Diamond Hearts: A Diamond Castle Fanfiction

3 The Journey

Once we reached the cottage, I released Alexa's hand and started searching the drawers.

There has to be a mirror around here somewhere.

"Liana!" Alexa looked more afraid than I'd ever seen her before.

"Just go," I reassured her. "I'll be right there." Aha! I grabbed a handheld mirror from one of the drawers and followed Alexa into the basement.
Just in time. As soon as I closed the door behind me, there was a bang.

Slyder was in our house. I flinched at the sound of something shattering, but there was nothing we could do except run. I left the handheld mirror on the ground just outside the back exit for Slyder to find, then we were off. This isn't permanent, I thought. This is only until the dragon is gone, then we can live our life lile normal.

We walked to town to kill time, unable to enjoy the sights and sounds like usual. Several times, my hand accidentally brushed against Alexa's and I thought about holding it, but never did. Focus, Liana.

When we returned home at nightfall, no home awaited us. Only a charred mess of wood and furniture remained.

"No," I whispered.

Alexa fell to her knees, her voice raw. "No, no, no!" Her sobs tore through her, and she clutched at her skirt, then her hair. "There's nothing! Nothing!" She repeated.

I kneeled and placed my hand on her, and she turned to bury herself in my shoulder. For once, there was nothing consolatory I could say, nothing I could do to be optimistic for her. I
choked back tears of my own.

"This is all my fault," I heard Melody say. "Throw me far away before he comes back."

"Why? What does he want with you?" I asked.

"It's Lydia, his mistress. She must know I have the key."

Alexa looked up and wiped her eyes. "The key to what?"

"The Diamond Castle."

One look at our confused expressions prompted her to continue.

"My home. The birthplace of music," she explained. "Every time a new song is sung anywhere in the world, a diamond appears on the walls. I lived there with Dori, Phaedra, and Lydia, the three Muses of music. They were all friends, playing different kinds of music, but Lydia wanted to be the one and only Muse."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Dori and Phaedra believed music was for everyone. Lydia was furious and vowed to get the Diamond Castle for herself. She left, found an ancient cave filled with magic, and transformed her flute into an instrument of dark magic. With her new powers, she came back for the Castle, to spread darkness everywhere. The Muses hid their musical instruments along with
the Castle, and gave me the key, in case anything should happen to them.

"The Muses tried to reason with Lydia, but she just turned on them. I ran and ran, but Slyder was chasing me. And then, I saw my only chance. I hid in this mirror. But I dropped my
whistle and Slyder broke it, trapping me. I was so afraid. I never said a word, until I met you two. And now, look. I've ruined everything."

"But if you have the key, do you know where the Diamond Castle's hidden?" I was fully invested at this point.

"Yes. Near the Seven Stones, far to the west."

"Can Lydia be stopped?" We had to make sure Lydia's reign of terror ended with us. I didn't want others to suffer the way we had today.

"I hope so. I think if I play the Muses' instruments, I can break her spells."

Alexa turned to me with pleading eyes. "No. No, Liana, we've never been farther than the village."

"Melody, what happens if Lydia destroys the Muses' instruments?"

"She wins. She has it all." Melody sighed. "Our world will be nothing but shadows and sorrow."

"Kind of like our home," Alexa said.

"Exactly like our home." I stood. "Lydia and Slyder did that to us, and they'll do that and worse to other people. Can we let that happen?" I offered Alexa my hand to help her up.

"You want me to say no, don't you?" She took my hand and rose.

I smiled. "It's the three of us now, Melody."

"Really?" Her eyes lit up.

"What about the serpent?" said Alexa. "Will he come back?"

"Not if I don't sing. Which will be hard, since I love singing..." Melody trailed off.

"Then it's decided," I said. Time to see if this Diamond Castle could bring back our life.