423. Of growth, mistakes and a little bit of projection

Reia Pendragon

"I hate it when she does that," I grumbled into the plain cushion. It still carried a hint of Cassy's scent, but it was fading quickly now. "Why can't she just use the goddamned door?"

"I guess because she's afraid you'd cling to her like a little puppy." When we were alone Lamia didn't have any difficulties expressing herself. To my never ending exasperation. 

"What have you done to the shy slave girl I met," I huffed and threw the cushion at her. "I want her back." She caught the fluffy projectile leisurely and even sniffed at it with a blossoming smile.

"I see what you mean. She does smell… bright. Still, aren't you a bit old to be hanging on your sister's coattails? Or is it perhaps something else? Another secret?" I rolled my eyes at her.

"I know you haven't had much practice with our language, but you should really think before you speak. You implied quite a bit more there than you meant to." 

"Did I? I wasn't aware. Oh… that was on purpose. Isn't it customary amongst royals to marry within the family?" I felt my eyes widen and my cheeks burn. Seriously?

"I… sometimes, when there's an actual reason. A power struggle for the throne, for example. But we neither have a throne to struggle for nor any power compared to my sister. And even if we did…" I shuddered. "Did you really think I had the hots for Cassandra? That's pretty twisted, even for your upbringing." She shrugged, but her eyes continued to sparkle playfully.

"Not really. I'm glad, though. I thought…" she paused and lowered her eyes. "I wasn't looking forward to competing with her and wanted to make sure."

"Competing," I echoed like a dullard. "Oh." Why. Why did I have to turn into a tomato? And why was I the only one? I was embarrassed enough as it was without Lamia's almost coquettish nonchalance. "Do you actually want to…"

"Reia? You owe us an explanation! Several, if were being… ouch!" Archy… he and his sister had chosen the perfect time to burst through the… it wasn't actually a door since Ahri hadn't had the chance to do more than hang a curtain over the entrance. The two kitsune had rushed through without a moment's pause, confident that Cassy would be gone. When she didn't try to hide, her presence was getting harder to ignore by the day, even for much less gifted mages than Estrella. Consequentially they had expected to run into me all by my lonesome. And they definitely hadn't expected to stumble into a wall of snow like wings. "By the Great Fox," Archy croaked as he nimbly got back to his feet, his eyes glued to the rime on his fur wherever he had come in contact with the glistening appendages. "You… you…"

"You made it," Estrella shouted as she ducked past her bother and threw herself into my arms. "You did it! How? When? Did…" the frozen mask my face had turned into gradually thawed and a smile tugged on the corners of my mouth as I picked the fluffy bundle up and whirled her around.

"Long story. But why are you even here? I thought you'd be on your way north with Viyara?"

"She didn't want to take us," Archibald muttered dejectedly while he curiously poked at my wings only to hiss in surprise when his nail froze over. "But with everything that's been happening around here I'm not even mad anymore."

"Happening around here," Lamia parroted confusedly. My smile widened when I realised that she wasn't nearly as calm as she tried to appear. The siblings looked at her for the first time and their faces morphed into two large question marks simultaneously.

"And who are you," Archy blurted out suspiciously. Oh boy, it hadn't been more than thirty seconds, but I had already gotten an inkling of why my sister usually didn't stick around for the introductions. What was I even supposed to say? Better yet, how much was I allowed to share? 

"Lamia," I began and set down Estrella to reach for the phoenix. "She's…"

"Reia? By the abyss, did your useless sister run off again? I swear, if she doesn't start… shit." The curtain had opened again to reveal a flickering speck of light, a tiny, wide eyed human butterfly, a grinning man in blue robes with a new sword at his side and a tall, white haired fey. 

"You can say that again," I muttered under my breath. "To what do I owe the pleasure? Cassy is gone, the gods know where. Dunno when she'll be back. Is there anything else Lilith?"

"There bloody well is," the demoness sputtered and quickly darted towards the two young kitsune who were frozen on the spot. "Who are they," she asked. "They aren't from your line, are they?"

"No, but they could as well be. Archibald, Estrella, that's Lilith, Constantine and Lancelot. I haven't got the foggiest who the tiny butterfly might be."

