Winter of Destiny (Celestia Chronicles Book 4/Seasons Arc: Book 4)

Chapter 7: The Death of Arda

Jade jumped down into the pit and kicked Syvix away from her mother's corpse, holding the body in her arms.

I need to make it convincing, She thought to herself as she held the body.

"No" Jade cried out. "You can't die- you were supposed to pass along Krystal." Tears fell from her face, her feelings torn over needing to spin this devastating and somber moment into a ruse. She faced Syvix, who was taken aback by the look in her eyes. Not red with hate- but conveying a message. "Leave now if you know what is good for you" She said to Syvix, her tone incredibly threatening.

Syvix ran off as Gremdar and Kendra came to Jade. The three said nothing as they held onto Arda's body. Serenity and Talon looked on feeling out of place, Talon especially after the rampage he went on. He looked on Arda's body feeling the guilt well up inside himself, knowing that it was his life she died for.

She needs you. Talon heard her final words in his head. He knew that she had a deeper meaning to those words, like the answer to a riddle he didn't know.

******

Syvix walked into the room as Xaug and Galof looked on with curiosity.

"Did you kill him" Xaug asked, eyebrows raised.

"Talon proved to be more dangerous than I gave him credit for" Syvix said. "I underestimated the power of his rage. I was however able to finish off Arda."

Xaug stared in disbelief as Galof raised an eyebrow at the surprising way this was mentioned as an aside.

"You killed Arda" Galod asked, his tone carrying a hint of skepticism.

"Yeah" Syvix said. "I didn't believe it myself. I went to stab Talon in a moment his guard was down and Arda just jumped in the way taking the hit. I'm kinda surprised at how easily she died considering how formidable she has been."

"She probably already passed Krystal to Jade" Xaug said.

"But she didn't" Syvix countered. "Jade even mentioned how she didn't get Krystal's power. I chalked it up to a ruse but her Energy- I could only sense four of the five guardians- none of them Krystal."

"This is a very unexpected turn of events" Galof said. "I wonder how this will impact the Day of Destiny."

***********

As Jade finished digging out the grave, unassisted by her control over the earth, she reflected on her memories of her mother. She looked at her hands- expecting to see some evidence of her work but her body seemed to have healed without her even thinking about it.

Could this be related to the true nature of Energy, Jade thought to herself as she climbed out of the freshly dug grave.

Serenity readied an arrow on her bow and aimed it into the woods. "Show yourself" She declared, "Your overpowering scent of brimstone gave you away."

"I'm not here to fight" Lucifer said as he exited the woods with his arms in the air.

"And why should we trust you" Gremdar demanded of him.

"He's here to pay his respects" Jade said, everyone turned to her looking confused.

"I could feel the second she passed on from this world" Lucifer said, "It was the very thing that kept me confined in hell all these years. Despite how things ended up Arda was the one real friend and love I ever had. I felt it would be disgraceful to not use my newfound freedom to pay my respects."

"If you agree to have no ulterior motives than to say goodbye then we agree to not pick a fight with you" Jade said.

"I agree" Lucifer said, lowering his hands and walking to Arda's corpse. "May I ask who killed her?"

"Syvix" Jade said.

"Of course that traitor would continue to be a thorn in my side" Lucifer said.

"You betrayed him first" Gremdar said, leering at Lucifer with contempt.

"You must be Gremdar" Lucifer said, he bowed slightly. "I owe you my gratitude for making her happier than I ever could. She deserved someone like you from the start" His clear blue eyes tearing up. "My biggest regret is what happened between us in Atlantis, if I could change history I would do so without a second thought."

"And yet you seem determined to stay on your path of evil" Kendra said.

"I, like your former beloved, have become slaves to our hate. I move forward on my mission because I gave up everything to pursue it."

Everyone gathered around the grave as Jade lowered Arda's body into it with some dirt. Everyone hung their heads, a moment of silence for Arda. Everyone grabbed a handful of dirt.

"You are the reason my child didn't die" Serenity said as she sprinkled  the dirt on Arda's body.

"You are the reason I fought to protect Atlantis" Kendra said as she sprinkled the dirt.

"You were the reason I ever knew what love felt like" Lucifer said as he sprinkled the dirt.

"You were the reason I was able find a home when banished from mine" Gremdar said as he sprinkled his dirt.

"You were the reason I'm not dead right now" Talon said as she sprinkled his dirt, tears falling from his eyes and he tried to keep his composure.

Jade approached her mother's resting place and took one last long look on her mother. "You were the reason I am alive, the reason I wanted to learn magic when I couldn't, the reason I wanted to help others, and most importantly, the reason I can face the Day of Destiny with pride. I love you mom."

Jade tossed her handful of dirt before burying her completely. She walked up to the grave and knelt down and placed her hand on the freshly placed dirt.

"The guardians wish to bestow Arda with a gift of appreciation for all she has done" She said as she drew her sword. 

She placed the tip of the sword on the grave and with a silver flash of light the grave was now encased in a gold tinted crystal.

The Keeper of the Krystal's body will now be kept safe in crystal forever.