AMETHYST: The rise of Tetra

Chapter 8

    Daylight turned to nightfall, and nightfall switched back to daylight, and as all of this happened, the pair remained chained to the barks of trees that held their fatigued figures up. They had done absolutely nothing to deserve the current treatment they were being given, and knew with certainty that once they broke out, they would be as ruthless as ruthless could get.They had come on Fairen territory to aid the cunning creatures into joining a fight for their own good, though were now suffering the consequences of being thoughtful. What had happened to the Fairen population to make them such evil beings? Were they just an experiment of the flame gone wrong? Or had history dictated the sufferings of the present? Whatever it was, Razaar and Eliana had been left clueless as they pulled and plied to get themselves out of the magical chains. 

    When Clea returned for the second time, Razaar had made the decision that this time he would get them out for sure, no matter the cost. It started off with the thunderous growl he had been desperate to release, and that in itself spoke a thousand words. 

    ‘How much longer do you intend on keeping us captive for no reason?’ he snarled, baring his teeth at the woman he despised so very much at that moment. Clea circled around the pair as a clear mock that had been intended to frustrate them to the core, and as she did so, she waited for the pair to react further to her actions. When they didn’t, she returned to her place in front of the two to deliver an answer that would certainly not suffice.

    ‘I plan on keeping you here for as long as I wish to. That could be days, months, years-’

    ‘Do you realise what’s going to happen to you when you let us go?’ spat Razaar, cutting her off. She only laughed, proving just how unseriously she was taking the matter. 

    ‘Who said I’m going to be letting you go alive?’ Her remark had been a lot more severe than she had realised, and it was once she would regret saying to begin with. She had yet to discover the secret of the chosen pair, though she was as close to it as anyone else, and that was not a good thing for the couple. 

    ‘You do realise if you hurt us, our combined pack and all of Gloarian, including the Amethyst Witches will come after you and destroy you, right? You see, princess, you cannot kill us, because the price will be big, and you won’t be able to pay it’ added Eliana, being the much calmer one. She had learned that much like any other evil leader, Clea thrived on other people’s pain, and she was not willing to give the woman the benefit of the doubt. 

    ‘Who said anyone is going to find out? I can just pin the murder on the Vermillion, surely they’ll all believe that’ Clea’s statement had only made Eliana laugh as she visualised the look on the cunning leader’s face when she would realise that she would not be successful killing either member of the pair unless it was done at the sane time,and something told the Hybrd leader that much like Balthazar, this evil woman would certainly enjoy the theatrics of killing one mate in front of the other. The lack of knowledge Clea had made the immortal woman laugh hysterically for more than she had expected, and the priceless look on the Fairen leader’s face had only been encouragement to keep laughing. ‘Something funny, Miss Genova?’ questioned the woman, confused at what exactly was going on. 

    The great Luna of Gloarian paid her mate, the Alpha, a glance knowing that they would most certainly not be dying, and with their looks they had already made fun of the clueless woman who took action too soon, without doing any research on her subjects.

    ‘Oh princess, bless you, you are a frail, innocent woman with not a clue on how severe the truth is. It’s really going to break my heart to see the look on your face when all cards are on the table’ mentioned Eliana, making no sense to the Fairen leader. 

    ‘You're trying to scare me into opening you up? Well, it’s not going to happen’ responded Clea, with not the slightest clue on what was going to happen. Eliana continued laughing, and what bigger joy is there for an Alpha who loves a mate, whose mate’s laughter is music to his ears. Soon the Alpha too, joined in, laughing hysterically alongside his mate, now annoying the Fairen leader, whose intentions had been the exact opposite. ‘Seems the two of you are already lunatics’ whispered Clea, halting Eliana for a brief moment. 

