Princess of Faerl

*Elentari*

There were so many weapons with the moons on them. I was having a hard time as it was all conflicting and sending me different messages. I had no idea how to pick up a weapon. My brother seemed to have an easy time with this and was with Alke at this point. ‘Selene, how do I choose? There are so many that seem to belong to the moon, but none seem to be ours.’ I couldn’t understand what was going on.

‘I’ve never been a goddess of hunt or battle. I have no weapons of my own. There are those that live in my moonlight that use weapons and have had beautiful creations crafted by Hephaestus. This is something that will be decided by you and you alone. Unless you wish to craft a weapon of choice for you that will belong to you and only you. My Guardians had previously chosen a master craftsman to create something unique for themselves.’ I hadn’t realized that was an option. Once Alke seemed done talking to my brother, she came to me.

“You seem conflicted, child.” It wasn’t a question but a statement. “Have you not felt anything call to you?”

“I have not. But I’ve been talking to Selene and I think I might know why. She’s not a goddess of battle or hunt. That is why, whenever she has been reincarnated, she needed a Lunar Guardian. Each Guardian has had their own weapons and been trained in combat since they could walk, unlike me. I haven’t been trained in combat at all.” A long sigh escaped me.

“I think a trip to Hephaestus is in order.” It was as if Alke had heard our conversation, knowing what we had wanted. “Come with me.” She held out her hand and I took it. Suddenly, the zone melted away and we were in a dark, hot place. Molten lava seemed to flow all around us and the clanking of metal could be heard. She walked forward and took me with her. “Hephaestus, greetings.” Loudly spoken words rang over the sound of metal.

“Alke, what are you doing here?” The strong man asked, without stopping his movements. He was crafting a sword. I watched in awe as he worked. “Didn’t I already make you a replacement set of weapons? And why is a mortal here?”

“This isn’t a simple mortal, Hephaestus. She is the Lunar Guardian and reincarnation of Selene. She needs weapons. None in the armory connected with her and if we are going to face the God of Gods, she needs something that will connect with her.” This seemed to grab the god’s attention.

“A weapon to place in the hand of a mortal? I have never made a weapon to belong in the hand of a mortal without the presence of a God or Goddess. This one will not always be a host. Why should I make her a weapon?” He asked.

“Because she is the only one that can work with her brother, who is working with the weapons of Helios and Helios himself. You know that pair reincarnates together.”

“How soon do you need it?” He seemed impatient and annoyed.

“Hephaestus, when you deem it ready, that will be enough if you accept our humble request. I have never requested a weapon made for me, now I request one be made for my reincarnation and Guardian in my stead.” Selene spoke within me, her energy flowing forward. The God grunted.

“I… do not know what weapon would suit me. I leave that to your wisdom.”

“I will not deny the request of my aunt, after so long, finally making a request.” He touched my forehead with another grunt. His nod was the last communication he gave, using it to dismiss them. Alke held out her hand to me and we were back in the space between.

“This is where I leave you for today. When your weapons are ready, they will be in this room, ready for your use. I will return at that time to show you how to use the weapons you are gifted. He does not make weapons for mortals. These will be a treasure of your family until the end of all time. Treat them with respect and never betray them.” With that she turned to leave, “I believe you will find your brother… eating.” A laugh peeled through the air and I smiled.

“Thank you for your guidance, Alke. You have blessed us.” I wanted to show her my gratitude before I left. I had no idea how intense this battle would be or when it would take place, but I knew I needed to be ready. I was already behind the ball in every aspect of training. I turned to leave with a smile on my face. This was a huge undertaking but I wanted to do my best. ‘Are you ready for this Selene?’ I wondered.

‘Ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s go catch up so we can eat before that bottomless pit that hasn’t truly tasted mortal food in a very long time.’ I could feel her amusement through my body as we went to the hall, but they weren’t there. I went hunting for my family and found them in a smaller dining room. I looked at the men with huge plates in front of them and my jaw dropped.

“Hey!! Leave some food for me, dang it!” My glare at them seemed to make them stop eating, even if just for a second, “I’m hungry too!”

“Well, nin gwanuning, you snooze, you lose!” Aranelda laughed at me and shoved food in his face. I sighed and sat down, Tanz appearing by my side.

“Hello my Princess! Are you hungry as well? I noticed you didn’t make it to dinner. Though your father did make it to dinner, he seems to have more of an appetite tonight than previously.” I couldn’t help but laugh and nodded to her asking for a plate. “Right away, my Princess.” She flew off retrieving a plate from the kitchen, bringing it to me. “Here you are!”

“Tomorrow is my graduation, will you guys be coming with me?” I was curious if they would come or not. “I know it’s not part of your kingdom, but I would be grateful if you came.”

