The six tall and well-built soldiers put the rectangular glass box down to the ground. And the soldier who seemed to lead the ones who carried my mother answered sorrowfully, “We are sorry about her passing. It is unknown to the King why she died but she had been ill for days…”
“Our mother wasn’t ill for a day!” My crying sister sounded hysterical when she butted in. Her beautiful face was tear-stained. She kneeled before the rectangular glass box and placed her hands on its surface as she continued to cry.
I blinked hard and fast to still myself and control my emotions. I watched my sister cry her heart out and I couldn’t do anything. I stood there, holding my own tears. Because if I’d also break down and become weak, who would Shahrae lean on at this moment? I had to be strong! But my heart was already lamenting, yelling why it happened to our beloved mother. She was a very good Aryan. She was a very good and loving mother to us. But she… she was no more…
Our neighbors gathered round and looked on with either horrified look or confusion on their faces when they realized who was in the glass box on our doorstep. I knew that they too were puzzled why our mother was in this state now. She was such a healthy being with glowing beautiful skin and carefree aura. She was lively! She was the picture of life itself when she was still alive.
But now… My mind couldn’t seem to digest what was happening. This must be a dream! Just a dream. Oh, please… powerful beings!
In my mind, I was begging, looking up at the clear skies. It was the exact opposite of how we felt at the moment. Gloomy… dark…
“Why weren’t we informed of the state of her being if she was ill then?” I questioned again. My words tasted like bile in my tongue and lips. “We could’ve made her better!” I shouted at the soldiers like it was their fault our mother died.
The leader swallowed and blinked as if he was the guilty one. I looked at him like my eyes were daggers, piercing through him. He must know what I can do and what I am capable of.
He flinched and slightly shifted his weight from one leg to another.
“If no one of you knows the reason why she is now lying inside this glass box, I want you to remove yourselves out of my land this very instant!” My eyes grew colder by each passing moment as I looked at the soldiers.
They were taken aback while they looked at me. I knew my eyes turned from blue-green to steely blue. I had a glimpse of my skin as well, which turned into bluish color, which was a sign that I wasn’t pure Aryan.
In our homeland—and even in the entire Aryan world— I was the only one with the Arcturian heritage running in my veins. With that, some envied me, some admired me and some feared me. At the moment, it was apparently the latest one. And I couldn’t blame them as my reputation preceded me.
I am a fierce warrior!
The soldiers took their swords out as if I just threatened them physically. And perhaps I did because I just realized it when I felt my weapon’s head move and I heard his chuckle.
I looked down at my hand that was already holding my poniard, which was given by my father on my seventh birthday. It was a slim dagger, with a nine-inch length. Its acute pointed blade glimmered under the light like it made a warning to the soldiers. Meanwhile, its curvy guard promised safety to my hand. The head—I called him Ponpon—which was part of the handle located on the topmost of the handle, looked back at me with his red eyes.
I remembered that I had placed my weapon on the table while my sister and I were eating. And because of my telekinetic powers, he was now in my hand.
“I’m ready when you are, Xerra,” Ponpon said in a maniac tone, and he shouted like he was already in a battle.
I swallowed and looked at the soldiers who were so bewildered to see my weapon talk. They staggered backward and ran away like I was after them.
My sister looked at me with her face damped with tears, and my heart went out to her. My heart settled for a moment and I knew that I looked normal again because my skin returned to its pale color once again.
“I must talk to the King myself and demand answers as to what happened to our mother,” I promised my sister.
She nodded. And I didn’t need to ask our neighbors to help us. Six of them carried the rectangular glass box inside our house. Some women and children already gathered flowers and placed them around the glass box. We knew how our mother was loved by the Aiglean people. She was our Queen.
We stayed by our mother’s side overnight, remembering how she lived happily with us and how she lived as the Queen of the Aryan world.
In the light of dawn, we buried our mother the Aiglean way. The dug square hole near our house was surrounded with flowers and fruits as its walls, so that if her spirit would decide to visit her body, she wouldn’t feel and see the cold land. But instead, she would see the beautiful surroundings where her body was laid to rest.
When morning time came, just as the sun rose in the sky, our neighbors buried our mother with flowers and fresh leaves.
Our way was different from most non-Aiglean would do to their dead, which was to bury by land and stones. Some would even hang them on the trees, usually a mile away. The trees and the area where they are buried would become sacred places.
My sister and I watched as our mother was covered with fresh flowers and leaves. I held my sister close to me as she cried, and we both bade our last goodbye to our beloved mother. I promised to myself that I’d find her murderer one day. Deep down inside, I had the feeling that it had got to do with the Aryan King.
