The Legacy
Chapter Twenty

Kain sat on her bed with her legs crossed and several things sprayed out in front of her. She had emptied her rucksack out on the bed to investigate but she can’t seem to focus on any of them. There’s only one item on her bed that keeps dragging her attention towards it. The white orchid. It had been a living, breathing fae once. The orchid was starting to wilt. Kain would have to put it in new soil and water it soon, before it is too late and Breezes was gone for good. Kain wondered what Breezes would have said to her if she was here now. Would she have been disappointed or would she have understood? Breezes would probably have been the one who supported Kain all the way. Heck, she would have sneaked into the Academy alongside Kain.

Kain closed her eyes with remorse. How did Breezes come to mean so much to her when they didn’t get the chance to get to know each other that well? Opening her eyes again Kain knew why. Breezes had been the first part of Kain’s real life. The first one to speak the truth and the first to offer help when Kain started getting lost. With a sigh, Kain picked the orchid up and pulled it gently out of the jar. She inspected it from all sides, glad to see that it didn’t get hurt. There was only one place Kain wanted to plant the white orchid.

The problem wasn’t planting it. It was parting with it. Kain knew she had to in any case. It was the right thing to do. Kain closed her eyes again, squeezing them tightly. Did Abbadon bury Gavin’s severed body or did he throw it to the wolves. It. Was that how Kain thought of Gavin now? As an it? No, but there was no other way to name it. The body no longer had a head and its head no longer looked like Gavin when those empty scared eyes stared up at her. She so wished that she could have been able to at least replace some part or all the parts of Gavin and give him the funeral he had deserved as well.

You’re not alone Kainun, Hekatai said from beside her. She was sitting on the bedside chair next to the nightstand. Always annoyingly there to haunt Kain. Yes, that is what Kain resorted to calling Hekatai’s appearance. She was being haunted. Kain looked at Hekatai, too tired to fight any further tonight. As much as she hated it, Hekatai was a deity and the only one who could help Kain with her newest problem. Kain sagged into herself, “what is happening to me? I just got a little upset and a killer storm emerged out of nowhere,” she asked hopelessly then added with more misery, “one I couldn’t stop by the way.” Kain stared back down at the white orchid.

You’re changing Kainun. All our power runs through your veins. You don’t know how to control it yet and therefor the power is consuming you. Your own mother warned you about it, Hekatai explained. Kain knew she was referring to the letter her mother had left her when she was left at the orphanage. She stared at the folded piece of paper that laid at the edge of everything splayed over her bed.

Hekatai smiled gently, you know what you must do to ease the power, she added smoothly. Kain remained silent for a while, “I should go and plant this beside the tree. It would just be the right thing to do,” Kain said quietly, avoiding Hekatai’s words. She stood up with orchid in hand, and walked out of the tent. Kain felt Hekatai following her as she walked down the path that led to the burial tree. She chose to ignore the deity. She was tired of fighting. Especially tonight.

Kain reached the centre of camp where they buried the other three lost lives and knelt. Four lives lost because they were looking for someone who didn’t even know how to help them. Five lives counting Gavin. How many more lives were lost because of her? Kainun, this is what you were born to be. You should stop fighting your destiny and embrace who you are, Hekatai urged almost as if she could hear Kain’s thoughts. Kain sat there, staring at the tree looming above her. She looked back down at the orchid. It’s petals almost glowing like the moon itself against her frail skin.

Tears burned at the corners of her eyes. Breezes had been so glad when she found out that Kain was the one she was looking for, that she was the one to save all fae kind. Would Breezes still be alive if Kain weren’t so reluctant to accept her past, fate and destiny?

“What if who I am is the reason for all the bad things that happens to not only me but everyone else around me?” she asked softly then turned her head towards Hekatai. “Gavin died because of me! Sophia and the other two fae died protecting me! Innocent fae died by my own hands! Breezes died because she found me! How am I supposed to save all fae folk when I’m the reason they are dying?” she asked with a croak, her throat clenching with the ache she felt in her heart. Kain turned her head away from Hekatai, staring back up at the tree. She felt Hekatai, gently stroking her arm, no one said it was going to be easy, she said with her voice sounding soft in Kain’s mind. Kain looked back at Hekatai for a moment then bended forward, placing the orchid gently beside her and began to dig a hole in the soft dirt with her hands.

The soil shifted easily and soon enough she had a deep enough hole to plant the orchid in. “No one told me it would be this hard either,” Kain said quietly. She placed the orchid gently inside of the hole and pushing the soil gently back into place and around the orchid’s roots before sitting back on her heels. Hekatai squeezed her arm, isn’t it worth trying though? If not for you, then for them. For the ones who believe in you and for those who died trying for your sake? Hekatai urged gently. Kain leaned her head to the side, her eyes focused on the orchid.

