The Fairy Lands
Zira
I blinked my eyes blearily. I woke up finally after hours of waking and then immediately falling asleep. I felt groggy and tired, my head pounded as if I had done an overnighter. I looked around, expecting to see the posters of anime that lined my walls but instead I saw black marble with white vines crawling up against it.
I rose from my bed in shock, not knowing where I was. I brushed my hair back from my face and that's when I noticed them. Etched in my skin on my wrists was a band of blackthorns that shone silver when I moved my wrists.
I clenched my hands in fists trying to summon my powers but nothing came. I was effectively blocked. I put my hands down looking around the room I was being held in looking for any way to escape. I saw none. I couldn't even see a door. I looked back at the bed, it had been softer than any other bed I'd ever been in. The bedsheets were satin the coverlet a white fur.
"Where the hell am I?" I murmured looking at the ceiling that seemed to go on forever. "You are in my Tower, little one." I turned suddenly my eyes wide as I heard a dark voice speak in the darkness. A man suddenly stood in front of me, as if he had always been there. "The dark tower that I created the day the Queen of Light built up her walls to hide from me." He said.
I remembered suddenly a story Raena had once told me when I was a child. A story of a man that loved a woman so much he sought to do the impossible. "You are King Bastien of the Dark court," I said my voice as low as a whisper. I watched as his cruel mouth turned into a smile, he stood in front of me as calmly as if he was one of my professors at school dressed all in the darkest silver.
"What do you want of me? Why am I here?" I asked terrified suddenly of this man. Everyone at school had learned of the terrible versions of Fae. Not every Fae was as kind as the forest folk and the most dangerous of all were royal dark Fae, who did and took whatever they want no matter the consequences. And I now stood looking at the King of the dark court.
"I'm in the lands of Fairy? Aren't I?" I asked shaking slightly. "No one can help you now." King Bastien said walking towards me, I backed away terrified until my legs hit the bed frame. He grabbed one of my wrists and squeezed painfully.
"Your death will bring about the destruction of the Queen of Light and her alabaster walls." He said cruelly. "My death?" I asked my eyes wide. "Unfortunately for you, you have been born with a power I most desperately need. Oh, light-bringer." He said. "You were born with a light inside of you. When I sacrifice you, I will have the power of light in my command to finally bring down the walls the Queen constructed so long ago. Your death, your sacrifice will be the reward the Queen will get for her betrayal." The King said twisting my arm making me go down, falling on the bed in agony. He let go of me, and I grabbed my arm tears filling my eyes as the pain went down my arm. "You have three days left to live. I suggest you make peace with whatever demons you may have." He said with a smile.
I watched as the King backed away from me, he looked at me darkly as two wings that looked like they were made of shadow burst out of his back. He leaned forward once before he lifted going higher and higher until he disappeared from sight through the ceiling. I narrowed my eyes and realized that the ceiling was not a ceiling but the night sky. There was a way out of this place after all. I leaned back in bed warily holding my arm against my chest. I didn't know how I was going to escape, but there was absolutely no way I was going out like a victim. It's not how I was made...
Discord
Athens, Greece
I kicked out at one of the pebbles that lined the cliff face of the Acropolis. Prince was behind me sulking while leaning on my motorcycle. Iris, Raena, Ifrinn, Damien, Artemis, and Theo were all arguing about who was going on this trip to the Land of Fairy. I scowled watching them all with my hands on my hips. I didn't want to go to the Land of Fairy.
I had lived a really long time. I knew how much trouble Dark Fairies were. I knew that we needed more people than a bunch of Faeries, a siren, and a couple of witches. "Your thoughts are so very loud, right now," Prince said. I scowled at him before I walked towards the group. "Artie and Theo are coming with us. I don't care, we need them if we are going up against a dark King of Fairy.
"Davenna might not have that amount of power to summon a portal of that magnitude," Damien said his eyes narrowing at me. "The Dragons have a magic of their own. It'll be fine." Raena said. "I have the utmost faith in them." She said pointedly looking at Damien who scowled. "What Dragons?" I asked. "Those Dragons," Prince said from behind me. I joined him where he stood and looked at the horizon that was now setting, shades of violet, blue, pink, and orange filling the sky. In the middle of the Horizon, two Dragons glinted in the sky.
