“...I want your power, Luke. I want all of it.”
Luke didn’t comprehend. “Sorry?” he said. “I must’ve missed something.”
“You don’t know?” Chiara laughed. Something sparkled in her eyes, as if she’d suddenly come up with an ingenious plan. “Oh, my boy, you’re missing out on something great. You do know you’ve got magic, right?”
“Um...” Luke said, “I didn't know I had any until about an hour ago.”
Chiara smiled. “Why, of course. And what if I told you...” she said, “...you could become even more powerful?”
Luke swallowed. “Sorry, not interested. I’m not planning on staying in Lunaria – I just want to get my family and friends home safely.”
Chiara backed away a bit, seemingly disappointed. “Ah. I see.
“But you see, I hadn’t finished my story yet.”
Luke made a small gesture with his hands. “Then finish it,” he said encouragingly.
“I can make you powerful,” Chiara said. “All you’ll have to do is accept my hand in marriage, Lucas. And then you’ll become just like me. A Royal.”
“...Fixie?” Luke blurted out; Chiara began to holler with laughter.
“But of course!” she laughed. “It’s a magical transformation, which is either conveyed at birth or through marriage – or... the Master.”
“So... you became a Fixie how, exactly?” Luke asked, one part of him fascinated by the story, the other part rather worried. His opinion of Chiara became more unclear with every word she spoke.
“The Master gave me the power I needed to get my son where I wanted him to be,” Chiara said. “He was born a Fairy, as I had become one, but with all the physical attributes of a human being. When he married Eloine, he became a Fixie – and so did I gain the power of the Royals, too.” She paused, hoping Luke would ask another question.
“But even though I am a Fixie, I still can’t become Queen.”
“And you’re expecting to become Queen how?” Luke said, scratching the back of his neck; he didn’t understand how he could possibly make any of what Chiara had just mentioned happen, as he was neither a Fixie, nor a member of the Royal Family.
Luckily, Chiara knew the answer. She moved awkwardly close to Luke once again, speaking in an eerily seductive voice. “If you marry me, you’ll become a Fixie, and we’ll be the eldest couple in the Family, which will force Kyan and Eloine to stand down. Then I’ll be Queen – and you’ll be King, of course... That's how our monarchy works.”
Luke raised his palms defensively, ready to push Chiara away if she came any closer. “As much as I love the offer,” he said, “I must say no. I don’t love you, Chiara. Even more so – I don’t even know you.”
“You don’t have to love in an arranged marriage, Lucas,” Chiara whispered, stroking Luke's arms, which seemed to lower themselves without Luke's permission. “It’s all about power.”
“Well,” Luke said, raising his arms once again, “I don’t want power. I don’t want anything. Besides, there's someone else.”
“That’s in another world...” Chiara whispered. “And maybe you don’t want power because you’re already more powerful than a Fixie... and if you are, you won’t change after marrying me. You’ll stay... human.”
Luke snorted uncomfortably. “Yeah. Uh. Still, no thanks.”
Chiara let out a low sigh. “Fine,” she said, instantly moving away from Luke, seeming awfully cold all of a sudden. “You may go.”
She didn’t have to tell Luke twice; he instantly made his way toward the exit of the throne room. Before Luke left, Chiara called his name.
“You have until sundown to decide. Then, I’m calling the Master, and tell him you and your friends are alive. If your powers can't be mine, I won’t let them be yours, either.
“And... I bet the Master is dying to see you.”
Switcheroo
Luke ran into his friends outside the throne room; they were startled by his flushed face, instantly asking him what had happened.
“We’re in trouble,” Luke said under his breath. “Chiara is in league with the Master – and apparently, he believes we’re dead.”
“What?” Felicity said; she was looking at Luke this time. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah,” Luke confirmed, “she threatened me... we’ve got until sundown to finish our business here and get going – then she calls the Master to capture Mari – and probably finish us off.”
