Walking into the main point of the den. I see a bunch of people sitting in a circle, Gia; Aunt Deena and Mom with Faye in her arms.
"Oh Iris! It's you! I can't believe it, you're finally back!" A woman flys up to me and cries as she cups my cheeks.
I knew her but I just.. didn't know her.
Two other women then follow behind her, each with a bright smile on their faces.
Sofia Carson
as
Calypso
Dove Cameron
as
Emberly
(The OG daughter of Maleficent, iykyk)
Zoe Kravitz
as
Nixie or Nyx
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"My name is Calypso. I'm your second aunt" she says with a smile.
"I'm Emberly, but everyone calls me Ember, I'm your third aunt" she smiles warmly at me.
"And I'm-" the last one was about to speak before I cut her off.
"Detective Bennett?" I recognize her. She smirks in response.
"Hey kiddo. Auntie Nyx, is I. I am the eldest of my sisters" She tells me.
"The eldest daughter you were talking about in your diary entry?" I turn to mom and she nods with a smile.
"See Deena isn't the only aunt you've got. We're even better" Auntie Calypso bops my nose.
"I don't have any kids, neither does Ember but Nyx does. Please introduce your daughter to her cousin" Auntie Calypso adds.
Auntie Nyx, or should I say Detective Bennett, let's out a yip and in flys a girl with rainbow wings.
The rest of us had black wings, why does she have rainbow? Maybe her dad was one.
"You called?" she asks.
"Iris, this is your cousin, my daughter, Shrike" Auntie Nyx introduces.
"Oh my-! Iris! I've missed you so much" she gasps before pulling me into a strong and tight hug.
I hug her back but watch the wings.
As we part from the hug, I notice her tattoo located on her forearm.
"A Shrike bird?" I ask with a smirk. "It was very fitting" she smiles with a nod.
I giggle in response as Gia comes over to us. "The cousins reuntied at last" she pulls us into a hug.
"Don't forget the aunts" All my aunts chime as they join the hug.
"And the grandparents" Gran chimes as they join in too. "And the mom" My mom comes in too.
We stayed like this for a short while. I actually had a family, it was heartwarming. I felt complete.
Well, almost. I haven't even awoken my magic yet.
We then all slowly parted.
"It's time to awaken the ancestors" Granpappy Conall says.
"Gia will lead you through, we'll meet you there" Grandmammy smiles and touches our amulets together, causing them to glow.
She smiles even wider before flying away with her mans. The rest of the family following behind.
Gia takes my hand and pulls me towards her with a chuckle as we fly about.
✯✯✯
We stop in front of a huge waterfall.
"Beautiful isn't it?" she asks me. "Very" I watch in awe as the water flows down.
She takes my hand and we fly passed the water to reveal the beautiful flower garden behind the waterfall.
There were different types of flowers in every colour and shape, everywhere. We walked on the pathway and looked around.
The odd thing was, was that there were pictures next to each one.
"This is our cemetery" Gia tells me.
"Oh" I realise.
"When a fae dies, we turn into a flower that represents us the most" She tells me.
"Through that walkway is the cove of the ancestors, where you'll meet the others" She adds.
We walk through the walkway to the cove that had a tree in it's centre.
There was a circle of water around it.
Everyone stood in a row, my mother with something in her hands.
My grandfather came forward and Gia walked away to stand with the others.
"Iris, today you shall accept your fae self and your power. Kneel and bow before the tree of our ancestors" He orders me.
I go onto my knees and bow my head down, out of respect. Right in front of the water.
My mother then comes over to me.
She was putting on a special paint, made from the leaves of our sacred tree. It was a welcoming. This tree was the root of our energy which is why it's stored safely.
After a short while, she finishes the paint and leaves my side.
"Raise your head and allow the ancestors to gaze at your fae form"
I do as instructed and look up. A purple glow then washes over me and my eyes shine green.
I'm guessing that's due to my amulet.
They then all come over to me and connect their amulets with my own.
A huge gleam of power flows from the tree and into my amulet. Everyone moves away from me and my wings stretch.
"Now you must wash away our sacred paint to accept your value"
I look down to the crystal blue water before cupping my hands and beginning to wash my face, chest and arms.
"Arise" He orders.
I stand up and look to the tree before me.
"Go on" Gran nudges me.
I look to her before gracefully flying over the circle of water and landing. I walk towards the tree and caress it's leaves.
A wide smile is displayed on my face as it glows. From it's thin lilac leaves, to it's steady branches and down to it's thick trunk.
"Iris"
I hear my name echoing.
I look around before my eyes find a cave with a green beam of light. I was determined.
It then floated away and into the cave.
I immediately flew through the cave and followed the beam of light.
