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Hiya all, This is an introduction to the Royalty/Two Worlds saga. In this post you’ll find the Introduction chapters of Prophecy’s Twilight. PROPHECY’S TWILIGHT: INTRODUCTION CILIA Prologue You can never fully see the future andno matter how hard you try, or how sure you are, the gods will always do something to disrupt your carefully laid plans. - From the History of Sun Angelica Sun, daughter of Al’x Sun and Joyce Summers,
the Lord and Lady Sun rulers of the Free Land of Sun and General Elisabeth Anne
Rosenberg-Summers stared with apprehension at each other. “Mommy
said you wished to speak to me,” the girl said from where she stood at
the foot of their bed and “Yes, but preferably clothed and not so early in the morning,” Elisabeth said as she covered herself with a sheet. “It
is well past sunrise,” the girl stated and “And
what are you laughing at?” her wife asked as “Nothing, it’s that…” she trailed off into laughter. “Would you like something to drink?” Elisabeth said as she swung her feet out of the bed, choosing to ignore her wife’s personal joke. “I have already put the kettle on,” the girl answered and the kettle whistled. “Lead the way,” Elisabeth said as she wrapped a robe around her and followed her sister towards the room’s hearth. After taking her seat and watching her sister pour the amber tea into their cups, she watched as the child jumped up into the chair next to her. “So you are my sister,” she said, not being able to think of anything better to say. “Guess so,” Angelica said as she sipped her tea. “Are
you sure you’re not a dwarf or something, cause
I could swear…” “Do you have a baby back home?” Angelica asked. “Yes how did you know?” Elisabeth asked a little surprised. “Mommy and Daddy sometimes talk about home,” the girl explained. “What’s her name?” she asked before Elisabeth got a chance to answer and she smiled at her sister’s curiosity. “Her name is June, she’s a year and a half now,” she answered. “But who’s the daddy if you sleep with Aunt Willow?” Angelica asked and Elisabeth couldn’t help put to blush slightly and the frankness of the question. She’d had a lot of experience in covering up the fact that there was no father, but decided against using the tried white lies. “There was no daddy, it was magic,” she answered with a secretive smile and Angelica’s mouth formed into an O. “So she’s a magic baby then?” she exclaimed and another fit of laughter could be heard from the bed. “Oh would you stop it already,” Elisabeth called in the general directionof the bed before turning back to her sister. “Yeah I guess you could call her that.” “June
the magic baby, June the magic baby” “Excuse me a moment Angie,” Elisabeth said as she placed her cup on the table between them and stalked over to the bed. Angelica listened to the action. “Now you asked for it,” her sister exclaimed and she could hear the distinct sound of one being hit by a pillow and a few more whacks and giggles later. “Do you surrender?” her sister asked. “Never!” “Angie help!” Elisabeth shouted and Angelica shrugged her shoulders and jumped down from the chair to join the fray. Ten minutes and two destroyed feather pillows later, the trio sat in on a pile of feathers and what used to be a bed. “You
didn’t have to go all Slayery,” Angelica
