The Bright Wood

Chapter 19

On account of the seemingly dire situation, Nox was allowed to come away from the front lines of battle to carry me to the Sky Kingdom. Lance flew alongside us, as we traveled high into the sky. The night was unusually clear except for a huge and dark cloud hovering just over Galoddem. It was as if a massive storm was brewing in preparation for the war and hard times to come. As we traveled through the Sky Kingdom, we learned more about the war from Nox's account.

"I've been stationed near the western sea line where Ansian soldiers were attempting to breach the borders of Storm Valley. Though staying there to help protect them has proven difficult since King Tonisan has made his generals keep everyone out. Storm Valley's broken from Galoddem, and I fear that they may soon side with Krolyn to escape further damage."

"The same has happened in Bethgarr only a day ago," answered Lance. "It seems that our noble alliance of nations was not as strong as it seemed. There has been peace for so long that we have forgotten what poverty is. We've forgotten how to appreciate the peace we had, and how we are falling apart with the first battles in a war that I cannot see the end of."

After several minutes of continuous travel, we come upon the massive white castle that is the capital of the Sky Kingdom. At the entrance stood Princess Rubell. Nox slowed and halted right at the base of the main staircase, and Lance flew right to where the princess was standing.

When I got to where they stood, Rubell looked at me and said, "The queen of the Sky Kingdom has requested an audience with the prince of Bright Wood." She smiled and went into the open doors. Lance stayed outside as I walked past him and towards where the princess had gone.

"Rubell, why has the queen requested to speak to me?"

"I've no idea, though it must be something to do with why she called you here many weeks ago.

We walked into the main hall of the palace, and Rubell paused at a book case. "With my mother's illness, we didn't want her in a place that anyone except our most trusted knights knew about," she said as she pulled a book from its place and turned it ninety degrees to the left. The entire case suddenly split in half and moved to each side to reveal a doorway leading to a winding staircase.

As we ascended, the bookcase closed behind us, and the entire place went black. "Usually the guards have torches for this," said Rubell as she lit a small blue orb in her hand. The sudden image of what I did in Krolyn's palace startled me, and I fell back a few steps. "Connor, are you alright?"

"Yes," I stated, regaining my composure. "Rubell, I need to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"Well, you know about how I was at Krolyn's palace in Ansia while the war began?"

"Yes?"

"Well, while I was there, I might have... Well you know... Ugh," I closed my eyes and simply blurted the truth. "I can do what you just did."

"W-what?" she asked, confused. "You can use lamier magic?"

Instead of stating it again, I closed my eyes and held out my hand. I wasn't sure if I could do it again because I had not tried to since the incident, but I used the same force with my mind as I had used in Krolyn's palace to envision a small ball of light in my palm. I didn't know if it worked until I heard Rubell's small gasp, and I opened my eyes to see that I had created a small, lightning-like ball of light that hovered slightly above my hand.

"It's true," she whispered. "You are of lamier blood."

"But I'm from earth. How could I possibly be anything other than human?"

"I don't know, but perhaps my mother has answers."

We continued our trek up the stairs, and eventually, we made it to a set of double wooden doors. Rubell pushed them open, and we stepped into a huge, ornately decorated room. In the center, was bed on the floor, and in the bed, was the queen. She was in the half deer, half human form that Rubell often took, and was lying down. She sat up when she heard us enter. "Aw, my child. Please come in, and Connor, I hope you have learned much during your time here."

I glanced at Rubell, a bit for permission to speak to such an authority. After she gave a small nod, I said, "Yes, your highness."

"Come. I must speak with you both." Rubell and I stepped up to the edge of the bed, and Rubell sat down. Following suit, I did the same.

"Mother, you must know that war has begun, and panic has run rampant through all of Galoddem. Your land is falling apart."

"I thought as much. Your father is very angry. I can feel it."

Rubell flinched at the word 'father,' but she leaned to me and explained, "Along with being a lamier and having lamier magic, she is also a sorceress. She is very powerful." I immediately thought of the sorceress I met in Arpton during the festival, and my face must have shown my concern because Rubell also stated, "don't worry. She is not a witch, who would only wield dark magic, but simply a good sorceress."

"Yes, not to worry, Connor." The queen shifted in the bed.

"Mother, Prince Connor has lamier blood. He carries the magic."

"That is something I brought you here to talk about," said the queen, completely unsurprised. "Once, a long time ago, about 17 summers ago, Lord Timeus Krolyn and I were happily married. We had lived as king and queen of the Sky Kingdom for many years, but one day, I sensed the faint presence of dark magic in his soul.

"At the same time, I discovered my pregnancy." She laid a hand on Rubell's knee. "As my womb grew larger, the king only fell deeper into the darkness' grasp. When I gave birth, I had twins, a boy and a girl. I was worried about the darkness inside my husband. I couldn't see what the future would hold for any of us, so I sent away the baby boy. I sent him into the other world so that the future would always have hope. His name was Eden.

She looked directly at me. "Eden... my son." A tear formed in her eye, and I could feel one in mine as well. "I called you here for a much greater reason than to rule Bright Wood, though I am not entirely sure what that is yet. Welcome home, my boy."

Suddenly, Rubell stood to her feet, and her hands went to her head. "Woah. This is a lot to take in... I have a brother." She looked at me. "You're my brother... Connor... Eden," she corrected, "you're my brother, my twin brother!" A smile spread across her face. "No wonder you have lamier magic!"

I looked at Rubell, then at the queen. "You're my mother, my real mother." I couldn't help it. I practically leapt across the bed to embrace the woman I had always dreamt of meeting. Rubell also came in the join the hug. "You know what? This explains the strange attraction I had to you when we first met," I said to Rubell. She looked at me quizzically.

"You were attracted to me?" she joked.

"Well..." We all laughed out loud and cherished the small amount of time we had to be a family. Then, a thought surfaced in my mind. I stepped away from the small group. "If you're my mother," I looked at the queen, "and you're my sister," I looked at Rubell, "that means that Lord Krolyn is my father, as well."

Suddenly, I remembered something. I removed the seeing crystal from my leather pouch. "Can you explain to me what this is exactly?"

The queen's gaze grew solemn, and she held out her hand. I placed it in her palm, and she began to examine it. "This... this is one of two seeing crystals I created a long time ago." She sighed. "This one, I gave to Timeus as a wedding gift." She pulled another crystal, this one a lighter, teal color, from a fold in her clothes. "This one is mine." She handed me hers while she continued to examine Krolyn's. "I believe he sold this crystal to a witch in order to originally gain his dark magic." As I looked over my mother's seeing crystal, she handed Krolyn's to Rubell. "I want both of you to have these. Perhaps they will aid you in this terrible time."

I furrowed my brow. "Won't you need one?"

"No, my son." She laughed. "My time in this world is not long. I am still sick, and soon, this illness will take my body so that my soul can go to the homeland. I would rather you used my crystal to guide you through the rest of your long life."