Children of the Sun and Moon (4 page)

Eric slowly sat
up. “Yes, I am fine now.”

Koral sat back.
“Good to hear. What was that anyway?”

Eric looked at
his sister, then to Gillock and realized things had now been set in
motion, as he had been told they would. Jumping to his feet Eric
said, “I am sorry Koral, but I cannot explain it. I have to
go.”

He turned away
from them and ran toward his horse. Koral was going to chase after
him, but Gillock stopped her. “Let him be. A lot has just happened
with him and he needs to deal with it. Now, let’s go get Swift and
head back to the palace. We have much to do.”

Reluctantly,
Koral agreed and slowly made her way to her horse. When everything
was gathered, they headed toward the castle.

Koral sat in
silence, but sensed Gillock wanted to discuss something. Her
assumption was confirmed a few minutes later.

“What do you
know of the prophecy, Koral?” asked Gillock.

“I have heard
about it my entire life, but father never really wanted us to
remember what it said. I guess he did not want us to draw attention
to ourselves. All I know, it is about twins, and they will return
magic to the world.”

“The beginning
says ‘In their sixteenth year the twins, sun and moon, shall be
separated by betrayal but shall be found in the light’. Does this
mean anything to you?” he questioned.

“No,” said
Koral, flatly.

Gillock sighed.
“It means one of you will betray the other. It's this one action
which will set the prophecy into motion.”

Koral stopped.
“You think Eric will betray me?”

Gillock turned
to face her. “Yes, his sneaking off means something, but I’m not
exactly sure what. Something is blocking me from seeing. I do know
you need to watch him very carefully.”

“I will not
believe my brother would do something to betray me,” said Koral,
her voice rising.

“I don’t think
he would do it intentionally, Koral. None the less you need to be
watchful.”

“I cannot
believe Eric would do anything to hurt me.”

Gillock nodded.
“I don't expect you to. I just want you to be careful.”

Koral turned
away, “I will.”

“There's
something else you must know. In order for the prophecy to happen,
you and Eric must use your abilities. Eric has shown his. He's the
sun. You must be the moon, which means your strongest ability will
be to manipulate water. This doesn't mean you aren't capable of
other feats, it just means your main ability. Both of your special
powers must be used in returning magic to Melarandra.”

Koral stopped
Swift. “Did you know about Eric’s abilities,” she stated.

Gillock stopped
his mount. “Yes. Though I didn't know he was this far along in his
studies. I knew he had been borrowing my books, but I didn't
realize what he was doing with them. He’s quite powerful, which
makes him very dangerous.”

“Why would he
be dangerous?” questioned Koral, resuming their pace?

“He doesn’t
know how to control his magical abilities. This was quite apparent
after his display in the forest.”

Koral nodded.
“I see. He fainted, which shows he cannot handle doing that type of
spell, at least not yet.”

“Exactly. He
has great potential, but he must learn to harness it and channel it
properly or it could destroy him. Being a wizard of the sun means
Eric is capable of manipulating fire, and this is a very powerful
form of magic.”

Koral did not
know what to make of everything. “Well, we best be getting back to
the castle. Eric is probably already there.”

Gillock agreed
and they resumed their ride.

Eric was
embarrassed and confused. He knew he was capable of manipulating
fire, but what he had created frightened him. The power and the
fury behind it had caused him to faint, something which had never
happened before. Eric knew he had to get away from Koral before she
could start asking questions. Eric rode back to the castle as fast
as his horse could take him. He knew this was what Nak had been
preparing him for. This is the great power which would alienate him
from his family. Eric knew he now had to make a choice, one he was
not going to like. By the time he arrived at the castle, he had
made his mind up. Now all he had to do is explain it to Koral. In
the stable, he did not even bother to unsaddle Blade. He was going
to be leaving in the morning and figured the quicker the exit the
better.

Running up to
his room Eric decided it would be best to just leave Koral a note.
She would only try to get him to change his mind. Writing the note,
he felt a sense of grief pass over him. Pushing his emotions aside,
he finished writing it, and went about packing his bag.

