11. Kyeria

CHAPTER 11

Kyeria

K yeria woke to a soft breeze. She tried to open her crusted eyes but her body protested. Her limbs felt heavy, fingers numb. Then her mind slowly and painfully took in her surroundings, eyes still sealed shut. Her thoughts were thick and hazy. She took a deep breath. pine and smoke from the hearth surrounded her. Her heart began to race, pounding on her chest.

The smoke.

The darkness.

It had consumed her. Wholly and terrifyingly.

There were flashes of night and shadow, fire and soot choking her. The shadows were closing in and Kyeria tried to pry open her mouth the scream, but her eyes were sealed shut. She tried to orient herself, the breeze was familiar and a heavy presence was with her. Kyeria's heart raced, was she in danger, was something trying to get to her. But she felt again, a deeply familiar presence, dousing her soul in a calmness. Kyeria took a moment to grasp at the strings of reality. She pushed her body to react, trying to reach for her magic, in turn her eyes slowly opened.

It was night. She felt crisp air floating through her room, whisking in an earthy scent, like it was about to rain. She blinked away the sleepiness, unnerved by the heavy feeling of her eyelids and muscles. One blink, two blinks—there was Kellian, his presence like a warm fire, soothing her nerves. He was real. She wanted to reach out, to touch him, to confirm she was here and safe. But her body felt heavy, even blinking felt drugged, like long crashing waves that kissed the sand and wished to stay there.

Kellian was asleep, eyes closed and a wrinkle between his brows, slumped in one of the deep green velvet chairs that usually sat in front of the hearth. It was instead moved next to her bed, his massive frame sinking into it, hair disheveled, clothes wrinkled. Kyeria took in the room, with the windows open she could see the stars were bright, light streaming in from the moon and the castle seemed very quiet. As she came back to her senses, she felt the stinging of pain crawling up her arms and neck. She winced as she shifted but a small faint ball of light fluttered near the window distracting her. Kyeria squinted, wondering if her eyes were betraying her. The form took shape before her eyes, revealing the long flowing blonde hair and a dress made out of red leaves.

Ember .

"You're awake!" She fluttered closer and Kyeria nodded, not yet trusting her voice.

"Are you okay Miss Kyeria?" Ember's voice seemed small and afraid. Kyeria tried to swallow, but the dryness in her throat made her cough a bit. Kellian stirred. Ember's eyes darted to the mass of man sleeping in the chair. Her wings glowed in the moonlight.

"I was so worried! I was far in the south of the forest when the news arrived to us!" Ember fussed, her little eyes swelling with tears. "He has not left your side, Miss." She smiled sadly at Kellian. Kyeria looked at him again, the wrinkle between his brow had smoothed, but his body looked worn. There was ash on his arms and neck, as if he had stayed rooted to her side, confirming Ember's words.

"Yesterday he yelled at the servants! It was a bit startling, as his highness is usually so calm!"

Kyeria tried to move her arms but hissed out in pain. They were wrapped, from her palms to her shoulder, both arms. And gods above, they hurt. Hazed thoughts cornered her vision. She knew where she was but it was night and she wasn't sure how long she had been here at all.

"Be careful, miss, Dragon fire is slow to heal!" Ember cried out, her small voice frantic.

An onslaught of memories hit her. The night of the ball, the glasses clinking, and noises of a filled castle grounds. Then heat and fire and so much pain. Kyeria tried to shift through the fragments. The smell of burnt ends filled her sense of Kellian, his voice raw and screaming for her. The memory rocked through her like a wave crashing violently on the shore. But it was still only shattered pieces.

Her eyes flashed to Ember and she tried to convey with her eyes, "What happened?"

Ember's face flushed with sadness. "The new hatchling mistook you for that of the heir blood, only they are immune to Dragon fire. His highness raced to you, I am told he moved so fast across the field but the Dragonfire had already reached you, if he had not used his own body to shield the rest, goddess above, I do not know what would have happened."

Kyeria let out a small gasp, her lungs constricting. She raked her eyes over Kellian's body. He looked in fine condition, no burns visible, only lingering ash on his skin.

