Chapter 9 - Chapter 7

The two sisters and Tafuh headed towards the mountains in the far east. They were covered by dark clouds and mist. They were deep forests nearby and they were filled with fruits that the gods had planted. They left their griffins at the edge of the forest and continued on foot. They all marveled at the beauty of the forest and how much fruits it had. Sharay reached out for one of the fruits and as she was about to get one Tafuh held her hand away from the fruit tree. "Wait my queen, this place is sacred and you should be careful which tree you touch or fruit you eat. Some have dangerous traits and others are of good use.", she warned the young queen who rolled her eyes and walked away from the tree. They continued with their journey quietly heading towards the mountains. They didn't know from the other side Arub, Amandla and the valoyee warriors were also making way to the mountains. It was a race to get to the sword fist and no one seemed to know that the other was on the way to get the sword. The fate of the people of Agasah was hanging by a thread. Both parties drew closer to the sword and they both didn't feel each other's presence. They walked into the valleys between the mountains. The cool breeze of the air and the mist that covered the mountains filled the valley. It wasn't clear where they were going but they kept on heading forward. Tafuh led the way into the caves where they believed the sword was hidden by the gods. When they entered the caves the fires on the light stands lit into a clear path which they quietly followed. They went deep into the caves following the path, passing the springs of the caves and they saw the sword, bow and arrow placed at the end on an altar. Wanday knelt down and uttered a prayer in an ancient language and she gave her sister a signal to walk and get the sword. Sharay walked towards the sword slowly and as she was about to get hold of it her hand was tied by a whip from behind, "Oh no my queen that sword belongs to me!", Amandla said from behind her. Sharay turned to see the valoyee warriors holding a knife to her sister and Tafuh knocked to the ground. She got into a rage and pulled the whip and Amandla towards her. The black sorcerer stood there looking at the queens trying to see how powerful they both were. The two queens fought and wrestled to get to the sword but they each overpowered the other first. The dark magic within Amandla began to show and she held Sharay by her throat, pushed her to the wall and stabbed in the heart with a knife she held in her hands. Wanday screamed, releasing her magic powers that were hidden and freeing herself from the valoyee warriors whom were thrown to the walls by her powers. Arub seein this tried to stop the sister and the two begun fighting their magical battles. Amandla walked away from Sharay and went to get the sword. She was laughing and proud she was going to have the golden sword in her hands. "I will leave the bow and arrow my queen! By the way I am the queen of Agasah right? The daughter of Diablo and Harunah.", she mocked Sharay. Wanday fell to the ground and Arub walked towards her to finish her off when the most impossible thing happened. The queen was not dead nor was she wounded, Sharay was alive and she stood behind Amandla, "Oh yes my queen, but I am the daughter of Nadine and I came for the sword!", she mocked back. Everyone was amazed at this and in that moment Sharay grabbed the sword from the altar and there was a great light which threw everyone to the walls and disappeared with Sharay.

When they all woke up it was just the lights and the bow and arrow left. They all had a slight headache from the fall. Tafuh got herself up and went to the queen who aslo was trying to get up from the ground. Arub helped Amandlato get up and they all stood facing each other. Sharay and the sword were gone and they all didn't know what had just happened. Wanday was terrified about her sister's disappearance and she looked at Tafuh looking for answers. "Arub what the hell happened here? Where is that little witch?", Amandla demanded. Tafuh and Wanday both giggled at the sound of the name Arub. This irritated Amandla and she asked, "What are you two idiots laughing at?" The two looked at each other and Wanday replied, "I am guessing you named him Arub. That's a ridiculous name my queen." She mocked her and this annoyed her to a point that she wanted to just strangle her but she was stopped by Arub. The four of them couldn't attack each other and they feared something greater than them was among them. Wanday could see the black sorcerer's mind and she decided to speak to him silently. Only he could hear her voice in his head, "Afraid, are we Arub? You look terrified my friend.", teased Wanday. Arub looked at her with so much hate and fear he tried to hide away from everyone but he knew Wanday could see right through him, she was the great seer touched by the gods and queen of Agasah. "It is very funny how you talk of destroying the gods yet you tremble in fear at the mere thought of them, we both know that is why you fear my sister so much great seer!", she continued to tease him. He was furious at her and she kept on poking him. She circled around Arub while she smiled and continued teasing him, "You were the greatest and beloved seer in the heavens and you wanted to be like the gods so you picked up a gullible and ambitious man you could control. However Diablo had a weakness and that was Harunah so now you pick her and make her your pawn in this game but you have underestimated her. She is no push over and she wants the throne for herself." Arub became furious and he grabbed Wanday and shoved her to a wall, Tafuh and Amandla were surprised and as they both wanted to intervene