Sol's Shine and the Kingdom of Terra

Chapter 25 Any Means To An End

 Slowly opening his eyes and waking up in his old bedroom, Sol stared at the ceiling above him and his window was still wet after the rainfall some time ago. After speaking with Elgria again, Sol instantly picked himself up from his bed and tossed aside the covers that were on top of him. "How long has it been?!" Sol spoke to himself and moved quickly to instantly open the doors to his room. The Shining Giant wasn't anywhere in his sight and two guards were startled by Sol's sudden appearance. "AGH!" One guard stumbled backward, falling down on his butt. This only made the second guard laugh at him before quickly returning to a formal tone. "Prince Sol! You're awake! Queen Lisandra has informed us to tell you that she has confiscated the Shining Giant for the time being. We hope you understand her decision." Sol was not at all shocked or surprised by this but after the private conversation he had with Elgria, it didn't matter to him.

"Would it be alright if I spoke with my mom and sister? Do you know where they are?" Sol asked as the other guard got back on his feet. "Of course! I'm sure they'll be delighted to hear that you've awakened." The second guard gestured to the first to look for Lisandra and Crystal. The other escorted Sol outside beside a large fountain where he wanted to meet them both. The ground was still moist and wet with a few puddles scattered about. A few birds could be seen splashing in the water before taking flight when Sol arrived. After some time waiting, the both of them eventually showed up. Lisandra could only look at her son as if she was waiting for something. "Well?" She asked. "I'm sorry for leaving the Kingdom of Fire." "And?" Crystal added on. "And I'm sorry for making you two worry about me."

Crystal could only sigh, taking in her brother's apology but was more rather glad that he was still alive. "We don't want to make you feel too bad right now Sol. We lost a lot of people, including the ones we knew well enough to call our friends." Crystal put her arm around her little brother's shoulder as they both sat beside the edge of the fountain. "We're going to be fine. Whatever Sinnel or his cult throws at us, we'll be ready for it." Despite Crystal's best attempt to lighten the mood, Sol couldn't feel upbeat about anything. All he wanted to do was to move on to the real reason he gathered them both in this spot. "Hey mom, do you know where the Shining Giant is?" "You're not getting back right now. Not after what happened." Lisandra scolded him.

"It's not that. I just made a deal with Elgria." "About what?" Crystal asked as she took her arm back and got in a more comfortable position to listen to what her brother had to say. "Whoever wields the Shining Giant would be this kingdom's next ruler right? That's our tradition." "Go on." Lisandra kept on listening. "Ever since I got that sword, I've been striving to become a person I never wanted to be, fooling myself that I could ever lead an entire kingdom. It's true that I care about people, but my heart tells me that I only have room to try and save those that are closer to me first. Is that selfish?" Sol tried to explain the best he could. Crystal understood him. "It's a lot of weight to bear right? It's not selfish. That's normal. It takes a huge toll to lead an entire kingdom and it's not something many can do easily given the position."

"Crystal, you have no problem standing side by side with those other soldiers. You fought with them to defend everything we have even if you barely knew them, even when there was a slight possibility of them being traitors and being a part of Sinnel's cult. You have the scars and experience to prove that you'll do anything it takes to defend and lead the Kingdom of Fire." Lisandra was catching on to what Sol was alluding to. "Sol... you didn't." The queen felt shocked that Sol would pull a move like this, yet she was also proud. "I made a deal with Elgria that you would be the Shining Giant's wielder Crystal. You would make a better ruler than me and you probably won't lose the sword as often as I did." Crystal smiled, hugged her brother, and the both of them got up from the fountain. "Thank you Sol. That means a lot."

"I have to focus on what really matters to me. That would be my friends and family. I just keep finding it impossible to save everyone who's out of that circle and I ended up losing some close friends in the process. The ones that came with me to the Kingdom of Terra were put in harm's way and half of them didn't even make it back." "They chose to go with you on their own accord and knew the risks. Don't beat yourself up about it forever." Lisandra told him. All of that may have been true except for Hendrick but Sol couldn't help but be quick to ask about what happened while he was out. "How long was I asleep for? How is everyone?" Sol asked them.

"It's been two days since you fell asleep so you could talk to Elgria. Lilac and Drakiel should be on a dwarven airship with William's body. Right now they should be heading back to the Kingdom of Metal. Ella and Vincent should be settled in Barrow at the moment. As for Daika, she's still out there with Jordan and Sköll, looking for Amaterasu." Lisandra said to him. "What about Yvonne?" Sol asked. Neither Lisandra or Crystal knew how to answer him right away but Crystal eventually answered him after some thought. "After Cinder did what she did, this elf just sort of appeared and Yvonne willingly left with him. As soon as they walked through the shadows, they were gone. I believe Lilac said his name was Nico?" Crystal tried to recall the situation but because of how bizarre it was, she could hardly believe what she was saying despite seeing everything happen with her own eyes.

Sol looked up at the clear sky, thinking for a moment. He wanted to give himself some time to grieve but their work was far from over. He looked to his mother for an answer. "What are we supposed to do now?" He asked her. "Well first off, you're grounded. Secondly, take some time to rest. Sort out your own feelings, both of you. Give things at least a month or two to recuperate before doing anything dangerous again." She said to them. "That sounds nice. For once I feel good about being grounded." Sol tried his best to bounce back. "You wouldn't mind if you helped rebuild the rest of the castle would you then?" Lisandra asked. "Only if we don't rebuild it all the way. William was the reason it went up in flames to begin with and how we were able to stop Ipos. I don't want to forget about him." Sol requested. "Only if it's nonessential to the overall structure." Lisandra agreed to her son's terms.

A little white dove suddenly came flying back down to bathe itself in a nearby puddle. Sol couldn't help but become fascinated by this but was also reminded of another friend he had forgotten about. "Do you remember what I told you when I came back home from the Kingdom of Water, about what happened there?" Sol asked. "Every detail." Crystal said. "When I said that I wanted to focus on helping my friends and family, I just started to become worried about Amon. We became friends during the life we lived as star demons together and he sounded hurt when I said I don't have any memories of him. I most likely gave my memories away when I realized what I had done to anyone during that time but I also left him all alone." Sol wanted to save Amon but also felt guilty about all of the past mistakes he couldn't even remember making.

What Amaterasu said to him was haunting, that he would make other people forget how to breathe, watch them turn blue in the face, and pass away. It certainly didn't make himself feel any better on how he was able to defeat Ipos in that smoke-filled room. All of that made him feel like a monster and a hypocrite. Just when he was feeling down about himself, his sister was ready to reassure him. "You've come a long way since that time. You had time to grow and learn. Back then, you were just a kid. I can't think of anyone better capable of saving Amon than you." "You must trust yourself before Amon can or neither of you will get anywhere." Lisandra said to Sol.

The dove that Sol watched, fluttered its wings rapidly and took off. Sol watched as it eventually flew away from his view. "You're both right. Though nothing's going to get done if I'm just watching the birds all day. Just show me what I have to do first." Sol said to his family "When we're done doing what we need to here, I'll go with you to the Kingdom of Metal. I don't want you to go alone this time. Come on, let's get to work." Crystal escorted her brother to one of his first chores back home, taking a bit of normalcy that he had long since needed.

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Book 4: Sol's Shine and the Kingdom of Metal