The leaves crunch under my feet. I am escaping, I don't even care that I am barefoot. I can feel the leaves crumble beneath me as I sprint. I am running from a large white house that is so empty and foreboding, from an abusive mother who blamed me for the death of my father. I hear a bird take flight next to me and I pause in my escape to find the origin of the noise.
Slowly I turn, taking in my surroundings. I am tired, I see nothing. I close my eyes; opening them I see everything in their true color. The dead and lifeless trees are a smokey, dull grey. I look around once more and suddenly I see a bright blue light. I've never seen such a beautiful color. I slowly make my way toward the strange light. When I am directly in front of it, I close my eyes again. Opening them takes away the blue light and I see a raven perched on a branch in front of me. It isn't startled by my presence; its cool blue eyes carefully take me in.
"Are you Arianna Whistanfia?" The raven says in a smooth velvet tone.
"Um… Yes. How can you speak? Who are you?" I stutter out in response. For as long as I have gazed at these woods I have never seen any animals. Nor have I ever heard of animals being able to speak. Suddenly the raven is bathed in a bright golden light. It was too bright for my eyes, as I stumble back I trip and fall ungracefully to the ground. Slowly opening my eyes for fear of being blinded, I see a pair of bare human feet. Cautiously I look up, taking in the creature before me.
He has flawless tan skin that seems to glow in the dimming light. He has well defined muscles rippling up his frame. He dons simple black trousers and his torso is bare.
"Need some help there, Princess?" The strange man asks. Not pausing to let me answer, he grabs my hand and hauls me to my feet. Now that I am closer I can truly see how beautiful this man is. He has long black hair that is tied back into a loose braid with a crimson ribbon. He is tall, almost two and a half heads taller than me, and he wears a bold smile.
"Confused?" he asks, as he sees me eyeing him. "Maybe this will help you…" as he says this, he rolls his shoulders back, unfurling two very large dark black wings. Astonished, I found myself looking at the wings. How is this possible? I carefully touch his back where feathers meet skin. I feel him shiver under my touch and I know instantly that they are, in fact real.
"Who—what are you?" I ask as I return to facing him.
"I am Ephreim el Demanstro de Avianna," He bows swiftly and majestically," and yes, I was also the raven." He grins up at me.
"B-But you talk and look human…" I stutter.
"All animals have secrets, Princess. Do you think humans are the only creatures that evolved? How tiny your world must be." He says exasperated. "I must be returning home now, would you like to come? I would especially like it if you'd come…" His eyes gleam at me as he speaks.
"I would like that very much, thank you." I reply, more confidently than I actually feel. I have no reason to stay after all. I've already decided not to go home. At least with Ephreim I may not be living on the streets of Eperne. His smile was so bright and beautiful; I knew then that I had made the right decision.
"Thank you, Ari," he said with such a serious face that I believed for a second that he may have another reason for bringing me along. Suddenly he picks me up and cradles me to his chest like a child. He stretches his wing out to their full span, and splays them out behind him, poised, ready for flight.
"Hold on tight!" He yells, and then he is sprinting toward the ravine. For the first time, I am scared for my life. Then he jumps, and when he unfurled his wings, we start to rise. We are flying. The wind is more gentle than I had expected, every breeze felt like a caress and every gust, like a kiss upon my skin. But, no matter how gentle the wind was tonight, it was still quite cold. Ephreim was surprisingly warm and I found myself snuggling into his impossible warmth. Just as I was about to drift through the door of sleep, his voice awakens me.
"We're almost to the gate…" His soft voice breaks through the wind with ease. I saw nothing but as he released one of his arms from around me I can't help but throw my arms around his neck in desperation.
"Careful Princess, if you choke me we'll fall. I won't drop you, I promise." He says with humor clearly visible in his eyes.
