A/n: I'm going to be going away for eight days for a national competition for school, and I won't be home until next Monday. I can guarantee an update Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday in that general vacinity. So I hope that's all right. I'm sure all of you will be busy reading the new Harry Potter book anyway, the rest of the world seems to be (grumbles about how she wishes she was famous). Anyhoo, hope you all enjoy, this chapter is extra long, and the next one is the last one! So there we have it folks, talk to you all when I get home! Wish us luck!
Chapter Fifteen: To Remember Love
"Umi-chan! Umi-chan!" Hikaru threw herself at the doors of the Sacred Village, her face alight with joy, no thought of the test she had to pass. All her focus was on the doors and the lines of Keepers that were streaming out of them; their Punishments finally at an end.
Frantically, she searched each face, looking everywhere for her blue haired friend, refusing to get disheartened that Umi hadn't been the first one to storm out of the gates. Slowly, the lines of Keepers began to get thinner, and then there were only a few that were milling about inside, packing a little, those who had never cared to leave the Sacred Village, those who were afraid of the outside world.
Brazenly, she stepped in and closed her eyes, waiting for something to strike, but when nothing did, she ran forward and grabbed the arms of the nearest Keeper, an older man that looked a little startled when she grabbed him, "Excuse me, sir? Where is Umi-Quies?"
"Quies?" he cocked his head, "The Keeper of Dreams passed away in her sleep not too long after she was put into the position. Didn't you know that? Mentis and Noctis have been keeping the duties until a new Keeper could be chosen. Why do you ask?"
Hikaru's eyes filled with terror, and she took a step backward, tripping over a discarded cart and sprawling onto the perfect cobblestone streets, her hand rising to her mouth in terror. Her ovum glinted in the sun, and the man nodded.
"The Magic Knight of Fire."
She could barely breathe; Umi couldn't be dead. She refused to believe that. Resolution and denial coupled inside her, and she turned and sprinted off toward the Palace, running blindly, screaming for Umi at the top of her lungs. Veneficus intercepted her on the way, pulling her aside, so she was forced to stare into disgustingly sympathetic deep blue eyes, "I'm sorry Hikaru, I really am."
"No!" Hikaru screamed. "She can't be dead! We haven't saved her yet! We didn't…" Hikaru stopped and forced herself to remember through the deep fog in her mind. That was right, she was sitting in Clef's study, awaiting some sort of…test. Then, this was it? Her heart leapt into her throat, and a smile curled onto her face. "That's right," she mumbled and turned to grin at Veneficus whose expression was quickly fading. "All right, you lose. I remember. I know that she's alive, and we need to save her, so why don't you just come out and fight me fairly?" Hikaru demanded, more to the sky than to Veneficus.
The Keeper of Dreams grinned and nodded, clearly the voice of the Will, "Very impressive Fire Knight. I had thou completely trapped in my spell until just now. Very impressive, one down, many more to go."
Hikaru jumped awake and looked around her curiously; everyone else was in a trance like state, and she decided they must all be in the middle of their own tests. Apprehensively, she pulled a nail to her mouth and begin to nibble on it. Subconsciously, she stopped, Umi's voice her conscious. That made her smile sadly and set her head on her hands to maintain her vigil over the people of Cephiro who battled for the Water Knight and all the Keepers.
Lantis, Ferio and Ascot all looked around them nervously.
"Why did it bring us here, together?" Ferio asked curiously, but all Lantis and Ascot could supply him with were shrugs.
"Ah, so here are the brave lovers of the Fire, Wind and Earth Knights," a cruel voice called in the distance, and Silvius swarmed into view. Immediately, all three took fighting stances, ready to destroy an already dead enemy if need be.
Silvius laughed cruelly and shook his head at them, "You cannot kill one who is already dead. I am here to ask you all something."
"Ask us something?" Ascot's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but Silvius nodded simply and began anyway.
