It was kind of like what Esme had hinted about, and now that it was still vivid in my head, I was trying to get the questions out before it faded.
"Yes. Sia Rainbow, the Queen of the Elements who enchanted the lands with love and hope." Esme was sitting at the end of the bed, facing the two of us.
Momo was sleeping in her lap and Odion was sitting next to me, having let me rest against him as I napped.
"Celestia, don't you know a Sia?" Odion inquired.
"Huh?" I asked, turning to give him a confused look. "Sia, who?"
He frowned, looking deep in thought for a few seconds.
"Brother said you knew a Sia… I think he did." Now Odion looked a tad confused, which made me wonder if it was something I'd forgotten due to the shift into the Dark World.
"Um… I don't think so. Sia… Rainbow… it sounds familiar, but I don't know anyone by that name. My mother is Charlotte, and she never shared who my grandmother was, so I'm rather clueless. Actually… that makes me wonder. If the Queen… Sia, had passed, didn't her bloodline essentially stop?"
"You are correct," Esme replied.
"Then… I don't get where Rainbow came from. I mean… my mom is Charlotte Rainbow. Wouldn't that mean our ancestors were from the Rainbow bloodline?" I asked, trying to understand all of this.
Esme nodded and sighed. "Do you remember what I said before you fell asleep the first time you'd awakened?"
"Uh." I blushed and shyly avoided her loving gaze. "No… it’s kind of blurry. I apologize."
"No need. It is understandable."
I glanced back to see her smile and I didn't feel as bad for my forgetfulness. Sitting up a little more, I waited anxiously for her to continue. My attention was diverted for a moment when Odion picked my hand up with his left one and began to poke at it with his right index finger.
Esme and I both stared at him, but we exchanged a glance with knowing smiles.
Maybe he wants to hold my hand and doesn't know if he can.
I wrapped my right hand around his left one, and he paused in his poking attempt to stare at me.
Noticing our gazes, he blushed a bit and cleared his throat. "As you were saying, Esme."
Esme snickered, but carried on with what she wanted to reveal to me, her face going from amused to focused.
"My name is Esmeralda Rainbow, Celestia. Before the time of Sia's ruling, who was my daughter, I had ruled for many centuries. Close to 200 years, to be exact."
"Rainbow?! Wait… so Esme… you’re like… uh… my grandma? Or great, great, grandma… or… uh. Actually, that's just too complicated to figure out. But Sia was your daughter?! And you ruled for 200 YEARS?!" I exclaimed and quickly covered my mouth when Momo stirred.
We waited for her to settle before I whispered, "Sorry."
"No worries. Let's see how I'll answer this… I'll explain as smoothly as I can and if you have any questions, feel free to interrupt or you can save them for the end."
We both nodded, and Odion squeezed my hand gently, which helped ease my racing heart.
"When I was appointed as Queen, I ruled for 200 years. In the last thirty of them, I'd gotten pregnant with Sia. Her main father was the Prince of Light from that timeframe, and though she carried the blood of one Prince, each of the other Princes bestowed a hint of their power into her while she was still in my womb. This would allow her to take my place when she turned 25 years old and would be allowed to rule without issue."
She paused to see if we were following, and we both nodded for her to continue.
"When she was born, we raised her with all our teachings, and she'd become a bundle of light to many of our people, especially those who harbored the light element such as unicorns, angels, and other shifters of light. When she came of age, everyone was pleased to have her rule, and due to her taking up the throne, I had stepped down to live my life until my time to face death would come." Esme appeared deep in thought as a proud expression formed on her face.
"She became Queen and ruled for a few years, and within that time, she began to meet the successor of each element, one after another. With seven new successors, my husbands were allowed to step down and we lived together. However, that was when the trouble began to brew with the people. The Forsaken that Mother Nature sent to test the newly appointed Queen, came a lot earlier than they had for previous rulers. It was not a threat at first, but a group of individuals plotted against the King-Queen hierarchy, wanting the land to be ruled by a group of leaders and not by a single person, especially a female," Esme explained.