“Oh boy,” Daisy said, nervously plucking at her gloves. “Looks like we’ve got about... ten hours left before everything goes to hell.”
“We’re kind of in a sticky situation right here...” Marco mumbled. “We’ll probably not be able to get Mari and Felicity the help they need from Chiara...”
“You’re right,” Tony said, wearing a grave expression on his face. “What should we do now, then?”
Violina stood near the wall on the right, rubbing her chin. “If we want to get this done, we’ll have to break our promise,” she said. “I’ve got to get to my sister.”
Luke let out a soft, nervous chuckle. “Yeah. And then we get executed for treason. Remember?”
Violina shrugged; she had a confident smirk on her face. “I’m willing to take that chance.”
She received a grin from Luke in response. “That’s the spirit.”
The plan seemed easy on paper; Violina would try and reach her sister, then bring her to the Guardians – where Eloine then would heal Mari and Felicity. Then, the Guardians would be on their way before sundown.
Luke, of course, hadn’t told any of his friends about the arranged marriage-related threats, and the reason why he hadn’t done so was that Luke himself didn’t really count any value to them. No one could force him to do anything against his will.
Well, no one but the Master. That was a proven fact... if the Master could control James, he could control anyone.
When the time had come for the plan to be executed, Violina requested Felicity to come along with her – Violina put it as ‘to have her back in case things went wrong’, but Felicity was sure that Violina believed that Felicity would be able to convince Eloine to help them, even if the spell Violina had described was still intact.
However, before the duo went to see Eloine, Violina insisted to speak to Luke – she wanted to know more about Chiara’s plans.
“The reason I wanted to talk to you, is because I believe you haven’t told your friends everything Chiara has told you,” Violina told Luke. She’d taken him someplace quiet; Luke tried to reassure Violina that she was wrong, but eventually, Luke gave in.
“Well,” Luke mumbled, “forgive me for sounding weird, but... Chiara says I’ve got powerful magic, and she wants to marry me in order to be able to access those.”
Violina didn’t seem too surprised. “Let me guess,” she said, “if you don’t marry her, she’ll call the Master to capture us.”
Luke responded with a small nod. “Exactly.”
Violina crossed her arms, her expression serious, as if she was deep in thought. “So she’s doing it again,” she thought. “Chiara’s still hungry for more power.”
“Excuse me?” Luke asked. As Violina explained the situation, she furiously started to pace in front of Luke, across the hallway.
“She’s been doing this for a long time, Luke,” Violina said “Tricking young men into marrying her – and once she’s done so, she sucks them dry.”
“So, a black widow, huh?” Luke joked. “But then about power and magic instead of money.”
Violina snorted. “For money, too, if it were possible. But...” She suddenly threw Luke a stern glare. “There’s more to it.
“All Chiara has to do to steal one’s magic, is kiss them – hence the marriage shtick. She marries them often in secret, or with as little people witnessing – or, if she really can’t wait, she just simply kisses them straight on the spot – and then, she ditches the body.”
Luke tilted his head. “What?”
Luke spread his arms wide. “That does explain why she looks s young...” he blurted. “But why doesn’t anyone stop her, then?”
“That’s how strong this curse is, Luke,” Violina said with a wink. “No one even sees it. And it’s about time that we changed that.”
Luke rubbed his upper arms uncomfortably. “The question is how...” he mumbled. “I mean – Chiara is onto us. And if she really wants my magic, she’ll eventually grow impatient and come and take it, right?”
Violina nodded slowly. “Yes,” she said, “but we can prevent that. And here’s how...”
The Fixie got off her feet to be able to float at Luke’s ear level, whispering a plan in his ear.
“You’re truly willing to do that for me?” Luke said unbelievingly. “You know what’ll happen if-”
Violina cut him off. “I do, Luke. I am very well aware of the consequences. But it’s worth a try – we’ll just have to be careful around Chiara.”
Luke nodded decisively. “Fine, then,” he said. “Let’s get started.”
