Chapter 5

It's taken me a long time to really get a handle on this story. When I first thought of it, I was only 12 and lacked the skills to put it down into words effectively.

Chapter Five

                  Livi gasped, a yelp stifled from her lips as Albinus suddenly slapped an arm over her chest and clamped a hand over her mouth. He drug her to her knees as his posture became a low, gradual crouch. “Shh.” His voice whispered into her ear. A frantic glance saw that Silvan had assumed a similar posture before them, his broad shoulders flexed and his sharp eyes narrowed to slits. She thought she heard a growl coming from his throat…but wasn’t close enough to be sure.

                  The thought had crossed her mind before, but now she pondered it again; if Albinus could change into a wolf, what then was Silvanus? If he truly was aeterni then he would have another form and an element to master. But what element? And what form?

                  Silvanus spun and slunk back to them, the sleeves of his long silk robes dragging the earth. He crouched close to Albinus, never looking them in the eye but speaking to them none the less in his usual growling tone, “We’ve got company. A half a mile due east. Could be travelers. Could be guards. They aren’t sure.”

                  “Who is they?” Livi’s voice was muffled by the hand clamped over her face. Her soft features blushed pink as Albinus pressed his cheek to hers, lifting a finger to point upwards, up into the widespread arms of the trees. The trees?

                  “Stay very quiet, m’love, not all of them would see us safely to Delvon.” Albinus whispered again, releasing her and shifting to converse with Silvan in low, hushed voices. She sat dumbly on her knees, then, staring up into the entwining fingers of the trees overhead. They swayed very slowly, leaning and groaning in the wind that swept over their green faces. She felt very small.

                  “One hour.” Albinus agreed suddenly, and looking back he loomed over her, puffing hot wolf breath onto her face. Resisting the impulse to scream in shock and horror she coughed a forced smile, looking up into his peaceful wolf face. He licked up her cheek, leaving a trail of hot saliva before turning to plunge into the foliage without a word. After gagging over the sudden blast of foul animal breath she wiped her cheek on her sleeve, wondering after where he had gone. A snort from Silvan canceled her concerns with a swift feeling of dread. She had been left alone with him.

                  He settled himself onto the mossy earth several feet away, crossing his legs and leaning back on arms that were hidden beneath sloppy layers of oversized robes. The collection of silver necklaces about his neck jangled and tinkled against his chest as he reclined, sparkling in the low light of the sunlight that filtered through the leaves. But he did not wear any with the crest of the Ivory Queen as Albinus did. It made her endlessly curious but she said nothing of it, moving to settle herself into a sitting position as well.

                  “You hate me…” She concluded aloud, her voice soft and timid as she stared straight ahead, avoiding him at all costs, “Don’t you?” It had seemed that way since their meeting, and their confrontation earlier that day had only solidified it in her mind. There was something about her, maybe something in the way she looked at him, that he did not like. Maybe it reminded him of some past evil, some cruel memory that was reanimated in her. Her soft blue eyes turned to meet his face for a moment, measuring if her words had achieved any reaction.

                  He wasn’t looking at her. His eyes drifted, instead, over the forest that spanned endlessly around them, wandering through the lonely trunks that were wreathed each to each in a soft swirl of mist. But he had heard her; his brow was furrowed a little. The dark features of his horrifyingly handsome face were crinkled ever so slightly into a look of deep thought. He pressed his thin lips together, one hand working to spin a silver band that he wore over his middle finger. “Do you think me awful?” His vivid green eyes turned to focus on her suddenly, “Am I such a monster to you?”

                  Liviana swallowed hard, staring into the vast intelligence of those inhuman eyes made her shiver. Made her nervous. Made her scared. But in her stubbornness, she refused to let him see it, keeping her eyes straightly into his and straining not to falter, “I don’t really know what you are.” She answered at last, as truthfully as she could be without being insulting.

                  A dry, lifeless smile crinkled over his thin lips. It seemed less than authentic and looked extremely awkward on his fierce face. But there was a measure of gentleness there that made it difficult not to smile. Gentleness that shocked her beyond words and she felt her lips part a bit in surprise. “Well then,” He closed his eyes, the strange curved smile still upon his lips, “do not assume to know how I feel about you.”

                  Without noticing she had begun to lean closer to him, drawn into that smile as if it were tugging upon her soul. She felt tears stinging her eyes, her lips trembling in a rush of emotion that rendered her soul defenseless. What was it about him…that made her this way?

                  A crash from the foliage spoke of Albinus’s return, the large panting wolf padding up to flop down next to Livi. “Four guards patrol just a halfmark from here.” He panted, resting his snout upon his paws while he caught his breath. This large, white wolf form he wore was almost the size of a bear and dwarfed them both, but it felt strangely casual amongst them. His blue eyes flicked to Livi’s face, noting the tears that pooled in her eyes, and he quickly turned an accusing snarl to Silvan. “What did you do this time?”