I frowned and side glanced at Odion who looked unpleased by the news.
"Due to the growing rumors, that was when people began to doubt Mother Nature's test, thinking the Forsaken were rather similar to the Prince of Darkness’ people. They were peculiar in appearance, and their taste in furniture and love for darkness was looked upon as strange. Even with those individuals from previous generations warning them and counseling these individuals, they began to rebel and target all those who used dark magic." Esme shook her head as her expression shifted to sadness.
"They were foolish, and with such ignorance, they began to protest. The same group that had been plotting behind the scenes would send people to talk to Sia for hours on end. My daughter was far too kind to dismiss them, and the long conversations that were occurring daily with very little rest in between were beginning to take their toll on her. The added tension from the other Princes only made things worse. Sia was the connector of all seven elements, which meant if they were dealing with stress or a decline in population, it would affect her as well. She felt like she was being attacked from all angles, but she wouldn't listen to their pleas to exile the Prince of Darkness and his people. As her mother, I tried my best to help spread the word and remind people of our past followings, but the new generation wouldn't listen to me since I wasn't their Queen anymore."
I noticed her eyes began to grow glossy as she blinked them rapidly.
"Watching your child struggle with no way of helping them is the hardest experience as a mother. She'd rather exhaust herself than let the rebellious people have their way, and that was what led to her downfall."
"What… happened?" I asked. My mind felt like it already knew, remembering the dream I'd just had, but I wanted to hear it from Esme.
"Sia decided she needed to have a talk with the people of Darkness. They were being bullied, targeted, and it became news when a group of them were slain, their bodies put up on display in mockery. That was the last straw for Sia and she wanted to find a way to protect them. She traveled with the Princes of Light and Dark to help calm the people of Darkness down and think of methods of protection until things had calmed. However, when Sia and the Prince of Darkness left their carriage, they were ambushed by a group attack. It was later found out that those orchestrating this fiasco were the culprits, but the damage had been done. The Prince of Darkness, Lucian, had protected Sia, but the attack had been too quick for him to summon his magic and hit him at full force, sending the two of them into a bunch of trees that were tainted by the Forsaken."
Trees… tainted by the Forsaken? Like how Orion had attacked me and launched me into the trees?
"The Prince of Light held the enemy back with the help of the people of Darkness long enough for reinforcements from the other elements to arrive. The individuals who survived were arrested and crucified publicly, to put out a warning to anyone else who tried to attack any royal. As a result of the attack, the Prince of Darkness was in critical condition and lost his left arm and leg."
"Lucian… the previous Prince of Darkness is the same Lucian who attacked us after my Awakening," I concluded.
Esme glanced at Odion who nodded. "I sensed he had great dark magic, far too powerful for someone of this generation," Odion noted.
Esme nodded in agreement.
"Lucian was transferred to his kingdom for treatment and because his people were afraid he'd be ambushed or poisoned if he remained with the Queen. Sia, however, was al
so injured. She was stabbed by the bark of the tainted trees and the impact of the attack had set off a rapid poison that began to spread through her body. "
I slowly turned to look at Odion who met my gaze, both of us coming to the same conclusion.
Is time repeating itself? This can't be a coincidence.
"Normally, Sia would be able to fight off dark magic or absorb it as power since she had a part of Darkness inside her, just like the other elements. However, she was both physically and magically drained from weeks of little rest and that left her completely vulnerable. We'd thought she'd healed from her injuries, but no less than a week later, she was found unconscious in the throne room and the wounded area was pitch black. It was determined she was far too tainted and would either succumb to her wounds or turn into a Forsaken if actions weren't taken immediately."
I squeezed Odion's hand, needing a bit of reassurance from his presence as I remembered my dream.
Sia… the Queen who put her last bit of magic into that crown and was still merciful.
