Crossed

Chapter 9:

"I assume you have been attempting to do research on the Slain's?," Ardian asks while looking around the living room, or what is still visible between the stacks of books. "I tried, yes," I say," the Queen asked me to find out everything I could, however beside the two libraries in the town I did not have much to go off... The library in The Residence was completely destroyed... The Queen tried to save as much of it and the books it kept, but it wasn't much."

"Hm..," he looked around one more time," maybe we should write about them once we got them all back in the Middlegrounds again." I look at him," you want to take them back in there? How?" "I don't know how but yes. It will be the safest solution to the problem at hand. In there they lose some of their abilities and become slower, makes it easier to fight them if needed," he says. "So you will be going back in as well?," I ask. "I do not want to," he says," however, if I end up having to go back in again, I will." "Why would you go through that again?," I ask. He laughs but it's more emotionless than anything," I don't have anything left here, now do I?," he sits down on the couch with a sigh and looks around again.

"That's her?," I follow his gaze and see him looking at a picture of me with Iliana at one of the Queen's Dances. I nod and take it from the bookcase before sitting down as well," it was taken about three years ago I think... yes, this was the last good Dance we went to...," I hand it to him, I couldn't look at it any longer. "She's very pretty," he says before putting it back down again," I wish I had something to see my wife through again." "Can't you try to summon her spirit back to earth?," I ask him, he looks at me. "Are you out of your mind?," he says," summoning someone's soul back to the earth could end in disaster." "What do you mean?," I ask him and then his face turns worried.

"You did do it, didn't you?," he says, I nod slowly. "What do you mean it could end in disaster?," I ask again. "At least tell me you did it inside the grounds of The Residence?," he says, I nod and he breaths out slowly. "The Queen told me to do it there," I say. "Yes, that's good," he says and gets up again, pacing around for a little bit before pulling me along back outside. "Where are we going?," I ask. "The Residence," he says.

"Oh, you two are back," Queen Mirialla looks back at us, Queen Meadow steps aside and turns to see us, she smiles but then they both look worried. "What's wrong you two?," Queen Meadow asks. "I need to check on something, and you," Ardian looks at me," are going to show me where." I nod and then walk out of the library we walked into before. I can hear him following me until I stop walking on the spot I had met Iliana. "It's right here," I say.

"What is with this spot?," I turn my head to see both Queen's walking up behind us, Ardian didn't pay them any attention but kneeled down. I step back until I'm beside them. "This is where I've had my meetings with Miss Iliana," I say. My Queen looks at me before focusing on Ardian again," is anything wrong with that, Archimage Ardian?," she asks him. He doesn't answer immediately but gets up after a while and turns," I will make a new portal to the Middlegrounds here," he says and marks the spot with a powdery substance. "What? Why?," I step forward. "And you are not going to contact her again," he tells me. "What is going on?," Queen Mirialla looks at Ardian, now expecting him to finally answer her.

"Do you remember why I stopped arranging meetings between the living and the dead?," Ardian says, the Queen looks a little confused," it created small disturbances in the passage between the realms of Earth and Death. Making it unstable, breaking it part by part, until it would possibly be destroyed. That would mean that the dead one's under us would not be able to pass on to the afterlife, meaning Earth would become out of balance and be damaged or even destroyed also," he explains," so you are going to stop contacting her from this point forward so we can prevent that from happening. You will see her eventually, when the time comes."

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I watched the Dragon Guards flying over the town, keeping an eye on a possible sighting of the Slain's, only switching with another when needed. "Archimage Wren?," I freeze but look to my side to see Queen Meadow climbing up towards me on the ruins I was sitting on. "Oh, hello Queen Meadow," I say and help her up the last bit," to what do I have the pleasure?," I ask her. "I'm sure you are not up to talking," she says," however I thought some company might be of help," she says as she takes place beside me, looking out over the town.

I take a deep breath to calm my mind a little. "May I ask you something, Your Highness?," I ask. "Of course," she smiles at me," what is it?" "Have you... experienced the war as well?," I look back at the town. "I did not really," she says," I was born right at the end so my memory does not contain any of what it was like back then." "Hm...," I stare in front of me for a little while," did your family?" "They did, yes," she says," we helped out Queen Mirialla actually. I have heard some stories about the time, I could tell you if you want me to?" "If you don't mind," I say looking back at her. "Of course not dear," she says," where should I start..."

"Oh, I think this would be a good start," she moves a little before beginning her story," my parents, the former King and Queen of the Saprophyte, they had made an alliance with Queen Mirialla," she starts," we did have a strong bond between our two territories for a few centuries before the war had even began. But during the war we created the weapons used to eventually defeat the Slain's. We are specialised in Nature Death Magic you know? We make objects from nature based products and worked it up with magic. Which is as well our way of using magic more efficiently. We need these objects, like my scepter, to control our magic rightly. I use mine to work my magic more targeted. It enhances my power abilities as well, it makes me stronger. Which is why Queen Mirialla called on the partnership our territories had."

"Did your Territory really want to go in?," I ask. "Of course not," she says," but they needed help and we were not about to let our friends fall under the threat that was still unknown at the time. We are very loyal to our friends, Wren, I think you might know about that too." I look away from the town and back at her," you mean with my girlfriend?," I say quietly, she nods. "That is why you contacted her in the afterlife, isn't it?," she says. I nod," when she died... she told me she wanted me to find her and to come talk with her again. So I did, because I promised her too," I blink a few times," and now I'm not allowed to anymore and I promised to contact her again... We never said our formal goodbyes until I could join her there... what if she gets scared? Or what if she thinks I forgot about her? Or what if she becomes disappointed in me? Or what if she doesn't trust me anymore? Or what if-" "Hey, can you look at me?," I do as she asks," you are not a bad person for not being able to contact her again, once you join her in the afterlife she will not blame you, she will not be mad or disappointed at you. She will understand and she will know."

"How can you be so sure?," I ask. She laughs quietly," me and my folk are intertwined with Death, my dear," she says," we are basically our own portal to the realm of the passed one's, it's where our magic comes from. We are between the Necromancer Archimage's and Death itself, we come from died grounds, it's how we are born."