The Other's

Chapter 59

I look around at the water spirits, they all stand around me.

"Princess, how do you intend to get them to tell you about your mother?" Winter says, when I was dragged into the water he was attacked by the other water spirits, they didn't do any harm due to him being massive and have the ability to shake them off quickly.

"I have my ways.." I say, I reach out my hand, and at first they don't understand.

A smaller water spirit walks up to me, quickly connecting it's hand to mine.

"Thank you miss, you helped me and my family from the curse." The smaller spirits says. I know that Winter can not hear it, but I speak back anyway.

"You are very welcome.. I need to know somethings about my mother.. she lived here with her people, and your people coexisted with eachother?"

I watch as a taller spirit walks up, they place their hand onto the shoulder of the first.

"They lived side by side with our people, your mother was not always so evil.. you see, she fell in love with a man from the kingdom.. but once he came to our village he found his one true love whom was a beautiful girl from our sister village.. your mother did not take this well, you see, she ran away.. she found a witch.. but not just any witch, this witch took many forms."

"Where can I find this witch?" I say, and Winter perks up at my words. A low growl creeps up his throat, I turn to him, doing my best to reassure him.

"You will not find her here, as I said she takes many forms, but she left long ago and followed your mother when she married the king. You see, your father found her so beautiful, that when the wedding for the one your mother loved was had, he begged your grandmother and grandfather for her hand in marriage. But you see, they told her she was to marry him, and she refused. But to her disappointment, or so we thought, she was forced to marry him.. little did her parents know, she had came up with a plan then, and decided to curse us and her people. She turned us evil, so after their wedding we would kill all of her colony.. she needed the blood you see.. for her unborn child.."

"What do you mean? For me, and my twin?" I ask.

"No dear girl, you see.. she was pregnant when she married your father.. he did not know, the child did not survive.. it was the child of Theo, you see he too loved your mother, but when he met Elle, they linked and he cut all ties to your mother. A link is stronger than any bond, but your mother never linked. She kept the child to herself, you see she wanted the child as a way to get Theo back, but she begged the witch for a way to make the child strong. The witch gathered all of the slaughtered and drained their blood, she mixed her magic with the blood and made your mother drink every drop.. the next day, your mother came stumbling back to these grounds, with a bloody fetus... she had poisoned the baby... and her plan had failed.."

"So I would have had an older sibling?" I whisper.

"No dear child, she didn't plan to have more children if the first one had succeeded. The blood carried so much pain, and it's essence had been tainted. She wanted to create a weapon, and her first had failed. So she faked her love for your father, to have you, you see this is where she came, to continue the witches experiments.. I am sure you know the rest."

"But.. what did she do with the other baby?" My voice is barely a whisper.

"She buried him.. come, I will take you to the grave, child."

The spirit offers me its hand, I drop the hand of the younger one, taking the hand of the other. It gently leads me to a shining stone, the stone has a carving of a wilted rose. I notice the dirt around it looks as if it has been moved quite recently.

"When was the last time anyone came here?" I ask, curious as to why the dirt looks so fresh.

"I do not know child, you see our memory is a fragile thing.. I do know that the grave used to grow, very odd thing.. Almost as if it had a heart beat."

Before I can say anything, I hear Winter howl. I can hear the pain before I see him, I let go of the water spirit and run as fast as I can to Winter. When I finally reach him, I see him yanking a spear out of his side with his teeth. I notice the guards surrounding him, and quickly use my essence to surround Winter with a barrier of water. The Guards step back in shock, and I step forward. Their eyes fall on me, and they suddenly drop to their knees. I release the water protecting Winter, and he whips his large body to my side.

"Princess, we have been looking everywhere for you, we did not know the beast was with you. We had thought he had killed you." The chief guard says, he stand up and I walk in front of him. His armor is slightly different than the rest, he doesn't look very much older than me.

"How old are you, sir?" I stand in front of him, but he is far taller than me causing me to look up slightly.

"I am twenty six years, milady.."

"How often have you been to this location?" I ask, he eyes me carefully before answering.

"We come here once a week to make sure no travelers have been harmed.. they call this the cursed swamps.. though they don't seem very cursed now.." he looks past me to the wandering water spirits.

"Ava!!" I hear three voices yell, causing my heart to leap.