They waited for the Princess and Walter to awake. Whilst Ben and Alice waited together, Sadie never left Jade's side. They soon heard voices talking where they were tending to Jade and Walter.
"…Is there another of my friends here? I thought I saw…in the desert…"
"A devilishly handsome soldier by the name of Ben Finn?" Ben cut off the princess as he and Alice walked over to the now awake princess. "Not dead yet princess."
The both got onto the platform Jade, Sadie and Kalin were on, kneeling next to Jade who was lying on a mat.
Alice smiled, pulling Jade into a hug. "I'm so glad you're all right."
"As am I. Are you all right?" Jade asked, once Alice pulled away.
"I'm fine," Alice said, giving a small smile, but Jade could see she was lying.
"Please, come with me," Kalin spoke up.
"It's so good to see you," Ben said as they began walking out of the temple. "When Alice and I were fished out of the local port and Walter and you weren't there…well, I thought it was all over. Then I realized I was being an arse and worked my charms to get a search party out for you. Not that Kalin here needed much persuading."
"We are accustomed to misfortune. Now it is time you saw our city," Kalin spoke. They walked out of the temple, greeted by the dark night sky. Candles and lanterns lit the streets and houses.
"Welcome to Aurora, the city of nightmares," Ben said solemnly.
"The crawler did this; the being you fought in the desert caved. It appeared five years ago, bringing darkness and death," Kalin explained, leading the princess and her companions down the temple steps. "The few of us who still live have known nothing but fear since. We never know when it will come. And we cannot hope to defeat the creature and it's spawn without an army, even with someone like you by our side. Ben Finn and Alice speaks most highly of you, but you are not the first saviour to come here. Please, walk down our streets, See for yourself, then we may talk more."
Jade nodded, before leaving.
"Now you know what we have suffered, but as I said before, you are not the first outsider to come here," Kalin said.
"Who was the other" Jade asked.
"His name was Logan. The King of Albion."
"Seems like your big brother's been keeping secrets," Ben said.
"He use to go on expeditions all the time remember? Until about four years ago," Alice explained.
"He too faced the Crawler. He saw all his soldiers killed by the darkness and nearly died himself. But he survived thanks to our care. He left with a promise. That he would return with an army and save us from the Crawler. We never saw him again. King Logan did not cause this. But he did nothing to stop it. Now I ask that you do what he would not. Ben Finn has told us of your quest. Of your revolution. There are not many warriors left among us, but we have ships. And we are willing to fight beside you. Not because your brother wronged us. Nor because we thirst for revenge. But because we want protection. We require aid if we are to survive. That is the promise you must make. Help us to rebuild Aurora and allow it to become a true part of your kingdom. Not a colony, not a thing to be used, but a place, with a voice in your court."
Jade stepped forward, shaking Kalin's hand as she said, "I promise."
"Then let us go to war."
They made their way back to the temple, going into the room where Jade and Walter were in.
"How is he?" Ben asked, as they all gathered around Walter on the platform. "Is he going to make it?"
"I do not know. The darkness is deep within him. Few ever awake," Priestess Mara explained.
"But he's getting better right?" Alice asked softly.
"I do not wish to give you false hope."
"Perhaps it would be better if we allowed him to rest," Kalin suggested.
"Don't worry, he's a tough old nut. He'll pull through," Ben assured, placing a hand on Alice's shoulder.
Walter suddenly coughed, his eyes blinking open.
"Walter!" Jade exclaimed happily.
"Oh, balls to you all. You're not burying me just yet," Walter said.
"See? I told you," Ben said.
"Yes. Shame my first sight had to be your ugly mug," Walter grumbled jokingly.
Alice smirked.
"Sorry I left you Walter," Jade said softly.
"You did all you could. And don't think I don't know it. I told you you'd make me proud."
"Guess all that's left now is the revolution," Ben finalized.
Alice nodded, "We'll leave at first light."
Alice tossed and turned. She couldn't sleep. Everything seemed to be crushing down on her. The revolution. The darkness. Alfie's warning about Mistpeak and of lastly, Reaver.
"Everything will work out little one," she heard Alfie say. She let a stray tear roll down her cheek. She closed her eyes.
"I'm scared Alfie."
"Don't be."
Alice opened her eyes, finding herself in the forest once more. Alfie was sitting on a boulder. She sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder as he held her hand.
"Everything is going wrong," Alice said sadly. "The darkness is coming." She looked at him with teary eyes. "Something bad is going to happen. I can feel it."
"Everything happens for a reason."
"Why me? Why is it my destiny to save Reaver? I can't."
"You can," he assured, wiping her tears away with his free hand. "Don't give up on hope. In darkness there is light. At night there are stars. The moon. Bringing light to the most darkest places."
"He's blinded by darkness. He's a man of shadow and darkness."
"Then be his light."
"I can't."
Alfie gave her a small smile. "You can."
"I won't change who he is. It's not possible."
"You don't have to. That's not what is asked of you."
"Then what do I do?"
"Restore what was taken all those years ago. Bring balance. If he is overcome by the shadows then he is lost forever. And if the Crawler and it's spawn of darkness doesn't take away all light then he will. Because only you can stop him. Only you can save him."
"Well, we didn't exactly find the army we were hoping for, and I feel about a hundred years older than when we left, but we're finally ready," Walter announced, as he, Alice, Ben, Jade, Sadie and Kalin boarded the ship Kalin gave them. "You've surpassed every hope I had for you. You're the Queen Albion needs."
"Come on you lot!" Alice called from the wheel of the ship. "The battle won't start itself you know!"
"Aye Aye Captain!" Jade called back jokingly.
"You know, maybe I'll take a little nap first," Walter admitted.
A/N: Yay the revolution is in the next chapter! Sorry if it was a little cheesy :)
Please leave a review!
Oh, by the way, there is this song I absolutely love called "Animal I Have Become" by Three Days Grace, and it's only recently that I've realized that the lyrics kinda reminded me of Reaver. So if you want go listen to it and let me know if you think it represents Reaver :)