In between the Luminescent Forest and Arlinbliss was Butterfly Grove, a green, grassy place rich with flowers of various kinds and butterflies of many vibrant colors, fluttering around in the open field along with fireflies, which only come out during the evening and night. The sound of crickets chirping combatted the silence, bringing both calmness and annoyance. The soft, tall grass rubbed against Aviar and James’ legs as they walked through.

“Maybe we should rest here,” Aviar suggested as the dimming sun setted behind the scattered tall trees of red and orange leaves in the grove, his legs growing more weak and loose with every step.

“Isn’t Arlinbliss just a little further?” James questioned, dropping his sword on the ground and unrolling the map, looking at the names and depictions of locations drawn in black ink.

“This grove is quite big,” Aviar said, sitting down on the soft grass. “Most of it is actually unexplored as far as I know.”

“We probably would have gotten there faster on a horse.” James stated, rolling the map as he sat on the ground.

“How come the King didn’t send you with one?”

“The same reason he didn’t do this himself,” James replied. “He’s too lazy. And probably too fat.”

And with that, James and Aviar laid back on the cushiony grass and soon fell asleep after the beautiful, small lights from and the fireflies put them in an enchanting trance. The butterflies too rested, stopping to roost for the night, and some the fast approaching winter.

The beaming afternoon sun waking them up was a burden for them both. Never had they slept so deeply and peacefully without disturbance, whether it be people, dogs, or loud birds. More butterflies flew around in the air than there were the previous evening, accompanied this time by bees instead of fireflies, pollinating the bright flowers and searching for food.

James grabbed his sword as he arose, the map already in his pocket. Hopefully the elves don’t need too much help, he thought, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

“Are you alright?” Aviar asked, adjusting his clothes, noticing James’ tired face.

“Yes.”

Continuing to travel to Arlinbliss, James and Aviar began walking through the grove once again, careful to leave the foraging bees undisturbed.

After traveling for what seemed like days without end, the pair finally arrived at the elven city of Arlinbliss.

Houses, shops, and structures, all built with polished marble bricks and topped by shiny, shingled roofs of various shades of violet and various shapes and sizes, were scattered about the elegant city, all connected by a bright, smooth stone path. The bushes along the path were green and lively, and the flowers were bright and colorful. Trees, some tall enough to tower over even the pointiest roof and some small enough for a child to climb, had bark of light brown and leaves of pink and purple, swaying in the wind.

“Something isn’t right.” Aviar stated as he and James walked through the beautiful city, his skin overrun an unpleasant tingly feeling.

“What?” James said, picking up his sword that he accidentally dropped.

“Look around,” Aviar said. “There’s nobody here!”

Gripping his sword tighter than before so he wouldn’t drop it again, James said, “They could all just be in their houses.”

But Aviar was right. Arlinbliss seemed like a ghost town. It was bare with no sign of life for miles. Not even a flock of birds could be seen in the sky, nor animals scurrying about on the ground, or bugs in the air.

“James,” Aviar began, walking over to one of the houses, “It’s empty.”

With Aviar pointing at the house, James walked over to it and saw the wooden door was wide open, swinging slightly in the wind. Upon looking around, they saw all the houses, shops, and workplaces’ doors were open, with nobody inside and nobody in sight to have done it.

“Did King Rosepost ever say what was wrong with the elves?” Aviar asked, closing the door of the house he and James stood in front of.

“No. He only told me they needed help,” James answered. “Maybe everybody is there.” James suggested, pointing at a large, circular, dome-roofed building on a hill.

“Maybe so.”

Aviar and James then continued walking through the large city, both of them suspicious, until they reached the town square.

What happened here? James questioned.

The town square, which was right in front of the hill on which the circular building was, was destroyed. Fruit stands were overturned with various fruits spilling out onto the path, the large, polished statue of Osono, the ruler of Arlinbliss, was covered in scratches and dirt, and bushes and flowers were uprooted. It looked as though a battle had taken place there.

