Embers and The Fiend

Chapter Fourteen

Hisako awoke with her body in immense pain. Partially blind, dazed and confused that she was still alive, she tried to move her body yet could not do so. As she tried to calm her breathing, she blinked slowly, allowing her eyes to adjust to her surroundings. As she began to look around, she saw that she was not within her room or even on the estate grounds.

Her entire body save her eyes were wrapped in dark blackish green seaweed, floating within a pool of celeste blue water that was incased in a glass sphere, thick dark oak branches supporting the sphere in a room with oak walls and ceilings.

Struggle as she might to get free, Hisako remained floating within the water, still and unbudging. As she gave up from struggling within her bonds, Hisako began to relax and float within the water though she could not feel its touch against her cheek. So, she laid there floating, thinking of her only living child and praying to the gods for her safety. As she opened her eyes, she saw Queen Elizara chanting; using her magic to create an opening on the glass sphere and began to crush dried flowers and leaves within the pool.

"Elizara!" Hisako shouted towards her dear friend, ecstatic to see an ally within her midst.

Queen Elizara looked up from her chanting, her blackish-blue eyes widened at the voice that was heard. As Elizara began to reach her hand towards her good friend, she stopped, just before touching her and ran away from Hisako, the opening of the sphere rapidly closing. Hisako was confused, why her friend would run away from her, why was she so shocked when Hisako called her name. Hisako frowned, she was extremely far from home, and seeing her beloved friend indicated she was in the southern lands of Irysan. Fairy territory.

"You have awaken sooner than we expected," King Golaporath said as he walked towards the glass sphere that held Hisako and bowed before her. "Welcome back to the southern lands."

"How did I get here?" Hisako asked. "And why am I bound with seaweed?"

King Golaporath sighed heavily at Hisako's questions. He knew he would have to tell her the truth, and he also knew she would not like the words that would escape his mouth.

"Dhabora, Maeuk," King Golaporath said as he turned his head to the direction of the door. "Come here."

As the words left his mouth, his sons entered the room. Both of the same height and sporting extremely wild and untamed long hair, Dhabora's skin was of bright silver and the Maeuk of mauve brown. Both sons were muscularly built, skilled in hunting and swordplay as their upper bodies were exposed as they wore long waist length robes. They were of a good height, yet they still seemed as children as they walked towards their father who towered at seven feet. Bowing low to their father, Dhabora and Maeuk then turned and bowed low to Hisako, their faces solemn and full of shame.

"What they have done and what they have failed to do was inexcusable," King Golaporath stated. "I beg for your forgiveness."

King Golaporath bowed low before Hisako, his forehead kissing the wooden ground. Maeuk and Dhabora's face twisted, exposing more pain and misery. Their own father, the greatest fairy warrior king in history was begging for forgiveness over their failure. It hurt to watch.

"What exactly am I forgiving you for old friend?" Hisako asked as she strained to look at him, puzzled at her dear friend's behavior. "Please explain everything."

King Golaporath sighed heavily and nodded as he arose from the ground, he was reluctant to tell his human friend what they had done, lest shatter the friendship they had and create a vengeful enemy but he knew he had to tell the truth.

"The attack on your home was our doing," King Golaporath said as he looked towards Hisako. "This is why you are here."

"You mean-?!" Hisako gasped.

"Yes," King Golaporath said as his face grimaced. "When we heard that someone had stolen a magical artifact from those men, we devised a plan to work together."

Hisako suddenly felt sick to her stomach, why would someone she considered a friend betray her and desecrate her husband's name? Why did they do such a thing?

"Those men could have easily taken what was theirs and left with no one the wiser, but we begged for them to create chaos so that we could retrieve something dear to us," King Golaporath continued. "Something, we had missed for a very long time."

Hisako looked at her fairy companions puzzled, what was so dear to them that thousands of lives needed to be destroyed over?

"It was you and little Jolena," Prince Dhabora said smiling sadly. "It was agony not being able to protect you for all those years, and when that vile swine banned us from being in contact with you, we had to think of something to take you from him."

"If we had taken you before it would have caused unnecessary war between our lands, something that has finally stopped that we wish not to continue," Prince Maeuk said as he clutched his fists. "This was our chance to save you. . . But I failed. I couldn't get Jolena. She was taken."

"What do you mean taken?!" Hisako asked fearfully as her blood ran cold inside her body. Had her last child kissed Death's blade as her younger children had? "Where was she taken?!"

Maeuk's face grimaces in sadness and shame yet he took a deep breath and stepped closer towards Hisako. The waters churned within the sphere and slowly positioned Hisako upwards so she could fully see the three men before her.

"After Dhabora had placed a paralyzing spell on you, I began to locate Jolena," Maeuk said as his bright lavender eyes looked into Hisako's black eyes. "When I reached her from sensing her magical presence, a creature had her in its clutches, I. . . I could not defeat it, its magic far surpassed mine. . . So I ran."

Hisako looked at the young man in front of her and could not become angry with him. Here was a friend willing to sacrifice everything for them, but fear took hold of him and she could not blame him for it. She saw how hard he was on himself and could not bring herself to cause him more pain.

"You are forgiven," Hisako said as she smiled softly at her daughter's friend. "You could not have done more than I could have and for that I thank you."

Maeuk suddenly fell to his knees in shock, he was prepared to be cursed, shouted, screamed at, yet a humble thanks brought him down to his core. He did not know what to think or feel. He just stared at Hisako in shock from her mercy.

"Your mercy has no bounds old friend," King Golapurath stated. "The paralyzing spell should wear off in a few hours, the seaweed is extracting its properties along with keeping you nourished."

"Thank you, I appreciate everything. Truly." Hisako said as she smiled at her friends.

"We will continue this later," King Golaporath said as he ushered his sons out of the room. "Hisako my friend, there is much we need to talk about. But today is not the day." As he walked out the room, King Golaporath waved his hand until it began to glow dark purple, darker than his own purple skin. As his hand stopped glowing, Triste appeared in the white trunk that belonged to Varyl, nestled comfortably on top of a mountain of gold in jewels. . . Within the vessel of the ship Chernobog.