Hi everyone, sorry for this long wait, but let's continue. Not going to talk much so enjoy.
Plot twist number two (not really, but the beginning might be a mind blower for you guys ;))
The Winter Child with the Sight
I rushed to Lumi, who was holding Mother Holle's hand in her own. The Snow Maiden was seriously wounded and the poison didn't make anything better. Her breathing was slow and her eyes looked like they want to close.
"Mother Holle!" the girl cried.
"Lumi... It's time. We have to tell her now. The truth mustn't be delayed any longer." the woman insisted.
"Okay..." Lumi agreed.
The Snow Maiden then turned her head at me.
"Detective, please... Stop that delusional woman. Stop her and save my successor, she is already in grave danger." she paused. "Restore the good in Winter, don't let the seasons be destroyed."
'I thought that Lumi was her successor... Was I wrong?'
I didn't focus on my thoughts that much because of the scene in front of me.
"Don't say that, Mother Holle." tears were already rolling down Lumi's cheeks. Oddly, her tears turned into diamonds. "You're going to be saved!"
The dying maiden gave the girl a small, yet sweet smile. She place a hand to wipe away the girl's tears. As she is saying her goodbye, the Snow Fay's body is slowly fading away into snowflakes.
"In the end, despite you and her are the same, I see you both as my beloved daughters."
"Mother Holle..."
"Even though I cannot love, this... This would have been close enough." she continued to smile until she closed her eyes.
"No!" the girl shook her head as the rest of Mother Holle's body is turning into snowflakes. "No..." she sobbed.
I didn't know what to do. I've seen many deaths in my previous missions, but very few happened in front of my eyes. I wasn't sure if I should go up to comfort the girl or give her some space. However, when her teary blue eyes meet my eyes, I know that I can move forward.
I knelt to get to her level, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Lumi... I'm so sorry."
"Detective... If you want to know the truth, take this with you. You'll need it for one of the rooms." she gave me a key, but where does this belong? It was when she stood up that Mother Holle's body completely disintegrated into snowflakes and drifted away. "Follow me, Detective." the girl replied with a sniffle.
There was a parable piece where Mother Holle once laid. I took it with me before following the young maiden to the second floor.
We went into a room where I used the key that Lumi gave me. Inside of the cold room is a little girl no older than twelve years old. She was sleeping in a flower-like bed, at least, I think she is sleeping. The girl has pretty pale skin, pink lips, and there was a hint of blush on her cheeks. Her blonde hair reached passed her shoulders with two strands in front of her. She has bangs that were slightly parted on the side, mostly sweeping to the left. She was wearing a white dress...
Not only that, but she looked really familiar and I know why this time. She was the girl from the portrait in the Faylinn Palace!
"Um, Lumi..." I trailed off in confusion.
As if sensing my confusion, the girl turned around to face me. She seemed to have calmed down a bit.
"Detective, this girl you see before your eyes is Lumina, the Princess of Faylinn." she explained.
I wasn't sure if I was overwhelmed over the fact that it was Lumina that the parables was referring to, not Lumi or that the two looked very similar. Had the Princess was a bit taller, she and Lumi could have been mistaken for as twins! Plus, their names are very close. Princess Lumina and Lumi.
"She looked a lot like you." I could only remarked.
"That's because I'm suppose to look like her." Lumi replied.
"Lumi, what is going on?" I questioned.
"It all started with her. The Princess is the original." the older girl looked at the sleeping younger girl.
"Original?"
"Under normal circumstances, I would have told you that I'm a Changeling- a fairy who was switched with a human child. However, in my case, that's not it." she slowly explained.
She was obviously still upset over what had happened to Mother Holle. Still, she started to show me the past by using her magic.
"As Lumina visited Mother Holle a week after her twelfth birthday, a dark creature attacked her, waiting to take her powers since she had great potential to be the next Ruler of Winter. Her powers to see this world was connected to her soul and when her soul was ripped from her, she fell into a coma."
I saw everything as Lumi explained the story. The Princess was arriving to the Cloud Palace to see Mother Holle waiting for her. However, a portal appeared behind her as something came out. It was a shadowy hand clawing at her. I couldn't tell if it was Renee or someone else. However, the figure looked too dark to be the evil stepmother I saw.
"The girl was barely living, so Mother Holle kept her here where she shall be safe, hoping to buy some time to find the location of where the Princess' soul has taken refuge. However, as Lumina slept, things started to changed in the Human World. She was not meant to stay in the Spirit Realm in the state she was in until she became the next Ruler of Winter. Someone had to take her place in the Human World."
I saw that as Lumina slept, someone payed her a visit. A boy who seemed to be her age. Although, given the time that the girl has aged a little since their last encounter, she was almost older than her visitor. Almost.