“Do you think-”

Before James could finish his question, the touch of someone’s hand other than Aviar’s, who was in front of him, made his heart jump. Turning around he was met by an elf, dressed in shiny, silver armor with amethyst gems embedded in some parts and holding a sharp glaive, was behind him. Had he not had his sword to block the elf’s attack, James’ head would’ve been on the ground.

“We’re here to help,” James frantically stated as Aviar quickly turned around after hearing the sounds of the weapons clashing. “There’s no need to fight us.”

“James, stop.” Aviar stated, slowly approaching behind him. Looking at his eyes, Aviar could see something was wrong with the elf. His eyes were tinted red and lifeless.

The elf raised his glaive once again in an attempt to attack James and Aviar. But before he could, Aviar held his hand out towards him and shot out a large, light blue orb, glowing and slightly translucent, his hand tinting itself blue when he did.

The elf fell straight to the ground and dropped his glaive once the magical orb made contact with him, the orb disappearing on upon impact and sending a small gust of wind in every direction.

“How did you do that?” James asked, wide eyed and lowering his sword.

“It’s just magic,” Aviar answered, walking over to the elf. “Why did you attack us?” he asked him, standing over him.

The elf coughed and stretched his fingers to grab his glaive. “A foe of Evisior’s is no friend of mine.” he stated before quickly grabbing the glaive and shoving through his face.

James and Aviar’s mouths dropped as they turned away from the elf, blood gushing out of his deformed face and flowing onto the path.

“There’s another wizard here.” Aviar stated, moving away from the dead elf’s body.

“How do you know that?” James asked, deeply disturbed by what the elf did. Gore was something that didn’t sit well with James, especially when it's of humans or human-like creatures.

“Look at his eyes,” Aviar said, pointing to the corpse. “Red eyes are a sign of mind control. Which, in terms of magic, isn’t good.”

Aviar saw James’ eyes were squinted in confusion.

“Magic is split into two types. Out of the hundreds, some are pure and some are evil. And some have been lost to time. The kind that was done here is called Illusion Sorcery, which is the opposite of mine and is very dangerous.”

“What’s your kind?” James asked.

“Celestial Wizardry,” Aviar answered. “But now isn’t the time to talk about that. We need to help the elves before it’s too late.”

James was still very confused as the topic of magic was something entirely new to him. He decided to take the wizard’s word as truth because, obviously, he was skilled in that territory.

They both hurried up the stairs built into the hill, hoping the elves were safe.

The circular building, called the Oshirn Citadel, was larger than all the other buildings in the city. It was built with glistening marble bricks and had a shiny, shingled, violet roof, just like the other buildings. Straight extensions, presumed to be hallways and decorated in multiple large glass windows, extended out of the main building and connected to towers, each significantly taller than the main building but the same size as each other. The current rulers were Osono, the emperor, Uressa, the empress, and their children Nusabi and Vancir.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

A great, white beast with the wings, tail, and head of a hawk and the body of a lion laid outside the citadel, armored in an amethyst breastplate and tied down with ropes, restricting the movement of each of his limbs. It stared at James and Aviar as they walked up the stairs, its eyes down turned and drowsy.

“What is that?” Aviar said, shocked to see an animal so large and unusual.

“It’s a griffin,” James answered, eyebrows raised as he too was shocked to see it. “They aren’t supposed to be held down like this.” He stated, approaching the beast. “It can damage their wings.”

He placed his hand on the head of the griffin. It exhaled, as though it felt relief from James’ touch, and closed its eyes slowly.

“I don’t think the elves did this.” James spoke, noticing how strange the ropes looked. They were normal ropes, sturdy and hard as they always are. But something about the faint red glow of the ropes didn’t sit right with him. Looking at it made him feel nervous and touching made him feel uneasy, his head spinning and his mouth going dry as nausea took over. He quickly let go of it, blinking rapidly, and the unpleasant feelings immediately left his body.

“I don’t think so either.”

From inside the building, they both could hear what sounded like cries for help.

They quickly turned their attention to the tall, thick, wooden doors and opened them, entering the Citadel.

What they saw took the air from their bodies in an instant.

