Chapter 10:
Strength in the Dark
Renee was almost completely oblivious to the tensions in Baile Saoirse. Instead, she was living in another existence, exploring her own psyche.
She found herself standing inside Baile Saoirse, except that it was not her castle. This too was a castle, but very different, even to her unresisting mind. This castle was complete, its walls and towers high above her head, except for an iron ball embedded in the wall she was facing. She was standing in the courtyard, but Baile Saoirse had no courtyard, just the interior of the ruined keep. The paving stones surrounded a plot of grass that was lush and green, obviously tended by a myriad of gardeners. She faced the keep, but it was so high, and its walls were studded with arrow-slits and topped with battlements and overhanging matriculations. She turned to see the outer walls, also designed for defence, but with no-one to defend them.
A cold wind struck her face with enough force to bowl her over. As she regained her balance, she noticed her clothing for the first time: a long white dress topped with a chain-mail shirt and a long broadsword dangling from her belt. The long skirt floated in the wind, which quickly died away.
Behind her, from the top of the keep, there came a sound.
"Rose, Rose, Rose White,
Will you be my lover tonight?
I will love thee at thy will, sire,
At thy will."
Renee turned to see the singer, but only saw a glimpse of red inside the keep. The wind sprang up again, knocking her forward like a hammer to her back. Her armour clattered as she hit the stones face first, and she could feel the wetness of the grass through the thin material of her skirt. She groaned as her injured arm took most of her weight, then realized that there was no pain, only a dim burning sensation. The white material of her dress was pristine where it should have been covered in blood. She pushed up her sleeve to see her arm, perfectly healed. She scrambled to her feet as the singer continued.
"Rose, Rose, Rose Red,
Will I ever see thee wed?
I will marry at thy will, sire,
At thy will."
The singer had somehow climbed to the top of the keep in the few seconds that Renee had wasted with the wind. Renee looked up to see a figure clothed in red standing at the battlements, looking down at her. The woman's long dark hair floated in the breeze, even though the wind should have been even stronger at the top of the impossibly tall keep.
Curious, Renee set off into the keep, only to be met by a wall with a cross-shaped arrow slit. She turned right, and climbed the irregular steps until she found a corner tower that would take her to the top. She stumbled, her sword banging on the rough steps as she climbed. Once, she looked out an arrow slit, and her stomach flipped as the building seemed to push her forwards and pull her backwards at the same time. She continued up the spiral stairs.
"Ding dong, ding dong.
Wedding bells on an April morn.
Carve thy name on a moss-covered stone,
A moss-covered stone."
She suddenly recognized the voice and the figure. But she would never go up there, would she?
Her stomach feeling as if it was about to implode, she continued up the stairs, which stretched on into eternity. No castle could ever be this high. No human being could ever climb this far. Renee forgot her stomach as her heart strained against her ribcage, her lungs burned and her legs turned to searing lead.
Finally, she reached the battlements. She emerged into the grey light of Irish noon and saw the singer, standing by the walls: a woman in red with stars in her hair. Gasping, Renee watched and listened.
"Ding dong, ding dong.
Funeral bells on a September morn.
Rose Red is dead and gone, sire,
Dead and gone."
The woman turned to Renee, who was not surprised to see her own features on the other's face. Phoenix smiled mysteriously and stepped away from the walls. She extended a hand, willing Renee to come closer, but Renee refused to move. She clung to the battlements, afraid to look anywhere but Phoenix's face.
The wind returned, freezing her tense hands on the stones, and threatening to knock her sideways into oblivion. Phoenix urged her forward, but Renee shook her head, digging her nails into the ancient mortar of the walls. Phoenix sighed, but did nothing more.
A warm hand on Renee's shoulder gently turned her around, despite her desperate grip on the battlements. She stared into Michael's handsome face, comforted by his familiar presence. The castle, with Phoenix, faded away without Renee noticing. Now she was in the Warehouse, alone with Michael. He took his hand from her shoulder and placed it around her waist, ignoring the still-present sword. He drew her close as he had before, and swayed gently to the music that was just on the cusp of her hearing. The lights seemed to dim and change colour, so that the normally white lights were now red, blue and green, littering the floor with strange patterns of colour.
