Sapphire Flame

SEVENTEEN

Sapphire Flame  -  Yasmeen J.

Mature content towards the end of the chapter.

The Vreko Realm

   She ran towards the side of the castle until she came to the familiar garden. She searched around the area but Kaena was nowhere to be seen.

   She was sure she'd be there so she thought to herself for a second, but her hand began to glow by no will of her own and she looked down at it with a confused expression. She held it up and stretch her arm out. 

   Her body recognized the radiation of magic nearby. Her magic whipped out in front of her towards the spot she and Kaena once stood. At that moment she knew a portal rested there. Her violet waves stretched like fingers around the invisible doorway in front of her. She pulled it back and just like that the field of green revealed itself.

   Kaena stood in the middle of it, the green, silver, violet, and blue beds of flowers in front of her.

   Akantha stepped through the entrance with no hesitation and made her way to her.

   "Dove... are you alright? Are you hurt?"

   "I'm fine... I wanted to ask you something before we... you know..."

   "Of course."

   "Can... people like us create memories? Like from scratch... false ones?"

   "I'm sure it's possible for you. I've been restricted to little 'ole illusions and tricks. When it comes to the mind, I'm very limited."

   She nodded slowly to her answer.

   "I would suggest playing it out though. Memories are one of the strongest things our minds create. If one is faked through magic you'll see right through it."

   The fields and blue sky around them changed in an instant. Gentle music flowed from what could only be the partnership between a harp and a flute. A majestic golden ballroom with two figures gliding across the floor as if one didn't exist.
   Eccentric masks covered their faces and the skirt of the woman's black gown almost wrapped around the man's body, his gold suit matching the extravagance of their surroundings.
    People began to appear and watched with the same awe as Kaena did. Akantha just stared fondly with a small smile.

   "That time wasn't just my favorite era of fashion... but it was also the time that I met the other half of my soul. A time back when I couldn't see past the monster I was myself... but he did."

   As she looked closer, it was clear that it was Akantha's face under the mask. Looking just the same as she stood beside her. Brandon was the man that held her, but he was different, his skin was rich olive and his eyes were a lively blue. His soft smile was stuck as he looked down into her eyes.

   "Even as an illusion everything is as it was, magic can't overpower that, it can only help to see it in a way most others can't."

   "I never did ask how you two met..."

   She smiled to herself. "He and his father were loved socialites and he was soon to be a victorian prince because of that. I was... an outsider. It became quite complicated once he found out what I was, once they all found out. I was... a monster to them... and they weren't wrong. I love Brandon and I will in this life and the next, but honestly, sometimes I wish I could back to that time before we really knew each other. Back then to that moment of love at first sight. That was the happiest I'd ever been."