Wind rushed by me as I fell. Into what or where I was going I had no clue. Suddenly and unexpectedly, I was back in the royal carriage again and Princess Sorena was there. She sat across from me and held up the poster. The two girls faces stared up at me and I couldn’t wrench my gaze away, their sorrow-filled eyes boring into mine, pleading to me for some unknown reason.
The scene vanished and I resumed my falling. I landed on something soft that gave slightly when I fell on it. I looked up into the black nothingness and shivered. There were no stars here, only a stark blackness that seemed slightly suffocating as it pressed in all about me.
Then there they were and the blackness that had surrounded me was gone. The two just stood there, their pale dresses flowing out behind them giving evidence of a soft breeze. I heard something shift behind me and a scream sounded as the shorter girl fell to the ground and I feared she had died. I turned to glance behind me but no one was there.
Her sister walked forward and as she neared me she reached out her hand. I hesitantly grasped it in my own, feeling her cold skin against mine.
“You must come.” She turned and I followed her into the shadowy mist that was obscuring my vision. We passed her sister, her tanned skin slowly paling as her green eyes stared at nothing. But her chest rose and fell slowly and I was relieved. At least she was alive.
The pale girl before me suddenly raced ahead, her hand pulling me on. Her legs flew beneath her fluidly and gracefully in an inhuman way. She was fast as she sped along through the forest and I soon tired, but I refused to let her hand slip in case of losing my way in this fretful and bewildering mist.
My heart beat harshly in my chest and my lungs burned as I gasped for breath. Finally, when I was sure I could no longer breathe, she stopped abruptly and turned to face me. Her cheeks were alight with a rose colored glow and she was panting slightly.
“She will die, Zavier, and so will I, if the King finds us. Our mother gave her life for us, we must not let her sacrifice be in vain!” She was pleading with me and though I wanted to help, I knew not how to do so. I looked deep into her blue eyes and found fear there. It was so deep I wondered if I would be overcome by it and lost in its mighty depths. It scared me.
“How?” I heard myself ask. She smiled at my willingness and repeated her words.
“You must come.” She didn’t turn to guide me anywhere this time and I realized she must mean in the real world, not this odd, mystified world of dreams.
“How can I find you?”
She smiled softly and the strength of the wind picked up. Her long hair swirled around her as her sad gaze pierced me.
“You will know, Zavier. There will be signs. Trust me.”
I nodded and she let go of my sweating hand.
“I knew Master Gordon.” This abrupt and off-key statement caught me off guard and I stared at her; bewildered. “He used to teach me and my sister. It would be wise for you to remember his words and ponder what he taught you closely.” Her eyes narrowed as she stared at me.
I nodded my head, clueless but obedient. She smiled at my compliance. The leaves strewn on the ground rustled slightly as she moved toward me. She neared and lifted her face to gaze up at me. Tears streaked down her smooth face, spilling from her jewel-like eyes in small rivers. I could feel her warm breath on my skin and I cringed as my stomach knotted up inside me.
“You must hurry though.” She placed her long fingered hand in my own and grasped it tightly. A bright flash of light filled the clearing and everything was gone.
I opened my eyes and found I was staring up into the cloudy night sky. The feel of long fingers in my grasp lingered on my hands and my face was warm, the scent of something sweet overpowered me as if she really had been there next to me. I sat up and realized dawn was upon us.
Shaking off the presence of the dream, I roused Victor. Thankfully he woke easily this time and we were on our way quickly.
After I had munched on a cold and hardened biscuit for a while I decided to break the silence.
“Victor?”
He looked at me from out of the corner of his eye and raised an eyebrow in question.
“Well . . . what do you say about . . .?” I’d had the discussion all planned out and yet it all felt too unreal and childish now.
“Do what? Search for those two girls?” He bit into an apple and my eyes widened in surprise.
“You don’t read minds, do you?” I asked tentatively, knowing I’d picked the wrong traveling companion if he could indeed read my mind. He shook his head and laughed.
“No, I’m not that good.” He pulled an apple from his bag and offered it to me. I gladly accepted it, realizing that Lichen had packed two separate food bags, not two sets of provisions. I passed Victor a bread roll and he smiled thankfully, knowing I’d taken his hint.
As I bit into the white apple he turned to me and spoke. “I just get this feeling every time I see that poster. Like I’ve seen them somewhere before, I just can’t place a finger on it. . . I had a dream last night. The taller girl, she came to me and simply asked me to come along with you when you went to find them and that it would not be in vain. I had this funny feeling something bad happened to her sister.” He shrugged and I was surprised when I felt a small twinge of jealousy at the fact that she had visited Victor in his dreams as well as mine. I tried to convince myself it was for the best, this way Victor had complied easily and I hadn’t had to explain anything.
