Blathnaid

Day 21

Bracus remains composed, but I know from the inside that he is in mourning for his people. All of us are. We have only been here for less than a month and it's been quite profound.

Ivelisse, Aelen, and I are outside more; we have been exploring the villages and connecting to the people. Ivelisse didn't see every single village in Gaeriscelleh. We wanted to show Bracus that we are attempting to establish a further bond with his empire. Humans can be welcoming guests in a different land. We give the dead ones' families some gifts and express condolences, sharing our mourning traditions from Earth. It's similar to it, but they never received gifts. They did express gratitude. They also wished us well and a happy festival.

A happy festival? What?

We return back to our home, puzzled, but alright. We are still getting used to Gaeriscelleh's customs.

"Ive, ever heard of the Ourdera Festival?" I ask her, "You've visited this place before. We were just wondering if you ever heard them talking about it."

"No," she shakes her head.

Our focus turns to someone knocking on the door. Of course, Bracus, but only himself this time.

"Greetings, Bracus!" I greet while nodding my head.

He is happier than usual. Pardon?

"Have you heard about the Ourdera Festival?"

"I was about to explain to you about it," he grins wider. He goes on, "Ourdera Festival was named after the blue star and Lady of All Kind. The bluest star in the sky is coming closer to us with its orbit. By a week from here, it will be the brightest star in the sky that will be seen during the day. Don't worry, we have shields to protect you from harm. On the day of its climax, we celebrate the night off at Evanity."

"Evanity?" I ask.

"Ourdera's place, Blat," Ivelisse clarifies, "It's t'e bluest empire with futuristic tec'. It also is surrounded by water."

"She's right," Bracus agrees, "It's best to be on your best behaviour, No shenanigans! Anything bad, bye-bye! It's best to dress the best with a mask."

We all agree in silence.

For the rest of the days, we behave like normal. Bracus wants to take another week off from practice for the festival. He sent his soldiers and those who work at his castle to their families. He has been lingering in his castle and our place. He is a friendly man that doesn't act like he is the king of a large territory. Out of all people, he seems more comfortable with me than with Ivelisse and Aelen. I don't reckon it's distrust. He probably sees something in me that he doesn't. He is fond of my powers and looks. The blue girl gets all the guys.

Ourdera star got bigger in our sky and is now visible during the day. If Earth was here, anything living would be extinct in a scorching desert and radiation. It feels weird to have three stars in the sky. Bracus did mention that there's another one, but we'll be gone by the time it returns. Like Christmas, they celebrate with family and friends. I wish that I studied astronomy to understand more about systems with multiple stars.

On the eve before our exodus to Evanity, Ivelisse, Aelen, and I are drinking with liquor-tainted drinks. The alcohol is stronger than the ones at home, but our guts can handle more. There are fruits here that do contain alcohol, but it's off-limits until the festivals. That sucks for my Irish mates back on Earth.

"I wonder how this will be with the whole coven around," I said before taking another sip.

"It will be a blast," Said Aelen.

"I'll be 'idin',' Said Ivelisse.

"O' C'mon, you are good with us, Ive!" Aelen cheers her, "All is forgiven."

I don't know if he is drunk already pretending to be sober or sober pretending to be drunk.

"Wait a minute, you like it 'ere?" Ivelisse asks with curiosity.

"Sure," Aelen nods, "Even if some nuisance is after us. It's a nice break from duties and from Earth. We should stay here longer. I also enjoy training because of the time being a warrior at home and death."

"I agree," I add in, "The world is a breath of fresh air. Ive, I guess your mistake does have some positives."

"Yea'...Rig't," guilt hits her again.

Aelen and I look at each other. We regret bringing that up now. To turn the tables, I came up with a game, "Let's play Truths."

"Trut' or Dare, ya mean?" Ivelisse asks, still showing her guilt.

"Nah, just Truths," I shake my head, "If we add the Dare in, we will go beyond the limits. Remember, we are humans drunk. It is also the Ourdera Festival. We got'ta respect boundaries."

Aelen uses magic to manifest cards in front of us. They are nasty green with the word Truth in the middle. It's stacked in a neat pile. It's my first time seeing Aelen creating something out of thin air. I've only seen him move stuff or teleport. He hides it, I guess. He explains he sucks at magic, but he does have the skill compared to other daemons. There are daemons who are more specialised in military and other subjects or powerful sorcerers. He specifies that they weren't even human, came from Hell, or the ancient days before witchcraft became an abomination.

We all gather around the deck of cards, eager to play. One of us draws the card and what it is said, we have to tell the truth no matter how bad it is. It sounds cleansing, but can also hurt someone really good. If we are lucky and wise, we will be too drunk to remember it. Ivelisse withdraws a card from the top deck.

"Crus'," Ivelisse reads outloud.

She admits without shame, "I did 'ave a crus' on Renin once I joined Nyx Coven." She sighs with remorse, "'e's gone now..."

