Chapter 12 – The Faerie Queen
Just like before, the girls found themselves in a new location. This one would prove to be even more surprising than the last. However, the first thing they'd focus on was the sight of their briefly missing comrades before them.
"Genny! Sonya!" Celica called out, relieved to see them fine.
However, shortly after all five quickly became surprised.
"Huh, you grew back!?" Mae exclaimed.
For indeed, the two girls were no longer mere inches tall. That wasn't the only thing different about them, though…
"And your wings are gone!" Palla spoke.
"So have yours," Genny pointed out.
This made them glance back, to see the mage spoke true.
"Huh, what happened to our wings!?" Est cried out, quickly becoming upset.
"Never mind that for now," Catria said, "just where are we now?"
They were all now in a small square room, which looked more like the room of a manor, rather than the underground building they've been traversing. Its architecture was different from the one they had seemingly left behind; but it was still unknown all the same. It contained three couches, arranged in a rectangular formation with a wall serving as the fourth side. Said wall contained what looked to be a hearth, though not only was it not in use, it was devoid of wood to burn. The couch directly facing it was shorter than the other two. A red fiber carpet was laid on this 'enclosed' area. Small tables were placed in the 'corners', opposite the wall. The room had no windows to speak of, but there was a set of double doors on the opposite side of the fireplace. Curiously, the place was well illuminated, even if there was no actual visible light source.
"Are we finally out of the cave?" Celica asked.
"Most likely, Milady," Palla said, "this seems more like someone's abode."
"A blueblood's, from the looks of it," Catria noted.
The room and everything in it could certainly be described as opulent. Aside from the furniture, it was well decorated with all sorts of things. Portraits hanging on the walls, potted plants and flower vases, all kinds of figurines placed atop tables and the fireplace's mantel, among other things. There was an undeniable theme of roses present, in addition. Most of the vases housed roses, a few of the decorations were too that of roses, and even a portrait or two depicted nothing but roses too. Red was the dominating color, though roses of other colors were present as well, if in much lesser numbers.
"Quite," Sonya placed a hand on her hip, "as I was telling Genny before you lot arrived, this place certainly has class."
She then glanced around approvingly, before nodding in satisfaction.
"A bit heavy on the roses, though," Palla noted.
"They must really like them, hee hee," Genny giggled.
"In any case, it's certainly not a bad place to have ended up, that's for sure," Sonya said. "With how bland the previous one was, this change of scenery is most welcomed."
"But wait, what does this means regarding gaining the power?" Mae asked. "I thought the statue was the end of it."
"This room looks like a parlor," Celica noted, "I wonder if we are meant to wait for someone."
"Would someone actually still live here?" Catria said. "The place was sealed off long ago, remember?"
"Perhaps there is another entrance," Palla suggested.
"I'd sure hope so!" Mae exclaimed.
"After everything we've done, for it to be all for naught would be… well, you know," Sonya flipped her hair and huffed, clearly annoyed at the possibility she had to endure being doll-sized if momentarily just to end up empty-handed.
Celica frowned. There was something that felt off in all this.
"Although," she began, "why does this place exists at all?"
All eyes were now on her.
"Abandoned or not, why would there be a warp from the cave into someone's home?"
The girls seemed to ponder this, pensive.
"I think I see what you mean, Milady," Catria said after a few seconds.
"Me too," Palla added, "even if it is still actually part of the cave, why this drastic change?"
"Not to mention, we got here through the statue," Sonya said, "the one we thought was going to grant us the blessing."
"And the place already had warp circles," Catria said, "so this last one feels unorthodox."
"So, what does this all mean?" Est tilted her head in confusion.
Could it have been an addition made at some point? Celica wondered, before sighing.
"Unless someone still lives here to give answers," she said, "we'll have a hard time finding out."
"Well, there better be someone, as I would certainly want to know why our wings are gone," Est then exclaimed, crossing her arms and pouting.
"It was nice while it lasted, I'll admit," Palla nodded.
"Useful, too," Catria added.
"Well, I certainly won't be missing being small," Sonya placed a hand on her hip.
"But I will though," Mae said with a smirk, "it was nice while it lasted"
Sonya opted to humph, ignoring the younger mage.
"Anyway," she spoke instead, "I feel we've waited long enough. Either no one's actually here, or they don't feel like checking in on us. In that case, I say let's take a look around ourselves."
"I agree," Est said, "let's go exploring!"
"Should we? I feel we should still wait, if a little longer," Palla said.
"You can wait if you want," Sonya said, "meanwhile, I'll be heading out of here."
And she proceeded approach the doors.
"I do feel she has a point," Celica told the others, "let's be on our way and try to seek answers ourselves."
