So, I'm back... at least for now and with this one chapter. I have other chapters completed but I don't think I'll be posting every month like I did before I went on hiatus but when I feel like it. Which hopefully won't be longer then a month in between each update. After this chapter, I have about 4 more chapters and maybe an Epilogue to post before the story is completed! Lets hope I can finish it before the year ends!
From this chapter onwards is back to being a 3rd Person's POV.
Sorry for the wait but I hope you enjoy this chapter!
-November 7th-
-Serine-
With Dakota and Isaac being the last ones to make it back to Serine, the girls and guys were ultimately able to breathe better. They were all quickly ushered to the infirmary wing to get their wounds checked and treated, mainly Dakota after Tig's blast skimmed her shoulder blade. Isaac stayed by Dakota's side after his cousin assured him that she was okay, the Water Guardian's face becoming bright red at the boys actions. The group were finally able to sit down without fear of being attacked.
Wally had sent Grix and Nyx back to the dimension where the Rebellion and their families were, telling them he would be there in a few days as he offered stay and help with the healing and whatever else he could. He also told the siblings to prepare whoever wants to fight, knowing the final battle was fast approaching.
"So, CJ?"
Khloe and Izzy slid up next to the girl, who was sitting crossed legged on one of the beds laid out against the infirmary's walls, rubbing her throat. It was the second time Saga had gotten something wrapped around her throat and she was beginning to think the villainess liked that kind of thing.
"What?" She said, voice still raspy. She already knew where this conversation was going but she also knew they wouldn't quit unless she told them.
"Who is he?" Khloe asked, barely able to keep her eyes off said guy, who was shrugging off the healers every time they got too close to his wings.
"His name is Cyrus," CJ said, shrugging Khloe off as she leaned on her. "He was the one who kept me alive and away from Saga."
"He has wings," Izzy stated, in the same whisper like tone Khloe had used; which was not all that quite. "Like Maddox."
CJ hummed, thinking the same thing as Izzy. "I think…"
"Yes we're of the same species," Cyrus answered for her. "And no, the people of Blackshadow are not evil or immortal like him."
Khloe and Izzy side eyed CJ, who seemed just as surprised as they were. "How…"
"We have enhanced hearing."
"Wait, Maddox is immortal?" Wynter asked, overhearing their conversation without difficulty from the bed next to the Earth Guardian's. Cyrus just nodded to confirm it. "That is gonna be a challenge."
"Saga was the one to grant him immortality," he said, hopping off his bed and pushing away the healers. "Kill her, you can kill him."
With that, he walked out of the room, CJ quickly pursuing him, leaving the others shocked at his bluntness.
"Cyrus!" She called after him, wanting to ask him about a few things that had happened on Blackshadow but before she could reach him he had flown off somewhere in Serine.
She groaned, running her hands down her face. She had more questions than answers when it came to him and she was not a big fan of not knowing much about him after he had claimed he did not know who she was but still knew her name.
CJ entered the infirmary right before the King and Queen of Serine and their twin daughters, Clarissa and Cora, did. Cora's gaze followed the girl as she walked back to a bed, lost in her own thoughts.
"I think it is wise for all of you to stay the night. That way, you can relax a bit before going back to Earth to, what I assume, is going to be filled with questions and worried parents," Cornelia stated. "I can send you all back tomorrow."
"I agree," Wynter said. "So long as everyone else agrees. We need to get our story straight before going back, as well."
She looked at each person of the small group, all giving their own form of agreements.
"With that settled, my daughters will show you all to your rooms for the night."
Cornelia did a quick introduction to those who were not familiar with the princesses. Before she left with King Celeb, the Queen moved to Dakota holding out a crystal clear key to her.
"This is a key to the Infinite Library of Knowledge, a place located in a pocket dimension and that can help you find out all you need to know about the Heart of Serine and the Heart of Samora. Things even I could not tell you."