“Yeah…” I muttered sourly, “They’re both in trouble but it’s so frustrating because I can’t even do anything!”
Victor shot me a strange look of surprise and I blushed, looking away. After a few minutes of silence, a carriage rounded the corner, the bright yellow and purple colors standing out vibrantly in the early morning sunlight. We stood off to the side of the road and bowed as they passed, both of us curious to see if it was Princess Sorena. But no, a man sat in the seat and the driver didn’t even bother to slow down, spewing grime toward us. We jumped back in time to avoid the worst of it.
“That’s royalty for you now,” Victor snorted in disgust as he attempted to wipe the mud off of his shirt.
After the carriage left from view we continued on, Victor lecturing me in the ways of “stuck-up” royalty, as he called them.
I was back at school again-nine years old today-and the feeling of dread that had overshadowed me for a year, now grew stronger. Only Dal had told me Happy Birthday that morning. In my heart I knew that was all I would get. There would be no celebration, no presents; nothing.
I stood in the large schoolhouse’s dueling room, alone save for Master Gordon. It was my first training session alone with the Master and he was watching my every move closely.
“Good, good. That’s just the way we like to see you holding her.”
I smiled as he praised my swordsmanship. His words faded from my mind as I concentrated on my every move, sweat poured from my small body as I maneuvered the metal sword. It felt awkward and heavy in my hand, unnatural and harsh. A man made thing.
I stopped suddenly and stood erect. The Master stared at me, his words lingering on his lips as he stopped mid-sentence.
“What is it, Zavier? Aren’t you proud to be wielding a metal sword now?” It was the first metal sword I’d ever been allowed to wield for any period of time and yet it didn’t feel as exciting as I knew it should have. I let out a soft sigh.
“I suppose so, Master Gordon. It’s just. . .” I bowed my head. If I continued I would just seem disrespectful and the last thing I wanted to do was disrespect the Master.
“Just what?” he asked quietly, urging me to continue on with what I had to say, as his odd eyes seemed to stare into my soul.
“She . . . she doesn’t feel right. She’s not a very well crafted sword, Master Gordon.” I looked into his deep eyes, knowing I would find anger there and surprised when I found instead; wonderment. He was silent for a long while as he stood there, his grey eyed gaze staring down at me. Finally he spoke.
“I see now. Then which sword would you like to try?” He spoke softly and encouragingly. My gaze flicked for an instant above the Masters head and I glanced at Valsephony for a single moment, remembering the overwhelming feeling of power that had coursed through me a year ago. It was the feeling that we belonged together as one in a perfect unity.
I let out a sigh. “Whichever would suit the Master, just not this one.” I held up my practice sword disdainfully. The Master turned his back on me and looked up above the chalkboard. I shamefully realized he had caught me eyeing his sword.
“What about Valsephony?” The question shocked me.
“B-but, Sir, you never let anyone practice using her,” I stammered, sure I’d heard him wrong.
“Well . . . you’re a special boy, Zavier. Very special. How about for a birthday present I’ll let you wield her today under my supervision. Eh?” I smiled. It didn’t matter that he knew it was my birthday, it only mattered that I was going to get to bear the sword that I loved.
I thought about the memory for a long while as we walked through the pouring rain. I had moved through my exercises easily and fluidly, Valsephony helping me. She had trained me the whole while with her soft voice, her inspiring images, her talented wisdom. Master Gordon had been forgotten as sword and boy became one and flew over the floor of the room. I still remembered the exact moves and the astonished expression that covered Master Gordon’s face.
I remembered later after that day, there were many times at night when the only thing I wished for was to have Master Gordon as my father. I knew it could never happen, though I still wished for the impossible.
After that day in the room, the Master had never let me wield Valsephony again. He had never even mentioned this session, and not until the day that he’d given her to me at the back of the school house had he even let me touch her again.
And then his odd messenger at the bathhouse. She had been shrouded by mystery and I knew not what to think of her message from Master Gordon. It seemed forever ago that it had happened.
His wrinkled face glared at me from my mind’s eye and the strange pale girl’s words echoed in my ears.
“It would be wise for you to remember his words and ponder what he taught you closely.”
And so as we walked on in silence I deeply thought on all Master Gordon had ever told me and strangely enough I recalled more than I had ever remembered him telling me before.
Why can I not communicate with Him without disturbing Them? That is all He sees, those two young alluring girls as they beckon Him to Them. But they are merely tricks of the eyes, illusions, and yet He is drawn to Them. If He searches for Them I will have indeed failed Her. I feel Her ever pulling tug and she searches for me wearily, calling the name which does not belong to me, yet I cannot come. I saw Him this morning and though I was weary from travel I attempted to speak with Him, yet failed. He does not wish for me to speak now, I must wait until He is ready and I will try a final and last time. I just hope She can hold on a bit longer.
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