The sphere-like prisons constructed of interlocking vines didn't feel as though they appreciated being balled up as they writhed beneath Aria's feet. Like a drip of water off a dewy leaf, they dangled precariously in the highest of branches of ancient forest trees. Moving and swaying in the breeze, the disgruntled groans sounded out the tree's objections. The woody spines murmured their secrets to one another as they leaned and bowed to the others conversations under the weight of it all.
To her right, Olórin rested his back against the wall of his small cell. Still wide awake in the depths of the cool night, he watched the silver haired elves glide through the trees in the twilight. They milled in and out of hollows and larger balls of vines, which hugged the very tops of the ancient trees. Although the elves appeared to live in these nests, Aria could not see a single bridge or evidence of any construction whatsoever. Like Olórin's unwavering gaze, she too couldn't help but be mesmerised by their ghostly appearances, disappearing and reappearing through the thick fronds.
To her left, Aramus lay unconscious in his own cage, the vines trying to writhe away from touching him too. She couldn't see his chest move in the dim moonlight, but the sound of his breathing reassured her that he was still alive. Even while so vulnerable, his silhouette was powerful, strong, and, were it not for the circumstance of his heritage, would have made him a champion of the King's Guard. Aria raked her eyes over him, wondering if his life, and her life, might have been very different if he didn't resemble his father so much. 'Perhaps if he knew love, even a small amount of it, he might not have been driven to kill my parents? Perhaps there might not be any change at all.'
Aria shook her head, it did no good to dwell on "what if's" and she knew it. But no matter how hard she tried to think of other things, her curiosity drew her eyes back to Aramus. According to the elf named Sudia, his wing, now heavily bandaged, was healing rapidly, which surprised her. It was strange too that after only a few hours, the small cuts on his face, arm, and shoulder had disappeared. But there were a great many things that had surprised her lately. The first being that she had been brave enough to stand in front of Aramus whilst he was possessed by Dantet's power, not really knowing if she could calm him. The second, and more shocking, was that he had actually listened to her. Perhaps it was the touch of another human being that had broken through his rage, or perhaps it was her kind words and belief that he could be saved. 'Maybe that is all he needs, someone to believe in him?'
Her thoughts were interrupted by Aramus's groaning as he began to stir.
"Aramus, are you all right?" Olórin asked, pushing himself against his cage to get closer to the winged man.
Aramus rolled onto his back and gasped as his weight pressed down on his injured wing. Grasping onto the sides of his cage, Aramus sat up – his arms shaking with the effort and his teeth clenched with pain. He gingerly stretched out his wing a few times within the confines of his prison.
"Sore, but I'm okay," he replied, winching. "Where are we?"
"The elven city of Rhidwynn," Aria replied, twisting her wrists to get some relief from the binds, to no avail.
Aramus leaned forward and examined his surroundings.
"Doesn't look like a city to me."
"That is because they do not harm nature to construct houses or buildings of debate. They live within their environment, or rather their environment provides what they need for them," Olórin said. "It's quite admirable really, but not a way that I would choose to live. These twigs are far too pokey to be called a bed."
Aramus laughed and in that moment Aria thought, despite what he was, he was actually quite handsome. 'I suppose even evil doesn't always have to be ugly.'
In the silence, they watched the twilight fade, none of them able to sleep as they waited for their fate to be revealed. The silvery light of the moon gave way to suffocating darkness, just before the sun burned a hole in its shroud. It wasn't until the morning haze had all but disappeared, that Sudia returned. In her hand she carried a small bundle of light-blue cloth which, to Aria, appeared to be a dress of some kind.
"The Elders have gathered," she said. "You will leave all weapons and metal constructions of man here if you wish to meet them. This would include your armour, Aria."
Sudia waved her hand in front of Aria's cage. It opened just enough for her to reach in and untie Aria's binds, before handing her the dress and a pair of soft white shoes. Aria let the dress unfurl in her hands. It was long, flowing, and the kind of attire a queen should be used to wearing. But Aria had lived in her armour since her parent's death, always battle ready, and was as unyielding in her preference for armour as the metal itself. Her mouth opened slightly as she looked between the dress, Sudia, and the two men either side of her.
"You expect me to change here, in front of them?" she protested.
"If you wish to remain in the pod, it is your choice. I will be back when you have finished," Sudia said, closing the vines again and gliding away on her woody tendril.
"Never fear, Your Majesty, we shall look away," Olórin said, shuffling around and turning his back to her.
