Long chapter for you guys! This one made it over 10,000 words so it's a personal victory for me. I expect to have the next chapter out as soon as possibly, but be please be patient. I will not forsaken this story. Hope you enjoy this! As always, thank you swingrlm for all your support!
~{The Stars Incline Us}~
~Morning~
Alessandra felt the warmth of the sun on her face as it poured in through the balcony windows. She inhaled deeply, feeling her lungs ache from the previous night at the spring, but it felt good. The fresh air, the deep intake, the expansion of her chest cavity. It was like stretching out your back after a long night's rest. She rolled onto her back and did just that, reaching her arms up above her head, she stretched as far as she could. She mused her hair, strewn haphazardly across her pillow, and yawned deeply.
Her mind began to wander to events of the previous night with the Ellcrys in her head. The great tree had been struggling, feeding Alessandra information while at the same time testing the last of the Chosen. Who was the last Chosen? Amberle? How had they alone survived and what exactly had happened to the others?
The Ellcrys had talked a lot; brief and hurried, but had given Alessandra a lot of information. Amberle, the suspected Chosen, she must be the one needing to go to Safehold. But where was Safehold and what was it? It must be a city, right? What of the Bloodfire? And what seed? Was the seed for Alessandra? Was she supposed to save the Ellcrys with it somehow? Or was Amberle the one needing it, take it to Safehold? Perhaps the Bloodfire, whatever it was, was in Safehold?
The Chosen. Amberle.
Safehold. Bloodfire.
The Seed. Rebirth.
The Chosen must go to Safehold.
The seed must soak in the Bloodfire.
Where did Alessandra fit in to all this? The Ellcrys had told her that she would save the earth, but had not specified how, when, or why. So, why tell her about the other plans then? Why make her privy to what the Chosen needed to accomplish? Were they both part of the mysterious rebirth?
The Ellcrys had only insisted Alessandra take her Vows. She needed to become a true Guardian and take a Keeper; take Allanon as her Keeper. Together they would save the Four Lands, the people, and the Ellcrys. Together as one; as equals; as counterparts in a delicate balancing act that only they two understood.
Allanon – Alessandra thought about him, his actions and their conversations at the spring. He had saved her; searched for her when her presence was apparently missing at the palace and had dove into the boiling waters to drag her to safety. Would the Ellcrys have let her drown? Or was that part of her overarching plan? Had the Ellcrys been the force keeping her trapped beneath the waters, hoping, knowing Allanon would search for her?
...was the Ellcrys that manipulative?
Take your vows.
Become a Guardian.
You still have time.
You both still have time.
You must save the earth.
Allanon floated through her mind again. His soft laugh, his smile. It had warmed her heart that he had opened up to her and about a very deep wound from his past. His lost love; Pyria. He had said that Druids had a responsibility to their duty first and foremost. Love was a distraction, a weakness, that they couldn't afford.
That had upset her, but not personally as though a strike to her heart. It hurt her because it was so utterly sad. To live a life of duty and responsibility with no love to ease it all? That was a punishment. Nothing more. She could see plainly on Allanon's face that it had affected him each and every day. She could she he regretted his decision not to follow Pyria, telling her they had no future together, and instead uphold his responsibilities to the Druids. But with forsaking Pyria and love, he failed to uphold his responsibilities to himself and that was an outrage unto itself. As Alessandra's mind wandered further, she questioned whether Allanon could have pushed Pyria away, not because of his duty as a Druid, but because his path was leading him to her? Was it possible? Sure, it could be. After all, stranger things had happened. Did she believe it? She wanted to. She really wanted to, but it was far too convenient.
She had spent centuries alone, searching for her Keeper and failing. Then the War of Races occurred and she had given up on the notion as the Four Lands fell into despair. Even when the Four Lands had somewhat recovered, she had not bothered picking the search back up. Why bother if she knew it was futile? She was the very last of the Pygmies. Her brother and niece were the last of their kinds. Her people were virtually extinct. The War of the Races, though ended and the lands were in a state of repair, many had perished and those who had not found themselves harboring distaste and distrust for one another. So, she had resigned herself to falling away into myth with her people, living out her life with her family in peace.
But everything in life always came at a price. A steep price. One she had not been forced to pay despite being the one to cause payment to be necessary. Instead, it had been her eldest brother. He had paid with his life and the life of his wife. It had left Aria an orphan and Alessandra with a deep chasm full of regret, guilt, and pain in her heart.
Alessandra heard the soft clinking of metal on ceramic. She opened her eyes to stare at the blank white ceiling overhead, curious as to whether she was still asleep or not. The clinking ceased, something wooden sliding backwards over stone.
"Well, good morning. Glad to see you have finally arisen."
Alessandra jumped at the voice and looked to her right where she knew a small round table to be. Björn sat eating a breakfast of fresh fruit, a kind of bread, cheese, meat, and juice. Alessandra was confused for a moment, eyes heavy with sleep and mind struggling to get itself going. She looked from her brother to the room and then the movement to her left. There, curled into her was a mass of sheets and nightgown and sandy blonde hair; Aria.
"Would you care to eat something?" Björn questioned quietly, seeing just how exhausted his sister was. Her eyes were red and looked sore. Could she really see through them? She had scald marks on her hands and neck that were just as angry looking. Alessandra said nothing and carefully climbed out of bed, covering Aria back up to keep her warm. She trudged to the table and sat down beside Björn, looking over the contents on the table.
"You need to eat something. You're turning into skin and bone." Björn made her a plate and set it down before her, watching her carefully as she stared down at it. He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Do not tell me you have no appetite. You have hardly eaten anything since you arrived."