"I want to know why you would ever want to release the Keepers from their bonds of Punishment. I mean, once they're released Cephiro will be forced to take on more duties, more responsibilities. Do you really trust your people to control their own dreams and nightmares? What if the one who is supposed to control the sun forgets to make it rise one morning? Or what if there is no rain for your crops because the people are angry at one another? Do you wish that kind of havoc to be set upon the people you suffered so long for? Do you trust them so much, in this land controlled by Will, to let them have all power over war?"
Ferio shook his head, amazed. He hadn't known that releasing the Keepers of their duty meant that. As far as he knew, it only meant that the Keepers wouldn't be forced to the Floor that he'd heard so much about, but this…He trusted his people, but they were still people; they weren't infallible. They had emotions, and if one of them controlled war? Or what if all of them controlled everything all the time? Free will was highly overrated.
Silvius nodded to whatever he saw in Ferio's eyes, and Lantis realized they were about to fail, so he grabbed Ferio's shoulders and plunged into his amber eyes, "Do you want your people to suffer what will happen to Cephiro if their Master Mage falls victim to an indescribable grief?"
Ascot took his cue from Lantis and turned to Ferio, "Do you want to look at Fuu every morning, into her eyes full of pain, because one of her best friends is suffering? You don't need to live through another four hundred years of Punishment."
"This can all be ended if you simply tell the Will you have faith in your people," Lantis hinted softly, and Ferio nodded and looked Silvius in the eye.
"I do," he said firmly, and really felt what he was saying. "I do have faith in my people. They survived when the Pillar was destroyed, against all odds, they took their lives into their own hands, and I believe they will overcome this as well."
Spoken just like a Prince, Ascot smirked, but Silivus wasn't finished yet, "And you, Ascot? Once the Water Knight returns, there will be no need for Alliandre anymore, isn't that right? You can save your romance if you just admit that this is a bad idea."
"Spare your breath," Ascot stopped him, stepping forward. "I know that Alliandre will be welcomed with open arms here. She is a Magic Knight now, and she stands on her own. I don't doubt that for a minute."
The Will was weakening, there was a sort of panic-stricken, yet awe-filled look in Silvius' eye, "And Lantis? Do you so long to wreak havoc on this world that you would release such a great power onto it?"
The stone-faced swordsman glared at the creature in front of him, "My father was lost to the Will because of the Punishments of the Keepers, my brother died because of a useless requirement on his love, I served four hundred years of Punishment myself. Yes, I think Cephiro can deal with a little bit of chaos, because in the long run it will come out stronger."
Silvius, or what they now recognized as the Will of Cephiro, nodded, "Perhaps the form," it was muttering to itself as it vanished, and all three looked up.
"Was it awful?" Hikaru whispered, but Lantis shook his head while Ferio rubbed his.
"No," Ferio groaned, "just…confusing. I wonder if all that stuff it said was true."
Ascot shrugged, as if pushing away the thoughts that the Will had put into him, "I don't know, but I hope not. I didn't…" he refused to think of it. "We will do what we have to for what we think is right."
The other three nodded in agreement, Hikaru clenching her hands worriedly, but offering them all a weak smile still. They smiled back, just a little more lightly and waited for the next person to awaken.
Caldina, Lafarga and Presea spun around in the darkness. "Where are we?" Presea inquired, but Caldina just shook her head. Lafarga paced, searching the gray fog that was slowly turning into a Palace.
"Wow," Caldina whispered as she stared at the splendor that was the Palace of the Keepers.
"The Palace of the Keepers," Lafarga mumbled and walked forward, the other two following closely.
At the doors, they were met by the Keeper of the Palace, Castellum, "Ah," he wrung his hands impulsively and smiled faintly at them. "We have been expecting you."
"Expecting, us?" Caldina pointed to herself, and Castellum nodded.
"Oh yes, oh yes, come in, come in, we will be sure to give you treatment fit for a Keeper."
