SPELLBOUND

"I… I…" Evie could barely follow along with what the light fae was telling her about she being the one to bring the prophecy to pass, much less speak. Her? She was the chosen one? The one who will bring back light and life to this land again?

Everything was just getting more and more unbelievable and fantastical. She had finally found the answers she was looking for but now she had also found something more. It was something she had never even imagined, not even her dreams. It was bigger than even her as a single individual – in involved a whole race of people!

She was simply overwhelmed at the sudden responsibility that had been put on her shoulders. Apart from the immense pressure of hopes and expectations of a whole race of people, doubt and worry bloomed in her heart. Was she truly the daughter of light as was mentioned in the prophecy? How to know for sure? Was there some kind of power that she could wield to make all these come to pass? What if she was not the chosen one as the light fae had said, and she failed in bringing the life and light back to this land? How would that affect the light faes on the whole? Would they be able to bear with the disappointment?

It was as if the light fae had read all her thoughts, her fears, and her doubts, she reached out her hands to touch Evie's own. Her faint, shimmering translucent hands touched Evie's fair, slender and elegant ones.

And though Evie could not feel her touch, she felt warmth being transferred across to her. The light fae was smiling. "Please do not doubt yourself or the prophecy, Princess," the light fae assured, "you are the daughter of the light. There is no doubt about it. You've even seen the undeniable proof… Onyx, the ancient dragon of the last fae queen had answered to you… Onyx has never, ever let anyone pass through the gate of darkness since that fateful day. You are the very first. You are the only one. Moreover, the throne had responded to you as well. Because you are the chosen one, you are destined to come home and bring this land back to its former glory. You will rule over this land and become our new queen."

Frozen still from the shock of the light fae's statements, Evie took a long while before she could speak. She was completely appalled now. Not only because she did not even have the slightest idea on how to fulfill the prophecy but also because of the mention of the light fae's last line. She was going to be this land's queen?! How did that happen?

"But… but I am only part fairy…not even half…" Evie reasoned, "a… a very… very far distant descendant of the light fae royals. Moreover, I believe I am mostly human. Though it seems I have magic, my body is definitely human." Evie tried to explain and justify her concerns.

"It's because you've been away from Crescia since birth and because the tree of light had long since lost its power and is no longer there." The light fae responded.

"Tree of light?" Evie asked curiously. The light fae descended from the throne.

"Please follow after me, princess," she said after which she beckoned to Evie and led her towards the back of the throne. A secret door suddenly opened where there was none there at first and they both entered.

The men hurried after Evie worriedly. But at the light fae's request, Evie stopped them from following any further. Evie quickly assured them that she would be alright even before the men could agree to wait outside the door. However, they kept worrying and asking her about the amount of time she would be spending inside without them. In the end, they came to an agreement that she could go ahead and enter without any of them following her. But the condition was to only stay in there for an agreed duration of time.

Understanding fully of the men's worry and doubt, Evie agreed with their condition and at last she entered the door and followed after the light fae.

After walking for some time, they finally arrived to what seemed to be a veranda which was at the very back of the great castle.

Evie was awed at the sight that greeted her eyes. There was a lagoon below them, shimmering with silvery lights. In the middle of the glimmering waters lie a steep rock jutting out of the waters and on the top of it, a huge dead tree.

"That is the tree of light. It is said that its the source of the light fae's magic. You seemed like a mere human because you were born far away from the faeries land. The reason why your magic began to awaken only when you came in Dacria is because Dacria is very close to the Middle land. Light faes could only maintain their magical powers for a certain amount of time if they leave the land. That's why light faeries cannot stay for long outside the fae realm. When the tree of light was still alive, light faeries could still maintain their magical powers for longer times even if they were in places as far as the Southern Empire. But when the queen died and this tree died along with her, I found out that faeries could no longer go as far as before without losing all their magical powers. That is why i could only reach Dacria when I was wandering about for thousands of years." She explained as she stared at the dead tree that was once brighter than anything else.

"There are ancient inscriptions on the trees' trunk." She then continued. "We have never noticed it before since this tree have been shining so brightly since the ancient times. No one, I believe the queen included, had seen the messages. And as the tree was so powerful, no one could approach close enough to it. But in my long time of wandering about, I discovered many things and I've managed to figure out the message encrypted in the tree trunk. It stated the process on how the tree can be brought back to life again."

"Process?"

"Yes princess, the process had been documented right into the trunk of the tree of light. Everything was there as if whoever created the tree of light knew about the prophecy too, and that one day, the tree will die. Once you bring this tree back to life, the whole of Crescia and the Middle Empire will see the light again. That is how you will bring back the light into our kingdom again."

Evie stared at the obsidian tree and then asked. "H-how? How can I bring it back to life?"

"There is ritual to be performed and then the queen must sacrifice drops of her precious blood. Your blood will be able to awaken it. Once that happens, the tree will light up and the darkness will be completely gone, and the sun will shine again."

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A/N: For those who are curious about the new voting systen call Golden Tickets, you can only see them and use them if your app is updated to the latest version so make sure to update your app first. ^^