[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/gD9rVru.png[/img][/center]
[color=AC5FFB]Time:[/color] Morning
[color=AC5FFB]Location:[/color]Near River Kingdom
[color=AC5FFB]Interactions:[/color][@Alivefalling][@Tae][@MissCapnCrunch]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/1Z62x3Z.png[/img][/center]

Risa had leaped backward like a frightened kitten, upon her feet as the large flame erupted in Elsea's hands. She covered her face, peeking out of her fingers as the fire was simmered to a controlled state. She let out a sigh of relief. That easily could have been bad. Dionaea had added in some great advice as well but she knew to control a new power was easier said than done. Elsea was truly remarkable. The light from the flame bathed the cave, illuminating them all now. The warmth was a welcoming embrace after having their bodies half-submerged in cold water. Elsea's wonderful smile caught her eye first and she grinned at her. [color=AC5FFB]"I knew you could do it! It's so nice to see you smile!" [/color]She encouraged.

Her attention was quickly stolen by the crystals sparkling all around her. She gasped in adoration, moving closer to stare at them in awe. She had never seen anything so beautiful. The light of the flames danced upon the cave walls and illuminated the crystals around them, making them glitter. Jewels were a favorite of hers and she felt like she was in her element. The biggest smile spread across her face and she twirled in glee, her dress spinning around her. [color=AC5FFB]"Oh, it's so beautiful! Have you ever seen anything like it?!"[/color]

[center][color=AC5FFB]__________________________________________________________________________

[h3][u][b]Risa's Parents: Elyna and Cedar[/b][/u][/h3][/color][/center]

When Cedar entered the bedroom, Elyna was sitting on the edge of the bed, her face buried in her hands. Her red hair was cut shoulder-length and uncombed at the moment. She was in her night-gown still. She had been inconsolable for the last hour or so according to Oribel, her father, whose home they were residing in. He moved to sit at her side and take her in his arms. He put his head on top of her head, his chin resting in her hair. A fluffy white persian cat hopped on to the bed with a mewl, sauntering over to sit on Elyna's lap. It was Risa's cat  named Pearl. She had been depressed over Risa's absence.

"My love. I have spoken to some officials. They insist that Risa come home and announce her undying loyalty to Aklenroth. If she renounces all this, they will spare her."

Elyna swallowed hard. She couldn't believe her ears. "You want her to renounce the very thing you believed in? Didn't you say she deserves hope?" She asked in disbelief.

"Elyna-"His voice choked up as he tried to begin. "You know what I truly think but Risa has no place in any of this. She's all we have left. Have Hades bring her back. Please."

"You know I can't. The dark elves will follow him there. We're lucky they haven't come to this location."Elyna said softly, her voice heavy with grief. "Drawing any attention to her will get her killed."

"I just want my baby girl back." Cedar's eyes watered as he spoke. He usually was strong for his family and never shed a tear around Elyna. Losing Helio had been hard on her and he wanted her to feel secure. With Risa apart from them and nothing they could do to help, he felt like his world was crashing down. She was their only child left. 

"I know, honey, "Elyna whispered and hugged the arms that wrapped around her. "We must believe that she's strong enough to do this without us. Helio always wanted us to believe in her strength."

"I... I can't..."Cedar stammered. He couldn't bear to have her hunted down like some animal like this. Not to mention, news had traveled. Their home had been burned to the ground and the Sycamores were not to be found. The rumor was that it was brutal and there had been fatalities. He couldn't imagine anyone hurting sweet Risa. They were lucky to have made it out of there before the attack. He decided against informing his grieving wife of this information for now.

He needed to do something, even if it meant begging the lich he despised so much to spare her. 