                  Silvanus snorted, offering nothing more on the subject. The smile was gone. Gone back to the dark depths of his soul where it slept and waited. She promised herself she would see it again. “We go ‘round then?” Silvan sighed, seemingly bored of such accusations.

                  Albinus kept a cold stare on him for a long time, finally resolving that getting answers from him was unlikely. “That’ll take us awfully close to DeiNegris.” He grumbled, laying his head upon his paws again, “Did you want to chance that? I’d rather tangle with some half-bit guards than those…things.”

                  His face darkened a bit and Silvan crossed his arms over his chest, nodding gravely in agreement to that. “Then we have to do this carefully. If you let them raise the alarm to the other patrols it’ll prolong everything.”

                  “Oh yeah, it’s my fault,” Albinus grumbled sarcastically, rolling his eyes and leaning gruffly against Livi. She strained and huffed to keep from toppling over under his furry weight. “I’m not the one who’s wanted for treason.”

                  Her brain perked at that and she sent a sharp stare to where Silvan was looking pointedly away. He was wanted by the Men of WestSea? But why? From all she had heard, the Men of WestSea ignored the aeterni for the most part. At least, they had as of late, seeing that the aeterni would not rise against them. Her lips hungered to ask but something in her heart warned her not to. If he had been so careful to hide it, there had to be a reason. Still, being a traitor to the Men of WestSea didn’t seem so awful to her. Those barbaric men were set against anything refined and educated. It rather seemed to suit him that he should be everything they despise.

                  “Get ready.” Silvan barked, snapping to his feet and brushing out the lengths of his attire. The two-layered robe hung down loosely over his shoulders, one sleeve even falling off and halfway down his arm. It was a casually seductive look and she found herself blushing and looking away desperately. If she was bound to hate him it was horribly inconvenient that he should be so handsome.

___

            Livi stared with wide, frightened blue eyes from beneath the hood of her cloak. Albinus had pulled it down to cover most of her face from any passersby, though several locks of her long dark hair had escaped to cascade down her chest. She walked shoulder to shoulder between them, all three wearing their black cloaks with cowls drawn low. Her heart fluttered and her stomach swam, making her hands close into tight sweaty fists. But between them, two men of noble to birth and magnificent power standing on either side, she felt somewhat comforted.

                  She heard them at first, the clopping of hooves and the snorting and soft whinnying of cavalry horses. The clank and clatter of armory. The strap and strain of reins and stirrups. Royal guards? It made her all the more nervous. They really were close to Casdania.

                  “Keep your head low.” Albinus whispered a soft warning to her, “Whatever happens, just stay close to me.”

                  “Stop there! Who goes?” There came a shout from a man’s gruff voice and Livi felt her heart leap into her throat, blocking any hope for words or a yelp. “On your knees, all of you!”

                  From beneath the cover of her hood she could see two guards upon brown chestnut mounts, two others following along on foot that now approached them close. She came gradually to her knees alongside her companions, her eyes shut tight and listening intently to the grunts of the guards and the steady breathing of the men on either side of her. Her small frame trembled beneath the cover of the cloak, thankful now for the disguise that might buy them some excuse.

                  One of the guards began prowling before them, pacing to and fro past the line of travelers with a skeptical, bloodshot eye. The scrape and ring of a sword leaving its sheath made her lips part, body tense and horrified at what they might do. With the tip of his sword, the guard lifted back Albinus’s hood, unveiling his mussed mop of white hair and pale handsome features. The guard followed suit with Livi and Silvan as well, pausing over Silvan with a silent sort of puzzlement. Out of the corner of her now wide open eyes she could see Silvan, sitting upon his knees in the dirt with his eyes cast down. It made her ache for some comfort to see him so devoid of resilience.

                  “What the hell do we have here?” One of the mounted Men of WestSea snarled, hocking a wad of spit to the ground before them, “Two aeterni and a cross-dressing woman. What in the bowels of the gods do you think you’re doing?”

                  “We humbly ask safe passage�"“ Albinus began, cut short by the hoarse, coughing laugh of the company of guards.

                  “Like hell! I’m not as foolish as you hoped I was!” The mounted guard burbled, nodding to the small company of royal guards, “Take them and strip the girl.”

                  “But sir?” The guard brandishing his sword cast his superior uneasy glances, “We’re supposed to take all prisoners immediately to questioning.”