"I ate that strange fruit you gave me yesterday." She breathed out, voice cracking with sleep. She stared down blankly at her plate, eyes heavy. She hadn't eaten much in the last several days. Her last real meal had been before arriving at the palace in Arborlon. Her mind drifted away as the hair on her arms stood up, gooseflesh rising. "I sense something odd within the palace. Has something happened?"
"Odd how?" Björn froze, fork in hand and lifted his head to stare at his sister. "What do you mean?"
"I do not know." Alessandra breathed out again and lifted her fork from the table, poking a piece of melon that looked juicy and fresh. Instead of eliciting hungry, she felt illness peck at her belly. She licked her dry lips and tried to focus what little energy she had on the strange sensation she felt coursing through her. "Something that shouldn't be here."
"It's a physical manifestation?" Björn questioned further, gauging her reactions as they came. Alessandra shrugged and continued to move things around on her plate.
"Could be. It's not a dark kind of feeling. Just odd." She explained and lifted her fork to her lips. The smell of the fruit twisted her stomach into knots. She let it fall back to her plate and then turned her head to the left, looking at Aria asleep in her bed. "Allanon mentioned something about the Chosen. All are dead. Except one."
"I see the Druid knows not the meaning of secrecy." Björn grumbled and ran a cloth napkin over his lips. "Yes. All except Princess Amberle are gone."
"How?" Alessandra's gaze lingered on Aria, who slumbered on peacefully. Björn leaned back in his chair and looked down at his half-eaten plate.
"We're not sure yet." Björn knew his answer would not suffice and as Alessandra's head snapped round to stare hard at him, he wished he had more information for her.
"What do you mean?" Alessandra stared at hi accusingly as though he were hiding something from her.
"Exactly as I said." Björn tried again and leaned closer. "We don't know anything about the killer as of yet, but–"
"Killer?" The way the term passed through her lips registered in Björn's mind as him having misspoken. He couldn't take it back now though. Alessandra looked back at Aria, making sure she had not awoken, and then leaned closer to her brother to whisper. "They were murdered? When? Where?"
"We discovered their bodies in the Throne Room a few days ago. Before you and Aria arrived." Björn answered her questions, finding he could not hide anything from her. She would find out eventually. If not from him, then the Druid it would seem.
"…in the palace?" Alessandra breathed out, blinking rapidly as her mind tried to keep up with the information. "And the culprit hasn't been found? Björn, they may still be lurking the halls...!"
"We know, Aless. We are taking every precaution possible." Björn extended a hand and placed it over his sister's that laid on the table top. "More guards are being posted around the clock at entrances and exits. Soldiers doing routine walkthroughs in the palace and the perimeter. You and Aria are safe. This I promise you."
Alessandra said nothing and looked back at Aria again. She felt a cold chill race down her spine as fear bubbled up within her. Were they truly safe? An assassin was running around the palace, had killed the sacred Chosen Ones, and in the Throne Room nonetheless. She didn't feel safe. She felt exposed.
"Has she been okay?" She breathed out the question, unsure of what she was really asking. Did Aria know about the intruder? Did she know about the Chosen? Was she angry with her aunt for being absent the past several days?
"She's fine. She understands, I think. If that's what you're asking." Björn soothed his sister as his eyes befell his niece. She had been fine as far as he could tell, which wasn't saying much. Perhaps a little more quiet than usual? Lost to her own thoughts and abilities? He understood that Sylphs were generally happy-go-lucky beings, but had a very aloof nature to them. Present one moment and gone the next in both body and mind. Aria was no different than any of the others before her.; suffering from her abilities, unable to control when they arose or faded.
"She's very much like him." Björn found himself saying as memories invaded his mind. He gave a small laugh. "Looks like her mother though. Thank the gods. I can't believe how much she's growing."
"Amazes me each and every day." Alessandra looked back at her brother, meeting his gaze with a soft smile. "She's starting to get a handle on things, but I can only teach her so much. She really needs another Sylph to train her."
"There are none left." Björn confirmed, shaking his head at the idea that their people were blinking out of existence so fast.
"One." Alessandra's voice was firm, compelling Björn to narrow his eyes at her.
"What do you mean one?"
"There is one other left." She met his stare and then looked back to Aria. "The crone told me about a woman to the north of Arborlon in the Kensrowe Mountains. She fled during the War of Races to the mountains."
"You believe the crone? Aless, she might have lied to you. Has anyone seen this other Sylph since the wars?" Björn was poking holes purposefully in this fallacy.
"She reached out to Aria." Alessandra confirmed and met her brother's hard stare. "Told her to seek her out."
"That's where you were heading. When Wil and Amberle came across Aria at the river." Björn was slowly putting the pieces together. "You weren't coming here at all."
"We were planning on stopping here along the way and then continue north." Alessandra explained. "You've been gone a long time, Björn. Do not patronize me and what I feel is best for Aria. She needs training in her abilities that neither I nor yourself can provide. If there is a Sylph living in the Kensrowe Mountains, then Aria deserves to meet one of her own kind, learn from her, feel as though she is not alone."
"Because you know how it feels?" Björn retorted and quickly regretted his words. He closed his eyes and gnawed on his cheek. What he had said wasn't fair nor was it nice. He was lucky. He had found himself a place where he felt needed, wanted, respected. His sister had not been so lucky. Nothing about her life had been easy and she was doing brilliantly despite it all.
"Yes." Alessandra breathed out and turned away from her brother. Each sibling expressed their sadness, their regret. Björn had left home so young, right after the incident that had left their niece an orphan. He had wanted to escape, and he had. He had been lucky to find such a glorious position in a high elven kingdom. His sister had lived her life simply, moving from one wretched Elemental village to the next because that was what her position dictated. She was a kind of monarch in her own right; no throne, no crown, no one falling to their knees to bow to her, but they revered her. They saw her as their way back, a chance to be something great again. She knew this and, despite finding the idea irrational, she gave them what they needed; hope.
