" But he's so young..." Enrique sat at the table with his head in his hands. Ray only sat across from him, looking shamefully at the wall.
A growl erupted from the blonds throat as he slammed his fists down onto the table. " They can't do this to him! Our job is to protect him, that was Tala's wish! Can they not see that?" He ended his statment in hopes of a responce.
Ray only stared at the wall, all the fear and concern for the boy in question was swirling in his golden eyes.
Blue eyes flashed everywhere else in the room. " He knows that! I'm almost positive Tala would have told him, of all people! But Kai is loyal! He wouldn't go telling the Council just because they threatened him. This doesn't make any sence!"
The raven haired boy let Enrique scream out his childish tantrum without giving him a glance. He was too lost in thought himself.
They had just recieved a message from a blood red osprey known as Dranzer. This creature, along with his family, had to be one of Kai's most valued gifts. Dranzer was only used to send off important messages; Enrique knew that better then Ray did.
The bird held a letter. The letter held a warning. The warning held an order.
The Council, a group of five men that seemed to have more control then the King did, had created a camp that all boys 10 and up had to attend. Problem being, Travis was still only seven. Council probably didn't know how to count how many years they'd been missing.
A war had broke out in the south, not too far from the kingdom, by a group of beings known as The Kotan Clan. With the lack of soldiers, the Council ordered the younger boys to be properly trained. Trained by the people that knew the best.
The message had been from the Council themselves, a letter that they still didn't know how they'd found out about Travis. How the letter got sent by Dranzer was another question all toghter. To add onto their confusion, a second letter came with the bird. One written from Kai himself. It was a warning about the current status for the boys future.
Kai had stated perfectly in his letter that it would be best for Travis to come to the camp. He'd be under Kai's observation, so Tala's wish would stay granted. Travis would learn about the military and about the ways of war. That made Ray's heart feel like it'd bee ripped out all over again at the thought of one large detail. Kai didn't know about Travis' gift.
Over the past few years he'd grown, Travis had developed two new powers. Along with what they, meaning him and Enrique, called the Power of Life, Travis had gained the Power of Water and Earth. Earth at his thumb, much like the saying having a green thumb. The flow of Water was binded into his middle finger and all three were refusing to leave.
Ray shook his head as it started to throb from Enrique's shouts. When Ray finally managed to lock eyes with him, he gave the blond an uneasy glance and then waved at him to sit. He obeyed and kept his mouth shut.
" How are we going to tell him?" Was the blond's final comment.
.:VWV:.
" Come now, Travis. If you stay out any longer, your uncles will get dreadfully worried!" Mathilda pulled at the young boys ear lob in a sad attempt to get the stubborn boy home.
The red head's lips curved into a small smile as he ducked under a thick tree branch. " This will only take a minute, Mathilda. No need to fret. I'll be back before they even notice I'm gone."
Mathilda flew inches before his face and gave him a hard look. " You have to be the most stubborn boy I've ever meet."
Travis rose a finger and pushed it into her stomach, causing the poor fairy to nearly lose her ladtitude. He smiled handsomly. " Not to mention the only boy you've ever met."
Mathilda tried her best to scowl him but ended up smiling inside. " That's not fair!" She giggled. " It's that smiles fault!"
" Always is!" Travis grinned as he pushed back a brush of dead branches and peered out. " Were here."
Mathilda flew past him a ways and her jaw fell open. Her eyes suddenly gleamed and she let out a dreamy sigh, her chin in her hands. " This is such a romantic spot!"
Indeed it did have a romantic touch to it. The sun was low in the sky, causing the clouds to burn with the red intensity of the glowing orb. The land before them slopped down to a very steep cliff, the bottom was not visible. On the other side of the earth's edge, huge, healthy evergreens burst out of the ground and the grass below had a faint fog resting over it's blades. The whole place seemed to glow in joy for the night.
Travis just stood in silence, a smile apon his face as he gazed over the sight before him. Mathilda could hardly believe her eyes. She just hovered in the same spot, her eyes nearly bulging out of her head.
" Oh wow, Travis." She muttered and turned to him, his eyes on the decending light. " How did you ever find such a beautiful place!"
He turned to her, his own brown eyes were glowing with the fire of the sun. " I didn't. My memory did."
Mathilda's over joyment left her instantly. " Your ... memory!"
Travis titled his head to the side and looked back to the sky as he laughed. " I'm not too sure if it's even my memory that lead me here. I think it belonged to someone else."
Mathilda blinked at him, then smiled. " Travis, your talking nonsence again."
" Am I!" Travis felt a slight blush tumble across his cheeks. He bowed his head slighty. " I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ramble on like that. Again. It's just..." He gave the sky a side glance, his eyes catching the first start through the still red sky. He shook his head and smiled at her. " It's nothing. Shall we go now?" He extended a hand towards her.
