King Henry had fallen sick after he found out Flyra was missing. And when he saw the note she had left, he obtained a high fever. The staff were in panic. Especially Laura. She is her personal handmaiden, she has to know her whereabouts at all times. And now thanks to the note, they know where she is, or where she is heading to, but it does not make the king feel better. He didn't know that Flyra knew about his children. He never shared anything about the incident with any of his adopted children.
'The king is too sick to carry out his duties at the moment. He left me in charge of Combination's affairs. But I am passing it to my brother, Prince Nathan, because I will be forming a team to follow me and bring Princess Flyra back here' Jake said to the council members in the meeting room. Ever since King Henry was no longer bothered by the incident, he had formed an official council, The Royal Council of Combination, which consists of important members of the royal family. The king and queen (only one of these two will attend the meeting every time), the royal advisor, the head of the king's guards, the royal butler, the royal master, two exemplary SHAW masters, a prince or princess appointed by the king or queen, and one nobleman. Jake had been appointed by the king to be part of the meeting since a few weeks ago. Now he's sitting in his father's place addressing the members. All around the round table, some are familiar faces and some are new. Beside Jake was Bobby, followed by Master Jenny, Master Kitty, Master William, and Lillain. King Henry added Lillain to the council to honour Master Jackenzie and because of Lillain herself being a loyal family friend despite her grandmother being otherwise.
'Yes your highness' Bobby said. 'The men and I will be ready at your service if we're needed'
'Great Bobby, thank you. But I need you to come with me. Assign one man from the king's guards to replace you while you're away, I trust your decision'
Bobby nodded in obedience.
'Master Kitty and Master Lillain, you'll be following me as well. Since both of you were very close to Prince Edward. While our purpose is to find Flyra, at the same time, we'll find our lost prince and princess'
Lillain is now known as a master of SHAW Academy. She started teaching there a few years ago. Mainly because she wants to continue her father's hard work.
'Yes your highness' Kitty and Lillain said together.
'Prince Jake, may I obtain permission for Dewi to come along. She will be very helpful as well, especially in medical requirements if needed' Lillain said.
'Absolutely Master Lillain. Thank you for suggesting. The more people helping will be great. Now back with our home affairs, Master Jenny, you will resume your duty as the royal master to ensure Combination's safety, both citizens and artifacts, in magical matters. Bobby, your representative will be in charge of all soldiers in defense with combat and weapons matters. Master William, you will assist Master Jenny with any help she needs. Above all, council, ensure Combination's safety as much as possible'
Everyone acknowledged their respective duties and the meeting was dismissed. Afterwards, Jake told Nathan, the temporary replacement has been confirmed. And he got ready to head out, northwards, with Kitty, Bobby, Lillain, and Dewi.
Flyra and the three friends were coming towards the end of the Alhora Woods. The huge trees are slowly returning to normal size trees and a lighter wood colour. Surprisingly, they did not encounter any more wild creatures since the first one. The atmosphere was changing. The further they went, leaving Alhora behind, the more mysterious the atmosphere became. The air is filled with dark magic. The dark magic feels old like it has been there for many years.
'The Valley of Sorrows is ahead' Flyra said looking into the map. The others shuddered at the name.
'Don't worry guys, we just have to follow the narrow stream to the end of the mountain range and we're closer to our destination' Flyra said.
'How do you know? What if we have reached our destination without we realising it?' Oliver said.
'I don't feel it. My instincts are telling me it's still far away. Anyway, I don't think it would be that easy to find the enemy base'
They understood. And the valley came closer as they continued their steps towards it. It was still midday but the sky was dark. Darker than how rainy day usually looks like. The clouds seemed very heavy like it was about to burst anytime soon and spray a huge amount of water everywhere. Then in the distance was a quick flash of lightning. Followed by a brontide.
'It's going to rain' Captain said with a little fear in his voice. He has always been afraid of heavy rain, lightning and thunder.
'I don't think so. I don't have the feeling' Flyra said, breathing in the air that was a mixture of dried leaves and magic. For a place with a sky that seems to send heavy rain all the time and an active narrow stream, the place was quite dry. Dead leaves fell from their trees and covered the brown grass.
'I don't think it ever rains here. Not since it was known as The Valley of Sorrows. The sky is just like that all the time I think' Flyra said.
'I agree, look at the colour of the trees and the grass!' Oliver observed his surroundings in disgust. 'No wonder only beasts live here' he said.
'There's more here?' Captain and Bale said together, tensed.
'It sure is. But think positive guys, we have not met any creature aside from the bear earlier, whatever that thing was' Flyra said.
'I don't think that was a bear Flyangel. A bear would be fatter' Bale said.
