They had been walking for a day and a half now, but according to Elinwy, they were pretty close. "Soooooo. Where exactly are we going?" Elinwy kept walking and looking ahead, not even turning her head to look at the boy walking beside her. "We're heading in the exact direction of the place I was raised." Duo looked at her, "Your home. How exactly can you live in the middle of the desert." "I do not live in the middle of the desert. The whole desert is an illusion of the mind, to anyone coming here with an uninviting intention to my family will find nothing but a hot desert full of nothing but heat and sand." Duo blinked a few times. "Like Hogwarts." Elinwy shook her head, "No, this is more powerful, and more deadly. For the very moment they step into the border, they are stuck here, forever."
"Hmmm....." Duo had to admit, it was a bit over kill, but it was probably what the person deserved. "There." Elinwy pointed to a small black hill over the sand dune in front of them. As they continued to walk the hill grew larger till it look like a tower. But the tower just kept going up and was soon just a part of a huge black castle. The castle just kept getting bigger and bigger as they kept walking. Elinwy stopped and her eyes widened and a gasp escaped her mouth. The large castle was smoking in some places and in others, there were holes and other places there were no tops or walls. "What happened here?" Duo asked, coming closer to Elinwy, her hands were at her mouth and her eyes were glazed over with tears, though none fell. "Eli?" Duo put an arm around her shoulder.
"MOM!" She quickly pushed Duo away and whistled Demon over. Elinwy grabbed Duo's hand and pulled him on top of Demon, who easily took the weight and was quickly running towards the castle. Duo hung onto Elinwy and Elinwy hung on the Demon. They reached the front gate, which was blasted off the hinges, and Demon ran them all the way to the front door. Grabbing hold of the door knob, Elinwy pulled with all her weight, but couldn't get it open. Her dogs, whimpered, feeling her pain and despair. It took Duo a while to regain himself.
"DUO! DUO, PLEASE HELP ME!" Duo turned his head over to Elinwy, who was trying to, without success, to open the door. "HELP ME! I NEED TO HELP THEM!" She continued to pull on the door, tears falling slightly from her eyes. Duo didn't need to be asked again, he ran the few feet to the door, and carefully but his hand over hers. Together they pulled, moving the door slightly. "IMESH!" Elinwy yelled, as the door glowed green, and they were able to open the door enough for a person to slip though.
Letting go of the door, Elinwy ran in the house, Duo following close behind, then her dogs. "I'M HERE! DON'T GIVE UP!" She yelled out to some one Duo couldn't see.
Once in the house, Elinwy didn't stop running. She ran straight down the halls, turning left and right and right again, she ran around corners, dodged tables and jumped pillars. She seemed to know where every thing was. Duo had a hard time keeping up with her, but he managed it fairly well. Suddenly she stopped in front of a room, probably the only room, with the door still in tact.
Elinwy hesitated at the door, staring at the door knob. Finally, when Duo had caught his breath, did she even place her hand on the door. "I'm coming." "Eli?" "Hold on, just a little longer!" When Elinwy talked, she did not talk to Duo or herself, but some one else, far away. "Just a little longer, I'm coming." Whatever world she was in, she came back from, her face hardening, she opened the door. Duo looked over her shoulder, he was worried about her, Elinwy's moods were going back and forth to much, in the end, it could be very desasterous on her mind.
When she stepped in the room, Duo could see that the room was a music room. Surprisingly, the room was all in tact. The walls were covered with all different types of instruments, string and wind. In the corner of the room, was a small upraise in the floor, that was the stage. Duo watched Elinwy as she walked around the room, dragging her hand across the wall, over every instrument. She went around the room, twice, eyes forward, focused on some unknown place.
"Eli, talk to me. What are we doing?" Duo followed Elinwy, as she walked around the room, worry in his eyes. She stopped, picking a bow of the wall, then a cello. Without answering his question, moved to the stage. She sat on the chair, and wordlessly started playing. A slow, low melody started playing, and to Duo's surprise, he somehow knew this song. It was sung from her heart, and his joined in. Duo looked from Elinwy to the wall, other instruments were glowing, coming off the walls and joining Elinwy by them selves. A slow a sorrowful harmony and melody was established through all the instruments.
The song was louder and it broke into his soul. He barely heard Elinwy take in a breath and start to sing:
As the wind blows
As the sea flows
As my love grows
I see only you
As the fire burns
As earth curns
As my love yearns
For only you
I will lose you
I will find you
I will love you
Forever more
Forever more
Her voice rang with the instruments, pushing the song deeper into Duo's heart. He knew he had heard this song before, he didn't know where.
Round and around
The earth goes
And the earth goes
Around the sun
And my life goes
Around you
I will lose you
I will find you
I will leave
I will join you
I will love you
Forever more
Forever more
Her voice trailed out to a distant hum as the instruments returned to the wall, or more like blended into the walls. After the last note died down, nothing was left in the room, but Duo, Elinwy and her chair, on the walls were only imprints of the instruments that used to be there.
"Love forever love." Elinwy said these words, looking at the ground, a small rumbling sound was heard and a hole opened in the corner behind Elinwy. "Come on, we don't have much time left." "Where are we going?" "I'll explain later, lets go." She ran through the door and was quickly followed by her dogs, who had sat quietly through the whole music episode. Duo sighed and shrugged his shoulders, "Who wants to live forever?" Then ran down the stairs right past the door, all most falling down them.