"Gala, stop feeding the pixie or else you'll have to starve yourself the entire trip." Alvaro reminded the girl when she saw her feeding it with her food packs with a dumb smile plastered on her face.
The girl scowled at him, "But, look at her, she's obviously starving. Their kind is probably famished due to the frost and you guys didn't even bother to check on them." Gala ranted, obviously attempting to guilt trip them. Her hands were busy digging through her knapsack for some fruits. "Besides, who can resist such cuteness?" the girl added, her eyes sparkling at the tiny pixie munching on Gala's share of the food packs.
Alvaro heaved out a heavy sigh at Gala's stubbornness. He paused for awhile, his spear still in his right hand, and then looked at Gala incredulously.
"Stop being ridiculous. We already told you that pixies are creatures with an insatiable appetite. Besides, they can live at least one hundred years without eating nor drinking any liquid." Alvaro, whose patience was already on the edge, explained it again to the girl who pretended she hadn't heard it thrice today.
When he attempted to take her knapsack, she took a few steps back. He extended his hand in front of Gala and motioned for her to hand it to him. "Gala, give me your knapsack," he demanded, his face solemn. Gala only shook her head, much to his great annoyance, and Alvaro even clenched his jaw when the pixie gave him a funny look. If he only knew that this pixie would be another headache for him, he shouldn't have allowed Gala to take it with them.
"Gala, I'm going to ask you one more time: hand over your knapsack," Alvaro threatened Gala.
"No," Gala replied, her chin raised defiantly. "What if today is the hundredth day that Ejonna hasn't eaten, and that's why she's starving?" Gala asked, attempting to defend the pixie's gluttony.
"Gala again, pixies are just gluttons. Now, give me your knapsack and don't make me say this again, Gala." Alvaro's firm eyes were on Gala, letting the girl know that he was not going to take a 'no' for an answer.
He saw the girl's shoulders drop in defeat as she slowly removed the bag from her back. "Fine," she muttered before handing her bag over to his extended hands. Alvaro snatched it right away before the girl could even think of running away with it.
"Good." Alvaro said, and tucked the knapsack onto his shoulders, ignoring the lethal looks Gala and the pixie were giving him.
"Such a rude man."
Alvaro heard tiny-feminine tat-tat-tat sounds from the pixie, certain that it was now conversing with Gala in Aeyalafreyn. He'd bet his life that they're now probably talking about him.
"He surely is, Ejonna. I've been subjected to his impertinence since I accidentally entered this land." Gala said dramatically, with a pretentious sad expression.
Alvaro could only raise his eyebrows at the exaggerated expression of Gala while talking to the pixie. The two seemed to be in their own world, while Elderifrey simply led the way, probably tired of their constant bickering.
Alvaro chose to completely ignore Gala and pixie and just focus on the icy path they're treading. They were currently walking above Lake Abras, the largest lake that can be found in Aeyalafrey. The lake was once teeming with life, but sadly, it has now turned into this vast canvas of thick ice.
Puffs of long, chilly air steamed out of their mouths as the temperature dropped. The pixie had now retreated to the pocket inside Gala's robe. Alvaro was crestfallen at the sight beneath their feet; it was the water animal-freys trapped inside the solid lake. He doesn't even want to know if they're still alive or dead beneath them.
"Do you all hear that?"
Gala's nervous voice broke the silence that had engulfed them just moments before, jolting Alvaro out of his reverie. Alvaro heightened his senses as he detected the girl's wariness in her voice. His eyes darted around, and his hands gripped his spear tightly. It didn't take long for Alvaro to hear it as well.
The sound was muffled yet jarringly painful. It sounded strange to Alvaro, and he was certain it didn't come from one of their local beasts. However, they should remain vigilant because it could be from unknown beasts, especially since the frost has already lasted a year and could have affected the way the beasts' sounds.
"My name." Gala breathlessly said, confusion all over her face.
Alvaro made a rough turn towards the girl, who was staring into space. "What exactly do you mean, Gala?"
The girl's head turned towards Elderifrey and him, with a baffled expression on her face, her brows furrowed deeply. "The sound, it's calling me!" She exclaimed.
"Are you sure of it, Gala?" Elderifrey asked Gala, worried at the implications of what she said.
Gala has never set foot outside of the kingdom until now, since she accidentally arrived here, and if what she was saying is true, then it doesn't sound like a good thing at all.
"Just stay beside me and promise me not to do anything." Alvaro said, and he stood closer to her.
Gala nodded, but curiosity was written all over her expression, wanting to know the source of the sound
Meanwhile, Elderifrey pondered who or what could be calling Gala. Is there any significance to it, to her gift? Is this another awakening to her abilities? Or is this an ominous threat to the girl? Elderifrey hoped it wasn't the latter.