A cage, filled with all the elves in the city, including the royals, swinging from the mural-painted ceiling as though it was a decorative chandelier over a deep and bubbling pit of lava.

Confused and shocked, James and Aviar quickly approached the cage, getting close enough to speak to the royals without falling into the pit of instant and bruning death.

“Who are you two?” the long, brown haired king named Osono asked. He wore a long, silky white robe with streaks of violet on it, as did all the royals, glistening in the bright light from the open door behind James and the wizard.

“I’m James and this is Aviar,” Jame stated, motioning over to the wizard standing next to him. “King Rosepost sent me to help you all.”

“Oh thank goodness,” celebrated Princess Nusabi, the youngest of the royals. “We’ve been in here so long, we have all gotten used to swinging in this thing”

The other elves, all tightly squeezed into the cage with the royals, then began to chatter amongst themselves about James and Aviar, suspicious of his actual intentions.

“He can’t be telling the truth,” one elf whispered to another. “No one was able to get out. So how could he have known about this?”

“He may have just been in the area.” another whispered back.

“He said his king sent him. And if that’s the case, how did his king find out?”

“Can you tell us what happened?” Aviar asked, eyeing the cage’s metal bars. He quickly noticed the red aura around the bars, similar to the aura around the ropes which held the griffin in place. Staring at it made him nervous, goosebumps crawling up his skin, as it did James.

“Everything happened so fast,” Uressa, the queen, began. “Two men showed up a few days ago. They weren’t normal. Their eyes were…lifeless. They took control of our army almost instantly and trapped us all in this cage, which they somehow made out of thin air. It was like magic!”

“Did they ever say their names?” Aviar asked.

“I can’t remember which one was which,” Vancir, the prince, started, “but there were two men. One with black hair and one with gray. Aldor and Evisior were their names, if I remember correctly.”

The description Vancir gave made James’ brain churn. There were many men with black hair and gray hair. Many fathers and sons, perhaps. But a pair who would do something as evil as this, might be the same pair who would be evil enough to plot to kill a king.

“Their eyes,” James began, focused on his words, “how did they look?”

“I’m not sure I understand your question.” Osono replied.

“What I mean is, were their eyes red? Or, I’m not sure how to put this, empty?” James rephrased.

“I don’t remember,” Osono answered. “But they both wore really dark red robes.”

A candle lit in James’ head. Who else just wears robes like that?

“Is something familiar to you?” Aviar asked him.

“Yes,” James answered. “I’ll explain later.”

“Do either of you know if there’s a key?” Aviar asked the elves.

“Aviar,” James said before the elves could answer. “There’s no door.”

“HE SENT YOU AGAIN?”

James and Aviar’s hearts jumped as they turned around.

The two large doors flying open, before them stood two men. One with black hair and one with gray, both dressed in burgundy robes, tied by a black belt with a shiny gem in the center.

“Why is it so hard for that fat bastard to get up from his throne?” the eldest one asked in anger.

James’ suspicion was correct. It truly was the two men from the Dark Kingdom.

“What do you two want with King Rosepost?” James asked, gripping his sword tight. “Why do you want him dead so bad?”

“My master, Evisior,” the young one began, motioning over to the older man, “tried time and time again to convince him to join us. But he refused. Just as the foolish elves did.”

“So you want them dead because they won’t join you?” Aviar asked, stepping forward slightly as he saw Aldor’s hand glow red. Something about these two men rubbed him the wrong way entirely. Perhaps it was how their lifeless eyes glared at him and James. Or perhaps it was the red gem embedded in their belts, in contrast to his. Or maybe both. “What is it that you want them to join?”

Evisior took a step forward, staring straight into Aviar’s enchanting blue eyes, injecting Aviar with all kinds of anxiousness and fear. I was once like you.

“You’re a wizard, aren’t you?” he asked Aviar.

“Yes. As are you.” Aviar hesitantly answered.

“We were once of the same kind,” Evisior stated. “I’m sure you’ve heard all about Neokilth and Myrmurrian.”

Aviar shook his head no.

