onyx, lhanbrydge island

Hushed whispers is heard in the prison’s meeting room, guards stationed outside of the doors and windows, making sure no one can get near them to listen in on what might the conversation even be.

War?

The cost of living?

No, those are too easy. It has to be something that has plagued this kingdom, this island long enough that the stress got the better of the of Lhanbrydge royal family. An issue that clearly bad enough for the entire conversation to be on a hush-hush notice. One that the public is very much aware about. Of course, words, and names are just heard loud enough, angry tones in their voices, concern in others.

What could be so important?

Unless…

The prisoners.

No one even thinks about those locked in the castle dungeons, no one. The prisoners don’t even get visitors; the families gave up on them the day of their arrest. If lucky, their story would be heard, however most of the time they are silenced, often given an unfair trial. Many being sentenced to a public execution, some dying in the cell never out living their sentence.

All but one.

The very ones that escaped their fate, they themselves don’t know how. The dungeons are always dark, wet and quiet, most of the times someone is crying or shouting from a prisoner or guard, which often echoes down the halls to other cells and maybe even the guards break room. But among all those prisoners, most of whom are falsely there, lies one who is covered head to toe in ragged, torn and dirty fabric, the one prison whom—from what the guards know of—hasn’t ushered a single word in decades—even though it was a little unsettling—the guards enjoyed the quietness from this prisoner.

The guards even gifted the person small gardening boxes with some seeds and a watering can they refill twice a day, they even put in a window for the plants to grow. They thought for years, because of those minor acts of kindness the prison gained a liking too gardening and maybe even alchemy—The cooks in the castle kitchen even started to trade with them to make their dishes more rich in flavour—But despite that, the royal families through time were never grateful and kept the person locked away.

But they did grow many things, often rookie guards would sneak in different types of seeds from time to time, some even stealing from the evidence room when someone in town was caught stealing—with bribing the castle wizard with enough gems to cover their tracks they knew they were fine—After all, it’s just seeds, something the royal family will never miss.

It was like that year after year, rookie guards sneaking in seeds, other gifting them, most turning a blind eye, and when questioned they just shrugged and said they didn’t see anything and hear anyone doing such a thing. The few times they feared they would be caught was because of the wizard playing some mind games, some of them him demanding payment for answers, which thankfully the royal family told him no and to get back to work before they lock him in one cell and strip him of all of his titles he had gathered through out the years.

Cranky old wizard, only happy when it benefits him and him only, he knows no one likes him and is fine with it, yet simultaneously he has a wife and child? How she puts up with him no one knows really, but they do know he doesn’t like the prisoner that everyone else likes. Of course, guilt is a strong feeling within the castle staff, most of them don’t even know the prisoner’s name, of course, that’s only because the only time they need something from them they just say: ‘hey buddy, can we do a trade?’ and then leave once they got what they desired.

Buddy is all they call them.

Buddy.

It’s not a terrible nickname, but none of them know their name. But it’s just a nick name, Buddy. They know deep down they would hate it if everyone just used their nickname, and one they highly didn’t choose. After all—The prisoner can’t speak—not once during the years of confinement has the prisoner spoken. Often they had to guess when something was wrong, flu? Sneezing, some high pitched sound that lasted barely a second, fever was easy, they would sweat through the rags, the chills would be the same. They remember the nights someone would sit outside of the cell making sure they were okay.

They know if the royal family caught them they would be joining buddy in the cell but by that point none of the staff cared; they had built a relationship with them strong enough that even if the family did try something, they would just revolt—and that’s the last thing the family wants—to show how in shambles behind the castle walls are.

After all, it would destabilise the kingdom, putting it at risk of being attacked by enemy ones. Something the family does not want at all.

It later lead onto some of the senior guards first pushing for answers as to why Buddy is still locked in the cells almost 75 years later, magical creatures that live a long time isn’t new to them but why was buddy still there? So many started to question what the charge was and if there was even a trail. They don’t know the crime they did.

As sad as it was, back then and years to go they had more questions than answers. As the years went on, more and more staff members demanded answers, the newer staff demanding the release of Buddy, who only last week everyone found out their true name; Onyx.

No one questioned the name, and by this point everyone stopped trying to question what onyx looked like, a 100 years later, onyx is their senior, the last they can do is give them the respect they deserve after everything, after years of their life just wasting award in some castle dungeon and possibly for something they didn’t even do. But the day of the investigations came, everyone held their breaths—after years and years of demanding and even protesting—The day is here.

That has to be the cause the hushed voices in tonight’s meeting, right

What else could it possibly be?

None of the royal kids are dating anyone, so that couldn’t be the case, and if it is, they normally aren’t so closed off about it. After all the controversies keeping onyx locked away has caused. If it was another kingdom, the staff can only think they would act fast and get rid of them and label them as a ‘pest’.

“there is no arrest order, let alone a detainment order”

The staff closer to the meeting room hears, they know that’s the confirmation they needed, but if they move from their post, they risk punishment and risk a worse punishment if they spread the word early. After all, without the full investigation being completed, they could spread misinformation that can be taken out of context, which would cause more issues.

So they wait.

Hours onto hours onto more hours of the family being locked away in that meeting room, the words ‘arrest’, ‘detainment’, ‘life long’, ‘gems’, and even ‘chest, bottles, seeds, herbs, and plants’. All words that are heard. One guard even thought they heard the words ‘sorry’, and ‘compensation’—both words that are never said in this castle or to the public—Words that will send the entire nation into shock if spoken.

They even think they heard the word ‘House’, with ‘clothing’, be ushered. The guards can only assume by those words alone where the conversation could remotely be going, and they hope it’s only going good. But by the next morning, the large wooden doors are pulled open, coming to a stop once there is room for the whole family to leave all at once. The king and queen walking in the front and centre of them all, their clothing the most expensive of them all. The king dressed in different shades of purple and made from silk, his robe looking thick and fluffy for the cold winters and its harsher nights. His shoes not kind against the stone floor that holds a thin carpet just lied across it, he is clearly upset possibly over not getting his own way.

His wife, the queen, her dress lush and lavish, also holding all different shades of purple, her heels heard click clacking against the stone floor. Her hair sagging between the robe and her clothes. The two oldest sons, twins, the next kings, of course one has to marry to another kingdom to become a king. Both of them around the same height, but one having their mother’s green eyes, while the other has their father’s green eyes. Both of them looking more like their father than their mother, but they both did get her red hair. A third son, the youngest child, walking behind his big brothers, him as well looking like his father but with his father’s hair and eyes, as many in town have said, he is a ‘spitting image of the king’.

And the last to leave the room, the middle child, Batie-Anna, the only daughter, the one that the guards have been assuming have been pushing for weeks to get Onyx free and getting justice for all the time onyx has lost. It won’t be easy, 100 years wasted is impossible to replace, but she got out everything that needed to be said in that room. She only hopes her parents agree—They would be stupid to not accept—But now is the wait.

Long and agonising wait, some guards gave Onyx more seeds to grow, they wish they could tell them what has been going on but they don’t want them to get their hopes up just in case the royals say no—it would break their hearts if they told onyx and the king and queen just said no—But they wait. The family sleeps on time and eats, some even doing their royal duties. But out of them all, Batie-Anna, keeps up her royal duties plus finding time to help the staff and for once, walking to the guards at the dungeon doors—in her hands a bottle of seeds of some type—she holds it up to the guards and they move aside, letting her in as the doors swing open, dragging against the stone floor.

The stairs down are teed, made so if a prisoner does elude they won’t have the energy to walk up them all—to either give up or be caught—The walk is long but soon the floor is flat, indicating she has reached the dungeon. Her heels click against the stone floor, keeping her own robe around her as the cold bouncing off the stone walls and hitting her skin, every breath visible.

Other prisoners watch as the princess walks past their cell, many amazed she even bothered to come down here, after all no royal would do such a thing, let alone a princess, one of the few who is to keep blood lines going. A few of them try to get her attention, some by calling her name, one or two whistling but are smacked that echo’s down the halls, they all know the guards where the one that went through with the slap—and rightfully so—as no one shall disrespect anyone in that way.

But once she is in front of the cell of Onyx, she just stands there, waiting, she sees’s their bodies lying down on the ground of where the bedding was once placed, clinging the thin blanket around there clothes. Their small pot plants and garden beds just right of the cell, the produce still in the early stages, as some are only now breaking from the ground.

But Batie-Anne waits; she doesn’t hit the cell bars; she doesn’t clear her throat or coughs, she just waits. This confuses the other prisoners, sure, but she doesn’t care as she isn’t here for them she is here for Onyx and Onyx only. After a while, the other prisoners lose interest in Batie-Anna after she doesn’t react to anything they tell her. As she stands there, she just thinks of what is written in the history books. How the book’s magic changed the room she was in to the day the empire at the time, rounded up innocent people and arrested them—most if not all over small things—The room was much more darker, only a few candles lighting up the place.

Whilst the same meeting room is of her family shown in the magic the windows much smaller than they are now, only being arrow slit windows, purple fabric draped over them from the inside blocking out any light and any pepping toms. The same cement circle table in the centre of the room, this time a light purple coverings over it with a massive re-creation of the castle on its hill and the village below it within the castle walls. Other homes still a part of the kingdom but spread out across the map on the outers of the walls.

The few candles, she remembers only being able to have seen about five, all spread out on the table, each one in a holder of some type of a guard's hand. The gates to the wall, pulled up, so one one can leave or enter the village, she remembers stones all around the mini wall all on the outside and some on the inside but closer to the gates. Other stones more into the city, some what she could only assume is shops and other’s as houses.

The king, an older man, white, blonde hair, and blue eyes, his crown sitting on top of his head and he seethes at where everything is placed.

“We need them to understand who is in control here!”

He slams his fist on the table, some slightly jumping, the miniuter buildings shaking slightly too. Anger seething from him and from what Batie-Anne was shown a dark aurora emanating around him—A mix or black light and smoke, something sinister—Something she would hope she doesn’t have the same one. She watched as he slammed the table again, this time some buildings crumbling, some, like towers, falling on their side, shouting at the guards to go show the public who has the power with the guards running out in two lines, their metal armour clanging as they jog out of the room and down the stone hallways.

She followed them down the hallways and out of the castle; the emperor striding through her ghost form and through the gates to the town, which guards had pulled people from their homes, others lighting shops on fire. A few more guards ran through her with touches engulfed with flames, those ones being thrown into the wooden homes causing families and pets to run out, only seconds later their homes catching alight.

Screaming is held all over the village and not the good kind, it’s fear, terror caused by the guards and the emperor. He is, no was drilled fear into them, showing them a crystal clear message of who he is and what he will do.

“Arrest everyone!”

