6: Darken Flower

10: the Cradle of the Eternal

when we reached the edge of the village Tyr and the other wolves separated from us. 

we walked into the village of the Cradle of the Eternal. the huts here were similar to the huts in the main town, small, made of rough logs, and with straw roofs.

there were beast folk of all types going about their daily lives. some were doing laundry and some were returning from the fields.

"excuse me." i spoke to an owl-looking person. "i am looking for the village leader." 

"shes just over there." the owl pointed to a slightly larger hut then looked to Robin, "never seen a raven beast before."

"i am actually a fairy." Robin lowered himself to talk to the owl. "i am honored to know that you thought i was one of your kind however."

"never met a fairy before either." he started to hum to himself as he walked away. "the kids will never believe this."

"you are surprisingly good with people." i pointed out. "for someone who plays with bugs."

he glared at me slightly. "i am a king, who has traveled far and wide. those bugs become people no different then you or i. of course i am good with people."

"sorry." i muttered while looking at the busy street before us, kids running around and playing. 

we walked to the bigger hut and knocked on the door. "enter." a frail voice yelled from inside.

we opened the door and slowly walked in. the room was filled head to toe in books and ancient artifacts, with a small bed in the far side. sitting at a small table was a frail old lady who looked to be some type of possum beast, with a long nose and small ears. 

"sorry for the intrusion." Robin started. "i was hoping you could help us with something."

"take a seat." the village leader motioned to two chairs on the other side of the table, we did as she said. "what can i do for you two?"

"i know you do not like to give the location of what we seek." Robin started. "and we would rather not have to ask. we talked to King Pheven and he pointed us in your direction."

"you see, my wife, his sister." Robin looked rather sad. "she is on the brink of death, and it is all our fault. we need to find the location of the everlasting pool to save her life."

the old lady stood to her feet, looking mad, she grabbed her cane. "you two need to leave, now." 

we stood to our feet as she backed us to the door. 

"we will not give the location to anyone." she warned. "not even with your fake sob story."

"we are not lying." Robin spoke calmly as i opened the door. "i am a fairy, i cannot lie."

"i dont care what you are." she hissed. "you will never steel our beloved pool from us."

we backed out of the hut. i looked behind us and saw that all the villagers have started to surround us. "Robin... we should leave."

"i am not leaving without the location." he started to sound mad. 

"then you will die." the village leader motioned for the villagers to advance. 

"we cant hurt them." i warned as Robin pulled his sword. "we can not risk as war for mother."

"then how do you think we will get out of this?" Robin asked as we were backed up to a well. 

i looked down the large well and spotted that the water seemed to be flowing from somewhere. "can you swim?" 

"i can." he answered. 

"good." i spoke, climbing to the edge of the well. "jump." 

he looked at me. "what do you...?" i stepped backward into the well.

i plunged into the cold water, Robin following suit. we swam to the top and looked up. the villagers looked in and left. 

"now what?" Robin asked. 

i looked around and spotted a submerged tunnel where the water was flowing from. "the water has to be coming from somewhere."

"i can breath under water." Robin stated. "but if there is no end you will die."

"i have to save my sister." i said. "so if you at least get out of here then you will be able to save her."

"you trust me enough for that?" he asked. "you would trust me with your sisters life?"

"after everything that has happened." i smiled. "i would trust you with not only hers, but my own as well." 

he nodded. "if you pass out, i will not leave you behind."

"i appreciate that." i then took a deep breath and submerged my head under the water and swam into the the opening. the water pushed against us as we swam farther and farther in. 

i soon felt the need to breath, i looked to Robin who swam next to me, i knew my eyes were full of fear. i was honestly terrified to die in here, to never see my family again. 

Robin pulled me tight against him, using his large wings to swim. he then pressed his lips against my own and pushed air into me. i could feel air in my lungs once more and nodded a thanks to Robin. 

soon we could see light ahead of us, with water pushing with stronger force as we got closed. 

Robin pulled me close once more and with all his might, used his wings to pull us out of the opening and into the sky. i took a deep breath of the fresh air. we flew for a bit and i noticed that we came out at the bottom of the waterfall.

Robin carefully landed on the small beach. 

looking around the air almost felt cleaner here then even in the woods. there was wildlife of all type stopping to drink from the body of water. 

i looked to Robin who started to shake the water from his wings. "you really saved me back there. thank you."

"our deal has ended with that." Robin laughed. "i did not want you to die, when i saw you struggling back there, i felt scared. i think i was scared to lose you."

i looked at him, almost shocked at what he said. "we do not tell my sister you kissed me." i laughed. 

"it was a lifesaving breath." Robin crossed his arms. "not a kiss."

"our lips touched." i shrugged. "we tell no one." 

he sighed. "agreed."

"do you think this is it?" i asked.

"i could feel the powers from the even when we entered the well." Robin answered. "this is it."

i sat on the sand below our feet and just laughed. 

Robin sat next to me. "we finally found it."

"we did." i smiled then spotted something carved into a nearby stone. 

i got up and walked over to it. i could not read it. 

Robin stood behind me and translated it. "to save one most dear, you must give a memory just as dear."