Chapter 6: Past and Present

Eleven years ago in the kingdom of Dresil, the king hosted a ball. This ball was held to welcome a new trading system with a foreign ally. Small firefly-like lights zip around the roof of the castle, illuminating the entirety of the ballroom like stars in the sky.

A young Isaac hides behind the legs of his mother, Marrissa, trying to avoid the watchful eyes of the nobles. He looks across the room to see a young Leo holding hands with his mother, Noel.

Noel is talking to what seem like very important people dressed in foreign robes; these people have the symbol of a two-headed griffin embedded in them. Noel notices Marissa, smiles, and walks over to her.

“A shame the King didn't introduce you to our guest.” She looks Marissa up and down, judging her. “You are just the mistress after all. Only a true queen has the know-how to handle these sorts of matters.”

“That's fine with me,” Marissa replies, trying to end the conversation quickly. Marissa grabs Isaac's hand and starts walking away. “Come, Isaac.” Isaac looks at Noel and Leo as he is pulled away by his mother.

Noel raises her voice, so the whole ballroom can hear her taunting Marissa. “A shame you and your son will never know what it's like to live as true royalty. I pity you, I do.”

Marissa stops. Thinking she struck a nerve, Noel continues. “As long as he has your filthy farmer's blood coursing through his veins.”

Leo smiles at Isaac, believing his mother’s words. Marissa turns around and faces Noel. She smiles. “Royalty? Let me ask you, Noel…”

Isaac cannot hear her words past that; he can only see her lips moving. He calls out to her.

“Mom?”

The image of that night blurs into several images of Isaac’s time with his mother. He calls out again.

“Mom?”

Isaac is playing with his mother and Caleb on the porch of the farmhouse. The image blurs; he calls out again.

“Mom?”

Isaac, now in his early teens, is sparring with Leo. They are both holding wooden swords. Isaac wins the match. Leo's mother can be seen yelling at her son in the background. As the image blurs, Isaac calls out again, each call more desperate than the last.

“Mom?”

Isaac watches as a golden knight with a crown talks to his mother. The man resembles Isaac. Isaac calls out again.

“Mom!”

Isaac cries over his mother's dead body in the infirmary. His father approaches him, covered in blood, with an emotionless look in his eyes. He hands Isaac a sword. Leo watches, crying with a blank stare. Another call.

“Mom!!!”

Leo and Isaac stand on top of the wall. Isaac has his back against the edge. He has cuts bleeding all over his body, while Leo has minor scratches. The wind blows heavily. Isaac smiles and falls off the wall. Leo tries to catch him but fails. There is no call from Isaac, only the empty voice of his brother screaming at him.

Isaac wakes up to a strange man with long grey hair, Exel, hovering over him, rubbing ground leaves on his forehead. “Shhh. There you go. There you go.”

Isaac jolts up, standing on his feet and backing up. This is the second time today he has woken up in the care of a stranger.

“Well, don't do that. Your wounds will open back up.” Exel says, gesturing he lay back down.

Exel looks over to his right. “Hey Airi! This one's awake.”

Isaac looks over to find Airi, a strange woman with short grey hair, doing the same thing to Emilia.

“Okay!” Airi replies, continuing to gently rub the leaves on Emilia’s forehead.

“What is she doing?” Isaac says, questioning the strangers. He bends over and picks up some of the grounded leaves. “What is this? Who are you?!”

“Calm down. We're friendly.” Exel replies.

Emilia begins to wake up. She opens her eyes to see Airi over her.

“Ah!” She screams, pushing Airi off and backing away towards Isaac. She draws her swords. “Who are you, and why were you touching my head?!”

Emilia looks around, looking for Lira. “Where's Lira?”

Lira walks up as a lion cub and cuddles with Airi. Airi pets Lira's head. “He's such a cutie. He's the one that led us to you guys.”

Isaac and Emilia look at each other, then back to Airi and Exel, surprised that Lira has warmed up to them so soon. Isaac notices bags behind them; on those bags is a symbol of a two-headed griffin. Isaac is taken aback, recognizing the symbol from his dream.

