Chapter 1

1455 Words
  Nina   'That was such a beautiful story!' I smile.   'It's only been a year since then,' Maia says, 'The children were all adopted within a month, and since then, Ember and I have taught the children to cast spells and summon the elements. Eric teaches history. Sir Hugo teaches sword fighting. Vivian teaches etiquette and literature, to the orc's dismay,' Maia giggles, 'All you can hear is them groaning during every lesson, but her classes are compulsory for all students to learn. Everyone is happy that Damon and I now rule the lands together and rule as one kingdom,'   'We are so honoured, Queen Maia, to be a part of Mysteria,' I say.   'We must find somewhere for you all to settle. We lost so many warriors from Wolfwell. That village is like a ghost town now. Perhaps there might be a good place to settle?' Maia suggests, turning to Damon.   'That might work nicely for them,' he agrees.   'What's that place over there?' Alec asks.   Everyone looks to the large island he points to across the ocean in the distance.   'That's Emerald Island, no one lives there, but there are no huts or lodges to live in,' Maia tells him.   'Maybe I can move my castle to there? It's always night in the realm of shadows and never day. It wouldn't be suitable for my Queen to live in that realm,' he says, smiling at me. I blush.   'The Realm of Shadows?' Eric, intrigued, says and steps closer.   'Yes, I'm the vampire king and would prefer to live in my castle with my blood flame, and I suppose now pack members to live in,'   'If you would all prefer to live on Emerald Island, that would be fine. We had ships built during the last war, for if King Fenris was to win the war, the last of us could escape. You can use the ships to sail between lands so we can see each other often. It's only a couple of hours of sailing to get to and from Moon Crest and Emerald Island,' Maia beams.   I turn to face my parents, Astrid, Ryker, Josie, May, and all my loved ones. 'Mysteria is your home too. I feel it's only right that you decide whether to come with Magnus, Alec and me to Emerald Island or choose to stay in Wolfwell?' Magnus nods and holds my hand.   'I agree. This is a new world and a new beginning for all of us. Make your decision.'   The vampires immediately bow and state they will follow and stay with their King Alec and me on Emerald Island to be at our service and protection.   Half of the wolves in our pack decide to stay in Wolfwell. Flint and Josie step forward and approach Magnus, 'I'm not sure what decision to make,' Flint frowns.   'Then let me make it for you,' Magnus smiles.   Flint nods,   'Since half the pack is staying in Wolfwell, they will need an Alpha. So you will be their alpha, Flint,' Magnus says, placing a hand on Flint's shoulder.   Josie squeals with delight and jumps up and down, 'Flint! You're going to be alpha!' She says.   Ryker and Astrid smile and nod at each other. 'If that's the case, perhaps your mother and I will stay in Wolfwell too? With half the pack and the vampires going with you, you will have plenty of protection to keep safe, and we will visit each other frequently,' Ryker says.   Magnus pulls his parents in for a hug. It's endearing to watch. Alec walks up behind me, scoops his hands around my waist, pulls my back to his chest, and holds me. I place my hands over his and tilt my head to smile.   Kadva and the coven are still speaking to one another about the options, then they nod their heads in agreeance with their decisions and approach us.   Magnus is now back at my side, not minding that I'm being held in Alec's arms.   Kadva clears his throat, 'We have decided we want to stay with you on Emerald Island.' He smiles. Yiselda, Fern, Ria, Lilac, Ela and May, with their familiars on their shoulders, nod and smile. I unravel myself from Alec's arms and hug them all in excitement.   Pipsqueak and Zak decide to not settle just yet but want to travel and explore each town together.   'Then it is done, you have all made up your mind then?' Maia says.   Everyone nods. 'We will lead you to Wolfwell which is not far from here,'   'I'm sorry we interrupted the jousting tournament,' I frown.   'Don't be Nina, we can reschedule for another day,' Maia smiles reassuringly.   All the werewolves shift into wolf form except for me, instead I ride upon Magnus's back while Maia rides upon Damon's as she is an elemental sprite and can't shift. I fill Maia in along the way of growing up in Shadow Crest and my history with Magnus and Alec and how we came to arrive here in Mysteria in detail. We arrive between two mountains in a valley where there are dozens of cottages, small fenced off paddocks and lots of trees.   Damon and all the werewolves shift back into human form. 'If you ever climb that mountain, you will have the most stunning view of the ocean,' he says.   Ryker turns to Astrid, 'We should go see it tonight, what do you think?' he says.   'I would like that,' she beams clasping her hands together.   A few families that live in Wolfwell come out from their houses to greet their Queen, Maia and their King, Damon.   'What is the special occasion that brings royalty to our village?' A woman smiles and bows.   'Nadia, we have all these people that fled the human world, returning to their roots here in Mysteria. They need somewhere to live and with so many empty cottages here, we thought this would be ideal for them. Although half of them will be going to go to Emerald Island and reside there,' Maia explains.   There are two little orc children by Nadia's side, both with tiny tusks protruding out from under their top lip, they wear nothing but a long brown cloth that wrap around their waists and brown sandals that lace up past their shins. Another child approaches and shyly stands by Nadia's side she has dark violet hair and light pink eyes and wears a simple purple dress. The children are incredibly adorable.   'Nice to meet you all,' Nadia curtsies. 'These are my children Krug and Boomer who are orcs and this is my other child Quinn she is a fae,' Nadia smiles and beautiful transparent wings fold out and open from Quinn's back. Everyone awes and marvels at her beautiful wings. A man places his hand on Nadia's shoulder.   'We adopted them after the war,' he smiles.   Two other families join them who also have children they adopted. There are two witches, another orc but female, two male sprites, and three human children the parents naturally bared.   'Follow me, and I will point out all the empty homes to choose from,' Nadia smiles. We all follow Nadia, and as she points out which homes are vacant, they are instantly taken up by Flint and his pack members. My parents choose the cottage next to the one Ryker and Astrid chose. It makes sense as they have always been the best of friends.   Only a few empty cottages are left when everyone staying in Wolfwell has chosen their home. Nadia and the other families are thrilled that their village will once again come to life and prosper now that it's full of life again.   She turns to the other families, 'Perhaps we can start having markets again?' She beams.   Nadia shows everyone the empty crops and tells them they are welcome to grow food for themselves and sell and trade at future markets. 'It's only over an hour's walk to the ocean if you prefer fishing, but seeing as you can shift into wolves, it wouldn't take you long to get there,' she laughs.   Nadia skips along through the village to show them the well, 'It's seen better days, but it still works. You can collect drinking water from here. Perhaps now, with all these men around, they can help rebuild the well,' she says and smiles at all the men.   The stones that make up the well are beginning to crumble, and there are several major holes in the stone wall. The rope is deteriorating, and the pail is starting to rust.?   'We will be sure to help you restore this village,' Flint says to Nadia.   Nadia claps her hands with excitement and skips away with her children.
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