Mathilda studied his facial expression. It was cheerful but his eyes held so much confusion and mystery. She really hated that look. It was the same look everyday. The odd time his eyes would hold great happiness, but the rest, he seemed lost and confused. He never seemed truly ... there.
Mathilda passed him a smile and nodded, flying into the palm of his gloved hand. " Let's go."
.:VWV:.
" The Bowls of Blood?" Tala blinked.
An unknown man nodded before him. " That's right. Legend has it that deep in the Cavern of Time, lies the chamber of The Bowls of Blood. There are three of them to be exact. Each bowl for a different time. One for the past, present and one for even the future. Such a popular legend, but only a selected few can enter. But it is worth a shot if you would like to regain your past, no?"
Tala only nodded his agreement. When his fustration had finally gotten to him, he'd stopped off at a local village to see if anybody could help him out. So far, it seemed the only person who wanted to was a bartender at a pub hidden away from the big crowd of the street. Bad for buisness was the mans reason. Tala didn't really understand.
" Is there more?" Tala finally questioned.
The man blinked. " To the legend? But of course! The Bowls of Blood are a very sacred place, so it is hidden away. Some say that it doesn't even exist in this dimension. That because it is a relic of time, it never stays in the same spot twice. It's constantly moving. Personally I believe it was the Gods choice to hide it. If only a certain few can enter, then if they'd have found it themselves, you'd think it gives them move reason to enter the Cavern, does it not?"
What Tala's paitents didn't understand was why this man was asking him the questions. He didn't know! That's why he'd come here in the first place!
As the man continued to tell the legend to him, Tala couldn't help but barely listen. The journey would be a difficult one, that he could tell. He'd most likely be severly injured or maybe even die ... but he'd escaped death once, why could he not do it again? Besides, he really didn't have anyone or anything to live for ... everything was ... gone.
" According to any wise man that might tell you this story," The bartender continued, earning back Tala's attention. " You can only go in once. Once and that is your time for life. You can only choose one Bowl and you can only ask it one question. Choose wisely, my friend."
Tala blinked, giving a few moments for that information to sink in. He bowed his thanks and started to leave. The bartender called to him and Tala stopped. " You can't leave yet!" He snapped.
Tala whirled around and gave him a confused look. " Why not!"
The bartender suddenly smiled, pushing a mug of light brown liquid towards him. " You haven't had a drink yet. On the house, my friend, on the house."
Tala was about to refuse when the man motioned for him to sit. " You'll need your strengh for this journey, boy. Why not have a drink while your at it?"
Tala glanced towards the door then slipped into the chair. " I guess one wouldn't hurt."
As night fell, one turned into two, two into five and soon Tala had too much for the average man. Yet, he wasn't the least bit tipsy.
" You got the best steel stomach I've ever seen, there sweet lips." Somebody spoke, the woman's voice had a bit of a southern tip to it. Not much, but it was there.
Tala glanced to his side and something inside his heart cracked. The woman before him had long light blue hair that reached down to her waist; tied up in a tail on top of her head. A few loose strands graced her slighty tanned face and caused her pale green eyes to sparkle. Her top was a bunch of white bandages wrapped around her breasts, stopping just before her navel. She had an extremly small black skirt on, or at least Tala thought it was a skirt. Certainly didn't look like something decent at all. Her feet were bare and she had a spear in her right hand, which she now stood up against the bar counter.
She hopped up on it and sat down, observing Tala's roaming eyes with a smirk. " See something you like, darling?"
Tala instantly looked away. That something in his heart was pounding in his chest with painful jerks. He didn't like the feeling, it felt almost like guilt. But why?
The woman's smirk disappeared and she smiled. " Good. I thought you looked too cival to be one of these drunken street bums." She kicked her feet out and jumped onto the stool next to Tala. " Bunch of horney bastards that think they can get any girl they want. Do I look like some street slut to you? No! I didn't think so!"
Tala felt a smirk tug at his lips. Something about this woman's additude felt familier. He happened to like it.
" So since it doesn't look like your going anywhere, what's your name fella?" The girl questioned, her eyes held a bit of excitement and adventure.
" Tala Volkav." He stated plainly and picked up his mug, taking a swig.
The woman smirked at him, her eyes started to roam. " Well my names Aniko Chen, but you may call me Anko."
.:VWV:.
With every passing day, Alex felt a little more of her faith slipping away from her. The more she thought about it, the more she really did miss Tala. His eyes, his smile, his personailty, but mostly his stubborness towards her. She was even starting to miss the days he'd be yelling at her for some reason she couldn't recall. It's always end the same. She'd do something, Tala would catch her and give her a speech and she always managed to get out of it by using her best pouting face. Men are so easy to screw with.
