The Elven Queen

CHAPTER 16

EZTLI’S POV

When last did I gaze upon Sophia under the cover of the night illuminated by the stars above and the crystal lights that line the street from the ledge of the palace walls? The night air burns my nostrils, and sends chills even through thickened garbs, the signs of winter, one last glance at the city I jump off the ledge landing on my feet at the bank of the moat surrounding the castle, sneaking out of the castle was as easy now as it was back when Itotia and I would climb out my window to go into the city for one reason or the other, be it to attend a festival or just for the thrill of it.

My destination this time was not the night market but the stables where my Kondra slept, The Kondra were large winged creatures covered in feathers from the top of their heads to their large 29 feet wings, in the dark it was easy, not that I needed the veil of night for such a task but I chose it to avoid as much people as possible, to avoid their looks of betrayal, this was something I had to do

Jumping in through the stable window, I head straight to the back where she was, hay crunching under my feet caused the majestic beast to wake from her slumber, heckles raised, ready for combat, as expected

“shhhhhh” I coo, as I inch closer, pulling down my mask “.....It’s me Adromeda, it’s me” I reach my hand out to her, the bird c*ocks her head to side her golden eyes once wary flashed with recognition, as she brings her head up nudging my hand

“Hello old friend” I scratch the back of her head, “.....Would you like to go on an adventure?”

Adromeda was my oldest friend, a gift from my mother for my first birthday, brought to me while she was still an egg, thinking back to it now, an egg was probably not the best present for a one year old but I wouldn’t trade her for anything in the world, I hatched and raised this bird and she has my closest companion

“Come on” I unlock her cage and saddled her up pulling her outside, I grab an apple on our way out wiping it on my cloak before feeding it to her, outside the stable was quiet, no one had noticed my absence, that stung a bit, not that I wanted them to, maybe a part me was hoping someone would stop me, stuffing down the thought, I lead Adromeda to the clearing behind the stable used for training and mount her, harness fully fastened I pat the side of her neck

“Xik’nal” Fly

Spreading her wing while running forward at full speed, instantly raising a dust storm with a final kick from her strong legs we take flight, soaring over the castle walls, over Sophia and away from everything I have ever loved

After flying for Eight hours we stop at a forest in the outskirts of Murada, a Sylphorren town near the mountains, what makes the Kondra the perfect steed is their durability, where a regular beast of burden would have required regular breaks at two hour intervalsnthe Kondra could fly for an entire day without stopping, the reason for our little detour was simple, supplies, Murada was the last Sylphorren town sitting directly on the border between us and Vesterrauna, Lycan country, our destinations lies farther than that, far East and for that journey I needed supplies that would be increasingly harder to get once I am outside Sylphorren borders, the only thing I brought with me from the castle, was a bag full of Gold coins bearing the Sylphorren family crest which I will need to exchange each time I enter foreign countries so best do my shopping while it’s still relatively easy, I land at the outskirts and signal Adromeda to hide, I walk down into town making sure to keep my face hidden behind the thick hood of my Leather cloak

Entering into the first provision store I buy food, water, a change of clothes, feed and everything in surplus, I ask to be pointed to the nearest crystal Gemsmith where I buy a pocket crystal, a crystal that stores any and all luggage, the grade determines how much it carries, I have it fashioned into a ring, I could’ve taken one from the palace but all palace gems come equiped with a tracking feature, I then move in search of an inn to rest, while still in Sylphorren borders travelling during the day was very risky, so best to lay low and get some sleep in while I could

The inn didn’t ask any questions when I checked in, didn’t even ask to see my face which was dangerous but right now appreciated, I made a mental note to revise inn security when all this was over, walking into my room I shut all windows and locked the door before casting a veiling spell over the room making the people inside the room invisible to those outside

“Ba’ats’tik” cover

Before finally tearing off the mask on my face, I took a hot bath cause I had no idea when next I would get this chance again, I towel myself while groaning in frustration, the shower did not calm me like I thought it would, I throw the towel across the room and drop horizontally on the bed, it creaked under my weight, blinking back my doubts and intrusive thoughts I welcome the darkness

“can you see me?”

