Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

 

 

 

                Halie’s eyes grew wide at the sound of his voice and all the haunting recollections that rushed into her mind, screaming at her in unison.  She turned her head in his direction, and closed her eyes with a heavy sigh.  She hadn’t been expecting a reunion like this.  She had only come to try her chances with Clemenstra.

 

                “Marayna?”  said Aidan again, as if he couldn’t trust his sight.  Kaela stepped around him, sliding her book into her backpack.

 

                “She’s Marayna?”  she said, crossing her arms.

 

                “Halie.”  Halie corrected.  Arias was still standing in front of her, completely oblivious to the whole revelation.

 

                Aidan frowned.  “Halie?  I think I would know your face if I saw it.  What is this?”

 

                “Aidan, now isn’t the time--“

 

                “Not the time?  Marayna, all this time I thought you were dead, I thought the very worse of you, I spent all this time trying to carry out your death wish…and you’re not even dead?  What the hell have you been doing all this time?”

 

                “I was…trying to forget…”  said Halie, her chin against her chest.  “Like Arias did…”

 

                Arias suddenly came to and shook his head.  “I don’t know you.  What are you talking about?”

 

                Aidan came up to them and glanced at Halie, his brows low and his lips pursed.  “I saw you die.  Explain that.”

 

                “I don’t have to explain anything, Aidan.  Obviously I didn’t die, that’s all you need to know.”

 

                “But, I was there!  I watched you die!  Your pain, your suffering, your death wish…was I imagining all that?”  He put his palms against the back of his head and began pacing back and forth.  He stopped abruptly and turned on Halie.

 

                “You…you lied to me.”  he scowled, although tears were forming in his violet eyes.  “You--“

 

                “Aidan, shut up!”  cried Halie, grabbing his wrist with an electric shock.  He fell to the dirt with a fwump.  Kaela gasped and ran to him.

 

                “What the hell did you do?”  she yelled, but a single glance from Halie and she was out too, falling over Aidan’s body.  Arias looked down at them with some sort of sorrowless, angerless frown.

 

                “A magic-bearer indeed.  And a good one at that; able to run somebody unconscious with just a glare…”  he said.  His eyes narrowed on Halie again, this time, more serious.  “I will give you one last chance to leave here and never return.”

 

                It happened to quickly for Arias to anticipate it.  Like lightning.  With something that sounded like a sob, Halie pulled a knife from her belt and shoved it into Arias’ hip.  He barely gasped, but backed up quickly.  He fell to his knees, the pain smarting and sending searing sensations up his side and down his leg.  When he looked up, he saw Halie running down the steps to Clemenstra’s lair.

 

                He could hear her sobbing miserably.  His vision was beginning to whirl into a blur of white leaves and brown dirt, his whole body going numb and weak besides the gushing cut in his hipbone.  He laid on the forest floor, the late afternoon sunlight bringing tears to his eyes.  He yanked out the knife and squinted at it, but couldn’t make out its shape.  It had to be magic-infused to cause so much pain.

 

                Was he imagining it?  Was Halie trying to speak to him?

 

                I’m sorry, my love.  She was saying.  Someday it will all be as it was.  And she added, in perfect Ancanthian tongue, Cordia mecura saecula… 

 

                Then she was gone.  Her voice faded out of his mind like an echo; so unknown and yet so familiar all at once.

 

                Someday it will all be as it was.  As what was?  As Arias lay there, feverish and breathing heavily, he strained his mind trying to remember what had happened before he met Brennan.  Nothing came.  Why couldn’t he remember?  Why was he thinking of this now?  The tears poured down his cheeks, for what, he didn’t know.  The sobs catching in his throat terrified him.  They were so unnatural, so unusual.  He didn’t feel anything.  He couldn’t, no, he wasn’t supposed to feel anything.  He had no emotions.  He had no hate, he had no love.  Nothing was wrong, but nothing was right either.  His existence was like a glare before one’s eyes, simply there and then gone within seconds.  Everything in his life was just as a leaf floating about aimlessly in the wind…

 

                ‘So, you’re finally awake.  Had a bad fall, huh?’

