Chapter 18

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To see Monica in a festive mood was something new to me. She smiled and laughed a lot more than usual and I couldn’t help but wonder if that was her life before the shriekers came into it; before I came into it. I couldn’t help but blurt out a question that I wished I could take back.

“What made you join me?”

Her mood changed in an instant, as if a dark cloud had blocked out the sun.

“I wanted to help.”

“But why help those who are to blame for your brother’s death?”

“I don’t blame you, Leon. What happened was unfortunate but I know that you didn’t mean for it to happen – Are you alright?”

She seemed worried.

“I’m fine.”

“No you’re not. The veins on your forehead look like they are about to burst open. Tell me what’s bothering you.”

“It’s this crowd.”

We found a quite place to sit and I was grateful for it because all the loud noises and joyful heartbeats around us were giving me a headache. Tuning them out takes a lot of effort and that’s why my kind don’t do such things. At least not as frequent or as noisy as the other creatures of Kelor.

“Thank you,” I said to Monica once my headache had subsided.

“Why do you say it like I just saved your life? Was the noise really going to kill you?”

“You misunderstand,” I said with a light laugh. “I’m thanking you for coming with me on this errand; on trying to maintain peace and to solve the problem that I created.”

“You didn’t create this problem, Leon!”

“Yes I did. I came up with the idea of adding our young to the ranks. Many advisors warnded me that doing so would be a mistake but I didn’t listen.”

“Did they tell you about the risk of the young ones being blood-shot?”

“Yes they did.”

“And what solution did you propose?”

“I proposed that we…… Wait! How did you you know that I proposed a solution?”

It was Monica’s turn to laugh. “Because that is who you are. I haven’t been with you for a millenium but the few days that we’ve spent together is more than enough to show anyone your true character. You are a prince who cares not only for his kind but for all the creatures of Kelor.”

It was nice to hear such comforting words from one who had come to mean so much to me in a few days. However, I still couldn’t look at her. Cupping my face in her hands, she gently forced me to look at her.

“Leon, accidents happen. No matter how good our intentions or our plans, accidents will happen. Stop torturing yourself over them.”

“I’ll try not to.”

“I don’t want you to try, I want you to do it. You can’t enjoy life by constantly looking at a past that you couldn’t control. Focus on the here and now, and what you can do to make the future better.”

Her face drew closer to mine and I couldn’t tell if the deafening thumping was my heartbeat or hers.

“Promise?” she asked.

Did she say something, Leon?

“What?” I found it very hard to think with all this thumping going on.

“Promise me that you will do it and not try?”

“There they are!” The voice of that annoying little pup rang in my ears and I froze. Monica quickly let go of me and drew her beautiful face a great distance from my own.

Deven, we swear, we’ll make you pay for this. I thought.

Regaining my composure I asked, “Did the little pup get lost without a guide?”

“We came looking for a silly blood-hound, because A’el wants to meet us before the ceremony.”

When we arrived at the castle a peculiar woman caught my attention. She stood by the entrance wearing a hooded cloak. The moment we reached her, she tagged on my sleeve as she greeted me.

“Hello, Prince Leon Von Duke.”

The others stopped as well, once they heard her formal greeting.

“Go on, I’ll catch up.”

My friends kept on walking and once they were an earshot away I turned to the mage.

“Make it quick.”

She nodded and handed me a letter. After that, her body faded away revealing the sun setting beyond the edges of the mountain. Looking down I saw the only evidence of her existence, printed in the ground where her feet stood.

**********

Naisha made us wait for Leon a few paces away from the entrance. Once he joijned us, she led us through the Sky Castle, famously known for its glassy ceiling. It was also known for being a maze-like castle. Only the fairies who lived within it knew the passages like the back of their hands. No matter how many times Leon and I came here, we could never get to the banquet hall, the gardens or A’el’s study without Naisha’s help. Rumours had sprung up that the walls within the castle would move from time to time but A’el and Naisha always denied these claims. They would tell me that the castle’s walls and ceiling would play tricks on creatures and unless you were aware of it, you would be forever lost within the castle’s walls. I remember once, when we were younger, A’el asked me,

“Do you hear it?”

“I don’t hear anything.”

“That’s just it. No one can hear anything, not even the echo of your footsteps.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“It’s one of the defences that the castle has.”

“I don’t see how that is a good defence.”

“Imagine being lost and shouting for help but nobody can hear you, even though the sun is up and the sky is clear.”

“How come I can hear what you are saying, A’el?”

“Because we are close to each other. If I moved a few paces away from you, you would see me but not hear me. Wait right here.”

She walked about ten or eleven paces ahead of me. Turned round and began to speak. I could see her mouth moving but couldn’t hear a single word. It was like looking at a ghost. When I took a step towards her, she began to frantically wave her hands, telling me to stop. I didn’t see what the problem was and so I kept walking and in an instant, she disappeared from my sight. Panic gripped me and just as I was about to break into tears, the most amazing thing happened. A’el seemed to appear out of thin air, right in front of me and I could hear her again. She grabbed my shoulders and yelled at me.

“I told you not to move! Do you want to get lost in here?”

I decided to put on a brave face. “I knew you would find me.”

“Idiot! I couldn’t even see you! Mom would have killed me if anything happened to you. Next time, listen when I tell you not to do something.”

“You couldn’t see me? So the castle’s tricks also work on fairies?”

“Of course they do. All creatures are affected by it. My kind has a sixth sense that helps us get around but that doesn’t mean its easy to find one another. I prefer to play outside than in here, its too dangerous.”

After that incident I never saw this beautiful castle in the same way.

“This castle is beautiful,” Sif exclaimed.

“Even beauty can be dangerous,”I murmured.

“What?” Sif asked.

“The castle is a beautiful place but you can easily get lost in it.”

“You must be joking.”

Sometimes it is best to show someone what you mean rather than to say it, and so, I suggested we carry out a little experiment, the same one that A’el had done with me all those years ago. With Naisha’s help, we even went as far as making sure we disappeared from her sight and came back to her. She was obedient through out the entire event and when we were together again, Sif hadn’t lost her admiration for the Sky Castle. If anything, my little experiment seemed to have amplified her admiration for it.

When we arrived at the door to A’el’s study, Naisha knocked twice and opened the door without any confirmation from the other side. A’el was standing with her back to us, while she performed some elaborate magic spell. Symbols made of light of various sizes and colours floated around her.

“Is this how the new queen will be greeting her friends,” Leon asked.

“Give me a minute, friend. I’m almost done.”

With a wave of her hand the symbols clashed together and a crown appeared in their place. She reached out and held it, and gave a sigh of relief.

“Naisha! I did it!”

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“I’ve made my crown for the coronation. Well, to be specific, this is a mock crown. I’ll have to create the real thing this evening in front of everyone.”

“Well would you look at that,” Sif said. “A beautiful crown out of thin air.”

A’el turned to face us at the sound of the viking’s voice. She seemed surprised at first but when she saw Sif she seemed to be happy.

“Well would you look at that,” A’el said with a smile and with perfect mimicry of Sif’s accent. “New and old friends in one place at the same time. Great job, Naisha.”

“Actually,” said the handmaiden. “I found them together.”

A’el gave us a puzzled look, to which I replied, “Sif and her men saved us from the shriekers.”

“The what?”

I gave her a quick summary of the origin of the shriekers as well as everything that we faced on our way here.