Elincia's Point of View

Inside Helmsforth Mountain

As we rode the lift back up, I couldn’t silent my soft sobs. “Priestess…”

“Please don’t.”

Kheri wrapped her arms around me. “It’ll be alright. If we talk to Arthur, I’m sure he will help.”

A weak laugh escaped my lips. “The man stabbed Arceana, and it is now apparent that she is being heavily, heavily, manipulated. I likely am too.” Throwing my hands up in aggravation, I continued. “Even some of our own people have sided with Arthur over us.”

“We don’t know the reason for that. Lady Aydalia said it was to protect us.” The General replied as she held me.

“With no word or explanation, Kheri.” I responded dully. “They know something we don’t. They know what it is Rudnurth was trying to hide from Arceana and me. What he made us forget.”

“It’s possible, but what could that be? What could be so important that it drove Rudnurth mad?” Kheri questioned.

A sigh left my lips as I held her back. “Something so important that they would side with him over us.”

Kheri let go of me and put her hands on my shoulders. “You need to be strong. You’re clearly more coherent than your sister. Arthur will listen to you. We just need him to recover a bit first.”

My hands went to my lower abdomen as I gently caressed it. “If he doesn’t… I don’t know what I’ll do, Kheri.” I told her. “The spell I cast can last for years, if need be, and I can’t imagine having the children of the one who murdered Arceana.” A few tears ran down my cheeks. “I wanted a loving family. I don’t want to hate my children before they’re even born.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

The General frowned as she looked unsure herself. “When Arthur returns, I’ll speak to him. Make sure he’s calm first. Cassidy and Greigh went with Arthur. I’m sure they have a plan.”

“Do you think Arthur was telling the truth?” I asked her quietly.

“About?” She questioned back.

“About Lucia? Do you think Lucia is really Arthur’s daughter? We recovered her from Klasteris after Elias put her in a protective stasis…”

Sighing, Kheri answered. “It would seem Arthur knew Elias. Perhaps that’s why she was so well protected. Elias knew Lucia was Arthur’s child. Rudnurth might know, but I’d have a hard time trusting anything he says.”

Placing my hands against my head, I winced as I tried to force the memories to return. “We apparently have another sister as well… This is very disturbing. Did we do the right thing? Was Elias truly the monster Rudnurth made him out to be? What if our memories of the event are also a lie? What if we didn’t actually recover Lucia from Klasteris!?”

Kheri grabbed my shoulders firmly. “You cannot think about it! We don’t know what will affect you and having such thoughts will have you questioning everything you know.” She snarled as she glanced down. “Part of me thinks this is the only reason Rudnurth told you anything. To drive you mad or into a corner.”

“But-“

She cut me off. “No buts!” Her grip tightened slightly. “This could be another trick by Rudnurth. Do you think everything we’ve been through was a manipulated memory?”

“No.”

“No.” Kheri confirmed. “Your memories seem to be questionable concerning Arthur and events long past. Believe in the here and now.” The General told me. “If I know Arthur, he’ll help once he finds out about all this.”

Her eyes met mine as I asked back, “What if he can’t?”

Arthur's Point of View

????????????

“What is this?” A familiar voice called out curiously as I seemed to just be floating there. “Oh, I see now. This is why I thought you seemed familiar when you appeared in my library.”

My mind was in a haze as I tried to look around. “What?” I mumbled out.

“The Druid has given you a potion of sorts to numb your mind. It’s a drug of sorts that many don’t realize shows visions of the past, and sometimes the future.” The voice stated before he continued mirthfully. “Although, magic works a little differently with you, doesn’t it?”

“…” I felt my head dizzily moving back and forth as I tried to find who was speaking.

“This is only but a moment, and not one I can interfere with. However,” The voice paused as I felt a horrible pain shoot through my body as I started screaming. “You should see this.”

My eyes slammed open as I looked around. A mountain with some manner of beam shooting off into the distance filled my vision. Below was a ravine so deep that the bottom was appeared to be in an abyss. It reminded me of the one in the Hollow Forest. The beam of magic shooting in the distance shined brilliantly as it almost looked like diamond.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” A voice asked and I turned to the side to face another mountain.

Well, I thought it was a mountain or structure of some sort, but as my gaze continued to drift up, our eyes met. A being as large as Kandma wrapped in shadows with green eyes that glimmered menacingly. No other features could be seen aside from his eyes and his massive frame.

“This is Aridia. Well, it was Aridia. Once upon a time.” He looked away from me and back to the distance. “I made this. I made all of it.”

I blinked and my eyes opened to reveal Cassidy and Ziah looking at me greatly concerned. “Arthur!” The redhead yelled in worry.