Hi everyone!! SK here.
Congrats to Ash for winning his first league ever!! I'm still in shock lol.
The next couple chapters will be interesting, I hope. There'll definitely be a lot of romance ;)
But for now, I hope you enjoy!!
Serena
"Ready, Your Lightness?" Heliux asks from beside me. It's closer to midday, but it's still pretty far away. I can sense anxiety in the Magic Minister from where he stands beside me, and I remember his mysterious 'meeting' today. When does he have to leave? He never told me...
I realize that I've been in my thoughts for too long because Heliux starts to look at me weirdly. "I'm fine," I assure him quickly. "And I'm ready. It's been a while since I called a Council... that last time was..."
"When you first became Leader," Heliux offers, finishing the sentence for me. "I'm sure this one shall go as planned; this is a rather important issue we need to discuss."
I nod curtly and follow him into the meeting room, a place that is rarely ever used. Inside, my Council sits ready; the only spaces not filled are mine and Heliux's. Everyone eyes me, and I do a quick headcount as I head towards my seat. The Elements that are supposed to be present at a proper Council are Day, Night, Stars, Moon, Darkness, Lightness, Fire, Water, Grass, and Electricity- and any elements related to those. We're also supposed to have both Advisors, Ministers, and Leaders present as well. The only problem is that some of those parts are Dark Fairies, so the Council is a little smaller than it should be. I imagine that it's the same for the Dark Fairies, if they even do Councils anymore... I hardly know the answer to that myself. Who knows if they kept up any fairy traditions?
Brock is present, as is Misty, Lana, and Leo- they all have Water-related Elements. May is also here, as is Mallow, Lillie, Iris, and Bonnie. Mairin is also present, though she looks a little quiet. I wince slightly to myself. I hate seeing Mairin like this, I know she misses Alain very much even after all this time. It makes me feel slightly guilty; I got my chance with Ash (though that failed), and she didn't even get a chance in the first place.
"I'm sure you all know the reason for this Council," I begin. "There is an imbalance, and we are on the wrong side of it. Ever since the Dark fairies have gained another Leader, destruction is spreading throughout our world, and the human world as well. The Darks do not care about the damage being done, perhaps that is their plan in causing this imbalance. We need to stop it before it is too late." My voice quivers slightly at that last part; I know what awaits for me if things get too far.
Death.
"But the Darks get new Leaders all the time," points out Dawn, "and there's never been this bad of an imbalance before. What's changed?"
Heliux lets out a grunt, drawing the room's attention to himself. "My assumption is that the Dark fairies, instead of creating a new Leader and letting the old die, are trying to have two Leaders at once. The imbalance could have only gotten this bad if the new Leader has finished his training but was not formally introduced with the Destruction Necklace. The Darks are clearly plotting something."
Silence ensues as Heliux's words hit home. I wince; I hate that Ash is being dragged into this. "Anyone have any suggestions or tactics that we can use to stop their plans?" I ask the question hoping that someone has an idea.
"How long will it be until the imbalance peaks?" questions Austin, who has the Element of Electricity; he's been here for at least five centuries I've been told. "Our course of action should depend on that."
Heliux nods. "Within the next couple days, at most," he says. "By the time the week ends our solar system will perish, and by the end of the month the universe will fall to the darkness; that holds true unless something is done to speed up the process. The balance is fragile; it takes little effort to tip it one way or the other."
"Well, the new Leader- Ash, is it?- doesn't have a Necklace yet, because it's still on Rin. A fairy cannot survive for that long without bonding," Austin says. "Maybe we should just wait until he perishes, then the balance will fix itself."
I wince, and all that previously knew Ash do the same. Leo and Austin, who have been here for centuries before we were born, look confused.
Thankfully, Brock shakes his head. "That wouldn't solve anything," he counters. "Rin could easily find a new apprentice to replace Ash. Besides, we have no idea if Ash would go along with Rin's wishes."
"He clearly is though," Austin counters, "because if he wasn't there wouldn't be an imbalance in the first place."
"He could be mind-controlled," May points out in a whispered voice, and everyone turns to her.
"Mind-controlled?" I check. She nods. "We have no evidence that the Darks are using it, and thus we can't know if Ash is being mind-controlled," I point out, glancing at Heliux to see what he thinks. As usual, his expression is made of stone.
"But it makes sense," Misty adds. "As much as I hate to admit it, Rin could easily control Ash into doing his bidding- his magic is very strong. Rin can't be dealt with... but Ash can."
"And plus," Lana adds, "Gladion and Alain were both Dark Elementals, so they had to leave. If they weren't mind-controlled, wouldn't they have tried to come back here at least once?"
My heart twists. "What are you suggesting?"
"Ash needs to die," Leo says simply. "Or at least he needs to be taken care of, one way or another."