exclaimed with a pout as she studied the smashed canopy pole and an exhausted “You won’t tell mom will you?” Elisabeth asked with a deer in the headlight look before realizing how utterly stupid her question had sounded. “Nah I like you too much for that,” Angelica said with a smile as Elisabeth ruffled her sister hair. But that was then…. *~*~*~* And this is now… Elisabeth looked back up from her latest kill and the dark tower that housed the Heart of Darkness was growing smaller in the distanceas she covered the retreat of her soldiers with Cordelia and Joyce flanking her. Both Elisabeth and her mother wore the black armor that had come to symbolize their powers and abilities, but once shining black and gleaming they were now scratched and stained with blood. Cordelia appeared unscathed and only the splattered bloodstains on her flowing white cloak announced the fact that she had just taken part in the vicious engagement they were now retreating from. Between them they had the power to move mountains but all felt very powerless at this moment in time. A regiment of Shadows went up in flames, literally, as the avatar of fire swept her hand across the air, but then she started to shake and twin streams of red blood started to flow from her nose. “Mom!” Elisabeth shouted as her eyes pulsed golden and a part of the column that was giving chase disappeared from existence, this caused the remaining chasers to reconsider and their commander wisely called a tactical fallback. “Mom can you muster up the power for a punch,” Elisabeth asked as she reached her mother who was still racked over in pain. Her mother looked up and gaveher bloodstained smile. “Thought so,” Elisabeth said with a smirk and a hint of pride. “On three,” she said and raised her fist and pointed it towards the dark ground. “One,” she said as her mother raised a leather gloved fist. “Two,” Joyce said as she unclenched and clenched her fist. “Three,” both mother and daughter shouted. Their fists hit the ground at the same moment only an inch apart and the effect of this was quickly realized. For when they hit the hard rock on which they stood the effect was much like throwing a pebble into a pond and the earth rippled outwards in all direction sending their now retreating chasers stumbling to the ground and when they got up their resolve to run was that much stronger. Standing up and dusting themselves off they came face to face with Cordelia as she lowered herself back to the ground. “I will tell you one last time Elisabeth, calm down,” she said firmly as her eyes flashed golden in a very real threat. “You are already drawing in more energy than you should…” “Why won’t you shut up, we won didn’t we,” Elisabeth exclaimed. “The
rest of the Guardians won’t be as understanding as me and Theris,”
Cordelia said firmly. “Andafter
what happened to “You
knew all along didn’t you?” she asked calmly and Cordelia
didn’t answer. “You knew that Poet would betray us. You knew that
Litni would be captured and that we would never succeed in capturing the Heart.
You knew that Tark would go after Litni only to get wounded and that Tare would
follow him into that hell. You knew that “But Willow didn’t die,” Cordelia said calmly as she took a step towards Elisabeth,“and Litni will be fine, she has Angel with her,” she took another step making smooth delicate gestures with her hands, “also it is really time for you to calm down and stop thinking about pounding me into a bloody pulp 'cause you've already lost this fight and before you realize that this sentence is far too long you will have lost consciousness,” she said and before Elisabeth could respond she slumped to the ground. “You aren’t going to give me trouble are you Joyce?” Cordelia asked calmly as she bent down to check on the now unconscious general. Joyce gavea small smile as Cordelia picked the fully armored general up as if she was a mere child. “I know better than to go up against a fully trained Ranger Knight,” Joyce said as she looked back at the tower. “Our parts in this little drama are almost over you know,” Cordelia said as they started walking towards the south and their friends and family. “Time for us to exit stage left,” Joyce nodded. “Are you going to be okay, with leaving I mean?” Cordelia asked. “Cordelia
I’m pushing on sixty now. I may not look it but I feel old and worn.