Belle and Alaric laughed a little, “You think your town isn’t part of Faerl?” Alaric asked.

“Well, it’s just a regular human town, isn’t it?” Confusion was written all over my face. At this point, Manic and Audra could be heard in the hallway, bickering. Shock replaced confusion and then annoyance. “You’re kidding me? The entire town is fae and were-folk aren’t they?”

“That is correct, my dear,” Belle responded, as the other two walked into the room. At this moment, the duo walked in, greeted by my annoyed stare.

“Lucy! You have a lot of explaining to do!” I quote one of the old shows we’ve all watched together. They both look down with guilt.

“We were told not to say anything! And no, I didn’t befriend you out of requirement. I was just supposed to watch you, not befriend you. I wanted to be your friend. It would be easier for me to protect you and, well, friends are something we all need.” Audra tried to smile without seeming like she was trying too hard.

“I promise we weren’t trying to upset you. We weren’t allowed to tell you. No one was. We had to hide everything so you could live without raising attention. Your safety was most important, more important than anything else.” I simmered a bit and looked down.

“I don’t mean to be cold. It’s just hard feeling like my entire life was a lie. Friends that were tasked with spying on me, parents who didn’t come retrieve me for so long. I try not to let it bother me, but now knowing that my only two friends weren’t just in it because they liked me, it’s disheartening.” I was fighting back tears. This was a lot to take in.

“It wasn’t a lie. If we didn’t like you, you would never have known we existed. Your parents couldn’t come to you, that’s why they sent us. To protect you. We knew something was wrong. We didn’t want to leave you alone. We knew you weren’t mentally ill, we knew what you had within you, and wanted to make sure it was normalized enough to accept them instead of finding them a hindrance, hoping that eventually, you’d stop taking the fake medication.” Manic tried to explain as best he could. I could feel the care and genuine concern in his voice as both of their eyes pleaded with mine for forgiveness.

“Are you two even teenagers?” I asked them with a bit of a laugh.

“Uhhhhh no. We’re not. But we can pass for them so we got the job.” Audra smiled at me with a wink. “And remember, it’s rude to ask a lady how old she is.”

“We never meant to deceive you, we just knew if we didn’t wait until the time we were guided to it could have put you in mortal danger, as you wouldn’t have been able to shift fully until your 18th birthday and even a partial shift wouldn’t have been able to protect you from the dangers that lived in your town. As long as you were unnoticeable and seemed ignorant to the supernatural world, you were safe.” Belle tried to explain to me.

I nodded slowly. “Well, what’s done is done. I have a bigger family than I could hope for, still have my good friends, and the ability to become something greater than I ever understood I could be. It’ll be okay. I’ll be okay. I just need some time to adjust.”

“Well, it’s time to dye your hair, so let’s do this. You’ve got so much of it now, this is going to take FOREVER.” Audra was ready to go. After eating, I went with her to my makeshift room to realize it wasn’t there anymore. I should have realized it would all be moved to where my door is.

“Well, Stacie, I guess we get our own rooms now. Though I will miss sharing a space with you.” Audra’s jaw dropped at how casually and nicely I was speaking to her.

“At least you won’t be able to spy on my sleeping habits anymore.” She laughed a little, giving me a hug. “But you can come crash in here any time you like. We have a lot of time to catch up. Though my bathroom is pretty big, we could dye your hair there. And I’m sure with extra hands it’ll go faster.” A broad smile swept to Audra, “Oh, and I’m sorry if I ever did anything particularly mean to you. I’m not the same person anymore, I promise.”

“So we aren’t referring to them as the hellspawn twins anymore?” Audra was fairly blunt and it was Stacie’s turn to look shocked. I shook my head no.

“This is my sister from another mister, literally, and she’s gonna be the best businesswoman Faerl has ever seen.” I nodded and snapped my fingers thinking about my bag of hair dye and other products. “Well, let’s get rolling on this!” I snapped my fingers again and a salon-style chair appeared in the bathroom. “Magic is fantastic. Reminds me of the ‘Halloween Town’ grandma. She said ‘magic is simple, know what you want and let yourself have it’ and that couldn’t be truer.” I sat down and leaned my head back.

We put on music and a strange mix of punk, rock, rock opera, alternative rock, some hip-hop, and metal. Blackbrair, P!nk, Matchbox 20, 3LW, and a variety of other bands. Each lady shared a bit of themselves. This was a historic night for us. I knew Audra never thought the three of us would ever get along. This was going to be an interesting time indeed. It took about three hours to put all the dye in my hair. I let it sit for an hour before rinsing it out. I normally would keep it overnight, but I knew Selene would let me keep it at least until the end of graduation ceremonies. I hoped she would let me keep it longer.