"If that's what you wish, Milady," Catria nodded.
With that, they began to follow the mage, who was already opening up the doors. On the other side lied a big hall. Like the parlor-like room, it was filled with the same rose-prevalent decorations, many placed on tables placed along its walls. A crystal chandelier hung on the ceiling, though it had nothing in terms of light sources. Despite so, they could still see. The room itself was rectangular and they had emerged from one of its longer sides. Another red carpet lied on the floor, though this one ran perpendicular from the doors. To their left, it ended right on the wall, but to their right, it went to reach the base of a staircase. They walked over to the carpet to get a better view. The stairs ran straight up, until reaching an upper level which was still out of their sight.
There, standing right at the top, was a woman. She had such breathtaking beauty, she seemed almost otherworldly. She was clad in an elaborate gown of ranging shade of greens, its skirt reaching down to the floor and the bodice ending just above her chest. Matching opera-length fingerless gloves, also green, enveloped her arms, her hands clasped together over her abdomen. Her long red hair was half tied up in a bun, though there was still enough left to cascaded down her back and over her shoulders as side bangs. To complete the image, she was decked out in jewelry and make-up, as the blood red lipstick, nails, and eyeshadow, red rose earrings, pearl necklace, golden jeweled circlet on her forehead, and a matching tiara resting against her hair bun, could all attest. Her skin was pale and her eyes a deep green, which were currently staring down at her with a neutral expression. However, the most eye-catching detail had to be her wings. In a sight the girls had become accustomed by now, the woman too sported butterfly wings. Hers, however, would've put their own to shame if they still had them. They were larger for starters, their pattern was richer and more intricate, but most importantly, their glow was brighter and sparkling, with the colors of the rainbow spread throughout, not staying put in the same areas.
No one dared to move, as the woman's wings began to flap and she began to rise. She proceeded to then flutter down the stairs, landing upon reaching the bottom. She then walked over towards them the last of the way. Stopping before them, she glanced briefly about to all of them, before staring back straight to them as a whole.
"Greetings," she said, her voice soft yet not lacking in strength, "I have been waiting for you."
"For us?" Celica asked, surprised.
"You knew we were coming?" Palla followed up.
"I was not sure you would," the woman replied, "but I am most pleased you did."
Despite appearances, they could feel a powerful energy emanating from her. Far beyond what could be conceived a mere mortal to wield. Though looking no older than Palla or Sonya, she also gave the air of being far, far older than she looked. Overall, it was clear she was no ordinary woman.
Is this how it feels to stand before the Earth Mother or War Father? Celica wondered.
That said, for as imposing that the energy was, it also felt very familiar…
It's the same as the orb's! Her eyes widened in realization.
Next to her, the others sans the Whitewings realized the same. In light of this, and considering what they had learned a moment ago, it wasn't hard to figure it out. Still…
"Are you… the Fairy Queen?" The princess had to make sure.
Despite her appearance not quite matching that of the last statue's, which admittedly was much less regal in comparison, it was hard to think on just who else could she be.
"I used to be called that, yes," the woman nodded, "once upon a time."
"Huh? 'Used to?'" Mae repeated.
The now identified as the Fairy Queen frowned.
"You mean to say you do not know?" She asked.
She then glanced around again.
"Do any of you?"
"I'm afraid we don't, ah… Milady?" Catria replied, unsure on what else to call her if she was denying holding the title anymore.
"Faerie is also acceptable," the woman said.
"Just fairy?" Est asked.
"Not fairy, Faerie. Stress the last syllable. Now, back to what was said prior, I am aware a long time has happened since then, but to think it has faded into myth or even obscurity…"
The woman's frown deepened, though the girls could tell it wasn't aimed at them.
"We have much to discuss. Come."
She then began to walk towards the room they had left behind, the clicking of heels beginning to echo across the hall once she stepped off the carpet onto the stone floor. The girls spared glances at each other, feeling a bit at a loss on how to properly react to this sudden turn of events. Nevertheless, they followed after the woman back into the smaller room. The Fairy Queen, or rather Faerie now, headed straight for the couches, before sitting down on the one directly across from the hearth. The girls for their part went for the remaining ones. They were wide enough to accommodate them all between the two of them, thus the Whitewings sat to one side of the Faerie, and the magic users on the other.
"Now then," the Faerie began, "in light of your previous statements, just what is the extent of your knowledge about my person?"
"To tell the truth, Milady, we only learned of your existence just a moment prior," Celica replied.
"Yes, from the plaque of the statue," Mae added.
"A statue and plaque, you say?" The Faerie asked, curiosity clear in her voice.
