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jesussavedevenme · 4 years ago

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After Effects Chapter 4

Chapter 4 here we go!!!!!!

The first thing Bracken noticed when he entered the room was the blinding light coming from Kendra. The aura that surrounded her seemed to have brightened in a way that definitely didn't fit the sickly pallor of her skin. Bracken squinted against it, willing his eyes to adjust. Over the years Kendra had gotten much better at controlling the brightness of her aura. To the point that, if you didn't know her, she could pass as fairy struck. Bracken wanted to chalk the sudden brightness up to the fact that she was too tired or too ill to control it but something told him it went deeper than that.

Tanu had told Bracken everything he knew about these symptoms,and Seth had told him everything that had happened up until this point. Something still wasn't adding up. Tanu was convinced that this was poison, but Bracken couldn't bring himself to agree with him. Kendra hadn't been in contact with anything to poison her. And no matter how hard he searched be couldn't find any sign of illness. Magical or otherwise. He decided he needed a new set of eyes, someone who wasn't shaking with anxiety. Someone who knew more about everything magic. The only person he knew like that was his mother. Over the course of 30 minutes, the symptoms seemed to be worsening instead of getting better. Her fever seemed to be slowly rising even higher. All color had drained her face, leaving Kendra as white as a sheet. What scared Bracken the most was that he couldn't reach her mind. Something impenetrable was blocking him. This meant he couldn't wake her or reach her mind to ask her what was wrong. Her breathing was ragged and short, as if it was a struggle to breathe. There was no doubt in Bracken's mind that he needed to get her to the fairy realm. Fast.

Something curious about what the whole situation was that Kendra's condition seemed to improve, even if only marginally, whenever she came in contact with Seth. The change wasn't noticeable unless you truly looked for it but whenever Seth got close enough or brushed against her, Kendra's face would take on a much less pained look and her thrashing would immediately settle. Bracken however couldn't decided what significance that held, if any. The siblings were impossibly close and it could very well be a reflection of that bond. Besides they were literally the others counterpart, complete opposites, in everyway shape and form. Over the years they had stunned Bracken, along with the rest of the magical world, with the things they were able to do together. Never before had light and darkness mixed in this way. Never before had they worked together, and the results were honestly astounding. Time and time again Bracken was reminded of how thankful he was that Kendra and Seth were on their side. Otherwise Bracken is sure that nothing would stop them from taking over the world.

Bracken reached for Kendra's face, attempting to brush away the hair that was matted to her face with sweat. He almost recoiled at the heat that assaulted his hand. He took a moment to focus on cooling his hand in hopes that some of that chill would seep in and bring down the fever that was raging through her body. He also tried to send waves of calm through her , as he had done so many times before, attempting to soothe her tortured mind even if he could not reach it. Bracken frowned when this seemed to make it worse and pulled his hand away. His heart aching with helplessness. This was something that he couldn't help her with. Something that he couldn't protect her from. And he hated every second of it. The fact that he seemed to have made it worse made him feel endlessly guilty and caused tears to well up in his eyes. Tears that he would refuse to let fall. Kendra's thrashing was reaching new levels and Bracken was worried that she was going to hurt herself. Tanu seemed to be thinking the same thing but Bracken stopped him before he could grab her.

"Seth, place you hand on her back," Bracken ordered, desperately trying to keep the shake out of his voice. Later when Kendra was settled and on the mend, he would break down but right now he shoved all of those feelings into a tightly sealed chest and assumed his perfectly practiced poker face. Seth looked incredibly confused but still did as he said without asking questions. Something Bracken was grateful for because Bracken wasn't quite sure he could give him answers. Bracken's earlier theories about her improving around Seth were proven true the second Seth's hand came into contact with her body and immediately her thrashing stopped. " Good. Keep it there, " He instructed. Seth nodded, looking every bit as bewildered as Bracken felt. In the moment the new development was very useful but in the long run it made things much more difficult. Kendra needed to get to the Fairy Realm however it seemed that the only person who was able to touch her safely was Seth. The one person who couldn't step foot in the Fairy Realm without lowering the defenses. Defenses that were already lowered because of the imbalance of the sources. Bracken dragged a hand down his face as he struggled to think of a solution and came up with only one.

"Seth pick her up, we need to get her to the Fairy Realm," If it was possible for Seth to look more confused he did. His eyebrows furrowed and he looked for all the world like almost puppy. It was times like these that Bracken wondered why people thought Seth was so scary. But then he remembered the fearsome displays of power and the towering height of the shadow charmer didn't help the image at all.

"I can't safely enter the Fairy Realm," He replied, picking Kendra up despite his confusion. Bracken chose to focus on Seth's eyes which were at least a good inch above his own, instead of the way Kendra hung limp and lifeless in his arms.

