Chapter 9- Take a Seat
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Hi everyone. I'm back, and it wasn't over a week this time. The winners of the last poll were those that picked 3-4 days. Wooh!  There's no changes or mistakes either, so, I think I'm improving overall. But enough about me, let's get into the stuff you guys actually came for, more characters (just kidding, kind of).

Here's the new character pronunciations.

Elias: eh-lie-us     Larina: luh-ree-nuh    Avane: uh-vane     Eude: you'd     Neel: kneel     Orophine: or-uh-feen     Arnald: arn-ald

Minerva: min-ur-vuh

Following Desela, we make our way to the branches and stop in front of a door.

“Avane, Eude, you two guard the door. Neel, Orophine, make us something to eat. Elias, Larina explain the duties of being a guard to Evetta’s followers. Arnald, make sure Minerva comes nowhere near this room. Everyone else, do as you wish,” Desela orders as she opens the door and turns to me, “Get in.”

“Ah, okay...” I groan as Desela pushes me in.

Inside the room I see an extravagant lounge-like setup. The room has some long tables in the middle with a few couches around each one. A bell is resting at the center of many of the tables in the room. Along the side walls are numerous shelves with various figures on them. In front of the back wall are multiple tables and chairs, with a doorway leading to a balcony. Rugs cover the floor of the room, while several crystals hang from the ceiling, each radiating light.

Upon seeing the room, I stop. Wow... This is.. not quite what I was expecting.

Desela walks past me, heads toward a couch, and sits down. “How much longer are you going to keep me waiting?” she asks.

“She’s just like I remember her,” Vestele comments.

You mean how conceited she is? I walk over, stand before the couches, and look over at Desela.

“You can stand if you like, but this might be a long talk, so I’d take a seat,” Desela remarks apathetically, “I won’t bite, I promise.”

Right… you sound sooo convincing.

I sit down, and say, “Alright, I’m here. So, what’d you want to-”

Desela puts up her hand, as if telling me to stop. She lowers her hand down, glares at me, and replies, “Before we begin, I want an apology.”

You want an apology, well I don’t want to be a tiny fairy girl. 

“An apology for what?” I sigh.

“For lying to us of course,” Desela states, “You might not think too much of it, but for me, it’s… important.”

“I lied? About what?” Is this about the elements?

“You told the verger that you stopped an elmite storm without any ability to use the elements. How is that not a lie?”

“But I did!”

Desela goes quiet and stares at me.

What’s she doing now?

Desela sighs to herself, then asks, “Evetta, right? How old are you?”

“Um, ten-years-old...”

Okay,” Desela says as she sits up and intensifies her glare, “How much do you remember prior to becoming a fairy?”

Should I tell her, even if I do, should I say I remember everything, or should I just say my age?

I hesitate to answer, and sit there for almost a minute. “I’ll wait until you’re ready, but you’re not leaving until I get my answers,” Desela remarks, “Take as much time as you need.”

Dammit, what should I do? If I tell her and she asks me to explain it, do I tell her I’m from a different world?

“Go ahead and tell her sweetheart. It’ll be okay. Like I said before, I planned to tell Nolodar, so telling Desela won’t change much,” Vestele says calmly, “If anything, it might be beneficial to have someone explain everything to us.”

Are you sure?

“I’m tired of waiting, so I’ll be frank. By simply reading someone’s body language, I can determine whether they’re lying. I also have a personal philosophy that fairies shouldn’t lie to one another since we’re capable of living for thousands of years,” Desela states, “You’re going to be living with everyone for a long time, so it’s better if there’s no conflict between one another. Not everyone shares my opinion, but I think being honest with one another is important for fairies.”

“Yep, just like I remember,” Vestele adds.

“In other words, you don’t want me to lie to you, because you’re worried that I’ll lie to other fairies in the future?” I ask.

“Good, you were listening,” Desela replies, “Now I want you to explain everything to me. How much do you remember about your past life? How old are you actually? What have you been up to since being born? And, where is auntie? And don’t even think about lying, I’ll be able to tell, okay?”

“Okay,” I mutter, then take a deep breath. Here goes.

