The Queen Must Remember

Part 7: The Faerie who wish for thier true Queen...

Without the stars above them, there would have been no light whatsoever.
Orpheus was flying blindly in the darkness, Aiden giving him directions on where he must turn to.
They passed the city too, lanterns lit like the glowworms and fireflies from the Garden-

Rhae shook that from her mind, glancing up at her friend, who was wincing with each beat of his wings, struggling to hold them up and stay in the sky for so long now...
Turning to Aiden, she asked him above the wind, "Are we almost there? We need to land soon."
Aiden nodded, "Just a bit further- take a left!" He ordered, Orpheus abruptly turned to the left, sighing tiredly.

Finally, they came to the outskirts of the forest just touching the city. Aiden told Orpheus to land them in the field.
He nodded, "Okay... I don't think this will be a soft landing though..." He admitted, lowering them too quickly.
They crashed into the field, tumbling out of his grip onto the harsh ground. Orpheus's wings evaporated and slid back into his spine like dust.
Rhae sat up, her white dress stained by grass, "We did it..." She whispered happily to Orpheus.
Orpheus panted, facing the stars and laughing in triumph, "I never want to see vines ever again!" He sighed.
Aiden rose to his feet, lending a hand to assist Rhae.

She came over to Orpheus, "Thank you for flying us out." She said, he heaved himself to his feet,
"Anything for the Queen." He quipped, she lightly punched his arm.

Aiden glared at the male, "You could have flown a little faster, those guards could have caught us if we waited a second later."

The weary look Orpheus gave him was a warning so obvious Rhae thought he would rip out Aiden's throat in that same second just for reprimanding him.
Rhae smiled at Aiden reassuringly,
"but we didn't, we got out! Let's stay with the positives- me and Orpheus have just woken from a curse- wait... How long have we been under the curse?" Her face suddenly became anxious. Both males went silent, glancing at each other grimly,

"You didn't tell her..." Aiden muttered towards him.

Orpheus frowned, "I couldn't- I was silenced whenever I tried to reveal anything to her."

Rhae began to panic, "How long have I been imprisoned for?"

Orpheus stepped closer towards her, "Rhae-"

"How long?"

"Three centuries," Aiden stated grimly, "You have been imprisoned for three centuries," he turned to Orpheus, "And you didn't tell her."

Orpheus glared menacingly at him,
"I told you I couldn't, I was cursed just like her." He growled.
Rhae stumbled a step back, drowning out the males' argument in her frightened trance.
Three hundred years... she had been locked in that rotting room as those guards had mocked her, humiliated her knowing she had no freedom, her mind had been glamoured- changed to make her forget everything she knew about reality...

She felt someone's hands graze her shoulders, careful not to shock her, "Rhae... It's me, Orpheus... I'm here-"

"Three hundred years... I have been hidden away from a world I no longer know..." She breathed, her eyes still not focusing.

"You're our Queen, you shall remember and conquer." Aiden swore.

She opened her mouth to reply, but heard a twig snap. They whipped their heads around to see a hooded figure walking towards them. They stopped, removing thier hood to reveal a female Fae with striking blonde hair and glowing green eyes,

"Holy shit..." She breathed, "You're real!" She gawked at Rhae in shock.

Aiden stepped forward, "Sorry Esma, I didn't have time to notify you guys in time- she just woke up."

Esma's glowing eyes widened at the sight of Rhae, who kept a stern face and feigned her courage in front of the female.
Her eyes then slid to Orpheus, who had resorted to lingering in the shadows, his eyes shining against the dark skull circles beneath them in the moonlight.

"Who's the Ionos? Thought they'd all been killed or kicked out of Archaeya five centuries ago..."

"He's just an extra they threw in when the Queen was cursed- don't mind him." Aiden spat, glaring at Orpheus, who remained silent, dark embers of magic floating around his head like a diadem of ashes.
Rhae huffed, "He's with us, a close friend of mine, respect him."

Esma hesitated before bowing her head, blonde locks billowing over her shoulders, "Yes, your highness." She grumbled.

After an awkward moment of silence, someone finally talked, "We should take her majesty back to the others to get her some food," Aiden said, turning to Rhae, "You must be hungry."

She couldn't help but nod, she hadn't realised how thirsty, how hungry she was.
Esma led them through the field, in which a large enough house stood, hidden by an abrupt orchard of apple trees. The ground beneath them was almost barren, grass crunching under her feet.
The house was certainly not big enough to be called a mansion, though was larger than the average house; slathered in ivy and crumbling on the outside with pasty pale bricks and a broken porch.

Aiden and Esma allowed her through, though stood in front of Orpheus, hesitantly frowning.
Rhae rolled her eyes, pushing past them and grabbing his arm, "What did I say about respect?" She hissed to them as she pulled him into the house, not waiting for an answer.
Inside was much more clean and cared for than the outside; the floor carpeted neatly and The walls engraved with birds and flowers. Candles lit by undying flames- possibly magic- scattered over the small tables covered in white, beaded cloth and glowed brighter as she passed them.

Aiden and Esma pushed past Orpheus and stopped at a doorway,
"We should warn the others, please wait out here your highness..." Aiden said quietly, he and Esma disappearing into the room.
She could hear their muffled voices talking, Orpheus was tense, leaning against the wall with his ear pricked up to listen as much as he could.
Rhae tilted her head to him, "You don't trust them."

He didn't meet her eyes as he sighed casually, "They don't trust me."

She lifted her hand to graze his arm, "I don't know much about this Ionos-Fae-shit, but I doubt it's anything more than superstition-- they'll get used to you." She reassured softly.

He looked to the exit, "I'm not sure about this Rhae..."

"It's fine, Orpheus, it's--"

The door opened, Esma poked her head around and nodded for her to enter. With a quick look at Orpheus, she took a breath before entering.
There were five Fae including Esma and Aiden; they all gawked at her admiringly, astonished.

There was a male Fae with freckles sprinkled over his nose and cheeks with wispy red hair and luminous yellow fox-eyes, a short female Fae with a small nose and pure blue eyes that were darkened like pools and another male Fae with long, Auburn hair, sharp antlers and large tawny wings.

The freckled Fae rose from his seat, immediately bowing to his knee, "Your majesty..."

The other two followed suite, then Aiden and Esma. Her face reddened at the sudden adoration from so many strangers. She smiled nervously, glancing behind her to find Orpheus lingering in the doorway, nodding respectfully towards her.

This was who she was now, a Queen.
These Fae were her subjects, and she was to lead them.

She had to take the throne. She had to take back this kingdom she no longer knew- and remember.