"It has been a while," the other dark faerie said, and Micah gasped before he could stop himself.
For one thing, he recognized that voice instantly - soothing, yet also like the toll of a great brass bell ringing over a multitude. It was the voice that he had heard in his mind. But this dark faerie was shrouded in a ragged cloak, with lank hair that framed a gaunt, wrinkled face and weary purple eyes.
To add to the growing list of things Micah had never known until today was the realization that even faeries could grow, or at least, look old.
"Where's Koya?" Swiftblade asked, her swords at the ready. "What have you done with her?"
"Tsk, tsk, you never change, do you, Swiftie?" Koya's captor shook her head. "Then again, what do we expect...from the Lupe who sealed Eva away?"
"Bryanna, shush," the ancient-looking dark faerie whispered. Then she turned back to Swiftblade. "We only want to see Eva again. We have not harmed Koya; she is in our realm, alive and well. She just won't be able to escape by herself, is all."
Deshal looked at Swiftblade. For the first time since meeting the Lupe leader, Micah saw her look vulnerable. Unsure. Maybe even afraid.
"We'll ask one more time. Where is our sister?" Bryanna demanded. Violet flames burst from her fingertips - but Micah noticed that they did not burn as brightly as before. They flickered like a candle about to go out.
The Krawk glanced from the two dark faeries, to Swiftblade and Deshal and the rest of the Forest Clan, and back again. Without meaning to, he met the eyes of the old dark faerie.
"So, do you have the information you sought?" she asked gently. "Who will you believe?"
"What are you talking about?" Swiftblade demanded. But there was a note of uncertainty in her tone.
"Majesty, they haven't told us where Eva is," Bryanna pointed out. "Queen Yliel, just give the order, and I'll - "
The Lupe groaned. "She's not with us."
"What?" Bryanna thundered. "You liar!" With a screech, she hurled a ball of crackling fire at Swiftblade. She raised one sword - and it seemed to absorb the flames, which vanished without a trace. "What is..."
"I'm not lying! Eva tried to betray us by absorbing the magic from our realm..."
"And my husband tried to stop her!" Deshal interjected.
"They both disappeared," said Swiftblade sullenly. "We could no longer find or feel the power from our home since then."
"Is that true?" Yliel asked softly. "I see."
"Your Majesty, is that all you can say?" asked Bryanna. "Eva has been missing for years, and all the Forest Clan can say is that she has vanished! A likely story!"
Yliel inclined her head toward Micah. "What do you think? You've heard the Forest Clan's story. I have told you our side. Where do you think Eva is, now?"
The Krawk's head spun. Why was this ancient dark faerie asking him? He had never known about the Forest Clan, or the Shades, or the magic within this forest, until today. Surely she was more likely to have all the answers everyone wanted. Why did Eva try to take all the power for herself? Where did she - and Toka - go, after that incident?
Micah gritted his teeth in concentration and glared at his wavering reflection in Koya's sword. For a brief moment, his face changed, and became an older, stately, bearded Korbat. Something about the Korbat was familiar, the ferocity in his eyes, the fearlessness...
"Swiftblade, ma'am!" he cried. "Please, touch your sword with this one!"
"What?" The Lupe narrowed her eyes at him. "Why?"
"I saw...um, please, trust me! I think I know where Eva is, and this is how we'll find out!"
Swiftblade bared her fangs. But after a glance at Deshal and the rest of the Forest Clan members behind her, she sighed.
"Krawk, you know this is no time for jesting."
"Please!"
Micah begged so fervently that Swiftblade extended her own sword toward the one he held. The tips touched, and a flash of light bloomed so brightly that everyone in this little pocket of forest shut their eyes. The glow blazed amethyst, and then a blinding white, before ebbing away.
When everyone opened their eyes, Micah and Swiftblade were still clutching their swords, but now, there were two more within their number - an older Korbat and a third dark faerie with braided hair and a crown of black flowers.
Swiftblade dropped her blade in shock. Bryanna took a step back and blinked. But Yliel smiled, the wrinkles gone from her face and her eyes shining as she approached the dark faerie with the braids and embraced her tightly.
"Eva."
"Your Majesty," said Eva.