This did not go unnoticed.
"Yes, from the room we were before we found ourselves here," Palla said.
"Were you not aware of it, Milady?" Catria asked.
The Faerie simply shook her head, to their surprise.
"Huh? But, then what about all those trials and everything?" Est added.
The Faerie's frown returned.
"I should make this clear," she explained, "I know nothing of what you speak of."
This left the girls stunned, not expecting this answer.
How could this be? Celica thought.
They were certainly left at a loss. If the power of myth was the Fairy Queen's blessing and an entire underground complex had been built to house it, but then the, if apparently former, Fairy Queen herself was admitting she was not aware of such things… then what to make of that?
"But why not?" Sonya asked.
"It has to do with the nature of this place," the Faerie began to explain, "to tell it short, I cannot leave its confines."
"You can't? Why?" Genny said, concerned.
The Faerie closed her eyes.
"In light of your ignorance, I suppose it falls on me to explain," her eyes were open again.
Her expression seemed to harden, as if bracing herself. The girls held their breaths, doing the same for what revelations might come.
"I ignore how long exactly has it been now, but there used to be a time when I dwelled in the outside world, among your kind," the Faerie began, "and because of the vast power that I wielded, I was worshipped as a goddess."
The girls couldn't help but gasp.
"A g-goddess, you say?" Mae asked in awe.
It was certainly hard to argue that claim. Not when they could feel her power, which certainly eclipsed their own by an unquantifiable margin.
"I was not the only one," the Faerie continued, which only shocked them further, "there were others. We all wielded abilities far beyond what the mortal kin could achieve or dream of, and thus we became the object of worship."
Many thoughts were racing now on their minds.
Did she say others!?
So there truly were other gods before Mila and Duma…
Wow, this is incredible! I never thought ending up in this land would lead to this!
So there are other powerful beings in this world beyond the dragons.
I wonder… were these gods stronger than the Earth Mother and War Father…
"If that's true, then…" Palla spoke out, "how is it that knowledge of your existence is almost completely gone? Of any of them, for that matter."
"I cannot speak for the time I have been here," the Faerie said, "but I may have the answer nonetheless. Just like you, we all had our desires and ambitions, some which were pursued with little to no regard to you mortals. Eventually, that drove them to rise against us."
She saw their expressions become a bit wary.
"I know what you are thinking," she continued, "and I am aware that I can only give my own word that I did not act in bad faith towards those lesser than I."
Though the weariness subsided, some skepticism remained.
She sounds sincere enough, but… Celica thought, in her own words, there's no one to vouch for her.
"It's okay, Lady Faerie," Genny said, "I believe you."
The woman glanced over at the cleric, and for the first time since their encounter, emoted a small smile.
"I appreciate the sentiment, child."
The smile was short-lasting, though.
"However, I will admit that even among my own followers they rose against us, using the very boons and blessings we personally granted them against us. Regardless of what I think about my own actions, they were still cause of unspoken grievances to them."
If that hadn't been enough to quell their concerns, the fact someone like her was admitting to such was still having an effect all the same.
"So is that why you're here?" Palla asked. "Because you…?"
"Lost?" The Faerie finished. "Yes, that is one way to describe it."
No one questioned it. By this point they were well aware that such a thing was very possible. This did not go unnoticed by the Faerie.
"You do not appear to be surprised," she observed.
"Truth be told, Milady, we're not quite unfamiliar with your situation," Catria said.
Not unfamiliar, yes… Celica thought as she lowered her gaze, deep in thought now.
"I see. It looks like I have missed a lot of events since my placement here," the Faerie said.
"Speaking of, how did that happened?" Sonya asked.
"And why can't you leave?" Catria added.
"I was careless," the Faerie replied, "things had reached the point where I knew it was futile to continue struggling. For the sake of those who remained loyal to me, I intended to depart from this land. The others thought the same. I do not know what became of them, but as far as myself, I was captured before I could."
Everyone was listened intently now; even Celica glanced back up. It was hard to ignore just how similar things were starting to sound to current events.
"After some deliberation, they decided to seal me away. Perhaps they thought I would start over in some distant land, and they decided to end it before it could begin. Regardless of reason, I was placed here, and I have been since."
With that, her tale was over. Silence reigned afterwards. It was too much information for them to sink in right away. Celica was the one most affected by it.
Not only were there other gods before, but humanity rose to overthrow them, she thought. I wonder…
Her mind was beginning to compare the state of both eras.
Why exactly did Emperor Rudolf attack the Earth Mother? Was it on Duma's orders, which is why he wielded the Divine Falchion to do the deed? Was it for his sake, without being asked to? Or does he also plan to…
She couldn't bear to finish that thought, already gloomed out for having started it at all.
