A/n: Weirdness follows. Read a you own risk.
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Sandry's POV:
There are very few people in this world that I dislike. I have found that feeling disdain for people is a waste of time and energy. Therefore, there is even fewer people that I hate.
I hate Earl Heold.
I'm afraid, as much I even now try to forgive, I will never let go of my utter most bitterness towards the man. Even though I know now that his actions proved, ironically, towards my advantage, I still hate the man for the torture he put us through. I've heard that fate has to put us through fire in order to refine us, but the fire burned so. It hurt so hard that we didn't think we were going to make it out alive. But we did, and when we did, we came through with scars. But the scars made us perfect. The scars wouldn't look like perfection to the casual onlookers, of course, but they showed in a more simpler way. More in way that only you, your family, your friends can see. And maybe someone who was looking for it.
I suppose this makes very little sense and I wouldn't have answered the same way while I sat there in the dank office of Earl Heold, hearing water drip drearily, endlessly.
Tris had at first refused to sit. She had crossed her arms across her chest, looked deathly in the direction of Earl Heold, who appraised her with a somewhat amused expression. "If you think for one second," she snapped tartly, "that I'm going to take this sitting down, your brain isn't connected tightly enough to your head."
Already sitting, I stared furiously at Earl Heold, my lips pursed so hard I thought they might crack and bleed. His handsome face was twisted in an odd smile and he stroked his meticulously trimmed beard.
Picking up some papers from his desk, the Earl simply said, "Please, Miss Chandler, we have very little time for frivolous arguments. I believe Her Gabriella will be here any second."
Hearing the name, I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion. The title seemed so familiar. I interrupted Tris' opened mouth, "Her Gabriella? I believe I've heard that name before, Earl Heold." I tried to say my words with considerable boredom, as if this whole excursion was another meeting I had up at the Embassy.
The Earl raised a curious eyebrow. "Have you now? How. . . interesting." With that, he looked back up at the fuming Tris, who looked absolutely furious. Nodding at the empty, stuffed chair next to me, the Earl drawled with a curious accent, "Now, Miss Chandler, if you'll have a seat, I can explain your predicament."
Tris glowered for a few seconds, her arms crossed stiffly at her chest. I exchanged a look with her, watching as her eyes glittered in anger. Something in my eyes must have comforted her, because, with great displeasure, she finally flopped herself unceremoniously in the chair. "All right, buddy," she snapped, "let's get this over with."
Earl Heold chuckled with twisted pleasure. His piercing gray eyes stared measurably at us, and I managed to stare icily back at him. Folding his hands on the table, he began, "Well, I must say that I wasn't expecting the Duchess and her magical friend to come bombarding in Duke Vedris' place."
Tris snorted at this.
His gray eyes glittered in strange impatience. "However, I suppose you will have to do."
"Do for what?!" Tris interrupted, her voice sour. "What the hell are you talking about?" Her voice rose so that it echoed off the stone walls.
The Earl shook his head mournfully, his carefully groomed hair never falling out of place. "My child, my child. . ."
"Don't even call me that," Tris growled angrily, heavily scowling.
Raising an eyebrow, the Earl answered, "Very well, Miss Chandler." Something in his voice was reflective, as if something Tris said had been crucial. Taking a piece of blank parchment, he messily scrawled something down. And then, turning to me, he commenced, "Well, Lady Sandrilene, I'm going to ask you a rhetorical question. Please don't be offended."
I blinked coldly before answering slowly, "Wouldn't dream of it." Then, with a quick yawn, I waved him on.
He cleared his throat measurably, his gray eyes flickering snappily around the room. "You are aware of the 'Force of the Revolution' are you not? The great revelations dawned on Sanders of Lucania?"
When he had asked me this, I couldn't believe that he had. I believe there was a look of surprise plastered on my face, because I could feel Tris' eyes heavy on my face, searching it. Had I heard correctly? Had he asked me the question I thought he had?
Blinking, I eyed Earl Heold for awhile before asking dryly, "You're asking about Sanders of Lucania?"