"No but you're the only one who seems to be able to touch her with sending her into a fit,"

" So we're going to what? Bring the Fairy Realm to us?" Bracken hand honestly pondered that suggestion however it would be nearly impossible to move everything needed into a either a secluded area or the main house. Even if it was somehow possible, it would take much too long. The solution he came up with wasn't much better in his opinion.

" No, the only thing I can think to do is to walk from here to the shrine and then I'll get her into the Fairy Realm, " Bracken said through a sigh, residing the urge to run his hand down his fave again or better yet tug out every strand of hair he had. The anxiety of the situation was eating him alive, churning his insides and causing his heart to pound seemingly out of control. It was taking everything in him not to break down.

" The walk there is about an hour from the main house at minimum," Came the deep voice of Tanu, who Bracken had honestly forgotten was there. The concern was written all over his face. Bracken picked up on the implications of that statement. The worry that none of them were willing to admit. It sent a pang through his heart and his desperation rose to new levels. " I would suggest taking Hugo. Hugo could carry Seth who could still keep in contact with Kendra and you could have an Astrid carry you."

The plan was brilliant and Bracken couldn't help but beat himself up because he didn't think of it. He tried his best not to think about what would have happened had Tanu no been here because the other man was right, an hour was much too long. Still he couldn't help but feel an immense wave of guilt, he wasn't entirely sure he grasped why but he felt as if this was his fault. Like he could have and should have done something to prevent this. He bring himself to nod, not sure if his voice would hold up, and forced down tears once more before turning towards the door with Seth in tow. He shot a look at Tanu from over his shoulder, hoping that it conveyed his gratitude and the tight but kind smile he got in return seemed to reply that he understood. When Bracken stepped outside, he found Seth had already called Hugo and was currently being lifted unto his shoulder. He wasn't exactly sure how it was possible but somehow, Hugo looked just as concerned as the rest of them. All activity in the yard seemed to have ceased as the fairies all stopped staring and occasionally whispering amongst themselves. Because, no matter how vain they were Kendra was still a respected member of the Fairy Realm. Even the most vain of fairies protect their own. Bracken brought his fingers to his lips in a shrill whistle, summoning the Astrids that had been lurking at the edge of the forest. He quickly explained the plan as Seth in turned explained it to Hugo. And then they were off.

The wind rustled in his ears and his hair blew backwards, occasionally smacking him in the face. He could hear the thumping of Hugo quick footsteps as he easily, kept up with the Astrid flying above him. For a few moments a group of fairies had followed, wanting to watch the event unfold, but one sharp look from him sent them scurrying back to the main yard. Any other day Bracken would have felt bad, seeing as they weren't really doing anything wrong however right now he had other things on his mind.

The short ride seemed to take an eternity. The passing minutes felt torturous. Finally the shrine came into view surrounded by its glistening lake and the gazebos that generally held good memories for Bracken. The Astrid deposited him on the island that held the shrine at the same moment that Hugo came bursting through the shrine sending leaves an birds scattering. The Astrid flew over and took Kendra from Seth before flying back, bypassing the journey over the lake, though he doubted the Niaids would bother them. That had been yet another oversight on his part, another thing he hadn't thought through, another thing that could have held dire results. His guilt continued to mount as the Astrid landed and passed Kendra over to him. He tightened his grip, holding her as her body stiffened and trembled, and stepped into the soothing light that would lead him into the Fairy Realm.

††††

The hospital infirmary was bustling as different healers ran around grabbing supplies and searching for solutions to an unknown problem. Celeste, his normally quite and timid sister, was confidently shouting orders and she stood at the head of Kendra's bed assessing the situation. Bracken stood helplessly at the entrance of the infirmary unable to go any further as it would hinder the progress of the healers. Kendra was thrashing again making it difficult to assess her condition. Pained whimpers left her mouth. He was sure that they were barely audible to everyone else, especially over the chaos but he heard every single one. And each one was like someone took a hammer to his heart, continually shattering it into millions of pieces.

The sounds of the infirmary began to fade out around him, replaced with thoughts that were much to loud. His chest tightened and seemed to restrict his breathing, causing it to come out in sharp pants. A firm hand was placed one his shoulder and an arm wrapped around him and he was forced out of the entryway and eased onto the cold marble floor. He wanted so bad to fight, to get back to Kendra, to help in someway but his body betrayed him. His panic deciding it would no longer be ignored and robbed him of his strength. And so all he could do was sit there and pant, desperately trying to draw in a full breath but failing every time. Hot tears burned down his cheeks and harsh sobs racked his body. The hands that had guided him out now cradled him, fingers gently scrapping against his scalp paired with a gentle rocking. For a moment he allowed himself to believe that it was Kendra. Calming him down after he woke up from a particularly harsh nightmare.

