Chapter 29: Freedom
"Ah!" Luigi exclaimed, hopping back. The loose surcoat swished about him slightly as he leaned forward to get a better look at his work. Kalliel was alive, temporarily…and unconscious. Luigi looked around nervously and swallowed. He had a feeling something like this would happen. That's why he had Pyewacket come along. He looked out the window at the large blue yoshi.
"Pyewacket!!" He called down. The yoshi looked up and wagged his tail upon hearing his voice, wings fluttering.
"Yessa! Weegie be needn' Pyewacket's help, ya?"
"Yes, please and thank you…I'll meet you at the bottom!"
Pyewacket nodded and padded off towards the front doors. Luigi, meanwhile, set the book down and threw Kalliel's arm over his shoulders before heaving him up with a grunt. The man was heavier than he looked. Luigi quickly tucked the book under his other arm and proceeded, with great difficulty, down to the first floor and out the front doors.
Outside, he met the winged yoshi, slightly out of breath. Pyewacket curiously took a look at the man Luigi was supporting. He sniffed at him. "That the ghost man, Weegie?"
"Yeah," He said as he helped Pyewacket get Kalliel onto his back. "Thanks for your help. Let's get him back to the house, alright?"
"Okay!" The dino exclaimed. While it was true they had only been back for a week or two, Pyewacket's size certainly had increased; it no longer looked mildly awkward to have a human adult upon his back. Luigi knew a lot about yoshis, and the fact that they often went through spontaneous growth spurts was something he knew very well.
"I heard you and-a old man talking about building…?"
"Yeah. You're getting bigger…soon you'll be too big to get in through the front door…er, without scuffing your wings or something like that…" Luigi said. "We thought we'd simply build you a separate room to stay in, making sure you're comfortable of course. What do you say?"
Pyewacket looked down at his feet as he loped along. "Pyewacket…get-a lonely though…but is a good idea…getting harder to get through doors…"
Luigi chuckled at his friend's comment. They finally found the pipe and proceeded through it. Outside, they had a bit of a mishap. Bringing someone unconscious on a dino's back through a pipe is not the easiest thing in the world, Luigi found this out as Kalliel's body completely toppled off of Pyewacket. "Oops…" Luigi said as they both looked around to make sure no one was looking. "I don't think anyone saw that…" Luigi whispered awkwardly as he helped get him back onto Pyewacket's back. "He's not awake so I don't think he'll mind too much…" Pyewacket stifled a giggle as they quickly made their way back to the house, snow crunching under their feet. At the front door, Luigi had to pull his mentor off of the yoshi's back. He looped his arms beneath Kalliel's and proceeded to drag him over the threshold into the warm foyer. Pyewacket shook the snow from his feathers and mane before ducking in through the door.
"Shivers! Can you come give me a hand?!" Luigi summoned his ghostly butler, who could only stare at the unconscious man in befuddlement. "Is…is that…Master Kalliel?"
"Mm-hmm," Luigi grunted as he tried dragging the chain-mail-clad knight into the living room. Shivers helped move him, a feat at which Luigi was grateful for; he was heavier than he looked. "Yes…that's him…" He paused as they got him to the couch. Then after quietly counting to three, lifted him up and onto it.
"What are you guys do-…ing…? Gadd said as he walked into the room and caught a glimpse of the unconscious man on the couch. He silently plodded over and looked at the sight quizzically.
Kalliel began to stir slightly, causing Luigi to jump back slightly. The three waited in silence as Kalliel's sapphire eyes opened once before closing tightly again. "Ugh…" he groaned quietly. Luigi, Gadd, and Shivers watched with baited breath to see if he would wake up.
"Can you hear me?" Luigi asked quietly. Kalliel nodded slightly as his breathing came in shallow pants. He looked as if he were trying to keep down a strong feeling of nausea.
"I shall return with some tea," Shivers suggested as he drifted into the kitchen.
"You sure you're alright…?" Luigi asked again, this time in a flatter tone. Kalliel nodded again.
"Yes…" he mumbled weakly before coughing. "Nausea is merely a side effect. I shall be fine within the hour." He blinked several times as his eyes grew accustomed to the softly-lit room. "Though…I feel as if…oh, my head," he said as he awkwardly moved his hand up to his head and brushed his fingers through his shaggy, dark hair.
Luigi looked around awkwardly as Pyewacket sidled into the room. The two exchanged embarrassed glances before swallowing quietly. "M-maybe it's just another side effect of, uh…the resurrection," Luigi said, trying his best to sound relatively innocent.