"How does it work?" Dakota asked, twirling the key around in her hand, admiring all details and awestricken that she was entrusting a valuable item to her.
"Simply place the key into a door with a lock and twist it; the door will instantly become a portal to the library. Once you are inside the library, the door will shut and the key will stay in the lock, hidden from anyone on the outside, until you are done. Just make sure you take the key out of the lock once you are finished in the library. And most importantly, do not let the key fall into the hands of those with corrupt intent."
"Thank you!" Dakota beamed up at the queen, who could not help but smile back. "I will guard it to the best of my ability."
The Queen was satisfied with the Water Guardian's answer since she left with a soft smile, allowing her daughters to tend to the Guardians and their friends.
The princesses led the teens to their rooms, pointing and assigning them seemingly random, before biding them a goodnight. Except the group did not want to sleep, not with their new gift given by the Queen herself and the new information that awaited them.
"Ready?" Wynter asked, glancing around at the others before nodding to Dakota to use the key.
Dakota went ahead and followed the Queen's instructions, placing the key into the door's key hole and twisted it until they heard the sound of a lock mechanism opening. A bright light shined through the cracks of the door, exciting the key holder even more than before as she pushed on the wooden surface to open it.
The teens stopped in their tracks upon entering the library, silence falling over the group. Misty glass like bookshelves towered hundreds- maybe even thousands- of feet above their heads disappearing into the clouds that replaced the ceiling and traveled farther than their eyes could see. White wooden tables were placed equal distances apart along the center of the shelves, each having eight throne like chairs pushed into them, awaiting whomever choose to sit and explore the unless possibilities of the library.
An excited squeal erupted from Dakota, breaking the silence, as she began running around, touching and grabbing any books she could get her hands on, not necessarily reading them just gingerly flipping through the pages, admiring all the beautiful illustrations and lettering.
"So how exactly do we find what we need?" Izzy asked, scanning the nearest bookshelf, seeing nothing remotely close to the Hearts. She even mouthed a few of the titles.
"Chance, would you know? Did your grandmother tell you?" Wynter turned to the prince, who just shrugged and shook his head.
"This is the first time I'm hearing about this Library."
"So, what? Are they just supposed to come to us when we yell out the Heart of Serine and the Heart of Samora?" Izzy's call echoed against the shelves, earning looks from the others, silently asking her if that was really necessary.
The Fire Guardian shrugged, opening her mouth to speak but the sound of glass trembling had the teens scared that they had done something wrong. But unexpectedly, a thick leather book came flying out, narrowly missing Isaac's head, causing the tall boy duck down into a ball with a curse. The book continued in the direction of a wide eyed Izzy. Luckily, her quick reflexes saved her from getting a broken nose or face.
"Got more incoming," CJ informed the group, pointing to six more books heading for them.
Dakota, Khloe and Wynter ducked under a table and CJ stepped back as the boys stepped in front of Izzy, allowing Lincoln, Chance, Wally and Isaac to catch the other projectiles from hitting her. Wally had to use his magic to freeze three in the air as the other boys each caught a book. She thanked the boys, all of them putting their books on the table the three girls were hiding under.
Dakota peeked out from the table to look around, still afraid of getting hit. "Anymore coming?"
Isaac offered his hand, shaking his head. "I believe that is all."
She took his hand, blushing but quickly got distracted, once she caught a glimpse of the seven dark leather bond books laying across the tabletop. She squealed again, diving into the closest book to her.
"Alright, let's see what we can find out," Wynter instructed once she and Khloe were out from their hiding spots, pushing a book towards CJ and Izzy, who were both less than thrilled about having to read.
Hours seemed to pass at a rather slow pace. 5 out of the 9 teens were still researching. Dakota had moved to another table once she called for more books about the Guardians and their history, finding a pen and paper to write down what she found. Isaac followed suit, making sure to catch the books she had called for or to make sure she had everything she needed. Wynter, Chance and Lincoln sat at the original table, the latter branching off to research the Order of Shadows and Serilda, knowing it will be important in the fight to defeat them. While, Wynter and Chance continued to researching the two Hearts.
