Chapter 8 – SEER'S QUIRK

“SLOW DOWN!” Elida was reaching for her seat belt.

 Eleand could vividly see the panic on his sister’s face. But he continued driving. Then there was a loud thud! He witnessed her unconscious body covered in blood. Tears fell from her eyes. She repeatedly called his name, then slowly closed her eyes and stopped breathing.

“Elida!” he screamed.

Thank heaven it was all a dream, but why it looked so real? His sister asked for help.

Shit. Sweats lingered on his forehead. He got up and peeked into the window. It was nighttime. The stars shined in the sky, along with the full moon. He had slept well these past few hours.

I need to find Elida. He went out of the room without hesitation. He was fortunate enough that nobody was around while he walked down the stairs. Maybe the faeries were all asleep.

Eleand quietly walked over and looked around him. He knew the directions going out the palace, and he did not find any difficulty. His plans were burdensome, but he would try it rather than just sleeping around here and doing nothing. Until now, he could hear Elida’s plead and cry reverberating inside his head.

Few more steps. He swallowed hard many times. In a short distance, he would be free from the palace. Gladly, no other creatures lurking around, and things were going smoothly.

He ecstatically punched in the air when he finally went through the gigantic entrance. The door was still open. This must be his lucky day. Maybe it was a custom for these faeries not to care about the security of the palace. Weren’t they worried about intruders inside?

This is it! He grinned as he descended from the lengthy stairs. Now his last task was to go out the main gate unnoticed. If he succeeded, then he would be unrestrained. He would think about the consequences of his decisions after.

Great. Now, to the gate. He carefully sauntered away from the palace while still surveying his eyes around—only the cold breeze touching his skin and the sound of the waterfall nearby, nothing unusual.

Eleand paused for a while to see the scintillating water from the falls. It was mesmerizing because thousands of fireflies seemed dancing along with the water.

But he was suddenly startled when he was about to turn because his body bumped into something. His eyes broadened when he realized the ‘thing’ he bumped into.

Winzi!

“Damn!” he cursed, almost jumped in bewilderment. Then he cussed, even more, when he saw Winzi’s wicked smirk. The crescent moon emblem in her forehead glowed in bright turquoise.

“Where are you going?” Her arms crossed while her one brow raised. She was not wearing her blue robe with a hood this time. She wore her purple nightgown. Her long white hair was perfectly braided.

“I need to find my sister,” he clenched his fist. He thought he could easily escape. But now that this witch caught him effortlessly, all his anticipation of being free was gone.

“You imbecile! How can a mortal be so stupid?” There was a warning in her voice. She grabbed his arm, and in just a blink, they were standing in front of the towering door of the Golden Palace.

“What the heck!” He was suddenly nervous and alarmed.

 Winzi’s eyes glared with fury. Her playful silver eyes looked deadly. And he knew she was ready to harm him.

“You don’t even know what creatures roam around here at night. How dare you try to escape! I didn’t know humans could be this dumb. How many times do I have to tell you, you need to take precautions if you want to survive!” She violently released his arm from her grip. Or else, his bones might break.

Eleand suddenly felt the tremble inside his body. He tried to open his mouth to defend himself, but no words came out.

With Winzi’s aura, his gut instinct warned that she would kill him when she got a chance. This witch had an impossible temper. He didn’t want to face her head-on just to be safe at this point.

“I-I dreamed about my sister, and she needs my help,” he spoke at last.

Winzi exhaled sharply. As if trying to be more patient, “Do you know exactly where to find your sister? Are you even sure she’s in Noyuh? You have no idea how big Erganiv is.”

“I just don’t know what to do,” he sounded helpless.

“The next time you try to escape, I will pulverize your foot so that you learn your lesson.” She was more annoyed than normal.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

Winzi rolled her eyes and spoke low, “Try to use some common sense. If you want to run away badly, try in the morning at least. It’s dark at night, you know,” she chuckled.

He did not answer. Winzi’s bizarre attitude puzzled him. She could easily change her mood from deathly to playful.

“Geez, you’re an idiot!” The witch raised his right hand, ready to strike him.

Eleand closed his eyes and waited for Winzi to unleash her magic. He was ready to accept the possible injury she might inflict. He was also at fault.

“Winzi, let him go,” said a sweet, warm voice.

When Eleand opened his eyes, Aserah takes shape in his vision. Her ethereal face looked glistening under the moonlight. She wore a mint green tunic paired with black pants and leather boots. Her golden hair was braided, and she was not wearing her crown. In her hand gripped a bow as if she just got back from a hunt.

