Heritage

Before lunch, Paradox had the servants fetch me a clean kimono. He knew my favourite colour was red, so he sent for a very beautiful kimono with a pattern of black fish dancing on the back. It felt softer than the other kimonos I wore when I was a child. The banquet hall was grand with its tapestries and fine oaken tables. I thought elves sat at long tables that ran across the room. But to my surprise, the tables were round and placed away from each other. Paradox led me to the table that stood on an elevated platform by the glass windows, giving a beautiful view of the lake in the summer’s light. Before I could sit down, a glint of golden hair caught my eye and I was meandering in and out of the waiting servants to hug Aura.

“Are you alright?” I asked the shaken elf when I pulled away. He had been given clean clothes too, uncomfortable and tight looking clothes decorated with pearls and gold tassels. Aura nodded stiffly and fiddled with his cuffs shyly.

“Gardenia is really nice,” he muttered “And so is Selina, she’s been looking after Bell and her kittens.” He jerked his head towards the next table were Selina sat with other elves that matched her uniform somewhat. Gardenia settled herself down at the table and nodded for Aura to sit down next to her. I was going to sit with Aura had Paradox not come up and take my hand in his.

“Zelda, you will be sitting with me,” he informed and began leading me back to his table.

“But Aura…”

“You can speak to him afterwards.” Why did he have such a cold tone to his voice? “There are some elves here to see you.” I followed him reluctantly and sat down beside him. The servants brought bowls of fruit, plates of vegetables and dishes of fully cooked animals. I stared down at the platinum coloured plate and bit my lip. I hadn’t seen any of these kinds of food before nor was I certain about what to choose. I looked at the other elves as they sat down around the table, talking amongst one another and selecting their choice of food. I gnawed anxiously on my poor lip, feeling awkward and uneasy.

“Hey, who’s sitting in my seat?!” I jumped when a young looking elf with blue skin and silver hair appeared next to me and stared me down. She narrowed her bright blue eyes at me suspiciously. “Don’t you know that I sit there next to my brother, the prince?”

“I…I…I…” I swallowed and was about to rise when Paradox placed his hand over mine.

“Pearl, this is Zelda,” he said to her “I’m afraid you’ll have to sit on my left side today. This is Zelda’s rightful place after all.” Her eyes grew warm all of a sudden and she grinned.

“Oh, so you’re Zelda!” she said happily and snatched my free hand to shake vigorously “I’ve always wanted to meet you! ‘Dox here would never shut up about you whenever he came back from your palace.”

“R-Really?” I stuttered out as my hand ached uncomfortably in her grip.

“I’m Pearl, his younger sister,” Pearl introduced herself then gestured to another elf that sat at the table “That there is my husband, Lord Tirade.” The older looking elf gave a shy smile my way as Pearl sauntered over to the other side of the table to sit in between him and Paradox. She gave both of them a kiss on the cheek before helping herself to some of the food. Paradox looked down at me and frowned when he saw my empty plate.

“Are you not hungry?” he asked and I shifted uncomfortably.

“I…uh…I haven’t had any of this food before,” I explained “What would you recommend?”

“Well what kind of things do you like to eat?” Paradox asked as he dished some slices of tender meat onto his plate. I looked at the different kinds of choices, the aromas wafting towards me tantalizingly. I swallowed and reached out for a silver coloured apple from the nearest fruit bowl. I jumped when Paradox took my wrist and the apple out of my hand. “Chirai apples are best cooked,” he explained and handed it to Tirade “May you…?” It was simply done by the click of the lord’s fingers. Tirade held the apple out and a spiral of flames barraged through his hand, roasting the apple inside. I felt myself shrink into my chair as I stared at the display in horror, my chest starting to feel constricted and the palms of my hand beginning to sweat. Pearl applauded her husband with the rest of the elves by the table as Tirade handed back the slightly crisp apple back to Paradox who blew on it to cool it down.

“Isn’t he simply wonderful?” Pearl asked, probably towards me but it looked like she had directed it to the rest of the group “I’m so lucky to have such a talented husband!”

“It is not down to talent, but to how your manipulate ability,” Tirade said in a rather proud tone whilst Paradox took my plate, cut the roasted apple into eighths and handed it back to me. He noticed the way I had shrunk away from the table and placed a hand on my cheek.

“Zelda, are you feeling alright?” he asked as I realised my face was sweating too “You seem pale.”