I’ve been fighting with Al’x and the rest for almost ten years now
and many of us aren’t getting any younger you know, sure Ziel was only a
child when all this started and Gymli is a dwarf, but me and Al’x we are
after all only human,” she said. “And I just did a “Yep
sure did,” Cordelia said with a chuckle that quickly died when she
thought about “Crap not again,” she exclaimed as she held Elisabeth with one hand and drew her sword with the other. “Lower your sword Cordelia,” a voice, that she couldn’t place, but found hauntingly familiar spoke out as two figures stepped out of the portal. “Oh my god…” Joyce and Cordelia muttered in unison as they got a clear view of the two arrivals. One was a tall, sharp featured, man with graying hair and icy blue eyes that this moment displayed the humor he felt at the situation. The other was a woman of maybe twenty odd years, with cherry blond hair that flowed down her back, her soft features bore a serious look, but what struck most about the woman were her eyes. Big round eyes, that were strangely mismatched and while the left one was deep blue the right one was pale green. Both wore black clothing styled in the fashion of the Realmbut with a distinct otherworldly look to them. “Hello mum,” the man said to Joyce in a thickly accented voice. “William,” Joyce whispered, but it was more of question than a greeting for the man she saw was very different from the ‘young’ man she’d known as Spike. While the Avatar of Fire looked a bit unsteady on her feet, Cordeliahowever was on top of things. “This is very unusual you know,” she said to the arrivals as she again picked Elisabeth up into her arms again. “You know, I knew you’d say that,” the woman said as she stepped up to the Ranger and placed her hand on Elisabeth’s forehead and whispered: “It’s alright mom, I’ve come back just like you told me to,” and then looked up at Cordelia. “I’m June Xare Summers by the way,” she greeted them and that caused Joyce to faint only to be caught by William. Chapter 1: Darker With The Day I don’t know why I always end up on the battlements when I want to think, maybe it’s a good place to go if you want to be left alone with your thoughts, the only people you meet are the guards watching the night. Put such philosophical questions are better left to another day. I’ve come here to try and make sense of the last couple of days. We have fallen back to the city of It went according to plan and we did plan it well. Afterall we did have some of the greatest strategic planners in the Realm there, butit will be a long time until we are called that again. My memory of the attackis clear and I doubt I will ever forget what transpired that day. The Tower was guarded by a minimal force, elite, but still
minimal and Theris and Cordelia didn’t detect any additional forces. So
we charged, Al’x let the cavalry charge over the hills into the glen the
Tower rested in, and then we followed on foot and crushed what remained of the
force and then it happened. The portals started appearing everywhere. None of
us sensed it, but hundreds of them opened up all around us none-the-less, I
remember feeling angry and I’ve never liked failure. I think it was at
this point I started going over the limit, or going primal like Cordy callsit,
drawing on the background of being too much. Not that I cared because it felt
like the time I connected with the first Slayer and I could do anything. But I
couldn’t stop what happened next and that drove me over the edge I think.
A portal opened up behind Yet after all that the worst was still to come, something
came over Poet, I’m not sure what it was but he just seemed to grow
darker all of a sudden. He lashed out so fast that nobody really saw it
happened, but in the space of half a minute everybody that had been standing
around him were dead or dying. Aside from Litni, she saw it coming and the
golden armor that Al’x had given her protected her. They fought with such
fury that the battle around them stopped, but then we all saw it the Heart of
Darkness, it had been in front of us all along, or at least its instrument had
been. Poet lifted his hand and Litni just fell as a black nimbus overcame her
and that caused Tark to go berserk. I have never seen him so enraged,
hell I don’t think anybody has ever seen Tark Dragon of the Third House
so completely out of control. He cut through his enemies like a knife through
hot butter. I see now why the Drow are so universally feared. After he castan
orb of darkness over the mind of one of his attackers and the poor being went
insane and started clawing at his eyes I felt sick. But he never got withinten
feet of Poet, the Shadow just struck him down with the same black light he had used
on Litni, but Tark didn’t give up, three times he crawled to his feetand
four times he was struck down. In the end it was Tare who saved him, by firing
