Not so Imaginary // On Hold // GxB Paranormal Romance

Part Nineteen | The Lady of the Light

N I N E T E E N 

I found Ren asleep in another room. He was all twisted up in the blankets with sweat beading down his skin, a cast on one arm. Attendant Eldrich was snoring loudly in a chair beside the bed.

Waiting for him to wake up was not something I felt particularly keen on at the moment. In fact, with two halves of this great, mysterious crystal we'd been searching for grasped tightly in each of my palms, you might say I was downright anxious to talk to Ren. I hadn't told Suah or Yaro, and I sure wasn't going to show the crystal halves to his attendant. I needed Ren's advice.

I had whispered his name and begun to tap him on the shoulder when Suah's voice said from the doorway, "There you are, miss run-away patient. Back to bed with you!"

I snapped upright and swiveled to face her, palms still clenched over the jewel halves.

"Uh, hi. I was just... worried about Ren."

Suah gave a sympathetic smile, "I'm sure you were. But he'll be okay--as long as he gets his sleep. Now come on."

She hustled me out of the room, leaving Ren and his attendant's snores behind.

I thought there was no way I could still be tired, but as soon as she'd tucked me back into bed, I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, I was lying in a brilliant white desert that could have only existed in dreams.

I pushed myself up to look around, but the only thing there was to see was sand, stretching from one horizon to the other and piling up into dunes that reached toward the brilliant, blue sky.

Unlike any other dream I'd had, this felt real. As in, I could feel the sting of the sand as a breeze picked-up and pelted it against my skin.

When I began to walk, the wind grew stronger and stronger until I was covering my eyes with my arm and pushing forward, head bent towards the ground. 

Gradually, the howling cry of the wind began to change. It took on a feminine tone and, slowly, words began to take shape from empty rushing.

"I am the lady of the light," said the voice in the wind. I whipped around, expecting to see someone standing behind me, but there was no one there.

"I have brought you to my past," she said, "To show you a story that once was."

At the crest of the next hill, I stopped abruptly. The sand ended in a slippery cliff, and I found myself clamoring to stop from sliding over its edge. When at last I'd regained my footing, I gazed out over the wide expanse of what appeared to be a city, glinting and glimmering in blinking lights. Where the sand ended, the sunlight did as well. I glanced behind me, but there, too, was now only darkness. The only light that remained was from the city ahead.

"Once upon a time when the world was still young," began the woman, "Two realms were born in light. The land of humans, and the land of Morrir.

"But the Morrir needed energy for their tools, for their weapons. They enlisted their most powerful sorcerers and captured the light, distilling it into a great crystal. The Crystal was suspended in the sky above the city in place of the sun that had once been. Now the city had as much energy as they wanted. The Morrir forged great weapons from fragments of this Crystal. But year after year, generation after generation, the Crystal grew smaller and smaller as pieces were taken and worn away.

"One day, when it was small enough to hold in the palm of one hand, it was stolen."

With that, there was a rushing of wind and I found myself standing in a dim alley within the city, yellowed beams of light chasing around the corner and towards me ahead of shouting and yells. I pressed back into the wall to hide when I saw a girl run past, clutching a small parcel against her chest. The yelling of guards followed the girl as they rushed after her. 

I stepped out to follow, but then I saw the light as she passed through the divide.

"Something happened then that even I didn't expect," said the lady of the light, "I found that the Crystal had disappeared."

"After that, I lived the remainder of my life as a human and never spoke of the Morrir world. It wasn't until now that I was sure what happened."

"You must not return the Crystal," her voice said. "As my heir, it is your duty to restore the light."

With that, I found the city of darkness spinning away. I woke in bed with the feeling of sand under my fingernails.

"I was starting to think you weren't going to wake up at all," said a familiar voice. I sat up so fast, I nearly smacked my face into Ren's. He was leaning over my bed, still bandaged and wearing a cast, but overall his usual, grinning self.

Then his eyes fell to my hands, one of which had fallen open above the sheets. I turned the palm upright to show him. There, I held out half the Crystal.

"Holy..." He stared, "You have it."

And then, glancing towards the door to make sure we were alone, I pulled out the other half.

- - - 

My gosh, I have not updated in a while! I don't know why it was so hard for me to do this time. I think it's because I feel like we're getting towards some closure, that that makes me back away for fear of not doing it justice. If I never write it, does the story go on forever? Just kidding. I will finish this. That emphasis is my way of forcing myself to do it. Besides, a good story never ends, even after you close the book. :D

Anyway, how the heck will we accomplish this task of putting the crystal back? After all, it's been so worn-down, there's hardly anything left. We shall see...

Stay tuned!