Confronting the Past
So sorry about the late update, was away on holiday and had no time to update, but I'm back and ready to keep going! Luna confronts her sister about Jade finding out about Firo, Aydia and Volaris and both Jade and Riley stumble upon a kingdom.
Celestia was seated upon her throne in the throne room, signing papers about building a new water system when the throne room doors were thrown open by a dark blue magic aura, revealing Princess Luna with a deadly glare on her face. "Celestia, we need to talk!" she stated, storming into the room. Celestia lowered the stack of papers down to the unicorn pony standing near her throne, waving the pony away with a wave of her hoof so she could talk to her sister, who was obviously upset.
Once the room was empty, Luna cast a sound-proof barrier around the room, her glare never leaving her face. "Do you know that Jade found Firo and Aydia's nursery and figured out that she wasn't alone?" Luna said. Celestia's magenta eyes widened in shock upon hearing the news. Jade found her two eldest children's nursery! She'd put up a powerful illusion spell over the nursery after she sent her lover and two children away for their own safety.
'Where is she?" Celestia asked, looking around for her daughter. "She left with Riley and Shadow. Gone to find her father and older sisters." Celestia's eyes widened again and she looked out the window. "Celestia, she deserved to know the truth from the beginning! It should not have been hidden from her!" Luna snapped, blue eyes narrowing in anger.
Celestia glared. "I did it to protect her, Luna! If she knew about Volaris, she would try and find him, putting herself in danger!"
"She wasn't in our lives for very long, Celestia. She was taken by Shadow's mother when she was five years old and we never saw her again until 17 years later when Lara found her!" Luna shouted. "She is a grown woman with a child of her own, a wonderful sister, sister-in-law, four loyal raptors and can become a raptor herself. She is more than capable of protecting herself!"
The throne room doors were pushed open by Lara and Sam at that moment and the two women walked in. "Hey, mum, aunt Luna, have you two seen…" Lara stopped talking upon seeing the two royal sister's glaring at each other. The two turned their heads to look at the two women as the four raptors stepped into the room as well. "Did we interrupt something?" Sam asked, looking between the two.
Luna glared harshly at her older sister. "Yes Lara, what is it?" the Moon Princess asked gently. "Have you two seen Jade and Riley? We haven't seen either of them since this morning?"
"She and Riley have left the castle with Shadow." Luna explained to them. "Why?" Sam asked.
The Moon Princess looked over at Celestia. "Ask your mother."
Lara and Sam looked at Celestia, who sighed, it was no use hiding anything from them anymore! "Jade found out that she has a father and two older siblings."
The two women's jaws dropped in shock, Jade had siblings, actual older siblings, and a father who was alive! That was something neither of them expected at all. Lara had known Jade nearly her whole life except for when she was taken by Midnight and not seen again for 17 years. "I met a man named Volaris years ago, we fell in love and had my first born children, twins named Firo and Aydia. But the castle was breached by King Sombra and I had to send them away for their protection. After Volaris left, I vowed to keep his existence from Jade because she would go look for him. I didn't want my daughter in danger. I had to protect her."
"Protect her, you say, mum? If you wanted to protect her, why did you keep it from her? She clearly deserved to know if she had any other family apart from us! She hates being lied to, mum. And when she finds out what you've done, she won't forgive you! Do you know how hard it is for her having been betrayed by people she thought that she could trust, only to be stabbed in the back!" Lara shouted angrily.
Celestia stared at the brunette in stunned silence, she figured that Lara would be angry with her. "And to be betrayed by her mother, her own flesh and blood who she thought she could trust with her life, that will shatter her and it will be a long time before she can even think about trusting you!" Sam snapped, grey eyes narrowed with rage. Celestia looked at them with tears in her eyes before she charged up her horn with a golden glow and teleported herself out of the throne room and into her bedroom where she collapsed on her bed and sobbed into her pillow, knowing that she had likely deeply hurt her child by withholding the truth from her and damaging the sacred bond between mother and daughter forever!
