chapter [9]

Dorian's POV

An hour before

It had been months since I was called to the quarters of the Fairy Queen but this time I wasn't too excited about it.
The body language of the guards said it all... they were trembling in fear when they opened the giant wooden gate to the royal hall.
Mother was indeed a being of incredible aura but seeing them agitated like this probably meant that me missing her birthday wasn't the only reason I was here.

"Did they tell you anything?" I leaned over to Ilayda when we stopped in front of the gate.
She sighed but shook her head.

"I'm sure they noticed that you brought someone here but that has never been an issue before..." She spoke what I already thought of.

"You should go now... I wasn't allowed to come with you." She added and urged me to go so I gave her an assuring nod and entered the royal chambers confidently with my head up.

I couldn't show uncertainty or fear in front of mother...

"Your son, crown prince Dorian greets the Fairy Queen Aide, mother of the forest and protector of the fairy folk." I did an official greeting and bowed down deeply without looking her in the eyes. She didn't reply for a long moment but I didn't dare looking up until my back began to hurt. Already pressing her authority, didn't she?

"Dorian" Her mighty voice echoed through the room and made me hold my breath for a second. I lifted my head and finally got to look at her.
It was the same face and appearance that had burned itself into my vision for more than 200 years.

Hair as pearly white as mine but with a warm touch of gold and embroidered with thousands of flowerpetals and small emeralds, eyes in the color of a diamond reflecting the blue sky, much lighter than mine and having the ability to see through anything and everyone. Despite being thousands of years old her appearance resembled a young woman with skin as soft and tender as silk and small lips that were pressed together in a tensed manner.
The folk admired her as a beauty out of this world but when I looked at her an uncomfortable feeling spread in my chest.

"I am here to officially apologize for missing out on your birthday party. There was an unexpected accident-" I gave my best to sound sincere but she interrupted me half way without any warning.

"You've disappointed me, Dorian. Why is it that I must hear of something like this from a subordinate?" It seemed she was calm but the enormous pressure of her status pressed down on me and made it hard to breathe.

"I... am not quite sure what Her Magisty is referring to."

"Demonic creatures have shown a suspicious pattern of movement for some time now. Just recently I was told you witnessed such an occurrence and took a being related to the cause here. What is the meaning of this?!" Her hand formed a fist and I bit down on my lips nervously. So there was indeed a real reason why I was called here... of course nothing would go unnoticed by her. And I thought I was save as long as General Hawk didn't spill...

"We will be investigating the recent movement of the demons. The boy I took might be of assistance, I already confirmed that he is no threat." I replied as confidently as I could but it seemed to anger the Queen.

"Hah!" She laughed out and suddenly I was swept off my feet when an invisible force pulled me forward until I crashed with the ground right in front of her magisty's seat.

"Don't take me for a fool. It's obvious he's just another one of your play things, you even went as far as bringing his human friend to ensure he'd stay with you. Say, are you so desperate that you even throw yourself at filthy bastards like that?!" She slammed her hand down on her seat and laughed down at me in a voice filled with blissfullness and amusement.

It wasn't the first time she insulted me like this... I had experienced way worse so I'd deal with it as usual. But why did it take so much strength to retain my anger? Was her insulting Vael actually bothering me? No... it could never.

"I know you didn't call me here for that so what is it that you want?" I pushed myself up from the floor and fixed my hair to face her again. This mad woman would only get more excited if I began to fall for her tricks.

"Hm" She clicked her tongue and brushed a bit of dust from her seat.

"You've been careless. This bastard you brought in... I've had a background check done on him and it seems like there is no record of his birth. His father must have been some sort of demon though... meaning there is a high chance he works for the enemy and meanwhile you just let him walk straight into my palace..." She spoke with narrowed eyes and closely observed me for my answer. In the short time I had brought Vael here, she already had his identity checked? What shocked me even more is that not even the Fairy Queen knew about Vael's identity. Just who the hell was he really?