"The fire cannot hurt him, don't worry miss," Ember assured her. Kyeria swallowed again, and tried to muster her strength to speak, but only a gasp and a raspy note came out. He stirred again, seeming to be surfacing from the deep depths of tired rest, as if the confirmation of her being alive was enough for him to wake. After a moment, his eyes bore into hers the next time she blinked. Kellian bolted upright, seeing her eyes open and on him, unraveling himself from his slumber on the chair so quickly, the large chair almost toppled over entirely. He was by her side then and reached for her. He took her hands in his and she felt her magic respond, buzzing through her limbs. Thank the goddess , she thought, comforted deeply by the presence of her magic, though it ran low. It felt as if every reserve left was being used to try and heal her wounds.

Kellian blinked a few more times as if not believing his eyes, he swallowed and her eyes zeroed in on the movement before he opened his cracked lips. Then a door swung open and Esmeralda and Aura flew in, in all their wondrous chaos.

"Oh, thank the goddess!" Aura burst through the door, her hand flying to her chest as she stopped in the doorway, stunned to see Kyeria awake. Esmeralda peeked over Aura's shoulder holding a steaming cup and smiled brightly. She loved them, Kyeria thought, so well and truly loved them.

"How are you feeling?" Esmeralda asked, moving around Aura and coming to Kyeria's side. Kellian's hands left hers, giving the girls room. The absence of Kellian's touch felt like ice water washing over her, without his warmth. She glanced at him as he seemed to emotionally and physically withdraw. Her thoughts clouded in worry before Kellian's expression softened as if responding to her nervous thoughts themselves. Kyeria was stunned at the intuitive nature he held, he seemed to understand her emotions so clearly. Her nerves responded, calming slowly at his steady presence, reminding her she was okay, she was grounded.

Kyeria refocused on Esmeralda. Her curls were tied back into complex braids, and she undoubtedly knew Aura had done them as the white haired princess had braided back the top of her hair and let the rest waterfall around her shoulder. Gold jewelry was weaved into some of Esmeralda's hair, and her cheeks were flushed as if she had been running through the castle herself grabbing ingredients for the potions in her hands. A golden potion swirled in an odd shaped bottle, and Esmeralda held it out.

"For the haze." Esmie offered the vile. Kyeria tried to focus her eyes on the vile and esmeralda continued, "I had to keep you asleep for longer than your body wanted to be, to let it heal. Dragon fire is something fierce to try and heal, but my grandmother had a few journals on her own trials with it. I brewed as many potions as I could from her directions. The one to keep you asleep dulls your magic a little, puts you in a dreamscape. You might remember some of those dreams in the coming days, but don't be too alarmed. They were only dreams, and your body much needed the rest and time to heal." Esmeralda's soft eyes bore into her own, searching. Kyeria blinked a few times and nodded slowly. She felt odd, her body felt heavy and cold, laying like a weight on the soft mattress. A swish of a blue gauzy dress caught Kyeria's attention to see Aura pushing in front of Kellian.

"I'm sure you have a million questions, so here's what we know." She lightly tapped her fingers on the wooden end of the bed to a rhythm trapped only in her head. Kyeria let the rhythm sooth her, made herself focus on the soft touch of the sheets under her fingers, the familiar four poster wooden bed, the breeze from the window kissing her skin gently. As if to say, you are okay.

Kyeria refocused her eyes on the golden ones of Aura before her. A delicate smile lay there, one she had watched Aura use when talking to many people of The Hollow, an open kindness. She was so bright, it sometimes hurt to look at her as it did Kellian. Aura and Kellian had this light about them, each very different, like their essence were these different balls of light that burned different colors.

