Mindy wrenched her arm free and approached the Being, who gently placed Liyanna in the arms of the Guard.
Up close, the Being was taller. Geez, he must be eight feet tall, she thought.
I am both he and she. The Being’s eyes fell on hers. There was humor in his/her mental voice.
“Umm. Thank you for saving her,” Mindy said.
She is still needed. The Being retreated to the pillar of light and vanished. The lights above moved again and for a while, no one spoke as it disappeared in the clouds.
“What was that?” S7 asked.
“Schkwastch of the Galactic Federation,” the Guard replied. “He came to tell us that the world wouldn’t be seeing this organization again after tonight. All members, who have an influence to society, will be placed under the Federation’s rehabilitation program. The Zertans have lost one of their top dogs.”
*****
Pellinor the cat leapt onto Liyanna bed. He circled on a specific spot, stretched, sat, and started licking a paw. He was developing the habits of a real cat.
“How is she?” he asked Mindy, in between switching paws for cleaning.
“She’s awake,” Liyanna managed a watery smile. She had completely recovered three days after infiltrating enemy territory. Liyanna had told them about Fred, who turned out to be the reincarnated half-brother of the first Liyanna, and how he used actors to pose as S7 and Mindy for leverage. Thanks to S7, Liyanna discovered her ability to reawaken Fred’s humanity by flooding his darkness with light. The same light Mindy and the others witnessed which had drawn enough attention for the Galactic Federation to intervene.
It was after Pellinor had requested a private audience with Liyanna that she locked herself up in her room. She wouldn’t speak to anyone until Mindy came to visit and eventually decided to stay for a week.
Liyanna revealed that she had unwittingly shared her blood with S7 when she threw the piece of glass at him in Arturion’s house. Knowing that it had set off ascension symptoms in him, Liyanna had asked Sara to help the man adjust to their world. The high priestess had accepted S7 and sent a letter through Pellinor regarding Arturion’s return to consciousness with neither memories of his abduction nor Liyanna. The cause of his amnesia could be the result of the powerful spell he had cast upon himself before the abduction; or, severe trauma he received during his imprisonment.
Liyanna was quick to cry but she had always picked herself up and moved forward after a few days. Mindy worried over her as the days passed and Liyanna was still depressed. Kelor-dan’s kingdom was also experiencing an unprecedented storm - a reflection of Liyanna’s emotion, as Pellinor had stated matter-of-factly.
The Devatas quietly went about their day-to-day activities. Several came to drop presents for their beloved Liyanna and ask after her. Gifts continued to pile up that the dryad Theona had to open another room as storage area. Pellinor became a permanent fixture in Liyanna’s chambers, frequently sleeping at the foot of her bed. At some point during the day, the cat would vanish but Mindy would always find him curled up in bed in the wee hours of the morning.
Pellinor gazed at Liyanna with narrowed eyes. Eventually, he said: “Good. The Rituvan has gotten himself in trouble.”
Liyanna propped herself up with her elbow. “Trouble?”
“The Sorceress came to visit the Prince and bumped into the Rituvan.”
“Your mother saw him?”
“Bumped – crashed – collided. She banished him to his country.”
“They won’t accept him.” Liyanna flung the blankets off her.
“If word comes out that he left your side, whatever the circumstances, he will be persecuted.”
“You don’t sound worried.” Her head popped out behind the divider of her dressing room.
“He is your responsibility, not mine.”
“What kind of trouble is he in?” Mindy asked. She was getting annoyed with his antics.
A bird of prey screeched outside. Beyond the door, a falcon burst through the willow’s leaves and into Liyanna’s bedroom. It perched onto the bed’s headboard. A scar near its eye made it look fiercer and confirmed the Rituvan’s identity.
Liyanna emerged in a warm green dress and walked up to the large bird.
“She turned him,” she said.
“Don’t look so surprised.” Pellinor said, bitterly. “The Sorceress promised that if he returned in our realm, she would change him.” He leaped from the bed and padded toward the door, his tail swishing behind him. “Call me when you’re ready.”
“That cat has issues,” Mindy commented, hands on her hips. She had a nagging suspicion that Pellinor was glad of the Rituvan’s situation. It had effectively distracted Liyanna from her loneliness.
“It’s been hard for him.” Liyanna smiled, braiding her hair, while Theona placed her breakfast tray on the bedside table and helped her lace up her boots.
“The last few weeks have been for everyone.” Especially for you.
The smile slid from her face. Liyanna was about to push the tray away when she noticed Theona looking sadly at it.
“They say time heals.” She nibbled on bread for Theona’s benefit, who happily withdrew to her tree.
“You’re not going back with me, are you?” Mindy knew the answer to that, but couldn’t help asking.
“I don’t belong in your world anymore, Mindy. I’ve changed too much.”
“I know. But you’ll visit, right?” Mindy sat beside Liyanna and clasped her hand. “You’ll still attend my birthday party?"
Liyanna grinned. “Of course, I will.”