“I’m fine…” I whispered and focused on the apple to distract myself from the display of fire “I’m fine…” Without another word I batted his hand away, picked up the apple, still warm from the fire, and took a dainty bite out of it. It actually tasted nice, like a warm apple pie. It wasn’t that sweet, which I prefer, perhaps the fire burnt away most of the sugars.

“Oh, you should see Tirade’s firework show,” Pearl kept on nattering about her ‘wonderful’ husband “It is spectacular, it will have you memorized for years!” I could guarantee that, anything that has to do with fire will haunt me for eternity if necessary. I didn’t pay much attention to my eating pace or Pearl’s chatter and too soon, I had eaten all of the apple that had been roasted for me.

“Would you like another?” Tirade asked as he reached out to take another chirai apple from the fruit bowl.

“No!” I exclaimed a bit loudly and winced when everyone gave me an odd stare “No…no thank you…”

“Would you like me to have one of the servants bring you some roasted chirai apples from the kitchen?” Paradox probably caught on about my issue with fire with my reactions.

“Are you saying that my cooking is not good enough for your princess?” Tirade asked accusingly and I winced at how he referred to me as a princess.

“I don’t think you are in a position to accuse me in such a manner,” Paradox narrowed his eyes at Tirade “You may be my brother-in-law but I am still above you. Know your place.” Tirade flinched and turned away.

“I apologize,” he uttered.

“So, Zelda,” Pearl said brightly “What should we have as entertainment? Fire eaters? Indoor fireworks? Fire dancers?” Does everything have to do with fire to her? I shook my head.

“I’d…rather just talk,” I murmured and my gaze wandered over to Aura who seemed just as awkward and nervous around Gardenia and the other elves they were eating with.

“OK then,” Pearl said “Isn’t it wonderful that Gardenia has found her youngest brother at long last? We all thought he had perished with the rest of his family in that terrible fire!” There’s that word again. I turned to Pearl as Paradox reached out for some more meat.

“Tell me about his family,” I requested.

“Well,” Pearl seemed happier to be talking directly “They were a wealthy family, I’d gathered, Gardenia’s father served our parents and our grandparents too as a knight. Gardenia was the first born child and she went into sorcery to train to be a knight to serve us with her father, it’s so cute. I don’t have many details on the mother, I suppose she just stayed at home and looked after the other two sons, Nova and Aura. They adopted a human girl that they found in their garden, you know. All she could remember was that her name was Evelyn and enjoyed reading a good book. She was so mysterious, she seemed to have so much potential to be great. It’s such a shame that she was caught up in the fire as well. But now we know that Aura is alive, we can only hope that she’s out there somewhere, perhaps Nova is alive too, oh I so wish he is, he was one of the most handsome elves I had ever seen!”

“Pearl, you’re rambling again,” Paradox said softly as he finished his current mouthful of meat.

“Oh am I?” Pearl giggled and grinned at me “I do that sometimes, sorry if I bored you, Zelda.”

“No, please, I would like to know about Aura…” I pressed on “He can’t remember much from the attack on his home and I’m curious.”

“He’s merely the brother of a knight,” Paradox argued and I could see a jealous glint in his eyes.

“But Gardenia is one of your best,” Pearl said “I think it’s alright for your future wife to get to know your knights and their families. Especially since she found and saved Aura.”

“Wait, when did I ever agree to marry Paradox?” I asked with a frown. This earned a collective gasp from the table and the hall went silent. Paradox looked down at me, a hurt look on his face and I felt my cheeks burn in embarrassment.

“Why wouldn’t you marry my brother?” Pearl laughed “You do know that you were betrothed, right?”

“I do but I thought the betrothal went null when everybody thought I’d died,” I explained with a frown.

“But now we know you’re alive, you’re going to marry ‘Dox, right?” Pearl smiled expectantly. I hadn’t felt so uncomfortable before. Everyone’s eyes were focused on me, expecting me to agree to marry this total stranger next to me. I looked up at Paradox with an incredulous look.

“You really don’t expect me to make such a decision now?” I asked softly.

“No, of course not,” Paradox soothed as he took my hand in his “You have until your twentieth birthday to make a solid decision.” Two more years and I need to decide if I would marry this elf or not. I went silent in thought and everyone continued their meal.

“Here, have some stew,” Tirade said as he passed a bowl over to me “I’ll just heat it up a bit.”

“No, don’t!”