"You have been asleep for a week," Aura began slowly, waiting for the information to hit Kyeria. She swallowed and tried to clear her throat. She pried open her dry lips and tried to speak again but it was like one of her childhood dreams where she would try to scream and nothing would come out. Her heart rate picked up, she felt too heavy as if she was awake but trapped in her body. Panic washed over her, her eyes flashing to Esmeralda then Aura, then finally landing on Kellian. He was watching her so closely while keeping a seemingly purposeful distance from her. She could feel the terror was over her features, unable to mask the emotion fast enough, she felt him move to her side again before seeing he was steps closer. His closer presence was like a balm of relief. His expression was as if to say, "you are okay, you are safe." She swore she could almost hear the low husk of his voice saying the words to her in that moment, but his lips were sealed shut, the same worried crease in his brow as he took her in.

"Don't be alarmed! Talking might take a few days. Your mind is awake, but your body will be slower to come back to you," Esmeralda soothed.

"Take this one." She nudged the bottle in Kyeria's hand, but while her fingers flexed on the bottle, she couldn't seem to lift her limb. Aura glanced down to the bottle and laid her hand on Kyeria's fingers.

"Let me," she said, and took the bottle, holding it up to her lips. She tipped the bottle back to her and Kyeria swallowed the sweet potion. It tasted like honey, and cleared her mind a bit. She could sense her magic more, she sighed with relief—it was there, dimmed at the bottom of her well, but it was there.

"Next, the hatchling is one of the strongest new Dragons we have ever seen. Esmeralda and I have been studying old texts in the library and we have found some information on this line of Dragons. They would fire-bath their bonded riders. In this time, fae still lived on the continent, and some were chosen by the Dragons, to be their bonded rider or magical counterpart. However, these fae were a part of the ancient people who were tied to the Dragons, therefore immune to the Dragon fire, similar to how Kellian and I are the Guardians. We do not have all the answers. But we are working on it." Aura paused and glanced at Kellian, who was standing stone-like next to her.

"And most importantly, we," she glanced around, "are so relieved you are okay." She reached out and squeezed Kyeria's hand. Kyeria felt her eyes welling with tears but still felt so disconnected from her body.

"I'll leave these for you. We have a meeting with someone in the village who has more knowledge on healing Dragon fire burns," Esmeralda said, squeezing her hand and standing. Aura nodded, leaned in to kiss Kyeria's cheek and nodded to her brother before walking out with Esmie.

The door clicked shut and Kyeria stared at the ceiling. The golden swirls that decorated each shape were painted on each curve of the stone ceiling. She traced them with her eyes in an attempt to calm her heart. Kellian cleared his throat and she felt the bed sink next to her, then a warm hand on her cheek. It wasn't until she noticed he was wiping away a tear that she felt herself crumble. Her vision blurred as tears took her sight. She felt like she had been stuck in an odd dream with a lingering fear trying to consume her for days. It must have been the dreamscape from the potions, she thought. But Kellian being here, feeling his warm hand, his real living being next to her, was such a relief she felt like she was gasping for air.

"You're alright," Kellian murmured into her ear. "You are safe."

Then she realized he was holding her. She wasn't sure when he had started but one arm was around her and the other was cradling her head to his neck. He whispered words into her hair and she couldn't move a muscle, and her tears were streaming, her vision still blurry. But she was alright. She was safe.

Kyeria wasn't sure how much time had passed, laying there peacefully with Kellian, when she drifted off to sleep. Real sleep, where only oceans and mountains on her fae islands greeted her in dreams. Her mother's voice called to her. She turned, noticing the sand under her feet.

"My darling." Her mother's voice was like the sweetest of tunes to her ears.

"Mother?" Kyeria's voice cracked and her feet began moving, running into the arms of her mother.

"Hello child, look how you have grown." Kyeria's mother had golden red hair like her own, swept up and braided back. She wore blue and gold spun robes and the light gleamed off of her so brilliantly. Kyeria's eyes watered just looking at her.

"How are you here, Mother?" she asked, her voice feeling so young.

"It is but a dream, my sparrow," her mother replied, her hand cupping Kyeria's cheek. Her mother had called her a little sparrow the first time she found her daughter high up in the trees along the river behind their cottage. Kyeria had asked, "What is it like to fly, mother?" and wished on the flowers in the meadow to be a bird.

"Why are you here?" she asked instead, her mother nodded as if approving of the question.

