Frozen Memories: Heirs of Ethra

Looks Like The Long Way For Us

Leaving the hamlet of the Vast Covens without Keyvah was far harder than I had initially thought it would be. The volatile, and vain vampire, in some ways, had become a part of my life-no matter how boisterous and bitter she was. In a weird way, I somehow felt responsible for her well-being, and though I agreed with Max on the notion of finding the others, it did not bode well with me to leave Keyvah, having seen the seemingly unhappy countenance she held beneath her bold talk.

“Are you alright, Mora?” I asked as we headed back down the dark path from whence we came with one last member than intended in tow.

When Amorah did not answer right away, my mindful stare, turned to her. I could only assume that she found my gaze on her from her peripheral as she finally looked at me for but a moment before she sighed with a seeming resignation. Amorah then returned her stare forward, tugging casually at her gloved hands. 

“I will be.” She finally stated. “And so will she.” Amorah glanced at me again, this time servicing a smile before she returned her gaze forward. “Right now, we need to make sure that the others are alright.”

“I definitely concur,” I replied and then left Amorah and Max’s side to catch up to Adanis who’d been further up with his guards-only a few feet away from us. By this time, though our trust in another was quite unstable, he knew that I had no intentions of trying anything. This is the only explanation I had for how significantly laxer he had become in turning his back on us and not bothering to look back every few minutes. “Adanis,”

“Yes, princess.” 

“Where are we headed next? Are we going back to your castle?” 

“How else do you expect to get to the Den of Beasts?” He replied, though his expression seemed, impatient-frustrated even.

I ignored his countenance, however, and asked another question. “That door…is it in every castle in Ethra?” I asked him. “Or is that especially made for the dark elves?” 

The prince glanced down at me a moment, and then returned his glare forward. “Porta di steak, is one of the few things that your people bargained their royalty for when the truce between the elves and nymphs was first put into place.” Adanis answered as we neared the door. 

“Porta di ateak,” I muttered, translating the meaning under my breath. “Door of doors,” 

“Yes, translated to english,” Adanis confirmed. “That door was created to assist the hamlets whenever it is needed, not destroy and pillage whenever it is desired. Our worlds have not been so war torn in centuries-as long as every species obey the laws of Ethra.”

 When we finally reached the door, the dark elven prince moved past his guards to reach it. I followed closely behind. Glancing back, I beckoned Max and Amorah to do the same. 

“I trust you do not need my guidance to see you through the remainder of this journey, princess.” He said, though avoiding eye contact. I must have really pinched a nerve.

“I could never control this door to do as I wish.” I told him. “And I certainly do not know where I am going, so-”

“This door only answers to that of royalty-both Nymph and Elven alike. You think of your destination and it carries you without question. The only place that this door will not lead you to is your Kingdom-as it is forbidden to enter a kingdom uninvited.”

“And not a hamlet?” I asked. “Surely, they have their rights as well.” I said.

“I do not make the rules princess.”

“But you could change them,” I remarked. “I mean…I think this door is quite dangerous in the wrong hands.”

“It is,” He replied. “Is my allowing you to use it, a mistake?” I didn’t even service him with an answer, as by now he should have known that my only concern was finding my family. “You see, princess-the reason that the door is not allowed to enter kingdoms is not because of the dark elves, but because of frost nymphs.” He shook his head and met my gaze. “Your people…not mine.” He opened the door, and it led back to the castle’s entrance way. “Think of the place in which you’ll want to enter and you will.”

“What is the next place called?” I asked him.

“Den of Beasts.” Amorah answered before Adanis could. 

The elf prince glanced at Amorah for a moment before returning his gaze to me. “Guess you do not need me after all, princess.” He said, and started to close the door.

Before he did, I stopped it with my hand. He looked down at me, his expression seeming curious. “Have I offended you, prince Adanis?” I asked, finally confronting his sudden closed-off and impatient demeanor.

“You have not offended me, princess.” He said. “Though, I feel we do need to talk about our betrothal sooner rather than later.”

Betrothal, the word left a bad taste in my mouth and certainly no desire to even speak about. “I had a feeling that would subject would rear its ugly head again.” 

“I do not consider ugly at all,” He said to me. “It may be in the alternate world in which you are from but, not to me.” Adanis left an open space there of silence for a moment, his icy stare watching me, a small smirk, upon his face. “Not from where I’m standing.” 

