STAGE NINETEEN: REALITY"Aluanthi is a nice young man. He"s kind, hardworking and always gives his all in everything he does." The old lady working with Aluanthi need not say it. Freyja knew very well how kind Aluanthi is. It"s been two weeks since she last woke up in that island, and she still couldn"t find a way out. Even though nothing in that island is actively trying to harm her, Freyja became more and more worried of Kirin and her friends with every pa.s.sing day.
"Here, I"ve made sandwiches for everyone!" Hoping that earning the people"s trust would give her a clue how to get out, she regularly made food and shared it with everyone. This time, it seems to have worked.
"The thanksgiving festival will be held in two weeks. Why don"t you take Finella to dance, Alu?" Aluanthi"s boss, the one who looked a lot like Astrid, happily suggested while munching on Freyja"s handmade sandwiches. "Why are you looking at me like that Finella?" He asked, noticing that she"s staring at him.
"Ah! Sorry! I was just surprised to hear about a festival!" She explained, but she was staring at him mostly because he is the splitting image of Astrid, and Freyja just couldn"t get it off her system. Aluanthi shyly agreed while his co-workers continued to tease him. Meanwhile, Freyja"s mind is preoccupied.
"A festival? That"s strange." Freyja thought. Playing along with this "village" felt more like she"s watching a movie. She knows that somewhere in that village holds the key to get out, and the answers as to why it was created in the first place. Just like how she and her friends were able to dispel the sub-dimension that caged Avice in her previous world, she is sure that there is something that holds that sub-dimension together as well. Unfortunately, no matter how hard she looked, she couldn"t pin-point a single place where its power is caged.
~ o 0 o ~
"Lenfiare…How long are you going to play house with Aluanthi?" Astrid came out of the medallion on his own while Freyja mopped the floors of Aluanthi"s house. She shot an unusually suspicious glare at his master, making Freyja laugh.
"Are you angry Astrid?" Freyja asked with a sly smirk.
"Forgive me Lenfiare, I didn"t intend to sound so. I"m just worried that—"
"That I"ll be happy with this life and settle down? I probably would have, if I wasn"t who I am right now. Don"t worry, we"re on the right track. We should be on the lookout for more clues. If we see an opening, we strike. So, get ready."
"I see, so that"s it." A subtle smile escaped Astrid"s face, and Freyja giggled, noticing it.
"Are you relieved?"
"Yes I am."
Freyja chuckled. "You are so honest Astrid, how I wish I could be like you." With that, Freyja called Astrid back in her medallion, before Aluanthi comes back and sees him.
~ o 0 o ~
For the past two weeks, Kirin, Alaric and Keon did nothing but search every nook and corner of that mysterious island. While they found no town nor other humans, they were fortunate to have found food and trees to make a tent with and survive. Keon became especially useful, his pirate days taught him a whole lot of survival techniques in the wild. It"s the same for tonight. They just finished having roasted fish for dinner, and resting under the clear night sky. "Seriously, this is getting ridiculous. The least I want is to die with two dudes in an uninhabited island." Alaric complained, a mix of humor to lift their spirits.
"Says the rich kid who did nothing but complain about everything." Kirin mumbled, much to Alaric"s ire. "I heard you!"
"But seriously, we are in deeper trouble way more than it looks. This island is impossibly large and infinite, it"s like we"re inside a dream. How in the h.e.l.l are we supposed to even get out of this? Even Keon"s rune beasts end up going in circles, always returning to this spot no matter how far he goes." Alaric added, with a heavy sigh.
"The question is, whose dream is this?" Kirin stood up and looked around. "If Aneurin was right and I am indeed the traitor who killed Freyja"s father, then I am of Celestial descent too. I should be able to do something." Kirin thought, looking at Keon. "And he too."
"What"s wrong, Kirin? Do you sense something?" Keon asked.
Boom! Kirin, Alaric and Keon suddenly spotted a big fireworks explosion in the sky, coming from deep into the forest. They couldn"t believe what they just saw. Leaving food and everything else behind, they ran as fast as they could towards it. As they got closer and closer, the sounds of a festive village got louder. Following the lights and sounds led them to a cliff, overlooking a small village that was never there yesterday when they scouted the place.
This is the cue, the sign they have been waiting for. "I don"t know what this is supposed to mean, but finally!" Alaric need not say it, they all knew what to do. Without further ado, Keon summoned a rune beast, where the three of them used to fly straight to their long-awaited clue.
~ o 0 o ~
"Astrid." One word from the Lenfiare, and the guardian emerged from the medallion. "You called, Lenfiare?"
"Tonight is the start of the festival. While I dance with Aluanthi, I want you to hide somewhere near and look out for any suspicious things. I also give you the permission to act on your own, should I become unable to give out orders."
"Will you be able to hold my form that long? The festival would last at least five hours"
"Don"t worry about me. I can hold your form for a whole day, provided that I won"t fight. Another thing," Freyja seemed a bit hesitant at first, but still ended up making the order, "If Aluanthi acts suspicious, don"t hesitate to take him down. Don"t kill him, but we have to get a hold of him. For some reason, I think that the anomaly in this place is Aluanthi. So, the answer we"re looking for might lie with him. Understood?"
