IF THERE BE THORNS
By Maggie Griffin
CHAPTER 11: How You Remind Me
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It was only a matter of hours until day-break, and already Ai could see the flashes of crystalline light sweeping up from beneath the horizon, coming up only to face into the dark sky.
~I'm scared…so scared…~ she thought to herself as she flew, her wings catching the cooled wind in each feather, sending a small shiver through her now and again.
And she was indeed scared, even more so then the first time she had seen Arbutus, when she had been pulled into the sky and looked into his strange eyes, shaking in fright. That memory no longer scared her as much as the prospect of what was to come.
~He won't accept me….not like this. He won't want to be friends anymore…~
She veered down suddenly, and laded gently on the warming sand, still slightly cool from the cold desert night. Sitting there, Aini drew her wings around her, examining the feathers. She hadn't really taken the time to look at them closely, and only now noticed their tone, an almost transparent-white. Each feather was wispy and looked like it was in danger of falling off at any moment. As if both her wings were to simply break apart and fall to the sand. Yet they stayed firmly attached.
"I c…can't do this!" Aini stated suddenly, her eyes wide with realization. "Oh Allah, I cannot do this." She shut her eyes, and bit her lip until a jolt of pain made her whimper. Taking her hand, she brought it to her mouth, coming away with droplets of blood.
~At least my blood still looks normal~ she tried to console herself with that thought, but failed miserably, the idea making her only more aware of what sort of visage she had become.
She began to pace in the sand, which ran between her toes, tickling her slightly.
"First of all, he thinks I'm dead! Second of all, it's been a whole year….what if he doesn't even remember me?" The idea made her freeze in her tracks. "What…what if he doesn't even care that I came back…..," she trailed off, tears filling her eyes.
She looked back up at the sky, her eyes tracing the clouds she could see there. Looking over the last remnants of the moon, which would soon vanish with the coming of morning.
~I could fly away~
Aini's brow furrowed with the possibility.
~I could fly and nobody would ever have to see me….I could go far away, somewhere where there are no people, nobody to look at me….~
But in an instant, the thought vanished and Ai shook her head violently.
"No! I have to try….at least try!"
With that, she began to run through the sand, and taking a leap, lifted her small body off the ground and back up into the wind. The thermals carried her upwards easily, catching her wings like wind under blankets.
Leading her back.
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It was the sudden silence that made Arbutus stop in his tracks. He froze in place, his features twisting into an angry scowl. Moments ago, the garden had been whispering as it always been. The forlorn whispers had long ago replaced their childish laughter.
Yet now, there was only silence.
It had happened so quickly, and so abruptly, Arbutus could never have missed it. It was as though someone had been screaming at the top of his lungs, and simply stopped. No hesitation, no slowing tone.
Simply silence.
He turned from side to side, his eyes narrowed in concentration. He turned his head upwards slightly, and closed his eyes to better know what was happening. To reach out through his garden.
His will traveled through the plants, through the titanic trees, and over the dark grass. And through all that life, he sensed something more. Something different. Something that set his blood to boil, and a low sound to erupt from his throat which would have scared Aini witless had she been around him.
But she wasn't, he reminded himself.
But someone else was. Arbutus began to glide towards where he had sensed this life, his hands long turned to fists. Someone else was, and that someone would pay with his or her life.
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Aini had touched down to the ground just a few feet away from the same familiar gates she had walked through a year ago, and had slowly walked up to them, nearly not recognizing them.
"What….happened?" Her voice shook as she looked at the gates, then to the Garden that lay behind them. The gates themselves were rusted, and looked as though they hadn't been opened for….
~…A year?~
Aini shivered.
Her hand reached out and genitivally touched the thick vines that roped around the bars of the gates, wondering if she would have to resort to flying over the gates and right into the Garden. Somehow, the thought of screaming for Arbutus to come open the gates for her was less then thrilling.
Yet, when her hand touched the vines, they shrank away from the bars instantly, moving down to the ground and lying there motionless. Aini looked at them for a moment, then her hand tightened around the bars, and she pushed the gate open.
It opened with a bit of difficulty, squeaking slightly as it did. Aini actually had to lean against it slightly in order to push it open all the way. Finally, it yielded to her efforts, and the stepped into the garden.
"What….what's happened?" Though her voice no longer trembled, now there was an edging fear in it. For this was not the Garden she had left behind with her death.
~It looks more like a Garden of the Dead~ she shivered in discomfort. The trees, which had once let through spirals of light from the sky, were so closely grouped together that almost no light reached the earth underneath them. The grass was wild and un kept, dark against her feet with weeds growing amongst the blades.
There was one single thing that stood out the most that Ai noticed almost immediately.
"Where are the flowers?" she murmured to herself, looking this way and that, eventually kneeling down to move the blades of grass gently with her fingers. Her not a single flower, not even a humble dandelion, could see poking out from the growth around her.
There was also a feeling, as though the entire Garden were silently watching her, as if thousands of eyes were drawn to her at that moment, gazing over her every move. Every step.
She folded her wings so that each was stretched on either side of her, looking ahead stubbornly, to not be distracted by the darkness and shadows around her.
