“Luke, I believe Eloine wants to show you something.”
While his friends took their weapons to the guards to receive individual training, Luke followed Queen Eloine to one of the more quiet corners of the courtyard. Luke was excited; he knew that the Queen was going to test him to see if he had any magical abilities.
“Alright, Luke,” Eloine said, “now before we begin, I’d like to say that while it’s quite common for Guardians of Innocence to have at least some magical abilities, not all of them were able to control them. So don’t worry if nothing happens, okay?”
Luke nodded; despite wanting to be just as strong as his father, Luke knew he shouldn’t expect too much of his abilities at first. After all, his father had had issues controlling his abilities to the first time he’d used them, too – right?
“I know I have magic,” he said. “I don’t know how I did it, but I managed to protect Violina from the guards yesterday.”
“In that case, Luke,” Queen Eloine said, “first, you’ll have to clear your mind. This will become easier as your training progresses, but for now, you’ll have to focus on it. Just think: a good beginning makes a good ending.”
Luke nodded again. He wasn’t sure whether he should sit down or not, so he decided to meet at the middle by sitting down on his knees. He closed his eyes and folded his hands in his lap as he tried to shut out the outside world.
Clearing your mind doesn’t necessarily mean thinking of nothing, but simply filtering out all noise and focusing on what’s important.
Eloine left Luke sitting on the ground like that for about fifteen minutes or so, before gently touching his shoulders. “Are you ready to continue?”
“Yes,” Luke said without opening his eyes, “I am.”
“Very well,” Eloine said. “Then you may rise.”
Luke did as he was told; he got back on his feet and opened his eyes. “So,” he said, “what’s next?”
“I’d like to keep your eyes closed for just a while longer,” Queen Eloine said, “I want you to focus on and trust in your surroundings.
“Using magic is about seeing with your mind, rather than with your eyes.”
Luke closed his eyes, starting to get more intrigued by the moment. “Alright,” he said, “what’s next?”
Queen Eloine smiled. “You’ll see.”
Despite the fact that Luke couldn’t see anything, he clearly felt something happening. Something flew his way, and when he had caught it, his fingertips began to tingle; a pleasant tingle that quickly spread from his fingers through his arms to his shoulders. For a moment, it was as if the tingle continued inside his chest.
“You may open your eyes,” Queen Eloine’s voice spoke, “you have passed the test.”
Luke opened his eyes; he let out a gasp in surprise at what he saw. He was holding – a ball of light.
“Whoa,” Luke gasped, completely awestruck by his achievement. “So this means that-?”
“You can control magic,” Eloine nodded. “Now comes the second test – using magic.”
Luke’s eyes shifted from the glowing ball that was floating between his hands back to Queen Eloine. “And I’m planning to do that... how exactly...?”
“Simple,” Queen Eloine smiled. “You take the orb you’re holding right now, and you throw it wherever you want it to go – then you give it directions.” She paused. “And then, you try to make another one yourself.”
Luke swallowed. He had no idea how he was going to do everything Queen Eloine had just described, but if he was able to hold this glowing orb between his hands, he might as well be able to do everything else.
Luke let go of the orb, mentally pushing it forward, while physically simulating the movement with his hands. To his amazement, the orb followed his commands. Not perfectly, as the orb instantly dropped to the ground after it’d been pushed, but it was a start.
“Well done, Lucas,” Eloine said encouragingly. “Now, let’s see if you can keep it moving for a while.”
She summoned another orb; Luke caught it, but accidentally dropped it in his excitement. Eloine laughed, and made him another orb, which Luke did manage to keep safe.
“Okay, Luke,” Eloine said, “now make it fly.”
Luke did the same thing he’d done with the last orb he’d sent flying; he let it go, pushed it forward, and then commanded it to go up. The orb stopped moving forward and shook, threatening to drop to the ground, but eventually did fly upward. Luke grinned. “Heh.”
