Chương 80: Chapter 79 – Fairy Tales

Elena checked all the usual places for Celestia. It wasn't like her to just go off on her own like this. Her reaction to Armand resurfacing after all this time seemed to leave her on edge. What did he do to you, Celestia? She wondered. Celestia was not generally one to withdraw without a word to anyone. This was not the Celestia she had grown to care about. Elena walked down every hall and checked every room. It was as if Celestia had vanished without a trace.

Suddenly, she could hear Celestia's voice echoing down a seldom used part of the complex.

"In shadows of a forgotten time, Where realm-walls crumble, boundaries unwind, Ancient powers stirring, long concealed, A bloodline's destiny, now revealed. With eyes bluer than the deepest sea," Elena walked further down the dimly lit hall, listening closely.

"It's all there, locked in the universal memory. A child born of many, which is really only one, Will piece back what was broken, a new era will have begun. Transcending space, defying years, Answering destiny's rising fears." She stood by the doorway, leaning against the wall, curious. Elena felt terrible eavesdropping but found herself lost in the cadence of Celestia's words.

"The first part has to be about Alex and Elena finding the ruins," Celestia said to the empty room.

"The teleport, the prophecy and… Thai's connection to it," she said looking down at a slip of paper.

"Then the second part has to be about Thai's mixed heritage and her role in things," she muttered. Elena stood by the open door, not wanting to disturb the young fairy. She stood in plain sight, wondering how long it would take Celestia to notice her. She watched silently as Celestia sat down at the desk. She saw her back hunch over a stack of papers, scribbling something down, her long hair cascading carelessly around her.

Elena stood silently watching as Celestia raised her head and began reciting the hypnotic lines once again.

"Not blood, but love will bind them tight, A family forged in hope's pure light, Where chosen bonds transcend all lines, Where hearts, not birth, their fate defines. One will save an abandoned soul from darkness and despair, A second comes together to complete the guardian pair Two broken hearts will come to see They need this love in their family.

They will join in the founders plight Preparing for the epic fight Folklore and Science will intersect Ancient words they will dissect Sisters unique, with power rare, A man whose spirit is beyond compare, Will stand with them against the gathering storm, And from the destruction, he will reform."

"This has to do with all of us, it just has to," she said, in a voice barely above a whisper while writing frantically.

"Our little group has become a family, despite there being no blood relation. I saved Thai from the forest and brought her to Seraphina. We are the pair of guardians, we brought her to Rowan and Sheera," she said, putting the end of the pencil in her mouth.

"And they added her to their family when they adopted her." She said, sitting back in her chair.

"We all joined up with Alex and Elena, they are the founders of the resistance. Well, the two sisters are obviously Roxie and Regina." She muttered before writing something down.

"Who's the man?" she asked, before slamming the pencil down on the desk in pure frustration. Elena gently knocked on the door not wanting to startle the fairy.

"You, okay?" Elena asked, walking toward Celestia. Celestia looked up from her work.

"I'm fine, I am just trying to figure some things out." She said, giving Elena a halfhearted smile.

"Can I help?" Elena asked, coming up behind her. Celestia took in a sharp breath and ran a hand through her hair.

"Maybe," she said, looking down at her notes.

"When I'm stressed, I like to work on puzzles and the prophecy has got to be the most baffling puzzle I have ever seen." She sighed.

"I think I have some parts figured out, but some of it still makes no sense." You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Okay," Elena said.

"I do the same, except generally with an anthropological mystery that has been lost to time," she said, "In this case I guess it is kind of the same thing." The similarities suddenly unmistakable.

"Well, while we were at the party, someone mentioned that we are a family, Thai's family and that got my subconscious going in strange directions. I wasn't sure what it was, then it hit me, it was a line in the prophecy that was screaming out to me."

"Go on," Elena said.

"Use me as your sounding board. Sometimes hearing it gets the brain flowing over the dams that block us."

"Here," she said, handing Elena a handwritten page. This is the prophecy that has been translated so far." Elena took the page and looked at it, "How can I help?"

"Well, despite us translating it, we have never figured out what it actually means. I think I have the first part figured out."

"Okay," Elena said, curiously. They have had experts working on it for five years and they haven't come up with so much as a theory to what most of it meant, but Celestia thinks she cracked it?

"The first part, I believe has to do with you and Alex finding the Ancient ruins, the teleport and all that stuff. The second part is all Thai, her mixed blood and what she is somehow fated to accomplish. The third part is all of us coming together as Thai's new family." Elena looked at Celestia then at the paper and reread the lines applying Celestia's interpretation and her eyes opened wide.

"It's like once you see it, you can't unsee it." Elena said, amazed.

"I know, right?" Celestia said, her voice rising in excitement.

"Especially the next parts. I am pretty sure that it describes each of us. Read it." Elena looked back to the document.

"You, Seraphina, Rowan, Sheera, Me, Alex, Roxie and Regina..." She broke off, as it all became clear.

"I just haven't figured out who the man is." Celestia said, disappointed.

"I think he may be in the other room," Elena said, giving Celestia a wry smile.

"Who, that guy Ray who just showed up?" Celestia asked, skeptically.

"What makes you think it's him?"

"He made an instant connection with Thai, he is actually dancing in the other room with her now," she said, smiling brightly.