"A problem," Lilith cackled contently. "One with a solution, but we need a grown immortal's power to make it work. Sarai could help, but she's still on the Emerald Island as you very well know. And because this stupid tree only listens to Cassandra, we need…"

"I never said I wouldn't listen to you," a new voice sounded from the very wood around us, "I simply told you to mind your tone." A young, purple eyed dryad stepped from the gnarly bark and added: "you're a fucking nuisance Lilith and this," she gesticulated towards me, "just about proves it." When she looked at me her expression softened and the silvery spark that had been smouldering at the bottom of her gaze petered out. "You look even better in person, Reia. Congratulations. I'm not quite sure what you've done, but you've done well." My eyes went wide. I knew she wasn't referring to my transformation, not exclusively that is. Back then I had been pretty out of it and mostly busy calming Lamia down, but I hadn't entirely forgotten the scene when Cassy had pushed us through the portal. We had arrived in one of Greta's roots and the sheer size of the thing had been breathtaking. Never mind the nearly countless steps it had taken us to ascend through her trunk or the country sized canopy that had awaited us at the end.

"I… did I," I stammered, which made the dryad laugh.

"I don't think you're quite there, yet. No, you didn't, but whatever Cassandra had to do to keep you safe, it allows her to use her magic almost freely. You've spared us all quite a bit of grief, kiddo."

"Fabulous," Lilith interrupted, "magnificent and all, but her powers don't make a difference if we can't find her. Better yet, she even left the only other grown angel somewhere in the wilderness to deal with a battle between two handful of mortals. And now…"

"You didn't really think I wouldn't hear you." This had to stop. Now. How many people were even planning on messing up my day? 

A bright, almost white spark manifested in the air in front of Lilith before it quickly grew to the size of a winged, breathtaking woman. She wasn't alone, though. Pressed against her mid was a weakly struggling fey with ruby red eyes. From the corner of my eye I saw Lancelot immediately stiffen, as if he had recognised the squirming bundle of flesh and brocade. He regained control over his features and they morphed into a stoic mask the fraction of a second later, but I had seen the brief expression of surprise and fear clearly enough. Not to mention the weak smell of crushed lemons. He was frightened. Gee, great. 

Sarai didn't fully materialise, as if a part of her was still anchored to the other side, but her presence was tangible enough to elicit a shy squeal from the two kitsune and a nervous glance from the human. Lilith, on the other hand, only groaned.

"Why haven't you shown yourself sooner, then," she complained.

"It was fun watching you run around like a headless chicken," the angel replied with a shrug. "And it's not a big deal. I can easily carry them across and bring them back. I can even help the raven, what was his name again, the Broken Wheel? Anyways, it won't be difficult the protect their realms. Their seats weren't born naturally. I only have to shield them from the pull for a while."

A soft, warm hand buried itself in my tails and Lamia whispered in my ear: "can you make any sense of them?"

"Not yet," I growled, "but that's going to change now." I took a deep breath and erupted: "enough." Cassy had that trick where she didn't have to raise her voice to be heard, but I hadn't figured out how she did it, yet. "By the Great Fox, what's going on here?" Was that how my sister felt all the time? Entirely overwhelmed? Only because I had sprouted wings I now suddenly had to listen to and partake in every single thing that was going on. Hell no.

My winged aunt, the one who had taught me how to fly by dangling me upside down from my tails, of course only chucked with amusement. "You should really try to keep up. The world as you know it is ending and we're trying to figure out what to do about it."

"I thought you could stop it," I mumbled. Somehow I had actually assumed that the whole "the realms are merging nonsense" had sorted itself out. Or rather that one of the handful of nigh omnipotent, cosmic powers I could now call family had managed to do so.

"I can," Sarai snorted and raised her hand to glance at her perfectly trimmed nails, "but not without killing every living being inside. Birth, death, rebirth? Do they ring a bell? My magic is almost as volatile as Cassy's. Hers yearns to devour energy, mine to bring new life from the ashes."

"Does your control also suck as much as hers," I shot back. Silence settled, loud and eerie, as everybody present, me included, realised that I might have gone a step too far.

"Oh boy," Lilith muttered as she quickly pulled the butterfly woman at her side out of the way.

"I…," I stuttered, "I didn't mean to belittle your…" my sentence ended in a choked rasp as slender, but unbelievably strong fingers closed around my neck and two miniaturised suns ignited before my eyes.

"That's the problem," Sarai snarled, her wings humming behind her like a swarm of bees poised to attack. "That's the whole fucking problem." She tightened her grip even further.

