Author's note: It's been a while! I know that there are still a few people that read my work or have just started to, so thank you for your support! I am slowly getting back into writing, so hopefully you will enjoy what's to come - please read and review :)
Disclaimer: I do not own SSO. The only credit I can take is for my OCs and storyline ^_^
Chapter Four:
The willow tree blew gently in the breeze, and the slender blonde felt the tree's tendrils gently brush her shoulders. Cela gazed at the tree with sadness in her azure eyes. It had only been a week since Eran had been sealed away, but it already felt like an eternity that she had not seen her friend. Ryn had warned her not to go to the tree, as they both knew that Cela would only feel pain coming here. And although she was able to keep herself away for some time, she finally gave in.
Being a Heavenly Being was the only life Cela knew, she had been living for so many years that she had stopped counting. And even though she was happy, life as a Heavenly Being was not one without burdens. Longevity was not all it was cracked up to be. Boredom was a common side effect, but now that she had sealed away a friend, her heart also felt heavy – and this was something she would live with for the rest of her life.
Cela sighed heavily.
"They say each time you sigh, a little bit of your happiness escapes," a voice said gently from behind her.
The blond was surprised at herself for not noticing she had company, but welcomed the presence of her soul mate. She turned to face her partner from where she sat, and was greeted by warm auburn eyes and a gentle smile.
Cela gave a small smile in return and patted the spot next to her on the log she sat on. Ryn slowly lowered himself beside her and put his arm around her, pulling her in. He planted a soft kiss atop her head and he felt Cela snuggle more closely into him.
"I know you told me to stay away.." she started apologetically.
"But it was time," Ryn replied understandingly, also looking upon the tree in which his brother had been sealed away. Cela was much stronger than he was. He knew she would come here regardless of what he said, and he also knew that he was probably stalling, not wanting to face his brother after what they had done. It was a hard decision to make, but an inevitable one, when the human's life force was being threatened with extinction.
Cela pulled away and gently cupped Ryn's cheek in one hand. She took in his rugged features, and though he looked at her with love in his eyes, she could clearly see the pain that lurked behind them. "No one blames you, my love," she whispered in soft tones. Ryn placed his own hand on Cela's that cupped his face, and he brought it to his lips, giving her hand a sweet kiss.
"I know," his deep voice answered, "But I cannot help but wonder if we could have prevented this from happening.. Prevented Eran from feeling the way he did."
"Your brother was too stubborn for his own good."
"I know."
"And things have happened as they should have."
"I know."
"All we can do now is prepare ourselves for when he returns."
Ryn's face looked grim at the mention of this, "Akai means to create Guardians to prevent Eran's return, but would such a plan work?"
"We can only trust in her judgment as our Elder."
"We haven't even heard of any developments in this plan of hers. She means to use our essence, Cela. There would be no other way for us to have human descendents."
"When the Elders are ready, they will call for us to let us know what we must do," Cela replied calmly. Now that they were talking of plans, her heart had become distracted from her pain. The blonde pulled away once more from the man beside her, and stood up gingerly. She dusted herself off, and reached a hand out to Ryn, in an offer to pull him up as well. The Heavenly Being allowed himself to be pulled to his feet and looked at his love questioningly.
"Let's leave for today," Cela announced in a firm tone, "As much as it pains us to be separated from Eran, we mustn't dwell too long on this, but instead look to the future."
This brought a smile to Ryn's lips, "You have always been the optimistic one, Cela."
Cela couldn't help but smile at this herself. Together, the two of them looked to Eran's tree one last time before heading back to their tower. She gripped Ryn's hand tightly, and she felt him squeeze back reassuringly. She allowed the security of his touch to wash over her and felt her heart calm down.
As long as she and Ryn were together, they would make it through. She firmly believed that with her very core.
Hartia and Azalie had arrived at the Tower of Fang the night before. And although Azalie had wanted to speak with the Elders then and there, the redhead had somehow managed to convince the sorceress that they should take the night to recuperate, and that she should go and spend some time with Childman since they had so little time together recently. Azalie had reluctantly agreed, but was quick to head back to her quarters, which Hartia was relieved to see.
It was now the morning after and Hartia was up bright and early, on his way to visit Lai to see if his friend was available to help with the archives. Now that they knew roughly what information they were looking for, Hartia was hoping that their search would be more fruitful. This would also be his chance to check if the seer had been able to see anything since their last meeting.