I jumped down from the branch of the blue tree, taking a few light steps. Then I suddenly stood still, feeling my surroundings and listening to the breathing of the forest. My thoughts were obviously dragged to the present when I felt I wasn’t alone anymore in the Aiglean forest. I could just tell it right away as I could sense another presence. An unfamiliar aura.“That’s what I was trying to tell you earlier, Xerra, but you were so busy with your own thoughts,” Ponpon pointed out when I took my poniard out of its small scabbard that was securely tied around my left thigh. I revitalized myself using my own violet aura. My heart rate was then back to normal like I never ran for miles.I smirked at Ponpon, then I looked around us. That was when I saw him, alone. He was perhaps a few years older than me, tall, like six feet and six inches; he had broad shoulders with well-built body that anyone would want to ogle on. And yet, he was graceful
I walked back toward my house after I gathered the bark juice for Shahrae. She loved it since we were little. She was never fond of fruit wine ever since she had a taste of it. Maybe because another reason was that she just blacked out after she had a glass of it. I could only chuckle when I remembered that instance. It was on her sixteenth birthday at the time. Poor Shahrae.From where I was, right in front of the forest, I could see the houses in pyramid style that lined up perfectly. Maybe there were a couple of hundred meters away from each other. The sun was already up high and the land was full of busy, bustling people doing their respective jobs.Flying public transportations could be seen on the horizon in all four directions. Their centermost of destination was somewhere near the Aryan palace, where the King lives. The transportations were mainly oval in shape, with the average dimension of twenty meters in length by ten meters in width and by ten meters in heig
The forest was quiet when I got there. I suddenly felt danger coming. I twisted my body sideways and saw a knife hit a green tree. It vibrated when it connected there. I looked in the north side when lasers followed to assault me.“Yetti!” I cursed in Aryan language while I dodged and rolled over to take cover. My back was pressed against the blue tree. I looked up when the tree creaked and groaned. It broke and I rolled to the next one to not get hit when it fell.I peered at the direction the lasers came from. ‘Who are these Aryans? Why are they attacking me?’ I ground my teeth as I took Ponpon out.“This is not good,” he said.“You’re just telling me that now?” I hissed. He was quiet this entire time.“Those are definitely not Aigleans,” he observed. His red eyes were rolling in alert mode. “Your east!” he screamed.I just barely glanced and I dove and rolled towards south, evading the white laser that was going to incinerate me. My heart was a
I dressed up just like my sister wanted me to. It was a simple lavender gown with embedded stones and jewels that could only be found in the Aiglean land. My high-heeled shoes shined because of the jewels that were embedded on them as well. They glittered whenever the light touched them. I did look good for a change, compared to my usual attire.My sister, on the other hand, looked like a princess in her gown tonight. Her hair was caught in a high bun, with curly strands that were left hanging, which framed her beautiful face. It was even more pronounced by the dark makeup she had on, which she did on her own. She was pretty adept on that department, unlike me. She made every Aryan turn his or her head in her direction just to admire her beauty as we walked on. We trudged side by side and were greeted by our fellow guests. There were already the familiar and unfamiliar faces present there. But it was noticeable that there were more unfamiliar faces that stared at us, es
“Oh, who’s there? Who’s there?” Ponpon asked but I didn’t answer. I could feel though that his head wriggled at the handle of my poniard.It was that stranger from the forest alright. My sister seemed to be right with her foresight lately, I supposed. I acted calm and normal, trying not to think what he had done to me in the forest early this morning. I turned my head to look in front of me and nonchalantly drank the fruit wine that was in the glass I held in one hand. It was a gesture that I was ignoring him—if he got what I mean. I did not want to linger or analyze why I feel something whenever he is around. I did not want to read something between the lines… er… in his eyes, rather. I did not want to feel anything at all, especially for this strange Aryan.But it didn’t seem to get what I wanted to relay to him. He sauntered closer to me, and he sat down just beside me on the bench, looking up at the lights above us. I stole a glance at him. There was a
Daraton was following fast on his heels, trying to say something with urgency in a low tone, which I couldn’t hear.I looked down at my lap and took the flower with my free hand. The beautiful and rare flower looked like jelly but it was as hard as plastic. I only heard some things about this rare flower from my fellow Aigleans. It was the first time thought that I got to touch it and peruse it in person. The flower was indeed a wonder.I smelled its sweet scent with a smile, thinking about the stranger.Oh, why, oh, why? Why couldn’t I shake him off my thought? We only met twice but he left me such a deep impression, which was entirely bugging me.‘He knows me. But I don’t know him.’Aside from being the only half-breed on this planet, who everybody must have known me by reputation and name, he seemed to really know me. Personally. That was odd. Who could have told him about me if he was from the north?“Oh, you got yourself an admirer, I see.” O
I went back home after my early morning excursion and found my yawning sister at the kitchen. I placed down the jar of bark juice on the table carefully.“It was quite a long night. It was so nice!” she said dreamily. Her smile was from ear to ear. It was kind of different, which I immediately noticed.“Right. You came in late,” I pointed out to her gently. She told me to go ahead because she wanted to stay longer at the wedding party, so I let her. I was exhausted, that’s why. Well, not physically but more on mentally speaking.‘It was because of that stranger who gave me a guabula!’“Yes, you were so rude. You left me at Oleifa’s!” She turned round to face me, with accusation in her beautiful green eyes. She wasn’t at all dismayed but rather enjoyed her freedom.I rolled my eyes upward. “You said I can go ahead, so I left!” I sat down in the chair and crossed one foot over the other. I put down Ponpon on the table and rested my elbows on the armchair.
Today, just like any ordinary day, I would help the farmers plant or harvest. So, I walked toward the farm, passing by our neighbors and our supply areas. The supply areas were where the food and drinks were stocked for the whole tribe. Whoever ran out of stocks at home, they could just get them from here. Everything was free to get anything they needed. Some may hoard some food and drinks, but it was not a crime, since we had everything we need and everything was abundant. Anyway, everyone helped out to make some food and drinks for everyone, so it was like we all earned everything we got from the supply areas.I nodded at some neighbors I met and passed by. They were nice beings. I was glad I was born to this tribe since they embraced me like their own, even though I was only half-breed.I looked up at the beautiful sky. The temperature was great. The sun wouldn’t usually burn our skin. It was always good for us and the plants and everything. Nonetheless, rain was rare