"He is safe. He-"

"It is for me to decide whether a filthy offspring is worth keeping alive!" The Queen silenced me down once again and I got a chilly feeling.

"Something is happening behind the scenes in the demon world so I expect you to be cautious. Get rid of him at once!" She ordered and my jaw clenched. Before I knew it I had already raised my voice.

"Why are you so paranoid?! Not every demon has to be our enemy and he doesn't even know how to use his powers yet!"

SLAP

Her hand hit across my face and I lost balance and was swayed off my feet so I fell to the ground. The Queen had stood up and I was laying on the floor, a burning sensation on my face and already feeling it swell from the incredible force of the mighty queen.
I chuckled lightly but it wasn't because the situation was funny. Rather, it was self-pity. How often had I experienced this before? By now, I should have at least thought about dodging, but once again, I found myself on the floor.

"You are immature and stupid... a disgrace to this family and just as egoistic as your father." She spat when I coughed up blood. With the back of my hand I wiped my lips and tried to catch my breath. Immature... stupid... she had never once complimented me but I had gotten used to it. This was nothing... I was not even surprised.

"There have been rumors about a prophecy circulating in the forests..." She began to speak once again, this time in a much more serious manner.

"The prophecy says that a man will arise from the depths of the darkness to start a war and take revenge on our folk... an offspring of him..." She told me and I slowly grasped why she was so agitated about me bringing someone foreign here.

"By "him"... you mean the Dragon King, right?" I breathed out with an exhausted voice and noticed mother's hand flinching slightly. Speaking his name was a great taboo in the palace but I knew that she had some sort of past with the dragon king even before he disappeared in the war.

"The Dragon King is dead!" She yelled but quickly regained her posture.

"But if it turns out he has a child... it is our utmost priority to eliminate it at all costs. Intruders from outside must be killed, no creature with demonic blood will enter the palace..." She demanded of me and I immediately knew what would come next. She'd have Vael executed at this point just because of this rumor.

"What? Will you not obey my orders?" It felt like she read my thoughts when her question made me focus again. I had never disobeyed the Fairy Queen's orders... if the rumor was true and a war was around the corner it made sense to eliminate every variable.

But...

Vael's face popped up in my head. His big dark eyes staring into mine with his locks covering his forehead. The way tears had been falling down his face and his lips that curled up into a grin when he felt confident.
That boy wasn't evil... in any case I was the evil one.

"I will guide him out of the palace immediately and never bring him back." I quietly answered and the queen's curious eyes widened as if she had not expected an answer like this.

"Either you kill him or you'll be banned from entering the fairy palace or showing up in my presence again."

"Mother!" I begged her but the Queen's expression was as cold as ever. Even to her own son... she never showed even the least bit of kindness. She was a cruel woman.

"It is your decision, Dorian. Although you were never much talented in making your own decisions. After all you are just a little-"

"I'll leave" I replied with the same carelessness that she treated me with. How long did she think she would be enjoying this? Sooner or later she'd have to call me back to the palace anyway.

The Fairy Queen froze in her seat and a gloomy dark fog emerged from her body. An uncontrollable rage was shown in her eyes when I turned around and headed for the gate.

"You disgraceful failure! I should have ripped your head off the day you were born and fed you to the dogs!" She suddenly spewed these words in rage but the more she insulted me the more assured I felt about my decision.
I didn't need her support any longer... I was good enough on my own!

I was about to leave for good when she said one last thing.

"The cursed forest... it is where thousands of demons will be gathering soon. Go there and eliminate whoever is behind this, even if I have to send the whole royal army there."
...

Vael's POV

Sam and I were blindfolded when we left the fairy palace through something that felt similar to Gigrin's portals. As soon as that sickening feeling was gone I immediately noticed how the air smelled differently... in the fairy palace it had been very clean and frequently I'd take in the fragrance of the flowers but right here the air was thick and it felt strangely difficult to breathe.

"You can open your eyes now." Dorian gave permission after letting go of my hand that he had held on the way here and removing the blindfold.
Next to us, there were Ilayda and Sam who had just removed hers too.