Suddenly, he drew back. He looked down at his front, and the scarlet sash he wore around his waist, symbol of his Party-enforced chastity. He untied it and let it fall to the ground, then looked back at her. Renee felt the strange sensation of inevitability. Her hands, guided by some other power, drew her sword and plunged it into his gut. She drew the sword back, allowing him to fall to the ground. Horrified, she threw away the sword and dropped to her knees beside him. She drew his head into her lap, trying to stop the flow of blood with her hands, to no avail. His body went limp in her arms.
"Killer," whispered someone behind her.
She pushed away Michael's body, and stood up. The skirt of her dress was soaked in his blood, and her hands were covered in it. However, even as she stared at it, she straightened up, coming to a realization.
"No," she said. "You are."
She stepped over Michael's body and picked up her sword in slow, deliberate movements. Then she turned and faced Big Brother.
The Warehouse vanished, and a room with white tiled walls and harsh white light took its place. She knew where she was, even if she had never been there in reality: the Ministry of Love. This was her vision, her nightmare. Big Brother smiled and saluted her.
He wielded no sword, but his arms parried her blows as well as any shield. He struck out with a fist, landing a punch on her jaw. They fought for a long time, both refusing to surrendur. Finally, he knocked her sword from her hands and threw her into a wall. He towered over her, menacing, evil.
"You're mine," he said.
Renee smiled. She lashed out with her foot, stalling him long enough for her to get to her feet. She stood before him, a proud warrior.
"I'll never be," she said. "I'm my own."
She slammed an open palm into his chest. A crackling white energy threw him back. The energy surrounded him, and when it dissipated, he was gone.
Aware of something different, Renee looked down at herself. Her dress was no longer white and spattered with blood, but red. Her armour and sword had likewise disappeared. She turned to the wall, which reflected her image perfectly, and found herself once again staring Phoenix in the face, only this time, they were one.
Author's Note:
Ok, that was only a tiny bit surreal. :) Don't worry, we'll be back to our normally scheduled plot with the next chapter.
"A woman in red with stars in her hair" is a quotation from Terry Pratchett's Lords and Ladies.
The song that Phoenix sings is Peace Round, which is a traditional English folk song. There are God-knows-how-many verses to it, but those were the ones I learned.
Disclaimer:
Children of the Revolution is by Marc Bolan.
Nineteen Eighty-Four is by George Orwell.
Lords and Ladies is by Terry Pratchett.
Strength in the Dark
Renee was almost completely oblivious to the tensions in Baile Saoirse. Instead, she was living in another existence, exploring her own psyche.
She found herself standing inside Baile Saoirse, except that it was not her castle. This too was a castle, but very different, even to her unresisting mind. This castle was complete, its walls and towers high above her head, except for an iron ball embedded in the wall she was facing. She was standing in the courtyard, but Baile Saoirse had no courtyard, just the interior of the ruined keep. The paving stones surrounded a plot of grass that was lush and green, obviously tended by a myriad of gardeners. She faced the keep, but it was so high, and its walls were studded with arrow-slits and topped with battlements and overhanging matriculations. She turned to see the outer walls, also designed for defence, but with no-one to defend them.
A cold wind struck her face with enough force to bowl her over. As she regained her balance, she noticed her clothing for the first time: a long white dress topped with a chain-mail shirt and a long broadsword dangling from her belt. The long skirt floated in the wind, which quickly died away.
Behind her, from the top of the keep, there came a sound.
"Rose, Rose, Rose White,
Will you be my lover tonight?
I will love thee at thy will, sire,
At thy will."
Renee turned to see the singer, but only saw a glimpse of red inside the keep. The wind sprang up again, knocking her forward like a hammer to her back. Her armour clattered as she hit the stones face first, and she could feel the wetness of the grass through the thin material of her skirt. She groaned as her injured arm took most of her weight, then realized that there was no pain, only a dim burning sensation. The white material of her dress was pristine where it should have been covered in blood. She pushed up her sleeve to see her arm, perfectly healed. She scrambled to her feet as the singer continued.
"Rose, Rose, Rose Red,
Will I ever see thee wed?
I will marry at thy will, sire,
At thy will."
The singer had somehow climbed to the top of the keep in the few seconds that Renee had wasted with the wind. Renee looked up to see a figure clothed in red standing at the battlements, looking down at her. The woman's long dark hair floated in the breeze, even though the wind should have been even stronger at the top of the impossibly tall keep.