"Yes, Lady Sandrilene. You know about this time in history?" He was staring at me smugly, his lips turned up in a amused grin. There was an evil glint in his eyes.
My throat suddenly felt dry and all I could manage was a weak nod.
"Excellent!" He exclaimed, his voice suddenly cheerful. "I knew the Duke would be so good as to educate his niece about 'Force of the Revolution.' He's a smart man, Duke Vedris." With that, he stood up, his broad shoulders making him look extremely important and powerful.
Staring blankly at him, I risked a quick glance at Tris. She was staring in confusion at me, her eyebrows knitted together tightly. She obviously had no idea about Sanders of Lucania, as she was supposed to. It was a stupid rule, as if Trisana Chandler couldn't handle the truth about the beginnings of our legacy. As if only the nobles were smart enough tot handle the truth. If anything, people like me, with weaker stomachs, shouldn't be taught such knowledge about the beginning ages. It made one's stomach roll in raw disbelief.
From the corner of my vision, I watched as Tris licked her lips before inquiring, "What are you two talking about? Who is this Sanders of Lucania?"
I was about to stop the conversation right there, with a cunning remark, but, unfortunately, the Duke interrupted me, "How pleasant of you to start the conversation, Trisana. I was afraid I was going to have to ask Lady Sandrilene to elaborate." He winked at me, and I wanted nothing more than to sneer in his direction. Instead, I just sent him an icy glare.
Now that I looked back at it, I believe that if I had somehow managed to stop the conversation, the events that followed would have been stopped. There wouldn't have been such torture. However, I simply sat there stiffly, as if a strange spell had been cast over my entire body.
Earl Heold came very close to Tris' chair, and she edged away from him like a disease. He didn't seem to notice, because he simply picked up a rock off his desk and peered into it with a mixture of nonchalant and curiosity. "It begins very much like this, Miss Chandler: There was once an evil witch who controlled much of the known world that we currently know today. Yes, that's right. And, mind you, this isn't mere fiction, this is truth. This witch was very much corrupt and ruled the lands with injustice and cruelty. There was no magic, or any that was known of. Then, one day, a young boy named Sanders of Lucania, accordingly, was given a vision, in which he was told that the magic lay within his own being, within his own soul. . ." It was here that the Earl paused considerably, raising an eyebrow at the dubious-looking Tris. "It was then that Sanders of Lucania conquered over the evil witch, established a kingdom, in which our modern society today is found upon." He turned to me. "Is this quite correct, Lady Sandrilene?"
My eyes were glossy. Staring at him measurably, I answered in a voice that didn't sound much like my own. I was starting to find myself very tired. "That is a very condensed version, but, yes, that's correct, Earl Heold."
"Ah!" He exclaimed, but his words seemed watery and far away. "There you have it, Miss Chandler. However, that is one version that, unfortunately, our young nobles are taught today. You see, you silly merchants can't handle the truth, so you are not told it. And the nobles today can't handle the real truth, so they are not even told that."
Tris didn't vehemently object to this statement, which surprised me. Turning my head languidly, I glanced at Tris. Her eyes were half-way closed, as if she felt dragged down by some kind of spell.
And, as I listened to the sound of the water dripping, I felt suddenly very warm and cozy sitting in the plush chair. And my eyelids felt very heavy.
Then, unexpectedly, I felt someone's face very near mine, could almost feel their breath. "But this is the real truth, Miss Chandler and Lady Sandrilene. . . there was no evil queen. There was just a very powerful queen. There was a thing back then called holiness, when the queen ruled. Sanders of Lucania was a coward, a dirty liar, and halfwit. He couldn't face the holiness, couldn't embrace it, so he called it evil. And even though, unfortunately, he won the war against society, there still remains the queen's loyalists. And, thankfully, they have kept the truth alive." And then, in my ear: "They call themselves the 'Blaze of Gabriella.' You know them, Lady Sandrilene?"
Then, like coming out of water, my eyes snapped open, as if I had been held underwater for way too long. Looking around the dimly lit room, I gulped frantic lungfuls of air. But I could feel it pulling again. I couldn't place my finger on what it was, but I knew very well that I needed to escape it. Looking around the room, I measured the stone cuts in the wall, and knew where I was. I was inside their headquarters. I was in the center of their organization.
