Aella POV

I woke up once again with a throbbing headache. I opened my eyes feeling sore all over and saw I was alive! I would've done a happy celebration but because of my head, I couldn't. I was laying on my side half stomach and my left arm was underneath it all. I pulled it out and felt the pins and needles feeling when a part of your body is asleep.
I looked around where I was and I suddenly heard something that I haven't heard for who knows how long: Voices! They were at a small whisper but because I was an Aether being, I could hear them perfectly. (Aether, Nether, and End beings all have excellent hearing unlike most)

"Is she alive?" A male one asked.

"Yeah looks like it." A female voice answered.

"Should we bring her?" A second male wondered.

I was guessing they all nodded or something because I couldn't hear them say anything else.
They next thing I knew was four figures jumped out from behind some bushes and leaves. They all had their weapons drawn (which happened to be glowing green swords, dark wood bows, and arrows with the tips glowing the same green shade). They all approached me cautiously without a single sound made when they walked. All of them wore cloaks different shades of green and they all seemed to be glowing like their swords. Their hoods were over their eyes so I couldn't see what they looked like but I saw them wearing knee high lime green boots with thick buckles on the sides, black short sleeved tops, a single armband glowing an extremely bright green, and green and black fingerless gloves.
One of them went even closer to me and kneeled down. They crawled/jumped towards me and dropped the bow they were holding onto the wet mossy ground. They took off their hood revealing light hazel brown hair, deep lapis blue eyes, and a warm smile. He was a boy that seemed to be around my age. He went closer to me and held out his hand but I hesitated. Then I heard him say something.

"It's alright. We're not here to hurt you we're just wanting to help you." He explained.

I nodded my head and saw the other three figures behind him take off their hoods as well.
The first one had a light green cape and greys instead of blacks and normal greens. She had long ruby red hair that went a bit above her hips. Her eyes were a chocolate brown and her smile matched her eyes. All warm fuzzies. The second one was a boy that seemed the oldest. His jet black hair was covering his left eye but his right was a light sapphire blue. His face looked like it was literally carved from stone. Hard and blank but also serious. He looked like he meant business every second of the day.
The last one looked slightly younger than the stone cold boy except she was female. Her blond hair was short and messy like a boy's and her eyes were a dark green. Her face was the same warm smile but slightly business-meaning too. She seemed nice but also was the type to want to follow directions.

The first boy that was right in front of me outstretched his hand out slightly farther to try and get my attention. This time I knew these people were nice so I took his hand. We gladly shook hands and he smiled at me a little more. I finally forced a smile onto my face so show that I was beginning to trust him.
The red haired girl ran to me and helped me stand up and I tried my best to keep my legs stable but they felt like jelly. I wobbled many times but I was able to stay standing.
When I could finally stand without falling over, the boy introduced everyone.

"My name's Alleski but you can call me Alli." He started. I nodded in response. Then Alli pointed over to the red haired girl. "This is Sylvia but she goes by Syl." The girl waved when she was being called. After, he pointed to the stone boy and blonde girl.
"And those are Kai and Mirage." He finished.
Mirage waved happily like Syl but Kai just kept his blank face.

"What's your name?" Alli asked.

I finally spoke after so long it felt like an eternity. "A-Aella. My name's Aella." I answered. My voice was cracked and quiet but telling by Alli's face, he heard me.
Kai suddenly stepped up. "We're from the Jewelled Verdant kingdom led by Queen Halla. We've come to find lost or homeless players, glitches, changelings, hybrids, and mobs to take to her kingdom to be treated and found a home."

Syl finished his explanation. "If you'd like, we could take you there to either, stay, or continue on your journey, or you could leave and not go with us." The slender redhead extended her hand towards me. "So would you like to come?"

I thought about it for a few seconds. I wanted to go so badly but I was also hesitant because it may be a trap once again. I eventually took her hand and she smiled. Syl started jumping up and down once again. I could tell she was excited.

I noticed the girl they called Mirage wave to me and point to the direction they came in. I was confused for a second but I then caught it.
We started walking over to the bushes and leaves they were all hiding in. I stepped on several twigs and got whacked in the face by branches but I kept going. I wasn't used to so much brush and nature. The Aether only had a few trees and many hills, other than that it was just floating island after floating island.
Alli jogged up to me from behind and walked beside me. I noticed on the backs of all of their capes was a symbol of a leaf and cloud. I guess it was their flag or something.

