A KINGDOM UNDONE , original

six

[ AMAYA HALE ]
[ ACT ONE : THE BLOOD MOON ]

Amaya didn't quite know where she walking but it didn't matter. Around here was something. She knew at least that. A memento or physical portal. Anything that could lead her there. To the Council. They had to have their seat somewhere in this land, but Amaya wasn't a native and she did not understand the way the maps worked on this planet. She passed villages, a lake and almost reached the Forbidden Forest by the Halloway Falls. This planet was so similar to Earth in so many ways, it astounded her. The way things looked here were similar to those of Earth although everything smelled different and like iron.

At some point, she collapsed by some lakeside trees and stayed there, unable to move forward.
It seemed so silly to her to pass out now. Just when there was a raven circling her. She knew the planet's care for animals and their meanings, had understood Sebastian's outrage about killing a wolf. But the raven... It sat down before her, watching her with some curiosity. She wondered if it was the same raven she saw before she fell out of the sky. That seemed so long ago. In fact it's only been three weeks since then. So silly to pass out now. So silly now that she knew where she was and she remembered.

꧁⸻꧂

Amaya woke with a massive headache, holding a hand up to shield her eyes from the electric light above her. "Turn off the fucking sun." She mumbled. There were rushing footsteps next to her and a cold, big hand grabbed her own smaller hand and she recognized the smell. Freshly cut grass after rain. "Amaya, I need you to tell me where you are." Sophia? Amaya opened her eyes at that and looked into her friend's blue-green eyes, a worried expression on her face. She looked paler than usual. Amaya looked to Sebastian then. Gods, was this my doing?, she thought horrified. If it was her doing then she never wanted to be away from him again. He looked like hell, his brown hair was a ruffled mess, he hadn't seen the effect sleep had on him in a while and he too was pale, and cold by the touch of him. "I... I'm in the med wing." She whispered to Sophia after taking an extensive look around but her eyes always ended up on Sebastian.

"You were lost for two days." Sebastian told her. "You wanted to go out explore and we let you. We were foolish letting you out into this world. It's not gonna happen again." Sophia told them sternly, the worried expression etched into her face as she typed on her tablet. "I have to go. I'm late as is but I'm ordering bed rest for the both of you! We all need a hell of a nap."

Sebastian brought them both into their bedroom and they slept for four hours until Sophia woke Sebastian up and they swapped their places. Amaya felt something on her forehead but she mumbled something in her sleep and turned around. Sophia lay down next to her, silently tapping and typing something on her tablet from her office. At least, she was able to work and get a nap in every now and then.

꧁⸻꧂

Amaya sat upright with a worry when she found that she was hugging a clearly fallen asleep Sophia next to her instead of Sebastian. Her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion and she drank the glass of water set down on her bedside table before she tried to get up. Even with her legs dangling over the bedframe, she felt shaken up.

She breathed in and out, repeated it and then let her toes touch the ground and stood up. She slipped on a robe over her nightgown and step outside with crossed arms. The marble floor beneath her toes was cold and she rushed down the hallway, taking the steps one by one to get up. Outside the door to the throne room, she heard voices booming, "How could you possibly allow-" A female voice shrieked. "She's still learning, Eodora," A calmer, male voice interruped. "The girl can't possibly acquire the powers needed to ascend!" A different woman shouted but was again interrupted by Eodora, "She is her daughter, for all that entails-" The first voice, Eodora, was screaming again, "Olivia Hale was a traitor and her daughter is a nuisance at best. At worst, she is our downfall! She is of no use!"

"Sisters, be calm. Amaya Hale, while a nuisance at best, can still learn and she can still ascend. Sebastian's a good example. She's fallen for him and she hangs on his every word-" "Thomas, I don't think-" Sebastian interruped Thomas but was not heard because Thomas continued undeterred, "Amaya does what Sebastian tells her to, isn't that right, boy? Is she not yours already?" There was no answer right away.