Koral had
arrived back at the castle moments later, but sensing Eric probably
just wanted to be left alone, she went straight to her room to
change for dinner. Eric heard her go towards her room and was
grateful he did not have to face his sister tonight. His older
sister, Brin, arrived at his room moments later. “Dinner is going
to be later this evening. Father has been working on the plans for
the festival and is running late.”

“That is fine,
Brin. I do not really feel very well, so I do not think I will be
coming down to dinner tonight.”

Brin just
shrugged her shoulders. “Suit yourself. I will let mother
know.”

Eric watched as
she went down the hallway. Once she was gone, he left his room. He
needed to signal his friends he would be leaving tomorrow.
Everything was in place.

One thing
Gillock had discussed yesterday that he had been wrong about, was
friends. Eric had made new friends months ago, and they were beings
to whom he could discuss his problems, and gifts, with. They knew
all about his abilities and the prophecy and they were waiting
outside the castle walls. He was certain no one suspected a thing,
which will make leaving much easier. All Eric could do is return to
his room and get some rest. He had a feeling things were not going
to go so well once he left the safety of the castle.

CHAPTER THREE

The morning
brought another sunny day and Koral could not wait to see Gillock.
She moved from her bed over to her window where she sat for some
time just staring at the horizon. So much had happened yesterday.
So much of her future had been laid out before her. She had
countless questions for Gillock, but had no idea where she should
start. Koral also wondered if she should inform Gillock of the
abilities she already knew she had. Moving away from her window,
she looked around her room. Above her desk, was a copy of the
prophecy.

‘
In their sixteenth year the twins sun and moon shall be
separated by betrayal, but shall be found in the light. Only when
the night is restored will the evil be destroyed. United they will
return the night but it must be done with the power that is sun and
moon or chaos will overpower all.’

Betrayal. This
was how it would start. Gillock had said it would come from Eric,
but she was not so sure. Anything could be construed as a betrayal.
She herself may one day tell a secret Eric swore her to keep. Would
that be the betrayal? Koral knew she was just trying to convince
herself there was no way her brother could ever do that to her.
Deep down, she knew

Gillock was
right. Eric had been too secretive over the last few months.
Something was up. Not wanting to dwell on it anymore, she decided
to get ready for the day. As she was getting dressed, Maiya came in
and informed her that Gillock was waiting for her in the
garden.

“Is Eric
ready?” Koral asked.

“He’s still
sleeping, my lady. He’s not feeling very well this morning.”

Koral sighed.
That had been a regular excuse recently. Not wanting to let her
suspicions show, she just smiled at Maiya. “Figures. He always
seems to get ill on the days I really need him to be there.”

Maiya just
laughed, gathered up the dirty laundry, and left to finish her
chores.

Koral could not
help but feel excited as she left her room. Maybe she would get
more information from Gillock today. Daydreaming, she turned a
corner and bumped right into Brin.

“Have you seen
our brother?” she snapped.

It always
amazed Koral how much her older sister looked like their father,
the only difference being she had inherited their mother’s blue
eyes. However, the looks she could give were most definitely not
anything which came from their parents. Constantly in a bad mood is
how the entire palace viewed Brin. “He is still sleeping,”
responded Koral.

Brin just shook
her head, and her tightly wound bun barely moved an inch, and
stormed off towards Eric’s room.

“I will never
understand why Brin is always so miserable,” muttered Koral to
herself as she headed for the garden.

When Koral
arrived, she saw Gillock sitting in the centre, facing towards her.
As she approached, she noticed he had a strange look on his
face.

“Something
troubling you?” she asked. Gillock could hear the concern in her
voice.

Gillock
motioned her to sit down beside him. “Where to begin,” he thought.
“There's been a lot happening lately,” he started. “So much for you
to learn and now we are out of time.”

“I do not
understand,” she remarked, confused.

“Koral, you and
your brother are destined to save this world. It may not look that
way, but magic must be returned to us. I fear neither you nor your
brother is ready for the challenges ahead.”

