Hi everybody! Don't worry, I'm still here. This will be my last chapter for three weeks, but it should tide you over. It's kind of short, and not a lot happens, but don't fear, things are building up...
Edit: More perfectionisty stuff. Read on.
Chapter 7
Learning
"This is the front hall," Dilan said, gesturing with his arms as he spoke, "it is where members of the nobility and guests of honor are received. Servants and commoners are received one level below here. Notice the bright sheen of the wood panels in this room; this is architecture from…."
Both Xehanort and Braig were having difficulty listening to Dilan on the tour of the castle. Braig was bored out of his mind, while Xehanort, though interested, kept losing focus on Dilan's words. He kept thinking about his confrontation with Ansem. Had he been unfair to Ansem? Should he go apologize? Part of him thought so, but part of him wasn't sure.
Braig, on the other hand, while glad that Dilan was happy (he hadn't been himself since the Kayla incident) deeply regretted having come on the tour. Why had he volunteered to come, anyway? He lived in the castle; it wasn't as if he needed to hear about the architecture.
"Neither of you are listening to me, are you?"
It took both men a moment to realize that Dilan was addressing them. They exchanged looks, then said in unison:
"Yeah."
"Well, that's just great," Dilan said with a sigh. "Braig, you, at least, should know better. Why did you bother coming along anyway?"
He shrugged.
"Dunno. I thought it might be fun. But your idea of a tour," he waved a hand in front of his face, "it stinks, frankly."
Xehanort snickered in spite of himself. Dilan gave him a sharp look and he stifled it with a cough. Dilan turned back to Braig.
"You could at least help me," he complained, "that's what you're supposed to be doing, anyway."
"That's the best idea you've had all day, Dil-man!" Braig said brightly.
He slung an arm over Xehanort's shoulders and steered him towards the nearest staircase.
"I'll give you a real tour of the castle," he assured him, "Come on!"
Dilan ran after them.
"Braig, come back!"
"Um… could you let me go?" Xehanort said.
No one paid him any mind.
By the time they had run up the stairs, all three men were breathing hard. Braig released Xehanort.
"Okay… Braig…" Dilan panted, "What do you want?"
"I'm just gonna give Xeha here…"
Xehanort looked up.
"Xeha?" he said quizzically.
"Yeah. "Xehanort's" too long. I'm gonna call you 'Xeha.' "
"You can't just…"
"Quiet, Xeha. I'm talking. Anyway," he turned back to Dilan, "I'd like to give Xeha the tour."
Dilan raised his eyebrows.
"You…?" he said, "…give the tour?
"Yeah. Sure. Why not?"
"Because you're going to fill his head with garbage."
"I will not. Watch me."
Before Dilan could stop Braig, Xehanort was off on a whirlwind tour of Radiant Garden, one that was considerably… different… than Dilan's. Through Braig, he got to learn where Duchess So-and-so had been found kissing Duke Someone-or-other, where servant what's-his-face had been caught stealing doorknobs, and where Braig stored his booze, among other things. Luckily, Dilan was there to cut in with his own comments, and thus keep Xehanort's head from being filled with complete trash.
Despite these difficulties, Xehanort did manage to learn a bit about the castle. He learned that it had been built before recorded history. Ansem had discovered it upon the founding of Radiant Garden, and he had equipped it with his own inventions. The castle, and the village, received their electrical power from underground rivers, which were contained by a mixture of magical and technological power. Since the castle was extremely large, occupants of the castle moved about on open-air lifts. There were special rooms, called lift stops, where these lifts could be boarded, and they hung on magically generated cables, which resembled crisscrossing beams of light. Xehanort saw several lifts, but the trio did not need to board any that day.
The large castle was divided into three separate sections, and had multiple entrances and tunnels. The first section consisted of the middle floor, where most of the daily business of the castle was conducted. It housed the library, rooms for the nobility and other occupants of the castle, and Ansem's small study. Some occupants, such as the servants, were allowed in this section of the castle only.
The second section consisted of the castle's highest towers. This was where the political business of Radiant Garden was conducted. It contained the rooms where parliament met, Ansem's large, official laboratory, and a chapel and celebration room. It was in these last two rooms that important events such as feast days and coronations were held. From this second section, one could also get a magnificent view of the kingdom. Dilan and Braig informed Xehanort, much to his disappointment, that he was not allowed to visit the second section.
