A Visitation

Next morning…

"Iris!!! Iris!!! come for breakfast and don't let me come up there for you!" Khalisa shouted at me.

I jumped up and thought to myself, "If Khalisa was shouting, then Mom and Dad were not home. "What happened last night? Why can't I remember?"

I made my bed, brushed my hair and went downstairs. My twin brothers stared at me and slowly walked over to their swords that were lying on the chair. My sister had her back turned to me as I entered the kitchen.

"Demon! What have you done with our sister?!" my brothers confronted me. I looked at my sister who just turned around. Her eyes popped open, her mouth widened, and her hand grabbed a butcher knife from the counter.

"Guys, what are you doing? I am not playing," I said, as I wondered why everyone was looking at me like I was the enemy.

"Evil spirit, I don't know where you came from, but you sure picked the wrong house to barge in!" Caden snarled.

I managed to glance at my reflection in the mirrored fridge door. I almost jumped out of my skin, I would too if I could.

It was like my body was made of pink crystals, my hands, feet, and eyes looked pink. "What in the world is happening?!" I exclaimed.

At that moment, the twins started attacking me with their swords. My hands blocked the blows and I pulled the swords from their hands and placed them on the kitchen island.

"Caden, Jayden, Khalisa, please I don't want to hurt any of you. I am Keliana, your sister. I don't know what happened last night, but the last thing I remember was opening Lino's gift."

"Do you believe her, Khalisa?" Jayden asked as he picked up his sword.

"Okay, ask me something that only I would know to prove that I am your sister," she said.

Caden walked a little closer to her with a raised eyebrow. "What did we bet on yesterday?"

"That's easy, I didn't bet anything, you tricked me into washing your dirty clothes and cleaning your artillery," I replied.

Jayden and Khalisa urged him to let them in on the secret.

"Is that true, Cayden?" Khalisa asked.

"It is true," he answered curiously while wondering what happened to his sister. Cayden then tapped her forehead and she pushed him away only to send him flying into the living room wall.

"Oh, Cayden, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to push you so hard. I don't know what is happening to me."

Cayden brushed off himself and then wiped the blood from his face.

"I am alright, only my pride is hurt. I can't believe you are so strong and why do you look like a crystal... or is that diamond?" he asked.

"How do you change back?" Jayden asked.

"I...I don't know! I went to sleep holding Lino's pink crystal in my hand and then…." Keliana held her head as a sharp pain hit her. Feeling her head spin, she stumbled to the floor. Her eyes fluttered, she saw her siblings coming towards her and their lips moving but could hear nothing and everything faded into darkness.

***

"We need to get Mom and Dad. Maybe they will know how to reverse the effects," Jayden said.

"We can't reach them now, they left me in charge until they return," Khalisa said as she wiped Keliana's forehead which felt like she was getting a fever.

"Maybe if she held the crystal and cast a spell it could reverse the curse," Cayden said.

"What makes you think this is a curse?" Jaden asked.

"Isn't it obvious? She didn't even know she changed and now she won't get up, her fever is only getting higher..." Cayden explained.

"We need to put her on ice, fill the bathtub and dump it with ice," Khalisa ordered.

***

"Where am I?" Keliana asks holding her head as she sat up.

All around her was dark, with no windows or doors the only thing she noticed was the tingle at her right ankle. She flexed her hand and a bright white light started to glow, illuminating the darkness so she could see where to walk. She began to walk around what looked like a dark cave. It had various colours of crystals jutting out from the cave floors, ceilings and walls. She could also hear water flowing and hoped this would lead her out. Throughout the cave, various rock formations were visible which looked like they have been there for millions of years and the air was damp and smelt a bit musty and earthy.

After walking for what seemed like miles, Keliana found an underground river and went to drink from it. She washed her face and looked at her reflection in the water. She was back to her normal self again. She smiled happily, rejoicing inwardly. The cave seems to have a few trees growing around of assorted heights, shapes and types. She found an apple tree and proceeded to pick an apple to eat as her tummy growled.

"Ahh!!! Keliana screamed as a horrid, giant, hairy, red and black spider dropped in front of her. Its fangs tried to snap at her. Evading them, she tried to reach for her blade that was normally strapped to her leg, but nothing was there. She then placed both hands in front of her and as if on cue, turned up the light and the spider crawled back up its web.