“Umm.” Mindy forehead wrinkled. “Since you’re supposed to be dead, what should I call you when you show up? Karina? Liyanna?”
For the first time in days, Liyanna laughed.
“Hey! This is serious.” Mindy playfully punched her arm. She was glad to hear her friend laugh.
“You can call me any name you want.” Liyanna pulled her best friend close to her. “I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you, too.” Mindy returned the hug. Her friend may be an all-powerful Liyanna; but to Mindy, she would always be her best friend.
Epilogue
Arturion
Log entry #8:
The Council of Elders passed jurisdiction over the Order of the Black Guard yesterday. The mission – the rescue of thirty Merleinans, including myself – was such a success that they have decided not to shut down the Order. It will, however, undergo re-evaluation. They have appointed my foster father Sola to oversee the Black Guard’s operations. Reno has been suspended from service for five years and will report directly to Sola for another five. There is a rift between them though they do not speak of it in front of me. No one has yet noticed and I hope it will not affect their Orders. I suspect Sara had been a major influence in the Council’s final judgment. She told me that our people were dissatisfied on how the Elders’ addressed the issue regarding the disappearances. Letting Reno’s Order continue was a political move to regain Merleina’s support. Whispers of the forest have reached Merleinans. It sung of Liyanna’s recent deeds. Through her involvement, Devatas and Merleinans have once again worked together to save our people; a feat, considering the fact that it has been eons since anything like this has happened.
I woke two days after I was retrieved from one of the enemy’s laboratories. Sara had been attending to me that day. She looked so weary and old. It was the first time I saw her openly shed tears in front of me and her staff. It was then that I vowed never to voluntarily place myself in danger. She had called me Arty, just like my mother used to and a friend whose face remains shadowed in my muddled memories. That is where my problem lies. Try as I might, I cannot remember the past three years leading to the present. Sara reassures me it will come back in time but I sense her relief that it has not returned. I am keeping more secrets again, hence this journal. I do not share the dreams that haunt me at night knowing Sara would fuss if she discovers it. So, when a particular nightmare kee
ps me wide awake, I take the path to Sinta, the Lake of Mirrors.
Last night, I found myself in the most unlikely company. Liyanna stood at the shores of the lake with her bespelled falcon and cat and the mythical chimera. The last news we have had of her came in the form of a Devarian courtier announcing her engagement to the mysterious Prince Kelor. It was a strategy to strengthen the relationship between fourth dimensional humans and Devatas. Yet, when I saw her looking at the distance, I felt her longing. I rather wish that I had remained unnoticed for I was close to deciphering the puzzle she presented, but Liyanna turned and looked at me with silver eyes. The connection I felt with her was abruptly severed. Her falcon took to the skies as she walked towards me. Her four-footed companions stayed where they were.
She spoke to me in Merleinan, mostly questions about my foster family, Reno and the Council. I answered as best as I could while suffering her unrelenting gaze.
Arturion lifted his stylus from the rectangular crystal tablet. He was unsure if it was alright to put into writing something which felt very private. He gazed outside the window in the direction of the lake. What was it he said to her again?
“Do you know me?” Arturion asked, frowning. It wasn’t the proper way to address a Liyanna, but he felt unbalanced with the intensity in her eyes. She also seemed to know a great deal about him.
Suddenly realizing what she was doing, Liyanna looked to the stars. Smiling, she said: “You are Reno’s friend and Sola’s foster son.”
Those were details that most people in Merleina knew about him.
“Do I know you?”
She did not speak immediately and fiddled with her necklace. Liyanna removed it from her neck and stretched out her hand to him. The necklace dangled between them. “I believe this is yours. Reno found it when he was searching for you. He gave it to me for safekeeping.”
Taking it from her, he examined the crystal. It was his mother’s. “Thank you.”
“No. Thank you.” Liyanna embraced him, catching Arturion off guard. The moment soon passed and she stepped away. “Farewell, Arturion.”
She rejoined her friends and made their way towards the forest. As they neared the edge of the woods, she looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. Then, she was gone.
Arturion took out the necklace from his pocket. The shaft of light from his window illuminated his mother’s crystal. He had not unlocked its secrets yet. Perhaps, it was time for him to know who his real father is, see if it held answers to his mother’s death, and maybe – just maybe – understand the connection he had felt with Liyanna.
About the Author
At the age of six, I saw my grandma's spirit staring back at me in the mirror. I realized then that I could see what others couldn't. Ever since that incident I have tried to understand the mysteries of the world. I've read about Atlantis, Lemuria, Agartha, Celtic magic, auras and chakras, fortune-telling, palmistry, Astrology, the Holy Grail, nature spirits/the Good Folk, extraterrestrials and - to date, Ascension. I own a crystal ball and tarot cards which I use occasionally.
I was born and raised in the Philippines, a country rich in its folklore. Although I live in the city, my mind is always in a world where magic and enchantment dwells and what you see is not always what it seems.
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