"It was learned that she'd asked Mother Nature’s forgiveness for the bitter, selfish actions of the people, and when the other Princes arrived, she was on her deathbed. She begged her husbands not to go to war and told each of them how much she loved them. She requested for me to take up the throne on her behalf but had hidden the crown for safekeeping for when Mother Nature chose another heir in her stead. With her dying breath, she begged them to ensure no harm came to Lucian and for him to understand that it wasn't his fault that this had occurred. She wished he was there, but with the tensions happening between elements, it was impossible to teleport and get Lucian before Sia passed. The Princes each kissed her goodbye and prayed to Mother Nature to have another chance at life with Sia. Whether it be in the land of the living, or beyond in the land of death. She passed away shortly after, and the Elemental kingdoms mourned the premature death of their Queen. It was the first royal murder in all history." A tear rolled down Esme’s cheek as she lowered her head.
"BI!"
We glanced down to Momo who suddenly sat up. She looked confused for a second before peering up at Esme who gave her a little smile.
Momo stood up in her lap and jumped up and down with her hands up. "BIBO!"
Esme quietly laughed, more tears rolling down her cheek as she picked Momo up and hugged her.
Odion leaned in to whisper in my ear. "Momo asked to give Esme a hug so she wouldn't be sad anymore." He translated, and it only contributed to my own tears.
Esme took a few breaths, her arms still wrapped around Momo who was singing quietly.
"Some time passed, and many anticipated a new Heir to be chosen, but it never happened. We waited and waited, until a temporary Council that included me was voted in. Many of the older shifters who approved of the King-Queen system were outraged by the Council formation but would give it a chance due to my presence. We all assumed this was the punishment Mother Nature had brought down upon us due to Sia's passing, which was labeled as a murder of royalty. Even though we'd gathered as much evidence as we could, we didn't have enough to point the finger directly at the individuals who'd plotted everything. In the end, they got exactly what they wished for; the same individuals who'd conspired for the death of my daughter sat around the roundtable of power and I couldn't do anything."
"Nothing? But you knew it was them," I argued.
"I knew it was them because they openly declared it within our meeting room. The problem was, a new rule was created that nothing could be repeated outside of the meeting room walls. Someone could admit to murdering my daughter, and I could not tell a soul back then, or I'd be exiled from the Council. I was the only one with the good intentions of trying to bring back peace to our lands and the remaining Council members knew it. They decided to do everything they could to try to make me voluntarily drop out, including the admission of plotting the events that lead to Sia's death."
She was quiet for a moment, looking like she needed time to gather the next part of the story.
"I couldn't let Sia's death go to waste. Even when I felt like giving up, I'd see her in my dreams and she'd tell me it was okay for me to let go. Every time she did that, I worked harder to not be brought down by their attempts. They realized after a few years that I wasn't going to back down. During that period, Forsaken had grown at an alarming rate, and the people of Darkness were sought out and killed endlessly. No matter what the other Princes said or did to stop the targeting and slaying, the High Council had final say, and I always lost when it came down to voting. Everyone knew I was doing my best, but one against six others left me at a huge disadvantage. I had to watch them continue to do everything Sia had tried to prevent, and it was becoming too much for me."
She took a deep breath and lifted her gaze to meet ours.
"I decided it was time for me to drop out, but the Council members had other plans. I'd spent the night with my husbands, all seven of them, and had left early to give my resignation, but I'd felt a bit off. Like something was wrong. It was still very early in the morning and I decided to return home to talk with my men about the weird feeling in my gut. I returned to my home engulfed in flames… and heard the last screams of my husbands who were trapped in the building."
I forgot to breathe as I gawked at her, unable to get one word out. "What… they killed… your men?! Your husbands!”
Odion squeezed my hand hard, and I turned to see the anger in his light lilac eyes that were slowly shifting to pure white.
"How dare they..." Odion seethed and Esme gave us a sad smile.
"They tried everything. Mocked me, belittled me, tried multiple times to ruin my reputation. What better way to get to me than by destroying the little bit of happiness I had left?" Her tears fell down her cheeks again and she shook her head.