"Yes…perhaps…" Kalliel's voice sounded weak. Luigi felt a pang of guilt settle into his stomach like a small monster that had just hatched. Maybe resurrecting the man wasn't such a good idea.
"How long are you going to be like this?" Luigi asked as Shivers reemerged into the room carrying a tray with a steaming teapot and a few china cups in one hand and holding a thick blanket in the other.
"He'll be better by morning, so long as he gets some rest," Gadd said calmly with a hinting look at Luigi. Luigi got the message and nodded. Shivers continued to remain silent as he poured some tea and handed it to Kalliel, who accepted it and the blanket gratefully. Pyewacket wandered over in front of the fire place and flopped down on the rug with a snort as he allowed the crackling fire to warm his backside. Kalliel sipped at the tea, grimacing as it burned his mouth. "Ow!" he muttered. He smiled. At least he could feel and taste again. Though it was just plain Earl Gray tea, to him it was the best thing he'd ever tasted. Fifteen hundred years was a long time, and taste was one thing he had forgotten.
"Ahem…so long as he gets some rest…" Gadd said again, nudging Luigi in the rib with his elbow. "Go on, git!"
Luigi blinked a few times; he had been zoning out. "Oh…erm, sorry, I was just thinking…"
"That's dangerous…'specially comin' from you, sonny," Gadd chortled. Luigi looked at him pointedly before turning and walking upstairs. The folds of his surcoat fluttered as he walked.
"So," Gadd said as he pulled the ottoman from a nearby easy chair over to the couch and seated himself upon it. "You're alive now."
"Temporarily." Kalliel took another drink of the tea. Gadd reached down and heaved the black-bound book off of the floor.
"Mind if I take a gander?" He asked as Kalliel felt his eyes begin to droop.
"Not at all…" Kalliel said, setting the empty cup down on the coffee table. He leaned back against the cushion and felt himself drift into what was his first night of true sleep in over fifteen-hundred years.
"So Luigi did this to ya, huh?" Gadd asked quietly to no one in particular. He stared at the intricate writing on the aged parchment page before him. "Brilliant lad…Brilliant lad," he whispered.
The next morning, Kalliel awoke, feeling rather uncomfortable. Ah…that was why. He had fallen asleep in his chain mail and surcoat. "Mmm…" He groaned, stretching his aching muscles. "Canvas and steel…not a very comfortable mix for sleeping." He sat up and looked around, spying a stack of clothes sitting on the ottoman near him. Obviously Gadd had left them out for him. He slowly extended his legs and set his feet flat on the floor. The metal shin-greaves over his boots glinted in the morning light that filtered through the windows. He reached out and took the clothes before standing, only to come crashing back to the carpet with a WHUMP and a clink from the armor.
"Dammit…" he grunted into the carpet. He had forgotten that he hadn't been solid for a long time. As many times as he had performed temporary resurrections before, never had he imagined that one would be performed on him. Once again, he tried standing. When he was sure that he wasn't going to fall again, or that the ground wasn't going to move in any way, he set off unsteadily to a vacant room. Once in privacy, he removed his surcoat and chain mail hauberk, listening as they hit the ground with a ruffle and a tinkling thud, respectfully. He changed out of his white, high collared tunic and brown traveler's pants and into the clothes that Gadd provided. There was a solid blue long-sleeved shirt, a pair of blue jeans and a thick, plain black hoodie, which he slipped on over his torso once he had changed into his new attire. He certainly felt warmer with it on. He picked up the surcoat, hauberk, shirt, pants, and shin guards and laid them in a neatly folded pile on a chair nearby. The heels of his boots sounded on the floor as he walked around the house for a bit, trying to get used to his body once again.
He nearly ran into the door leading into the hallway, once again forgetting that he was solid. He wandered down the hall, rubbing his hands slightly. It had grown a bit chilly in the house. "Luigi?" He queried, searching for his mentee. He rubbed his hands a little more vigorously, as they along with his face were the only parts of his body not covered by clothing. He finally touched his fingers to his forehead, frowning when no light came from it. No magic at all. He almost passed completely by the door leading into Madame Clairvoya's room.
Maybe a short visit wouldn't hurt. He opened the door slowly and entered the dark, warm room. He coughed slightly. The room absolutely reeked of incense.
"Is someone there?" A detached voice asked calmly.
"Yes, Madame, it is I, Kalliel."