Opposite to what I expected, it was night here and the streetlights along the road in front of Sam's appartment building were glowing in a warm yellow.

"Time flows differently here. A day in the Fairy Queen's kingdom is twice as long as here." Ilayda explained and Sam and I nodded in understanding. I remembered my mother having once told me that time was just another dimension to the fairies that humans hadn't grasped yet. That's why portals and a place like the Fairy Queen's palace even existed.

Slowly, I looked around us and the peaceful and quiet neighborhood where you'd only hear the noise coming from the city center and the main roads. In a way, it felt good being here again, especially since I hadn't been out at night for a while... right, I didn't go outside because I feared the demons noticing my presence. I had never told Dorian about it in detail because he only had to know that demonic creatures felt drawn to me.

"I think we should go inside quickly." I urged them to follow me and took the lead by heading over to Sam and pulling her with me to the front door.

It took her a confused second to catch on to what I was doing and she also fastened her pace.

"Sam, I can sense them... I think they noticed that I am here." I whispered to her having the strange feeling of being watched from certain sides.

"Calm down." She advised me after having typed in the door code and entering the apartment building after me.

"They'll not dare to attack you here with prince Dorian and-"

"Wait a moment." She was interrupted when Ilayda held open the door to step inside with Dorian behind her.

"There is something that has to be done before you can go back to your human life." She intensively stared at Sam who crossed her arms and tilted her head a little.

"What? Do I get a goodbye kiss?" She pursed her lips playfully and I could have sworn I saw Ilayda's hands shaking nervously for a moment before she awkwardly cleared her voice. Meanwhile, Dorian grinned at Sam's response.

"We'll erase your memories of everything related to the hidden realm. You'll forget about the palace, about his highness and me and about Vael's magic powers. It'll be the same as your friendship had been before."

"What?!" I turned around to Dorian with a mixed feeling of anger and broken trust. They had never mentioned anything about this.

"Why is that necessary? She can just give you another sort of reassurance that she won't tell anything of what she saw." I didn't understand this. Of course, I planned to keep Sam out of my search for my father and mother but having her forget about the hidden world after I had finally brought up the courage to tell her? It couldn't possibly be the same friendship as before.

"Vael... the hidden realm has a responsibly to stay separated from the human world and protect us from humans that strive to harm us. If your friend continues to live with the third eye and the knowledge of fairy creatures it'll only put her in much greater danger than you can imagine." He wanted to take my hand again but I took a step back to evade it. Hidden realm this hidden realm that, I had lived with the third eye all my life and managed well to survive even though I was definitely much more stupid than Sam... slowly, I turned around to her.

"It's fine El, it's not like I could help you much anyway with finding your mother." She said the obvious and yet it made me sad. But I also had to admit that Dorian was right. Sam had her normal life here, friends and family, a career and responsibilities that I had decided to leave behind completely.
There was no way I could force her to do the same.

"Let's talk for a moment." I took her hand and pulled her up the stairs and inside her apartment while Ilayda and Dorian stayed downstairs in the entrance area... at least they had enough empathy left to give me the chance of saying goodbye.

"I really don't want to hear some depressing message or something from you right now. Our friendship won't change even if I forget that you're some kind of alien." Sam crossed her arms and looked me up and down. Of course it wouldn't... and yet...

"Shut up" I forced her into a tight hug refusing to let go.

"Urgh, why are you like this? Get a boyfriend or girlfriend for that?" She acted disgusted even though I knew that she secretly enjoyed it.

"You are the only one left, Sam. I can't lose you too..." I had to whisper the last part so my voice wouldn't break. Good thing she didn't see my face right now because I was about to start ugly crying.

"Hey hey, you can't give up on your mom yet. And your dad is also somewhere out there. Who knows, you might even have siblings? So you'll never be alone..." She lightly put her hand on my back and caressed it.

"I don't need siblings when I have you" I mumbled making her laugh a little.