 

                Arias sat up, craning his neck.  He moaned at the pain.  What had happened?  He felt so strange and lost.  Where was he?  He couldn’t remember a thing.  His heart leapt into his throat, and a nauseous feeling gripped his stomach.  He couldn’t remember anything.  He couldn’t remember where he was born, where he had come from, where he had lived.  Did he have any family members or friends?  Maybe he didn’t.  Maybe he was just imagining it.  He couldn’t see any familiar faces in his mind.

 

                He looked up at who was accompanying him in the room.  A young man, probably a teenager.  Quite tall, with long, shiny black hair wound into a loose braid that hung over his shoulder.  He was dressed in a fine tailored black suit with a gray vest and white dress shirt underneath, unbuttoned to his chest.  The boy had narrow, crimson eyes the radiated a strange aura of obscurity.

 

                “Who are you?”  said Arias, squinting at him.  His vision was still a little foggy from his ‘fall’.

 

                “The name’s Brennan.  I saw you just lying on the forest floor; figured something was wrong.   Your head got a blow, but my mother fixed you up.”  He nodded.

 

                “Thank you for your hospitality.  I’m in your debt.”  said Arias, still trying to pop a knot in the side of his neck.

                “Well, I could use some help with a few things, but we can talk about that later.  Get some rest.”  And he turned for the door.

 

                “Strange,”  continued Arias, causing Brennan to turn back around,  “My neck hurts more than my head.”

 

                Brennan smirked, showing a few of his perfect white teeth.  “I’m sure you just pulled it or something when you fell.  It’ll go away.”  He reached for the doorknob.

 

                Arias took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose.  Why did he still feel like he was forgetting something?

 

                “Wait, Brennan.”  he said, his yellow eyes catching Brennan’s red ones.

 

                “Hmm?”

 

                “Who am I?”

 

                Brennan laughed.  “I believe your name is Arias.  And you have a younger brother named Aidan, who has a girlfriend named Kaela.  That’s all I know.  I spoke with your brother.  He’s all right, by the way.”

 

                Oh, right, Aidan, his little brother.  And Kaela, his sort of adopted sister.  Those must have been the important things that he had forgotten.

 

                Arias blinked.  Teardrops were stuck to his eyelashes, causing bubbles over his already blurred vision.  Was it his wound?  His loss of memory?  Halie…Marayna?  He couldn’t even remember ever crying before.  He gasped and swallowed dryly, the tears stinging his eyes.  He was losing consciousness.  The pain in his hip was pulsing like a million needles under his skin.  But then where was this comfort coming from?  Something that he had never (or couldn’t remember ever having) felt before paced with the beat of his heart, heavy in his chest.  A warmth.

 

                Maybe he had forgotten many things dear to him, that day he met Brennan and found out he had partial amnesia.  But even though he couldn’t recall them, somehow he knew those lost memories were with him.

 

                As Arias closed his eyes, a sigh escaped his lips, and his senses faded away, one by one.  He had whispered something into the ray of sunshine that had reached him.

 

                Cordia mecura saecula.  You’re always with my heart.

 

~*~

 

Risten stood with Derek in one of the pews closest to the altar, where Father Martel was facing the congregation, giving the Lord’s blessing.  His voice was full of peace and wisdom.  He was a dignified man in his fifties, with short, wavy blond hair and blue eyes like Halie’s.  He had an interesting, hooked nose that reminded Risten of Basque.  Except that it looked reasonably handsome on Father Martel.  

 

                He’s Halie’s uncle, by the way.  Said Derek, interrupting Risten’s meditation.  She glared sideways at him, feeling slightly irritated that she had forgotten to shield her mind.  He just smiled, looking forward pointedly.