"Your magic is at peace here." Her mother noted, "you have made it to our home."

Kyeria shook her head. "No mother, I am in a land called The Hollow, on the continent, far from the island." Her eyes were watery but she looked right into the light of her mother.

"You have found your other half, sparrow." Her soft eyes were gleaming.

"Who?" Kyeria asked.

"You know not to whom your soul bound is?" her mother asked, looking concerned. "I can feel the bond from you, you have been with them," she added. Kyeria shook her head, trying to clear it. Her mind was swirling. Why had her mother said this was our home? Where did she mean? In this odd dreamscape? In this swirling other reality?

"Mother? Where is our home?" she asked, trying to free herself from the fog. It was tumbling around them, creating a cavity between them.

"Where my people bound themselves to the land, to honor and protect. Ours with those of the Galanis line."

"What do you mean?"

"We took to the land, them to the skies. The Guardians, my sparrow, you are bound to them. Soul tied, generations past." Her mother's voice felt farther now. Kyeria was reaching out through the fog, the stars behind her mother and the light was dimming.

"Mother, please!" she called. "Stay with me!"

"Go back to your people my darling. You are safe there, go back to your Guardian."

She drifted away and the dream was overtaken by fog flipping the dark sky for that of a bright one. Her feet were on soft, familiar soil then.

Kyeria looked up and a Dragon flew ahead. Then a slow blink, this reality slipped through her fingers and shifted. A woman with hair as white as Aura looked down at her now.

"Why is Aura not going to be one of them, mother?" a voice asked. It was not her own, but that of a young boy. The woman smiled, her blue eyes gleaming.

"She is well and alive my dear, for that I will thank the stars and sky every night. The honor will fall to you now, as one of the Guardianchildren will be the Dragon heir. The goddess came to me in a dream and made it so," she replied, her blue eyes gleamed. "It will all make sense soon, my love. The goddess will anoint you with the ability to take Dragon form in your twelfth year, later than any have before, but I have all the faith in you, my son."

"What is it like to fly?" the little boy asked.

"Endless." The boy's mother looked off to the sky to watch the large grey glimmering Dragon flying above.

The world swirled again, and Kyeria was once again thrust into night, stars gleaming. She could see a tower high up in the castle. It looked so familiar to her, as if her very bones recognized it. A boy sat at a windows edge, his feet dangling off a ledge hundreds of feet above the ground. His eyes looked sunken, clouded. Brows creased and seemed to take over all of his small expressions. Dull unpointed ears poked out from his white hair that was cropped close to the nape of his neck. As if the whole world was sitting on his shoulders, he sat on that edge, as if one strong breeze would let him fall down the stone tower walls, to the open castle grounds below.

The cool wind blew by, whispering to her, "Go home child of the trees, it is time now."

The next time Kyeria woke, the fire was burning low. The velvet chair that had been next to her holding a tired white haired prince, was now neatly back in front of the hearth. A pot of steaming tea was set on the nightstand, with another potion bottle and a note in Esmie's scribble saying, "Take this, then drink the tea. For the burns and the pain."

She tested her fingers and arm, flexing each finger individually. Then when she was sure her arm was strong enough, she picked up the tea cup and raised it slowly to her mouth. The warm liquid spilled down the front of her as her hand shook, and she gasped in shock from the heat and dropped the cup. She stared at the porcelain, shattered on the ground in a million pieces.

"I've got it," a deep voice broke her trance. Kellian was there, a cool cloth then laid on her brow. He had walked right over the shattered glass, the sound of cracking under his feet. He had wanted to get to her first, she realized. His warm hand pressed the cloth to her brow until she closed her eyes. She heard Kellian moving around and when she opened her eyes again, a small broom was in the large hand of Kellian. Silently, he cleared away the shattered teacup. After he was done, he squared his shoulders towards her, a serious expression locking into place. But his eyes were soft, always soft.

"Do you want to try standing?" he asked. She looked at him in mild shock. She just dropped a tea cup after trying to hold it for longer than a moment, now he wanted her to stand?