Björn looked back to Alessandra, no expression on her face and watched as her eyes lifted towards the balcony doors. She stood up and walked to them, opening them wide with her hands resting on the knobs. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling the gentle breeze pass over her skin. The sun kissed her peachy flesh gently, warming it. The air was fresh, filled with the sent of soil and grass.
She was very much like the earth she protected, Björn had figured out long ago. She needed the warmth, the light, to feel like herself again. It brought her a sense of being, of calm, of purpose. It lifted her spirits and invigorated her soul. She blossomed in the sunlight like a delicate flower in a garden.
Björn watched as she reached into her pants pocket and pulled something out. He tilted his head back, looking around her to see she held two gemstones; amethyst and amber. She walked out onto the balcony and sat down in a chair that resided there, tilting her face up to the sun again. Björn set his fork down and wiped his mouth clean with the cloth napkin, setting it down beside his plate. He stood and walked over to the balcony, sitting down in the chair opposite Alessandra's. She held the stones, one in each palm up towards the sun.
"You depleted them." Björn commented, recognizing the practice of charging the gems with the cleansing energy of the sun.
"Yes." She acknowledged, but did not look to him. She sensed immediately where this was going and did not like it. Had her brother not been the one pushing her to find her Keeper all these centuries? Now that she had, Björn was really going to argue with her over using the stored energy in her crystals on him? He was on death's doorstep after all.
He doesn't realize the Keeper is Allanon though. – Alessandra chided herself, biting her tongue hard. She had not told Björn yet about what the tree had expressed to her. She hadn't told Allanon either. She had little time even to process it herself these last few days. Things were happening so quickly she felt she could not catch her breath.
"On the Druid, right? When you healed him on your way here?" Björn's words held bitterness in them. But why? Alessandra opened her eyes, squinting against the bright light and looked at her brother.
"What does it matter to you who I used them on?" She probed and then looked away, ahead of herself again. She thought back to that day in the cave. It seemed so far away now since everything else that had happened. "Do you think his life worth less than any other's?"
"No. Of course not." Björn quipped with sarcasm that irked Alessandra. "But he has his own magic that could have saved him. You didn't need to waste your time or energy."
"Waste?" She nearly spat the word out onto the stone beneath them. Then, her features twisted into to sympathy. "Oh Björn... you have much to learn yet. You hide away here in the safety of this elven palace, luxuries and security surrounding you each day. You know nothing of the world beyond Arborlon's walls; the destruction, the pain, the suffering. If you did, then you would understand why it is not a waste. It is never a waste. It is a necessity. One of compassion. One I am all too eager to oblige to when I am faced with a similar situation again."
"You Pygmies are all the same. Even if we share blood, you are more like them than you know. Leaving your hearts open on your sleeves. Bleeding hearts, the lot of you." Björn's words hurt her. Much more than she wanted to admit. She could also see she had struck a nerve within him and he was lashing out. He had heard her truth and felt his wrong, slicing through to her heart to make her feel his pain.
"I would rather leave my heart open, knowing it could be broken, then allow it to ice over as you have done, little brother." Her words were not meant to hurt him further, but she could see in his eyes that her words were true. He had allowed his heart to ice over. That's why he found solace here in Arborlon. No one knew him, where he had come from, and he could forget his past. She felt sympathy for him.
"I have to see to some matters." He stood up from his seat and straightened his navy-blue dress uniform. "When Aria wakes, you should take her to the gardens at the east wing. The tulips are in bloom. I'm sure she would like to see it. You as well."
With that, he turned on his heels and headed back into the room. Alessandra did not follow him with her eyes and instead turned herself back to the sun with each stone in a hand. She heard the bedroom door close as he left and then shook her head, sighing heavily.
"Undines," she grumbled and settled herself into the chair, taking a deep breath as she relaxed, "such overly sensitive creatures."
"Amita?" Aria's small voice called out to Alessandra from where she sat in the garden, blade of grass between her fingers.
"Yes, Aria?" Alessandra asked as she opened her eyes, tossing the blade of grass away, and looked to her niece. The small girl with sandy blonde hair and big green eyes stared back at her from where she stood by the fountain.
"Are you better now?" For something so young, Aria had a way to hide her true questions beneath the guise of her youth. Alessandra sensed there was more to this, more to the stare her niece gave her.
"Yes. I feel much better." Alessandra could see something brewing in the girl's eyes and the child turned away to kneel at the fountain, playing in the water.
"That's good." Aria's voice was a breath on the wind. She laid her left arm on the edge of the fountain and then let her chin rest on her arm. Alessandra watched her a moment and then moved her legs, clad in the simple riding pants her brother had given her the night before, so that the laid out before her.
"Aria, what's wrong?" She leaned forward, the flouncy sleeves of her peasant top dangling off her arms. Her hair, loose about her back, fell over her shoulders and onto her lap.
"I don't want to leave, Amita." Aria's voice was so soft that Alessandra nearly doubted she had heard anything at all. Aria turned her head, laying her cheek against her arm and looking at her aunt.
"Why not?" Alessandra questioned and sat up straight, tossing her hair away from her front. It flowed down her back like a cascade of golden waves, pooling in the grass. She reclined on the palms of her hands and lifted her face to the sun. "You were excited about meeting this Sylph living in the mountains before coming to Arborlon. What has changed?"
"I just..." Aria's voice fell away as she looked back at the water again. The force of the fountain made it ripple and bubble, distorting her features in its reflection, "Patruus is so happy that we're here. He will be sad if we go."
"Your Patruus is always sad, sweetheart. He is an Undine, by extension he is an empath and carries a lot of weight on his shoulders." Alessandra opened her eyes again and watched her niece. "But, so do we all."
