Valinor
LeiyaMy eyes suddenly flung open, and so did my mouth. I sat in bed breathing heavily. When I realized that I was in the safety of my chamber of Valinor, I started to breathe slower. I wiped the sweat off my temple, trying to call my racing heart. There was no doubt that the nightmare I just had was more violent than all the previous ones.“Another bad dream?”I heard beside me. I opened my mouth to scream but realized I had suddenly lost my voice. There was only one person that I knew could take a man's voice without lifting a finger. When I realized it was him, I closed my mouth and simply nodded my head.He came out from the darkness, planting himself beside me on the bed.“Why aren't you asleep?”I whispered when he had stopped moving, and his gaze was on me.“We’re in a strange town, I had to make sure you were safe.”His eyes remained fixated on mine as he spoke. I could already feel my cheeks becoming red from trying really hardValinor LeiyaI turned over on my other side when I felt a ray of light on my face. My efforts to return to sleep proved abortive. Rubbing my eyes gently, I forced them open. Everywhere around me looked very familiar, as if I had been here before. It took a moment to make sense to me. I quickly sat up when I realized where I was. Back at Kaltain.I frantically looked around me, my brain trying to comprehend what happened the night before, and how I got here. The last thing I did remember was Helion showing up in my room and raising all the sensors in my body, but that was at Valinor. Still in a deep state of confusion, I climbed out of my bed and headed for the door. As I walked around, I became more and more convinced that I was definitely back in Kaltain. The question was how? As I headed on, there was also no sight of Helion. I knew there was no way I was going to get answers unless I asked the one person I was sure hated me the most in Kaltain. Calin.I hea
ValinorLeiyaI jolted out of bed when the voice sounded louder in my thoughts. “Relax Leiya. It's me.”I noticed Helion sitting across from me on my bed with concern in his eyes. I hastily looked around to discover I was still at Valinor. “Another bad dream?”He whispered, slowly moving the hair that had fallen to my face out of fright to the back of my ear. I was too stunned to speak, I simply nodded in response.“Can you tell me what it was about?”He bent his head in an effort to search my fallen face for my eyes. I continued to look at nothing in particular without saying a word. “Leiya.”He gently touched me to which my body quivered in response. I was so lost in my own thoughts, I forgot he was speaking to me. “You're okay.” he whispered.When he noticed that I did not look at him, he lifted my chin with his index finger. He moved my face to meet his. He glanced at me with a worried gaze, the most worried I had seen him.
Kaltain LeiyaI stared into nothingness, like I had been doing for the past few days. Unmoving, unresponsive, just looking at nothing wonder, allowing my mind to wander into the darkest of places.“Leiya.”I would hear him call but I lost the will within me to respond. He would call repeatedly and when he noticed I wouldn't respond, he would leave. Only to return a few moments later to repeat the same action. He would bring food with him, only to take it back the next time he visited. I had not left my bed except when the urge to release the contents of my bladder forced me. I let my father down. He would be in the spirit world, cursing my very soul for letting Nayla suffer while I lived comfortably. I allowed myself to be distracted by my selfish bodily desires while my sister suffered until her last breath. I deserved death for my actions. Slow, painful agonizing death. “You should stop blaming yourself for what happened.” I heard from behind me. He
Kaltain Leiya I stared at him in utter disbelief.“You what?” I breathed, almost inaudibly. He turned away from me to stare outside the window. For a minute, he was silent, supposedly composing his thoughts. “I couldn't bear to see her suffer at the hands of my father.”He began. “One night, after he beat her terribly, she dragged herself to my room.”I wanted to feel pity for him, but I wasn't sure he deserved it yet. “She cried to me that night. Her beautiful face was bruised all over from his stomping and kicking.”Instead, I felt pity for his mother. The stunningly beautiful woman lived a very unattractive and unhappy life.“That night, I begged her to leave. To run very far away, where he would be unable to reach her.”I could see it clearly as he vividly narrated the story to me. A young boy, less than thirteen, watching his mother cry to him, begging her to even leave him for her own safety.“I even promised that I wou
Kaltain Leiya “You came out.”He muttered unbelievably. “I was feeling up to it.” I whispered.A day after he narrated his unfortunate childhood ordeal to me, I surprisingly felt better. I didn't hate myself anymore. I convinced myself that if she was no longer alive, it was not my fault. I prayed to my father's spirit to forgive me and to her spirit to also forgive me. To my greatest surprise, she didn't appear to me in a nightmare and I slept just fine. When I woke up, I was feeling a lot better.I had just stepped out of my room in search of Helion when I found him speaking to a guard three doors away from mine. “Join me outside then,” he offered.I politely agreed with a nod of my head. He gave his last instruction to the guard before leading me outside the castle. It was a bright, sunny and beautiful day. The colors of the flowers around the castle shone brightly in the morning sun. I had not felt the sun on my skin in days and it felt absolu