"Amaya is mine, yes. She'll learn to use her magic, I'll make sure of it. Sophia and John Craven are responsible for putting all this history in her head. And they're doing an excellent job. Amaya will ascend and she'll do it by Blue Moon." His voice was weak, his heart frequency irregular. There were gasps and murmurs. "Blue Moon? Are you willing to bet on that, boy?" Eodora asked, a feline like purr in her voice.

"Amaya's mine. You said so! Everything she does and everything she speaks of is because of me. No one touches her. I'm responsible for her and I'll do it without any interference from you. You touch her again and I'll make sure that by Blue Moon, she'll have done more than simply ascend. Do not test me right now." Amaya heard footsteps and used a simple shadow spell to hide herself as Sebastian walked out.

"Maybe we made a mistake." The second female voice whispered. "Nonsense, Theia. Amaya may be his, but so is Sebastian hers. We were doing this all wrong. In their short time together, they've been closer together than we anticipated. Hiding away in the woods where we can't see them? It was clever."

꧁⸻꧂

Amaya was in their bedroom before he was, sitting at her vanity, brushing her hair. Sophia was still sound asleep on Sebastian's side of the bed. Amaya took a long look around the room. Before their bed was a fluffy, cream colored rug. The bed stood in the middle of the room, behind the bed was a dresser full of her clothes with adjoining one full of Sebastian's. By the balcony doors was a round table with two chairs. On the table were Amaya's various checked out books, two of which she already went through and her red candles. There were a few, small black cases that belonged to Sebastian and a few of his crystals laying around. Then there was the bathroom door on the opposite side of the balcony doors.

Sebastian came up behind her and knelt down. Amaya turned around to him and smiled at him. "What are you doing?" He put a book on her thighs and looked into her eyes, "This is all you need to know. About the Council. About the rituals and the training." Amaya's eyebrows furrowed. "Rituals? You mean the Ascension?" She scoffed, grabbed the book and got up. She began to walk away, walking right through a portal and Sebastian followed her. "Hey! What the-" she looked around to find herself back in the cabin. "No. I mean the Blue Moon event. It is the polar opposite of the Blood Moon and I made a terrible mistake." She turned around to face him, holding the book close to her chest. "Sebastian?"

"I met with the Council and I did some terrible, horrible things." He continued. He kept his distance, Amaya noticed. "What things?" She whispered, feeling uneasy. Amaya was ready to throw up now. "We know that me training you was their idea. I didn't know they wanted me to prepare you. But now, I do. And I'm scared for you." He took a step forward and in turn, Amaya stepped back. "Prepare me? So, that's all this is?" She asked, scoffing. "Amaya, that's not..." She held up a hand and spoke, "No. No, tell me more how I am to be your laughing stock! After all, that's all it is about. You don't need me. You need someone to blame!"

He crossed the distance between them, holding her arms. "Amaya, listen. I would never want to harm you or let harm come to you. The Council has their own plans. I don't know yet what they are but they do want you trained and prepared for the Ascension. I will not hurt you, I promised you that." Amaya looked into his eyes, put the book on the nearest surface before she put her arms around his neck. His hands naturally found her waist, pulling her in. "Then train me. Teach me. Because I will not stand idly by and be made a fool of. Got it?" Her eyes were clear and hard, her voice was stern. "Starting tomorrow, we'll be up by dawn, out in the courtyard."

His hand brushed against her cheek. "I won't marry you." He told her then and she frowned. "No?" She was almost disappointed. "Not like this. Not if you don't want to." She nodded, "Okay, then. Good." Her voice was low. His hands dropped from her body and he stepped back, glancing at the book. "It's safe here. If you ever need to be away... no one knows this place and no one can sense you here." Amaya nodded, then sighed, "Well," looking down at her nightgown and robe, she huffed out a laugh, "I'm a bit overdressed to stay here, so I wanna go back to our bedroom and shower." She picked up the book and went to stand where the portal had spit her out. She looked back at Sebastian, holding out a hand to him. "Are you coming?"