 

                Father Martel faced the crucifix once more and began a Latin hymn, and the people followed him, the hum echoing in the open chapel.  The song sounded like joy and elation; praise and thanksgiving; sorrow and mourning all at once.  The layers of high choir voices and the church organ were so beautiful that they sent chills up Risten’s spine and goose bumps on her arms under her sweater.  She closed her eyes and allowed the supernatural melody to enrapture her.

 

                Beside her, Derek sung in the most gorgeous male voice she had ever heard.  A beautiful tenor; deep, yet clear and full of emotion.  Father Martel’s was similar, only a bit deeper and more experienced.

 

                When Mass had ended, Risten wanted to stay longer to say a rosary for Sebastian.  Of course, Derek stayed with her, but she noticed he didn’t have a rosary.  Or he just didn’t have it with him.  Risten also noticed that from the moment they stepped in the church, Derek looked very uncomfortable and was continuously rolling his shoulders and rubbing the back of his neck.  Was his scar paining him again?  She had made a mental note to ask him later.

 

                As she and Derek exited the chapel, they found themselves accompanied by Father Martel.

 

                “Good afternoon, children.”  he said, kindly.  Now that she could seem him up close, Risten could see the intricacies of his face.  He had high cheekbones and few wrinkles besides around his mouth and eyes.  Despite his deep, gentle voice, his face gave one the impression of a strict schoolteacher.

 

                “Hello, Father.”  said Risten and Derek at once.  Father Martel clasped his hands behind his back.

 

                “I see you’ve found yourself a girlfriend, Derek.  It’s about time.”  He laughed, making Risten smile.

 

                Derek didn’t seem to be embarrassed.  “It’s about time?  Father…”  he said, half-jokingly.

 

                “My boy, aren’t you going to introduce me?”  continued Father Martel, smiling fondly at Derek, completely aware of how awkward he had made the moment.

 

                “Certainly, Father.  This is Kristina Melrose.  She prefers to be called Risten, but I like to call her Rose after her last name.  Risten, this is Father Martel.”  said Derek, perfectly composed.  Risten shook Father Martel’s hand shyly.

 

                “Nice to meet you.”  she said.

 

                “Likewise.  And a lovely young woman!  A heartfelt welcome to our wonderful parish.  I hope you enjoy yourself in Epsilia, Risten.”  he said, with a nod.  “I’ll see you both again soon, I’m sure.  I have to test the young additions to the monastery in about five minutes.  I’d better run.”  He bowed his head to Derek and Risten, who returned the gesture, and began a casual stroll down the sandy path to the monastery on the other side of Rautarra.

 

                “Isn’t he something?”  remarked Derek, after Father Martel was out of earshot.

 

                Risten nodded with a slight laugh.  “A genuine example of God’s love.”

 

                Derek smiled and led her to the road, from the tranquility of the sacred grounds back to the hustle and bustle of the city.  The moment he turned his heels, however, he had to glance back.  He narrowed his eyes on the cross atop the chapel.  Sensing that Risten was looking away, he reached behind his neck and tried to rub away the ache.

 

                Beside his scar, something else didn’t feel quite right.

 

~*~

 

“Clemenstra…what have you done?”  Halie said, barely audibly.  She was struggling to sound calm.

 

                Clemenstra laughed; a hollow sound that echoed in the dark, empty room.  She lit a candle beside her with a tiny violet flame.

 

                “Ah…Marayna…so wonderful to see you again.”  she drawled.

 

                Halie flinched at the sound of her old name, and the painful memories that it held.  She hugged herself and shivered.

 

                “Oh?  Are you chilly?  I’m dreadfully sorry; we fledglings don’t feel such sensations…”  said Clemenstra, smiling.  Her shiny red lips glowed in the dark candlelight.  Halie looked up. 

 

                “Don’t use your sham politeness on me, witch.  Mark my words; your evil is soon to be at its end.”  she said, angrily.

