Sol's Shine and the Kingdom of Fire

Chapter 15 Locked Away

     Crystal made it back to Luminar but not in the way she hoped. She was thrown in a dark cell underground. The floor was pure dirt and the wall was made of rough granite bricks. Crystal looked back at the two guards who threw her in with disgust. "The master will see you as soon as he's done with his own business." One of the guards said.

"The master? Who are you referring to?" Crystal asked them but they left without answering. "Come back!" She called out to them but they never gave her a second glance. "Don't bother talking to them. They're not being themselves right now." Crystal heard another voice from the cell across from her.

An orc was leaning up against the wall of the very back of her cell. She seemed to be very tall and strong looking. Another person was sleeping on the ground next to her. Queen Lisandra slowly opened her eyes to the sound of Crystal's voice. "What? Crystal? Is that you!?" Lisandra instantly got up from her slumber and shot toward the bars containing them.

"Mom! You're alright!" Crystal was relieved to see her again and felt happy for a second. "I'm glad you are too. Wait, they didn't harm you right?" Lisandra asked with concern. Crystal shook her head no and her eyes began to tear up. Crystal thought she would never get to see her mom again but just in the other cell across from hers was the actual queen herself.

Crystal noticed her mom was crying as well but something about her mom being locked away in the dungeon with her confused the princess. "I don't understand. Why are you also locked down here? You're the queen!" Crystal said to her. "I am but... I'm not the one in power." The queen looked down at her trembling hands and fell to her knees.

The orc that was in the same cell as her walked up to the bars to get a better look at Crystal. "Forgive your mother. She's been through a lot." Krissy said. When the orc stepped forward Crystal got a chance to take a better look at her. It wasn't hard for Crystal to see that she was also upset.

"I'm sorry. Who are you exactly?" Crystal asked the orc staring straight at her. "My name is Krissy Hark. I actually ran into your brother. The blonde one." She said, This was the second person to tell Crystal that they've run into Sol but with the situation they were all currently in she knew Krissy had no reason to lie.

"Is Sol doing alright?" Crystal hoped for a response but Krissy just crossed her arms. "I'm not sure. Your twin decided it would be a good idea to capture and bring me here. I'm assuming it's because I gave him a lot of trouble and he admired my strength." Krissy said.

What Krissy said to Crystal made no sense to her. "What do you mean by that exactly? Admire your strength?" Crystal said. Lisandra dried her tears and steadied her hands again. "I believe you'll need to tell her what you've told me. It doesn't seem like she knows." Krissy took a deep breath and sighed.

Krissy told her about how she ended up meeting Sol in Azula Town. She explained how Sol figured out who was behind everything. Krissy spilled the details on everything she knew. Apollo and his mind control, How Sol figured out he was a Star Demon, and Krissy even explained how she ended up getting here by losing half of her crew.

It was difficult for Crystal to take it all in but she did her best to pay attention. "I guess this associate Amaterasu was talking about is this Apollo guy." Crystal said. "Who is Amaterasu?" Krissy asked. "She's this elf we- I ran into on the day of the festival. I think she may be working with this Apollo you mentioned." Crystal explained.

"Is she being controlled by him or do you think she's another Star Demon?" Krissy asked. "She's definitely a Star Demon. She said her associate was using the royal army like puppets. She also has this ability to cast illusions." Crystal told her. Krissy looked completely frustrated.