Divine Wind
And hello again! Given the state of my schedule, figured I would give another update to this story. And knowing that you guys may not like it, makes me rather uneasy, but with only two chapters up, perhaps it needs to be bigger before you do hate it or like it. Either way, might be good constructive growth in another direction. Well, nothing else to say, so on with it. Oh by the way, you can thank my new beta reader, shamhlu did an amazing job and he is awesome. Check out his stories! Awesome reads!
Chapter Two
Crimson Strike
Florence, Italy. 1476.
Warmth. The feeling of heat upon her stirred Kyla, feeling the darkness retreat more and more. This feeling made her become aware of her surroundings. She tried to force her eyes open, but they refused to open. She tried focusing her hearing instead, hearing nothing but muffled noises all around her. She tried harder to know what area she was in. It sharpened slightly, hearing a small stream of water next to her. The need to be safe became urgent within her. She needed to get into a safe place. She began to move her fingers, slowly to test her stiffness. Feeling her tiny bones and multiple muscles tighten at first, soon give way to her commands. Kyla decide to test both arms, feeling slightly heavier than what they usually are.
'Oh, yeah. My hidden blades.'
Kyla forced her arms up, sensing someone nearby, wanting to either reach for some cover or be ready to attack. Instead, the figure stayed at a safe distance, keeping watch of her and what she was doing. Before she could get out a word, her mind became fuzzy, moving the light in every which way, pushing her back and forth until the darkness consumed her.
In her sleep, she could see a sea of unkempt grass flowing against the wind, tickling her waist gently. She cautiously took a step forward, sensing something was wrong. She turned, she could see someone in the distance, as if they knew her, far out of reach. Standing upon a hill in the sea, as if above all the endlessness that gave her a small bit of hope. Kyla, wary at first, felt her body move slowly towards them. Every step she took, she heard small unpleasant noises buzz in her ears, blades clashing against each other, screams and shouts become humming tunes, the blast of a distant object hitting the ground vibrate at her feet as she neared this person. Seeing them cloaked in white, their body etched in a glow, similar to the one her ring gave off.
As she stretched out her hand to grasp them, a voice called out to her.
"Kyla!"
She turned around slightly, seeing her brother run for her, a sword drawn in his hand. His actions confusing her, till a sudden rush of pain from her back caused her to freeze. Her body no longer obeyed her, her mind was slowly beginning to fade. As she looked behind her to see who had stabbed her, she saw it was the same figure covered in the glowing light, whispering softly to her.
"To ho detto che ti avrei preso."
Her mind falling to black again as she fell to the darkness once more.
A sudden rush water splashed onto her, shocked her awake. Coughing profusely, her vision blurred from the figure standing before her. Her body aching, as if reacting to a long journey with no break. Her hearing returning slowly, muffled sounds of running water and the wind rushing past her brought her to realization that she was no longer in her own home.
Now, hearing her brothers muffled voice, full of urgency and concern. She focused what little energy she had into focusing her hearing better, with the success, she instantly regretted.
"Kyla! Wake your ass up, now." Thane yelled.
Her eyes instantly narrowed at him. She already had a headache, he was adding to it now, noticing the empty bucket near his feet he no doubt used on her.
"I'm awake, dammit! Shut up!" Kyla yelled back at him. She didn't care if it pissed him off or not, she just wanted her body to stop aching.
"You were out for a while. Worried that you were trapped in the rings vision." Thane said, flicking the small container he had acquired to splash water on her next to her.
Kyla, now having her vision becoming clear, stared at him.
"How did you know I was trapped?" Kyla asked, seeing her brother shift a little towards her. Waiting for his response, she noticed that she was perched underneath a tree, keeping her covered from the sun's beams.
"This isn't exactly my first time doing this, Kyla." Thane finally admitted, sitting down next to her. Kyla gaped at him.
"What? You have used these before?" Kyla continued to stare at her brother, not believing him slightly.
"It was to test if the rings still worked. I used one to travel back a few months, I wanted to see mom. At first, I couldn't get up. I could feel a slight heaviness on me then I was brought into a strange vision. And I was trapped there until I was shocked out of it from our uncle. He woke me up with water and I went straight to mom, visited with her and was given a chance to say goodbye." Kyla stayed silent, feeling as if his story was not through.
"When I got back, my memories were changed, places that I knew I never went to at the time, made sense. Even having a weird memory of seeing mother when I knew I didn't at the time made sense. But, when I came back, an innocent died in my place, a woman of thirty years old, healthy and self-sufficient, died of unknown causes, but it was confirmed that there was a strange substance in her body at the time. But, when they tested the substance to trace for the source, it disappeared. Father confirmed that me going back in time killed that woman. He also explained how the rings work and what they can do, but he made me swear not to tell you until the time is right." Thane said, keeping himself composed so that when Kyla burst into her tantrum, he would be ready.
But it never came. Kyla was confused, but understood why Thane did what he did. Their mother's death was unexpected and even she had a hard time grasping it. How their mother had left them alone with father, feeling it was unfair for her to leave at all.
