My group spends the next two days walking away from Aquilarumni, and we never looked back. The Eagle Temple is in a deep valley about three days from the capital city, so we're almost there when we run into a bit of a roadblock.
"What the heck is this?" Lovino cries in a rather frustrated voice from the top of a hill. He's ahead of everyone, so it takes a while for the rest of us to join him.
"Woah," Gilbert breathes.
"Veeeee~! I've never seen anything like this before," Feli says in amazement.
"It's going to be a pain to get around," the elder Wolf grumbles.
"We could always fly," I suggest.
Ludwig surveys the valley and sighs unhappily. "It looks like we'll have to."
A gigantic valley stretches in front of us as far as we can see. This is one of the largest basins we've come across yet, and it appears even more impressive because the whole thing is filled with water. Clear, gentle waves lap at the earthen shore in front of us, otherwise nothing else moves. A fine mist skirts over the surface of the immense lake and makes the whole valley feel darker and secluded.
"It's so...quiet," I whisper. I almost flinch from my own voice, as if it could shatter the stillness around us.
"It's pretty," Feli breathes with a peaceful smile on his face.
"I feel a little sad looking at it." We all silently agree with Kiku's statement.
There's something about the lake that makes us want to sit quietly and do nothing but think of the past. It's like looking at tombstones. The headstones themselves are beautiful, but it's still a sad thing to look at.
"We should probably keep moving," I say after a while. "We want to reach the Temple before nightfall."
"Leaving so soon? What a pity."
I jump in surprise and look around for the source of the voice. There's no mistaking it as Kirkland's, but the shadow handler is nowhere to be seen. Like me, everyone else is searching for him as well. Gilbert takes a protective step closer to me, and I can feel his breath shift strands of my pale hair.
"Why do you all look so alarmed?" Kirkland's voice rings out over the quietly rippling surface of the lake once again. "You don't have anything to fear this time, I promise."
"As if your promises mean anything, bastard," Gilbert growls.
"Over there," Kiku says in a low voice.
He's pointing at a spot in the middle of the lake where a shadowy looking figure appears to be standing on the water. The figure, presumably Kirkland, begins to walk toward us, and I feel Gilbert tense. Hostility and disgust practically radiate off of him as he grips the handles of his axes tightly.
Kirkland steps onto shore and pulls his hood back to reveal his grinning face. "I wouldn't recommend going after your weapons if you know what's good for you."
"Like I care what you think, uber brows." The Bear silently draws his axes and takes a defensive stance.
Kirkland's collected expression falters for an instant, but is quickly checked back into a mask of cool confidence. "It's not nice to make fun of someone, especially after they gave you some sound advice," he says with a smirk.
"I could care less about being nice to scum like you."
"That's a shame because now I don't feel bad about doing this."
All of us, except Gilbert, spin around to stare at the shadow handler, who is now standing behind the Bear. I never saw Kirkland move. He was standing in front of us one moment, then standing behind Gilbert the next. I would be more shocked by this if it weren't for the gleaming black sword piercing the Bear's abdomen. We all stare in horror as the clothing around the blade begins to turn red. The axes fall out of Gilbert's hands, and he makes a sound like a strangled gasp for air.
"See? This is why you shouldn't make fun of people," Kirkland purrs.
"YOU BASTARD!"
Ludwig already has his large axe in hand and charges the shadow handler faster than I thought possible. He swings the double sided axe right at Kirkland's head, but it never connects. Instead, it slices empty air and buries itself into the earth behind Gilbert.
"Is that all you've got?" Kirkland stands a few steps away from his previous position, but I hadn't seen him move there. He smiles wickedly. "Now it's my turn."
The shadowy man rips his black blade out of Gilbert with deliberate roughness and slashes it across Ludwig's chest before any of us can react. Blood wells from the deep wound, and the blonde Bear just stares at it as if transfixed. He drops to his knees, then keels over to join his brother, who has also fallen to the ground.
