Chapter 102
Chapter 102
Queen Lydia
Unwelcome and motive-driven, humans force their way into my kingdom, and then my home, and
capture my darling husband, King Pyrus. He is a hydrokinetic sprite, a creature among many, with the
ability to manipulate water.
Crouching down on an imperial rug on the ground, in a designated safe room behind a false wall, I
quietly hide with our violet-eyed, eight-month-old-daughter, Princess Maia. This room is connected to
an underground tunnel that leads me away from the castle
Looking up in the direction of the moon and the stars, I know my husband’s life will not end well. In
spite of this, I pray to the Moon Goddess that no harm should come to him, and I shed tears for him,
our marriage and our beautiful life together as I quietly flee through the hidden passage toward the
forest border. I run as fast as possible, using all my energy while holding Maia.
Leaves and branches whip my face and tear my dress as I hastily rush past them.
Panic rises in my chest because I can hear running and shouting, they’re not far behind me, and
they’re gradually getting closer After all the horror stories about what these humans have done to other
sprites, I’m desperate to avoid captivity.
‘Queen Lydia!’ Someone shouts, from behind a tree, not too far from me. I stop in my tracks. Witches I
do not know wave at me, motioning for me to go to them.
Queen Lydia. Over here! Quickly! One yells, her face and body camouflaged by the giant tree she
hides behind. I hide behind the tree next to them, and they give me an empathetic smile
I’m Lou. This is my sister Prunella. We’re relieved we have found you, Queen Lydia. I fear we’re the
only witches left. The humans have burned everyone we know on stakes in the most horrific, barbaric
lashion We only just escaped, and there are not enough of us left to open the portal and escape to the
human world. I fear it’s only a matter of time until we’re captured. The werewolves haven’t had as many
casualties as the humans. They’re putting up a good fight against them. They may even be strong
enough to defeat them,’ Lou says, hopeful in her voice
Maia coos from inside her swaddle and sucks her thumb
‘My dear baby Maia. My princess. They will kill her if they find her,’ I say, falling onto my knees and
crying into Maia’s blanket
Lou and Prunella look at each other with sympathetic glances, and Lou places her hand on my
shoulder
‘We can save Princess Maia, but we have to be quick. The humans are getting closer, and our power is
depleting.’ Lou says.
‘How can you save her? Please tell me,’I beg her. They share a quick, knowing glance before looking
back at me
‘We have enough power to save only her.’ Lou explains.
Accepting Lou’s offer means I will never see Maia again after this, but if it saves her life and allows her
a chance to live, then I have no other choice. I kiss her forehead and tell her how much I love her
before handing her 10 Lou.
‘Okay, if it saves her life, we must do it,’ I sob.
Lou and Prunella kneel in front of a big, beautiful oak tree and place Maia in her swaddle, inside an
opening in
the tree’s hollow trunk. They hold each other’s bejewelled hands and chant:
Goddess of the moon,
Place this sweet child to Belongs © to NôvelDrama.Org.
sleep and make the year’s leap
When the moon shines bright,
in her time to retake and find her love,
open her eyes and allow her to wake
The Ne w ROMs to move as it swirls magically around Princesa Maia in kaleidoscopic strands,
encaming her inside it. When it w edding to the tao trunk auturos over, forming a knot in itselt, sealing
my daughter inside,
‘What will happen to her?” I ask, mesmerised by what I have just witnessed.
‘She will grow very slowly inside the tree, and when the time comes, long after we have gone, the
Moon Goddess will know when it’s time for the forest to release her. The forest will raise her, and it will
be her home. The animals will befriend her, and she will awake with a good grasp of our language and
basic life skills. She will know her name. She will have the chance
to have a fulfilling life when all of this is but a fairytale. We have placed many species of babies in the
trees over the last few days in hopes that they may one day live free of war and in harmony.’ Lou
explains.
Nodding, I smile at the thought that my daughter and many other innocent children have the chance to
have a happy life filled with harmony, peace and acceptance.
‘I see them! Over there!’ A human shouts. We soon realise we are surrounded. Being pyrokinetic, I can
create and manipulate fire. My gifts are a blessing, they’ve never let me down before, and they
certainly won’t desert me now. A man is about to hurl his axe in my direction, but I’m quick to use my
powers, and I cast a flame beam and hurl it at him, engulfing him in flames. He screams and writhes
around on the ground in pain, burning.
Two sword-wielding men run toward me from my left. I jump into the air just in time, as the one who
crouches down, steels himself, to swing his sword at me.
His counterpart swings his sword toward my neck, which I narrowly miss too, as Ilean backward and
quickly raise my leg to kick him firmly in the chest. Balls of flames materialise in the palms of my hands,
and I throw them at both men, successfully hitting one and missing the other.
I’m suddenly gasping for breath as an iron chain whips itself around my throat, choking me. Struggling
to stand, I resort to kneeling and fight the man behind me.
The man who evaded my flame ball stomps toward me
and yanks my head up by my hair.
I feel the deep sting of a sharp knife impaling my heart and the warmth of my blood trickling from my
chest and down the fabric of my dress. I collapse to the ground, knowing I’m dying. I lay there, unable
to move, becoming progressively weaker.
Lou and Prunella, who have been caught and tied to stakes, await their impending deaths as one of the
men approaches them with a torch and sets them ablaze. I cannot look, so I cover my ears and shut
my eyes to muffle their screams. The men smile as they walk away from the burning corpses of Lou
and Prunella.
Loud growls pierce the quiet night air when hefty silhouettes bolt toward the men and quickly devour
them, ripping their heads off. The wolves shift into human form and run toward me.
‘We’re too late, one of the men says.
I use what strength I have left to gaze at the tree my precious baby sleeps in.
‘Live well, my child.’ I whisper before the darkness consumes me.