But, she had a feeling that Thane was hiding something from her, how he would talk to her about mom and the way he had carried himself when defending father from her angry comments. His whole demeanor seemed to have change so quickly and he tried hard to hide it from her.
Kyla simply sighed, coming to the conclusion that Thane didn't just accept this mission for no reason. He was ready, and he needed her for this. Knowing she would not say no to her own brother. She did want to scream at him, yell at him for keeping this from her. Accusing him of being selfish in his knowledge of the rings that she should have known, but in her heart, she knew it would not solve anything.
She could feel her brother growing more and more concerned of her reaction. She simply smiled at him and asked,
"Did it suck when you couldn't tell me about mom and all of this?"
Thane nodded quickly, giving herself small satisfaction in it.
"Good. From now on, please tell me things. I'm your sister. I am here for you and you are here for me. I want to depend on you. So, from now on, please tell me these things." Kyla said, keeping her tone controlled and calm. She knew her brother, but she wanted to be sure he would not lie to her again.
"I promise." Thane said. He placed the book in front of her, opening it to the first page it offered. He stood up, grabbing what looked like a rucksack that was fashioned poorly.
"I'm guessing you know about this?" Kyla asked, lifting the book closer, reading the small text along the page.
"Yes. First page always states the same rule: Do not change history. Events must happen how they did for the future to stay intact." Kyla looked over the words again, seeing that they were as Thane said.
Do not change history.
She sighed a little. A few concise rules could help them out. As she continued to read, she noticed a peculiar rule that made her look up at her brother.
Do not 'incorporate' in the timeline.
"Thane, what does it mean when it says incorporate?" Kyla asked, closing the book slightly. She watched him chuckle a little. He smiled and tossed the ruck sack at her feet.
"Don't fuck anyone in the past."
Kyla turned pale, glancing back down at the page again, hoping he was wrong, but what else would it mean, come to think of it?
"Why would they have that rule in there?" Kyla asked as she watched him go through the ruck sack, grabbing a worn out old looking shirt and a run-down vest.
"While we are in the past, we can not have sex with anyone here. Any changes to time in any way will disrupt the future and all that it is. Which, as they have put it, do not incorporate in the timeline." Thane explained.
Kyla was still shocked that these rules were so extensive, to the point of making sure that nothing changes the future. Like she wanted to have sex with a man of the past, who are not engaged in meaningless tasks like gardening or 'Comic-con'. Men from her time were more interested in the online aspect of courting, rather than go on an actual date and meet face to face. She shook her head of these small perversions, feeling she would succumb to these things if she was not so strong willed.
She noticed that Thane had already adorned the worn-out shirt and vest and was now taking out badly sown pants, spots and places that looked like they needed better stitch work.
"Our mission has not changed, Kyla. We have to find the person who took the ring and get it back. But, we can't go walking around in these clothes." Thane said, shoving his own shirt and jeans into the rucksack.
"Where did you get these clothes?" Kyla asked as she looked in the sack for something she could wear, finding nothing but a small simple blue dress, with white trim along the side cutting the blue in its place.
"While you were knocked out, a happy couple came upon us and offered some clothes to us. The woman offered one of her four dresses she had stowed away, and the gentleman offered his worn-out clothes for me." Thane said. She noticed him latch his blades back on to his arms and wrists, he must of taken them off when the couple had come by. He grabbed his new shirt sleeves and pulled them gently, covering his hidden blades and keeping his ring in view slightly.
Kyla eyed the dress. The design was simple, but the sleeves were too tight around the wrist to hide her blades undetected. She groaned inwardly, wishing she was awake when the couple had came by. She could've chosen the right dress for herself and not let Thane pick it out for her. Seeing as she would only wait for the perfect moment to find a new wardrobe, she quickly unlatched her blades and placed them into the rucksack, giving Thane an evil eye.
"I'm going to change now. Keep a look out will you." Kyla said. She motioned for him to turn around, as she still wanted some privacy in this predicament.
Thane turned around and faced the other way. Kyla sighed again, as she slipped her shirt off over her head and then yanked her jeans off her legs, having her shoes already taken off and thrown onto one of the roots near her. She twisted the dress every which way, trying to find the best way to put the damn thing on. Seeing as there was no buttons on the back, she simply slipped it on from the bottom, wincing at the small poke it gave her. She shoved each arm into the sleeves until they met at the correct fit, feeling the seams fit to her arms and around her hips.
She fumbled with a small button at the top, bringing the small neck line into view. Feeling though she was covered enough, she came out from behind the tree, seeing Thane still had his back turned. She cleared her throat, signalling that she was decent, and he turned around to face her. As he faced her, he side stepped around her, grabbing her shoes and placing them in front of her. She quickly placed her feet into them and adjusted them correctly, as not to want to walk around uncomfortable.
"Okay. Can you help me with the button at the top?" Kyla asked. She didn't bother to be embarrassed, he had helped her with these things before. And this situation, although different, was still the same.
