Her face is full of aggression. She takes another step closer to me.
"Why did Dawn want you alone before?" she asks, pointing a finger at me as if she's accusing me of having committed a crime.
"To talk about some things. It's nothing that should concern you," I reply.
"I'm already on the border of trusting you or not. Don't try and lie your way out of this."
I take a step back. "It was nothing, Twinkle, I swear."
"What did you two do in the kitchen after I left it?"
"She just applied a herbal remedy to the back of my neck. That's all that happened."
I see that her paws are in fists. I gasp and take a large step back when I see blue light cover both of her paws.
"Stop lying! Tell me the truth, Duke!"
I cross my arms. "I am telling the truth. Why do I have the feeling that you hate me now?"
"No, I know you aren't. You and Dawn were alone in the kitchen for quite a while."
"I blacked out not too long after Dawn used the green substance. I didn't know how long Dawn stayed in the room before she left."
Seeing that she still doesn't look convinced enough, I sigh and put my arms down.
"Okay fine. If you want to know every detail so badly, Dawn wanted to know if Fierdan had communicated with me recently. She wanted to know if I knew about the human world because Fierdan recently got human world memories back. She told me that she wiped certain memories from our brains."
I watch Twinkle's lips turn into the slightest hint of a smile. Thoughts about her being calm again vanish a few seconds later.
She says, "I know you still have feelings for Dawn. I see how you act when you're with her."
I frown. "If you want to say something, then say it. Things between Dawn and I are very complicated. I have the feeling that you think we always kiss when we're alone together. But guess what, Twinkle? We don't. We can talk in private without turning it into a make-out session."
I didn't even realize that my paws are also in fists. "You've been acting so different ever since I came here with Ardere. What's your problem? I'm not asking you why Dawn is telling you important things before me. Except if I made a mistake, and I should ask."
Then I see all the bright blue. Those blazing blue eyes, tiny blue flames shooting out of all claws, the blue wings.
"I don't want to fight you," I say. When I wave my paws in front of me, I'm surprised to see that all my claws are shooting out tiny orange flames.
She smirks. "Fight me? Oh please, I could defeat you so easily. You have to stop living in your head thinking you're the most important person and that everything revolves around you. Here's a newsflash, Duke. Not everything is about you, and you're not the best."
It's hard. My mind is telling me not to fight back, but my body is craving the action and possible pain.
Before I know it, I look like the orange fire equivalent of Twinkle.
I don't... I don't want to... Hurt her!
I kick off the ground with my right foot. A second later, I'm lying on the floor.
What are you doing? Your Elemental Power is obviously more powerful than Twinkle's. You can use black flames; she can't. You can kill her if you wanted to. Who is she to say that she's stronger than you? You're the Duke Fierdan for crying out loud. You're not even a real living fox. You're better than that.
Unlike me, Twinkle has no difficulty letting the flames shoot off her body. The blue light turns into shards of bright blue ice. It's as if she's shooting glass at me. The only reason why I don't get hit with them is because I move out of the way right before they would have hit me.
She's fast. When I fly up again, she slaps me with the back of her left paw. It feels like the area below my right eye is burning yet it feels so cold.
Who am I to complain? I'm finally getting what I deserve. Come on, give me the pain. Hurt me, hurt me, freaking hurt me! Exorcize this demon.
I killed you and your family. I cheated on you. I drugged you. I did bad things to you.
Obliterate me, vixen!
"Why are you smiling?" she growls.
I go back to the floor. When both of my feet are firmly planted on the tiles, I press my paws together and bow.
"Thank you, Twinkle."
When I get up, she pins me to the nearest wall. Her paws hold back both of my shoulders, so my wings are spread out flat against the wall. Her feet are on top of mine.
I'm trapped here. She won't let me escape.
Hair covers my eyes. I can't see. I can only feel.
"Twinkle? What are you doing? You're, uh, getting close."
I hear her laugh. "I hate myself. Did you know that, Duke? I really do freaking hate myself."
Twinkle moves the hair out of my eyes. The strands of dark brown hair are still between her fingers.
"Please don't hate yourself," I say. I sound so awkward right now.
I can now see that her eyes are completely blue. Her wings are still out, looking just as powerful as ever.
Her laughing is making me uncomfortable. I gulp.
"Want to know why I freaking hate myself?" she says. "You're driving me crazy. You ruin everything. I have every right to hate you. However, here's the catch. Even though I hate you, I'm finding myself still in love with you. I mean as more than a friend."