"Where am I?" she whispered afraid to make any loud sounds.

Keliana continued to look for a way out, not realizing that a dark figure was approaching her.

"Hello dear," an old voice said.

Keliana turned to see an older version of her mother. She had kind silver-blue eyes with, long white flowing hair.

"Who are you?" Keliana asked.

"I am your great ancestor," she smiled.

Keliana noticed she had all her teeth and a beautiful smile. Was this real? Or was she still home dreaming or having a nightmare?

"Where am I? she asked.

"You are where you are meant to be, my child," she replied.

"I don't know what that means. Is this a dream?" Keliana asked.

"No! Your body is transcending to a new more powerful temple."

"I don't understand what you are saying, old one," Keliana furrowed her brow as she waited for the old one to explain.

"Please call me Nanca," the old woman said. "You are not who you think you are, my child," she continued.

"Can you stop speaking to me in riddles and just talk to me straight?" Keliana asked as rolled her eyes.

"In order for me to tell you, I would need to take you back in time to where your family once ruled," Nanca replied.

"Okay, but before you do that. I was with my family before I woke up in this place. Are they okay?" Keliana asked.

"Your family is safe, but your body I am afraid is going to get much hotter if I don't take you back in time for you to fully understand your birthright and your destiny as the future Queen of our world," Nanca babbled.

"Queen? What are you saying? Am I a queen?" Keliana gasped.

"No my child, you are a princess and your father the king," Nanca answered.

"What? Does Father not know he is a King?" Keliana asked, moving closer to Nanca.

"Come my child, let me take you on a journey to see your heritage.

***

"Our system was that of Absolute Monarchy, ruling with absolute power. Our family has been ruling for many millennia as supreme beings over vast civilizations. We are charged with protecting other realms, and we ruled with almost no confrontation." Nanca said waving her hand before them which created a portal to what seemed like another world.

The world before Keliana was filled with mysterious mountains, beautiful statues and historic buildings. It was the most picturesque, ancient and breathtaking view she had ever seen. The air was warm and fresh, fragranced with the scent of roses and flowers. It was like walking through a maze of assorted flowers, red, blue, pink, yellow, and purple. They even had black and white roses. This was new to Keliana. She bent to pick a rose, noting it had no thorns, and its stem was green. She instantly pulled it to her nose to get its rich scent.

"Mhmm, it smells like vanilla ice cream," and gave Nanca a questioning look.

Nanca smiled and waved her hand again. This time they were in an elegant, truly grand palace. It had royal guards posted at selective doorways and gateways.

"Where are we now, Nanca?" Keliana asked.

"We are on the planet Baryelan in the royal palace before a new government system took over," she said as they explored the palace.

"I notice we have no fortified walls to protect ourselves from invasion. Was there an invasion that caused my family to die?" Keliana asked.

"It is better to show you than to tell you. It will be clearer," Nanca replied.

"Will they see us walking about?" Keliana asked.

"No! We are in spirit form and thus they can not see or hear us," she replied.

"I don't know...what is going to happen to my body if my spirit doesn't return in time?" Keliana hesitated.

"No harm will come to your body. Like a caterpillar that cocoons and blossoms into a beautiful butterfly, so will your body morph into its new skin. You have nothing to fear. But we can't spend a lifetime here as once you are reborn, you will need nourishment for your body," Nanca explained.

"What will my family think, won't they think I am dead if I just lay still for days? This feels like we've been here for weeks. Or is it just my mind telling me this?" Keliana asked.

"Time is different here. You could be here for months and only have a day pass on your world," her ancestor said.

"Okay, then let's do this. Show me my past," Keliana said.

Immediately the world shimmered and she was in the Queen's chambers with the King. The queen was sitting at her desk writing in her journal. While the king stood behind her rubbing her shoulders.

"You hit the spot, right there, my love," she said and gently tapped him on the hand. He paused and paced the room behind her.

"Is something on your mind, Jinh?" she asked, turning towards him.

He stopped pacing and cracked his knuckles. He shook his head and continued pacing again then stopped.

"Your brother doesn't seem well, my queen. I am hearing rumours that he wants to overthrow us," King Jinhi Aurum said. He was a tall, strong, handsome man. His jet-black hair flowed to the middle of his back. His eyes were slightly slanted hazel with blue around the rims. He lifted his chin with a nod to the queen's brother in the family portrait on the wall.