He commanded the orb to fly back to his hands; surprisingly enough, this time, the orb followed his every command perfectly.
“Seems like I’m getting the hang of it,” Luke said, tossing the orb in the air, making it spiral upward before spreading his arms wide and allowing the orb to vanish.
“Really nice,” Queen Eloine nodded. “Now, I will teach you how to make an orb yourself.”
Now this was the tricky part. Controlling the orb wasn’t too difficult, but creating one seemed to take up all of Luke’s concentration and energy. The first few times, nothing happened; after five minutes or so of trying, Luke would grunt in frustration, complaining that nothing was happening. But Queen Eloine would encourage him to try again every time – and so he did.
After a while, things finally started to happen. Small sparks of light began to flicker between Luke’s hands; first they were only white, but eventually, Luke could manipulate their colours at will – and thus create orbs of all sorts of colour – if the orb were to show up between his palms.
But, after two-ish hours of trying and staying determined to succeed, Luke finally created his first orb. As proud as he was, he instantly sent it flying, spiralling into the air. He allowed the orb to circle around him a few times before finally catching it again.
“Well done, Luke!” Eloine applauded. “Now, I’d like you to try the same thing, but then with fire.”
And so the day went on. Eloine taught Luke to summon all kinds of things, although he did get his fair share of swordfight training as well.
Several hours of defence and target practice later, the teenagers met up again in the middle of the courtyard. Sweat was shimmering brightly on the teenagers’ foreheads; the guards wanted to make sure that these Guardians would return to the Land of Light as prepared as possible, and thus they had really made a point of wearying the young adults as much as possible.
Queen Eloine sent the Guardians to get cleaned up, and told them to meet her again in her study as soon as they were done.
*
“Ah, Guardians,” Queen Eloine smiled as the teenagers entered her study. “It’s good to see you again.”
Although the current Guardians didn’t know, their parents might’ve recognized the study’s interior; it looked almost identical to the guests’ reception room in the old castle. Perhaps some of the castle’s old interior had survived, after all.
“Please,” Queen Eloine smiled as she saw the teenagers stand around helplessly, and gestured toward the blue armchairs, “do sit down.”
The Guardians did as they were told; the blue chairs were soft and comfortable to sit on.
“So,” Queen Eloine said, as she joined the group of six, “how was your training?”
Luke’s eyes started to sparkle at just the thought of how his training had been, but he was more interested in hearing how the others had found theirs – so he just simply listened to their stories, instead of telling his own.
Marco told about how he’d begun to perfect his aim with his crossbow, which resulted into Felicity mocking him how she was already a flawless archer; that wasn’t quite true, but she was pretty good for someone who could only depend on their sense of hearing and intuition. After training for a while, Felicity had managed to hit every target the guards had set up for her, and had even hit the bull’s eye twice. Only Mari seemed rather silent and distant. Tony was excited to tell everyone he’d finally got a sword that matches his length more properly.
“Do you have any ques
tions before you head out again?” Queen Eloine asked, after all teenagers had told their stories.
“Oh, so many,” Daisy sighed. “We just have no idea where to start.”
“Well... how about we start at the beginning?” Felicity suggested. “Queen Eloine, can you tell us about our parents? What they were like when they were here?”
Eloine smiled. “Why, of course,” she said. “I will start at the moment they arrived here.”
Queen Eloine told the teenagers everything she knew, everything that had happened in those five days the Last Generation had been in her company. How Violina led them safely through the forest, how Samira cleansed her own curse and learned how to heal, and how she then proceeded to use that ability to save her brother’s life.
“I don’t believe there’s much more to tell,” Queen Eloine said as she finished her story. “I hope I’ve told you all you wanted to know.”
“Wait,” Tony said, “so that necklace you gave my mum – it gave her special powers, didn’t it?” Queen Eloine nodded in response.
“Then why don’t we have anything like that?”