"At that moment when the Princess fell into a coma, a new life was born. A girl born out of the love between a Fay and the Princess. Because of that love, this girl was given life. She was originally a doll that the boy had planned to give to the Princess."
"You're talking about Paul." I realized as Lumi nods her head.
A brief memory of the past revealed itself in front of me. I saw the young Fay boy making a doll, who looks like the Princess.
"However, because of the boy's unjust death, the doll's heart was broken as well as her body have become damaged after his death. With only sad memories from the Princess, this girl was finally alive after the one whom she was to be given to fell into a coma. Since she was brought to life by the chosen Winter successor, this doll must remain in the Winter season. If the doll were to come in contact with heat, she'd be destroyed..."
I slowly pieced the puzzle together. If the Princess was here all this time and someone had to replaced her, then this doll must be...
"Meant to temporarily replace her owner, the living doll lived a rather sad life as the daughter of her owner's family. Years have caused her to be quiet and fragile as she continued to play the role of the princess and the peasant. However, under the guidance of Mother Holle, the girl was in peace, willing to forgive and so much more..."
"Lumi..." I couldn't imagine her story and who she really was as the past vanished.
"All I have is memories, nothing more. After Lumina's soul left, her memories were passed down to me. I became the conscious of the girl and started to live like a human, but that doesn't change the fact that I was the doll that Paul made for her." Lumi glanced over at Lumina's sleeping self. "I was given the name 'Lumi' after Lumina... Because the two were such close friends."
"What about these changes you mentioned?" I questioned.
"After I was born from Lumina's love and memories for Paul, to prevent the inconsistencies that appeared in the Human World, I've altered memories around those who knew the Princess so I can fit in your world." the older girl explained. "I've lived as Lumina's replacement, her shadow, and despite what I really am- you still saw me as the human manifestation of her love."
"So that's what Mother Holle meant. You and Lumina are the same." I remarked.
She shook her head, "No, we're not completely the same. I'm not real."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked, wondering if she meant that she is a doll and not a human.
"I'm not my own self. How can I, when I don't even have a soul of my own?" she questioned. "To have a soul, I have to experience love truly. But as a Snegurka, love is as deadly as heat. I'd be destroyed if I did learn it. The same problem that Mother Holle had in her younger years when she was Snegurochka. That is why when I cry, all my tears will turn into diamonds. Nothing more than crystallized ice crystals."
I sighed as I walked up to her, "You are real, Lumi. You cared, you smiled, you laughed. That proves that you are real."
"But they're all-" I cut her off.
"They're not fake."
It took a while, but I can see a small smile spread on her face as the girl wiped her tears, "Thank you, Detective."
Well, everything now make sense. The reason why Renee went after Lumi in the first place was because she thought that the girl was hosting Lumina's soul within her. Obviously, that was proven wrong. But if the Princess' soul wasn't here, then where? One thing did crossed my mind though. If Lumina is the Princess of Faylinn, then she is a direct descendant of Ava. That must mean that the gift to see the fairies were passed down to her from generations to generations. It just made much more sense, fairies are very attracted to blondes.
"How do we find Lumina?" I asked.
"That locket you have belongs to her." Lumi replied. "It can lead us to her, but we must hurry. She's in great danger."
"Why? How?"
"That light you saw when Mother Holle protected you, it was her powers leaving to find Lumina." Lumi explains. "It went to seek out the girl's soul and if Renee finds her..."
"She'll take both Lumina and her new powers." I finished her sentence as she nodded. "What about that woman?"
"Hm?"
"You called her 'Stepmother'. I thought she was Lumina's adopted mother."
"Well... She is and she isn't." the girl slowly answered. "After Ava married the Prince of Faylinn, her stepmother vowed for revenge. Eventually, Ava's descendant, Lumina, came into the picture of her new adopted family. Her adopted mother continued to loathed her to death. Ava's stepmother came to the woman, attracted to her negative emotions, and took over her dying body as her own. She's now able to roam in this world again."
"I see."
"To find Lumina's soul, we need to find the remaining flower charms in her locket. She will appear to us when the locket is complete." Lumi explained. "However, the locket will only allow us to see her. To find her, we need the golden spindle."
"I have the spindle." I showed her the item. "I've seen spirits many time, why is Lumina different?" I asked. "And how can the spindle help find her?"
"If she is here or back in your world, Faerie Glamor will hide her to keep her safe. Plus, all the other spirits you've seen were trapped in their bodies. This doesn't apply to Lumina." the girl replied. "And we need to charged that magical spindle. Because it originally belongs to Ava, its golden thread will lead us to where her descendant is."
"Where can we charge it?" I questioned.
