Okay this is a VERY VERY VERY important plot twist-y chapter so please read!
So any of you remeber 2 chapters ago I said remeber the guy in the dungen? Well Your gonna see why I said that!:)
Enjoy my fellow featherheads!!!😀
Chapter 23 Story Time
“I'll give you a count to three to let me grandbabies go! Or you'll see the full wrath of Podo Helmer!” Podo bellowed at the guards. Podo, Nia, Oskar, and Artham were surrounded by Shifters and guards standing in the throne room of the Dark Castle of Darkness.
“Silence!” Yelled the bone chilling voice and one so cold it made Podo stop blabbering and be quiet.
“I have your children including the Cobbler. I'll give them back, if you don't run or make a fuss.” the voice said,
“Fine….” Podo said, grinding his teeth.
“Wonderful” the voice said from the throne. The woman who had been talking stood up from her throne and said harshly, “Guards let them in!” Out of the door came walking in single file Kalmar, Janner, Sara and Leeli. Leeli squealed as she ran to her mother and the other children followed as well.
“You are so grounded! Mr.” Nia said to Janner with a ruffle of his hair. After a hug, Janner turned to Opal and said, “Let-them-go!”
She laughed, “You really think I'm just going to let you go?” This time she fully revealed herself to the adults. The sight of her made Artham turn as white as a ghost. He stared with tears creaking into his eyes as horror and shame came over him. “Protect, protect, protect, Mother!, Father!, Esben!” he mumbled as these words rushed through his mind. Images of a young fairy whose wings were broken and his brother and family rushed through his mind. And now after 15 years he saw that young fairy again, but now that young fairy was 25 years old, dark, and evil.
“Mr. Artham, are you okay?” Sara asked, worried seeing the look of horror on his face.
“Nes…Yes…Yo…No…young Cara..Sara..Sobbler…Cobbler.” he muttered lightly, crying to himself.
“Oh how cute the Wingfeather family reunion. I haven't seen you all in one place since your castle was being burnt to a crisp. But I couldn't help but notice that one of you is missing from the last time I saw you all.” Opal said with an evil grin.
“I think I might be able to help with that!” she said with a smirk, “Guards bring him in!” she yelled.
“What is she talking about?” Janner said quietly. “The only people that aren't here that she would have seen at Castle Rysen would have been Papa and Grandma, but they are both gone.” He wondered.
A moment later two guards came in the entrance holding a rough man and pushed him to the floor. The man gathered his strength and pushed himself back up and just stared at the floor. It was the same man from the dungeon. He had messy long ragged dirty blonde hair. He was incredibly skinny. It looked like he hadn't eaten in weeks, his clothes were ripped and dirty; he wore thick chains on his hands and all the life looked like it had been drained out of him.
Leeli held tight to her mother for as much as she was scared of the rugged man, she felt bad that he was here and looked like that.
“You're not even going to say hello to your guests? Your majesty?” Opal said mockingly. After a moment the man razed his head (which looked like it was a struggle to do).
When he did Janner could see his face, it was faded like the rest of him and looked deeply saddened, and his eyes were a faded blue color. Janner had a strange feeling that he had met this person before, but he was sure that he hadn't.
The man looked at each one of them but when he saw Nia, his faded blue eyes somehow turned to bright blue color and it looked like the life came back to his face. His mouth dropped and he said, “Nia?..Nia!!!!!!” as he yanked against his chains.
“Remember the deal king,” Opal said sternly, raising an eyebrow at him. He stopped yanking and looked longingly at Nia.
“Who is this person?”, Janner thought as his mother nodded at Leeli to let go of her dress and carefully took a step closer to the man.
The guards were going to stop her from moving but Opal told them to let her come. They held back and let Nia walk towards the man.
She walked all the way across the room just a few inches from him. He looked at her in the eyes longingly in a way that Nia hadn't seen since the Green Hollows.
She tilted her head at him, sort of squinted, and her eyes filled with tears as she whispered the name “Esben?” At this Janner, Kalmar, Leeli and Sara looked in confusion and wonder, as Nia put her hand on Esben's face and started crying.
“Nia!” he breathed.
“It’s you, it's you, it's really you!” she said through tears then she kissed him.
“I.. don't understand..” she said. He looked shamefully at the ground “I saw Bonifer….”
“Bonifer Squoon did nothing more than destroy an old project of mine. The cloven bot 2.0 to be exact,” Opal said, Esben looked shamefully and regretfully at the floor.
“What is it Esben? Don't you want your family to find out your darkest secret?”
“What’s she talking about?” Nia asked nervously, turning to him then back to the queen.
“Who are you?" she asked Opal.
“My name is Queen Opal Stars of the Dark Castle of Darkness.” she said. At this Artham screeched and hid behind his claws mumbling jumbled up mixed up words that were indecipherable.
“For the first question, that requires another history lesson.” Opal said, smirking.
Opal told the story about ancient Anniera and her own story. The same ones she had told the children, but she seemed this time a little happier about talking about it. Maybe it was watching Nia’s face as she looked in horror at Esben, or maybe it was the fact that Esben had to suffer through his own life story with everyone he loved hearing it. but when she finished telling the story she said “Oh, but that's not all.”
“Wait…what?” Kalmar asked as she looked at him.
She replied, “Did you really think I would tell you everything?” She raised her eyebrows at Kalmar.
“Anyways, it was not until 4 years later that I took action. I had heard lots of people in the Dark Market, talk about Gnag the Nameless and that he was going to attack Castle Rysen of The Shining Isle of Anniera. I contacted Gnag the Nameless and we joined forces.” Opal explained.
“Wait just a minute.. you and Great Uncle Gnag joined forces?” Kalmar asked.
“Only once for his style of dominance was reckless and unthought, while mine is careful and heavily dependent on the mind. We practically destroyed each other.” Opal said.
“When we got word that a princess was to be born to Anniera, we decided to attack on the night she was to be born. We gathered an army and we sailed into Anniera. I wanted the village to be burned first but Gnag still thought the Jewels were just Jewels, but I convinced him to attack the castle. For I had no use for the Jewels of Anniera. I wanted the King of Anneria, Esben Wingfeather. So I could get my revenge! While Gnag was having his fun with fire and such, I snuck inside the castle exactly when Artham ran out trying to save you all. I snuck in and used my dragon fire to capture Esben. I took him here and threw him in the deepest darkest one of my dungeons. He banged and screamed for me to let him out. I didn't, of course, but after 10 years of listening to the racket, I finally had it. ‘If you are quiet I'll give you an old device of mine, to see your family.’ I said and after a few minutes I came back with a control with an eyepiece attached and slid it through the bars. “There, that is the control to the cloven bot 2.0 that you can use to see and talk to your family. They're currently in the Green Hollows. And by the way If this bot breaks, no more chances.” I told him.
Skip ahead a few weeks, and Bonifer kills my cloven bot 2.0. You all think it's really Esben and well, you know the rest. Anyways he begged for another one and I mean begged, so he could warn you all about Bonifer. Of course I said ‘no’ because that wasn't the deal. After that Esben went plum crazy not eating or drinking and moaning all the time. The drawing stopped so did the crying and pleading. He just collapsed when he couldn't warn you all. I haven't seen him this energetic since I gave him the cloven.” Opal told them as their faces dropped in shock.
Tears rolled down Nia’s face as she looked at Esben with distrust.
“Well, now that you're all here and you all know my story, all of you including Esben are going to help me get those crystals! And you already know what happens if you say no!” Opal warned.
“We leave for Ember Island in the morning.” she said with an evil smile .
TO BE CONTIUED..........
ESBEN IS ALIVE?!???? 😱😱😱