“Ah, but first, I want you to apologize for lying,” Desela interjects.

I blow the air out of my mouth, losing all enthusiasm. “Really?” I ask.

“You haven’t apologized, have you?”

“Well, I don’t think I…” I answer. No, she’s right. I didn’t stop the storm, Vestele did. “No, never mind, I did lie. It wasn’t me that stopped the storm. I’m sorry for lying.”

“Good, one more thing before you start,” Desela states, “I’m sorry too.”

She apologized? “For what?” I ask.

“Obviously for yelling at you in front of everyone earlier,” Desela replies as she crosses her arms and looks away, “If I didn’t make a big scene out of it, that meeting with those old farts would’ve never ended. Besides, if you’re Nolodar’s little sister, then he’d kill me if I didn’t apologize to you.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Nolodar,” Vestele chimes.

Desela looks back at me, a giant smile on her face, “Now start from wherever you want.”

I just can’t get a read on her. Does she like me or hate me? Both perhaps? I let out a sigh.

“Awww, Desela… She’s exactly like I remember her,” Vestele cries.

I smirk at her words. Well here goes…

I begin to explain everything to Desela. I start from the time where I started hearing Vestele’s voice in the forest I worked at in my previous life, how I was guided into the forest, and how I became a fairy.

From there, I explain my first bit of time at Myrna’s house. I tell Desela that I lived with an elf whom I later befriended and for my first month and a half, had not heard anything from Vestele, until I somehow entered my soul and met her. I explain what I remember about my conversation with Vestele, what she wanted and still wants me to do, and that Vestele is within my soul.

After that, I describe my daily life living with Myrna for the last five months. I elaborate on how I learned to speak Annic and not Zoic, telling her about my daily adventures, and how I would practice my flying every day. I tense up when I explain the parts about the fairy hunters, the beasts that rampaged through the forest, and how Myrna almost died.

I then talk about my brief travels with the knights, and how they saved me. I make sure to clarify that they saved me and, from my understanding, were taking me to a city called Dels, the location of the Church of the Fairy Queens.

When I get to the part about the storm, I hesitate again, but explain how I managed to make it up into the storm clouds, thanks to Samina, one of the knights, helping me. I tell her that, once in the clouds, Vestele stopped the storm and that I passed out from the strain on my body.

I continue by telling Desela that once I awoke, a group of fairies had found me, the ones who were with me in the meeting earlier, and that were now with her pages. I talk about my quick and brutal trip to Folian. I conclude my story by telling her about my arrival last night, the meeting we had earlier, and that the verger had me pick out some guards.

“You should know everything else, from then on,” I state.

Desela sits there, staring at me, her eyes piercing through me. Does she need to look at me like that… I sit there squirming uncomfortably under Desela’s gaze.

*Knock* *Knock*

“It’s Neel and Orophine. We have your meal,” a male’s voice calls out from behind the door.

“Come in,” Desela shouts back as she continues to stare at me.

The door opens. I look over and see a male and female fairy walk in with trays of food.

The male alve has shoulder-length yellow hair, eyes, and wings. The combination of his beard and rough face make him look drastically different to the other fairies I have seen up to now. He has a robust figure and is dressed in a blue, sleek long-sleeved shirt and dark-blue pants. His wings are similar to Lyris’, long and thin, each wing pointing out in a different direction, and yellow in color with a blue circle at the tip of his hindwings.

The female fairy has long, straight pink hair, thin pink eyes. She has a sharp, stern face, a short build, and a slim figure. She is wearing the same blue, sleek, long-sleeved shirt and dark-blue pants. She has four large pink and white wings that are rounded at the tips. Her wings have a simple design, consisting of several shapes that grow in size as they expand away from her back. 

“Pink fairies are devas,” Vestele says.

The two fairies calmly walk in and place the trays of food down on the table in front of us.

Is this a grape? Wait, there’s something inside it. A… stuffed grape? This is something I never would’ve seen in my previous life.

“We prepared an iced grape, filled with three layers of yogurt,” the male alve states, after he sets down his tray, “The top is chocolate, the middle is vanilla, and the bottom is mint.”