“For Breezes,” Kain whispered, feeling Hekatai squeeze her arm again. For Breezes, she repeated warmly.

Kain breathed in deeply, turning her head back towards Hekatai once more, “okay,” Kain agreed. Hekatai straightened a little, arching her eyebrows in question, okay? she asked unsure.

Kain nodded, “I’ll try for their sakes,” she said, standing up and looking back down at the orchid. It still looks wilted and on the verge of death. “You should water it,” a little girl said from Kain’s other side. Hekatai smiled down at the little girl. Kain stared at the girl, it was the same one she saw a few days ago. The one she had mistaken for as a fae child.

“Will it work?” Kain asked. Kain knew now who the girl was. The deity nodded her head. Kain looked past the tree towards where the spring river flowed between the trees. She turned to replace a small container to scoop up the water with.

“Where are you going?” Siqua asked. Kain frowned, “I’m going to fetch some water, what do you mean where am I going?” she asked. Her frown deepened when the deity laughed and shook her head.

“You could try to water the orchid with your ability,” Siqua suggested. Kain’s eyes stretched a little. “But I can’t control my powers. I thought we established that with the storm.”

“I’ll help you,” Siqua urged, “just close your eyes and trust me, “she added warmly. Kain did as the water deity said and closed her eyes. It was easier to trust the innocent voice of a child than it was for a golden voice speaking in her mind. “Concentrate on the magic that flows through your veins. Think of it as water running through you like water runs through a river,” Siqua began her lesson and Kain obeyed willingly. She concentrated on the power she felt inside of her. It was a warm feeling that tingled every cell in her body. Kain thought of water and how her blood flowed like tiny networks of rivers through her and carried liquid magic along with it to every cell and tissue of her body.

“Now focus on conjuring that water to form outside of your body,” Siqua instructed, a proud smile weaved in her voice. Kain lifted her palms up and let it face each other, focusing on the essence of water, which she urged towards her palms. She could feel it forming between her palms and gently cooling her skin. Kain slowly opened her eyes again, blinking a few times as she found that she managed to conjure up a small ball of water. The water deity clapped her hands with excitement. “Now you just focus on pushing the water towards the orchid and let it go,” she shrieked childishly. Kain gently pushed it away from her body with all the mental strength she has and urged it to flow towards the orchid. When the ball of water hovered above the orchid, Kain closed her fingers and the ball exploded into a misty rain, watering the orchid gently.

She felt a cool arm rest over her shoulders. “Well done my dear,” a woman’s voice praised in place of a child’s. Kain turned her head to look at a beautiful woman with skin as blue as the clearest sky and hair of flowing water. “Thank you Siqua,” Kain said gratefully then turned her head towards Hekatai. “I’ll try for their sakes, but that doesn’t mean I forgive the deities for forsaking me and my family,” Kain said quietly. She stepped out of Siqua’s embrace, diverting her eyes away as she looked down at her feet and walked away from the two deities and back towards her tent. She didn’t look back. She couldn’t bear to. Not with all the pain she felt in her heart.

Kain sat quietly, listening as everyone except Ciara, shouted about how she had betrayed them by going off to the Academy by herself. It was late in the evening and Kain wasn’t in the mood. She had dreaded this moment but sitting there in her tent feeling sorry for herself wasn’t going to help anyone. She didn’t sleep much after planting the orchid last night. The memories of the dead kept haunting her in a repeating loop. She wasn’t comfortable sitting here at the round table either. Not because the council members raved on and on with anger but because she couldn’t trust any of them. Perhaps that wasn’t the whole truth. There was someone she trusted. Only one other fae. She couldn’t explain why but she did. Kain stared at Ciara who had her arms folded. She was being extra quiet today and Kain wondered if Ciara could feel the same distrust in this group, Kain felt. Hopefully that was it and not about the same thing the others were angry about.

Kain had shared her discoveries with only Ciara, first thing in the morning. After Ciara scolded her of being reckless. At first, the lioness didn’t want to believe Kain, just like Kain didn’t want to believe it herself. It was hard to think that there was a mole in their group. It was harder to speculate who, when you came to be friends with them all. But not even Ciara could deny the truth. The papers were clear as day. Someone in their close circle is a spy.

