At The Heart of Tale Kingdoms (COMPLETED)

15. ELIA - The Fallen Son

Elia felt the fog clear and her sleep fade. She turned her ears to the chirps of the bird that she heard every morning and the clinks of dishes as Nine tried to organize his breakfast of the same five fruits, but the air was quiet.

She slowly turned trying to not touch her cold bed pillars which were made of the Zyc stone with only the sleeping frame topped with a stuffed wool mattress. She moved her head but didn't feel the heat from the first sun rays that sipped through the small square window, right above her small bed.

She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, the room was dark, it was the peak of night, closer to midnight than morning.

"The hours before dawn are the darkest one, it's when the ghosts and lost souls roam the land especially in Storan. It's when that evil illness finds new victims and poisons our glory." Her mother had said, she too was a roaming soul now.

Elia knew that time of the night very well, it always made her blood rush and her body shiver. But that wasn't the current hour she knew, Elia had woken up with a strange bubble of delight though she had spent the last few days feeling angry and abandoned.

She sat up and placed her feet on the floor as her eyes focused on what was before her, she saw a dark shadow. Startled with shock, she reached for the wooden spear that Nine had given her in preparation for their lessons. She tried to grasp it in panic but her arm was met by the edge of the small closet that she kept the red garments she wore.

"Why are you scared, even when you sleep, fear surrounds you?" The first sat on the floor before her, his back leaning on the wall, his bright aura was absent.

Elia relaxed as she heard his voice and breathed in, realizing she had been holding her breath.

"How did you get in?" she asked him, ignoring his comment.

"We don't lock front doors in Yth, and there is no door to your room." Elia observed The First looked more human at that moment, as if he was capable of normal emotions.

"Why are you here?"

"I came to see you, I needed to know how you were adjusting." He spoke softly.

Elia wanted reach out and touch him, hug and cling to him. He hadn't abandoned her like her brother, she told herself. But she pushed the thought away. If he hadn't yet, he soon will. She should stop searching for a new brother.

"Why am I here? What do you want from me? I have nothing to offer you." She said instead. The first stood and leaned back on the wall, his arms crossed.

"You can offer us peace." Elia chuckled and waved her arms around.

"Is Yth at war? I don't think even with training I will be much of a fighter to turn the table for your nation. And If I could offer any other type of peace, I would have, to Storan."

The first smiled. He came forth, crouched before her and looked at her hands but didn't reach out to touch them.

"You are more than a fighter, you are the feather that could tip our scale." Why was he talking in riddles?

"You must be mistaken, I am nothing." She murmured.

"You are everything." his eyes searched her face.

"To whom?" she asked, her voice filled with pain.

"To..." they heard a sound from the door and The first stood. His glow was back and his face concealed, he had quickly turned back to the bold son of god she had seen at the pond in Storan. He hurriedly walked to the door way, as he was about to step out he turned back to utter his parting words.

"You are strong, Elia, cultivate that strength, I will see you again, soon." Then he perished as he always did.

Elia stayed on her bed, watching the place The first had been sitting. She couldn't help but dislike the man who left. His change and movement began to feel theatrical to her like it was all planned performance just like those of twenty second.

Nine peeped through the door. He almost jumped when he found her staring back at him.

"Why are you awake?" he asked her. She wanted to lie to him but her heart didn't want to.

"The first paid me a visit."

"In the middle of the night?" he asked.

"Yes, why are you awake?"

"I couldn't sleep so I went for a ride."

"Hmmh."

"Did he have anything important to tell you?" he asked.

"No, just puzzles and riddles." Nine nodded and turned to leave.

"Wait, can you tell me a story?" Elia asked, surprised by her own confidence.

Nine took off is boots then came into the room and sat on her bed. Elia moved back into her covers. "What story would you like?"

"A good one that is not real. All the other ones I have heard are too dark and gruesome to be fiction." Elia bit her lip, still thinking.

"And Nine, when you're at the good end, stop, don't finish it, so it always goes on in my head.