“Who are you, people?” he asks.

Exel picks up the bags, putting one on his back. “Merchants, from far away.”

“Merchants?” Emilia says, wondering what they are doing so far out here.

Exel hands one of the bags to Airi; she puts it on her back and explains further. “Yes, we travel all around trading goods with other countries.”

She walks up to Emilia and touches her hair. “We've seen a lot of people, but you bunch are by far the strangest. I mean, he’s tied up, couples these days into some weird stuff”

“It’s not like…why does everyone’s mind go there?! Emilia replies, flustered. Isaac looks, sighs, surprised the misunderstanding has happened twice now, but he is used to it.

Emilia collects herself and gets a good look at Airi and Exel, clearly seeing that they are the strange ones. Emilia pushes Airi's hand away. “Right... what are you doing here then?”

Exel happily replies. “Our country used to trade with the Kingdom of Dresil a while back, but we had to stop due to some domestic issues.”

Isaac stares at the griffin symbol, while Exel keeps talking. “Me and Airi were sent to reopen that agreement.”

“Not that. What are you doing in this cave?” Emilia clarifies.

“Same as you, hiding from that white fur-ball of death,” Airi says with a friendly smile.

“We've been here for two weeks.” Exel follows up with a smile of his own.

“Two weeks?!” Isaac shouts out, scared that they might meet the same fate.

Being the only Kiri present, Emilia has been in a cave before; unlike Isaac, she calmly continues with her questions. “Why not just follow the cave to the other side?”

Exel and Airi look at each other with worried looks. Airi looks back at Emilia, answering her question. “Prolly better to show you.”

At the opposite exit of the cave, the group looks outside the cave to see a group of monkey-like creatures walking around like any other humans. They appear to be a mixture between a monkey and a human. They're all carrying bows and arrows. Emilia has seen this creature before.

“The Silekin,” she says, confirming their identity to the group.

“You mentioned them before. What are they?” Isaac replies.

“Creatures of the forest who specialize in archery. It's said that they taught Ava, and she then taught it to the Kiri.”

“So they're friendly then?” Isaac replies, relieved.

“Oh no, they're not,” Airi says, breaking Isaac’s comfort.

Exel follows up, “We step one foot out of this cave, and those monkeys start shooting.”

Lira hisses at the Silekin, and Emilia continues explaining. “According to the legend, Ava lived with the Silekin for some time. This caused discord in their society.”

“Discord?” Isaac replies, now worried.

“Some Sileken felt like Ava was stealing their practices rather than learning. So humans were banned from entering their land. Even when we trade materials with them, they always send someone.”

“So?”

“They're friendly until you enter their land.” Emilia looks down at the edge of the cave, confirming their location. “Seems just outside of this cave is their border.”

“This forest seems like a great place to live,” Isaac replies sarcastically. Isaac turns around to see Airi and Exel making themselves at home. “What are you doing?”

Exel replies quickly, “Oh, we've given up. Those monkeys are scary.”

“We live here now,” Airi says, backing her partner up.

Emilia walks towards them and tries to motivate the merchants. “You can't just give up.”

Exel doesn’t budge. “Man-eating fur-ball on one side, killer monkeys on the other, yes, we can.”

“We can live off the goods we were going to trade. No use to us now.” Airi says, making up reasons for them to stay.

Airi starts to dig into her bag. Isaac shrugs his shoulders, understanding the merchant's deposition. “Reasonable.”

“No, it's not,” Emilia says, outwardly disagreeing with the group. Emilia walks to the edge of the cave and begins to spy on the Silekin, plotting her next move. “There has to be a way out of here.”

Isaac looks at Emilia; he sighs, for at this point he is used to her stubborn nature. He sits down with Airi and Exel, hoping to pass the time. “What do you have to eat?”

Exel smiles. “You like shoes?”

Isaac looks back, completely disgusted.

Night falls as small firefly-like lights begin to sprout from the leaves of the forest. These creatures, accurately named Sprouts, make it so the forest isn’t completely shrouded in darkness. One of the Silekin circles the area. Emilia sits there watching the Silekin's every move, more focused than ever. Lira walks up and snuggles against Emilia's leg. Isaac walks up beside her. He smacks his gums as if he just ate.

