Crustel

Chapter 54

  "Cora, you didn't retrieve your memories since the attack?" Erela asked. I stayed silent as I was puzzled. "Lama didn't tell you?" She added her question. "No..." I said with a cold voice. For a moment the silence was awkward. "Let's get to Hatakuna! We have to put the ruby into the swan's eye!" I said curiously. Erica nodded and Erela stood up. She nodded and led the way to Hatakuna. After a long walk, we changed ourselves into serpents, the moment we arrived at the Valley of Serpents. "Guys, we need to pass this valley quickly. These serpents better not find out about us!" Erela said slower than a whisper. We agreed and glided speedily. Successfully, we passed the valley. 

  We turned into our human form. My amulet started glowing in purple brightly. "We're here!" Erela said as she was amazed. I pressed my right wrist. My bracelet turned into my wand. Erela walked slowly as she looked at the crowd. "We need to get to the palace. The king passed away almost 12 years ago. The queen, the king's mother is ruling this kingdom again," Erela said as we fought our way through the crowd. "Why people gathered here? They are just stomping over each and other!" Erica said as she jumped over an old man. "Let's wait at that bakery for a good minute! I am exhausted," Erica added before Erela and I agreed. We stood outside the entrance. One of the bakers looked at us. "Who are you guys looking for?" He asked with a soft tone.

  "We're here to meet the que-," Erela stopped Erica. She gave her a death stare. "We came to visit our friends. We're from that village!" Erela said as she pointed North. "Oh okay. You guys want warm cookies?" he asked us. "YES! We definitely need one," Erica asked greedily. I giggled as I felt the same way but Erela seemed to be pissed off. "We don't have money," Erela hissed through her gritted teeth to me. "OH NO!" I gasped. Before we wanted to say No to the cookies, Erica started eating two cookies. Luckily, the baker gave us outside his bakery. Erela and I took each one and grabbed Erica's hands. When the baker looked away for a while, we ran from there towards South. "HEY GIVE ME MONEY!!! THIEF! THIEF! THIEF!" The baker roared louder than we could expect. 

 The baker got the entire crowd's attention. They noticed us and one of them yelled, "Catch them!" We had no choice except to run as far as we could. We ran faster but few young men seemed to catch up with us. "In the count of 1, 2, 3, jump over that branch," I said. Erela and Erica nodded. "1, 2....3. JUMP!" I said. We jump on a tree and ran towards the top. The moment the leaves covered us, I turned us into butterflies and stayed there for a while. "Cora, you're a genius!" Erela said excitedly. "Now, when those guys climb the tree, we can fly to the castle from here," I said proudly as I just saved the three of us. 

   Just like I said, the young men climbed on the tree. We flew far but were able to hear them. "They escaped! They must be witches and might have used their spells!" One of the men shouted from the top branch. They groaned and jumped to the ground. The cookies were still safe and warm. After flying for few minutes, we turned into our human form again and enjoyed the scrumptious cookies. It was better than Crustel's iconic cookies in Corta. We walked for so long till we noticed the entrance of the castle. The massive gate was closed. To our dismay, it was locked. "This palace is locked but I am truly sure that this is the palace!" 

  "We can get in but we can't meet the leader," I said. "Let's get in! We enter the palace and look for clues. This might be an illusion," Erela said as she examined the lock. I waved my wand and turned into butterflies again. We flew in. We turned back into our human form when we arrived at the throne room. My eyes met an oddly familiar statue. "Father!" I gasped when I recognized it. I closed my eyes and touched the hands of the statue. I saw a war that took over the good. The evil ruled here for years. I saw the king from Aquanya fighting but he was way much younger. He looked exactly like Kanyal. I witnessed Foscor standing against Elvira. All of sudden, I felt something soft. Soft as a flower. I opened my eyes. It was the Eternal flower.

  "It's a sign! The leader is here! Prepare the ruby," Erela commanded. I took the ring that Uncle Melyon gave me. I took away the ruby from it. The dark throne room slowly glowed in red and purple. I heard voices in my head. "The queen is back! The Queen of Evil and Good is back!" I was waiting to meet someone worse. Smoke covered the pathways. Slowly and steadily an old lady revealed from the dark smoke. She looked like someone we could call a queen. "The Leader is here," Erela gasped as she bowed. I didn't move an inch. Erica bowed too but I stood straight. She commanded magic with her hands. She didn't need a wand to cast spells which meant her power. The swan throne was witnessable. I went nearer the throne. "Put it right there," the mysterious lady said with a soft voice. 

 I put the ruby on the eye of the swan. My amulet glowed in red. To my surprise, the head of the swan rose. I looked at the eyes. One was in purple and another was in red. It oddly looked fascinating. I touched the head gently. It slowly went back to its former position. I looked around. The palace was alive. It seemed like some kind of curse was removed. To my dismay, the mysterious lady was missing and my nightmare stood in front of my eyes. Ethan, Kanyal, Erica, Zoya and Lexter were standing by my side. I was stunned as I looked at myself. I was wearing a luxurious red gown which was drop-dead gorgeous. It almost seemed like a ball. "You did it, Cora!" Erica whispered. "What happened?" I asked. "You are now crowned as the Guardian of Magic but you have to accept the fact that Lexter is your soulmate," Erica said. I looked at Lexter.

   He was standing like he was going to take over any kingdom he wanted to! All I knew was the hatred in me sparking. "What happened exactly when I put the ruby?" I asked Erica. She smiled and moved. "Your highness," Lexter interrupted me. "How dare you," I gritted my teeth. "You have to know something else. I am the Guardian of Magic too," he smirked and passed by me. I was shell-shocked. This was the illustration from Siku za usoni. Crustel or entire kingdoms being elated except for the queen, literally me.