Chapter 41: Mark of the Stone
"What happened? Why are you in such a rush? Didn't go as planned?" Little 9 asked, not as a question but more as a confirmation. When Little 5 had left that morning, his proud appearance told the Shrouded One all he needed to know. He could already guess what Little 5 was planning to do. But he didn't stop him because he knew, all too well, that Little 5 would fail. Having experienced firsthand how powerful the girls were, the Shrouded One was taking his time strategizing. He needed the perfect plan to get the job done.
Little 5 didn't mind his tone. He told Little 9 how protective the birds were of the village and how their loss of human form didn't weaken them at all. In fact, he believed they were in a much better position to destroy them all, if only they knew of Master's existence.
Back at the castle, days had passed, but Master had yet to hear anything about the progress of the mission. His impatience grew because the figure behind him, the one pulling the strings, was making things even more difficult. He had been given a strict timeline to complete the task, and now he couldn't wait any longer. Master summoned the brothers back to inquire why they hadn't yet attacked.
The brothers simply responded that they were still finding the perfect plan, as the girls had grown so strong that neither of them could handle them without careful planning. Surprisingly, Little 5 did not refute Little 9's words. Since witnessing the protective stance of the girls-turned-birds, Little 5 had decided to approach the matter with more caution. He stayed silent while Little 9 spoke, a quiet admission of the truth behind Little 9's words.
Master, seeing no other option, set a deadline of two months for them to get the job done. Two months. That wasn't an easy task, considering how dangerous the birds had become. It wasn't even easy to hold them, as they had managed to escape the blood-raged Little 9 last time. But since the Master had given his orders, they couldn't disobey.
Back in the village, the girls were still stuck in their bird forms. Their parents grew increasingly worried, for at least a month had passed, and they still hadn't regained their human forms. The two families decided they had to do something. They missed their daughters terribly. With determination, they set out to find the crevice where they had first encountered the Queens.
However, there was one problem: they didn't know how to get to the crevice, even though they possessed the stones. The issue was that they weren't the chosen ones and didn't have the marks on their palms. They stood above the crevice, but nothing happened. They had to leave, as the night had grown late, and their minds weren't prepared enough to open the crevice.
But the parents didn't give up. A week later, they set off again. This time, they carried the two birds in tow, who had reverted back into their smaller, original forms. The large forms they had taken when Little 5 had visited the village were now gone. They were once again just normal birds — except for their eyes.
Their eyes were what made them different. One bird had a pair of blue eyes, while the other had a pair of white eyes. Despite this, the parents still had no idea how to access the crevice. Desperation set in as they could feel their daughters slipping away. If nothing was done soon, they feared they might lose them forever.
It was at that moment that Mrs. Clemont, Ariella's grandmother, thought of something. Her eyes sparkled with realization.
"Do you remember the first time we entered the crevice? Ariella joked with the Queens, thanking them for the gentle transport," she said.
That simple remark sparked a flicker of hope in the parents' hearts, a hope that had been extinguished when they thought they would never get their girls back.
"That's right. The Queens said that the glow from the two stones was needed to carve a path to the crevice," Mrs. Johnson said, a hint of happiness in her voice.
They decided to act immediately. However, there was another problem: the stones had to be held in the palms that bore the mark. But now, there were no palms — only ordinary wings. The marks were gone, replaced by the bird forms. The hope they had just regained was quickly extinguished. They had no idea which wing, if any, still carried the marks. Worse still, they had no way of knowing if the marks still existed in their daughters' bird forms.