Icarus

Aesterdis

Aesterdis

Cassie had been in the Guardians' residence several times when she was a child. Back then everything about being there seemed magical. The walls appeared to be as high as the sky, and the corridors, eternal as the Guardians' lives. It was a palace fit for royalty and like every little girl's dream, Cassie felt like a princess when she was there, but as she grew older that was not what she wanted for her life. Cassie was born to be a warrior.

For as long as she could remember, Cassie wanted the black lines marking a Guardian etched into her hands. It wasn't her choice to become a protector of humans, but rather one of the revered Twelve, like Piero, but the universe had other plans for the destiny of her unfolding story.

"Care to explain why you needed a reunion with us at this time?"

Piero guided her through the main hall. The light from the sky illuminated everything with a golden glow, complimenting his sunset-orange eyes.

"I wanted to talk about the Icarus Mission," she answered respectfully. Piero raised an eyebrow, so she added, "I need to give the impression that the mission is still active?"

"I remember Cassie; I remember very well...but, you should have told me you were coming so I could have gathered all the Guardians."

"Well, go call them, I can wait."

Piero narrowed his eyes, "I am I sensing you have something sneaky up your sleeve."

"Don't worry...and I'm not going anywhere no matter how long it takes."

Narrowing his eyes even farther, Piero turned his back and silently walked away towards one of the doors, closed it behind him, after which Cassie began looking around.

Now... where would they keep the Aesterdis?" she wondered, but in the complete silence of the palace even her thoughts echoed too loud. She tried not to make a sound with her street shoes, tiptoeing on the shiny hard marble floor.

She started walking at a quick pace through a passage. Like all of the other walls, these were fashioned in white and gold and reached to the clouds, but the one had something she had never seen before-a painting was hanging on it. She stopped and stared.

The painting featured an intricate gold, black and white design which matched the colors of the residence and resonated with the whole atmosphere of the spectacular palace. The lines looked like vines surrounding a white rose. Cassie felt a chill down her spine. It was time to keep going.

Maybe it was her imagination playing tricks on her, but she glimpsed at the painting when she left and the vines started moving.

Cassie didn't know why, but her feet began to run as the white walls became suffocating. Fear crawled through her chest like a venomous serpent, pressing it down, she felt like she couldn't breathe. Cassie closed her eyes and kept running through the never-ending hall.

She paused to take a long breath and opened her eyes, looked at the left and there it was, the same painting she had seen before. She has been running in circles.

Time was running out, she needed to find the Aesterdis. Cassie stood by the painting again, but then, she decided to reach out with her hand and touch it. Something told her to push on it, and so she did.

The wall moved backwards, and a bright light beamed through the line where the wall separated. That was the door leading to the Aesterdis.

Sneaky Guardians she said to herself while pushing on the wall a bit more so her body could squeeze through the opening, which closed again after she was inside.

Cassie now began feeling particles like snow falling off the grey clouds above. She noticed the room was dark and that was odd, considering that it wasn't nighttime yet. She felt a warm breeze coming from the Aesterdis.

It was beautiful, the kind of beauty there are no words to adequately describe.

Like a fountain carved in marble, the Aesterdis rose from the ground with golden roots that emerged from the marble floor. The center illuminated the room with a pink and crimson light. Cassie felt like she was beholding the glory of an eternal sunset, one that would never go dark.

She took a step closer, mesmerized by the awe and magesty of the Aesterdis. Suddenly she felt insignificant next to such a powerful entity so full of life-encompassing all of life. Standing in front of it, she recalled images and paintings from when she studied it with Piero, but the real thing was breathtaking.

The interior was even more incredible. It looked like a planetarium projection, each star floating on clear luminescent water. Cassie saw her reflection as she extended her hand to touch it with her finger.

But then the door opened and made her jump back as a shadow entered the room. Cassie felt her heart stuck in her throat and ran across the room to reach the other side of the Aesterdis; she ducked and hide behind it, covering her mouth with her hand to prevent her ragged breath from being heard.

➳

Alexander looked around the room to see if someone was there, but didn't see anyone. Thinking he was alone, the Aesterdis stood before him ready to be changed.

He thought of what he was about to do at least a hundred times but it was the only way to keep Cassie and Icarus separated. As crazy as he was, Alexander knew that Petra wasn't going to be helpful.

He took a deep breath and with his black fingers touched the clear water. An angelic sound echoed throughout the room. Alexander thought about Cassie and Tate, and so the Aesterdis reflected both of them in the surface of the water. Alexander moved his finger towards a small light floating in the water, a star, and dragged it across the map.

The Aesterdis suddenly turned its water red and so the image of Cassie and Tate began to distort until it began to fade and sink. The angelic melody was no longer pleasant; it had turned into a loud aggressive symphony.

Alexander knew he had done something wrong. An unsettling feeling surged through his veins as he felt the water burn his finger. He jerked it out of the water and ran away without knowing that Cassie was there.

Cassie was in the room, but she had no idea what Alexander had just done.

He changed her future.

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Hello! I'm Mad, just wanted to ask you... who's your favourite character so far??? I'm just curious :p Mine is Petra/Pete tbh