CJ and Wally didn't even make it to the first hour, the former had crossed her arms on the book Wynter assigned her and rested her head on them, falling asleep within minutes. Wally followed not long after, hanging his legs off one of the arms of the chair as his head fell back against the other with his arms snuggling up to his chest, now lightly snoring. Khloe and Izzy had given up after the second hour and opted to explore the endless library more, chatting randomly along the way.
It was not until the group was coming up to the fifth hour of researching that Wynter began to feel the exhaustion from the last week's events.
"I think we found everything that we could about the Hearts and even the Order," Wynter said, gently closing the book she was reading. "Or at least enough to defeat them."
Chance and Lincoln hummed in agreement. With Khloe and Izzy back sitting with them, Wynter noted how tired the two and everyone else looked, the last few days definitively catching up to them as well. Even Dakota was struggling to keep her eyes open so much so she closed her book and stacked it neatly on top of the others. Years of hardcore studying told her she wouldn't get anywhere with a tired mind and body.
"I think we should call it a night."
"That means we have to wake them," Isaac said, pointing to the two sleeping figures in the same exact positions from before.
"I got an idea." Izzy stood, pushing her chair back in. "While Khloe and I were wondering around, I figured out how to get the books back to their original place." She put her hand out, over the table full of books. "Return!"
With the shouted command all the books, including the one CJ was still laying on, floated a couple inches off the tables before whizzing back to where they came from. Which meant CJ's upper body landed back on the table top with a thump, waking the girl. She jolted straight up, looking around as if there was an attack, making the others laugh loudly as Wally nearly kicked CJ's arm as he too was startled awake with a snort.
Chance and Isaac pulled Wally and CJ up and guided them out of the library. Dakota remembered to follow the Queen's directions when they were all out, pulling the key out of the keyhole and pocketed it until she could find a safer spot to keep it.
"We'll tell the Queen what we found here once we get some sleep, okay?"
The others agreed, before saying their respective goodnights and headed to their assigned rooms. Chance walked Wynter down the hall to her room, staying until the others' doors were closed.
"I just wanted to ask how you were doing?"
Wynter smiled, softly, blushing at his thoughtfulness but then sighed, rubbing the heel of her hands over her eyes. "I'm good but I guess that's because I haven't really been thinking about anything else but defeating the Order and Serilda since we got back so..."
"With what we found out I have no doubt they will be defeated," Chance assured her, cupping her cheek with his hand.
Wynter closed her eyes, leaning into his touch. It was a foreign feeling for her but a feeling she did not want to go away, wanting to cherish it as long as she could. When she opened her eyes, Chance was smiling sweetly at her, something she couldn't place was written in his eyes. Next thing she knew, they were leaning toward one another until their lips met. The hand that was resting on her cheek slid into her hair as her own hands gripped Chance's sides, pulling each other closer, letting their bodies mold together in a perfect fit.
What felt like an eternity, but was only a minute, the two pulled apart, still holding onto one another. Wynter dropped her forehead on his chest. She had no doubt she was smiling all goofy at her first kiss; a kiss she couldn't help but feel like it was perfect.
"We should get some sleep," Wynter said, picking her head up, smile still fixed on her face. That is until she realized the hidden meaning behind her suggestion. "In beds… different beds… in different beds and different rooms."
Chance's head fell back as he laughed at her stumbling, thinking it was cute. He slid his hands from her body, reaching behind her to open the bedroom door for her. "Goodnight, Wynter."
She stepped back into the room. "Goodnight, Chance."
The door closed and Wynter mentally slapped herself as she got ready for bed.