Our eyes lock. I can even feel my eyes turning completely orange. They're not brown or amber like they usually are. They're the same color as my flames.
"I love you, you freaking reynard," she says as she slaps me across the face with her right paw.
The same strands of hair cover my eyes again.
Can't see. Only feel.
A few hours ago, I wanted the forces of fire and ice to collide.
They collide.
Then she stops holding me back. My wings shoot me straight up into the air. When I open my eyes again, I see that she was waiting for me.
Blue fire wings cross over orange fire wings.
We dive in a half-arc shape closer to the floor. We face each other. We hold each other.
Just like in that dream Twinkle described, we kiss while our wings are out and the floor is feet away from us.
Except there is no mystical piano music playing in the background.
The background sound is Dawn's voice.
"I have something else to tell you. It's about time I explained to you my relationship with Fierdan."
TAUREL
I press my paw against the door.
I'm here. I made it back.
After taking a deep breath, I open the door to the Tall Tower.
"Taurel, you're okay!" Risak shouts.
A big wolf and Sparkle follow him.
Only after the greetings does anyone notice my bloody and broken left paw.
"Whoa, what happened?" Risak asks. He's trying too hard to pretend he's surprised.
"I had to break it in order to escape from that place. Since it holds no use to me now, I want to chop my paw off."
Sparkle steps forward. "You want to chop off your own paw? Wouldn't that hurt a lot? Can you just wait for it to heal?"
I let out a long sigh.
All these stupid people I have to deal with.
"Risks will have to be made. If something is serving no purpose, then there is no reason to keep and wait for it."
I roll my eyes.
"Now that we're together in the Tall Tower with the wolf leader, let's get down to work."
I lead the way to the artillery room. Weapons, tools, and all different types of contraptions are organized in the room.
I point to one in particular.
I grin. "Risak, please bring that one out."
A few minutes full of pain, swearing, and blood later, my left arm ends at my wrist.
I get my left wrist bandaged up.
Test run complete. Next test will be if it will work for the Duke Fierdan.
I turn around to face the wolf and my two loyal followers.
"It's getting late. We'll head out on our search for Duke first thing tomorrow morning."
I'll finally get my revenge on Fierdan for you, father. I'll finish the job you started.
And to Eternal, I promise you that I will capture and kill the Duke Fierdan.
I won't let you down.
CALLIAH
I look over my shoulder. Finny runs up to me.
"There's no use. We're too late," I whisper.
Finny squints his eyes. "It's not too late. Taurel might have returned to the Tall Tower, but we can still save Duke and his friends. Right? Right, Calliah?"
I close my eyes. "No, Finny, we can't do anything to stop them now. My last shot at protecting Duke was injuring them and stealing their car. That doesn't mean anything now that he's back."
"You can't give up that easily!"
I face Finny. "Just because we're too late to stop Taurel from reaching the Tall Tower doesn't mean we're too late to stop them from starting their hunt."
Tears roll down my face. I smile.
"I don't know about you, Finny, but I'm not giving up on Duke. And even if they do get him, I won't lose hope that he'll make it. He is, after all, Fierdan."
Finny nods.
TWINKLE
Dawn paces around the room. Every few feet, she points a finger at herself, at myself, and at Duke. Our outfits alternate between our main ones and our training ones.
When Duke has on the red T-shirt with that black fire design, he whispers in my ear. "Did she tell you how she can do this?"
I shake my head. No, she hadn't really explained it.
Dawn must have been able to hear us because she switches us back to our main clothes. She faces us and says, "I'm guessing that you want to know how I'm able to switch our clothes we wear just by pointing at each of us."
Duke says, "Yeah, Twinkle and I are curious on how you could do that. I know you told the both of us that you are a herbal witch, whatever that means. That's what confuses me. Changing clothes and removing memories has nothing to do with nature."
She smiles. "Yes, exactly that. My ability to change clothes in that way and my ability to remove memories has nothing to do with my Elemental Power. My Elemental Power only has to do with nature in the forms of plants and the earth."
Dawn tells us to take a seat on the couch. Duke and I sit down on opposite ends of the couch.
Dawn stands in front of the center of the couch. Her green eyes are so bright. The gaze she gives us is intimidating.
"For the past few days, I got flashbacks of the human world," Dawn begins. "Now I'm beginning to piece the puzzle together."
I look over at Duke. He's staring at Dawn so intensely.
I feel out of place, so I try to stare at Dawn like how Duke is. But no matter how hard I try, I can't look at her the same way that Duke is.
