by Debbie Long
“What are you all doing?” I whisper, watching them all stare at my fluttering wings.
Mobsy answers, “you are our queen, not just us but everyone.”
“I can’t be,” I choke, “I don’t have normal wings.”
“Neither did the first queen, her wings were the same as your own.”
He stands up, walking around me. He gently touches my wings and they flutter excitedly, making me smile.
“The first queen, she was powerful, much like you. She is your ancestor, your kin. Your mother was meant to be the next queen, but she sacrificed herself to save these lands.”
“I know all this,” I say.
“Right, but did you know that your mother didn’t die from closing the veil? That she was killed?”
“I thought she died from closing the veil? No one said she was killed.” I look at the others, they seem just as shocked as I am.
“My mother told me. She has the sight; she is able to see bits of the future. The thing is, she doesn’t know who dealt that blow. They were shrouded in darkness. But she knows that a darkness surrounded your mother, then she was gone as the veil closed.”
“Like it matters, she still died from that damn veil. If she didn’t die from closing it, then I have a chance of not dying right? I ask.
“I can’t say that for sure, if you were to do it alone. With our help and Maxell, we should be able to do it together without casualties.”
“Should? That doesn’t sound reassuring.”
“We will Pixie,” Felix cuts in, “trust us, and him.” he says, pointing his thumb to Mobsy.
“He lied to me Felix; I don’t like liars.”
“I know love, but he is your mate, we all feel it through our bond.”
I hate being wrong, but I feel it too now he is in pixie form. “What are you? Really? If you care about me, you will tell me.”
“I am Velour, I am a pixie dragon. Unlike your other mates who are of similar age, I am... older let’s say.” He smiles, showing me the dimples in his cheeks. “I am here to serve you, my queen. Lend you my strength and wings. The purple stone called to you, because you are a dragon rider and the bridge between our lands. I will serve you in any way possible.” His sultry eyes meet mine and my face heats.
My mouth opens, then closes. I just blink into his eyes.
“I think that’s our cue to leave,” Felix says to Oran and Zane.
I snap out of the fog, turning to my mates. “No,” I clear my throat, “no, I have to go to the palace. I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen.”
“Are you sure?” Mobsy asks.
“I’m sure. Just because you say you are my mate, doesn’t mean I am willing to jump into bed with you.” I face the others. “Can someone find my sister; this involves her too.”
“I’ll find her,” Oran says leaving.
“Meet us in the courtyard, we can all fly to the palace.”
Oran nods, I follow him out the door, knowing the others are behind me.
My gut tells me I will find the answers at the palace, my father will be livid when he finds me there and away from the academy. But if he is in danger, then it’s up to me to help him.
Answers
My sister wasn’t too happy to be dragged away from her friends, but when I told her father might be in danger, she surprised me by coming with us. I did wonder why she didn’t ask about her mother, but those two never really got along. As we near the palace, Mobsy veers to the left, not heading to the main entrance. Once he lands, I hop off. I hid my wings from my sister, not knowing if I can truly trust her yet.
Mobsy on the other hand, transforms into his pixie self. My sister gasps, looking him up and down.
“You’re a pixie?” she says.
I roll my eyes. “Obviously,” I say. “Come on, no time to explain.”
I lead the way and I notice that it’s eerily quiet. The guards that normally stand by the door aren’t there. The halls are empty as we walk through. I glance at my sister and she looks just as uneasy as I do. We hurry to the throne room, as we near we hear voices.
Silvia stops me opening the door, her hand on my arm as a warning.
“Let me go in first, you’re more important than I am.”
“No, if they hurt you,” I say.
“She won’t, I know, Pixie, I know who you are and how important you are to our lands. Let me do this.” She smiles, a genuine smile. “I’ll keep the door ajar, so you can hear, run if you sense danger and find father.”
She doesn’t wait for me to answer, she opens the door, leaving it ajar as she said. I press my ear to the door, making sure to stay out of sight.
“Mother,” Silvia announces.
“What are you doing here?” her mother snaps, “You are meant to be watching Pixie, or do you have news for me?”
I hold my breath, expecting her to relay information back to her witch of a mother.
“No, no news mother.”
I raise my brow at my mates, they look equally surprised.
“Mother, why are you sat in fathers’ throne, is he ill?”
“That none of your concern, he is in his chambers if you must know.”
I hear walking, then an echo of a slap. I move to enter the throne room, but Oran holds me back, shaking his head. He puts his finger to his lips when I go to talk. Frowning at him, I turn back to the door, shrugging him off.
“You dare come back here and ask me questions? Do you think I am a fool? You have been at that blasted academy for months and you have no news?”