[hider=Flashback Time]

The house was quiet as Helio opened the door; it was seemingly shrouded in darkness. The usually spacious living area and beautiful furniture were nowhere to be seen in the thick blackness. His footsteps creaked the wood floorboards as he moved, audible in the silence.
He knew he should have returned earlier, but he did not regret it. He had taken Risa dancing in the square once the crowd had cleared, to toy stores, and he had even gotten her treats. He wanted to make it up to her. Poor thing was possibly traumatized from seeing someone get whipped in public.  She hadn’t seemed too upset over it, actually acting in quite the opposite manner.

[i]‘You should have seen his face when you pointed at those spies! Everyone was clapping for you and they loved you! And I love you! I bet you would have beat up that mean elf if you would have had the chance. ‘[/i]

Risa’s excited rambling filled his memory and he smirked to himself. She was not an easy kid to knock over, that was for sure. She had been constantly telling him he was a hero. He had pleaded with her not to mention it to their parents, but she wasn’t always a good secret keeper, so he hadn’t counted on it.

The sleeping child was now on his back, uncomfortably set between his wings with her arms over his shoulders. He began to move to her room, eager to set her down before she inevitably began to drool on his neck.

That’s when the lights switched on.

“Helio! You’ve been gone all day!” Elyna was using that shrill mother voice Helio knew all too well.  She and Cedar stood in the kitchen, glaring him down. They had been waiting. 

Elyna had the same fiery red hair as her son. It ran down to her chest. Risa’s face seemed to be a tinier, carbon-copy of Elyna’s.  She dressed rather elegantly and was never seen without jewelry. Cedar had stark white hair and a very handsome, masculine face. He was much taller than the rest of his family. He also dressed formally as he was always involved in political matters. 

“I found Risa…” Helio drew off with a nervous smile. 

Elyna rushed over and hugged him tightly. “I was so worried about the two of you. “She sniffled, wiping tears from her eyes as she broke away from him, “Is Risa alright? Is she hurt?” She began brushing hair from Risa’s face to get a look at her.

“I think Risa’s tougher than you give her credit for. She’s alright.” Helio told her with a smile. 

Cedar folded his arms as he came over, taking a sterner approach, “Where was she, Helio? Is she hurt?” Worry filled his voice as he continued, “The girl is probably going to be sick!” 

“She’s fine. She fell asleep with animals again. Helio explained to them, “I took her to see Roshmi to try to cheer her up since she felt so guilty about it. Then we lost track of time.”

“Lost track of time! Helio, it’s been a full day my boy!” He cried, “She’s still a child! You need to understand her stamina isn’t the same as yours. She will probably be sick tomorrow.” Helio hated how they acted Risa was going to contract a terminal illness from running around outside too long. He didn’t understand the overprotectiveness of her. They hadn’t treated him that way growing up at all.

 “Cedar keep your voice down; you’ll worry the neighbors. Elyna chastised and looked at Helio with a sigh, “Let’s get her in bed. We can talk more tomorrow.”

“I got it,” Helio replied, taking Risa back into his arms.   

“Helio, you are staying home tomorrow… “

Helio knew the faster he walked, the harder her words would be to hear. He moved into Risa’s bedroom, which was a sight to behold to all newcomers. She had a large canopy bed with sparkling fabrics hanging down every side of it.  Dolls and stuffed animals covered the floor and flowers hung down on vines from the ceiling. It was not even possible to see the ceiling anymore.  

He placed Risa into her bed and began to tuck her into her blankets. Her eyelids were obviously forced shut, slightly trembling from the effort it took. “One day your hair is going to grow to the floor, and you are going to trip over it with every step. And I’m going to be there every day, laughing at you.”

Risa peeked open her eyelids, “Whyyy… Please don’t laugh at me.” She whispered. He knew she had been feigning sleeping in the last twenty minutes. He wasn’t in the mood for a parental interrogation either, so he understood.

“Nope. It’s settled. “He grinned at her, throwing a teddy bear at her playfully, “You even have bears in here for you to sleep with! Why sleep with real ones?”