                  The mounted leader of the small platoon gave him a punishing glare, “We are. But they struggled, remember? Complications couldn’t be avoided.” He grinned evilly, casting hungrily lustful stares that made Livi tremble visibly, “Strip her and tie her to that tree.”

                  Out of the corner of her eye she saw Albinus move, but couldn’t discern what he was doing. She didn’t see him reach his hands down to press his palms upon the warm earth. Or see how he dug his fingers into the soil. But she did see him bow his head, his lips moving as he whispered something in a faint voice. Fog curled off his lips and the tiny hairs on her arms and neck stood on end as she felt the air around him becoming incredibly cold.

                  The guard on foot began towards her, accompanied by another who bore a robe and a disgustingly evil smile. She could no longer mask her emotion and looked up to them, blue eyes vibrant and wide with horror. The sword flashed and glittered in the dull forest light, the guard taunting one of her companions to challenge them. He flicked the tip of the blade to rest just at the graceful nape of her neck, trailing the point up to lift her chin to look at him. Her eyes burned with hate though she trembled, held into that moment by the tip of a sword.

                  Tears of wrathful fear began to form in her eyes, dripping down her cheeks as her brow quavered somewhere between silent submission and a crazed act of bravery. But her heart cried out for something else. Her heard wept and begged for him. For Silvanus. In her mind, she screamed his name.

                  It happened so fast that she wasn’t even sure what she saw was real. The ground around Albinus’s fingers froze, an icy trail snaking up instantly to the guards on horseback, freezing hooves to the earth in a thick layer of ice. He grinned with pleasure, grabbing her arm and snatching her away from the sword-point as Silvanus rushed them.

                  “Silvan!” She cried out, the air snatched from her lungs suddenly as Albinus clutched her to his breast, throwing a series of ice-made daggers at a pursuing guard, daggers that seemed to just crystallize from his palms at will. A successful hit landed the guard face down in the dirt and Livi stared in utter horror. He didn’t stop to gloat his victory, not yet anyway, grabbing her along again and fleeing into the foliage. Whatever had become of Silvanus, it was enough to keep the rest of the guards occupied; they weren’t following.

                  Liviana felt her heart drop into her stomach as she heard an earth-trembling roar come from behind. Back where the guards were. Back where Silvan was. It sounded like the roar of a beast mingled with that of a man and it made her blood run cold. She stumbled, trying to look back and see, but the trees veiled whatever went on, betraying nothing but the blood gurgled cried of guards and the ring and crash of swords.

                  “This is unfortunate,” Ablinus growled, his voice suddenly sounding very beastly itself, “He needs me.”

                  Livi’s face paled suddenly, snatching her arm away from him and stopping dead in her tracks, “What do you mean?! Go back and help him!” She cried loudly, balling her little hands into fists.

                  He dove back for her, grabbing her by the shoulders and looking intently down into her face, “Come on now. Don’t make his sacrifice a vain one!”

                  She snatched away, turning back to where Silvan was and starting that way, “I never asked him to! Why would he do this?! We have to help him!”

                  “Child! By the goddess, listen to me!” Albinus threw an arm around her midriff and flung her flailing figure over his shoulder, “He’s doing all this for you!”

                  Livi struggled and squirmed as he ran on, away from the scene, lugging her over his shoulder like a sack of oyster shells. She beat angry fists into his back, demanding to be put down but he refused, running swiftly over the soft earth. He leapt fallen trees with little effort, finally slowing once the sounds of the battle had died away long ago somewhere off in the distance. Her struggles stopped and she lay helplessly where he had thrust her, weeping softly and driving a weak fist into his back every now and then. Silvan had smiled. He had smiled at her. Just moments ago, it seemed.

                  Albinus was panting heavily as he finally slowed to a stop, letting her slide from his back to stand on her own feet. Her legs refused the gesture and she crumbled to the ground, sitting on the mossy earth and staring straight ahead in speechless, tear-filled shock.

                  “He’s dead…” She managed to whisper, her voice hoarse and steeped in grief, “We let him die.”

Albinus snorted and combed back his sweaty white hair with his fingers, “That’s unlikely. It’d take more than a few royal guards to bring him down. If he’s recovered from the healing, anyway.”

                  “But he wasn’t! You saw it before, didn’t you? He wasn’t himself!” She protested, scrambling clumsily to her feet and throwing accusing glares at him. “We could have saved him!”

                  Albinus looked her over with strangely calm and even-tempered eyes. A smile chanced his lips and he nodded, offering her a low formal bow that she took as sarcasm. But he had not intended it that way. “I’ll go and look for him then, all right, m’love?”

                  “Don’t call me that!” She snapped, her fair brow wrinkling into an expression of tearful rage, “Pray to the goddess he’s alive! If not we’re both murderers! No better than the Men of WestSea!”