"It was when after Ava passed through the gates that her spindle became golden. We'll have to reach the gates that will return us to the Human World."
I was about to say something, but the palace was becoming unstable. There were a lot of tremors.
"Oh no, with no one to rule Winter, the Spirit Realm has become unstable. We need to wake Lumina!" the girl exclaimed.
"How are we suppose to do that?"
"First, we need to get to the gates. To do that, we need to find Olivia, the apple tree, perhaps she can help us. Gather the things you might need in this room, Detective. Meet me outside of the palace when you're done."
"Got it."
She nods and she left the room as I quickly explore the space around me. There was a parable piece on the table and an Edelweiss flower charm next to it. That was pretty much it in this room. I was about to leave when I turned to see the Princess' still body.
"I'll wake you up soon, I promise." I told her before leaving the room.
When I reached outside, I catch up with the fifteen year old.
"Detective, follow me." Lumi has opened a portal and went through. I followed after her.
When we step out, we ended up in the Forest of Cries. It was less snowy than the Cloud Palace, however, the weather started to turn for the worse. The clouds turned grey as the wind howled. There was another story puzzle at the nearest apple tree. It was missing two figures.
"Detective?" I turned to see Lumi has stopped after some distance between us. "Is something wrong?"
"No, sorry." I apologize as I caught up with her. We continued to the Apple Orchid. "How can Olivia help us?"
"Over time, this realm has been very confusing. Especially now that she's gone, the land has become distorted." Lumi answered. "However, Olivia was the first apple tree that Mother Holle planted. She is the most ancient and her branches can show directions."
"I see." I replied as the girl suddenly stopped.
"What is it?" I asked.
I looked ahead to see Renee near that one apple tree. She had something in her hand and threw it at Olivia. She seemed to be aware of our presence because she turned her head to give us a sneer before leaving. The wind started to howl even louder.
"Detective, be ready to cover your ears." Lumi whispered.
"Why are we whispering?" I asked in a whisper.
"Because of the Banshee."
"Banshee?" I questioned.
"They are Fay creatures just like in the stories you've might heard of. And it depends on the type, they can be benevolent or not." she paused. "You do know what they are, right?"
"They're female spirits, right? That's all I know, but why must I cover my ears?"
"Because their screams foretell of someone's death or whenever they grieve. Haven't you ever wonder why during harsh snowstorms where the howling winds come from? The kind that pierce your ears and numbed your skin?"
"I never thought of it like that before... So those stormy winds come from them?"
"Yes, one of them at least and a bad-tempered one." her attention was quickly directed at Olivia. The ancient tree was starting to wake. "Detective, cover your ears now!"
I did as I was told as the Banshee within Olivia opened her eyes to start wailing very loudly. Despite I had plugged my ears, the scream was very piercing. Lumi was trying hard not to be blown away from the howling wind- from the scream as the land is being splintered from such force. A branch snapped off of a tree to create more sparkles. I went over there to find the pieces while trying to block the noise at the same time.
I got a pair of earplugs out of it. I put it in my ears to see the Banshee still screaming. To the right was a pile of apples. Going over there, I dug out one of the figurines I needed.
"Will you be fine on your own, Lumi?" I yelled out.
A nod was all she gave and it was all I need as I left the area. Back to Forest of Cries, I found more sparkles to get the second figurine I needed. Going to the story puzzle, I place the Stepdaughter and Stepsister figurines on the slot as the puzzle starts. The puzzle was very similar to the one that revealed the story of Edric and Rasputin. For the Stepdaughter, I have to give her the qualities of a kind person like a flower, dove, and a heart. For the Stepsister, I have to give her the thunder cloud, a crow, and an angry face. Short story short, the Stepdaughter receive fortune while the Stepsister... Well, let's just say she didn't have the same luck. However, I'm sure that the parables will explain it.
The puzzle gave me a Celtic Spell to defeat the Banshee. Going back to the Apple Orchid, to used the Celtic Spell, I have to match the ancient runes to complete it. When I was done, the scroll glowed blue and a Celtic symbol appeared near the tree. The Banshee screamed, but not like before. This time, it seemed to be out of desperation for she clearly wants to wreak havoc in this world. The symbol forced her out of Olivia as the Banshee materialize in front of me and Lumi.
She has long black flowy hair, deathly pale skin, sunken eyes, and her white dress was completely stained red with blood. She smirked at us as she released another wretched scream. Despite I couldn't hear, I didn't expect her to attack me, unfortunately.
She took the spindle after I was knocked down and disappeared shortly after.
No need for the ear plugs, I took them off.
"Are you okay?" I asked the girl.
"Yes, but we need that spindle." Lumi replied.
"What should we do now?" I questioned.
