Phantasia

They stepped past the shadows and onto the lake. Elementals swam around their feet as they left ripples in the water’s surface. Ahead, the temple shrine loomed taller and larger as if they were shrinking the closer they came, while the Goddess intensified her consumption of the nebulous sky. Once again the Princess spotted something before Faye.

“There are more shadows!” she said, pointing towards the shrine. Faye studied the dark recesses around the coral columns and seashell steps and noticed the primordial entities emerging, as if they had been lying in wait for her. As they stepped onto the shore of the temple the Shades can scampering out to confront them, some almost as tall as Faye herself.

“These entities are an inconvenience,” she said, “They do not understand that, no matter what choice they make, they will be purified by the Goddess and their essence dispelled.”

“But what if that’s not true?” asked the Princess, “What if… What if one of them devoured us just like they did those elementals? Then they’d gain all sorts of power and could attack the Palace!”

“That is not a reasonable assumption,” said Faye, “They cannot—”

A shadow exploded from the ground and latched on to the Princess. Faye spun around to confront it, then wondered what she could do against such an adversary. She was a Water faerie. She wasn’t meant to fight.

“Leave the Princess alone,” she demanded, but more Shades scurried past to latch on to the Princess’s fading form. Faye stood there like a rock jutting out of a river of darkness. “Your actions are not logical,” she said, “You have nothing to gain from this,”

But they didn’t listen. They swarmed over the Princess and consumed her in Darkness. A fading hand managed to reach out from the bulging miasma towards Faye.

“You…were supposed…to protect me…”

The Princess’s hand burst into a hundred fragments of light, which were soon gobbled up by the growing shadow. The entities had merged together and were still growing. Black roots whipped out into the lake and began to suck up all the primitive water spirits, while hands bigger than Faye reached out and grasped the walls of the shrine.

“Leave her alone!”

Faye blinked and everything returned to how it had been before the Shades attacked. The Princess was back and standing between her would-be handmaiden and the cowering elementals of Darkness.

“They were gonna attack us!” said the Princess, “You’re still smaller than me so they might’ve gone for you first! I can’t let ‘em hurt my new handmaiden, can I?” She turned back towards the shadows. “Yeah, you heard it right, I ain’t gonna let you hurt her! Now get outta her before I get mad!”

The Shades scattered, somehow fearing the Princess’s radiance. Had it not been for her intervention Faye would have been consumed by the Darkness and destroyed.

“I am not worthy enough to be your handmaiden,” she announced, “You should return to the Palace while I remain here to suffer for my failure.”

“Don’t be silly,” said the Princess, “The Queen didn’t choose you for nothing! Now you better get in that shrine and meet that Guardian thing, ’cause I don’t wanna be waiting out here too long!”

There was something about the Princess’s words that swayed Faye’s thoughts. Maybe Queen Thetis and Lady Thalassa had anticipated this event and allowed the Princess to accompany her for the very purpose of protecting her? If the all-knowing Guardian deemed her worthy then that would be enough. If she was not worthy then she would never return to the Princess.

“I may be some time,” she said, taking her first tentative steps towards the temple door, “If I do not return it is proof I was never worthy to serve you,”

“I’ll be right here waiting!” said the Princess. Faye looked back at her as she stood at the base of the steps leading into the shrine, a bright confident smile on her face. Perhaps she would find an answer for the Princess in the Guardian’s lair. An answer…or perhaps yet more questions…

***

Chapter 38
Previous / Continue
(page 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10)