The Shadow Wanderers

Chapter 8

She flickered her eyelids, shielding them from the sudden brightness. Preparing herself to see her first glimpse of a foreign planet, she stood still.

Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes finally adjusted to the brightness, and the first thing she saw was gold. She found herself in an enormous courtroom; she could see three majestic thrones raised above a staircase; they appeared as though they were made of gold. She looked around, seeing giant gold pillars lining the courtroom. The painted domed ceiling, the marble floor, the intricate carvings on the pillars, everything was majestically gold and brilliantly reflecting. Looking down at her feet, she noticed the fine red carpet, which neatly made its way to the thrones.

There's a light tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Zayden beside her, but something entirely different caught her eye behind him. The purple sky stretched to the horizon with small patches of pinkish clouds hovering here and there. She stared at it, awestruck, and slowly stepped toward the opening between the pillars, leading to a huge open area. The ground outside, too, was adorned with marble, leading to a large fountain in the middle.

Gardens bred in the corners of the yard with the greenest grass she'd ever seen and flowers of breeds she didn't remember seeing on Erini. A distraught line of peach-colored cliffs lined up at the horizon. She could see a gigantic waterfall falling down from the vast cliffs. Traces of gold shimmered in the plummeting cleansed water. It sparkled like diamonds under the magnificent lustrousness of the sun. She strode further to see it drop, and she was instantly overwhelmed by the sight of the population. The water dropped in a prodigious stream, spraying at the origin, and the stream led its way out of sight. The small buildings crawled in every direction and the streets buzzed with people.

She could see how everything distinguished itself from Erini; the colors were bright, the hustle and bustle looked uniquely jolly. She noticed the difference in how the Erini population inhabited at the top of the cliff, while the residents of Vakenes reside at the foot of it. And Erini had no waterfall as mighty as this one. In fact, nothing was as spectacular in Erini as in Vakenes.

At the sound of a sweet whistle, she turned around and spotted Zayden looking at her, and she realized she had been staring at Vakenes for so long that she had forgotten about her company.

"All of this is so beautiful. I don't know what to say," she told him, a big smile on her face.

"I'm glad you like it," he said.

And then, he changed. A strange golden light began to block his features slowly as it traveled from bottom to top. First, his shoes. They transformed from ordinary to fine leather material. Tiny scales appeared on his pants, and his tunic was suddenly covered with a black vest, hard and unbreakable. The same scales appeared on the material of his arms as his pants. And out of nowhere, a golden cape appeared on his back that was pinned from his shoulders and fell to the floor. She followed the light as it reached his face, his red hair now tied in a ponytail behind his head, and to her surprise, a distinction, as though a bright mark, a black crown with red gems now placed on his head.

Calista stepped back, a snort escaped but she instantly covered her mouth. "A throne room," she said, pointing back towards the building. "That crown?"

Zayden stood, flashing his signature smile, amused at her reaction. "King Zayden of Vakenes," he said, nodding briefly at her.

She stood, staring at him, speechless. He had never disclosed anything about his identity. He didn't at all look like the guy who had perched up on her window sill, staring at her and laughing.

She curtsied, unsure how she should act. "Your Majesty," she said.

To her surprise, he looked incredulous, suddenly chuckling. He nodded to her and said, "Princess Calista of Erini."