claw-like nails and barely grazed the King’s forehead right between his brows.
“Do you accept?”
King Polius gulped, trying to get his mouth to work. I managed another look at the demon and watched as the corner of its mouth quirked up in an evil grin.
“Accepted,” it cackled, and burst into flames.
And when the fire went out, it was gone, leaving a rune in the marble that I knew could not be covered up.
* * *
I fell out with a gasp and face first onto the grass. My fingers weaved into the green strands, its cool mildew affectionately caressing my skin and calming me down. The calm energies of the soil reverberated through me, pulling out the tension from my muscles quite literally.
It smelled like rain and oak, with a tinge of sweet lavender in the air. It felt so familiar, like home would…
Breathing in sharply, I push myself up to stand and a wave of nausea gripes at my head. The world sways before me, hills in the distance rolling quite literally before I’m held by the arms and lowered gently onto a short boulder.
“Drink,” came a soft voice of a man and a cup of cool liquid is placed into my hands. I bring it closer and drink up desperately, realisingly only then how parched my throat was. Someone dabbed a soft cloth on my forehead and cheeks, collecting the sweat. Once I felt my head was not spinning anymore, I open my eyes to be greeted with two friendly, beautiful faces.
“Are you all right, Martha?” asked the woman beside me. Her hand was gently perched on my shoulder, the energy flowing off of her soothing my nerves. Her voice was calm and gentle, and I would’ve mistaken her for an angle if I hadn’t noticed the pointed ears. “I’m Marianne,” she introduced herself, “This is my husband, Oran. You knew us once upon a time.”
I blinked, suddenly remembering why I was here.
“Where’s Cornelius?” I demanded and stood up, moving away from them immediately, “And the red-haired fae?”
“We mean you no harm,” Oran said gently with his palms held up, “I understand all this must be very confusing for you, but we promise you’re only here so you can remember who you are.”
“I just want to know where are the two who brought me here?”
“Martha,” called out the female fae’s familiar voice. I turned to her, and she looked grim. She looked away into the thick foliage behind her, the roots or the trees jutting out gnarly and precarious, thick enough for someone to sit on comfortably.
“We had to hide him immediately,” she said and turned away completely, “he’s still bleeding profusely.”
I followed as she walked into the woods. As upset and confused as I was with the ordeal, I couldn’t help but want to make sure that he was okay. I wanted to talk to him but I was not sure if I could expect the truth anymore, really. It had been a long day, and an even longer night. I really needed to rest.
The moonlight was even stronger here than the Unseelie Court, and the stars were practically endless. But the canopies of trees fell over us and we were soon bathed in darkness. This darkness wasn’t gloomy or frightening, but rather empty. As if on instinct, I chanted a spell under my breath and a coughed out a small, fluttering orb of light from between my lips. It flew around curiously until I realised I was directing it with my very gaze. I was not sure how I was doing that, just like the magic I did when the guards attacked Cornelius.
“How are you doing that?” the fae asked me for the secon
d time.
“Again, I’m really not sure,” I sighed, “Cornelius told me you helped me once before in the Unseelie Court? I think I missed your name.”
“Gabriella,” she said and looked at me with a sad smile, “I helped you free two inmates from the mines. They were poisoned with silver. You…thought they were your parents.”
“Oh…” I whispered, “well…were they?”
Gabriella shook her head. It only added to my dampened mood.
“Darragh’s should be cleared of most of the poison by now,” Gabriella said. So that’s his name. It was an odd one, I admit. I said it softly under my breath, rolling it onto my tongue.
I did not quite like it, to be honest. Cornelius was much better.
Led by the light before me, we finally arrived into a clearing. The canopies stretched out a little over it, but there were spaces for the moonlight to spill in through, dim and chilly against the shadows and dark trunks. Corneli–Darragh was propped into a mutated root that had curled up above the ground, creating a nest like enclosure that was stuffed with leaves and tall dead grass for bedding. Small humanoid beings with translucent wings fluttered around him, bodies glowing with intricate patterns on them. They carried small fruits towards him. Small berries, and occasionally a mushroom. Others were gathering herbs and dropping them into a small bubbling pot across the clearing where a tiny woman sat and crushed the mixture.
“She’s a druid,” Gabriella whispered to me, “and these are her helper pixies. She guards the forest and whoever occupies it, so we got lucky.”
“Do you know her?”
“Never met her before,” she shook her head, “But look, Darragh’s bleeding has stopped and the colour’s come back to his face.
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