The Prophet ~ Reyna

It was strange to experience that. The blackout, I mean.

It was like falling asleep, but then I 'woke' up again, but I couldn't hear anything, or control what I was doing. I could only imagine what I could've said judging by their reactions.

My eyes fluttered open, blinking rapidly to get used to the light. I sat up, taking in my surroundings. This room I knew too well. It was my room back in Euthoria. That left a question. How'd I get here from the caves?

"Oh, you're awake. That's nice. How do you feel?"

I turned to the sound of the voice.

"Sirius?" I sighed. "Never mind that, how'd I get here?" I asked him. "Where are the others? What's going on?"

Sirius smiled. "One question at a time, Reyna. I'll answer them all, but talk slower and give me one at a time."

I paused, contemplating what would be a good question. Eventually, I decided. "How'd I get here? I remember blacking out in the caves, nothing after that. How long has it been?"

Sirius's expression hardened. "It's been two days since we came back. As for how you got here, Zachriel carried you to the gate. From there, Stradivarius. I was unfortunately too caught up in arguing with the council about what they were going to do with us afterwards. You see, they weren't exactly happy about us bringing home four demons and a fairy. " he explained slowly, afraid I'd miss out on something, perhaps? There was a hint of fear and excitement in his tone.

"Where are the others?" I asked again.

Sirius frowned at that question. "The council, at your father's command, threw them into the dungeons, save for Lykfilia, who was invited to stay in one of the unused guestrooms while all of this goes down. Of course, you know Lykfilia, she refused to leave Leviathan. So, they're in the dungeons." He sighed and took a step towards me. "As for what's going on," he started again. "The council is waiting on you to wake up before they decide if they want to listen to us or not. "

I looked down, my head swimming with thoughts. "I wasn't going to come here at all. Why'd you come here?" I asked. I felt like the room was spinning around me, an aftermath of the blackout most likely.

"The Lesauvage brothers insisted on getting you home safely. And they mentioned something about needing to convince the humans anyways, don't know what that was about."

"Hm. I moved to the edge of the bed. "Sirius, take me to the council, will you?" I stood up carefully, making sure I was good to go.

"Sure, but are you sure you're okay? You've been out for two days.."

"Yes, I'm fine. Just take me there." I replied, getting a tad bit impatient. If the council decided they didn't want to hear us out, It could mean execution for the demons. Even though I'm pretty sure they'd fight their way out of that. Yeah. They would.

Sirius offered me his arm, and reluctantly, I took it. Why I hesitated, I don't know. I didn't ponder on that thought for too long though, since now I had a task. Convince the council to give them a chance.

We walked in silence for about ten minutes to the courthouse. Once we entered, I could hear the chaos from the lobby. There was a lot of people shouting over one another, then my father's easily recognizable voice.

"SILENCE!" Immediately, the chattering resided, and someone else spoke.

"In all honesty, Sir, we should hear them out. Who knows what they want with us? We won't know for sure until we listen- "

"And what makes you think that a trio of demons has anything wise to say, Stradivarius Corden?" My blood froze.

"Is that-"

"Yes. Cortana arrived here this morning. Said she had news from the Worthwood watchposts, so of course she was let inside. She seems to be convincing them to execute them without a second thought. " Sirius's expression turned grim. "I was hoping I'd never have to see her again. Especially since after the Worthwood incident, I'm pretty sure she wants to drown me. Or stab me to death with her spear, either way, she wants me dead."

I let out a tiny 'ah' of understanding. "I see." I began. "But why is Stradivarius on the side of the demons in this case? Didn't he try to kill Leviathan at one point?"

Sirius turned to me with a wishful expression. "I can't answer that, unfortunately. He's quite unpredictable. He's been.....different since we came back. Doesn't discriminate against the demons as much as he used to. I have no idea why though. "

I didn't have time to ask any further questions, because Stradivarius spoke again.

"I believe they may have some information that could prove useful to us in the near future. Perhaps they have come to our aid, instead of bringing our doom at war?"

Cortana scoffed. "As if they'd ever do such a thing. Those pyromaniacs only bring destruction wherever they go." she paused, as if she had anything else to say, but didn't quite know where to start. I took that as my cue to enter through the large double doors of the courtroom.

"That's where you're wrong, uh, whoever you are!" I said, immediately gaining everyone's attention. I couldn't let them know I knew who she was, or that'd complicate things by a lot. I could tell that's what Cortana was thinking as well, by the way she faked surprise, I was sure she'd known about us behind that door for a while now.

"Oh?" She cocked an eyebrow in my direction, while turning away. "And what do you have to back up your claim?"

"I-" she didn't even let me finish my sentence.

"You don't know a single thing about demons little girl. Has it ever occurred to you that whatever it is that makes you trust them could be a lie? Such a simple trick, yet you humans all fall as hard for it. "

I sucked in a sharp breath at her words. My head blacked and her voice faded out, nothing but a shrill ringing in my ears as I felt anger swell up inside me.

"Shut up." I said.

Cortana stopped. "Pardon?" she replied. "For a minute there, it seemed like you had told me-"

"Someone needs to!" I shouted at her. "Because apparently nobody is brave enough to disagree with you, Cortana Discordia, and that needs to change right now! You're so arrogant, all of you, the way you all think you're so much better than the demons just because you're not of dark blood! News flash: You all descended from the same gods to begin with, so suck it up!" I released a breath I didn't know I was holding. It was an odd feeling, like someone was speaking from inside me. "You need to get your facts right on the demons you so judge, before you can utter a word of your opinion. One of them was an angel, an angel you murdered. One of them isn't even a pureblood. One has so little demon blood he's registered as a human of Embermane. So think twice before you cast your judgement upon someone undeserving of such!" I felt like I was going to black out again. My head was getting heavier by the second and already could I feel like something else was taking hold of me.

Cortana's stare bore into my eyes, as if she was looking through my soul.

"Eliza?" she whispered, barely audibly but loud enough that I heard her. Then, a voice, not my own, spoke. Through me. "Once a seed has been planted, eventually it will bloom. The leaf becomes a tree, and the branches reach to the stars above. The flame becomes a raging fire, destroying all in its path. The lightning becomes a dangerous maze, unyielding and cannot be escaped. The shadow becomes a void of its own, claiming the souls of the damned. The arrow becomes the archer, eyes sharp as an eagle and never misses its mark. The crystal becomes the ice that freezes the tides of time and marks the end of an era-"

"So it is you, Carnation. " Cortana said. "What utter madness are you speaking now, Eliza? What does this mean- "

Cortana never got to finish her sentence, because in the middle of the courtroom, the floor exploded inwards with a loud crash and a wave of fire.

Out of the dust came the voices of our oh so deceiving friends.

"Leviathan, I told you to lay off the flames-"

"Well, nobody important got hurt, so we're fine Zach-"

"Shut up, both of you!" Lykfilia leaped out of the hole, walking over to me, and in my dazed state I could nothing do but nod at her.

She glanced around the room, from the Euthorian guards stationed everywhere, to the few knights of the Godsends and Cortana herself.

"Dear me, I do hope we weren't interrupting anything?"