'Yes, whatever that thing was' Flyra repeated her phrase in agreement.
There was another flash of lightning and thunder. Then they heard a different sound. A sound belonging to a creature of their worst nightmare. It was a rumble. Another rumble. Then came a longer rumble. Downhill from where they stood, the stream cut its way through the mountains, curved here and there and turned a corner and out of sight. The mountains were very high. Huge openings in some parts of the rocks meaning there are caves inside. And the sound must be coming from one of those caves. All the caves must be connected somehow because the rumbling sound came out of all the openings, echoing throughout the valley.
'Please don't say that creature is what I think it is' Oliver said fearfully. Nobody answered him because immediately after he said it, a jet of fire as big as a common house in Combination, shot out of one of the caves.
'A dragon' Captain said, dragging the last word to a soft whisper. Everyone was in shock, staring at the cave, expecting the dragon to come out but also hoping otherwise.
'Follow me, let's try to get past that cave without causing any attention' Flyra said, leading the way down the hill. They were by the side of the stream. The cave was not far ahead. A few metres of climbing and they'll be directly in front of it. No matter what, they will have to climb it if they don't want to get wet. The path ahead was a dead end with just the stream touching both ends of rocks. To follow the stream exactly where it is all the way, they'll have to get into the water in some areas. Which of course Oliver rejected that idea. He was seriously afraid of water. Specifically bodies of water that no one knows how deep it goes. So they climbed the small rocky hill up to the mouth of the cave. The rumbling sound was no more. But instead a low hum came out of the cave. Flyra understood. The dragon was sleeping. It probably has a sore throat and occasionally releases fire to ease the pain like it just did just now.
'Move around that boulder there' Flyra whispered, pointing to the boulder she was referring to. A huge rock by the side of the cave entrance. A small path goes around it to the other side. Down below, the stream follows the direction of the path. Earlier on, the stream doesn't look very deep. But up here, it looks like it leads down without knowing how much further is the end point. The water wasn't that welcoming anyway. It does not have that fresh water look. So it did not tempt anyone to enter. They had to walk carefully with their backs touching the boulder. Actually, only Flyra had to. The others are small enough to just walk normally. The path was a little wide for them and a little less than just nice for Flyra. The path ended sooner than they expected. Up a small step, was a wide clearing filled with small pebbles. The top of trees from the side of the stream below pokes out above the edge of the big ridge. A few caves went deep inside the mountain on their right. More steps to climb out to the next ridge. A smaller one, where the path continues. Upon seeing what was in the centre of the clearing, Flyra immediately bent down, pulled everyone gently back and hid behind the boulder. She peaked once in a while to check. There was a creature lying in the middle. Its body moved up and down in a constant rhythm, meaning it was breathing and alive. Flyra can't really make out what creature it is. Its back was facing her. A big animal like a bull, smooth brown back, short fur, a long tail with a bushy end. That was it. Flyra could not see the head.
'What is that?' Oliver said in curiosity and fear.
The creature moved its body a few centimetres, finding comfort. It tilted its head and Flyra could make it out a little. It has a pair of long sharp horns sticking out above its ears. The exact same ears of a bull. Not very hairy. Its features are exactly like a bull. Only its horns were exaggerated. And definitely its size as well. This is probably the same size as two bulls combined.
'It's a bull' Bale observed.
'That's bigger than a bull alright' Captain said. 'The bulls we saw in the Southern Meadows are no match for this one'
'Southern Meadows? You went out of the city before?' Flyra said. Southern Meadows is south of Combination. Way out of the city. From there, continue on towards the west a few kilometres is Silverside. Many farmers live there. And most of their harvests are sold in the city square.
'It was just an adventure. We followed this delivery carriage because they have all this food we can't resist' Captain said.
'You mean you can't resist' Oliver snapped. And if Flyra had not stopped them, they would have started a fight and for sure the bull and the dragon would wake.
'Get it together. All of you are older than me, you are supposed to guide me' Flyra said.
'Forty-two years of an animal's age in Southernere is like twenty-one years of a man's age' Captain said. 'We're just older than you by one year'
'Wait a minute. You're just eleven year old twenty years ago? You're only eleven when you're friends with Prince Edward?'
'Kind of' Bale replied.
'But physically you're…'
'Twenty-two' Oliver finished her sentence. 'That is why we played with Edward like he was our friend. We were kids'
'Wow' Flyra was genuinely surprised. She never acted that surprised when they told her stories of the past. She wasn't even sure why she was surprised by this. Probably the aura of the valley, changing a person's character a bit without them realising. There are stories of it, people who survived journeys through the valley, telling people how crazy the place is. But they're just stories. The avengers probably pass this valley all the time when they travel between their base and The Inlands. They're all still the same. No fear or horror on their face that proves they have encountered terror in the valley. But again, they always travel by air. Or maybe this place is tamed by the avengers. Obeying their orders. That should explain the dark magic in the atmosphere.
