...Chapter Twenty-Four: Field of Innocence...
"You felt it, too?" Devit muttered. Jasdero and Road nodded wordlessly. The Exorcists were watching our reaction with a mix of fascination and fear, while the Fae looked baffled.
"What? Felt what?" Ianto turned from side to side waiting for an answer, eyes wide. He grabbed my arm and I swatted him away, annoyed as I tried to listen. The voice was very faint, a whisper carried from over the mountains. With a gust of wind that buffeted the flames back to a roaring bonfire, the words were finally clear, and I knew where to look for the newborn Noah. I couldn't fight the smile the stretched my features at the location, and Allen gave me a strange glance when he saw, a question written in his eyes.
"We're in luck," now everyone was looking at me weird. "They're in Scotland, which is on our way." Several people nodded, relieved.
Devit stopped, an expression of concentration on his face, "But... where exactly are we going again?" Both he and Jasdero gazed at me pleadingly while Marco and Dante snickered. I saw Viktor reach over and smack the Fae twins on the back of their heads, which elicited a snort from Kanda.
"We, my dear Devit, are going to Avalon. The home and birthplace of the Fae." I said grandly.
The group split into six, one group of seven and five of six, and piled into the covered sleighs. Tyki sat next to Allen and Rhiannon, the Earl sat with Road and Dietrich, and Sheril drove, since most of the servants had run off into the night after the assassin's raid of the manor. The sleigh's skylight had been left open so he could still hear what was being said.
"So explain this again," Sheril had to raise his voice to be heard over the wind, "Why are we taking a ship and not the Ark to Avalon?"
Dietrich spoke before Rhiannon could, "Avalon is surrounded with layer upon layer of Wards and technically exists in its own dimension, much like your Ark. If we were to attempt to enter Avalon by that method, we could be stuck in limbo for all eternity, or worse."
Allen jolted up, "Worse? How much worse can it get?"
"Incineration," Dietrich shrugged noncommittally, "Electrocution. Being slowly crushed to the size of a shirt button. Drowning in your own blood." Allen and Road balked at the last one. "Among others." He grinned, and Rhiannon kicked him, knowing he was saying this just to upset the others. Dietrich glared at her, "What? Are you saying I shouldn't have told them?"
"Not in the way you did," she scowled at the older Fae. "You only said it in such a way to scare them." Rhiannon turned away to watch the passing forest out the window.
"So I should have lied, like what you've been doing for the past, oh, three weeks?" She winced at the jab and looked down to her hands, wringing her fingers in her lap. The Noah turned, shocked, to stare at the woman. "You didn't even tell them about your social standing, did you?"
"Of course she did!" Tyki cut in, "She's a Lord's daughter, and is supposed to inherit her father's title." He paused, "Right?" Tyki didn't sound all that sure about it anymore.
She continued wringing her hands, "That's not," she stopped to take a deep breath, then looked back up to meet Dietrich's gleeful eyes, "the whole truth."
Allen sighed and put his head in his hands, elbows on knees, "Then what is?" he pleaded, sounding tired.
Tyki saw Rhiannon's hands start to shake before she wound her fingers together and squeezed tight, "My father was a member of the Council of Elders. An old name that just stuck. As his daughter, I could get away with much more than other noblemen's daughters, including weapons training. However, the other Councilmen saw a woman learning the ways of the blade as a disgrace, and I was forced to stop taking public instruction."
"Then how are you so talented with a blade?" Sheril called over his shoulder.
"I was getting to that." Rhiannon teased, "My older brothers thought this wrong, and after coming home from school they would teach me themselves. I later learned that my parents knew the whole time, and were the ones to give them the idea in the first place." She laughed ruefully, "I gobbled up all they taught me, and eventually could fight on even ground with them. I started teaching what I knew to other noble's daughters, I'm sure you can guess who they were, and we joined together with a group of high-ranking boys to argue our cause to the Council."
"And what was that?" said the Earl.
"That women once again be allowed the right to learn to defend themselves and others. Years before my brothers and I were born, a law was passed that the warrior class would no longer allow women into their ranks."
"And how did it go?" asked Allen.
Rhiannon laughed without mirth again, "The motion was passed, but we were given a condition." The Noah were now leaning in close to her, eager to hear more, "For going against the laws of Avalon, and in order for the Council to pass the new law, those of us who went against them must join the military, with no chance of dismissal of any kind. Several of the Council members objected to this, as some of the others were their children, but the majority were in agreement. We were hesitant, but knew they were saying this to scare us away, but our only other option was imprisonment, for we had committed an act of treason. We accepted their terms, and the law was passed. I was only twelve at the time, but several others, Dietrich included, were over a hundred years old." All eyes turned to the aforementioned Fae, shock evident on their faces.
I saw the annoyed glare Dietrich gave me, but was past the point of caring. "We were put in divisions, and gradually rose through the ranks, until we had enough say to make divisions of our own, and banded together again. That's how we are now."