I screamed as flames engulfed the bowl and closed my eyes, petal brushing over me. I heard the other elves calling my name as I involuntarily teleported away from the fire. I felt myself land on grass, my chest crushing inwards into my lungs and sweat coating my body. I gripped handfuls of grass out as I tried to steady my breathing. I didn’t think about the possibilities to where I might have teleported off to. Not until I started smelling smoke. Heavy, thick smoke and when I opened my eyes, I saw the black fumes spiralling up into the clear blue sky. I then felt the heat of flames near my legs and sat up to see I had teleported to the orphanage out of impulse and it was on fire. Bright green flames engulfed the old building and amongst the angry crackling of fire engulfing wood, I could hear people inside screaming for help. My chest tightened even more and I panicked, getting up and running away as fast as I could. My vision began failing and my head began spinning as I tore through the forest in a frantic attempt to get as far away from the flames as I could. Eventually I couldn’t take much more and fell over, trying to breathe. My chest ached, the kimono stuck to my body from the accumulation of sweat and I felt like I was going to throw up. I began crying in between desperate attempts to breathe and in my distress I didn’t sense the foreboding aura that was coming toward me until it was too late.

“There you are, my little princess.” My heart lurched and I pried my eyes open to see two leather boots in my line of vision. I slowly looked up to see the grinning face of Cannabec. In a flash he was down on one knee and gripping my chin in one of his grey, clawed hands. “Where have you been this whole time?” he purred as I gripped his wrist to try and yank my face out of his hold “We’ve been searching everywhere for you.”

“Let go…” I breathed softly.

“You know, Zelda,” he traced my cheek with his free hand “I am known to hold grudges. Everyone should know to never have a demon grudge against them.”

“Well…well…that would make your whole species sore losers then,” I said as my breath came back to me. The slap Cannabec gave me stung, burned and ached. His nails had dug into my skin, drawing blood. I looked up at him with a soft, regretted gulp when he glared at me furiously.

“How dare you talk back to me,” he hissed “Do you not know who I am?”

“I don’t really care…” I answered as I carefully touched the cuts on my cheek.

“Well you should,” Cannabec snatched me by my hair and yanked me up to my feet “I can drag you down to Hell and watch you burn in the furnaces.”

“You don’t have a reason to drag me down, I have never sinned,” I argued with gritted teeth.

“If it means getting rid of anyone who gets in my way, my dear father will allow it,” Cannabec smirked maliciously, showing his white pointed teeth off. I held my tongue, not daring to utter anything else which might get me dragged back down to Hell. Cannabec clicked his tongue and sighed. “Such a pity, such a waste,” he huffed in disappointment “You could have been great…”

“I am fine just the way I am,” I argued and pulled away from him “I don’t want greatness or fame, I don’t need it.”

“But you could benefit from it so much,” Cannabec crooned and his eyes glowed alluringly “Zelda, I can help you. I can bring your family back. I can bring back Aura’s family and Dune’s too. Even Vincent’s. Worship me and I will give you anything that you desire.”

“I’ve told you before, I don’t need or want anything from you,” I hissed venomously.

“You say that because you’ve never had this opportunity before,” Cannabec advanced and lay a gentle hand on my injured cheek “You only need to nod your head, Zelda. Worship me and I shall make all your problems disappear…” He retracted his hand and I felt it to feel that he’d healed my cuts. I glared up at him before running away as fast as I could. He called after me as I frantically ran through the forest, coming out into an open field. Paws slammed into my back and pinned me down into the grass. I froze when I felt heat and realised that the creature on top of me was snorting fire. My chest was crushing inwards into my lungs again and I was shoved roughly onto my back. The dog above me glared at me venomously before morphing back into his true form. “I gave you one last chance, Zelda,” he snarled “You’ve tested my patience too much. I will kill you and drag you down to Hell.” He raised his hands, turning them into deformed, demonic claws which were aimed at my head. In my air-ridden state, I desperately lashed out and gripped his wrists as they came towards me and my arms quivered against their strength. I knew I couldn’t hold them steady so managed to direct them away from my head and embed them into the field. As Cannabec struggled to pull them out, I wriggled out from underneath him.