Aria glanced at Aramus. With a grimace at having to move, he too turned his back on her. She hesitated. After having worn her heavy armour for so long, she had almost forgotten what it felt like to wear proper clothes. She thought wearing it now would make her appear less formidable to her enemies, to Aramus. More so, she had never changed in front of anyone before, and the thought sent a nervous flutter through her stomach. But she had no choice and she knew it. Allowing her captors to speak on her behalf to the Elders was out of the question.
"If either of you look, I will slice off that part of you which makes you a man, do you hear?"
"You have nothing to fear," Aramus replied with a small laugh.
Casting wary glances at the two men, Aria quickly removed her armour and slipped the dress on. The fabric fit her snugly and the hem reached just below her knees. The gentle breeze blowing around her bare legs made her self-conscious of the fact that she was now entirely unprotected from both her enemies and roving eyes; her bulky armour had always hidden the slightness of her frame before. After declaring that she was "decent" Olórin and Aramus turned around again.
"My, I must say, you look positively beautiful," Olórin said admiringly, resting his staff to the side. Aria shot him a dubious glance.
Aramus became strangely quiet. He looked Aria up and down without a word, and Aria felt a moisture build up on her palms. She gripped the edges of her skirt to dry them and knelt in her pod, making herself a small as possible, so as to disappear from his gaze.
"He's right, you are beautiful," Aramus said.
He gave her a crooked grin and unhitched the scabbards that hung low on his waist, leaving the swords by his side. Aria felt an unwelcomed heat rise up in her cheeks and was thankful for the sudden reappearance of Sudia. With an airy wave of her hand, all three cages opened and they were once again gliding through the thick forest on vines. They descended to the forest floor where the brush had grown thick. Transferred from one vine to another they glided, untouched by the briars, toward a hollowed out tree.
The outside of the tree was smothered with lichen. It looked like an old man whose beard had cracked down the middle and let a gathering of elves inside. His rooty fingers twisted and turned with age, and poked out above the dark soil.
Inside the gargantuan trunk was a chamber twice the size of Aria's throne room. It was filled with a large audience of silver-haired elves, who eyed them suspiciously. Through holes in the ancient bark, five elves were illuminated by the sun's rays. They stood on a raised bit of broken trunk and watched as the three prisoners were brought before them. Three of the elves were old and their hair had turned as white as snow, while one was younger – no more than a year or two older than Aria. The last of them was a small child, about Pearan's age, and Aria was certain that she couldn't truly be an Elder.
"Equality and wisdom knows no age limit," Olórin whispered to her.
His blue eyes twinkled with the acknowledgment of her disbelief. It was only as she looked at him that she realised Olórin and Aramus had been set free from their vines. She, however, remained firmly wrapped in the tendril. Sudia too had been released and melted into the sea of elves surrounding them. Thinking that her vine must be somewhat dim-witted or broken, Aria struggled to free herself.
"Your Majesty," the eldest female elf said, her skin as pale as her snowy hair, but her lips still as blue as the youngest elf. "My name is Mirathall, and I bid you welcome. I am to speak for the Elders, and as such, I must inform you that you are not our prisoner. However, you were the prisoner of Olórin Talfan, a wizard we have come to know over the years. It is not our place to undo what he has seen fit to do until we know the situation better. A hasty hand that moves too quickly can often do more harm than good. I would, therefore, ask you to be patient while we unravel the tale before us."
"But I am your queen," Aria spat, feeling an anger boil inside of her.
"You are a queen, yes. But you are also human, and humans are capable of horrendous deeds no matter their station. You are also responsible for the deaths of many innocent lives, and should you have entered Elwood on your own, your fate might not have been so favourable," she replied.
Aria opened her mouth to defend herself, but she knew that, in their eyes, she was the epitome of everything they were born to prevent. The elves would not hear her reasons, so she remained silent.
"Tell me, why is this girl your prisoner?" Mirathall asked Olórin.
"In truth, it was to prevent her from killing Aramus," Olórin replied.
"But from what I've been told, she saved him as you entered our realm. She calmed his raging heart with her words, and he in turn listened. These do not strike me as the actions of someone wishing to see her enemy dead," Mirathall said. "Do you still wish to kill this young man, Aria?"
Aria hesitated, and mulled over everything she had learned about Aramus.
"I do not know," she answered finally. "He murdered my parents, and I am not sure I can forget that. But as the sovereign ruler of Naretia it is my duty to protect my people. If I am to believe the prophecy, it means I must help him instead. These are the sacrifices leaders must make, are they not?"
