Gifts

Chapter Five: The Fairy Queen

It could have been two hours later or two minutes, but after some time we reached the end of the tunnel and saw a large, glowing mirror with a gold trim.
"Ummmmm...why is it glowing?" I asked.
"No idea." My sister said, sounding kind of scared.
"Helloooooooooooooooo." Said a booming male voice from the direction of the mirror.
Both Eska and I jumped a mile.
"W-who's there?" Eska said, trying to sound confident (it didn't really work).
"Marcus Mulon Mirror here! Nice to meet ya! How's your day going? Mine is pretty good if you wanted to know. What's it like being human? Being a mirror is pretty cool if you were wondering.... Sorry if I'm babbling. Most people don't mind my excessive talking though? Do you mind? If you do it may take a while to get used to me...because ya know I kinda talk more than necessary sometimes." Marcus blushed a slight red.
Eska and I looked at each other, relieved that it wasn't anything threatening. There was a man in the mirror!
"Are you the Magic Mirror? The one from Snow White?" I asked, very curious.
"Ugh, no! I'm a magic mirror, not the Magic Mirror. The mirror in Snow White is my evil twin Miles Maleficent Mirror. He might seem like an innocent bystander but, alas, no! He was the one who gave the Evil Queen the idea to kill Snow White! He's a disgrace to the entire mirror family! He's- he's a-"
"Calm down Mr. Mirror." Eska said soothingly. By now, the mirror's face was a deep red.
"Mr. Mirror sir-" my sister began.
"Please call me Marcus! That's my name after all!"
"Marcus, we need to find the Fairy Queen and the fairy that was guiding us led us to the huge hole. Where can we find the Queen?"
"Oh! No,no,no! Sorry ladies, but since the Aari have gone to capture Eska and Jaya, the princesses of Stonewall, mind you, in Aethegar, the Queen has been under tight protection.
I looked at Eska to see her head bowed in discomfort.
"We're princesses!?" I exclaimed, furious. I didn't even want to know what Stonewall or Aethegar were. I was seriously about to hurt something. Or someome...
Marcus looked at me and then Eska with a scrutinizing gaze. Suddenly, alarmed, he said, " By golly, it can't be! They said you were pretty." -- I couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed at that-- "oh no, this is bad... Are you two the Princesses? Oh sorry but I must be gone!"
"Oh you're not going anywhere, Mr. Mirror!" Eska said as she reached through the mirror and grabbed the poor man.
"We need to talk to the queen...now! As the royals of Stonewall, I demand you take us to her." Eska said very commandingly. I have to admit, I was surprised she could act with that much power.
By now, Marcus was very pale and was nodding violently. "Fine, fine! Come in your majesties." He took out a large key ring and "unlocked" the mirror.
Eska then stepped into the mirror and I tentatively followed.
It was felt weird walking through the mirror, it was almost as if I was stepping through several layers of wet curtains.
When I finally got my bearing back together, I noticed there was a long, stark white hallway that led to a single carved wooden door.
"Right this way." Marcus said, trembling.
Once again Marcus took out his key ring. He pulled out a key smaller than my pinky and unlocked the elaborately carved door.
"Go on in." He said, as he pointed in.
I couldn't help myself and I ran my fingers over the beautiful carpentry.
After we went in, Marcus took the lead and lead us to the end of the courtroom. Then, bowed about a meter away from a small throne. Eska and I took his lead by bowing.
"Your Majesty Röseadanamis ummm... I have some guests you might want to meet." Marcus said, hesitantly.
As he said this I looked around. It was a very plain room. There were white walls, a large wooden cabinet, a tiny bed, and there were flowers scattered everywhere.
Then, with a sigh I heard, "Coming Marcus". She had the clearest, most happy voice I had ever heard. It was absolutely beautiful.
A white mass started forming and then a fairy winked into existence.
"Marcus, why do you disturb me when you know not to?"
Then we saw her.
Eska stood envious while I sighed with adoration. The Fairy Queen was a good five inches taller than all the other fairies. She had bigger wings with more sparkles on them than most fairies( I didn't know that could be achieved). Her face looked soft and kind, yet stern. Her hair looked like spun gold in her long braid with gold flowers weaved into it.
Eska and I were speechless. Completely speechless. If a regular fairy was stunning , than the Queen was drop dead gorgeous.
The Queen noticed us and gasped.
Marcus was frantically trying to keep his job, "No, uh...Your Majesty, these aren't...uh....regular girls, they are--"
"It's them isn't it!" The Queen said excitedly as she twirled around, leaving a trail of gold sparkles.
"Your majesty, this is Eska Stone, royal heir of Stonewall, the prophesied Savior of Stobewall, and the eldest daughter of King Harry and Queen Vivian Stone. All hail the great queen!" Marcus exclaimed as if he were the Fairy Queen's royal official.
"Oh and her sister, Jaya Stone, princess of Stonewall and youngest daughter of the King and Queen."
I waited for my long, important-sounding announcement, but it was clear to me I was just an afterthought to Marcus-- and the Fairy Queen. They both seemed to believe my sister was going to save Stonewall. What the heck is Stonewall?!
The Queen looked at us with an unreadable expression, green eyes searching, finally she said,"After all these years...Your parents would be proud, if they were still here."
"What is that supposed to mean?!" I said. The Fairy Queen knew something about our parents. "I'd always assumed my biological parents just hated me... Are they dead!?"
"Yes...your mother sacrificed herself for a noble cause, protecting you two. And, well, after a while your father...he well...couldn't do it anymore after your mother died, he seemed to loose meaning in life. He strayed from everything he believed in."