    ‘We are lunatics? You chained us up to the bark of a tree for no absolute reason. What’s worse, you don’t even know what’s coming your way. So who's the real lunatic here?’ The tone of the Hybrid leader had now turned slightly serious, and her questioning had had the exact effect it was supposed to on Clea, who turned around yet again to leave the pair to their lonesome. Though before she could, Razaar re-entered his Alpha mode, and unleashed his beast in a way no one thought would be possible. The next part of the play the flame had set out came into action, and before the Alpha himself could process what was happening, the fire within the reincarnation of the God of fire had erupted, and slowly it had burned away the chains that for so long had kept the Alpha restrained. 

    It had come as a shock to all members present on the scene, but mostly to the Alpha himself, who never before had had the capability to burn things off with such power. Clea’s eyes remained wide as she attempted to process what her eyes had just visualised. As fast as the thought had come to the mind of the Alpha, it had disappeared, as he focused on destroying his sole target: Clea Menso. Storming up to her, it barely took the angry man a second to punch the woman to unconsciousness. As much as he wished to terminate the vile woman’s life right then and there, his attention shifted towards his mate, who remained amazed at the capabilities of his mate. Advancing towards her, he broke the chains he had with the same ease it had come to him earlier, and as he embraced the woman he deeply cared for, she pushed him back after a mere second to explore the questions that had been raised in their minds. 

    ‘How did you do that?’ She asked, completely flabbergasted. 

    ‘I don’t know. How did you put up that water barrier?’ Countered Razaar, knowing that logical explanations were far from their reach for the answers they seeked, and it was only a matter of time before the flame itself would have to explain himself and the occurings it was creating. The woman remained silent at his question, and pondered their happenings until her head had begun aching as usual.

    ‘So, we have extra powers now? First immortality, now this. Just great, I wonder what will be next. The flame seems to love giving us abilities without answers or reasons’ she commented, walking up to the knocked out figure of the evil leader of Fairens. Razaar had ignored her previous words, knowing he had no way of taking the worries out of her head, and instead, he aided his mate in retrieving the body of the cunning woman, and tied her up to the very bark that had clasped them for so long. 

    ‘You need to get Vulen here’ instructed Eliana, securing the chains on the woman, and looking out for anyone who was roaming around nearby. When no one came to sight, she returned to face the confused Alpha who waited for a reason behind the instruction ‘Irina is training, and we need an Amethyst Witch to help us get this complicated woman on board, and hold her down. Go, get Vulen, I’ll keep her here and show her the prophecy in the meantime’ directed the Hybrid leader, not quite pleasing the Alpha with her plan of separation. 

    ‘What if someone sees you and they tie you up again?’ Asked a concerned Alpha, doing his very best to not impose his imperative tone, knowing full well his mate had not ever taken it well in the past. 

    ‘Razaar, when you come back with Vulen, you’ll be able to free me anyways, so what does it matter? Besides, it doesn’t look like anyone is around anyways. Just be quick’ she ordered, watching the reluctant man place a small kiss on the woman’s lips before departing to gather the help. 

    Within seconds of his departure, the cunning leader of Fairens had begun reawakening, and as she slipped back into consciousness, Eliana decided to give the woman the warm welcome she had given them. 

    ‘Ah, Clea, welcome back. Tell me, how do you feel?’ The words of the woman had led Clea to look down and observe the position she was in, followed by a moment of sheer panic where the Fairen flailed around much like the pair had not too long ago, in a futile attempt to achieve an escape. 

    ‘How dare you-’

    ‘Spare me the theatrics darling, I came here for a reason, and I’m done wasting my time. I told you that the Vermillion are after all of us and I meant it, you wanted proof, here it is’ interrupted the Hybrid leader, flashing her hand open to display the prophecy that had been viewed by a vast majority of the planet’s leaders now. The dramatic end of the prophecy had done with Clea what it had done with all others, and her wide eyes showed the regret they held in them. 

    ‘What are you?’ Posed the Fairen leader, much like the other leaders on the planet. 

    ‘Why does everyone keep asking me that? I’m a Hybrid. I don’t know why I’m alive, but all that matters is that the war is coming, as you can see, and you need to participate in it if you want to save yourself and your people’ it was at this point that Clea had noticed the absence of her mate, and it brought more questions than the prophecy had. 

