After what seemed to be hours of falling and fighting on the slide of hairs, Deidera the Siren finally fell on the ground. Her fingers were bloody and her skin scarred beyond repair and the pain gnawed straight to the bone with a crippling effect that would have left even the strongest and proudest warriors crying like a babe…but it did not bother her. Throwing off her ragged shawl, she commanded her true form to take shape. She looked like a beautiful odd creature - her legs were covered in scales of silver that matched her long silver tresses while her hands showed beautiful white skin that ended with overly long slender fingers sparked with a light blue hue. Slowly but cautiously, she surveyed her surroundings, looking left and looking right before each step, ever ready to defend should she be attacked. There were bones everywhere. They were neatly piled in a pentagram that increased in number as it moved towards the outer circle. Unsure if it was a magic spell she was unaccustomed to or another trap, she decided to leave it alone to seek a way out.
Surely there is another trap door. "The air in the room is not stale like in the passageway I was in earlier." Deidera thought to herself. Looking around, she realized it was clean. Candle sticks were neatly arranged at every corner of the room and the tapestry was richly embroidered. This is no dungeon. "Hm. I better look for an escape before the keeper of this place comes back…but I, Deidera the Siren that is feared by all in the deepest ocean will be ready."
As she continued looking for a lever to reveal another door for her escape, she heard instead soft singing behind one of the walls. Thinking it could be the entrance to the Crown Princess' room, she turned every nook on the floor, kicked at the candlesticks, and moved the tapestry and chairs, turning the entire room upside down so that the previously neat room was now a wrecked messy space. Still, she was trapped! In frustration, she slummed onto the floor like a spoiled child, hugging herself. If she could just get back into the palace, she could get down to the labyrinth again to find Mirah. Deidera gave a loud sigh. Mirah would be alright. She has always been strong and resourceful. The maze might even teach her a few tricks to play on that brat Nirah! She smiled cruelly and hummed an eerie tune.
Before that evil thought could pass from the Siren's mind, the song grew louder and louder. Deidera pressed her ears against the cold hard rocks, straining to hear the words and perhaps recognize the voice.
Raging fires upon the ring
Engulfing the maiden who does doth sing
Be gone oh siren you art not fair
Endanger my children, don't you dare.
Lest I come to pluck up all your hairs
Till ugliness takes over, no one cares.
It was a soulful tune, accompanied by the strumming of the harp, a most beautiful song indeed, apart from its apparent threat. Deidera simply shrugged her shoulders at the song and gave another sigh.
"Oh well, if I'm going to be stuck here, I might as well clean this place up and hopefully find some food" Deidera muttered out aloud. Jumping to her feet, she had to steady herself when a small part of the floor under her moved. Suddenly, a stone slab after another sunk a good two feet into the ground, making a pattern. Curious, she leaped to the ceiling to have a better look but it was hidden by the mess she had made earlier. Then suddenly, the wall behind the pile of bones drew apart and the song grew even louder. She knew better than to venture into the unknown but what choice did she have? Was she to stay forever in this tomb? She had to take all risks. After all, it was not the first time she had daringly crossed the boundaries of logic. The Siren landed gracefully on the ground and walked into the opening of the cave.
There was strong magic in there. She wondered what it held. There was blood not 2 hours old on the sides of the jagged walls. Tasting it, she decided it was to her delight. It came from a source that was fed well, perhaps a king of some sort, one who worked out hard as the sweetness of sweat still lingered. This discovery excited her! Her eyes twinkled with glee and she entertained the thought of feeding on fresh human blood once more. Walking on further, she wondered what delight she might find. The trail of blood seemed to have stopped and behold, a mighty room filled with treasure was before her! There were gowns on her right that floated in the air, held by invisible hangers. They were each made from the finest silk, lined with thread of gold or silver and bedazzled with diamonds, rubies, pearls, emeralds, sapphires and many others which she had never seen before. Below them were slippers of every fashion and color that defeat all imagination. On her left hung tapestries, rugs and wool from every known and unknown animal. There were so many that they piled up 13 stories high! But the greatest treasure of them all was right in the middle. A Golden bird sited upon a throne. Its feathers seemed to be on fire, making its golden body shine even more brilliantly. As she reached to touch the bird, it spoke. "Stop!! Unless you wish to take my place and be held prisoner until the next living creature touches you."
Surprised, Deidera took a step back. "Oh please! You just want to keep the throne all to yourself".
"Oh no, Deidera, Siren Slave of the cave Jaitul. I am not as black hearted as you….pity. The last I saw you, you were quite a kind soul."
"Who are you that you know my name?"
" I am Balqish, the rightful queen of Dutantaradunia. For many countless years I had been wondering from land to land after my half-brother forced me out of my own kingdom."
"You are just making this up. Dutantaradunia is ruled by the ancient King of Elves, Karmarandi."
"Do you not remember me, slave?"
"How dare you? How dare you presume that I am a slave, bird?"