“You're probably not going to believe this, but the shoe is not as bad as it seems.”

Emilia stays silent while Isaac talks about what might be his new favorite food. “Nothing like castle food, but still very good.”

Emilia still doesn't answer. Isaac, seeing she has been sitting in the same spot for hours, tries to offer her some relief. “You can't just sit here. Come inside already.”

“Shhh,” Emilia replies, interrupting the shoe eater.

The Silekin goes into the forest. A minute later, another Silekin emerges from the trees to take its place. Emilia whispers to herself. “Three-hour shifts.”

Isaac looks at the Silekin and then back to Emilia, realizing what just happened. “Were you sitting here counting that?”

“We have three hours till the next shift change and then one minute to get out of their territory before the new guard catches us.” Emilia walks back into the cave. Isaac stands there in awe.

“Hate to say it, but I'm impressed.”

Emilia walks up to Exel and Airi, who are testing out rocks to see which ones can be used as pillows. Exel picks up a rock. This is the one he wants, but Emilia interrupts their selection process.

“Pack up. We're leaving in the next three hours.”

Exel frowns. “Just when we found the right rock, too.”

“How?” Airi asks.

“I have a plan,” Emilia replies confidently.

Three hours pass, and the group sits at the edge of the cave looking at the Silekin guard. The Silekin guard gets up and enters the forest. Emilia gestures to the group. They run out of the cave heading into the forest.

Emilia whispers, keeping her voice as low as possible. “Quietly now.”

While the group is running away, a vase falls out of Exel's bag. Isaac catches the vase before it can hit the ground. Isaac lets out a sigh of relief.

Exel, seeing his almost comical blunder be avoided, turns to thank Isaac. “Thanks!”

As Exel turns around, his bag knocks the vase out of Isaac's hand, hitting the ground. Emilia and Airi turn to look at the boys. Exel and Isaac look at each knowing that they messed up.

“Well, that's one thing you won't have to sell,” Isaac says, trying to bring some humor to the situation.

The Silekin rush out of the forest, hearing the loud noise. They spot Emilia and the others and let out a loud screech. Emilia and the others cover their ears as the screeching vibrates the air.

The Silekin stop screeching and pull out their bows, aiming at the group. Emilia glares at Isaacs, with daggers in her eyes. Isaac looks away, avoiding the daggers out of embarrassment. Emilia stands up and pulls out her swords. Lira turns into a tiger, ready for battle.

Emilia looks at the group. “Don't kill them; they're still allies of the Kiri.”

Exel takes off one of his shoes and holds it like a hammer. Airi takes out one of her hairpins and points the sharp end out. Emilia stares at the pair, as it is clear they have never seen a day of combat. They look back at her.

“What? We're ready.” Exel says, holding his shoe tighter.

Isaac walks beside Emilia, ready to correct his mistake. “These guys aren't going to be that much help. You have to give me the sword.”

“Remember last time?” she says, calling back to when Isaac tried to run.

“Yeah, but this time you need my help.”

“I'll manage.”

The Silekin fire. Airi and Exel tense up. Emilia rushes at them. She throws her sword like a boomerang, deflecting all the arrows and catching it.

Using the back of her blade, she knocks out one of the Silekin. She attacks the rest. Airi and Exel fall to their knees, knowing they can't keep up with Emilia. Isaac grits his teeth.

“Stubborn.”

He rushes towards Emilia. While fighting the Silekin in front of her, a bigger one comes from behind. Emilia turns to face the Silekin, only to see that Isaac has already kicked the creature in the face. The Silekin flies through the forest, knocking others down in its path.

“You need my help!” Isaac says, screaming at the stubborn Kiri girl.

“Says who?!” Emilia ignores the fallen king and attacks the rest of the Silekin.

“Ugh.” Isaac rushes beside her, dodging the Silekin's arrows and using his legs to fight. “At least untie my hands!”