“I told you, she doesn’t talk to me. She goes to class, like the rest of us and trains with the professors.”
“What kinds of training? What powers does she have?”
“I told you, I don’t know. I missed her power ceremony.”
“You’re no use to me. No matter, I have sent another to do the work you were meant too.”
“Who? I can do, just give me more time.”
“You’ve had enough time; the dark veil is almost opened, and my army will take over these lands and I shall be queen once that Pixie is dead. All will be mine.”
I hear a gasp from Silvia. “Mother, what have you done? They will destroy us all.”
“As useless as you are, you are safe. As for all the light pixies, well they either succumb to the darker side or they die.”
“Why?” she whispers.
“Because this should have all been mine, they took it from me. Your father,” she spits the word, “his damn family took it from mine, we should have this kingdom, not him.”
“But father said that the throne was passed to his family by the first queen.”
“He lied. It was my ancestors it belonged to. His family killed the king and took the throne for themselves. After the first queen was lost to us, and she didn’t want her kin to suffer the same trials as she, she decreed that my family would be the royal family, after all, my kin served her loyally.”
“That makes no sense mother, the first queen didn’t renounce the throne, it was her kin that did. They didn’t want to rule but live in peace, so they gave father’s family the chance to rule.”
“You dare question me? My family should have ruled, but I shall rule both lands. The lands of the pixie and dark, they will both be mine.”
“Mother.”
“Silence!! I will not have you questioning me. Now leave, I have a guest arriving.”
“Yes mother.” I hear Silvia walk back towards us.
“And daughter, if you say a word of this to anyone, I will kill you.” Sofia says it so calm, that I shiver.
Silvia walks through the door, we all back up, allowing her space to pass and close the door behind her. Oran gestures for us to move away. I lead the way to my father’s chambers. We all stay silent as we journey through the palace.
When I glance at Silvia, she is wiping away her tears. I take her hand; she looks at me surprised but gives me a watery smile.
As we near the chamber
, we see guards stationed by the door. I gesture for the males to stand back. Silvia and I approach the door. The guards look at us surprised, but step aside, much to our relief.
We enter the chamber, it’s dark and has a different energy to it. Both of us shudder, the dark presence pressing against us; our magic coats our skin pushing it away.
“Father,” I call out into the darkness.
“Pixie.” His voice sounds strangled, breathless.
We both hurry to his bedside, what we see stops us from moving forwards. Black vines like veins are all over his body, the ones in his neck are bulging. His eyes are misty, almost white.
“Father,” I whisper, “what happened?”
His eyes meet mine; he coughs and we both race to him. Silvia grabs the water and I hold his hand; he grips me tightly. Silvia tips the water into his mouth, it dribbles down his chin and I wipe it away. My eyes meet Silvia’s, we both have tears in our eyes.
“Father, what happened?” I manage to choke out.
“Don’t be sad my daughters.” He smiles at us each in turn. “I am glad you have sorted your differences; your paths are linked.” He coughs again, his chest rattling. “You both have a part to play in this next chapter of your lives. And I’m sorry I can’t be a part of it.”
“What do you mean? I can heal you, we both can,” I say, the tears falling fast.
“Please don’t leave us father, we need you.” Silvia chokes out a sob.
“Your mother Silvia, she is not who we think she is. She has betrayed us, do not trust her. Pixie, you must unleash your magic, don’t hide, let it free and all will be well. Trust in your mates, all of them.” He gives me a knowing smile. “Let them guide you, be safe, both of you.” My father closes his eyes, and his chest goes still.
Both of us break into sobs. Our hearts breaking. We take each other’s hand, holding each other.
“Daddy, please wake up,” I whisper through my tears, “please don’t leave us.” My magic flares around me, others join, it’s then I notice my mates have entered the room. My sister’s magic joins mine, we both hold our hands over our father, letting our magic settle over him.
A glow surrounds the dark room, eliminating the dark shadows and the dark energy. I watch as the black veins leave my father’s body, his skin becomes golden once more and his hair glows the sunny blonde I once knew as a pixieling.
My body lifts off the ground until I am hovering over my father. I call a deep magic, an old magic that it feels like home to me. It hovers in the air, a little ball of light looking like a rainbow. I aim it at my father’s chest, where it sinks into his skin.
My father bucks, his back arching off the bed. Silvia takes his hand and he grips it tightly. He takes in a strangled breath, breathing heavily before he settles back onto the bed, his breathing becoming even.
I float back to the ground, my wings fluttering behind me. Silvia stares at me in wonder, her eyes bright and shining with unshed tears. She reaches for me, but then pulls her hand back.
“It’s OK,” I tell her, smiling.
