HOLLY’S POV,
It takes Holly hours to calm down after the bomb that Nolan dropped on her. She knew he would get sick of her at some point but it still came like a shock. She thought she didn’t have a heart left to give him but why does it hurt so much then? She can’t bear the thought of him being with someone else. Which means she must love him so why can’t she just give him the version of herself that he needs. She thinks about it the whole night but the answer is just as unclear in the morning as it was the night before. With a sigh, she gets up from bed and decides to go find Zeus. There is something she has to discuss with him.
She finds Zeus studying the glow worms in the caves.
“What are you doing?” She asks.
Zeus jumps up because he didn’t hear her coming in. “I am trying to figure out a way to transform the light magic from the glow worms into a spell so I can make light weapons.”
Holly has no idea how he wants to make powerful weapons from a little worm but it wouldn’t be the first time he surprised her with something remarkable.
“We need to discuss something,” she says.
Zeus looks at her intrigued, “What is that?”
Holly walks back and forth, “I haven’t heard anything from the Sky Realm for a few days. Magister Ember checks in daily so it is strange. I think we should go check or everything is alright together.”
Zeus frowns, “That is strange indeed. You should go check but can’t you ask Nolan? I feel like I am on the brink of discovery.”
Holly’s face immediately becomes uncomfortable and softly says, “No I can’t.”
Zeus sees the sad look in her eyes and doesn’t ask any questions. He stands up and replies, “Alright then I will go with you. Shall we go now? I would like to be back before dark so I can still get some work done.”
Holly nods, “Good idea, how should we travel?”
Zeus takes out the transportation powder from his pocket, “We should teleport it is the safest way. It is scarce and very difficult to make but I believe it is worth it because our time is also very valuable at the moment.”
They walk outside the cave and stand on the mountain ridge. Holly takes Zeus his hand and prepares for the feeling of your insides being twisted that comes with teleporting. She closes her eyes and quickly she starts to feel sick and has no idea what is up or down anymore. When they land she feels a strong wind blowing in her face. She opens her eyes and pants from the impact on her body. Zeus looks unbothered by it but she would choose flying over teleporting any day.
Strangely enough, it is completely quiet up here. They took most people to Liberum with them but still some elderly and families stayed behind. Holly takes out her wings and flies Zeus from floating rock formation to rock formation. Everywhere they go the buildings are completely empty and a bad feeling is starting to emerge from her stomach. Zeus looks at her confused, “Where is everyone?”
Holly lifts him in the air again, “There is only one place we haven’t looked yet.”
She flies to the biggest rock formation with the royal castle on it. The door of the castle is wide open and fear strikes into Holly’s heart. She hurries inside and finds the rooms trashed and burned. It must have been demons that came in here. They follow the trail of fire and claw marks all the way to the door that leads to the cellar. Holly screams when she gets a clear view of the door. On the door, a devil’s symbol is drawn from blood and Magister Ember her limbs are nailed against it with her head on a spike in the middle. There is no sign of the demons or any other people.
Zeus walks to the door and touches it. Holly stares at him horrified, “What are you doing?”
Zeus points at the symbol, “The demons did this to the Magister because they were trying to perform a ritual to get inside that door. I believe Magister Ember did one of the most ancient and powerful light magic spells that exist. When she gave her life and sacrificed all her life light she made sure the door was protected and no one could get in. She gave her life to protect whatever is behind that door. The demons probably gave up after a while because her light magic was stronger than their dark magic.”
Holly is speechless about her brave and wise teacher. She can’t bear it to see her disgraced in this way and carefully starts to collect all the Magister’s body parts. She puts them in a bag and makes a silent promise to give Magister Ember the goodbye she deserves. Zeus puts his head against the door like he can hear it speaking to him. His eyes get wide and he waves Holly over.
“I think she made the spell so that only someone of royal sky blood can open the door.”
He takes Holly’s hand and quickly makes an incision in her palm so blood comes out. He presses her hand against the door and light starts to emerge from the door. Slowly the doors open and they look at dark stairs that lead down.
They look at each other and Zeus says, “Ladies first.”
Holly walks down the stairs without hesitation and in the cellar she finds a dozen people cramped together in corners looking scared. It is the remaining people of the Sky Realm. Magister Ember gave her life to protect the rest. When the people see it is Holly that opened the door relieve sparks in their eyes. They jump up and run to her saying they thank the gods that they are saved. Holly says softly, “Not the gods, Magister Ember.”
They quickly get everyone out and decide to teleport everyone to Liberum as fast as possible because no one knows if the demons will come back. Back in Liberum Holly gathers all the people of the Sky Realm and they make a big pile of wood to burn the remains of Magister Ember. Holly and others speak a few words and a woman with a beautiful voice sings in Celtic about the many adventures of Magister Ember.
When the ceremony is done many people come to Holly to give words of comfort including Nolan. He walks to her but stands still in front of her not sure whether to touch or not. He puts his hands up and drops them again and they just stand there awkwardly. “I am really sorry Holly. I know how much she meant to you.”
Holly feels empty from the day and the realization that Nolan will never offer her more comfort than some words anymore feels like a knife through her heart. So she just nods and walks away because she can’t hold back the tears in her eyes any longer. She collects some ash and flies to one of the highest mountain tops. It is cold and stormy, but Holly doesn’t care. She stands at the edge takes a deep breath and throws the ash of Magister Ember in the air. She takes a deep breath again and says, “I hope you will find your way to the gods, no one would be more worthy.”
Then the grief falls over her and she falls to her knees crying. All her senses are numb and there is only pain so she barely notices someone taking her in his warm arms and softly holding her. After a while, she calms down a bit and looks up to see that Zeus is calmly stroking her head.
She gets out of his embrace and gives him a weak smile, “Thank you, Zeus. You are a great friend.”
Zeus takes her hand, “Always Holly. That is what friends are for.”
He looks into her eyes intensely, “Now tell me what is going on between you and Nolan? Never seen you guys like this before.”
Holly looks at her legs and sighs, “Nolan told me yesterday he can’t be with me anymore. Being close to death made him realize that he wants more than I can give him. He wants a family and be a normal couple with a future. I can’t blame him but it still hurts.”
Zeus asks, “But you don’t want those things?”
Holly already feels tears come up again and says weakly, “I do but I just don’t know-how. The abuse in my past has ruined my chances on a normal relationship.”
Zeus gives me a reassuring look and says, “Maybe you haven’t processed your trauma yet. There are wounds deeper than physical ones. Faith and I have often helped people with mental trauma heal by doing meditation. They can go back to the traumatic event, face their fears and confront their abusers. After that, it is easier to separate the past and now. Then you can finally realize you are safe now and those patterns won’t be repeated.”
Holly stares at Zeus, “Wow I didn’t know you could do that.”
Her eyes become big and scared, “But I don’t know or I am brave enough to do that.”
Zeus squeezes her hand, “You have more to lose by not doing it. It already haunts you every day so the difference is just that this time you will be in control when you experience it. You won’t be alone, I will be there every step of the way. I know you love Nolan and you deserve to be happy Holly.”
Holly, her face is full of determination when she says, “Okay let’s do it.”