The Light of Elysium

59 - Back from the edge

(Elissa's PoV)

I am floating, insubstantial as smoke and submerged in utter darkness. Am I dead?

"Come back to me." I vaguely recognise the masculine voice, but cannot place it.

"Come back, my rose." The commanding words resound through my being, demanding attention and pulling me back to consciousness.

Gasping, I jolt awake and my eyes flash open, where they are met by stormy silver eyes staring down at me. It takes me a moment to recall who and where I am, then the memory of the vision rushes over me like floodwaters and I choke.

It is all too much; the knowledge that Isabella was my mother but that she perished in flames to save me. Then mum and dad suffered the same fate. I cannot help but wonder if I am cursed somehow.

Morpheus pulls me upright into his lap and wordlessly enfolds me in strong arms. Trembling, I bury my face in his shirt and cling onto him as if he could stop me getting swept away. His magic wraps around me like a comforting blanket.

I can tell that I'm recovering from the shock when I ponder how I am a lamb lying with the lion. Yet, I have to admit rarely have I felt as safe as I do right now.

Morpheus eases his hold and, embarrassed by my moment of weakness, I take the opportunity to slide from his lap and take a seat beside him. His fingers gently brush against the back of my hand before clenching into a fist.

"Cosmos should not have allowed you to travel in his mind in a vision of his own demise. For a moment I thought that I was going to lose you."

The intensity of his gaze is too strong, so I glance away and take in the visage of my father, who is slumped on the floor with his head bowed, eye glazed and lost in the past. Meanwhile, Celestia is pacing, her skirts swishing like the flick of an angry cat's tail.

Guilt rips through me and tears sting my eyes to see my father so broken. If not for me he would still have his wife. "I'm so sorry father. This is all my fault. Can you ever forgive me?"

Aldebaran picks himself up and kneels before me, taking both of my hands in his. "My dearest daughter, no blame lies with you. You are truly a blessing. I thank the gods that fate brought you to me."

Pulling me to my feet, he hugs me and surrounds me with his love. The mournful notes of a cello wind around us, uniting us in sorrow, while the bright tinkling notes of a harp sing of happier days to come.

Celestia shakes her head. "Such a tragedy and all down to the egos of men."

From thin air, Morpheus conjures a decanter and four crystal goblets on a silver tray. The decanter rises of its own accord and pours golden liquid into the goblets which then glide across the room into our hands.

I nurse my drink, the fumes alone enough to make me a little light headed, and try to process the information whirling around my head. If Isabella is my mother, then I was born eighty years ago, but I have only lived for twenty.

"I am only twenty, how can that be?"

Morpheus shrugs. "I never imagined that there could be a realm without magic, much less that one could travel there. Perhaps the feat required that you be sent through both time and space, or maybe time just flows differently between our realms."

His logic makes sense, but also emphasises how unlikely I am to ever see my old home or friends again.

"What I would like to understand is what Cosmos did with the Light of Elysium." Though the queen's face remains a picture of serenity, it is evident from the ice crystals in her voice that she is deeply upset.