"No. It's something about his eyes." Aria breathed out, her words sounding as though from one thrice her age.
"His eyes? What about them?"
"They make him look lost." Aria dipped her right hand into the water, swirling the image of her reflection. "Like he's broken."
Alessandra could say nothing. Confirming her niece's assessment would do nothing except upset her further. Aria was right though. Björn was broken. He had been for years since their elder brother had passed. Since Aria's mother had died. A love triangle that Björn had eventually been cut out of as their brother had won the woman's heart. With his tail between his legs, Björn had fled from their home and found a new identity within the elven palace at Arborlon. Over the last two decades she had heard nothing from him. Not a peep. Not even when their niece was born. Not even when their brother had perished. Not even when his love had followed.
"Aria, we are the lasts; the last Undine, the last Pygmy, and you are one of the last Sylphs. Perhaps the only real Sylph." Alessandra tried to divert the conversation elsewhere. "Should our venture prove fruitless and this mysterious woman in the mountains is nothing more than a myth, you will need to accept that you are the last true Sylph."
"You and Patruus can train me though. Can't you?" Aria looked back at her aunt, tears clouding her vision suddenly as the weight of her aunt's words sunk in.
"Oh Aria..." Alessandra opened her arms, inviting the child to her. Aria ran to her and plopped down in her aunt's lap, hiding her face in her shoulder, arms wrapped tightly around her neck. Alessandra's arms snaked around her niece, holding her tenderly to her. "Your Patruus and I are not Sylphs, Aria. Should the woman in the mountains prove a fraud, I will need to train you to the best of my ability, but honestly, my knowledge in Sylph customs is limited"
Her words were soft and gentle, but also firm. She needed the child to understand. She and Björn could only impart so much knowledge into their niece. Even combined, there would still be lessons and required training that they could not provide.
"We cannot train you the way you need to be trained." Alessandra emphasized.
"But you have trained me!" Aria cried, her small body shaking as a sob escaped her. Alessandra stared out at the fountain, waters falling in splutters in the basin. She wished she could train her, wished she could care for her the way she needed to be cared for.
I wish your parents were alive. – Alessandra felt the weight in her heart grow until it threatened to consume her. – I wish I could have taken their places.
"I have trained you in the fundamentals that every Elemental must know, and I will continue to do so for as long as I can, but as you grow so do your abilities." Alessandra pulled Aria back so she may look her in the eyes. Her reddened green eyes looked aghast as they met Alessandra's calm, cool blues. "Your abilities are very different from my own. More similar to your Patruus' in ways, but again, different. You will grow stronger and your abilities will need to be controlled."
"I can control them, Amita." Aria argued with her aunt, hands clenching the fabric of Alessandra's shirt on her shoulders. The air around them changed direction, growing harsh and biting. Alessandra sighed heavily at Aria's attempt to prove to her that she had complete control. However, it was not the wind Alessandra worried about, but instead the other aspects of the girl's powers that she found herself concerned with.
"Aria, enough." Alessandra's eyes softened. She moved a hand up to Aria's face, burned and angry from the oiling waters of the spring, and brushed away several locks of sandy hair. "You have a good amount of control over the wind, but you know what I speak of. Without proper training from another Sylph, your other abilities will outgrow you and that can be dangerous. I have seen it happen, bluebird."
The nickname caused Aria to look downwards, chin tilted towards her chest and hands loosening their hold on Alessandra's shirt. She fell silent for a long moment and Alessandra could see that, despite her age, Aria was really mulling over everything that had been said.
Aria fell silent for a long moment. Alessandra ran a hand tenderly up and down Aria's back, flattening her messy childish hair against her pale yellow tunic top.
"Amita," Aria began again as her eyebrows knitted together and she rearranged herself on her aunt's lap. She stretched out her legs, clad in tan billowy pants, across Alessandra's lap. Alessandra recognized the look on the girl's face; concentration on something beyond their present moment. In response, Alessandra narrowed her eyes and waited. Aria continued, "what if there was someone else who could train me?"
"What are you talking about?" Alessandra asked, not completely paying attention to what her niece was saying.
"If there was another, someone else who could train me when my other abilities start to show," Aria continued on, catching Alessandra's full attention. She wanted to believe this was a game, a ploy, brought on by a child who simply did not want to leave her aunt and uncle's side for the company of an unknown hermit Sylph. The look in Aria's eyes told her otherwise. Aria looked away from her aunt again, "would I still have to leave?"
Alessandra said nothing for a long while, searching Aria's turned away face for confirmation that this was either true or false.
"Aria," Alessandra breathed out the name and elongated it, "what aren't you telling me?"
"I saw them." Aria breathed out, eyes clouding as she let herself drift away. Alessandra watched as the look of in her niece's eyes altered; face contorting as though she was trying to reach something too far away from her. "A boy with dark brown hair and dark eyes."
A boy? – Alessandra questioned and then narrowed her eyes at her niece. Something about this felt wrong.
"They're not a Sylph... are they?" Alessandra could tell, just sense that this was a truth her niece was concealing. As Aria avoided meeting her gaze, she knew her suspicion was confirmed. "Who is this boy? Does he have a name?"
"Bandon." Aria's eyebrows knitted together again, eyes squinting, trying so hard to reach whatever it was. "He has an ability like mine."
"What kind of ability?" Alessandra felt a shiver run down her spine as an idea flashed inside her mind.
"He can See just like me." Aria was pushing something into her mind, a scene. She saw the boy, Bandon, who was older than she expected. Possibly in his early adulthood. He was tall and sinewy with dark hair, dark eyes, pointed ears, and chained to a wall in a barn by a collar at his throat. He screamed, but the guard over his mouth muffled them as he tried to tug against the chains.
