chapter 25

                                    

                                          
Light streams in and I squint my eyes in annoyance. Fck I forgot about the blinds again. I turned my body sideways and saw the empty space beside me. 

Five nights. 

Five nights with the same crescent moon up above the sky and his absence seemed to be more evident. 

I haven't heard from Aiken since that night. He set out at dawn and when I woke up the next day, he was gone. Limang araw na rin akong nandito. On the first day, I tagged along when Vesna, went to the town to buy some goods. Which was bad enough dahil kinakailangan naming sumakay sa iisang kabayo. She said that her magic isn't that strong compared to the Prince kaya isa lang ang pwede niyang magamit. The next day, I helped Night with the firewood for the hearth. And got a lot of blisters for it. 

On the third day, I decided to ask Night about the country. He was using sandpaper for the arrows and his facial expression turned serious when he heard my question. He took a deep breath before saying, 

"One. There was only one realm. One Kingdom and four castles. Four powerful families that ruled over the entire country and one crowned King. The Elder Elves was what we called them. Elves that were born with exceptional magic. The Thindrel family of the West, Heisenberg family of the North, Bonavich family of the South, and the Adair Royal family of the East. La Belleza El Tierra was once seen in the eyes of men. But not long after, humans waged war with our kind. Magic couldn't be wielded with violence and we were greatly outnumbered. The Bonavich family urged the King Acel to take upon sorcery saying that it was our only chance to survive. But the King declined. Sorcery is the dark face of magic, and once learned, they may never control such power. We won the war. With the help of the King's daughter. Princesa Harley Bliss Adair." 

"Did she use sorcery?" I pulled a small wooden chair from behind and sat in front of Night, paying attention to the story that is now unfolding.

"No, she was just powerful. The most powerful elf of our kind."

"What happened then?" Night sat down and used the stick to draw a map. He drew a very familiar landmass. 

"Hindi ako sigurado kung ano talaga ang nangyari at ginawa nila but there are legends about it. And all agreed on this; the Elder Elves used some sort of spell to hide the country in a small fold of the universe and made passages that would lead into its lands and conceal it with the brume. A magic that takes the image of a thick white cloud and hides the country from the eyes of men. A century passed in the outside world and our kind became a tale humans speak to their children. A fantasy they find entertainment to. It was not long when the Elder Elves decided to let mortals come in. Some they married, some they simply made a pack of friendship to. But the King found out about the Bonavich family. That was when a seed of havoc was planted." He stopped, hesitating.

"What is it?" I asked. Night looked at Vesna and she just shrugged and continued polishing her sword. Night took another deep breath before saying,

"They were the first witch clan in La Belleza El Tierra. Not long after, descendants of the Elder Elves married witches and their offsprings were seen as a threat to the throne. The children of the dawn. Born from an Elder Elf and a witch. Bears a power so strong that even the child himself cannot seem to control. The King burned them all, though he couldn't light a single fire to the Bonavich family. They were still a part of the Elder Elves so he burned five biggest witch clans in El Malefico. To weaken our kind."