“We hope you like it,” the female deva adds.

“Thank you, Neel, Orophine,” Desela says toward the fairies, “You two may leave, if I need you two for anything, I’ll give the bell a ring,” she continues, motioning toward the bell at the center of the table.

“Then if you will excuse us,” Neel says as he bows and turns to walk away. Orophine mimics Neel’s movements, bowing and then following behind him.

They close the door, and I look back over at Desela who is still staring at me.

“What?” I finally ask. Is there something wrong?

“No, nothing,” Desela replies, “Eat first. We’ll talk after we’re done.”

Desela starts to eat her grape dessert, and I follow suit. The sweet, cool flavors pair amazingly with the grape. Desela’s face softens as she eats it, and I can feel myself relax a bit too.

“Did you like it?” Desela asks once we both finished eating.

“Yes,” I answer, “It was great. Sweet, but not too sweet.”

“Alright then, before we get too ahead of ourselves, there’s a few things I want to go over,” Desela remarks, “First, thank you for not lying to me. I imagine some of that wasn’t enjoyable to talk about.”

I nod in response.

“Second, if auntie is in your soul, I would like to talk with her.”

“Huh?” I gasp. You want to talk with her? “Um, I don’t know-”

“It should be possible,” Vestele affirms.

“Huh?” I gasp again, “Really?” I reflexively ask Vestele. Crap! I place my hands over my mouth, realizing that I replied to Vestele in front of Desela. Wait, what am I doing? She already knows…

“So, can I?” Desela asks.

“Tell her that it’s fine,” Vestele states, It should be possible if you two are touching wings.”

Touching wings?

“Um, she said that’s fine, but our wings need to be touching.”

Desela stands up, walks around the table, and sits down next to me. “Turn that way,” she says, pointing toward the door.

Desela faces the opposite way and, following her instructions, I face the door. She leans back slightly, causing our wings to touch.

“Can you hear me, Desela?”

“Auntie, is that really you?”

“It’s really me.”

“Auntie… auntie…” Desela mumbles as she starts to cry.

“I’m sorry for making you worry,” Vestele consoles.

Is this how it’s going to be whenever someone finds out that Vestele’s alive?

After a moment Desela calms down, and they continue their conversation.

“Auntie, I’m glad to hear your voice, but what happened to you?”

“I’ll explain everything when it’s not so inconvenient for Evetta.”

“By that you mean?”

“When I have separated from Evetta.”

“Ah, I understand.”

“Until then, may I ask a favor from you Desela.”

“Of course.”

“Could you please look after Evetta for me. She’s still young and has much to learn, and I can’t protect her like this. I try not to intrude too much as I want her to live her life however she wants, but there’s only so much I can tolerate and teach.”

Desela sighs, “Even if you hadn’t said anything, I would’ve done what I could. With the current state of our family, any new skryver is gladly welcome.”

“Thank you Desela. Also, please be a little nicer to her, you still have such an intense attitude.”

“Hey, I said I was sorry!”

Vestele chuckles and says, “I know,” she pauses for a moment then continues, “If you ever want to talk, come find Evetta. I can hear everything that’s being said, so we don’t need to talk like this unless you want to speak directly with me. I’ll talk more with you later, but for now, let’s focus on getting to the spirit realm.”

“Understood,” Desela replies, “but before you go auntie.”

“Yes?” Vestele inquires.

“Auntie, I know you had your reasons, but how do you plan to atone for what you’ve done to Evetta?” Desela interrogates.

“I-” Vestele starts to say.

“You killed her, inadvertently turned her into a fairy, and as if that wasn’t enough, tasked her with going to the spirit realm while the worlds falling apart.”

“Desela-” I say.

“Evetta, no!” Desela snaps, “Auntie has a bad habit of forgetting things, so I need to get an answer from her now to ensure that she properly makes it up to you. Otherwise, you may never be at peace with your new situation. What she did to you is absolutely unacceptable, even given the current state of our world. This was our problem to deal with, and she made you pay for it with your life. She took you away from your family and friends and brought you into a nightmare that you can’t wake from.