*
Luke and Violina returned to their friends shortly, and thus, Luke, Felicity and Violina went on their way to find Eloine.
They had to walk through the halls carefully; Violina figured Eloine would be in her study, which was quite easy to find – almost too easy. But perhaps it only seemed easy, as Violina did know the castle better than some of the servants – even though the castle had been like this for only the past ten years.
Violina quietly knocked at the doors that led to the study before entering. “Eloine?” she whispered; the blonde Fixie sitting at the oak wooden desk instantly looked up. “Vio!”
The two sisters happily approached each other, exchanging a long hug. “What are you doing here, Vio?” Eloine asked her sister.
“The Guardians have returned, Eloine,” Violina said. “And they need your help.”
Eloine’s eyes went wide in surprise. “Really?” she said. “What happened? Why have they returned?”
“The Master is trying to take control over Lunaria again,” Violina explained. “The children of the Guardians have to stand in, as the Master turned their parents to stone... He also happens to have poisoned one of the children with Dark Magic – if we don’t do something quickly, she’ll be lost to the Master.”
“That is a dreadful situation, indeed,” Eloine said, holding her chin in her hand. “Lead me to them. I’ll be glad to help.”
Felicity nodded at Queen Eloine. “Thank you so much,” he said. “And... I was wondering if you could heal my eyesight? I lost it on the mountain this morning.”
“Don’t worry, my child,” Eloine smiled, seemingly proud that she instantly remembered his name, “help is underway.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure of that.”
The trio started; Violina and Felicity quickly turned around, to find Chiara and two guards standing in the doorway. “I thought we’d made an agreement, Violina.”
“We had,” Violina replied dryly, “until you decided to threaten us. That’s when I decided to take matters into my own hands.”
“Well, that was a mistake,” Chiara sang. “Take them to the throne room, to their friends. I’d like to show them something before throwing them in the darkest dungeon we have.”
Violina’s heartbeat quickened as one of the guards grabbed her and started to drag her across the hallway, back to the throne room. Luke. She’s going to kill him.
Queen Eloine hurried after Chiara, who followed her prisoners to the throne room.
“Chiara,” Eloine said, “I hardly believe this is necessary-”
Chiara stopped and made a heel turn toward Eloine, her facial expression stern. “The Princess and I made an agreement,” she stated emotionlessly. “This agreement meant that the Princess would not try to wreak any havoc in my kingdom or this castle.
“If she were to break these terms, which I believe she has, I’d have her and her friends executed for treason.”
“Your kingdom?” Eloine spat, sounding genuinely insulted. “Are you implying something here, Chiara?”
Chiara laughed. “Dear, if I were to have the desire to become Queen, I would have been Queen by now. So make yourself no illusions.” She turned back around, but turned her head just so that she could look at Eloine. “Besides, you and I both know this is my kingdom. Whether I am Queen or not.”
*
The doors of the throne room flung open by magical force. It was obvious that Chiara was feeling confident.
As Chiara passed by, Violina couldn’t help but notice the strange object Chiara was holding. It looked like some kind of bracelet, made of thick, black leather, similar to the leather of the guards’ gloves. Violina wondered what purpose the bracelet serve, but quickly figured out that it probably did the same thing as the guards’ gloves did; block magic. Luke’s magic.
Chiara made her prisoners stand in a row. Violina, accompanied by a guard, stood in front of the Guardians.
Nine guards stood by the prisoners; three at each side (they stood at the back and the sides, careful not to block anyone’s view).
Two guards stood beside Chiara, who was standing on the elevated platform where the thrones stood. “I’d like to demonstrate what happens when you stand in my way,” Chiara said, gesturing at Luke. “You denied me. You denied my power. But in the end, I will have what I want.”
The two guards walked down the stairs, taking Luke back up with them. A few confused looks were exchanged in the small crowd down below; Violina watched Luke struggle, but for some reason, he failed to break free – as if his magic was being blocked by the gloves, which wasn’t supposed to happen, as the gloves were designed to block Fairy Magic only.
