Quetzalcoatl's Chain
Disclaimer: I do not own Tales.
Arc One: Discovery
Part Two: Adjusting
Chapter Three: A New Home
Recovering from the plague wasn't something Raine ever thought she'd find herself doing. It did, however, grant her large amounts of free time without the need to worry about things that other people were currently worrying about. She'd tried to help, but she was turned away from helping keep watch, helping carry anything heavier than the clothes on her body, even from helping cook.
In all this free time, she took to wandering around whenever the Chosen's Caravan halted for a break during the week long journey to Iselia from Triet. While on the move, she was forced to sit in one of the jostling covered wagons, which was deathly boring. So she used that time to catch up on some of the texts she'd missed reading while suffering from the plague. However, she wasn't always reading, or wandering, or sleeping whenever her energy dipped too low. She made sure no one could see her when she wrote in the new journal she'd acquired before they left Triet.
She began by writing down what she remembered from what the voice had told her. The first sentence, in fact, was "Cruxis is a lie." She knew, which was the reason for such obsessive secrecy, that if anyone found this journal, they'd either brand her a heretic that needed to be burned at the stake, or just an insane person that needed to be locked up to keep everyone else safe. In a way, it reminded her of how she hid her and Genis' heritage for the last several years.
After the first line, she put down as best she could what she remembered of what the voice said about not wanting to be in her head, missing some home, and something about psycho-architecture. That word seemed to stick in her memory, though for what reason, she couldn't fathom in the least. Writing down all of these things from memory wasn't too difficult, since there weren't that many things that the voice had said, in his native voice.
Once she finished jotting down what the voice had said to her in the minute after the plague had broken, she did her best to note all the things that had happened to her since finding the silver chain. The silver chain she now kept around her neck, underneath her shirt. It felt safer to keep it there, out of sight and as close to her body as physically possible without swallowing it. Recalling all the events that related to the chain were usually mixed up with the delusions the plague had forced on her. She was constantly wondering if what she remembered was really from the chain or not.
Yawning, she put down her pencil and closed the green notebook. Then she reached up and touched the metal links hidden beneath her shirt, focusing on the cool feel of the silver against her skin. A slight charge from the chain made her skin tingle. Then some of the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She noticed this happening whenever the voice decided to speak, and yet, after feeling it happen what had to be over a hundred times already, it still made her shiver.
"Cmyfcu," the voice said.
"Raine! Raine!" Startled, she gasped and stuffed the journal underneath her butt as quickly as she could, whilst attempting to remain calm outwardly, when the tarp behind her back was lifted by Genis. Her brother stopped before he said whatever it was he was going to say in the first place and gave her an odd look. "Sis, what's wrong? Do you feel okay? Maybe you should lie down and get some more rest."
"I'm fine, Genis," she said as calmly as her jittery nerves would allow her. He'd almost seen it. She was mostly sure he hadn't seen her hide it. It helped that he was too short to see all the way inside of the wagon. "What was it you wanted to tell me?"
Genis continued to watch her with concern as he spoke. "We're almost to Iselia. I can see it in the distance and it's really pretty in the sunlight… but I really think you should get some more rest. Remember what the doctor said, you can't push yourself or you won't get better."
"Thank you, Genis," she said. She paused for a moment, and then said, "I think you may be right though. I do feel a bit tired. Wake me when we get there, okay?"
"Of course, sis," Genis said. Though he was still worried as he watched her, she caught a glimpse of relief as he let the cover fall back down, concealing her from the outside world again. Her heart thudded loudly in her ears and her arms shook as she took several long, deep breathes. She felt as if she had been caught, and wasn't sure if it was relief or terror residing in her bones right at that moment.
After making sure that the notebook was securely hidden amongst her other books, she stood and made her way toward the front of the wagon. The covered wagon she was in was one of three such transports. One was reserved for the Chosen and her Grandmother, while the other two were for supplies. Seeing as their journey was nearing completion, most of their supplies were used up, conveniently making a space for one half-elf recovering from the plague.