After a moment of silence, Vestele states grimly, “Desela, I’m afraid I don’t have an answer for you. After I found myself in Evetta’s world I tried to find a way to return on my own, but for seventeen years I could only come up with one. It only took me two years before I realized that I could return if I took someone’s life. By using someone from Evetta’s world as a relay, I could come home, but they’d pay the price with their life.”

Vestele pauses for a moment then continues, obviously getting choked up, “After I made that realization, I tried to find any other option. Anything would be better than that, and for the following fifteen years, I tried to come up with something else. But eventually I ran out of time, and had to do something or I’d never be able to return, and that’s when I met Evetta.”

Damn, I knew she had her reasons, but hearing it is kind of heartbreaking…

“While trying to come up with another answer... I constantly thought about what I’d do if I actually took an innocent person’s life,” Vestele’s words are separated by her weeping, “For f-fifteen years... I thought about... how I could atone for the sin of taking their life... Yet.. the only thing I could come up with...was giving them a second life.. and spending the remainder of mine trying to appease them however I can… Evetta, truthfully... just as I said when we first talked… I’m sorry for what I’ve done to you.”

“You know, there’s a lot of things I hate about how I am now,” I respond as tears begin to flow from my eyes, “I’m a girl, I’m weak, I’m tiny, I cry all the time. I have to wear clothes I don’t like, people treat me differently, and there’s so much I can’t do that I used to be able to do.”

“Evetta…”

“It’s true, you completely ruined my life…” I sob, “...but you know… it’s not all bad. You did give me a second chance, even if I don’t like it. If not for what you did, I would’ve never met Myrna, I would’ve never been able to fly, and I would’ve never been given a chance to learn things like magic.”

“Evetta…”

“It might take a while, but someday, I’ll forgive you,” I mutter, “So, don’t worry, I’ll be okay…”

Desela heaves a heavy sigh, “You’re too nice, you know that?”

“I know…” I say as I wipe the tears from my eyes.

“Auntie, don’t think this is the end of this conversation,” Desela declares, “I still expect you to atone for what you did to Evetta.”

“I understand,” Vestele sniffles, “I’ll do whatever I can for her.”

“Good, then I guess we can move on,” Desela announces, “I’ll talk with you more later auntie. I missed you.”

“Yeah, I missed you too.”

Desela pulls her wings away from mine, stands up, and walks back over to her previous seat, and sits down.

I turn to face Desela as I wipe away my tears. She looks happy, and at the same time, a little upset. Talking with Vestele seems to have changed her attitude…

“Where were we?” Desela asks.

“Um, I just finished telling you... about how I became a fairy,” I reply.

“Right. So, you used to be a guy and now you’re a girl,” Desela comments, “I know you said you weren’t fond of it, but how are you adjusting?”

“Um… well, there’s things that I’m still getting used to,” I mutter, “but for the most part I’m getting used…to it.” I trail off at the end of my sentence.

“Hmm, what’s wrong?” Desela asks.

“I…”

“Look, you don’t have to tell me, but if you don’t, I won’t be able to help,” Desela remarks.

I’d like to go back to being a guy, but…” I pause for a moment, “Everything’s just different now. I’ve had some time to adjust, but I still don’t like it.

Desela sighs, standing up. She makes her way back over to my couch, sits down, and hugs me.

“I’m not that good at these sorts of things, but it’ll be okay,” Desela consoles, “Did you know shortly after a fairy is born, they go through what is called the acceptance phase. Since all fairies retain some memories from their past life, we all struggle to figure out who we are. You’re no different, as far as we’re concerned, you’re just as much a fairy as the rest of us, regardless of your past.

“Yeah, but-”

“You used to be a guy? That’s fine, if you want, I can introduce you to someone that is exactly like you,” Desela suggests.

“Really?”

“Yeah, my page, Larina also used to be a guy, so if there’s anyone that can relate to your situation, it’d be her,” Desela says, “Yes, you are going to experience some changes, but whether you fight them or embrace them is up to you. Is there anything else you’ve been worrying about?”