"Aria. Enough." Alessandra snapped, shaking her head free of the image. Had her niece really seen something so horrible at her age? She must have. In order to have put it into her own mind, Aria would have had to of seen it first. And the boy... where on Earth was he? Why was he chained like a dog? Who had done this to him? And why was Aria able to see him? Did he really have sight like her? Had he reached out to her first? So many questions that she knew her niece did not have the answers to.
"I'm sorry, Amita." Aria slumped on her aunt's lap, not quite realizing her mistake, but understanding enough that the scene had disturbed her aunt. Alessandra didn't have the gift of sight. She could open her mind to readers, but she could not read herself. Let alone see into someone's past or future just by sheer will. She didn't understand the nonchalance of it or of sharing it. It felt too personal and Aria was all too eager to share with others. No sense of personal space, of what was proper or not. She, as all Sylphs, had no concept of boundaries.
"It's all right. The boy, Bandon you said his name was, where is he? It looked like a barn he was in." Alessandra asked once she had shaken the sight from her mind.
"He isn't there anymore." Aria answered confidently and then a bright, goofy grin spread across her face as her big green eyes opened wide. "He's here!"
"What?" Alessandra was taken aback by her niece's sudden burst of energy. Confusion filled her as she stared down at the excited girl in her lap.
So much like her parents. – Alessandra thought, seeing the girl's mother and father coming out in her day by day. She was so much like them personality wise, but her abilities, Aria's, frightened Alessandra because she could not understand them. They were very much like the wind itself; flighty and dominant. Very different from her own, which were solid and reliable. The small girl, for being so young, was also powerful. Not like a Guardian, but more powerful than the average Sylph had been.
"In Arborlon! He's in the palace. I saw him with Wil." Ari's voice rose an octave as she bounced out of her aunt's hold. Alessandra allowed her freedom from her grasp and closed her eyes, trying to process.
"Wil, the boy who wrote me the note?" She vaguely remembered the name, trying to put a face to it. The boy she had asked to tell Allanon to meet her at her room the night before.
"Yes. He and Bandon were walking in the hallway together. I saw them on our way to your room last night." Aria twirled around, the breeze catching her tunic and hair. Alessandra began to pick herself up from the grass. She wanted to believe her, wanted to believe that they would not have to chase after ghost living in the mountains to the north, but this seemed just as inconceivable. Perhaps even more so… and dangerous. The boy, Bandon, had been chained in what looked to be a deserted barn. Perhaps it was because someone did not understand his gift or even feared it, but what if it were something else? What if he, himself, were dangerous?
"Amita, we don't have to leave!" Aria exclaimed, but Alessandra's demeanor did not change. She stared down at her niece, her golden hair swaying in the warm breeze and eyes expressing her disbelief. Aria began to lose her zeal and ceased her bouncing. "Amita, don't you believe me? You saw him. You saw Bandon."
I believe that you believe. – Alessandra had not the heart to say this to the young girl though. She never could do that; tear her down despite what she felt in her heart. So, she would play along until Aria discovered the truth and then she would be there to comfort her.
"Where in the palace are they?" Alessandra questioned as she took out a length of cord from her pant pocket, tying her hair back from her face in a high ponytail. Her hair fell against her back when she finished like a thick mane, shimmering in the midday light.
"I saw a room with stone floors and walls." Aria offered, but one look from her aunt told her she had not done well enough.
"Aria, you need to be more specific than–"
"There were these big stone boxes in there with him," Aria continued and Alessandra fell silent again, sighing heavily, "flowers and candles... and Allanon!"
Why was Alessandra not surprised? She felt her lips curl upwards and a laugh escape her. She licked her lips and then shook her head. The mention of the Druid both excited her as well as bothered her. Again, he was a part of something that was sucking Alessandra into as well. Again, they were somehow being brought together. Aria had seen this strange man, who apparently had abilities similar to her own, with the Druid. Her Druid.
No. Not my Druid. – Alessandra corrected herself, pushing away the feelings she had felt the night before and earlier this day. She understood that she wanted him in many ways for many reasons. However, giving into the Ellcrys' demands felt wrong. It felt manipulated and insincere. She wanted Allanon to want to be her Keeper. She didn't want him forced into this. No matter the reason, no matter the consequences. It needed to be his choice.
"Come, Aria. Let's go meet this Bandon of yours." Alessandra held a hand out for her niece to take. She allowed her aunt to lead her away from the gardens and back to the palace. Alessandra did not know the room that Aria had spoken of, but she could sense Allanon's presence.
She had noticed the strange connection earlier that morning while she sat on the balcony of her room, basking in the sun. It was faint. A gentle tugging on her heart. She had felt it before, ever since she saved him in the cave it had been there. She had ignored it, not understanding it until the previous night at the springs. It was a creation of the Ellcrys, a tethering meant to force her and Allanon together, to take the Vows. Did he feel it too?
She followed the sensation like a vibrating cord, a bright red string that led her through the winding halls of the palace. The closer she got to Allanon, the more the imaginary cord vibrated and the more her heart fluttered.
She found herself and Aria in a long stretch of hall. It appeared as every other hallway in the palace; empty, decorated in gaudy runners and odd standing ornaments. However, something wasn't right about this particular hallway. The air felt wrong; constricted. Alessandra recognized the sinking in her chest as the heaviness of death. It always came as a weight that pushed down on her, threatening to engulf her like quicksand.
"Amita?" Aria called to her aunt, who held her hand firmly in her own. Alessandra said nothing in response and tried to prepare herself for what she needed to tell the girl. Aria shook their laced hands. "What's wrong?"
"It's a tomb, Aria." Alessandra could not avoid the truth, but somehow keeping her voice soft seemed to lessen the blow.