My hands cover my open mouth as a horrified gasp escapes me unbidden. "Anyone want to go next?" Kirkland asks lightheartedly.
"I will." Kiku steps forward with his katana drawn. "I cannot stand by idly as you harm my friends, especially after all they've done for me."
"No, Kiku! You ca-"
"Too late! He volunteered," Kirkland practically sings. He jumps high into the air and uses the downward momentum to strike the Eagle with his dark blade. "You've sealed your fate!"
Kiku raises his sword defensively and fends of the blow. Immediately afterward, he counterattacks with a flick of his wrist and a spin. The katana slashes through the air and hits Kirkland right in the face.
"You have a nice technique," the shadow handler says. The blade of the katana doesn't seem to have sliced his gray skin at all. "Too bad mine's better."
He knocks the sword out of a shocked Kiku's hands and deftly grabs it before it hits the ground. In one fluid movement, Kirkland points the sword at the Eagle and impales him with his own blade. Kiku's eyes glaze over and he crumples to the ground.
Tears prick at my eyes and threaten to spill over. Three of my companions have fallen, and I haven't been able to do a thing to prevent it. I roughly swipe at my eyes and reach for my spear so I can make Kirkland pay for what he's done. Before I'm able to pull it out, Feli steps forward with his sword pointed at the shadow handler. It's a bold move, but the blade is visibly shaking.
"I-I'm not going t-to forgive you for hurting my friends!" Feli shouts.
"Don't be an idiot, idiot!" Lovino calls to his brother. "Get back here before you get hurt!"
"No! I'm tired of running away!" The Wolf stares at Kirkland with determination. "I'm not backing down now."
"Your courage is admirable," the shadowy man says in amusement. "But is it enough to save you?"
He slowly walks towards Feli, who is still trembling. The Wolf tightens his grip on his sword and swings at Kirkland once he steps into range. Kirkland easily dodges the blade and the swings that follow. It becomes obvious that he's just toying with Feli, but it's too late to do anything about it. The shadow master's hand darts out as quickly as a snake and grabs the curl poking out of the Wolf's hair.
Feli drops his weapon after Kirkland gives the curl a sharp tug. "Interesting," the shadowy man muses.
"You ugly no good piece of crap!" Lovino bellows. "Get your slimy bastard hand off my brother!"
"And if I don't?" Kirkland goads.
"I'll make you pay!"
The elder Wolf rushes at the shadow handler, and draws his weapon as he does so. In the blink of an eye, Kirkland's black sword flashes, and Lovino comes to a halt a few steps after he passes the red eyed man. Blood pours out of a gash in his side, and he collapses without another word.
"Lovi!" Feli tries to go to his brother, but Kirkland's hold on his hair curl prevents him from going far.
"So, you want to join your brother?" the shadow master says with a sharp pull on the Wolf's hair. "Why didn't you say so?"
Kirkland stabs Feli with his sword so quickly that I didn't see it. All I see is the shadowy man pulling his weapon out of the Wolf's still body. That leaves me as the last standing member of my group.
"Would you like to take a turn, love?" Kirkland asks with a bow. "It was rather ungentlemanly to not start with you, dear. After all, ladies first."
"You...you're a monster," I whisper.
"You're going to have to speak up, love."
"You're a monster!" I scream so loudly that it echoes around the lake.
"Thank you," Kirkland replies with a smirk. "I work very hard to uphold that image you know."
"How-? Why-? How could you?" I shriek. I don't wait for his answer, instead I run to Feli, who is the closest, and begin healing him.
"I wouldn't bother with that, love."
"Shut up!" I growl through clenched teeth.
"No, really." Kirkland places a hand on my shoulder to get me to stop, and I slap it away.
"Don't touch me with your blood soaked hands, monster!"
"Elizabeta! Stop it already! You're wasting your energy!" Kirkland shouts. "They're not hurt, just look."
"What are you talking about? I just watched you-"
My voice trails off when I look at the place Feli got stabbed. There's nothing there. Sure enough, I glance at Lovino and his wound is gone too. Nobody seems to have any of the injuries I saw Kirkland inflict on them.