"As you wish, Lenfiare."
"Finella! Finella! Are you in there?" Aluanthi"s voice surprised the girl. She called Astrid back inside the medallion as fast as she could before Aluanthi could see him. "Oh, sorry, I was a bit nervous about this…" She lied.
The music played, and Freyja, dressed in the village"s festival clothes, layers of pink and white skirt with lace and beads, walked up the stage and danced with Aluanthi.
Meanwhile, Kirin, Alaric and Keon finally reached the village plaza, where they saw a festive crowd. "What"s happening? People are dancing over there." Keon asked, overwhelmed with this new development.
"Is that Aluanthi"s wife?" They heard one of the villagers say out loud.
"Yeah, I heard she"s a mermaid!"
"Really?"
"Yes, he found her in the sea!"
Hearing more of this conversation, the three of them looked at each other, with the same thing in mind. They pushed through the crowd, hurriedly finding their way to the stage. And they were right. Freyja was on the stage, dancing with a young man with bright crimson hair.
Kirin wasted no time. He jumped onto the stage, not caring about the commotion he just caused. He pulled her away from Aluanthi, took her in his arms, jumped off the stage, and with lightning speed, dashed away from the crowd, back to the silence of the mountains. It happened so fast, Aluanthi and the villagers couldn"t process what they just saw.
Finally in silence, Kirin put Freyja down and hugged her tight. The surprised girl, wrapped her arms around him so tight, tears forming at the corner of her eyes. "Kirin! It"s you, right? You"re not an illusion? Right!?" She held his face and peered into his eyes just to be sure.
"What the h.e.l.l!? Why did you run like that Kirin did you forget about us!?" Alaric and Keon finally caught up to them.
"Alaric! Keon!" She was so happy to see them, she jumped to them and hugged both of them. Freyja started sobbing, crying in relief. "I thought I"d rot in that place forever!" She shouted, feeling relief overwhelm her heart. Yes, they are still trapped in that island, but having her friends back made a difference. Keon wiped her tears off while Alaric ruffled her hair. "G.o.d, you have no idea, Freyja!" They laughed in relief.
"So, Freyja, tell us what exactly happened?" Kirin held her hand in rea.s.surance. Freyja took a deep breath and started narrating everything that happened, starting from when she lost control of her aura, up to the eerie details she observed in the village. Alaric and Keon too, started sharing what happened to them when they were separated.
"So, you mean to say that you"re on this island for weeks and you didn"t see this village until now? I see, so I was right. The "festival" triggered some sort of aberration in this sub-dimension." Freyja"s suspicion is getting certain. "But why did a "festival" create an opening in the sub-dimension? Why a festival of all things?" Alaric joined in.
"You said there are countless of dimensions, right? And, only celestials are known to have the natural abilities to open dimensions. And you said this is the same with what happened in your previous world, when you unsealed Avice. Are you trying to say that a celestial guardian is sealed somewhere in this island and this entire "sub-dimension" is his work?" Keon said what they all had in mind.
"You"re right Keon. But what��s strange is that the Celestial guardian or whatever is trapping him, is not trying to kill us. Instead, if feels like he"s trying to make us stay here forever. Why is that?" Freyja waited for an answer, but none of the three could give a guess.
"Finella!" Aluanthi"s voice startled her. Suddenly, he came running to them, gasping for breath. "I… I found you at last!" Exhausted, he stopped, panting. "Aluanthi!" Freyja gasped, she forgot about him.
"He is the scarlet haired boy that Freyja is dancing with." Alaric eyed him suspiciously, "He looks to unsuspicious, which makes him suspicious." Keon mumbled under his breath.
"Um… Aluanthi…" Freyja stood up and walked closer to the young man. "I"m sorry for disappearing all of a sudden… but you see, these people are my friends. They"re the ones I was talking about." She explained.
"I see… are they here to take you back?" He asked, disappointment written all over his face.
"Well ye—"
"NO. We are planning to stay for a couple of days. We need to restock supplies for our travels, might as well rest for a bit." Kirin"s interrupted, cutting Freyja off.
"Is he Kirin?" All of a sudden, Aluanthi asked, looking at them with piercing crimson orbs. Kirin felt a chill run down his spine. The doe-eyed young man, for a second, felt like a completely different person. Then, it changed back again.
"Is he the one you kept calling every night? Is he the one you will chase after till your very last br—?" Aluanthi"s question made Freyja shriek.
"AAAAHHH!!! What are you saying Aluanthi!?" Freyja panicked, making all sorts of loud noises to stop Aluanthi from letting Kirin and the others hear of her "embarra.s.sing" confessions. "It was… um… Well I didn"t really… I mean…" But it was all too late, they all heard it loud and clear. "G.o.d, I want to disappear right now… please!"
Aluanthi faced Alaric all of a sudden, looking at him from head to toe. "Now I know why she can"t forget you."
"Um… I am not Kirin. Kirin is over there." Alaric pointed at the real one. "Oh, so it"s you!?" Aluanthi"s reaction p.i.s.sed him off. Nevertheless, he managed to keep his cool. "Anyway, since you are Finella"s friends, you can stay in my house for a while. That is, if you don"t mind how small it is." He offered with a kind smile on his face.
~ o 0 o ~