"A tomb? For dead people...?" Aria's small voice trembled. Alessandra looked down at her niece, whose face expressed how she was overcome with fright. Aria looked from her aunt to the open door down the hallway where a soft glow emitted. Alessandra took a knee, holding her niece's arms in her hands firmly and blocked her view of the room. She could see the terror setting in on the child's face and smiled to console her.
"I will go in. You can stay in the hall and wait for me." Alessandra understood the girl's emotion. Death was a hard thing for her. She had lost her parents only a few years ago when she was three. She had visited their tombs during the traditional End of Life ceremony hat Elementals performed. She had seen the corpses of her parents lying in their crypts and it had scarred her far worse than any of them had expected. Aria was an Elemental, but she had not been raised as such up to that point. Elemental children were taught from a young age that death was a natural part of life. It was something, not to be feared, but understood. Aria had been sheltered from death, from Elemental tradition and it been a hard lesson for her to learn so quickly.
She could see Aria liked the idea, but a flash of defiance overcame her. She swallowed hard and stood up straighter, trying to put on a tough face.
"I can do it." She breathed out and Alessandra smiled at her warmly, proud of her small feat of courage. However, she shook her head and tucked the sandy blonde hair behind her niece's ears.
"I know you can. You do not have to be strong today though. You can stay here." Alessandra stood up and walked closer to the room at the end of the hall, stopping a few feet before the door. She guided Aria to the wall and had her sit down, instructing her to wait there. Aria watched as her aunt slowly approached the doorway and peered inside, the glow from the room washing over her in flickers of orange and yellow light.
"What on Earth do you think you're doing?" Alessandra's voice was hard, biting as she strode into the room heatedly. The room was cold and made from stone with torches lit here and there sporadically. Flowers sat in large vases to mask the stench of decay that hung in the air. She saw a stone casket, opened and the corpse visible to all their eyes. It was a young man with night black hair and blue-grey skin, pointed ears; an elf.
Allanon turned around to face the intruder. Surprise washed over him when he found it was Alessandra. Her eyes bore into him, disbelief clouding them. He could feel her anger befall him in droves.
"What are you doing here?" Allanon's voice betrayed him, surprise echoing in each word as Alessandra strode up to him. He looked her over quickly, noticing that the shirt she wore covered up the burns from the boiling water he knew lurked beneath on her flesh. He could only see the slightest burns on her hands, the skin angry and puckered. Alessandra noticed his gaze and crossed her arms over her chest, hiding her hands from view.
"What am I doing here? What are you doing here, Allanon?" Alessandra shook her head at him and took a quick moment to examine the room. It was cold despite the torches, unwelcoming despite the brightly colored flowers, and deafening despite the all-encompassing silence. The room itself felt like death and it crawled over her skin like a snake winding up the branch of a tree.
Allanon noticed this.
"You shouldn't be in here." He watched as her body constricted, craning her neck slightly to one side as though to crack it and relieve herself. His eyes followed along her body, noticing the small shiver that ran over her again. Pygmies were creatures of life and birth. Death was the opposite of them; an ending to their beginning, darkness to their light. Alessandra's face twisted briefly and dissipated quickly as she regained her composure.
"I'm fine." She lied and met his gaze with stubbornness. Another Pygmy trait.
"Who are you? Who is she? What is she doing here?" A younger man, dark hair and dark eyes, stared at her from where he stood at the head of the corpse. His gaze moved from her to Allanon and then back again with confusion. Alessandra glanced at the young man quickly, noticing how he seemed to cower and hunch, averting his eyes from her.
"My name is Alessandra. You must be Bandon." She introduced and then turned on Allanon again, shaking her head one more as her expression fell. Her heart lurched, melancholy gripping her. "Please, Allanon, tell me you aren't disturbing the dead."
"You have nothing to fear." Allanon laced his hands before himself in a posture Alessandra was beginning to understand well. His gaze befell the young man as he swung out one gloved hand in his direction. "I'm not. He is. I need his aid to discover the identity of the Demon that murdered the Chosen."
"This is about the Chosen?" Her expressed narrowed at him and suddenly something clicked in her head, making her shake. "Did you say a Demon killed them?"
"Yes. One that has been eluding my detection for days now." Allanon explained and returned his hands before himself, lacing them.
"Wait," Alessandra's eyes slowly drifted to the boy in the casket and she felt a pain strike through her heart, "was this boy a member of the Chosen?"
"Yes." Allanon breathed out, carefully watching her as the irritation bled from her and was replaced with anguish. He could see pain in her eyes, swirling with the deep pools of blue that appeared to run deep on into forever. He lowered his voice and took a step closer to her, "He was murdered by this Demon that is still running the halls of the Palace. Wil told me about Bandon's gift and I believe he might be able to help us."
"Us?" Alessandra narrowed her eyes at the Druid, suspicion growing within her. Was there something that the Ellcrys said to him? Alessandra motioned between them with a burned hand. "What us are you referring to?"
"We have both been charged with protecting the Ellcrys. We need to stop this Demon from finishing off the Chosen." Allanon explained, patience growing thin.
The us that keeps this world safe, woman. Whether it be an us as allies or something more. – Allanon stressed inside his own mind. Alessandra looked to the boy standing at the head of the casket. Slowly she looked back to Allanon and he could see, sense almost, that somehow she already knew; about what they were doing, about Bandon's gift as a Seer, that he was hiding what the Ellcrys had told him.
But how? – Allanon questioned, but did not say anything more and instead waited. The two timeless beings remained locked in a battle with their eyes. Each silently waited for the other to cave to their will, searching in each other's depths for something; a hidden message, an emotion, confirmation.
"Seeing death is no gift." Bandon scoffed scornfully and stared down at the boy in the casket. Alessandra slowly, regretfully turned her attention back to Bandon. Her eyes expressed sympathy; deep rooted and sorrowful.