“Well, once we awaken Myrmurrian, you’ll know all about him.” said Evisior as he gave Aldor a nod of permission.

Then, Aldor quickly stuck out his arm and pointed his glowing hand at James, shooting out a large, translucent, magical, red orb out of his hand.

Stunned, James’ eyes widened as the magical orb hustled toward him.

Before it hit him, Aviar stuck his arm out in front of James and, using his magic, formed some kind of translucent, blue shield, which disappeared along with the magic orb upon impact.

Aviar put his arm back down as the elves swinging in the cage behind them gasped. Had the orb hit James, he would have fallen backward into the bubbling lava.

“Kill them,” Evisior demanded.

Before he and Aldor could even move a finger, Aviar, with magic, stopped them from moving, knocking them both to the ground and holding them down.

“Take their belts.” he told James, keeping a close eye on their movement.

“What is it for?” James asked, bending down and snatching the belt as Evisior tried to resist Aviar’s tight, magical grip.

“Throw it in the pit.”

James approached the heated pit of lava and, without hesitation, threw Evisior’s belt inside.

After the lava consumed the belt and the red gem, the pit immediately vanished, along with the cage the elves were trapped in, allowing them to drop to the ground unharmed.

“Thank you.” Osono whispered to James.

“They’re nothing without their belts,” Aviar stated as James tried to take Aldor’s. “It’s what their magic is tied to.”

Somehow, Aldor broke free of Aviar’s magic and pushed off of his belt as he arose. Taking a few steps back, he raised both his hands, both of them glowing red, and pointed them toward James and Aviar.

“Do it and he dies.” James said, pointing his sword directly at Evisior’s head, who was still under Aviar’s grip.

Aldor looked at Evisior, who was looking at him.

“Go.” Evisior said to him. And with that, Aldor ran out of the room and disappeared into the city.

Aviar then grabbed Evisior’s arm and pulled him up, holding him tightly to prevent him from escaping.

“Do you have anywhere to put him?” Aviar asked the royal elves.

“A dungeon.” Vancir answered, taking Evisior’s arm and forcing him out the room as Osono followed.

“Thank you both for your help,” Uressa merrily said. “I wish we had gifts to give you, but sadly we don't.”

“You're welcome. And we don’t need gifts,” James replied. “But I do have a question. Where is your army?”

“Did you not see them in town?” Nusabi asked as all the elves left the building, eager to return to their homes.

“No,” Aviar answered. “We only saw one, but he killed himself after we fought.”

Uressa and Nusabi were both taken back by what Aviar said. They looked at each other in shock, eyes widened.

“I must go tell Osono.” Uressa said as she scooted past James and Aviar.

“Is something wrong?” James asked Nusabi.

“The army is always in town,” Nusabi said, messing with her long, light brown hair. “If they aren’t there, then they must be missing.”

James and Aviar glanced at each other.

“You both should get home before it gets late. The sun is already going down.” Nusabi stated.

“Should we be worried about Aldor?” James asked Aviar as they walked out.

“I would say no, but I don’t think this is the last time we’ll be seeing him. Or each other, for that matter.” Aviar answered.

Afternoon turned to evening once James and Aviar made it back to the Luminescent Forest. After exchanging their goodbyes, Aviar entered his cabin and James continued walking back to Rosepost Kingdom.

“All those in favor of beheading this thief, who stole a flower from the King’s garden, say aye!” yelled a knight holding an axe, standing next to a poor peasant trapped in a guillotine.

A great silence came from the crowd who were forced to watch.

This is not okay, James thought to himself as he turned around to walk back to his farm.

He closed his eyes after hearing the sound of the blade dropping, followed by the wailing of a woman.

I’m sure he wouldn’t like it if someone did that to him or his family.

Walking into his farm, James was struck with a painful and random headache. A name familiar to him rapidly repeated itself in his head. Mymurrian.

He was brought to his knees by the excruciating pain. The headache left as quickly as it came, allowing James to rise off the ground.

He took a deep breath and, out of nowhere, began to think of his parents. I wonder if they’re alive or not. And where they disappeared to.