"Well, I like the sound of that," Caldina strolled in easily behind the Keeper, but Presea and Lafarga were slightly more wary as they walked inside.
Caldina "oo"ed and "ahh"ed at all the beautiful tapestries of different occupations of the Keepers on the walls, never glancing beneath her at the Floor. Lafarga only took one glimpse of it before he had to avert his eyes; and Presea saw less than that.
"Cal," Presea hissed, but she was too wrapped up in the beautiful sights above ground for her to notice the swirling evil of the Floor of the Palace.
"Right this way," Castellum instructed, and the three were led to a beautiful suite of rooms that was split into a living area, a small study and two bedrooms. When they walked into the bedrooms, they couldn't help but be taken aback by the majesty of the rooms.
In the master bedroom, the ceiling was lined with a beautiful skyscape of a slightly cloudy Cephiran day, the sun still shining brightly, almost as if it was lighting the room. The clouds actually floated across the ceiling, and Presea and Caldina just stared in awe.
"All the clothes you'll need for your stay are in the wardrobes," Castellum told them, but Lafarga grabbed him before he could duck out.
"Stay?" he inquired, and Castellum grinned and pointed at Presea and Caldina who were already in the wardrobes and pulling out beautiful silks of exotic colors and cuts.
"Wow, Cal, check this out," Presea opened a mahogany jewelry box, and Caldina dropped the dress she was holding to gape at the magnitude of jewels contained in what she'd considered only a medium-sized box.
"Why would anyone want to leave this place?" Caldina asked carefully; and Castellum grinned and nodded.
"It is splendid, is it not? And we provide anything you want, anything at all, as long as it's within your parameters."
"Really?" Presea shrieked delightedly, but Lafarga shook his head.
"And for you, weapon master, a training facility all day long with an endless supply of competitors, and any weapons you might want to test," Castellum told him, and Lafarga's jaw dropped. Castellum clapped and a large, sharply curved blade appeared in front of him, beautiful black obsidian with precious stones embedded in the hilt. He had always longed to try this weapon, but he'd never had the time in the palace to start training with something else, besides, they were very rare, and not something one could simply magic up.
His hands itched to touch the blade, but something told him that if he did, they would all be doomed. Regretfully, he shook his head, and Castellum's smile slid off his face.
"Come on Lafarga, just try it!" Caldina smacked him on the back, but he refused. "What, are ya crazy?"
"No," he whispered, turning his eyes away from the beautiful sword. "No, I just know what's best for Cephiro. We're needed back at the CephiranPalace, and despite all this luxury, the Keepers are just chained animals. Think Cal!" he looked deeply into her eyes. "What is the one thing you can't buy, but the one thing you need more than anything?"
"Besides air?" Presea inquired, but Lafarga just shook off the question and forced his eyes into Caldina's.
"Well, you, of course," she answered as if it was the simplest conclusion in the world. He smiled, still glad to hear it, even after all these years, but made himself get back to his point.
"The Keepers can't loveCal. Remember?"
Caldina gasped and stepped away from all the fineries of the room, and nodded, remembering, "Umi," she whispered, and Lafarga grabbed her in a tight embrace, smiling at the wit she had but no one seemed to credit her for.
"Presea, the Floor," was all he had to say to the master craftsman before she too, was convinced, and all three turned to Castellum.
"We're ready to go home."
He sighed, almost annoyed, "Fine fine," he snapped, and the three of them appeared again on the floor of Clef's study.
"Damn," Caldina whispered as she pulled herself out of the test, "I really liked those clothes."
Lafarga grabbed her shoulders warmly, and she looked up at him, smiling again, "But I love you more," she consented, and he reached down and kissed her gently.
"So…" Presea nodded to Hikaru without her having to finish the question, and Hikaru sighed and looked around the room.
"That leaves, Fuu-chan, Alliandre, Blade and…Clef."
