STAGE SEVENTEEN: THE VOICE OF AFRAWatching Freyja, Kirin and Alaric from up the mast, Keon suddenly felt a surge of familiar, yet sinister aura approaching. The clouds began to clump up, and the winds grew violent. In his years living as a pirate, he could clearly tell that a big storm is coming. But the sudden shift in weather was far too unnatural. He jumped down to warn them. "Be prepared, a strong storm is coming! And I"m sure it"s no ordinary storm."
Freyja"s spine tingled, feeling something different from the approaching aura. While it did feel dangerous, it was different from the other threats they encountered. It felt so familiar, overwhelming, reminding her of Astrid, Aria, and Avice.
Rain started falling and winds blew hard. The now violent waves started rocking the ship.
"Do you think it"s another phreinian?" Alaric asked, shouting, struggling to stand upright against the winds.
"Only one person can tell that… Freyja, what do you think!?" Kirin asked.
But Freyja fell silent. Her eyes were blank as she stared into the raging sea. The calls of her friends couldn"t reach her. The medallion on her chest started pulsing, it felt as if its burning. The feeling is getting stronger and stronger. She started walking towards the taffrail subconsciously.
"Leave! You shouldn"t be here, Lenfiare!"
Freyja heard a voice. She was positive, it was what she thinks it is.
All of a sudden, Avice" wings sprung out of her back. Pure white aura enveloped her entire body as she levitated. Freyja surrendered her mind and body to the desperately aching celestial core inside her, dragging her to where its guardian is.
"FREYJA! What"s happening!?" Kirin tried to hold onto her, but he was burned by her white aura. Alaric and Keon tried to do the same, but they were repelled even before they could get close to her. "Freyja"s not conscious anymore! It"s something else inside her!" Alaric shouted, remembering the first time he witnessed her at this state six years ago.
"But it"s impossible, Freyja is a celestial, her body can"t be taken over by a human or a phreinian, unless..." Alaric cut his sentence, realizing that there is still something that could take over Freyja"s body: her very own power. "…unless it"s celestial aura itself."
Freyja flew straight, forward, lightning speed, through the raging storm, she was out of their sights in an instant. Keon barely managed to summon a flying rune beast, and followed her.
But Keon couldn"t even come close. The presence is getting stronger and overwhelming as he went further. In no time, his rune beast vanished, dropping the young man into the sea.
Kirin jumped down the ocean and swam against the violent waves to follow Freyja and his brother. Alaric couldn"t stand doing nothing. He froze a part of the water and used it as a floater before jumping down the sea, swimming to follow Kirin.
~ o 0 o ~
"You… you"re not supposed to be here, Lenfiare."
"You"re a celestial guardian, aren"t you? Show yourself, we need you, so that we can return to Celestia, and take it back from the traitors!"
"No. We shouldn"t do that. Don"t you know why you and the five of us were sealed in the first place?"
"Of course, I know. That"s because they want to claim the throne for themselves! Those traitors that conspired with Phrein! Are you saying that you want me to let them be? Just like that? You"re a guardian, aren"t you!? You"re supposed to be protecting Celestia!"
"I am, Lenfiare. I am."
When she finally regained consciousness, she found herself falling down the sea, with raging cold water slowly dragging her to its depths. Freyja was scared, so scared to open her eyes. The last time this happened, she woke up in a world without Kirin. "Kirin…" She called, crying, refusing to open her eyes.
~ o 0 o ~
"Hey miss! Miss! Are you alright!?" She could feel the cold waters splashing on her body. Someone"s shaking her, pleading that she open her eyes. "Hey miss! Say something! Open your eyes!" Little by little, she opened her eyes and was greeted by the blinding rays of the sun. "Kirin…" She reached out to touch the face of the young man in front of her. And yet again, she fell unconscious.
Hours pa.s.sed, and startled Freyja stood up, her mind is now fully awake. "KIRIN!" She called, finally realizing what just happened. She felt a sharp pain in her head as she looked around, finding herself in a small room with wooden floors and wooden walls. A basin with warm water and towel, beside her, and looking at the window, she saw the pastel blue dress she wore at the ball, hanging under the bright sun.
