Battling The Golden Queen

Helia or the Demon?!

"You have disappointed me enough today, '' Helia grumbled. She punched the last one off her with her strong fist and turned the horse to the opposite direction racing toward the direction they had come. Jack followed immediately. The elves had rushed after them in their thousands trying to stop the horse and knock them off, luckily Helia came across a small bridge and raced across it immediately knowing the elves would never attempt to cross the bridge since they didn't like leaving their place of habitat. As soon as they had lost them, Helia heaved a sigh of relief and slowed down her horse pace as they approached a small river a few minutes later. 

"Let us rest here" she announced, climbing down her horse. Having adjusted her horse saddle, she led her horse toward the river hoping it had a drink since it could be thirsty. It definitely was. 

"Helia, I am sorry I got us into this trouble." Jack apologized with guilt. 

"It's fine Jack. I might have done the same too. You were only trying to help, ``she replied, caressing her horse on its neck. Jack seemed excited about her response. Helia felt a strong urge to pee but wasn't sure where to do her business. She excused herself and rushed toward the other side of the river behind a rock. As soon as she was done relieving herself of the discomfort, she notices Jackie hurrying towards her as she approaches back to the horse. 

"Jackie, are you still mad at me?" She asked. 

"I was never mad at you. I was just scared and over protective over my small brother" Jackie responded shaking her head in disapproval. She slowly took Helia's hands in hers. 

"Look Helia, i have been really selfish. To be honest, I cannot stay mad at you for long. No matter how angry i am with you, I can't hold onto that. Maybe I don't understand your reason for all this. What you did out there and how much you changed while you raged. I saw how unhappy you were to cause that much harm to the birds. I saw that you weren't comfortable with this new life the Golden queen has given you and I kind of understand your pain. I never wanted to babysit my brother. I just found myself doing it because it was nothing I could avoid. I have been like a mother to Jack since I was 7. You think I wanted to do it? You think I wanted to play the role of my mother? 

"I understand your mum neglected you and chose her shoppings and selfish needs over you both but you cannot compare that with me Jackie. There is a burning flame in me that i have to control before it ruins everything i love"

"I know Helia and I promise you, I am with you on" Jackie promised with a smile. 

"You mean it?"

"Yes. I promise. I am your friend after all. True friends need to be with each other through good and bad times right? This is your bad time so i have to be with u" 

Helia nodded in approval. She embraced Jackie briefly before walking off to find Jack. Jack had already sat on his horse ready for the next adventurous journey. 

"Come on ladies, we have to get to this priest soon" He called out impatiently. 

"Wow Jack, thanks for reminding us," Helia said sarcastically. "Not that you know exactly where we have to go"

"There has to be another way," Jack thought. 

"You know guys, i have not spoken really much yet but i think Helia should not find the directions an issue since she will be naturally drawn to the site. My dad used to tell me an old tale about the Everlasting Paradise when he was drunk. Mum often warns him to be quiet but she is barely at home so she never knew when he told me that. Look Helia, I know you are still trying to discover yourself but since you're toward the Golden queen, naturally you are drawn to everything related to her. The map should be in your Helia. You should be able to figure out the way by a natural indicator in you" Jackie explained. 

"What saying does dad tell you exactly? He never told me any" Jack asked, sounding jealous. 

"He sounds drunk anytime he says so it never makes any sense to me but now that we are talking about this golden queen and Helia is in need of advice. I will tell you what I know. The Golden queen could be stupid enough to make a human more powerful than her for a tough match. Everything the human has to know about the Everlasting Paradise will be impacted naturally in her senses so that she will be able to find her way" Jackie informed. Helia seemed interested in this. She hopped on her horse not saying a word. 

"Too bad he never informed me about that. I would have made more research on this wise words of his" Jack murmured. 

"At that time, they sounded really stupid to me. I am sure they will to you too" 

"We aren't the same people Jackie. Just because we are twins doesn't make us think the same way" 

"Oooo. You think. Who often covers up for you anytime you steal a drink from dad's liquor?" Jackie snapped at him in frustration. Jack wasn't moved by this. Helia wasn't in the mood for this argument. She pleased them to be quiet due to her need for a quiet environment and shut her eyes tightly trying to meditate. At first she got nothing. The bird's chirping sound pierced her ears really hard. She couldn't think of anything aside from that. The sound of the breeze made everything worse. Her mind was blank. She was almost as good as useless. 

"I can't do this. I really can't do this" She grumbled, opening her eyes in disappointment. 

"This is just the first trial. Not everyone is lucky with first trials. Come on, you've got to try again" Jackie advised, giving her a wink. 

"Easy for you to say Jackie" Helia responded. She took a deep breath and shut her eyes one more time hoping for something new but nothing changed. The regular background noises kept distracting her. She felt herself getting tempted to open up her eyes and give up but that wasn't going to help in any way was it?

"Think of your father," Jack advised. His sister agreed to this. At least they had agreed on one thing. Helia proceeded to do that. She thought of all the memories her mum had filled her about her dad. Though she never remembered how he looked in person, the photograph she'd see told her a lot about him. She recalled her mum's tears for him and Mr Drax's bad fate due to the Golden Queen's terrible heart. While recalling all this she felt a strong deep hatred in her which caused her to clench her fist. Suddenly her eyes slid open with her pupils now bright pink. She turned toward her friend's direction as if trying to alert them. 

"Follow me!" She ordered and began riding her horse toward a path that glowed before her eyes. The only path her eyes could see. 

Her friends followed without saying a word, though in their minds they had an unspoken question on whether it was really Helia taking them on this trip or her inner demon. Helia's face looked stern and unfriendly unlike her natural face but the way she slowed down for them getting them to catch up gave them a little hope she was still herself. Even if it were the inner demon that was guiding her through at this moment, at least the beast was on their side… for now!