No, history isn't fated to repeat itself, she tried to shake the thought away. It must be something else… it has to.
"Celica, are you alright?"
Snapped out by the sudden question, she glanced aside to Mae, who was looking concerned at her.
"Y-Yes, Mae, I'm fine," the princess replied.
Fortunately for her, a distraction would quickly come.
"So… does this means we are inside the seal right now?" Palla asked.
"That is correct," the Faerie nodded.
"Huh, then how come it looks like we're inside a manor?" Est asked.
"That is simple. Just because I cannot breach the confines of the seal, it does not mean I cannot alter the inside itself. As it does not exist in the physical plane, my powers can mold it as I please. It is but an illusion, but it is better than nothing. Now, as to why a manor…"
Here she actually gave a small smirk.
"If this was to become my cage, why not make it a gilded one?"
"I like the way you think," Sonya gave a smirk of her own.
"Wait, so if this is the inside of the seal that imprisoned you, how were we able to warp in?" Catria asked. "Also, how did you knew we were coming?"
"How, I ignore it, but it seems some parts of my power do flow to the outside," the Faerie explained. "Perhaps it is due to the nature of the seal, as I am certainly not doing it on my own free will, but I can feel it nonetheless. Very recently did it begin to act up more often than usual, and to my surprise, I could sense the presence of several individuals. Which I now know was you."
"Huh, you sensed us?" Est tilted her head in confusion.
"Several times, in fact, if briefly every time. In some of them, I even felt my magic flowing into you."
At this several things were now falling into place for the girls.
The orbs! Celica thought. That's why they felt the same as her. Because it was her power all along!
So it was her magic that gave us the wings, as well shrink down Genny and I, Sonya thought.
It can't possibly be only those orbs, Catria was thinking, as she mentioned her magic only acted more often, not at all. Could it be it is her own magic that is powering everything in the cave? At least, starting from the first lever and the barrier.
"As such, I knew of your existence, but I could not tell if you were heading towards the seal," the Faerie continued. "To my fortune, you did. When you began to interact with it, I knew I had to act. I reached out to my magic that had been imbued within you, and used it as a focus to pull you into the seal. I also took the chance to incorporate it back unto myself."
So that's why we lost our wings, and Sonya and Genny grew back, Celica realized.
At this Mae quickly stood up.
"Wait a minute! Does that mean now we're trapped too!?" She cried out.
The effect was instant. Their faces quickly switched from shock to panic. The Faerie remained nonplussed to this, however.
"Please, remain calm," she said, "I understand how it might look from your perspective, but I had to do this. For a very important reason."
Fortunately, they still had enough sense to listen to her words, and though they remained weary and fearful, they nonetheless calmed down, with Mae sitting back down.
"And what reason it could be?" Palla asked, skeptical.
A full second passed, before the Faerie looked at them with a determined look.
"To break the seal."
Author's Note: From the previous chapter, you may have figured out that the power of legend was the Exemplar Overclass. Well, now we have the actual Faerie present too. I'm aware the Faerie/Fairy thing is just the word changing its spelling over time, but just like in Transfigurative Overclass, I'm going to treat them as two separate words in the story. In fact, some things I stablished in Transfigurative Overclass will also apply for this too, even if they're not sharing the same continuity or don't become relevant in the near future. The Fairy Queen bit is new, but also easy to deduce as to what I'm going for there. Regardless, I will explain when it becomes more relevant.
On that subject, I took the opportunity to give the Faerie a new appearance to go with the new title. In the original version she just looked like the statue, unchanged from its appearance in the Altar of the Faerie DLC. That said, I feel I didn't do a good job describing the hairstyle, so just in case a visual aid is needed, I basically based it from Rosa Joanna Farrell of Final Fantasy IV; her general 3D version hairstyle, which in turn was more faithful to her original artwork by Yoshitaka Amano compared to the 2D version where she sports a ponytail instead.
Now, I am aware that despite deciding to stablish the Valentians switched their writing system, I just had the Faerie still speak the same language in the same form instead, even with the milennia-long time gap from her time to that of the game's. Well, as it is, unlike with the writing system there is nothing that could hint the same happened with the spoken tongue that I could find. At least, not between those two eras. If the language changed, it would've been between SD/SoV/MotE and Awakening, as the reforged Falchion and Binding Shield sport Ancient Letters depicting English words instead. So by the time of the First Exalt they had already switched. I'll also admit there's the pragmatic/convenient angle. Less hassle if I avoid writing a language barrier situation. Though with what I had stablished prior, it would've only inconvenienced the Whitewings anyway.