"He was a great guy, Ive," Aelen winks, "I think you two would've been a great pair if he wasn't murdered."

"Ella is against having dates in the coven because it 'disrupts' energy," I add in, "Probably in the bedroom more so."

"No offence, I t'ought t'at Rick and Ella are secretly in love wit' each ot'er," she shamelessly blurts out.

My eyebrows furrow. "Ew! Don't you notice the age gap? Ella is thirty-three while Rick is fifty-seven."

"Ahhh- Guess you're rig't," Ive says, still believing her mind is telling her. She tries to move on, "Your turn, Aelen, w'o are you crus'in' on?"

Aelen takes a slight chuckle and admits, "Naomi."

I belch out a laugh. "Naomi? Good luck with that! She never kissed, let alone date," I grin.

"Did you just t'row 'er under t'e bus?" Ivelisse queries.

Aelen boasts, "Then that will be my goal!"

"W'y would a daemon want to date a mortal girl?"

"You will be surprised, Ive," Aelen replies.

He turns to me and says, "Your turn, Blath."

I go silent in thought for a moment. "I did have a crush on one guy, Kody, back in high school, but I was a shy girl and didn't know how to ask. He already had a girl. He was happy with her, so I tried my best to move on. I grew out of it," I said. It didn't say to talk about all my crushes. At least, Kody was one of them. Ivelisse and Aelen didn't question it. It's now Aelen's turn to pick out the Truth card.

"Sex experience," he reads.

"We're both virgins, Aelen," I state.

"Me too," he adds in and tosses the card behind him, "Shall I pick another one?" He asks.

The thought about us being virgins makes me snicker.

"Yes," Ivelisse and I say concurrently.

He picks up another card. "Secret you hid the parents," he reads. Aelen goes into thought as he tries to recount any memories. "I have nothing on top of my head," he states, "Want to go now, Blath?"

"You never 'old secrets from your parents?" Ivelisse asks.

"No," he shakes his head, "They'll know, anyway. Our reputation lies greatly and it will be bad if I, as a son, will be ravaged if I ruin my family's reputation."

We both nod in a got it sense.

It's now my turn to expose my secret to the world. I mean to my friends, not my parents. I am not going to tell them. They would freak out if I did. It's not a crime, but rather what happens when school with hormonal teenagers loses control. "I got into a fight," I confess, "Both Nao and I did it with a girl named Megan. I got clocked into the head. Got a concussion. I lied that I fell head first when I tripped."

We all turn towards Ivelisse. It's her turn.

"'idin' my occult practices," she says quickly.

Many minutes go by with many cards and shots of liquor. We are pretty giggly at this point. Sometimes we tangent onto different conversations, making the game longer than it actually is. If we were on Earth, it would be 1:23 in the morning. We are getting pretty tired too.

We clean up our mess and get into bed. We can sleep the drunkenness off. We just need to worry about hangovers, but we will be celebrating anyway.

Day 28

Bracus decides to leave around 3:00 a.m Earth time, wishing to reach Evanity in the afternoon. We only got one hour of sleep. All of us are in the same carriage. We stroll with the Morphans and guide us to the city. We look at the red sky and see the blue star, the giant one in the sky. The auroras are now present in the day. We can see solar wind radiating beautifully from the star like raining magic or the bluest of sands.

"So the star is named after Ourdera," I said with wonder, "Why isn't Bracus named after one?"

"Maybe 'e is 'appy bein' the Alp'a of Gaeriscelleh?" Ivelisse supposes, "Bracus 'olds respect for the Lady of All Kind. Everyone does. She's a wors'ipping figure, a goddess."

"We will get her to meet her soon," I say calmly.

We all dress according to what Bracus had advised. We have to wear tight one-piece that's bright and shiny, but covers all parts of the body. The sleeves are only areas that can be loose. Our hair needs to be fully down. We are allowed to decorate our hair with the finest Gaeriscelleh's jewels. Aelen is in a stylish black suit with gold on it. The gold glows with energy inside it. His mask is our Sun. He uses his daemon eyes to add pzazz to his clothing. His honey blonde hair is close to his shoulders. He placed shiny golden highlights in his air.

"Got a kiss from the Golden Mouth," Bracus mumbled the first time he saw Aelen.

We put more effort than we do on Halloween. What is the Golden Mouth?

I am in a dark galaxy dress with my sleeves slightly drooping. My hair is curlier than before, decorated with glowing flowers. My mask is a deer skull that appeared out of thin air upon my bedroom desk right before leaving Gaeriscelleh. Weird, but at least, I didn't have to carve mine out. I miss those days of art though.

"Like mother, like daughter, but darker," Bracus mumbled when he first saw this occasion's appearance. I really don't understand what he meant by that. Mother and I are close, but I don't know Bracus meant it that way. He doesn't know about my past.