"Something's happening," Veneficus' eyes shot open wide, a bright gray, the color of fright.
Umi gripped his hand firmly and forced herself to meet his strange eyes, which softened into a delicate green-gray as she looked into them, "They will succeed, and then you will be able to try your magic for the first time since you went to the Floor. Only, this time, there will be no more Floor. Think of what it will be like."
Veneficus smiled, more at her touch than at her words. If they succeeded, him loving a Magic Knight wouldn't be against protocol, unfortunately, the one that had won his heart was off-limits. He supposed there was no way he could fight the Will to win an unrequited love, but he wanted to see her happy, strangely enough, even if it was with Clef. At least he would be comforted in his magic, and he could finally leave the Sacred Village without fear of temptation. He would be…free. And the confidence glowing in her eyes only convinced him further that they would be successful, and what a day it would be.
"Fuu, I can't believe you," Umi was crying in this dream, and she wasn't allowed to cry. "How did you fail, Fuu, how?" she demanded, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm scared; I don't want to go to the Floor. Tell Clef to wait for me, please."
"Umi-san?" Fuu whispered unbelievingly. How had they failed? As far as she knew, she hadn't even taken the test yet. There was no way, but then…what if it had simply weighed her heart and said her Will wasn't enough to complete the task? Was this all her fault? It had to be, Umi wouldn't come to her if it wasn't.
"Fuu, I don't want to make you guilty, I just…I'm scared Fuu, I'm scared."
"Umi-san, please, don't cry," Fuu begged gently. "We'll get you out, somehow. We will, Hikaru and Clef and I. We'll get you out, I promise."
Umi laughed through her tears and shook her head, "It's too late Fuu; Veneficus gave me my sentence today. I will go to the Floor until a replacement is born, and then I will train her, and then I will be Banished and go mad."
"No, Umi-san!" Fuu screamed as Umi disappeared into the darkness. She chased after her, refusing to let her go. "No! I didn't get to take the test Umi-san!" She had never failed a test in her life, and she wasn't going to say that she had failed this one. Not when so much was at stake.
"Don't chase me Fuu, it was just a dream," Umi murmured as she backed her way out of the dream that she had created.
"Don't say that!" Fuu shrieked. "It wasn't a dream! Umi-san, you need to be strong! We're going to save you, and we're going to save Alianore! I won't give up until we do! I won't fail this test!"
She ran into a light bulb, "Because I'm taking it now," she added in a soft voice, and the image that was Umi clarified and rushed upon her.
"Too clever," Umi, in a sexless voice grumbled, and Fuu grinned triumphantly.
"I won't let myself fail a test I haven't taken. I know that Umi needs us, and I won't let anyone stop us from saving her. I love her like a sister, and the Keepers need us just as greatly as she. We protect Cephiro, all of Cephiro."
"Very noble Wind Knight, thou will make a good Princess someday," and just as simply as that, the dream sequence ended, and Fuu jumped awake.
"What just happened?" she demanded while wiping tears away. Ferio crawled over to her, being careful not to disturb any of those still in trance and swiped them away for her.
"Fuu-chan!" Hikaru shouted happily and threw her arms around the Wind Knight.
"It tried to make me think that I'd already failed, but I knew I couldn't have," Fuu told them, and Hikaru laughed and nodded, pulling back from the hug.
"Of course not, Fuu-chan can't fail anything," she nodded promptly, scrounging a laugh from everyone before they all pulled back into reflective silence, wondering who would be the next to join them. All were thinking the same question, will we win?
"So this is what it's like to die," a voice stated calmly in his mind, and Blade leapt forward.
"No," he whispered, trying to throw his magic around her in lasso form to pull her back.
"Blade, let me go, you can't save me," she grumbled when his magic found her falling body and pulled her back to him.
"Shut up Alianore," he growled through tears. "I'm going to save you, and you're going to have to deal with it."