an arrow into Poet’s chest. He didn’t even flinch just pulled it
out with disgust and turned the full force of the Heart towards Tare. In the end it was Al’x who saved us, he had of course
planned for this turn of events, god I hated him at this point always so in
control and all the while painfully less powerful than the rest of us. Cordelia
with me along with mom were told to stay and cover our retreat, while he led
the army back into the relative protection of the Now I’m faced with a new set of problems, the promise of a quick war has faded and I don’t know how long it will take before the war is won. Yet I’m bound by my promise to Piratess and my love for this world to keep on fighting and hoping for the end. A new problem has presented itself, one that makes me think about something my mom said a while back that Al’x had foreseen that a child from our family would be placed in grave danger and with the arrival of June that prophecy too has come true. “Mom?” June asked as she leant on the battlements over looking the pass leading through the mountains that separated the Dark Lands from the rest of the world. “June,” Elisabeth greeted and this still felt very awkward. “You looked like you were someplace else,” the woman, who her daughter would one day become said to her. “Well I have a lot on my mind,” Elisabeth said as she turned away from the Dark Lands. “You are not happy with me coming here are you?” June asked. “I’m confused, I know that your arrival here will but you in danger, but yet you say that I sent you here,” she said in an attempt to explain how she felt. “I know it’s confusing,” June said and leant against the battlements, “and I don’t pretended to understand it either, but this is something that has to happen,” she added. Elisabeth shook her head and just looked at her daughterfor a long moment, she was an alamang of her and Willow that was for sure, she had flowing reddish blond hair, while her face carried much of Willow’s gentleness her eyes showed enormous intellect and a sharp mind. She could also see that she had received training, either by Giles or Faith, or perhaps both. She walked like a Slayer, but she was completely normal as far as she could tell. “I learned long ago that no matter how hard you try to fight prophecies they always come about in one form or another and only by realizing their full meaning can you hope to alter the outcome,” she finally said with a sigh and June gave a small smile. “You used that same argument while trying to convince me to come here you know,” she said. “June can I ask something of you?” Elisabeth asked. “Anything,” June stated. “While you are here, can we put aside the fact that you are my daughter?” she asked. “This whole thing bothers you doesn’t it? Seeing me and knowing that I’m your daughter, but not really knowing me,” June said. “I…”
Elisabeth started, but June just smiled and placed her hand on her
mother’s shoulder and smiled. “I would never…” Elisabeth started, but her reply died when June shook her head. “You
will and you must,” she said firmly. “These sort of things rarely are luv,” Spike said as he came walking along the battlements. “And what’s your story Spike?” Elisabeth asked. “And what’s with the hair?” “He feels it makes him look more respectable,” June answered and Spike shot her a dirty look before turning towards Elisabeth. “You told me to come Elisabeth and trust me twenty years from now you’ll understand why I did just that,” he explained. “So you aren’t going to tell me anything about the future are you?” Elisabeth asked. “You
know we can’t do that luv,” Spike said.
“ “Oh
my god Willow,” Elisabeth, gasped as she saw her wife walk towards them
supporting herself with a staff and leaning on it
heavily. She rushed to her wife’s side, but //I am fine// a voice spoke into her mind. It sounded old and tired somehow, like the last ten years were catching up to her all at once. “You should be in bed,” Elisabeth said out loud. //I wanted
to see our daughter, or the person she will one day become. Is that such a
terrible thing?// She asked and Elisabeth lookeddown
as //You have
such beautiful eyes// //Oh
don’t cry child// //Hello Spike// she said and a smile appeared on her face. “Hello Red,” Spike said in a low voice as he took her hand and kissed it. //Age has done you good I see// she thought with a rueful smile. “I guess so,” Spike said running a hand through his hair. //Very well then// she thought so they all could hear, I’ll just hobble back to my bed then. //Coming dear// she added so just Elisabeth could hear. Elisabeth
smiled as she took “Should we tell them?” she asked him, watching as her parents walked away. “Do you really think they could handle it?” he asked calmly. “No, but
they have a right to know,” she said as she wrapped her arms around
