Don't Fall, part 26

FIC START!

Sakinah and Kain had wandered that hole for quite some time. The Fabulian warrior monks had followed them, and some even joined their party to back them up in battle. The strange thing was, there were no battles. There were no living organisms down here at all. No life. Usually in the dirt, there was bugs, worms, grubs. But, no, the crystals that gave life to the world above lent this hole none of its power.

"I was under the impression that the crystals helped all life on our world grow," Sakinah said gently as she kept looking around for some signs of the missing royalty.

"The Creator told us during the Final Battle during the War with the Second Moon that life on this planet was impossible without the power of the crystals," Kain explained.

"So that means everything on this planet, every part of this planet, would have to have been blessed by the crystals," she said.

"That's right. If there is life, then there is the crystal's blessing."

She put her hand against a stalagmite. "But there is no blessing. There is no life here. The land above, it had crops growing on it before it burst open. This monk here did mention it was a field to feed the people of Fabul."

"Yes."

"Where did it go?" Sakinah asked.

"Where did what go?" one of the monks inquired behind her.

"Where did the blessing go? If this land was supporting life - growing crops - then it had to have the crystal's blessing! And Fabul itself is home to a crystal, isn't it? Troia, Damcyan, Mysidia, and Fabul are the homes of the crystals. That's what I was taught," She said, mad at herself for not figuring it out. "What has the ability to remove the powers of something so powerful as the crystals?"

"Do not be so hard on yourself," Kain said, pulling her hand away from the stalagmite.

"...I don't know what else to do."

"You don't have to do anything."

"Considering my position to the court of Troia-"

"Consider my position in the court of Baron," Kain cut her off and then immediately felt bad for it.

The ground rumbled around them, causing a few spikes to either fall over or crumble where they were. Whatever it was that caused this gigantic hole was close by. Sakinah couldn't tell what it was, but she could feel the earth beneath her feet as if it was crying in pain. The ground itself was going to rot if it did not have the power of the crystal. She shook around with it, but Kain latched onto her to hold her steady. It didn't take long for him to start wobbling, too.

"I just realized something," one of the monks said once he picked himself up off the ground.

"And that is?" Kain asked.

"...this path is headed in the direction of Fabul Castle," he said fearfully.

"It wants the crystal," Sakinah said, looking directly at Kain. "Whatever that was, it's stolen the crystal's power from the very ground we walk, and it's headed to eat Fabul's crystal!"

"There's nothing in our world that eats crystals," one monk muttered.

"The crystals aren't from our world, so it makes perfect sense that it wouldn't be something we're familiar with," Kain said sternly. "You monks, stay here and look for King Yang and Princess Ursula. Sakinah and I will head back to Fabul to protect the crystal." He held her to him and jumped up out of their sight. He had to use both of his hands to scale the walls, so she clung to him as tightly as she could manage. It was a long way up.

When they got there, they found that all the cabbages and other veggies that were growing in the field were all ready rotten. Sakinah had to hold back her tears as Kain took her again into a long jump, headed back towards the castle of Fabul.

Queen Shelia was tired, but that didn't stop her from waiting up for her husband and daughter to get home. She paced back and forth in her royal chambers, wondering if Sakinah had fallen asleep. The poor dear was very tired. She stopped to look out the window and noticed that the fields looked much different now than they usually did. Shelia figured it had to be because the moon wasn't lighting it up, or because when her family wasn't around, she didn't see things in a very positive way. She needed those two to hurry up and come home all ready!

The ground rumbled underneath the castle, and the queen was knocked right off her feet. She hadn't felt anything like this since the Red Wings had come to the castle some years ago. Back before she had been married to a king, instead of a master of the martial arts and trainer of Fabulian monks. It threw her hard, and she couldn't help but think of the time when that young prince with the eyes full of despair teamed up with Yang and the knight of Baron, and they had brought that little girl with the green hair and the very lovely lady of Baron with them. How fondly they spoke of their party members when working together to take care of the wounded. Shelia wasn't good in magic, and she wasn't a fighter. She just stayed in the kitchen and cooked for all those who needed it. Which was how she got to know her husband and fall very deeply in love with him when he was still in training. Why was she remembering all of this?

Suddenly she heard a high pitched sound ringing through her mind. It sounded like the same sound the crystal would let off if it sensed a disturbance. She opened her eyes only to find that the castle was still shaking.

"We're… under attack again?" she asked, picking herself up off the floor. She ran out of her bedroom door, not caring if she was in clothes only her husband had ever seen her in before. "Protect the crystal! We're under attack! It's a siege!"