"Ah! You were but a child when I was first crowned Queen. I never forget a face. Perhaps you do not recall since it has been 20,000 years since then."
"…Even if you are telling the truth, serve you right. To be trapped in here, you have neither the wit nor the cunning enough to rule. Not to mention the immense power needed." Deidera smirked and could not conceal her amusement.
"That is where you are wrong. It takes much more than wit, cunning and immense power to rule. Sometimes, it is merely the little so called unimportant things that matter the most of all. Would you like to hear my tale of woe? We have all the time in the world, after all." Said the golden phoenix as it spread its wings to achieve a more comfortable position on the cushioned throne.
Deidera regarded her for a moment then replied, "why not, why not. I may learn some good tricks".
The room was then filled with a bright light, so bright that the Siren first thought it would blind her but yet it was gentle to her eyes. There was then an explosion of colors before her surroundings changed. There, she saw a young elf child with large almond eyes and thick wavy black hair meditating in a garden that seemed almost haunted. The branches of the trees were twisted in such a manner that it seemed as if they were in agony. Their leaves were not green but black as ebony, matching the hair of the child. There was no ground but water everywhere with the roots of the trees jutting out at odd areas. The water was cold as ice and yet there were ripples of water movement everywhere. Water snakes, alligators and swamp creatures of all sort moved in their habitat without a care.
Where is this place? What sorcery is this? Deidera thought to herself. So she called out to the child in a loud voice. "Where is this place?" But the child neither moved nor spoke as if she were a statue.
"No one here will hear you or respond to you, slave. You are in the bubble of my memory. You only see and hear what has happened and will not be able to alter them" answered the golden phoenix kindly.
"So I am to sit around and wait for this child to bore me to death?"
"I hope that by showing you my memory, you will learn to be good. It is more realistic to live it in some way than to simply be told the facts".
The Siren said nothing and stared hard at the child before her.
Before long, a loud scream was heard "ARRRRGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!" The entire forest resounded with the screams of terror. Birds took flight in all directions into the sky, the deer ran hither in all directions seeking shelter, rabbits hurried into their burrows and cuddled closely against each other, trembling in fear while the monkeys jumped from branch to branch nervously, chattering loudly in panic.
There was so much commotion in the forest that one might think a forest fire or some natural disaster had befallen the land to cause the racket. However, coolly and calmly, the predators plucked up their ears, deciding if a possible easy prey was near them, running right into their den - oh what a lucky lucky day it would be! Even the Elf Child was not immune to the sudden disturbance of the forest. Nimbly, she rose from her seat of roots and jumped from one root to another towards the screams. Curiosity filled her eyes.
Cautiously approaching the sleeping figure in the clearing, she crouched low to the ground, hiding behind the bushes alongside her fellow elf-folk. The forest seemed to be filled with gentle music as their musical whispers were carried by the wind.
"There is dark magic surrounding this one" stated an elf that had just reached maturity.
"He disturbs the peace of our forest! We should chase him out now!!" muttered his angry elf friend, Dengki.
"I sense that he is at death's gate…so much death surrounds this poor human" an older elf said compassionately.
"Then let's just kill him. It's a win-win situation!" answered Dengki.
"No. Any who touches him would be tainted with the same foul magic" stated the older elf whose name was Anuishka.
"Who said anything about touching him? Human lives are so fragile. We just need to whack the hell out of his head with a good steady branch!" retorted Dengki.
At that comment, Deidera burst out into hysterics of laughter, her eyes gleaming wickedly. "Hahahahahahaha!!! Now that is what I call a smart elf!"
"Hush now… you are missing out on valuable conversation," hushed the Golden Phoenix.
"….. as your royal princess and soon-to-be Queen by the next flower bloom, violence is something forbidden in my kingdom. We will instead join forces to break this evil spell and release this human's soul from the clutches of evil." The Elf Child said gently. She received approving glances from almost every corner of the forest that surrounded the clearing. However, a small group of young Elves slid back into the shadows and disappeared. The Elf Child paid them no heed and commanded her soon-to-be subjects.
"Come let us dance the dance of life! Let us bring light into the darkness and let our Lord's rainbow ever reign over the life of this human."
Elves of all sort leaped from every corner of the forest. The first group pranced out from the branches of trees with their long legged grace. Twirling and lifting their hands in praise towards the sky and touching the earth with a single pointed foot. Leaping and dancing around the tormented figure on the ground as they formed a pattern of a lotus flower. Their movements were beautiful and the rhythm of their movements soothing to the soul. Their near see-through gowns made from trains of silk and lace flew lightly behind them, adding magic to the dance.
Then came the shorter species that were only 4 feet high but pleasant to look at, thumping the ground with their feet with each leap, stirring up the dust and the fallen leaves. They sang an ancient song and as their movements were routed out, their voices were extremely sweet.