"Esmie said it's good to move if you can to regain your strength," he explained quietly. She swallowed and tried to speak, a cracked attempt at "Okay" left her lips. Kellian smiled softly, eyes glancing at her arms and ever so slightly wincing. He walked over to her and held out his hands. She looked at him quizzically. Not being able to speak was quickly becoming infuriating. She wondered what was going on in his mind, if he was mad at her or the situation or even the little Dragon.

"Come on," he encouraged, pulling the covers back. Her long navy blue nightgown crumbled around her knees, and the satin and lace trim tickled her skin. Kellian reached over, scooping his arms beneath her knees and bringing her forward, legs facing him and dangling off the soft bed. She looked up, took as deep a breath as she dared to and put pressure on Kellian's hand, pushing her body to stand. She immediately felt she was falling, her knees like liquid, useless and weak.

"I won't let you fall," he said gently, his breath brushing her ear, his hands firmly grasping hers, an anchor to hold on to. Kyeria straightened her back with great difficulty and let Kellian hold her up. Her head held higher, she tried again.

"Good," he encouraged. He took a step back from her and she tried not to look panicked. She pushed her leg to move, and it was the most ungraceful movement she had ever made, but Kellian was there, holding her weight up. They did a few more of these exercises before Kyeria felt exhausted and Kellian helped her to sit on the bed. She looked angrily at the bed, hating to be confined. Hating not being able to move her own limbs or voice. Kellian looked to the pillows and fluffed them for her so she could sit up. He guided her to lay back, and pulled the covers over her legs again. He didn't say much that day. His eyes were clouded with something Kyeria couldn't recognize.

Days passed and Kellian came every morning to help her stand, take a few steps and stretch her muscles. She could move more and more each day. Even her voice was getting stronger. The burns remained, like fresh wounds refusing to close. But twice a day Esmeralda brewed her tea and potions to keep the pain at bay and the wounds from getting infected. Aura accompanied Esmeralda, helping redress her wounds or bringing Kyeria small gifts. Aura would come back from the villages or on her treks with new items, bounding into the room to show her.

Kyeria was coming to see Aura and Esmeralda as the sisters she had always wanted. They were constant companions, distracting her with research or making her laugh until her belly hurt. Kellian was a constant most morning unless royal duties conflicted. While he had been ever present, he seemed reluctant to be fully here with her, as if he was holding himself back. It was a deep type of frustration to not be able to simply voice her concerns, to ask him what was going on inside his mind. But even when her voice was returning, albeit cracked and raw, she put off asking, suddenly worried about the answer. So instead their mornings were quiet as he helped her stretch her sore muscles, and gain her strength. The touch of his warm palm on her back, or the light hold on her arms, she drank in every moment. While the words were few from Kellian, the presence was consistent. While he had been there every morning, when she woke the day before she was met by Miss Bells and a cup of tea instead of Kellian.

Kyeria woke again this morning and found her room empty. She tried to hide her disappointment on the second day Kellian did not appear at dawn, when Esmeralda and Aura instead came through the door together a bit later. He had been gone for two days now to the eastern border villages and she felt his absence so deeply. Like someone had carved out a piece of her chest and simply taken it with them. It was an odd feeling, Kyeria was so used to being on her own, but this small family she had tumbled into made her feel things she didn't think she ever would. Despite everything, here, she felt safe and loved and cared for. Something she thought she would never again.

Miss Bells set up trays of sandwiches and brought in new books from the library and took back the ones Kyeria had finished that morning. The tea helped her throat, and her words were less cracked, her magic was sifting through the damage, and her body was coming back to her. Esmeralda helped her walk around the room in Kellian's absence, stretching her sore limbs, and Aura was rambling about how infuriating Nox had been at training yesterday. Esmie sent Kyeria a knowing look and she held in a giggle, biting her lip hard.

"I mean does he need to be so insufferable?" Aura groaned, falling dramatically into one of the wingback chairs in front of the hearth. Dirt shook off her boots onto the table as she kicked her feet up, and Kyeria winced at the mess. Esmie only rolled her eyes before setting her hand at Aura and making her remove her boots off the table.