Ivelisse is wearing a suit that's robotic. It reminds me of a Halloween costume. Metallic hair bands keep her hair from floating all over the place. Her mask appears to be a robotic side taking over. Half of her mask is completely metal with her left eye glowing red. The other half has metal graded into the skin with her hazel eye. It looks ridiculously good that it looks real. The mask is secured dangerously close to her face.

He opined to it in a mumble, "Looks like Evanity's Netalite hated you."

What? What? And the what?

"Looking a bit extreme for Halloween," I finally comment about our appearances.

"We're a bunch of show-offs," Aelen teases.

"T'ey won't care," Ivelisse states while shrugging, "Just don't act like an arse'ole, you'll be good."

"How easy is it to spot a bad apple in the crowd?" I ask her.

"Pretty damn easy, especially if t'e guards or t'e Gods noticed you," she says, "It will be more downright embarrassin' t'an pissin' yourself in public."

"You said that you never attended the Ourdera Festival," Aelen notes.

She shrugs, "I've been on this planet 'alf a day more t'an you. Some people dress extravagantly and some would be nude. No one gives a damn."

"Five bucks will be able to see a nude person at the party," Aelen bets.

"T'ere's no cas' system 'ere. We've been in t'is world for a month now and you 'aven't noticed?"

"Ive, that was a joke."

"I know, just askin'."

Discussions make the time fly by. We can see the stars rising up, only to be dominated by the Ourdera star itself. That star never vanished at night. The moment we enter the time of silence, we are getting pretty bored. We have no phones or music to keep ourselves occupied. This is the only time we thought about our phones and the phone withdrawals are starting to hit.

"Shall we play a game?" Aelen suggests, noticing our boredom. He is unaffected by phone withdrawals.

"Better not be Trut's again," Ivelisse goes. She yawns, "Save t'at w'en we're drunk."

"What about Never Have I Ever, but sober?" Aelen grins.

We sigh. "W'atever," Ivelisse shrugs.

Aelen tells us to hold ten fingers up this time since it's a long trip. The game brings the leprechauns out of us; we are laughing and saying dirty things that will get us into trouble if we say them outloud. We are, but not too loud that Bracus will stop the travel and demand what the heck is up. As minutes go by, more fingers go down and I bet Ivelisse is doing it on purpose just to make us all laugh. I highly doubt that she did some dirty things because she doesn't seem like that kind of girl. She is the youngest one of all of us here.

In the end, Ivelisse still somehow won. She laughs at us, boasting about how both of us are wilder than her. We also somehow change topics about how to craft phones and headphones using magic. Aelen can't craft advanced materials, such as electronics and appliances. I can only create magic spells and some types of portals. Ivelisse can't either. WiFi doesn't exist in this world; they rely on different sources for their power.

"'ow about we summon a daemon or God and ask for p'ones?" Ivelisse suggests in a jokey way.

"Are you serious?" Aelen replies in the same tone, "That's one way to irk them."

"What were the worst summoning stories?" I ask.

"The ones that summon us, so they can be disrespectful and taunt," he says grimly, "There have been those who have no bloody idea who they were summoning. I feel fortunate for those who don't have a summoning prayer-They'll pick on their own."

I guaranteed those summoners got their arses handed to them. Just because they are not human and hold different views about them doesn't give a single right to disrespect. No angel, nor daemon, nor God, nor essence should be treated with disrespect! Like bees, they won't bother you if you don't give them trouble. They have different levels of tolerance too. Some will cause trouble just for bringing them into your home. You invited them in, intentionally or not. It doesn't mean it's your fault though. Your emotions can invite the nastiest of things that are hard to get rid of. Aelen keeps us occupied with his stories from other daemons that had bad encounters with summonings. Their stories were a mixture of satisfactory, heated, hilarious, and sad. They were all interesting to tell and also a lesson learner.

I gaze out the window. The Morphans are faster and can handle up to hours of running. Bracus trained them well. Perhaps, it's not training. It could be their bodily autonomy that makes them able to travel longer distances in a short time. They are the size of Manticores. They are so used to the planet that they know the ways to go. With previous journeys to Evanity, they are now confident to travel at a faster pace.

"Want to take turns sleeping?" I suggest.

"I won't be able to sleep," Ivelisse states, her excitement obvious.

"Well, you take the first watch," I reply.

"First watc' for w'at?"

"Just in case we stop and we don't want to see Bracus seeing us all asleep."

She nods after that. Aelen sleeps on the comfy bench while I sleep on the carpeted floor with no cushioning at all.

We take turns sleeping until we finally reach Evanity because we hear the cheering of Bracus and the Morphans. Their screams woke us up, thinking we are being ambushed, but it's not the people on this journey; people inside Evanity are celebrating too.

