The Broken Crown

Innocence

Her beauty seems to have put a spell on me, for my hand has found hers before I even know what I am doing. Taking a step back, she becomes swallowed by the glimmer in the wall, pulling me with her as I seem to have lost my own decisions, for I gravitate towards the wall.

A cold wind rushes past me, as if icy to the touch as I instantly feel frozen. Before I can blink, the rush of cold air is gone and I feel warmth again, my eyes looking around to the spectacle before me as my mouth gapes open. The greenhouse where I stand surrounds me, nothing more than a stone column behind me containing ancient ruins as the column runs up to the ceiling almost four stories high and vines wrapping around it. Trees are planted and are spread out along the side, different types of flowers and bushes spread among the path as ponds create a layout for walking. In the center of the garden lies a circular stone structure where the root of a tree is placed in the middle, the branches and leaves bursting forth from the top of the structure as if to create a blush pink canopy.

Looking around, I see the woman who led me in as she stands in the circular stone structure, her hands held apart as a silver globe levitates between her palms. I begin to walk towards her, the smell of flowers overwhelming me as I notice a few butterflies which go about the room. "Where am I?" I ask the woman, gaining a closer distance as she does not turn around or answer me.

The closer I get, the brighter the silver orb in her hands begins to shine, my curiosity only growing for what this place could be. Once I stand before the trunk of the tree, I notice the small pond around the tree where candles are placed and floating in the water on their own, their flames colors of white. "Who are you?" I ask, looking to the woman as her icy blue eyes briefly look out at me.

I watch with curiosity as she pulls her hands apart and the silver orb remains in place. Raising her hand, she pushes it out and the orb moves forward with her movements, right towards the tree as I watch the orb fly right through the trunk of the tree.

"This is an illusion," she whispers, parting her ruby painted lips as she begins to whisper a spell which causes the orb to rise into the sky of the canopy and create around the two of us a burst of rain. "A very well-crafted illusion created by my ancestors. Within the illusion, the plants grew roots and required a nurturer."

"What does this have to do with the palace? Why lead me inside?" I ask, looking around as the rainfall spreads out across the plants.

"King Zion had an illusion crafted as well within a room of his, an illusion which hosted another in the form of a mirror which led to the tomb of his ancestors. When magic was a powerful source in that kingdom, the room was not a room, but a grand crafted space just like this one but built by the elves his family stole their kingdom from." The woman turns to me, her fingers pressed lightly under my chin as she takes a step closer to me. "This room exists within a different continent."

"Where am I?" I ask, my tone more serious and less curious as I begin to worry for my safety and my packs.

"You do not know it by any name, for it was a realm forgotten in time as mankind progressed and created their inventions of wrath."

I pull away from the woman's light hold, taking a step away as I begin to look frantically around the room. "You cannot see past the walls of the spell, Leala Maxwell, nor should you wish to see what lies within the abyss."

I begin to walk back to the stone column, the one which brought me here which was covered in vines and ruins. Just as my fingers brush the fabrication of the column, I stumble forward as the column has disappeared. "Bring it back," I growl at the woman, looking over my shoulder to see her eyes glowing blue as her hair looks as if wind blows through it.