"Are you still having nightmares?" Esmeralda asked gently after settling back into the wingback chair. Kyeria had been plagued with restless sleep lately. When she did sleep, she tossed and turned with nightmares. When she woke in the dark, she felt trapped, and the weight of her inability to talk and move the way she used to was at its heaviest. The terror would wrap around her so deeply, pulling tight on her throat, around her lungs, around her whole being. She had mostly brushed them off, but Kellian had found her sometime last week in the middle of the night. He said she had been screaming, heard her cries from across the hall and thought she was dying. He had rushed to her, taken her in his arms and muttered a few soothing words. They were a balm to her terror, slowly coaxing her back to reality. Again, Kellian was there, his ever solid presence acting like an anchor for her to hold on to, keeping her above the waves of her nightmares.

"Some," Kyeria responded to Esmie's question. Aura and Esmeralda shared a look, making Kyeria ask, "Why?" She furrowed her brow and slowly eyed the two women, wondering what they meant by it.

"Well…" Esmeralda basically sang her response. "Do you feel up to visiting my potions room?" Kyeria nodded happily. Aura had to help her, but they slowly made their way.

The room was warm and dimly lit. Books were scattered around, candles burning. They sat Kyeria in a soft chair, and began moving aside piles of potions, books, and piles of collections from Esmeralda clearly looking for something. Kyeria waited for an explanation; a few minutes passed before Esmeralda paused and turned to explain herself.

"We made you a gift," Emeralda said sweetly and continued rummaging through the piles around her. Kyeria looked at Aura who nodded with a ghost of a smile, like she was trying to bite back her excitement at whatever it was Esmie was looking for.

"You had been having nightmares," Emeralda said, "and you mentioned you sleep with the fire burning even if it is blistering hot outside, just so you'll have some light, so you know what is real and not real." Esmeralda emerged empty handed again from behind another pile that sat taller than the small girl. Kyeria took the time to take in Esmeralda. Her earrings clinked with her quick movements and a shimmer pulled her eye to an amulet around her neck in the shape of a starburst. She had begun wearing the jewelry she would make, it made her seem so much older, not the mere sixteen years of age she was, six years younger than Kyeria herself. Esmeralda was dressed in her usual red robes, the color of a ruby in the night, deep and dark. A leather corset wrapped around her middle. That seemed new, Kyeria noted. She was used to Esmeralda wearing the looser clothes of the younger people of the Hollow. But Esmeralda seemed to be dressing more maturely now, as if shedding a layer of being. She moved with a sense of grace about her, a more elegant way than her usual clumsy manor. In a blink of an eye she had grown so much.

"Not that one, not that one," she muttered, still rifling through stacks of things in her tower. "Oh!" Esmeralda exclaimed and ran across the room. On a wooden table sat a white candle in a golden candlestick holder, there was a handle and a plate that connected to the pricket holding up the candle. Small vines were etched into the gold. The white candle, while lit, was not melted at all.

"This," Esmeralda held it out and whispered a spell, lighting the candle, "is for you."

"Esmeralda and I have been reading through her grandma's spell books, and we found one to enchant items with one's power," Aura explained.

"So I enchanted you a candle with Aura's light, so that it will never burn away." Esmerada's smile was so sweet and soft, Kyeria fought the tears begging to escape.

"So you'll always have light," Aura spoke up gently.

"And you'll never be in darkness," Esmeralda added. Kyeria picked the candle up, running a thumb over the intricate etchings of the holder. She was stunned into a bit of silence. Kyeria had never mentioned the details of the nightmares, only that she had trouble sleeping if it was fully dark, a silly childhood fear turned paralyzing. The healing potions she had been given to keep her asleep after the dragon fire burns, made those small trivial fears into horrid monsters of nightmares. Maybe she had mentioned the dark to Kellian, or he had noticed, and this sweet family of the Hollow had put a gift into motion.