"Just let me be with him, Blade; he's been waiting for me."
His heart stopped, and for a second the rope faltered. Why shouldn't he let her go? If she wanted to be with her husband, it was only right, yet…that was thousands of years ago. How could he have known when he fell in love with her? Was it fair that he had given up his powers for her, knowing he would go mad just for a few spare seconds with her in his arms? None of it was fair, none of it was right, and he was damned if he was going to let her go. Tightening his magic on her, he pulled her closer and closer.
"Blade, don't be selfish," she snapped, but he refused to listen, only drew her closer and closer. "How many times do I need to tell you I can't love you? Now we're not Keepers, but it's no different than any of the times before, only for different reasons!"
Again, he stopped; his magic loosening. It would be so easy to let her fall; he was already sick with her words and the effort he was putting into keeping her alive. Why shouldn't he let her go, if she didn't love him?
But she does love you, and you know it, something in the core of his soul prodded, "You have a son," he told her, "a son that might want to get to know his mother now that he has a chance."
That struck a chord in him; she had a son. A son who'd spoken to him before, about a test that would be harder than he thought to keep his mind on his love. Then…
With the last of his energy, he pulled her body to the surface of consciousness, ready to throw up in the effort, spent completely, but knowing he did the right thing.
"Very well, former Keeper."
Blade coughed loudly, choking on his revulsion as he pulled himself to a sitting position from where he'd fainted in the Master Mage's study, "Alianore," he straightened, causing another coughing fit.
"It's all right," the Magic Knight of Wind soothed, wrapping her Healing Winds around him, so he could at least see straight. "She'll be okay as long as the other two get out of this all right."
"Other two?" Blade looked around and saw that everyone else was awake except for the Master Mage and the new Earth Knight. "It's terrible," he muttered, looking empathetically at Clef, who he knew was fighting his own battle.
"I know, but they're strong," Fuu smiled, and Blade was comforted by that smile, comforted enough that he could at least settle down enough to continue their waiting.
"I'm sorry, Earth Knight," Kirin appeared from his hiding spot in the woods, and Alliandre looked at him curiously.
"Sorry, about what?"
"Well, they're going to have to send you home now. There were never supposed to be four Knights."
"Home? Does that mean that we saved them?" Alliandre was filled with a sense of pride and fear when Kirin nodded.
"At some great sacrifice."
Now, that was interesting, "Sacrifice?"
The Unicorn came forward to nibble Alliandre's shirt gently, "You have to go home, so you won't upset the fragile balance, and I, well…I will fade away."
Alliandre's eyes flew open in surprise and horror, "What? That can't happen? You're part of Cephiro! You were born here! I understand if I have to go home, but…not you! You have to stay here! You can't fade away!"
Kirin's open green eyes pierced through her soul as he tried to explain, "I'm sorry, Earth Knight, things simply weren't meant to be this way. Perhaps, if you had failed instead, things would be different; there would only be three Knights then, but…the Water Knight is coming home, and Cephiro has no need of either of us any longer."
"If we had failed?" Alliandre thought of the possibilities. If they had failed, then she could stay here, with Ascot, in this beautiful land, with Kirin, and her new friends. She wouldn't have to go back to the orphanage, to the places of horror and a possible life of disaster. She would have everything she needed and wanted, if they had only failed. But…the pain in Hikaru and Fuu's eyes still haunted her. There were too many things that were wrong here for her to consider it beautiful, as long as there were the Punishments. It didn't seem right, but if she and Kirin were forced to sacrifice themselves for the greater good of Cephiro, it was only necessary, and she had pledged her life to Cephiro. Resolutely, she took Kirin's beautiful white head in her hands and smiled sadly, "I know, but I'm glad we didn't fail, Kirin. There is too much wrong in this system for me to regret destroying it. I'm glad we did, and I'm glad I got to know you and the others. I'm glad that I was even here for a moment; even if I won't remember it."
