Shadow Spinners
Chapter Seven~Peace is but a shadow of death, /Desperate to forget it's painful past... /Though we hope for promising years/After shedding a thousand tears, /Yesterday's sorrow constantly nears. /And while the moon still shines blue, /By dawn it will turn a scarlet hue.~
-- Kuja (FFIX)
Why had that boy followed me? Or was he following the hooded lord? How long had he been doing so? Was he on my side that he hid in the darkness—out of sight of the red-eyed one? Or did he think I couldn't see him, as well, and was seeking his own purposes? I raked my brain for any thoughts. None.
But one thing was clear, and sense alone didn't have to tell me that I had gotten caught in a bigger net than I thought I knew.
I coughed once. My head felt flushed and I felt oddly warm. I took the blanket off of me. I felt too tired—too weak to ignore the pain in my leg any longer. It throbbing pulse no longer pounded in my leg however, also pounded in my head like a hammer. I coughed again—and then again.
I fell into a lake of darkness and numbing pain.
Hurt. It was all around me like water. I'm not dead. But it was so peaceful. When I looked up I saw a blur. Inside, I didn't want to leave this pond. Don't summon me…
I still rose. Sounds smacked me like a fist and I weakly opened my eyes. A disoriented image came to mind. I saw, I think, a worried face. When I blinked again and saw that familiar face with that careless, monotone expression. A trick of the mind, I thought subconsciously.
"Lie down," he ordered. I had no strength to fight him so I obeyed.
A cool gel soothed through my body. It was so cool and it stung in delight. With it a sense of swelling energy filled me—enough so that I could see what he doing. His eyes closed peacefully, his brow slightly at a grimace in concentration and his hair faintly damp. He's sweating? Why is he doing this? If you're going to try to take someone against their will they don't need to be kind….
As if he heard my thoughts, he opened his eyes and pulled his hand away. The lord's eyes were a pulsing red but there was a glazed look. He held his head in his hands for a moment. I was so bewildered, why had he done that? Why had he weakened himself? It wasn't as if I would die—just pain. Not even the animals in the forest displayed compassion in such a way. I without shame I openly stared.
Remember, everything that is done by a human is for the human, said the side of me which I found so hard to trust. I looked away and closed my eyes. He wants to gain my trust, why?
So many doubts, so many questions… I must be strong in the face of them. Recovering his facial he got up and walked to the fire, away from me. There seemed to be a side effect to the healing magic because I fell into a dreamless sleep.
"My lord." A dream? The sound of a horse's hoof. I woke. Through heavy eyelids I saw a messenger get off a tall mount. The slight moonlight illuminated the scene with a dim halo. The stream was splashed and ran, so clear and fresh to the note. The grass moved on the whim on the wind faintly whispering within the air.
"Haroun? I had not expected you so early," said the silhouette of the lord getting up from the stream.
The voice was out of breath, so unknown and upsetting to the serene scene. "You were right, my lord—we found a piece of the Old Moon… Raybin's army…!" The voice was in distressed and there was a fear underlined that etched itself my brain. My vision slowly started to blur, shadows deepened and swirl till I heard no more and once again fell asleep with that terror in that voice echoing deeply into my ears.
Later, I slowly woke up on my own account. It was an hour or so before dawn. It was cold, moist and that morbid mist laid thick on the forest floor. Something was… off. The fog is just stuck in my ears, I thought. The mist did make it feel as though I had stuffed my ears.
"Mist…" I tasted the word with my tongue, clear-cut and crisp. Odd, the way things sounded when you said them.
It was then I knew the problem: silence. An unholy silence.
The mist seemed to lay heavier on my shoulders. Not one chirp, screech, or scream of a fiend that had played on last night. Tension gripped every muscle. A cold chill went down my spine. I felt bare—naked.
It was a raging quiet.
Suddenly, something gripped my shoulder. "Shh…" It was the hooded man; I swallowed a yell of surprise. The voice whispered softly and comfortably in my ear as I tingled—to my disapproval. However, he wasn't hooded anymore; he didn't even have his cloak. It seemed if he had the dark cloak on he would be easy to spot in the thick miasma. His arms were bare but for an odd vest and he wore boots and leggings.
He seemed so familiar! "We need to get out of here quietly, if you want to live do as I say." His breath was warm on my neck it made me notice how cold I really was. The chill ran up my spine.
A screech filled the sky and my heart ceased to pound. The breath on my neck stopped. A long moment we stood frozen, wanting to run. The sky was dark. This ear splitting shriek was not of a beast. It was bigger.
Another scream. It was louder—and closer.
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R2R
DarkAngelB~You crack me up (thank God I'm in one piece). Yeah, the sit does that a lot it's stupid. As for the movie, I luv it! Blissfully happy you enjoy it!!! (Boy, that sounds stupid—but you get want I mean, right??) Sors~I didn't update my other story yet, InshAllah I will. I just need a break. Did you like the cliffy? LOLz, please don't kill me! Aerena~"Monkey"—LOLz last night I was watching the movie National Security. It's hella funny. Thank you, I didn't really know about the battle scene. And yes, I love you too! ^__^jAcKie~WOW, thanx. You've totally boasted up my small ego!! More peeps are reading this!! Lady Crysania Majere~Yeah!! Hehe! (You don't know the extent of my smile right now!) Thanks ssoo much! & U R a great writer!! After this InshAllah I'm going to see if you updated!! Kikaiyu~LOLz, that's funny. You have a sense of humor. ^^
~Muslima