Of course you won't be able to. He's Fierdan. They shared a past in two worlds together. They are closer to each other than you ever will be. You're the outsider compared to them. Nothing can ever change that.
"The reason why I am able to do those things is because of magic. Elemental Powers are different than magic. Not every Extraordinary Other is a witch, or should I say warlock, and not every warlock is an Extraordinary Other. I know I'm not the only Other who also possesses the ability to use magic."
Duke interrupts. "What exactly do you mean by magic?"
Dawn continues. "By magic, I mean having the ability to do supernatural things that are even more special and complex than the works done by any Elemental Power."
Duke speaks up again. "Who is the other warlock?"
"To be completely honest, I'm not even sure if I'm calling it the right word. What do you call someone with the ability to do magic like cast spells, body-shifts, and supernatural rituals?"
"Body-shifts?" I ask.
"It's when a body is in one place but the same body is also somewhere else," Dawn explains.
"If you want to say something, then say it," Duke says.
Dawn takes a deep breath and continues talking.
"Fierdan is the other person I know for sure that has magic and supernatural abilities far more advanced than any Elemental Power ability."
She points at Duke. "How do you think you came to be?"
Duke and I look confused.
"What do you mean?" he asks.
"You are Fierdan, but you aren't exactly him. You two are different people. Your heart contains Soulless. Now tell me, Duke, how could that be?"
"I... I don't know, Dawn."
"That's okay. I'll tell you what I know," she says. "When Fierdan wasn't in Cincernum for long, Soulless got Fierdan into thinking he had to be immortal in the eyes of the public. So what did he do? Using very complex magic, Fierdan was able to fuse a part of himself and Soulless together. Years later, he met with a female fox who surprisingly also had phantom characteristics like he did. Using another form of complex magic, he was able to make Calliah's baby- which is Duke- get injected with the fused Soulless and Fierdan. That is why Duke can not get rid of Soulless. Soulless is a part of his identity just like how Fierdan is."
My eyes shift from focusing on Dawn to Duke. Then the cycle repeats again and again.
"I'm trying to explain this in the simplest way I can. I don't want to complicate things more," Dawn says.
"Ugh, just get on with it," I mutter.
"Fierdan also used his magic abilities to create Night Crow, a black goop sculpture into an actual bird. He uses magic to communicate with Duke sometimes as well. The same as with Fauna."
"Wait, Fauna and Fierdan talk to each other?" I ask, my eyes widening.
Dawn smiles. "As of recently, yes. How they communicate to each other is slightly different than how we would communicate to each other right here. Ever since Soulless had been better controlled, Fierdan had been able to make it so his spirit could go communicate with Fauna while his physical body stays in Cincernum. This is for the first time that Fierdan can communicate with other people- besides Duke- without having Soulless with him."
She focuses on Duke again. "And that ritual Fierdan had told you about where your physical body dies and your soul combines with Fierdan's is another example of magic."
Duke sighs. "I feel like you are avoiding the fact that you are missing the point. Tell us it already. Please tell me."
"Those dreams I had taught me some things. My parents were executed on Zios's command for being against what he stood for. Fierdan's mother was killed because she stood against what her husband stood for. Not too long after my parents were killed, Zios took me in to live with him and his two sons. In the human world, I was adopted and called the "new daughter" and "new sister" by them. Fierdan and I forgot most of our human memories when we were in Jamaa. Everyone besides us died."
"What is the point, Dawn?" I hear Duke say with urgency in his voice.
Dawn takes a deep breath and looks at Duke differently.
"This might be totally crazy, but I think it could be true. There could be a reason for this. We definitely didn't know here in Jamaa because we lost our human memories. But perhaps we also didn't know when we were in the human world."
Dawn closes her eyes.
"Fierdan and I are halflings."
Duke and I look at her confused.
"Many assume that we had a romantic relationship. However, that wasn't exactly the case. The reason why I acted the way I did when we first met each other is because of how Zios raised me in the human world. How he raised me as well as Fierdan and his brother. We do things a lot differently than what, uh, normal people would do," Dawn says. "By halflings, I don't mean in the ways of Elemental Powers like how you and Twinkle are with the entire fire element."
Dawn opens her eyes.
"Our mother was killed because she knew magic and was involved in witchcraft. Fierdan and I were sent to Jamaa and not his brother because we had inherited her magic abilities while he did not. In other words, Zios never was my father, but we share the same human mother."
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