Kaltain Leiya“Let go of me!” I yelled out of frustration.“But I am not even touching you Leiya.”“You're using magic!”I screamed as I struggled with the invisible force that was holding my legs firmly together.“That's a very bold accusation. Do you have any proof?”“How do you prove magic?!”As a result of my frantic struggling, I ended up crashing to the floor. When he charged me to race, I should have known he wasn't going to play fair. “I won,” I heard him yell, causing me to look up. He was standing beside the horse, which we agreed signified the end of the race. “Now you have to clean the horse poo.”He stated with a sinister grin. Just then my legs were freed. I could finally move. I got up to my feet, clasping my hands together and brushing off the dirt off my dress.“There is no way in hell,”“We’re on earth Leiya.”I stuck my tongue out at him and he chuckled loudly. Thank you for the reminder, your majesty
Kaltain Leiya“You should teach me a few spells.”I mumbled with a small piece of bread in my mouth. He was in the process of sucking the life out of one of the three prisoners at the table so he didn't respond. I casually waited for him to be done with the man, munching on the chunk of bread and meat at the table.“Still want to learn teleportation?”I heard his voice after a few moments, followed by the loud thump of the lifeless body he just fed on hitting the floor. “No, not that, I can move freely around the castle so I don't need it anymore.” I slanted my shoulders back in a shrug as I tore away another small piece of the bread to feed into my mouth. “I just want to learn a few spells.”I continued when I didn't get a response from him. “Silly spells even.”I said with a small giggle. When I noticed he didn't respond, I looked up to see he was feeding again. He must have be really hungry judging from how quick he was taking life
Kaltain Leiya“Which Degar?”I was quick to respond before Helion even had a chance. I wasn't sure I heard Calin properly.“The king of Hepthan.” he mumbled casually.I immediately glanced at Helion, he looked just as confused as I was. I quickly looked back at Calin. He continued to look at Helion with an unfazed expression.“Why is he here?”I asked no one in particular, struggling to contain the rush of jumbled emotions I was feeling inside me. What gave him the guts to come here unannounced? And if he was here for business with the king, why wasn't I informed?“To see his majesty.” Calin kept giving straight answers. It made me even more furious. I couldn't tell if he was completely oblivious to how much I hated Degar, or he was just being annoying on purpose.“Where is he?”Helion finally asked, sitting upright in his chair. It was still hard to tell if he was aware the evil man was coming or if he was just as surprised as I was.
Valinor Nayla After Leiya left, it took a few more days for Xerian and I to completely settle back into our previous life as prince and princess of Valinor. To announce the returning of his only son and future king, the royal informat was sent to every corner in the entire kingdom. The night we returned, a big fire was lit in the town square. There was loud singing and vigorous dancing. By the next day, King Raslin threw a large feast for the entire kingdom. The castle gates were opened for everyone, both adults and children, to come welcome us. Xerian and I sat on the royal table in the courtroom, waving and smiling to everyone who came. And gifts. The people brought a lot of gifts. From fruits, to vegetables, to meat, to wine, our table was filled with them all. The day after that, the king threw another feast to celebrate our arrival. This time it was not open to the public, only other royals were invited. Kings, queens and their children from far and wide honored his invitati
Kaltain LeiyaHelion immediately let go of me. The fear in Calin's eyes showed he was being completely honest. Kaltain was supposed to be safe. Completely safe. “The forcefield," Helion mumbled in horror. “It's weak, I haven't done the ritual since the last time." My head instantly connected the dots together. Shortly after he performed the ritual, I got myself in trouble with Lyle. He was probably occupied with trying to find me and handle matters of the kingdom. When he finally found me, I left again shortly after.m, taking him in another hunt for me. Kaltain was under attack and it was my fault. Helion turned to me, gripping my shoulders with fear in his eyes. “Go to your chambers and wait for me.” It was more of a warning than an instruction. "No,” I shook my shoulders out of his grip. “Kaltain is also my kingdom.” I mumbled. "I would rather die by your side than hide in my chambers like a coward.”“Leiya," he growled in frustration, running his
Kaltain NaylaXerian made a shocking recovery after a few days. He was able to completely talk audibly, eat without being fed, and walk perfectly fine by himself. He no longer felt the excruciating pain in his stomach when he laughed or coughed. He was also looking more like himself. His cheeks were fuller, his skin was brighter and his eyes were lighter, devoid of pain, worry or anxiety. I could say he was almost like his former self. We were now ready to return to Valinor. He had been looking forward to it everyday since we spoke about it, even happier when I insisted I would leave with him. Which meant I had to speak to my sister about it. Helion was the only one aware I was also leaving. The night before Xerian and I were to leave, I was feeling severe anxiety talking to Leiya about it. Helion overheard my concerns and convinced me to be honest with her. Him and I had formed some sort of relationship while I was at his castle, and I couldn't believe he was the same
