It took ten long minutes before its laughter subsided.
"Love is strong and yet so fragile."
It spoke in a tone that was soft and coaxing. The figure disappeared in front of her after the words were uttered.
"Love is timeless so it could linger for a while."
It materialized at the temple's outmost right corner. She saw two outlines from her peripheral view.
"Love could be loyal but could be a traitor in disguise."
She turned as slowly as posible to face it. Her heart palpitations was hyped up. Venus gasped at whom she saw beside the figure.
"So will you trust love? Your decision should be wise."
The question itself was disturbing. It was as disconcerting as seeing the only person that her heart longed to see.
"It was you who took him." Venus accused the figure furiously but it ignored her. "Let Marcus go!" She demanded. Again it didn't answer.
Then, it vanished again leaving an unconscious vampire prince floating by the corner. Vee sprinted towards him but she was stopped midway. Opaque crystals appeared out of nowhere and enveloped her lower torso up until her waistline. She struggled to break free but it was strong and relentless. She looked at him helplessly when the figure spoke again.
"Destiny is strong and yet so frail."
This time the tone was stronger, sharp and fierce. Her head snapped towards the outmost left corner and saw Pearl standing immobile with the figure. She was strapped as well just like her. Her mouth was also covered entirely with crystals.
"Destiny is timeless so no one lived long enough to tell its tale."
"Let them go or I swear to God I'm gonna blow this Temple into pieces." Vee's threats didn't have any effects. It walked slowly towards her while it continued to speak.
"Destiny could be loyal but could be pursuaded."
"What the heck? Are you purposely ignoring me?" Her nose flared from anger and from that anger her Angelicum side surfaced. She turned into full blown in just a matter of seconds but to her surprise. The figure just kept on approaching. Undeterred by her aura. To make the matters worst, her crystal bind remained intact. It expanded like rubber to accommodate her bigger size.
"So will you choose Destiny? An answer should be provided."
Venus was huffing from too much exertion in trying to break free. Like a boa constricting her every movement, the more she struggled, the more it became tighter leaving her strained and weak. It was like sucking on her energy and power. Giving up was not on her vocabulary, not an option even. Vee flapped her massive wings causing strong currents of winds. She moved it in full force in desperate attempt to break away. Unfortunately for her, the crystal didn't budge an inch.
"Love and Destiny often goes hand in hand."
"Shut up! Get to the point. All this lousy tricks are not funny at all. You were just pretending to be my ally." Venus mocked. She needed to goad to get some answer. But still, no effect. It seem to know what she was up to.
"But it only overpowers each other so you need to make a stand."
Venus let out a frustrated sigh and slumped in exhaustion. "Wait. Slow down, will you? Could you write it down so I could memorize it easily? Is it some kind of a riddle? Gosh, this is so frustrating." She whined like a brat after her fruitless attempt of tantrums.
The temple grew silent like it was taken aback.
"You're just a clueless child. How can the fate of everything be entrusted on your shoulders. Your decision on this trivial matter now is nothing compared to what you need to choose on what's ahead. You are a mistake. Nothing but a selfish and cowardly brat."
This time, it was Venus who was flabbergasted. She scowled at it in disgust. She was never good at taking responsibility over something but she was never selfish. Yes a brat, maybe clueless too and of course being a coward was already a given but she didn't expect to be belittled like that. But then again, maybe it was right. She was confused as hell. One thing was for sure though, she really didn't want this but she was never given any choice. Everything was force-fed and shoved into her throat without respite.
"Yes, let's say I am who you said I am so whatcha gonna do about it, huh? Can you make it any better for me? No! I feel like I'm this labrat that's needed to be tested over and over again." Venus ranted as poured out her emotions. Her crystal restraints disappeared and she collapsed to the floor crying her heart out.
"We are not your enemy but we are not your guardian as well. We don't have the emotions that you have. We are here to help you."
"Help? Is this what you called help? Forcing me to decide between killing the love of my life and betraying a sister is help? You've got to be kidding me." Venus spoke in between sobs.
"Time is running out. Choose Venuscha. You have to choose."
"You just don't get it, do you?" A bitter laugh escaped her hoarse throat. She couldn't push herself up using her trembling hands, good thing her wings came in handy as it aided her up and support her body until she regained her center of balance.
Venus inhaled a deep breath, closed her eyes and called on something within. The desperation she felt combined with strong resolve made her inner will so strong that the power that resides deep down the recesses of her consciousness awakened from its deep slumber. The power was so potent that her body was illuminating a very bright light. Her Angelicum side and her powerful pull merged into one.
Venus' physical appearance changed all together. Her normally tan Angelicum color changed to porcelain white. The purple crystals from her forehead dissolved into rainbow colored tribal patterns that outlines her face straight to her chest where her heart is. Her lavender eyes turned into a darker shade of purple.
"I am not gonna let any of you kill the people that I care about. You don't hold a power over me." Even her voice changed. It was filled with rage and yet passionate. It simply displayed unambiguous omnipotence.