herself. “Maybe it would change things.” Spike stepped up to her
side and placed an arm around her shoulder. *~*~*~* Cordelia felt exhausted as she washed her hands in the basin at the makeshift hospital that had been set up. She had worked nonstop since their arrival at Agnoria, healing the wounded and being there for those whoshe couldn’t save. Despite all her skills as a healer she couldn’t save them all. She still felt some guilt over what she had done to Elisabeth andshe had stepped into a very gray area with her actions, but at least her friend wouldn’t be hunted down and killed by the other Guardians now. “Explain to me honored Ranger Knight what you did in order to calm our general?” a calm voice asked. Cordelia smiled as she turned around and there stood Tarkin uniform. She could sense that he was still in considerable pain, but the man had drive like no other she had ever known. “You should be resting Tark,” she said turning her back towards him and continued rinsing her hands. “I’ll rest when the war is over Moondancer,” he said as he sat down in a low chair and folded his hands. “I dislike mysteries and your recent actions and their motives have been bothering me for I cannot understand them,” he stated. Cordelia shook the water off her hands with a sigh and turned around to face him. “Then you must promise me that what I tell you will remain with you until your death,” she said with a serious tone in her voice. “You have my word that your secrets will die with me,” he said. “Alright then,” she sat down and crossed her hands in her lap. “The Guardians of Order have existed since the dawn of time. We watch over thosewho are primal and we do our best to ensure that they don’t cause damage to the fabric of being. This applies to various situations, the most common being a mage or druid turning rogue. You see we can feel when this happens and wedo our best to put them down. This is what happened to Elisabeth, she went primal and started doing things that went against the natural order of things in a way that is not allowed. She has always been my responsibility and from the moment I became a Guardian I knew that I would, one day, have to face her. Now that day has come and my mission is over,” she explained. “So what happens now?” Tark asked. “I go home to Stjar’a. That’s why I left in the first place,” Cordelia answered. “I knew that I couldn’t be tied down in case Elisabeth ever returned.” “You spent the last ten year preparing for that fight,” Tark stated. “Yes, learning ways to win without fighting and making deals with the other Guardians to stay out of the fight,” she answered. “I didn’t want to kill my friend,” she added. “That’s understandable,” Tark nodded as he stood up. “There is more,” Cordelia said looking up. “You have told me enough Lady Moondancer,” Tark said as he left the makeshift hospital room. He stopped in the doorway and said something that would bother her for the longest time. “I thank you for trying to protect my daughter from her destiny,” he said and then left. Cordelia stared at the doorfor a moment before burying her face in her hands. “Why Theris?” she asked. “Why?” “Because no matter how hard we try we can’t fight destiny,” a voice said. “I thought you had left,” she said as she looked up and wiped away her tears. “I won’t leave without saying goodbye Cordy,” Al’x said as he knelt down in front of her. “You
always know what to say don’t you?” she asked. “You probably
know more than I do about how the things have happened and still you are just
going to turn tail and hide.” “Don’t
you feel guilty over what you did to Litni?” she asked. “I’ll check in on you from time to time, okay?” Cordelia said. “Just to make sure that you are doing alright,” she said and there was a long moment of silence between them that ended with Al’x standing up and slowly walking away. *~*~*~* Litni followed the walls of the prison, staying in the
shadows just like Tark had taught her and masking her presence with a small
spell she’d learned from //Litni this is not a good idea// he said softly. //I know Poet betrayed you but you should be trying to get to the Heart instead of him.