"Imperat princeps vester, o magni regni caelorum1" He says in a commanding tone, holding one of his own feathers in his outstretched hand. It begins to glow bright gold in color. He throws his now glowing feather into the air in front of us and ripped the sky. Through the golden tear I see a bright blue sky, in contrast with the ebony of the current sky above us. As we pass through the tear, it closes behind us and we are sent hurdling toward the ground. We are stopped by the air a foot above the ground and let down softly on the bed of flowers below.
"Welcome to my world, Ari." Ephreim smiles down at me, offering his hand. All around us are wildflowers in the biggest meadow I have ever seen. All blues, reds, yellows, and violets blow in the gentle breeze. The air feels clean and free. I have never felt more at home.
"Ephreim!" calls a voice behind us. Ephreim turns just in time to avoid a punch; he then drags his assailant into a head lock. All I see is a head of golden hair before he pulls out of Ephreim's arms; he then shakes his head in exasperation. "You shouldn't have gone alone. You made me miss out on all the fun!" The man has a mischievous glint in his teal eyes, but I can tell by his demeanor that he means no harm.
"Lei, this is Arianna Whistanfia." Ephreim leads me over to the man. Lei was dressed in strange clothes. He was clad in green and gold. His tawny wings were splayed behind him and the feathers seemed to be made of sunlight itself.
"Y-Your wings are beautiful" I finally stammer out.
"Thank you Arianna, that is very kind of you." Lei smiles and bows graciously before kissing my hand.
"You really shouldn't compliment him Ari; his ego is big enough." Ephreim frowns disapprovingly. Lei acts mortified, then he breaks out into another dazzling smile, before bowing again.
"Allow me to introduce myself properly; I am Liere al Avianna del Solera." Lei says, and once again he bows.
"Solera?" I ask. It seems their names mean something…
"Lei is the great Golden Eagle!" Ephreim mocks, bowing to Lei. Lei waves him off, laughing.
"Come, we need to inform the court of your arrival, they're still very mad that you left alone, and without telling them." Lei states seriously.
"I didn't want her to feel overwhelmed. It's a lot to take in… I wanted to tell her gradually…" Ephreim replies and I know I'm not meant to have heard it.
"Regardless, we should go to them before they come to us." Lei waves off his explanation. Suddenly he snaps his fingers and a large green glowing circle appears at his feet. The circle is covered in intricate writing and designs. The circle expands to include us as Ephreim steps forward to take my hand.
"Regia2." Lei commands and I notice his eyes flash gold. Suddenly the ground vanishes, and then the meadow is gone too. Vaguely I see stone beneath us. Abruptly, everything comes into focus and we are standing in a courtyard with cobblestone beneath our feet. I can hear hurried footsteps and excited voices.
"Master Ephreim!" the crowd repeats again and again. The people of the crowd are all wearing long purple robes with silver trim. Each of them is adorned with a silver crest on their chest. They come to stand in front of Ephreim and they all bow respectfully.
"Welcome home, Master Ephreim." They all say in unison. I find this very strange. Do all of these people know exactly what the other is going to say, before they say it?
"Thank you. May I present Arianna Whistanfia." He leads me to the front of the crowd, as they stare at me in astonishment before bowing deeply. Respectfully, I clasp my hands in front of me and bow at the waist. I am sure this was the wrong thing to do as Ephreim suddenly yanks me up to my feet and guides me into a curtsy instead. As the crowd looks up from their bow they smile, I take a note that curtsying is customary in this world.
"Please, everyone come this way. We are preparing for the ceremony now." They say as the crowd ushers us inside. What ceremony? I ask to myself. I look up at Ephreim questioningly.
"You are a candidate for the Whispered." He states simply. "It's a simple test, please don't worry. No harm will come to you." He reassures me and takes my hand, leading me the rest of the way inside. The court hall is extravagant. Stained glass covers every wall. There is a circle of simple white candles in the middle of the room, all of which are lit.