Where am I? I frantically look around, my eyes landing on an image of me sitting on the ground dressed in my Lumerian black and Gold gown while gazing up at the creature in the hall of Kings

This was a memory, my memory, but it felt more like a nightmare

“You can’t, can you?” Nothing, I remember the shock I felt that day, that froze me in place, unable to respond to the floating creature in front of me, had I opened my mouth that day, had I looked at it dead on, would I have gotten answers? Would I be where I was right now? I curse at my own weakness, sneering at the image of me who sat on the ground and just trembled as that creature floated around above her, “Pathetic”, I spat out

“That’s disappointing, I wish you did, it would be nice to finally have someone to talk to, I could’ve sworn you were looking at me though, maybe it was my imagination, you just look so much like the last one, what was her name again?.......” she dragged on, one finger tapping on her temple as she floated on her back, eyes squinting trying to recall whatever deep memory she had

“Ahh, I remember, it was Sophia,” Who was she talking about? Surely she can’t be referring to the person I’m thinking of right now “you are her spitting image, I miss her, I hated her less than the rest of you sickening creatures, do you know they are out there dancing around under the moon on a land soaked deep with blood,OUR BLOOD!!!! And they called US the savages” her voice growing louder and louder until she was practically screaming

“And you!” she turned to the tapestry of the first king and began tracing, everywhere her hand touched left a trail of red as she drew a pattern over his face “Of all of them you were the most sickening, soon the time is coming, you will taste but a fraction of our hatred, by the dusk of next blood, the moon will rise on blackened sky as you wallow in the tears shed in regret” at the end of her rant she was smiling ear to ear a look of pure madness on her face, she gazes on the tapestry, on the seal she had drawn an array of symbols enclosed in a circle, an image I couldn’t make sense of, an image burnt into my memory, pleased with her drawing she doesn’t spare me another glance and fades into mist leaving me, scared, confused and staring at the seal on the tapestry only able to make out one symbol, the one in the middle, the symbol for nightmares

“Eztli” I hear Itotia calling for me from within the dream, I know she was but a fragment of a dream but I didn’t care, I was happy to see her, I ran to her, I wanted to hug her, I wanted to hang my head on her shoulder, I wanted to tell her everything, from what happened in the forest in Raiens to what happened in the hall of kings, I wanted to tell her I was scared,

The moment I came within reach I threw my hands around her and she disappeared in a puff of smoke then I was back, back at the dingy little inn at the outskirts of Sylphorren, I look out the window to see the setting sun, time to move, I can’t believe I slept that long, I must’ve been more tired than I believed

I checked out after eating a meal in the inn, making sure to avoid the prying eyes of the people, staying out of sight was one thing but trying to look unsuspicious was a ground for suspicion in itself, I eat slowly to not garner attention then walk out of the inn,

“Wait!!!!” someone shouts from behind, I crouch down in a position ready to sprint at the first sign of danger, when a child came into view, a little girl, beautiful blue skin, white hair tied up in a ponytail, nose red and breathing out hard, winter really is on the way, I crouch down to her level

“Can I help you?”

“You dropped this” shyly she hands me a piece of paper, I open it and it’s the seal from my dream, my eyes bulge and I go on guard hands twitching to reach for my dagger but retract once I recognize the paper, I drew this, must’ve fallen out of my pocket at the inn

“Thank you”

“Are you going on an adventure?” oh the innocence

“Yes”

“Like with princesses and dragons?” at this point she’s physically bouncing with excitement

“Well, more like a Kondra and a Queen”

“Are you going to save the day?”

This question was a little harder for me to answer “I plan to”

“You can do it, I believe in you” and she hugs me, how can I not love these people? the way that I do, she pulls out from the hug and gives me a big toothy grin before running back to her friends, not knowing the courage she gave me

At the foot of the mountain, I bring two fingers to my lips and whistle, instantly Adromeda swoops down in front of me, teaching this beast to move without a sound is something I take great pride in

“We have a bit of a long journey ahead of us, our next stop, Faye haven”