Ileus: The Dark Prince

"Don't you talk about my mother!" Maple snarled and flapped her wings. 

"Don't spread your wings, Maple," Anastasia warned. "Because if you do, you won't be able to fly again!" Saying that Anastasia flung the beams that had gathered in her hands towards her wings. 

"Jealous, little cousin!" Maple laughed as she lifted off the ground and dodged her. "Do you miss flying?" 

"No Maple." Anastasia shouted and flung another beam. "I can be sick of you but never jealous!" 

Maple laughed again and flew to the right where Aidan and Guarhal were standing. Her speed was so strong that the two wizards fell on the ground. Immediately they got up and whirled around to send red beams at her, but she was too quick. She flew higher and avoided those beams altogether. 

"Leave her to me," Anastasia growled, as she ran towards her. 

All at once, a deafening roar erupted from Seashell from deep within as he wings flared. The lion flapped his wings ferociously for a long time as if he had done that after ages. He burst into a run and charged towards Maple. In a few seconds he was in the air. 

Maple whirled around to see Anastasia and fling more beams at her but she shrieked when she saw the lion flying and charging at her. She bolted away from him as her magic shrank. She never expected a flying lion, let alone a lion. Flinching, she lowered her altitude only to see that even the lion had done the same. A primal scream left her. "Aaaaaa!" Tremor ran down her hands and fingers as she struggled to go to the portal she had created. She dashed for it but as soon as she was two meters away from it, the portal collapsed and she fell hard on the ground. Maple stumbled and rolled in the snow. She whipped her head to look at Anastasia who was watching her ferociously. Did she close the portal? Maple rose, copiously sweating. Together, they were too strong for her and her only option was to flee. Hyperventilating out of fear, she scanned the area for an escape route. Her eyes fell on the lion who was now tucking his wings. 

Anastasia closed in on her. "Are you scared, Maple?" she asked in a low guttural voice. 

"No cousin!" Maple replied with a clenched jaw as the sound of her heartbeat thrashed in her ears. "I am thinking of ways to kill you." Saying that she turned and ran towards the forest to take off to the air. 

Anastasia chuckled. "Fear tends to make people think irrationally." White lights crackled in her hands and when she flung them towards Maple, they took the shape of a whip. She swung her hands down and the whips lashed on her wings. 

Maple screamed with severe pain and crashed on the ground, face down. Her wings had two long vertical lashes that still burnt red. She started rolling on the ground to douse the burns. 

"Now!" Anastasia shouted.

With a whoosh, Ileus disappeared from his place and appeared near Maple. He took his hand up in the air and chanted a spell, "Okoba." He brought his hands to her wings and they got locked. 

"What is happening?" Maple cried, as she struggled with agonizing pain to open her wings and also to douse the fire. 

"Your wings are shackled just the way mine are," said Anastasia who had walked up to her. "But your situation is much worse than mine because your wings are not only shackled, they are burnt. They will be scarred and battered for the rest of your life!" 

Maple was… dumbfounded. Her mind became numb and breath shallow. She shook her head. "No, this is not possible." She raised herself from the ground and staggered. Even though the pain was horrifying, she tried to bring magic but it crackled weakly in her hands. "Wh— what have you done?" 

"I could have killed you," said Anastasia. "But I want to send a message to Aed Ruad." 

Maple's mouth fell so fast that it was a surprise it didn't hit the floor. "A message? You want to send a message to Aed Ruad?" 

Anastasia nodded, as her hands moved up on both her sides. 

"You are mad Anastasia, aren't you?" she tried to smile through her pain, and she looked… gross. "What kind of message?" 

"You are going to be my message."

"What—?" Her smile froze. 

"You will not be able to fly ever the way you used to."

She heard something whirring behind her. When she turned sharply to see what it was, she found a portal created from snow. Pink and blue sparkles zapped within it. 

"Idilazi!" Anastasia shouted and sent white beams of magic that picked her up in the air. She walked up to her and glared in her eyes. "Let Aed Ruad know that I am soon going to come to take what is mine. Make sure that he understands my threat. I will kill every fae who betrayed my parents and the kingdom. I will raze every creature who will stand in my way. And don't you dare touch my parents, because if you will, I am going to make your suffering even more painful, your death is going to be more agonizing than Iskra's. Do you understand?" Saying that she hurled her right into the portal. "That's Sgiath Biò for you!"

"Noooo!" Maple screamed as the portal sucked her and closed as soon as she was on the other side. 

Anastasia sagged on her knees as her body quivered. This was just the beginning. But even the beginning felt good, sweet, sugary. She wanted to get up but couldn't. She wanted to cry out of happiness, but couldn't. Ileus came beside her and picked her up in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly and buried her face in his chest. He kissed the top of her head and said, "You did great, Ana. You fought like the ruler you are meant to be." He tightened his arms around her and carried her back to the inn. For now they were safe, but they had to get moving and there was another pressing matter at hand.