Thane laughed and moved to her, quickly completing the task so she could feel a little better. He stood back and smiled at her.
"She was right. It fits you." Was all he said before he grabbed her clothes on the ground, shoving them into the sack, feeling for something else. When he had found it, he pulled it out and gave it to her. It was the symbol that father had given her.
Kyla accepted it and held it tightly. In some strange way, she had a feeling that their father only wanted her to have it. She opened her palm, feeling the metal graze against her ring. All of a sudden, the warm feelings were gone, and her anger was back. Being sent back in time, fixing his mistakes and having Thane protect him when he knew it was his fault. Kyla shook her head and looked on to the world around her more. They were on a more or less untraveled path, seeing as no one come by when they were talking or when she was changing.
She looked past her brother and noticed they were just outside of a town heavily guarded and protected by a large wall. With effort, she concentrated her sight, allowing her eagle vision to flush through. The world around her suddenly became hazy and cold, shifting her gaze over towards her brother, his inner light giving off a blue glow. She was happy at least he was still on her side.
Straightening out her thoughts, she focused more on the landscape around the town, the trees and grass giving no Intel on traps or armed men close to the gates entrance. As she had seen enough, she suppressed her special gift and allowed her normal eyes to return.
"Guards stationed at the gate but there are no men in the forest or beyond the gate. A quick climb over should be simple enough." Kyla said. She placed the symbol in the rucksack, wanting to have a better plan in mind than just walking right in.
"Hopefully the guards won't notice, but more likely we will be running into more trouble in town if they so happen to have guards on the roof." Thane said. He had a point. After certain events that have happened, being a few battles and a few misunderstandings that could be fixed with simple patience.
Or not.
"Let's try a more subtle approach. Perhaps we can simply ask for someone to smuggle us in and be so kind to just, let us go." Kyla rolled her eyes, her irritation returning. Thane's jokes were worse than her father's.
"And who would 'smuggle' us in, pray tell?" Kyla asked, sarcasm dripping from her tone. She looked to her brother, seeing a smug look on his face.
"Why, this gentleman right here." Thane pointed at a cart, driven by what looked like a poor sap that was barely holding on to anything he had.
Kyla sighed, seeing Thane grasp the ruck sack tightly over his shoulder, making his way beside the river, keeping low from sight. Kyla quickly followed suit, noticing the driver of the cart was very lethargic and was mumbling softly to himself.
'Oh my god! He's drunk! This is going to work!'
Her thoughts turning to small enjoyment of being able to take advantage of a small drunkard. Kyla had joined her brother, noticing that his smug look turned into a complete smile as the cart past them slowly.
Kyla and Thane jumped in the back, causing a small bump, shaking the cart slightly. The drunk looking around, being roused by the small bump, shouting curse words in Italian.
"Dio maledetto strada! Stai fermo per Buddy!"
Kyla found a small cover, torn and ragged, matching its owner no doubt. Squeezing her body into a small look like ball to keep herself well hidden, looking like a make shift, looking basket. Her brother simply rolled onto his stomach, tugging on a few objects that were contained and pile on top of him, not so well as to hide him completely, but enough to cover his body.
Kyla sighed to herself. Her brother was very smart, but sometimes made stupid choices. Keeping her breathing low and her movements still. Hearing small noises that were a distance from them before, becoming louder and louder.
Small talk muffled through the torn sheet. The sounds of merriment and arguments all around. The smell of food spiced and seasoned, cooked bread wafting out of the gate was overwhelming. Kyla let herself feel for this. She would around for a bit, until they found the man or woman that took their family treasure.
The jolt of the cart stopping gave way to her pleasant thoughts, hearing now the guards shouting roughly at the drunkard, though his speech being more slurred than when first heard, she could tell he was not entirely pissing the guards off. They went back and forth, trying to make the cart driver.
"Tira fuori il tuo carretto, bastardo ubriaco!"
Kyla stayed silent as the cart began to move, hearing the guards walk away, talking about how bad the driver smelled and how they may have to fish his body out of the main river later. Feeling the cart make a turn, she decided to uncover herself and quickly jump out of the cart. As she hit the ground, she looked around.
The buildings around her were not what she expected. When you enter an old town, you expect to find so much 'tourist' buildings.
She saw none and it made her so much happier than before.
She could see that the building maybe connected to each other, but they were very homely looking and the main structure was simple and contained. The brick perfectly separated where the wood rest and the small covering made the look come together.
Hearing her brother jump out next to her, she reigned in her content and waited for him to take a look around as well.
"Well, welcome to Florence, Kyla." Thane said. Kyla snickered softly, making her way towards one of the allies near them, letting the darkness cover them as they began their terrible mission.
So, that's chapter Two and the next one will be out after this one, but will take longer than this one. Give it time. So, yeah hope you enjoyed it.
Dio maledetto strada! Stai fermo per Buddy = God damn road! Stand still for Buddy!
Tira fuori il tuo carretto, bastardo ubriaco! = Get your cart out of here, drunken bastard!