Flyra peaked again. The bull was gone. It has been so quiet. How could the bull have moved without making so much noise? Flyra hid again, heart beating fast. She was thinking of possible incoming attacks and ways to defend and survive.
'Everyone, hold my hand. I will try to make us all invisible' Flyra said.
'Something tells me you had never done this before' Oliver said.
'I just learnt from Master Kitty. Even he has difficulty with this magic at times. We have no other options. I have to try'
They all stood together holding her hands. She concentrated hard. Eyes staring straight into them. They looked at each other awkwardly. Flyra's stare was funny. Sparkles appeared on the surface of their skin, wrapping them all over before disappearing again.
'Was that it?' Captain said. 'Did it work?'
'If we let go of your hands the magic will stop right?' Bale asked.
'I think not. I pass the invisibility to you. For the next few moments that power is part of you. Then it will run out. Let go' Flyra said, removing her grip from their hands or paws. Immediately, they disappeared from her sight. It was the same for each of them.
'Hey all of you vanish!' Captain said excitedly.
'Shhhh' Oliver scolded. 'Yes each of us are invisible as what Flyangel said. The bull is still somewhere around. Noise will only attract it'
'If we can't see each other, how do we know how to follow Flyangel?' Captain said.
'I didn't think about that' Flyra said. She concentrated again. Harder this time, sensing where everyone was standing, channelling her magic into them as well. And everyone became visible again.
'Wait, now we are visible' Bale said.
'No, we are only visible to each other. I controlled it as such, everything else can't see us' Flyra replied.
'Cool' Captain said, holding back from exclaiming again.
'Follow me' Flyra said. She walked slowly and very carefully into the clearing where the bull used to rest earlier. All around her there were only rocks, mountains and scenery. No other signs of life except for the trees. She made her way up the rocky steps that leads to the path above. That was when the ground shook so badly. From one of the cave entrances, a huge dragon came stomping out. It was really a massive dragon. The beast they had heard its roar and saw its fire earlier. Only one weird thing is, the dragon is wingless. That means the dragon is a crawling fire-breathing flesh killer. They froze in their tracks and stared at it as it scanned its surroundings. Then it fixed its glowing red eyes on them.
'Um, isn't that creepy?' Captain murmured.
The dragon roared.
'Run!' Flyra exclaimed. She climbed the last few steps and ran along the pathway. The rest followed. The dragon stomped towards them. Clearly its vision can see through invisibility. Either that or Flyra's magic in invisibility was failing her. They were in the middle of the pathway leading to a slope going downwards this time. Cave openings around them seemed so widely open, like they were luring them to enter. The dragon's claws suddenly appeared towards one side of the path. It climbed up and soon it was standing tall, blocking their way.
'How did it get here so fast?!' Oliver hissed in panic. Flyra looked in between its two legs. She could see the path ahead, but there was no space for them to pass through. The dragon's legs and feet are so fat that in order to get past it, they have to climb over the claws and feet or anything as long as it's a climb or a jump. The dragon opened its mouth. Its teeth are pointy but not so sharp. Red light was coming out of its mouth.
'It's gonna blow!' Captain shouted. He turned to run back the way they came from. The others followed his actions except for Flyra who stared at its mouth curiously. Long blast of very hot fire shot out of the dragon's mouth at them. It was too late to run. But they were not hurt. They looked around and realised that they were wrapped in a translucent sphere the colour of blue with a whitish glow. The fire curved its way around the sphere and did not pass through. Flyra's dress was glowing. The green colour was so amazing. And her eyes were pure white.
'Flyangel?' Captain called in fear and confusion. Flyra wasn't responding. She was like, in a trance.
'Princess Flyangel?' Captain called again. The glow of the dress and the sphere were getting more intense. It seemed like they're about to explode with brightness and blind everything that watched.
'Flyra?!' Captain called once more in panic. He wasn't sure which to fear more, the dragon or the glow.