"Oh my goodness!" I whisper while looking out the window with disbelief. Evanity is a metropolis built upon water. I can see some buildings having waterfalls flowing out of them. They go into the rivers back into the ocean. Then, I see citizens celebrating all around us, waiting to see the big reveal. They are dressed for the ceremony as well. I feel the weight relief off my shoulders since we are not the only ones that look eye-popping.

We see guards ordering the citizens to get back and let us through. It took a little while to reach where Bracus wanted to go, where the Gods go. Guards let us out as we slowly crawl out of the new world. The wind is strong with a warm breeze. The smell of running water and salty sea embraces our noses. I put a hand over my head to shade my eyes from the brightness of three stars. The stars are brighter here. The climax of the shine is no joke. Evanity has flying cars and machines. It supports the green movement too with so many plants and no traces of pollution. Evanitarians look like cyborgs without a flaw or look like they crafted their avatars on a video game. I see a family in their thirties with two young sons dressed in white feathery clothing. Their masks resemble hawks and an owl combined. All of them have all kinds of wings sprouting from their backs. The wings are big enough to cast a medium-sized tree shade.

Bracus orders us to follow him as we are guided into a palace that is whiter than all the rest. The white buildings do have a creamy-blue texture to them. The palace is not quite tall, but quite big with corner towers that go high in the sky. It's breathable, comfortable, and wide like Bracus's palace. Citizens wandering in the palace stop and look at us. It's not as crowded as the outside. We can see the glaze outline of bulk invisible men, guarding the palace. None of the criminal scums on Earth will stand a chance against them. They will barge in, only to get their butts kicked by an unseen force.

A mystifying man walks up to Bracus. Tall and thick build that can handle great distances. He has colour-changing wings that are attached to his arms. They are part of his body. He has sharp eagle eyes with brown hair braided to his shoulders. Brown toga ties to the lower half of his body, revealing a flat stomach with slightly visible abs.

"Ablen," Bracus greets with a smile and nod, "Long time, no see."

We follow along with the honour nod.

He looks towards us. Out of the corner of my eyes, Ivelisse glances away with a blush. Ablen and Bracus engage in a short private conversation before we move again. The elevators are very fast, but we can't feel the speed to our floor. Bracus tells us that the Gods have their own floors that have many rooms. The rooms are still cleaned and prepared in case the Gods decide to bring VIP guests of their own.

Bracus stops us before we disperse to pick our own rooms: "My brethren love to visit each other on their own floor, including Netedinark. I have the Morphans looking out. They will inform if Netedinark is coming to the floor. Hide in your rooms when the time has come." He sounds serious.

"Mo-fans?" Ivelisse says in confusion.

"What your species call werewolves," Bracus explains, "I understand, it does take some time processing-translating-what your species calls us in their world to our own."

We disperse into our separate rooms, unpacking and settling in. I pick the room that smells like a lake and the dewdrops from the leaves. There are multiple waterfalls. A waterfall that goes into a jacuzzi. A round waterbed that is surrounded by bushes and small trees. It feels like I am in a forest and an aquatic daydream. I won't have a hard time sleeping here tonight. If my bladder wasn't a 'fantasy', I would be peeing a lot. I lie on the bed and sigh.

The thought about Naomi. I try to drown my worry out for her. I feel her so close and far away. She's near us, but away from Evanity. She doesn't feel trapped; she feels brooding and different. A negative difference that is getting worse by the second. My worry for the safety of Evanity and the surrounding empires are also present. She has the power of causing mayhem if not tamed; however, I don't feel her in that state. She is no danger and I am planning to keep it that way. After the festival, I am going to go find her even if it's against Bracus's dismay.

Knock! Knock! Knock! Polite knocking knocks me out of my thoughts. I rush over and open it. It's Aelen.

"Hey," I greet. I invite him inside.

He takes a look around. "This place does look different than my own," he implies, "My room has fire in it."

"Does it remind you of your home?" I remark with a grin.

"Smart-ass," he replies while hitting my shoulder, "I am not that type of kind."

He adds, "The rave is happening tonight."

"The night of our lives," I say. The thought about Naomi removes the excitement from my voice.

Aelen notices my distress. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just worried about Nao," I vent, "If the incident never happened, she would still be here with us. She will be lovin' it here."

He rests his hand on my shoulder.

"She will be fine," he reassures, "We will find her." His voice concerns, "We have to find her before Netedinark gets to her."

Bracus, Ivelisse, Aelen, and I chill out in the lounge area of our floor. The windows show us out the courtyard of the palace, but the skyscrapers overwhelm the view though. I hold back from discussing Naomi. I don't want to tamper the settled atmosphere.

A dinging noise of the elevator switches our gaze towards it. There is someone requesting to see this room. We look at Bracus. He shakes his head. We don't need to hide. He goes up to allow whoever was asking to be let in.

It's a man with white blonde hair and blue eyes dressed in blue. He has a grey totem mask on. There is this little girl beside him with red hair in a red kimono. She has fox ears with a fox mask on. I can't tell if the fox ears are part of the mask or part of her body. Another man in a rocky and heated suit with a mask of a guy getting his face ripped off. He looks worse than Ivelisse's costume.

