Took a little, but there we are. I wanted to do another chapter of Guiding the way through a new world next, but that gets stuck constantly because something's keeping me on edge all the time and I don't feel like this is a good time to create new stuff... so I stick to translating. Sorry. I hope you still enjoy.


Chapter XXXIII

The Binding Chains"

To our surprise, we didn't find Heathcliff waiting for us in the antechamber when we returned.

"He said he will stay here..." I muttered, when the heavy door closed behind us with an unpleasant rasp.

"Maybe some duties called him," Asuna soothed calmly.

But when we left the dungeon and returned to the dining room, something didn't feel right. The table was still set, but there was no trace of the priests, which shouldn't be the case at this hour. There was just an unpleasant silence that filled the temple. I just put the chest down on the table, when the echo of the temple brought the buzz of raised voices to our ears. Many agitated voices. Trying not to get lost in the bright corridors, we quickly headed in the direction where they came from.

After quite a few moments we reached a vast chamber. The huge statue elevated above the rest of the room, carved out of darkened wood suggested, that we just found the main, religious part of the temple. And we entered it through a back door, that was probably used by the priests during ceremonies, because at first everything was blocked from sight by the firm back of the sea god. We carefully peeked from behind the monument.

The chamber was beautiful. Siracel was pointing the harpoon in his right hand in the direction of the ceiling, plaited from heavy, but slender wooden beams. There was a tiny spring gushing out at his feet, giving birth to the little stream that wandered across the city, after exiting through impressive, oak doors. The light of the early sun fell inside through an opening shaped like a droplet of water, chiseled out in the wall just above it. What we saw at the threshold though, was far less beautiful.

Around fifty citizens stood there, fiercely arguing with a few priests, who ineffectively tried to explain something and calm them down. The bouquet of unrefined words that the people were throwing at them, placed the clerics somewhere between 'deceivers', 'kidnappers' and 'murderers'. One of the older holy men, standing more at the side, noticed us and hastily came closer.

"What is going on here?" asked Eugeo quietly.

"We are not sure ourselves..." the priest was almost trembling. "The people who came from Ioreth claim that we are hiding king Oberon's son here, the one that was abducted from the royal castle some months ago... I really don't understand any of this..."

My heart jumped up to my throat. So it did happen after all... I glanced at the crowd gathered in the doorway once more. I couldn't... I couldn't just go out there and pretend like I'm the prince, and I couldn't tell them the truth either... but I had to do something... I closed my eyes and clenched my fists at my sides, desperately fighting rationality for a decision...

There was a sudden turmoil in front of the sea god statue. We looked out once more. One of the citizen, looking exceptionally irritated, maybe even a little drunk, stepped forward and came really close to Heathcliff, who stood foremost on the opposite side of the conflict.

"Admit it, it was you who kidnapped young Kazuto and are responsible for the king's death!" he yelled, grabbing the archpriest by the front of his robe.

Heathcliff wanted to say something, and I saw his hand calmly rise towards the one holding his garments, but the man assaulting him already had his other one up...

Enough was enough.

Throwing all further contemplation out the window, I ran out of our hiding, passed the simple altar standing on the left side of the spring and reached the little railing that surrounded the elevated area.

"Stop it!" I shouted desperately.

The silence in the temple was instantaneous. I almost felt how Asuna, who was still hidden behind the huge statue, sucked in a breath and held it.

For a moment, the townspeople just stared at me, or rather at my wings in a way that made me feel like I've just made the biggest mistake of my life. Merely a few seconds passed, seconds that seemed like hours to me, when suddenly several of them kneeled down. A few confused whispers followed, and soon they were all bowing before me.

I felt an unpleasant sting somewhere near my heart as I gripped the delicate, wooden railing for support. That was it. Now there was absolutely no way I could tell them the truth...

I didn't know how long it took for my heart to slow down a little. It seemed painfully intense in the dead silence that fell upon the temple. Everyone, including my friends behind my back, was waiting for my next movement. I took a deep breath and rose my head at last. It was a flight on borrowed wings and I knew that one wrong move could result in an exceptionally agonizing fall... but since I was already forced to play this role, I was determined to play it as best I could.

"What gives you the right to accuse these people of a crime they didn't commit?" I asked loudly, my voice echoing throughout the hush in the chamber. "They welcomed you here, gave you shelter after what happened in our capital, and this is how you thank them? Do I look like I'm being held prisoner here? Like I'm here against my will?"

The man who stepped forward before to attack Heathcliff, now lifted his head a tiny bit. "Please forgive us..." he stuttered awkwardly. "We didn't know..."

