The Shadow

s i x t e e n

A/N: Happy Reading!!

The caravan halted in front of large wooden, snow adorned gates. Vines and flowers clung onto it. As the trio alighted from the caravan, the gate opened at its own will. Before them lay a grass covered path with hopeflowers and loschias. The three trudged along slowly, taking in the surroundings around them. For Dane and Saerah, this place was new and serene. Cleisha, on the other hand, was returning home. Dunes of grass covered hills loomed around them with turquoise waterfalls. A swarm of glassbutterflies  fluttered around them, their translucent wings scintillating in the sunlight. As the lumbered along the path, a faint music started teasing their ears. They walked into a orchard of Ashaha flowers. Flocks of Kasha birds christened the sky, which was itself painted in hues of cobalt and cyan. The sun was a large vermillion dot.

Then came the nymphs. Nature nymphs were said to be one of the most alluring creatures on Trousse. Young nymphs of all genders bowed on seeing the friends. They were a flurry of colours. Their bodies in themselves were nude, but of a different shade than the one next to them. Azure, magenta, lapis, lilac, mauve, champagne, pink, greens from mint to seafoam and yellows from dijon to canary. Their hair was a symbol of their element. Flames adorned the heads of some nymphs, some wore flowing streams proudly and others hand tendrils of smoky shadows accompanying their slender figures. Some nymphs had braids of vines and flowers while others had sheets of supple glass for hair. And some others were bald. There seemed to be a hundred of them due to the diversity, but really there were only twenty four. The Sacre Nymphs. Twenty four nymphs, four of each Sacre Elemental. Fire, Water, Shadow, Earth, Glass and Air. The archaic leaders of nymphs across Trousse. The troupe of majestic nymphs lead Saerah, Dane and Cleisha to where the River Teleki lay. Each person saw the colour of the river different. Sometimes it depended on their mood. Other times, simply on their personality. Saerah saw it as an icy gray.

"It's a cerise for me," Dane murmured.

"And a bronze for me," Cleisha cooed.

"Gray," Saerah remarked softly.

The walked a little further. And then The Ville came into view. The abode of the Tewagi. A central, gigantic lilac cabana surrounded by multiple, smaller light blue cabanas. Each light blue cabana was for a different, smaller family in the Tewagi Dynasty.  Cleisha's family's cabana was different than her cousins' families' cabanas. The Central Cabana was like a main palace, where the ruling Tewagi siblings resided. Tethys Gehzi was bigender while Titus Gehzi was agender. Titus Gehzi wasn't going to be attending the wedding as one had to handle other affairs.

The Sacre Nymphs stretched their hands towards a samller cabana, Cleisha's family's cabana. Cleisha knocked on its ornate door with flowers carved on it, her heart hammering. A tall and slender woman opened the door. She was wearing a sapphire blue gown and her crimson hair was braided like Cleisha's. Her eyes resembled Cleisha's, a sparkling black. An elated squeal was released from the woman's thin lips as Cleisha leaped into her mother's arms. "Come on in." The woman looked at Dane and Saerah. "You guys must be Dane and Saerah. Come one. You can leave your bags by the entrance. My name is Sitara." The cabana was huge from inside. The floor was wooden and a large flower and vine chandelier protruded from the high ceiling. A spiraling staircase led to another floor. The ground floor had multiple vaayus and other seating arrangements. A room at one corner was the kitchen. At another corner was a study.

"My room is upstairs," Cleisha remarked. Seconds later, the three friends were bounding up the staircase. There were three rooms. One for Cleisha, one for her parents and a spare. Cleisha's room was a generous size with a green canopy bed and soft brown walls. Their was a wooden closet and a mirror next to it. A door led to the bath, which included a huge hot tub. The room was simple, yet had a sense of grandeur to it.

"Where are we going to sleep?" Saerah inquired.

"Well, the spare room is huge and has two bunk beds. I was thinking we could all sleep there itself. And I was thinking Nuha could join us, if that's okay. In fact, we should go meet her after we go to the Excelsior Temple," Cleisha replied, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Cleisha and Dane led Saerah to the Excelsior Temple. This was where Dane had grown up. The Temple was large and surrounded by redwood trees. The door was ornate with opal and lapis carvings. When Dane knocked on the door, an old man opened it. He was wearing a simple green tunic. When he saw Dane, his lips stretched into a smile. "Dane Kraofsky! It's been a while."

Dane grinned. "Elder Holden. It's nice to see you again." Dane and the priest hugged.  "Elder, these are my friends, Saerah and Princess Cleisha."

The Elder smiled. "Cleisha, of course. I remember you from the time you were a young girl who used to come to the Temple to play with our Dane." He then turned to Saerah. "It's nice to make your acquaintance, Saerah. Now, I was hoping you would give me and Dane a moment alone."

Cleisha smiled. "Of course, Elder Holden. Saerah, lets go meet Nuha."

Nuha's cabana was right beside Cleisha's. The door was identical. When it opened, standing before them was Nuha. They had short cropped purple hair and dark brown eyes. They were wearing a plain mustard yellow jump suit. Their skin was a caramel shade. On seeing Cleisha, they broke into a smile.

"Sha!" Nuha squealed.

"Nuha!" Cleisha cooed at the same time. The two cousins exchanged a long hug. "These are my friends, Saerah," she stated, gesturing towards her friends. "And this is my dear cousin Nuha."

Nuha shot  Saerah a dazzling smile. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

Saerah smiled back. "Likewise. I have heard a lot about you from Cleisha. You're her favourite cousin, you know."

Nuha chuckled softly. "Well, this news shouldn't reach the ears of our other cousins. Also, where is Dane? I thought he was coming as well."

"Dane is reuniting with Elder Holden. He'll meet us at the orchard," Cleisha commented clapping her hands. "Everyone hangs out there usually," she explained to Saerah.

The orchard was full of shadowfruit trees and Ashaha flowers. The grass beneath their feet was a lascivious green. Three other people were sitting on huge boulders. On seeing Cleisha, they started cheering. Two boys and one girl. Cleisha hugged every one of them.

"This is Saerah. She is my friend from the Phrontistery," she introduced. Then she turned to Saerah .  "This is Maja." She pointed towards the girl. Maja had long flaxen hair that fell in waves. Her eyes were a light caramel. She was wearing a crimson sundress. "This is Roman." She pointed towards the boy sitting next to Maja. He had straight copper hair that fell to his shoulders and caramel eyes . He looked like a male version of Maja, except for the hair. Cleisha seemed to read her friends' minds. "Maja and Roman are twins. And this is Aiger." The boy Cleisha gestured towards was simply gorgeous. He had luscious caramel hair about an inch shorter than that of Roman's. He had gray-turquoise eyes that scintillated in the sunlight. His shoulders were broad. Her sculpted chest was bear, and her was wear nothing but a pair of jhakas. He shot Saerah a captivating smile.

Saerah was too taken aback to return the gesture. "Elias," she breathed. The cousins looked at each other in confusion, and so did Cleisha and Dane. Elias didn't look very much like Aiger. Not more than how a boy make look like another boy anyways. His eyes were a enchanting turquoise. Saerah herself didn't understand why she had made the connection she did. But there was something about Aegir. Something she just couldn't put a finger on.

"Saerah just mistook Aiger for someone from the Phrontistery. Even though they don't look very alike. She must really miss Elias!"Cleisha remarked, chuckling. Saerah knew for a fact that Aiger wasn't Elias. But a part of her felt as though she knew Aiger from somewhere. The boy himself was staring at Saerah, wondering how much she knew.

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Love,

Aarna.