Chapter IV I Digress
A white beam of light filtered through Arethusa's eyes. She winced, waking from an already disturbed sleep. She heaved herself up with her elbows. Her eyes squinted, protecting herself from the dazzling light.
A warp portal lay in front of her.
She pushed the thick bedspread away from her body and planted her feet on the side of her bed. She felt light-headed. She stood up from the bed and walked slowly but surely straight in front of the warp portal. She lifted her hand and cautiously touched the revolving white sphere.
Bzzt!
Her hand recoiled back to her side when the tip of her fingers felt a sudden jolt of electricity that rapidly coursed through her body.
The warp portal let out a flash so powerful that Arethusa reeled to the floor – on her derriere – because of the great force. The warp portal emitted another flash – this time a flash that could blind – and another… and another. She raised her open hands to shield herself against it, her eyes closing now and then at each successive flash.
Then, everything went out. Her room became covered with darkness. She could still hear the faint crackle of electricity – with great probability that it was from the warp portal, signaling that it was still there. She blinked a couple of times, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness.
She heard a faint whirring sound. Fear started to ignite inside her. Waking up with a warp portal in front of you was frightening enough. What more of a warp portal that turned into a black void of sphere and may have the power to kill? She shivered. The hair behind her neck and on her arms stood up. Her breathing became more labored.
The whirring started to become more distinct, louder – closer. Her eyes, now adjusted to the dark, were barely able to see the faint outline of the black warp portal. She moved her head forward.
She gasped. Her heart somersaulted to her throat. The warp portal was gradually approaching her. She crawled backwards on her knees, trying to get away from it as fast as she can. Her effort wasn't enough.
The black warp portal engulfed her.
What's taking him so long?
A small, wiry man wearing a thick set of glasses wiped his profusely sweating forehead with a thick handkerchief. He fidgeted with his fingers as he waited anxiously for the double doors of the new councilor's office to open.
I should have come sooner. Now, everything is out of hand. Ye gods! I never thought it was going to turn out this way. He has gone insane! Oh, why did I ever accept his damn proposal! Please, please, please, please open now. Please open the door.
The double doors eventually opened but with a nerve-wrecking half-hour of waiting for the edgy fore-eyed man. He waited for a few more seconds, checking if the councilor was indeed alone. When the councilor walked out of the room without any attendants, the man heaved a deep sigh of relief.
"C-councilor! C-councilor Kinsley!"
Councilor Voltaire Kinsley turned his head around, which cost him pain. His hand went automatically to his bandaged forehead. He looked at his caller. Voltaire raised his brows when he identified that the caller was one of the advisors of the king.
"Duke Milton. What can I do for you?"
With great courage, the man spoke. "W-we… we need t-to talk."
Arethusa found herself on the center of a black void. There was no source of light but she could clearly see her arms and the rest of her as if it was daylight. She looked around. Her heart beat faster as she saw the same floating orb a few feet away from her. It was still rapidly changing its colors. Its forceful energy enveloped her once more.
'Look at me dance, mommy! Please, mommy, just once.'
'Daddy I made this for you. Doesn't it look pretty?'
'Love me, Yorgil!'
She whirled around and around, looking for the source of her own voice.
'Why can't you be more like your guardian? She is what you call a real lady!'
'Don't sound so smug about finishing as the top of your class, girl. It is not enough. I tell you – our clan always finishes their time in the academy with perfect grades. You didn't!'
'You are a disappointment.'
'I cannot waste my time for your silly doings, Arethusa. You have your guardian. Go play with her.'
"Stop it!" She brought her hands to her ears, trying to ward off the taunting voices.
'I don't like you.'
'Stop following me and stop being annoying, damn it!'
"I said stop!!" She swung her hand frantically around her, as if she was moving all the things out of her path.
Out of nowhere, she earned a cut on her arm without anything even touching her.
The voices stopped, and so did the changing colors of the orb – which stopped at red. Blood oozed out of her cut and dropped to the blackened floor below her. Cold black hands encircled her delicate neck and started to strangle her. She choked. She brought her hands up, desperately trying to loosen the hands so that she could get air into her windpipe.
'Arethusa!' A distant alto voice echoed in the surrounding silence.
She was slowly weakening; her hands relaxing on the black hands that were still strangling her.
'Arethusa, wake up!'
"W-wake up?" Arethusa felt her body come alive; the hands long gone.
"Arethusa!"
Arethusa woke up with a jolt.
Crystal eyed her ward worriedly. "Are you okay?" She put her hand on top of Arethusa's sweaty forehead and felt for her temperature.
"I'm okay."
"Well, if you're okay…"
"Yes! I am." Arethusa responded fervently. She brought down Crystal's hands from her forehead.
"The councilor is here for a visit."
"W-what?!"
"I said–"
"Oh, Chrissie, I heard you the first time. I mean what is he doing here?"
"Apparently, he wants to show you his gratitude for saving his life."
"But I didn't – oh, what the heck. Help me up," Arethusa requested, straightening both her arms forward.
Crystal heaved Arethusa up but not before noticing the long, thin cut on her left arm. She twisted Arethusa's arm to get a better view of the cut. "Where did you get this?"
"Where did I get what?" Arethusa looked down at her left arm. She visibly paled.
Yorgil leaned against the wall partition between his master bedroom and the third floor balcony. His eyes strayed to a place some distance from where he was – to the serene moat that circled the perimeter of the Pronteran castle. He tried to take refuge on the scene before him but failed desolately. The content of the letter he was holding in his hand was too disturbing for his peace of mind.
Yorgil's hold on the letter tightened ever-so-slightly. Unable to stop, he read it again for the umpteenth time. So intense was his concentration on the letter that he could easily imagine his sensei talking in front of him…
My dear apprentice,
It is with great distress that I bring this dire news to you. Last night, I have had a vision. It is with some hope that I could free my troubled mind by letting you know of this. It is with regret that I relay this vision I had…
Arika Haragei sat on the center of her six-tatami meditation room. Her long black hair was bound in a tight knot on top of her head. The fusuma stood a few feet in front of her, baring her well-kept Zen garden. All was well outside. Everything was alive and wonderful. She had no reason to stand up.
Evening came too quickly. It was followed by a cold, torrent rain. Thunder and lightning fought against each other. Natural chaos rained over the night. A wet parchment suddenly went in to the room, brought in by the cold, piercing wind. It flew haphazardly, spiraling towards the sitting sensei.
It stopped a small distance from her. She looked at the symbol written on the parchment:
Oni.
A/N: Thank you Mersea for the suggestion! Er… I didn't check the fic if it was properly uploaded and then I saw your review. Thank you! Hugs