Disclaimer: I happily proclaim to the world that I do not own Valdemar or any of it's inhabitants, or any of the neighboring/surrounding/other countries of that world or any of their inhabitants. ^-^ They all rightfully belong to the absolutely wonderful Mercedes Lackey!
Notes: Mar. You people are impatient! ^^;; lol. But it gets you chapters, so… whatever works, ne?
Notes (for RonethDragon Tiamat): Actually! The Windrider stuff is true. ^_~ He's mentioned once and a while throughout the Valdemar series. If you look in the appendix of the Last Herald Mage trilogy (I think that's the one), you can read the song lyrics for "Windrider". I think that's the most you'll find about him, though…
Eep. 0_o;; Short chapter ahoy!
Devil, Mine
Chapter Three: Sins Of Innocence
The sniffling broke my heart, but I think what bothered me more than that was the fact that I couldn't Feel anything from Celeste, despite her obvious pain. She seemed to be Shielding from me. I could only guess how she would have learned the technique.
Glancing to the left, I was pleased to see that Meriol was still asleep. That meant I wouldn't have to explain things to him, which suited me just fine. Standing, swished my tail to loosen the grass that had stuck to my hair, and hesitantly poked my head into the Waystation.
Because the Waystations were designed by Heralds and for Heralds, they were always large enough to accommodate up to three Heralds and their Companions as well, though generally they only have to fit two Heralds and their Companions and not three. This was a particularly useful feature in the winter, when we were as reluctant as our Chosen to stay out in the cold and the snow.
:Celeste…?: I paced into the building, my hooves clattering softly against the floor. :Are… you alright?:
The sniffling stopped abruptly.
:Chosen?:
Silence, and she remained still. I could barely see her in the gloom, but I couldn't hear movement. She was trying trick me into thinking she was asleep? It was sweet, in a way. A childish gesture that I hadn't expected. But at the same time, it worried me.
:I know you're not sleeping.:
Another short sniffle, and then silence reigned once more.
Sighing, I wandered over and lowered myself to the ground beside the makeshift bed. It was nothing more than a straw mattress, but every Waystation had one and it was much preferred over the cold ground. Settling myself, I peered down at Celeste.
Her eyes were tightly closed, but silent sobs racked her body.
:Would you like to tell me what's wrong?:
She didn't respond, but sniffled again. I could Feel her Shields coming down a notch, and was pleased with the little headway I had made. Falling into silence with her, I closed my eyes lightly and continued to listen to her irregular breathing.
:You like my wings…: I Said finally, trying a tactic that had never been an option before. The fascination she's showed when playing with my feathers was what brought it on, despite the inherent discomfort for me, when speaking about my differences. :Don't you? Would you like to know about them?:
Her Shields lowered a bit farther. Who had taught her how to Shield, anyway?
"I guess…"
Headway was good. I gave a mental smile and flicked my wings out. Feathers fluttered to the ground around us and Celeste turned hesitantly and reached toward one, plucking it from the straw mattress beside herself and twisting it in her fingers. The same look of gentle concentration overtook her features and I could feel her Shields relax even more.
:I can't tell you very much,: I told her softly, :because I don't know much about them myself.:
"H-how come?"
:No other Companions have wings, Chosen.:
"They don't?"
:Not anymore. There was one, a long time ago, but he's been gone for some time.:
"Oh." She dropped the feather she had been playing with and pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly against herself. "Who had them before?"
:His name was Windrider. He was a very famous Companion.: I paused and shifted my weight, as my front left leg was beginning to go numb. :There are a few people who think I might have his Soul.:
"Who thinks that?"
I Sent her images of Rolan and Gwena, as well as Elspeth and Darkwind. With the images came a general feeling about each of them. I was hoping that would make her feel as if she knew who I was talking about. :They do. I'm not entirely sure, though.:
"Can you fly?"
:What?: The question was unexpected, and I had to think for a moment. :I… don't know. I've never tried.:
"Why?"
:I guess I'm afraid that they won't work and I'll fall.:
"Oh."
A long silence followed that admission and I eyed her. She continued to hug her knees, her own eyes staring vaguely at the blankets that were now wrapped around her ankles. After a minute I sighed, whuffing, and pulled my wings back in with another puff of feathers.
:Not very many people know about my wings.: I confided in her as she continued to stare downward, :when I was born, Rolan and Gwena told my Mother-: at that I Sent an image of Mother, :-that my wings should be kept a secret, just in case people didn't understand. It was hard, keeping them a secret, and it hurt me in a lot of ways.: I paused, glancing at Celeste and sending a questioning Touch toward her mind. :Secrets can be hurtful, Love… you know that, don't you?:
A Felt her jump, and turned by head to nudge her arm comfortingly.
