Malik and Ludis walked casually around the village, stopping at this stall and that within the market, waiting to see if someone would approach them. It quickly became apparent that no one would dare just walk up to the King, and they decided-much to Malik's displeasure - to split ways. Malik went searching for Stella and Royce, while Ludis browsed stalls with herbs and stones used for the casting of magic. She really did need to stock up on a few things anyway. As she made her purchases, she walked to a nearby food stand that had a few tables outdoors. She purchased fresh squeezed lemonade and a buttery roll and chose a table to go over her purchases. She barely noticed the white - haired older man that sat at the table behind her-his back to her.
"The Hawks agents have gotten more beautiful, I see." Ludis froze, then forced herself to relax. She casually began to arrange the stones she purchased and replied.
"I have a message for the Hawk."
"I can receive the message." Ludis, as casually as she could, knocked a piece of parchment from her pocket as she busily pulled out her coin purse. making a show to try and discreetly count coins. The man received the parchment and was gone. Ludis gathered her belongings, and after finishing her lemonade and her roll, she made her way to the Inn. Seeing her friends seated at the table in the courtyard, poor shadow was not allowed inside - she sat and nodded to Malik. Ben, suspicious, looked at the two. Malik shrugged and gave the fainted nod in Kora's direction. Ben sighed and watched as Kora threw a small leather ball she had made for shadow.
"We contacted Ian; we are waiting for a response. I am sure that they will find us though, our next stop is the construction site for the port. The last report I received said that they had made decent headway." Kora looked over at them and nodded.
"It is a suitable time of year there to be building such a thing. The weather is warm, but the seasonal storms have passed. You all will want to find some bug repellant, though. Humidity makes for some fearsome people eaters." She grinned. As one with the earth, Fae where able to use the magic of the land to repel such creatures. Stella groaned.
"Oh no, I always get eaten alive!" Ludis and Kora laughed, and Ludis pulled out her small bag of purchases to show them. Turns out Kora knew a spell that could turn the smaller stones into repellants, and the girls quickly fashioned bracelets for the group.
"What are the jungles like Kora? I have never been this far south before." Stella sounded excited to see new land, and Ben had to agree, he had never seen the jungles of the south- west region of Deirdre before.
"They are beautiful. Exotic animals, snakes, and monkeys in every tree. The leaves of the plants grow as big as tables and the roots run deep." As Kora began to tell them stories of her visits to what was once Varsa, the friends could see how the loss of the port city had affected her so.
"I am happy you are going to rebuild it, Malik. It was something I was never able to accomplish." Kora stood, stretching. The sun was setting, and they needed to make it back to camp before it got too dark. Shadow looked like a mysterious monster at night, and frightened the villagers more than he did during the day.
"Wait, we have something for you!" Stella ran to the inn, and in a few moments, she returned with a small cake, and a few lit candles on top. Blood rose in Kora's cheeks as her friends began to sing to her.
"Blow out the candles!" Stella called, now holding the cake in front of her. Kora looked around at her new family and smiled,
"I already have everything I could wish for." She blew the candles out anyway, love filling her heart.
Later that night, Kora lay beneath the stars, Ben and Shadow wrapped around her. She felt full from a good dinner and even got an extra piece of the cake, before taking the rest to the mages in training. The night was calm, and the temperature was perfect. Kora looked over at the fire, and something caught the corner of her eye. Sitting up slowly, Drew sat across the fire from her. Frozen, she simply stared. It is an illusion, she thought, my nightmares are getting the better of me. Drew pushed his hood back and crouched next to the fire, holding his hands out. He looked up at Kora and smiled.
"I could not miss your birthday, Koraline. That would be rude." He continued to stare at her, and her stomach clenched.
"You are not real, Drew. You are a figment of my nightmares. GO AWAY." Drew laughed, and amazingly, Ben did not stir. Shadow began to growl low in his throat, though his eyes were still closed.
"That dog really is perceptive. He is absorbed more from you than you think." Drew mused and looked up to the sky.
"I miss being with you like this, Kora, we used to be so close." Drew was mocking her, and she hissed.
"Liar, you cannot miss anyone. Missing someone, that implies that you care for them, and we both know you care for no one." Kora's anger was mixing with her fear. She began to sweat.
"Oh, but Kora, I do care for you. You are everything I need. It was a hard decision to turn you to stone, but when I realized, your heart would never belong to me if you knew my true intents, you would never love me. Though it was inconvenient, finding out after that, I did not need you to love me to gain the power of the Fae. That was … infuriating, turning you to stone, and then learning if I had just … cut it out, I would have what I was after the whole time. So many times, I was so close …" Drew held his hand out and a vision of them, naked in bed, appeared in the fire. Kora raised her hand, and threw water at the fire, extinguishing it, igniting Drew's laughter, mocking. He stood, stepping over the fire. Coming closer to Kora. She was frozen, unable to move, and Shadow began to growl louder, kicking his feet. Ben was still unconscious.
"What did you do to Ben?" Kora was shouting now. Drew shook his head, and tsked at her.
"Why would I hurt him? He is the reason you are here! Do you have any idea how long it took, waiting for him to be born? I knew it, soon as I laid eyes on him, that he was the one for you. When you felt alone, it was because Ben was not born yet! He was the one Fae made for you. In dramatic womanly fashion, the first Fae to be turned to stone, Oberon's daughter-whispered a spell that only their true other half could wake a fae from the spell of stone. Ancient magic runs strong. The only way to your heart then, was to wait for him to find you. I owe everything to Ben. He is the reason I will succeed." Drew leaned over them, looking at Ben with fond eyes.
"He really is incredible. A true likeness to the Warrior Fae of old. You remember the story of Nathaniel - the first of the grand council? Looks just like him, but less… glowing" Drew was musing now, not even caring if Kora was listening. He turned his back to her, and she spat at him.
"So, what are you waiting for, Midwinter? Cut out my heart, be done with this." Kora refused to cry. She just wanted Ben and Shadow safe.
"Oh, it is not that simple, Koraline. You must let me cut out your heart. The Fae must give it up willingly, or it will never work. But do not worry. You will. Soon. I made a mistake once, and I have waited 1500 years for this. I can wait a few more. This time-no mistakes." Drew was walking away, and Kora shouted angrily.
"I will never submit to you! NEVER!" Drew's laugh was fading, just as he was absorbed into the shadows, his voice drifted around her.
"But you will, Koraline. And soon."