But Xehanort would probably not have known of the third section at all if the trio hadn't taken a wrong turn.
They had turned into a small lift stop. Like the others, it was a platform made of marble. The lift hung over its destination, and the section of the platform that opened onto it was blocked by a magical-powered barrier. Beside the lift was a small apparatus which, when touched, would both activate the lift and teleport whoever touched it onto it. Most lift stops had doors at either ends, but this one had only an elevator, and no door on the other end. And the floor below the elevator was very far away, since the cables disappeared into darkness. Braig scratched his head.
"Dead end," he said, "I guess we took a wrong turn."
Dilan and Braig moved to turn back, but Xehanort stopped them.
"What about the lift?"
Dilan turned back.
"Oh, that? That just leads to the basement."
"The basement?" asked Xehanort, "What's down there?"
"Nothing much," Dilan said, "It's where the levees that control the river are kept. Our power source is down there."
"Wow," Xehanort breathed, "Can we go?"
"Only workers are allowed down there. Besides, the control center is only one small part of the basement. There are also some empty, deserted rooms down there, places that have flooded and caved in. And tunnels."
"Tunnels?"
"Yes," said Dilan, "there's a veritable labyrinth of tunnels down there. Which is yet another reason not to go. If you work there, you know which tunnels to take, and you probably won't get lost, but if you don't know your way around…"
Braig drew a finger across his throat. Xehanort started.
"You'll get lost," Dilan explained, "and you may never find your way out."
Xehanort felt a shudder creep up his spine. Braig began to moan.
"Ooo…" he moaned ominously. "Ooo… Xeha, there are ghosts down there… ghosts…Oooo."
Dilan rolled his eyes.
"Really funny. Let's go."
The apprentices turned and left, but Xehanort didn't. He moved as close to the ledge as he could, and looked down into the dark, deep pit. His mind seemed to go blank, and he stared as if in a trance. Images seemed to dance in the darkness, images he could not quite place… and through it all, a dark voice seemed to call him down, down, down….
"Xeha!"
The spell was broken. Xehanort tore his eyes away from the darkness, and looked over at the door.
"Xeha!" Dilan called again, "Are you coming?"
"Ye… yes!" he stuttered, "Just a second!"
He took one last look at the dark pit, than he turned to follow Braig and Dilan.
ooo
"Ienzo, are you okay?" Elaeus asked him after the meeting.
The question came out of the blue. They had been walking, side by side, for awhile now, talking of things that they usually talked of, things that were perfectly normal, things that were safe. Than Elaeus had asked, and Ienzo knew that, somehow, Elaeus had discovered his secret. Not through poking or prying; those were not Elaeus' skills, but by that uncanny ability he had to know how Ienzo felt. It had always been so.
It took Ienzo time to answer the question, but Elaeus was patient. Elaeus waited. They kept walking.
"I am okay," Ienzo finally answered.
He smiled at his friend, the corners of his mouth drooping. A false smile.
"Why wouldn't I be okay?"
He said it faintly, as if he spoke to himself more than to his friend. Elaeus opened his mouth as if to speak, but closed it. He bit his lip, and they walked on.
It was not the same. There was uneasiness between them now, though it wasn't easily visible, not on the surface. Ienzo kept his head down more, and Elaeus talked less, but it was more than that.
Not telling Elaeus about the book, about his secret, pained Ienzo. He told Elaeus everything. Elaeus was his only friend; or had been.
'You didn't tell him about the library,' a voice in his head chastised.
No, he hadn't. But how could he? It was bizarre, embarrassing. Maddening.
'I'm not crazy,' Ienzo told his conscience.
Besides, he had a new friend now. The book. At last, he was learning new things. Things that none of the other apprentices knew, things that Ansem himself didn't know. Knowledge that was not kept in the library. Knowledge that was his, and his alone.
True, he didn't understand it all. The book told of the secrets of darkness, and of the heart, but the concepts were difficult ones, and the book was written in a halting, almost evasive style, as if the author feared the very secrets he or she had written down, and wished to avoid too much detail. But, Ienzo was determined to conquer these obstacles. He was determined to know, to understand.
He could not, would not, share his knowledge with Elaeus… or anybody else.
Thanks for reading and reviewing!
As I mentioned last week, I am going on vacation, so the story is taking a three week hiatus. I'll miss you all, and I can't wait to post Chapter 8 three weeks from now! I promise to work hard on it and the rest of the story! See you!