One dragon was silver and carried a single passenger, the other a darkly gold one flew beside it, letting a single roar out into the night sky, before it landed, its claws digging into the ground. The passenger jumped off the Dragon a foot from the ground, and both Dragons did a little shake and became two twin eighteen-year-old boys. "Well, that's not something you see every day," Prince said his arms crossed.
"The Dragons of legend," I said shaking my head. "Is this everyone?" The girl who had been flying on top of the Dragon asked if it was something she did every day. "Davenna where did you go?" Damien asked. The girl Davenna stared at the Vampire boy in horror. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" I watched as she furiously walked up to the boy and grabbed him pulling him away from all of us.
I rolled my eyes before I turned back to the Dragons who were approaching me. "You must be Discord." One of the Dragons said the other Dragon went over to Raena putting an arm over her shoulder. Iris approached us, looking at the Dragon who had spoken warily. "Don't Julio," she said.
"Don't what?" I said smiling at Iris. "I am indeed Discord, Goddess of Chaos. Who you've no doubt heard only bad things from if you are indeed Iris's soulmate." I said looking at the blue-eyed dragon before I glanced at Prince. "These Dragons were cursed into being. By a witch." I said smiling at Prince's confused face.
"Please don't you start," Iris said scowling. I smiled. Iris knew me too well. "I guess we are all going to have plenty of time to get to know one another," I said smiling at Julio who frowned at me. "If the witch can indeed get us to where we need to be," Prince said, ignoring the glares that were now all directed in his direction. "The Witch has a name," Davenna said coming up to us, I looked around and saw that Theo and Artemis were now standing by Ifrinn and Raena.
"Dragons. Can you believe it?" Prince said his voice full of awe. I smiled slightly at hearing it. It was so rare to surprise Prince, after all. "Dragons have their own magic," I said glancing at each Dragon. "I suppose there was a specific reason you asked us to come all the way to a cliff-face to meet," I said shrewdly looking at the Witch Davenna.
"There was," Julio answered as Davenna looked around at everyone that was gathered, narrowing her eyes at Damien when she saw him. "What in Hades are you doing here?" she asked glancing at the Dragons with a slightly panicked look.
"I was following you," Damien said. He glanced uncertainly between Theo and Artie, before he added, "I knew you would go after Zira. She's basically your sister." Damien said. Leaving out the fact that Katherine was basically my sister and I had never bothered to go after her.
I scowled. "The Dragons can fly everyone through if I make the portal big enough," Davenna said. "Can you make the portal big enough?" Damien asked looking at Davenna who smiled mischievously. "I have my ways." She said before she started to make long arcs with her hands.
I watched as her eyes closed, her lips moving rapidly with enchantments as a circular shape started to form in her hands before she turned sharply moving the ball of light off the cliff-face. It didn't fall but instead, it suspended in mid-air and grew wider.
In the middle of the circle, we could see rolling hills and the most beautiful sky I had ever seen. As clear and crystal as the clearest blue sea. Behind me, I felt movement like a cold crisp breeze. I turned surprised to see that the Dragons had turned back. I watched the two dragons move their wings in awe. I don't think I'd ever been so close to a dragon before.
Artie and Theo were not as awed as Prince and I was, as they just climbed on top of the gold Dragon without asking. I watched the two Faeries climb up after them and I followed Damien's lead in climbing the Silver Dragon. I glanced down and looked at Prince hesitantly look at the Dragon and then the portal before he sighed and scaled the Dragon after me.
I crossed my arms, not wanting to hold on to Damien who looked slightly distrustful of the whole endeavor. Prince on the other hand leaned forward putting his hands on my shoulders. "Dragons." He muttered in my ear making me giggle. And then we were suddenly in midair and soaring through the portal. "The Dragons are fast," Davenna said. She had that right. Not only were the dragons fast but they were also extremely gentle with how they flew. So gentle you could barely realize you were in the air. But we were.