"So you truly are a Seer." Her voice was low and breathy as though she had no wanted to speak it aloud. "That is a very heavy weight to bear."
Bandon met her stare and Allanon watched as he spotted comradery in their gazes, each understanding one another. Bandon seemed to come out of his slouch, no longer cowering or hiding into himself. It made Allanon's lips curl into a small smirk, which he hid by turning away and acting as though he were in deep thought.
So, she does know everything. – Allanon wanted to pull her aside and question her. Heavens above! There was so much he needed to speak to her about; Bandon, the Demon running around the palace, Amberle, the Seed, Safehold, the Elementals, her brothers, her niece, her Keeper, them. Oh, how he wanted to question her about the feelings he had begun to feel the night before, whether they were true or manifestations brought on by the Ellcrys, the sense that somehow they were connected on a deeper level, what he had been shown; their future. There was never a spare moment though to do so.
"Yes, he is a Seer. He doesn't just see death though. As I've already told him." Allanon moved about the casket to stand before Bandon and stared at him straight on without relent. "You see possibilities. Your parents didn't understand that... but I do."
He will understand.
The voice of the Ellcrys filled Alessandra's head and warmed her heart. Alessandra watched Allanon with a steady eye, listening to the change in his tone. He was comforting the boy, assuring him that his curse was really a gift. It was an odd, but pleasant security for her to see this side of him. It seemed that day by day, meeting by meeting, she was getting more glimpses such as these that conflicted with her knowledge of the Druids. She had sense the night before that his human side, those tendencies, were strong in him. After all, he had allowed himself to fall prey to love and a Druid never gave themselves the pleasure.
"My mentor, Bremen, was a Seer." Allanon continued and Alessandra quickly turned to look towards the door of the room, spotting Aria's small face peeking around the threshold. She had been listening intently to the Druid's words, hanging on each syllable as though they were meant only for her. Allanon stood tall before Bandon, who looked up at him from the corners of his eyes as though intimidated. "I watched as he walked the perilous ledge between darkness and light."
"We all walk that ledge." Alessandra breathed out and met Bandon's stare. She agreed now with what Allanon was doing, pushing this boy to give them the identity of the killer, but she didn't like it. Bandon watched her steadily, something in his gaze telling her he needed more than just the Druid's assurances. "I do every day. My people, the Elementals, found that the Pygmies or the Earth Elementals walked a very thin line between the dark and light. We are susceptible to darkness. More so than the others. Allanon as well. All Druids faced corruption because of the magic they wield. However, understanding how to control our gift makes it a little easier to keep our balance on that thin line."
Allanon watched Alessandra closely. Her words brought up memories from the vision the Ellcrys showed him; Dagda Mor, Alessandra's whole change in demeanor. Her eyes had turned bone chillingly white like fresh snow, pupils and all. From her hands, markings in white slithered up her arms and crawled up her neck to her face; intricate, beautiful, fierce designs. They reached her eyes and a surge of energy radiated from her, entering the earth beneath them. He had not recognized the sensation before, but he did now. She had allowed herself to fall prey to her own abilities. She had crossed over the line... but to which side?
"Allanon!" A high-pitched cry erupted from the hallway as two sets of footsteps came barreling into the tomb. Both Alessandra and Allanon broke from their stare and shot their attention towards the doors.
"Aria, come here." Alessandra breathed out and bent down, seeing her niece's surprised flinch at the voices. Aria ran to her aunt and jumped up into her arms. She wrapped her arms around Alessandra's neck and hid her face in the crook of her aunt's neck. Alessandra turned so that her niece's gaze couldn't befall the corpse in the casket. "Don't look."
Alessandra placed a hand to the back of Aria's head, holding her steadily under her rump with her other arm. The girl was small for her age and quite light, as all Sylphs were. Her sinewy legs wrapped around Alessandra's waist, securing herself there. Allanon caught Alessandra's gaze, the sight of the child frightened as much as she was troubling him.
Alessandra mouthed to him, "her parents," and he understood, looking to the corpse exposed in the casket. He remembered something Björn had said to him about the girl's parents being nothing anymore. It made sense now. They were dead and the young girl was suffering over the sight of the dead boy.
"I tried to stop her." Wil announced as a girl, chestnut hair and fire in her eyes, pushed passed him into the tomb. She was dressed in a corset and tight leather riding pants, hair braided at the top middle of her head and falling about her shoulders.
"Please let the Chosen rest in peace, Allanon." She begged, looking from Bandon to the Druid. Her voice had fallen away from her as Alessandra recognized pain in her eyes. She had known the boy who now laid forever cold in his crypt.
"My plan is to save the Ellcrys and there will be no peace until that is done." Allanon's words were hard and firm. They held a finality to them that Alessandra did not agree with.
"I thought I was here to save the Ellcrys and your duty was to the people." Alessandra spoke up before she could stop herself and challenged Allanon, stepping before Amberle as though to protect her. "Or are you playing Guardian now?"
The play on words, Guardian, held no meaning to the others in the room. Only she and Allanon understood her true meaning. He met her hard stare with his own and Alessandra could sense she was beginning to overstep. What did she care about the dead boy? What did she care about the last Chosen? Or was it because Allanon was seeming to take the words of the Ellcrys on blind faith and she found that so aggravating?
Alessandra suddenly softened, feeling Aria small body racking with cries. She tried to look down at the bundle in her arms and then resigned herself to rubbing her niece's back soothingly. She looked back at Allanon and saw that he too had softened upon hearing her cry.
"Lorin pledged himself to protect the tree, Amberle." Wil approached the last Chosen tentatively. The name that had passed his lips, Amberle, caused Alessandra's gaze to snap around and land on the girl who approached the stone casket. Wil placed a half-gloved hand on her shoulder for comfort. "Let him help us, Amberle, please."