"She seems to adore him."

"I don't know him. So, yeah, you would be in a better position to make that determination." Celestia said. Elena leaned back in her chair.

"I've known Ray for years, he is unconventional to say the least. He is loyal… funny… smart," Elena said, searching for a good way to describe him.

"The better you know him, the more you will see that he checks off all the boxes."

"I will have to take your word on that for now. Time will tell, I guess," Celestia said, looking down at her notes. She picked up the pen and wrote Ray with a question mark, then circled his name.

"Okay moving on," she said, scanning the page.

"The next part has to be about Blackwood and his regime." Elena read the next passage aloud.

"The monster prowls with hunger dire, Consuming souls with lying fire, His power grows, his reach extends, Devouring hopes where terror blends." She sighed.

"That's on the mark, he preys on the most vulnerable. Feeds false information and wants to take over everything."

"Blackwood is definitely the monster the prophecy foresees, I don't think there is any dispute there," Celestia said, nodding her head sadly.

"Speaking of which, Ray went up against him today and stirred up one hell of a hornets nest," Elena said, shaking her head.

"How so?" Celestia asked.

"You mean he was there with him face to face?" Elena stood up and sighed.

"Yes, yes, he did. Well, he went to the capitol today and confronted Blackwood about the executive order that requires children, elderly and sick people to work ridiculous hours in order to get food and health care. He ultimately was escorted and banned from the capitol and managed to get punched in the face on his way out. The whole thing was caught by the media."

"So that was his blood on his shirt?" Celestia asked, her eyes widening. A realization hit Elena like a ton of bricks. She suddenly burst out laughing, "You thought the blood was someone else's, didn't you?"

"Well, what was I supposed to think? In comes this stranger with blood all over his shirt and not a visible wound, it would be logical to conclude that it was someone else's."

"Well, Ray is far more likely to take a punch than to throw one. He got a bloody nose from the punch, Celestia. It dripped down on his shirt. Don't get me wrong, he is able to defend himself if the need arises… but this was not one of those times. In all the years I've known him, I recall very few instances where he threw the first punch." Elena said, snickering.

"He would rather fight with his mind than his fists."

"To be honest my first impression of him was that he was a sarcastic bully." Celestia said, realizing she may have judged him unfairly.

"Ray!" she scoffed.

"No, you've got him all wrong Celestia.

"When Ray was a kid, he didn't grow up in what anyone would call a loving home." she said, sympathetically.

"His mother was more concerned with the men in her life than she ever was for him. He was abused by the people who were supposed to protect him and he learned that his mind was a much more effective weapon than his fists could ever be."

"That's sad, growing up like that I mean." Celestia said.

"My parents were not all warm and emotional. They were strict and regimented, but they never mistreated me in any way."

"Don't get me wrong, he had a period of time where he was out of control and got himself into trouble, but he found his way out of the patterns of self-destruction and found more effective ways to deal with things," she commented, before adding.

"It was after he was kicked out of the military that he really began to reevaluate his life."

"He was in the military?" Celestia asked.

"Yes, and he had the potential to be a highly decorated officer, but his temper caused that career path to come to a screeching halt. His CO pissed him off and he punched him square in the face." Elena stated, sitting back down.

"He struggled for a bit after that but then began working to protect children from the monsters out there and everything seemed to fall into place afterward."

"How do you know so much about him?" Celestia asked.

"Like I said, I've known him for years, all my life in fact," Elena said, sheepishly.

"Celestia, Ray is my cousin," she added, smirking.

"I know pretty much all there is to know about him, he even lived with me and my family for a brief time while his mother was off chasing some guy to the ends of the world." Celestia rolled her eyes and gave Elena a pained look.

"Well, you could have led with that tidbit," she said, sarcastically.

"Enough about my family drama," Elena said.

"We have a prophecy to unwind." She picked up the paper Celestia had given her and reading the next section.

"In dwarven caves they lay out of sight Hiding there until the time is right, Then will come a man of compact size His knowledge and wisdom will surprise. An ancient wisdom, long suppressed, Will help the chosen one be blessed""Oh my, I think I have it!" Celestia called out, her eyes wide with surprise.

"I could kiss you right now." Elena looked at her, confused, "What?" she said.

"What did I do?"

"In dwarven caves they lay out of sight, hiding there until the time is right," Celestia said, looking at Elena. Seeing her confused look she added "That's where we need to take Sheera, Rowan and Thai. We need to hide them in the dwarven realm."

"You mean to tell me there is another realm other than us, the fairies and the Elves?" she asked.

"We just assumed that the reference to dwarves and giants and other species was just metaphorical, we had no idea they were real places!" Elena said, almost yelling.

"You're kidding me, right?" Celestia asked sarcastically.

"How did you not know this? There are a vast number of realms out there, each one with their own unique indigenous populations." She asked, hoping Elena got it.

"Well, you should have led with that tidbit five years ago. Up until we hooked up with you and Seraphina five years ago, I believed that Goblins were the only ones. I had no idea that any other species or realms existed. This is a game changer, Celestia. It changes everything we know about deciphering the prophecy. It will change our defensive strategy. You have no idea what this means!" Elena said, gently hitting Celestia's arm.

"Any other things I should know?"