The Kingdom

Chapter 2

Faith Thal couldn't stop thinking about the screams.

The man who had saved her, Edward, was chattering away to her, in an appreciated but pointless attempt to distract her from the trauma she had just faced, as he led her to the safe place he referred to as the Kingdom. He spoke of a kind, loving Queen who would take her in, and Faith felt beyond grateful, yet it still didn't ease her pain.

She missed her mother.

The moment she lost her kept replaying in her mind, over and over again, like a bad song stuck on repeat. The dark magic user, a member of The Archon Circle, had cast a deadly spell at her mother before she could even register it coming, the dark magical tendrils shooting out from his fingertips and curling their tight vice-like grip around her mother, crushing the life out of her. There was nothing Faith could do but scream as her mother was crushed by the dark magic, screaming out to Faith to run. To flee. To save herself. So, she did. Like a coward.

She would never forgive herself.

She should have died too. When she was fleeing from the scene of her mother's death, she ran straight into another dark magic user. She had fallen to the forest floor, winded, as none other than The Dark Mage loomed over her. Vaguely, feeling so close to death, Faith recalled the differences that separated the Fey and the dark magic users. Traditionally, only the Fey should be able to use magic, and the Fey would never dream of using magic with evil intentions. However, 5 years ago, a group of humans became jealous of the Fey for being able to wield magic, and they formed The Archon Circle. They figured out that if they used Fey blood, they could wield magic, and so began their slaughter of Fey kind.

The Archon Circle was formed by a man who went by the name of The Dark Mage. He was the most powerful user of dark magic. Nobody knew his real name as he only occasionally revealed it to those he was about to kill, but his face was known and feared across all Fey villages, and Faith knew her village wasn't the first or last village to be attacked. She couldn't help the nervous, pitiful laugh that bubbled up her throat. Who would have thought Faith would be laughing in the face of death?

Except she didn't die. The Dark Mage simply looked at her, an unreadable expression on his face, and for some reason Faith wasn't able to see his true intentions, like she can with all other people, a power unique to the fey. He turned on his heel and murmured over his shoulder to her, words that confused her even now.

"I'll lead them away from this area, go... go away innocent little fey." The Dark Mage said almost inaudibly. Faith didn't waste a second, in case the Mage changed his mind, and ran straight back to her mother. But it was too late. She was gone.

***

Faith was clutching Edward's hand now as he led her through the Kingdom towards the castle. The Kingdom was beautiful, the bustling market, the smiles, and pure joy filled auras that radiated off of the citizens of the Kingdom was enough to bring a small smile to Faith's face. The air smelled of warm bread and freshly baked cinnamon apple pie, and she could hear the faint sound of children laughing in the distance. She tilted her head slightly towards the sun, allowing it to bask her in its light and warmth. The architecture of the buildings in the Kingdom was stunningly elegant, mahogany wood decorated with carved, marvellous patterns and shapes, accents of sandstone on the buildings helping to reflect the golden light of the sun, adding to the cosiness and comfort of the Kingdom. It was beautiful, but it could never compete with her home, at least, how her home used to look. Before it was destroyed.

"Nearly at the castle now, Faith." Edward announced. "I'll get us an audience with Queen Alexandrea straight away. She and I are old friends." He added, with the hint of a fond smile.

He loves her, Faith thought to herself. His true feelings and intentions were as plain as day on his face, or maybe they were just that obvious to her, the nature of the fey. It was hard to hide your emotions from the fey, not impossible, but most people didn't even think to try.