-Next Morning-
Everyone was already up, clothed and eating breakfast when Wally, Isaac and CJ stumbled into the dining room, slouching down in chairs. They knew servants were called to wake the three up at the early morning hours, a time none of them liked. Plates and glasses of water were placed in front of each of them; Wally and Isaac digging in but CJ just leaned her elbows on the table with her head in her hands, groaning about how the morning should not exist.
It wasn't long after, the Queen and Hay-Lin walked in with Queen Elyon following close behind.
"I assume you already used the key?" Queen Cornelia asked, looking at Dakota who was already shaking her head, prompting the Queen to laugh. "Good. Anything to tell?"
"I found out how Serilda and your final battle with her ended," Dakota said, treading carefully, knowing it was topic she doubted Cornelia and Hay-Lin want to relive. "But I guess you don't need to know about that but I did find out how you trapped her on Samora."
The two motioned for her to continued.
"The previous Keeper of the Heart, Will Vandom, used the Heart of Serine, Samora and the Heart of Kandracar to bind her to the dimension of Samora effectively trapping her there. Serilda would need all three Hearts to break that bind but with the Heart of Samora missing it's impossible… right?"
"In a way, yes," Hay-Lin said. "But she could easily use the Heart of Serine to find the Heart of Samora since…"
"Wait, so I could have found the Heart of Samora this whole time?" Wynter asked, confused. "Why didn't I just do that?"
"It takes a lot of energy out of the one who does," Cornelia stated, lacing her fingers together on top of the table. "And with the Heart of Samora missing means Serilda would continue to be trapped on Samora."
"But the Heart of Samora is needed, that is if we want to defeat Serilda," Dakota said. "So, wouldn't we need to find it eventually?"
"Waiting this long gave Wynter enough time to become stronger and gain more control over the Heart of Serine but rest assure we will find it."
"Okay, so, pushing that aside for now…" Wynter shook her head, clearing her thoughts a bit. She understands the Queen's decision to not tell them about all that but that isn't what concerns her at the moment. "The Heart of Serine and Samora can only be used by the true twin heirs of each dimension in order to successfully defeat Serilda. How do we plan on doing that?"
"My daughters," The Queen said. "Clarissa and Cora. We found out when they were born that they would rule Serine and Samora respectively once the dimensions were restored."
"Does that mean we aren't gonna be the ones to defeat Serilda?" Izzy asked, pushing around the remaining food on her plate.
"It means we are going to fight without our Guardian powers since the Hearts are going to be needed by someone else," Wynter clarified. "It looks like Clarissa and Cora are the ones who are going to fight Serilda but that doesn't mean we aren't going to fight. The remaining members of the Order are still out there and needs the be brought down."
Izzy lifted her head to look at Wynter, a smirk on her lips. "So long as we're fighting someone."
Khloe rolled her eyes. "If the dimensions can only be ruled by twins how could you become Queen?"
"With Samora being corrupted by Serilda I was able to be crowned Queen," Cornelia answered. "But I still cannot prevent Serine from falling apart."
"All the more reason to defeat Serilda and her little Order," CJ said, still resting her head in her hands but now was rubbing circles on her temples.
"Agreed…"
Wynter was interrupted by a guard rushing into the room but before he could get a word out he was shot down by a shadowy blast. Everyone was out of their seats as Maxar strutting through the large double doors with his body leaking shadows like it was smoke.
"How…"
"Does it really matter how I got here?" He said, waving off the matter.
"No, it doesn't," Wynter said, though her teeth. "Guardians Unite!"
"Give me the Hearts!" Maxar bellowed, charging at the group.
CJ and Lincoln were the first ones the meet him. CJ producing vines from the ground tangling Maxar in them as Lincoln used his newly gifted sword to swing at the trapped man but said man dissipated into a shadowy smoke. The two whipped around, looking for him. He had reappeared behind Izzy and Isaac, both sensing him. Isaac swung around with his double headed axe slicing at his stomach. His blade went straight through the shadows Maxar created.
