18 – DRAGON MAGIC
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The Third Timeline
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We hardly stop riding until we are back in the mountains, except for hour-long stops every so often to close our eyes and rally our strength. By the time we make camp well-sheltered in the heavy woods, I am weary beyond words, having pushed myself well past the limits of my physical and mental endurance.
No one offers to take first watch and we all collapse onto the moss strewn forest floor and sleep deeply through the afternoon and well into the night. I wake up in the darkness and glance around the camp and see that both Henry and Olivia are missing.
My flames have somewhat recovered from a long sleep but my dragon magic has been exhausted every since I cast the spell on Henry. I should find a place to perform my ritual and recharge the magic.
I decide to find Henry and Olivia first and make sure no harm befell them. I catch sight of movement in a patch of moonlight where there is a break in the canopy of foliage above. The two of them are several feet apart, speaking quietly. Henry is standing in the moonbeam, stripped down to his waist and staring resentfully at Olivia.
"I'm just here to recharge my magic," he says.
"You were dancing," she insists. "I saw you."
"It's a ritual," he answers. "I'm not kicking my heels up in glee."
"I wish I could dance right now, but my heart is too heavy. I still can't believe the Khan is gone. He saved my life, you know. I was just a child and he took me in and protected me."
Henry is quiet for a moment, then says, "You are lucky."
"I don't feel lucky."
"Maybe not, but you were lucky to have someone like that, and you are lucky that Basilio died quickly. I've seen a lot of worse ways to go than a swift spell."
"You are right," Olivia says. She is crying softly and she reaches out to take Henry's hand.
He moves it out of her reach and takes a step back, but says in the kindest tone I have heard from him yet, "Recharge your magic and you will feel better."
"I don't have any magic."
"You are a healer," he says. "But not like a Ylissean one. You've got dark healing magic."
"Dark magic?" she says in alarm.
"It's not evil magic, just magic that affects the mind as well as the body. Your movement and voice can cast spells on a mind."
"I don't know…"
"Your body, does it feel empty?" Henry says.
Olivia nods.
"Then follow me; it will refill your energy."
He moves his feet slowly in a simple dance, circling Olivia. She is too shy to join him until Jasper flutters down to her and takes the edge of her dress in his beak, tugging her forward.
Olivia steps into the moonlight and moves her body to the same silent rhythm Henry is following. He gives her one of his weird, crooked smiles and she glances away from him self-consciously. But she begins to add more elegance and complexity to his dance, moving closer and then stepping away, back and forth in circles around him.
I smile and walk away to find my a quiet place to perform my own ritual.
Crossing over to the other side of camp from Henry and Olivia, I venture several feet into the darkness and sit down on a mossy boulder, focusing my intention and preparing to recite the spell and stoke to life the embers of my fire.
But the moment I turn my attention inward and reach out to touch my magic, I am hit by a wave of sickness that wrenches through my body, causing me to double over. I drop to my hands and knees on the ground, dry heaving and choking. It feels like my body is trying to purge all the energy inside me.
My head reels, flashes of red and violet light flashing before my eyes. I try to draw the magic to my hands and send the energy into the earth below me to get it out of myself. Again, the eerie laughter echoes around me. I put my hands over my ears, trying to block the noise. I can't breathe and my body is spiraling into panic. Present, past, future collide in my brain.
"DAMN YOU BOTH!"
"Wait! What's wrong?"
"This is not your fault. Promise me you'll escape from this place…"
"Please… Go."
I am on my knees, weeping, magic crackling in my hands. All I can see is Chrom's dead body slumped on the floor in front of me. The laughter is echoing in my head and the horrible darkness is clawing at me, squeezing the life from me, pulling everything in my head and my spirit out and filling the emptiness with red light and voracious fire.
I open my mouth to gasp air into my lungs but instead a violet flame sears my throat. I choke on blood and fire, falling to the ground beside Chrom.
"Gray!"
"What's happening to her?"
"GRAY!"
I feel strong arms around me and panicked breath against my skin. My body thrashes and I grab at the arms restraining me, feeling my magic burning against flesh. My vision goes black. I hear a scream and on the edge of my consciousness I recognize it as Chrom's.
"Chrom! She's crazy! Stay back!" Olivia shouts.
"No, I can calm her down, let go of me."
Henry's voice growls, "Get out of my way or she'll kill you."
I feel hands seize my wrists and pin me down against the ground. My fire erupts in response but he doesn't let go.
"No! She'll hurt you," Olivia cries.
Light is exploding in flashes in my head, stabbing against my eyes. My magic is a roaring chaos I can't feel or control. A phantom hand grabs the core of fire in my chest, pulling at it painfully.
"Back off, prince!" Henry yells.
"What are you doing to her?"
I struggle against the energy invading my magic but it clashes against mine with equal force. We fight against each other, until I begin to feel my power weakening. The blackness in my vision fades to shadows and haze and I start to feel the grass beneath me again and the cold night air on my face.