His voice echo’s from the top of the stairs, the guards jump into motion, dragging mostly father’s from their homes, many of which look like farmers or shop owners, some wizards, witches, and other magic users too, some guards heard saying that they will come useful. Some tried to fight back, but that got them knocked out cold and grumbles from the guards. Some even saying they are being charged with, laying a hand on royal protection. During all this, the emperor had a creepy smile glued to his face, his eyes screaming something sinister in them.

Batie-Anna is brought from her thoughts with Onyx now standing in front of her, dressed in the dirty rags hanging for their body. The metal bars between them. They face covered with their fully white glowing eyes visible, staring into her soul.

“Nice to you see awake my fellow person, I hope you had a good sleep, whilst I can only imagine how hard the floor is and the blanket falling to bits … I wonder why it wasn’t replaced sooner. Doesn’t matter anyway, you survived after all,”

Onyx can’t help but feel unsure about that ending statement, doesn’t matter? They know it certainly does matter, or at least to them. The last years, they watched other prisoners around them perish to the cold, most of which was caused by the blankets falling apart. Of course, you can never judge one off the first couple minutes of meeting them, but that does not mean you have to agree with what they say—and Onyx did not agree with what she said—After all, they lost so much being in here, their home, their belongings … their freedom and it doesn’t matter that they survived the cold after an old blanket?

Batie-Anna turns around, feeling eyes staring at her, a look of confusion on her face, almost out of touch as to why she can, sense Onyx is mad. But she soon shrugs, blowing off Onyx’s anger as if their feelings don’t matter—Of course she is a royal what did they expect?—But she is already moving to the guards, giving them a set of instructions, Onyx did hear something like moving the small garden beds and pot plants to the upper floors for better sunlight and to make sure they get the right amount of water.

The audacity for her to assume she will be trusted with their plants, but Onyx knows deep down they do need more sunlight. After the time they barely sleep is because they stay up all night working to keep them alive. After all, they can’t keep moving them around all night and day for the smallest bit of light. Onyx can only imagine that amount of stress that is put on the plants. But onyx stops in their spot upon hearing the words ‘set up a room for onyx’, a room? They haven’t been in a room for years … Onyx wishes they had their house back, the likely hood of it still standing is low though. Maybe they could rebuild? Is … Is this a sign Onyx is getting let go?

No.

Onyx can’t get their hopes up.

They just can’t.

They cannot be hurt like that, getting their plants taken away is already hurting them now, mostly as they don’t know what will happen to them. Onyx can only hope where ever they are taken the plants will be loved and taken care of, after all some of them are yet to be ripe, others are still in the baby stages, only one starting to bloom.

Onyx flinches as the bar’s drag across the floor, opening.

Is this the end?

No, she wouldn't say to the guards to set up a room, but she never stated what type of room, maybe it’s a trap to see how they will act?

So they stand there, frozen in fear, the last thing they want is to be tackled or even killed because they made one wrong move. Batie-Anna giggles though, calling them cute as she motions for them to follow her as she walks away from the cell. Onyx only follows her after some guards picked up the smaller plants first and walked out of the cell, the last thing they want to the plant damaged weather it be the stem, roots or even any petals, they care about all parts.

But coming face to face with the stairs, Onyx can feel the dread sinking in, knowing that they have to climb them all, but Batie-Anna is next to him, interlocking her arms with onyx’s.

“One at a time, I won’t ever leave your side,”

She reassure them, with a warm smile. Onyx nods, reluctantly giving in, they know how many people during the years was stopped by these stairs while trying to escape, each time they gave up, tackled and chained up or just killed on the spot. They even see old blood stains that the guards never cleaned off the stone steps. One step in front of the other, all while they count, one, two, three, four, five. The first break happens at stone twenty-five, a result of Onyx slipping and hitting their hip on the step.

Onyx is just grateful Batie-Anna put in some effort to hold back her laughter at their misfortune.

Onyx doesn’t expect more from a human, a creature race that is known to be, or some of them or known to be insufferable, and disrespectful, and this one must be one of them. But like everyone else, Onyx will give her a chance. Once they walk, pushing to the top of the stairs, when they take another break, their joints aching from that work out alone.

But once Batie-Anna helps Onyx to a room and sat on a bed they relax a little, glad for the soft padding but nervous for what could be next. None of their plants are in the room, but the wall across the bed holds up windows from the floor to the roof, the blinds a lilac purple help to the side letting the sunrise shine through the window. The walls, the same stone as the rest of the castle. The bed they are on, queen sized, white sheets under different shades of purple blankets and pillow cases, the canopy above the bed a deep purple.

“rest up, the healers will be here soon with meals that will keep your stomach calm,”

Meals?

As in actual food and not stale bread and a single cup of water twice a day?

No.

Onyx cannot get their hopes up, not after the last hundred years. They can only assume it’s their final meal, that has to be it, right? They last meal before they are killed. But … shouldn’t they be in the dungeon for their final moments, wouldn't it be a waste to be placed in a room this size for their final moments?

And Healers?

Wouldn’t it be a waste?

Unless … Onyx is free? That has to be the case, or they wouldn’t be told they are being seen by a healer with food that won’t upset their stomach, onyx is sure if it was their final moments the plants would have been taken to the kitchen and stripped for cooking or to some fire to be burned. Onyx also wouldn’t be placed in an actual bedroom, and one as big as the one they are in now. So onyx starts to lie down, Batie-Anna pulls the blankets up around them, and they feel the bed and blankets are as soft as clouds, the pillows filled with feathers.

Before they knew it, they were out like a light, by the time they came to the blinds were shut and there was hushed whispers in the room, Onyx could hear Batie-Anna, but another male voice followed by two females, of which they assume are the healers.

“Onyx is exhausted as expected and extremely malnourished, it will take time and with a strict diet they should be back to normal. Tell your parents prisoners need to be treated better regardless of their crimes, remind them that isn’t a suggestion, it’s a demand,”

“I’ll try but you know what they are like,”

Onyx thinks that was Batie-Anna who said it but they feel … safe? comfortable? For once in forever, so they fall back into a deep sleep, the room isn’t cold or hot either, just at the right temperature something of which they haven’t felt in years. By the time they awake again, Batie-Anna is asleep in the chair next to the bed, despite how she has acted they never expected her to stay possible the night with them and sleep in a chair of all things—mostly after how bratty she has been—Maybe she has a good or at least caring side that just needs to come to light.

But Onyx lets her sleep, grabbing one of the many blankets over them and lying is across Batie-Anna, hoping to keep her warm. They even grab one pillow, crawling out of bed and placing it between her head and the chair. The last thing they want is for her neck to ache. One Onyx is back in bed the giant wooden door is heard scrapping against the stone floor as it open’s. A male around Batie-Anna’s age walks in, light brown skin, pitch black hair that goes down to his shoulders, parts of his hair mostly the front and side braids, slender and tall, his eyes a hazel colour.

He is dressed in silk clothing like Batie-Anna, deep red pants that just show his ankles, a black short-sleeve shirt with a deep red under shirt that has longer sleeves. He is holding a tray with three bowls full of different types of soup and three cups of drink. He glances at Onyx before placing the tray down on a nearby table and returning to shut the door to the room. Once the doors are shut, he sets up the table, putting the rinks in their position first then the bowls, and he makes his way over, making sure he doesn’t awaken Batie-Anna. He sits on a seat just across from her and looks at Onyx.

“My name is Juan, it’s nice to meet you,”

Onyx nods, signalling a like wise as they both drift back into comfortable silence.

They are out of the cells.

They really are out.

And alive for that matter.

Something of which they dreamt about for years, to be free. They are free; they have to be. They are brought back from their mind with Juan looking at them concerned and confused. Onyx loosens their shoulders, which were tense and almost up to their chin. Realising that maybe to Juan Onyx doesn’t look the happiest. As Juan goes to say something, Batie-Anna starts to awaken, stretching her legs and brings her arms up to stretch while rubbing the sleep away from her eyes. Juan wishes her a good morning, and she mumbles a thank you and how was sleep back. Juan had said good while Onyx nodded. Her eyes lit up upon seeing onyx awake and sitting up.

“Thank goodness you’re awake, I was getting worried the stress from the walk had done something to you. Juan, thank you for bringing breakfast, I’ll take it the kitchen staff made the soup requested for Onyx?”

Juan nods, explaining that the kitchen staff made up a chicken broth, one of the safest as none of them knew Onyx’s preferred diets, they made Batie-Anna a beef soup with eggs, noodles, and vegetables while Juan has a mushroom soup with pork, eggs, onion, and noodles. In Onyx’s broth there is some spinach leaves just floating on the top which Juan explained it’s helping to bring up low iron levels that they were deprived of.

The pair of them moved the table to the bed—Even though it's breaking house rules for moving furniture—They know it’s best for Onyx right now. They just eat in silence, they remind Onyx to not eat too fast so they don’t throw up. They enjoy it normally Juan and Batie-Anna always have to say something to the family dinners but just sitting in silence is refreshing. As for Onyx, they are just glad to be around those who aren’t reminding them of being stuck in a prison cell.

Once they finish, they wait for Onyx to finish before cleaning up and moving the table back, some maids come in and open the blinds to let Onyx’s eyesight adjust to seeing the sun in forever. But once they have settled, they now see the beauty of the outside world. The castle high above the village that is surrounding the castle grounds. The green land that stretches far and wide outside of the village walls.

A land full of wonders

A land full of plants that need to be picked and harvested.

But the day was filled with the bed, soups, and rest for the whole first week, by the second onyx was placed in new clothing, that have a hood and goes down to the floor, dragging behind them as they learn how to walk again. Learning how to walk again was the hardest of it all, mostly with how lighted headed and dizzy they got. It got to the point that they were given an iron enhancement potion twice a day daily. But they were told every time they get to keep the bottle once it was cleaned out they could put whatever they want in it weather it be seeds or small plants as the bottle itself is enchanted.

But having to learn to move from the bed to a wheelchair made from polished stones as the leaves and held together by vines, branches, and leaves to learning how to move it with no need to be pushed everywhere. By the time they could control the chair on their own, they soon started to learn how to stand for a couple of seconds, which with time lead to minutes and soon hours and then walking.

By the time they could walk without assistance, they were told The King and Queen wish to meet with them. As in the current king and queen, and not the one that locked Onyx away all those years ago. It actually makes them nervous, yes they are the same people from years ago but back then Onyx was also called in to visit the king for a potential trade before they were tackled and taken away. It’s a memory burned into their brain, the same nightmare that haunts them every night.

The very day after the great burning of the village, many homes gone, shops looted and burnt to the ground, many missing, families in disarray, children crying for their parents, many running to family friends for comfort not knowing where their parents even are. Mother’s screams heard as they find their husbands have been killed or missing.