Come, O come our Great Lord of the Light,
With thy army a brilliant sight;
We come in prayer and dance in thy name,
With thy power all darkness thou tame;
Let heaven pour down all its mercy,
Upon this poor soul - we beg clemency;
Move forth army of light to rescue,
Whatever innocent residue;
We dance, we dance a fig for our Lord,
We give our magic - praise to his Sword.
Come, O come our Great Lord of the Light,
With thy army a brilliant sight…
Then the other groups of Elves in green, white, purple, red, blue, yellow and brown leapt
from hiding places and danced in harmony with each other. Each as beautiful as the next,
displaying their own dance of magic that signified their gift from nature.
The screams started to get softer and less often as the Elves weaved magic to free the tormented soul from the clutches of evil. From what seemed to be days of casting, finally one morning broke with a rainbow in sight.
"We have done it! Our Lord of Light has heard our prayers!" Squealed the Elf Child in childish delight.
"Ah! Thank the heavens! I'm starting to get too old for this…" muttered Anuishka smiling as she sat on a stool of mushrooms massaging her feet.
All the Elves rejoiced at the sight! For to them, the rainbow signifies the presence of their Lord. It was a time to rejoice and give thanks. Only the older elves stopped dancing and looked at the rainbow gratefully as they caught their breath. The younger elves continue with a more vigorous tempest of rhythm and song. The Child Elf was no exception. So great was her joy that she did what no other Elf noble had done. She danced around the stranger and around every group of elves, laughing as she twirled and joined them in their zest for life. Soon, rainbows formed a trail behind her feet as she pranced and twirled. It was a sight to behold - one which no elf alive had ever seen. This was a legend in their lore that only the most powerful of elves and one who held the favor of their Lord could perform such a feat. In their fear that not all of them might be worthy, the noble elves created a rule that no aristocrat was allowed to dance in the presence of the common folk and a rumor would be created that the ruler of each generation could perform this miracle at will.
Some fell to their knees and worshiped the Child Elf while some stared in disbelief and disgust that a noble had broken a most sacred law.
"Stop her Anuishka. She is bringing dishonor to the entire Elf kingdom by her act of disobedience." Some elves whispered urgently to the Elf Child's nurse maid.
But Anuishka the wise only said "There is no crime in basking the Lord's glory. She is after all a child and not yet a queen. Let her live her childhood just a little more before she rules."
Before another word could be spoken, the stranger started to wake up from his fitful slumber and was trying so hard to hold his weak body up with his arms that he never noticed the elves. Nonetheless, in fear they fled the clearing and hid behind trees and branches, ever watchful as they have been from the dawn of time. The Elf Child moved with pity dropped some fruit and nuts before the human so he could replenish his energy.
Consumed with hunger the human gobbled down everything without even stopping to breath. He almost seemed to swallow the fruits whole.
The younger elves stared in shock at the coarse and unrefined manner this human was eating. "We spent all our energy on this? An animal?"
"Hush little ones. We do not even speak of animals in such a manner. He has not been nourishing his body for the past 4 days and has probably been fighting for his life for a much longer time." Anuishka explained gently.
"You have always been wise, mother of my heart." The Elf Child said lovingly to her nursemaid, the closest she ever had to a mother.
"Oh kind spirits who brought me these fruits, if only I could have some water to wash them down with." Cried the human.
"Most certainly. What is your name?" the Elf Child emerged from the bushes with a wooden bowl filled with spring water.
"Arg!!! What are you? You….you… you are one of those things!! Keep away from me!"
"Fear not, human one. I mean you no harm."
Wisely, the Elf Child stopped moving and waiting for the human to calm down. She understood that one of her kind did not appear to the mortal world and they had become mere legends and bedtime stories for little children.
"You asked for water. I have brought some for you. Would you have it?"
"Why should I trust you? After you tricked me into your lair?" Frightened to the core, the human cowered and shivered with fear as he eyed the Elf Child.
"I'm afraid you have me mistaken for an evil being that had caused you agony for the past 4 days. I am Balqish and my kind have saved you from a terrible plight. Come. Drink and let us help you back home."
The human merely shook his head in fear and backed away from the Elf Child but suddenly he passed out and lay motionless on the ground.
"Maya! Why did you do that?" Balqish was shocked by the actions of her maid.
"Forgive me Puteri Makhota but I felt he might be more willing to accept the drink once he is unconscious." Answered Maya meekly. She was tiny an extremely tiny Elf child no bigger than a human thumb with golden hair bound into a single braid.
Balqish sighed and forgave her maid's innocent act. Gently and slowly, she channeled the cool stream water into the human's mouth using a reed. She commanded her maids to magically carry him to a guest villa in her palace. There, they had him bathed and clothed in soft silks of leaves as they tended to his wounded head, ensuring there had been no permanent damage. The Elf Princess Balqish on the other hand spent her time in deep meditation, perfecting her soul for the ultimate goal of being worthy of her father's kingdom - to continue bringing blossoms and the beauty of life and nature to the forest of Dutantaradunia.