Rise and Fight

Chapter 3

"Day two," Rowan began, "Is a test of your knowledge. You need to know the histories of your kingdom, so we'll be doing the most complicated era this time."

Aelin pulled herself further into her mind. The most complicated era was theirs. The war. 

The children were lined up, oldest to youngest. Josefin, Cal, Gavrien, Elentyia, Sorscha, and Sorrel. 

The first question, "Josefin, this era began with what happening that set off the events afterward?"

Josefin answered easily. "The past king of Adarlan and the Duke of Perrington were infested by demons."

"Very good. Cal, what did they do that changed everything?" 

"They killed Rhoe, Evalin, and Orlon Galathynius with assassins, also trying to kill Aunt Aelin."

She blocked the noise out. It would be too much to listen. But her magic whispered to her like god might whisper to their chosen prophet. Look. Listen. 

So she did, as they went on.

"Aelin spent ten years as an assassin in Rifthold, my father pretended his allegiance had shifted to Adarlan." Gavrien.

"My mom was captured during a revenge attempt, and sent to the most deadly prison to ever exist. Endovier." Elentyia. 

Aelin felt the whip on her back, heard the screams of the dying, the rattling of chains in a never-ending soundtrack. 

"A year later, though, the Queen was still alive. When she was offered a job as the King's Champion if she fought in a competition."

"In the competition, she spoke to the spirit of Elena Havilliard, who helped her to eventually win, though not without losses." The twins.

She remembered the feeling of her slowing down as the poison entered her bloodstream, the only voice that kept her standing. 'get up'. 

"Becoming the king's champion, Celaena refused to assassinate anyone, instead making them run and covering up for it afterward." Josefin.

"She thought she could finally live a relatively normal life, when Nehemia Ytger was murdered." Cal said.

She had run so fast that night. If only she had her fae form, she would have gotten there in time. If only Chaol had told her. 

"She was sent to Wendlyn to kill Galan, which she wasn't going to do, instead seeking out Maeve to give her important information about the wyrdkeys." Gavrien.

"She met my father there. And after training, tried to get information out of Maeve only to find it wouldn't be given. My mom threatened to burn down the city, and Maeve released my dad from the blood oath, and he took another right there, to Terrasen." This from Elentyia.

The whip that they had used, the cadre, forced to hold him down, Maeve was nothing but an unwilling monarch at the time. How that had changed. 

They continued to speak, breaking off to follow their own parent's stories now, but Aelin didn't need to listen to this. Her fire whispered to her. It wasn't in the first parts. It was after she used the wyrdkeys. 

"When Aelin used the wyrdkeys, she fell into another world, Prythian." Finally, this came from Cal.

"But she discovered a way to get back, and with the high lords in her debt, they came back as well." 

Remember  her magic whispered. Remember  what really happened. 

She did remember. She knew what her magic was talking about. But it did nothing for the story, so she didn't bring it up. What her magic wanted her to remember, it would bring old wounds back, and she didn't need that. Not now. 

The test ended with no complications. Tomorrow the real deal would come, though. Tomorrow, was the Illyrian Blood Rite. 

.............

Thank you to queennightfurious for voting on every chapter so far! I hope you're enjoying it, though it's going a little slow right now. I'm sure you're anxious to get to the part where the worlds meet again. I promise it's coming soon.