"Sometimes I'm doubting if you are really older than me, haha." She carefully helped me to let go and wrapped her arm around my shoulder to guide me to the door again. I could sense that she wanted to get this over with quickly... after all, Sam was uncomfortable with emotional situations like these.

"But Vael... don't forget what I told you in the palace because I will not be able to remind you again. Prince Dorian... he is dangerous. Apart from the fact that he is using you for something he seems to be quite the possessive type..." She glanced at me for a moment when I was reminded of his jealousy.

"I'll... keep it in mind." I decided to answer like that because I couldn't possibly say that I actually liked this side of him. There was no doubt that Dorian was very charming and even though he radiated danger this was what I liked about him most.

"I really trust you, Sam. You're the best friend I'll ever have." I stopped for a moment before we'd reach the others and looked her in the eyes with a wide smile.
As a reaction, she stared at me out of words for a few seconds before taking a forced breath.

"Vael, I think I need to tell you something..." Sam suddenly avoided my eyes and distanced herself a little. This... was very unusual.

"What? Do you not trust me?" I joked to lighten this strange mood a little and she shook her head.

"No, it's not that... but... if you want to survive you need to be less naive. You will meet someone in the near future, he-"

"VAEL!" A shout came from downstairs the building and a second later I was yanked back by something behind me. It felt like time was passing slower when I was pulled away and Sam reached her hand after me, her face distorted in shock.

A moment later the window in the hallway shattered and I was pulled up into the sky.

"What-" I turned around to see a bat-like creature having wrapped its giant claws around my torso. Its wings were black like the nightsky, and its eyes shone in a milky yellow... a demon.

Did that mean I wasn't safe even inside buildings at night anymore? This wouldn't do.

I used the tip of the creatures claw to cut the back of my hand and just as I rembered it, the firey feeling of magic started flowing through my veins.
I had never tested my limit nor did I have much time to practice but in the last few days I had gained a basic understanding of this power.

I breathed in and a warm red flame formed in the palm of my hand. If I shot this at the demon he'd let me fall... again, I glanced at the abyss underneath me.
If I fell from here, I'd probably die.

"Shit!" I hissed and looked everywhere for a blue pair of wings that signed that Dorian or Ilayda would come to my rescue but there was nothing to be seen but creatures blocking the building.

This was an organized attack. They waited until the prince and his guard would enter the building because they'd be able to block them from leaving for a certain time.
Meaning I was the main target just like my mother had been back then.

So what if... I'd just let myself be taken away by this creature? Would it bring me to where my mother was? Or would I die? And who was behind all this?

No, there was no time to think about these things right now. If mom was right then I should possess the power to control these beasts. I just needed to assert dominance and show them my power.

Next thing I knew, my body acted on its own. I closed my eyes to concentrate all the power that I felt in the center of my body when I suddenly heard it... a voice.

Trust your intuition, Vael. Show them your willpower.

The voice was deep and powerful... frightening even. Who was it that was speaking to me in my head? How did that person know my name...

Then suddenly everything went silent and dark. There was only my body that held a glowing fire inside of it. But the fire wasn't destructive and wild. It was passionate and powerful.

If I opened my eyes now everyone would see it, and everyone would feel this passion and power that was sealed inside of my heart.

"Go back" It was a simple demand that I voiced out when my eyes slowly opened and the creature hesitated for a moment and glared down at its prey in confusion.

Again, I spoke loudly and clearly.

"Go back"

To my surprise the bat demon started whimpering and loosened his grip on me.
Good... it seemed like there was an effect.
I grinned with confidence when all of a sudden I was dropped like a hot potato.

No...

My hair was caught in the wind and blocked my view when I was diving down to the ground in free fall. I didn't have wings... I couldn't catch myself when my body would hit the ground.

Someone... someone help.

"Urgh!" The air was pressed out of my lungs when I crashed with something in the air. In fact, I had landed on top of something furry and dirty.

"You?" I held my head and glanced at the creature with its wide wings and small body that was just big enough to carry me on its back.

