Dawn of the Elements - Book 4: Future Rewritten

Chapter Fourteen: Her Return to The Tavern

A hooded figure walked into the tavern. It was just as she had remembered it, from her time there previous. She began to walk towards the bar, when she heard "PUT THE CHAIR DOWN! DON'T MAKE ME TELL YOU AGAIN!" From behind the bar, and a boot flying past her head.

"Sorry about that." A sultry voice came from behind the bar. "Ruffians being ruffians." She smiled at the hooded figure. "Welcome to The Mystic Bicorn. My name is Clancy. What can I get you?"

"I can only remember being here one other time." The hooded figure said, sitting at the bar. "But I don't remember ever hearing the name of this place." Clancy tried seeing if he could see under the hood. "I'll have a Dragonfire Whisky on the rocks, and a moment of your time."

"Only a select few request the Dragonfire Whiskey." Clancy replied, watching the hooded figure recoil a bit. He chuckled. "Luckily for you, I just opened a new barrel." He poured the figure a glass, and handed it to her. "Now, you said you needed a moment of my time?"

"It's about this." The hooded figure set a wooden box on the bar top. Clancy opened it, and gasped. Inside, sitting on a satin sheet, sat a beautiful gold locket. The Sigil of Fire engraved on the front, inlaid with small rubies.

"This locket, I have not seen in sixteen years." He said, taking the locket from the box. "How is it that you came by it." The hooded figure chuckled a bit, taking a drink from her glass.

"It was given to me by a dear friend of my father." The figure took down her hood, allowing her black and purple hair to flow down her back. "Then he said to bring it back here, once I returned home."

"You haven't aged a day, since I saw you last. And still just as beautiful." Clancy said, chuckling. He returned the locket to it's box. "You have made your father proud, Princess. By saving the Elemental Masters, you have saved us all."

"You flatter me, Clancy." Melody said, blushing. She took a sip of her drink. "I did what I had to, to save my kingdom, and those I care about." Clancy poured himself a glass of wine, and shared a drink with the Princess. "I have a request of you, if you'll hear it."

"Just like your father. Straight to business." Clancy stated, chuckling. "What will you have of me, Princess?" Melody pulled a cloth bundle from her cloak, and set it on the bar top.

"I know you have a whole manner of mystical items, and ancient artifacts." Melody began. "I also know that you're who to go to, if you need something to disappear. I believe the Kingdom will be better off, if this disappeared."

Clancy opened the bundle, a look of shock falling over his face. Before him sat the Unwinding Clock, the item that Melody used to go back in time, and rewrite history.

"I'll see to it, that this never sees the light of day again." Clancy moved the bundle onto a cart. "It'll be safe with me, rest assured." Melody smiled, and finished her drink.

"Another? It IS your birthday after all." Clancy said, taking the glass. Melody was surprised. She hadn't realized that he knew her birthday. "Sixteen years ago today, Raigan fell, and the next generation of Elemental Masters were born."

"Just one." Melody replied, accepting the new drink. Taking a sip, she smiled. "It is rather good, isn't it? Just the right amount of heat." Clancy went to respond, but before he did, he straightened up.

"Your Majesties! I hadn't seen you come in!" Clancy exclaimed. "Forgive me." Melody looked over her shoulder, to see her mother, father, and twin brother standing in the doorway.

"No need to be so formal, Clancy. We're friends after all." Silver said, a smile on his face. "Xander told us that Melody was here. He, Lyna and I decided to come by, and have a drink." He approached the bar, Lyna in his arm. "To celebrate their birthday."

"Let me guess. A Dragonfire Whiskey on the rocks, and two red wine?" Clancy asked. Xander and Lyna both nodded, sitting at the bar. Silver walked up to Melody, who was sipping her drink.

"I knew about the locket." Silver informed the teen, who had tried slipping the box back into her cloak. "Not that you had it. Just that it existed." Melody handed the box to her father, the King.

"This belongs to you." The teen Princess said, waiting for her father to take it. But he didn't. Instead he just placed his hand on it. Smiling at his eldest child, the King spoke.

"Your grandmother was always with us in spirit." He said, a tear running down his face. "Whenever she would appear to us, she was wearing that locket. It was a gift from my father. It's only right that I gift it to you."

The teen beamed. She took the locket from the box, and put it around her neck. It felt right, sitting there. Almost comfortable. "Happy Birthday, Little Flame." Silver said, hugging his daughter.

"The first of many." Melody stated, handing her father the glass of Dragonfire Whiskey that Clancy had poured for him. Silver accepted the drink, and sat down with his family, enjoying
their first drink as a family. A tradition he hoped would continue for a lifetime.

An ancient war was finally over. But evil was always around the corner. For in the ruins of Raigan's Castle, deep in the mountains, female screams rang through the halls. In a dark room, lit only by torches, a sixteen year old girl was chained to an altar. Robed men and women surrounded her, as two figures approached.

"Children of the Moth, we gather here to give sacrifice to our Lord!" The first figure, an old man shouted. "We grace thee, accept the blood of the innocent, and come to us." He looked at his companion, a twenty-four year old woman, who smiled. She pulled a long, curved dagger from her robe sleeve.

"No! Please!" The teenaged girl screamed. "Please! Don't do this to me!" The woman held the dagger just over her throat, laughing hysterically. "Please! I want to live!"

"Don't fret, sweet child." She stated, her eyes meeting those of the girl. "You shall live." She then dragged the edge of the dagger along the teen's throat, slitting it open. The girl struggled, gasping for air, as blood clogged her airway. Blood poured from her neck, running off the altar into a bronze urn.

"You'll live on as part of our Lord Mothman."