Chapter 3

"Well, I would love to visit your shop sometimes," I told Crimzon.

"Of course, it would be an honour. Which is your favourite flower? I will arrange some, especially for you." She asked with a delight in her voice.

"Chrysanthemums, are my absolute favourite."

"Oh, a flower of the winter and they are almost available in every colour. What a fine choice."

" Thank you so much," I replied.

" Let's go for a walk deeper into the jungle while continuing our chat, I promised Crimzon I will show her around, especially the boundary of the dark realm," Zian told me excitedly. Crimzon looked excited at the proposal as well.

" Let's head over there then but we will have to keep our distance, don't forget going too close is forbidden," I said on a serious note.

Dark Realm was sealed centuries ago and no one was allowed in or out of it. The boundary it shared with our realm was about 20 Kms long and most people liked to steer away from it.

As we headed closer to the dark realm, the air began to become stale and petrified. The sweet smell of flowers and the chirping of the birds decreased. There was a strange tension in the air and we could all feel it. Crimzon took Zian's hand and walked close to him with her eyes wide open. Zian had a serious look on his face, while I was mesmerized.

"Wow," Crimzon shrieked. As it came into view. The thick boundary walls, and above them the spell which had sealed this realm, was like a huge dome made up of black and violet thick jelly. Occasionally it moved like it had a life force of its own. Roars of the monsters who lurked inside could be heard and it chilled the very blood in our bodies.

There was a strange feeling rushing through my body, it was like something was pulling me towards the dark realm. We stopped about 100 meters away from the concealed boundary. we had built another wall about 50 meters away from the main wall, just for precautionary reasons and to keep youngsters at bay.

I had occasionally visited here with Zian and pondered over what strange monsters might roam in there. But, we had never crossed the threshold. Today, was different though, I wanted to climb the second wall and head above the main wall into the dark realm.

Without thinking I headed toward the wall. "Where are you going?" Zian called me. But, I paid no heed to his words, it appeared like his voice was coming far away, although he was standing right next to me.

I didn't spare him a glance, instead, I opened my deep purple wings and flew over the first wall and headed straight for the second one. Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Crimzon screamed and Zian spread his wings. Before, I collided with the main boundary and the magic barrier our ancestors had created. Zian caught me by my waist and tried to pull me back.

It felt like my whole body was on fire and my eyes glowed. I pushed him hard and tried to free myself from his grasp in midair. "Crimzon, help me," he shouted.

Crimzon spared no time and came to his aid. Both of them struggled to get hold of me, while I was hellbent on flying right through the barrier into the dark dimension. 

Zian and Crimzon didn't let go of me and flew while holding me tightly as far away as possible from the dark realm.

As they flew away from Dark Realm, I began to gain control of my senses. After about 5 minutes I exclaimed: "What's going on?"

Zian and Crimzon looked at each other and finally placed me down near a flower bed in the forest. I looked confused as I couldn't make head and tail of the events that had just transpired.

"What's going on is that you tried to commit suicide by forcefully trying to enter the Dark Realm. You very well know that no one can cross that boundary, whoever tries gets killed instantly, and their bodies turn to ashes. What were you even thinking?" Zian replied angrily. His face was red and his nostrils were flared. I had never seen him like that. Crimzon just stared at me in a shocked state.

"I am sorry, I don't know what came over me but believe me, my body moved on its own accord. I wasn't able to control myself. It was like some unseen force was pulling me towards the Dark Realm ". I said apologetically.

Zian and Crimzon stared at me with shocked eyes. I, myself had no idea what happened.

"Well, let's get you home first and then we can discuss this event," Zian decided.

"Don't say anything to my father, you know how he worries about me, I don't want to get locked up in the house," I asked Zian.

"We won't discuss this with anyone for now, but you are not going anywhere near the Dark Realm until we sort out and make sense of what happened today. And, don't worry we are here for you." Zian replied and I nodded.

"Are you alright? Can you walk?" Crimzon asked me with concern in her voice.

"I am and I can walk." I got up and folded my wings which were still spread.

We headed back to the castle in complete silence. I was deep in thought trying to figure out what it could have been which made me lose my self-control. Was it some powerful force from inside the Dark Realm which was calling me to it? How was that even possible? Powerful boundary spell made it impossible for anything to have any effect on our realms anymore from inside the Dark Realm. I had to talk to someone, someone who understood the magic and realms on a deeper level.

We reached home and headed for my room. Once inside the room, we closed the door and sat down to make sense of today's events.

"We need to consult the royal library. Some book is sure to have information related to this kind of incident. Crimzon and I will go and gather information." Zian offered.

"Sure, you guys go ahead and I would go and discuss it with my grandmother. Hopefully, she will have some answers to what happened." I replied.