Curious, Renee set off into the keep, only to be met by a wall with a cross-shaped arrow slit. She turned right, and climbed the irregular steps until she found a corner tower that would take her to the top. She stumbled, her sword banging on the rough steps as she climbed. Once, she looked out an arrow slit, and her stomach flipped as the building seemed to push her forwards and pull her backwards at the same time. She continued up the spiral stairs.
"Ding dong, ding dong.
Wedding bells on an April morn.
Carve thy name on a moss-covered stone,
A moss-covered stone."
She suddenly recognized the voice and the figure. But she would never go up there, would she?
Her stomach feeling as if it was about to implode, she continued up the stairs, which stretched on into eternity. No castle could ever be this high. No human being could ever climb this far. Renee forgot her stomach as her heart strained against her ribcage, her lungs burned and her legs turned to searing lead.
Finally, she reached the battlements. She emerged into the grey light of Irish noon and saw the singer, standing by the walls: a woman in red with stars in her hair. Gasping, Renee watched and listened.
"Ding dong, ding dong.
Funeral bells on a September morn.
Rose Red is dead and gone, sire,
Dead and gone."
The woman turned to Renee, who was not surprised to see her own features on the other's face. Phoenix smiled mysteriously and stepped away from the walls. She extended a hand, willing Renee to come closer, but Renee refused to move. She clung to the battlements, afraid to look anywhere but Phoenix's face.
The wind returned, freezing her tense hands on the stones, and threatening to knock her sideways into oblivion. Phoenix urged her forward, but Renee shook her head, digging her nails into the ancient mortar of the walls. Phoenix sighed, but did nothing more.
A warm hand on Renee's shoulder gently turned her around, despite her desperate grip on the battlements. She stared into Michael's handsome face, comforted by his familiar presence. The castle, with Phoenix, faded away without Renee noticing. Now she was in the Warehouse, alone with Michael. He took his hand from her shoulder and placed it around her waist, ignoring the still-present sword. He drew her close as he had before, and swayed gently to the music that was just on the cusp of her hearing. The lights seemed to dim and change colour, so that the normally white lights were now red, blue and green, littering the floor with strange patterns of colour.
Suddenly, he drew back. He looked down at his front, and the scarlet sash he wore around his waist, symbol of his Party-enforced chastity. He untied it and let it fall to the ground, then looked back at her. Renee felt the strange sensation of inevitability. Her hands, guided by some other power, drew her sword and plunged it into his gut. She drew the sword back, allowing him to fall to the ground. Horrified, she threw away the sword and dropped to her knees beside him. She drew his head into her lap, trying to stop the flow of blood with her hands, to no avail. His body went limp in her arms.
"Killer," whispered someone behind her.
She pushed away Michael's body, and stood up. The skirt of her dress was soaked in his blood, and her hands were covered in it. However, even as she stared at it, she straightened up, coming to a realization.
"No," she said. "You are."
She stepped over Michael's body and picked up her sword in slow, deliberate movements. Then she turned and faced Big Brother.
The Warehouse vanished, and a room with white tiled walls and harsh white light took its place. She knew where she was, even if she had never been there in reality: the Ministry of Love. This was her vision, her nightmare. Big Brother smiled and saluted her.
He wielded no sword, but his arms parried her blows as well as any shield. He struck out with a fist, landing a punch on her jaw. They fought for a long time, both refusing to surrendur. Finally, he knocked her sword from her hands and threw her into a wall. He towered over her, menacing, evil.
"You're mine," he said.
Renee smiled. She lashed out with her foot, stalling him long enough for her to get to her feet. She stood before him, a proud warrior.
"I'll never be," she said. "I'm my own."
She slammed an open palm into his chest. A crackling white energy threw him back. The energy surrounded him, and when it dissipated, he was gone.
Aware of something different, Renee looked down at herself. Her dress was no longer white and spattered with blood, but red. Her armour and sword had likewise disappeared. She turned to the wall, which reflected her image perfectly, and found herself once again staring Phoenix in the face, only this time, they were one.
Author's Note:
Ok, that was only a tiny bit surreal. :) Don't worry, we'll be back to our normally scheduled plot with the next chapter.
"A woman in red with stars in her hair" is a quotation from Terry Pratchett's Lords and Ladies.
The song that Phoenix sings is Peace Round, which is a traditional English folk song. There are God-knows-how-many verses to it, but those were the ones I learned.
Disclaimer:
Children of the Revolution is by Marc Bolan.
Nineteen Eighty-Four is by George Orwell.
Lords and Ladies is by Terry Pratchett.