The birthday she would always remember

The closer they got to the church, the more apparent it was that the fight was not over. Tables and chairs had been flipped around trying to create defensive positions, food and drink spilled everywhere. Helia walked as fast as she could while avoiding the unsettling black lumps laying on the floor.

They could now hear the echoes of a struggle going on inside the church. Shadows and lights flickered through the windows, both fighting to prevail. She ran inside, Ceres flying right above her through the giant doors.

Even though the light of the Moon came in through colorful stained-glass windows, the interior was covered in darkness. She pushed through the nausea and searched for the people she was hearing, ignoring the numerous dark lumps throughout the floor.

A fluttering fire illuminated the upper half of the furthest wall, disappearing a couple meters above ground. Pulsating with an impossible darkness, a giant shadow engulfed everything where the altar should be, moving in rhythm with the shaking flame behind it. Helia tried to distinguish the creature’s shape within it, until she realized: that wall of darkness was the creature. All of it.

Ceres had arrived at the same conclusion, and was flying higher to get a better view. “I can see five people behind it. The Lord, a priest, and three guards. They’re holding their position with… Candles?”, he told her. “Wait, no, six people. The little princess is there too, behind her father.”

The group was huddled around the altar, each carrying as many candles and they could. They brandished them as swords, their only defense as dark appendages kept trying to reach them. For now, the creature retreated back into the shadows each time, but it had managed to corner them. It was getting impatient, but it also knew all it had to do was wait. Both the candles, and their stamina, were running out.

“It’s… Huge” said Helia, her tone betraying her fear.

“I will get its attention, try to get them out of here, and then we can defeat it” answered Ceres, bringing her back to the reality of the situation.

He flew forwards, calling to it as he created a powerful gust of Wind with his huge wings. The creature growled and turned around, looking for the source of the disturbance. Ceres had landed on a protuberance on the wall, slightly higher, but within reach, and attacked it again.

Helia ran to them from the opposite side of the building, avoiding the fallen shadows. Surprised by Ceres' sudden appearance, yet still pointing their candles towards the shadows surrounding them, they hadn’t even noticed her presence.

Unable to ignore the Spirit anymore, the beast focused on him, giving Helia an opening to enter his shadowy cage as he moved.

“Who are you? What is that? What is going on?”, asked one of the guards. They all turned their attention, and weapons, towards her.

“There’s no time. We have to leave. Follow me outside, and don’t touch any shadows”, she mumbled, shaking. She would have loved to sound, and look, more convincing.

Behind her, Ceres maintained his assault, and the creature had started moving towards him. And yet, they still looked at her with distrust and fear. She understood, much too well, but an explanation would have to wait until they were all safe.

“Do you have any other alternatives?”, she snapped. “Please, let’s just go”, she added, choking back tears.

Taking one of the candles, Helia turned around and started walking slowly towards the exit. She pointed the flame towards the floor, and walked around the lumps that used to be people. After a few steps, she stopped and turned around. Finally, they had started to follow her.

The group was making steady progress, only a few meters left to the entrance, when suddenly, the creature leapt towards Ceres. He was ready for that and flew above it, avoiding the attack with ease, and the beast collided with the wall he was on. With a concerning rumble, the whole building shook, and they struggled to keep their footing.

“NO!!! I HATE IT!!! STOP!!!”, yelled Marie suddenly, startling them all.

Her father held her and tried to cover her mouth, but it was too late. The creature had noticed them once again, and from its vantage point, it lunged back at them. An impossible, dark shadow flew through the air, attracted by the little girl's terrified screams.

Helia raised both hands and aimed for it, but was pushed by the guards, rushing to protect their Lord and his daughter, candles in hand. Her spell missed, and the beast’s attack connected.

The Lord protected his beloved child with his body as he was mauled by darkness. He pushed her away from him right before he became unable to move, and the priest caught her as she cried and screamed.

“DAD!! DADDY!!!”, full of despair, she reached for him, but the one holding her didn’t let her touch him.

Too little, too late, the guards threatened the creature with flames once again. It retreated slightly, but it had already succeeded. The Lord’s form became one with the darkness surrounding it, little by little.

