Solace and Nox: A New Light

Chapter 42

Cytra breathed in heavily. Then she let it out. She laid her head on Raiden's side, letting her exhaustion show. Raiden was breathing heavily too. His heart was racing, as was her's.

Cytra looked around at her dark surroundings. The forest was dark, with only a few lights around them.

"Alayah?" Cytra called. "Alayah? Where are you?"

Raiden tried to sit up but she held him down. She held a finger to her lips, shushing him, so she could listen for Alayah. Where had she gone to?

A purple fairy with wings similar to an eagle's approached her. Cytra recognized her. Her name was Echo. Her long blond hair reached down to her tiny purple dress. She floated near Cytra's cheek, kissed it, and then flew back so she could see her face.

"What's wrong my dear?" Echo asked.

"We just need a place to stay," Cytra replied. "We need to talk to Alayah, it's important."

"Oh, well she and the other fairies went to help the Ciamas," Echo said, cheerfully. "It's so great to have him back. Thank you for doing that." She bowed slightly, as if Cytra were some kind of princess.

"When will she and the others be back?" Cytra asked.

"Well, I'd assume they'd be back when the battle is over," Echo said thoughtfully. "I don't think Alayah would mind if the two of you stayed the night."

Raiden's breathing grew steady. Another fairy--this one was yellow--kissed his forehead and whispered, "Sleep well, hero."

Cytra smiled as she watched Raiden fall to sleep. He looked so peaceful.

"Thank you Echo," Cytra said quietly. "We're going to need a place to stay."

She bowed again and floated away.

It was strange seeing Turphia so dark. There were only about twenty fairies who watched over Raiden as he slept. Normally, there were hundreds. No, thousands. Cytra grew up with these fairies after her mother passed, so she considered them the only family she had. After several years, she began living alone in Shodon. She would make frequent visits to the fairies in Turphia, but Shodon was her home. It always has been.

Cytra remembered that night that her mother died, and the night that Jitlan betrayed her. She knew she shouldn't have killed him, but that inner darkness took over. Besides, she had to gain Moldark's trust.

Right after Jitlan had betrayed Cytra, she ran away from home. She ran as far away from Shodon as she could. She made her way to the Whispering Oceans, and she admitted passage on a local ship to the next continent over. When she arrived in the new continent, she traveled through a forest, and that is when she discovered Turphia.

She was alone, cold, and tired. She had never been alone before. Grace had always been there for her, even when she was sick. Cytra was not used to being alone, so every night she was alone, she would cry. She would cry for her mother, who would never come.

One night, as she cried for her mother, the forest came to life. That's when she discovered Turphia. The fairies came alight around her, and they showed her that there was still a light in this world. They showed her that there was always hope.

But she didn't always believe them. She knew that Turphia could be a potential home for her. She always dreamed of becoming one of them, but she quickly grew up.

It wasn't until she met Raiden that she believed the fairies were right. There is hope in everything. There is always a better way out.

There is always a light in the darkness.

You just have to know where to look.

When Moldark found Cytra and offered her a position in his dark organization, she immediately talked to Alayah about it. Alayah knew it was a dark and dangerous path, and it could easily take away Cytra's humanity. When she killed Jitlan, it almost did, but Raiden saved her from that inner darkness.

Alayah knew exactly what to do in every situation. She told Cytra to gain Moldark's trust so they could stop his evil plan. Everything Cytra did was because Alayah had a plan. Cytra only hurt Raiden because she had to gain Raiden's trust. Alayah provided the berry that activated Raiden's magic, Alayah found the key to the Ciamas's prison, and she planned every possibility.

Alayah was the true hero.

Cytra looked down at Raiden and smiled. He was a true hero, too.

Echo floated down beside him holding a leaf. It was an aspen leaf, which the fairies used to magically heal wounds. Echo, and the other fairies, applied the aspen leaves to Raiden's various wounds, and then kissed the leaves. They glowed dimly as they healed Raiden. His breathing grew steadier as the leaves healed him. Cytra smiled at the fairies, tears were coming to her eyes. Their magic was a beautiful thing.

"Thank you," Cytra whispered.

All the fairies bowed to her, smiling back. Each of them came and kissed her on the cheek. Their light touch tickled a little, and Cytra laughed lightly.

"May this newfound light guide you, Cytra," Echo said, before going about her business.

Cytra thanked them once again, then laid down on a pile of leaves that the fairies created for her. She looked up at the fairies, blinked away her tears, and fell asleep.