I glanced down and watched as the rolling hills made way to what looked like a forest made of thorns. Beyond the forest a castle made out of black marble loomed, and not too far away from that castle beyond a high alabaster wall was a granite castle surrounded by rose-colored walls that shone in the sun.
"Hey. Land over there." Ifrinn yelled over. My eyes widened as we suddenly swooped down and quite suddenly we were on the ground. We all looked around. We were in some sort of clearing in the distance we could hear siren-like music and the sound of many feet moving in twirls and stomps.
"What is that?" Prince asked as he got off the Dragon. "That is the sound of fun," Artie said as she walked by, making Prince scowl. "That is the court of the Dark King. They often dance and sing in the shadows of the Thorn forest. We can find out more information about where Zira might be there." Ifrinn said. "So we are just going to walk into a den of dark fairies?" I asked pointedly raising my eyebrows. Ifrinn smiled a smile that was all teeth. "Well, I didn't say that." He said. I glanced at Prince who looked at me darkly. "Why am I thinking that I'm not going to like whatever is going on in his mind?" Prince whispered. "Because you definitely will not," Artie said as she came closer to us.
What Ifrinn had meant was that we were going to disguise ourselves with clothes we found on the ground at the edge of the Thorn Forest. Do we even want to know how these clothes ended up on the ground? Possibly not. I could already feel the disapproval of this plan from Prince who I was sure was glaring at me from where he stood with his back turned. I smiled slightly. I enjoyed any plan that put Prince on edge.
I walked up to Prince who had already changed. "What can you see?" I asked. "I can see that this asinine plan will most likely get us killed." He said an edge in his voice. "Well, what are we waiting for?" Artie asked as she came upon Prince's other side. Her brother following close behind. "I was waiting for all of you to finish," Prince said before he stalked off. We followed him at a close distance.
We could hear the raucous sounds of laughter and dancing in the distance and as we walked through the trees we came across a clearing that was lined with the most colorful tents on each side of the lane. I glanced at Artie and Theo who both nodded at me and joined the milling crowd of Fae-folk that danced and frolicked.
"Divide and conquer is it?" Prince said starting to walk, slowing his pace down so I could walk beside him. "It would appear so," I said, smiling slightly at the aggravated look Prince passed to me. "It's easier to find out things by joining the mass crowd. But even though I do quite like making Chaos, I would rather stay with you." I said. Prince stiffened. "Still acting as my bodyguard?" He asked.
"There is no act. And I don't protect you because it is my duty. Even though, if we are both being honest here, we do know that Discord has always been at the side of the God of War from the very beginning. But you have also become my friend. And I will most likely deny this if asked, but you are my family as well." I said avoiding looking at Prince. I hated being sentimental. Prince made a sound that sounded suspiciously like a choked sob. "I think Rachel would've liked you." He said. I glanced away from him at his words. Rachel was his sister who he loved very much. I knew that in his own way that was the nicest thing he would ever say to me.
I glanced around the clearing and finally found something promising. I touched Prince's arm directing him to where two nymphs lay lazily against two bare-chested Fae who sat drinking from violet bottles. They were making quite a lot of noise their words sounded musical but as we got closer we could make out what they were actually singing a tale of love and heartbreak; of broken promises and walls built so high that none would pass.
"But now they will fall. The rose-colored gates would break open forever, the Queen of Light doomed to fall on her lover's blade." One of the men sang his voice melancholy.
"But how? When the moon rises to meet the Sun, the daughter of the Dawn shall be sacrificed and will light the sky with her fiery soul. And never again will light be welcomed in the lands of Fairy. It is time for darkness to reign." The other man sang. Prince and I glanced at each other. "The Daughter of the Dawn?" Prince asked.
"The Daughter of the Dawn hidden in the highest tower." The other man sang, almost in response to Prince's question. "Never will she see another daybreak beyond tomorrow." The other man sang gleefully. I looked at Prince with shock. We had less than a day to save her. I grabbed Prince. We needed to make a plan right now.