Glass Prison

Chapter 27

What she didn't know that my human cocoon was already broken.

They were broken and set aflame the moment I met a pair of sea green eyes.

"I should know." I answered and it resonated enough.

"Alright, my child." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her eyes opened and they stared off the distance, recalling the ancient words. "Before the beginning, there was only darkness–the natural state of the universe–and chaos. A pair of goddess twin was born from chaos–Gaia and Nyx. They were polar opposite and Order was first stored. The universe must have a balance or chaos will occur once more. You see, Gaia was created from light and Nyx was created from shadow. Nyx birthed the moon and the stars. Gaia birthed the sun, the planets and lastly, earth. If the balance tilts to Nyx, we'll be in eternal darkness or if the balance goes to Gaia... we will burn. One cannot exist without the other–to know light, darkness must exist and to know darkness, light must exist. It is a beautiful balance and teaching the way of harmony. Without it, we cease to exist."

"Like Yin and Yang," I mused out loud.

"Precisely like Yin and Yang," She continued, "Nyx and Gaia slowly created the world we know of today–Nyx placed stars and the moon in the sky to light up the night and Gaia made trees and clouds to provide shade from her harsh light. Nyx and Gaia eventually birthed children–the old gods. The children gods and goddesses later became rulers of the seelie, unseelie and sea courts, then their kids became the rulers we have today. Pontus and Thalassa, children of Gaia, were the original sea king and queen. They're parents of the current sea king, Neptune. Other gods and goddesses birthed other sidhes creatures–goblins, nymphs, unicorns, incubuses, and many more. "

"So how did fays and mers come about?" I asked.

"It is unwise to pour too fast in an empty cup or it would spill." Maiara grabbed my empty tea cup and slowly poured me more tea. "That's a story for another time." Maiara clapped her hands and I jerked at the sudden loudness. "Now, there's much to be done to prepare for the ritual."

"Ritual?" I asked.

"It's not simple to call for a god." Maiara smiled, then she called out, "Pala?"

Pala ducked under the branches of the tree, "Yes, my elder?"

"Can you show these girls to the river? I'm sure they would want to be cleaned up. We can't have them looking like a mess for the ritual."

Bodhi squealed, "Makeover!"

"Bath," I groaned in relief as my curls stuck to my neck. I was no longer sweaty as the sun had begun to set, but I could feel the dry sweat clinging to me like a grimy layer on my skin. I shuddered of the stench I must reek of. If I am going to be continued to be sniffed by sidhes, might as well smell good.

Pala chuckled, "Follow me,"

I stood up on my sore legs and followed the dryad once more.

The other dryads we now retreating to their... trees? They were walking in and disappearing into the trunk. I blinked and rubbed my eyes. Right, they're dryads. Duh.

"Wow, so, like, they never have to pay rent." Bodhi joked.

Pala laughed, "Nope, since we can't just uproot our lives and move."

Bodhi chuckled and I giggled at her pun. "Very punny."

I dragged my feet across the green moss as the air got cooler. The singing birds retired and night critters started their song. A shade of violet began to crept across the sky, trees cast a long shadow across our path to the river, a distant chatter and laughter echoed across the forest.