“You see, Luke,” Chiara said, “I’ll be honest with you. I did not want to marry you, nor did I ever possess any desire to become Queen. I just wanted your power.” She chuckled darkly. “I mean... you are not half as powerful as your father, but he’s... reserved for the Master. So I’ll just have to settle for second best; your power.
“And your power, I shall have.”
Violina’s chest tightened as she watched Chiara move closer to Luke. This wasn’t going according to plan. Come on, you can do this, Violina thought. Please, don’t leave me hanging.
But Luke still couldn’t break free.
“VIOLINA!” Violina shouted, not noticing she’d run her mouth, catching everyone but Chiara’s attention.
Violina suddenly managed to break free from the guards’ grip as she yelled out – her own name?
Violina sprinted forward to save Luke – but she was too late. The Kiss of Death had already been planted.
Luke’s body began to change shape as he fell to his knees; his features changed to Violina’s. The same thing happened to ‘Violina’, who stood at the end of the steps, panting loudly, almost crying.
Chiara stood there; her body motionless, her eyes menacing.
Violina grinned weakly before sinking through her elbows. “Gotcha.”
“YOU!” Chiara belted at Luke. “YOU DID THIS!”
Luke slowly approached Chiara, part of him already knowing that that was a bad idea. “Oops,” he said to Chiara, as he in the meantime laid a concerned eye on Violina, but noticed her sister had already come to her aid.
Two events occurred at the same time; while Eloine consoled her dying sister, Luke confronted Chiara.
Eloine sat on her knees, holding her dying sister; the curse that had held the Queen captivated had been broken. Kyan came rushing into the throne room, heading straight for his wife; when she explained what had happened, Kyan finally seemed to realise all the damage his mother had done.
“Violina, I am so sorry,” Kyan sobbed. “I shou
ld have realised sooner – I should’ve known – I mean, for Pete’s sake, she’s my mother –”
Violina cut him off. “Not... your fault,” she mumbled. “Don’t b... blame you...rself.”
“Violina, you’ve got to hold on,” Eloine urged. “I need you. I can – I can try to heal you with- we can share-”
Violina shook her head. “You’ll be fine,” and, after a long pause, added, “...without me.”
“What?” Eloine blurted, feeling his throat closing up. “No!”
“Yes,” Violina said decisively, “you will. You and... Kyan... will.”
She smiled; the expression lasted for a short moment before fading. Eloine broke down sobbing, her husband sharing her grief.
Meanwhile, Chiara and Luke were having a ‘quarrel’. Blasts of magic were thrown back and forth (Luke simply reflected Chiara’s attacks with his sword), the battle eventually leading them to jumping off the elevated platform, back to the main floor. No end seemed to come to the fight.
But it did end – and, unfortunately, not in Luke’s favour.
Chiara had driven Luke against the wall; Luke wanted to push her away, failing to notice the bracelet in Chiara’s hand. It snapped around Luke’s wrist, forcing him to stop moving instantly.
“You see, sweet Lucas?” Chiara whispered threateningly. “You can’t outsmart me. I will get the power I desire, and simply because I want it.”
Chiara moved closer, resulting in Luke trying to move his head away; he was, however, frozen in place. Things seemed hopeless.
Just as Chiara’s lips began to touch Luke’s, she jerked away, grabbing her arm with a loud groan. An arrow had pierced Chiara’s shoulder.
“Touch him again, and you’ll get another one,” Marco said, bow loaded and raised. “And the next one goes between your eyes.”
Chiara glared at Marco as she pulled out the arrow. Then, her gaze drifted to the guards, who didn’t quite seem to be doing their jobs.
“You better do what she says, ‘Your Highness’,” Tony said mockingly; he, Mari and Felicity had joined Marco: Chiara was surrounded.
“It’s over, Mother,” Kyan said, summoning the guards; they quickly approached Chiara and took her into custody.
Guardian: Darkness Rising Page 13