*Zelda's POV*
I was thrilled to have my own body back.
Of course I felt awful for Dresira and I meant what I said about avenging her. The Aleni would not prevail over Uquix!
Surax led me to the prisons. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure Empress Zelda.” He grunted.
“Can I have your nose ring?”
He stopped in his tracks. “You’re not participating in the Four Trials of the Forsaken Apex, are you?”
“Yes I am.” He tossed me over his shoulder and I cried out. “Hey what are you doing?”
“Locking you up with your friends! You are here to steal from us!” Surax bellowed.
“No, no! I don’t want to steal! If you could just give it to me willingly that would be amazing!”
“No. You seek the most dangerous power, we cannot help you Empress Zelda!”
We entered the prisons.
It didn’t take long for Cedric and the Aleni to find something shiny.Oz offered up a gold necklace. It looked familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on why.“No!” Hunter exclaimed. “That’s a family heirloom, you can’t give that to them! We’re supposed to give these to our sons.”Right. Hunter had an identical one. I had seen it hanging on his neck all the times we were in bed.“I have a new family now.” Oz sneered. “A family that doesn’t demean me every chance they get and see the value in me.”“Exactly.” Cedric patted his shoulder. “We’re your family now, Oz. And you’d do anything for your family right?”“Of course, Chief.” Oz gave Surax the necklace.Surax took it as another Minotaur removed its nose ring.“Thank you very much.” Cedric grinned. “Now we may go
This was about to get confusing.The me that was on top of...me gasped too. Her eyes widened and she scrambled up. I did the same. We circled each other, taking one another in.I took a step closer and so did she. I reached out my right hand and her left hand moved to meet it. When our hands touched we gasped and jumped back.“Who are you?” We chorused. “Empress Zelda. No you can’t be.”“Can we talk one at a time by chance?” I asked.“Sure.” She answered.“How are we the same?” I questioned.“I’m not sure.” She admitted. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”I studied her closely. It literally was like looking in a mirror. I could not find a single thing that was different about her. Her hair was loose and curly like mine. We were even wearing the same dress.“So what are you doing here?&rdq
“Here?” I asked. “What is here?”“The Mirrored Realm. We are merely shadows of the people you are. But if we get out of here we can be real. We can be more than just counterparts and clones. We can have real lives.”“El! No...you can't! We can’t stay here!”“Neither can we!” She exclaimed.. “It’s hell here! Getting only pieces and snippets of what goes on in your lives is tortuous! We want to live for real. Is that so much to ask?”“If what you’re saying is true then yes! We’re not meant to be here, El. This isn’t our realm.”“I don’t care. We’ve waited so long to escape and now we finally can. Sorry Zelda, but I’m finally getting out of this place.”“Wait!” Zeke cried. “We have a journey to complete.”“And we’ll complete it for you.” Alder said confid
“He sure did a number on you.” Posy whispered, examining my arm.“Zel, why didn’t you just tell them?” Zeke asked softly. “You didn’t have to be tortured.”“I couldn’t let them win.” I muttered. “I’m-we’re the only ones who can save Uquix. They never could. They weren’t really us. And Uquix comes before anything else.”“I’m sorry I didn’t save you earlier.” Penn hung his head. “I was trying-”“It’s okay. Everything worked out. We faced ourselves and we’re not stuck here.” I stated.“Are you in pain?” Hunter asked, holding my other hand and kissing it.“I’m fine.”Cedric approached us. “Can I clean the blood off your arm?”“Um...I guess.” I answered slowly.“I kind of owe you.”
Hunter frowned. “What do you mean thank you?”“I mean it’s so sweet of you to feel that way about me a-and I’m appreciative of your feelings for me.” I explained.“But you don’t have those same feelings?”“Well...Hunter you have to understand-”Tears filled his eyes. “Zelda I thought you cared about me.”“I do, I do babe!” I insisted. “I care about you very deeply. But love...is a strong word.”“You’ve used that word with Cedric and Penn.”“Um, yeah. Look Hunter, we really just started this thing.”“Thing?” Hunter cried. “Is that how you see our relationship? Just a thing? Is this just sex for you?”“Of course not! I’m giving this a chance, I just don’t love you right now.”“I think I’d like to sleep alone tonight
Wyatt made me sad.I couldn’t imagine not being loved.Wyatt actually confused me completely. He was very soft spoken and pretty nice and yet he was an Aleni. A creature that feasted on others and was determined to take over the world.I was starting to wonder if what Cedric had said those years ago was true.“What if they’re like me? Just misunderstood.”I think they might be.“Wyatt, what was your life like before becoming an Aleni?” I asked.“Um, pretty sad. Like I said I had issues with my mother. I don’t think she liked me very much. I’m guessing her having to raise me on her own had something to do with that.”“What about your dad?” Hunter questioned.“Oh I never knew him.” Wyatt informed him.“So why did you become an Aleni?” Zeke asked.“Cedric was nice to m
It all came down to this moment. Cedric and I each had all of the items and now we were climbing The Shadow Precipice. We were neck and neck. “You can do this Zelda!” Zeke shouted. “Go Zelda!” Posy cheered. I couldn’t help but smile. I was so glad they were cheering me on. My stomach dropped as my foot slipped and I slid down the side of the volcano. “No!” I screamed as Cedric reached the top. He looked back at me and grinned before tossing the items into the volcano. I couldn’t see what was happening and what his reward was. I looked back at my team. They all looked devastated. “I’m sorry.” I whispered. “Zelda, no.” Penn breathed. Cedric reached the bottom again with ease. I hated the grin on his face. He helped me to my feet before getting down on one knee. “Zelda, will you marry me?” He asked. “You can’t say yes!” Hunter exclaimed.
Being Queen of the Aleni was not what I thought it would be. I thought I would hate every second of it, but I was starting to enjoy it. I even enjoyed being with Cedric.Luckily I didn’t have to participate in any of the massacres or raids. I didn’t even care about them. Being Aleni truly does warp the mind. I didn’t care about any of the things I used to except being a good leader. That mostly meant supporting Cedric.“So, how do you like your life as Queen of the Aleni?” Oz questioned.“It’s amazing.” I smiled. “You were right. I understand now.”“Have you heard from Zeke?”I nodded. “I used the crystal and mirror to talk to him. I think he misses you, he just won’t say it.”“Do you think he’d turn?”“No. He won’t. I’m sorry.”“It’s fine.” Oz sighed. “I should