{Music Recomndation: Little Ben by Nick Phoenix}
Osian showed Evanna and Arawn the way towards her mother’s quarters. It was the sa path she’d known her entire life. Now, with every step, Evanna could feel her legs weighing heavily as though lead started to fill them up. What if this didn’t work?
Evanna could feel the weight of the gemstone in her cloak. Her hand wrapped around it, feeling its warmth and the throbbing sensation of light and health pulsating against her skin. As though he could sense where her thoughts had gone, Arawn placed his hand against her lower back.
Evanna glanced up at the prince, but Arawn remained stoic, walking beside her, eyes casually glancing at differing objects, people or walls as they walked through the hallways after her father. The warmth of his hand seeped through her clothes and comforted her. Such a small act, the smallest of touches and Evanna stood taller once more.
"Loraven’s health has not been stable. So days I am told she will walk without her chair, the colour returned to her cheeks," Osian says as he stops before Loraven’s doors. "Then there are days when she does not leave her bed."
It had certainly got worse. Whatever illness had gripped her like so. Evanna felt the slightest ounce of relief that they returned when they did. If the return trip had taken longer, if Ger hadn’t flown them back in such a short ti, how long would her mother truly have left?
The physicians who had seen her mother estimated six months. It was undoubtedly much less than they stated.
Evanna nodded and braced herself as her father was quietly telling her to. Osian opened the doors and gestured for Evanna and Arawn to go first, though he gave Arawn a narrowed gaze. That was sothing to worry about later, though.
Stepping through the doors, Evanna instantly saw her mother in bed. Her features were paler than usual. Her cheeks were slightly hollow, and it looked like she hadn’t eaten a proper al in days. It was clear Loraven ensured she looked healthy in front of Evanna when she dreamwalked to her. It was also abundantly clear why Evanna had not heard from her since.
Loraven was too sick and weak to remain in contact with Evanna. Clutching the gemstone tighter, the princess rushed to her mother’s side, eyes roaming over her, worry etching her forehead. Loraven’s eyes remained closed as though she was in a deep sleep and could not hear the small commotion. Evanna’s hand smoothed back so of her mother’s hair, though it didn’t need to be moved from her face; she just wanted to feel her mother’s touch.
Arawn stood across from the bed, observing everything shrewdly. He crossed his arms and looked at the chambermaid standing to the side, her head low. There was another presence in the room as well, but it wasn’t threatening, and apparent it did not want to be seen. Arawn wanted to investigate, but he could not move further from Evanna.
Evanna removed the gem from her pocket, her eyes fixated on her mother’s features.
"You rember what to do?" Arawn asked quietly.
She’d gone over the instructions many tis before, and the last few nights since retrieving the gemstone from the Lyvarian King and Queen, Arawn also went through it with her.
Evanna nodded in response and felt the stares of both Arawn and Osian on her face, watching her intently. It put more pressure on her, but seeing the slight discolouration of her mother’s lips and under her eyes, Evanna could easily focus on the task ahead. This was the mont of truth. The mont this entire reckless quest had been for.
Evanna raised the stone above her mother’s body. She followed Arawn’s instruction of breaking it. With an easy twist of her wrists, the stone broke in half. Evanna watched the light starting to seep down from the gem, the shimring formation almost blinding those who looked for too long.
Squinting, Evanna continued to separate the gemstone further apart, hovering it above her mother’s body. The light continued to lower but remained just above Loraven. Evanna began circling the gem clockwise in a slow, smooth rhythm, watching in awe as the light followed. By the third ti around, the light had expanded, making Loraven a translucent golden colour, shimring like King Nuvian’s wings.
Pop!
Evanna gasped at the sound and the light that popped and seeped into Loraven’s pores. She watched in awe as the stone lded itself back together again. The light did not return, but Evanna was aware that whatever magic it had inside of it needed to be recharged for ten years before it could be used again. Or that was how the legend went.
Arawn wasn’t sure himself. He’d never needed to use the gem before because of the healing waters of the bath in his palace in Direwood forest.
Evanna placed the gemstone on the cabinet to the side and hovered closer to Loraven. Her heart raced as she held her breath.
Why wasn’t anything happening? Her mother’s eyes were still closed.
"Why’s it not working?" Evanna whispered, her voice trembling.
"It is, Evanna. Look," Arawn said calmly, those icy blue eyes fixated on Loraven’s face.
Evanna looked back at her mother whilst her body remained tense even as she watched the colour return to Loraven’s face. The darkness under her eyes and her lips disintegrated. The hollowness of her cheeks could not be so easily changed, but even her hair looked vibrant and healthy,
Loraven’s eyes fluttered open, first locking eyes with Arawn. Her brows furrowed. "Thalinal?" She croaked, then cleared her throat, rubbing her neck.
Evanna’s breath hitched. She couldn’t say anything. She could only stare at her mother.
"Thalinal is my father." Evanna could hear Arawn saying, but everything started to fade a little as Loraven’s beauty shone, those eyes sparkling as they widened in shock at Arawn’s statent.
Loraven was about to respond, utterly shocked that she was staring at who could only be Arawn, Thalinal’s son. Why was an elf in her room? She didn’t feel feverish. In fact, she felt better than ever.
There was one thing stopping her from speaking further, though, and that was the intense stares of Osian and one she was not expecting to the right side of her bed. Loraven’s mouth dropped open as her gaze locked with Evanna’s brilliant erald green eyes.
"Evanna..." Her bottom lip wobbled. "Is that really you?"
She’d left. "Am I dreaming? I haven’t dread in so long..."
"No." Evanna reached forward, her hands clasping Loravens. "This is no dream. It is real. I am here." She placed her mother’s hand on her cheek so she could feel the warmth of her skin. "And I did it... I got the gemstone. You’ve been healed, mother. You are well."
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