Before the meeting had started, Ciara warned Kain to keep quiet and not mention it to anyone else. Not even to Burbor, who was her fiancé. Nor Wison, who had become a close friend to both Kain and Ciara. Kain agreed. Not that she trusted anyone else to say something to them and even if she wanted to, it was impossible for her to get a word in with all the ravings.

She had given up on trying to defend herself. Every time she tried, they cut her off. “I just don’t see how we can still trust her!” Burbor growled furiously. “For once I agree with the beast! Wison we simply can’t go on with this while she’s still in on it!” Alocius argued, slamming his fist onto the table. Kain’s cheeks flushed with anger. All she did was sneak off towards the Academy on her own and they’re acting like she cursed a deity. Is it so wrong that she only wanted to protect them by killing Abbadon on her own? She didn’t even get to kill Abbadon. At least not by hand.

“I understand, but Kainun is our Bleeder. She has to be here,” Wison tried to defend but it was all just empty attempts. “So that she could betray our trust again?” Burbor shouted. He stared up at his fiancé who shushed him. He watched her for a moment before giving a loud grunt and continued glaring at Kain but said nothing further.

Kain stood up, her chair scraping back with a loud screech. “Enough!” she shouted, her face burning red with humiliation. “I made a mistake, yes I know! But don’t you think that I deserve a second chance here? I just didn’t want you guys to risk your lives,” she said loud enough to get a word out above the ramblings. “Besides if I didn’t go, I wouldn’t have discovered the flaw in our plan in the first place,” Kain continued calmly before anyone could cut her off again. Burbor glared at her, “and what flaws might these be?” he asked with a squint in his left eye. Kain pulled out the blueprint of the Academy, flattening it out on the table’s surface.

She looked up at the faces around her then pointed at the blueprint, “our way to a safe life isn’t through there,” she explained. She watched their expression turning to confusion. “We want to replace a way to keep them away from the rest of fae kind, right?” she added once she knew that she had their attention. A few nods and a couple of murmurs of agreement made their rounds, “well, there is only one way to do it. She shoved the blueprint to the side and pulled a bigger piece of paper forward.

On the paper was a map of the whole area. The woods, the Academy, the town and even the different lakes and mountains nearby. Kain picked up a marker and drew a thick black circle on a location within the woods. Alocius leaned in closer, inspecting the space she had just marked. “The Archway?” Wison asked from beside her. Kain nodded, “if we replace a way to destroy the Archway then we won’t have to worry about any humans ever again,” she explained, trying to portray the same hope onto them which she felt inside herself.

“And this will work?” Burbor asked hesitantly, “if we know how to destroy the Arch then yes,” Kain said nervously. She wasn’t entirely sure if the plan was going to work -especially because she still didn’t know who the mole was- but at least it is a fighting chance.

She pulled out the golden ring she had placed in her rucksack that morning and placed it on top of the map. “I know I haven’t been much of a fae lately and I know that I did some horrible things in my life. I know that there is a lot I still need to learn and I know that I will keep on making mistakes but…” she paused, looking down at the ring and taking in a deep breath, “I am ready to try! I will learn and I will fight for all fae folk,” she assured them. Kain took a deep breath, looking around the room, “but I can’t do this alone,” she finished, looking towards Wison. “You’re not alone,” Ciara said from behind Wison. Kain looked at Ciara, stunned. She hadn’t expected Ciara to be the first to say so. Perhaps she should have expected it. Ciara was a loyal and honest friend after all. The lioness had been so quiet all this time that she took the other fae by surprise. Ciara stepped forward one step, nodding her head respectfully, “I will fight with you!” she said with determination.

Kain smiled and nodded back, gratefully. From there everyone else started adding their declarations of loyalties. Kain found it strange since they were ready to behead her earlier. “Okay, I suggest we talk to everyone in camp, get them to connect with fae that are somewhere outside of the border line and convince them to reunite here,” Kain started, leaning over the table. “That makes sense. Everyone needs to be together once we decide to pull this off. Once the Archway is gone there will be no going back. Not from either side,” Wison chimed in.

“I say we should start brainstorming ways to destroy a magical phenomenon which has been in existence for centuries,” Burbor added, sitting down on a nearby chair and resting his feet on the table. Alocius slapped his feet from the table, scowling, “of with your paws, were you raised in the dark ditches of Ubeck?” he scrutinized Burbor. Burbor growled, “no idiot, I was whelped in the grasslands of Rorca,” he snapped irritably.

“Boys!” Ciara growled warningly, looking at Burbor and Alocius sizing each other up. Alocius scowled for a minute longer then turned back towards the table, “we’ll need a lot of magic that is for sure” he added coldly, agreeing with Burbor. He was looking at Kain with his pale eyes. “I’ll be ready, I promise,” Kain assured gently.