 

                “No, dear; it has just begun.  Ha ha ha…so that’s why you’ve come.  To kill me?”  She laughed long and hard at that.   “Is this revenge for what’s happened to you and your pathetic boyfriend?  I’m sorry; did I wreck your relationship?  Well, if you recall, none of that was any of my doing.  You got into a silly little quibble with him.  You told him you never wanted to see him ever again--“

 

                “You killed my parents!”  Halie screamed, wanting to wring the witch’s neck and drag her into Hell herself.  “I was out of line!  And you sent those demons to torture him, telling him that if he didn’t work for you you’d kill his brother and sister.  And then your stupid, idiot of a son…he…”  But she couldn’t finish.  The atrocity caught in her throat.

 

                “He what?  Bit him?  Yes, that was all part of the plan.  So Brennan saved Arias from me, only to have Arias working for me anyway, and he never even knew!  Heh, my own brilliance shocks even me sometimes.”

 

                “You--“

 

                “Oh, be quiet.  I tire of you, Marayna.  No matter how things may seem it’s still your fault in the end.  You started it.”  The witch pointed a gleaming red nail at Halie.   “Poor Arias was heartbroken after you sent him away.  He was lost, and everything in his life was meaningless after you so thoughtlessly left him.  He wandered into Rellasmír, and we gave him a new life.  A new life without you and the pain that you brought him.  Sounds like he’s better off if you ask me.”

 

                Heartbroken.  Lost.  Meaningless.  Each word struck Halie like a dagger through her heart and landed with a piercing cringe in her stomach.  She felt like hurling.  Any courage or determination that she had managed to muster seemed to melt away.

 

                “No…”  she said, with a sob.  “I still…”

 

                “You still what?  You still love him?  Well, my dear, it’s too late for that.”  said Clemenstra, leaning back in her chair.  “Get her and lock her in the dungeons.”  she hissed at two somethings that were standing in the pitch-black corners of the room.

 

                Halie couldn’t speak.  The guards, whatever they were, grabbed her roughly by the arms and bound her wrists were chains.  They pulled her away from Clemenstra, and she made no effort to escape.  What was the use?  Did she actually believe that she could single-handedly take down the witch?  Her love had led her into a headlong desperation.  She had stabbed him for nothing.  Absolutely nothing.

 

                Arias…  She thought, or maybe she had whispered it, she didn’t know.

 

                ‘Marayna, I’m sorry, all right?  I didn’t mean to offend your mom; it just sort of slipped out.  She and I don’t share the same opinions on things, that’s all.’  he said, looking at her with an expression that begged for forgiveness.

 

                “No, that’s not all, Arias!  She never liked you, you knew that, she said you were all emo and looked like the kind of kid who slits his wrists and-“

 

                “Marayna…”  he put his finger under her chin, but she slapped it away.

 

                “Are you listening to me?  This is serious!  I can’t go along with this relationship if my mother doesn’t approve!  I won’t go without her blessing!  And you had to go and act all ‘I know everything about everything’ on her and make her leave the table?  Why couldn’t you just shut your mouth?  Now she’s gonna tattle-tale on you to my dad, and oh…this will never work.”  She covered her face with her hands.

 

                “Oh come on.  She was openly insulting Rautor the high king!  I couldn’t let her do that.  Your mother is a very cynical woman, Marayna.”

 

                “Cynical or not, she’s my mother, and I can’t just shut her out of my life.  Nor can I do that to my father.  I love them…”  she said into her hands.  She started to cry.

 

                Arias touched her neck and pressed his lips to her forehead.  “Don’t worry; I’ll apologize to your mom.  Everything will be all right.”

 

                “I’m not so sure.  She looked really angry, Arias.”  said Marayna sadly, as he put his arms loosely around her waist.  She pulled away from him.  “I should go home, it’s getting late.  I’m sorry about what happened at breakfast.”  She slipped her hand from his grasp.

 

                “Me too.”  said Arias, not smiling like she expected him to.  “See you later...maybe.”