"And yet you assumed," I interrupted him, slowly gaining confidence. "And it's not me you should be begging for forgiveness, but the ones you baselessly accused and nearly assaulted." I looked towards the little group of priests who also kneeled down in the meantime. They looked utterly bewildered... I turned my gaze away, embittered. I felt like I not only swindled them, but myself as well...

A female voice from the crowd brought me back to the moment: "What did really happen then, young master? Why did you hide all this time? Everyone thought the royal line was broken, the sword and the coat of arms were broken..."

I sighed softly. I wished I could tell them 'what really happened', without lying and without revealing who I really was, but that was simply impossible.

"That night when... my father... was murdered, I was meant to meet the same fate. But I was saved by someone who's name I would rather not mention here. And the reason for my hiding should be obvious to all of you by now... I'm one of the Disciples of the Last Dragons."

A murmur of agitated whispers flew through the chamber, as if wind moved some sleeping bulrush.

"That's not important right now," someone else spoke from the back. "Young master has to mount the throne. Without a king Earlindon will fall to lawlessness and invasions from other countries!"

I almost panicked. I wanted to say something, object, decline, but there was suddenly another voice from somewhere to the right: "No! Disciples cannot be trusted, just like dragons couldn't!"

These words caused a blurred, but gradually increasing noise of a quarrel to rise in the temple. I was baffled... I could have predicted various outcomes, but not something like that...

"Dragons were ruthless beasts, Vecta Caydranth did us a huge favor by ridding the world of them!" some elderly man joined the argument.

"And does any of you remember those times and has any evidence of that being the whole truth?!" a clear, beautiful voice suddenly rose above all others and made the others fade a little. I turned my head to see Asuna, who left the hideout, come close to me and stand at my right. "I don't think humans live long enough to remember any of those events. And what speaks through you are insignificant rumors spread by people who just feared the dragons without even really knowing why and without knowing their real nature."

"Be quiet woman! Who gave you the right to speak for..."

"How dare you?!" I heard my own voice shout the hefty man down in a way that made him blench. It took me a moment to actually realize that it was me who said those words, and that the blood in my veins suddenly seemed like it was boiling. "Asuna is one of the Disciples and if you want to know, if it weren't for her, Earlindon would be in an even worse state of chaos than it is right now!"

There was silence yet again, and I thought I felt a mist of embarrassment and guilt waft among the crowd. It was hard to believe that the name that was forced upon me gave me such power... I didn't feel an ounce of satisfaction though. On the contrary, I wanted this to end as quickly as possible... I took another deep breath.

"If you approve of what Vecta has done this much, then you will probably be very interested to know, that it was his descendant - Sharish Caydranth, who is responsible for destroying the capital."

There were a few shouts of disbelief.

"It's the truth and you can't change it," I continued gravely. "We have encountered this madman a few times already and we know that he won't be stopping there. His goal is to eliminate every single human being that crosses his path, which unfortunately means... that you aren't entirely safe even here, in Tacritia. This isn't a reason to panic though. We will do everything in our power to protect Earlindon and its inhabitants. But to be able to do that, I am forced to decline taking the throne for now. The task of the Disciples is of higher priority, we have to stop Sharish, which is why we will leave Tacritia again soon. I would like to ask you to make preparations in our absence, to make sure the city is ready in case Sharish decides to appear. I also have a request to make of you..." I looked Heathcliff in the eyes, "I would like to ask you to send emissaries to all cities and villages to let them know they need to prepare as well. I would also like to ask all of you to forgive my long absence and understand that the situation is serious and I had no other choice. My last request would be to please let me fulfill my duties further on and calmly return to your homes..."

The first reaction to my speech was an awkward feeling silence, after which suddenly a few shouts of "Long live king Kazuto!" came. The rest of the crowd quickly picked it up.

I managed a pale smile after a few moments. I waited until all of the townspeople calmed down, bowed and left the temple to spread the word in the entire city. Only when their voices faded out in the distance, I braced myself more firmly against the railing, hung my head and started taking deep breaths, wondering what in the world I have just done. I did the one thing that I wanted to avoid doing at all costs... I wasn't sure what really lured me into it, but I just couldn't allow some kind of riot...

I felt the delicate touch of a hand on my shoulder and turned my head once again. I met Asuna's worried gaze. "Maybe you shouldn't have..." she started gently, silently, so no one else would hear.

"And what should I have told them? The truth? Or just leave them be...?"

She sighed softly. "I think there wasn't a good way out of this situation... You're so pale, come on, you should sit down somewhere. I'll get you something to drink."

Before we were able to leave though, the priests caught up with us.

"Please forgive me the audacity of the question, my prince..." Heathcliff looked me in the eyes with a hint of uncertainty, but with the firmness of a man who knew he had the right to demand answers, "but why did you lie to us?"