Hartia turned down the stone corridor, walking quickly and quietly. He stopped at Lai's door and was about to knock, when the wooden door abruptly opened to his surprise. Lai stood before him, expressionless.
"I've been expecting you," the seer greeted his friend, standing to one side so that Hartia could let himself in. Lai closed the door behind them and gestured for Hartia to take a seat by the window.
The redhead accepted the offer and sat in the armchair, briefly looking outside to see the sun rising, its warm glow beginning to illuminate the grounds below.
"Have you any news for us, Lai?" Hartia questioned his emerald-haired friend, settling into a comfortable position in the armchair.
Lai shook his head solemnly, "I'm afraid not. My visions are blocked, presently. I feel as though I am not being allowed to see."
The seer sighed heavily, and rubbed his temple with his fingers, "I was actually hoping you had news for me instead."
Though Lai's face was quite inexpressive, Hartia could hear the hope in the other's voice. Usually it was them asking Lai for news, so it never really occurred to Hartia that perhaps Lai would also need news as well.
The redhead quickly, but thoroughly, explained to Lai their current circumstances and knowledge of the situation – from the revelations regarding Krylancelo and Jeremy's link to the two Heavenly Being brothers, Cela's own link with Cleao and their plans to track down Jeremy to gather as much intel as possible.
"Is that wise?" Lai seemed doubtful about Cleao's desire to speak to Jeremy, a look of concern briefly passing over the seer's composed features.
"You know how she can get," Hartia replied simply. And although Lai had not had too many dealings with Krylancelo's group, he did know all too well what kind of troublemaker the young blonde could be based on stories from Hartia and Azalie – though Lai had always thought that Azalie's description of the young girl was probably exaggerated and not to be trusted.
"Well since I've not had any visions come to me, let me help you search the archives for some information regarding the Heavenly Beings," Lai offered and quickly noticed Hartia brighten at this, "We don't have too many books relating to them, but with the two of us, we should be able to get through them all before midday."
Hartia nodded his agreement, "The sooner we can get this done, the sooner I can return to Totokonta. I'm sure Azalie will be rushing to go back after she's done reporting the Tower Elders."
The two left Lai's room and made their way through the maze of halls on their way to the archives. The Tower of Fang was slowly starting to wake up as well; students were now scurrying to their classes, servants were also up and about doing their duties, and a quick look outside at the courtyard showed the sunlight streaming down on students and teachers alike, as they started their days.
The old wooden door creaked loudly as the seer pushed it open to let the two of them inside. Even though both Hartia and Lai had spent so many years at the Tower of Fang, the gloominess of this room never faded.
"So I guess we're looking for information on Cela, Ryn and Eran," Hartia said aloud thoughtfully, "Though I'm not too sure how much we'll be able to find since we haven't found anything before."
"Speaking with the Elders may bear more fruit," Lai stated, in reference to Azalie going to speak with the Council today. He watched patiently as his redheaded colleague cleared a dusty table of its books, making room for the ones they'd be pulling off the shelves.
"Perhaps we should divide and conquer?" Hartia suggested, brushing his hands on his robes, oblivious to the dust marks he was smearing on them, as well as the slight smirk that played at Lai's lips.
"The two shelves behind you do contain books with information regarding Heavenly Being lore and prophecies, if you want to start there," Lai replied as he gestured to the hundreds of musty old books behind Hartia. "I can start with the journals of our predecessors, there may be something documented there," the seer continued, "and we can swap halfway through."
Hartia nodded and made his way to the books assigned to him, as Lai turned around the corner of the shelf and headed off to get the journals he referred to. Hartia started to pile up the books in his arms. "This isn't looking to go as quickly as we originally thought," he muttered under his breath. Dropping the stack of books on the table with a thud, he settled into one of the seats there, then with a deep exhale, he opened one up and began to read.
Cleao was sitting in the library of her family home, curled up in the reading chair by the window. She wasn't reading a book, but enjoyed the quiet of the space – plus there were warm rays of sunlight that perfectly captured the chair. She was actually surprised that Leki wasn't curled up with her, enjoying the warmth too. Though she suspected that Leki was enjoying the sunny day outside instead.
They had all just had a hearty breakfast, and soon after, Orphen had his quick chat with Hartia to find out that they were going to take at least another day before they could come back. Orphen hadn't been too pleased, but there wasn't much anyone could do about it. So the sorcerer and his apprentice went off to train some more in the interim, leaving Cleao to entertain herself. As much as she enjoyed spending time with Orphen and Majic, there was only so much time she could spend watching them practice.
