Chapter Eighteen: For Whom the Letter Opens
Chihiro and Hikari walked swiftly to the Central Chamber; they had been summoned urgently by the king. Their faces and expressions grim nether talked to the other, in the shadows behind them a dark dragon lurked. His eyes were intent on the two dragons; he smiled as he focused his eyes on one. The one for whom the letter was addressed. A dark mist surrounded him, when it faded it revealed an empty patch of space were a dark dragon had once stood. Zeniba quickly joined the two friends as they walked towards the Central Chamber, "What do you think would have caused the Dragon King to summon us in great haste?"
"If he found where Haku and Yoshiro were located then he would have summoned us in great haste." Hikari curtly replied. "Though I don't think that was the reason why my father summoned us, I believe that the messenger that was sent for us said something about a dangerous item being found in the palace. I only hope that no one is hurt." Chihiro nodded as Hikari shared her feelings. Zeniba nodded, no one noticed a pair of red eyes watching them. A dark dragon hid in the shadows and watched the three with ever attentive eyes, he smiled she was still among her friends unaware of her future and the message that the letter concealed from unwelcome eyes. Hikari sensed a presence as they passed by the dragon, when she turned to look around she saw no one. Chiding herself for being so afraid she ran to join up with her friends.
The dark dragon smiled, glad that she had not noticed him. A mist of darkness swirled in front of him and a hooded figure stood in front of him. "Is she with them?" he asked.
The dragon bowed before his master and dutifully answered, "She is among them milord, I could sense her presence as she passed by. It seems that the other will also be present when the letter opens."
"That doesn't matter! As long as the one I want is there, the plan will work. The letter too will apply to the other; she too may have to make a decision. Go forth my servant and make sure that she does not leave." The hooded figure faded and into the darkness that had started to envelope him.
"Of course milord, I will do as you bid." The dragon murmured respectfully. His ruby eyes gleaming, he silently and secretly followed the trio.
When they arrived at the Central Chamber, Chihiro was surprised to see Sora standing next to her father. Both were extremely tense and Sora was holding a piece of plan white paper in her hand, when they arrived she set it down on a nearby table. "I am glad that you have arrived," the Dragon King announced, "Sora has found something and brought it to my attention. It may look like a simple letter, but Sora immediately found that she could not read it as no words appeared. This is a dangerous item, what it contains is hard to say, and I could only guess a handful of people for whom it may be addressed to."
"Hmm this is something that our enemies would do." Zeniba said thoughtfully. "Its purpose though unclear may have harmful effects upon us in general; I say that it would be best that we rid ourselves of it."
"Under normal circumstances I would of, but I need to know what the letter says. I believe that it may hold important clues as to what our enemy is planning."
"You are right milord." Zeniba said humbly.
"I wonder who it is addressed to." Chihiro wondered.
"I don't mean to frighten you," the Dragon King said tersely, "but it is very possible that you were meant to receive the letter."
"I know, knowing the Evil One he would most likely want to weaken me in some way so that he could access my powers."
"True, but perhaps is there another reason why the letter is sent? We don't even know if the Evil One actually sent this letter, it could be one of the dark dragons sending it to warn us about an attack that they plan on using latter." Hikari quickly pointed out.
"You have point my daughter," her father sighed, "now starts the difficult task of finding who it was addressed to and the purpose of this letter. It could be sent to any one of us, and there are a number of different reasons as to why it was sent in the first place. Though I am pretty sure that it is addressed to nether Sora or myself as I couldn't read what it said either." A dark dragon silently spied on their conversation, it was important that he relay the information to the Evil One as he would want to know.
"Father, have you ever considered that perhaps whoever left it here purposely left the letter here so that we could find it?" Sora questioned. "Perhaps the letter is a distraction so that they may carry out some wicked plan aimed at destroying us all."
"If that's the case then the attack should be going on now," Hikari thoughtfully answered, "though I don't hear any screaming and running that would prove that something was attacking."
"Perhaps the attack hasn't happened at the moment. Then again perhaps the attack is happening, but perhaps they are attacking a portion of the palace that is least inhabited. There is a large library located here, and few have traveled there. Many rare books and scrolls are located there; perhaps they wanted to learn more about the Dragon of Nature and his powers."
"Ah but you forget that the Evil One faced the Dragon of Nature in the final battle, so he should know about his powers. If anything he should be looking for powerful stones and other magical devices that would somehow serve his needs, whatever they may be." There was silence as everyone considered what information the letter might hold and what its purpose was. Sakura passed by the Central Chamber and was surprised to see that the Dragon King and a few others were inside. She frowned, something bad had obviously occurred. Swiftly and silently she walked down the hall towards her room.
Suddenly she stopped; she sensed it, the feeling like she was being watched by an evil force. She turned around but could see no one; her golden eyes expertly scanned the area and found movement within the shadows. Smiling she walked towards the corner between the wooden walls. She lightly felt the area; put to her surprise she felt the hard smooth wood beneath her fingers. Frustrated she walked away muttering to herself. I wonder if the Dragon King knows about his little "guest"? He probably doesn't, I should tell him. Though now would not be a good time, but what if it's too late. I should just watch to see what happens and then act if something bad happens. Sakura thought to herself.
She walked back and hid herself behind the screen door to both watch what was happening and listen to what was being said. Chihiro quietly spoke to her companions, "Both Sora and Hikari have a point, there may be more to this letter than it seems. I think we should first see if this letter was addressed to any one of us before we act."
"I don't think that would be a good idea." Zeniba told her. "Remember the letter could be used to somehow weaken one of us. The Evil One wants Chihiro's powers and will do everything within his powers to get to it that includes hurting one of us and forcing her to give up her powers."