The wagons themselves were supported by iron springs mounted on two axels with giant wooden wheels attached to them. The covering was basically a white sheet supported over the six by three foot wagon interior by three curved iron beams. This construction left a lot of interior room that was effectively separated from the outside and whatever adverse weather that might go with it. It also meant that it was hot and stuffy, even on a cool, damp morning such as this.
She breathed the fresh air in deeply when she reached the front of the wagon and pushed back the cloth separating the inside of the wagon from the outside. After taking a moment to regain her bearings, she saw it, a small village surrounded by a wooden barricade and one watch tower overlooking a flung open wooden gate. The sun was just rising over the hill to the east, bathing the residences and other buildings in a golden red hue.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
She looked away from the majesty of the morning and focused her attention on the older man, named Bernard, guiding the domesticated dragon pulling the wagon. He held the reigns in one hand while shielding his eyes from the sun with the other, but his focus was on the town in front of them. In response to his question, she dipped her head in a nod and looked back at the village.
"It's quite a sight, yes," she said, "I hope my brother hasn't been bothering you out here."
"Nothing of the sort," Bernard said with half a scoff and a smile. "He's been nothing but a help, not to mention, constantly worried about you. And he seems to have become fast friends with the Chosen. You wouldn't believe it, but for such a nice young lady, she doesn't have many friends. Most of the folk in town are too afraid to let their children get near her."
"That's horrible," she said. She looked down and, growing tired of standing bent over, sat down on the edge of the wagon. "Though I do suppose that I can understand why. She's the Chosen who will finally defeat the Desians and revive the Goddess. It's only natural to want to make sure nothing happens to her."
"That's about it," Bernard said. "You're pretty insightful for someone so young."
"I was aiming to become a teacher at the Palmacosta Academy," she said. She studied her hands, having nothing better to look at and suddenly awash with feelings of modesty. The skin of her palms were rough and cracked, evidence of all the years of her travel. She smirked at the thought of her settling down and teaching.
"Care to let me in on the joke?"
"Hmm?" Raine looked up, realizing that Bernard had seen her smirking and was now watching her curiously. "Oh, I was just thinking. Me being a teacher… it doesn't seem like my vocation in life, after all the traveling and other things I've done to get by."
"Don't count yourself out of the position just yet, young lady," Bernard said. "You might just have what it takes. And, last I saw of her two weeks ago, old teacher Marrith wouldn't stop moaning and groaning about how much her body ached. That old bitty has been the bane of Iseilian children for the past few decades, so I suppose she'll be retiring soon. We'll need a new teacher after that."
"I know I can do it," she said, clenching her hands into two fists. "I've been teaching my brother for most of the past year, at least until I wasn't able to anymore. But… Is teaching what I should be doing with my life? Should I devote my life to the young minds of that would become my charges, or… should I still be searching for my path?"
"I can't really answer those questions," Bernard said, "but things like that have a way of revealing themselves in due time. At least, they do in my experience."
The two of them continued to converse as the chain of wagons rolled up to the village entrance. As soon as they were in the village square, Colette's wagon stopped, which signaled all the wagons behind to stop. Swarms of people came out of the woodwork, whether from houses or from side alleys that weren't entirely visible, to welcome Colette and her escort.
Genis appeared next to her wagon, from wherever he was before, to help her get out. Bernard introduced the two of them to his wife, Alice. She appeared just as old as Bernard with a shriveled up face and a constant pout. Despite the outward appearance, Alice was pleasant and had a genteel demeanor.
After that, the entire day was filled with unpacking the things brought back by the Chosen and meeting new people. Surprisingly, at least to Raine's sensibility, the voice was entirely quiet. Except for that small blurb earlier in the morning, there was nothing but her own thoughts within her mind.
The mayor, whom she and Genis were presented to soon after arriving, did allow them to stay in the village. It took some convincing, but Phaidra was right when she said lending her name to their credit would get them in the door. The ancient man, who was more silver hair than flesh and bone, didn't seem all that convinced, but with a soft huff and an indifferent grunt, he'd granted them entrance.
Until they could find lodgings of their own, Phaidra graciously offered her own house for her and Genis. She'd initially wanted to stay at the local Inn, but that idea quickly got thrown out the window when she found all their Gil gone. Journeying to the other side of the world wasn't cheap, after all.