“Just stay back!” Emilia elbows Isaac, pushing him back. She proceeds to fight the Silekin. Isaac sighs and glares at her with eye daggers of his own. He gets back on his feet and rushes towards one of the Silekin.

The Silekin fires. Isaac ducks, holding his hands up and letting the arrow cut the ropes, setting him free. Isaac gets back up and punches the Silekin in the face, knocking it out.

Isaac turns to Emilia. Emilia throws her sword at one of the Silekin. The Silekin dodges and then aims at Emilia. Emilia flies towards her sword, knocking the Silekin out.

The Silekin circle Airi and Exel. Emilia looks up to see how many are left. Suddenly Isaac appears in front of her like a bolt of lightning. Emilia's marking begins to glow.

Isaac grabs the broken sword. It now feels as if time has stopped as Isaac looks at Emilia's marking, and Emilia looks at the broken sword. Both are shining brightly.

The Silekin attack. Isaac draws the sword from Emilia's side and slams it into the ground. A magical force pushes all the Silekin back, knocking them out. Isaac pulls the sword from the ground as everyone looks in awe.

“Why...didn't he do that before?” Airi asks, putting her hairpin away.

Emilia puts her swords away and walks towards Airi and Exel. “Let's go before more show up.”

She turns and looks at Isaac. He nods. The group runs off into the forest.

The group runs until they're all out of breath. Thirty minutes have passed since they left the cave; Lira, now a baby tiger, meows unfazed.

“Can we stop now?” Airi asks, breathing heavily.

Exel kneels down, out of breath and tired. “I think I broke a lung.”

Emilia examines the area, looking around to see any signs of the Silekin. “We're out of Silekin territory. We should be fine.”

Airi and Exel fall to the ground, tired. Isaac walks over to Emilia and hands her the sword. Surprised, Emilia stands there.

“We had a deal, right?” Isaac says in a calming tone Emilia has never heard from him before.

Emilia takes the sword and puts it back on her side. Isaac holds up his hands to be tied again. Taking a second to think about it, she ignores his gesture and walks away with Lira on her shoulders. “Let's find a place to set up camp.”

As Emilia walks away, Isaac smiles, relieved that she seems to trust him a little more now. He turns his head to see Airi and Exel smiling at him.

“What?” he says, confused by their goofy expressions

“Nothing,” Exel says, giggling.

“Just observing,” Airi follows up.

Isaac rolls his eyes, and they all follow Emilia. Airi runs next to Emilia, getting her attention.

“So what's the deal with you and him? I thought the Kiri and Dresil hated each other?”

Emilia looks at Isaac, wondering if he is okay with telling the merchants the truth. Picking up on Emilia’s nonverbal communication, Isaac shrugs, letting her know it’s alright with him.

Moments later, Emilia and the others are camped out next to a small river. This is the same small river that runs through the outskirts of the Kiri village.

Emilia sits with her feet in the water. Lira snuggles next to her. Isaac sits at the fireplace with Exel and Airi as they cook another shoe.

“A coup?!” Airi screams, shocked by the story.

Exel nods his head. “Guess we're lucky we were trapped for so long.”

Isaac warns the pair. “You should leave while you can.” Isaac begins to stir the shoe around with a stick; he is oddly excited for this meal.

Always the curious one, Airi follows up with more questions. “But can't you just whoosh away the coup like you did those monkeys?”

“My brother is stronger than you think?” Isaac says sternly.

Exel nods again, accepting his fate. “I guess we'll just leave with you.”

Emilia examines the broken sword, trying to figure out how it works; it doesn't shine.

Exel clarifies the group's intentions. “You're leaving the forest, right?”

Emilia quickly puts away the sword and walks over to the fireplace to answer. “Of course, we are.” She looks at Isaac, avoiding the guilt stirring inside her. “We had a deal.”

Isaac smiles at her, trusting in her words. Emilia smiles back, taking comfort in Isaac’s expression. This heartwarming moment, however, is interrupted when Emilia looks towards the cooking shoe. A disgusted look covers her face. She grabs a piece of wood and creates a torch.