"My love, my half-brother, is many things, but not a killer. His threats are meaningless. I will speak to him in the morning. For now, we have to plan a banquet for our guests arriving from Earth One," Queen Lahti said. She had thick curly golden flowing hair to her bottom. Her smile was dazzling and her voice always sounded musical to her husband.

"I think you give your brother too much credit Lahti. We should set up more guards to ensure he has no chance of plotting anything. And also to provide extra security for our new arrivals." King Jinhi urged.

"If it pleases you, my king, I will order more guards. Mondola is like a child who throws temper tantrums. Once he finds his eyes set on something else he will move on," the queen replied.

King Jinh walked closer to his queen and took her pen from her and placed it in the book. He gently brushed his hand over her cheeks. He then took her by the hand and said, "Come my love."

She smiled and blushed as she got up to join her husband. She was seven feet, with shapely, well-sized breasts. Silently he thanked God for blessing him with a beautiful, strong woman. Looking down into her sparkling eyes from his 8ft height, she gazed up at him and then to the side. He gently moved a lock of hair behind her ear and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. She shivered as sparks flew between them. "God, you are so beautiful. I have missed you so much," he said as she stood in front of her husband, who just led her from her desk.

He gently lifted her chin and bent down to kiss her plump red lips. Their hearts raced and he stopped for a moment to search her eyes.

Her eyes changed from brown to golden orange. The fire in her eyes told him she wanted him. This would be the first night they would be sleeping together after travelling across the galaxies to spread the word of creating a peaceful union for over a month.

"I don't think we need to see this part, Nanca," Keliana said with embarrassment.

With a wave of her hand, they were in another room. It felt heavy and eerie. Keliana shivered and rubbed her arms.

"Where are we now?" she asked.

"We are in your father's uncle's room," she said pointing to a dark figure sitting in the corner of his room around his desk.

His hair was a bit messy. He had black hair like my father, Keliana thought. As she walked closer to him she could hear him mumbling. She got closer so she could hear him better.

"I will take my rightful place as ruler. Mother, you should have been queen and not my half-sister. She took away my thrown by being born. I should have wiped her out when I had the chance. But something keeps stopping me, soon I will have my revenge and take what truly belongs to me," Mondola babbled.

Keliana gasped when his eyes turned black and a sinister smile played on his lips.

"What is he talking about, Nanca?"

"Your grandfather, the king had two wives, your father's mother was his first wife who was said to be infertile. His second wife was a slender woman from Dinopo, who only had one child from her previous marriage, non-other than the king's first wife. After getting married she conceived Prince Mondola. He would have been king if your grandmother, the first queen wasn't born. Your grandfather loved your grandmother more than his second wife and once she gave him their first three children, 15 years later Mondola was no longer the only heir to the throne. He was no longer the only child. No longer poised to be king. For it was the females that set to rule and our men rule alongside us. In other words, the queen has the final say in everything," Nanca explained.

"I feel so sorry for him. For fifteen years they groomed him for being a king, only to have the title ripped away from him."

"Yes, as it was said, the king's first wife was barren. So no one expected her to bring forth many children. That is why the king married a second woman, his wife's mother. She came from a wealthy family and was an asset to this kingdom. The first queen prayed and fasted for Yahweh to bless her womb and bless her he did, as your grandmother gave birth to triplets. Oh, the entire kingdom rejoiced," Nanca said smiling.

"Your grandmother, Queen Lahti, was the most beautiful and beloved queen Baryelan has ever seen and you, my child will reign one day as supreme Queen," Nanca said as she looked into Keliana eyes.

"But I don't know how to be a queen, and shouldn't father be king first?" she asked the ancient one.

"Your father can be king if he chooses to, but you are the one that is to be queen," Nanca said.

"What about Khalisa, she is the oldest?"

"As I said you are the true queen. You are the only true heir to the throne. Your siblings are only half your royal blood," Nanca replied.

" What does that even mean? What about my missing older brother Drako? I don't believe he is dead nor Benara his nanny," Keliana asked.

" Your brother and his nanny did not die in the fire, but they might have wished they did," Nanca said as she waved her hand.

"Where are we now?" Keliana asked.

"We are in Mondola's prison realm," she replied.