"So... There's more of you?" Road asked, amazement in her eyes.
My smile was genuine this time, "Yes, there are. Not as many as there once was, but still a large enough group."
"And what does this have to do with your position in society?" asked Tyki. Dietrich snickered again; I didn't even glance at him when I kicked his shin.
"The military is much like the nobility in the caste system. That is to say, a General had just as much pull as a Marquess. Unlike the human military, however, the Generals are chosen by skill, so someone of any age can become one, and have a ranking system of their own as well."
"You're a General... Aren't you?" Tyki asked hesitantly. "I remember Gideon saying something about it before Capture the Flag."
I nodded and turned to stare back out the window, "Yes, I am a General. I became one at the age of fifteen. I'm not particularly high-ranking, however, Viktor and Dietrich are both above me."
"So who are the other two Generals in the group that are with us? He said there were five."
I let Tyki's question hang in the air for a moment as I watched the harbor draw nearer, "Dante and Ianto." We pulled to a stop, and Road jumped out, inhaling the salty air deeply. We followed, and saw the other sleighs being emptied as well, the drivers blowing on their hands to warm them.
"Come on, this way!" Viktor shouted, already walking down the wharf. We hurried to keep up. At this time of early morning, the docks were just barely starting to fill with life, sleepy deckhands staring as we passed. Viktor led us to a medium sized ship, named The Tatiana. The name was no accident; this was a Fae ship, and the original bearer of the name was said to protect those who were transported on it. Cross was standing on the boarding plank, hands behind his back.
The others had already started boarding, until I was left alone on the dock. I took a steadying breath, then marched up onto the deck.
Ten days later
Dear Diary,
We didn't have time to mourn. We have been at sea for more than a week, and I'm starting to wish we were already at the Gates of Avalon. Never thought I would say that, but it's the truth. The waters weren't particularly rough, but we did hit a storm on the sixth day which forced us to drop anchor for a while. It passed quickly, and only set us back by half a day or so. Which means we'll be coming up on the Gates very soon, we passed Scotland four hours ago.
Someone pounded on the door to my and Road's shared cabin then sprinted off.
I guess we're here. I'll write soon.
~Rhiannon
I set the journal back on my bed and hopped off the top bunk, picking up my skirts and running down the hall, up the stairs and onto the main deck, the pink and yellow clouds indicating it was around seven thirty. I pulled a crewman aside and asked what was going on, and he just pointed at the horizon. Not that far in front of the bow, barely visible through a glamour, was the arch the marked the entrance to Avalon. I focused intently on pushing the glamour back, and the Gates came into full view. Heavy-looking, made of white wood, intricately carved to depict the Battle of King Arthur and Mordred. I heard a gasp behind me, and turned to see the Noah and Exorcists staring, mouths agape, at the hidden entrance to the homeland of the Fae. I gave them a small, sad smile.
"I'm home." I turned and walked out to the very edge of the bow, climbing over the guardrail to be closer to the Gates. The ship kept moving until it was within five feet of them; if we got any closer I would surely die.
"I am Rhiannon Pietrovich-Dragomir, daughter of Gregorio Cathal Dragomir!" My voice echoed off the Gates, "I ask for permission to enter the realm of Avalon!" The crew, Fae, Noah, and Exorcists were silent, and there was no sound save the waves breaking on the hull. After several minutes of nothing, I thought we had been denied and climbed back over the rail.
I froze on the other side when a deafening creak was emitted from the Gates, and I turned, dumbfounded, to see them slowly swinging open inward. A loud cheer rang out from the deck, and I saw even Kanda smile. I grinned as well, and leaned on the guardrail as the ship once again started moving forward.
Tyki walked up to the woman standing at the bow and wrapped an arm around her waist. Rhiannon jumped and swatted his arm. "Be careful, or you'll fall." Tyki joked.
She rolled her eyes, "Even if I did, I could just swim to shore." Tyki's eyebrows drew together. "Look." Rhiannon motioned ahead, and Tyki turned to see the shore.
The shore was occupied by a city of white and gold, and it's beauty was beyond description. The buildings sparkled in the light of the winter sun and stretched on as far as he could see. Dotting the city were towers much like those in the original Ark, and mansions could be seen on the far off hills.
It took fifteen minutes to reach the docks, and another ten for the ship to be secured. The group followed Rhiannon as she confidently walked onto the wharf. When everyone was on solid land, she turned to them and said, "Welcome to Cathair na Gréine Ar Maidin. The City of the Morning Sun."
And they're finally in Avalon! Rhiannon and the Fae are home! Please leave a review, it brightens my day so much!
So, this chapter is named after an Evanescence song (as are several others), and I highly suggest you listen to it.
Disclaimer: I do not own D Gray-man, nor do I own it's characters!