"Toka!" Deshal cried and, with tears in her eyes, threw her arms around the Korbat. "Toka, we thought you were...you were..."
"I...I guess not," Toka replied, rubbing the back of his head and chuckling. But he hugged Deshal back. "Wait, where's Koya?"
"How..." Swiftblade bent down to pick up her fallen sword. "How did this happen? Eva, why did you..."
Eva reached out and touched Swiftblade's broad shoulder. "Perhaps I should have explained to you why I did what I did, on that day. I could no longer stand seeing my family, the Shades, and my friends, the Forest Clan, fighting among each other. I resolved to take all the power from the land so I could distribute it to both clans, but..."
"We...we thought...you were..." Toka stammered.
"How can I betray you? But I'm sorry, if that was what you thought." Eva bowed in front of Yliel. "Though, I think now that Toka and I are freed, so is the power."
Aside from Yliel looking younger and Bryanna creating brightly burning flames in her hands again, Micah noticed that the glowing fog around them had begun to dissipate. When it did, he saw their surroundings clearly.
It was like the Forest Clan's home. Huts and houses built on and around trees, all the way to the ground, ladders and ropes, Neopians and faeries alike, many of them wearing the same dark cloaks Yliel did. And among them, flying at top speed toward her parents, was...
"Koya!" Toka shouted his daughter's name with pure joy as she crashed into his arms. "Koya, you've grown! Grown into the warrior I knew you'd become!"
"Father! Oh, Father, we thought you..." Koya glanced at Deshal, who was also embracing her, and then at Swiftblade, the rest of the Forest Clan, the Shades, and...Micah, holding her sword. "Wait. What's going on? I was kidnapped by the Shades, and..."
"I had hoped Bryanna would convince you to come quietly, but I suppose I can't fault her for taking more...drastic measures." Queen Yliel shrugged and beamed. "Well, Eva, you're right. When you tried to take all the power to divide it among everyone, it was stored separately in those two swords. Now, it is free, and..."
"And," said Swiftblade steadily, "we are sorry we ever doubted you, Queen Yliel. Eva had never meant to betray us in the first place. And the magic of the forest..."
"Is restored to both the Shades, and the Forest Clan. Just as it should be." Yliel nodded to Micah approvingly. "I promised you a reward if you could stop a war from breaking out between us, and on my honour as the Queen of Shades, I shall keep my promise. Whatever it is you want that is within my power to grant, I will give it to you."
Micah thought for a while, as Koya stood with her parents, and Eva and Bryanna conversed with each other in whispers.
"Your Majesty, I started this day with a walk through the forest when I ran into Koya," he began, tilting his head toward her. "I'd like to be able to continue my walk peacefully...and I'd also like to be able to visit this place, and the Forest Clan's realm, freely. There's so much I still don't know about the forests of Meridell that I want to learn."
"What do you think?" Yliel asked of Koya. "You are the warrior of the Forest Clan, and you have dedicated your life to keeping them safe. Shall we grant him freedom to come and go as he wishes?"
Koya thought for a moment before nodding. "I think he has earned it."
"Agreed. As do I."
Swiftblade cleared her throat. "With all due respect, Queen Yliel, but I am still the leader of the Forest Clan. But I agree with Koya's decision. Micah, young Krawk, from now on, you shall be a friend of the Forest Clan...just like Eva."
"I promise I'll visit as often as I can," said Eva, extending a hand for Swiftblade to shake. "And to continue teaching my magic. If Queen Yliel permits it."
"I permit it," said Yliel, spreading her arms. "Now, Bryanna can stop abducting poor Forest Clan members."
"I only did it for our clan!" Bryanna exclaimed.
"I am Koya the Korbat Huntress, not a damsel in distress!" Koya complained at the same time.
As laughter echoed throughout the woods, as friends and loved ones lost themselves in talk and caught up on lost time, Micah sighed contentedly. Truly, this was a walk he would never forget.
"Micah."
He turned around. Koya was standing behind him, extending a hand.
"Thank you. For finding me, and for rallying the Forest Clan as I asked you to."
"Then...does this mean you won't make me leave the next time you find me?" Micah took her hand and shook it heartily.
"No, but on only one condition. That you give me my sword back."
The End.
|