From the corner of her eye, Aria saw Aramus bow his head slightly as though he was disappointed with her answer. But it was the truth, and the elves acknowledged it with a slight inclination of their heads.
"And you, Aramus, do you wish to harm the queen?"
"No, I do not," Aramus replied, and with a little hesitation added, "My only desire was to earn her forgiveness, but I do not expect it."
Aria studied Aramus's face while the Elders conferred amongst themselves. The alarming greyness of his skin had disappeared, but he was still somewhat paler than before. She was searching for any sign he was genuine in what he had said, that he truly did want forgiveness, but his stoic expression never changed once.
She heard Olórin take a small breath in, and followed the wizard's gaze. It rested upon the youngest of the Elders. The girl had raised her hand over her mouth to whisper into Mirathall's ear and her sleeve had fallen away from her wrist. There, imprinted on the dark skin of her forearm, was the combined symbol of Edwina and Dantet. The birthmark of the sun and the moon shone with the same brilliance as her silvery hair.
"I ask you not to speak of what you know, Olórin," Mirathall said quickly, seeing his shock. "The prophecy you have seen about Aramus was yours to tell, this one is not. But now you understand why Thalia is an Elder. She is the living embodiment of equality, even amongst the Gods."
Olórin opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but then closed it again and scratched his beard before becoming resolutely silent on the matter. Aria was a bit lost in the conversation. 'What is so special about this little girl?' Aramus too looked bewildered.
"Thalia has come up with a solution for our little predicament," Mirathall said, gently stroking the girl's hair. The young girl called Thalia smiled sweetly and returned to her original place. "She believes, and I am inclined to agree, that the conflict between you two could be resolved with the simple matter of understanding one another better." Mirathal reached behind her and producing two thick, gold chains from a battered looking chest. "These will allow you to feel the other's heartache, joy, sorrow, and anger. Through the binding of your feelings, a deeper understanding can be achieved, and perhaps, even forgiveness too."
Mirathall walked toward Aria and Aramus, carrying the heavy looking chains, one in each hand. Her silver eyes rested on Aria first.
"We do not wish to imprison you. Whilst you wear these, you will be free to roam and make your own decisions. If you should not wear them, then I'm afraid that we will be left with little choice but to keep you in your cage. What say you, Aria?"
Aria wasn't sure she wanted Aramus to know how she felt about anything, but the thought of knowing more about him was too tempting. She wondered if someone without a soul, or half a soul, could feel anything at all. If he could not, then she feared that Olórin's plan would not work, and it was imperative that she find out.
"Fine," she replied.
Mirathall gently placed the chain around Aria's neck, securing it at the back. It was cold and weighed more then it looked like it should. The Elder then turned to Aramus.
"And what say you?"
Aramus simply nodded, but Aria could see his jaw muscles tense and relax repeatedly, like he was already trying to suppress his feelings. No sooner had the clasp snapped shut on Aramus's chain, then Aria felt it tighten around her neck. The vines around her waist retreated into the forest outside, but she was too preoccupied by the choking feeling to notice.
"It's too tight," she said, grasping at the metal trying to loosen it.
Aramus mirrored her actions and tugged at his own chains.
"They will loosen when you come to understand one another more. Eventually they will become so loose that you will be able to remove them entirely. But truly knowing the one you are linked to, will render the magic moot and they will simply fall from your necks. Until then, your hatred, your animosity, will only make matters worse," Mirathall said, returning to the other Elders. "It is a physical representation of the pain you cause one another."
Aria felt like she had been deceived into wearing it. Had she known it might choke her to death she probably wouldn't have agreed so easily. Her anger boiled inside of her, but it was Aramus who erupted.
"How dare you," he raged. "You have no right to treat me like this."
Aria was slightly taken aback by his reaction, as was Olórin, who stared at him with an open mouth. Aramus looked just as horrified.
"Sorry, I don't know why I said that," he said, pulling at the gold metal.
"You did not," Mirathall said, nodding in Aria's direction.
Aria felt the unwelcomed heat in her cheeks return. It was only made worse by the sight of Aramus's cheeks flushing too. 'For the love of... get a grip of yourself, Aria.'
"You're quite an angry lady, aren't you?" Aramus said with a handsome grin.
"Shut up," she replied.
