Winterlya was quiet, appearing deep in thought. "Rise, EliaseAnne," Winterlya ordered.
I did as she asked right as there was a tiny tap on the window. We glanced over to see a white owl sitting on the ledge.
Luna blinked a few times, her red eyes shifting back to their blue color as a broad smile formed on her lips. "Vinnie!"
She jumped off the bed and ran to the platform I was once sitting on to open one of the window doors and let the owl in. He hopped inside, and Luna closed the door before she picked Vinnie up and hugged him.
"Long time, Vinnie. Did you want to make an entrance into the conversation," Luna commented.
"Hoot," Vinnie replied, looking calm in Luna's tight hold. I glanced to Winterlya who had a loving expression on her face, her silver eyes full of relief.
"Welcome back, Vinzent," she hummed.
"HOOT!” he replied as Luna let him go, his wings spreading out to fly over to Winterlya. She lifted her arm up for him to land. After he touched down on her arm, he leaned in and rubbed his head against her cheek in greeting.
"Hoot hoot."
"I missed you too. I guess we'll catch up on the way to Miolana then." Winterlya ran her hand over his feather, and Luna and I beamed.
"You'll go?!" I asked. She smiled and nodded.
"Seeing as you so humbly asked, I don't mind taking a quick visit. I better leave now though," she pointed out.
"Winterlya, you just got here. You're gonna be exhausted if you to Miolana now." Luna frowned.
I agreed with Luna. Just from her eyes, I could tell Winterlya must have been traveling for a while and with very little sleep.
"If I want to get to your friends before they face King Kingsley, I don't think I have much resting time." Winterlya stood rom her sitting position on the bed. Vinzent moved from her hand to land on her shoulder, and she gave a small smile.
"I'll be off. Once I head to Miolana and deal with that man, I'll come back. You owe me a bottle of red wine, Eli.”
“Thank you Winterlya. I greatly appreciate it, and yes, I'll get you some expensive red wine," I replied, hoping she knew how grateful I was for her. Luna hopped off the bed and walked over to pet Vinnie's head before she hugged Winterlya.
"Let me at least get you something to eat. It'll give you a bit of an energy boost," Luna suggested.
Winterlya looked down and smiled. "I would love that. I'm a bit hungry now that you mention it."
Luna pulled out of the hug and glanced at me. "Eli, I'll be right back. Make sure you eat your food. The metal keeps it warm until it's opened, so it should be fine."
I nodded and watched Luna slip her hand in Winterlya’s, and they headed out of the room. Once the door closed, I sighed.
Thank you, Starlight.
~MARCUS~
"I won't help you pathetic things called knights. If you have nothing else to do other than waste my time, leave."
It was taking everything I had not to shift and show the pathetic excuse of a man who he was talking to. My body practically trembled as I clenched my fists. I knew Elias and EliaseAnne's father, King of Miolana was a douchebag, but this moment proved what a true ass he was.
It had already been a week, and we'd accomplished a lot. We allowed Ryder to rest for three days before he said he didn't want to waste any more time with our new mission of finding Makoto. Seeing as Elias and Eli were in Distala, and would most likely be there for two weeks because of the new laws in action, we decided to speed things up by heading to ArchAilennia pronto.
With King Arthur's permission, we had written approval to leave Miolana once we'd spoken with King Kingsley to see if there were any suspicious activities in the realm. King Arthur reassured us that he wouldn't be able to lie, especially with Daniel present and him being well aware of what Daniel really was, but we wouldn't be able to search the realm like the others.
One major reason, was that Miolana's forestry was practically dying. With so much death of nature and animals, many parts were almost uninhabitable for the fairy residents who lived on the realm.
The areas that were still habitable were extremely strict, only allowing fairy spirits access to their living sanctuaries. Seeing as we didn't have Elias or Eli with us, we knew it would be impossible to get in, but the advantage was we knew for sure Jeffrey wasn't a fairy thanks to Eli's observation.
If we couldn't get access, neither could he. Either way, we wanted to ensure no activity was reported to the King, but now that we'd met him face to face, we'd realized it was a waste of precious time that could have been used to go to another realm.