"Yes and there is also a danger of other dangerous spells being woven into the letter," Sora reminded everyone, "I don't think that opening the letter is a good idea. At least not now, first we must make sure that there are no other spells besides the one protecting it that has be woven within the letter itself in some way. If we find it safe or if we manage to put some sort of spell that would block whatever spells were cast on it, then we should open it."
"I agree with you Sora," Hikari said calmly, "I wouldn't open it, and there's another reason. It may not be information that this letter holds but a portal to our very minds. The Evil One would gladly want to know our secrets so that he could weaken us or perhaps somehow take Chihiro's powers from her." Zeniba nodded, and Sora stared at her sister in surprise.
Chihiro looked around at her friends and angrily shouted, "What could there be to be afraid of? Sure there could be dangerous spells cast on the letter, but it our powers should be powerful enough to block and protect ourselves from its effects! If it does happen to be a mortal within our minds we could get some sort of object that could counter it and therefore protect us! I don't know what you're so scared about! If it was a normal letter you wouldn't be this scared, this letter is normal except for the fact that it has some sort of spell that only allows whoever it was addressed to open it. How do you know that it's not from the Evil One and perhaps from Haku or one of the others? Surely they would have the power and knowledge to create one of these, so just stop acting unreasonably!"
"Yes but still we have to be careful," Hikari told Chihiro, "all of us are curious as to what is in the letter, but we are currently in a situation that forces us to be careful. Spells are cast on items for a reason; if your grandmother sends you a letter she would not magically protect the letter unless it holds information that only you are to see. Because of the spell that was put on this letter and of the situation that we are currently in, we must be wary of it and the information it holds." Her father nodded approvingly at her words, they were said with both reason and thought.
"You're right Hikari, I was just impatient. Though I wonder, is there a way to see if the letter was sent by Haku or one of the others?"
"There are ways to see who this letter is from, though without the addressee of this particular letter it will be hard to find out who sent it. The methods used are both long and difficult so I wouldn't suggest them." Sora said grimly. The shadows behind them shifted to reveal the tip of a long thin black tail, though no one noticed it. The dark dragon quietly hissed with distaste and pulled its tail back into the cover of the shadows. Much could be said about those present, all of which his master would be pleased to hear. His eyes flickered like two small flames, his lips curled into a small grin. His front claws flexed instinctively in the darkness, waiting for the moment when he could leap forward into the light and reveal himself to all present and gloriously defeat his foes.
Be patient, the time will come soon. His master's voice reached him.
Of course milord, I will wait. There was no more to be said. Swirling eddies of darkness surrounded him, a faint red glow emerging from within them. Still no one noticed him, nor that the shadows were growing darker in the corner behind Chihiro. Such was their concentration on the mysterious letter and its purpose; such was the doom that they could not foresee.
"The purpose of the letter and who it is addressed to is unknown," the Dragon King reflected, "making it only more dangerous. The less you know about the enemy, the more dangerous he is to you. One of our wisest sayings, and it couldn't be truer in this situation. That is why we can not take the risk of seeing of one of us can open the letter, if this letter were to weaken either you or one of the others then woe be on us."
"Then what is there to do?" Chihiro thought. "If checking to see if the letter is addressed to one of us is too dangerous, than what can we do? Should we just destroy the letter or pretend it never existed?"
"Yes you are correct; there is a certain flaw in not opening the letter." Zeniba frowned. "What can we do? What should we do about the letter? I only wish this letter was not enchanted so that we may find out its true purpose and nature. "
"You are not the only one who wishes that," Hikari said wryly, "a situation that should have been simple to begin with has been magnified in proportions because of the fact that the letter itself is enchanted. That's the main barrier we are faced with, Chihiro is right if the letter wasn't enchanted this meeting and conversation would never have happen. Thought perhaps we should be thankful that the letter was enchanted, for if it wasn't it would do damage that no one would know about."
Sora nodded, "Perhaps we should open the letter, but with caution." The others nodded, and agreement had been reached. Silently she walked over to the table that held the letter and picked up the crisp white sheet of paper.
In his shadowy retreat, the dark dragon watched with eager eyes. It was to happen and soon. Be patient it will be soon. His master reminded him again. He nodded, fangs sharpened to small points were revealed as he smiled. Sakura, who had listened to their conversation, could only stare in shock as she watched Sora walk towards the letter. She screamed inside her mind, No Sora don't open it! It's too dangerous! It took all of her willpower to force herself from screaming out.
Everyone crowded around the letter. Sora quietly spoke, "Well this is the letter that I found. It's not much, but be careful. Remember what we discussed." Suddenly the letter started to spin, its pale white sheet now a blur of a rapidly spinning circle.
The dark dragon crouched, and waited soon he would reveal himself. Now! The order came from his master. Snarling, he rushed forward his claws outstretched and his red eyes glowing with a fearful light. His dark black aura covered him like a thin black cloak.
Hikari and Chihiro turned to see the dragon rushing towards them. They shouted to warn the others, everyone's attention was quickly diverted from the spinning letter to the oncoming threat. The letter started to slow, but no one noticed because of the dragon that was swiftly running towards them.
Thinking quickly, Sora created a wall of water strong enough to block themselves from the dark dragon. Everyone looked back at the letter, Hikari felt uncomfortable as she looked at the letter. Chihiro thought she was going to choke. Sora felt like she was about to scream, but for some reason it remained firmly lodged within her throat. She was instantly reminded of a time long ago when a dark dragon approached her and her and brothers. Of the things that she had seen, and the horror that she had felt when she saw those things.
The letter was pointing to her, but slowly it turned and when it finally stopped it was facing her sister Hikari. With trembling hands, Hikari picked up the letter and began to read what it said.