The ghost of the woman appeared from inside the crystal ball in the table in the center of the room. She turned her almond eyes to him and gasped. "Kalliel…you're…mortal?" she asked.
"For three days, yes." He said with a bit of an awkward bow. Clairvoya chuckled slightly.
"Still not used to your body yet, are we?"
"…No…" Kalliel returned a bit of an awkward smile.
"You seek Luigi, yes?" she asked as she seated herself comfortably in her chair. Kalliel nodded with an embarrassed grin as he sat down in a vacant chair. He had lost his psychokinetic abilities along with his magic. "Hmm…I believe you shall find him outside…tell me, though…how are things looking so far?"
"We're good…" He said with a smile. "I definitely believe that my hope is well placed."
Clairvoya paused for a minute. "Wonderful," she breathed. She eyed the man sitting in the chair across from her. "Yet you are still concerned…it stems from your loss of magic."
"Yes, well. I have never been under these exact circumstances…I am merely concerned that there will be some sort of incident." he explained, wanting to end this conversation quickly without being rude. "Thank you, Madame. I shall keep you posted on our progress."
With a nod, she vanished back into her ball. Kalliel stood up and walked, a bit more steadily, back out the door and back into the living room. Outside, he noticed Luigi doing rather lofty flips from trees and such. Pyewacket meandered about, shuffling his nose through the new snow excitedly. Brushing his hair from his face, Kalliel turned to the front door and opened it. As he stepped outside his eyes widened.
"Ah!!"
"Woah!!" Luigi called as he toppled into a snow bank. Kalliel's cry had broken his concentration.
"What's wrong?!" Luigi asked, his head popping out from beneath a small pile of fresh snow.
"It's COLD!!!" Kalliel exclaimed. He had been able to feel temperature change as a ghost, but not to this degree.
"Duh…" Pyewacket said through a mouthful of snow before he continued nosing around. It was so new to the tropical prince. His own excitement kept the cold from bothering him.
Luigi pulled himself out of the white powder as Kalliel walked over to him, snow crunching beneath his boots. "Glad to see you're feeling better," he said rather cheerfully, wiping snow from his mustache. "I'm getting ready to go out for my morning run, care to join me?"
"Wouldn't hurt," Kalliel agreed.
Pyewacket bounded up beside them, eager to explore the snowy woods. "I believe I should tell you before we begin," Luigi said as he knelt in a starting position. "I free-run."
Kalliel looked at him with a hint of amazement. "An excellent skill to have…I-…er…" He stopped as he noticed Luigi taking off.
"You're not gonna beat me just by standing there!" The young man called back. Kalliel rolled his eyes and sighed. "I really need to learn to stop talking so much." With that, he set off after Luigi at a run, Pyewacket loping along at his side.
Luigi had set off through the woods towards town at a brisk run, his movement never losing its fluidity even when he ran up the side of a large flat boulder and rebounded onto a thick, snow covered tree branch nearby. Shifting his momentum, he leapt to another branch and in one continuous motion leapt back and forth between two sturdy tees until he reached the ground, where he took off running again. The sound of footsteps met his ears. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kalliel sprint up and take a flying leap at a large, flat-topped rock. For a second, Luigi thought that he wasn't going to make it over, but to his surprise, Kalliel placed his outstretched hands down on the rock, pushed his legs forward, and vaulted over the rest of the way, landing and taking off again in one fluid motion.
"What's this about me not being able to keep up?" Kalliel asked as he matched Luigi's pace. Pyewacket still remained a few yards behind, trying to keep up with the pair's acrobatics. He tried to copy Kalliel's move, but only succeeded in landing in a pile of snow, wings askew.
Luigi said nothing as he leapt over a few more rocks and roots. The outskirts of town were coming into view, and Kalliel was matching his efforts quite handsomely.
It was still early, so not very many people were out and about as the two men sprinted up to the side of a nearby mushroom house. They both vaulted up the side and onto the roof, silently running across and fairly flying across the gap. Several shop owners peered out quizzically to catch a glimpse of the two humans dashing along the rooftops with animal-like speed and precision.
Their running finally began to slow as they landed on the flat roof of a restaurant and leapt off of the other side. Both hit the ground at the same time and rolled to a skidding halt. Kalliel winced painfully as he panted. He was in excellent physical condition, much more so than Luigi, but the cold air in his lungs and on his face stung horribly.
"Alright, I'll bite," Luigi panted, hands resting on his knees. "Where'd you learn all that?"