She reaches out again, her hand gently touching my wings. They glow brighter, so does her own. Both of us gasp as our wings flutter in sync before the brightness dims. We stare at each other, then we smile. Father was right, we do need each other.
My father coughs, drawing our attention back to him. When his eyes open, they find mine, he smiles when he sees my wings.
“There, just a little nudge to get your magic working as it should.” He smiles again, taking my hand as well as Silvia’s. He joins them, along with his so we are all connected.
“Both of you shall rule our kingdom, both of you will fight alongside each other. The darkness is almost upon us, go now, prepare for what is to come.”
“Come with us father,” Silvia pleads.
“I cannot leave my people, they need me. I will be safe, I promise you.” He kisses her knuckle, doing the same to mine. “Go, before she finds you.”
We kiss his cheek, before backing out of the room, my mates follow us.
“Where to now, our queen?” Oran asks.
“Back to the academy, we will leave from the staff exit. We don’t want to be seen leaving,” I reply.
We walk to the back of the palace in silence. It is still quiet, and an unease settles over me. Looking at the group, it is clear they feel the same. They all have their weapons drawn, looking around anxiously.
“It’s too quiet,” Silvia murmurs.
“Yes, where are the staff? The palace is normally buzzing at this time of the day,” I reply.
“I don’t know, but I don’t like it. The lightness has gone, it feels heavy, dark. Does anyone else feel that?”
Everyone says a quiet yes.
“Let’s hurry, I don’t like being here,” I say.
We hurry on, leaving out the back to the gardens. We all come to an abrupt halt. Dark pixies stand guard, they all turn when they see us. A dark energy settles over us, they all sneer.
“Well, well, look at what we have here,” one of them says.
“Yes, it looks like we have some youngsters, shouldn’t you all be at that academy of yours?” another says.
“That is none of your concern,” I say, “I am the king’s daughter, future queen. What business do you have here?” I say, with far too much confidence than what I am actually feeling.
“Aww look, she thinks she’s a future queen. How wrong you are.” He advances towards me, the others follow. “You are what we wanted, and you came to us. The queen will be pleased, same as our king.”
My wings pop out, my hands outstretched. “Run,” I yell before throwing my magic at the dark pixie guards.
I hear yelling, before hands are on me. A dark vortex appears in front of me, rough hands shove me forward and one hisses in my ear, “Say hi to the dark king for us.” I scream as dark energy grips me, then the world goes black.
Pixie
I can hear muttering, angry sounds but not directed at me. Whoever it is, they are pissed as the humans would say. I try to open my eyes, but when I do all I see is black. I try to move my arms, but they are bound. Panic sets in, and I start thrashing, trying to loosen the binds that hold me down.
Hands settle on me making me jump. I try calling my magic, but I can’t reach it, it feels muted.
“Settle down little pixie, before you hurt yourself,” a voice says to my side. It’s a female voice, she sounds resigned. “I’m going to unbind you and take your blindfold off.” I hear shuffling. “Don’t do anything stupid, not like you can anyway with your magic muted,” she huffs, cutting away until my hands are loose.
Before she can touch my face, I yank the blindfold off, blinking against the glare of the light.
“Where am I? I say angrily, jumping away from her. I try calling my magic, but it doesn’t reach me. I try calling my wings, and again they are out of my reach.
“I told you, your magic is muted. Do you think they would drag you here and let you keep your magic?”
Once the glare as disappeared from my eyes, I take her in. Her slender figure is covered in black leather clothing. All tight against her body and topped off with black boots. Two daggers sit on her hip along with a sword that gleams in the light. Her dark wings flutter behind her and her dark hair cascades down to her waist. When I look at her face I gasp. Her light brown eyes settle on me, an amused grin on her pretty face.
“Done assessing me?” she asks with a chuckle.
“What are you? And who are you?”
She sighs. “Why don’t you have a seat?” she gestures to the sofa, patting it as she sits herself. “I don’t bite.”
I wince but sit next to her anyway. If she wanted to hurt me, she would have done by now.
“To answer your questions, my name is Ava, my father is the King.” She pauses before carrying on. “As to what I am, well I guess I am dark and light, my mother was a light pixie before she died.”
That would explain the blue in her eyes, dark pix
ies are known for their black or red eyes. “Why am I here?”
She sighs again. “My father wants you out of the way so he can take over pixie hollow. We have been stuck here for centuries, no veil to escape from, our lands dark and dying. We just want what you have, life and vibrancy.”
“By killing my people?” I retort.
“No, by living alongside you, like before. We all lived in harmony, both our lands thriving. Then the first queen, your queen, turned on us.”