I blushed and quickly averted my gaze. “I just…I did not come here to-”

“Give your life, and body to someone else.” He finished my sentence. “I can see that,” He replied. “But…I’m not sure you really have a choice, princess.” He said. “Your kingdom is close to ruins without a proper royal in the seat-whether that be you or this brother of yours, someone is going to have to make a decision for the good of Ethra.”

“You are a prince-”

“Of the darkness…the vast covens…den of beasts.” He said. “But the Nymphs…they are rulers of all. They are the true royals of Ethra. The dark elves are almost independent from your people.”

“Then why are the Nymphs and elves bonded by this betrothal truce? How would your people have the power to force a kingdom to barter marriage down our generational line.”

“Power…princess…the fear of it…the desire for it…goes a long way.” The prince countered. “That is all I will tell you for now.” The prince expelled a harsh breath. “In truth, I do not wish to leave you, but if you are intent on this scavenger hunt for your friends, I fear it best that I stay out of the way until you choose to see me again.”

“And how do you know that I will?” I asked. I did not hate the prince’s company, but I couldn’t fathom actually desiring it again once I found the others.

“I do not know,” He said to me. “Does not mean that I cannot hope.” He then bowed to me, and closed the door. “Till we meet again, princess.” His voice echoed as the doors latched shut.

After it was closed, I watched it for a moment in silence. Suddenly, the idea of this door working depending on my status of royalty scared me. What if this royalty thing was just a croc, and I was nothing at all-nothing but some sort of multi-bred inhuman with no ability to get to where we’re going.

“You alright there, Frosty?” Max asked. 

“Yes, just thinking,” I quipped, not wanting to give off how doubtful I truly was.

“Then let’s get this thing going then.”

When I heard that familiar voice, I turned around and so did Amorah and Max. “Keyvah?” 

She stood in the distance. “Duh,” She replied, she glanced back quickly and then returned her attention back to us.

“How-I thought that you weren’t allowed to leave-”

“I convinced daddy that the quicker you found what you were looking for the better off we’d all be, and so he allowed me to leave-” Again she glanced back as if she thought someone was following her. “For a few days at least. Of course, I have to keep him updated.” She added. “Now, are you going to open that door or what?” She asked.

“Uh..yeah, yes” I replied, returning my attention to the door. 

“And what if this doesn’t work?” She asked. “What if you’re not royalty?” 

I could sense that there was a bead of hope in that question, and rolled my eyes. “Then we will just have to go the long way.” I said, placing my hand to the large latch of the door. I closed my eyes, and thought of the Den of Beasts.  I didn’t know how the place looked and prayed that I did not need a visual picture of it in order for the door to know where to take me if I could get it to take me anywhere.

Taking a deep breath, I twisted the latch and opened the door, not daring to open my eyes for fear of it having not worked. 

“Looks like you’re royalty after all, Frosty.” Max said, patting down on  my shoulder. “Because we’re certainly not in elf-land anymore.”

My eyes quickly shot open, and there, a few feet away from the door stood a place whose name spoke for itself. Unlike the Vast Covens hamlet, this place was not so….uninhabited.”

The glowing eyes that stared back at me varied in colors, and the guttural growls seeping from them was quite territorial. They weren’t happy to see us.

“Vampires!” One growled and started towards the door.

“Okay, close it! Close the door! Close the door!” Max, Amorah, and Keyvah quickly helped me push  against the large metal door, slamming it shut. 

When the latch dropped and the door was locked, we all leaned against the closed door in relief. “Okay…so, we definitely cannot go in that way.” Amorah said.

“Yea, they don’t know that Frosty is royalty, and even if they did who's to say that the Nymphs are in good standing with the leaders of the Den of Beasts?” Max asked.

“It doesn’t matter whether they like the Nymphs or not. They have to stand down and respect the royal members.” Keyvah said. “In truth, I don’t think they even had the time to recognize Wilhelmina.” She exhaled. “The vampires and wolves don’t have the best history- one of the few things that earth alternate probably did get right in the stories. They can become blinded by their hatred for us.” She said.

“And why is that?” I asked. 

“It’s a long story.”  Keyvah replied, obviously not wanting to get into it.

“Well, it seems that we’re going to have to take the long way if we’re to infiltrate the Den of Beasts and find the guys.” I said to her as I headed away from the door. “You can enlighten me on the way. Looks like we’ll be here for a while, and if I am royalty, I’d like to know what we’re going to be going up against.” I looked around. “Now, which way should we head?” I looked at Keyvah knowing that the once runaway would know this place. “Princess of Covens?”