Wanday broke away from Arub and cast a spell that froze Tafuh and Amandla. She walked towards Arub who cast a spell at her but she stopped it. "You underestimate me Arub but don't you dare ever do that again. Your problem is you think you always are an island even when you have allies.", she spat at him. He walked towards her and laughed out hard, he mocked the queen and said, "You think you are so great don't you little queen? Well you are not!" Wanday smiled and she replied him with pity in her voice, "I am not the one you fear. Sharay is the one your are afraid of, she is the great queen of Agasah that you will all bend down to. She cant be be killed by any sword and only the gods can kill her so you are afraid that your little queen is no match for my sister and you are not match for me." She laughed and removed the spell on the two people. Amandla was irritated and she screamed at Amandla. She wanted to leave this cave but she was too curious to leave it without knowing where Sharay had disappeared to so she walked to a corner and sat down. Arub turned to her and said, "My queen we should be leaving now. The sword is gone and there is nothing for us here." She shook her head and replied, "I am not leaving here without the sword or knowing what happened to that white head!", She was a proud person and she didn't accept defeat. This reminded Wanday of Nadine and she smiled, Amandla saw this and frowned. They all sat and waited for the unknown.

Sharay woke up next to a pond of blue water, it was deep and it had different types of creatures in it. It was surrounded by trees and the air was light. She saw a mermaid sitting in the pool looking at her. She hadn't seen the tail so she thought it was a human being. She smiled at the queen who forced a smile back at her asked her, "Where am I? Where is my sister and who are you?" the mermaid swam into the pool allowing the young queen to see the tail and she marveled at the sight of the tail. Sharay laughed and she said, "I can't believe this is real I have heard tales of mermaids but I never thought they were real. Where am I?" The mermaid smiled and replied, "You in between realms my queen. You touched the sword and it brought your deep desires to light. You are here because you have a very important task to do." Sharay looked confused and she went closer to the pool to the mermaid. "What important task, and where is my sister? I have to find her. Do you have a name?", she asked the mermaid. The mermaid swam towards the queen and replied, "You have to follow the path ahead of you and just believe. If you believe then you can be able to yield the sword." The mermaid swam away from the queen and went deep into the waters. Sharay sat there confused and she looked at the sword, took it and followed a path ahead of her. She went deep into the forest and there sat a woman on a rock facing the south, she wore white clothes and her hair was not tied. Sharay walked towards the woman with her sword drawn towards the woman. "You don't have to be afraid Sharay.", the woman said as she turned to face Sharay. Sharay dropped her sword when the woman turned and faced her, it was Nadine. She stood there in awe and tears just rolled out of her eyes as she stood there and faced her mother. She ran towards her mother who smiled at her and hugged her so tightly, "Oh mother I missed you a lot!", she cried. Nadine held her daughter tightly and she said, "I know child, I know you missed me." Sharay held her mother so tightly and Nadine left her like that for a while. Nadine held Sharay's hands and sat her besides her, she looked at her daughter and said, "Sharay I need you to let go of all that rage inside your heart my child." Sharay pulled away from her mother and walked away from Nadine, "You are not my mother are you? Is this some kind of a trick?", she asked Nadine. Nadine walked towards her, smiled and replied, " I am your mother but I need you to free our people. There is so much that is coming and if you are not free from this anger you can't win this war." Nadine took her daughter's hand, took the sword and held it to her, "Hold tis withboth your hands and clear your mind so you can see what will become of the world if you wont let this rage go." She looked at her daughter and gave her the assurance it was going to be alright. Sharay held the sword with her two hands and the future of what would become of the three realms was shown to her. Amandla and Arub stood on top of a pile of bodies andthere were children, women, Wanday and Muney. The cities were burning and the great river had dried up. Sharay dropped the sword and fell to the ground and she cried out with so much pain. "I can't do this mother. I can not become the warrior queen they want me to become.", she cried to her mother. Nadine knelt next to Sharay, held her chin up and said, "You can because you are the great queen of Agasah, my daughter the one who carries the great river in her and she is the warrior king that the gods ordained. You are my child and you are Harunah's child you have more strength than you can imagine." Sharay lifted her head and looked at her mother, she said, "You are not there. How can I do that without you mother!" Nadine held her the necklace she had made them which was around her neck. "I will always be with you and never forget that my child. I will always guide, protect and love you but you have to protect your people now.", she assured her and she disappeared. Sharay opened her eyes and her mother was gone she, she ran into the forest calling her mother and she fell to the ground and sobbed. She remembered her mother's words and went back to where she had left the sword and held it with her two hands. A bright light appeared and she ran into the light.