She and Genis left Phaidra and her son in law Frank, Colette's father, at the Mayor's house to discuss other matters and were escorted to Colette's home by the Chosen herself. The trip was relatively short, since the two houses were right next to each other. But Colette exhibited the exuberance of a hyperactive Chihuahua tour guide, pointing out the different fruits growing on vines, who planted them, whose houses were where, the sordid history of a closed off water-well, and ultimately, a ten cent tour of everything in her home.
So it was that, at the end of the day, she just finished putting Genis to bed when the voice finally decided to remind her that it was still there. She was descending the stairs from the second floor into the kitchen when the chain made a snapping noise as it zapped her. She felt all the hairs across her body stand on end. With a small gasp, she grasped her chest and the chain under her shirt, as she stumbled toward the table, her body quickly going numb.
She barely managed to sit down before her legs gave out and she slumped forward onto the table. For an idle moment, she watched the world sideways, wondering what was going on. She didn't feel dizzy or anything of the sort, yet her body was paralyzed. After a few moments, the spell past and she was able to sit up straight again.
She took several deep breathes, which turned into a long series of deep breathes. Her heart was racing as if she'd been running, and her chest hurt where her lungs expanded. It took several long minutes to calm down, but did eventually calm down.
"Mills," the voice said quietly.
"Would you please kindly never do that again," she rasped.
"C mucx C qum mills…" Raine moaned and leaned forward to place her forehead on the table.
"We need to figure out how to communicate, because I still can't understand the gibberish you're speaking. Would it be possible for you to learn my language?"
"C xih'n bupy uhs jlivfyg ohxylmnahxcha sio…"
Raine sat back and rubbed her face. The sun had long ago fallen under the horizon to the west behind the tall mountains that stood watch over Iselia. The only source of light in the room was the lonely lantern sitting in the middle of the table. It was set to low so the oil fuel didn't get used up too quickly. Standing, she picked up the lantern and moved to the window and looked out into the village. She knew she wasn't the only one still awake, since there were lights and shadows moving against the windows of other houses.
"When I thought I'd died, I saw a man made of light… That was you wasn't it?" She felt a slight tingling from the chain and took that as an affirmative. "I didn't understand a lot of what you said then either, but it looked like you understood what I was saying."
"C'g cgjlymmyx…"
"I don't remember it clearly, but I do remember a lot of what you said afterwords, when I could understand you. So… somehow, you were able to speak clearly to me and I could understand you. Would it be possible to do that again… or was it simply because I was so close to death, as you said when I could understand you."
"Nbun'm qbun C'py vyyh nlscha ni-"
"Whoa, whoa, slow down. I'm sorry if I made you angry. I'll just take that to mean you can't do it or you can't figure out how." Her shoulders slumped as she conceded defeat, for the moment at least. She'd eventually figure out a way to talk to this voice. When that day came, oh, the grilling it would get. She glowered at her reflection in the glass, hoping that wherever in her head the voice was, it could see the look she was giving it.
"Raine?" Raine turned away from the window and found Phaidra just descending the last step of the stairs. "I thought I'd heard someone talking down here. Who were you talking to?"
"Oh, myself… mostly," Raine responded, as she moved away from the window and returned the lantern to its home. "There's been so much going on, it's hard to deal with at times."
"Ah yes," Phaidra said knowingly, "the confusion of youth." She made her way into the kitchen where she filled a kettle of water from a nearby barrel of standing water. As she prepared to boil it on the stove, she continued, "I'm afraid that most things in life are too complicated to understand fully. You'll eventually just get used to always 'not knowing' for sure. Would you like some tea?"
"I don't think so, but thank you. I should be heading to bed anyway." Raine turned to head back up the stairs.
"It will help to calm your mind…"
Raine paused, left foot lifted halfway up the first step. Though she knew that it wasn't likely to work, the irrational part of her mind won the argument in the end. "On second thought," she said, turning around, "sure, I'll have some."
Preview
Part Two: Adjusting
Chapter Four: Looking for Answers
Summary: Raine and Genis have a new home. But now that everything has settled down, fate stirs again. Though she'd rather just stay in her new home and get used to her new life, she will be driven to the south. There, the hands of fate have been busy.