Ileus: The Dark Prince

Iona opened the thick book in her lap as she rested on the back of the couch. The room was cold despite warm wooden furnishings and she had an urge to start the hearth, but there were no logs inside. Moreover, if she lit the fire in it, she was sure to attract attention. She curled her legs tightly beneath her, put one hand inside her fur cloak and opened the first page. It was an old, yellow page that felt thin like butterfly's wings in her hands. If she as much as, used even a little force to turn the pages, she was sure they would crumble under pressure. The book was definitely old and she wondered how ancient records it contained. But she was interested in just one record… that of Etaya. 

She turned the first page, then the next, next until she found it boring to even go through the paragraphs that contained records of ancient princes and princesses and who all they married, their children. 

The sentry must have rung the bell twice indicating that they were much past midnight and she hadn't even finished one-fourth of the book. Iona yawned and stretched her limbs and thought of closing the book for she couldn't bear anymore, when she accidently flipped the next page. She stopped stretching midair when she found herself staring at the family tree of the heirs of Vilinski. It was… interesting. The leaves and branches of the tree were made from ancient colors that were fading, but despite the fade, the leaves swayed slightly whenever the book moved. A symbol which roughly looked like a key and more like a lion with wings was etched on the bottom right. 

At the top was the name of the first king of the fae kingdom, Faelar Aramaer, and his brother, Estelar Aramaer. Under his brother's name, there was no line that followed his family. It was under the king's name that the line grew. She traced it down till the end and after several names of the heirs and their wives and children, she came across the name of Ian Lachlan's parents. The tree stopped at the mention of Anastasia's name. 

However, what she saw sent an icy jolt of shock splashing through her. Etaya's name wasn't there in the family tree. 

Iona could only feel pins and needles on her skin. The sensation started from her feet and crawled right up to her belly and heart which tightened. She gasped as air lodged at the back of her throat and even in this cold, her brows were wet with sweat. Why wasn't Etaya's name mentioned there? Why had the line stopped at Ian? She had come to specifically read about Etaya and her Master, but they weren't mentioned in the family tree. Was her name removed because she married a winged demon? 

Iona looked up at other names, at other girls in the family tree. Not all of them ended up marrying in the fae kingdom, yet all their names were recorded. Then why wasn't Etaya's name recorded? 

The sleep with which she was plagued only half an hour back was gone. She found herself turning the pages of the book only to find information about Etaya, but there was nothing. Exasperated, she went back to the page of the family tree and her fingers inadvertently trailed the symbol on the bottom right. She could have sworn that she saw the wings of the lion moving as the symbol glowed a fiery orange. 

Before she could comprehend, the whole room was sheathed into fog. Iona jumped out of the couch with her dagger in one hand and magic sizzling in the other. Her eyes flitted wildly to see the sign of her Master. She had let her Diumbe watch every nook and corner, every crevice from where he could come, then how could they allow this? 

"What am I doing here?" a voice from within the fog came… a female voice. 

Iona's mouth dropped open when the fog cleared and she saw a delineation of a… woman. She was not in her physical form. Only an outline of her body was visible. Her fair hair flowed behind her like silvery moonlight. "And what are you doing in this study?" the woman demanded. 

The dagger in Iona's hand dropped to the floor and her magic retreated. What had she done to bring the woman into the room? What kind of magic was this? 

The woman stalked closer to her, obviously looking around the study, dumbstruck, totally confused. When she was near Iona, Iona touched her but her hand went through the silhouette of the woman. She gulped… audibly. "I don't know what I did," she replied in a low, shaky voice, and then gazed at the book she was reading. It was now on the floor. She bent down quickly to gather it and keep it carefully on the couch, hoping that none of the pages got damaged. Breath ragged and chest panting, Iona once again stared at the woman. Not knowing how to start the conversation, she said, "I am sorry." 

"You have to send me back!" the woman replied. "How will you send me back?" 

Iona looked at the book. She sat on the couch and began flipping the pages until she reached the family tree page. The symbol had stopped glowing. "Oh my god!" she rasped. "I think you are trapped here… forever!" 

"That can't be," said the woman as she rushed to sit right next to Iona. "And what are you reading? And how did I come here?" She should be scared of the dark witch, but why wasn't she?

Iona trailed her finger to the symbol. "I was reading this b— book and my finger went to this symbol here, and the next I knew, you appeared!"

A frown set on the woman's forehead. "What book is this?" she asked. 

"History of fae. And this is the family tree." 

"Why are you interested in the family tree?" 

Once again, Iona trailed her finger to the entire line and stopped at the bottom and said, "I was looking for a name, but that doesn't appear here." 

"Etaya…" the woman said with surprise, so wild that her delineated form shook. "How is this possible? Did they remove her name after she married Seraph?" 

Her presence was like a soft icy wind on her skin. Iona gathered her cloak around herself and yet she was feeling very cold. "I asked that question to myself…" 

The woman traced her hand to the name of the second brother of the fae king, Faelar Aramaer. "What about his family tree?" she asked. 

"I don't know…" Iona replied. She was still not believing that she was sitting with her. It was like a dream. It was surreal… And it made her pine for… home. 

"Then let's find out about it." 

For the next two hours till the sentry struck the bell four times, the two dug through more records and yet they couldn't find anything. Exhausted, Iona rubbed her neck. "Maybe, we should look tomorrow." 

"Okay," the woman nodded. "But how do I go back?"

Iona flipped the pages of the book with the family tree and pressed her finger on the symbol. A fiery glow emanated from it and the woman got sucked back in the fog. 

A heavy knock pounded on the door of the study.