The beast’s attention was now focused entirely on Helia. From what she had seen this day, she supposed it was because of the Handling she had done right before. Ceres landed right beside her, calling menacingly at the imposing shadow.

A gust of Wind pushed the guards near the creature, immediately followed by a dark paw sweeping their previous standing spot. All the candles they had been holding went off in consequence.

The imposing shadow stood up even above Ceres' true form, bubbling with rage and anticipation. Helia knew she wouldn’t be able to defeat it if she held back. However, she also knew that she didn’t have much energy left. She had to make it count.

“I’m sorry”, she told her partner. “You’re going to have to touch it.”

As she spoke, the creature lunged at her, but she was already gone. With a gust of Wind, she jumped above it, both hands pointing downwards to where it had landed. Ceres understood, and was already holding it down with his talons, struggling to keep it pinned on the ground as darkness tried to consume him.

Responding to her call, Mana flowed into her through Ceres. A silvery glow appeared on her palms, and she smiled. From up here, she could see the Moon through a window.

Two rays of moonlight pierced the creature. It started screeching, attacking Ceres viciously and trying to flee. Even with one of his wings entirely blackened by the dark ooze, he didn’t let go. Smoke rose up from the monster's body, which was becoming smaller by the second. Helia landed behind it with a practiced roll, and stood up to join Ceres again, one of her hands already pointing towards their struggle.

He saw her, and cawed menacingly. No words were needed. She hesitated, but eventually, she lowered her hand, and trusted him. 

After a few minutes that felt like an eternity to Helia, the entire body of the beast dissolved into smoke, until no proof of its existence remained. More than half of Ceres' body had become shadows, and he collapsed on the spot. Helia wanted to run towards him, but she couldn’t ignore the little girls cries anymore.

She knew that after some time, the people affected would return to their original forms and wake up. The same was true for Ceres, too. But the others around her, didn’t.

The priest was still holding Marie, stopping her from throwing herself at the shadow that once was her father. Helia walked towards them and kneeled down.

“Don’t worry”, she said with a soft voice. “Now that the monster is gone, the darkness will leave, too.”

The little girl looked at her, tears streaming down her face, and then at her father. They all waited with baited breath. A few seconds passed, and then a minute, and nothing changed. Anxiety started taking hold of Helia’s heart. She had slain the creature that did this, so why wasn’t the darkness disappearing along with it? Admittedly, her sample size was small, but so far, every time one of them disappeared, their corruption dissipated too, shortly after.

Marie couldn’t hold her tears back anymore, loudly crying once again. Helia, too, wanted to cry, but she knew she couldn’t afford to.

“I will bring him back to you”, she said, her voice breaking.

She stood up, knowing what she was about to do was a very bad idea in her current state. Still, she couldn’t not do it. She gazed up at the Moon through a cracked window to strengthen her resolve, and she started singing.

A soothing melody, a lullaby Mother used to sing to her. She could feel the eyes of the people around her, surprised, confused, judging her for doing such a thing in such a moment. She couldn’t afford to care about it right now, so she didn’t, her attention focused on the Moon instead.

This song was not for them, after all. It was a gift from herself, for her own Soul, so that it may withstand what she was about to do.

For the first time since becoming a Handler, Helia called upon both sources of power. She had thought it impossible, or even forbidden, for some reason. But now that she was doing it, it felt natural. Wind and Divine answered the call of her heart, and she took them in, and molded them into a familiar melody.

As she sang, the air around her started glowing. With each new note, shining particles materialized from her breath, swaying in a light breeze. Carried by the Wind, her song reached every corner of the building, illuminating it with a faint light of Divine.

Each of them fluttered into the corrupted darkness enshrouding the church, until they fell on one of the shadows. With a flash of light, one by one, the dark bumps fizzled and cracked, breaking into a thousand pieces. The people beneath them slowly woke up, confused, but unharmed.

With that, her song ended. Helia looked over at Marie, who was still crying, only this time, her father was holding her. She smiled, and immediately after making sure everyone was okay, she fainted.