Are you there, Cela?, the blonde wondered to herself.
There was no reply.
Cleao sighed to herself and adjusted into a more comfortable position, Well, if you decide to show up today, just wake me up from my nap.
Why take a nap when you can go out and enjoy the sunshine? Cela's melodic voice replied.
Cleao sat up straight in response, Oh good. I was hoping we could have a chat today. You know, continue from where we left off yesterday.
Are you sure you want to do so without the others?
I'm sure, Cleao confirmed. I'm going to try and speak to Jeremy soon. I want to try and stop him that way.
Is that a good idea?
Cleao could hear the worry in the Heavenly Being's voice. Well, I have to try. If there's even the slightest chance that I can convince him to back down, then I'll do everything I can.
There's no way to stop him, Cleao. As I said last night, Eran will return. Even Jeremy won't be able to stop this from happening.
Cleao frowned at this, Because of the prophecy? There must be a way!
His awakening has already started. I can feel his binds weakening, but from my end, I'm not sure how he is doing this.
Cleao could only answer with silence.
I know that your friends are working to find answers, and I do hope your search is fruitful. I'm a Heavenly Being, Cleao, but I'm afraid I don't have all the answers you seek. I will do my best as well to help you. If I find out more, then I will tell you straight away.
Thank you, Cela, Cleao whispered in her mind. There was nothing more to say.
The Heavenly Being left just as quickly as she had come, and Cleao could no longer feel her presence within her mind. The young blonde let out a long sigh, all the waiting making her feel restless. Surely there was something she could do to help the situation? She had thought about heading out to see if she could track down Jeremy herself – a part of her knew it would be stupid of her to do so, but a larger part of her felt that she had enough of a connection with Jeremy that he wouldn't harm her. We just need to meet on neutral terms, she started nodding to herself, easily starting to believe that it would be possible to do so.
Feeling a little more energized and determined, Cleao sprung up from the reading chair she was in and headed to her room to change into more comfortable – and easy to run away in – clothes.
Once in her room, she quickly changed her clothes – she now wore a comfortable pair of jeans, black tank top and her not-so-often worn pair of sneakers. She tied her golden locks into a ponytail, then examined herself in the mirror. Not bad, she thought to herself, easier to move around in than a dress just in case I need to run for my life.
With an approving smile at herself, she opened her bedroom window and shimmied herself down the trellis against the side of the house as carefully and quietly as she could. When there was only a few a couple of meters left to go, she jumped the rest of the way and landed on her feet softly, surprising herself.
Cleao did a quick scan of her surroundings and there was no one in sight. Her mother and sister had been preoccupied with crafting in the family room, a hobby that Cleao had never enjoyed, Dortin and Volcan were last ordered to clean the bathrooms and toilets of the Everlasting mansion, and Orphen and Majic were near the outskirts of town.
She quickly made her way out of the Everlasting compound and headed to the Ruin of Kohan, her first stop of the day.
Both Cela and Ryn had been summoned to Akai's private chambers, but when they arrived, the elderly woman was nowhere to be seen.
"It's strange for her not to be here, after calling for us," Cela murmured after entering the room.
Ryn's large hand cupped her lower back, guiding her to the small lounge that sat in front of the Elder's private collection on books on the shelf, "She will come soon."
It wasn't long after Cela had taken her seat that Akai stepped into the room.
"Good," she greeted them and briskly made her way to the oak desk that sat to one side of the room, facing the window, "There is no time to waste."
Cela automatically sat a little straighter in her seat and Ryn instinctively placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder as he stood beside her. The two looked to the Elder and waited for her to continue.
"Though it will take time for Eran to return, he will with a vengeance and we must protect our own and the humans," the Elder said in a serious tone as she rifled through some parchment, "After further discussion with the other Elders, we will proceed with extracting your essence to be passed down to the human realm, as a countermeasure for Eran's attack."
"How would this work?" Ryn asked.
"I'm aware that we have not given you much choice in the matter, but I appreciate that you have not questioned this decision," Akai replied with a small nod of her head as acknowledgement.
"As his brother, I feel partly responsible for these turn of events," Ryn said matter-of-factly. Cela reached up to place her hand on the one resting on her shoulder, giving Ryn's hand a small squeeze.
"As you share Eran's bloodline, your powers would be the most effective against him," the Elder continued, "And I knew that Cela would not allow you to go through this on your own."
"I too will do all I can to stop Eran's lust for humanity's destruction," the blonde added.