The village was in chaos, everyone had been up all night, those who were able to sleep through it and keep their homes and everything they own woke up confused, Onyx being one of them as their home was out of the village and deep into the nearby woods, one of which often kept them isolated from the village and the walls. That day they had left the comfort of their home after a letter had been delivered by pigeon, their excitement was high, the king, and queen had requested to see them over possible trade deals.

Their first ever trade deal.

They had dreamt of this day since they were five and found out about gardening and herbs. They had picked up some bottles of seeds, other bottles holding petals from rare flowers.

Their excitement was high.

But seeing how much ruin the village inside the walls were, they should've just turned around and gone home, their stomach was tell them that something was wrong—after all the evidence was all around—But they didn’t they pushed forward to the castle walls and into the grounds where they were greeted and allowed in to the giant throne room, where the king, dressed in what Onyx could only assume at the time was clothes from yesterday due what they thought was helping the people of his empire, and his wife who wouldn’t look at onyx, her eyes glued to the ground, her head lowered, but her round belly visible through her silk purple dress.

But before Onyx could even pull out the first bottle, they were tackled and arrested; the king saying something like everyone is to be arrested and no exceptions, not even those who live miles out. Onyx regrets leaving home that day, every day after that was undoubtedly hell. Years they honestly hope can forget and now leave them behind.

“Onyx?”

Juan asks, his hand slightly on the sleeve of Onyx’s new cloak that covers all of them, Juan looking a little worried, same with Batie-Anna.

“You haven’t moved in a while, are you okay? Do you need more rest?”

Onyx nods, more rest sounds perfect, they want to rest more before meeting the current king and queen after all, calm their nerves first before getting to riled up. The last thing anyone needs is for Onyx to panic and risk being thrown back in the dungeons for another hundred years. Onyx certainly doesn’t want that. No one does.

They both help Onyx back into the bed and pull the covers up around them, both rightfully concerned. After all, they don’t know what Onyx looks like under the cloak, all they may know is that Onyx is a human or maybe an elf. Onyx could be something else.

But soon Onyx is sound asleep, their chest rising and falling with each breath. The blinds are closed, so they aren’t awoken by the sun, and a red strip of silk Is placed on the door handle to single to the staff to not come into the room.

By the time Onyx is awake, the feeling of doom is gone, they don’t know if it's because they slept it away while being in a dark room or if they surrounded by two people that truly care about them. Probably both due to how relaxed all three of them are. But they must start the day, onyx must confront one of their fears, facing the current king and queen and hearing what they have to say.

They were just grateful Juan and Batie-Anna went with them. Sure, Batie-Anna is a princess of this family she should be on her own throne during this, but she is standing right beside Onyx.

The throne room isn’t as Onyx remembers; the blinds to the windows are open, letting sun shine through them lighting up the place, the windows themself open letting in fresh air, and the breeze from the wind heard from outside, the birds singing, workers actually happy the last they saw. The carpet from the door all the way to the thrones, no longer a deep purple but now a golden colour, yellow draping’s connected to the stone roof that hangs far above them. Colours that are much more welcoming and bright. The current king and queen dressed in their normal royal attire but toned down to be welcoming to strangers and members of the public.

The both of them stand as Batie-Anna and Juan bow, Onyx bows too but clearly showing how nervous and unsure they are of the royal pair.

“No need to bow, Onyx my dear, Arise,”

The queen, as soft spoken, tells the three of them. So they do, their backs straight, Juan, and Batie-Anna looking as if they are awaiting orders, Onyx more relaxed but their mind on guards, scanning the queen for any sudden movements while keeping an eye on the king. They watch as the queen goes and stands right beside her husband who is already grabbing some bags that Onyx can only be filled with food or something else.

But upon opening it Onyx soon finds a bunch of gold and silver thin circles, which feel cold to the touch, grabbing a small silver circle they give it a slight nibble finding that it doesn’t break under the pressure of their teeth.

It’s strange to onyx, something so weird to the touch and with some smell they can’t quite work out. Maybe they can be used in food or potions, maybe melted down for healing cream. Onyx will find a use for them, the bag after all could be enchanted into holding water.

“Consider that our first payment of our apologises. More will be coming soon. But for now tend to your plants how you please, rest and please keep up with your health,”

He turns around and walks back over to his wife who is holding more stuff, this time a cloak that is much darker, but that one has a simple cloud on top of the hood with a sun on one sleeve and a full moon on the other. Whilst Onyx is yet to understand or find some type of meaning they know it’s for them as the current one they have on is becoming too small as their gain their weight back.

Accepting it once it’s handed to them they bow to show the respect her, respect them and everything they have done so far. They straighten up, making a mental note to go back to their room to change into it later on, of course they will keep the current one they are wearing as it is valuable to them. They watch as she goes and stands next to her husband who clears his throat.

“Go rest, tend to your plants and report back to the gardeners on what they have done wrong then change into your new cloak, once we prove to you that we can be trusted you can request to go home and we will send a team with you”

Onyx watches as Batie-Anna and Juan relax, the both of them nodding before walking in different directions to do their own things. Onyx goes back to the bedroom and shut the door so no one can see their body. Once changed into the dark blue cloak, the cloud on the hood glows with the sun and moon, covering the whole cloak in some type of enchantment—only their white glowing eyes visible from the darkness of the hood, like the old cloak drags along the floor and the sleeves hanging way past their hands, hiding every inch of their body—How onyx like’s it—Once they are comfort they leave their room and decide that maybe they should go outside for once, the door’s next to their room is open with a wooden sign above it with the letters shaved into it; ‘GARDEN’.

Walking in the place is stunning, all different type’s of plants blooming from all angles of the area, Bushes a lining the pathway leading to a pond in the middle of the area where small bugs and insects are gathered on some lily-pads and water lilies, bee’s pollinating the flowers and going back to their hives in some trees. Many of flowers looking freshly pollination, some giving pollen in return to the bees as a thank you.

It’s a beautiful sight.

Onyx soon find their plants at the far end of the area, the pots in a small pallet of water one of which is clearly feeding them water mixed with magic, which is making them look a bit more healthier.

Onyx is thankful someone stepped up to help the plants.

Something which they desperately needed.

It’s bringing joy to their soul finally seeing them happy, healthy and thriving.

Something that was only a dream.

They give them a small bit of water before leaving and heading down the hall to the throne room and took the door next to the one of the son’s thrones of the far left, another hallway that went up some stairs and is met with a door.

They knock and wait.

“Come in,”

The voice sounds older than Baite-Anna and Juan, but posh. Walking in the room is covers from head to toe in magical artifacts and objects. From the different type of wands aligned on the wall and the windows being stained glass, the roof is enchanted with magic to make it look like it’s snowing inside, between the windows is a giant cauldron that is bubbling slight as the fire below it is mostly out.

Turning around and finding a table just over flowing with things stands a man in black clothes, training clothes as he is wearing a leather vest over the clothes where his chest is, his hands covered in thick black leather gloves. His pants the same black with brown leather knee pads. Leaning against the table in its own stand, a wooden staff that circles in on its self with a skull floating in the middle of it, Onyx is pretty sure the skull blinked.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, ignore him”

The guy says putting the skull end of the stick in the cauldron and Onyx can hear the skull speak and see the bubbles like the skull is talking, but clearly cannot be heard. Onyx is unsure on whether or not they should be concerned or worried, or if something should be done, but looking at the guy, he doesn’t seem to be concerned or worried. So they just nod.

“His fine, his been dead for a while, it’s not like he will die again”

That’s … reassuring?

They think?

If Onyx dies, will their skull be put into a pot and cooked?

“Silent type, I respect that, much better than my students. Of course, most of them are kids and teenagers, so I cannot fault them for that, but I just wish the older ones would learn to grow up. Bricking baboon’s the lot of them,”

What a charming ray of sunshine.

His student’s clearly learn a lot from him, of course, that’s assuming he even shows up to teach, onyx can only assume he is busy being a wizard for this royal family. So Onyx just nods, unsure of what else to really do, what can you even say to that? Say to a teacher calling his own students baboon’s? After all, Onyx was raised with a positive learning time, along with any friends they had back then … but of course back then was a hundred years ago, times have since changed.

“I’m sure you have stuff to get to, stay safe”

He says, pulling the skull out of the pot who fakes a cough and gasps of air even though it's a skull.

Onyx is very unsure about that guy, and a talking skull? They didn’t know that was possible, unless magic has just evolved these past years?

A name wasn’t even given.

Strange man with a beautiful face, stunning brown skin kissed by the sun and white hair done up in a tight bun, they hope to meet him again though. After all, everyone is strange in their own way. But as Onyx makes their way out of the room, they make sure the door is shut behind them, and they are careful going down the steps as they really don’t want any step related injuries today.

Mostly when Batie-Anna will just laugh at them.

Once at the stairs and walking into the throne room, the king, and queen is tending to requests from some members of the village. Many people already being handed fruit, bread and even meat, Onyx is pretty sure they can even see torches being handed out too.

But they walk around them all, not wanting to be in anyone’s way. After all this, many people look overwhelmed, something which they want to get away from and not deal with it—Even though it isn’t their job to deal with—And they make their way down a hallway and out a door to their left, one of which led them to an area with balls of hay with a target tired around them, spares, swords, bows, and arrows, and even knives with other weapons on a rack, and training dummies made from hay and tied together with rope and magic.

The area open with no roof covering them and strangely enough no one around.

But it is stunning, sure the ground is light brown and feeling hard to their feet, but they know it’s need for balance and structure. Onyx knows there is very little plants that can grow on a ground like this, they can really think of one flower that would survive and thankfully they cannot see it anywhere in the yard—As they would save it from any damage and not cover the hole back in—and they know the castle staff wouldn’t appreciate it one bit.

Onyx stay quiet as one wall start to move and pull apart from each other, they move back into the hallway to find young Juan walk out from the wall, holding a bow and an arrow, a bit in front of him one of the one of the hay bails with the surrounding target.

So they just watch, waiting.

But they watch as Juan brings the arrow to the bow and pulls back on the string, aiming it up after a couple of minutes Juan lets go, the arrow flying through the air and hitting the centre of the target. But instead of onyx expecting him to be pleased, proud even, his face reads regret, sad, and anger? This confuses onyx, is there something they are mission? Is Juan off by the smallest amount? Was his posture wrong? It looked perfectly him to them. Onyx comes out from the hallway, watching as Juan flinches as the wall slams shut, Onyx only got a glimpse of the other side, something that wasn’t the castle a hallway, some dark room.

Worry.

Is the only thought Onyx has, worry, Juan must've seen the fear in their eyes—after all it’s hard to miss two glowing eyes with a face covered with the show of its hood—Juan puts the bow on the ground leaning against the stick in the ground holding up the wood beam.

“It’s just me, You just saw my bedroom that’s all. I keep a bow and some arrows in there to train,”

Train?

With a bow and arrow?

Shouldn’t a weapon like that be in the armoury?

