Chapter Seven

The extremely cold and damp dungeon was taking its toll on King Kalev and his Queen Eudora. They had been locked in a small cell down a corridor from their daughter Lavinia, for countless days since Lord Vulterian took over their castle and struck fear into the peaceful land of Varuna.
"My dear King, I do not know how much longer I can go on down here, the cold is so unbearable!" Eudora exclaimed, holding onto her husband tightly, trying to conserve as much body heat as possible.

"I know, but we mustn't lose hope, there are many creatures in this land who will not bow down to him, I know they will fight." He stroked her cheek gently as she lay down in his lap, exhausted. He felt anger rise inside of him as she trembled slightly from the cold.

Someone, please help us.
"But will they be strong enough to defeat him?" Eudora asked, her eyelids fluttering as she drifted into an involuntary sleep, her body weak and drained of energy.

The King looked down at his wife and pulled her closer to him. He had failed her, allowed their Kingdom to be taken by the most wicked of adversaries, their beloved daughter a target for his desire and here they were behind a locked door, helpless.

The witches' rain came down on the land with more force and fury, an attempt to make Seth's journey all the more difficult.

Meanwhile, Nikolai and Athena were traveling to the west, in hopes of joining Kellen's army in the fight against Vulterian.
"Are you sure this is the way?" Athena asked loudly over the rain, as she shifted uncomfortably on Nik's back. She had never been on a horse before and was having a hard time maintaining her balance. Of course that could have been due to the fact that it was partly a man she was riding, one that she cared for if she were to be honest. Yes, she was enjoying the closeness between them, since they had been away from Vulterian, she had seen quite a soft, gentle side to Nik, something that she never would have imagined he possessed.
"Of course I know the way, it used to be my home. And would you stop fidgeting already?" Nik was getting aggravated with her, he liked her company and she wasn't heavy to carry but her constant shifting was making it difficult for him to get his footing.

"Well...what if they don't like me? I was his servant for a very long time, I'm sure they won't trust me." She said, biting her lower lip nervously.

"Believe me, if there's anyone they won't like, it will be me."
And he was right. Through the woods, upon a small hill was a group of creatures in the middle of what looked to be a place of worship. One of them, a centaur like Nikolai, held up his hands angrily as they approached. "Halt!" He yelled, his voice booming over the pummeling rain.

They did as he commanded and Athena slid down off Nik's back, a small thing he was grateful for. She stood somewhat behind him, shaking in fear. These creatures did not appear friendly at all.
A pixie-like voice pulled their attention to the tops of the tall pillars. Seated upon them was a cute fairy in a bright yellow dress. "Well, well...look who it is. You certainly know how to get attention, don't you Nik?"
Many voices started to whisper at the mention of his name, they all studied him carefully, not knowing what to think about his return. And of course, why he had someone accompanying him. Either way, no one looked very happy about it.
His brother Kellen stared angrily at him from the back of the area. "Why have you come back here? And you dare to bring an outsider?!" He demanded, standing with his arms across his chest.

Nikolai braved the hostile crowd and walked slowly further into the place that he used to call home. Athena followed behind him closely, watching the rest of the creatures carefully.
"Kellen, please listen! I have brought her here with me to join your army once again brother, she no longer wants to serve Vulterian, and neither do I. You have to believe me, I now know that you were right, I want you to forgive me!" Nik pleaded, the tongues around him whispering and hissing in disapproval.

"Forgive you? You betrayed our people, Nikolai. You led those mutant centaurs and deserted your family, all in the name of power. Tell me brother, would you have killed me when we would have fought against Vulterian? I cannot believe otherwise."
Nik listened as Kellen continued, he had disgraced his very family, all for the promise of a little glory. "I truly am sorry...I do not know how else to make you believe me, I was wrong and I want to come back to my family. Can you find it in your heart...my brother?"
"I do not know. I tried to reason with you once before but I knew it was too late to change your mind. And now you stand before me, telling me the very thing I always wanted to hear. If this is some kind of trap, Nikolai..."
Nik smiled at his brother through the dripping rain. He was lucky to have such a family. "No, dear brother, it's no trap." He said, approaching Kellen with his arms open.

Athena breathed a sigh of relief as the crowd around them relaxed a bit. It seemed they were going to be accepted after all.
"Nikolai...my brother." Kellen grinned as he hugged him warmly.
"Welcome home."

The rain pounded more furiously as the winds picked up, the witches were creating quite the storm and it only intensified as they got closer to their destination. It didn't seem to affect Quelani however, she was riding Seth hard, leaving him no room for failure.

"Stop complaining and try it again!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. He was quite a frustrating student.
Seth let out an exasperated sigh as he knelt down in water again. "Are you sure I'm not going to get electrocuted or anything, what about lightning?"

Quelani groaned and gave him an annoyed look that made Seth smirk. That was the most human-like thing he had seen in days. "Okay, okay. Enough wise-cracks, I know." He said, waving his hand through the water. He still couldn't quite grasp what she had been saying.
"Are you positive I can do this? I mean, we don't have weeks or anything and I'm not really getting it."
Quelani smiled at him, "Of course you can. Believe in yourself, quiet your thoughts and become one with the water. Feel it, hear it calling to you. Let it's power take over your mind and enter into your body."

Listening to her voice, he almost believed that anything was possible, even becoming some great and mighty warrior. And she was so beautiful when she was in the water and she took on that soft, radiant glow.
"That's right, slowly...don't force it. Listen to the sounds around you, what do you hear?"

He focused as his hand swayed through the water. "Rain, pounding rain. A fish jumping...a splash. A rumble of thunder. A...swirl, a swish?"

"Yes, that's it, focus on the swirling. Not just the water but it's movement, the way it flows freely."

"Hey, I think I almost got it!" He exclaimed, his hand jerking out of the water quickly, creating a loud splash.
Quelani looked up to the skies, shaking her head. If this is some kind of cosmic joke...

Nnenii appeared in the western woods, in hopes of gathering as many as she could for battle. The time was growing short and every able creature in Varuna needed to come together if they were to have a chance.

She made the short walk through the trees to Kellen's army and was instantly angered by what she saw.
"Nikolai?! So, here to turn more good creatures into worthless, turncoat scum like you?!" She roared, igniting the most intense fire around herself, despite the rain.
"Nnenii, please wait. Nik has come back to our side. He will fight with us against Vulterian." Kellen said, holding his hand up to stop her outburst.
She looked at Nik suspiciously as the flames subsided. "If this is some kind of trick...don't worry about Vulterian, I'll kill you myself!" She pointed one long finger at him, her red nails adding to her the intimidating effect. "Kellen, come...we have much to discuss."