“So, what do you think?” Kain asked Ciara. They were walking through camp, watching everyone work together on preparations for more guests as well as a possible war. Ciara stared around once then bended her head slightly towards Kain, “whoever the mole is, it’s definitely part of our group.” Kain nodded, she had her own suspicions. The question was, who?

“Do you think it’s Alocius? Burbor did say white elves aren’t to be trusted,” Kain said but Ciara was already shaking her head. “Burbor might not like white elves, but Alocius is an exception. It might not seem like it, but they are close friends. Besides Alocius is too much of a drunk to be the mole. He can’t even hide the colour of his underclothes much less the plans being shared with Abbadon,” Ciara denied.

Kain breathed heavily, “who then?” she asked, pulling her eyebrows together miserably. Ciara’s eyes grew distant and Kain followed her gaze towards where Wison sat at a long table and drink from a cup while another fae laughed at something he said. “I don’t know,” Ciara said before Kain could ask.

“I wonder, do you think there might be more than one mole? Maybe someone spying on us?” Kain asked distracted by Wison who seemed so calm. The memory of the kiss the other nigh still burned freshly on her lips. “Could be,” Ciara said.

They stopped walking, turning to face each other, “listen, I have to go check on my crops, but I’ll see you again soon. Okay?” Ciara said, giving Kain a long hug before walking down the path to the makeshift farms. Kain spared a glance towards Wison before making her own way towards the burial tree.

The camp buzzed with noise, louder than usual. Everyone talking about the plan and figuring out ways how to pull it off effectively. Kain stood beneath the burial tree, watching the three colours melting into one. The sunrays were being captured between leaves now and then as the breeze gently swayed the branches. She looked down at the orchid underneath the tree and smiled. The water she gave it yesterday had done it good. The orchid stood up straight and the beautiful white flower looking proud in all of its glory as the leaves glimmered with pure renewal. Her smile slowly faded away, thinking about how they would need to leave them behind in this world when everyone escapes into the fae world. “She was a good kid,” Wison said from behind her. Kain turned to look at him from over her shoulder. He was looking at the orchid instead with his hands tucked away in the pockets of his pants and his face shaded with sorrow. “She was,” Kain agreed with a small smile, turning her head back towards the white flower.

She sensed Wison moving closer and soon felt the coolness of his body beside her, “we will get through this, I know we will,” he said quietly, still looking down at the orchid. “What if I fail you?” Kain asked, almost whispering the words. She said she’d try for their sakes, but she didn’t say she would be able to succeed.

“You won’t,” Wison countered. Kain turned towards Wison, “how can you know that?” she asked disbelieving. Wison smiled, turning towards her, and reaching out his hand to cup her cheek, “because I believe in you, Kainun,” he said without hesitation, “we all do,” he added, pulling her head towards him. She rested her forehead against his, closing her eyes and taking in his sent of spring water mixed with a hint of saltiness. “I need to learn how to control my magic. But I’ll need someone to teach me,” she said, “will you teach me?” she asked, looking into his eyes with hope. “We will all teach you!” someone else answered instead.

Kain pulled away from Wison and saw a group of fae standing a distance from them. Ciara stood in front of the group, “we will all help you Kain,” she added respectfully. Kain looked at the fae that had formed the group, Natalia was one of them. There was also a fae with chalky skin and burning glows of red between the cracks, next to him stood a fae with large iridescent wings and a lighter shade of violet skin, behind her stood Alocius and next to him was a tanned boy with bright golden eyes and a smug smile.

Kain felt her heart flutter, thinking about how they were offering her help when she did nothing to deserve it, “thank you,” she said earnestly. She truly was grateful. Catching the eye of Hekatai, where she was standing beside a tree along with the other six deities, Kain felt herself smiling slightly and gave them a small nod. Wison joined the group and then one by one knelt to one knee, bowing their heads low. Kain gave a low curtsey, the flutter in her stomach feeling like it’s about to explode out of her chest. They gently stood back up again and formed a great circle beside her. “we can only teach you what we know. Being a Bleeder, we have no concept of a near idea exactly what you are capable of. But we can try and help you control and use a part of your powers,” Ciara announced. Kain nodded once, understanding what she meant, and accepting it. All she needed was someone showing her the basics of how to use the magic inside of her and how to control some of it at least. She would figure out the rest from there. Natalia stepped into the circle, “we start with the element of earth!” Ciara announced, with a nod towards Natalia. Natalia nodded her own head before turning towards Kain. The circle of fae expanding as everyone made space for them to work as one would do in an arena.