With a yelp, Ceres joined her, no longer covered in shadows, either. He held her gently, his eyes full of worry. The priest approached them, slowly, bowing his head with respect.

“Oh, Great Spirit, I am blessed to be in your presence, and grateful for your assistance”, he spoke, his voice full of respect and reverence, a devout man standing within reach of the object of his devotion. Ceres held Helia tighter, hiding her body inside his wings. “Please, tell me. Is she your Handler?”

Still wary, he nodded.

“I do not know what that shadow was, or what she did, but we owe her our lives. Let us help her”, he took a step closer and paused for a second. “May I come closer?”

After a second of hesitation, Ceres opened up his wings and put Helia down on the floor, gently. The priest hurried over to her as her Spirit watched closely. Only then did the priest realize, she was just a child. 

“I am going to check her breathing, and her heart”, he warned, stretching one hand towards her, only touching her after he made sure Ceres didn’t oppose it.

The Spirit monitored him as he took Helia’s hand, looking for her pulse, and then, put his head above her, listening for breathing. After some time, he let go of her and stood up.

“She seems well, just sleeping”, he said. “I do not know what that Handling she did was, but it was undoubtedly very powerful, and it drained her. But she is not in danger. All she needs is rest.”

By that point, all the previously corrupted people had woken up, and most of them had come towards them, seeking answers to their many questions. So, naturally, they went towards the giant Spirit who was accompanied by their Lord and their priest. The Lord, too, was back on his feet, holding his daughter, who had fallen asleep while crying over his shoulder.

“In that case, let us give our hero a proper place to recuperate”, announced Lord Deuvale. “Bring her to my house. Send a messenger to let them know to make sure our best guest suite is ready. If you are injured, stay put, we will send any available healers. Everyone else, go home, find your families.”

As expected, the Lord took charge of the situation with ease. The crowd started dissolving with purpose, each person knowing where to go and what to do.

“If I may, my Lord”, interjected the priest. “While your house is grand and beautiful, and more than suited to take care of her, I do now know if the same can be said about her Great Spirit.”

“Oh, right”, answered the Lord, suddenly grasping the actual size of Ceres. “Well, there is always my late wife’s greenhouse in the garden.”

“Jonas!”, exclaimed the priest, so shocked by this blasphemy that he even forwent the proper way to address his liege. He quickly composed himself before continuing. “Ahem, as you know, we do have lodgings available for priests who may be accompanied by Spirits of all sizes. Please, allow me”, he finished, with a slight bow, noticeable smaller than the one he had offered Ceres.

“Fine, fine, I apologize, Matthias”, laughed the Lord, patting the priest on his shoulder. “I will send food and supplies over, in that case, to express my gratitude.”

Matthias then turned to Ceres. “I presume that you do not need assistance to carry her, but do let me know”, he said, to which a Wind lifted Helia off the ground, gently, with the Spirit right beside her.

“Thank you”, said Ceres, his words reaching into the priest’s heart.

Helia opened her eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling. She blinked, confused, and sat up on her bed. Which, now that she thought about it, was also confusing. She hadn’t slept in a bed for months.

She found herself in a big room made of stone, illuminated by sunlight coming from a small window. The only furnishings were the bed she was sleeping on, a small trunk, and a desk. Looking around some more, she also saw a big cushion covered in pillows, even bigger than her bed. A familiar, minty green feather laid on top of it.

With a gasp, she panicked, looking for Ceres, who she found sleeping on her own pillow in his small form, right next to where her head had been. She breathed a sigh of relief, then started gently poking him.

“Gnn… One more hour, or two, or…”, said Ceres, still half asleep, until suddenly, he jolted awake, finally having noticed what was happening. “Helia!”, he exclaimed happily, transforming into his true form with a flash and embracing her.

She laughed and hugged him back, letting him squeeze her until he was satisfied. After which he became small once again, and flew to sit on top of her head. Helia didn’t complain, happy to feel the annoying shimming and hair tangling that his partner loved so much.

“So… What happened? Where are we?”, she asked. “I remember the giant monster, and I remember we beat it, but everything after that is a bit fuzzy.”

