23. Favian and Favia
twenty-three
Favian and Favia
*AZADEH*
I close my eyes, reminiscing about the night. It was probably the best day of my life. I laughed with my new friends and cheered on the girls to dance with some of the guys. Kilah enjoyed it too despite her worrying about it beforehand, and the moment she was relaxed and joked around with us, some of the warriors asked her for a dance.
Meanwhile, I danced with my favorite triplets. Caelan asked me twice, and it felt a tad awkward - like dancing with my brother, and he stepped on my feet, but it was fun. Flinn basically twirled me through the whole ballroom until I almost lost my balance. But most of the time, I danced with Endellion, and my skin still feels hot wherever he touched me. I smile while snuggling into my pillow, about to doze off when…
Princess of the Sun.
It’s Favian! I try not to jolt awake instantly and instead focus on keeping in my half-asleep state. Favian… are you alright?
I don’t know, he says, and when I finally see him, he looks drained and tired. The woman, Favia, is sleeping as usual. It feels like I’m losing my life essence.
Favian, I need you to focus. I frown. Where are you?
I am in this room since-
No , where are you in reality? This is just a dream place.
He looks at me, surprised, but there is sudden understanding in his eyes. You… you are right , he mutters. Of course, you are right. How could I forget that this isn’t real?
What was the last thing you remember?
The woman in white , he says. And snow… lots of wind… He pauses. Mountains. Fire.
Alright, anything else? I urge.
I have this , he says, showing me a necklace. It’s gold, and on it there is a claw, wrapped around an eye, and three little stars above it. It looks creepy. It’s not mine , he says . It’s just there . He tugs at it to show me how he can’t remove it.
I can feel my senses getting more and more awake, frustrated that I can’t stay longer. I will be coming, I promise. I won’t rest until I know what is going on!
As I feel myself being pulled out of this dream, I can see Favia shift slightly. Her eyes open, and to my surprise, I’m looking into yellow eyes and vertical slit pupils. Her eyes look like a reptile’s.
I jolt awake, and without considering anything further, I jump out of my bed and grab a sheet of paper, scribbling down the medallion Favian wore. Then, I dress swiftly and hurry out of my door. It’s quiet and peaceful, as most people are asleep now. When I see a guard, I approach him. “Please link Royan for me,” I tell him. I’m not scared to head out alone, but King Gillean is worried for my safety, and I don’t want to disrespect him by being reckless or ignoring his wish to protect me.
Royan arrives five minutes later. He hasn’t even dressed properly, just wearing pants. He puts his shirt on while he approaches us. “Princess,” he whispers.
“I apologize for waking you up. Please, come with me,” I tell him. “And don’t ask any questions, please.”
He nods, flabbergasted, but to my relief he just follows me. I lead him away from the castle and towards the path that takes us to the small, secluded cottage. Royan’s surprise seems to grow. “The palace witch?” he asks.
I don’t answer him, just nod, hurrying up the small hill. Once I reach the cottage, I can see Aylin waiting at the door, a bathrobe wrapped tightly around her and a cup of tea in her hands.
“I have expected you,” she says.
“But how?”
“The night was eerie and dark,” she mutters. “And, then suddenly, one single star illuminated the sky.” She pauses. “It means a secret connection happened again, didn’t it?”
I nod. “I talked to Favian again,” I hurry to explain and hand her the sheet of paper. “He is wearing a medallion and can’t remove it. I think it might be binding him.”
Aylin stares at my outline, her eyes widening. “Are you sure this is what you saw?”
“Yes, absolutely. I drew it immediately after I woke up. Do you know it?”
“Damn it, yes!” she exclaims. “Princess of the Sun, this is the first real clue!”
“Should I link the king?” Royan asks.
“Yes, do so, and ask him to come here.” Aylin takes my hand and leads me inside. “Come, little Princess, you must be freezing,” she says surprisingly affectionately, while ushering me towards her kitchen table. Her cottage is small yet cozy, and this time, I let my eyes wander over everything curiously. There are lots of books and charms everywhere, dream catchers and herbs.
“Here you go,” she hands me a cup of tea and sits down next to me.
It’s not even ten minutes later that King Gillean and Royan enter the cottage. Before I can say something, Aylin looks at Gillean. “It’s the cultists of the all-seeing eye.”
“Are you sure?” Gillean exclaims.
“Yes, Azadeh saw a medallion that binds Favian’s powers or existence or life force, and it had their symbol on it.”
“There is more though,” I point out. “When I was about to return, Favia opened her eyes…. And I swear they looked like a reptile’s eyes.”
Aylin and Gillean both stare at me in shock. “Are you certain?” Aylin asks earnestly.