Ai moved through the garden, until she finally came to a familiar place. The gazebo stretched high in the sky, and Ai was happy to see that it was still there. Yet, even it had changed noticeably. The roof, from which one could have gazed up at the night sky from at one point, was completely wrapped in vines, with them falling in full circle around the sides of the gazebo. It looked as though someone had draped a blanket over it.
Her hand reached up to grasp the railing, and Ai was about to start climbing the vine steps up to her favorite overlook when she felt a strong pressure at her ankle. Before she even had enough time to look down and register the thick brown and green vine wrapped tight around her ankle, it yanked her away violently, and she fell against the floor with a sharp cry of pain. Her wings bent under her body, she wiggled helplessly as the vines wrapped around her arms and legs, holding her nearly spread eagle and dragging her into the air, suspending her.
She tried to flap he wings, hoping the force of flight might rip her from the strength of her captors, but the vines seem to read her mind, and came around her wings, bending them together and making her shriek in pain as she heard one of the fine upper bones holding her wings together crack.
The searing pain ripped through her new muscles, coming together at her back and making her double over in the air, the shriek turning into a pained moaned. Weakly, she looked behind her at her wings, seeing the damage done to them.
The upper half of her left wing was bent so badly it had broken, and now hung limply against the rest of her wing. Blood had come to flow over the immaculate white feathers, the contrast incredibly sharp.
The pain almost unbearable.
Aini was amazed she was even able to keep herself conscious, certain that such immense pain would cause her to black out at any moment. She hoped it would.
Yet as her head hung weakly against her chest, she opened her eyes weakly when she heard the familiar sound of robes moving over earth.
She no longer found enough strength in her to raise her head, yet Aini felt it was not necessary. She knew who stood before her, and could already see the hatred in his eyes.
~I knew it….~ she thought to herself, her mind in jumbles through the pain in her back.
Aini winced as she felt a clawed hand come up and grasp her around the throat tightly, bring her face upwards until she was face-to-face with the one who had taken her captive so painfully.
Arbutus.
When she was finally looking into his face, Aini heard a weak whimper. It took her a moment to realize it had come from her own lips, which trembled violently.
Arbutus had changed.
Though not physically, something in his manner was completely different. His face, usually filled with life at the life he created, was dark. His green and brown eyes had turned into a pair of equally black voids, and as Aini stared into them, she could see no spark that was often attributed with humane emotions.
Nothing.
It was as if Arbutus had molded with the rest of his Garden, moving into the darkness and changing into something Ai didn't recognize.
"And what might you be, Hm? An angel, perhaps….," he leaned his head to the side slightly, examining the bloodied wings. "A fallen angel?"
He shook his head suddenly, and Ai began to tremble violently as the vines shifted and wrapped around her chest and stomach. The ones holding her wings loosened, and her wings fell lifelessly against her back.
"It doesn't matter now…I gave fair warning that no one….nothing, was to enter my home again. You have broken that law. For that, you will die!" Arbutus voice was hollow and empty, but Ai could hear the seething anger beneath it. Strangely, traces of sorrow as well.
"A….A…," she tried to speak, but her voice cracked with each attempt.
"Hm?" Arbutus cocked an eyebrow, stepping closer to her. "What is it now? A last plead for mercy? For life? And who are you to make such a request of me?"
Aini opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, and a sound came from her lips, though Arbutus was unable to hear it clearly. So he leaned his head towards her, his ear near her lips so they were side to side.
"Aini."
Arbutus froze.
For a moment, Ai wondered if he had heard her at all.
Yet suddenly, he drew back, and Aini yelped when she felt a stinging slap across her cheek, knowing it would be bruised later.
For a moment, she was stunned into silence by the unexpected action, then her head fell against her chest once more with a loud sob.
"You….You….How dare you take her name!" Arbutus shook with fury unlike any he had ever felt, and prepared to hit the strange creature again, determined to make her pay for trespassing into his home, and tainting the name she had spoken.
Aini saw what he was about to do, her eyes widening in terror.
"A…A…ARBUTUS!" She screamed, tears flowing down her cheeks.
Arbutus paused, his eyes narrowing. Once more, the creature's head lolled into her chest, her pain too great. Yet it wasn't that which stopped him from striking out once more.
~That voice….no…it's not her. It can't be! Aini….my Aini….is dead!~ With that thought set firmly into his stubborn thoughts, Arbutus' hand turned into a fist, and he stretched it out to hit her once more.
"Why did you kiss me when I was sleeping?"
The soft question made him cry out, his fist just barely missing her body and connecting instead with the air beside her. Shivering, he drew back, his eyes wide.
"Nobody….nobody knew about that! There was no way….," he trailed off, shaking his head, his hands coming up in front of him, as though he were shielding himself from some oncoming terror. "How could you know? How….?"
"I w…was awake!" Aini spoke softly, her voice broken with pain and tears. "I was awake!"
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(Oooh, psycho Arbutus eh? Lol) Next, Arbutus must decide if Aini truly as returned, while Aladdin finds out about the strange creature Mechanicles saw at the Cloak and Dagger.