Azura Sits up straight and looks to Elina. Elina looks back at Azura with love and fright in her eyes.
`Mum? Who is the witch?'
Azura closes her eyes and has a flashback to the day of the curse and shudders. She opens her eyes and look straight at Elina.
`Th-the witch, the witch is your grandmother.' Azura says quietly her voice straining.
Elina stands up fast and gasps in shock. Topaz holds Azura's hand tightly and with her free arm she wraps it around Azura's shoulders. A tear falls over both mother and daughter's cheeks. Elina kneels in front of Azura and hugs her before returning to sitting on the bed.
`Why does my grandmother want to curse me?' Elina gently presses her mother for more information.
`Sh-she,' Azura stutters and looks up at Ruby, her husband, the man she has always wanted to marry her whole life and finishes her sentence, `She didn't approve of me having a sexual relationship with Ruby and she also didn't approve of me having a child at such a young age.'
Ruby catches his breath, as does Topaz and Elina. Ruby looks at his wife with love and regret.
`I caused both my beautiful girls such pain and grief, I am so sorry!' Ruby breathes, trying not to let his eyes water. Topaz loosens her grip on Azura's hand, urging her to go to Ruby. Elina and Azura both rise from the bed and hug Ruby, soon also being hugged also by Topaz. They soon retreat to their original sitting positions.
`I do have one more question,'
`Yes my dear?' Azura asks quietly.
`Why did my grandmother disapprove of my father?'
Now everyone looks nervous and they sneak quick glances and shakes of the head between each other.
`Ok, I am not blind, if I can't know than that is fine.' Elina says exasperated.
`No my dear, please don't take it that way, it is just that you have been through so much already that I don't want to put this on you unless you really want to hear it and this is big, so please make this decision wisely.' Azura looks worriedly at Elina.
`I want to know.'
Everyone sighs at Elina's responds and Azura takes a deep breath.
`My mother, your grandmother was set on me marrying Prince Alexios. The enchantress's twin brother. So when she found out that I was pregnant with you my dear, she was very mad. She kicked me out of home, so I moved to Fairy Town which is when you were born and then that is where your story began.'
`Oh.' Elian says, `I caused way too much trouble. I can't believe you took me back when you did'
`Oh no my dear, I love you dearly and wish that I could have come back to you earlier!' Azura tells Elina and Gives her a quick hug.
`Why did my grandmother want you to marry a prince?'
Azura sighs, knowing that this was coming and replies in short.
`Because I was a princess.'
Elina gasps, letting this news sink in. She looks to her Aunt and Father who don't look surprised.
`What!? You guys knew too, and no one told me!?' Elina shouts.
`Elina! Stop it, I know that this is a lot of information to take in but that doesn't mean you can yell at us!' Ruby tells his daughter calm but firmly. Elina thinks to herself, that she is overreacting, but she doesn't care, her whole life has been changed enough and now she has this information. She knows that she said that she could handle it, but she didn't realise that it was this big of a life changer. All the anger dissipates, and her mind becomes cleared as she sees her mother, father and aunt looking at her frightenedly. Elina looks around and notices a smashed vase from her desk and blood covering her hand. She looks from the cut on her hand to her family and sadness washes over her.
`I am sorry for causing you so much pain before I was born, after I was born and now.' Elina says as tears fall. Azura flies up to her daughter but Elina backs towards the door.
`Elina? My dear, please!' Azura cries as Elina continues to back away. Azura reaches a hand out to touch Elina's arm.
`No!' Elina screams, `I have hurt you all too much already, I don't want to hurt you anymore!' Elina flies out of the door and as far away from Peony and her family as possible. Azura tries to fly after her, shaken but Ruby holds her back. Azura kicks him and tries to go after her daughter but Ruby wouldn't let go of her. Azura screams for Elina and hits Ruby on the shoulder over and over trying to get him to let her go. Azura tries to get free for the next minute before realising that it is no use and sinking to her knees and crying with Ruby still holding her and stroking her hair.
`It is ok Azura, please stop crying. She will be ok,' Ruby tells Azura calmly and repeatedly. But when he looks over to Topaz, she looks torn and shakes her head in despair. Ruby picks Azura up and carries her to Elina's bed. Azura nestles her head into Ruby and still shaking she falls asleep. Ruby lays her down on the bed and sits next to Topaz.
