Heirs of Merlin: The Hidden Princess and the Tree of Life

Chapter 11

With the Medallion of the Sun in their possession, Luis, Thomas and the children returned to Ildathach. The magical portal took them directly to one of the hidden villages of the Bird Clan. The Dragon King always seemed to find them sooner or later, but some still tried to move often and dodge his soldiers to avoid their babies being taken from them. Others had given up a long time ago and only prayed that those children would be returned eventually. It was the former Thomas hoped to enlist to their aid. The latter would not do anything to anger the cruel monarch.

"Welcome back," Seto greeted them like he had been expecting them. He was lying down in the middle of the main square of the small village, a younger – but still fully grown - sky wolf at his side. Around them were large tents and some hastily built, simple houses, all hidden under thick foliage to be harder to spot from the air.

"How did you get here this fast?" Alex marveled. Thomas had shown them on the map of Ildathach where they were going next, and it was in the opposite side of the Tree of Life from the Dragon King's castle.

"The wind fish kindly offered a ride. Not that they seemed to even notice us." He yawned widely, stood up and shook himself. "Asara thought that you might need help both in transportation and convincing the Bird Clan that the princess is truly back. Speaking of which..."

"The Dragon King captured her," Thomas explained. "We need to gather warriors as quickly as possible and defend the Sanctuary." He stopped and focused his thoughts, hoping that Seto would be able to pick them up. 'Before he notices that she doesn't have the means to open the door and starts a purge on the entire Ildathach to find the sun medallion.'

"I see. It makes sense that is where he would take her." If he heard what Thomas wanted to communicate without letting the others know, he gave no indication about it.

"There isn't much time. Till tomorrow at best."

Veka sniffed the other sky wolf a few times. "You smell familiar," he stated. Then he almost instinctively leaped back before he could be captured and given a thorough tongue-bathing.

Seto huffed, amused. "He should too. He's your older brother. Although you did leave home when you were barely bigger than my paw, and he has grown too."

"Please follow me," he continued. "Kirill is expecting you. He's as much a village leader as possible in these times."

Thomas nodded. "I imagine it's difficult to rely on the elders for guidance in this situation."

Kirill was a man with his face wrinkled more by constant worries and losses than age. His wings were still a vibrant red and his hair brown without a single gray streak.

"Greetings." Thomas bowed in respect. "I'm called Thomas, and the heirs of Merlin are Luis and his children Samantha and Alex."

Kirill returned the gesture. "Seto has told of you. I'm surprised that you escaped the Dragon King's castle alive." He scanned their little group. "Where is the supposedly returned princess?"

"Unfortunately, she was captured during our escape. But it's not too late yet." He fished the Medallion of the Sun from under his shirt and let it dangle against his chest. "We can stop the Dragon King at the Sanctuary and free Princess Lana. This time we will take back the Medallion of the Stars and end his reign."

"And how do you suggest we do that? He commands an army. We have a ragtag band of fighters mostly inexperienced in real combat at best."

"Very few of the Dragon Clan support him anymore. At best, he will have his personal guard with him. We are not alone either. At least one village loyal to the Dragon Prince and his daughter is on their way to the Sanctuary as we speak. We will both outnumber and outwit him. He will be so sure of his victory that he will not expect an ambush."

"Your words make sense," Kirill agreed. "But how can we trust you? You have everything to lose in helping us and everything to gain in betraying us."

"Please let me show you the truth." Thomas removed the sun medallion from around his neck and held it in his hands. It started glowing, brighter and brighter, until it bathed him completely in light like rays of the sun.

When the light faded, Thomas was gone. In his place stood a woman of the Bird Clan with pale brown hair and wings. Although she was smaller than Thomas and had to hold on to the too large clothes so that they wouldn't fall off, she was by no means frail.

Kirill's jaw dropped. "Mariana? Am I dreaming?"

She smiled slightly as she adjusted her belt. "I hope not. We have a lot of work to do, and I need you wide awake for that."

Samantha couldn't believe her eyes either. Mariana was not human here any more than Thomas was, but she could easily imagine what she would look like as one. Her face, her hazel eyes, her long brown hair, her voice...It was all achingly familiar. "Mom? But...how...? Dad said you were gone..."

"We also believed you had been killed by the Dragon King," Kirill added. His voice started trembling from suppressed emotion. "Nobody...survived that battle..."

"He thought I was dead too. He cut my wings as I fled and chased me over the edge of the chasm surrounding the Tree of Life." She had chosen to jump and to take the infant in her arms with her. She couldn't have let the sacrifices of the Dragon Prince and her sister go to waste. "The sky wolves rescued me. They were the only ones who knew I was alive and going back to the human realm."

Veka's fur suddenly stood up in startled realization. Samantha would surely blame him! "I swear I didn't know!" he hurried to defend himself. "She only said that she'd be going away and told me to watch over the princess."

She nodded. "I had to disappear. The only person left who could open the door of the Sanctuary was supposed to have died with me. If he had known the truth, he would not have stopped searching for her. But I...couldn't just leave you behind." Her voice broke. "If I became someone else, I knew I could both stay and keep Lana safe."

Luis laid one hand on the shoulder of each of his children and softly pushed them towards her. "Don't be too harsh on your mom. She loves her family more than anything. Even though she can be a complete jerk about it at times."

Although he had never asked for confirmation, he had known for a long time now. When you loved someone long enough, you kind of just knew all their little quirks. "Thomas" had looked completely different – and had even tried to hide other similarities, like by writing with his right hand instead of left to change his handwriting -, but he had still figured out eventually that they were the same. And although he showed it in different ways, that love had not changed. He loved "Thomas" just as much as he loved "Mary".

Samantha choked on the tears. "Why wouldn't you tell us...?"

Alex was already crying like a baby. Mom was here. She had been here all along.

Mary gathered her family on her arms. "I'm so sorry. I love you."

She kept whispering the same words over and over until Sam and Alex had shed all the tears held back for so many years. Then,all that remained was their shared determination to get Lana back and to save Ildathach.