Kai put a hand on my shoulder, and I looked at his serene expression. I had no idea how he was remaining calm when we'd been treated like garbage from the moment we entered this castle.
"Relax. No point in wasting energy on him," Kai pointed out.
"This isn't getting us anywhere," I countered.
"Let's leave, Ryder. You're still not well," Daniel said.
Ryder didn't say anything, his eyes locked on King Kingsley like they were competing in a staring match. I glanced back at the man sitting on his black throne.
His long ash blonde hair hung loosely around him as he wore royal attire. His green eyes were dark and filled with annoyance as he glared at Ryder as if he were a cockroach.
A gold crown with green jewels embedded into it rested on his head; his fairy ears reminded me of elves. When you imagined fairies, you pictured beautiful creatures with multi-colored wings and thought of ensuring peace and love, both with shifters and the nature around them.
Yet, the King who sat in his throne with his chalice of wine and the alcoholic stench that lingered in the throne room was almost impossible to bear.
"You've yet to answer our question, King Kingsley," Ryder pointed out.
I looked back at him, seeing how black his eyes were, and was surprised Stryker had not shown up. I could sense through our knight bond, Ryder still wasn't feeling his usual self, and though I knew he was trying to hide it from us, I could tell from his rather pale complexion he wasn't going to last standing up for much longer if we didn't wrap this up and head out of this wretched place soon.
"I do not need to answer to you. Either King Arthur can get out of his own misery and come to see me himself, or he'll never know what happens in my realm," King Kinsley threatened.
"King Arthur has more important things to attend to for the sake of all the realms than be here for you to feel somewhat respected, King Kinsley," Ryder huffed.
We all knew Ryder was patient, but for people like this king, he didn't deserve any respect. He lost that when we realized how badly he had hurt Elias and Eli long ago.
All of us couldn't wait for the day we could come down and remove him from that throne, but for cases involving royalty, it wasn't as easy like arresting a commoner or average shifter in rank.
The king laughed, the sound of mockery ticking off Ryuu in my mind. "I really want to kill him."
You and me both, Ryuu. I clenched my teeth and noticed the others’ annoyed expressions. Only Kai remained an unaffected outward appearance.
"You call yourselves knights, yet the Princess who was kidnapped once from the castle all those cycles ago was kidnapped AGAIN, and you're here to get my cooperation? If King Arthur truly loved his beloved daughter, he would have beheaded all of you for being a waste of oxygen! Knights who are supposedly appointed to protect the Princess but fail over and over again. Pathetic! Utterly pathetic." King Kinsley laughed and took a swig of his wine.
"We're not here for your insults, King Kinsley. Just answer the question so we can be on our way," Ryder declared.
"I don't feel like it. Why should I answer to you bunch of weak bastards? And look. Even my own son couldn't bring himself to come to see his beloved Father. I have to ask the gods as to why I was possibly blessed with a weakling of an heir! I might as well ensure I live forever, just so I can run my realm properly. Better me than you men standing here who can't even make me quiver in my ha
lf-drunken state! HAH!"
I flinched at the wave of anger that leaked into the knight bond, and I noticed the others’ pained expressions. Ryder was practically leaking power, and the whole throne room felt like the temperature had dropped tremendously. His eyes were pure black, but I knew he was still in full control as they lacked their glowing nature.
"A person who boasts about being King sits on the thrown in front of royal guests practically drunk, and thinks he's the best ruler of our galaxy? You mock us for our flaws and failures, yet here you are while your son is doing his best to locate the Princess, even if it means meeting every King and Queen of all the other realms to find her. You hide in this kingdom because you are nothing but a coward and can't acknowledge what a weakling you've become," Ryder snapped.
The King’s laughter died off, and his eyes darkened with fury, but Ryder didn't budge. "How DARE you talk to me that way you insolent fool! You dare challenge me? You're nothing but a bug that I can squash with my fingers!" he snapped.
Ryder cracked his neck, and we watched in shock as he began to walk toward the throne. "RYDER?!"