I turned away from him and ran fast. I cut through the fields, knowing it was futile to run from him but I wasn’t just going to give myself up to him. If he wanted to drag me down to Hell, he’ll have to do it with me kicking and screaming. I felt heat at the back of my neck and realised that he was throwing balls of fire at me when one went whizzing past and narrowly missing my ear. I turned away from the direction where the fireball had landed and ran towards the lake that was at the foot of the hill I was running across. Pain seared through my ankle and I realised he had hit me. The kimono caught alight and I shed it but as I did I fell and rolled down the hill in the undergarments that Paradox’s servants had given me. I landed on the muddy bank, gasping for breath as my foot burned. I dipped it into the lake quickly, panting and trying to see straight.

“You can’t run from me forever, Zelda!” Cannabec roared from the top of the hill. He began sending columns of fire heading my way and I panicked, jumping into the lake to protect myself from the bright emerald flames that were spiralling toward me. I dove deep, trying to remember my swimming lessons from being at the orphanage. I swam deeper and further into the lake only daring to break the surface when I was desperate to breathe. But when I did, I still had trouble breathing when I was surrounded by high walls of green flames that beckoned for me to fall into their grasp and burn. My eyes stung as I cried my tears and struggled to stay afloat. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t see clearly and I felt paralysed. I didn’t notice Cannabec’s hands on my waist until I felt his breath at my ear. “My poor little Zelda,” he purred as he pressed me to his body “You’re so afraid. Come with me, little princess, worship me and adore me. I will make everything better.”

“I…I…” My voice was caught in my throat as I continued to be fixated by the green flames that burned the surface of the water. I shook my head furiously, the tears flying off my face. “I won’t!”

“So damn persistent!” Cannabec snarled and I gasped as he dug his claws into my belly. I begged my body to just disappear and I felt petals brushing over me as I teleported away from Cannabec but only onto the bank of the lake. The dome of the green flames on the water disappeared and I could only lie and press my hands on my wounds. I could only sigh through my nose when I saw Cannabec come over me, one of his hands deformed into his claw. “So tired, so vulnerable,” he cooed “My poor Zelda, I can give you anything you want. You only need to accept me as your ruler.”

“This is getting old…” I whispered “I’m not going to submit to you. Ever.” When his claw came under my chin, I reached out and grabbed his wrist feebly in a pathetic attempt to direct it away. I felt my strength failing and my sight blurring. I heard Cannabec snicker.

“You may be an elf but you’re no match for a demon,” he hissed. I won’t deny it, I was afraid. Terrified even. My arm shook as I tried to direct the claw away from my neck then everything went white. I closed my eyes out of exhaustion as thousands of petals brushed across my skin and I felt power flow into me. I gladly accepted it as I felt my body becoming suspended in the air as the petals enclosed around my body. My eyes open as bursts of energy sprouted in my body and I moved my arm in time, using one of the fans that my limit power gave me to slice through Cannabec’s claw. He howled as I scrambled up to my feet and backed away warily. I stared down at my body, seeing the way the light pink petals had clung onto me to cover my nudity and how they were streamlined to help me run faster than normal.

I have never seen anyone’s limit power before. Humans have it but they rarely need it in huge cities where the only threat is muggers. According to Zereria, humans fear the limit power that is bestowed to them from Ethylias because it is a spontaneous phenomenon. It could happen with any injury at any age and could potentially have some devastating side-effects. I examined my darker pink and silver fans, noting that they were made out of metal bars and sheets rather than wood and paper. As I looked up, I saw Cannabec sneering and growing.

“Even in your limit form,” he snarled as his skin turned a darker grey and his clothes tore open when his muscles bulged, exposing his dark green veins “you are still no match for a demon!” I felt horror strike me through the heart as I came face to face with his true demon form. He resembled an anubite, from his enlarged dog’s snout to the enlarged, ominous looking sickle in one of his deformed claws. He snarled and I decided the best idea to tackle this kind of situation was to sharply turn on my heel and run for my life. Cannabec let out a menacing howl as I ran back into the forest. Trees fell over behind me and if I could listen carefully, I could hear Cannabec’s sickle slicing through the trees, paving his way to me.

“Zelda, duck!” I widened my eyes and ducked as a scythe came swinging in my direction. I stumbled and fell, turning over to see a figure with a long golden scythe, dressed in a beautiful white robe.

“Prebeta,” Cannabec growled out in acknowledgement as they clashed “Of course you’d want to meddle in my affairs.”

“Run, Zelda!” I scrambled up to my feet as they began fighting and teleported away. I fell into Paradox’s gardens and let out a tired sigh when my name was called out. I fell backwards into arms as my eyes fluttered close and fell into a deep sleep.