Kyeria felt so seen, she knew to be loved was to be known. And these two women, they meant the world to her, she saw them, she knew them, as they saw and knew her. This family, they had taken her in at The Hollow, made her feel welcome and warm. Without being able to form the words, Kyeria crushed them both into a hug before muttering, "Thank you, thank you, thank you." When she pulled away she looked over the candle again, the energy radiating off of it was different than that of a natural flame, so she dragged her fingers over the flame but no burn touched her skin. Magic filtered through her skin instead.

"Oh also, the fire can't hurt you. Since it's Aura's light, it is only manipulated to look like flame, then we bound it to the candle itself. Granny Winter's spell book is very interesting," Esmeralda said happily. They sat in silence for a while, Kyeria so overwhelmed with her emotions, of feeling like she had a home, after so much of her life was spent alone.

"I brought some new texts today on the forming of The Hollow," Esmeralda announced one warm morning. "You might find this one rather interesting." Aura and Esmeralda had bound into her room, like many mornings as of late.

"What is it?" Kyeria asked, brow lifting.

"About the Galanis line and how they are magically tied to the Dragons." Esmie helped Kyeria to the second chair that sat in front of the hearth, identical to the one Aura slouched in.

"There's some inscriptions here, I was hoping you could translate it." Esmie handed a red leather bound book to her. Kyeria opened the old pages and sipped on her healing tea. Aura drifted off, tired from training early, most likely from before the sun rose. Esmeralda sat at the window seat, a matching red book in hand.

"This is the old language," Kyeria spoke after reading a few pages. Esmeralda nodded.

"Yes, but it's different, I can translate most of the common letters of the old language, this one I couldn't make sense of," she replied.

"It's a dialect of sorts…" Kyeria trailed off.

"What does it say?" Esmeralda looked over to her, holding her place in her own book with a ribbon and setting it aside.

"I don't understand…" Kyeria whispered. Emeralda was at her side.

"This here, this is my mother's family name." Kyeria let her finger trail over the old name, Greenburrow . It was even written in the old language the way her mother would sign her letters. The memories were so faint now, but she remembered her mother sending letters to a sister who lived on another island. Ana Greenburrow. Kyeria's mother always spoke so fondly of her. But in the fae culture, when married the woman leaves the land of her people and joins the land of her husband's. So her mother had boarded a ship and traveled to the southern end of the great fae island. The holy land of the fae. But her family was not from the great fae island. Kyeria knew this but had been missing pieces of her own family's history. Broken shards of memories resurfaced, but she was a mere ten years when last she saw her mother. But her family name had been Greenburrow. The Greenburrow women had been ripe with earth magic, stronger than many other who were blessed with the same form from the Goddess Luna

"It says that the Greenburrow line worked in the land, helping with magic ley lines. The Lake, the one in the mountains, is on connecting magical ley lines, that's why the magic is so strong there. Many ley lines cross within the boundary of The Hollow, under the water sources. The streams that go through the castle grounds come from The Lake, which is what makes the magic so strong here," Kyeria noted.

"I thought your people were merchants and artists?" Esmeralda asked.

"My father's, yes. Not my mother's. They were magic weavers for their towns," Kyeria explained.

"What is a magic weaver?" Esmie asked.

"Family lines with stronger magic. Many had more than one elemental magic, as I have that of the earth and healing. My mother had the same. Her family was rather important, actually, to the kingdom. They ensured the magical balance of northern lands, their earth magic was some of the strongest of the islands."

"What does this say?" Esmeralda flipped to a marked page half way through the text and pointed at a specific line. "It looks so familiar to me."

Kyeria's eyes found the letters and her breath hitched.

"The Winter witches," Kyeria whispered. Aura sturred and glanced up at them both hunched over a book. Their old language talked of the Winter's and the Greenburrow's working to build a land on the magical ley lines, to ensure safety for the Dragons, giving them a breeding ground that was holy and protected. Thus the Hollow had been created.

"What did I miss?" she asked, rubbing her golden eyes, her white braided hair coming loose from its form.

"This ancient text I found on the farthest level of the library has my family name in an old fae language," Esmeralda said, stilling.

"And mine," Kyeria finished and met Aura's eyes who sat gap-mouthed staring at the two of them.