"I could take a whole day talking about the reasons..." I averted my gaze. "And it's me who should be asking for forgiveness. I exposed you to such trouble..."

"Oh no, please don't get me wrong. Nothing bad happened in the end, and it's an honor for us to have you as a guest."

"It's a honor for me that you are so understanding... but now we should concentrate on discussing the details of the defense preparations and organizing the emissaries that are supposed to go to other places..."

"It's best if we do it at dinner," Asuna decided to spare me more torture for now. "You should rest a bit now..."

I forced another sad smile and we left the ceremony chamber. Eugeo followed us without a word. We returned to the dining room and I slumped onto one of the chairs. Asuna poured some water into a clean cup and handed it to me. I nodded gratefully and sipped a bit.

"What now?" her voice was still gentle, as if she didn't want to exhaust me any more, but felt like this question was necessary.

"Nothing. It makes no sense to worry about a little hole in the floor when there is the danger of the ceiling falling onto our heads... let's focus on Sharish for now.

"Well... if we don't manage to achieve the first goal of not letting Sharish kill us, then it won't be necessary to worry about the second of solving the problem of the prince..."

Finally a very short, but honest laugh escaped my lips. "Exactly."

As I lifted my head to give her a grateful look, my eyes suddenly fell upon Eugeo, sitting by the opposite end of the table. He was hunched over, supporting his hung head on his hands, unmoving, silent. He looked as if he was simply... devastated for some reason.

"Eugeo...?" I managed to call out quietly, with concern. "Everything alright?"

He moved his head a little, his slender fingers slid down the flaxen bangs... I wasn't sure if I really saw what I thought there was in those greenish eyes, or if I'd rather just not admit that I saw it... it was a shadow of pure despair.

He stood up and looked me in the eyes shortly. He averted his gaze awkwardly quickly, like he couldn't take it... "I'm sorry..." he whispered.

My eyebrows rose slightly. "For what?"

I saw that he wanted to answer, but hesitated, as if he didn't want to make some mistake. Finally, he sighed heavily and turned his back to us. "Should someone ask... I will be in my room..." was the only thing he said before leaving.

"Do you understand any of this?" I asked quietly once his footsteps vanished in the depths of the temple.

"Nothing at all..." Asuna wasn't able to tear her gaze away from the door.

For a moment I wondered if it wouldn't be better to follow him and have a serious talk, but I really didn't feel like pressing him... not after what I just saw...

At the priest's instigation, we decided to stay in the house of god for one more night. In the evening, me and Asuna took the opportunity to go to the roof of the temple to get some fresh air and watch the sunset over the City of Pearls. My friend insisted that it would help me a bit, and she wasn't quite wrong, but I still wasn't able to calm down completely. Nevertheless, I just allowed the evening breeze to cool my forehead down, while watching a velvet mosaic of red, amber and azure spread across the sky, with the occasional stray, fluffy cloudlet here and there. We stayed silent for a long while. Only when the sun vanished from our sight, I turned my gaze away from the horizon.

"Could you help me with something?" I asked out of nowhere.

"Why do you even ask?"

I couldn't help but smile. "We can't allow Eugeo to be stuck in some problem, whatever it is, all the more if it has something to do with our mission... what could it be that he can't reveal to us despite the possibility of it being helpful?"

"I assume it's something that he fears might hurt us, or something he's really ashamed of, or... I don't even know..."

"And Chrysheight didn't help much either... I feel like he just cast a deeper shadow on some things..."

Asuna seemed to suddenly think about something. "But sometimes, the shadow of a shadow can cast light..." she muttered.

I looked at her, confused. A stronger gust of wind from the sea wrinkled the water in the harbor, the metal elements of the cordage chimed against the masts of the boats mooring there. The steel-blue waters that were merging with the color of the evening sky for a while, brightened along with the night when the moon peeked out from behind the clouds in the distance.

"What do you mean?" I finally asked.

"I just thought of something... or rather, I remembered an old story I once heard. But I need to make sure first. I will try to talk to him and will let you know tomorrow, alright?"

"Yeah... I don't have the strength for even one more crazy problem today anymore... I need to lie down."

"Rightly. And try not to think too much. We will handle this together somehow."

I smiled gratefully, wished her a peaceful night and left the roof of the temple. Despite her advice though, I had to repel too intense thoughts and attempts to find some solution to this embroiled situation for quite a while. But when a sudden memory of the sunrise above the City of Pearls sneaked inside my mind, sparking a hope that I might see it again tomorrow, I finally calmed down a bit and sleep managed to overcome me.


Only someone who's ready

To go this Way to the End from the very Beginning..."


Thank you all for reading, and thank you scrammy for another motivating review :) The Dragon Mountains part of the story is actually one of my favorites, I hope I can do it properly.

See you soon hopefully!