I hear a spell being uttered between clenched teeth and sharp breaths. My body stills and the chaos in my head quiets. My eyes open and I see Henry's face above mine, pale as death, eyes wide.
"Gray!" Chrom's voice calls. "Is she coming out of it? Gray!"
Henry releases my wrists and falls back.
I blink and draw in a long breath, feeling my soul return to my body and my mind clear.
"What the fuck?" Olivia says. "What the fuck happened to her?"
Wincing in pain, I push myself off the ground and sit up, looking around at the expressions of horror on their faces. Olivia is clutching Chrom's arm, holding him away from me. I glance at Henry and he is sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest, arms wrapped around himself, his body shaking.
"What… what happened?" I whisper, my throat rough and torn like I'd been screaming.
Chrom moves towards me tentatively and I see vicious burns and scratch marks on his arms and chest. "Gray…" he says, holding his hands up. "I'm not going to hurt you."
Tears blur my eyes and I wipe them away. "I'm- I'm so sorry."
"Can I touch you?" Chrom asks.
I flinch and shake my head. "Please, don't come too close." I can't look away from his torn up skin.
"Are you yourself again?" he asks.
"I don't know," I say. "I feel… empty now. I don't have any fire left." I lie back down, curling up and hiding my face in my hands. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe I… I'm so sorry."
"It wasn't you," Chrom says. "Something happened to you. You weren't yourself."
I feel his fingers touch my hair. "It wasn't you," he repeats.
"Please… I don't want to hurt you again," I say, curling up tighter.
"You will never hurt me," he whispers, placing his hands gently on my shoulders.
"She's so cold," he says to the others. "She's never cold like this."
"Her magic is gone," Henry says hoarsely.
Chrom gathers me into his arms and presses his lips to the top of my head. I keep my hands over my face, crying. We stay like that for several moments until I wipe the tears from face and open my eyes. I pull out of Chrom's arms and stare at his body, afraid to look up and meet his eyes.
"How badly did I hurt you?" I ask.
"It'll heal," he says.
I glance at Henry. He hasn't moved, still clutching his knees and shivering.
"Henry…" Olivia murmurs but he doesn't respond.
She kneels down in front of him and begins to sing softly. I can't hear the words but it sounds like a lullaby. Henry's body stops shaking but he still won't look up.
Olivia's tremulous voice grows more steady and she reaches out, holding her palms on either side of Henry's shoulders, inches from his body but not touching him.
"Moonchild, open your eyes, gone is the day, gone is the light.
Moonchild, open your eyes, here is the quiet, here is the night."
Henry's rigid body relaxes and he exhales a long shuddering breath. Finally, he lifts his eyes to meet hers, staring at her wordlessly. He reaches his hand out slowly towards her. For a moment he hesitates then he touches her face, brushing the tears from her cheek.
Olivia places her hand over his and smiles.
Chrom gets to his feet and picks me up, carrying me back towards the fire. He stokes the coals back to life and sets more firewood on them, then gets me a blanket and wraps it around me. I realize I'm shivering and I huddle into the blanket.
I watch as Chrom takes off his torn shirt and washes his burns and cuts, wrapping bandages over the damaged skin. After he is done, he settles down next to me. I move closer and drape the blanket across his bare skin. He leans against me but doesn't speak.
After a while, Olivia and Henry return and sit down next to the fire. His hand is holding onto hers tightly and his expression is blank with shock. I want to apologize but no words can heal the damage I've done and I fear that breaking the tenuous calm and silence will do more harm than good.
The moonlight starts to fade and the chill in the air grows sharper. Olivia has fallen asleep with her head on Henry's shoulder and Jasper is settled down in her lap. Chrom is yawning, his shoulders slumped.
But Henry and I are both wide awake. He glances up and meets my eyes for the first time all night. I gaze back at him in sadness and shame.
"Do you know what happened to me?" I ask, finally breaking the silence.
"Yes," he says. "It used to happen to me, until it was beaten out of me."
Chrom lifts his head to listen but doesn't speak.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
Henry's eyes narrow in anger and all he says is, "Learn to control it. I did as a child. You can do so now."
Olivia mumbles something in her sleep and snuggles against Henry. He flinches and pushes her away but gently enough to not wake her.
"Do you think you can sleep?" Chrom asks me. "We need to ride far and fast in the morning."
"I don't want to lower my guard," I say.
"Give me a few drops of blood," Henry says sharply. He pulls a knife from his pocket and tosses it to me.
"What?" I ask, looking at the blade. It has strange runes carved in the dark metal.
"I'll hex you into sleep. You won't be able to wake up for anything. It'll keep us safe in case your brain decides to kill us again."
"Gray, don't-" Chrom begins but I slice the blade across my hand and hand it back to Henry.
Henry takes the knife and draws a sigil on the ground with the blood. He summons a small flame to his finger then snuffs it out in the dirt.
My body goes numb and I fall against Chrom, asleep in seconds.