Solstice sisters

Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Summers POV

'Ravenwood?!' I asked, I looked at Ivy in shock
'You mean to tell us that we're sisters?!' She asked, her voice high. Jace and Zack looked at us with kind eyes.
'I know this must be a shock' he said
'Well at least it explains the resemblance' I grumbled, Ivy let out a small laugh beside me.
'You still need to explain about the whole princess business' I reminded
'Oh yes!' Said Jace 'your parents were king Aramis and queen Aliya of Eremay' he gestured towards a large painting of a man and a woman. I gasped when I saw how alike the woman was to Ivy and to me as well I guess!
'What's Eremay?' I asked
'Eremay is the kingdom your parents ruled over, it can only be reached by a portal' Zack explained 'we happen to have one downstairs'
'Why do you guys need a portal?' Ivy asked
'Well believe it or not we're from Eremay, our parents were on the guard that protected your parents and fought in battle alongside your father' said Zack
'So Damon is also from Eremay' I confirmed
'Yep, he's a warlock like your father'
'Woah woah woah' I backtracked 'warlock?'
'Like a wizard just stronger' explained Jace 'your dad was the most powerful warlock there was and when he met your mother, who happened to be the most powerful witch of her time-'
'Witch?!' Exclaimed Ivy
'Yes, witches and warlocks are real!' Snapped Zack 'and you two just so happen to be the product of two of the most powerful witches and warlocks. You're wicken'
'Wait but Summer and I were born six months apart from each other in the same year!' Ivy added 'how does that work?'
'I never said you two were natural births now did I?' Said Jace
'Oh god' I said
'This might help explain' said Zack placing a large book on the table.
Eremay Royal Histories it read.
'We'll start with the Great War and then explain your births' said Jace flipping to a page in the book.
'The Great War: June 21st 1990- December 21st 2000' started Zack
'My birthday' said Ivy
'Your parents, the throne, led an army of elves, nymphs, warlocks, satyrs etc.. Against Maxim Kane's army of dark elves, trolls, echthroi, deodands and Gauns. Maxim Kane was your fathers right hand man, head of the guard and best friend, they were like brothers, grew up together. When your father inherited the throne Maxim became jealous but he hid it well for years. He worked his way up the ranks in castle life, became head of guard after just two years of Aramis being on the throne. But he wasn't happy so he betrayed your father and began gathering an army to overthrow him. The army consisted of all the dark creatures he could find and on the summer solstice of 1990 he declared war. The war lasted ten years and Maxim brought his son, Blight, in to help him and to train him for the throne because once Maxim died Blight would inherit the throne of Eremay. Ten years after the war started on the winter solstice of 2000 your father, King Aramis, killed Maxim in battle. The war ended that day and The dark army retreated in surrender. This is where you two come in. The prophet told your parents that on the summer and winter solstice of the millennium the nevertree would present them with two daughters, wicken. The prophet also spoke of a decade long battle that would only end when good was restored, the Great War ended when Ivy was born after ten years. It was said that these two children would become the most powerful creatures in existence with unimaginable abilities' he paused to look at me and Ivy.
'On the night of the winter solstice, six months after Summer had been born, Aramis and Aliya returned to the Nevertree and were given Ivy. Maxim Kane was dead, the war was over and Eremay had two new princesses. All was good until Blight Kane, Maxims son, wanted revenge. He set fire to the Manor House your parents were staying in not far from the battlefield. Zack and I managed to get you two out but unfortunately your parents perished in the fire. The next day we took you two into the human world where you would be safe till your powers came through and you were ready to take the throne. We placed you in foster care, Ivy in England and Summer in America, you both have had protectors watching you your entire lives right up until a few weeks ago' Jace turned to Ivy 'someone killed your old protector and forced us to move you to America with Summer to keep you safe. Your adoptive parents have no idea what you are, we had to use Damon to use mind control on them to get them to do what we wanted to keep you safe'
Ivy and I just sat in shocked silence and Zack saw it as a reason to explain last night to us
'We thought you were safe until last night when you were attacked, the man that you thought was Mr Keeling was actually a shapeshifter that was trying to kill you. He summoned the creatures to the school to help him do that. We don't know where the shapeshifter is or what he looks like unfortunately, we don't know how he found you either, we think there's someone spying on you'
'That's a lot to take in' I said slowly. 'My-our parents died in a fire not a car crash?'
