CHAPTER EIGHT

                     Ophelia's POV 

     It was the morning of the event, and once again, and there were about five maids in my room helping me get ready.

     After I found the solution, I spent a while memorizing the incantation and then I slept.

      I was not wearing a dress because for all I know the encantation could go wrong and I need to be able to run, even though that was the worst case scenario. Instead I was wearing trousers, a plain white shirt, but because that was too simple literal dainty gold chains were handing from one side of my trousers to the other. 

      My hair was tied in a bun on top of my head, but I was not wearing a tiara because the tiara I was supposed to wear was in Alervan, so I will put it on when I get there.

      The maids exited in their own and I stared at myself for a minute before I went outside my door.

       I met Sage there, as usual and he was dressed in his official black guard uniform with red embellishments.

       "Good morning, Mr.Caddell,"I smiled at him.

       "Good morning, your highness," he chuckled back.

     "You seem to be in a merry mood," he pointed out.

      "I am and I hope it stays that way," I replied.

       "Me too, princess.

        I teleported us to my mother's side of the castle, then we went to Alervan.

        While my mother went to my father's side of the castle, I went to my room to put on my tiara.

       After that I teleported us to Edoril and saw that the kings of Saleria we're already there.

       The rest of the royals arrived shortly after and we all made our way inside the hall.

       Today there was no time for titles to be announced, we all (including our personal guards) made use of the pods in the empire's castle to teleport us to the location of the shadow barriers.

       As soon as we got there my mother put a barrier up to protect us from the shadows.

       When he said the barriers had an opening I didn't expect them to be literally torn in two. If none of our solutions work, we'll all be dead in a a month tops.

       "Good day," Magnus greeted us all and it was returned with a series of bows.

       "Today, each one of you shall try to close the barrier and for all our sakes, I hope at least one of you found something."

       "Whenever any of you are ready," he said, sounding rather impatient.

      King Tariq steeped forward and my mother put a small hole in barrier for the purpose of whatever he intended to do.

      He took a stance and we all stepped back, just in case.

      He moved his hand in a specific motion repeatedly and light emitted from his hand, it just go brighter and brighter till I'm sure no one could see anything.

       By the time the light cleared up, we all looked at the barrier hoping it closed and it did, we all watched with baited breath, as if it would open. The worst part is that it did open again.

       King Tariq looked sunken and so did the rest of all.

      "Well that didn't work, who's next?" Magnus asked.

                    Sage's POV

        Ophelia stepped in front of everyone and all eyes were in her.

       She took her stance, and put both of her palms in front of her, she took a very visibly deep breath and started reciting the incantation.

       "By the realms and heavens, may the object that lays broken before me return to the state of what it once was."

        "Redi ad id quod eras," she yelled and her hands glowed purple.

       She tried to put her hands together to do what I assumed was closing the barriers and she was struggling. All the veins in her hands and neck were visible and her hands were shaking. I was panicking that she would hurt herself and everyone else watched with unfailing focus.

       For a minute her whole body froze, her hands were still glowing but she was unmoving and it seemed everything around us froze, so did my lungs.

       After that unexpected pause she slammed her hands together and and we were all engulfed in a purple light and then some sort of explosion that pushed us all back and I placed my hand above my face.

       By the time everything subsided, I dropped my hands and the barrier was closed but my princess was kneeling on the ground, hunched over, panting and shaking.

      I and her parents rushed over to her and as she tried to stand, she fell over but I caught her just in time and carried her.

     "Your highness," I called and she groaned in my hands.

     "Princess are you okay?" Her mother and father asked at practically the same time.

      She blinked and nodded,"in theory yes," she said.

       "You can put me down," she told me and I was wary about it but if I had debated she would have jumped out my hands, so I did.

       As she stood everyone slowly started clapping, because her feat was impressive. The only other person to have ever closed the barriers was the emperor and that took him three days to do.

     After the clapping ended the princes wanted to teleport us back, most likely because the pod would take too long, before we dissapeared I locked eyes with the emperor.

     We appeared in the castle and Magnus had a weird look on his face. It was just empty, it was like he was trying to smile but he genuinely could not be happy.

      "Congratulations Princess Ophelia for your marvelous achievements, in honour of said achievements, a banquet shall be held tomorrow in your honor," he announced.

       "Thank you emperor, I am grateful," Ophelia smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

      We were the first to leave because it seemed like Ophelia couldn't get out of there fast enough.

       We got to the palace and she told her parents that she wanted to change because she knelt on the ground.

      She teleported both of us to her room and started hyperventilating.

      "What's wrong, your highness?" I asked her as she paced around her room.

       "So you know how I used time manipulation to close the barrier."

      "I am aware, yes," I replied.

      "And how the emperor said he couldn't close the barrier," she said extremely quickly.

       "Yes."

       "Well,at the bottom of the book with the incantation, it was written that you see the past of the object you are trying to regress," she continued.

        "Well that I did not know, princess what exactly did you see?" I asked her because now she was actually making me panic.

     "Well turns out the emperor tore the barrier open," she told me and I was not surprised.

      "Are you sure?"I wanted to verify.

      "Yes I am, I saw him," she told me.

     "Well that's something," I had no idea how I was supposed to react.

      "Explains why he didn't seem happy you could close the barrier," I said.

      "But why would he want to end us all?" She asked.

      'Because he's a power hungry narcissist, with a god complex,' I said only in my head.

      "Who knows," was my actual answer.

     "This is giving me a headache, I'll change and be right out," and she took some clothes and went to change.

                   Ophelia's POV

     I came out and Sage quickly turned away from my direction.

      "Sage," I called, he didn't move.

      "Sage look at me," still no reply.

      "Sage you better fucking look at me," I raised my voice slightly but he didn't turn.

      "Have it your way," I mumbled and snapped my fingers and he was forced to turn to me, he could disobey me but never magic.

      My face fell as soon as he turned to me, his eyes were black, pitch black.

     "Sage why are your eyes black?" he didn't reply, he was really intent on staying silent.

      "Answer the fucking question," only one person in all the realms combined had eyes like that. The emperor. The rest of the shape shifters were gone.

      "Princess, I am not actually a Pheonix born," he revealed and I felt like I was going to pass out, but I kept my calm.

      "No shit, what the fuck are you?"I asked.

       "I'm a shape shifter," he said.

        "But they are all dead."

        "They are. I am the emperor's son," Wow, I don't think I can remain standing any longer.

      "Sage you've known me for 8 fucking years and you never taught to tell me," I was struggling to keep it together.

       "Princess, I wanted to tell you I swear on my life, but I couldn't, I promise you," he said and I didn't even know if I could believe him.

       "And why should I believe you? How do I even know this is your true form? How do I know if Sage is your real name?" I asked him and I'm sure the hurt was visible in my eyes.

       "This is my true form, the only thing I changed was my eyes," he said.

      "You know this kind of thing would get you executed, but I won't say anything, because unlike you I have integrity," I told him, I couldn't find it in myself to expose him.

       "Princess," he walked closer to me.

       "Sage. Get. Away," I told him and I was shaking now.

        "Princess please," he begged but I couldn't even look at him, I just walked towards my door.

        "I expect you to be gone by the time I get back."