"Please change into this, Mistress." One of the robed women says as she hands me a folded set of clothes. She then leads me into a side room and leaves me to change. I do just this. The dress resembles the rest of the clothes in this world. It is blue with gold trim. I feel strangely at ease here. As I exit the room I am given further instructions to sit within the circle of candles with my legs crossed in a meditative manner. I am told to close my eyes and relax as the light is doused from the room. Only the candles surrounding me are lit.
Someone in the crowd tells me to open my eyes and see with my "true eyes". I open them, using the strange power I seem to possess. I can see everything in the room as if it were not dark, but everything shows me their true colors, blues, purples, greens, and golds. All of the people in the room are hues of purple. I can see a mouse in the corner that appears a light blue. The stone in the room is grey and lifeless. I then notice that the candles are emitting a pure white light from each wick.
"Arianna, can you try changing the color of the candles from white to black?" Someone asks behind me. Focusing, I do just this with minimal difficulty, but as I do this I realize I just put the flames out. They then ask me if I can turn them white again. I try with the same effort as before, but I only get a spark. I then concentrate on lighting each candle one at a time. This works, but it takes me a while and my judges are not impressed. I try again and again to get faster at lighting the candles, until it is of no difficulty to my anymore. They seem pleased.
It seems as though weeks pass as I further my training. I am moved to lighting larger candles, torches, and finally fireplaces. I wonder what exactly the purpose of me learning to light these fires. I am told that I have qualified to become a Whispered, I am told that the Whispered are revered as heroes. They vanquish the dark and evil from people's hearts. Ephreim admits that he came in search of me for this very purpose.
"Our court has become corrupt and unjust. We have crime in our streets that seems unrelenting. Please Ari, I am sorry I didn't tell you about this before, but I didn't want to overwhelm you." Ephreim admits sheepishly.
For the final act of cleansing I am put in a white gown that resembles a wedding dress in my home country. I briefly wonder if I am missed, but I quickly shut this thought down as I know that I am not. They bring me to the tallest tower of the castle. Unlike my first day of candidacy the room is completely lit and in the center stands a stone basin. As my curiosity gets the better of me I look inside. The bowl is empty; puzzled I turn around to the members of the court who all don black robes today. They help me into a standing position inside the basin.
Once inside they tell me to close my eyes and not to open them with the true sight until I fully grasp what it is I will see. I contemplate this as my face basks in the light of the sun. Suddenly I feel something warm and light wash over my body in waves. It's like happiness and hope, and life all swelling into my body like water upon my skin. I feel so at ease and content that I forget my instructions and open my eyes everything is golden and the light seems to be radiating from me. I need to share this happiness; I spread my arms out wide and let the waves spread out like ripples on a still lake. Everything is illuminated and I feel the land return to its full beauty. The darkness that was slowly threatening to consume the land, unbeknownst to it's inhabitants, was quickly vanquished by the pure light.
As the light leaves my body I am suddenly exhausted and can't seem to hold myself up. I fall from the basin, but I am caught in by a familiar pair of arms.
"Easy there, Princess. You don't want to fall from there and hurt that pretty face of yours." He admonishes me as I feel his laughter rumble in his warm chest. As he sets me down I feel the soft caress of wings across my shoulders. When I look to my shoulder I am shocked by what I see, gentle white feathers are resting atop my shoulder. Whose are these? I wonder. But as I turn more I see the feathers cascade to the wingtip resting near my ankle. Carefully, I reach up to touch one of the wings and as I do I feel a shiver run across my back. I knew then, they were mine. Experimentally, I willed them to move, instantly they flexed and stretched away from me. It was like having a second set of arms, they moved just as easily.
"Maybe I should call you Angel now instead of Princess…" Ephreim said as he gently kissed my temple. I looked up at him and gave him a wide smile. I don't believe I have ever smiled that big before, because when I did I could feel my face stretch and it hurt a bit.
"Maybe you should." I reply before my world goes black.
