Innocent Sorrow: A Tale of Twisted Hearts Book One

Chapter Fourteen

“Long, long ago, this land was created by the twelve demons of old. Along with the humans who were created to populate this realm, two beings that represented two of the three countries were born to protect and guide the rulers of the young nations.” As he spoke the images before her moved to show twin shadows in the field of flowers. “Those two beings were created from the elements their respective countries treasured. The Child born to Reicks was the spirit of earth, Haydn.” Lazirus waved his hand and one of the shadows became solid, showing a young boy with olive skin, chocolate colored hair and black eyes. Feli stared at the boy before turning her eyes to the other shadow and opened her mouth, suddenly filled with words that she should have known all along. “The other was born of the element of Ice…and his name was Alexei.” Feli felt tears slipping from her eyes as Lazirus once more waved his hand and revealed a curly haired boy with warm, gold flecked silver eyes and marble skin. Lazirus brushed a hand through her hair in a soothing gesture and waved his hand once more. Between the two boys, a third shadow appeared before transforming into a younger version of Feliks; same red eyes gleaming in the faux light. Lazirus’ distorted voice sounded once more as the children in the field started to move and interact soundlessly.

“Haydn and Alexei were the spirits of, respectively, Reicks and Nyek. Haydn: the self-righteous embodiment of Earth and Justice. Alexei: the willful, straightforward child of Ice and Cruelty. These were the beings who stood up for the people within the Kingdoms and who accepted the wills of their rulers no matter how much it hurt them.” Feli bowed her head, unable to watch the scene for a moment. “I…I should have known… All this time I thought he was just this strange boy and truly…this is what he had on his shoulders.” Memories flowed over her, both new and old. Memories of an ice haired boy with sharp eyes and an equally sharp tongue filled her mind along with the realization that Alexei and Feliks did not have a good relationship… “Feliks entered the equation at four years old as an orphan from Beldan, the only land without a spirit. All three were raised by a woman who…who was a spirit of the wild.” Lazirus broke off for a moment before shaking his head and continuing on. “Feliks was markedly closer to Haydn then Alexei and this was proven true when the Great War started. Both Alexei and Haydn were taken back to their own countries by their Kings while Feliks was taken to the King of Beldan. He had been spotted with them and thus they thought him to be one of them…they weren’t necessarily wrong. Since he was so close to Haydn and offered a kindness they knew not, I thought it best if he was one of them and tried to turn the living child into the being of Fire for Beldan. It failed though. When the Great War started and Feliks’ true nature was discovered, I realized the mistake I had made. He was biased and only cared for Haydn, going so far as to abandon Alexei so that he might save the Earth Spirit. He had sick thoughts of dying with him but you know this already don’t you?”

Feli’s eyes darkened as she suddenly remembered all those weird feelings she had gotten as a child leading to her being brought to Reicks and how they had disappeared when she came to Reicks. “Yes…all those dreams and strange visions…they were his memories coming to the surface.” Lazirus nodded approvingly. “I…I also met Haydn…” her eyes narrowed as she drug the memories up from the back of her mind where they had been stashed for so long. “Once…the night of my birthday…” Feli paused as the thought she had had before she fainted returned. “And I met Alexei on my first night in Reicks…he made the memories stop, didn’t he?” Lazirus nodded once more and continued his story. “The twisted Feliks was consumed by his hate and obsession, it threatened to destroy the spirit I had placed inside him, threatened to corrupt it. In a last minute decision, I sealed his power before it could become corrupted and allowed him to face Haydn, to offer redemption to at least one of my…children. Haydn killed him and in doing so, released himself from the bonds placed upon him by King Andreas.” Feli jumped in again, her eyes burning with anger. “And so they both abandoned Alexei… But this doesn’t explain my existence. Obviously you can’t turn a living being into a spirit but it is also obvious that I am the new spirit of Fire.” Lazirus nodded slowly. “Yes, you are right on both aspects. If you wish to know more, well, that isn’t my story now is it?” His amused smirk made her bristle but at the same time, she knew he was right. There were others that the question was better posed to than him. “So what of Feliks; for what reason is he trapped within me?” Lazirus seemed to contemplate his words for a moment before waving his hand. The scene of children playing changed to her tower room but it was dark and unfurnished, only a mangled cage sitting in the back. In the center of the room was a now grown up Haydn, similar to the one she had seen at her birthday, and an equally aged Feliks. They launched into a silent fight before her eyes.