"Brave, and stubborn too, they were right in deeming you an Earth Knight," Kirin's voice completely changed, but Alliandre didn't have enough time to ask the question before she was falling through a rift in the magic. She landed promptly back in her own body, surrounded by questioning eyes.
"Did you pass?" Hikaru blurted out, and Alliandre smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, I think I did, no matter what that means."
"Gods, Umi, I thought I'd lost you," Clef choked, but Umi just continued to look at him, a growing expression of horror in her blue eyes.
"Clef, I didn't think you were coming back for me. You took so long; I didn't know what was going to happen with us. So I…I gave up on you."
"You what?" Clef's heart stopped beating. He took a deep breath and forced some semblance of moisture back into his mouth, "Well, I'm here now, here to take you home, where you belong."
"I can't go back," she said simply, turning away from him, her long blue hair whipping around her shoulders viciously. "I have duties, responsibilities."
"Don't be ridiculous," he snapped, growing frightened. "You don't owe these people anything Umi. You need to come back with me; you're free."
"I don't want to go back with you," she turned and met his eyes, turning his whole soul to ice. "Veneficus promised himself to me, and I accepted. I'm sorry Clef; you were too long."
"Veneficus?" the word barely made it out of his lips before the Keeper of Magic strolled through the door, planting a light kiss on his lover's forehead, making her giggle softly, and smile the same smile he thought was reserved for him. I saved her, I destroyed the Punishments so we could be together, and this is how she repays me? He couldn't describe the bitterness that began to boil in his heart, consuming soul and flesh alike. I can't believe that she would…I should have failed; I never should have come here. He was going to run from the room; he was going to turn his eyes away from her, but he couldn't. He couldn't leave her here; there was something in his heart, he guessed it was a piece of his love, that wouldn't let him allow Veneficus to win. He'd backed down from too many things in his life, for as much power as he had, he'd been a coward in too many situations, and he wasn't going to live to regret this one.
Seizing Umi in his arms, he kissed her passionately, trying to remind her of their love, and when she pulled away, unfazed, he knew that this wasn't his Umi, "You're not Umi," he stated flatly, and she cocked her head at him in a very Umi-esque way, but he wasn't convinced. "The Umi I knew would have waited, the Umi I knew would have been affected by that. The Umi I loved still loves me somewhere, and Cephiro be damned if I can't have her back. Do you hear me?" he looked Veneficus in the eyes, glowering intensely, and the Keeper of Magic laughed and faded away.
"Fine, Master Mage of Cephiro, fine, all thine Wills are strong, and thou has proved to be as strong as thy acclaim. Go now and retrieve your prize from the SacredVillage, and I will see to the others."
"No," Clef told the Will frankly, and it seemed taken aback, even in Umi's body. "I love Umi, and I'll be glad to have her in my arms again, but I didn't fight only for her, none of us did. I want to make sure you're going to treat the Keepers fairly."
"And what does thou propose, Mage?" the Will seemed almost amused, if an ageless, sexless, emotionless being could be amused.
"Let those who wish to stay in the Village stay, but let them come and go as they will. Destroy the Floor, let Banishment be more of a ceremony than a Punishment. If a Keeper can't handle his or her job he or she should be able to give it up, without fear of madness. Destroy the madness of the Keepers, and as for the rest of Cephiro, the Knights, the Prince, the Master Mage, we should be able to do as all the other civilians of Cephiro do – love in peace."
The Will of Cephiro in his lover's body sighed deeply, contemplating, chewing on the idea, then nodded, "Very well, Master Mage, wise man of Cephiro, this shall be granted. Now, leave me, and do not bother me again."
Growing anticipation rose in Clef's chest as he fell through the darkness, his magic snapping back onto him, a feeling of relief coming heavy upon him. And then, he was in his study again, met with a round of applause, hearty cheers and a more than a few tears. They were safe, the Keepers were free, and Umi was his again.