"Hello, Forgison!" Bracus says with a nod. He goes to a little girl and honourably nods to her too, "Verdentina." He pets her head. Verdentina begins to make fox noises. A little kid laughing without breaths.

Bracus stops at the man with the heated suit on. The man removes his mask and stares directly at Bracus blankly. I smile to figure out it's Markus.

"Hello there, Markus," Bracus nods to him too.

Markus doesn't even say his name. "And who are you?" Markus snaps, not trying to sound rude.

"Bracus, one of the allies of Forgison."

Then, the serious conversation starts. Bracus tells Markus about what's going on, explaining that he needs them. He even tells us about the deal about going home if they help us in return. Markus has that neutral stare, nodding off. I can't even tell his true feelings underneath. At least, Markus accepts the offer. I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks. He will be coming back with us, but decides to stay with Forgison and Verdentina for the night of celebration. For now, we will be at ease. When night falls, all hell is going to break loose in a good way.

Aelen signals Markus to come here. He listens, but by his steps, he is hesitant. Aelen takes off his mask. He feels a bit secure.

"Made it out alive there?" He asks Markus.

"Yeah," he says reluctantly.

"It was horrible," Aelen shivers. Something tells me that's an understatement.

We all remove our masks. It doesn't matter now. Markus studies us. His eyes focus on Ivelisse the most before he puts his mask back on. He doesn't say anything. We all changed so much. The ones that didn't change at all are Markus and Aelen. Why didn't they change?

The words I have never thought I will hear Markus say. "Where's Naomi and chick that can pass as my mom? I don't remember her name."

His words did bum me out, retrieving me back to my worries. "Naomi is-" I look towards Bracus, his head turning towards us. I resume with a sigh, "Missing. And Dominique is separated because she caught a plague in Bracus's land."

'Where did she go?" He refers to Naomi.

"She's somewhere. We will get her soon if you are all that worried," I say with a tease at the end.

"Netedinark is not even at Evanity," I overhear Forgison saying to Bracus.

"I am not that worried," he argues, but still cool. He does care about Naomi, otherwise, he wouldn't have asked.

Forgison walks up to us, "Markus, you want to hang out with your friends or come with us?"

He stands up. "I will go."

"But dad, can I stay?" Verdentina asks Forgison.

He looks at us and back at her. "No," he denies.

She's upset, but accepts her father's wishes.

The festival is beyond claic. All of us are dancing in the crowd. Thousands packed in a small space that there is no air left in between. It is totally night now, but a blue star illuminates brightly. "The Second Light of Day," locals say. It's been that way for days now and they are just acknowledging it now? The blue light shining beyond the auroras. The sight is captivating. My group of friends are close, but they can't be seen. I try to shake off my nerves of being off in an overloaded crowd. It's not easy.

"I've heard that species from another universe are here!" One of the Evanitarians said with zealousness.

"Oh my gosh! Who are they?"

"My soulmate overheard that Lady Ourdera is going to pick a new heir from one of them! May the Gods bless them!"

Out of assumption, Ourdera wanted someone outside to watch the planet to avoid fights from people fighting to take her throne. That will still cause problems, but the Evantarians sound cool with it. Moreover, she sees our potential and will bestow us with a chance of becoming leaders. Thank feck for our masks and dresses that don't make us stand out. I don't want Evanity, nor the planet's people to gawk at us.

After an hour of trying to blend in, I feel my anxiety kicking in. Nausea swirls along with my dizziness. My throat burns as it becomes dry. Trying not to be rude, I go back into ghost mode. I fly back inside Ourdera's temple. It would probably take me ages to reach her castle if I didn't have powers. The lobby is surprisingly empty, but only with Markus. His mask is taken off as he pants to himself, sitting on the big comfy couches. He looks ill and freaking out. His eyes are darting everywhere, trying to find a trash bin to puke in.

I walk to him and take my mask off. My face remains the same, aside from the horns and my blue skin colour. He stares at me briefly before going back to a climatic panting.

"Hey," I say sympathetically while sitting on the couch in front of me, "You alright?"

"Leave me alone," he begs.

"Want to go somewhere more private before people decide to look in?" I offer.

I want to spare the embarrassment.

I add in, "I came in here because it's too much for me too."

We decide to go on Bracus's floor to talk things out. I fetch some water for the both of us. Markus still pants and trembles. He stares at the glass cup while I slowly sip mine. He gazes back at the cup before he decides to slowly sip. He put a fist to his lips in case he vomits. The music outside is still thumping hard and the lights boggling like crazy. I press a button on the wall that turns the windows black, making us unable to see outside. I back down on the couch again, but I sit at the opposite end.

"It will be more awkward if someone witnessed you panicking," I state, "Especially on a different planet."

He doesn't answer.