Winzi bowed and slightly stepped backward to give way to Aserah. The Lady of Noyuh scrutinized his looks first before she talked to him.

“Come with me.” Aserah calmly said. She touched his shoulder, and he suddenly felt the gush of wind enveloped his body until he noticed that they were already inside the council room.

ELEAND immediately down on his knees. He must have had disappointed the Lady. He would never hesitate to beg for his life. He prayed that she would forgive him for disobeying her.

“I’m sorry,” still on his knees, staring at her leather boots, “I didn’t mean to run away. I was just anxious about my sister’s safety.”

“Get up.” Aserah gently patted his shoulder.

Eleand stood up and met the eyes of this goddess. Why could he sense the dismay in her? And he felt weird that he could hear his heart flutter when her disappointment disappeared and she smiled at him. He blinked twice for that gesture. There was something magical about her smile. He just couldn’t find the right word to say.

“Come here, look at this.” She gracefully walked near the table where the enormous map lay. She glanced at him before she started explaining,

“This is the map of Erganiv, divided into four domains. Did they tell you that Erganiv is invisible to humans?”

He stayed silent and carefully listened to the Lady of Noyuh. He quickly followed the location where her silky hands pointed out. Eleand couldn’t believe how huge Erganiv was. It would appear like a small country. Somehow, he could empathize with Winzi, why she was infuriated when he tried to run away.

Their world was indeed big. The land area of Noyuh alone was massive, divided into four Regions with different weather. And the Golden Palace was located in the Summer Region.

Eleand was even more surprised to see that Argia, the Capital City of Erganiv, was the smallest in terms of land area. The faeries must have had peculiar rules.

Aserah seemed to read his thoughts as she grinned. He caught his jaw dropped upon seeing that smile.

“Argia might be the smallest territory in Erganiv, but it is the most modern. If you are lucky enough to visit there, you will see that Argia has a state-of-the-art kind of civilization. It is more new-fashioned compared to the human world, which makes them powerful. Most of the royals chose to stay in Argia because it is the safest place here.”

Eleand nodded in understanding. His eyes focused on the other side of the map. It looked like a water kingdom. Does this mean he could see mermaids there? Just like how it was depicted in the imagination of humans.

 “That is Alsache, and you can find the Crystal Palace there. The Alsacheris—their dwellers are the most gifted healers,” she pointed out the northern part beside the territory of Noyuh, “And this is Gwiazda. Their inhabitants are known for their shapeshifting abilities.”

He moved his head in bewilderment, “How about the faeries in Noyuh? What are their magic attributes?” This was the only question that interested him the most.

“My faeries are capable of controlling the four elements of nature—the earth, wind, water, and fire.”

“Whoa!” He was stunned, “Amazing.”

Eleand made sure that he remembered the things Aserah had said. Now he was convinced that he would never try to run away again. He was nothing but a lowly and pathetic human in this world. Escaping was like a suicide mission.

“I will try to search for your sister if ever she is here. You should make yourself comfortable here while I’m finding ways to send you back to the mortal realm.”

He silently swallowed, “Is it true that my only chance of going back is waiting for the blue moon?”

Aserah nodded. “Although there is another way, you need to convince all the High Leaders of the four territories to open the portal going to your world. Every leader held a piece of the key. But I can’t risk that. Because the mere act of letting you stay here is against the Erganivian law.”

His jaw dropped, then he was doomed. He had no other choice but to wait for the blue moon to get back home. He humored himself about the famous line ‘Once in a Blue Moon.’ This must be the origin of that. Who would have thought that he suffered literally in the real sense of it?

Blue moon, darn! “I will try my best to be alive until the blue moon,” he tilted his head.

“All right.” Aserah’s hands suddenly illuminated like a hundred fireflies played above. Then a necklace appeared in her hands.

“I will give you this amulet. The pendant is the emblem of Noyuh, with a jade diamond in the middle. It will conceal your human scent, and this will give you a gift of faerie eyes.” She presented to him the gold necklace with a medium-sized circular pendant.

“What do you mean?” He was hesitant to accept the amulet.

“You will know once you wear it.” Aserah smiled and flicked her fingers. In an instant, he was inside his bedroom. Lifa was there, fixing clothes in the closet. The dark-skinned faerie just shook her head after she saw him appeared from nowhere.