Onyx looks at Juan, the bow, and the arrow in the target and then back at him, clearly wanting more answers. Instead, Juan just picks up the bow, climbing over the wooden fence and placing it in onyx’s hand, which is covered by the robe. The base of the bow is a smoothed down light wood, the string, white and shimmering if tilted the right angle, clearly having some enchantment on it. But holding the string, it feels sticky like spider webs twisted around each other. Onyx watches as it sticks to the robe but pulls away in one piece when Juan carefully pulled their hand away.

They really thought it would break with how weak it looked as the more they pulled away but the enchantment stayed strong. Juan hands Onyx the arrow after taking his bow back, the arrow a dark brown with a sharp metal end and white feathers on the far end.

“They are training arrows only,”

Juan explains.

Training Arrows, Onyx believes that, back in their day they were only an item being talked about something many of the people had been eager to make for kids as the normal arrows caused injuries when used as toys. Something they had wished to see the day of the first training arrow to be made, to be shown to the public. Something that would have been marked in history.

Looking at Juan, Onyx’s worry from earlier is dying down, showing they are more relaxed and trusting him now, trusting Juan that he is telling the truth.

“I wouldn’t lie to you,”

Onyx trust’s him, Onyx trusts that he is speaking the truth. They watch as Juan puts the arrow in a sleeve on his belt and hung the bow over his shoulder into a sleeve on his back. They walk back into the hallway to be greeted by Batie-Anna.

“There you both are! Father and mother have something to tell us, we mustn’t be late,”

They watch as she strides down the hallway, her own cape dragging behind her with every step. Juan and Onyx not that far behind her, none of them saying a word. Once they reach the throne room Onyx and Juan are next to Batie-Anna, her parents this time standing, their son’s not here.

“After much time of searching we have found papers about you, Young Onyx. You’re home is south from here? In the Narrow Grove Forest, correct?”

Onyx nods, that is their home, after all no one bothered to live there due to it being a flood risk during winter when the rain lasts for weeks. It’s quiet, a place that they call home not only because of the lack of people but the perfect grounds for some plants—They just need to get the time of year correct—And seeing the sun high in the sky with some clouds floating by the forest should be bone dry, safe enough for them to walk.

“As far as we know you don’t weld any major magic or used to weld any weapon, the same goes for our daughter. So we will be adding some who is more trained, someone who will be able to assist you all,”

They watch as the door to thrones on their left, the one Onyx knows that leads to that strange guys tower and walking out of it, is that guy from the tower, dressed in the same black leather armour and holding that staff that holds the skull in the centre at the top one of which Onyx is sure again blinked again. The name he gave.

Heahfre.

But none of them fight, none of them argue, Onyx knows they don’t have a say in the matter and deep down they know they do need someone skilled. They trust Juan, of course, but they haven’t seen him in a high-stress situation. Onyx knows they can fight, but it’s been years, they will be rusty, and Batie-Anna, she is coming out just everyday clothes, which only leaves Onyx to assume she will learn how to fight as the days pass. Heahfre is handed a bag of food, another bag of gems? Why would they need gems? And Onyx is handed a chest, one of which is coated in magic. Peaking inside, they see all of their herbs organised to how they like it.

They watch as the enchantment on the chest can make the chest shrink and grow to Onyx’s liking; they make it pocket size and puts it in one pocket.

They soon are walking out of the main castle gates and through the village, of course people stop and watch. Who wouldn’t, the princes with the royal wizard is out with some mystery person who is left up to the imagine on what they look like and a boy with a bow and some training arrows. It isn’t long until they have made it out the village gates and walked maybe fifteen steps before Juan and Batie-Anna walk off to the left to look at something leaving Onyx to walk a head of the group, eager to finally go home.

“ Gninthgil”

“Heahfre, No!”

Batie-Anna screams as the clouds in the sky come together and go dark, before anyone one could react a loud clap of thunder is head and a lightning bolt comes from the cloud’s and hits the ground where Onyx was standing. They wait, seeing the dust in the air of where Onyx was just standing. The only sound being heard is the birds singing, the wind going by and the thunder. It’s been barely ten minutes and Heahfre has already caused some type of chaos.

Once the dust is clear, they see Onyx still standing, but a slight shimmer around them, the attack clearly shielded them with some enchantment. The surrounding ground, destroyed, stone and hard clay and dirt around in bits and sticking out. But Onyx, standing there unharmed. Heahfre, smirks, proud of his attack, proud of his actions and whatever plan came to his mind.

“So you do have magic, is it in your clothing? Is that why you don’t let anyone touch them?”

Onyx just stares at Heahfre, trying to work out where he is going with this. Is he trying to imply Onyx is the bad guy? Maybe that onyx is a scammer? Or is it a test? No, it’s too dangerous to be a test, mostly this close to a town and its royal family. Unless … Unless it is, Strange person found in the castle dungeon after almost one hundred years, one of whom never seemed to age or even show signs of passing away, something would leave lots of questions.

Onyx reads Heahfre’s body, arms relaxed, his right to his side and his left his hand gripping his staff, he is sure of himself, confident, his legs straight of course but almost as if he is ready for a fight. His eyes, glued onto Onyx, waiting for how they will react. But Onyx waits, planning, their clothing covers them fully so they know they can’t be read back.

“Heahfre! You are stupid I hope you know that!”

Baite-Anna screams as Juan holds her arm, stopping her from running into the middle of the fight that is about to break out. The last thing Juan wants is for Batie-Anna to get this close with her parents watching from the castle. Just as Heahfre goes to say something else, Onyx sprints at him, throwing him off guard enough to stumble and point the staff at them, shouting.

‘ dleihs,’

Six metal shields appear in front of Heahfre as Onyx’s foot connects with one. The echo being heard even back to the village. Heahfre smirks, glad that he got his answer, Onyx can fight. The speed is faster than Heahfre has seen in years, but he can see where Onyx is slowest, times where Onyx is most vulnerable. Behind and besides, if Baite-Anna or Juan was to attack them now they wouldn’t see it coming, after all they are covered head to toe in thick fabric, which is already holding them back.

Onyx jumps back and lands on their feet, they both wait for any attack. The shields vanish one by one, and now Heahfre is standing up straight, impressed. Onyx admits, they were looking for a fight; they have to stretch and de-rust their bones and joints. After all, it’s been years since any major movement, but Onyx feels respected. Batie-Anna and Juan watch as a star starts to glow on the back of Onyx’s robe, a star they know was not there before.

“Not bad, a little of training and it will bring our group defence up,” Heahfre walks over to Onyx, giving a smile which women will swoon for.

“Now lead us to your home, I’m sure is a while walk away, right? It’s best if we get there before night hits, after all we don’t know what is in that forest and I don’t want any of us becoming dinner,”

They all nod, glad that no major damage was done to the land, and no damage done to the village walls. They watch as Heahfre uses his staff to mend the ground, moving the stone, clay, and dirt back to where it was, using a small rain spell over the area to get some mud to help the ground stick together more when it dries. They watch for ten minutes for the small cloud rains down on the ground, turning the dirt to mud. Heahfre uses his hand and spread the mud over the ground, over cracks and over dry areas around it. They walk away once the cloud is gone, and it shows signs of drying up.

The walk is silent with Onyx in front, Juan, and Batie-Anna behind him and Heahfre behind them. Juan did offer to be next to Onyx, but Heahfre told him that if we are attacked Baite-Anna will need some type of defence. Heahfre even told him that Onyx can handle themself, but we are best to monitor them in case they need that help or are caught off guard. Juan doesn’t fight him because he would the ‘elder knows best’ when Heahfre is barely even fifteen years older than them, maybe ten at most.

Once they reach the start of the forest, the path inward, dark with thick trees and shrub life, some bugs crawling on the ground, and they think they heard a roar from deep inside.

“Did my parents pack anything that would keep us safe?”

Baite-Anna asks as Heahfre goes through the sack, he pulls out some armour which Juan helps put on Batie-Anna. She is handed a small knife as well, taught how to hold is basic techniques, such as where and who to swing it at, Juan, Heahfre, and Onyx not being the ones attacked of course. Onyx is the first to step inside after Heahfre lights up the wooden touch with carol on the end, Heahfre uses his own staff to light up the skull.

The path way stays as dirt the more they walk, the path a head of them grows darker too as more and more trees over head become thicker and thicker.

“Should we turn back?”

Batie-Anna asks worried the further they go, showing no sign of the other end or light. Juan grabs her hand, hoping to reassure her, but deep down he is worried too, even trying to hide the slight tremor in him. Heahfre just shakes his head, keeping them close but not letting them try to go back. He knows they are safe with him, and besides what would he tell her parents? He is here to protect them, and he knows Onyx won’t let them get hurt.

But they see it, the darkness is soon replaced by light as they walk out of the tunnel of heavy trees and into an open area, an area where the trees are higher than before, the tops of the trees this time allowing sun to shine through them, a small rivers making it’s way through the land, fish swimming through it and under Lilly pads which hold frogs on top of them. Dragon Flies just hovering over the top of the water and the flowers they can reach. Rabbits seen coming in and out of holes in the grounds and some slight ground bumps, one mother rabbit being followed by its pack of babies with the father rabbit behind it’s children, butterflies going from one flower to other and even bees seen flying by and taking pollen and giving it to another flower before going back to it’s hive.

Birds are heard singing in the trees, some of lower branch, some flying to those lower branches into nests, others flying higher up, many more seen trying to teach their younglings how to fly, most watching their eggs hatch, others just freshly lied eggs. Only a small few finished building some nests, and others just starting. The path below them, no longer just dirt but now stones, Onyx knows that is new, something of which can only mean someone else has moved in here and just stayed out of sight all while keeping everything untouched. So Onyx follows the path that leads to their house, the other three follow him, amazed how stunning the forest is.

“it’s so calm,”

Juan says as Baite-Anna nods as they step over a log home to a family of mice and their winter food storage they are saving up.

“Why did we think this place is dangerous?”

“We don’t know that for sure”

Heahfre tells Baite-Anna, reminding her that some times places can look deceiving. This forest being one of them. Reminding even Juan that some forests aren’t explored for a reason, the main reason being safety concerns because of fear from the explorers when they came in contact with the forests. They walk down another tunnel of tree’s and bushes this one fall of snakes slithering across the path, causing the group to stop and wait every couple of meters.

They soon come to another open area with the same trees towering above them, the same bushes and mostly importantly the river connecting into a giant lake, one of which is home to so much wild life, sea life, and even plant life, the water so clean you can see what is swimming in the water. The same stone path leading off different ways deeper into the forest, the closet one a small home that is currently homing those who cannot build a nest, many of which shelter the answers from the bath winter nights and windy days. Looking through the windows, they can see a mother reindeer crawling up in one bed with it’s two babies.