I divert from the topic: "Did Forgison and Verdentina treat you well?"

Still, no answer.

"Markus..."

No answer. He stares straight ahead, sharply breathing and not blinking. His eyes glazed over. Damn it, he is zoning out.

I sigh and slide a bit close to him. "Markus, remember what I said at my house in the medical room?" I say calmly, but stern, "You can talk to me, Markus. It's only just us."

He looks at me. That makes me smile on the inside. Good, he is listening to me.

"Was the crowd too much for ya?" I ask.

"I-I didn't even go out," he finally replies, "It hit me an hour before and only got worse from there. I-I couldn't go out there, n-not like this." His body language looks very uncomfortable. I look the same way too whenever I panic.

"I did until mine started to hit," I admit, "I have anxiety too."

"Thought it'll go away, but not gettin' any better," he fusses.

I place my hand on his shoulder. He flinches and glares at me. His glare doesn't seem to be menacing, but wary. "Don't put a hand on me!" He yelps. Welp, I fecked that up. I back my hand away. Heat is blasting away from him like a pulse; he is a supernova emerging. Screw my nervous-wrecking self, I need to help Markus.

I take a deep breath. "Markus, do you feel alone?" I ask, "Fear of being pushed down and hurt?"

He stares at me. He's there, but not fully. He is bound in reality meanwhile in another. His mind can be anywhere at this point.

"You're not alone," I console him, "You got people that cared for you, Markus. It's going to take a while for you to recover, but you have your family-"

"My family is dead," he spat. He turns away from me. He rubs his eyes with a stressful sigh, knowing what he said and done.

"It's not totally gone. Family doesn't have to be blood-related. You still have Naomi. We all do fecked-up cattle-crap. I don't reckon you're a monster, Markus, and I still see the good in you. I hope you can see it. Your family is the people you care about, not the total arsehole that birthed you."

"Are ya forgetting the fact that I've killed people as well?" He retorts.

I shake my head. "Your ehh-dark form ruined my house. I was homeless for a year. We recovered though. No one believed it was you."

"I deserve the death chair," he mopes. His emotions blend into his self-loathing anger. His eyes glow red, "I became worse than that insolent bitch." His fists clench. He is about to destroy something. "I hate myself!"

"You need help," I blurt straightforwardly, "You can change. You don't have to forget. People who commit heinous crimes can reform, which includes killing. Countries pull inhumane stunts like England abusing Ireland for thousands of years, Russia attacking Ukraine, and the United States arresting hundreds of innocent citizens during an abortion law protests. We are on a new planet; you have a clean slate. After this task ends, you can start anew."

"Forgison knows what I did," he states, glaring at me.

"He didn't end your life on the spot. He sees it."

"Wish he did though," he broods.

I go silent. Seeing that I didn't help the situation and I'm making things worse than his normal anxiety, I stand up. "I'm gonna leave you alone now," I say with regret. He asked to be alone earlier. I should've listened. I was just trying to help. I take my leave. I sit in my room, hearing him breathing. The waters in my room keep me in a better state of mind. The mind doesn't keep track of time without a clock to look at. Markus opens my room without a knock.

"I'm-I'm sorry," he apologise.

"There's nothing to apologise for," I tell him calmly, "It was my fault for makin' the situation worse."

"No, it wasn't," he informs me, "You're right, I need help. I'm deeply sorry for destroying your house. Frick! I don't know a-an apology t'at is-is w-worth a thousand lives."

"It's fine. For me, at least. It's been a decade, Markus." I wish I'm not underrating the crimes. I am not trying to, but it sounds like I am. God, I'm terrible. I don't know how Naomi handled Markus right after he murdered people and turned back to normal.

"And those people I've killed- I wish to resurrect. I fucked them up big time."

I smile. "That's one step ahead, realising your mistakes. But now it's not the time to mope. I want you to have some fun for once."

"I am not going out there," he argues.

"You don't have to." I guide him back to the living room and remove the curtains, letting the rays of Ourdera come in, along with the lights of the celebration. I press another touch-screen button to open up the windows. The windows disappear. Sounds of fun amplified, along with the music blasting to revive a bunch of dead people there. The window is still present, but it has transformed into an invisible shield. A song with a steady pace. I look down to see the heavily dense crowd and see them dancing so close together.

I walk to the coffee table and put my mask back on. I pick up Markus's mask and quietly request him to put it back on. He takes it, but doesn't put it back on just yet. I extend out my hand and offer him a dance. He gives me a confused look that's obviously saying, what are you doing? What are you taking?

"No one will see us from down below or from the windows," I reassure him. I am trying my best not to sound flirty, "No one needs to see how you dance from up here...if you are okay with it."

He eyes me down. He slowly puts his mask back on and takes my hand. He stands back up. He nervously places his hand on my shoulder while I calmly do the same. We start to dance one stippy-step at a time. I watch him look at his feet, trying not to step on me. He looks back at me.

