When the entities had made their presence known, the apparition disappeared.
Left with no choice, Atropa turned towards the presence and laid her eyes on the beautiful woman who had four pairs of gossamer wings.
"Welcome to my humble abode, child of Kreuz." The fae greeted her with a curtsy. "I am Persia."
As reflex which was ingrained into her since childhood, Atropa curtsied back. "I am Atropa Hemlock."
"That is not your real name..." the fae commented.
Atropa just remained silent.
"Never mind... You may be wondering why I had Persetta brought you here." Persia had said while she opened her arms.
In response to the gesture, Persetta flew towards her and embraced the older fae.
Atropa was a bit surprised to note that the pixie had grown into human sized form. She was taken aback to see that Persetta was only a head shorter than her.
"Yes, I am wondering why you brought me here." Atropa said while vigilantly observing the two faes.
"Maybe I just want to play with you…. Or I may just a have favor to ask of you… Child of Kreuz" Persia cryptically said and giggled.
"Why do you keep calling me that?" Puzzled at the title, Atropa asked. She further reasoned out. "I knew that my father's name is not Kreuz."
"Literally, you are not his daughter… but you are a descendant from his lineage. I could feel traces of our blessings from you… even though it is just a little." The fae replied.
"I see…." The girl muttered while still thinking how the fae had manage to figure out her ancestor's bloodline.
"Please make yourself at home." Persia said which snapped Atropa out of her reverie.
She then motioned the girl to take her seat. Atropa watched as the vines entangled with themselves and formed a rather intricate rustic chair a few paces away from her.
The girl hesitated at first but with Persia's coaxing, she finally obliged.
"We usually do not meddle with the affairs of men. After all, you humans had different beliefs and views about us." The fae imparted while taking her seat on the throne while Persetta hovered near her on guard.
"Some of you call us demons, while other call us angel. But we can be considered something in between… depending on how you treat us. We could be good or we could also be evil." Persia said while smiling at the girl.
"But you are a fae of light. You belonged to a seelie court…" Atropa rebutted.
"Yes, I am a member of seelie court. But that doesn't mean that I am good just because I belonged to one." Persia countered.
"Why did you show yourself to me? I thought that you do not meddle with the affairs of humans." The girl asked.
"It had been ages since we have visitors who had succeeded in getting past the sanctuary barrier. Not to mention that when I laid my eyes on you, you trigger certain memories from the past that made me feel nostalgic."
"May I know why I am here?" Atropa changed the topic.
She had already spent a lot of time separated from the prince and she was a bit worried. "I doubt that you made Persetta bring me here just to talk."
"You are right." Persia made her way to the altar and reverently retrieved the dagger. "This here is Lumina, our ancestral matriarch."
Persia offered it to Atropa. "Lumina seemed to have taken a liking to you. After all, your ancestor had been a partner of hers during the dark ages. Use her well, princess."
"Why are you giving this to me?" Atropa hesitated.
"You defeated the undead earlier, right? You have passed my test. So this is a part of the reward." The fae smiled as she offered the dagger once again.
"But I didn't really do much."
"Just take it already!" Persetta cut in their conversation. She was still a bit cross towards Atropa.
"Persetta…" Persia gave her warning.
Turning towards the girl, she said. "Again, I did not think you heard earlier. But I did say that Lumina has taken a liking to you."
"It had been ages since she had shown any reaction." when the fae said that Atropa could feel the throb coming from the dagger. "She had been sitting here wasting away while waiting for her destined master to come and awaken her from slumber."
Atropa did not seemed convinced.
Persia had elaborated. "There is a great power sleeping inside you. I think Lumina is attracted to it since it reminds us of the pact that we made a few thousand years ago."
"My dear girl, gears are starting to shift and several others had made their move to fulfill the almost forgotten covenant. Child of Kreuz, you had been chosen to be Lumina's master. You will have no choice but to accept."
"But… I used to be a non-caster. I don't think I have that power… nor I would be able to take on such responsibility… whatever that is… " Atropa reasoned out.
"You say that. But I am not wrong. The power seemed to be sealed and it may take a lot of sacrifice to awaken it." Persia countered.
"Take it." The fae offered the dagger once again. "You will know in time the things that you will need to do."
Finally Atropa had accepted. As her hand touched the handled, the girl felt a surge of mana overwhelming her.
She found renewed strength. Her almost depleted mana had been recharged with the dagger's help.
"Oh dear…" the fae exclaimed. "It seemed that you have become a child of craft, which is a bit different from your ancestor. Your affinity had turned to darkness and Lumina's power seemed to oppose your affinity for a bit."
Atropa had winced for a bit as she tried adjust with Lumina's power. She could somehow tolerate it to an extent.
"Not to mention other rituals had already overlapped within you. You have contracted with a Guardian and a child of Flame." Persia commented while observing Atropa's discomfort.
"To balance it out, I have prepared a certain something… rather several something for you…. But you have to get it yourself." Persia imparted.
"But for now, here…" as she waved her hand, the dagger had changed her form and had attached herself to Atropa in a form of bracelet.
"Thank you very much!" Atropa said as she felt the pressure from the dagger eased. "How do I balance out her power?"
"Lumina will show you the way…" Persia smiled. "I have kept you long enough… your partner is waiting."
The fae then pushed the girl using her light. Then Atropa found herself falling…through the hole when the floor gave way...