“Eric and I
have learned so much. I think we are ready,” said Koral,
defensively.

Gillock sighed.
“Yes, you have. Unfortunately, nothing I have taught you will help.
You need to use your magical abilities to fulfil the prophecy and
in this, you’re both not ready.”

“We will just
do the best that we can, I suppose,” she surmised.

Gillock smiled
at her optimism “You don't understand what lies ahead for you. For
this to work, you and your brother must use magic, and do it
together. I’m afraid my earlier speculation has come to pass.”

“What do you
mean?” she asked, not liking the tone his voice had taken on.

Gillock sighed.
“Eric is about to betray you.”

Koral was taken
aback. It was happening. The betrayal that would set her course was
occurring.

“You can't stop
him. It must happen,” stated Gillock.

Koral stared at
him. “I know, but it does not mean I cannot try.”

Gillock knew he
could not stop her from going, so he motioned her to leave.

“Maybe this
will not start it,” she said, though her voice betrayed her true
feelings. Not knowing what else she could say, Koral turned and ran
from the garden.

Gillock watched
her as she ran away from him. “In their sixteenth year the twins of
sun and moon shall be separated by betrayal,” he recited to
himself.

“Who are you
speaking to?” questioned a voice from behind.

Gillock turned
to see Queen Elizanne approaching. Looking at the queen one could
see how Koral may look in a few years. “Koral,” he replied.

“Is she a
spirit?” asked the queen, jokingly.

Her expression
changed as she drew closer to Gillock. “What is wrong?” she asked,
seeing the fear in his eyes.

“As we speak,
the prophecy is beginning. There’s no time left, and they are not
ready,” he stated.

Elizanne sat
down beside him. “Are you certain?”

“Unfortunately,
yes. Everything is about to be set in motion. We must find the
king.”

Elizanne nodded
in agreement. “He will want to know.”

They stood
together and headed towards the throne room in silence. Both knew
how Jeremy was going to react to this news.

Koral left the
garden and headed straight up to Eric’s room. She burst through the
door and saw he was not there. Moving around the room, she noticed
most of his things were missing. Frustrated, Koral headed back
towards the door, but something on his desk caught her eye. It was
a letter addressed to her. As she began to read it, her heart
started to beat faster. The letter was telling her he was leaving
and was going to figure out the prophecy on his own. It mentioned
friends who were going to help, but did not name them. Koral was
stunned, and flopped down onto his bed. The betrayal, could this be
it? He always wanted to be a hero, but to go off alone? He had
never even been any further away than Sprague, and that was only a
week from Klayhern. There was no way he would survive on his own.
Suddenly worried about his well-being, Koral jumped up and headed
out of his room. She moved into the hallway and was surprised to
see Korben standing before her.

“Is something
wrong?” he asked his voice quiet and gentle.

The head of the
castle guard always amazed Koral. His brown hair and light brown
eyes gave him the appearance of a gentle man. He could be gentle,
but he could also be fierce.

“It is Eric,
Korben. I think he is going to do something bad. Have you seen
him?”

“No, but if
something is amiss then I'll help you find him. Do you wish me to
alert the castle guard?”

“Thank you, but
I think I need to find him on my own.”

“As you wish,
but I'll tell Payton to keep an eye out for him. You also may want
to check the stable. He didn't unsaddle Blade last night.”

Koral turned
and headed down the stairs. “Thank you,” she hollered back to him,
but he was already gone.

Korben watched
Koral as she headed towards the stables. Gillock had told him to
give her that clue, but to not help in any other way. He had
watched Eric packing earlier, and it was hard for him to just stand
on the sidelines and not help. These two were his responsibility,
had been since birth, and he was expected to just let one run off
alone. Korben sighed. Both he and Gillock knew Eric would not be
alone. He had made some unusual friends these last few months.
Korben sighed again. He knew there was nothing he could do so he
headed to the throne room, positive he would be needed there
shortly.