Page 24 of Celestia, Year Four

We both nodded, and Odion squeezed my hand gently, which helped ease my racing heart.

"When I was appointed as Queen, I ruled for 200 years. In the last thirty of them, I'd gotten pregnant with Sia. Her main father was the Prince of Light from that timeframe, and though she carried the blood of one Prince, each of the other Princes bestowed a hint of their power into her while she was still in my womb. This would allow her to take my place when she turned 25 years old and would be allowed to rule without issue."

She paused to see if we were following, and we both nodded for her to continue.

"When she was born, we raised her with all our teachings, and she'd become a bundle of light to many of our people, especially those who harbored the light element such as unicorns, angels, and other shifters of light. When she came of age, everyone was pleased to have her rule, and due to her taking up the throne, I had stepped down to live my life until my time to face death would come." Esme appeared deep in thought as a proud expression formed on her face.

"She became Queen and ruled for a few years, and within that time, she began to meet the successor of each element, one afteranother. With seven new successors, my husbands were allowed to step down and we lived together. However, that was when the trouble began to brew with the people. The Forsaken that Mother Nature sent to test the newly appointed Queen, came a lot earlier than they had for previous rulers. It was not a threat at first, but a group of individuals plotted against the King-Queen hierarchy, wanting the land to be ruled by a group of leaders and not by a single person, especially a female," Esme explained.

I frowned and side glanced at Odion who looked unpleased by the news.

"Due to the growing rumors, that was when people began to doubt Mother Nature's test, thinking the Forsaken were rather similar to the Prince of Darkness’ people. They were peculiar in appearance, and their taste in furniture and love for darkness was looked upon as strange. Even with those individuals from previous generations warning them and counseling these individuals, they began to rebel and target all those who used dark magic." Esme shook her head as her expression shifted to sadness.

"They were foolish, and with such ignorance, they began to protest. The same group that had been plotting behind the scenes would send people to talk to Sia for hours on end. My daughter was far too kind to dismiss them, and the long conversations that were occurring daily with very little rest in between were beginning to take their toll on her. The added tension from the other Princes only made things worse. Sia was the connector of all seven elements, which meant if they were dealing with stress or a decline in population, it would affect her as well. She felt like she was being attacked from all angles, but she wouldn't listen to their pleas to exile the Prince of Darkness and his people. As her mother, I tried my best to help spread the word and remind people of our past followings, but thenew generation wouldn't listen to me since I wasn't their Queen anymore."

I noticed her eyes began to grow glossy as she blinked them rapidly.

"Watching your child struggle with no way of helping them is the hardest experience as a mother. She'd rather exhaust herself than let the rebellious people have their way, and that was what led to her downfall."

"What… happened?" I asked. My mind felt like it already knew, remembering the dream I'd just had, but I wanted to hear it from Esme.

"Sia decided she needed to have a talk with the people of Darkness. They were being bullied, targeted, and it became news when a group of them were slain, their bodies put up on display in mockery. That was the last straw for Sia and she wanted to find a way to protect them. She traveled with the Princes of Light and Dark to help calm the people of Darkness down and think of methods of protection until things had calmed. However, when Sia and the Prince of Darkness left their carriage, they were ambushed by a group attack. It was later found out that those orchestrating this fiasco were the culprits, but the damage had been done. The Prince of Darkness, Lucian, had protected Sia, but the attack had been too quick for him to summon his magic and hit him at full force, sending the two of them into a bunch of trees that were tainted by the Forsaken."

Trees… tainted by the Forsaken? Like how Orion had attacked me and launched me into the trees?

"The Prince of Light held the enemy back with the help of the people of Darkness long enough for reinforcements from the other elements to arrive. The individuals who survived were arrested and crucified publicly, to put out a warning to anyone else who tried to attack any royal. As a result of the attack, thePrince of Darkness was in critical condition and lost his left arm and leg."

"Lucian… the previous Prince of Darkness is the same Lucian who attacked us after my Awakening," I concluded.

Esme glanced at Odion who nodded. "I sensed he had great dark magic, far too powerful for someone of this generation," Odion noted.

Esme nodded in agreement.

"Lucian was transferred to his kingdom for treatment and because his people were afraid he'd be ambushed or poisoned if he remained with the Queen. Sia, however, was also injured. She was stabbed by the bark of the tainted trees and the impact of the attack had set off a rapid poison that began to spread through her body. "

I slowly turned to look at Odion who met my gaze, both of us coming to the same conclusion.

Is time repeating itself? This can't be a coincidence.

"Normally, Sia would be able to fight off dark magic or absorb it as power since she had a part of Darkness inside her, just like the other elements. However, she was both physically and magically drained from weeks of little rest and that left her completely vulnerable. We'd thought she'd healed from her injuries, but no less than a week later, she was found unconscious in the throne room and the wounded area was pitch black. It was determined she was far too tainted and would either succumb to her wounds or turn into a Forsaken if actions weren't taken immediately."

I squeezed Odion's hand, needing a bit of reassurance from his presence as I remembered my dream.

Sia… the Queen who put her last bit of magic into that crown and was still merciful.

"It was learned that she'd asked Mother Nature’s forgiveness for the bitter, selfish actions of the people, and when the otherPrinces arrived, she was on her deathbed. She begged her husbands not to go to war and told each of them how much she loved them. She requested for me to take up the throne on her behalf but had hidden the crown for safekeeping for when Mother Nature chose another heir in her stead. With her dying breath, she begged them to ensure no harm came to Lucian and for him to understand that it wasn't his fault that this had occurred. She wished he was there, but with the tensions happening between elements, it was impossible to teleport and get Lucian before Sia passed. The Princes each kissed her goodbye and prayed to Mother Nature to have another chance at life with Sia. Whether it be in the land of the living, or beyond in the land of death. She passed away shortly after, and the Elemental kingdoms mourned the premature death of their Queen. It was the first royal murder in all history." A tear rolled down Esme’s cheek as she lowered her head.

"BI!"

We glanced down to Momo who suddenly sat up. She looked confused for a second before peering up at Esme who gave her a little smile.

Momo stood up in her lap and jumped up and down with her hands up. "BIBO!"

Esme quietly laughed, more tears rolling down her cheek as she picked Momo up and hugged her.

Odion leaned in to whisper in my ear. "Momo asked to give Esme a hug so she wouldn't be sad anymore." He translated, and it only contributed to my own tears.

Esme took a few breaths, her arms still wrapped around Momo who was singing quietly.

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