They follow Onyx down one path and soon are at a home, one of which is clearly enchanted with magic as it is standing in one piece, looking as if it hasn’t aged in years. They watch as Onyx taps the enchantment on the door, and the magic goes from the building to their robe; the robe lighting up as it is fed more and more magic. They open the door and the inside, just as Onyx left it, shelves full of jars that are filled with all different types of spices, plants, seeds, and even flower petals and plant roots. The walls twisted and wrapped like the old elder trees; the door made from the same wood and wrapped to on the inside; the windows needing some cleaning but nothing a little soap and water won’t fix.

A hallway off to the right, showing a bedroom where the bed is a double bed, the frame made from a darker wood where the legs crawl up and have leaves growing at the tips. To the left of the house a room with a shower also made from wood, the toilet it’s own small building outside and a single root that gives water. Onyx motions of Juan and Baite-Anna to follow, eager to show them around, Heahfre on the other hand checks the place out, looking for any signs of a break in. The enchantments held strong; the door is fine and no windows are broken.

As Onyx sets up the spare beds, knowing they all will be staying the night, Heahfre looks under things, checking for any sign that stuff has been moved, nothing under the couch, nothing under the chairs in the sun room, and nothing under the table in there too, the table in the main room with all the bottles on the wall is untouched, but he freezes when he picks up the compost bin.

“Hey Onyx, is there meant to be a hole here?”

They all freeze, Onyx comes over and looks, it isn’t long before they shake their head for a no. No, the hole under the compost bin isn't meant to be there. digging under the house meant Onyx didn't enchant the ground below it. To Onyx that means someone dug in needing something, whether it was food or shelter, to Heahfre that means someone broke in, but who? Juan grabs his bow and an arrow, putting it against the handle and the string, Batie-Anna holding the knife close as Heahfre’s grip around his staff tightens, Onyx though is calm.

“Split up, Juan stay with Batie-Anna. Onyx check the bedroom, I’ll look around outside for any holes or tunnels”

They watch as Heahfre leaves the house, Juan holds Baite-Anna close and Onyx does check the bedroom, it looks intact, sure they have to mash the bed sheets as it’s likely covered in dust and maybe even shake out the bugs that made it home but Onyx is sure they can make a new home for them. Folding back the blankets, they see the many bugs, many dead, many running to be covered again. Dust and even bug poo all over the white sheets. They just pull the blanket back over and check the chests under the bed, all still holding books which are showing their age, and the one white paper has now turned brown.

Each cover reading something different, the first book, potion making, another one, alchemy for starters, and even some cook books. Onyx was never much of a cook, they always burned the easiest of dishes, chicken, and beef being some of the common, even pork too. It’s why onyx made so many health potions, to help cure them once they accidentally poisoned themself after under cooking the chicken. They soon find a book of different type of mushroom’s, another herb book, and even different type of seeds, but that book has pages marked of flowers that are rare or extinct, flowers Onyx hopes they are back in this day and age.

The final books, one about all species and their village locations, some pages marked as people of mixed that Onyx has met with names. Onyx is careful with that book, knowing most people in that book is long gone by now, but it is prove their once long-time friends were living. They shut the chests and push them back under the bed, knowing they have been safe the last couple of years under there.

They stand up and move to the wardrobe, when they open the doors, they freeze at the pile of clothes; they know their robes was on the hooks from the tree branch and not on the bottom, but picking one up and seeing the black fur of a giant rabbit beast with white stripes from the eyes down to the neck and possible up to the ears asleep under it all, explains so much.

Juan and Batie-Anna walk over and stop when Onyx holds out their hand, which is covered by their own robe, warning them to not come any closer. Onyx can tell the rabbit beast is young for it’s age, maybe 10 in it’s own years but fourteen in Juan and Batie-Anna’s years. Maybe Fourteen in Heahfre’s years too, mostly if Onyx is right about the creatures race. With Onyx’s other covers hand, they are careful to move back the robe covering the creatures long, fully white ears that are relaxed and twitching.

Dreaming.

Onyx carefully touches the side of the beast face, putting some magic into it. Onyx watches as the room around them changes and shifts into a forest. Batie-Anna and Juan aren’t here, meaning they are still with the two of them. But Onyx waits for the beasts memories to show them what happened, to show them why are they here.

A loud clap of thunder is heard above them as it soon starts to rain, the rain starts off light, but is fast to turn into heavy and hard to see far in-front of you. Onyx turns around some times, before noticing a short rabbit beast walking on its back legs like a human does. Onyx is right, it’s a Lerrunan. It’s holding it’s arms and tucking them in close, and the rain pours down, making it soaking wet from head to toe. It’s fully white ears sagging over it’s eyes protecting them from the water falling from the sky.

Onyx can see the body this time, fully black with pure white feet and hands, white stripes from the fully white ears trailing down the body, each strip different in some form, other’s thick, some thin and others short or long. The beast's eyes a grey colour, it’s whiskers fully white and small. The whiskers alone telling them that the lerrunan is younger in this memory, maybe five years old? Possibly freshly six. Onyx follows the young lerrunan down the stone path, first it stops just as it gets into the tunnel made by the tree’s over head, bring some cover from the rain but still small droplets getting past them and landing on the youngling and the ground. So the young one keeps walking down the path, stopping just before it enters the other open area.

It doesn’t take the young one long to find the house, onyx watches as the ears raise a little before dropping after seeing the enchantment shimmering around it. It break’s Onyx’s heart that they didn’t put the enchantment up to hurt those who are young, only to stop the weather from damaging it. But they watch as the beast goes to the wall where the main room is and starts digging the mud away. At first, the beast just stopped once they dug half a tunnel, using the ground under the house to cover them but when the hole started to fill up with water so it had to keep digging and decided up would help, Onyx walks through the door and watches as the beast digs through the floor and pushes the compost bin over, lucky for Onyx and the beast it was empty.

Onyx watches as it grabs whatever it can, towels, leaves, and even hold blankets and puts it down the hole, soaking up the water trying to stop the house from being flooded. With the beast only being a child, Onyx isn’t mad, it likely doesn’t know any better and is visibly scared. Onyx was once that after all, and they don’t remember seeing any adults following the child, which means some of a few things, some normally not good.

Once the stuff in the hole had proved to stop the water, the child moves the compost bin back over the hole and looks around the place; it finds some food, just a simple bread roll with raspberries in a bowl surrounded by an old chest that is filled with ice and snow and various other stuff, meat too. It grabs the bowl and loaf of bread and just eats, clearly not slowing down as it hasn’t eaten in days. Onyx wants to warn the child to slow down, but they are just watching a memory, this event has already happened.

By the time the child finished it had tried to clean up as much mess as it could before making its way to the bedroom, it pulls the blanket back first and sees the bugs, but it doesn’t move them, they just pull the covers back over and walks to the wardrobe, it jumps as a loud clap of thunder is heard and a strike of lightning outside lights up the whole room. But what Onyx hears moments later is the same roar they heard just before they entered the forest, the same monstrous roar that caused the child to jump into the wardrobe, pulling robes off the hooks and coverings themself with it after shutting the doors.

The world around Onyx slowly comes back into view, their hand now holding the head of the young one, who has seemed to have snuggled in, Onyx thought the robe’s fabric feels the soft fur of the beast. Onyx more relaxed too, they know they can’t just throw her out, onyx would never forgive themself for it, mostly when this young one escaped what ever is in these woods. On top of that, Onyx knows what it’s like to be a helpless child with no one to protect them.

“I found a hole the back of the main room, I found some stuff shoved into it but I think it leads too-”

Heahfre stops as he also sees the lerrunan, but he is surprised while Juan and Batie-Anna are confused. But he carefully puts his hand on Juan’s arm, holding up the bow, and lowers it. Telling him that this creature isn’t to be harmed, regardless, which confuses Juan even more. Regardless? How important is a creature like this? It isn’t long until the creature stirs and wakes up, but this point Heahfre is now next to Onyx, slightly worried himself.

“My god, when was the last time you ate?”

Heahfre asks as the lerrunan rubs it’s eyes, mumbling something about eating bread and berries only three days ago. The bread running out about five days ago, and the berries stopped growing when the weather got bad two weeks ago, and it’s around then is when the young one showed up. Onyx motions to under the bed, which Heahfre pulls out some boxes and opens them, he is careful seeing the old books but soon finds the cooking book; he holds it up and onyx nods. Heahfre takes the book to the main area before telling Juan and Batie-Anna to help Onyx with the lerrunan. They are unsure at first but help onyx move all the robes before helping the lerrunan stand up, an arm over their shoulders, it is almost the same height as Batie-Anna who is the shortest of everyone. Onyx grabs a blanket from the second wardrobe, they grab the soft and fluffy one, one that won’t set off any itchiness or blisters, one that will keep the lerrunan warm all while won’t make them gain a fever. They move the one to the couch and Onyx throws the blanket over them, which they happily accept, Heahfre however in the main area has found the page for the soup broth.

“Do you have a name?”

Juan asks the lerrunan, finally saying something after hours of silence. It nods, before speaking, it’s voice, the one sounding as if she is 12.

“Yumie Noril, I am a bit far from home as you might guess,”

“A bit is an understatement, are you a Lerrunan by chance?”

Heahfre asks, staring the pop in the main area, putting some herbs in the pot and stirring again, Yumie nods, pulling the blanket up around her chin to cough into it. Onyx grabs a bottle from the main area, a light blue one, one marked as ‘water, with crushed mist flower petals,’. One of which Yumie takes sips from. Even Heahfre remind her to take small sips to not upset her stomach. But she nods, she can tell Heahfre is no cook, but that is fine as she will eat any meal by this point, she is just glad someone found her, even if she fears she will be kicked out, but looking at them all she doesn’t get that, she feels safe, something of which she hasn’t felt in years.

“Yes, I am, I’m only young and I’m sorry for that, it must have been a shock to find someone like me here,”

“Yeah, it is, We just came to drop Onyx off here, it is their house and we planned to stay the night before working out what to do tomorrow. I think it’s best we take you back to the village castle tomorrow, I’m no healer or cook and with you being so rare I think the king and queen have the right to know. It’s just a matter of are you strong enough to walk?”

They all know they will work out that part when they come to it, but Onyx helps him with the broth, dropping in chicken legs and breasts with salt and even herbs that help boost immune systems, as they can all guess, new place, new weather something which can shock any immune system. Heahfre tries to find bowels all the same size, just, so it doesn’t look like one person is being given more than another. Heahfre does manage to put in some pieces of chicken, about two or three each bowl, which helps keep the flavour with the small bit of herbs that didn’t fully cook in.