"What did you do?"
The shadow handler smirks. "Just demonstrating my power. Unlike your group, I have reached my maximum capacity for power. I am at my peak! I'm stronger now than when I faced the Great Mother all those years ago!" A wild light seems to appear in his glowing red eyes. "I just came to talk, but that obnoxious prick had to go and get on my nerves, so I had to teach him a lesson. I didn't think they'd all want to have a go."
"So...they're going to be okay?" I ask hopefully.
"Yes, yes," Kirkland answers with a wave of his hand. "They'll be just fine. Probably won't wake up for a while though. I had to convince their minds that they got hurt." He notices the surprise on my face, and his smile widens. "That's right, love. I was controlling their minds. Yours included."
"You said you came to talk," I say to quickly change the topic before he gets any ideas. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Ah yes, that. I came to tell you that I'm at full power now and I'm ready to fight at any time." I jump to my feet and back away from him, which makes him laugh. "I'm not going to fight you now, love. That wouldn't be any fun. The main reason I came here was to tell you that I'll wait until all of you have received your blessings and other such nonsense before I wage all out war on you."
"How considerate of you," I say with sarcasm and contempt.
"Isn't it? I'm quite the gentleman."
"Obviously."
Kirkland must have started to pick up on my bitterness because his smile fades into a scowl. "You won't be so cocky when I enslave you and all of your friends."
"That would require you winning first," I say with narrowed eyes.
Rage flashes in the shadow handler's eyes at the suggestion that he would lose. "Just you wait, love. I have a special torment awaiting you."
Thoughts of his words from several nights before cross my mind. "I can make you watch the life fade from his eyes a hundred times until you beg for death yourself." I push the words away and set my face into a cold, emotionless expression.
"Screw off."
"With pleasure." Kirkland snaps his fingers, and nothing remains where he once stood except a faint cackle.
"L-Lizzie?" I whirl around to see Gilbert trying to get off the ground. "Lizzie? Where are you? I swear if that shadow bastard touched you..."
I hurry to his side and help him sit up. "You'd what?"
"I'd split him open from gut to chin."
"Well, that's a lovely image," I joke.
"It's not funny, Lizzie!" A fire rages in the Bear's crimson eyes. "If anything were to happen to you..."
"I know," I whisper softly. "I would be lost without you too."
Without warning, Gilbert pulls my face towards his and kisses me desperately. I kiss him back and hope that he can feel all of the worry I felt when he fell to the ground. My lips burn as if they're on fire from kissing Gilbert, but I can't stop because kissing him is the only thing that will quench the flames. He pulls back all too soon and looks deep into my eyes.
"I love you. You know that, right?" He searches my eyes for an answer.
"Of course I know, and I love you too, Gil." My racing heart skips a beat.
We don't speak any more for a while, but words are unnecessary at this point. The Bear holds me close to him as we wait for the others to wake up. I try to imagine what kind of things they must be dreaming about right now, if they're dreaming at all. Something starts tugging on my hair, which pulls me from my thoughts, and I turn my head to see Gilbert collecting my hair in his hands.
"What are you doing?"
"You'll see," he answers in a low voice. "Just keep facing forward."
I sit silently while he does whatever he's doing. It doesn't feel like much more than him tugging on my hair here and there, but eventually I can feel it start to tighten at the base of my neck. A little while after that my hair starts to feel heavy, like it's being coiled together.
"You better not be tying it into a knot," I say over my shoulder.
"Have a little more faith in me, Lizzie," Gil grumbles. "It'll go a lot faster if you quit moving around!"
Patience and sitting still are not my strong points, but I do my best to do both while I wait for Gilbert to finish whatever he's doing. I hear him mumble something to himself in frustration, and then there's a mysterious ripping sound. He fiddles around with my hair a little more before he's done and lets it go. Oddly, it feels like a thick rope is hanging down my back, and it moves whenever I turn my head.