Queen Eloine chuckled. “That’s a good question, Anthony.” She thought of what to say for an answer for a while. “Honestly, I don’t exactly know, but... I guess it’s just that these items are unique, and the Guardians that claimed them most recently are still alive. The Spirits kept the Totems in their castle, and returned them to your parents as they arrived.
“That’s probably why you don’t have anything as such.”
“But what do the others do?” Luke said. “The only thing I know about the Totems is that our parents got them by completing a certain test – and that my father got his Golden Wing for completing the Ritual and sacrificing himself. But what does it do?”
“I’m not entirely sure,” Eloine said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully, “but all Totems are meant to strengthen a Guardian’s abilities. So... I guess the Golden Wing makes it easier for your father to use his magic.
Samira’s necklace gives her the ability to heal, that’s one thing I do know.”
“While we’re asking questions anyway,” Mari said, “is magic something you inherit from your parents, or-?”
The corner of Queen Eloine’s mouth pulled tight for a moment. “Well, in this world, yes,” she said, “but as you all come from a world where magic is either yet to be discovered or already gone extinct... I’m not sure. But I assume the same rules apply, so yes.
That explains why some of you might have enhanced senses you wouldn’t have on Earth, but only Luke has real magic. Because of his father; he is the most powerful Guardian to have ever lived.”
“And that’s why the Master was so eager to capture him,” Luke pondered. “To get access to that power.”
“Exactly,” Queen Eloine said. “Anything else you’d like to know?”
“Yes,” Mari said. “When James – disguised as Violina – came to see you, did he say anything about my curse?”
Queen Eloine’s head made a sharp turn. “Oh, dear,” she said. “I completely forgot in all the chaos.” She gestured at Mari to come nearer. “Child, please, come here. Let me have a look at you.”
Mari stood up, and knelt down in front of Eloine, who gently brushed Mari’s messy hair away to examine her face. The marks had now spread to her cheeks, clearly visible.
Queen Eloine’s face paled. “We must hurry,” she said, standing up from her chair. “Please, follow me to the garden.”
The Guardians did as they were told, and followed the Queen to the palace garden. The Queen led them into the royal conservatory greenhouse, where it instantly became clear where the Queen was headed. In the middle of the garden, on a pedestal, grew a single, golden flower.
“This flower,” Queen Eloine said, “is what cured both Samira and James back when they were visiting my palace. “I decided to plant one of my own inside my greenhouse to ensure I’d always have one at hand whenever I’d need it.”
“Couldn’t you have used it to heal Violina?” Daisy blurted, recognizing her mistake a little too late. Queen Eloine didn’t seem to mind, however, as she offered Daisy a kind smile.
“I’m sorry, Desirée,” she said, “but magic can’t bring people back from the dead. In this world, all living beings have life energy – which can be extended with magical energy.
“Violina’s life energy was mostly gone... aside from that, the Fairy Folk can’t survive without their magic. And once our magic is gone, it can’t be restored.”
“But Akilah brought my father back from the dead,” Luke protested, knowing it wasn’t the right time to make objections, but he decided to make a point of it anyway. “That’s something.”
“The Spirits can manipulate life, Lucas,” Queen Eloine stated. “...well, to a certain extent. And I don’t believe that it’s James’s own life energy that Akilah restored.” Realising she’d run her mouth, the Queen quickly tried to get everyone’s attention back to the flower. “So anyway, I can use this flower to heal you, Mari.”
“No, no, no,” Luke objected. “What was that about Dad’s life energy not being restored?”
Queen Eloine sighed. “It’s not important, Luke,” she said. “Just let it slide. I want to-”
Luke was persistent. “I want to know,” he said, crossing his arms decisively.
Queen Eloine laughed silently. “Alright. Since you’re not going to stop asking about it...” she mumbled. “Will the six of you come along, please? There’s something I need to explain to you.”