`Oh Topaz,' Ruby sighs. As he looks back at Azura. `I don't know what to do,'
Topaz sits for a moment and looks out into the distance. She looks between Ruby and Azura and sighs. She walks over to Azura and puts a kiss on her forehead. She then goes to Ruby, gives him a quick hug before she grabs her small bag, coat and flies after Elina. Ruby sits next to Azura, holds her hand and sighs.
`You guys have been through so much, I wish I could have been there for you before, but I am here for you now and will be here for you always.' Ruby whispers to her. Azura turns in her sleep as if she heard him.
Topaz flies around the Magic Meadow all evening looking for Elina. The rain had subsided a little but Topaz was now cold and she was glad for the jumper. After a couple of hours of flying Topaz begins to get really worried about Elina. If the storm was any indication, then Desmona, Elina's Grandmother was back in Fairytopia, and this rain would have soaked Elina to the bone. If it wasn't for the shallow sobs coming from behind the waterfall than Topaz wouldn't have found Elina. Topaz snuck around to the small hole behind the waterfall and kneeled beside a crying, freezing Elina and wrapped her coat and her arms around her niece. Elina looks through her teary eyes into her Aunts eyes. She held her gaze for a few seconds until Elina sobs again and throws herself into Topaz's arms. Topaz strokes Elina's hair and wipes the tears from her eyes.
`Are you ok?' Topaz asks concerned.
Elina tries to respond but the words catch in her throat and she sits there in silence. Topaz puts both of her hands around Elina's hand and gasps at how cold they are.
`We need to get back to peony!' Topaz cries to Elina, whose face looks a lot paler than it was five minutes ago. Shivering, Elina nods and Topaz helps her up. Elina feebly flies next to Topaz who has one arm around her to stop her from falling.
After twenty minutes of flying, they arrive at Peony and Elina stops in front of the door. She shakes her head and says so quiet that Topaz almost doesn't hear it.
`I can't do it.'
Topaz looks sadly at Elina and flies to the ground with her.
`Elina! I promise, you did nothing to hurt anyone, if anything, you brought us all together and made us the happiest people on earth. You need to promise me that you will never think that you have hurt any of us. Ok'
Elina nods and Topaz smiles at her. As they enter Peony, Azura and Ruby are sitting on Elina's bed and Azura's face is grey with worry. As soon as she see Elina and Topaz enter, Azura lets out a sigh of relief and flies fats to Elina and gives her a huge hug.
`Azura, you might want to go steady!' Topaz tells her.
Azura flies back and looks at Elina's shivering body and pale face. Azura quickly ushers Elina to the back of Peony and helps her into a warn dress. Elina walks slowly to her bed and grasps the bed post to stop her from passing out. She was still shivering from being out in the rain so Azura wraps a thick, warm blanket around Elina's shoulders and pulls the blanket up around Elina who was now lying in her bed. Azura gets Elina a cup of warm nectar and Elina drinks it before falling asleep. Azura flies to Topaz and crushes her in a huge hug.
`Thank you!' Azura says to Topaz.
Ruby, Azura and Topaz sit at Elina's dining table and each drink a cup of nectar. They talk for a while before approaching the topic of Elina and Desmona.
`Azura?' Topaz starts carefully, `Maybe you should let your mother meet Elina?'
`WHAT!?' Azura screams but then quietens down and check to make sure she hasn't woken Elina who needs a lot of sleep. `No, what would happen if Desmona tries to curse her again?'
`Okay, Ruby? What do you think we should do?' Topaz askes Azura's husband.
`I don't know,' Ruby replies sadly.
They sit in silence, all in their own though.
`I wish things were ok, I wish Elina could have the life she deserves!' Azura says loudly and unexpectedly.
Topaz and Ruby slightly jump at the unexpected outburst and turn to look at Azura who has tears falling, again, down her cheeks. Topaz and Ruby hug her and Ruby tells her.
`Everything will get better, I promise!'
Ruby looks at Topaz and mouths to her. What do we do? Topaz shakes her head.