Jace nodded gravely 'the car crash story was the cover we had your adoptive parents tell you til we could tell you the whole truth'
I felt slightly sick at the prospect.
'You said something about abilities' said Ivy 'today..' She trailed off and looked at Jace
'Your headache today at lunch was one of your abilities coming through, mind reading I believe' Ivy looked shocked but nodded
'Your powers will get stronger when you turn sixteen, as for Summer, you're already sixteen' I looked at them shyly 'any powers you want to share?' Pushed Jace. I rolled my eyes, they already knew! I focused my mind and made a book fly across the room and hit Jace in the back of the head.
'Hey!' He yelped and held the back of his head.
'You asked me to share' I defended with a sweet smile.
'That is so cool!' Exclaimed Ivy 'will I be able to do that?'
'With time and practice, yes you will' replied Jace
'Summer you should be getting more powers soon, so we'll have to keep a look out for that' warned Zack
'We have a some more books for you guys that might help' said Jace picking up two more books
'Eremay Book of Creatures' I read aloud
'Every creature we've ever come across' said Jace proudly and he flipped to the first page.
'Elves' he read 'distinguished by their height and slightly pointed ears. Elves are immortal and can recover from wounds that would be fatal to man, they can be killed though'
'It just takes a lot to kill us!' Piped up Zack
'Wait us?' I asked
'Jace and I are Elves' shrugged Zack 'we were there the night your parents died, heck we even fought in the Great War as young elves alongside our parents'
'We watched you guys grow up' added Jace 'so did Damon you just don't remember it'
'How old are you guys?' Ivy asked
'Sixty years old' chirped Jace. I choked and began coughing
'Sixty!' I shouted
'Yes sixty' snapped Jace, 'can I finish?'
'Please do'
'Fine. Elves are skilled healers-'
'So that's what you meant by Zack healed me last night'
'Ivy!' Yelled Jace
'Yeah it took a lot out of me too!' Said Zack ignoring his brother
'Zack shut up!' He snapped and carried on reading 'skilled healers, good in combat, usually fight in wars, are also used as protectors and as part of the guard for royalty. Light elves are distinguished by their light hair and light eyes' he gestured to his and Zack's blonde hair and blue eyes. 'Dark elves however have dark hair and eyes due to the dark magic they now possess'
'Dark elves fought with Maxim Kane against our parents right?' I asked
'Yes, and their own brethren' added Zack
'Nymphs, have some power over nature, they can make mushrooms grow basically, they're good with a bow and arrow and can disguise themselves as trees is needs be. Satyrs are half man half goat, good with a bow and arrow and love playing the pan pipes, also have some control over nature' I sat listening to all these magical creatures that I wouldn't have believed existed yesterday
'Now for the dark side, they're more fun!' Said Jace and Zack gave him a look
'They're more fun to read about, not to fight!' He added hastily 'shapeshifter like our good old friend Mr Keeling, can change their to anything/anyone, can be killed by a silver bullet or blade to the heart' he waved his silver dagger as he said the last part 'Gauns, reptilian/serpent like creatures. Poisonous talons and teeth. Gaun poison can kill in minutes, they have thick scaled skin that acts as armour, they have two legs and two arms, a long think tail and two scrawny wings. They can be killed by blessed metal knives or daggers' I though back to the silver blade that reduced the Gaun to a puddle of acid the other night
'Deodands, descendants of giants, bull like creatures with large jagged horns used for spearing their prey. Strong but stupid, war bred animals. Killed by bronze blades.' Zack had managed to kill the Deodand last night using a bronze blade, I was stupid for thinking it was dead after running into a wall!
'Echthroi' Jace hissed at the sound of this creature and Zack just looked down.
'It was an echthroi that killed our parents' explained Zack before he continued 'tall, slim and pale. Almost blind so they rely on their sense of smell and their heightened hearing. Run on all fours or walk on two legs like human, very fast and deadly. You can only kill these bastards with a gold blade.' Jace scowled 'and finally trolls, they usually wield hammers in battle. Very strong, angry and violent, hard to kill because they're so stupid they don't know when they've been hit so they keep fighting, a troll will literally fight to the death, yours or its.' He finished solemnly
'That's not all we've found but they're the most significant' Jace explained
'So they're all real?' Said Ivy 'they're not just folklore'
'I wish they were folklore' said Zack with a grimace. We sat in an awkward silence til I decided to break it
'So the other book...'
