Secrets
Ratiug, Tol and Lander each had different hypothesis, I would call it, of how Erih and Otamo would arrive to take me away. Either Erih would throw rocks at my window, barge in the house in the middle of the night, or simply have Otamo kidnap me. Apparently she was determined not to go without me. Otamo, on the other hand, would either be sneaking along behind Erih without her knowledge, be running to catch up with us when he figured out what happened or be openly at Erih's side. I suppose that when I person has three fates sometimes the different fate's theories average amongst one another.
I wasn't sleeping when Erih and Otamo burst into my room, but I must have been dozing when Erih had pelted the rocks at me window. I was ready though; my father had watched me pack earlier that day.
He had stood there, motionless in the doorway as I sorted numbly through my belongings. He was silent, I suppose he had resigned himself to the fact that my fates had been pushing on me: fate must be followed. He moved only to tie up my rather small sack and then left after weakly patting my hair. I had taken it as I knew he meant it. He would miss me, I knew he would, even though I had come to realize the burden my curse had put on him. Only now did I realize how hard it must have been for father and mother, especially mother. Watching the daughter they had wished so vehemently for struggle through a life that they had already seen plotted out for her.
My sack was small, surprisingly small, for the clothes and other miscellaneous objects I had packed into it. Mother's old comb, the first necklace I had received from my brothers for my birthday, the cloth flower I had begged Jonasth to make for me when I had realized the flowers died when winter came. I was a pampered child in my youth, and perhaps even now.
Erih and Otamo were surprised to find me awake, but they didn't take a long time expressing it. We were out the door and in the garden only moments later. Otamo led us towards the Village Square, a market actually in the shape of a pentagon. I followed absently behind him, whispering with Erih and partially listening to Otamo's infrequent comments.
"You didn't have to come with me Leiryh." I glanced at Erih, this comment only slightly off the subject of the constellations above us. I had figured her sudden interest in the constellations I had studied ever since I had realized that fate was a real prophecy was only a distraction.
"Yeah I did." I spoke with a sigh before realizing I was basically telling Erih the majority of the secret I had kept from her and Otamo for so long. "I mean, any good friend would right?" I added quickly as she glanced at me with an awkward expression.
Otamo mumbled something and shifted his pace to a slightly quicker gait, one which Erih and I took time in silence to adjust to.
We continued on into the square where Otamo ordered us to wait by the fountain while he ran a few errands. I could only imagine the errands he was running in the early morning.
"Why were you awake when we arrived?" It seemed my only purpose for accompanying Erih was so she could drill the secret out of me. She doesn't know about it. I corrected myself and quickly prepared a small white lie.
"I had been ill all morning, I had over slept and had been unable to sleep tonight." She glared at me.
"You don't sleep when you're sick Leiryh, I know that. You're either out at the brooks or in your mother's garden." I stiffened. What reason did she have to suspect anything of me? My eyes swept the rooftops visible from the fountain, and I found myself only slightly surprised to find a large shadow brushing across the tiles of a well-lit tavern. The shiver that had frequently run my spine these past few weeks returned and almost immediately the comfortable relief from the shiver took over. I could almost see Lander atop the roofs, waving his hand at the invisible ghosts passing through me.
Otamo returned, cutting Erih from her protest of my avoidance of the question. He shoved two warm rolls into each of our hands and grinned mischievously. Perfect timing. I smiled to myself as Erih, distracted with the food, was silenced with the food in her mouth.
We walked in a group now; heading down the wide street that led out of town. Erih was ravenous, consuming both of her rolls and a half of one of mine. Otamo also quickly finished both of his, but I was more sparring with my rolls, and stowed an uneaten half away in my small sack.
We walked on, talking away the silence with stories and memories of our childhood. Erih slowly became more and more confident as we distanced ourselves from the town, making jokes on the reactions of her parents and that horrible prince while I paled and quieted. I had never been so far from home.
Otamo noticed my nervousness. I wasn't meant for this type of adventure; the brooks that were in the forest beyond our house were enough for me.
"Yeah, they'll probably forget all about you Erih, I mean your arranged marriage, and choose some other possible bride for the prince. Then we can return home." He was reassuring me more than agreeing with Erih's far- fetched ideas.
We crossed the short wooden bridge over the Edenth River that marked the boundary of our town. Upon the other bank we paused a moment to look upon the great forest ahead of us.
"They'll send a party after you." A sudden familiar voice at my side. I gasped, turning to Lander and trying to push him quickly away.
"Fool, they don't know!" I hissed fearfully.
"Who're you?" Otamo's voice was cold. I turned, holding Lander behind my back in a failing attempt to hide him from Otamo and Erih. Erih held an unsheathed sword I had not seen at her side before in one hand and Otamo had possession of a small dagger. I knew both of them were willing to fight if the need arose, and somehow I was surprised I had not thought of the possibilities of human dangers we might encounter.
"No!" I held out my hands in front of Erih and Otamo. "No, I know him, it's okay." I wasn't sure Lander could get hurt, but I was positive that Erih and Otamo were quite able to.