The crystal figure dissolved immediately into thin air but Venus didn't pay any attention to its escape. Her striking, dark purple eyes was fixed to Marcus. She extended both her hands towards her left and right, rainbow colored cord-like threads came out from her finger tips and travelled towards the two captive bodies.
"No, you tricked me." Her longing heart was filled with disappointment since Marcus dissipated into opaque dusts as soon as her pull touched him. It was a bait. Not her real Marcus.
"Venuscha, for Peace' sake. Do what you need to do. I shall see you again when Phoenix returns." Pearl spoke for the first time when she was set free by Vee's pull. Her face was wet with tears but a smile was plastered on her cherry lips. Pearl knew that Venuscha was truly her sister. Vee's loyalty washed away the bitterness that she kept inside her heart for centuries.
"No, I only need the power that connects you with the Amulet." Venus answered. Her cords wrapped around Pearl's body then submerged into her chest, all at the same time.
The entrance was not painful but the moment that the process of retrieval started, Pearl's agony shook the whole place. Her scream was crisp, tortured and ear-splitting. It lasted for about a couple of minutes when finally a white cord-like thread was yanked out of her. Pearl was eased down slowly by the cords as her body hanged limply. The woman was weakened and unconscious but alive and free from another solitary life of imprisonment. She was no longer bound to the Amulet but became the whole half of it.
Venus would never do such thing to her sister or anybody for that matter for she knew how lonely and hard the word solitary really means. It was a life she knew too well and would trade anything just not to come back again.
"Show yourself and return the Amulet." Vee demanded as she called out to the figure in hiding.
"We are honored to serve you our Queen."
It suddenly appeared in front of her and bowed down to her. Its right hand extended to her offering the Amulet.
Her pull received the circular wooden Amulet with an intricate fire pattern carved into it. The cord that was pulled out from Pearl automatically floated towards it. Once absorbed, it glowed brightly and it morphed into an ivory colored talisman--a very beautiful, luminous and iridescent Pearl Amulet.
It floated towards Pearl and attached itself on her chest. The Pearl of Peace was once again in one whole piece.
〰〰〰〰〰➿➰➿➰➿〰〰〰〰〰
"Venus waakkeee up!" She was slapped awake along with a loud shout at her eardrum.
"What? What happened?" Venus jolted up defensively and kicked and punched without warning.
"Stop, stop, stop. Calm down, Vee." She finally recognised the shifter's voice.
"Glad you're awake. Haddy was worried sick." Her head instantly turned to where the voice came from.
"Pearl! You're okay. Thank goodness, you're okay." Venus was more than pleased to see her.
"Thanks to you." Pearl smiled warmly at her.
But she frowned and turned to the one who woke her up, "Amelia, don't freaking do that again. You're gonna kill me. Geez. . ." Venus wasn't able to finish her rant when Amelia engulfed her into a big hug.
"Goddess, your sleeping for two days. When will you're gonna stop your sleeping addiction? Huh? What are you doing?" Amelia stopped abruptly when was she found Vee scratching her palms like there was no tomorrow. She pulled her hands towards her and checked the reddened skin. It looked swollen and a little hard lump with the circumference size of a pingpong ball was protruding beneath the skin.
"Oh no! Your marbles gonna come out." Pearl said in panic upon seeing her hands. She shoved a hair brush handle on her mouth just in time a trickle of blood spurted out from it.
The next thing they knew, Vee's was wailing like a banshee out of pain and exasperation, "Oooucchhh! Not agaaiiinnnn. It's not a freaking marble, it's a freaking basketball."
Venus eyes bulged from its sockets by merely looking at her palms. The spherical shaped crystal portal was nowhere near the size she'd seen from her uncle. It was way bigger covering almost all of her palm area.
Hadraniel and Sylvie rushed inside Venus' chamber first followed by Ronheild. Pearl left the room silently knowing that Hadraniel would be there for her, she couldn't bear to see the agony that Venus was going through.
"Uncle what's happening?" She asked with imminent fear showing on her purple eyes.
"Your eyes. . ." Hadraniel gasp in surprise but shook his head to clear his mind for the meantime and focused on Vee's hands. The blood was overflowing. Though, he didn't know what pain must have felt but judging on Venuscha's contorted face and her labored breath, he somewhat imagine that it was something horrible to endure.
". . . You're now the Queen of the Opaque Temple and the Mistress of the crystal portals. It's a great achievement child but also a very heavy burden." Hadraniel told her solemnly, yet again, laced with a scary foreboding.
"Ahhhh! I don't want it." Venus screamed on top of her lungs. Out of pain and agony. Out of frustration and denial for the responsibilities ahead.
Minutes after, the portal stopped growing. The blood stopped flowing, leaving a one and half inches sized crystal portal on both of her palms. It was very beautiful like a mini Aurora lights with a purple dominance in color dancing in a sea of endless stars.
Vee stared at it for a moment then said, "another freaking force-fed." She whispered the words to herself before she fainted.
"Vee! Not agaaiiinnn," Amelia whined.
"Let her rest for a few hours then wake her up to get ready for meeting with Cassia." Master Ronheild instructed, his voice was clipped and caculated. He spared Vee another worried glance before he dispersed in blue hue of fire.