The Truth

"Dying? What do you mean?" The Elven Queen spoke up, and the Kalibri's ears perked up at the sudden announcement.

Sulon shook his head, beginning to tremble, which was unusual.

"The drug she's been using, it must've leaked or began polluting the environment. The Crystal from our district, which is meant to supply us with energy, and help up-keep life eternally, keep our produce good, and ensure that disease and other tragedies are kept away from our district has been corrupted. I thought this was impossible. My parents did too. They began to study what happened, at first the changes small. The crystal began dimming, the weather changing, produce dropping, more miscarriages, all happening at such a small rate that no one has noticed. And then they died, got killed by the Queen. I don't know where it is, but they had a private library, one that only I know about, and it contains all the information, but right now, we need to move. The corruption has begun chipping away at the Crystal, and its color is almost fully black, with dark magic encircling it. It's like there's a forcefield around it; you can't get near. But the worst part is that it's been spreading throughout the land, and is slowly but steadily making its way towards the other districts Crystals. I saw that just before we left, and since it takes a week to travel to our planet, and we've been here a week, I'm scared as to what lengths it's reached now."

The Mighty Four remained silent as they nodded. The masculine Kalibreus said something, its language close to a growl but with some hisses and clicks in there too. The Elven Queen nodded along and closed her eyes, her expression sullen.

She looked Maila in the eye.

"Are you currently the highest ranking Stelra in your district?"

Maila froze, confusing etching its way across her face. She thought about different nobles and politicians. The Queen or King was at the top of the pyramid, their heir right beneath them. Then it was The Captain of the Royal Guard, along with the Second in Command. Underneath that were nobles and politicians or rich citizens, the Warriors underneath them along with middle lass Stelrid. Then it was the servants, with peasants underneath them. Her eyes widened; the Queen didn't have an heir.

A knock sounded on the door before Maila could answer though, and it was obviously panicked. The person was allowed entrance and in stepped a very stern looking Elf, the same one who shot down Caramel, with golden eyes, and tan skin matched with waist-length silver hair. He looked worried but stern at the same time, his sculpted body tense.

"Lauk?" The Elven Queen enquired. "What happened? It doesn't seem good..."

"The city, it's on fire."

The Mighty Four stood up at once.

"We've already begun putting it out, though it's proving difficult."

"How? There isn't much wood save for furniture and interior design, or outside furniture. I need a situation check ASAP, with numbers and statistics. And put it out dammit!" The Elven King commanded, walking around the table to Lauk, who simply nodded and left the room in a hurry. The Elven King turned and looked seriously at everyone in the room. "This conversation will continue later. Mira, get to the Armoury and do Code Black, this is clearly the work of magic. Kalibri Terren and Faun, take our...guests.. to the Safe Room, and make sure our best forces are working on the fire. I'm going to check on the invasion, perhaps the other Monarchs have arrived." All of the addressed nodded and Maila and Sulon gravely followed the Kalibri leaders as they went down many winding stairs, to the supposed Safe Room.

The underground chamber was large, made of clearly enchanted stone which had runes carved into each wall. There were already lots of families there, from baby Kalibri to elderly Elves. Sulon took Maila by the arm and protectively held her in a corner as they sat down, waiting for something to happen. The room was lit by enchanted torchlight, and each and every being in the room stared curiously at the two new additions to their safe haven. The Kalibri leaders spoke in their odd tongue, and elderly Elves quickly began to translate.

"Their is a Code Black including a fire; you are to stay down here until one of the Mighty Four collects you. Do not answer to anyone else. We are unsure as to how long the emergency will last, but will collect anyone who we need to help."

With that, the two leaders left, closing the doors and running on all fours, away from safety, out towards death.

Maila sighed in defeat in the darkness; she was useless. She didn't know her own Kingdom was dying, her people were dying, and now there was an emergency possibly caused by the other Monarchs from her planet, ready to wreak more havoc. Sulon's arms tightened around her.

An elderly Elf slowly come to them, kneeling in front of Maila. The woman had gray hair which was in a long braid that reached the floor, her hair thin and dull, but her eyes bright and assertive, the stormy gray swirling in thought. She wore traditional clothing of older Elves, and Maila wondered how old she really was. She looked at Maila thoughtfully before whispering something barely audible.

"Chosen one."

Maila was confused; was it because she had started a war, or because she betrayed her people? Was it because she was trying to stop any more collateral damage, or because she was the highest ranking Stelra in her district? Or maybe the woman was delusional or playing a trick on her. A tattoo on her forehead of a vertical eye glowed as she mumbled this again.

"Chosen one."

"I-I'm s-sorry, what?"

"Your Kingdom brings death, and you are the tool that is used to dig up bones and diamonds. Goddess gave you life so you could spread it; be the tool She shaped you into."

Her eyes closed, and the tattoo stopped glowing, she lay down and closed her eyes, snoring within seconds. Everyone stared at her, and Maila's quizzical expression intensified.

Chosen one, by the Goddess? She knew she had to end the war, ut that changed her perspective on everything. People were dying as she sat there, doing nothing, and soon it wouldn't just be warriors dying, but civilians back home too. In fact, she'd be surprised if they hadn't noticed the Crystal yet, even though she didn't know until moments before.

"Maila, what was that?"

"I..I don't know."

"Your tattoo, it glowed like her forehead...Does that mean she's right?"

"For my sake and our planets, I hope not. I don't want to have more blood on my hands than I already do."

But Maila wasn't sure that it wasn't true; her nightmares already became reality. The burning city, the attack, everything that had happened over the past week, whether she saw it or not, was not only her fault but also hers to fix. She sighed as she watched the old woman sleep.