“I hate how small I am… and I don’t like how weak I am now…” I mumble.

“Well, feeling like you’re small will happen when you live with people of the realms. Now that you’re with fairies though, you won't feel as small, “Desela explains, “About you being weak… Well, most fairies aren’t strong, but we make up for it with our ability to use the elements. You just need some practice, and that’ll start to change.”

When you start practicing also contributes to your future development,” Vestele adds, her cheerful words masking her sorrow.

“Right,” I mutter.

Evetta, what was your name in your past life?”

“I don’t remember,” I answer.

“Good, because it doesn’t matter. You are who you are now. It may be difficult to accept, but the person you were in the past is gone. It’s time for you to start living as Evetta,” Desela states, “Like what you like, and do what you want. Live your life however you desire.”

Vestele starts laughing lightly.

Live however I desire… “That sounds like something Vestele told me,” I comment.

“I told you to call me mother,” Vestele whines.

“Not surprising, I heard the same words from her. She may be forgetful, but she has her moments,” Desela says, “Anyway, you’ll get used to things, so take your time. But there’s other things we need to talk about.”

“Like what?” I ask.

“While it’s a good thing you made a friend, being with the people of the realms right now isn’t advisable. You’ve got firsthand experience as to why,” Desela explains, “So, what do you think about the fairies you’ve met so far?”

“Um…” I mumble. “Well, I haven’t met a ton of fairies yet, but some of the one’s I’ve met are nice, funny, and clingy. While some others have been rude, pushy, or intense…” I trail off the end of my sentence as I look over at Desela.

“Yeah, yeah, I know! I’ve already apologized for that! Jeez…” Desela roars, then explains, “Similar to people in your past life, and the people of the realms, you’ll meet a variety of fairies, each with their own circumstances and problems. The difference between your previous life and now is that you’ll be living with these fairies for a few thousand years, so you should do what you can to get along with them as much as possible.”

“Right, I’ll do what I can,” I say.

Good, then we can move on. Your situation is… unique. You’re a lone skryver without any pages and you know basically no one,” Desela clarifies, “Almost any fairy would love to become a page. To most, you look like a prime opportunity to drastically improve their status and lifestyle.”

“That’s true, even if I don’t like it,” Vestele comments, “Any fairy that approaches you with the goal of becoming a page should be excluded immediately.”

That’s pretty harsh, but I can understand why she feels that way.

It’s a good thing you already picked some people to be your guards since they can keep undesirables away, but remember, at any time before you make them a page, you can dismiss them too, so take your time finding the right people,” Desela says, “Use the feast tonight as a way to meet more people, and if you find anyone interesting, let me know and I’ll make some time for you to spend with them.

“Alright,” I reply.

“Good, then we can finally get you ready for the feast tonight,” Desela says as she reaches for the bell on the table.

*Ding* *Ding*

Not even a moment later, the door opens, and two fairies enter, a male and a female.

The male fairy, a nymph, has short blue hair, small blue eyes, and blue wings. He has a soft childish face, and he is short with a muscular body. His brown long-sleeved shirt tightly fits on his torso, and he is also wearing dark-blue pants. His wings look similar to Faraine’s, with multiple sections, each a different shade of blue, while the tips of the wings curl.

The female fairy, a wisp, has long wavy red hair, vivid red eyes, and flashy red wings. She has a delicate face with dimpled cheeks and a bright smile. She is small with a fair figure. Unlike the other fairies that have entered the room, she is wearing a yellow long-sleeved dress that has red spirals on it. Her exaggerated wings are connected, leaving her with only two wings, but each one is massive, similar to the escorts that picked me up when I arrived outside of Folian. The veins are crimson red, while the fire-like membrane is various shades of red and orange.

“Oh, we finally get to play?” the female wisp asks.

“Not right now Avane. I have something I need you and Eude to do,” Desela replies, “Eude, go get Elias and Evetta’s male guard, and get him dressed into something fitting for tonight. Avane,  go get Larina and the other girls, and have her meet us in my dressing room.”

“Who’s going to guard the door?” Eude asks.

“Get Neel and Orophine to cover for you,” Desela answers.