Suddenly, Mari felt a nasty sting of pain spread through her chest and her head. Was it what she feared? Following the pain, a cold feeling spread across her chest, confirming that the moment she had feared for days had finally come.
“I- I’ll stay here,” she mumbled, “I don’t really feel well. I’d like to sit down here and enjoy the silence for a bit.”
Queen Eloine smiled. “Understandable,” she said. “It’s been a wild ride for the lot of you, the past week.”
“Don’t catch a cold, Mari,” Luke winked at his friend. “When I come back, I’ll have learned all the secrets of the universe, and I’m willing to share them with you – but not if you sneeze on me.”
Mari laughed. A sincere laugh.
She watched her friends leave the greenhouse. The door had hardly been shut before Mari lost control; she sank to the ground, gritting her teeth, feeling a throbbing, burning pain as her heart seemed to beat in every single one of her veins before completely freezing.
She’d become a Lost Soul. And if she didn’t leave quickly, her friends would be lost, too.
As soon as the pain had lessened, Mari opened her eyes and got back on her feet. Her eyes had gained an eerie, orange-reddish glow, and her pupils had become tight and vertical, like a cat’s.
Just like the Master. Her Master?
NO, Mari thought. No. He is not my Master, and he never will be. But he will pay for what he did. He will pay for everything.
Mari extended her left arm; an orb of black magic materialized in her palm, blasting a hole in the greenhouse’s windows.
Mari ran. Away from her friends, away from the fear of destroying them. And toward the Master. Toward his defeat, toward his demise.
She’d destroy him, just like he’d destroyed her.
Darkness Rising
Luke returned to the greenhouse with an annoyed expression on his face. The Queen had tricked him into thinking she was going to share important information with him, but in reality, she had just spent thirty minutes making terrible puns while telling a bad story. Well – it wasn’t really a bad story in terms of bad storytelling or a poor plot – if you could call it that -, since it told about the time their parents had spent time with Queen Eloine. But it wasn’t what Luke wanted to know.
It had cheered his friends up, but that cheerfulness didn’t last long, as they returned to the greenhouse only to find one of its windows shattered and Mari gone.
“Mari?” L
uke asked, frantically raising his voice as he ran toward the shattered glass. “MARI!”
Many emotions soared through Luke’s heart and chest at the same time. Fear, anger, frustration. “We shouldn’t have left her here,” he said furiously. “We shouldn’t have left her alone! Now she’s gone! Just like my father, like our parents, like-”
“Luke!” Marco shouted, grabbing his friend by the shoulders, trying to calm him down. “Please, Luke! Get yourself together!” he commanded, his eyes wide with worry.
Luke let out a heartbreaking sob while gritting his teeth. He grabbed Marco’s shoulders, digging his fingers into the leather shoulder pads Marco was wearing.
“We’ll find her, Luke,” Marco said. “And we’ll find your father. And... with a bit of luck, we’ll find the Master, so we can kick his butt.”
“Indeed, we will find him,” Luke grunted. “First, he takes my father – then our family – then Mari – it’s enough. It’s about time we put this horrible man to a stop, once and for all.”
Everyone agreed with the redhead on that last comment.
*
After dinner, the Guardians thanked the King and Queen for their hospitality – they really couldn’t stay any longer, unless they wanted to risk losing Luke in the middle of the night, too. And, if they wanted to find Mari, they’d have to go after her now. It’d only be a matter of time before the Master would find her – if he hadn’t already.
Queen Eloine had made a powder out of the flower, assuming that it’d be easier to sprinkle an unwilling person with powder than forcing them to drink a potion. The teenagers couldn’t possibly predict what mental state they’d find Mari in, of course. She’d put it in a leather bag, along with some food and water – who knew how long it’d take for the teenagers to fix everything, after all?
The teenagers set off into the forest, where they passed under various Fairy villages. The Fairies didn’t seem to be bothered by the Guardians that passed through their villages, unlike what Violina had told the teenagers before – perhaps it was due to the curse being broken.
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