"When we get to the kingdom, you're going to be introduced to Queen Halla." Alli said.

I nodded in response but then a thought crossed my mind. "What's she like? Is she nice? How old is she?" I was talking so fast Alli was having a hard time keeping up with my words.

"Queen Halla is the kindest Minecraftian you'll probably ever meet. Everyday or week when we find new people to bring to the kingdom, she always welcomes them with a warm smile and occasionally a small hug." Alli paused.
"Halla's extremely young to be Queen but we almost never notice because of how intelligent she is. Her mind has so many creative thoughts flowing through, she never knows when to stop. I guess it's from being half an Aether being. She also-" I cut him off suddenly.

"Wait what?!? Queen Halla's an Aether being?"

Alli shrugged. His expression didn't move. "Yeah she is but she doesn't ever want to talk about it. The only people she's told are us four." He pointed to Syl, Kai, and Mirage when he said that. "And we are sworn to secrecy to never tell anyone about her past." His expression went a bit darker when he said the last part.
I stayed quiet at the last part. I didn't want to pry or anything because I know what it's like to have to keep a secret.
We were left in silence for the next couple minutes. The only thing that could be heard was the occasional snort of a stubby pink creature and rustle of grass whenever we passed through some.
Eventually, I heard a whinny from a couple ten blocks away. I strained my eyes attempting to look through the tall grass for anything unusual but all I could see were strands and strands of thriving clumps of nature.
After another few shortish long minutes, I heard a few more whinnies. They were now kind of creeping me out.
Soon, the tall grass thinned out and shortened to small weeds. Now I could see ahead.
There were four four legged creatures, The first had a sleek black coat with several smallish white dots splattered all over and thick black mane streaked with green, the second had a brown coat and random splotches of white on it's face and body with a mane white and tipped with the same green, the third had a beautiful snow white complexion with nothing else overtop with the mane the same snow shade streaked with silver, was the last was the most bizarre, it had a silver coat that shined in the sunlight, part of it's face was a glittery green and also on it's legs. The back had a single glitter green stripe going from the top of the head to the beginning of the tail. It had roots of green sprouting out the sides in the formation of a spine. It's eyes shone a glistening silver speckled with green. The mane had streaks of black, silver, and green. Seated on all their backs was a red velvet leather saddle. The buckles shone silver in the sun and the straps thick and laying limp against the sides.
My eyes were glued to their complexions. They were the most magnificent creatures I had ever seen. We all stopped in front of them and I suddenly got slightly frightened at their size. They were even bigger than us and their hooves looked incredibly large for their legs.
I turned to Syl and tapped her on the shoulder. She has been searching around in her bag for something but she looked up to see my worried face.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" She asked.

I turned my head and pointed to the large four legged creatures.

"What are those? Are they gonna hurt us?" I wondered with a voice flowing with worry.

Syl's face softened and she chuckled slightly when she saw what I was pointing at. I wrinkled my eyebrows in confusion.

"You aren't from around here are you?" The redhead started. I nodded in response. Syl sighed.

"Then I guess we have some teaching to do then. Okay," She pointed to the four legged creatures.

"Those are horses. They're our way to get around to places. The brown and white one is mine." She explained. I nodded.

"The black horse is Kai's, the white and silver one is Mirage's, and the green and silver horse belongs to Alli."

A sudden thought crossed my mind. My eyes lit up in excitement.

"Will I be able to ride a horse?" My tone changed slightly when I said horse. I wasn't quite used to saying it yet.

Alli suddenly joined into the conversation. He chuckled. "Yup! You'll be riding with me, but sometime in the near future you'll get your own. It will be chosen depending on your personality and looks, you'll also get to name yours." He explained. Alli walked over to the silver and green horse and motioned for me to follow.
I approached him and he stroked the horse's long flowing main. I did the same. The mane was surprisingly soft and smelled like freshly trimmed grass. I looked at him suddenly and he moved his hand over to the saddle and pat it.

"Do you need help getting on?" He asked.

I felt a wave of worry wash over me. I didn't want to look like a wimp having to get helped onto the horse, but I also had no clue on how to get on. I soon chose one of the options.

