The night is silent as I fly overhead, the box of knowledge held tight in my claws.
I was ever thankful for my powers as a chameleon elf, more of a shapeshifter than a copycat.
Large wings beat the air as I flew through a portal overhead, I had decided against using too much of my power and had simply taken the form of a gargoyle, a small one that too, just strong enough to fly and hold the box at the same time.
The box was the one chanting to open portals as I crossed through, we passed through literal days and nights, each portal had a different scene.
One was alight with the sun, birds chirping, the smell of bread wafting up from the chimney of a nearby house.
Another, where the sky was dark, and predators lurched in small forgotten alleys, humans scrounging the dumpsters for food, rats and cats fighting the battle of life.
We passed through again, a place where snow was abundant, where a single white wolf stood howling to the grey sky.
We passed by again and finally reached the foot of a forest, dark with twisting trees, alight with various, dangerous howls out of unfamiliar maws waiting to partake of flesh.
I had come here of my own free will, hadn't I? Then there was nothing I should fear, nothing that could change my mind. I had come here for Nikolai and for my baby. For our future and for our lives.
"Do not try to fly over the forest, it is enchanted to prevent cheating of any kind."
So, I had to walk through it then, I had to prove my worth to receive a gift.
I landed at the border of the trees and was immediately aware of the eyes on me.
My skin crawled, bile rose up my throat, I coughed and breathed through it. The eyes were red, the stink in the air was worse then the feeling of their gazes on my body. I could sense their thoughts, I knew that if I stepped through the forest, they would rape me, they would eat the flesh of my bones, they would lick away my tears and swallow my howls of pain, I would die horribly, painfully, eishing over and over for death to take me before it finally did.
"Calm down." The box took on a gentle voice. "There are no creatures in the forest, they are illusions that prey on weak minds."
"I can sense them."
"They are trying to bend you to their will. They are trying to coax you away. To overrun your mind with fears. Step into the forest."
I look sharply at the thing in my arms. "I didn't come here to die. I have no weapon to ward them off."
"Only the weak ones bring weapons. You are strong, Demon Queen, step through the forest."
I take a deep breath, wishing I could tell the box that it was crazy and just walk away, back home. But the box only spoke the truth. It was, afterall, a machine.
And machines did not lie.
I stepped into the forest.
----
The Well of Souls is a hole in the ground, decorated by fancy tiles that had weird zigzagging symbols on them, each mossy tile had a different sign on it, each sign glowed. It was frightening to look at, the Well itself glowing with a blue magnificent light that eminated power.
It scared me, but also empowered me.
The box hadn't lied to me. One foot into the forest, and nothing had touched me, the whispers were still there, as were the roars and the cries in the forest.
But as the box had told me, they were all illusions, or they were all just scaredy cats, a bunch of monsters told to guard a forest but not payed enough to do a good job.
My fear had lessened with each step ahead. The box had encouraged me along, directing me towards the Well.
Now we had reached. "What next?" I asked the thing.
"Now you invoke the spirit of the Mother with a small prayer."
"Some specific words?"
"Chant with me." I nod.
"Mother most powerful."
"Mother most powerful." I repeat after the box, my voice louder.
"Mother most divine."
I repeat the words.
"Mother most pure, heed my call!"
With those words, the Well starts glowing brighter. I take a step back, but the box buzzes in my arms.
"I have come to ask! Answer my prayer."
I repeat the words, yelling them into the blinding light, my eyes closed, my hand protectively on my belly, covering my precious child.
An entity speaks through the well, its voice feminine, its power so palpable, I could taste it in the air.
I've been waiting for you to come, child.
I rub my eyes and blink to adjust to the scene before me, the Well was as normal as it had been before, but now, there was a certain purple tint to it, another aura seeping through it.
I cleared my throat. "Are you the Mother thingie?"
The voice chuckled, amused. The box slightly buzzed in my arms again. "Speak with respect, Lunia Vel Kisare." The box admonishes me.
The voice in the Well makes a weird snorting sound. It's good to hear them call you Vel Kisare.
"You sound like you know me." I push the box aside, I was a Queen, a princess, I could talk however I wanted, besides, this thing was trapped in the Well, right? And anyway, I don't think someone who snorts like a pig will mind a little insolence.
I know you. I know all my children. You're one of my gang, you know?
"Your gang?" I look at the box, to make sure that I wasn't hearing stuff wrong. The box looked as lost as me, silently hovering beside me.
Yes, my homies.Or is it homos? I don't really understand slang now-a-days.
I clear my throat again, not knowing what to say. I had expected a brooding or an angry entity in the Well, but this was something entirely different.
"I, uh, came to ask you for something."
Yes. Yes. That's all what you guys come here for now-a-days, Mother give me this, Mother give me that, do you think of asking how I am, in this rotten hole here? Or do I like the food? Is the bed comfortable? Nooo.
I shift nervously. "Okay...uh, how are you?"
I'm fine, dear. Thanks, how are you?
I itch a spot on my head and answer her, haltingly, cause this was still really awkward. "I'm fine, too. Thanks."
Hmm. Hmm. Your pregnant. I can smell it in the air. A nice little girl, a strong beautiful baby girl, tell me, Lunia, will you abandon your child like your mother did you?
I gasp and step back, placing a slight hand on my belly. I was having a girl? Oh. Tears burned my eyes. The happy kind, I don't know about Nikolai, but I liked a little girl. Someone just like me.
Answer me.
"What do you know about my mother?" I ask, angrily and suddenly breaking my silence and the happiness from the news of my baby's gender. This was supposed to be a happy moment, it was being spoilt by talking about my mommy issues.
"I'm not like her! I'll never abandon my baby!"
She was very different from you. Yes. She gave birth to you, abandoned you, then came here, to me, to ask for a gift, just like you now.
"I'm not asking it for myself, I need this, for my husband and his future."
Tell me, then, what do you need?
I wipe away my tears and push the box of Knowledge ahead. "I've come to make a bargain. Give Nikolai his sight back, and you can have the Box of infinite Knowledge."
The box buzzes but does not protest. It silently hovers, await its orders.
The entity in the Well is silent, I stroke my belly when I feel a slight fluttering. When the Mother speaks again, her voice is contrite.
I see all and know all, why would I need the box of Knowledge? And besides, I cannot take it from you, War is coming to your kingdom, Demon Queen. And to win, you need the box on your side. So no, I require a greater price.
Was I strong enough for a greater price? Was I strong enough to give up my own for Nikolai's benefit?
I took a deep breath and told myself that the time for regrets would come later. I told myself that I am the Ultra Bitch.
"Then take my eyes, take my sight, and give Nikolai his back. "