Goodness, me! Markus is giving off a steady heat, not the perturb heat that is terribly sweaty or heat-stroke-like. It was that way minutes ago. My heart and stomach flutter inside. My pulse races as the butterflies erratically dance inside me. I haven't slow danced in a while. My last slow dance was at a prom at my school and I danced with Brandon. I think he was dared to because I heard the popular girls snickering, but he did enjoy himself. Brandon and I became best friends for the rest of secondary school. Some of the popular kids teased us, asking when we are going to date or marry. No, I didn't. The recent news about Brandon was that he was making a name for himself as a musician.

This dance feels weirder, nerve-wracking, and a little awkward. Perhaps, I still like him or perhaps, I am dancing with my best friend's uncle, which is already awkward itself. Naomi is going to kill me for this.

The slow dance ends. Markus takes a heavy sigh of relief before shaking out the nerves from his arms. Another faster tune plays through. It feels like another song to dance together. I take his hands again to dance more freely and together. A little too freely... The coffee table is still in the way. Markus trips and the coffee table tips over. I stifle my laugh as he tumbles over. Thankfully, nothing is damaged.

"Are you okay?" I ask him with a slight chuckle.

"Yeah," he says as he gets back up. He sounds amused himself.

"I should've gotten rid of this before we started dancing," I say while I place the coffee table on the couch. I check for more furniture that we don't trip on before picking off from where we left off.

We continue dancing. With no one around us, we have more space to dance without bumping into someone. We have more freedom without judgement. Something about Evanity's music is mesmerising! The tunes command our bodies to dance willingly. The genre is mainly electronic music, ranging from romantic to rock. The Ourdera Festival is a concert without limits, spreading throughout the city. For the entire night, it's an unstoppable rave.

After quite some time, Markus and I are breathless. We stop and get some water while taking a five-minute break. I can tell he is having a good time. His smile turns sinister, "We can handle hours of fighting, but we can't handle thirty minutes of dancing."

"The irony," I reply with a shrug, "But we do want to keep going."

"I guess that is true."

Another slow song initiates. I wince towards the window as people are loudly cheering. Evanitarians must love their love songs.

"Feck! Another slow song!" I said. I look at him and ask, "Wanna do it again?"

"Sure," he agrees.

We both hold our hands tight. The butterflies emerge once again. It feels weird to feel Markus's hands warmer than a heating pad. We don't wrap our arms together like the last time. We danced around and around with our hands resting comfortably together.

"Oh, there you guys are!" We all jump as Bracus appears beside us. His voice sounds like a panicked mother. We gasp from the sudden manifestation.

"What are you guys doin' here for?" Bracus questions.

"Uhhh...Personal issues," I said, not wanting to tell the real reason.

"Our nerves get really bad in a social environment," Markus states.

Bracus shakes his head and heavily sighs. "Ourdera is about to arrive. I want you guys back with the group."

Just with that, we reappear next to a summoning pedestal with a star mark. We are in a VIP area. There are no robes or anything, but decent space before the heavier crowd behind us. I look around and see Aelen, Ivelisse, Forgison, Ablen, and the others. Our VIP area is supremely guarded. Evanity's people are now noticing who the species from another universe is. All due respect, I feel embarrassed and guilty for being singled out as such. It feels worse than the time of having an anxiety attack during my project presentation at school. I'd rather be in a crowd to blend in.

"Forgison told me all about the festival before the arrival," Markus whispers to me, "It was usually the Gods that are closest to Ourdera. Now we are part of it."

"Last time I checked, we weren't Gods," I deadpan, "We aren't close to these ones either."

"So aren't we now." He looks around, "He did mention Netedinark will be here always regardless if he is kissing a pig or not."

"Isn't he the one with the branches?" I query. All I think about is Naomi calling him a porcupine.

"Yeah."

I look around. "Thus far, I don't see him," I grimace, "Forgision did tell Bracus that Netedinark wasn't here, but that was hours ago."

"I really don't get it. If we are so in danger because Netedinark is after us, why aren't we at the match with the crowd? We aren't the Gods' circus animals, nor their comrades. I am only doing this, so I can go home. I don't want to deal with any prideful beings anymore." He awfully sighs. "I already dealt with Netedinark and I lost my mind. I want to live at peace." His eyes flash red a little bit.

"Markus..." He glances at me. I can feel his down expression beneath his melted mask. I go, "You need to control yourself. You lost it for decades. You can get back your control. I saw it before and I won't doubt it if-"

Bracus looks over at us, "No grim talk," he warns.

We obey. If we ever discover telepathy, I would have spoken to Markus in his head. Markus and I dwell in silence amongst the rowdy crowds. I tiredly sigh. I am all partied out. I am not used to partying. I am used to being in a room, focusing on my studies and training. Something I enjoy doing. This does feel good too, but damn it gets my anxiety through the roof and not in a good way.