    ‘Where is Alpha Solonov?’ Her question had only frustrated the Hybrid leader more, who now more than ever simply wished to get her task over and done with before moving on to the next species of the Amethyst. 

    ‘He’s just bringing a friend, one that might be able to teach you a proper lesson’ smirked Eliana, taking the role of evil and turning the tables. Clea remained silent, not knowing how to act in front of the immortal woman. ‘Now, what’s it going to be, yes or no on joining the war?’ Brought up the Hybrid leader, getting straight to business. The Fairen took a moment to think about her response, and that in itself was enough for the immortal woman to know that her task of convincing the Fairen would be harder than she thought. 

    ‘We despise everyone and everything on this planet, no matter how immortal you are, that doesn’t change the fact that I’m not willing to fight with you. I’d rather fight against you. Even if that makes me an enemy to an immortal woman’ her words had been spiteful and direct, and she showed no signs of faltering. 

    ‘You would rather fight against us, even if that meant the extinction of your kind? You really think if you say no, that you’re going to carry on existing in peace? You may think there are only two sides to this war, but in reality there is only one, either you join us and live or the Vermillion will kill you. Even if you joined the Vermillion, what makes you think they’ll let you survive in the end? Their entire intention is to destroy the hierarchy and everyone in it, so if anything you’ll only be doing them a favour and they’ll use you as a pawn, just as they did the Lycan Alpha. Think about this with your head not your ego’ explained Eliana, hoping her words would get to the woman.Clea remained silent for the remainder of the time, and the Hybrid leader didn’t bother pushing for further conversation until her mate and friend did not arrive to help seal the deal. 

    Razaar and Vulen arrived not too long later, and when they did, a smirk danced on the Hybrid leader’s face, knowing for once she was excited to be the cruel character. Clea sensed the presence of the Witch within seconds of his arrival, and gathered immediately that she would be going through quite the turmoil of revenge. 

    ‘You bring an Amethyst Witch to my lands? How dare you?’ she spat, attempting to call out for her frolick members. 

    ‘Don’t bother darling, they won’t be able to see or hear you. Why else did you think we brought a Witch to avenge you?’ retorted Eliana, walking right up to where the woman was. ‘Now here is how this is going to go: our dear friend Vulen here has agreed to help us with this, but in just a couple of minutes time, your entire frolick is going to be gathered around you to watch the humiliation of their leader who was completely incapable of protecting herself against two members of the Ivory, we are going to display my prophecy to them, and let them make the choice. Surely they hate us but I doubt that will beat the embarrassment of their leader not being able to protect herself, which only goes to show how much you'll be able to protect them over the Vermillion’ her words had stung Clea in every possible way, and the Fairen knew that her people would certainly not take pride in their tied up leader who refused to provide them with safety. Though she kept her mouth shut as she waited for the entire scenario to play out. 

    As Eliana had mentioned, within seconds the entire frolick of Fairens had been gathered around the tree where their leader was tied, thanks to a calling from Vulen, and now awaited answers and explanations as to what was going on. A few brave members tried to push their way into the bubble to save their leader of course, though found themselves failing as they bumped into the invisible barrier that shielded them from their enemies. It had been a similar scene to the one Balthazar had created at Eliana’s initial death scene, and as guilty as the pair had felt for recreating it -knowing how terrible that experience was- it had been the only course of action left for a kind that could not even begin to fathom what respect meant. More than revenge, the couple used this opportunity to complete the task they had come to perform, and proceed to finish their travels and training to advance to the final stage: the war itself. Knowing they had a purpose on this planet had been enough encouragement for the pair to keep pushing and finding a way out of their hardships. Despite not having all the answers, the pair had been fortunate enough to know the most basic thing they needed to: that the flame was on their side and this was their time to shine for the flame. 

    Stepping up towards the front, Eliana stopped right by the barrier, ignoring the glares that were directed her way. 

