The heir

Chapter 18

It was a little hut they found themselves in front of the next day. Belle nodded satisfied. "We're there", she said and went up to the door. "Here? You mean those almighty, supernatural and eternal beings live in a small hut when they literally could live anywhere?", Nuriel asked in disbelief. "Well, yes." "Why?" Belle shrugged. "Let's ask them", she simply said and knocked. The other three held their breaths. As the door opened, they couldn't believe their eyes. In front of them stood – an admittingly beautiful, yet completely normal woman. "Belle!", she said happily and hugged the witch, "So nice that you're finally back!"

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Jacob stared into his cup of steaming hot tea, trying to process all the new information he had gotten over the last hour. "So Belle isn't actually a witch. She's one of your kind. And she stayed around the people to lead whoever would take the risk to you?", Nuriel reassured. Lian nodded. "She's like a trainee on the job. Well, not anymore. She has proven to have what it takes." "Then why did she not do anything over all those years? Didn't try to win anyone for coming here?", Sarah asked, slight annoyance evident in her voice. "I tried", Belle answered calmly, "No one dared to. No one believed me. No one had a reason urgent enough. There were many excuses. And some failed." "If you want the humans to come and ask for your help then why in the world would you even live here? Couldn't you build your home somewhere closer?", Jacob now asked. "No. We don't want to be called and then chased away again. If someone wants us to come, they have to prove their sincerity." "But... But... You just sat there and watched it all go down until now? Why?", Sarah jolted up. "Because we never wanted to force others to do anything. We wanted to be given control. And we were fine with having to give it back again as well." "What about all those who never knew about you? Maybe they would have searched for you!" "Belle tried. She talked to exactly those who could have been ready." "I still don't get it", Nuriel confessed, "It's just too much at once." "That's fine", Miriel said softly, "Rest first. We will still have a lot to talk about later on. For now, you can refresh yourselves. And we have new clothes for all of you as well."

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A bit later, Jacob wandered out of the house again to find Lian sit on a bench in front of it. "Good evening", the latter one said. Jacob sat down. "Proceeded it all yet?", Lian asked. The other one shook his head. "And I don't think I will. I am not one of you, just a mere human if you will. Maybe I simply can't understand you cause my horizon is too small to grasp it all." "So you did understand. At least that." Jacob sighed. "What's on your mind, Jacob?" "What will happen if we go back? Can you even tell me?" "A new era could start." "Could?" "Depends on you guys." "What do you mean?" "We'll stay here. Belle will come along with you. She'll take our old place. But only if you let her." It was silent for a while before Jacob broke the silence again. "So like... Why do you even care about us humans? You're supernatural. You wouldn't even have to bother." Lian shrugged. "Yet we do." "But why?" "Why do you care?" "They're my kind." "You helped out Nuriel. She's a fairy, not a human." "She's my friend." "Exactly." "What?" "We love this world. We want to make it better. That's why we care." Jacob shook his head confused and Lian chuckled. "As time goes by, you might be able to understand it." "Maybe", Jacob sighed, "But since I can't understand it right now, I guess I will have to trust you until I do."

"Mind if I ask one more question, Lian?" "Go right ahead." "Why did humans suddenly not like you anymore? What happened?" Lian seemed to think for quite a while. Then he answered: "Would you like it if the sun would always shine, Jacob?" "Well... No. It would become boring." "And it would dry up all plants and the water too. We need a balance. Things cannot exist without an opposite." "What are you trying to say?" "People got too comfortable. They stopped appreciating us. They forgot that their wealth came thanks to us. But they did still see the rules we set up for their own good. They did still see that we wouldn't give them only luxury but challenges as well. And so, they started disliking us. And once they chased us away, they were too stubborn to go after us, relying on the leftover wealth they had." "Wouldn't that happen again?" "It might, it might not. But as long as people do not forget about us, we can still help this world." "We almost forgot about you. Don't you think it was almost too long of a time between then and now?" "For you it was long. We're eternal. For us it was short. And we still had Belle to revive the stories, don't forget about that." Jacob thought and then sighed. "I'll take that", he said after a few more seconds. Lian chuckled and got up, putting his hand on the other one's shoulder. "You should sleep. Tomorrow will be an exhausting day for you."