 

                So she walked home, practicing over and over the excuses for Arias that she would have to make to her mother.  She was running out of ideas.  She knew her explanations would be to no avail, but she had to try anyway.  Arias was worth it all.  All Marayna had to do was think of him, and it seemed as though nothing could go wrong.  She could seem him now in her mind, wearing his favorite pair of sneakers, tight black jeans, studded belt, a slim, striped t-shirt and a scarf that served no purpose but decoration.  Well, along with the tiny silver stud on the side of his nose, maybe in style he was a little emo.  With an aching sigh, she thought of him again, with no regard to his clothes.  His long limbs and attractive swimmer’s build; those bright yellow eyes that emanated intensity and enthusiasm; the spiked hair and long bangs that scintillated in alternating shades of black, silver, and gold; the thin, curved brows and pale lips; his smooth, fair skin that made her tingle whenever she touched it. 

 

                Was he worth giving up her family, though?

 

                She was approaching her house now.  It was just around the corner.  She heaved in a breath.

 

                 “Here goes nothing.”  she whispered.  But suddenly she stopped, her sandals skidding against the smooth stone of the road.  She smelt smoke and heard crackling sounds from the other side of the ten-foot wall to her right.  She heard people screaming her parent’s names.  She looked up; a cloud of black was rising up into the red sky.

 

                “Mom!  Dad!”  Marayna cried, running down the road and around the street sign.  For a moment, all she could do was stand there, staring at her family’s home, which was now engulfed in purple flames.  Her heartbeat was choking her.  She lunged forward, but a strong pair of arms held her back.

 

                “Marayna, no!  It’s too dangerous!”  said Arias.  She struggled violently, but couldn’t escape his arms.

 

                “MOM!!! DAD!!!”  she screamed helplessly.  Arias held her firmly as she wailed, watching in horror as a water-bearer used magic to try and douse the vicious flames.

 

                Marayna gripped hard unto Arias’ forearms, her polished nails digging into his skin.  With a cry, lightning bolts flashed through her palms.  Arias gasped and release her, staggering backwards.  She turned on him with a malicious look.  She should’ve been horrified at what she had done to him; his arms and torso had been severely shocked, the bolts leaving jagged red scars across his skin.  But she could feel nothing but anger.

 

                “You!  This is all your fault!  I should’ve been at home where I belong, instead of with you!”  She said ‘you’ with so much detest that Arias cringed,  “I could’ve been here to save them!  I could’ve…”  She bit her lip as tears flooded her face.

 

                “Marayna, I’m"“

 

                “Shut up!  Go away!  I never want to see your face, ever again!”  She broke into an outburst of sobbing, as she fell to her knees and slammed her fists against the ground.

 

                Arias stood up, grimacing.  He walked over to her and knelt beside her.  “Marayna…”  He touched her lower back, at the edge of her tank top.

 

                “DON’T TOUCH ME!!!”  she screamed as she sprang up, the back of her fist slamming into Arias’ cheek.  He recoiled, the blow bringing tears to his eyes.  “LEAVE ME ALONE!!!” 

 

                And she stumbled away, down the road, eager to get as far away as she could from him.  Arias watched her mournfully, fighting the urge to follow her.  He knew she couldn’t be crying so hard for a single reason…

 

                Halie sat in the corner of a damp cell, her wrists and ankles shackled to the wall with thick chains.  The air smelt heavily of a sickening combination of blood and mold.  The only sound discernable was water dripping somewhere near, and Halie’s own steady breathing echoing in the room. 

 

                She lowered her head and sobbed despairingly.

 

                And no, it wasn’t for a single reason.

Author's Note

Btw, sorry if the formatting is all screwed up. I copy these chapters from Word and sometimes WritersCafe's boxes doesn't like it. lol

Enjoy.

Reviews

[SatinSky]

I'm kind of confused, In a good way, though ;) I want to read more!!