Everything went too fast. Gala was now racing towards the forest beside the lake. "My mum! It was my mum that was calling me!" Gala cried.
--
Gala ran as fast as she could towards the source of the sound, tears welling up in her eyes when she heard her mum's voice that was calling her. The sound grew louder as she neared it, while the screaming Alvaro was on her tail.
"Gala! Stop, don't let it deceive you." Alvaro called to her.
"How are you sure that it was not my mum?" She answered harshly, thinking that the young warrior was probably stopping her because of the possibility that she was a whisperer.
Gala could no longer think rationally, her mind was preoccupied on the voice calling her right now. "Gala! Come!"
Gala yelled, her teeth chattering from the bitter cold, "Leave me alone, Alvaro! This is my chance to go home!" Meanwhile, Alvaro was silently chasing her, picking up speed in an attempt to stop her from going any further. Elderifrey followed suit, albeit a little more slowly than Alvaro.
Gala screamed as she felt electrical sparks on her finger, causing her, Alvaro, and Elderifrey to come to a halt. Gala turned around to see a nearly invisible white-blue thing. She carelessly scraped her fingers on it and was nearly knocked off, sparks flying from it.
"The barrier!" Alvaro exclaimed. "Gala, stay away from it."
Afraid that something might happen to her, Gala followed Alvaro's orders. She slowly retracted away from the barrier when she heard her mum's voice.
"Mum? Mum! Where are you?" Gala cried, searching everywhere for her mother.
'I'm here in front of you, Gala.'
Without wasting any time, Gala plunged herself into the barrier.
"NO!"
Alvaro's scream was the last thing she heard before she finally entered the barrier.
--
Gala frantically looked around when she opened her eyes after plunging herself into the barrier. To her horror, she was not being transported back to her home as she thought she would be, and most importantly, her mother was nowhere to be seen!
'Oh, dear heavens, did I make another mistake?' She thought frighteningly, regretting that she had not listened to Alvaro's orders.
Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes as she stood in the middle of what appeared to be another dimension. Everything was in blue and a sort of mystic force was causing ripples all over that asymmetrical space. In fact, Gala realized that she was just floating inside this mystical space.
"Gala?"
She heard a voice calling her name, but this time, it was no longer under the guise of her mother's. However, Gala did not appear to get afraid of the voice, as she did not sense anything ominous about it. As a matter of fact, the voice had a calming effect on her.
"Apologies for deceiving you, khäremluash. It was not our intention, we are desperate. We need to talk to you!"
Gala could not pinpoint the exact source of the voice, but upon hearing that familiar word that Sacheverell and Ejonna called her, she assumed that it was another being from Aelfrey. Gala also notes that the source was just one, as it constantly used 'we'.
"Who are you? What do you want from me?" Gala responded in Aeyalafreyn. Her hands were swinging simultaneously to keep herself afloat.
"It is us, Gala! The barrier."
Gala's eyes furrowed. "The barrier? You mean, I am talking to the barrier itself right now?" Gala answered, almost thinking that she was going insane.
"There's no time to explain Gala, our time is only short."
Gala sensed the urgency on their voice so she nodded softly, assuming that they can see her right now.
"Someone in Aelfrey is using forbidden magic to weaken Gala's barrier; the barrier is still holding, but we're afraid it will collapse soon; you must inform the king!"
Gala's eyes widened in disbelief at what she had heard. 'Someone's using forbidden magic? Who could that be?'
"And, Gala, be careful who you should trust. Someone is going to betray you."
--
"What did I tell you? Stay away from the barrier, and be thankful you weren't toasted after colliding with it, just like that!"
Gala was jolted out of her reverie when she heard Alvaro's reproach of her. She looked perplexed at Alvaro and Elferifrey, who were acting as if she hadn't been gone for how many minutes.
"How many minutes did I disappear?" she asked, her mind still floating.
The two fayes only looked at her as if she was out of her mind. "Disappear? You were just there, standing in front of the barrier, Gala." Elderifrey answered.
Puzzled, Gala tried to recall what had happened to her just awhile ago. She was certain that it wasn't just an illusion. It was too real to be just her imagination. However, she did not bother to explain to them; she felt like it wasn't that important at all.
There is a far more pressing matter that she should disclose to them. But, she remembered what the 'barrier' said to her about trusting anyone. Unfortunately, only Alvaro and Elderifrey were her constant companions. She contemplated for awhile, then finally decided to tell them.
"The barrier," she started.
Alvaro rose up and touched the now invisible barrier. "I already fixed it Gala."
She looked up at Alvaro and Elderifrey, who towered over her. She shook her head vigorously. "No, Alvaro, the barrier isn't fine; someone in Aelfrey is using forbidden magic to weaken and eventually destroy it."