                  He nodded again, somewhat apologetically, and turned away to begin back from where they had come, “As you wish. Stay put.”

                  She regretted him leaving almost instantly as the cold gripping silence of the Forest of Royokan closed in around her. The trees seemed larger here. More impending and silent than the ones they had been around before. She stood alone amongst the trunks, looking around carefully with the mist swirling about her ankles. Her heart thrummed heavily, each pulse hurting more than the last. Why did it worry her so? She couldn’t force an answer from any corner of her brain and resolved to leave it unanswered.

                  A crash from the foliage behind her made a cry escape her lips and she spun to face where Silvan staggered from the underbrush. He lumbered towards her, hunched over and clutching his arm, making it only a few feet before losing his balance and falling forward towards the earth. Livi’s arms caught him up, her legs trembling under his weight until she sank down to her knees, unable to lift him up as she had hoped.

                  “Oh my god,” She gasped, her arms closed around his torso where he lay on his knees before her, his face buried in the crook of her neck and his arms dangling limply from his shoulders. “Silvanus?!” She cried his name but if he heard her, he made no response other than a indiscernible groan. But with her weak arms she held him tight, suddenly aware of a warm wetness oozing down from his shoulder and onto her cloak; he was hurt.

Panic instantly seized her throat and made all her thoughts and movements frantic and uncertain. “Just hang on! Please!”Her voice was laced with tears as she felt his heart beating against her chest, it seemed so faint and weak, “Please…” she begged, clutching him tighter, “don’t die! You can’t die!”

___

                  Sweat poured from his brow as Albinus finally broke into the small clearing where he had left Livi waiting. His heart thrummed painfully with regret and fear; he hadn’t been able to find Silvan. The sick feeling that she had been right about their leaving his companion behind made his stomach writhe and swim in his gut. But combing his sweat-soaked hair back from his eyes, he stopped dead in his tracks, crystalline blue eyes wide and staring to where Silvanus sat upon the soft, warm earth, Liviana’s limp body cradled in his arms. She seemed to be sleeping, or maybe unconscious, for he held her upright as she slumped against his chest.

                  “What…the hell happened back there?” He stammered, taking a few stumbling steps forward in complete disbelief, “I saw all the blood, the bodies. I figured they’d…you know…”

                  Silvan kept his eyes cast down to where Livi breathed softly against his chest, her head resting there where he held her, “They almost did. I managed to find her here.”

                  He shook his mane of white hair, taking the collar of his white tunic and shaking it to puff cool air over his sweat-laden body. His eyes wandered curiously over his sullen companion, intrigued at how he willingly put himself in contact with another. Silvan’s robes were somewhat tattered and the front was stained with a large amount of blood. “Are you all right? That looks pretty nasty.”

                  A large, pale hand moved to touch Livi’s motionless face, brushing his knuckles delicately over the smooth, soft canvas of her cheeks. “She healed me.” Silvan answered, his voice deeply calm, making the trees that stood around him shift and whisper.

                  Albinus coughed at that, sending his friend a half-disbelieving stare, “No way. She’s nowhere near ready to be doing healings yet. There’s no way!”

                  His objections were promptly ignored as Silvanus pulled himself to his feet, lifting her easily and carrying her as if she weighed nothing at all. Her legs dangled from his arms, her head and upper body resting against the broad, muscled strength of his chest. “She did. I don’t think she knew what she was doing, but it was enough to spare my life. And enough to completely drain her of energy. It was a reckless, wasteful thing to do.”

                  A soft, knowing smile spread over Albinus’s youthful features and he crossed his arms, turning his face down and out of sight as his cheeks blushed at the sight. “We,” he coughed, fighting back a glee-filled chuckle, “should get going. We’re far too close to DeiNegris for my liking. You think you’re gonna be all right?”

                  Silvanus lifted his eyes from the sleeping woman’s face, turned them to the forest that embraced them. His green eyes narrowed, body becoming rigid and stiffened; something was coming. The trees whispered and shifted, speaking to him in their quiet, passive way. But their message was less than passive. Something moved in the thickets. Albinus stiffened as well and likewise widened his stance. A heavy growl burned in Silvan’s throat, clutching Livi close with a feral protective urge.

                  “Men of WestSea?” Albinus growled low to his companion, his shoulders hunched forward as his body crack and warped into something grotesquely wolf.

                  Turning brilliant green eyes upward, Silvanus listened. They spoke through the soft rustling in their leaves, the crack and grind of their branches rubbing against each other, and in the soft moan of their swaying trunks. “No.” He growled back, catching the scent and feeling the hairs on his arms and , neck stand straight up, “Something else.”

Author's Note

Content not edited.