"Yes, I dare challenge you, King Kingsley. As the Heir of Minato, I won't stand here as you continuously insult MY comrades who will one day sit on the same throne you think you'll never lose. You might think we're nothing but a waste of time, but maybe I'll show you a taste of the power you claim is nonexistent," Ryder growled.
King Kingsley slammed his cup on the table and rose to his feet, power leaking off him in waves as he glared daggers at us. "You disgrace the shifter race. I'll rid the realms of your presence, and then you can ask the gods themselves why you were born weak!"
Ryuu was at the edge of my mind, and I was ready to jump in front of Ryder to protect him from whatever plan King Kingsley was about to initiate when there was a loud clap.
Both Ryder's and King Kinsley’s gathering energy dropped, and we looked around in confusion.
"What just happened?" I asked. Ryder frowned, and the King looked even more enraged.
"WHO IS THERE?!" he shouted.
The sound of heels clicking on the floor from our right prompted us to turn, and we were greeted with a familiar tall woman with purple-pink locks.
"Winterlya!" Daniel exclaimed.
King Kingsley cursed while Ryder sighed, returning to where we stood. "Winterlya, if you were going to make a dramatic entrance, why didn't you just come from the beginning?" Ryder whined.
"Now, where's the fun in that?" Winterlya asked. She wore a long red dress that ensured every curve in her body showed, and her hair was let down in loose curls. She held her silver wand and her vibrant orbs glanced around our group before returning to Ryder.
"Ryder, you look horrid. No wonder your temper is so easily triggered this fine evening." Winterlya sighed.
Ryder didn't say anything, but I could tell he was a little irritated by her observation.
"He was being a pain in the ass," Ryder grumbled.
"All he's done is insult us the entire time," Daniel added.
"Not to forget, he hasn't answered our questions either," Kai added.
"And he reeks." I huffed and wrinkled my nose.
They all looked at me, and I shrugged. "Dragons have a sensitive sense of smell. Why do I have to suffer his alcoholic breath? And don't get me started on my hearing! His laugh is like nails on a chalkboard."
Winterlya grinned, and I could feel the others’ amusement at my words.
"Winterlya Frost!" King Kingsley snarled, grabbing our attention. "Who dared allow you to enter my realm without my permission!"
"I entered myself. Last time I checked, I didn't need anyone's permission to go where I need to be," Winterlya stated. She wasn't even bothered by his rude tone.
"I've been clear on who can enter my realm for cycles. You aren't one who can just waltz in here uninvited. Why don't you take yourself and those useless shifters out of my realm?!"
Winterlya sighed. "Garett Kingsley. I think we've had this talk in the past about your manners when I'm around."
"Don't you use my name, you witch! What makes you think you're even close to my level?!" the King snarled back.
Winterlya frowned as she gave the King a pitiful look. She then turned to us with a smile. "What I'm about to do stays between your group, understood?"
We all nodded our heads, and she gave us a sweet smile before she took a calming breath, her eyes closing for a second. When they opened, dazzling pink glowing eyes met ours and the temperature practically dropped to the point it felt like we were on Latelia rather than in the throne room of Miolana.
King Kinsley’s eyes widened as he noticed the change in the atmosphere and Winterlya turned her head in his direction.
"Sit," she commanded.
The King didn't have time to reply as he sat at her command. He opened his mouth to speak, but Winterlya's spirit cut him off. "Silence."
No words emitted from the King, and she began her slow walk toward the throne, leaving us in utter shock. She climbed the stairs and made her way around the throne once before she stood facing him.
"Rise and stand on the edge of the stairs, facing me," she declared. We stood there speechless as the King reluctantly rose from his throne and did exactly as Winterlya's spirit instructed.
She seemed pleased as she turned around and lowered herself on the throne. “Now, descend the stairs, stand on the bottom step, and face me once more."
Again, King Kinsley did as she requested without a word, and then those glowing pink eyes looked to us. "Star Knights. Come to my sides for a moment," Winterlya's spirit commanded.
