Aavon

Iridessa's POV:

The soft bouncing lights reflecting off of the water dance around on my eyelids. I open them slowly, yawning and stretching my tight joints. My neck was sore and my arms hurt from sleeping on the hard ground. I look around and am shocked to find that I am behind a waterfall and not waking up in my pink silk sheets. The events of yesterday flash through my head. I struggle to understand that this is not a dream. My hands press against the ground and push my body off of the ground. My limbs begin popping, happy to be off of the hard ground. My feet take me to the waterfall, and I cup my hands trying to collect water in them. Water begins pooling in my hands. The shock of the cold water hitting my face and waking my skin sends a familiar rush through my body. I allow some of the water to pool in my mouth... drinking some and swishing some around in my mouth to spit out.

After trying my best to clean myself up, I decide I want to see what is beyond the waterfall. Picking my shirt up off the ground, I begin heading towards the side of the rushing water where there is a break. Before I can make my way down the long pathway, I feel an arm grab me. "I'm sorry, but you can't go down there, Iridessa. It's not safe." The woman had appeared again. Even in the daylight, I could only see her eyes. The armour that had a grey tint to it last night now appears golden and glistening in the sunlight. "Oh, so you leave me alone in the woods last night, but all of a sudden you care about my safety." My voice carried this sound across the cave, and it echoed back. "Just listen to me, okay? I don't feel like fighting anyone else right now." She said this in a pleading tone, and I could not help but feel she was sincere.

Although it strangely seemed like she did care for me, this situation was weird to me. 'Is she watching me all the time?' I was thankful she was there to save me from the wolf last night, but it seems there is so much more that she is not telling me. "Okay, but only if you tell me why."I reply firmly, letting her know that I am not here to play her games. She sits there for a moment, a complicated look flashing through the golden flakes in her eyes. "Okay, come sit down." She gestures to a cut out in the cave walls, it appeared almost as a bench. As I walked over to the bench, I called out "What is your name?" "Aavon." She sits on the bench and leans back against the wall. She was very tall.Taller than anyone I have ever seen before.

My legs bent as I sat down, waiting for her to begin speaking. Aavon eventually let out a long sigh, and began speaking. "Iridessa, I know you have known for quite some time that you were not like other people." She stops for a moment, letting this thought sit with me.. I had known this for a while but I just thought I was unique. "The portal you came in through leads to a kingdom called Elphame." "Elphame?" I say interrupting her. "Let me finish." She looks over at me and I can tell her eyebrows are furrowed. "Yes, Elphame. Beyond that water lies what used to be the greatest light fae kingdom. It was like paradise. everyone was happy." She pauses for a moment, taking a breath and trying to gather her thoughts. "Until one day, a dark fae prince named Ciaran found out about our kingdom. He informed his father and his father granted him permission to oversee the entire overtaking of our home..." Her voice begins to crack, and I can tell she feels emotions about the things she is saying... but this all seems crazy to me.

"You are the princess of Elphame. Your mother created a portal to the human world behind this waterfall. Her favorite hiding place. She took you to Jane's doorstep to keep the dark prince from finding you. He does not believe you are dead, and has been searching for you and your mother this entire time.""You knew my mother?" I say. "I was her guard. Now I am yours. I have been watching you grow...from a distance". She adds "...your entire life. I have been placed under orders to protect and guard you until your mother gives the order to take back our home." All of this is making my head swirl. "My "mother" I say in quotations, "abandoned me. My mom is Jane, and always will be. Whoever my mother is, is not important to me. I also don't want any part in a war she has going on." I roll my eyes, not wanting to continue this anymore. I look up at the cave wall and see the portal leading back to the forest I was lost in. "I told you that you weren't ready. Gather your things and I will lead you back home."

'Back home...'I think to myself. My parents and Sawyer are probably worried sick. Graduation is literally 2 days away. I just want to get back to my normal life. The thought of her leading my home brings joy to me. My body, which had no energy before, was suddenly vibrant. "I have all of my stuff. Lets go." I say to her. She walks over to a medium sized stone that was broken off of the cave walls. "Help me push it." She instructs me. I walk over to the rock that I knew probably weighed hundreds of pounds. 'This is going to be a waste of energy', I thought to myself. We begin pushing the rock with all of our might, and it does not move a bit. Grunts and straining noises are echoing through the cave, and the rock still does not move an inch. "This is not working." I say to Avaon,through rapid breaths. "I see that." She replies back with a bit of an attitude. I scrunch my eyebrows and reply snarkily " well what do you suppose were going to do then protector ". She looks at me seriously and says "You're going to have to use your magic to move the rock." "I don't know how to use it or control it... and it's not magic." I say firmly to her, raising my voice. "I will teach you."