Meanwhile, Jade was tense as Shadow flew through the sky, his wings beating the air as Riley gripped her waist tightly, the 11-year-old had been quiet since they took off and she could tell her mother was still angry with her grandmother. "Mum?" Riley asked, Jade slightly turned her head to listen to her. "I know your still angry with grandma, but you need to calm down."
Jade closed her eyes, knowing Riley was right. So she exhaled a calming breath and Riley felt her body start to relax as Shadow flew on, they had left Equestria half an hour ago and she really had no idea just where the hell they were going, but she had to find out where her father and older siblings were! Another two hours passed with no sign of anything when Shadow spotted a thick cloud of fog up ahead and growled softly. "Jade, cloud of fog up ahead." he warned her, she and Riley both stared as they got closer to the fog.
Riley poked her head around her mother, her blue eyes going wide at seeing the cloud of fog they were headed for! "Whoa, I've never seen a fog bank that thick before." she commented as Shadow suddenly came to a halt in the sky, beating his wings as he hovered, glancing back at his sister and niece. "What do you want to do?" he warbled. Jade frowned, looking back at Riley, who stared back at her with determination in her blue eyes. 'where you go, I go' was the hidden message, but Jade got it right away. She didn't want to go back to Canterlot right now as there was a high chance there would be a shouting match between her and her mother. Turning her head back to the front, she made eye contact with Shadow and nodded her head to him. He growled softly and dove into the fog.
Jade squinted her eyes as Riley gripped her tightly, the rope keeping them together as Shadow flew in the fog, he too was having trouble seeing what was in front of him due to how thick the fog was. "Why is this here?" Riley asked her mother. "I don't know." Jade answered. The fog seemed to get thicker and thicker the further they went in and soon Jade couldn't even see Shadow's head. She could feel him, but not see him. Riley's arms tightened around her waist more, it was like they were flying blind and in this instance, they were!
Then a noise made Shadow stop and hover, he growled, pupils narrowing to slits. "Shadow?" Jade questioned, confused as to why he had stopped, then her sensitive noise caught a scent that was heading their way. She inhaled the scent, it was dragon's, a herd of them. "Dive, now!" she urged and the Night Fury went into a steep dive just as a herd of dragons flew where they had been just moments ago. Riley yelped at the sudden descent and pushed her face into Jade's neck, closing her eyes as the wind rushed past her hair and face. Shadow flared open his wings and hovered in the sky again, beating away some of the fog and through it Jade could just make out something ahead. "Shadow, head that way." she directed, pointing in the direction. Her brother growled in confirmation and flew towards where she was pointing.
The trio emerged from the fog bank and their eyes widened when they saw the sight in front of them. Down below was a thriving kingdom with many houses and beyond that was a castle that looked like it was made of black marble. Jade directed Shadow to land in the forest so they weren't seen by anyone. Once he landed, Jade untied the rope that kept her and Riley secure, telling her daughter to remain with Shadow, dismounted and made her way to the tree-line, peeking out as she saw many people with massive wings on their backs, pointed ears and wearing clothing she was sure looked like it belonged in a medieval movie. Shadow came up beside her, Riley was still in the saddle. "So many scents all at once." Riley said, looking at Jade, who nodded her head in agreement, there were so many scents she didn't know where the hell to start!
Aydia folded her arms as she listened to her father tell her and her brother to behave this morning during the meeting they would be attending. Firo stood beside her, not as annoyed or bored as his twin, he didn't have her habit of being a rebel. Instead, he was smart, tactful, had great leadership skills, was loyal, took charge when needed, respectful, protective to those he cared for and was kind to those he trusted. Aydia was sarcastic, stubborn, didn't care about what she wore, hence why she was wearing a pair of light purple pants, a grey shirt and brown jacket when Volaris clearly told her to wear formal clothes. She didn't like manners or gracefulness, also why she was never respectful to others at times, protective to her family, didn't have much patience, was kind and caring to her family, smart and political.