She giggled, catching the bear in her arms into a tight hug. Risa yawned and looked up at him, “How did you find me anyway?” 
“I’m always going to find you. I’m your big brother and that’s my job. “He told her, sitting on the edge of her bed, “I’ll always be there for you.”

“Always? But what if you’re not with me and you go away again?” Risa asked sadly. He had been away from training a lot lately. He knew she was disappointed that he often wasn’t there for her. That’s why he had been even more motivated to take her to Roshmi today. 

Helio knew it would be hard to make someone so young understand why she wasn’t entitled to his presence twenty-four-seven. He began to explain delicately, “This might sound impossible for you but stop talking and simply think of me. We have all our memories together, right? So, if you think of them, in that way, I’ll always be with you wherever you are, forever.” 

“I’ll do it! I promise!” Risa exclaimed with determination. She was sitting up, throwing the teddy bear out of her passion. He shushed her with rising anxiety, but she kept talking. “I will always think of you and you will always think of me and we’ll always be together!”

Before Helio could even reply, the waterworks began as she realized it wasn’t exactly what she wanted.  “But Helio I want you to really be here with me!” She cried and sat up to hug his arm.  She buried her face in his arm. “Please don’t go! I miss you.”

“And watch you hang out with your boyfriend Kyran? Yuck! I don’t want to see you two kissing up in a tree. I’ll pass.” He teased her, standing up to ruffle her hair. Risa was always hanging out with another fairy named Dionaea and some demi-human kid, who seemed to always be staring after her in admiration. Risa obviously hadn’t caught on to it. 

“He’s not my boyfriend. Eww! Helio, shut up! Don’t be gross!” Her reaction was as he predicted. “He’s my best friend, like Dionaea!”
Helio snickered at her protest, “Aw I think you might hurt Kyran’s feelings if you tell him that!” 

“No, I won’t!” Risa threw a pillow at him. He kept laughing as he left the room, pleased that he had wormed his way out of that situation perfectly. His parents were still in the main area as he moved down the stairs and found the two waiting for him. Unfortunately, he could not catch a break. 

“I want a doctor to come and do a full check up on her tomorrow.” Elyna was saying, “She’s never been missing all night before like that.” 
Helio shook his head in dismay at her words.  She just did not get it. “Mother, she’s getting older and you are smothering her. She’s going to savor any taste of freedom she can get.”

“She’s eight, Helio. She’s not some rebellious teenager.” Elyna retorted, putting her hands on her hips. “We put her in that school to teach her to be a respectful lady, not sleep with animals in the woods.”

“Eight huh?” Helio repeated hotly. He was feeling rather grouchy after the long day. “Last time I checked people didn’t start arranging eight-year-olds to marriage.”

Elyna looked genuinely taken back by the statement. Unaware of what he was referring to, she connected the dots and glanced over at Cedar.
Helio had overheard him speaking to another male fairy the day before. He had been telling the man that some Cloud Eldan boy would be a good fit for Risa when they both aged. The man had agreed and ultimately, they wanted to introduce the two.

Cedar glanced between the two before giving in with a heavy sigh. “It was just in talks. This family moved in nearby from the Flower Fairy Kingdom. They are descendants of the royals there. The Eldan family. They have a boy a bit older than Risa. All we discussed is introducing them to each other in a few years.”

“Royals are dethroned, honey…” Elyna began in a hushed voice, moving to shut the curtains. “Fairies have no power anymore.”
“They don’t. Yet.” Cedar replied quietly, looking at his wife somberly. “You have no hope for better days?” 

Helio couldn’t believe his ears. His goody-two-shoe parents were really discussing something that could get them imprisoned or killed right in front of them. Elyna seemed pretty shocked as well, staring at Cedar without a word. He clearly wasn’t the only rebellious one in the family. “Like father, like son.” He muttered under his breath. 

“There is always hope, Elyna. Our children deserve that.” Cedar continued lowly. “I have heard things and I have hope.” 


[/hider]