“I'm going to search the forest for something better to eat.”

Isaac quickly replies, “I'll go with you.”

Confused by Emilia’s disdain for the shoe, Exel tries to stop her. “But the shoe is almost…”

Exel is interrupted by Airi stepping on his foot. “We'll be right here.”

Emilia and Isaac walk off. Lira snuggles next to Airi. Exel rolls his eyes. “More shoes for me.”

Emilia and Isaac walk through the forest alone. Silence fills the air; this is the first time they’ve had nothing to argue about. Emilia stops in a small open area of the forest. She waves the torch in the air, spreading the fire. Isaac backs up to avoid getting burned.

Emilia laughs at his ignorance. “The Kiri tell stories through nature.” The fire begins to take shape. “This is mine.”

The flames form into a man sitting at a desk, looking over notes with tons of books surrounding him. “My father believed that Kiri and the kingdom coming together could potentially benefit us both.”

The flames began to change shape again, the same as Migi; Emilia’s magic is shaping in the flames in the image of her words. “From illnesses to simple technological advances. We would have easier lives and the kingdom could learn the secrets of the forest.”

The flames formed into Joan and Aski arguing. “Joan would always tell him, 'They don't think like us.’ And every time my father would say the same thing…”

The flames of Aske walked away from Joan and turned his head slightly. Looking directly at Isaac. "Good."

The flames changed shape into Aske standing in front of the castle gates, arguing with one of the knights. “When he went to Dresil instead, he was only met with violence.”

The knight attacks Aske.

“Until…” Marrisa stands in front of Aske, blocking the knight's sword.

“She appeared.”

Isaac forms a teary smile, recognizing his mother's face in the flames. The flames change shape once again, turning into a sick Aske holding a young Emilia's hand while laying in bed.

“My father later got an illness, one that Dresil had a cure for.”

Holding back the tears, she continues her story. “And to his dying breath, he would always tell me that he wasn’t blind to the bad that came from Dresil, but he wasn’t blind to good either.”

The flames show Aske showing Emilia the story of him getting saved. He used the plants in the room to tell his story. Emilia hears her father's voice in her head.

“After that, I spent more time with that woman. And through all our conversations I learned...that our differences are indeed our greatest strengths.”

The flames vanish, and Emilia looks to Isaac. “You asked for my story; take it as a thank you for saving us.”

Isaac smiles, glad that Emilia trusted him enough to share her story. He walks over to a stick lying on the ground and begins to draw in the dirt. Emilia walks over to him, confused. After two minutes of drawing, Isaac moves out of the way, showing Emilia his terrible artwork.

“Well, here's my story.”

Emilia looks down to see three awful drawings of knights, kings, and scribbles. “What exactly is going on?”

“You can't tell?” Isaac points to the drawings. Emilia still looks confused.

At the same time, Leo and Darius are walking through the night. Dead Silken and other creatures lie behind them.

“Sire. May I ask you a question?”

“Hm? Go right ahead.”

“I was surprised when you denied Alice's plan to send an army. The Kiri girl and Isaac are beneath us; why do you seek to handle them personally?”

“Haha! Wonderful question, Darius!” Leo replies, eager to tell his story. “To finish what my mother started, I must see him dead for myself.”

Leo looks back and sees that Darius is confused by his answer; he explains further. “They told you my father passed away from a sudden illness, correct?”

“Yes.”

“It was suicide.”

Darius stops walking. “What?!”

As both brothers tell their story at the same time is as if they are finishing each other's sentences. Yet their perspectives are widely different.

Isaac looks towards Emilia. “My mother was the king's second wife.”

Leo stops walking and faces Darius, the crescent moon large in the sky behind him. “My mother was the queen.”

Isaac continues, “Even so, my father loved my mother and no one else.”

“And yet my father's heart was stolen by an ugly commoner,” Leo states, disgusted by the situation.

“As long as the king marries someone of high status, he can have multiple wives. So my father was forced to marry my brother's mother.” Isaac states, explaining further.

Leo's expression changes to one of discomfort. These are not fond memories. “Even though she, the rightful queen, and I, the rightful heir, my father treated us as nothing more than a formality.”