Volaris eyed his two children once he'd finished lecturing them about being polite at the meeting. "We'll be respectful, father." Firo promised, Aydia scoffed, rolling her magenta colored eyes. "Aydia?" Volaris spoke in a warning to his stubborn daughter, who looked at him with squinting eyes before she huffed, uncrossing her arms. "I'll be good, father." she promised, albeit reluctantly.
"That's all I ask. Now off you go and wait for me." he waved them off and both siblings left the throne room. The king sighed heavily, out of his twins, it was Aydia that was harder to handle, she was a full on rebel and never listened to instructions nor did she respect others. It was a nightmare just getting her to listen to him! He rubbed his temples and stood up, grabbing Veilios and securing the sword around his waist. Spreading his large, black wings, he lifted from the ground and flew towards the doors, flying out of the throne room and landing in a small corridor as the council arrived. "Are we ready, gentlemen?" Volaris asked, looking at each one.
"Of course, your majesty." Marcus confirmed with a slight bow of his head. Bickering could be heard as Firo and Aydia arrived, arguing like always. Volaris rolled his eyes and glared at his two offspring, arms folded. "You two!" both ceased their bickering upon hearing the warning in their father's tone. "Sorry father." both spoke softly, heads bowed in shame. Volaris lightly shook his head. Then the King and Queen of Hill-Haven arrived and the large group entered the council room for the meeting.
The meeting was annoying for the twins, safe to say. Firo glanced at his twin, who wore a look of utter boredom upon her face. "Hey, sis. What do you say we sneak off?" he wasn't normally one for breaking the rules, but this meeting had bored him to no end!
She glanced at him and smirked. "Since when are you willing to break the rules?" she asked in a whisper, leaning her head over slightly so she could speak to her twin. "I'm not, but this meeting so far is just so boring." he explained to his sister. "Let's go!" both twin snuck away, since their father and his council all were busy speaking about the ball and what will be happening.
The twins snuck out of the room and down the hall when a voice stopped them. "And where are you two going in such a hurry?" the two turned around to see Galv standing a few feet away from them, blinking his cloudy eyes at them. The twins looked at each other. "Well, we were..." Aydia tried to come up with a good excuse, but couldn't get it out of her mouth. Galv smiled and chuckled. "I may not be able to see, but I can sense auras, you two."
They very well knew that he could see their auras, he didn't just have control over lightning, but because he was blind, he could see people's auras and know how they acted based on their personality. Due to being born blind, his father abandoned him and his mother because he didn't want a son who couldn't see! His mother was a healer and part of the castle healers, her name was Sonya and she had blue eyes, white hair and grey wings. Despite her husband abandoning them when Galv was born, she did everything she could to give him a wonderful childhood and he met Firo and Aydia one day while he and his mother were at the markets in the village square with the king.
Six year old Galv giggled as he tugged gently on his mother's hand. "Hurry up, mummy." Sonya chuckled at her son's excitement. "Slow down, love. We'll get there." she assured him gently as they approached the markets where they saw different types of stall's lining the square. As they walked along the stall's Galv accidently bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm sorry." the child said.
"It's alright, it was my fault." the voice of a boy that sounded around his age said. Galv stared at the child, he could see the boy's aura surrounding him, a mixture of red and orange. "Prince Firo." Galv said and bowed his head, for it was the Prince he had bumped into. Firo looked at the boy and saw how his eyes were clouded over. "Your blind." he spoke gently as his sister walked up to him, her purple hair tied in a braid down her back.
"Yes, your highness, but I don't let that stop me. I can see your aura so that's how I could tell it was you. And Princess Aydia." he lowered his head into a bow again as Sonya watched with a warm smile on her face. Her son never let his blindness drag him down since he could see auras and used it to help him sort of see the person he was speaking to.
Princess Aydia's aura was a mix of light purple and white. Then King Volaris walked over to see his two children speaking with a boy around their age. He knew this boy was the son of one of his castle guards, but the fool had abandoned his wife and newborn son once he found out his son was blind! Volaris felt so sorry for Sonya and offered her any help she needed. "Galv, my boy, how are you?" the king asked gently as the blind little boy turned to look at him.