What struck her just as hard, was her little boy. She only got to see him briefly, but she felt like she'd known him her whole life. She never even got to hold him ... not once ...
Alex felt tears poke at the corner of her eyes. She hated feeling pity for herself. She hated recieving it just as much. But she couldn't help it now. She had lost the only things that had ever meant something to her. She didn't even fight to keep them. All she felt was distress and now she felt anger. The rage bubbled up inside of her and she needed to release it. She couldn't.
Her anger was mainly towards how Travis might feel, Tala as well.
Tala was rather hard to predict, but she was nearly positive that he missed her. Or at least she really hoped he did. She hoped he loved her as much as she did him...
Then her thoughts turned to Travis. Her heart sunk completly at the very thought of the young boy who obviously wasn't that young anymore. She never wanted to have a child, but now that she had one, she felt that same motherly additude that she used to have with her many brothers.
' He must feel like I betrayed him.' Alex couldn't help but think. Her eyes roaming only on the rocky stones below her feet. ' What if I do find him? What will I say? Hi Travis, I'm your long lost mother that was supposivly dead but somebody mis-judged me. That doesn't sound right at all ...'
Alex felt something roll down her cheek, it tickled on the way down. Her hands swept across it and she observed the bubble on her finger tip.
Could this be? The one person who was never to show emotion ... was crying? Alex glared furiously at the tear and flicked it away carelessly. No. She would not crumble under the pressure of emotion. Of ... love.
She couldn't. She had to stay strong.
For them.
.:VWV:.
Worried brown eyes flickered from one end of the room to the other as her husband paced. " What is the matter?"
He ran his hand through his slate hair, chewing at the tip of his thumb in thought. He wore a blue and silver tunic with a pair of black breeches. A sword at his side, brown boots on his feet. No responce and he continued to pace. The red haired woman sat paitently, but soon got a bit irritated when she didn't get a responce from her partener. Getting up slowly, as not to shock the man, Salima strolled over to him and placed her hand on his, looking straight up into his eyes. His pacing stopped.
" What is wrong, Kai? You've been acting far more nervous ever since you sent Dranzer out. What troubles you?" She tried again.
Kai felt a growl of fustration escape his throat. He clamped his eyes shut, waiting for a while, while his breathing slowed down. He really didn't want to lash out at Salima. She didn't deserve his anger right now. She was only trying to help him.
" There is no way that the Council could have found out about Travis and the men. No one who knew about it would tell and anybody else who does know left with the boy to protect him!" Kai raised his voice to a level he didn't like to use around his wife.
She flinched a bit at the tone but recovered quickly. She grazed her fingers across Kai's clamps fists in an attempt to sooth him. His grip relaxed a bit. " I wonder the same thing as you but we cannot recieve answers to questions we do not understand."
Kai sent his scowl to the floor. " You speak in riddles."
That sent Salima into a smile. That was Kai for you, always managing to throw in his opinion. She seemed to count on it whenever she spoke with him. She bent sideways to lock her gaze with Kai's once more. It was filled with so much anger that it was hard to keep eye contact. An angrey Kai wasn't the best thing to have.
Salima went onto her toes and kissed him lightly on the cheek. That seemed to snap him out of his anger faze. A bit. She laced her fingers with Kai's as she continued to keep his gaze locked with hers.
" You'll find the answers. You will. In the mean time, just try and get some sleep." Her hand cupped his cheek affectionatly. She smiled a bit more. " I don't want to be the one having to put up with your sour morning additude."
Kai chuckled at that. He bent down until they were touching, nose to nose. " I'll try my best. Though I doubt I'll be coming to bed tonight." His smile faded.
Salima rubbed her cheek against his. " You don't have to. But if you don't sleep, I'll have the boys lock you in the shed tommorow morning until you lighten up."
Kai smirked at that and cupped Salima's chin gentilly. He gave her a small smile and a gentil kiss. " You always know how to make me smile."
Salima grinned at that and kissed him back. " I try my best. Though it's not hard to tease you."
Kai hugged her tightly and Salima just let him. She knew he was confused and full of anger, but she also knew that deep down, Kai was really hurt. Hurt that his new friend had died trying to save what he could, only to have it challenged seven years later.
' Everything will reveal itself in time, darling.' Was all Salima could think as Kai craddled her in his strong embrace. ' Just be paitent.'
.:VWV:.
Author's Note: WOW! O.o You people ask a LOT of questions! BUT I managed to come up with one answer to them all!
You'll just have to wait and see! Everything will reveal itself in time!
Thank you so much to the people that HAVE read AND reviewed this sequel so far! I'm glad to see that some of my WITL reviewers are still with me! 'grins' And thanx to the people who are too shy to leave a review! I know there has to be some of you out there! Review if you want! Trust me, I review pretty crazy myself! Surprised I haven't scared the authors yet! Haha
R&R THANKIES!