Akai pulled one piece of parchment from her stack and placed it on the desk, facing the two before her, "Though never used previously, there is a spell that can extract one's essence. Once done, I myself will travel to Earth to place each within two separate bloodlines. This will not harm the human, but will be passed down within each family through the generations until the ones to stop Eran's return must be awakened."
Ryn nodded as he processed this information.
"Have the human families been selected already?" Cela inquired.
"Not at present."
"And once awakened, how will it affect the chosen ones?" Cela wondered. As a Heavenly Being's essence had never been mixed with a human's before, to her knowledge at least, they were entering into unknown magical territory that could potentially go very wrong.
A slightly grim expression clouded over the Elder's face. "As you have probably thought already, this has never been attempted before so it is quite difficult to say and is something we will need to monitor closely, should we need to intervene directly. My hope is that it will create a direct connection between yourself and your human descendant, which will allow you easier access to the human realm. I also anticipate that although a human's body is quite frail, having your essence will give it the required strength and durability to withstand using your Heavenly powers."
"And should this fail?" Ryn probed.
"The human will most likely perish," Akai said in a flat tone.
The few seconds that passed between them felt far too long, even to Cela who had lived a very very long time.
"There is no other choice," Ryn said what they were all thinking aloud, the three looking at each other in bleak agreement.
Cleao did her best to avoid getting distracted in town as she made her way to the Ruin of Kohan, but the townsfolk were keen to chat and she ended up dawdling more than she had wanted to. But it made her happy to know that even though she had grown up in Totokonta as a bit of a spoiled brat, and even though she had been away travelling for so long, she was still welcomed back to the place she called home.
She made her way gingerly through the brush path that led to the lake she loved to visit. It was quiet, except for the gentle breeze that rustled the trees around her. The warm sunlight made the water's surface glisten as that same breeze touched its surface and made the water ripple. Such a simple thing brought a small smile to her lips.
Walking to the edge of the lake, Cleao half regretted not wearing her usual dress and sandals so that she could at least dip her toes in. She quickly shook the thought from her mind and made her way to the ruin itself. Once she did though, that was when the butterflies kicked in. Was she really ready to face Jeremy alone? The last time she saw him felt like so long ago.
She took a deep breath of the fresh air around her and forced herself to steel her nerves. She felt the butterflies slowly dissipate as she readied herself. Cleao even did a quick shake of her shoulders to release the tension she felt, just for good measure. Now even though she had been purified of Jeremy's dark energy, she could still feel a lingering presence within her. She chalked it up to that last little connection between the two of them, but now that things were coming to light, she felt that it was probably more to do with Cela's essence within her being that link to Jeremy – or Eran to be exact.
Closing her eyes, Cleao focused on that link and felt her own life force give it a little tug. The feeling itself was hard to place, but somehow oddly calming. She tugged a little harder and allowed herself to immerse herself in that feeling. Jeremy? her mind called out to the unknown. Can you hear me?
One azure eye slowly peeked open, and turning her head ever so slightly, did a quick scan of her surroundings. But there was nothing there. Cleao wasn't one to give up so easily though. Closing her eye, she called out once more.
Jeremy, can you hear me? Cleao could hear the hope in her voice as she tried to pull on that link she could feel. I can still feel our connection…
Only silence responded to her. The young blonde could feel the beginnings of doubt and disappointment sprout in her chest.
What do you want, Cleao? Jeremy's voice, though familiar, sounded cold and distant as it resounded in her mind.
She was so shocked at the reply, she forgot to respond herself.
Well? I don't have time for games, Cleao.
O-Oh… she began to stutter, I'm so glad to hear your voice. Her answer to Jeremy was unexpected, even to herself. But what surprised her more is that she genuinely meant it.
Silence again.
"I… I want to see you," Cleao whispered into the breeze, her eyes still closed.
In that moment, she felt the chill in the air, and just as suddenly, she felt the warmth of a hand cupping her cheek. She sucked in her breath in response, but kept still as she opened her eyes, coming face to face with the man she called for.
"Did you really?" Jeremy's husky voice whispered deeply in the small space between them, his hand gently tracing the outline of her face before he pulled it back to himself.
His chartreuse eyes stared deeply into hers, and it was as if time stood still.
Author's note: While editing this to be uploaded, I thought that this chapter wasn't as long as I had hoped. But maybe it was a decent length anyway? I am trying to have more content within a chapter, as I personally enjoy longer chapters :) Anyway, I hope you liked this latest instalment! Thank you for reading :)