Isaac smiles, remembering his mother. “Still, my mother filled me with enough love even when he couldn't be there.”

Leo’s eyes filled with a sense of duty as he remembered his mother. “Still, my mother ingrained in me what it truly meant to be high royalty.”

Isaac's smile fades. “But it all changed when the sword chose me.”

Leo smiles, almost laughing. “The son who should have never been born, by the wife he should have never had. With her own magic, my brave mother sought to cull the problem.”

“She fought her as best she could, but in the end Noel took her life. My father arrived in time to save me.” Isaac recounts in a somber tone.

“And kill my mother.” Leo finishes with a blank expression.

Isaac recollects himself. Not being that close to his father, but also not hating him, Isaac recounts the old king's death with respect. “Filled with grief, my father took his own life...but before he passed, he handed me the sword and said…”

Leo, still with a blank expression as if he is repressing everything in the moment, continues. “Before her dying breath, she cast her final spell on me, giving me this power, and said…”

Both brothers utter the same sentence simultaneously. "You are king now"

While Isaac only looks afraid of his brother and new responsibilities, Leo looks confident in his ability to defeat his enemy.

Emilia looks at Isaac’s scared face. Finally hearing more of his story, she understands his fear a little bit better. “You don't want to?”

Isaac replies in a jittery tone. “It's not that, I do...I would, but...Am I really the best fit? Is that really my role in all of this?”

Emilia starts to walk closer to Isaac to confront him. But before she reaches him, Isaac shrugs away his doubt and looks towards Emilia. “Losing someone and having to fight for a better life. I get it.”

Emilia looks back, finding some sort of comfort in his words. Isaac starts looking around the area. “Now, let's find some food that's not shoes.”

He begins to pick berries off a tree. Emilia smiles at his ignorance again. “Those are poisonous.”

“Oh.” Isaac drops the berries, and Emilia laughs at him.

The next morning, Emilia and the others walk through the forest. Now more open with each other, Isaac proceeds to ask Emilia more questions. Slowly getting to know the forest and the Kiri. “For some reason, your magic seems different than mine.”

“Most of our magic comes from the forest, rather than ourselves, making it purer.”

Emilia and the group walk along the river. They see small, furry gerbil-like creatures jump from the water like dolphins. These are known as the Aeki. Lira tries to catch them and eat them, and Emilia stops the troublemaking feline from eating the cute forest creature.

“Why live in such a dangerous place?” Exel asks, joining in on their Q&A session.

“We aim to find peace within destruction; our people believe in that balance. Thus, we try our best to co-exist with the forest.”

Night falls once more on the group's first full day in the forest. Emilia and the others are sleeping around a fireplace. Emilia gets up in the middle of the night and checks to see if the sword is still on her side. It is. She looks at Isaac sleeping next to her on the ground, and she smiles, knowing he is no longer trying to run.

When the sun shines on the second day, the Q&A session continues.

“Do all Kiri have green eyes and beautiful white hair like you?” Airi asks, forever curious.

“The Kiri is a cultural following, so not all our ancestors originate from the same place. We may look different, but we all follow Brahara's teachings. That's what makes us a people.”

The second day comes to an end, and Emilia and the others stand in an open field of forest fairies. The light shining off of the fairies makes them resemble fireflies; they blend in with the Sprouts, hiding their presence. Only when looking closely can you see the fairies' actual bodies.

Airi and Exel run around trying to catch some in a jar but are not successful. Lira catches one in his mouth, but it buzzes out soon after.

Emilia holds out her hands. Multiple fairies land in the center of her palms. She holds them out to Isaac. Isaac holds out his hands to take them, but before he can, Emilia throws them in his face.

Emilia laughs as Isaac brushes the fairies away. Isaac glares at Emilia as she smiles back, happy with her successful prank. The fairies fly up higher, illuminating the sky with their magical light. The group watches the beautifully lit night sky.

While the others are focused on the sky, Isaac stares at Emilia. Emilia, noticing his gaze, looks back at him. The two smile at each other.