Brock opens his mouth. "I thought I said-"
"Yes, Rin can always find a new student," Leo interrupts. "But that will take at least a day, maybe more. That gives the balance time to reset and it gives us time to plan an attack on the Dark Fairies."
Heliux raises his hand up before I can protest. "Leo, I'd like you to think about something- all of you. If Drago could easily find a new student, then why hasn't he done it before? Why is this the first time that the imbalance has gotten this bad after the war ended? Ash clearly is not a replaceable student to him."
The fairy shrugs. "So? It only helps us. It gives us more time to plan an attack while he searches for another fairy with whatever gift Ash has."
I hold up my hand. "Hold up, Leo. We're not attacking anyone, that would just make things so much more worse than they are right now. We need a more pacifist approach."
"Well, what is your idea then?" Misty asks. "Please, we'd love to hear it." She sounds agitated but there's a hint of desperation in her voice, and I know she doesn't want Ash to perish anymore than I do.
"We could simply rescue him," I argue. "Take him away from the Darks. It would be hard, but with the right help I think it'd be possible."
Tension instantly rises in the room. I can tell that it's not a popular idea.
"Your Lightness," Heliux says, "I can see how that's your 'perfect' approach, but more things can go wrong with that plan than the others. It is better to let Ash die to give us more tim-"
"I do not agree with you" I counter, anger starting to boil inside of me. "Heliux, all I've said was to rescue him. I haven't said specifically how. Things don't have to go wrong."
"Yes, but that is not the point," he points out. "Attempting to steal a Dark Fairy from their Colony is something that is not attempted-"
"So that's why!" I yell angrily, standing up. "You just don't want to break rules."
Heliux pinches the bridge of his nose. "Exactly. Just because the Darks do not care about rules does not mean we have to stoop to their level."
At this point I'm completely enraged. "I understand the importance of rules, but, excuse me, do you think the Dark Fairies are following the rules when they created two Leaders at once?" I can see the rest of the fairies' eyes travelling back and forth between us. Heliux mutters something about that being exactly his point, but I'm too fed up with him to care.
Heliux stands up himself. "Serena, may I remind you that the reason Ash is here in the first place is because you brought him here. Because of his Element, he wouldn't have even been here in the first place, but he is because of you."
Awkward silence fills the room.
Tension tightens my throat. "Are you suggesting that it's my fault that everyone is in this mess?"
"No, Serena, I am not-"
"Really? Really? You're one to talk. I know the things that you've done, Heliux, and some of them ain't pretty." I don't even know what I'm saying anymore, Heliux hasn't told me much about his life and he definitely wouldn't have told me the things that 'ain't pretty'. "So let me tell you that we should be breaking some rules. We need to reach their level, despite what you say, and we can't do that unless we have Ash on our side-"
"This whole incident started because rules were broken," Heliux says, interrupting me. "And you want to fix it by doing the exact same thing? How foolish." He looks outside. "Well, it is my time to be going. I've shared my thoughts; you can continue this Council without me, Your Lightness."
He starts to leave, but I hold out my hand.
"Stop!" I yell, and he turns around. Everyone's eyes are on me. At this point I am too full of anger to question my actions. "As your Leader, I forbid you from leaving."
"Serena, what are you doing-"
I ignore the spirits' voices in my mind and keep going. "I forbid you," I repeat.
Heliux looks at me for a moment, and for a second I actually think he's going to listen to me and sit back down, like he always listens to my commands.
Then he gets up and leaves, without a single word.
I'm too shocked to even utter a word, and I sit back down feeling utterly embarrassed at my exchange with Heliux.
"If it's any consolation..." Misty's voice comes up, and I find my eyes on her. "I think rescuing Ash is a good plan."
Even Leo nods. "Even if Ash is to die, he can give us some useful information about the Darks to help us."
Every other fairy starts offering positive feedback, and I feel relief wash upon me. "Thank you," I say. "If we all put our heads together, I think we can make this plan work."
Everyone nods, and the next half hour we spend coming up with a plan that sounds like it will have a high success rate. We determine that for Ash to get out we'll need help, but we aren't too sure of what help we will find in the Darks' colony.
I end the Council saying that the word should be spread to the rest of the fairies, and that the plan will happen tomorrow. "Make sure to send all possible ideas to me," I say, then formally dismiss everyone. Once all the fairies have left I make my way out of the colony, hoping to try and find Heliux and make amends for my horrid actions.
Also, there's a tiny part of me that's hoping to see Ash. It's a small chance, but it's a chance I'm willing to take.
Yep that's it. I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter!!
I'll try to update again this weekend, but with school in the way I'm not sure if I'll be able to- but I'll definitely try.
Anyways I gotta go to bed now. Stay tuned for more everyone!! :)