~misleading chap. serialization begins soon.

ERYEVIR.

There were muffled voices in the darkness crawling in; inaudible at first. Then, they turned to whispers.

I heard the door open before loud footsteps against the ceramic floor followed. Someone stopped beside me. "Open your eyes. I know you're awake," an order came and I obeyed.

Large, sparkling hazel eyes stared at me. She looked twenty, her love-shaped lips stretching to a grin, revealing her perfectly aligned dentition. I thought I'd seen a fairy.

"I'm Zenir Abia, but I am mostly called Fairy," she said soothingly.

I nodded as I looked across her to find Cleopatra standing at my feet, supporting her body on one of the four bedposts.

Zenir glanced at the latter. "This one kills batteries. How did you survive? I never thought I'd meet someone more frustrating than the King." She made for the door after tugging at Cleopatra's sleeve.

As the two stood in the hallway, Zenir whispered, "She's not mine. I'd feel the connection if she were. What sort of person is she?" 

Long, tedious silence ensued.

Zenir sighed. "I understand that you prefer to keep your words to yourself but, in this situation, that won't be necessary."

Another silence.

Zenir rubbed her nose as she threw a glance at me, one of her hands involuntarily swinging to her waist. She thrust her face to the trainer, her next words flying out of her mouth. "The bond between a Viesix and a Firne develops depending on the kind of person they are. I will need some information about her so…"

"Impulsive," Cleopatra cut in.

Zenir didn't change her stance. "Is she violent on a regular day?"

"When provoked, yes."

"Then that explains the swell in character. Any parents?"

"Gone."

"I know. What happened to them?"

More silence.

"Uh! Forget it!"

Zenir stomped back to the room, leaving Cleopatra staring into space.

As much as I wanted to ask about what the hell was going on, I was more focused on the contrast between the two.

They were like antitheses in the flesh. While one leaned towards the mystic and reserved side, the other seemed bright—like a fairy.

I shifted slightly on the bed, as my body ached. Thankfully, the pillow supporting my head was soft enough to ease the pain at the back of my head.

I had no thoughts before. But now they came flooding in; Terin attacking me, Cleopatra's forceful training at the Aultik, and Mae's sudden assault.

My stare switched to a glare as it aimed at the Trainer. "I saw the poster about a heart donation, but I didn't know it was for you," I snapped. "So, what now, I'm not grounded anymore?"

I didn't know if I still resented her or not. Often, she locked me in my room, a cell, the training box, or anything that could be used to deny freedom, and I hated her momentarily for it.

"Anyways, I'm not angry anymore." I couldn't tell if that was a lie. "Jeez! I don't know! Where the hell am I anyway?"

This vinyl wall paneling wasn't something you'd come by in the Aultik. The presence of daylight was out of the equation too.

Curtains that looked like they cost my whole life were pulled apart, dust particles swirling in rays the windows let in.

"This is the royal Palace," Zenir said as she sat beside me. "I'm a Firne. You were brought here for me to…"

"Leave her," Cleopatra hissed while moving to the full-length mirror beside the door.

Zenir huffed, her disbelief was evident. She left the room, but not without throwing an unfriendly look at the Trainer who could not be bothered by it.

"Come here," the latter ordered me. I caught her looking at me through the mirror.

When I defeated my sore body to stand in front of her, I watched her hands appear from behind my back to hold my shoulders.

I did not realize it until now, but she was taller than me. The last time I measured my height a few months ago, I was about five foot four. Cleopatra stood some inches above me.

"What do you see?" she asked, rubbing my shoulders.

Aside from the bruises on my hands and my tired-looking face, there was Cleopatra and her dark sunshades, her tan skin in accord with mine.

I shrugged. "Just a girl who needs her rest?"

"Look closer," Cleopatra urged, causing me to puff my cheeks.

I couldn't tell what was so special about what I saw. Or was it the environment?

I looked across at the four-post bed to the intricate wallpaper patterns behind it. And there was the black and white framed painting with 'The Lady Art' inscribed with bold strokes at its edge.

Regardless that Cleopatra wouldn't care less about the painting, I still found it to be the only thing out of place, seeing that it was in the Palace of a King who strongly professed against the belief in fictitious beings like Lady Art, the Ice King and the seven brothers of woe.

"Is it ole Lady Art over there?"

Cleopatra looked at the painting through the mirror. "No." Then she tapped my shoulders. "Your eyes, Eryevir."