"It's alright! I can handle myself."

Alli looked slightly shocked at my response but shrugged once again.

I took a few steps closer to the large creature. Nervousness pumping through my body at a rapid speed but I ignored it slightly.
I placed my hands on the top of the saddle and attempted to lift myself up, but only resembled in my large angel-like wings to open and pulled me down back onto the ground. I landed on the damp mossy ground with a THUD and groaned.
I looked up to see Alli with a face stitched all over with shock.

Oh yeah! I forgot to tell him I was an Aether being. I mentally slapped myself at the realization and got up. I brushed off miniature strands of grass and clumps of dirt off my shirt and looked at Alli again. My wings were still outstretched unfortunately and my right wing was still dislocated to an odd angle.

"Wh- wh- when could you do that?" He stuttered in shock.

I shrugged like him and scratched the back of my neck in embarrassment. "Yeah about that, um you see I forgot to tell you that I was an Aether being. Y'know, like Queen Halla." I smiled nervously at the end.

Alli's face moulded into a smile and his eyes shone in realization. "Well then I guess you and Halla are going to have a couple things to talk about then."

I nodded in agreement. Oh how I could hardly wait to meet her. Another sudden thought washed into my mind. I still had to get onto the horse! But before I did so, I folded my wings so I could get onto it a little easier.
I turned to face the horse again and made my second attempt to get on. But this time I had a different plan. I began taking several steps backwards so I was about five blocks away from Alli and the creature.
I put my left foot behind me and bent down into a yoga-like position. I got ready and sprinted towards the horse while it was calmly munching on a largish piece of moss.
When I was close enough, I made an amazing leap and grabbed onto the saddle with all my strength. But it all ended in me letting go and landing face first into the ground opposite from Alli. I even think I heard him chuckle slightly at my miserable fail.
I groaned in frustration and got up. I walked back over to the other side of the horse and placed my hands on my hips. I tapped my foot on the ground and searched through the creative side of my brain for another plan. Another one suddenly popped into place.
I reached over and grabbed onto the opposite side of the saddle. I then pushed my feet off the ground and attempted to swing my legs over and onto the creature's back but I hadn't pushed enough so I ended up on the ground again and a small chuckle from Alli. I growled impatiently and stood up once again. I was not to give up just yet!

Minutes passed and I still tried to get onto the creature. Alli had begun to grow bored and be asked me several times if I needed help but every time I refused with a solid 'No, I can do this.' He soon sat down and leaned his back against a nearby birch tree with his arms folded.
I tried several times but every single option that popped into my mind crumbled away into the trash idea part of my brain. I was beginning to get quite angry and after a little while, Alli stood up and brushed himself off. He walked up to me, a little too closely, and began this question he had said for the past while.

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" He asked.

I sighed. I was done and with trying to get on myself so I agreed. He smiled just the slightest and walked up to the horse. He motioned for me to follow so we were now quite close to the large creature. He bent down and grabbed my  right foot. I lifted it and he placed it on a silver ring that was just big enough for my foot. He let go and grabbed both my hands.

"Now grab that handle on the saddle." Alli said.

I nodded and did so. He then took his hands off and grabbed my waist. I shifted slightly at where he put his hands but I shook it off.

"Now jump and kick your left leg up and over to the other side of the horse. Once you've done so, put your foot in the other ring." Alli explained.

"Uh okay." I said. I sure hoped I wouldn't fail like my last try.

Thanks to Alli's help, I kicked and jumped over the horse and swung my leg onto the other side. He soon let go and I found myself fully seated on the back of the creature.
I turned my head and smiled gratefully at Alli. He smiled back happy to have helped.
Alli turned his head to look at the others. It seemed they had been patiently waiting the entire time. Their faces were calm and barely stirred. Almost like a model of clay but every few seconds their heads would turn just the slightest to look at something. I turned my head back to Alli and he did the same. Out eyes linked together for several slow seconds. My eyes sunk into his deep lapis blue ones and he did the same. He smiled a little more at me and I blushed lightly. (GO ON, SHIP IT PEOPLE!!! #Aellaski!!!) He then broke the silence with a quick sigh.

"We should get going now. It's just about noon and I think when we get to the kingdom, you should have something to eat. It looks like you haven't eaten or drank anything for days." He explained. I nodded in a simple agreement.

