Chapter 1: part 2

"Aurora Yhur Ashevore. The sole survivor of the mighty Ashevore family. Now, on the brink of death." He had said. I glared at him. I was not sure whether he was an enemy or an ally, but those days...? It was near impossible to find an ally.

"Where's the gem of Nurion?" My voice came out hoarse.

He was inspecting me. His hood covered his face and his entire features, and he had put away his wings. I had no way of identifying him.

"I am not your enemy. Think of me as a companion in your last moments in this time." He said again.

I asked the same question back. Was he going to give it back to the board of emperors?

He sighed. "The gem of Nurion. It is perhaps the most dangerous dark artefact currently in existence. Not the kind of power one would want in the wrong hands."

No direct answer then. Alright.

"Which hands do you think are the wrong hands for it to be in?" A careful question. What will your answer be, smart ass?

"Hm... I'm not sure. The board of emperors, maybe?" I can't see him, but I can feel his smile.

The poison was still running deep in my veins, and I knew. I knew that I was well on my way to death. I did not intend to die while playing word games with some man.

"Where. Is. The Nurion gem?!" I snapped. The pain was gone. I should be in agony right now, but there was no pain.

Only the lingering feeling that the poison is still in me and it was killing me.

He came closer, the cold tip of his blade gently pressed against the bare skin on my stomach. Since when did my dress tear from the stomach area? Why had I not noticed?

He looked up at me, his face still barely visible underneath his hooded cloak, but I could make out his eyes that were met with mine. His eyes that I... can no longer remember.

"The gem." His voice came out in a low whisper.

"Is inside of you. I had no way to hide it. I had no way to save you as well. But there was one way to do both."

His blade ran up my stomach, sending cold chills down my body.

"I am not lying when I tell you that I am not your enemy, Aurora. Look around us. Look at Izalore. Look at Nethyria. Look at our kingdoms and empires that once used to look so vibrant and used to be so peaceful, joyous, and happy. It has all crumbled down."

He was now behind me as I sat, listening. He talked like he cared. But anyone can talk.

"In three years, three measly years the entire empire and the kingdoms surrounding it came into ruin. A new rule began, and what now? Lower fae and humans are either reduced to slavery or unpaid prostitution. Other human women were taken by lords for breeding. Fae was reduced to prisoners or servants. A selected few can live in lavish luxury. The rest...? The rest be damned."

There was a quiet malice in his voice. With a little effort, I got up and stood on the edge of the mountain cliff, staring into mist, fog, and nothingness. He's not wrong.

"And where do you stand in all this?" I asked him, some deep part of me telling me that this person is not an enemy. Trust him. But why? I only knew him for a few minutes.

"So many of our friends and family were executed for joining the war against their rule. This was all possible thanks to the power of the gem that you now possess deep within your soul, Aurora. Not in your body. But in your soul."

I felt him behind me again, closer than he had been before. With a slight movement of his hand, the fog and mist around us cleared, showing the sky glittering with endless stars.

Beneath me, thousands of Wish-wisps floated and danced around in their elegant beauty. Wish-wisps... they were rumoured to be as magical as they looked, with their glowing white little bodies that are slightly identical to jellyfish, their weights so light that they're able to float in the air in their gentle slowness.

The most beautiful scene I had seen in 600 long years...