They all sit in the sun room, watching the sun set through the glass as they eat their bowls of soup, Juan, and Batie-Anna get seconds and sometimes Third and fourth for Juan, Heahfre getting seconds too while Onyx consumes about ten, Yumie spaced out her first and second while taking sips from the bottle. Onyx and Heahfre lights the tip of candles as the moon starts to rise high in the sky with stars following behind it. Onyx helps set up spare beds as Batie-Anna and Juan clean off the main bed for Yumie. Heahfre however stays up half the night taking watch. Onyx finds him on the roof, how Heahfre got up there is something onyx will question but they can only assume but the mud patch because he made some stone stairs and got rid of them once he got on top.

Onyx floats to the top and softly land on the roof behind him, Heahfre watches him, lying his staff back on the roof, the skull still floating in the middle but looking up over at the forest in front of them, some of the sky from this angel visible—After all they are watching behind the house, where the forest is most dense—Heahfre watches as Onyx sits next to him, soon the two—or three if you include the skull—are sat there, watching the forest in the dead of night. Which they sit there for some moments in pure silence, listening.

“If this is your way of telling me to go to bed, I am just letting you know now I’m not going,”

Heahfre tells Onyx as they shake their head for a no. Instead, they just watch over the house with him, like normal, not saying a word, Onyx does tap the room and en-enchant the entire house, where if they were attacked Juan, Baite-Anna and Yumie would be safe inside. Onyx soon pokes the skull, which causes it to snap towards them, the eye sockets showing signs of as if the inside of the eyebrows that should be there are down. Heahfre chuckles, seeing the interaction causing the skull to snap towards him. Onyx didn’t know Heahfre was cable of laughter, but watching him today worry about Yumie, a complete stranger. Maybe it is true about looks being deceiving, mostly as someone as cold as Heahfre. Just as Heahfre goes to say something, he is interrupted by a roar, the same roar from hours ago, the same roar in Yumie’s memories, but this roar sounded awfully close. Heahfre grabbed his staff and said his spell: ‘tcetorp eht esouh dna esoht ni ti’

The house and it’s enchantment is covered by an extra bubble, one of which only Heahfre, his staff, and Onyx can leave and the watch and wait for the monster that approaches the house. They watch as the ground rumbles become stronger, and the thud of each foot step becomes louder and louder. They see it, a giant, and not one from those children’s story tales, the ones that they can see has already walked through seven villages because of the mount of blood and god knows what else on the bottom of it’s feet. A giant that is ready to kill them next, one that doesn’t care about it’s actions. A giant with no morals, meaning if Heahfre and Onyx want to defeat him or even knock him out, they themself also have to throw their own morals out.

‘ esira enots sebals’

Heahfre says as the ground beginnings to shake and rumble as it pulls apart, two giant thick stone slabs arise from the ground and push against the giant, who tries to get one arm free. Onyx’s whole robe lights up, Heahfre notices that onyx’s arm are reached out to the trees and they quickly pull them across each other, before the giant can react vines wrap around him and the stone slabs. Onyx pulls the vines tight making sure the giant at this time can’t get out, to which the giant screams, struggling to now get free from.

“ Gninthgil”

They watch as the clouds above the forest start to come together, blocking out the light from the moon and the stars, a clap of thunder heard as a lightning strike comes straight down on top of the giant. But it merely stunned him for a few seconds.

The roar of the giant echoes through the forest as it starts to regain strength from the lightning shock and starts to struggle against the vines and the stone slabs. Heahfre chants another spell, the same lightning one, this time with a mix of extra support for Onyx, bringing the roots up from the ground of the trees around the slabs. But it doesn’t hold long as the giant rips his arms free, breaking the slabs, vines, and tree roots, one of which Onyx uses their own magic to fix and place back into the ground.

They flinch as the hand comes up over the giant's hand, swinging down on top of the magic shield around them and the house. The thud from the fist connecting with the magic is heard, even causing the ground and the house to shake. They watch as the giant roar again, but this time an arrow becoming in-betted in his shoulder.

Juan.

“Stay inside!”

Heahfre shouts at to Juan who they can only assume is at the back kitchen window. He knows they can’t get past the enchantment, but he also knows from history, he will try , He has managed before but right now Heahfre only hopes Juan stays put. The giant slams its hand back on the shield; the shield cracking after the seventh hit, but it soon starts to calm down and walk away? Onyx and Heahfre are confused but make their way back into the house once the giant is out of view and it’s foot steps are head miles away. They watch Juan close the window and Batie-Anna helping Yumie back in bed, her rabbit ears glowing a soft white.

“I have questions much like the rest of us, but I think the glowing rabbit ears is something I should ask later,”

Juan says as Onyx helps Yumie back to bed too, his right, there is a giant in these forests, one o f which Onyx didn’t seem to know about after all Onyx helped Heahfre restrain the monster. From what Heahfre knows, Onyx wouldn’t do that if they knew. But the blood on the bottom of the giant’s foot, where did it come from for that much blood? Was it a smaller village just outside of the island border? Batie-Anna, who is just as shocked as everyone else, was she or her family not informed?

Heahfre just nods, saying he will keep watch for the night and will check the enchantment on the house and the shield every hour or two. Onyx swaps spots with him during the night, of course, Onyx just use a small sleep spell on Heahfre when he struggles to keep his eyes open and with Juan who helps drag Heahfre to the couch, throwing a blanket over him.

When the sun starts to rise is when Onyx starts to wake everyone up, Heahfre wasn't impressed to have been put to sleep and placed on the couch but Juan tells him it was better than him falling asleep on the roof and getting hurt if he fell off it. They put one of onyx’s robes around Yumie and make sure the shield spell and enchantment are around the house as they leave. They follow the same path they followed in and is soon out of the forest, glad they didn’t run into the giant. Once they go into the village, Juan carefully put the hood over Yumie’s
ears to protect her, as they don’t want to find out today how the village people will react. But first they had to worry about the walk back, they didn’t know how weak Yumie is; they didn’t even know if she had any injuries and none of them knew how to ask as none of them, maybe beside Onyx, had even seen a lerrunan before.

The glowing ears never leaving their mind, they hope it’s something that won’t attract prey, they can only assume that is the case and they need to be on high alert—So they have their weapons ready while checking the rope currently wrapped around Yumie—They watch as Onyx bring their hand up to the centre of the robe Yumie is in, glowing. They watch as some of the magic surrounding Onyx twists around their arm and slowly hugs Yumie and her robe. Much like Onyx now covered in some type of protective magic.

“Are you comfortable? Do you need your ears out for the walk?”

Yumie nods, letting the ears slipping out of the hood one by one, her ears for now sticking straight up in the air before bending slightly hearing the slight breeze outside. They all watch, Onyx’s hand moving to her her back to rub it, to reassure her that they are here to protect her. Once they left the house Onyx and Heahfre put the magic bubble over the house with the enchantment, they grab their weapons and start to make their slow walk back to the village, Yumie listening for all sounds, mostly sounds that sound like foot steps.

The walk back was quiet, just as they needed, but full of worry, how will the king and queen react? Which village became a victim to the giant? Are there any survivors? By the time they approved the village gates Onyx had already helped Yumie tuck her ears back into the hood, helping her lie them flat against her head, but people still stared, pointed, and whispered. They know why; they had left only a couple of yesterday, some believing they wouldn’t be back until the end of the month, so coming back some hours later and with an extra person and one who the public probably believe is just a myth.

Once they walk through the castle doors, they are met with the queen who is dressed in a night gown that drags across the floor her right hand holding up some of it to prevent tripping; her left hand holding a holder with a candle burning at the wick; she is visibly tired, the bags under her eyes showing she has not long been woken up by one of the staff her face contorting from confused, tired and to worry upon seeing Yumie.

“My lord, she’s so young, Onyx are you fine if she sleeps in your room for the night?”

Onyx nods as they place their hand on Yumie’s back and starts to lead her down a hallway, The queen turns to Heahfre and Onyx hears her say something about finding the healers and telling the cooks to make light soup that won’t upset Yumie’s stomach. They would be lying if they said they all weren’t hungry, but their day of walking had been slowed because of Yumie and her weakened state, much like Yumie they need to eat too. But Heahfre walks into the hall and down to the healers sleeping quarters, something lighting up the room and the gaps let the light seek through—Many of the healers, most of whom seem to be females heard shouting, some items being thrown, and Heahfre’s voice trying to apologise and he forgot the glow bugs react when they hear the door open—But soon he walks out with a younger male not far behind them, the light in the room dying out as the door is shut. His clothing, baggy white fabric clothes that seem to have been washed, as there is not a single smug of dirt or other marks on it, his skin a warm brown, eye colour a beautiful hazel, and his hair a dark brown with grey roots, taller than Juan but shorter than Heahfre.

His hair a mess, clearly just woken up like the rest of the healers. He grumbles, walking over, and upon seeing Yumie doesn’t have any reaction, even seeing how she looks. Onyx thinks maybe it’s because this one guy is half asleep, but they can’t assume, they themself hate it when others assume stuff about them. Yumie tenses up as the guy’s stare doesn’t move, he blinks a couple of times but no one can seem to read what he is truly thinking. A few more slight, awkward minutes later he finally moves, first taking off the robe around Yumie’s shoulders and letting it drop to the floor around her feet, which Onyx picked up and brushed the dust off, not impressed.

“definitely under weight for her kind, are the cooks awake yet? Tell them to cook up some flavourless soup,”

So … boiled water? And yet a cook walks out holding a bowl of warm water. Yumie drinks it without a fight, without protesting. Onyx doesn’t like that, it isn’t right. So Onyx places the bowl on the closet table and pulls out the small sack of herbs that was given to them before they left, they dig through it, looking at the bottles one by one as the healer is now the one protesting and claiming that they are ruining the lerrunan’s diet. But Onyx doesn’t care, Onyx knows the different between right and wrong, and this bowl is wrong. As Onyx grabs one of the small bottles, one filled with a mix of different colours vines, all of which look different but the one onyx pulled from the bottle, green with silver thorns all along it. They all watch as Onyx starts to rip the thorns off and placing them into the soup one by one, using the spoon Yumie was given to stir it all together, the water slowly turning a silver colour and then the vine is added in the silver turning a green.

“Dragon vine? That stuff is meant to be near impossible to find, Where did you get that? Let alone the seeds for it!”

The healer demands as Onyx stirs it into the bowl, ignoring the demands. Onyx watches as the green mixes with the silver, making the water sparkle slightly. The steam, which was much thinner now much thicker and smelling fresh. It is soon handed back to Yumie who she takes small sips, this time looking more relaxed. By this point, much like everyone else, the healer has gone quit no point in arguing with someone who doesn’t argue back. But in Onyx’s eyes, Yumie is relaxed, and that’s all they wanted. In Onyx’s knowledge, a relaxed lerrunan is a lerrunan more willing to help.