"It is necessary that a knight of Eidolon knows how to overcome obstacles. Acrobatics can be used as retreat tactics as well as for hunting an enemy…You are forgetting that I was in peak physical condition when I died…anyway, it is good that you already have an excellent grasp on this ability…your training will be exponentially easier for you."
Luigi stood up and looked at him. Now that he was alive, the grey at his temples stood out more vividly against his dark, sable hair. "How old were you when you died?" He finally asked as Kalliel laced his fingers behind his head and took a few even breaths in recovery from the run.
"I…had just turned twenty-eight at the time of my death," he said with a smirk at Luigi's astounded reaction. "I was knighted twelve years before, however, so it wasn't like my reign was quick…"
"But what's with the Grandpa look?" Luigi said, motioning to his temples. Kalliel gave him a flat look.
"Working with ghosts tends to tax one's nerves…" he said.
"Oh no…" Luigi groaned woefully. "…I'm gonna go grey before Mario does…"
"Possibly…and I am not a Grandpa…I never had children…nor was I married," Kalliel said in frustration.
"Really?" Luigi asked in wonder. "…a good-looking guy like yourself…?"
"Ah," Kalliel said, realizing his blunder. "Allow me to rephrase that…I was to be married…but I…" He shrugged and put his hands up. Luigi nodded, getting the point as Pyewacket hopped over to them, slightly out of breath. "Izza too cold here…" he shivered. Small bunches of snow were still caught in his feathery, white wings from where he wiped out in the woods. Luigi helped brush the snow from his wings before rubbing his own nose to find that it had indeed gone numb.
"We'd better get back before we fall ill…" Kalliel suggested, wiping a few strands of wet hair from his face before turning his gaze to the ground rather sullenly. Luigi nodded and the three of them headed back.
Kalliel thought as they plodded along. The feeling of the wind in his face, the thrill of freefalling through empty space with a realization that his body was affected by gravity…it had reminded him of what it was like to be alive. It was a feeling that he now reprimanded himself for taking for granted.
"So…" Luigi started clearing his throat after a while. "You were going to be married?"
"Yes," Kalliel said sadly. Luigi felt the guilt monster in his stomach rear its head. "…but I went off to battle before the wedding and…never returned."
"Mind if I ask whom you were going to marry?" Luigi asked.
"Her Majesty Princess Celine Chanterelle of the Mushroom Kingdom," He said heavily. He frowned. All the regrets of his past were resurfacing.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Luigi started before Kalliel held up his hand. "It's alright…It was well over a thousand years ago." Luigi looked at the hurt in his distant relative's eyes and felt that guilt monster writhe in the pit of his stomach. "I will see her again…when my task here is complete…"
Bam. Another pang of guilt. He was the reason Kalliel was still stuck here. "I don't have to have my power to read minds to tell what you're thinking…and no, it's not your fault. It's our law. And I want to ensure that it gets followed," he said with a small confident smile. "…Actually," he started, stroking his goatee, "I'm curious as to why you haven't proposed to young Princess Daisy yet…" He raised an eyebrow in Luigi's direction.
At this Luigi's wind-burnt cheeks turned a brighter shade of red than they already were. "Oh…erm, well…aheh…" he stammered. Kalliel smirked at him. "Urm…nerves, I suppose." He swallowed before continuing. "I really do love her…but I'm nervous."
"How long have you been courting?" Kalliel asked.
"Just over two years, now…"
"And you are certain that you love her?"
"Yes."
"…" Kalliel nodded. He patted him heartily on the shoulder. "Then I'm sure it will all work out…"
"I hope so too…with the mess I'm getting into now…it's another reason I want to wait. I-I just don't want to run the risk of having something happen to her in an attempt to get at me. I want to protect her, even if that means waiting to ask her to marry me."
Kalliel stopped. Luigi and Pyewacket looked back at him curiously. "What you just said, Luigi proves that you love her."
"Huh?"
"You're willing to ensure her safety before your own…I believe that in itself is a testament of the highest degree."
Luigi smiled. He was right. Still, now that the little guilt monster in his gut had settled again, he felt sympathy for Kalliel, if anything. He never would have guessed that about him-that he was to be married at one time. They both decided not to discuss the matter and let it drop. The conversation took on a lighter tone on the way back to the mansion, much to Luigi's relief. Kalliel was pleased that he regained full control of his body once more, though upon making it back to the house, he found that he was rather numb in his hands, feet and face.
The major issue on Luigi's mind was what was to take place the next evening: The Winter Ball.