Amberle. Chosen. Safehold. Bloodfire. Seed. Rebirth. – Alessandra recounted to herself, the Ellcrys having burned the words into her mind like a mantra. It made her mad to think of this tree as a puppet master, working them all to its own master plan.
"All we need are his last moments." Allanon breathed out, looking from Amberle to Alessandra, eyes venturing to Aria finally. Alessandra tightened her hold on the girl in her arms protectively, not against Allanon, but against the images of her dead parents laying in a similar fashion only a few years ago. Allanon watched the woman protecting the child from the nightmares that held her and slowly he turned to Bandon. "Look for the face of the killer."
Bandon moved to the side of the casket and reached out a tentative hand. He looked back at Alessandra, who nodded her head at him, and then to Amberle, who did the same. Bandon touched the corpse and his head flung backwards a pained gasp escaping his lips as his eyes rolled into the back of his head.
"Is Bandon's gift hurting him? Will mine do that?" Aria's small voice rose up and she lifted her face from the crook of Alessandra's neck to peer out over her aunt's shoulder. She could not bear to look herself at Bandon, but could hear his pained gasps for air.
"No sweetheart. It was shock, like when your Patruus tries to scare you and you flinch." Alessandra explained, feeling her niece's tight muscles relax. She slumped in her aunt's arms and placed her chin back on her shoulder.
"I told you his ability is like mine." Aria's voice caught the attention of Allanon, whose eyes sauntered to the pair. "I can see the future too."
"Your gift is not the same as Bandon's." Alessandra laid her head gently against Aria's, cheek smushed slightly. "You are connected to other planes of existence, yes, like Bandon. However, because you are a Sylph you do not only see death."
"He sees only death?" Aria pulled back to stare at her aunt, her cheeks red and tear stained.
"No," Allanon's voice was deep, rumbling like thunder, but comforting like a summer's breeze. He turned to look at Aria, the girl too frightened to turn her head and catch sight of the corpse. Allanon instead looked to Alessandra, "possibilities young one. He sees possibilities. Every future, even one dealing with death, can be altered."
Alessandra allowed her eyes to linger on the man. His warm brown eyes heated her, comforted her in the same way they had the other night. It sent a spark of electricity through her at their intensity as though he was trying to set her alight.
Their stare was broken by Bandon. He gasped again and seemed to shoot backwards from the casket, hand over his chest. He tried to catch his shaky breath as though the wind had been knocked out of him. He bent over, hands on his knees and closed his eyes. He breathed heavily, trying to calm himself.
"What is it? What did you see?" Amberle questioned, rushing to Bandon's side and outstretching a hand towards him. She froze though as Bandon slowly rose straight and turned on her, eyes hooded and dark.
"It was her." He extended a condemning finger towards her, voice low. Amberle took a shaky step backwards, mouth agape and shaking her head.
"What?" Amberle gawked and took another step backwards, feeling threatened. Alessandra turned her gaze to Allanon, who met her stare briefly. She tightened her hold on her niece and gave Amberle and Bandon a wide birth.
"She had the knife," Brandon spat out and watched as Amberle took another step backwards from him towards Wil, "and the silver eyes."
"Silver eyes?" Alessandra snapped to Allanon again. They exchanged worried glances as the mention of silver eyes forced realization on them. There was only one creature with silver eyes as he described. A dark creature. One of pure evil with malice to match the devil himself.
"It wasn't her." Allanon's voice frightened Alessandra more than she already was. It was shaky, fear striking through him and reverberating through his tone into her. He looked away from her and downwards as his mind drifted. "It was a Changeling."
Changeling… – Alessandra repeated the name again, ice stopping her heart and filling her veins. Allanon raised his gaze to her and then the girl in her arms. They shook, but it was caused by only one of them.
"Alessandra," Allanon spoke up gently and moved closer to her, touching her free shoulder. His voice grew low so as not to include the others, "take the child to her uncle and barricade yourselves in a room. Do not open it until I arrive."
"No." Alessandra found the word escaped her quicker than it had registered in her own mind. She shook her head, long mane of golden hair swaying across her back. "No. I will go with you. If it truly is a Changeling, you will need help."
"I need you safe." Allanon's voice was stern, demanding, but his gaze was tender. The hand on her shoulder tightened, comfortingly and firm. "You have a duty to the Ellcrys. She is using you to channel energy to keep her strong."
I am safe with you. – She found herself thinking, not wanting to leave his side suddenly. – I don't care about the damned tree.
"I need to speak with the King. Now." Allanon released her shoulder and turned to Amberle and Wil. They nodded at him and turned to the doors that led to the hallway. Bandon met Allanon's stare and then followed after the others.
"Amita?" Aria's voice, small and frightened, called to her.
"I will take you to your Patruus." Alessandra explained, eyes rising to meet Allanon's stare. She could see the emotion swirling in his warm eyes; worry, determination, fierceness.
"Then you will help Allanon?" Aria pulled back from her aunt and stared at her straight in the face, but Alessandra's eyes were trained on the Druid. "Because that is our duty?"
"No. Because it is the right thing to do." Alessandra turned her head and smiled at her niece. She began walking towards the door of the room and caught Allanon's gaze as she passed him. Amongst the displeasure on his face, she could see gratefulness. She smiled warmly at him, eyes flaring with fire as she felt deep within her a spark of eagerness. It had been a while since she had done something other than act as a conduit for a great, sapient tree. She would revel in this chase.
"I will meet you in the Throne Room." Allanon told her as she passed him, watching her head out the door of the tomb and into the hallway. He turned back around and moved to the casket, pushing the heavy stone to cover the boy once more from view. He leaned against the stone and found his lips curling into a smirk at how much that woman could surprise him.