"You're the reason we almost lost our hope." Through a mist of tears I saw Lamia take a step forward only to be pulled back by Greta with a slight shake of her head. "You… ever since the dawn of time no mortal has ever reached… has ever even come close to what we are. Your… sister accomplished something that's never happened before. Think twice child, before you mock her. If her control over her magic had truly sucked, you," she gesticulated to everyone else present, "them, this whole world would have turned into nothingness. Not even dust would have remained. She risked it all… for you. She killed one of her sisters… for you. She extinguished a life that's older than your planet, older than this part of the universe. For you. I know all too well that gratefulness isn't in our nature, but in this instance you better learn. I've heard your story from Ahri and I wouldn't have minded if you had stayed a mortal, but now, sister, you have to take responsibility for your own actions. And that includes showing respect where it is due." Dark and bright spots were flashing in front of my eyes and when she let me go I crumpled to the floor, my hands wrapped around my neck, my chest heaving.

When I looked up through swollen lids I saw Lilith frantically whisper into Sarai's ear. The angel's icy expression flickered, but her mouth remained a thin, bloodless line. With a curt gesture she silenced the demoness and lowered herself to her haunches until we were eye to eye again. "Reia Pendragon… you were born under a lucky star. If any other immortal had been born into your family…," she averted her gaze when bright, yellow sparks ignited along her outline and for the fraction of a second I saw a shadow of huge, burning, eternal wings shimmer through the beautiful echoes on her back. I swallowed dryly when my emotions finally caught up with my situation. I was scared… I was utterly terrified. I was face to face with an angry immortal and this one didn't love me.

"You don't have the blessings of age," she continued, "but, may the host be my witness, I will…"

"Take a step back. Now. Or, by the gods, I will strike you down, Sarai." As if a dam had broken the air was suddenly filled with crimson and silver sparks. Like fireflies they danced around me, like a glowing armour of light they protected me from the enraged angel. "It's not your place to discipline Reia," Cassandra continued softly, "and if anyone, but my mother, ever raises their hand against her, they will regret it."

Sarai's chiselled nostrils flared and for the first time I felt the pressure of her existence, a weapon she had stalwartly kept sheathed up until now. I… broke. Even though their was no power behind it, her energy simply couldn't pass through the thick, silver crimson mist in the air, the sheer weight was more than enough to push me to the floor and press the very blood from my veins and through my skin. As if through a blurry screen I saw silver and yellow and white, I felt… something eternal stir around me and then I heard a sharp, crisp slap and the pressure vanished. 

Groaning I rolled onto my stomach and wiped frozen blood and tears from my eyes. Just as I blinked away the lingering specks of light a warm, trembling hand landed on my back while another snaked around my shoulders and I heard Lamia's pressed, fervent whisper: "get up. Get up now." With another groan I leaned onto her and allowed her to pull me up.

When I stood on my own two feet, my vision finally cleared and I nearly fell again. Ahri had pushed Cassandra to the side and was nose to nose with Sarai, who still held her reddened cheek. Literal flames were dancing in the air between them and the heat rolling off of them in palpable, distorted waves hissed menacingly wherever it came too close to my wings. With a silent curse I folded the shimmering appendages away, my eyes darting from left to right.

My first impulse was to to flee, to gesticulate for anyone who cared to follow and run for the hills. But then again… I really shouldn't. An infant I might have been, but that was still my family, arguing about whether or not my aunt had the right to discipline me however she saw fit. Fortunately my guardians were more than willing to stand up for me. Whatever the occasion. And that, more than anything else, finally made me realise why Sarai had lost it. Respect where respect was due.

"Don't," I rasped and the taste of copper filled my mouth. My voice was barley audible, hoarse and clipped as it was, and every syllable hurt, but when I looked around and saw the pale, trembling faces and vacant eyes around me I found the courage to continue. Except for Lamia and Greta, who still carried a spark of Cassandra's power within them, everyone had succumbed, the short outburst of transcendent anger more than enough to paralyse and maybe scar them forever. "Please, don't. You're not punishing me, Sarai, you're punishing them. Please, let go."

Cool, ethereal silk brushed along my legs before Lamia and I stumbled. The smell of stardust filled my nose when my sister's tails snaked around us and her wings became a glittering, protective wall. Her gaze, though, was still focused on the two angels and she spoke in a hurried whisper:

"It's not about you anymore. Neither is it about me. I'll explain later, but for now stay quiet. I'll keep everyone safe. Trust me. I think I've earned it, haven't I?"