Sharay walked into the cave back where she left her sister and the others. Wanday ran and hugged her sister with so much love. She was happy and excited to see her sister. When she held her sister's face and looked into her eyes she saw what her sister had seen, "You saw mother didn't you? Was she happy?", she asked with so much joy and tears filling her eyes. Sharay hugged her sister again tightly and replied, "Oh yes I saw mother and she looked beautiful! She told me that we should remember she will always be with us!" The two sisters were excited and happy tobe together again and this irriated and annoyed Amandla. "Oh I am sorry to break this little party but I will be taking the sword", she told the sisters as she prepared to whip it away. Wanday stood infront of her sister and Tafuh stood next to her protecting the sword. Sharay looked at the waters and she pulled Tafuh and her sister into the waters. The three went deep down into the waters and the lights in the cave went out. "No no no! I hate that white head! I really am going to kill you Sharay, just you wait and see!", Amandla was frantic and she screamed. The cave began to shake, rocks fell and the rock was about to collapse. Amandla wanted to go after the queens but Arub got hold of her and dragged her out of the cave. She continued screaming, kicking and hitting him. The trio in the water could see the rocks falling down from far above and Wanday cast a protection spell around them. The mermaids came to the rescue of the sisters and their warrior. They swam with them to the edge of the pond where there wasa river outside the mountain. Sharay looked at he mermaids and the mountain that was collapsing. "Where will you go now?", she asked them. They smiled at her and replied, "Our task here is done, you will find the bow and arrow with your griffin. It has been a pleasure to serve you my queens." They swam away and there was a bright light inside the collapsing cave. Wanday hugged her sister and Tafuh, she was relieved and happy they had been okay. They walked away from the mountains heading back to the forest. They all smiled at each other and Wanday could see her sister's determination. From the love of a mother a queen had been born, from the love of a sister another queen had been born and from the pain of being rejected another queen had been born. Wanday knew a diffuclt road ahead of them. The three sisters born of different blood but bonded by two mother's love would have to battle. They had to defeat the darkness to free the people of Agasah but they also had to destroy a sister. Sharay held her sister's hand and Wanday held her sister's hand tighter a assurance she would never leave her side. On the other side of the forest Amandla killed all her warriors with anger, she had succumbed to the darkness palced in her by Arub. She wanted to kill the two sisters and rule Agasah. " I will be the queen! I will destroy the gods and I will destroy their perfect little mortals and take over all the three realms! First I have to eliminate Diablo and his stupid little empress!", she screamed at Arub. Arub saw the ambition and hate in Amandla and he knew Wanday was right in the cave, he had underestimated the young queen's ambition and now she had just showed him. He brushed it aside, he told himself he would be able to keep in her in line. "My queen, you can't kill Harunah just yet, it will only make the people of Agasah angry. They will revolt and find the queens. Right now we need to build an army to take over all the lands.", he advised the queen. She looked at him, touched his face and kissed him hard on his lips. "Excellent! That is an excellent plan Arub!", she said and walked away. This was the beginning of the war among the queens. Harunah was about to watch all her daughters battle for Agasah and there was nothing she could do. Tafuh walked behind the sisters, she stopped and she was in deep thought. The sister's saw this and they said, "Speak Tafuh, we can see something is troubling you." She walked towards the queens and said, "We need an army my queens. An army that is strong enough to defeat the valoyees and Amandla." The sisters looked at each other in agreement and Sharay replied, "Then we must start building an army!" They all smiled and continued walking in the forest heading towards their griffins.