Chapter 16: Sorrowful Harmony

The Captain of the Jolly Roger raced back into the camp, his eyes darting all over the place. The longer he searched, the more terrified he became. No...he couldn't lose her...not now. She was his star, his precious celestial goddess.

He tore through the encampment, searching every tent and checking every corpse… she wasnt there. Was she taken? He had left her alone in the middle of the woods with no protection, out cold from exhaustion. She was gone...his star was gone.

It was too much for his mind and heart to handle so he ran and he kept on running. He slowed down when he almost tripped over a raised tree root, catching his breath while leaning against said tree. He could feel the tears coming along with the torrential storm of emotion just behind them.

His legs gave out and he slid down to the ground. He just leaned against the tree and let the tears come, his mind going numb as his heart screamed. His heart was tearing itself apart, his soul crying out. The pain, the sorrow, the grief and despair...never before had his emotions run so deeply, the intensity a thousand times stronger than anything he had felt before.

Worse still was the fact that these emotions did not feel unfamiliar to him...like he had felt them again and again and again. He was breaking apart, every fiber of his being felt like it was being ripped to shreds. He couldn't find any traction, no way to stabilize himself or anchor him long enough to regain control.

The wind blew through the trees and with it a melody. It was so quiet, a whisper in the breeze, but the barely audible notes faded away like a dream. Killian slowly rose to his feet, unsure of why he was moving at all. He pushed off the tree and walked through the forest, his eyes blank but blacker than the night sky. Why...why did he bother...but when the wind blew through the trees once again, he heard the melody again...so familiar.

It was barely audible but it had his heart pumping faster, his mind becoming alert. His feet began to move a bit faster...the wind came again and he broke out into a run. It was a flute...his flute...he was sure of it….the very same flute he had left in his lover's possession.

Hope and panic flooded his body, each emotion fighting for dominance. Why… because the melody kept starting and stopping, making it quite difficult to locate the origin. He hissed in pain as he lost his footing and he was sent rolling down a small hill but that did not deter him and he was back on his feet.

He was getting closer. It was definitely his flute, he could tell from the tones of each note...the way they resonated told him the rough shape and size of the instrument being played, said instrument matching the dimensions of the small flute he always carried with him.

With each new snippet of notes, questions began to form in his mind. Why did the melody sound so familiar? Where did he even get that flute? How did he come to possess it, let alone know how to play it? All thoughts ceased when he finally found the melody's origin.

Sitting on a rock by a small stream was the crimson haired savior, Artz Lanaria. She had his flute in her hands and she was trying to get her fingers to work. Now he understood why the music was so intermittent… her fingers had gotten too cold and most likely cramped up, given how she was blowing on her hands and then rubbing them together.

His heart flooded with relief, along with several other very powerful emotions. It nearly robbed him of his strength to stand, barely catching himself from falling to the ground again. She was here...she was alive ...his star had survived...he didn't care how because his goddess was alive.

He approached her as quietly as he could, not wanting to startle her. Those with the gift of magic were hard enough to contend with on a normal basis but when they didn't have any clue how to control it...sudden surprises usually made their magic react harshly as an immediate defense. The only times she seemed able to control it at all was when she was using it on him...yet another unanswered question.

He paused when she started playing again. It was a soft melody...sweet yet somehow sad...it took a few more notes but he finally understood why it had been so familiar to him. It was a melody that he hadn't played in such a long time. Losing a hand made it difficult to play an instrument effectively.

He recalled the memory of that melody. It had been at the day's end, the light from the setting sun casting the sea in an orange light. His lover at the time, Milah, was sitting on the ledge at the back of the ship, watching the sun slowly sink below the horizon.

He sat down on the ledge directly in front of her and she smiled warmly at him. He pulled out the flute, informing her that he had spent a great deal of time practicing, and then started playing that sweet yet sorrowful melody. Twilight fell and the first stars began to appear as the song reached its end.

He frowned slightly...Milah's eyes were an earthy brown but the Milah looking at him within that memory had dark sapphire eyes. What? He blinked rapidly as a brief spike of pain ricocheted throughout his brain. It felt like he had touched something he wasn't supposed to and it had some rather jarring consequences.

The pain faded as quickly as it had come and the ocean eyed man had to wonder what the hell had just happened. That was the first time that something within his memories actually felt true...but why would her eyes be blue? The more he tried to think about it, the fuzzier his head became and for a moment, he just stood there, his eyes going blank but his mind was still active...technically.

All of his senses were still working but it was like his brain just halted. He blinked as his thoughts returned to him. That… was… unsettling, but that little occurrence would soon be forgotten. He resumed his slow but quiet progression towards his radiant star...the goddess of the Sea that had sent him into a raging maelstrom of emotion and sheer panic.

To lose is to gain and to gain is to lose. The more time flows, the more memories fade away, but in time, new memories are made. Memories are precious yet bound in the chains of time. Remove the chain but count the cost. So much to gain but more is lost. What is truth, what is lies? From themselves, they cannot hide.