"Your majesty. I am well." he answered, bowing his head again in the king's presence. Volaris chuckled softly. "Daddy, can Galv play with us?" Firo asked, looking at his father. Volaris merely smiled. "If its alright with Sonya." he said, looking at the white haired demon who was training to be a healer. "I don't have a problem with it." she knelt down beside her son. "Go and play, my love." she encouraged him and he gave her a warm hug before he went to join the two royal children. Volaris walked up to her, the two parents watching over their children as they played.
"How are you, my friend?" Volaris asked, since her husband abandoned her and her son six years ago, Volaris had taken to helping her care for herself and her son in any way he could. He came to see Sonya as a friend, but his heart would always belong to Celestia, no matter what!
"Doing well, your majesty." Sonya answered, smiling as Raziel defended Aydia from her brother with his small wooden sword. "I have noticed your boy has seemed interested in being a guard?"
"Yes, since his father was one, Galv has shown his interest in it. I just worry for him." Sonya said as she watched Galv point his wooden sword at Firo, declaring a spar with Firo to defend his sister. Firo had his own wooden sword and the two boys play fought, being careful not to injure each other. "I think he would make a fine guard." Volaris said with a smile.
And so when he turned 14, Galv was enlisted into training to be a royal guard and despite his blindness, he fought well and used his other senses to his advantage, impressing his instructors and when he reached 18, it was time to choose a captain for the guards, Volaris and his twins had watched over the test as many guards stood their ground, but ultimately, it was Galv who came through and he became the captain of the guards.
Firo sighed. "The meeting is so boring, Galv. It's not something I want to do." he said, looking back at his sister, who watched him before she rested a hand on his shoulder comfortingly, she knew about her brother not wanting to rule the kingdom and how he wanted to be a member of the council instead. Galv offered his two friends a smile. "Well, then I shall come with you. Someone needs to keep an eye on you two."
"We're not children anymore, Galv. We're 27 years old!" Aydia said, but her words had no bite to them as the trio walked down the halls and out of the castle. Galv inhaled the cool air that surrounded the kingdom as Firo and Aydia followed. As Galv looked around, he sensed three auras in the trees and stopped, hand resting on his sword. "Your highnesses, we have company."
"What?" Aydia questioned, looking at her friend. "In the trees, three auras, two females and a male."
In the trees, Jade's green eyes widened in shock. Shit, they had been found out. She quickly turned to face Shadow and Riley. "Shadow, take her to safety. Now!" she urged him, not wanting her daughter to get hurt or separated. The Night Fury warbled softly. "But, Jade what about you?"
"I'll be fine. Just keep her safe." she snapped, facing her brother and daughter, who looked worried. Shadow crooned softly. "Be safe." he nuzzled her before he turned and raced into the trees, as flying could expose him and Riley and they might be shot down if they weren't careful. "You in the trees, come out now or I will be forced to take action!" a voice called out and Jade slowly stepped out of the trees, there was no use hiding anymore. As she stepped out of the shadows of the trees, she raised her hands in surrender and lifted her head, her eyes widening in shock.
In front of her were three people with large wings on their backs, two of them had equal looks of shock on their faces while the third had his eyes narrowed and his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "You are in the presence of Princess Aydia and Prince Firo, son and daughter of King Volaris. State your business here?
the white haired guy said. Jade's eyes widened, they were the Prince and Princess? Then she was on the right track!
Firo and Aydia stared, slack-jawed at the woman in front of them, unable to speak a single word. She looked exactly like their father with her hair and eye colour. There were two laceration scars running down the left side of her face and her skin was pale, very pale. "Who are you?" Aydia was the first to break out of her shocked trance, magenta eyes narrowing.
"I am here to speak to the king." the woman explained, hands up in surrender.
"Why?" Firo asked.
The woman stared at them and Galv. "Because I'm his daughter."
Oh, cliffhanger! Bit of a short chapter this one, but I hope you all enjoy it. Will Jade be able to convince the king that she is his daughter? We'll find out in the next chapter.