Alli walked close to the horse I was sitting on and he placed his foot in a ring right in front of mine. He climbed right onto the saddle like it was nothing. He was seated right in front of me because he was the one to guide the peaceful mob to Halla's kingdom.

Alli turned his head to look at Mirage who was seated on her horse right behind us. She nodded without Alli doing any kind of gesture and he flicked the reins of the creature. It immediately jumped into a full sprint off through the forest.
I yelped at the sudden movement and clung to Alli like it was the end of the world. His shoulders seemed to tense up at the quick feel but they soon relaxed after a little bit.
I was quite amazed at how skillfully Alli guided the horse over large roots poking up out of the ground, ducked branches that were close by (but I ended up with a stick in the face every time), and darted in and out by trees that were standing from the ground up this way and that.
The chilly wind whipped against my face and blew all strands of my hair away to make it flow behind me. We passed several creatures that were a dark chocolate brown spattered with white. They would let out annoying moos every now and then which got to me quite quickly.

After about half an hour of riding on the horse through the woods, I began to get a little drowsy. The loud-ish thumping of the mob's hooves soon sounded like a steady rhythm and the up and down movements helped even more.
My eyelids started to get a little heavy but I stayed awake just for the sake of not falling off the horse. I didn't want another injury to match my dislocated wing. I had to get that fixed somehow.
Eventually, my mind drifted of the island of reality and into the ocean of thoughts. I sunk deeply into the cloudy water-like images of the last couple of days that had gone by.
FLASHBACK:

I felt the weight of my battle axe subside and it fell off my belt and onto the grassy earth. Nashira stepped slightly closer to me and pulled something out of her pocket. It was a tiny violet pouch that was a little smaller than my hand. She undid the bow at the top and reached her blocky fingers into it. She soon pulled out a small handful of glowing red, orange, and yellow powder. I'd never seen anything like it before in my life. I'd never actually seen these colours in real life actually. Only in paintings in the Aether palace.
Nashira said several words to me but I didn't remember them. All that I recalled after that was she took a breath, and blew on the powder. It all whirled off her hand and settled in my eyes. I screamed slightly and felt a burning sensation forming in my eyes. I rubbed them as hard as I could while the powder seemed to eat away at my eyesight. The last thing I knew was I caught a glimpse of Nashira grabbing my right wing and violently jerking it an odd angle. I heard a terrible crunch of my delicate bones inside my angel wings and I screamed. After that I felt a terrible pain in my chest and I couldn't breath for several seconds. I gasped and I felt myself fall backwards and off the island I was standing on.

END OF FLASHBACK

I tried to scream but I felt myself being pulled violently out of the ocean if my mind and back into reality. My eyelids flew open at a rapid speed and I saw myself resting my head on Alli's back and still having my hands wrapped around his waist.
I turned my head and saw behind me the flaming sun disappearing over the horizon. We had been traveling all afternoon. No wonder I was exhausted.
The air that was rippling against my face was cooler than before. I shivered slightly but tried my best not move. I didn't want to look like a wimp in front of Alli.
A few more minutes passed and I had grown bored quickly. My eyelids started to get heavy once again, but this time, I let them fall. As soon as I closed my eyes, I was immediately wrapped in a blanket of darkness. I had no thoughts or flashbacks this time which I was relieved of. All that went on for the past few hours, was a soundless sleep.

I awoke groggily to somebody shaking me. My eyelids felt like ten thousand pound weights and they please to stay down but I urged them to open up once again. A small voice slowly became louder and more clear. It was Alli!

"Aella! Aella! Come on, wake up." He said while still shaking me.

I opened my eyes wider and saw myself laying on the grassy soily ground getting my clothes even more dirty and worn.

"Aella, you've been sleeping all night! The sun's just coming up! Come on." Explained Alli.

"Huh? I've been asleep for how long? Where are we?" I asked my mouth just wouldn't shut up when I needed it to.

Syl walked up to us. She kneeled down and sighed. "We got a little lost on the way, and it took us twice as long to get to where we need to. But guess what?" She explained to me.

"What?" I asked. I yawned after. The drowsy feeling when you wake up still hadn't left my body.

"We're just outside the gates of the Jeweled Verdant Kingdom."