"We should go to our next friend, but first..." she turned to the apple tree. "Olivia."
The ancient tree opened her eyes, "Oh, Lumi... Thank you for saving me from that Banshee. She wails were just horrifying."
"Olivia, do you know the direction to the Road of the Baked Goods? This world is slowly being distorted." Lumi explain.
"Yes," she pointed to the direction with one of her branches. "Once you get near, you'll find the Brownies in a panic."
"Thank you, Olivia. Let's go, Detective." Lumi lead the way as I followed.
Along the way, I found another parable piece and decided to read more stories after we took a rest from the long walk. There was still a long way to go.
The Princess who Forgotten to Smile, 3/3
Mother Holle, 3/3
The Sisters of the Seasons, 3/3
The Faerie Sight, 2/3
The Story of the Twin Snow Fairies, 2/3
You know what happens next.
The Sisters of the Seasons
Once long ago, before history was recorded, the Goddess Flora wanted the Earth to have changes during different time of the years. So she created the four seasons, Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. However, with her other duties in maintaining balance, she couldn't regulate the seasons at the same time. It was when she and three more Goddesses decided to pick four rulers to take each seasons.
I saw Flora, the Moon Goddess, and the Sun Goddess gathered along with the new Goddess in a room. I still don't know who the new Goddess was for she was bathed in a bright light. They hold hands as they channeled their powers to find the rulers to rule each of the seasons.
These rulers are knows as the Sisters of the Seasons. The Moon Goddess chose one ruler out of a twin of Snow Fays named Holle to rule Winter, the Sun Goddess chose a fairy to rule Summer, Flora chose one for Spring, and the last unknown Goddess chose a fay of Autumn to rule Fall.
What I saw next was very intriguing. There were two Snow Fays, fraternal twins. I easily could tell Mother Holle apart because of her short blue hair, but what about the one with white hair? Why did the Moon Goddess chose Mother Holle? Clearly it was the twin with white hair who was the eldest of the two. The other three Rulers of the Seasons were covered in shadows so I can't tell who they are...
These rulers will be given immortality to perform their jobs. Tasked with great responsibility in keeping each season in balance, the sisters did their job very well for centuries. However, if they were to be taken down, like how they were chosen, the sisters will have to pick a successor to inherit their powers. And each has their own ways of picking.
Returning to the present, I flip to the next page. Time to learn more about the next Forgotten Cinderella...
The Forgotten Cinderella, 3/3
Diamonds and Toads, 3/3
The Girl and Father Frost, 3/3
Aurore and Aimee, 0/3
The Three Fairies, 0/3
The Girl and Father Frost
Long time ago, in the lands of Russia, there was a young girl who goes by the name of Ekaterina. She was the stepdaughter of her step family, aside from her father. Her father paid very little attention to her for he obeys the girl's stepmother.
"What kind of father would not love his own daughter?" I questioned as the man left Ekaterina to do the chores.
On a Winter night, the horrid woman ordered her husband to abandoned the girl deep in the forest. The husband complies and took his oblivious daughter into the woods, leaving her there to die.
"You've got to be kidding me." I shook my head in disbelief.
Ekaterina was left all alone and cold, knowing that she was abandoned, left for dead. Her cries got the attention of Morozko, mostly known as Father Frost. Sent by his daughter, Mother Holle, the former Winter King was tasked to test the girl of her virtue. Upon meeting Morozko, she was polite and kind to him, knitting him a coat despite the cold night. In return for her sweet demeanor, old Father Frost gave her a chest full of beautiful jewels and fine garments.
During the next day, the cruel stepmother sent her husband to retrieve the body of his dead daughter to be buried, but when he returned, the woman was shocked to find the girl all beautiful and happy.
When the stepmother saw what Ekaterina brought back with her, she command her husband to sent her own daughter out in the woods. However, the child was rude towards Morozko and refused to offer anything to the Winter King. Normally, if the insult was towards his daughter, she would give out punishment for any lazy young maiden so they can be taught a lesson and learn from their mistakes. However, towards Father Frost, he was unforgiving. In response for the stepsister's rudeness, he freeze her to death.
Wow, that was... I don't know, a bit harsh?
When the husband was tasked to bring her back, the dog warned that the girl will be buried. When the father brought back the body of the dead girl, the old woman wept.
As the past disappeared, I turned to Lumi's call.
"Ready, Detective?"
"Ready."
What do you guys think? Please let me know in the review. I bet some of you were thinking "what?" when Lumi revealed the truth to the Detective. By the way, don't confused this Renee with the Renee from Cursery. They're not the same person obviously, but happen to share the same name. Plus, I kinda forgot that the name was already used in the spin off, but what can I do? Anyway, see you soon.