I wake up in a warm bed surrounded by unfamiliar faces. Their tense expressions relax as they notice that I am now awake. Many people in the room leave, after this my company is reduced to Ephreim, Lei, and an older man with grey hair and stunning hazel eyes.
"Ari, I'm so glad you're awake." Ephreim says softly as he bends down to place a gentle kiss on my forehead. I smile up at him as his eyes shine down at me. He steps back to take my hand as Lei leans forward.
"Ari," He nods at me. I smile in response. I'm still not really sure what is going on. Then the older man steps forward to grasp the hand that Ephreim's isn't occupying.
"My dear, I speak for the whole court when I say that we are so glad that you're awake, your highness can take her back her rightful place as our queen now." The man says in a reassuring tone. I'm their Queen? How long was I asleep? Did they make me their queen while I was unconscious? I'm sure he could see the look of confusion on my face, as he then says "Do you not remember? Well, I'm sure your memories will come back to you. After all you were unconscious for over three months. I'll let Ephreim explain everything. I'll come see you again, my lady." He bows and then leaves. Ephreim gives Lei a look and Lei nods before leaving the room.
"What's going on?" I ask turning to Ephreim with tears in my eyes. This is too much to take in. I was asleep for three months? I am the queen of this land? Ephreim takes my hand and gently helps me out of bed. He slips a pair of sandals on my feet.
"I'll explain everything, but not here. Will you come with me?" He asks and his eyes reflect such sorrow that I reply instantly.
"Yes," We are transported to the edge of the meadow that we landed in when we first arrived. We walk a little further into the meadow and, as if passing through an invisible barrier, Ephreim's demeanor completely changes. Displayed on his face is the strain of pain and worry and in his eyes I can clearly see his fear.
"We don't have much time Ari, so please listen to me." He grabs my shoulders in a panic. "Everyone is trying to trick you. You've only been asleep for a few hours. They're trying to give you false memories so that you will stay forever. They want your power, not you. They were planning on sacrificing you in your sleep, but they realized that they needed you alive for your power to work. Please believe me when I say that this is the only way. I am taking some of your power, then I will send you home. I will have to lock away your memories, they won't be gone, but you won't be able to access them. It will be safer that way. They won't be able to find you. Here, take this." As he says this he hands me a gold bracelet with one of his feathers attached to it. There were also multiple colored beads on the chain. I studied this carefully, hoping to distract myself from my spinning head. This is all too much. What am I supposed to believe? Then as if reading my mind, Ephreim continues.
"Please, if you believe anyone believe me. I truly care about you and only want you to be safe and happy. I promise that after the corrupt members of the court are taken care of I will come and find you. I will always find you." He says with tears in his eyes.
"I believe you, and I love you too." I reply, answering his unasked question. His bright smile breaks through the sadness on his face as he pulls me into his arms. Then he kisses my forehead, and my world goes dark again.
I wake up in the forest. Everything seems grey and foggy. What time is it? Why was I sleeping here? I remember running away from home. Did mother get angry again? As I stumble to my feet I notice a bracelet attached securely to my wrist. Where had it come from? Then I hear someone in the distance.
"Arianna, dear where are you? Please stop worrying me unnecessarily. Are you alright?" I recognize the voice as my mother's. Curiously, she actually sounds worried about me. She sounds like the woman she was before my father died. Maybe my running away finally snapped her out of it.
"I'm alright mother. I'm coming." I shout in the direction of the house. Again, I begin running home, I pass a clearing with a large oak. I stop when I hear someone whisper into the wind.
"I love you, Ari." It is so quiet that I almost believe that I imagined it. I turn around to looks for the source of the voice, and as I do I see a raven with piercing blue eyes, before it takes flight.
1 Imperat princeps vester, o magni regni caelorum (Latin) meaning,
Your Prince commands you, oh mighty gate open to the kingdom of the sky.
2 Regia (Latin) meaning, court, ruling place, palace, or castle.