Flyra blinked upon hearing her name, though her eyes were still white in the trance. Then the most powerful magic the three animals have ever felt occurred. A blast of frost exerted from the sphere a few times, spreading like the ripples of water, freezing everything in its path. The ground shook, and even from inside the safety of the sphere, they all felt the pressure and the cold. Then it became extremely quiet. The sphere vanished. Flyra dropped on her knees. She was no longer glowing and her eyes were back to normal. But the surrounding changed. Well everything was still the same, in the same place but they were all frozen. Only the rock they were standing on was not covered in ice. A grey circle stood alone underneath them, protected by the sphere just now. The dragon was a frozen statue. It's jaws were wide open. Part of the fire it exerted earlier was also frozen. It came out of the dragon's mouth only halfway. Aside from that, ice could be seen everywhere, spreading far away in a huge radius. Maybe it even went further than the valley.
'How can a fire be frozen?' Oliver asked in disbelief. The other two were standing by Flyra's side, checking on her. She was still closing her eyes but she was breathing just fine.
'You pushed your power's limit?' Captain asked. Although they were all standing and Flyra was kneeling but their height was still a little shorter than Flyra's head. Only Oliver was a little bit taller because he's a cat.
Finally Flyra opened her eyes and breathed in the air which temperature has dropped probably about half a hundred degrees from twenty.
'I did not intend for that to happen' Flyra said. When she breathed out, they could see the water vapour. They were starting to feel the cold. A few more minutes and it'll be unbearable.
'Oliver, you're a Sprite right? You can radiate heat?' Flyra said.
'Sorry princess, but heat is only Helaze's specialty'
'But I've read somewhere that Sprite being nature's friend can do the same'
'Well, not for me' Oliver said simply.
'Then we'll have to find shelter quickly, while I figure out how to increase the temperature'
Flyra stood up and made her way to the nearest cave. Ice was still visible even after a few metres into the cave.
'How deep is this cave?' Captain broke the silence. His voice echoed.
'I just hope that the ice does not cover the entire cave or we'll be frozen by the end of it' Bale said.
Flyra was leading up front, at the same time, feeling deep inside herself, searching for an ability to radiate heat or removing the huge damage she had caused on the sacred land.
'What I've learnt the past years I'm alive and being a SHAW myself is, you have to let the magic flow like water. Don't think too much, or else you'll end up producing powers you didn't mean to like what had happened all those time' Oliver said. The memory of the beast they first encountered in Alhora was still fresh in his mind.
'Thank you Oliver' Flyra said.
The ground was no longer covered in ice. It was all rocks now. The cave was pitch dark except for the light glowing from Flyra's outfit, and radiating from her pale skin.
'Let me shine some light in here' Flyra said. She raised her hand, palm wide open. A ball of light came out of her palm, grew bigger as it floated near the cave's ceiling. Bright light illuminated the entire space they were in. The cave was a room. More like what used to be a room. A room for one person. A bed with worn out red sheet, a round dark wooden table, a mirror and a dark chest. What was more interesting was the wall. It was covered in drawings, every bit of it. One side there were lines in a few rows like dominoes, each with a straight line struck diagonally through it. Like someone counted the number of days he or she spent in this cave. Other than that it was all images. Detailed images of certain events. Flyra recognised one of them. The first war. Two armies facing each other, a single leader leading at the front of each. One wore red and the other wore light blue. Majuza and Sofya themselves. Their bad relationship went to its climax with the first war ever to occur in Southernere. That was the start of the separation in the family. When two forces were formed. The Inlanders and the Outlanders (which they prefer to be known as The Avengers).
'This is the first war' Flyra said, staring deeply into the image.
'The war that started the everlasting feud?' Captain said. There was silence for a while as Flyra continued staring at the image.
'Yes' she said. Flyra turned her gaze to the other paintings. There was one image that caught Flyra's attention immediately. A lady in light blue (it's obvious that she is Sofya) was pointing a sword at Majuza's back. It was either Majuza did not realise or she did not care. She was busy cuddling a baby in a green blanket in her arms. Flyra can't help but feel curious and shocked looking at it.
'I never understood why the avengers are so determined to fight for someone so evil even if she was their great mother. But this picture just contradicts my belief. Majuza is the prey in this. And she's holding a baby!' Flyra was close to tears. She doesn't even know why. She just felt betrayed. But she regained herself. She cannot let a picture simply change what she stood for her entire life. Flyra approached the wall and touched the painting. Feeling the story within. A moment later, she found herself in the same space but from a different time. The air was warm. The furniture was clean and tidy. There were no paintings on the wall. Her friends were nowhere to be seen. But instead, two women standing in the middle of the room. One in light blue dress and white headscarf was pointing a sword at the woman in front whose back was facing her. Her expression was full of hatred. The woman in front was wearing a black dress with red lace and a red headscarf. The woman in black was cuddling a baby in her arms, her expression full of worry. The baby was sleeping soundlessly. Flyra couldn't believe that it actually works. She was reliving the story in the painting. She was in the same room as The Sofya and Majuza.