    ‘Many of you know that earlier yesterday my mate, Alpha Solonov, and I arrived yesterday on your lands, to deliver quite an important message, instead, we got chained up to a tree and silenced from revealing what we had to. I must say, the hospitality of the Fairens is truly one of a kind, but  I certainly will not be coming back into a land where everyone is a half-brained dimwit who refuses to function with any logic at all’ her words had already earned her snarls, glares and bangs on the barrier, that had been the only thing keeping her from getting assassinated by a bunch of ruthless Fairens. Nevertheless, she ignored the commotion and kept going. ‘Your leader thought that she could keep my mate and I hostage for as long as she wished and torture us as she pleases, the one thing she doesn’t realise about my mate and I is that we are a lot stronger tha her, and as you can see, we have friends in the right places. So please take a moment to feel pride upon a leader who could not even protect herself against two members of the Ivory’ spat Eliana harshly, bringing the chaos to a complete stop. Silence conquered the room, and immediately the pair, Vulen and Clea, knew that the Fairens were ashamed of their leader. As terrible as it was, it had been the best starting point for a couple that would now proceed to woo their audience ‘The reason the great Alpha of Gloarian and I are here is due to an upcoming war. It is a war against the Vermillion, who have planned to destroy the hierarchy by wiping us all out. We are here because we need the Fairens to take part in this war, or you will all die. Your leader denied the offer and decided she wanted to join the Vermillion. Ask yourselves, if this leader that cannot even protect herself, fails to make things work with the Vermillion, will she be able to save an entire population of Fairens? Your only choice of survival is to join us and all of Gloarian and Tetra in this war to defeat the strongest 6 of Zaleon. If you really believe that you have a better chance of existing by joining the Vermillion, then please, by all means, head to your deaths. If however, you wish to join this war, then let us know, make the decision that your leader could not.’ As her speech ended, the expression on people’s faces had not been enough to read what the outcome of the debate would be, though she waited patiently to see who would join the pair that were fighting for the greater good. Though the one thing that had slipped their mind had been the lack of proof that sooner or later would have to be brought to life once agai, and as a member of the crowd spoke up, it had only brought Eliana back to the task she had become an expert in doing: proving herself. 

    ‘How do we know this is true?’ The  person yelled from a distance, and so, with the help of Vulen, Eliana displayed the repetitive prophecy, and waited for mouths to begin opening and comments to be yelled from afar. 

    ‘You’re immortal!’

    ‘You’re a curse!’

    ‘How is this possible?’

    ‘This is a lie!’ 

    ‘Manipulative Ivory!’ 

    The comments had continued for a good minute after the prophecy had ended, and Eliana had been surprised to see the lack of fear in the Fairens. This had been, of course, a great thing, it only meant that the Fairens would make great soldiers, they only needed to be recruited correctly.

    ‘You can think what you want of this prophecy, but prophecies don’t lie and we all know that. So I will ask you once again, and before you answer, think wisely. Those of you who wish to join the Vermillion, please move to the right, and those of you willing to fight with us, move to the left’ with that, the Hybrid leader waited for the public to make up their minds and move in a certain direction.

    Chatter had conquered the area for the majority of the first moment as people debated what their outcome should be, though one by one, slowly by slowly, individuals began moving from one side to another, each glaring at the opposing side. 

    Clea had remained silent throughout the entire action, being as embarrassed as embarrassment went. Never before had she ever been publicly humiliated in that way before, though there was a first time for everything, and having that experience had definitely taught her that the Fairens were not superior to anyone, and they certainly were cruel for no reason. She watched her people cower away from her and make the decision she was supposed to make, themselves, though she was as shocked by the results as the great Alpha and Luna of Gloarian had been once the queues had been made. 

    Looking out at the crowd, Razaar walked closer towards his mate, giving her a final glance as they looked out at the spaced out public that had determined the fate of their own kind. The Fairens had spoken, and they would be the dictators of their entire existence.