The star markings lit up brightly upon the pedestal. The crowd cheers in excitement as the markings bluish glow brighter and brighter. Out of the energy of a star core, it fuses together into a woman that is around sixteen feet tall. Heavy blue magic surrounds her, hugging her like a blanket. She is wearing a mask of a large deer skull. It's part of her face. I try to see beneath her mask, only to find very, very, very sunken in eyes. It's hard to see them from here. Her hair is silver and doesn't go past her shoulders. She raises her arms, spreading her cape. Her cape is a dark blue with insects that look like butterflies and plants that come from this world and others. They look so alive! The worlds I have never seen in this universe. She is in a lighter blue deer hide dress. It's simplistic, yet beautiful. Large blue butterfly wings sprawl out of her back to welcome us. The wings have energy loops in some areas like a star's coronal loops. It's kind of hard to take in. It's hard to process for a human.

The deafening roars prevent my thinking state. I resist covering my ears to lower the noise. "Welcome, Verantuvians!" She announces. I don't see the mask move up and down. Her voice sounds slightly echoed. What does she mean by Verantuvians? Is that what she calls her empire's people or the planet's living species as a whole? I think it's the latter.

The crowd shrieks beyond the sound barrier. I squint tightly under my mask, fighting the increasing urge. "Are you all enjoying the Blue Star Festival?!" She booms with happiness, "The star that visits us once per year. A soulmate returning far away."

They shriek again. Then, stunful silence. My ears are ringing so loud that I don't notice the quietness. Everyone around us begins to lower their heads out of honour. Their greetings to a royal is a nod in this world. I look around and see all of them, including other Gods have joined in a long nod, so I do the same like a Christian meal prayer.

A beam of light comes out of Ourdera. It sounds melodic and beautiful-A dinging of church bells. The energy softly brushes past me at great speeds. The energy feels warm, comforting, and sweet. So sweet that it's something I never experienced before. It makes me want to cry out of pure joy.

"Before I join the beloved festival," she begins, "I am here to welcome you, the guests of another universe." She gestures our hands towards us.

No! No! No! Ourdera, no! Don't be dumb under that thick skull of yours.

They all hum in admiration. They probably wonder what we look like and how we are. I still feel that some of them aren't accepting us.

"One of them will be the Evanity's new ruler."

The crowd goes, "Oooooooo" and some are sniffling. As an honourable Queen like Ourdera is, they will definitely miss her. After the Queen of England died, the mourn lasted a long time. Whoever gets picked, I will miss them. I am pretty sure it's Ella or Rick. They are good at being leaders of our coven. They do deserve to become rulers of Evanity. Well, I will miss her or him beyond measure. Sadly for Ella and Rick, Netedinark got them. Maybe after Netedinark's issues perish?

"Your new Queen or King of Evanity will be..." She pauses, building that momentum.

.

.

.

Can you just tell us already? No dramatic very long pauses please! I am already on edge. I look around my friends: Aelen, Ivelisse, and Markus. I am not sure if Bracus considers me as a friend. I wish Dominique and Naomi were here. Imagining Naomi being announced as the new queen makes me chuckle. I love to see her reaction. Imagining Naomi's coronation and ruling as the new queen makes me smile. She'll have her w-t-f plastered all over her face. She has to lead a large empire, along with getting used to her powers. I know that sounds sadistic and bad, but hey, it's humorous.

Dominique will be the best as the queen. She is like a sister that helps me out with my anxiety. If Ella or Rick weren't home, she took control. I am the third in command since I am a scholar, but I don't seem to like to take control. If somehow both Ella and Rick were absent, I would take command as well. It's sad to see her not here right now either. She will have the time of her life in this city with wonder.

Then the thought about Markus came about. Gosh, him being announced as king will anger him. He wants to go home; he wants to live as a human being. He doesn't want royalty or rule an entire charade. The thought about him being picked and seeing his face turn red while smoke comes out of his ears makes it kind of funny. My humour loves to come up while I'm on edge, but I know not to laugh at this moment.

As for Ivelisse, she doesn't seem to be the leader type to me. She does have sort of her own thing though, not because she disobeyed the coven. When Ivelisse moved in, she didn't partake in rituals that she doesn't involve in her practice field. She is also a trial and error type and doesn't give up. The afterlife will be pretty pissed if Aelen becomes king. I don't know. Maybe he will be a great king? Maybe the daemons will be proud for Aelen's success? Will his parents be proud that their son commands a decent empire on a planet?

.

.

.

"Blathnaid O' Broin!" She declares proudly-

Wait?! WHAT?!

"You will know who she is during her coronation!" She sounds slightly sinister like she did drop subtle hints that I was going to be crown queen.

WHAT?! NO!

I cover my mouth, preventing cuss words and screaming my refusal. Looks like I will never return home either.

NO! NO! NO! NO! FUCK! NOOOOOOO!