It then disappeared and the room lit up, I was in the centre of the cave.
The green light then appeared before me and shifted into a dragon. It roared in my face but I wasn't going down without a fight.
I glared into it's eyes as it too looked frightened before disappearing once again.
A door that was literally just a rock then slid open.
I skeptically walked in and the door shut behind me.
I banged on the wall and tried to push but nothing budged. Damn I'm stuck here.
The green light then appeared again but then flowed into a dragon statue.
"Hello Iris. We have brought you on this journey to fufill your destiny. My name is Zoro, I am one of the three symbolic features of all fae. The dragon symbolizes protection; power; success; wisdom; loyalty; fearlessness and immense possibility. You, Iris Ophelia, are fierce; confident; passionate and also humorous. I was also apart of controlling your dreams and visions, I was guiding you into the important occurence in your life ahead'
The green light then flowed into a deer statue.
'Hello Iris, my name is Kyra. I am the second out of the three symbolic features of a fae. The deer symbolizes innocence; charm; love; sensitiveness; generosity and intuition. You are down to earth; analytical; energetic; loyal; full of life and a good decision maker. In your dreams I was in charge of suggesting you to be more responsive towards changes and look at you now, with your family and open to the idea of being stuck in a cave for eternity'
The last sentence made me shudder.
"Eternity?" I gasp.
'That is, unless you pass our test'
I then stand tall, I was determined and hopeful. Determined and hopeful. I am ready for whatever challenges come my way!
The green light then comes out from the deer and a bunch of rocks on the wall start to crack to reveal a HUGE phoenix statue.
The Green light again flies into the Phoenix's mouth and it turns fiery red, the Phoenix coming to life.
It started flying around me.
(Warning: Nice long speech ahead)
'Hello Izzy, I am Sunny. The last symbol of fae history and the first from ancient times. Fae came right before humans. When I died, I resigned my powers to your grandmother when she was only 12 years old. By then, her parents had died due to humans killing them and she was all alone in the moors. Then she grew and found this place, and the rest is history. Her power has passed down to your mother and now it's passed down to you. She's with her great-great-great grandmother if you're wondering. You have yet to meet Enola though, soon you shall. My siblings had survived the attack of humans long ago and now live in your forests up here. I, unfortunately didn't make it but my spirit lies with you. The Phoenix symbolizes courage; resilience; hope; protection; and optimism for the future. Phoenixes are a reminder that even out of destruction.. can come something new. We are seen as a metaphor for rising from the ashes... something you've done quite a lot Iris. From losing your mother, to your child abuse and rape. Not to mention the recent car accident. We knew you'd be stubborn that day, we gave you pointless dreams so that you'd stop listening to them. And it worked, your magic woke that day of the accident. Our symbolism is used to represent renewal, transformation and rebirth. Have you ever felt like you were missing a part of you?'
I nod at her last question.
'Well you don't feel like that now, do you?'
"No.. I don't" I smile to myself.
'Exactly my point. You don't ever have to feel like that anymore Iris because you followed the signs. You read those diary entries, found that necklace and always stayed ready. Now you and Faye know where you come from, your roots, your future. You now know your family, the family that has been waiting years for the dear princess. You are a gift Iris, a powerful one at that. I'll always be with you Izzy. Enjoy your powers and congratulations on passing my test'
She then flies in front of her statue as the deer and dragon come out from theirs.
The all combind and the green light is before me again, brighter than ever.
"Hold out your hand"
I do as told and the light creeps up my arm before shoving itself into my mouth.
I feel a huge sense of power in me. The power of our ancient symbols all in one.
"Goodbye Iris, your mission is complete. You have successfully passed our tests"
They all fade back into their statues as my eyes glow a bright green and so does my amulet.
I then look back to the rock door that kept me in here before blasting it with my powers.
"That's definitely gonna come in handy" I smirk to myself before flying out of the cave.
I let out a yip as I look down to my family. My eyes were still green and my power was radiating off of me.
"She passed all their tests" Gran gasps. "She's incredible" Gia gasps with a giggle. "Most definitely worthy" My grandfather smiles.
I then landed on my feet, I was back to normal. My eyes the normal chocolate brown.
They all rush over to me and bring me into a hug.
"You are definitely Diane's daughter" Auntie Calypso smirks as my mom kisses my cheek.
"Now all that we need to do is introduce you to Enola; show you the forest; remove your old tattoos and get you new ones; and show you how to hunt" Grandfather states.
"Remove my old tattoos???" My eyes widen.
"Who's up for an adventur" Auntie Emberly smirks as they all yip.
REMOVE MY OLD TATTOOS?!
Oh why did I get them in the first placeeee
R.I.P. to me.
✩✩✩