// //Shut up Liam// she shouted back. //I will not see the gift we gave you go to waste like this Litni// he said firmly. //I didn’t ask for this// she said and tore the glove which held the stone of her hand, but as soon as the glove was off the stone appeared on the back of her hand. //Yes you did and we did warn you of the implications of receiving it// Angel said calmly. //Honor demands that Poet pays, I can’t go after the heart knowing that he’s behind me// she said firmly. There was a brief silence in her mind as Angel thought it over. //Very well then, go satisfy your sense of honor, but before you kill him look him in the eye one last time// he said. //Oh I fully intend to// she said as she pulled the glove back on her hand and started down the corridor folding the ethereal wings around her body. Time moved strangely as she moved through the corridors in search of Poet. She had made it half way across the compound before her escape was discovered; she was in the officers quarterswhen the guards went for the alarm and she was standing in front of Poet’s work desk when the alarm sounded. “Poet,” she said as she appeared and unfolded the wings in a dazzling display of light. The wings appeared as ribbons of light streaming from her back. “Miss Speed,” Poet said with a casual smile as he stood up from behind his desk. “Didn’t take you long to escape now did it,” he said and she could feel the aura of darkness that she had first sensed at the battle at the Tower and his voice which was once music to her ears sounded like breaking glass in the distance. “Quit playing games Poet,” Litni snarled as she drew the swords she had taken from the guards and pointed them at his throat. “Such crude weapons,” he commented. “Why don’t you use the sword you keep stored in that stone of yours, you know the one Al’x Sun gave you,” he said with a cruel smile. “You make me sick,” Litni said as she lunged, but Poet was out of the chair in a split second and all the swords hit were the wood of the chair. Litni gave an angry yell and pulled her sword from within the gemstone in a brilliant flash of light. “Impressive,” Poet said as he drew two obsidian blades from their sheaths. “But aren’t you feeling the weight of the mantle?” he asked. “Shut up,” Litni screamed as she charged him and their swords clashed. “There is that fury I’m so fond of,” he commended as they broke apart. “Nice wings by the way,” he said. “I’m so going to enjoy tearing them off.” Litni just gave him a wicked smile as something Tark had told her flashed through her mind. Never tell those who you care about everything 'cause one day you might have to meet them in battle. “Poet guess what,” she said as she curled her hand up into a fist. “ “What?” he asked menacingly. “You are not nearly as charming as you think,” she said and let her fist fly with incredible speed. It connected solidly with the side of his face and he went flying across the room, landing against the wall. “You’re a monster Poet,” Litni said asshe sauntered over to him, returning her sword to the stone. “I rather like your idea of tearing something apart,” she said as she picked him up with one hand and held him against the wall with a single hand. “Oh, by the way, have you ever felt the touch of ethereal fire?” she asked as she touched his shoulder with the tip of one of the ribbons that made up her wings. Poet screamed as the tip drove into his right shoulder. “You betrayed us Poet, ” she said as she drove another ribbon in his left shoulder and stepped back from the wall as the ribbons held him aloft. “You wormed your way into my heart and into my bed,” she went on as he squirmed against the light that pinned him in place. “In retrospect that night was as cheap as all your other lies,” she said. Look into his eyes Angel spoke firmly in the back of her mind and Litni stopped her taunting and looked into the white eyes she had once felt held her world and there she saw it, a flicker of light and then he spoke. “Litni…” Poet said in a weak voice and the voice was soft like humming crystal. “Poet?” Litni asked her voice cracking. “Strike my heart my love,” he said. “Free me,” he bleated. “Poet is that really you?” she asked. “Yes,” he said in a hissing voice almost like he was fighting something. “I…” Litni started. “No time for explanations…. strike now,” he said in a firm voice. “But I’ll kill you,” Litni protested as she started to withdraw the ribbons. “No!” Poet shouted. “The light… is the only thing keeping me sane,” he said. “Sane?” Litni asked. “The Council used the Heart to corrupt my heart,” Poet explained in a strained voice as shouts started coming from down the hall. “Turned my love for you into hate, but they didn’t fully succeed, so I beg of you end my suffering,” he pleaded. Litni just looked into his eyes for the longest moment and then raised a ribbon of light and aimed it for his heart. “I love you,” she whispered as she struck. “Love you too…” the words died on his lips as the light entered his chest, the ribbons faded and he dropped to the ground with a deafening thudand Litni’s world went silent. *~*~*~* June Xare Summers knocked carefully at the door leading into her grandmother’s quarters, she knew her grandmother would soon depart but there was a message she was supposed to bring, even though she dreaded it. She checked that the folded and sealed piece of parchment was still in the pocked of her cloak. //Leave it up to grandpa to think of everything// she thought with a smile. “Come in dear,” Joyce said from within