Soon the bowl is empty, another thing Onyx wants to see, the healers take the bowl handing it to the cook who is walking back to the kitchen, Yumie reaches back for the robe only for the healer to stop her again, this time saying he still needs to look over some odd patches on her body, only now pointing out brown spots. Yumie, on the other hand isn’t happy to have been reminded of those markings one of which the healer must've seen her face as he said that is a tomorrow job, as they all need sleep. Setting up the bed in Onyx’s room was easy enough, they gave Yumie the bigger bed while Onyx was happy enough to sleep on the single one. They could only describe the bed as soft but new, clearly the staff had pulled it out of storage from somewhere as it is as hard as rocks, it reminded of Onyx of that thin bit of blanket from the dungeons. But they did hear Yumie’s soft snores through out the night, which to them makes him happy.

She needs the sleep, and Onyx is willing to be uncomfortable for her to get that rest.

When Onyx shut their eyes, they see they are back in the cells, the memory awfully clear to be a dream, a memory perhaps? Onyx is wearing the same prison rags, which are however clean this time. Looking around the gate is new metal, clean and not rusted like they remember, unless this is how they remember.

The dungeon halls are quiet too, some cells are looking cramped, mostly men all in them wearing the same rags, some even chained to the stone walls with shackles while other s have a metal ball connected to a chain which is locked around their ankles. In Onyx’s cell just them, the one blanket that looks new, not a single stain or tear in sight.

But in the cell's corner, a cloaked figure, the hood down past their chest, the sleeves dragging across the floor with the bottom of the robe, one of which is a white robe with grey steams, the person towing over Onyx, casting a show from the dark corner over them and through the bars.

“ Odnecserc,”

Three voices, one a higher pitch, one in a normal range, and the last a deeper range, Onyx stepped back to the other corner of the cell, being reminded how little room there is in them. They brace them self as the three voice’s screams are heard first at a low hum to a sudden burst of high pitch sound, which created a type of shock-wave.

Onyx had waken up with a jump. They were worried about Yumie, the thought of her being so far away from her home—On top of that the nightmare? Flashback? Vision? Whatever it was, didn’t help—the worry that her home may not be standing any more. They don’t even know the current state of a lerrunan’s home, the last they heard before being locked away is that Lerrunan’s where working to get certain protection rights. Onyx didn’t understand the written scrolls of demands back then, as Lerrunan was a language spoken only by other lerrunan’s so hearing Yumie speak common concerns them dearly.

Onyx only hopes Lerrunanim isn’t being killed off.

When Onyx stepped out of bed, they made sure to not wake Yumie, their past studies if history has changed little means Onyx knows the sudden awaking of a lerrunan means teeth in their throat—and onyx want’s their throat in one piece—So Onyx just slowly leaves the room, leaving a gap in the door to show Yumie she isn’t trapped here.

In the hallways maids, healers and even cooks are awaking, some already dressed, others in their clothes for the day but with wet hair, many males only having a towel wrapped around their hips, the females giggling in their own rooms with the doors shut with some enchantment over it—probably so no one walks in on them—in the small training yard, Juan already dressed in some training gear and aiming some practice arrows at a hay target and letting go of the string on the bow, four arrows and now a fifth deep into the target. The sky, a deep blue while light blue is just above the sun, crawling across the horizon, an orange colour over the large body of water just north of the island.

The only thought going through Onyx’s head being that they only hope that if they were given a chance to go back to their prime, they would accept it without a second thought. To wake up as early as Juan does. But Onyx knows it takes time too b able to do that and they only need to rebuild that skill. But Onyx does respect Juan for it, they can only assume he wakes up simultaneously every day, and with how close those arrows are to the centre of the target to Onyx is a clear sign that he is improving—just slowly—but improvement is clear.

Down the hallway some more is the thorn room again, the stuff sweeping up the dust from last night’s late walk in, others using water magic to clean away the dust that failed to get over the cracks and crevices, other staff changing the fabric the king, queen, and Batie-Anna Onyx can only assume that she and her brothers sit on during the day or when they are needed for public duties. One of her brothers is sat on his throne already and looking as grumpy as ever, a maid standing next to him.

Onyx hopes the maid is treated fairly and is safe.

Up the stairs to Heahfre’s tower, Onyx can hear voices on the other side of the closed door—One of them is definitely Heahfre, but the other one sounds like the male healer from earlier—Onyx listens, they know, it’s wrong and they have no way to defend their actions but listening to the voices of the conversation start to slowly turn into a whisper and then dead silent Onyx knows they have been caught, mostly when the door opens. Heahfre telling Onyx to come in and join in on the conversation, and before they can even react the floor below them wraps around the top of their feet and pulls them inside the room, the door slamming shut behind them.

“Onyx, met Yarim, I am considering to bring him along with us,”

Onyx is glad to have a name to the face.

“he is one of my own students, much as you don’t know I own a school, and every once in a while I pick a student to come here to train and learn. As of now, Yarim is working to become someone who works in healing, but hasn’t picked which path yet,”

“I do admit last night’s order wasn't the best decision, flavourless soup, I must have been exhausted,”

Onyx can only hope it won’t happen again and Yarim will get the needed rest. Onyx does know what a lack of sleep does to someone, those first couple of nights they locked them, really hit them hard—Oh how they wish to just forget and act as if they didn’t lose the last 100 years of their life—So Onyx just nods, admitting to themself that maybe Onyx overreacted last night too so they just bow as an apology for their own actions. Even seeing the bags visible under Yarim’s eyes, it’s clear they were harsh on him last night. But seeing Yarim say it’s fine Onyx’s guilt doesn’t go away fully.

Heahfre grabs his staff and taps it on the floor twice, the stone around Onyx’s feet crawl away and go back to being a part of the flooring. They head out of the tower with Yarim saying breakfast is soon to be served, heading down to the throne room and through the main hallway which to Onyx felt like a hike of walking past doors, one of which is Onyx’s bedroom, which having a peak inside Yumie is still passed out cold in the bed, Juan joined them from the training grounds as they walked by. Heahfre grabbing a towel as they walk past the washing room after taking a left and handing it to Juan to wipe away the sweat and dirt on him.

After taking two rights and three lefts, they are soon at the dining room. Too Onyx is massive, a high ceiling being held up by wooden beams that are connected to wooden posts that run down the centre of the room, two massive oak tables that run down the room, the windows reaching from the floor to the roof; the curtains pulled to the side and tied off; the room surrounded by a lush green garden with rivers that weave in and out of the land, Lilly-pads with frogs, dragon flies and even bees around.

At the very end of the table, chairs much bigger than the rest, the biggest one at the head of the table—Two for that matter—Onyx knows they are the king and queen’s, which leaves the other four to being the kids. They watch as the staff lie the silver fabric across both tables, the end of it stopping just before it hits where the royal chairs are. Onyx watches as the maids place a gold fabric across the table—Knowing that royals still aren’t scared to show they are above everyone in some form is still around is strangely enough a reassurance for Onyx—They watch as Yarim and Heahfre motion Onyx to one side of the room, the side with the windows showing the garden outside.

Onyx’s gaze was out the window looking at the plants, but it was soon diverted when the main doors opened, the king and queen walking out with their children, Batie-Anna included behind them. Unlike the son’s Batie-Anna is in her thinner clothes, or less puffy royal attire.

“Greetings, we hope your sleep wasn’t to rough, Yumie is still asleep, so some food has been put aside. Please sit down, the staff have already eaten.”

The king says as everyone starts to take their seats. Onyx is placed next to Heahfre who is sat next to one brother on their left, to their right is Yarim, right across from them is Batie-Anna and Juan—Who most of which doesn’t make any eye contact with the brothers—The king and queen are soon sat. They all wait as the maids stand behind them, but between the gaps, their hands holding bowls that from the outside seem to be made from some type of stone, but once placed in front of the inside of the bowl walls is made from crystals. Onyx has never seen this before, crystal pods being used as bowls? Back in their time finding a crystal pod was believed to mean they are chosen for something huge, so witnessing them being used as bowls to be eaten from.

Onyx looks at the bowl as it starts to glow and grow warm, slowly but surely the crystal on the inside walls start to melt away, exposing the grey hard rock it was attached too, turning it’s self into a liquid, steam coming from the now soup like texture—But yet they still wait—watching as the now violet and blue soup starts to swill into each other, slowly mixing and becoming a stunning lavender that sparkles just as the sun is rising and shining through the hall’s windows. The smell, a warm but sweet kind, Onyx can’t seem where to place being new to them but it smells like something they will love and cherish, maybe even find some of their own crystal pods to use for their travels. But Onyx freezes looking at the reflection of the maid in the soup, the seeing the same covered cloaked, looking at the maid she looks down that them and gives Onyx a warm smile.

In their other hand, a petal lily flower with an enchantment around it, something inside the centre of it. Onyx watches as it’s placed on the table in front of them on the right side of the bowl, inside just water that bubbles slightly, one of two tea leaves in floating around and steam coming from the top which smells a lot like mint.

Petal Lily Tea with a hint of mint.

The Petal lily is the cup, the hot water soaking up the flower from the petals and the mint to tune out the smell that often comes with it. Taking a sip, all they can taste is the mint, Onyx isn’t a big fan of mint but they know it's better than the smell of rotting fish. But looking back into the flower the same covered figure was shown, causing Onyx to snap around the maid behind them, causing the poor maid to flinch.

“Onyx, dear? Is everything okay?”

They just stare at the maid, shocked, scared a little, their heart beating much faster than normal, feeling the sweat starting to form on their forehead and hands … something is wrong, who are they seeing?

Why are they seeing who ever it is?

Who are they seeing?

Are they just tired?

They have to be tired.

They had a nightmare; they have to be hallucinating, right? So they just bow as an apology, they really don’t want to go back into the dungeons again, mostly being surrounded by everyone and being this close to them. They just must be stressed, their time down there was not the best, everyone hated it, they all were miserable. But they bow again, truly sorry for their actions, they all are handed a silver spoon with a type of gem in the spoon's bowl made from a crystal, the one onyx was handed, an Onyx crystal.

Upon consuming the soup to onyx it’s crunchy but warm, the flavour a lovely mix of purple and blue berries all while thick and filling. A part of them filling different, a good different, Onyx can feel their muscles relaxing a little and not a drugged up relaxing, a welcoming one. Looking at the royal’s they are eating the same soup, showing they can be trusted, after all, which royals would risk drugging themself? The staff wouldn’t want to risk being locked away either, most of them know Onyx.

But the bowls are empty with their stomach’s being full. Onyx might just like that meal, they feel deep down it might not be something they eat daily but it was something they loved. They watch as the maids grab the bowls, spoon but leave the cups, Onyx’s cup has been refilled about four times now, the mint hitting all the right spots as it goes down their mouth, down their throat and hits their stomach making them feel full but nice and warm.