'Ah yes!' Jace sprang into action, he picked up a heavy looking leather bound book with gold lettering
'The Ravenwood Book of Spells and Magic' I read
'It was your mothers, she would have wanted you two to have it, we've been keeping it on its pedestal in the library til you returned, it has every spell your mother ever knew, along with potions, curses, knowledge on creature light and dark' he stroked the book 'everything you need to rule Eremay, it also includes the prophet' he added. I fingered the pages, they felt tough like parchment, the lettering was written in beautiful flowing handwriting I stroked it thoughtfully.
'Aliya hand wrote it during the war as a way to keep herself occupied, it was her pride and joy til you two came along, there is room at the back for you two to add anything you find that's not already in there'
'Thanks' I whispered and handed the book to Ivy to examine. Then the doors swung open to reveal Damon.
'So you told them everything did you?' His voice boomed around the library as he descended the stairs.
'Yes sir everything' replied Zack
'Good boys' he said then turned to address me and Ivy. 'Your highnesses' he bowed 'it feels great to have you back in your rightful place' he gestured to the house around us 'Ravenwood Manor'
'Wait' I stopped him 'this is Ravenwood Manor?'
'Yes, well no, the original manor was burned to a crisp in the fire that killed your parents, this is a replica. Your parents had it built in the human world kitted out with a portal and everything, so if anything ever happened to them you two would be safe. When they died three protectors and a warlock were sent through with you' he pointed to Jace and Zack and then to himself 'I was that Warlock and two of the three protectors were these two, the third was Ivy's protector in England but he was killed a few weeks ago'
'Why did I have two protectors?' I asked
'They originally only wanted to send two protectors, one each, and a warlock, but Zack and Jace were a package deal, they wanted Zack because he was older but he wouldn't leave his younger brother behind so they both came and its a good thing too because we would be screwed without them!' I smiled at the boys and noticed Ivy smiling at Zack.
'I wanted to take you back to Eremay the second you were attacked but Jace and Zack convinced me to let you stay until they found the spy, I didn't like it so we made a compromise, from now until Ivy's sixteenth birthday you will stay here in America and go to school like normal teenagers, after school you will come here and train to run a country, learn to control and develop your powers. Then when Ivy turns sixteen we will leave through the portal for Tavina, the town where the palace is located'
'Don't we get a say in this?' I asked suddenly angry
'I wish you did' said Damon sadly 'but unfortunately it's the safest option for you, your highness'
'Stop calling me your highness' I snapped and stood up, Ivy looked startled and went to stand up too
'I need some air' I said flatly and ran up the stairs. I could hear someone following me
'Get lost Jace' I yelled
'It's not Jace its me!' Panted Ivy 'man you run fast!' She caught up to me
'Look I'm just as freaked out as you are okay?' She looked me straight in the eyes 'but I think we should give them a chance, they wouldn't lie to us and if they've really been protecting us as long as they say they have then I think we can trust them! They've already saved our lives once this week' she added when she say my uncertain look
'Summer we're sisters!' She said 'we're not alone anymore, we have each other now and we know how our parents died. Do you not think its better that we know rather than being lied to our entire lives'
'Yeah I guess so' I said slowly
'Come on Summer' she tried again 'We're wickens, we're magic! Isn't that cool, just think of how powerful we can be. You can already move things with your mind and I can mind read'
'I guess it's pretty cool' her face broke out into a grin then dropped again
'About the mind reading thing' she started
'Yeah?'
'Well I heard something today and saw something too, I don't know how to put it..' She fiddled with her hands
'Just say it' I said
'Ithinksamscheatingonyouwithkelly' she rushed
'You what?' I asked. She took a deep breath and said slowly
'I think that Sam is cheating on you with Kelly' there she said exactly what I'd been thinking all day, my face dropped.
'You think that too?' I asked in a quiet whisper
'I saw them rubbing legs under the lunch table, and in homeroom, and don't forget he lied about where he was last night' there's all the evidence.
'Should I confront him?'
'I think you should catch him in the act!' She replied defiantly
'There you guys are!' Said a breathless Jace as he ran down the corridor.
'Jace we need a lift to Sam's' I told him sternly
'What?' He asked
'I need a ride, please Jace it's important' his face softened
'Only if you promise you'll come over tomorrow to work on your powers!'
'Yes fine!' I compromised 'lets go!'