Chapter Eleven

Tempest

I pulled up to the massive wooden doors to my father's study once more, dismounting Fear and sending him on his way with a quick snap of my fingers. The little girl who had met me here the first time was nowhere to be seen. Odd, Father usually keeps his apprentices close, scolding them fiercely when they leave his side for too long. I made my way to the back and waved my hand over the wall at the far corner of the sparsely adorned room, the panel sliding back to reveal his Alchemy lab.

"Father? Where'd your apprentice run off to?" I asked into the darkness, my voice echoing off glass vials and stone cauldrons.

"Amaya went to gather some items for the spell I've been preparing for your little endeavors." came his familiar growl behind me. I spun around to face him, his green eyes sparkling with knowledge.

"I need something very special. Only you can get it for me…" His magician robe ruffled across the cobblestone floor, the dark blue fabric and his snow-white beard making his eyes appear to glow in the darkness of the laboratory.

"Father, I will get anything you need. This spell has to work. I am not going to spend another eternity stuck in this 'in between' dimension!" my tone flared with anger and revenge. I bit down on my lip hard to try and contain the blizzard threatening to burst from me at the thought of the Great War.

"Thing is… You're going to need some help." He shifted nervously, leather sandals scuffing the stones.

"Of course, I can get Sirenna to do anything for me."

"No, Tempest. You need a certain kind of help."

"You can't mean…" my eyes widened at the thought.

"Yes. You have to convince your twin brother to help with this project. Granted, it won't be easy, but it's the only way."

"Merlin Ambrosius I am NOT seeking the counsel of my brother. He has his place and I have mine, we're not meant to interact." I spat, doing my best to stare daggers into my father.

"In order to get the rest of my ingredients, I need both of your abilities." Merlin explained softly, pacing between a few Alchemy tables, "If you don't want to go through with it that's fine, but this destruction spell will never be complete."

I sunk into a wooden chair in front of one of the old desks and covered my face with my hands. "Fine. But if I end up killing him, it's all your fault."

"Or if he kills you…" Father's whisper came like a soft summer breeze, but it cut my heart like a knife. I'll show him, I'm stronger than that yeti I will get those ingredients and then I'll never have to see him again.

I whistled for Fear and mounted, lightning tingling my skin, "I'm coming for a visit Lucifer."

~ Snowflake P.O.V. ~

I was walking through havendish square, my head fuzzy with thoughts of my lover, the sun shining through the branches of the Pixie Hollow tree, fairies bustling around me.

Ohhhh Kai... I could imagine that I looked like a dumb-struck little girl in the presence of him, but I could only aspire that I held my composure.

As soon as I thought it, I became aware of my dreamy expression, hoping no one saw me in my reverie, my face growing slightly warm with blush.

As I neared the pixie dust tree, I noticed that the pixie dust didn't seem to glow as brightly as usual. Startled, I scooped a bit of the glowing dust into my hands and studied it carefully. I heard the doors to the throne room burst open, hurried footsteps flowing out. I dropped the dust and looked across the square to see Lord Milori and Fairy Mary coming from the throne room. I wonder if they have anything new concerning Queen Clarion. Oh I hope she is alright...

Milori had a dark expression that shadowed his handsome features, Fairy Mary, doing her best to keep up with his powerful stride. "Is anything the matter Lord Milori?" I asked, glancing back and forth between the two.

"We now know how Queen Clarion collapsed, but not who did it. She was poisoned. We're taking her cup to some healing talent fairies to find out how the poison was made. If we can decipher this; we can find out what season the poison concoction came from. This will narrow down the search a bit, but we're going to need all the help we can get, why don't you come with us?"

"O-of course, I would love to help!"

Fairy Mary had stayed silent during Milori's small speech, studying her fingernails. The only time she ever stayed this quiet was when she was unsure, which meant she must have some suspicions… And she's not happy about it.

~ Serenity P.O.V. ~

"Mom? It's really you?" Clarion spluttered, tears darkening her glowing gold dress.

"Yes sweetheart, it's really me. Oh how I've waited to see you again." I sighed, reaching my hand through the bars that closed me in in an attempt to touch her hand. Clarion reached out as well, but our fingers were still a few inches apart. We dropped our hands and she slouched into a corner by the bars with a sob.

"W-why? Why are you in here? What happened?" Clarion asked shakily.

"Well, it started when your father and I got separated…" I glanced up to catch Clarion's intense gaze of curiosity, then continued slowly when she said nothing.

"Your father's name was Alistair, he was a brave warrior in the midst of the chaos that was The Beginning. When the world began, there were no dimensions, everyone just existed. Then came the time when they started thinking for themselves, noticing the differences between each kind; Merpeople, Humans, Fairies, the Righteous, and the Monsters.

"They began to Demand separation; which started the Great War. Alistair was one of the many warriors who fought to keep the peace. The army was made up of all the creatures to show that we could, in fact, live together in harmony. This attempt was in vain.

"When they realized they weren't going to get their way, the masses formed groups according to their kind and attacked the army. They were outnumbered. The army slowly fell, leaving death and destruction everywhere.

"Your father called a retreat and found where we were hiding. He said we were going to be split into different 'Dimensions' by this device one of the fairies had created. We had to choose a side. "

"Well, your father and I disagreed on where we should go; I thought we should go with our kind, the fairies, but your father didn't think we needed to be defined by who we appear to be. Alistair begged for me to come with him to the merman clan, but I stuck to my belief…

"This decision made him very angry, he threatened to leave us, so I held you in my arms and grabbed Sirenna by the hand, trying to reach the group of Fairies that waited with open arms. Alistair became even more furious and told me that if I left him, he was going to kill Sirenna… Then you…

"I kept walking without looking back at him, until he snatched Sirenna away from me. I shouted at him and tried to rescue her, but by then it was too late. Alistair had made it into merman territory just as the magical device split the world into different Dimensions.

"Ever since then, Sirenna has loathed me for letting Alistair take her, she was robbed of her mother and her only sister whom she loved very much. She was left with no family and only her father's bitter anger towards me to feed off of. Over time, Sirenna developed the idea that if I died, or simply disappeared, she could get you back and bring happiness to her father once more…" as I finished the tale, I searched Clarion's face for any emotions.

"But… Then… Oh Sirenna…" Clarion stammered, curling farther into her corner to mull over the new information. I could understand her wanting to be left alone after hearing about her traumatic early childhood, so I moved farther back in my cell. I listened to her heavy breathing and occasional sob for what seemed like forever until she finally looked me in the eyes.

"I've missed you so much it hurts, Mom… I love you." Clarion stated, never moving her gaze.

"I love you too sweetie."

"We have to do something about Sirenna… Maybe if I promise to be with her, she'll let you go."

"No, Clarion, she finally has what she wanted. She will kill me before the season's end. I'm just so glad I got to see you before I died."

"No! She can't! I won't let that happen!"

"Clarion, it's okay, I'm ready to go now."

"I lost you once. I'm not losing you again."

Sorry for some reason this chapter was not on FanFiction... We are back! More chapters will be online soon! Thanks for your understanding. :)