The Five Realms

Chapter 5

Six year old Amealia was a completely different person than her present, nineteen year old, self. Ten year old Amealia loved walking through the lavender fields near her home, smelling the wonderful fragrance around her. She was innocent and saw the world through a pink lens with shimmering ideas and visuals.

Nineteen year old Amealia was scared. She was guarded and never even though of the lavender fields. Her innocence disappeared 10 years prior and she saw the world in a realistic lens, no more glitter and pink. She didn't like thinking of the life she had as a child, she chose to look forward.

"Mama!" Young Amealia yelled out happily as she ran into her modern home. Her umber coloured hair was wavy and shiny, her smile was bright and a giggle left her lips with every few steps, the bottom of her off-white dress was covered in dirt. She wiped her feet on the mat at her front door and ran up the stairs.

"Mama! I found daisies growing at the edge of the lavender field!" Young Amealia exclaimed. The word 'growing' sounding more like 'gwo-ing' and 'lavender' like 'lavendow'. She bolted up the stairs as fast as her little ten year old legs could carry her.

"Mama?" Amealia slowed down, stopping in the corridor in front of her mothers room. Two tall men were standing next to her mothers bed. She could see the feet of her mother hanging off the side. The men looked over at her.

The taller of the men turned to Amealia and crouched down to her level. "What's your name sweetie?" He asked in a soft tone. His right hand came up to touch her face softly, Amealia moved her head away from his hand and looked at him in confusion. Her dark brown eyes, looking around innocently.

"Amealia," She said, her voice quiet, the happy giggles very much gone. "What's wrong with Mama?"

The man sighed and looked behind him, into Amealia's mother's room. The other man was watching the interaction with a worried expression on his face. Amealia looked at the other man and then down at the bed.

"What's wrong with Mama?" Amelia asked again with a shaky and watery voice. She felt a lump in her throat and her eyes watered. She sniffled as the man in front of her spoke.

"She got really hurt." He said, trying to get her attention back on his face.

"Is she going to be okay?" Amealia asked with tears spilling from her eyes. The man pursed his lips and looked at the ground. "I wanna give her a hug!" Amealia said, her tiny body shaking with sobs.

In her mind, even if she was a child, Amealia understood she wouldn't see her mother again. She felt a heavy feeling and she felt a feeling she couldn't understand at that age. It was far more complex than any other emotion she had felt before.

Later in her life, she realized how sad it was to lose her mother such a young age. She learned as time went on, how her mother was murdered while Amealia was out playing in the fields. She learned as time went on, that man, Reginald Yehsol, who took her in, was an informed of the murder by the one who committed the crime. She also learned how much power Reginald held in the Divine Realm.

Amealia learned how Reginald wanted to care for the orphaned girl and decided to aid her in her loss. He took her in as his own and treated her in the way any child would want. But it was at a cost of the only child left within herself.

She willingly went along with the training. The training that made her the skilled fighter that she is now. Since the age of twelve she had learned how to fight. She learned how to sneak around and use weapons.

In a way, Amealia forgot the life she had as a child. She remembered her mother in the only was she wished she hadn't. Lying dead in the sheets she had slept in with her daughter the night prior. One of the only good memories she kept was waking up with her mother, giggling because of the funny position they woke up in.

All the other memories forgotten and long gone. The worst part of that was that Amealia never wanted to remember. She didn't even fully understand why, but she never allowed herself to think about it too much.

So, Amealia occupied herself with 'missions' Reginald put her on. Anything that she could do to help her realm.

"There has been talk of the Crystal Realm wanting fight for the leadership over the Unspoken Realm." Reginald said to Amealia one day as they sat at the dinner table. Amealia had stopped mid-bite to look up at him.

Amealia placed her fork down and looked at him to see any hint of him joking. He continued his food as if he hadn't just said something important.

"Are you being serious?" Amealia asked, her gaze trained on Reginald. Reginald nodded as he chewed the bite of food in his mouth and looked at the young girl eating with him.