Secretly she was glad he was teasing her about her anger and not her embarrassment. The chains loosened of their own accord, but only enough to allow them to breathe more easily. Aria knew it had more to do with Aramus's understanding of her anger rather than the other way around.
"And now we come to the important matter at hand, the reason you have entered our realm," Mirathall said, looking expectantly at Olórin.
The old wizard regaled the story of his prophecy to Mirathall and the Elders. He told them how Aramus came to be, and the vision of the fiery carnage he saw in Darzithal with the Goddess Edwina. The elves whispered amongst themselves in an ever increasing crescendo when they heard what the Goddess had said. Concern was clearly etched across their delicate faces, and their silver eyebrows collectively furrowed; Sudia's being the most creased of all.
"The Goddess has sent me to find the sacred objects she left across Naretia to protect her children," Olórin said, over the whispers. "With these I hope to create a powerful potion that will syphon the darkness from Aramus and break the hold his father has over him."
For a moment Aria felt a nervous flutter in her stomach, but it only lasted for a fraction of time. She wasn't sure if it came from her, or Aramus. But the young man's expression was stony when she glanced over. Mirathall raised her hands to quieten the alarmed undertones echoing in the hollowed tree.
"Although I can guess what you have come for, because the Goddess has only left the elves with only one treasure, I must still ask you to name what it is you seek from us," she said quietly.
"The Geminum," Olórin replied.
The whispering rose inside the hollowed tree again, like a wave threatening to crash on a rocky shoreline. Mirathall raised her hands to calm them once more.
"What is the Geminum?" Aria asked Aramus quietly, who shrugged his shoulders.
"The Geminum, Aria, is all that is left of Edwina's two children," Mirathall replied. "It is the corporeal remains of what once housed their beings. The twin stars. Like all things that are balanced by the Goddess, one was a child of light, like Edwina, while the other was a child of darkness, like Dantet. But both were innocent children.
"When he killed them, everything that had truly made them exist was removed, leaving only a hungry vacuum that we use to contain the threats to our world. What was once Amor, the child of light, seeks out essences like herself, while Vesta consumes only the darker ones. Together they have aided us in ridding the world of great evils which should never have come to be.
"I see the same struggle of light and dark within you, Aramus, as I see within the Geminum itself. But such struggles were never meant to happen in mortal bodies, and I share Olórin's concerns. The Geminum is a hallowed artefact that has not left the hands of elves since the dawn of our time. However, if Edwina has truly commanded you to seek out these treasures, Olórin, then I cannot see how we can refuse her request."
Mirathall turned to the congregation of elves around them.
"If you object, make yourselves known now," she said to the gathering.
The silence was only interrupted by the echoes of bird songs in the hollow tree. That was, until Sudia stepped forward.
"Visions, as we all know, are not set in stone," she said, addressing the Elders. "If they were, then to set out on this journey would be a futile attempt to change that which we cannot. But we also cannot know for sure the outcome of this quest. So, to entrust such a powerful talisman to non-elves, to creatures who care little for the rights and wrongs of this world, would be unwise. I suggest that a voice of reason and balance accompany them on their journey, ensuring that man's greed, his selfishness, does not corrupt the intentions behind their endeavour."
Aria again felt the nervous flutter in her stomach and when she looked over at Aramus, she knew that it was clearly coming from him. His eyes followed Sudia as she paced, like she held him in a magical trance. His gaze only wavered when the elf looked directly at him. 'Perhaps he is nervous because of her?' Aria thought. 'But why would he be?' It hit her then. Sudia was beautiful, strong, and carried herself with a dignified grace that even Aria thought was attractive. Aramus was clearly enamoured with her, and this realisation set a weighty stone in Aria's stomach. She didn't know why, but the thought of the two of them together wasn't an idea she liked.
As though he could read her thoughts, Aramus suddenly looked over at her, the beginnings of a smirk edging across his face. Fighting a flush that threatened to spread across her cheeks, Aria squashed any emotions she felt into a deep, dark place inside that even she thought would never be found again.
After conferring with the Elders in hushed whispers, Mirathall turned to Sudia.
"Agreed. You have always been steadfast in our views and are a welcomed voice of reason. As someone I have known since your first breath, I would ask that you accompany them, Sudia," Mirathall said. Sudia agreed with a small incline of her head. "You must know such a precious gift is not kept in the open, Olórin. Tonight, we hold the Awakening Ceremony, where all the living creatures that have slept through the cold and the darkness, find their way into the light again. For this, we will need to uncover the Geminum, and then you will have your final ingredient."