I was in the clutches of evil itself.
When my uncle had decided to teach me about the beginning times, I had been naive. I thought of it as little more than a boring history lesson. But, as I learned about the terrible deeds, the terrible vows, the terrible battles, I could feel my heart bleeding, my innocence being drained from my inner being.
What had I read from the book "Blaze and Force"? It was the part of churning adrenaline:
Out of the deafening blue,
I took the blood of the queen,
and, nay!, through the stone maze I flew,
feeling the pulse and the dream.
The death of the tiend and blood of Vasilis,
fall through the narrow breath,
But they blur through the joy and the bliss,
for I know I have tasted the avoidance of death!
Chapter 24. Line 17. I remember that certain passage as if it was burned into my memory. I could I forget? Sanders has just escape the death of the annual tiend, payment to the Gods, as he is a most eligible candidate-- noble-blood, handsome, strong willed. However, he narrowly escapes it, for he is influenced through the evils of the queen. But, his brave best friend, Vasilis, takes his place as the human tiend, giving Sanders the chance to slay the queen and end the dynasty of holiness.
Although it does seem a bit like a story, it was very true. And it was then, connecting the stone walls, the stories that the Earl told us, and the poem together, that I realized why I was here.
Immediately, a madness filled my entire being. Writing under a silent clutch, I tried to call out: Briar! Oh Gods, Briar! The wall slammed painfully in my ears, and it felt as if my brain burned of fire, but I ignored the pain.
Briar, answer me! Oh god, don't come get me! Please,
stay with Uncle. Don't come near! I could only guees what they
would do if they managed to get Briar within their clutches. Get
a young man, full mage, mature within their tunnels of rock.
The wall just stared at me blankly, towering over my head, not allowing
passage. There was no way to climb over, to dig under, to walk around.
There was just infinite. . . death, loneliness, and holiness.
A cold hand rested on my shoulder and I shrugged it off furiously, thinking it to be Earl Heold. But, as soon as it clenched my shoulder, the complete, utter sleepiness pervaded my body. The hand was so soft, so sweet, so completely feminine.
"Ah, Earl Heold," The person who owned the hand said, "This one knows of Us."
"Yes, a noble girl. Pretty little thing, isn't she?"
"No, she isn't pretty. She is quite beautiful. There are very few young woman who remain as pure as this one," The voice lulled, and her voice was so soft, I wanted nothing more than to crawl into her voice and sleep there.
"So, is she the one?" Earl Heold asked. Sometime while I was straining against the sleepiness, the person must have come in. I hadn't noticed.
The voice paused thoughtfully. "What about this other woman? She is quite lovely also. What do we know of her?"
"Oh, that one. Merchant child. Parents didn't want her; got stuck in one of those damned magical villages. Friend of Lady Sandrilene."
It took most of my energy, but I managed to turn my head to the side to glance at Tris. She was slumped over in her chair, as sleepy as I, but something glittered in her eyes. Something like utter determination. She stared at them with ferocious eyes, defiant and ugly. Her face looked almost painful, as if she was torn between getting up and falling asleep.
And then I saw the woman. She was standing next to Earl Heold, her long white robes flowing over her entire body. Black spiral curls of hair fell down her back elegantly and a crown of fresh flowers adorned her head. Her face was delicate and soft as she peered down from Tris. If it hadn't been for two things, I would have instantly loved her as a Savior.
I knew who she was. There is no other human being that can be mistaken for her. You knew her once you see her. I suppose if you had never even heard of her, you would know her name. It was Her Gabriella.
Also, it was her eyes. Steel. Cold. Purely evil.
She peered at Tris with cruelty that I could not explain to someone. He eyes had the same color as the Earl's, but they shone with something that was not earthly. Something ethereal. Something holy.
Then, with slim, delicate fingers, she touched her finger tips to Tris' temples. There was a brief struggle between the woman and Tris, but in the end, the woman won. Her evil eyes fluttered shut for instant before they flew open. She drew her hands away before staring thoughtfully at Tris. And then, turning to me, I watched as she lifted her hands and brought then down on my temple.