"Yes, very." Reginald reached up with his linen napkin and wiped his mouth. "The counsel and I want to send you to find out if its true. If it is, find out who they are in alliance with."

Amealia continued looking at Reginald as he ate. She wasn't sure if he understood the severity of what he just said. He said it as if nothing happened. As if nothing was happening or could happen. It made the situation seem less serious than it was.

"It sounds like you already know there's a war in the making." Amealia stated plainly, picking up a glass of dark red liquid and taking a sip. "Is there a reason why you're so sure?" She asked, putting the glass down.

"It's supported by the letter they sent to this realm instead of where every they needed it to go." Reginald finally looked up, pulling a square-like envelope out of his pocket. "It speaks briefly about their plans. We are the first on their list to take down." He placed the envelope on the table.

Amealia wiped her hands before opening the letter and reading through it. When she finished reading, she looked up at Reginald with her eyebrows furrowed. He paid her no mind and continued eating the large piece of meat on his plate.

"Next month? They want to attack us in a month?" Amealia asked, her mostly uneaten meal long forgotten. "And you're acting like it's nothing? Like it's any other Tuesday night." She tossed the letter and envelope on the table and leaned back, crossing her arms.

Reginald ignored her questions causing Amealia to look down at her plate of food. Salmon and rice with a small portion of asparagus. She looked at the opened letter and sighed, rubbing her face in exasperation.

"So, your plan is to send only me to the Crystal Realm." She asked pointing to herself. "And you expect me to figure it all out within a month?"

"I don't expect you to do that at all." Reginald said, still keeping his eyes on his plate making Amealia want to roll her eyes at his nonchalance. "I expect you to find their allies and report back to me. And do that to the best of your abilities."

Amealia uncrossed her arms and sat up with a scoff. "What do you mean, 'the best of your abilities'?" She asked in offence. "The 'best' of my abilities is finding out more than their allies. You should know that" Reginald finally looked up. He sighed, setting down his utensils.

"You can not, I repeat, can not be stuck in the crossfire of this." His voice sounding stern and like what he says is set in stone. Amealia stared at him with a blank expression on her face. She was going to argue before he spoke again, "This is the one rule you cannot argue with. Amealia this is the most serious thing you have ever done. The energy in that realm will disorient you beyond belief if you stay for longer than a week. Listen to me and follow my directions." He picked up his utensils and continued eating, choosing to ignore whatever Amealia would have argued with.

Amealia groaned, standing up and taking her jacket off the back of her chair. She glared at Reginald one last time before walking out and away from the relatively large dining room.

That week, Amealia was put through a series of training techniques to keep her lie set in stone. The day she had to voyage had felt like any other day to the unknowing realm and Amealia had felt the same. That was until the hour leading up to her first voyage to the Crystal Realm.

"Remember, focus on the realm and make sure you don't say too long." An old man told Amealia, patting her on the shoulder. He is the 'voyaging expert' in the Divine Realm. He is the one person who people go to when voyaging between realms. He understands how dimensional barriers work, including the stable ones in a controlled location and the unstable one's at the edge of the realms.

"Thank you." Amealia said with a polite smile and a head bow. The old man walked away with a smile and nodding at Reginald. "So what's the plan Reggie?" Amealia asked as she took a deep breath and looked at the swirling purple of the large barrier. Nothing would be seen behind that point, not even the open room behind it.

Reginald rolled his eyes at the nickname, "Be careful. You're in and out but don't feel pressured to leave in a day." He looked at the barrier before looking at Amealia's thoughtful expression. "They will ridicule you for being from this realm, don't let them see that you still care."

Amealia nodded and looked back at the man who raised her from the age of six. He looked at her with a glimmer of pride in his eye. Amealia knew it meant he was proud to have her as a weapon, but she wanted it to mean he was proud of her.

Amealia took a step forward in the direction of the barrier took a deep breath. She turned to look at Reginald behind her, he nodded to her. Amealia turned back around and released her breath. She took a step through the barrier with her eye's closed.

Her mission had begun.