Chapter 1: The Return
Darkness. Darkness was all I saw as I trudged on through what seemed like an endless labyrinth. It looked too familiar… The sun… Where was it? I had no light, but I could see as if the brightest candle was in my hand. Something was not right here. This was not my world…
It was then that I saw something that did not appeal to my memory at all. A glowing white butterfly that looked as if it had come from the moon… It fluttered past me and up to another crossing, and then landed on a leaf, turning around to face me.
It fluttered its wings as if it were trying to say something. Was it showing me the way? I turned onto the path and watched the luminescent butterfly lift itself up into the air and continue on.
'This can't be happening. It feels like I've been stuck in here forever…' I thought to myself.
The butterfly stopped in its tracks, still suspending itself in the air. It fluttered over and landed on my shoulder as a gate appeared, glowing with the same divine, alluring light. I walked up to the gate and held my hand up to its ivory bars.
No harm detected, I wrapped my callused fingers around them. I suddenly felt a faint breeze tug a piece of my hair away from my eyes. I was compelled to grasp the bars with my other hand and look through into the dark abyss.
"What devilry…?" I whispered. As I looked through the gate, I saw my home. I saw lush green forests and the children of my village playing and picking flowers of unbelievable color. Was I really home at last? Was this gate all that was separating me from it?
"Home…" I said quietly to myself.
Suddenly, the ground began to rumble underneath me.
I removed my hands from the bars and watched as my village slowly faded away.
Yet still, the ground shook and began to shatter. Before I could blink I found myself falling until everything went black.
"Are you all right, Arandur? Arandur, wake up! Arandur, you're scaring me!" Said a soft voice.
I shot awake in my bed, shirtless, with sweat all over my face and adrenaline pulsing through my body.
I looked over to see my little sister, Ithilwen, sitting with a panicked look on her face.
"Are you alright, big brother?" Ithilwen asked, her silvery eyes shimmering.
"It's just another nightmare." I told her.
"You know what the doctor said, Arandur! You have to wear that charm! These nightmares can't be good for you!" she exclaimed.
I groaned. "I know what the doctor said, alright? I'm fine." But deep down I knew I was lying. I glared at my sister, but then soften my gaze when I saw she had begun to cry.
"Ithilwen, I…" I said. She looked up at me and threw herself into my arms.
"I'm worried about you, big brother. Ever since Inna and Beleg died, you've been having these horrible nightmares! It's so hard to sit back and watch you thrash around in your sleep! I just want you to get better, and I can only imagine how bad it's been for you, living in the mountains all alone!" she cried.
I smiled at her and wiped her tears.
"Come on. We have a lot of work to do today." I grinned. She nodded, handed me my clothes, and we set out the door.
"Good morning, my highnesses." A woman said as she bowed when we entered her home, "I trust you slept well?"
We nodded, then sat down and began to chat about how the village was doing. I had been away from the village for a while, so I had some catching up to do.
As the days went on, I gradually grew accustomed to living in the village once again. After living in the mountains for three years, I'd been used to hunting for my own food and fending for myself. Now that I was back in my village of Narssias, everything was being done for me. Medicine was made, weapons were crafted, and crops were tended to. I had no work that I could've done there.
A week later at the village gathering, I sat once again next to my sister on a throne of white. Four village women came up to me, holding their nameless children in their arms. I could tell their genders. The girls lay wrapped in rose-colored cloth, the boys' wrappings blue as the sky. The women knelt before us as Ithilwen and I stood up. I gazed at the four new citizens of the village of Narssias, each one of them sleeping like little angels.
It is traditional that the princess or queen should name the boys and the prince or king name the girls. My Inna named me Arandur, meaning steward or care-taker in the ancient language of the Elves. My Beleg named my sister Ithilwen, meaning moon, for her silvery grey eyes.
The two small and delicate girls I was supposed to name were apparently twins. They both had dazzling sapphire blue eyes, with blonde hair. While thinking of a name for the first girl, she awoke from her slumber to look up at me and smile. I decided to name her Castiel, meaning "gentle." The second looked up at me scared. I named this one Naerwen, meaning "Sad one."
Ithilwen named the two boys Handion, meaning "Intelligent," and Beriogelir, meaning "Happy Protection."
That night, I couldn't help but think about Castiel and Naerwen. They both look almost exactly alike, yet they were so different…
It felt the same way with Ithilwen and I. We both look like our Inna more than out Beleg, and we both have an undeniable love for the people of Narssias. As I began to think about more of the differences between us, I somewhere got lost and slipped into slumber, only to have another nightmare, as I have had every night for the past 5 years.