:Why were they bricking you in, Celeste?:
Anger bubbled up inside her, and I blinked when she demanded; "why do you keep calling me that?!"
:W-what?:
"You keep calling me "Celeste"." She snapped, even as the flash of anger subsided, replaced almost immediately by grief. "My name is Mia."
I was completely floored, and could only stare at her in shock. What did she mean by that? Her name… was… Celeste… I had Felt that when I Chose her… I knew… I knew it was… but… I shook my head, eyes wide. This wasn't supposed to… we were supposed to… to… part of the Choosing was knowing the name of the Soul we bonded to…
:M-Mia…?: I stammered, my Voice shaking. :But-:
"They've called me Mia ever since…" she frowned, concentrating, "…I can't remember…"
:B-but…:
"I don't remember." She repeated, looking at me. Her eyes were clouded as she attempted to delve into a memory that apparently wasn't there. I continued to stare at her, trying to grasp the situation. "There's a lot I don't remember."
Tears again, and this time I couldn't decide whether to attempt comforting her or not. But… whether her name was Celeste or Mia… she was still my Chosen. I shuffled closer to her and nudged her again. After a second she looked at me sadly, eyes shining, and then wrapped her arms around my neck.
:Chosen… what happened? I… I don't understand…:
"Neither do I." She whispered brokenly. "I just… I just…"
:You what?:
"I saw."
Again, my mind came up blank. She saw? It must have had something to do with her Gifts. Thus far, I didn't know what they were. And I knew that in Karse, Gifts were seen differently… I decided to do something that, until then, I hadn't been sure about. As she continued to cry into my mane, I gently probed into her Thoughts.
Bardic? She has the Bardic Gift. But I don't know what that would have to do with "seeing"…
As I continued to sort through her mind, I came upon what I was looking for.
ForeSight. That… would explain… except…
The Gift was still dormant; it hadn't yet awakened, so it couldn't have caused her so See anything… still, there had to be something… I frowned mentally, following a thin trail of energy through the jumble of memories in her mind.
Oh.
The ForeSight was still dormant, yes, but it was strongly linked to her Bardic Gift.
I turned an eye toward her, attempting to decide if what I thought had happened had actually happened. :Did you See… were you singing, when you Saw? Love, were you singing?:
She sniffled again, then nodded reluctantly. "I was singing, and I saw… there was fire and…"
The horror of what she had seen was beginning to drift from her to me, and I pulled my Mind back from hers. Flashes of flames. Roaring of fire. Burning flesh and shrieking screams. I stopped her before she could bring the memories to the surface again, and quickly blocked the images from her mind.
"I tried to tell them, and they didn't believe…"
I didn't need her to finish the sentence, as I already had the general idea. I could guess what had happened next.
The fire actually happened. What she had predicated came true.
"They called me a witch." She murmured, wiping at her cheeks with the back of her hand. "They said I should be… that fire would cleanse me… but… Lartor stopped them… convinced them… that… they shouldn't… burn…"
I was angry.
I was very angry.
Despite the fact that she was not who I thought she was, I couldn't help the rage that threatened to overwhelm me. Just the idea that they were going to… burn her alive… I took a deep breath. Whoever this Lartor character was, Celeste – Mia – and I both owed him or her a debt of gratitude.
"So they were going to put be in the cell." Her voice had dropped to so low that I had to strain to hear what she was saying. Through our Link, though, I got the idea behind her words. "And then you came…"
I couldn't think of anything to say at first, and then I settled for a promise. One that I hoped with all my heart that I would be able to keep. :No one will ever hurt you like that again.:
She sniffled sadly, and leaned against me, cuddling into my side and closing her eyes. I knew more about her now, but still there were unanswered questions. Eventually, I hoped to get past all of the trauma of her past, and it would take time. Now, I Touched her Mind again, and, prompted by me, she fell into a dreamless sleep.
I laid my head down, curling around her protectively.
:I promise.: I said softly, then repeated it, as much for myself as for her. :No one will ever hurt you again.:
~*~*~*~*~*~
Me: Okay, short chapter. Apologies! *bows* I'm having a bit of writer's block on this, (just a bit) and to make things even more complicated, the entire storyline is taking a different path than I had originally anticipated. *sighness* Confusing? Apologies for that, too… ^^;;