The demon hadn't dropped me?

Instead, it was gliding down in circles, so the neighborhood with the apartment building came closer and closer.

"I... I did it!" I shouted out and threw my hands in the air. Meanwhile, the demon stayed indifferent. I had to admit that compared to those burned corpse like demons that had burned down my house, this one was by far not as ugly, if it wasn't for those disturbing eyes...

"If you listen to me that well, then can you tell me who sent you?" I wondered but it wasn't much of a surprise that there was no reaction. I should have been happy enough that it was even willing to bring me back down.

In that moment I sensed something coming at us. But it was already too late when a bolt of ice had drilled itself through the brain of the demon.
In the same second, it lost its balance and I was pushed off its back.

"No!" I yelled out and watched the dead demon disappear into dust when I was caught in Dorian's arms.
His blue wings were shimmering in the moonlight just as much as his hair that was falling down to all sides after his braid had loosened. 
But... while in the past he had given me a feeling of calm right now he seemed upset to the point that his eyes had lost their icey glow.

With wide eyes and a heavy breath, he watched the demon perish in front of his eyes and looked down at me.

"How could you be so reckless?!" I wasn't prepared for his angered voice and sudden strong grip. We were still up in the air, so I couldn't even bring distance between us or look away.

"... reckless? Is it my fault that this demon tried to take me away?" How could he throw something like this at me after I managed to control the situation by myself.

"Yes, it is! You could have told me that demons are after you whenever you are outside at night! You should have stayed by my side!" He yelled, so I had difficulties not being swayed by his outburst. I wouldn't yell back at him... not when we were still in the air.

"Since when do I have to tell you everything? It's not like you are honest with me either. And also... I managed the situation just fine by myself. If you haven't noticed yet, the demon was bringing me back down before you murdered it." I stated and didn't wait for him to answer.

"Now get me down already." I demanded and stared at him fearlessly.

"No" he said back confidently and the anger was still present in his expression.

"How did you make that demon bring you back down?" He asked impatiently and I saw no other choice but to answer as long as he'd get me down then.

"I ordered it."

"And it just listened to you?" He questioned sarcastically but soon noticed that I was serious.

"Bring me back down... now. We can talk there." I repeated myself but he didn't even listen to it. Instead, he pulled me closer.

"You always surprise me, Vael. Hiding the fact that you possess the ability to command demons... telling me I'm not honest after I risked my life by creating a fairy promise and after I was punished for bringing you to the palace..."
He whispered with a pained grin.

Punished? So there was something that happened during the audience with the fairy queen...

"No one has ever treated me with so little respect..." he lowered his face to my neck and whispered so I felt his breath on the sensitive skin underneath my jaw and ear.

"You drive me insane the more time I spent with you..."
The sensation of his whisper sent shivers down my spine and I subcontiously held onto the fabric of his shirt more tightly.

"You've been insane from the beginning" I breathed out and pressed my lips together when his lower lip brushed my skin.

"Then why did you make that deal with me? You must have known from the start that it is suspicious..." he continued teasing me.

"You can't escape me, Vael. You've walked into a Lion's den" he chuckled and bit down playfully on my neck before pecking the same spot lightly.

"I don't mind..." my voice was shivering but I wasn't lying.

"I don't care if you want to use my powers or if you want to make me your play thing..." I opened my eyes and observed him when he stopped and lifted his head so his eyes met mine.

"As long as I can save my mother... I'll not leave your side." I said this out loud much colder than intended.
But it was the truth... if it wasn't for my mother I would have never put up with Dorian's behavior, I would have left as soon as Sam warned me of him and I would try harder to push him away.

For a moment, he looked at me differently than just before. Almost as if he was disappointed... but the moment lasted shortly when he averted his eyes to the ground underneath us and began finally bringing me down.

Did I say something wrong? Or did he just now realize my intentions?

"The thing about communicating with demons... don't tell that to anyone else..." Dorian said to me indifferently but kept his mouth shut after that.