"Shit," Isaac swore, stepping back.
Maxar, laughing hysterically, flicked his arm, sending Izzy and Isaac back at least twenty feet and into a wall. Both creating a life size indent, that had spider web like cracks forming around each indentation.
"Isaac!"
"Izzy!"
While the rest fought Maxar, Chance and Wynter ushered Hay-Lin and the Queens out of the room and into the care of the palace guards.
"Be careful, you two," Cornelia said, before the two went to help the others.
The pair entered the dining hall only to be hit with an Earth Guardian.
"Argh," CJ groaned, rolling off Wynter. "You okay?"
Wynter nodded, taking CJ's offered hand. "Wally!" She waved over the magic user. "Keep Maxar busy, I have a plan."
Chance and CJ nodded and that was when Wynter saw how similar they looked but that thought was quickly pushed away when an explosion happened close by. The Prince and Earth Guardian rushed over to the fight just as Wally got to the Keeper and she began telling him her plan.
Dakota and Khloe combined their elements, creating an ice dome around Maxar allowing enough time for CJ and Izzy to use their elements blasting him from opposite sides. The attack sent him through a few pillars, each one crumbling down around them.
They weren't lucky, though, Maxar flung the pillar's debris at the group through the dust. The ones with wings flew higher as the ones without dove out of the way and behind the pillars that still stood.
Maxar roared. "Give me the Hearts, you insufferable little brats!"
"Oh, someone's a wittle angry," Izzy mocked, throwing a fireball at him, angering him farther.
CJ flew up next to the Fire Guardian. "I think he needs a little time out."
The two avoided a shadow ball that followed another roar all the while cracking up.
"Must you anger him more?" Khloe called to the two as she blew him back against a wall, actually holding him there.
"It seems to be getting to him," Dakota indicated when she flew up to the Air Guardian. "He could easily get out of your hold."
The Water Guardian was right. Maxar could easily disappear or change into a shadow to escape but his anger was clouding his judgment.
"Enough!" Maxar thundered, sending out a pitch black wave, knocking everyone roughly back and out of the air.
He recovered and stalked towards the closest person, Chance. He seized the royal by the throat, hauling him off the ground to bring his face closer to his. "The Heart of Samora? Where is it?"
The questions sound more like a threat. Luckily, Wally came through to save his friend. An intense light luminated above the battle causing all the shadows in the room vanish.
"I can't hold this spell for long!" Wally called to Wynter, who was flying over to their enemy.
She channeled all her newly discovered powers into the shot aimed for Maxar, propelling a frenzy of lightning straight through his body. The man was forced back into the wall, screaming in pain before his cries were silenced. Wynter ceased her attack and watched as Maxar slumped to the ground, small fires burning his shirt from where the blasts landed.
The sizzling of his shirt was the only sound in the dining hall.
The Guardians looked back and forth from Wynter and Maxar, shocked at what them just witnessed.
"Holy shit," Izzy breathe, breaking the silence. "That was awesome!"
"How the hell did you do that?" CJ followed up with, moving to the Keeper.
"That was…" Khloe was lost for words.
"The power of Quintessence," Dakota said, smiling widely at her best friends. "That was cool!"
"I didn't think it would be that powerful," Wynter mumbled, staring down at her hands. She looked up at the guys. "Is he…"
Chance shook his head. "No, he's alive. Nice work."
Wynter breathe a sigh of relief.
The guards came in to take the unconscious man to a proper holding cell as others started cleaning the room.
The Guardians and guys were all collapsed in the chairs when Wynter said, "I think we should get back to Earth."
Everyone agreed and the earthlings said their goodbyes to the Queens, Hay-Lin, Chance and Wally and stepped through the portal.
I know the end is rushed but it was starting to become a long chapter so you will just have to deal with the rushing.
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the story so far!
Like I said before, I do not know when I'll be posting the next chapter(s) but hopefully it will not be too long.