"What…'' I squinted my eyes, noting how it looked like there was a gray layer over them. The brown color of it was fading! How on earth did I not see that when it was right in front of me?

"What the…" I shut my eyes and rubbed them, but nothing changed. "What did you do to me, Cleopatra?" I asked as I shrugged her hands off me, facing her.

She didn't reply. Instead, she looked to the windows.

"Now you won't say anything?" I rasped, trying to go to her but my body wouldn't let me. I inclined on a bedpost.

"I need you to understand this, Eryevir. You are changing, and that is why you are here."

"Well, then make it plausible." I chuckled nervously, gulping hard as a wave of pain struck the back of my head. My vision blurred for some time, but I let my grip tighten on the bedpost.

Cleopatra turned to me. "You are a Viesix. Do you know what that is?"

I've heard of those creatures, and I didn't even think for a second that I was one. Now, I stood in an unfamiliar house, frozen to the bones after being fed the fact that I was one of the chosen granted to a Firne as a mate by the snow goddess. Proper bollocks!

"You will be fine," Cleopatra mumbled softly. That was the most comforting thing I've heard her say in nineteen years.

But, in truth, I wasn't bothered about not being fine. I was more... dumbfounded.

I'd heard how Viesix were treated with reverence because of their rare nature, so it made no sense why the snow goddess chose me of all sane people on Earth.

Me—the impetuous girl who unleashed her shenanigans wherever she found herself!

Does the snow goddess want a fucking streak left on her name?

"So, who is this unlucky mate?" I asked while sitting on the bed.

Zenir marched into the room. "We don't know yet. Until the new color of your eyes appears, or your mate comes to claim you, we won't know who she is."

"Then how long will I be here?"

"Not for long. I've sent a message to Amperes. If your mate doesn't find you, they will find her."

Amperes—the Firne headquarters. I'd never heard anything good about the place, but I still wanted to see what it was for myself.

They said it was the underworld itself; a pitch-black building towering to sun-starved skies, dark, rumbling clouds hovering about it, an Abyss surrounding it.

They said screams echoed occasionally from the Abyss, shadow beasts crawling around the Tower, attacking anyone they saw fit.

Only Firnes could fight off these monsters since it was their creation, which meant that if it attacked non-Firnes, it dragged them to the dark hole. Their souls get lost and not even the Firnes could save them then.

Yet, even with these scary shits, people still wished they could set their eyes on it at least.

"Are the stories true; the Abyss and stuff."

Zenir swung her hand as if waving off the matter. "Oh, it's not that bad." It didn't seem like a very pleasing answer, but what monster would find a girl who'd stick to her room and enjoy the thing she loved best?

"I hope they have some good wine then," I said as I tried to make it to the chair beside the bed. Zenir saw me struggling and helped me.

"Lots of it. They'll heal your wounds too."

I smiled. That was much comfort, at least. I could imagine being free of one thing that reminded me of the events of these past days.

I hoped that, despite its horrors, the Tower would, at least, have some nice scents, and warmth too. I was already tired of the sweaty, metallic (sometimes bloody) smell that had become of the Aultik.

"They're here. We need to head to the woods," Zenir rasped while lingering in front of the window.

I frowned. "I'm leaving now?" She nodded, and I couldn't help but sigh. "Just when I was beginning to get comfortable. So.." I cleared my throat, looking at Cleopatra. "If there are good drinks like Zenir said, I don't think I'd want to return to the Aultik." The Trainer turned to me and if looks could kill, I'd be six feet under. Gulping hard, I mumbled, "Just saying."

When she turned away, I noticed how resolved she was to stay. She had her back to me, and I stared at it.

I hoped she'd say more—maybe warn me about my attitude or something. Her ignorance made me sense an emptiness growing.

With Cleopatra by my side this whole time, it all seemed easy. I'd never had to live without her for nineteen years, so I couldn't imagine how staying in a realm of strangers without her would be.

For the first time, I felt my ability to adjust to situations easily melting away. "How long am I staying there?" I asked Zenir who offered her arm for me to hold. I took it.

"I really don't know. It's probably until you meet your mate, but unless she permits you to return to the Aultik, you might have to stay where she chooses."

I huffed. "Well, that sounds like a very toxic relationship."

Zenir tugged my arm, urging me to follow her.

As we left, I kept looking at Cleopatra.

It felt like nineteen years ago when Madam Vadffa carried me out of the hall and I just stared at the Trainer's backside, with the tattoo at the back of her head that still intrigued me to this day.