It was as if she had knocked me unconscious. It was much like Earl Heold's magical cloth, except the images that passed my mind weren't terrible. They were actually quite lovely.
I saw images of my Uncle, giving me a pleasant smile, I saw days when me and Daja lay on the grass outside and watched the clouds pass overhead, I saw the days when Tris and I snuck out of Discipline, when we were supposed to be doing chores, and go for a swim in the ocean. I saw images of the midwinter festival when Briar danced with me. I could feel his arm around my waist, his eyes peering down on mine, his crooked smile. . .
Suddenly, tears invaded my eyes and something caught in my throat.
Then, the images were gone. I felt the woman's touch withdraw, and I heard her suck in a lungful of air. Eyes fluttering open, I managed to look up at Earl Heold and the woman.
"What do you see, My Lady?" Earl Heold asked anxiously, his hands placed behind his back.
The woman shook her head, before running a delicate hand through her hair. "There is much love in this young woman's mind. There are friends, there is family, there is a man that she loves. . ."
"In love with this young man?"
Hearing what they were saying, I shook my head. "No love, no love," I murmured madly. They ignored me.
"Yes. Very passionate love. It is very tempting to take her. She is, after all, all that the Gods want-- beautiful, smart, of noble-blood, hard to break. However. . ." the woman turned to Tris, ". . . the Gods want this one. She is the one."
The Earl scrunched his eyebrows together before shrugging. "Very well. I will not question the Gods. But--" he turned to the woman, "--why My Lady?"
The woman, eyeing him with her evil eyes, said slowly, "This young merchant woman has much to be broken of. She has felt very little of the loves. There is much bitterness in her heart. Much more bitterness in her heart than love in the Lady Sandrilene's."
Earl Heold laughed. "The child is cranky."
"No, not like that, Earl Heold." The woman shook her head, her beautiful curls falling in front of her chilly eyes. "The child is actually very much a woman. She had bloomed, and therefore is harder to break than the cheerful spirit. She will be a wonderful tiend, even though she isn't a male. You had promised me a male."
"Yes, well, Duke Vedris did not come. His niece came instead."
It was then that all the events that were swirling around me made sense. Somehow, I managed to stand up, even though I thought I might pass out. Looking around the room crazily, I managed to cry out again: Briar! Get help, but don't come near here! Get Rosethorn or Lark! Niko! Anyone!
The wall stared at me darkly. I could hear the Earl chuckle before scolding, "Now, now, you know better, Lady Sandrilene. Down here, there is the real truth. We will see no magic, do no magic, and speak no magic here."
I was trying to gulp air, but the holiness pressed in on me. The woman touched my head lightly before stating softly, "I can use this one. There is no need to kill her. She will do well with the other maidens. We might even find her a husband. . . she is very beautiful."
In the corner of my eye, I saw the Earl shrug. "Very well. What about this boy she is in love with. . ."
"It is a man she in love with, Earl Heold."
"Yes, yes, of course," then, with impatience, "she managed to contact him before I used the cloth. Do you believe he will come?"
The woman didn't say anything for awhile, while I writhed under her grasp. Then, slowly, "I believe he will, Earl Heold. I believe he will." Then, with a simply tug of her hand, the woman willed me foreword. "Out you go, Lady. We will lead further into the tunnels." She handed me to Earl Heold, who I tried to edge away from, but the holiness was too much for me. I simply crumpled tiredly.
She reached her hand out towards Tris, who looked at it, her eyes glittering in ferocity. Even though I was looking at her with foggy vision, I could tell there was an internal struggle going on between the woman and Tris. And, for the first time, the woman won. After a minute or two of mental battle, Tris jerkily reached out and touched the woman's hand. Almost instantly, she was asleep, or unconscious, I couldn't tell which.
Seeing Tris fall like that much have awaken me from my deep, almost drunken slumber. Instantly, I was well aware of where I was and what they were doing. I knew what they would do with me. I knew what would happen to Tris. And it terrified me. And it made me outraged.