"What did you do?" I ask as I try to crane my head around to see. "It feels funny."
"I braided it," the Bear explains proudly. "Here, take a look." He hands me my long hair, which he has somehow managed to weave together like a rope and tie off at the end. "Pretty awesome, huh?"
"How did you do that?" My eyes widen in amazement.
"Kesesese. Well, there were some girls who knew how to do this at school. I asked them to teach me so I could show West how to do it with grass and string and stuff. He's better at it than I am."
I look at the unconscious blonde Bear in amazement. I never would have guessed he could do something like that with such big hands. "Wow. No one ever taught me stuff like this."
"I was thinking its time to wake them all up now," Gilbert says as he stands up. "You can keep that bit of cloth to tie your hair with if you want."
At the mention of the cloth, I look at my hair to see that it's been tied off with a strip of deep red cloth. Probably from the Bear's cloak. "Okay, thanks. How are you planning on-"
"Up and at 'em! Your beauty rest is over, kesesesese!" Gilbert stands in the middle of everyone and pounds two metal pots together. He must have grabbed them from someone's pack when I wasn't looking.
A dark figure looms behind the white haired Bear, and his hand darts out to grab Gil by the collar. "What do you think you're doing, you stupid Bear bastard!" Lovino yells as he mercilessly shakes Gilbert back and forth. "Quit making so much freaking noise or I'm going to clobber you and make you eat these stupid pots!"
"Sounds like things are back to normal," I murmur to myself.
It takes a while for everyone to fully get their bearings. I have to take a few moments and explain what happened from the beginning to the end since some people were unconscious for more of it than others. No on is particularly pleased to find out Kirkland is ready for an all out battle, but we agree that it's a good thing nobody is injured. I don't think I could have healed so many severe wounds at once.
We decide to fly over the lake as soon as everyone is feeling up to it. The faster we get to the Temple the better. Nothing else unusual happens as we soar over the faintly rippling water. I can see my reflection on the surface as I ride the wind, and I can't help but remember my reflection from the Wolf temple. There must be some of those odd creatures in this lake creating these reflections too.
The opposite shore becomes larger and larger as we get closer to it, and I'm grateful to be on the ground again when we land. There's just something about flying over water that makes me uncomfortable. Probably that whole thing where I can't swim. I smooth down some of my gold feathers that got a little ruffled while we were flying, and a couple of them fall out.
"Oh no, Liza!" Feli exclaims. "Did the shadow guy get more of your feathers?"
"No, nothing like that," I quickly reassure him. "I'm probably going to start molting soon. No biggie."
"Okay, I'm glad you're fine." He smiles happily at me.
I return his smile with one of my own. "I'm glad you're okay too." An image of the Wolf being stabbed makes my breath catch in my throat.
"How close are we to the Temple?" Ludwig asks me in his deep voice. It startles me.
"Oh! Uh, close. It should just be past those hills." I point to a group of three hills in the distance.
"Alright," the Bear says with a nod. "It's getting late, so we'll make camp once we reach the top of the last hill."
"Great, more walking," Lovino complains, but he's the first one up and moving.
I didn't notice how dark it was getting until now, and it continues to get darker as we hike up the hills. Clouds obscure any light from the moon, and no stars are visible, except through occasional holes in the gray blanket covering the sky. I can hardly see more than what's a dozen steps in front of me, but I keep pressing forward nonetheless.
Once again, Lovino is the first to reach the top of the final hill, but unlike before, he doesn't say anything. I'm the next to reach the top, and it's not what I was expecting. The darkness keeps us from seeing the Temple.
"Where is it?" Feli asks once he reaches the top. He's the last one to get there of course.
I look up into the sky to see a small sliver of moon peeking out from a gap in the shifting clouds. "Just wait a moment," I instruct.
Little by little, the gray blanket moves enough for the moon to illuminate the landscape in front of us. The deepest valley in all of Eagle Territory becomes bathed in silver light, and a majestic building on the other side seems to glow ethereally.
"The Eagle Temple," I breathe in awe.