“So, we’re playing find the fairy,” Avane says cheerfully, “I used to love this game.”

“You still do,” Eude comments.

“Go!” Desela orders as she points at the door.

The two fairies rush out the door, closing it behind them.

“She’s an interesting one…” I mutter.

“Yeah,” Desela sighs, “She is.”

Desela stands up and walks toward the door, “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” I ask, standing up to follow her.

“Listen,” Desela barks, “I just said we were going to meet up in my dressing room. We need to make sure you’re ready for tonight.”

Why do I have a bad feeling about this?

We walk out of the door and begin down the corridor.

Since you’re the main star for the feast tonight, we need to make sure you’re ready,” Desela remarks, “You look nice in that outfit, but I don’t think it’s enough, not when you’re going to be in the spotlight.”

“Does it matter how I look tonight?” I ask, “Isn’t it just so I can meet other fairies?”

“That’s part of the reason, but with the loss of most of the skryvers, you’re like new ray of hope for many fairies,” Desela answers, “It’s not everyday a new skryver shows up, especially one that’s a princess. That being the case, we need to make sure that you fit the role.”

“You’re joking right?”

“Sorry, this is one of the duties of a skryver,” Desela says, “You’re going to have to get used to it, there’s not a lot of us left, so we all need to pull our weight.”

Aren’t I already pulling my weight by bringing Vestele back to the spirit realm?

“Wait, don’t most fairies speak Zoic?” I ask.

“Yep, that’s another reason why you should enjoy tonight as much as you can,” Desela responds, “because starting tomorrow, we’ll start your lessons.”

“Lessons?”

“Nothing too terrible, we’ll just spend about half the day teaching you Zoic, a couple hours will go into teaching you how to use spyra, and then you’ll get a couple of hours of learning about fairies, and the world,” Desela explains, “You’ll have a couple of hours to spend with others, so don’t get too worked up.”

“Please tell me you’re joking…”

We arrive in front of another door. Desela opens it and goes in; I follow behind her.

Inside the room are numerous racks of clothes of endless types and colors. Along each wall is a rack of clothes. There is a raised platform with a mirror on it in the middle of the room. A large crystal hangs above the platform, casting a bright light throughout the room.

“Woah,” I say astonished, “This is…”

“Incredible, right?” Desela finishes my sentence, “I know, now, let’s find you something to wear for tonight.” Incredible isn’t how I would describe it.

“But isn’t the feast tonight, do we really need to look for an outfit right now?”

“You underestimate the time it will take to find the right one. But, I think a dress would probably be best. Okay, go pick some out you like, and we’ll get you ready.”

Wait, a dress?

“Does it have to be a dress? Can we pick something else?”

“I guess it doesn’t have to be a dress, but I doubt anything else will have enough impact. Anyway, let’s get started.”

“Fine,” I sigh, “but after tonight, I’m done wearing dresses.”

As I search through the towering racks of clothes, Desela’s pages and the girls arrive. For the next couple of hours, everyone helps me pick out an outfit for the feast tonight. I’m forced to try on dozens of different outfits, everyone critiquing each outfit, never leaving out a single faulty angle. Some of the outfits consist of things I have never put on before. Many are nice, some, not so much, but every outfit I try on is embarrassing, especially since everyone wants to see how I look in each one. One of Desela’s pages, Larina, suggests we find one and finish up. Thanks to Larina, we finally decide on an outfit which I put on, and head back to the lounge to wait for the feast to begin.

Hi again everyone, TearCRF here. This is the 10th chapter I have posted (even though we are on chapter 9), and I want to thank everyone that is reading Forbidden Forge: Fourteen Moons. The comments and feedback are wonderful, and the views and favorites help with making the story be seen by more people. I wholeheartedly appreciate everyone that has started this journey with me as my original readers, and I thank you and hope you will continue to follow Forbidden Forge: Fourteen Moons.

Now, enough of the mushy author stuff, here's the chapter questions.

Do you like Desela as a character? Were you surprised that Vestele can communicate with others? Do you feel Desela was too harsh or not harsh enough on Vestele?

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