"They didn't deserve to die. They were completely innocent and hadn't interfered at all. We lived happily together and were all just waiting for death. They weren't supposed to die that way. Mother Nature wouldn't reward her Princes' struggles with a horrible death like that. That pushed me to the edge, and I was ready to expose them for the scum they were, but they figured that would happen. Before I could leave the scene, they ambushed me and took me away. They tortured me for days, spreading word around that I'd died in the fire with my men. After they had enough of me… beating me, abusing me, everything they could think of to make me feel utterly hopeless, they threw me into the tainted forest to be food for the Forsaken."
I had to hold back a sob, and Momo pulled back from Esme to look my way. "BiBo!"
Wiggling out of Esme's hold, Momo hopped onto the bed and waddled all the way over to me. She crawled into my lap and lifted her hands up. "BiBo!"
I smiled and whimpered, using my free arm to wrap around Momo and lifted her up into a one arm hug. "Thank you, Momo."
"BiBiBiBi." She began her calming singing and I looked back to Esme who wiped away her tears.
"You can guess what happened next. My death was evident, but my resolve to survive was far too strong for me to be judged. I arrived here and was one of the first beings of the Dark World. After some time of mourning my husbands and daughter and getting through the thoughts of being a failure, I decided to make it my duty to protect those who arrived here. I built this home with magic and created a little city in the many years that passed. No one came for a long time until a young male arrived. He's out patrolling, but you'll get to meet Aaron later. Soon after him came Momo, and then Odion. We haven't had anyone enter this section of the vast world since then, but there is another city not too far from us. That is where it seems more souls are entering into the Dark World. My intention was to travel and locate them, maybe get an estimate of how many there were, but I've stayed here to make sure Aaron, Odion, and Momo are okay and to protect the land. It's not like Forsaken, or anything else for that matter, can do wrong or destruction in this World, but I can't ignore my duty. I feel if I leave..."
"You'll lose this place?" I finished.<
br />
She smiled and nodded. "Yup."
"Then… wait. What happened to the other Princes?" I asked.
"Ah..." She looked even sadder than before. "After Sia had died, the six Princes made an oath, begging Mother Nature to grant them a chance to be with Sia one day. They each used their magic to strengthen the oath and went their separate ways. It wasn’t long after Sia's death that the other Princes were found dead."
"Dead?!" I exclaimed.
"They… didn't..." Odion trailed off when Esme sighed.
"Sia was the connector of elements. Without her, the elements were lost. One by one, the Princes died. Whether it was in their bedroom, at the bottom of a cliff, their remains found in an abandoned forest, or their body washed up on shore. The Moon and Sun Princes were found dead after an eclipse, and the Princes of Light and Dark were the last ones left. Some say Light went to see Dark one last time, but no one knows what was discussed between them. Even with the world trying to separate them, they were still close, and the Prince of Light still defended Dark, even before his death. His body was found lying next to the Sia's grave. Lucian was the last one, but the problem was, he couldn't die."
"Why not?" Odion and I asked in unison.
"After the discovery of the Prince of Light's death, the Council feared Dark would be next. They assumed if he died, his people would go on a rampage and send thousands of Forsaken across the lands. They sent a peacemaker to the Kingdom of Darkness to see Lucian, expressing their desire to make peace. Lucian accepted the guest, but later found out that the Fae had cast a strong spell on him, one that very few shifters in existence could accomplish."
"Eternal life?" Odion gasped in shock and I glanced to Esme who nodded.
"Once a spell like that is cast, in exchange, it takes the remaining years of the individual who cast the spell. By the time Lucian realized this and sent his people to capture the Fae, it was too late. She was found dead halfway back to the Kingdom of Nature," Esme concluded.
"There's no way of breaking it?" I questioned. "There has to be an antidote."
CELESTIA (Unicorn Blessed Chronicles Book 4) Page 6