"What!" Eska and I cried at the exact same time.
I was confused, I still didn't understand.
"Oh never mind that!, what's done is done," said the queen, nonchalantly."So why have you come to me?"
"We need to know how to get to the Seer. I heard you were the only one who knew how to get to him," Eska said, and I could tell she intended to raise the "parents" subject as soon as possible.
"Is it he really necessary to see him? He's a bit well...strange." The Queen quite obviously was trying to hide something.
"If you want us to save Stonewall from the Aari, then you have to take us! He's the only possible hope for us now!" Eska said, panic coloring her voice .
"Wait just a second!" I almost screamed. "Tell me what is going on! You're talking to each other as if I'm not even here!"
Eska and the Fairy Queen looked at each other.
The Queen sighed,"I guess telling you was unavoidable... Your parents were the King and Queen of Stonewall, one of the six realms of Arvaskia, which is very similar to Earth, or what we call Aethegar. The main difference being the fact that magic has touched this world.The Aari were a group of people who didn't like the fact that your parents ruled with grace. You see, it's not that they were necessarily evil, they just believed in the olden days, an eye for an eye you could say. They didn't like how your father would often sentence a murder to a life in prison, instead of treating them to the gallows, and that your mother often used her powers to get criminals back on the right road. Which is not technically bad thinking, but...
Anyway, about a year before Jaya was born, the leadership of the Aari was passed down again. The once very reserved group turned into a monster. They convinced people that they would die because the murderers would eventually get out of prison. That's was the main way they gained followers, the other way was to threatened people. The people who were not necessarily bad, just cautious and scared, were unable to get out of the Aari. Once you join, you can't get out of it. Then came the attack, three weeks before your birth Jaya. Stonewall was able to fend them of, but with heavy losses. This was the main thing that prompted your parents to send you through the Mortal Portal and to Aethegar."
"And the Mortal Portal is ...?"I tried to prompt.
"It's the place the parallel universes connect, one of two ways to get to other worlds." The Queen explained.
"They found Lady Ressi, and gave you to her after she swore an oath to protect you at all cost. But then the Aari found out about your mother and went to capture you guys. Your mother somehow found out and while the Aari were in the Mortal Portal, she blew it up, converting her mass and body to pure energy. Your mother sacrificed herself to save you. A very honorable woman," she said, with total sovereignty.
I was speechless as the Fairy Queen told her tale, and felt hot tears rolling down my face.
I looked at Eska, and for a moment our gazes met, and then she looked down at the floor.
"You knew all about this didn't you!" I screamed, furious at her. "You knew about our mother and you never felt the need to tell me! I've felt as if our real parents didn't care about me for as long as I remember, and-and now I find out our mother died for us! This is worse than anything else you've done. Why didn't you tell me?!" I started hiccuping.
"I've told you why I did what I did, I don't like it any more than you, but I abide by my choices." She said icily, suddenly cold.
"Oh, so you stand by your choice of leaving me in the dark all these years? Making me feel unloved by the people who should love us most? You stand by your choice of telling about every lie there is to your sister, who happens to be your best friend? That's what you wanted? Ok, fine, have it your way." I felt more tears start pouring down my face, but i didn't care. I was hoping Eska might even feel bad about what she is putting me through.
"What happened to our father?" I gathered the courage to ask a few moments later.
"No one really knows. Many people say he couldn't live as King without with your mother so he ran away, some say he died, no one knows. The one thing they all agreed on was that he went crazy. I personally believe Harry Stone is still out there hiding, waiting for his long lost girls and a purpose to live."
"Oh," is all I could manage.
"Why do we have to see the Seer?"I asked the Queen, I'd have plenty of time later to yell at Eska.
"He will tell you where to find the Aari base, and he might be able to help you get to Stonewall safely, as it's different for every person, but it will come at a price."Marcus chimed in to explain.
"What kind of price?" I asked, almost scared.
"No idea," said Marcus,"it's also different for everyone. I heard that this one guy had to give up his liver, and this other gave his courage, oh, oh, and this other-"
"Well, anymore question girls," the Queen interrupted.
"One more," I said,"where exactly are we right now?"
The Queen laughed a perfect laugh,"Oh, your currently standing in the Fairy Meadows realm, the only realm accessible to Aethegar without going through a portal.
"Now if you want to get to the Seer by tomorrow afternoon you must go now, no more dilly dallying. You must get to The Seer!" The Queen paused before showing us how to get to the Seer and said, "Marcus will you go with them?"
"What?... Why? Are you sure... Uh, not to be disrespectful, but..I mean I'm a bit bulky for the long trip aren't i?" The mirror said, clearly trying to come up with an excuse.
"You have a good point, the Fairy Queen said. Then, "Mirror, Mirror, not on the wall, you are very much too tall, I must make you small!" She pointed her finger at Marcus and a thin gold laser sped towards Marcus.
"Ahhhh!" Marcus screamed, "I'm, I'm a hand-held mirror! This is not manly!"
We all laughed at the face of a furious Marcus.

A note from me:
Hey:) how's the story so far? Any suggestions? Please leave comments! Thanks for reading! I'm not sure when I will update but it will be sometime soon.
~percy33