the room and June carefully opened the door and stepped inside. The room sparse, with just a double bed, two chairs and a desk perched under its single window. Twin armors, one gleaming blackand the other white hung on the armor racks along with swords and shields. On the bed polishing a piece of armor sat her grandmother, she was every bit as beautiful and regal as her mother had described her in her stories. “Grandmother we need to talk,” June said in a low voice. “Don’t call me that dear,” Joyce said. “I have done nothing to earn that title,” she added a little sadly as she continued to polish that armor plate. “But you have done so much and we share more than just blood,” June said as she sat down and placed her delicate hand over hers and Joyce’s eyes grew wide as something passed between the two and June nodded as she went on with her story. “Mother told be endless stories of you when I was little,” June said with a smile. “And to me you're very much my grandmother, although most grannies don’t ride around in full armor and purge other worlds of evil,” she said with a smile, one which Joyce shared. “I’m… sad that I didn’t get to see you grow up June,” Joyce said witha small smile. “I wish I could sit here and tell you all about my life, I really would, but I’m here on a mission,” June said in a very serious tone of voice. “It must have taken Rupert some time to convince you off that,” Joyce commended with a smile. “Grandpa can be very convincing if he wants to,” June said with a smile. “So what is this message you bring from the future then dear?” Joyce saidas she put the armor aside. June drew the parchment and handed it to Joyce. “In thirteen years from this day give or take a week, the seal on this parchment will break,” she said. “There are instructions on it of course about what you must do then,” she said. “And you are not going to tell me what’s on it are you?” Joyce asked. “Only mother and Rupert know the full details, but this is important grandmother,” June said firmly. “Important in a world shattering, apocalyptically way,” she added and Joyce couldn’t help but notto smile. “Very well then,” Joyce said as she laid the parchment to her side and tooka breath. “Now dear tell me about yourself and a bit?” she asked and June smiled. The next morning, June stood along with her mothers, Spike and various others as they watched Al’x and Joyce mount their horses as the sun was just peaking above the mountains giving a calm light to the pass leading into the Dark Lands. There was a multitude of hugs that had lasted until Gymli, blushing after Joyce had smothered him, declared in typical dwarfen fashion that it was…. “Enough wid da’mushyness,” the stout dwarf and his daughter the Priestess Ziel had chosen to remain with Elisabeth and her troops and help them in the upcoming struggle. He had said that of course he longed to see the Halls of his Clan again, but everybody knew the dwarf was looking for a good fight after years of playing nurse mother to peasants as he had so colorfully put it the night before after his third tankard of mead. “See you around short stuff,” Joyce said and bent to down to rap her knuckles against the dwarfs helmet. “Get going lass, the lil’un is waiting,”he said with a smile. “Get going you two,” Elisabeth said as she valiantly tried to hold back her tears. And with a slow leisurely pace the pair rode through the gates facing north. The group thinned out until only Elisabeth and Spike remained. The General looked up at her friend, or the person her friend would become, but that kind of thinking gave her a headache so she just thought of him as Spike. “Will they be alright Spike?” she asked. “Oh they’ll be just fine,” Spike said in a reassuring voice. “They’ll be just fine,” he said placing an arm around her shoulder and turning her away from the gate. “Will we see them again?” she asked in a small voice. “Don’t know ducks, but I’m time traveling so anything is possible,” he said with a smile. Above them, high above them just below the thin morning clouds two beings very much alike but so very different where also saying their goodbyes. “So they summoned you back?” Cordelia asked. “Yes the hierarchy is concerned about this latest development,” Theris answered in a low voice. Cordelia gently took her hands with a certain sense of urgency. “Make
them understand Forestwalker,” she pleaded.
“Make them understand that things are beyond their control and that
guarding her may be impossible even for you.” “Godspeed
my friend,” Cordelia said. “And remember no matter whatever may
have passed between us that you have played your part and I have played
mine,” she said and Theris turned back from the rift and smiled. To be contiuned in: Prophecy's Twilight: Following of the Rose #1 Prophecy's Twilight: The Dark Elf #1 Prophecy's Twilight: The Guardians #1 |