We didn't even need her power to be upon us to scurry up the stairs past King Kinsley and stand on either side of the throne; Kai and I on her left with Daniel and Ryder on her right.
I could see the frustration and anger that lingered on the King's face, and I realized the reason Winterlya's spirit had called us up to stand there, was for that reaction.
"Ah. If only this place didn't reek of inexpensive wine. It would be rather nice to sit up here. Alas, I've been able to enter your realm and sit on your throne, and not even one fairy guard or maid has entered this room," she noted.
Winterlya snapped her fingers, which allowed the King to speak. "You fucking witch! How dare you!" he sneered.
She snapped her fingers again, and the next set of insults were silent once more. Winterlya's eyes narrowed on the King who suddenly froze.
"My name is Ivy Frost, Garrett, and I will say this once. Insult me again and I'll turn you into a toad and throw you into the deepest ocean I can find," Ivy snarled I quivered at her words.
She snapped her fingers once more, and the King remained quiet. "For this conversation, I will call you by your name. Why? Because sometimes when you're dealing with a child, you have to use their given name to emphasize how much trouble they're in," Ivy explained.
Garrett grit his teeth but Ivory merely crossed her arms, holding her wand tightly in her hand. "I will say this once, Garrett, because my patience is very thin right now. My beloved host and I had to travel all the way here, KNOWING you wouldn't cooperate with the future heirs of our galaxy," Ivy revealed.
"How did I know these Star Knights would have to suffer dealing with you? Ah, the child you banished from this realm for being a disgrace, due to your miscalculations and mistakes, is doing his rightful duty of helping locate the Princess who will one day save our galaxy."
"Elias and Eli," I said through our bond.
"Must be. Father had mentioned he heard Winterlya was expected to be in Distala before he left," Daniel revealed.
"Shit, she traveled all the way here?" Kai asked.
"From the way her spirit is wording it, she must have come straight here, which is a day’s journey," Ryder put forth.
"Unless she teleported," Kai suggested.
"Oh," I commented, realizing that would have been the fastest method.
Ivy let out another sigh before she continued. "You sit on this th
rone and push everyone away while you drink your sorrows over losing the only person who once was willing to do anything to please you."
Garret looked away, his face red with anger, but he didn't say a word to refute that statement.
"Truth," Daniel whispered through our bond.
"I won't waste my time lecturing you, Garrett. You know very well I earned the right to sit on this very throne cycles ago, but I refused because I'm the sole heir of Wintalyn and am in no need of two realms," Ivy disclosed.
"Wait, what?" I exclaimed.
"Um, is that in a history book?" Daniel asked.
"I never heard of that before," Ryder added.
"There's a lot about Winterlya no one seems to know," Kai commented.
"All I need you to do is answer me one question. Has there been any illegal entry, aside from mine, in the last sixty days in your realm?" Ivy asked.
Garrett was silent for a long time before he finally answered. "No."
"Also truth," Daniel confirmed.
Ivy nodded her head and rose. "That's all we needed to know. We shall be leaving, and I hope to never have to come here again. Star knights, you can go first," Ivy instructed. We all nodded and moved down the stairs. Garrett watched us with rage as we made our way to the door, Ivy following in our stead.
We reached the large metal doors and turned around to see Ivy stop right next to Garrett. From her eyes that were no longer glowing pink, but back to their silver color, we realized Winterlya had returned.
I focused on heightening my hearing, wanting to be privy to their exchange.
"I hope you think very carefully of your actions, Garrett. Don't think the gods are stupid in the stars above, watching you drink to replace the lonely hole in your heart. Maybe you don't sense it, but it's only a matter of time before you'll need your people to help you out like they once did during the Aspen War. Learn to admit your mistakes and repent, or you too will face an end that no one will remember. That is the best advice I can give you," she whispered.
He didn’t speak, and Winterlya didn't wait for him to respond as she began to walk towards us. We opened the door and held it for her to precede us out. I took a final glance to see Garrett standing there, and for split second, I almost felt pity for him.
Forgotten Fairytale (The Starlight Gods Series Book 7) Page 6