“First, the easy one. We are in one of the priest bedchambers in Varsey’s church. Matthias has allowed us to stay here until you woke up, and has been taking good care of you. Matthias is the priest that you saved”, he added, anticipating Helia’s question.

“As for what happened…”, Ceres took a second to properly think about what he was going to say, and how. “After you defeated that abomination, its victims didn’t wake up. Me included, the darkness was corrupting me as well. You invoked the Divine, and used the Wind to carry it over to everyone affected, and that woke them up. Handling them both at once, with such ease… I was, and still am, very proud.”

He puffed his tiny chest, but, at some point, Helia had stopped listening to Ceres' words. Her memories came back to her, and she remembered breaking into song in the middle of the church. Her face turned bright red.

“OhmygodIcan’tbelieveIdidthat”, she said, covering her face with her hands. “That’s so… Embarrassing…”

“That’s all you have to say!? Seriously?”, retorted Ceres with an indignant caw. “You performed a miracle, and that’s what you are thinking about? You are impossible!”

He flew off from his newly made nest on the top of her hair and landed on the huge cushion, making him seem even smaller than he was in contrast. He grew into his usual size with a sigh, looking at the door.

Knock, knock. After two polite taps, it opened, and the priest entered the room, a blue axolotl Spirit resting on his shoulder.

“Oh! You are awake!”, he said with delight. “Please, give me a moment, I will be right back!”

Before Helia could respond, he had already left and closed the door behind him. They waited in awkward silence, Helia still blushing, and Ceres still exasperated.

A few minutes later, he was back, holding a tray. A delicious smell filled the room, and Helia’s stomach growled, reddening her face even further.

“Here, please, eat and drink as much as you need”, he smiled, putting the tray on the nearby desk. “You slept for two days; you must be famished.”

Wearily, Helia got up from the bed to sit at the desk, where a giant sandwich awaited her, accompanied by a warm soup and some fruit. She took a big gulp from the soup bowl, sighing with content as she felt the delicious liquid travel through her throat.

“Thank you”, she said timidly as she kept eating.

“You’re very welcome, and, actually, I should be the one thanking you”, he retorted. “Your Handling saved us from that Shadow. No one in Varsey knew you before that day, yet you put your life on the line for us. We are very grateful, miss Helia.”

The gentle priest looked at her with a huge smile and bowed down. On his shoulder, the Spirit that was presumably his companion copied the gesture. Not knowing how to react, Helia simply kept eating in silence.

“Shadow is what we have decided to call those creatures, by the way”, added Ceres to both Helia and the priest. “We do not know where they come from, but they seem to hate light, and they attack mostly Handlers.”

“Indeed, there have also been reports of other attacks throughout the kingdom during the past days. The Church has been helping spread the word, since we are bound to be affected”, said Matthias, caressing the Spirit on his shoulder. “By the way, my name is Matthias, and the one I am blessed to call my partner is called Coral. We apologize for not properly assisting you during your fight, we did not know how and did not want to become a burden.”

“Please, do not worry about it”, answered Helia, shaking her head. “You took care of Marie, and you have helped me more than enough ever since. We can call it even.”

“So… What is going to happen now?”, she asked cautiously as she peeled the fruit, offering Ceres a piece.

“I am sure the Lord will have many questions for you, as do I, to be honest”, said Matthias. “I will let them know you have awoken, and then, we can talk. If you wish, the washroom is at the end of the hall. Take your time, I doubt anything will happen before tonight”, with that, he left, leaving them alone once again.

“We can’t answer their questions”, Ceres told Helia. “We have to leave.”

“I know”, she replied with a sigh, getting up.

Only then did she notice that her bag was laying at the feet of her bed, as well as many other things. Flowers, food and trinkets had been neatly arranged near her belongings.

“The townspeople insisted”, said Ceres.

On top of the numerous gifts, she noticed her performing outfit, neatly folded. It had been washed and mended, and shined brighter than it ever. She admired it lovingly, quietly thanking whoever had done it, and put everything else she could fit inside her backpack.

After a quick wash, they left through the bedroom’s window, leaving behind the flowers and a short note that just read,

“Sorry. Thank you.”