"Who is he then?" Erih asked, the sword and dagger she and Otamo had held disappearing into fingers I had not noticed were missing while they were gripping the weapons. One of Erih's tricks, I realized. Otamo focused on me while Erih moved to my side to get a better look at the tall and, now I realized rather weird looking man.
"He's..." I hesitated, trying to figure out how to break this to my friends. A sudden chill, fiercer than the others I had experienced when thinking about the curse or my fates, rattled my spine and I gasped, at a loss for breath. A warm palm rested on the back of my neck and I breathed deeply in relief. I turned my head, blinking questioningly at Lander. "Why does that only happen when I talk about you guys?"
"Who are you?" Erih asked again, placing her arms across her chest and now starring intently at me. This had been my fear since my first friendship with Otamo. How would they react, I was cursed. I stepped back, into Lander who released my neck in surprise. The shivers returned, more powerful than I had yet to experience, and I collapsed on the ground, my head, coincidentally, colliding with the large surface of a dust covered hidden boulder in the ground.
I shivered into wakefulness, curling into myself, as was habit with the touch of morning cold. My eyes remained shut while I took a moment to remember falling asleep. A warm palm on the back of my neck brought back mostly everything.
"Why?" I demanded, sitting up roughly and spinning quickly to face my fate.
Lander sat with his back against a large tree trunk; his head titled back to the sky. His hands were folded over his knees bent up to his chest. I glanced the other way to find Erih looking at me worriedly. It was her hand on my neck.
"You okay Leiryh?" She asked worriedly. Otamo stirred from his place by a small fire nearby. Trees surrounded us and the ground was covered in a thick soft moss.
"How'd we get here?' I asked, reaching back to feel Erih's hand. It lifted from my neck and I found myself uncomfortable in the absence of those involuntary shivers that had stunned me so.
"He led us here." Erih tossed her head towards the sleeping Lander while flexing her hand. "We're somewhere in the Edenth forest, I know that much."
"How –" Otamo cut me off as he turned form the crackling fire to join our small circle.
"We've only been here a few minutes. The trip only took a few minutes. He carried you here, told Erih to keep her hand on your neck until you woke up and then fell asleep behind you. Now who is he?"
I eyed my two dearest friends warily, worrying once more about their reactions to the curse, when I remembered Erih, and when she told me about her own curse. She had always been bolder than I had though, and I hesitated with the truth as a lie began to formulate in my mind.
"The truth." Erih commented quickly, somehow recognizing the plot in my expression.
"I'm cursed." I blurted quickly. It was like chores; do them quickly and get them over with. Otamo and Erih starred at me blankly. "I'm cursed." I repeated it, searching for some sort of confidence in the words. The lack of violent shivers vibrating my spine alerted me to Lander's consciousness. "I'm cursed with three fates." I looked at the moss, picking at it solemnly with my fingers.
Erih and Otamo sat in silence before Erih, the more curse-knowledgeable of the two spoke up. "Since when?"
I shrugged, somehow finding the conversation easier than I had imagined. "It's not really a 'since when' sort of occurrence. I've been cursed since before my birth, it was...fate for me to have three fates."
"Three fates?" Otamo frowned, before shaking his head and glancing back at the fire.
"Yes, three. They come every week before my birthday – "
"They?" Otamo asked again. Erih was quiet and seemed to have resigned herself to listening.
"Yes, they. Three witches – " A grumble from behind me, one I felt was only audible to me, alerted me to my mistake. "Three proph...ets come to my house every week before my birthday and tell me what will happen to me in the future year." Silence from both my friends told me to continue. "Tol knew I was going to meet you, Otamo, in a tree during my fifth year. Ratiug knew that Erih's father's prized mare was going to die during my eleventh year. Ezilat..." I paused, remembering the third fate hesitantly. "Ezilat knew my mother was going to die when I turned ten years old."
"Who's Ratiug, Ezilat and..." Otamo frowned, waving his hand in front of his face as he tried to remember the first name.
"Tol." I finished for him. "Ratiug and Tol are two of my fates, Ezilat was the third."
"Was?"
"She died...She died when I was...twelve. Lander, this is Lander." I turned and glanced at the tall man behind me. His green hair was swept away form his forehead and I was grateful for his closed eyes. The ever-changing pupils of his would have been too much for me then. "Lander took Ezilat's place, he's my third...well technically fourth fate."
Otamo and Erih simply starred at the odd man behind me. I watched them stare a moment, trying to imagine what they were thinking before turning and looking at Lander myself. His eyes opened as I turned, and he eyed the curious Otamo and Erih, grinning peaceably.
"Have a nice sleep?" I asked, wondering why I thought fates didn't sleep.
"I don't sleep." He reassured me calmly, stretching out his arms above his head and his legs out in front of him. "I was watching your future."
I heard Otamo scuffle around behind me and felt Erih get up behind me, using my shoulder for support before walking off towards the trees on the far side of the fire. Sudden crackling caught my attention. I got up from the ground slowly and joined Otamo and Erih by the fire.
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A/N: Yay for reviewers! -passes out big swirlly rainbow lollipops- I have no doubt that there is confusion in the story. Please ask questions if you have them, it'll help me with the next chapter.
-Lai