I needed to take action. But I was afraid
Adrenaline coursing through my veins, I demanded, my voice dangerously low as I stared lethally at the woman,"You will let us go this instant." She looked up at me in surprise, and I could see in her evil gray eyes that there was an element of fear there. But, as soon as it appeared, it disappeared. Now, there was an element of amusement. The woman clapped her hands, and two more woman entered the room on command, picking up Tris and then making towards the door.
I watched this happen as almost in slow motion. There was new energy coursing through my brain, but my body still felt completely lethargic. Even though my legs felt like lead, I managed to reach out towards Tris. For a second, I felt my fingers touch hers, but, as quickly as I lashed out, the Earl grabbed me around the waist, holding me back.
Screaming, I yelled at Tris, writing in Earl Heold's grasp, "Don't go Tris! Wake up, you silly girl! Oh, let me go!" I bit his hand defiantly, but he simply cursed at me and held tight.
The woman walked up to me slowly, watched me with her terrible eyes before touching my eyelids and saying, "Go to sleep, beautiful one. What you used to know was but a lie. This is the real truth, and you shall awaken to it."
As she touched my eyes, I felt instantly sleepier, and I felt myself sag in the Earl's grasp. Thoughts pounded through my skull, as I watched Tris be taken away. All I could think right then was the verse in the book "Blaze and Force", Chapter 13, verse 11:
And, lo!, holy is that dank, dreary land,
where them in it dwell,
Stone, tissue, sinew is very wonderfully grand,
but compared them that fell,
To the years that they pay,
the tiend to the holiness,
for they value those to mold like clay,
to pound, muddle, and press.
I knew then that Tris and I were in grave danger. I knew what they would do to her. I knew the tiend. All I could think of was the illustrations in the book "Blaze and Force." I remembered the young man standing next to a cliff, glancing down it, a spell cast over his brain. I remember the people's outstretched hands, motioning him off the cliff. I remember the subtitle under the picture. It read, "The giving of the tiend."
Human sacrifice. Once every 12 years. Twelve years must be coming to a close. And Tris was about to stand over a cliff, look down it, before taking a leap.
The woman mumbled, as I silently slipped away, "I am real. I am the truth."
I almost believed, but then something pervaded my vision. Briar. His crooked smile. His smell. The way his collar was always upturned. I must live for that. And Tris. Of course, she mustn't take place in this. She couldn't. She wouldn't as long as I lived. And dear Uncle. Pasco, how could I forget? And Daja. Dearest Daja.
Shaking my head, I managed a weak whisper, "There is no truth but love. Love is the only truth."
It was then that I lost consciousness.
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AUTHOR NOTES ARE RECOMMENDED BY THE GENERAL SURGEON FOR CONFUSION AND BOREDOM!:
People seem to be losing consciousness like crazy, eh? Okay, so this is a weird story. Damn. . . I was hoping that it wouldn't be. Oh well. Hm, is anyone seriously confused? I think I would be. Let me try to condense the plot up to now: Sandry and Tris went to Nidra Island for vacation and political junk, Briar stayed at Emelan to babysit, and then things went downhill. This little kid stole Sandry's necklace (he works for the Earl), made it so that Tris and Sandry got stuck in this ancient cult who used to rule the world. They give human sacrifice every 12 years. Tris is the sacrifice. MWHAHA! Anyway, Briar thinks Sandry is dead, is going to murder whoever canned her, and isn't thinking rationally. Yep, that's about it so far. More romance, more Daja in next chapter. Poor Daja. . . stuck in the Namorn Empire sucks a big one right now. The holiness is a kind of unrefined magic that we'll learn more about in later chapters. Half to keep you in suspense, and half cause I still don't know how the hell I'm going to explain it. If you're still confused, you can e-mail me and I'll be more than glad to go into further explanation.
Okay, thanks a billion for people who reviewed. It is very much appreciated. I LUV REVIEWS. But, wouldn't you love to review again? Wouldn't that be fun? Well, no one's stopping you! Until next time folks!