Eventually he began to calm down. Not because he felt better, no if it was possible he felt worse than before but, because he was too drained to continue and numbness had begun to set in. He pushed away from whoever was comforting him, feeling a deeps sense of shame fill him at his display of despair. He felt, as he always did in the palace, that a Prince should be more composed that he had an image to uphold. He slowly worked up the courage to look the person in the eyes and was shocked to be met with the concerned blue eyes of his father. This father didn't say anything, he rarely did these day. A far cry from the loud laughter of his childhood. Instead he just sat beside him keep a firm grip on his hand. He could hear his mother inside of the infirmary, presumably finding a way to help like Bracken wished that he could.

Time passed, though he wasn't sure how much. Everything seemed to move in a bit if a blur. It wasn't like before in the infirmary. This time he was aware that things were going on around him however he couldn't quite focus enough to identify them. Honestly, he couldn't bring himself to care what they were anyway. His thoughts continued to torture him with what if's and the steady presence of his father, while helpful, did little to combat it. If Kendra was here she would read to him, filling the silence with enough to keep his thoughts at bay while also not forcing his mind to Interact if it wasn't ready. That seemed to be all he could focus on right now. Thoughts of Kendra, ways that she always helped him and here he was unable to help her.

He distantly heard the voice of his mother calling his name but it was enough to pull him out of his haze. Next to his mother stood Celeste looking worried and uncertain. Bracken's anxiety began to pick back up but he shoved it down hoping that it would remain at bay. He stood on shaky legs, his father's hand falling from his grasp. He was instantly aware of the loss, he hadn't realized how much it had been helping him until it was gone. He followed them back into the infirmary where his eyes were immediately drawn to Kendra. Her light was still unnaturally bright and her face still held evidence of pain however her body looked relaxed for the first time since he'd arrived at Fablehaven earlier in the day. It was hard to believe that it was only about and hour or two ago. It seemed like a lifetime had passed since then. Bracken's tore his gaze away from Kendra and looked towards his mother and sister, eyes darting between them. Waiting impatiently for either of them to say something. To tell him what was wrong and how to fix it. Celeste was the one to break the silence with the clearing of her throat.

"What Kendra has is actually fairly common. Well, as common as Fairly Realm diseases can be. It's actually the same thing the ill fairies have come in with. Kendra has light poisoning," Celeste explained quietly. Bracken had heard of light poisoning, he had actually experienced it himself after a particularly interesting failed misadventure in his youth. Bracken however, had been visited the infirmary and had been better within the hour. Just time for a lengthy lecture, much to his displeasure. The same could not be said for Kendra who had only slightly improved. Mostly due to the fact that her fever had been successfully brought down. The explanation honestly made sense as it provided an explanation as to why Bracken couldn't sense anything. The problem wasn't being caused by an illness or physical poison, it was caused by light itself in turn explaining why her aura was so bright. It also explained why she improved around Seth. The natural darkness inside of him most likely cut through the light, bringing some sense of balance back into her body.

" Why is Kendra's body responding differently than the fairies?" Bracken asked, glancing around the otherwise empty infirmary that had been filled with fairies earlier in the day. Fairies that were now out going on with their lives as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

" Simple, our make ups are different. When our bodies come across a problem we simply purify and heal it instantly. When the human body runs into a problem it either attacks it or tries to work around it. Kendra's body is attacking whatever is poisoning her." His mother explained, " The problem is the thing that's poisoning her is light. She's a fairykind meaning that the light is a part of her, so instead of her body attacking what it views as poison-"

" It's attacking itself."Bracken finished running a hand down his face at the revelation. A revelation that once again explained many things. Her deteriorating state and her residence to treatments to state a few. " So, what do we do now?" He asked, closing the question that had been heavily on his mind ever since they arrived in the Fairy Realm.

"I don't know," Celeste admitted, her voice sounding shaky. Kendra and Celeste had gotten off to a bit of a rough start, mostly due to Celeste's quiet nature, but over time the pair had become rather close. " The best we can do is repair the damage her body does in an attempt to cleanse itself and hope that the poisoning wears off or lessens overtime," Bracken glanced at Kendra, looking as white as the sheets and much too small. The grim statement fueled his anxiety and he found himself gripping onto her limp hand, trying to force some of his strength into her body and praying that she was strong enough to pull through this.

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Ok so here's chapter four. I honestly kind of hate it because it fought be the ENTIRE TIME! On the bright side I am officially done rewriting and I can now continue the story which is the fun part! As always let me know what you think and what you want to see next. I also absolutely love hearing what you guys think is going to happen next!

#fablehaven #Dragonwatch #fhdw #kendra sorenson #bracken #brackendra #i tried #i

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