“Yes, Favia’s eyes turned yellow, and they just looked like a crocodile’s eyes for the lack of a better comparison. Vertical slits instead of a round pupil.” I pause. “The pupil was a bit broader than that of a crocodile, though, and it was a glowing yellow, but other than that it reminded me of a reptile.” I look at them curiously. “What’s so special about it?”
Aylin and Gillean look at each other, seemingly having a whole conversation by just staring at each other.
I turn to look at my protector, but Royan just shrugs helplessly.
“Alright,” Aylin takes a deep breath. “These are just wild speculations, but there is only one type of person who has this kind of eyes, a certain type of shifter.”
“Wait,” Gillean objects. “Maybe we should-”
“No, we shouldn’t,” Aylin argues. “Azadeh saw what she saw, and I don’t doubt it.” She turns to me. “Dragon shifters. Their eyes can turn into those you described when their dragon spirit is on the surface. Unfortunately, we don’t know much about the dragon shifters. They have always lived very secluded and stayed within themselves. In a way, all shifters are like that, which is why we know so little about the smaller populations. A lot of mysteries surround the dragons, though, as they disappeared one day. Even for a small shifter folk, it’s unusual to just be gone.”
“Was it never researched?” I ask.
Aylin doesn’t answer my question, just tosses Gillean a look. The king sighs. “What Aylin said isn’t wrong, shifters like to stay with themselves and not mingle with other shifters’ business. I’m starting to think it’s a flaw we have. So, to answer your question: We didn’t research. And just like Aylin said, I don’t know much about the dragons, either. When I was young, I met a dragon shifter once, and just loosely remember that he turned into a green dragon.”
If I remember correctly, Alana saw a blue one. “They have different colors?”
“Yes,” Aylin says. “The little we know verifies it. I’ve seen a red and a yellow dragon many many years ago, centuries ago. The rarest are supposed to be golden dragons. Even when the dragon shifters were still around, it was said that golden dragons were extinct.”
Centuries… just how old is Aylin? I shake this thought off, and instead focus on the most urgent question. “Favian and Favia,” I say. “They may be some of the last dragon shifters. A female and male one.” I grasp Aylin’s hand. “Is this why they are the two sides of a coin?”
“I think it’s highly likely,” she says. “Although I feel like we are missing something.”
“Dragons are extinct,” Gillean whispers.
“Alana saw one,” I point out. “As a child.”
Gillean clearly looks uncomfortable. “She was a child, close to freezing to death.”
“Why is it so hard to accept that said child was telling the truth?” Aylin points out. “Something saved her back then. And yes, it could have been a bird shifter, but her explanation about what happened sounded too real, too detailed to be just a hallucination.”
Gillean grimaces.
“What?” Aylin asks nonchalantly. I’m surprised by her tone towards Gillean. She really doesn’t care at all that he is the king. “Feeling guilty for having manipulated your daughter into believing she was making this up?”
Gillean grumbles. “It wasn’t intentional.”
“Intentional or not,” Aylin shrugs. “She started to believe she was hallucinating, and now we need to talk to her and make sure to re-awaken her memories.”
“What does the woman in white have to do with the dragons?” I want to know.
“I’m not sure,” Gillean mutters. “But we already suspect she controls the bears, maybe she is also controlling the dragons?”
Aylin frowns. “I wonder… the golden dragons are said to have a special life essence, almost like their blood is sacred. That’s why they went extinct in the first place.”
“And, the cult you talked about?” I ask.
“We don’t know much about them,” Gillean explains. “Sine is currently researching them as well. It’s said they do not believe in the Moon Goddess, but in another deity.”
“In the veiled woman?” I ask. “Flinn said she is called the Cailleach.”
“You have been studying a lot,” Gillean says, impressed. “Yes, that’s who they claim to believe in. But the truth is, it has to be a twisted version of her. Cailleach is not said to be violent or driven by revenge.”
“I wonder how the woman in white is connected to this…”
Both Flinn and Eibhlin told me that Cailleach is a deity, a protective one, and that she can’t be the woman in white. But, how come these two are always mentioned together whenever we look into something?
“Well, the woman in white is probably the connection between everything,” Aylin says. She and Gillean start discussing a few possibilities, while my thoughts keep wandering off. I feel like understanding the woman in white will lead us further than going for a direct attack against said cult we know so little about. Eibhlin said that she is the manifestation of a thought, the embodiment of sorrow.
Who knows what drives her?
I feel like exhaustion is settling in. It was a long night with the ball, exciting and beautiful, and then I connected to Favian again, giving me an adrenaline rush, but now I just feel it all catching up to me. There are more voices surrounding me all of a sudden. I’m sure I can detect Flinn’s sarcasm and Caelan’s grumbling, and then there are warm arms who scoop me up all of a sudden.
I find myself leaning into the broad chest, and I can swear I hear a content growl rumbling through it.