Kaltain LeiyaI impatiently walked through the halls in search of Helion. The overwhelming feeling to kiss him passionately grew even worse with each step I took. I was just stepping out of the dinning area when I ran into Calin. The first thing he did was to lower his head in a bow. My jaw almost dropped. “Your majesty." He muttered, before lifting his eyes to meet mine. I was shocked. Shock didn't express it enough, I couldn't believe my eyes. I could swear it was a different person who simply looked like Calin. Calin hated me. Even though he called out Helion's lies about my sister, he did it for his selfish reasons. He did it to get rude of me, and he did. He had no respect for me at all, and now, out of the deep ocean blues, he bowed and referred to me as a royal. With disbelief in my eyes and voice, I tried not to stutter as I spoke. “Have you any idea where his majesty, King Helion, May be?”He opened his mouth to speak, but shut it almost immediat
Kaltain Leiya There was worry behind my sister's eyes when she asked to see the prince of Valinor. I still couldn't believe she was married. It felt strange to refer to him as her husband. Even though she was older than twelve, she was still very young, barely even sixteen. But it was obvious she loved him deeply. I gave her a small nod before turning to the maid who did the strands behind my gown. “Have you any idea where the Prince of Valinor lies?" "Yes, your majesty,” she muttered calmly. "I can take your majesty there.” Not too long after that, we made our way through a flight of stairs, following behind the maid who led us to where Xerian was. We walked for a few minutes before she stopped before a door. The guards pushed the doors open after lowering their heads to acknowledge our presence. Nayla ran up from behind me when she noticed the prince on the bed. I smiled inwardly as I watched her run to his side, nervously looking over him. “Xerian?"
KaltainLeiyaThe familiar walls of the Kaltain castle , the place I had grown to call home, brought tears of joy to my eyes. Helion had to make two more trips after taking Xerian away. He first took Nayla and I, before going back to get Kamael and Cizer. He could only transport himself with two other people.The moment he took my hand, I closed my eyes. When I smelt cleaner and better air, I opened them to find myself back in my room. A smile formed on my lips. I had always dreamed Nayla would sit on my bed, listening to the stories I had to tell, and now she actually was in the room, not as a dream or a thought, but actually standing beside me. I felt a kiss on the side of my head. “Welcome back home." Helion whispered with a smile. In a heartbeat, he was gone. When he left, I noticed the maids that stood by the end of the bed. They lowered their heads when we appeared before them. “They're here for our baths.”I informed Nayla as her excited eyes sc
Archurl Leiya The moment I whispered his name, he dropped the guard to the floor. The cell doors instantly disappeared and I walked right through. His eyes shone with happiness, his voice the most welcoming I had ever heard. “My beautiful Leiya.” I launched myself into his arms. I was just reunited with my sister and now the man, who snatched my heart like the demon that he was, found us just in time. It felt so surreal. Like a dream, like the fairytales you read in a book, except it was real. It was my life and it was happening to me. “I am so sorry for letting you go again," I heard his shaky voice through my sobs. He gently pulled me away, staring deeply into my soul. “I would never do that again." I was too stunned to speak. My heart was going through a rollercoaster of emotions but I knew, I was just as elated to see him. I quietly nodded, with a smile on my face. One of relief and tenderness. Looking into his eyes, all I could think about was how much I had
Archurl Leiya The moment I was thrown into the cell, she flung herself into my arms. Our entire bodies shuddered as we cried uncontrollably, clinging onto each other as if for dear life. Just when I had lost all hope, just when I thought my mother's spirit had abandoned me, all the while she was leading me to her. To Nayla. The emptiness around us didn't matter anymore. Our injuries didn't matter anymore. The bodily pain we felt, we couldn't feel them anymore. The moment took it all away. The unrequited joy of finally being together was enough healing magic for us. It was all the healing we needed, for our souls and for our bodies. We cried and cried. There was so much to say, so much to express, so many feelings all at once, but all that came were tears. The journey that seemed almost impossible, that we had both given up on, it was all worth it. We finally got the courage to let go. We pulled back slightly, just enough to get another glimpse of each other's
ArchurlLeiyaMy eyes gradually opened. The first thing they noticed was the movement of the rocky road. It took me a moment to notice I was being carried over a man's shoulder with a rope tied around my hands and legs. One by one, my brain began to piece together the last scenes I witnessed before I passed out. The sight of Yahn's lifeless body lying in a pool of his blood flashed before my eyes. My heart sank. I began to feel all the bitter emotions afresh. I hastily looked around me in search of the others. I was held firmly, my movements were restricted to just seeing in front of me. I tried to look over my shoulder. As soon as I tried, I felt a sharp horrible muscle pain. I didn't need to be told to look ahead of me. “Put me down!”I demanded with a loud yell, banging my tied fists against his back. I banged and banged, trying to get him to react, but I was getting the wrong attention. Just then, I realized I was being carried through a crowd of amused spe