"You"re finally awake!" The energetic voice of a young man with short and messy reddish-brown hair surprised her. He was about her age, and he"s wearing a plain white shirt, pants and boots. He came into the room with a bowl of gruel and some milk. "Just in time, you must be hungry. Here, have some." He enthusiastically sat beside her. But surprised Freyja just gave him an astonished look.
"Oh! Don"t get me wrong! I didn"t change your clothes! I asked the lady next door to do it, honest!" He explained, fl.u.s.tered. But Freyja just replied with a "Where am I?"
"I"m sorry, you must be shocked. My name is Aluanthi. You are in this island of Aphria. I was about to gather bait for fishing this morning when I saw you unconscious on the sh.o.r.e. "The young man explained, a bit afraid of her reaction. "Honestly, I thought you are some kind of fairy or something. I mean, you"re wearing a beautiful dress and you"re quite—"
"Thank you for saving me. And sorry for the trouble." Freyja bowed. "Did you find anyone else with me? I have to look for my friends, they must be worried about me." Freyja tried to stand up, but her whole body ached. Aluanthi stopped her. "I really wanted to know more about you, but you just had a high fever. You should rest for now." He gently pushed Freyja back to the bed. "I"ll go out for today, I"ll ask the lady next door to watch over you. But please stay put and rest, I"ll go look for your friends, okay?" He smiled before leaving. "It"s alright if you don"t want to answer my questions, but I"d really appreciate it if you tell me your name at least. Rest well okay?" With that, Aluanthi left Freyja in the room.
For hours, Freyja was left in that small room to recover. Though suspicious, she didn"t feel any malice from Aluanthi. On the contrary, he felt warm and bright, and familiar, even. Even so, Freyja is well aware that she still needs to keep her guard up. "This island is definitely not on the map. There"s no way I could have ended up somewhere after "that"." She thought. "It looks serene, but I could feel a strange air surrounding this place. Calm yet sinister, I can"t explain." Freyja grappled with her next steps, worried about her friends. "Alaric, Keon and Kirin. I hope they"re alright… they are, they should be. I have to find them, and of course, that celestial guardian." She stood up, and walked towards the window. The view of the green, rural scenery outside relaxed her thoughts. Then, the door opened. Aluanthi is back.
"How are you feeling?" He asked. Freyja regained her energy and composure. She faced the young man with her usual smile. "I"m alright now." And the young man Aluanthi, was taken aback. "Oh… that"s… that"s good to hear." He replied, looking away with a bright pink blush. Aluanthi then explained that except for the old neighbors and children in town, he"s never really had someone to closely interact with, much more a lady his age.
"You see, I"ve lived alone ever since I was a child so… I"m not used to befriending people, sorry for being awkward." He explained while scratching the back of his neck. This cute expression of his made Freyja chuckle. "Then let"s be friends!" She extended her hand to him for a handshake, "my name is F… Finella."
"Finella. I see. So that"s your name."
Night came, and Aluanthi invited Freyja to go out, hoping she could relax under a beautiful view of the stars. The young man proudly bragged knowing the best spot for stargazing in the whole island. He rambled on and on and on, about the things he likes to do, and the beautiful things in the island. The air of innocence and simplicity around this young man was so refreshing to Freyja. "Oh, sorry, I must be boring you already." He said, noticing that she"s staring at him with a smile on her face. Freyja shook her head. "No, I like hearing you speak. It feels so peaceful."
"So, you said you are the daughter of a merchant and your ship encountered a horrible storm." Aluanthi began, believing Freyja"s fake story. "Don"t worry, we"ll find your father and your friends. In the meantime, stay here and you can go with me around. We can go around town and tell everyone about this, they can even help us look for your friends, so don"t worry too much!" Freyja could tell that he"s trying his best to cheer her up, which is sweet. But the nicer he was to her, the guiltier she felt.
Freyja thanked the young man, and apologized to him in her thoughts.
~ o 0 o ~