The prison world looked dark and bleak with demons running all over the place. It had a medieval look and feel. It had lanterns at the end and middle of each corridor. Secret corridors and hidden chambers.

They walked around until they heard a high pitch scream then ran to where it came from. Keliana covered her eyes as she saw a woman being stretched to the limit. She had gold blood coming out her side and hands.

"Can we release her?" Keliana asked walking closer.

" I am afraid we can't, " she replied.

"Who is she?" Keliana asked.

"That is Benara," she replied.

"But I thought she could see things before it happened."

" She can, but it doesn't help if you can't see everything and even if you can, there are some things you can't change. This was one of them. She had to choose between torture or freedom for Drako."

"Show me Drako," Keliana ordered.

"Mhmm, you are using your authoritative voice. As you command, future Queen." Nanca said and waved her hand.

***

The Vilpern Residence

"Dante! Why must I call you so many times?" Marni shouted.

"Dad, why do I have to go with Mother, I want to go with you?" Dante moaned.

"Don't worry do as your mother commands and all will be well," Linos replied ruffling his son's hair.

He was in his father's room helping him prepare for his trip to Jamaica to see his long-time friends, Peter and Michelle Larkin. He had not seen them for over 15 years. He remembered the day they left. He was heartbroken for his friends when he heard their house was destroyed along with their youngest son and his nanny. He wanted to investigate the fire and try to find some peace for his grieving friends. He didn't want to show up empty-handed and so decided to search high and low for any evidence of foul play and leads to find their artillery as those could not be destroyed. Years later he found a lead to where they were and retrieved it from a demon who refused to tell him where he got it and what happened to the little boy and his nanny. He just dispatched it then and there as he felt the rage surge through him when he remembered Michelle devastated facial expression when she realized her son might have perished in the fire.

"Okay Dad, only because you say so," Dante replied as he walked out of his father's bedroom and down the stairs of his three-story home to his mother in the kitchen.

Marni prepared breakfast, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the two important men in her life as she divided the meal and set it out to be shared.

"Mother, you called," Dante said as he entered the kitchen.

" Yes, sit and eat. Where is your father?" she asked as she sat down to eat with her son.

"He is getting ready for his trip to Jamaica," he replied.

"Why?" she asked.

" He found the Larkin artillery and is going to return it to them," he replied.

"Where did he find it, she asked looking a bit panic."

"I found it in Mondola territory by the Sage Rise Complex," Linos said as he entered the kitchen. " Breakfast smells wonderful, Marni. You have changed so much since we had Dante," he said as he sat down to eat.

" I didn't know you still kept in contact with the Larkin and I thought you stopped looking for the dead boy and his nanny," Marni asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I tried, but after the birth of our son. The joy that I have for a miracle to occur since the doctors said you could not conceive, I wanted to give them peace at least in taking revenge on those who took their precious child away in such a vicious manner. I couldn't live with that knowing I was filled with joy and they were grief-stricken. Not to mention they were weaponless," he said.

Marni looked at him and touched his hand she still felt uneasy.

" You don't have to feel jealous about me seeing Michelle, she is happily married and I am happily married to you," he said as he got up and kissed her forehead.

"I have to go now. I will be back in a few days," Linos said.

"Wait...I have a gift for you to give Michelle. I was to give her before she left but it didn't feel right. But now seems to be as good as any."

Marni went upstairs and opened her walk-in closet. She walked to her dresser. She opened her drawer and pulled out a pretty red and gold wrapping paper package. She smiled as she checked its content to ensure everything was as it should.

She walked down to her husband and gave it to him. He took it and placed it in one of his travelling bags. He hugged them both and said to Dante. "Listen to your mother, she is here to guide and protect you. I will be back before you know it. Perhaps on my next visit, you can come." Dante nodded his head and went to clear the table and wash up the dishes.

He kissed his wife and made a portal to the Larkin's residence.

Keliana's mind went into overdrive. She ran over every story her family told her of Drako's "death", then to the picture of Dante and seeing him now. It was a few days before his visit to our home. This was so much to take in. Not to mention being a queen. This was a lot to think about. How was she going to tell her family? Would they even believe her?

"Nanca...is Dante...Drako?" Keliana asked as her eyes widened.

She couldn't believe that her missing brother could be Linos' son.