“Right, now that we are fed, we must discuss lovely Yumie,”

The king clear his throat. Yes, Yumie, the Lerrunan, Onyx is sure Yarim, Batie-Anna and Juan don’t even know that Yumie is one, the king looks like the king doesn’t know either and that he was informed five minutes ago.

“Yes, please do,”

Their heads turn towards the hall’s doors, Yumie leaning against them while two maids are trying to usher her back into bed, but she isn’t listening. She doesn’t have Onyx’s green robe on, not even a blanket, her body is very much clear now with all the washed out spots Onyx only now sees after Yarim pointed them out last night. As she walked over to the table, the maid’s become insistent that she go back to bed to rest more, but the king told them to let her sit next to Juan and to go grab her meal which they did without saying a single word.

The bowl placed in front of her, the same crystal pod but filled to the top with a mix of meadow and orchid grass, with lettuce, bok choy, mint, parsley, coriander, and even carrots with celery with pieces of banana, apple, and berries on top. Onyx is actually a little jealous. But once she eats what she could, which is over half of the food in the pod, she grabs the flower cup and drinks what is inside, but before the maid’s can even think of taking it away or refilling it, Yumie eats it. They all are shocked, and rightfully so, Onyx even trying to remember if those type of flowers are poisonous to her. But as they wait, they see she is fine. Some maids write down on a piece of paper that there is a chance at lerrunan’s eat flowers.

But Yumie nods upon being asked if she has had enough, the king orders the maids to put it away and to keep it fresh as food must not be wasted, all while telling them if it cannot stay fresh to feed it to the chickens so they can lay more of their eggs but not before shouting back to remind them that cages are nothing but harmful.

“Yumie, do you wish to go with the healers? We are heading to the grand library now to view what our ancestors labelled as their versions of events. I worry it may upset you,”

The queen asks, her voice soft with a hint of worry in it. Yumie thought a bit before shaking her head and mouthing out no. The queen’s frown growing deeper, her eyes softening.

“I will see the healers if I get to upset, but … I know my history, what I will be shown today I will only take it as claims and nothing else,”

The queen just nods as the king is the first to stand, his chair scrapping against the stone floor as he pushes it away from the table. The queen following behind him, their sons, and then Batie-Anna followed by Heahfre, Juan, and the rest of them. They all walk out a door on the left side of the room, Onyx holding Yumie’s hand the whole way, staying close in case she becomes weak. The hallway having nothing but windows where the walls should be, a group of glow bugs flying around something keeping them attached to the touch, lighting up the stone roof, only a few glow bugs seeing themself in the glass amazed at their own reflection. The lovely garden visible through the windows.

The doors to rooms appearing as they walk into a much larger hallway and before they know it they walked into a giant room, one of which has book cases stacked on each other from the floor to the ceiling, the shelves full of books, scrolls, some scrolls even in bottles. Many glow bugs flying around, worms appearing from some books, others looking as if they are brand new, many touches with coal attached on fire, all attached to the stone walling between the case’s. The ceiling made of pure glass lighting up the room.

Around on the floor is logs cut and re-shaped to be made into a place to sit. Other seats made from white, bumpy on the side but soft in the middle, much like the wooden log seats, the tables made from a darker wood with the same white fluff on the bottom of the table legs. Some tables holding a candle, others holding an open book with some mark in them to remind who ever is reading them of the place they are up too, other tables having floating lanterns just hovering above the tables—Many of the floating lanterns even floating around the room despite the sun lighting it up—They walk more into the room and walk around a platform that holds pits of the earth and water being held up by magic, showing all the islands, the sky of the world having clouds which to onyx show small rain droplets under it, others a group of clouds, even miniature gusts of winds. Inspecting the world, Onyx also notices that some areas have small fire symbols above some lands.

Magic really has changed.

Back in their day they had nothing like this, all they had was just a guess of what the weather will be and what the next day was. Same with the time, but back then they only had Day and Night, but on this it shows a moon made from some grey stone, the moon currently carved into a crescent moon while the sun is made from some orange wood. Some shiny stones around the moon, which onyx knows represents the stars.

Onyx catches back up with the group, only now seeing during their daze everyone had walked off without them. Walking past the many cases of books, they all are greeted with a much darker part of the library, they watch as some of the floating lantern make their way over, the blue light inside growing stronger when they hand in a hand. The halls turn to a bright, warm feeling to chains now running across cases, other shaving a blue flame. Many books on the floor with covers and pages burnt away, others eaten out by bugs, and most having some type of soul attached to them.

But they soon see it, the giant metal door, chains running across it, blue fire held on giant white bowls on stone pillars. The door, covered in many magical locks attached to a giant wheel in the centre of it and a single wooden sign;

AUTHORISED PERSONAL ONLY

The king looks at Heahfre and nods, Heahfre moving to the front of the door and placing his staff in some type of hole, metal gears are heard moving under the floor as some metal pieces clamp out the bottom of the staff. The group watches as Heahfre takes in a couple of deep breaths and slowly lets them out, the floor below them filling up the lines in the floor around Heahfre and around each one of them. The gears on the door slowly twist, pulling other gears another with them, the giant gear slowly turning as each teeth connects to it. The doors open with each tooth that connects to another, a slow and painful process, one that makes it chilling, eerie, moan as the door scrapes against the wooden floor.

Inside a mostly dark room with no windows, The ceiling made from stone. No... this is a chamber. The only lightning inside being little glow bugs with floating lanterns most of which are brighter than the ones in the main library.

No windows, stone flooring, and stone walls just carved to second as book shelves, the air inside, thick and heavy, the sound, silence that is deafening. Some metal fencing around the floor, but upon a closer look, they see it’s a barrier to stop people from falling. Heahfre leaves his staff in the current spot as they walk inside, already pulling out a wooden wand from his bag. Inside Onyx doesn’t see one of those holes in the floor for the wand to go into. But Heahfre stands right in the centre, everyone else now spreading out, no longer needing to be breathing down someone’s neck.

Onyx and Yumie stay closer to where the entrance of the fence is in case something does happen. But watching Heahfre hold the wand up in the air and say;

“ Evom,”

The floor rumbles and shakes, the walls shaking with dominant force, small stones falling out of place. Looking at the shelves and the rows of books passing by Onyx can only tell the floor is going down because some books jump out and fly down to an opening on a lower shelf—If they weren’t paying attention then it would be different—But soon the floor comes to a halt, jolting everyone, making them lose their balance. Heahfre turns to the far wall and places the wand in the gap, they all watch as the wall now starts to turn around the fall soon showing them a gap within the wall leading into another room, inside is like the rest the floor to roof covered in books, scrolls, and even parchment papers. Worms in some books and scrolls, other lying on their back, many more in the middle of shedding their skin. Pillars holding fire placed all over the room with floating lanterns that seem to have their own fires in side instead of the blue colour.

“These are some of our first records of history, not everything is here, of course, and some stuff is very much recorded in the eyes of a biased opinion and lies,”

The queen says as they all walk to the centre, watching as Heahfre scans the shelves for one book or scroll.

“The … sensitive one correct?”

Heahfre asks as the king nods.

“Onyx, you may not know, during the last hundred years magic has been used to be put in scrolls and books, which often caused the scrolls and books to be marked on certain levels of sensitivity, this is often because of the history each one holds. In our case only Heahfre can pick it up,”

That’s new to them, sure something they also dreamed about but new. They watch as Heahfre puts his hand out for a manky old scroll, one that has been covering dust from what looks like the dawn of time. The side of the scroll burnt and other areas ripped. the rollers at the top and bottom clearly made from an old grandfather tree that likely isn’t standing anymore.

“Yumie, you can back out now if you wish, I can tell a maid to take you too the healers,”

Heahfre says as Yumie thinks before shaking her head, telling him that she wants to see what the scroll claims—Heahfre nods—He moves to the centre of the chamber and places the scroll on the floor as he starts to unroll it the room around them starts to twist and turn, colours mixing into others and forming colours that shouldn’t be possible. But after a while it stops, they all are standing in the middle of some smaller town, houses built from mud, stones, stones and being held together by what looks like hay and string.

The trading stalls closer to the river, mostly those that are holding buckets full of fish, most of them huge, grey and other small with wings, the comman ones in size sat between the two but grey, wings, gills and even eight eyes. Another stall holding apples, bananas, grapes and to onyx’s surprise, wild berries, some possibly poisonous. On the other half of the stall, bread, mostly all loafs but of different sizes. A third stall filled with seeds, Oh, how Onyx could take them back with them but sadly they are viewing the past, Onyx knows if anything is grabbed it may not come with them.

One stall even held books and scrolls, all empty of course, but that is the joy, another one, bottles of all different shape and sizes, One bottle round at bottom but having a skinny neck, it full of weeds of some sort, the one next to that line thinner at the bottom but rounder at the top, that one full of water that has some sort of seeds floating around. Another bottle in the shape of a bell flower, the cork much more wider and thicker, inside the bottle the petals of bell flowers. Onyx is even sure they saw a stall selling sticks, but they can only assume they were magic wands. One wand straight looking as if they had cut the wood from the tree themself, another wand thick and looking as if it had been cut from the roots of a tree and an enormous tree at that.

The walk through the village is quiet, Onyx can only assume that it’s the same village they all are meant to be standing in now. The same Thorn Grove Village or City in their current era. They walk to the hill, where the castle should have been, but they see the same houses all up the main path and placed around on flatter areas. Making the village look more lively and less crowded. At the very top of the hill, a bigger house, one with two floors and the wood it was built from slowly building a stone wall just around the top.

Is this how they started as royals?

A small two floor house made from sticks, mud, stones, and string. And the stone wall, only one layer had been built, looking, only being held together but mud and clay. They all go inside the house, the soft cloud blankets on the floor with the pillow being the same. The table just mode from wood but the legs going into the floor, telling Onyx that who ever brought it up used a certain earth and wood magic. A fire place surrounded by stone is lit on one end of the room, on the other stairs leading up to another room. But that one empty. The windows on the house only being square holes in the walls. The roof of a mix of hay, clay, and even sticks and leaves, while looking as if everyone will get wet surprisingly works against the elements of the weather.

They all come back down stairs as the front door opens, three men walking in, one with red roots but blonde tips, his eyes a beaming light blue and white skin, his clothes just normal peasant clothes, he holding what looks like the map of the village. They watch as the map is place on the floor and rolled out, on it showing the current state of the place and off to the side, a major forest surrounding the place. The men look stressed.

“We have to believe them,”

The one with red roots hair guy says, breathless and looking as if he is on the verge of panicking.

“They have no evidence to proof they didn’t know they stole homes from the lerrunan’s they also didn’t answer us when we asked if any was killed,”

His friend, the same light skin as him, this time with green eyes and jet black hair, his clothes are the same as the first but cleaner. He is also much taller. Looking much more stressed than his friend, even upset. He is asking the right questions that clearly the first guy doesn’t want the answers too.