Chapter 6: The Next Steps
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The heroes led the two children back down to the first floor, carrying more than they had hiked up the stairs with. Clutched carefully in his small hands, Zizi was carrying a spiked, garish-looking crown of silver and gold, covered in sparkling gems that couldn't distract from the obsidian talisman among them. Marlie had a cooing toddler on her hip, and was silently marveling at how many children had been hiding in that closet for so long. They had been guarding a small arsenal there, too: a pair of magic stones, pulsing with power, and the familiar sword Alanis had stolen from her father. Norriss had the stones safe in his pocket, and the sword in his hand, both pleased and saddened to finally return it to its rightful owner.
Meanwhile, Vivi had found the courage to cheer up, or pretend to be cheered up, and was bouncing along between Allun and Marlie, regaling them with tales of the adventures she had shared with their son. Carrying a strange box in her arms, she seemed to be hovering as close to them as possible, nearly clinging to them; she had grown so close to Forley and clearly missed him so much, it wasn't surprising.
When they reached the first floor, they immediately saw Annad in the kitchen doorway, warily watching the street through the main room's broken windows while she waited for them. Seeing them all return at last, she breathed a sigh of relief and beckoned them urgently to join her.
"There you all are," she greeted, smiling at the children who plainly didn't recognize her. "We heard yelling up there, and wondered what you were up to. Hurry into the kitchen. Both of you, go on and meet the rest of us. We don't bite, I promise."
As they shooed the children into the kitchen, Annad grabbed her brother's arm and pulled him aside suddenly.
"I've... Learned a lot, just now," she said in a hushed voice. "Ofelia has calmed down a bit, and she's been very insightful. The whole city has been put on lock down, it seems. That's why it's so quiet, and why the gray monsters are posted on every street corner. They've been given direct orders to attack anything that moves or makes too much noise. We heard all that ruckus upstairs just as Ofelia was explaining it, which is why I've been watching for a sign that someone is coming for us."
Rowan frowned. "How does such an order make its way around such a big city so fast?" he wondered.
"Something about a radio," Annad shrugged. "I don't know what that is, but something 'on' it was 'broadcast', and the whole city learned of it at once. Ofelia saw some people dare to test it on her way to the wall, and..." She grimaced and looked away, refusing to finish.
"Now would be the time for angry people to rise up, raise their voices, and fight back," Rowan agreed, shaking his head. "Zadina wants these people to revel in the rebellion's defeat. She wants them to sit in the silence, and think on what happens to those who defy her will – or, rather, her master's will. She's thought of everything."
A sorrowful silence passed between them as they thought of how awful it all was. Then Annad cleared her throat and showed him something in her hand. It was a thick, leather-bound book, slightly worn with loving use. For half a moment, it reminded Rowan of Star's notebooks. As he looked at it, it reminded him of her more and more. With a pang in his heart, he assumed it must have hers.
"Ofelia brought this with her, intending to show you right away; but then she was distracted with the rest of us, and it slipped her mind," Annad explained, shattering his assumption. "I flipped through it, just now... You will want to take a look at it. See what jumps out at you. I think you'll be surprised."
Wondering very much what it was all about, Rowan flipped to the first page and felt his heart stop.
"One morning the people of Rin woke to find that the stream that flowed down the Mountain and through their village had slowed to a trickle..."
He looked up and stared at his sister, unable to believe what he was holding in his hands.
"Annad, this is the book!"
"Yes, I know, I can read."
"And its finished," he went on, flipping farther through it and marveling at how tidy the work was. It must have been done by a legendary printing press, for the lettering was all perfect, exactly the same from page to page, and all the margins were rigidly exact. The pages had been stitched together and bound with amazing skill, perhaps the work of a master craftsman. The cover lacked a title, perhaps out of secrecy; but the leather had been stamped and etched with shapes and beautiful patterns. His whole tale was there, and it was perfect – just the way Star had always dreamed it would be.
"And there are thousands of them," Annad went on, shocking her brother even further. "Thousands exactly like it, all over the city. Star brought it with her and showed it to her friends, who wanted to show it to their friends, who wanted to show it to their friends – you know how it goes. Everyone in Habaharan has read it, or heard it, or otherwise knows your entire story."
Rowan pinned her with a look. "...Come on."
"Ofelia says that your story inspired the rebels to action, and the people with them. She says its the reason why nearly half of the city joined in the first year. I know you dislike it, Rowan, but you have to face it. You're not just famous any more – you're a celebrity. All seven of us are. Its why Ofelia was so shocked to meet us before."
The dazzled look the woman had met them with suddenly made perfect sense. She hadn't just come to find the father of a beloved friend. She hadn't even come expecting to confront a Titan with truly frightening power. She had come to meet a personal hero, who had inspired so much in her, on whom she had pinned all the hope she had left.
And so it would be, he realized, with every Zebak who happened to see him while he was there. Aside from his pale skin and brown eyes standing out among them, many of them knew and loved his daughter, who still looked just like him. They would know him at once, and run in masses to him for comfort and help. He hated standing out and drawing attention to himself on the best days. The thought of thousands of beaten, desperate people flocking after him suddenly terrified him more than anything else.
Seeing the anxiety in his eyes for what it was, Annad smiled and punched his arm. "On the positive side, you've already inspired the Zebak to great things, and you weren't even here. Think of what they could do, once they realize you are here! And with a shiny new Titan of their own for them, too. Not to mention what they will do when they find out that Allun is back; I've heard he is something of a favorite, maybe even more famous than you, if its possible."
She placed a hand on his shoulder and faced him seriously. "We left Rin with a clear mission, and its changed and changed again since then. Perhaps it is changing once more. We came to rescue our family, but I believe that our presence alone could help turn the tide of this fight. One man with a stone in hand and nothing left to lose can still win the day, if he has a reason."
That was an uplifting idea. "These people certainly don't have much left to be lost. Let's give them a reason, if we can."
Satisfied with that, they turned back into the kitchen. Then it was Rowan's turn to grab his sister by the arm, stopping her in her tracks.
"Let's not tell John, just yet," he suggested. "He's already at his wits end with all these changes in plan. He will smack us both."
"Well, obviously," she agreed. Plainly, she had never planned on telling their step-father anything until it was too late to go back.
In the kitchen, the whole gathering had clustered around the battered table to watch in fascination as Ofelia fiddled with the box Vivi had brought. She was turning metal knobs and pressing tiny buttons, and an irritating, crackling sound was humming out of it. Ofelia was frowning over it, and Vivi was looking disappointed.
"You see? It's busted," the girl was saying. "It's been doing that for hours."
Zizi wilted against her. "I wish Leah was – I wish she was here," he sniffled. "She'd know how to – she'd know what to do. She'd fix it."
"Ane, not busted," Ofelia insisted. "The signals are all down. The towers are all dead. We're not getting any news at this rate. There's no news, anyway; it's all the same..."
The woman huffed in sad annoyance and shoved the thing away, running her fingers through her hair in frustration. "We will leave it on, for now. When we get a signal again, we will know right away. For now, all we get is this. Ishk..."
The crackling noise went on and on from the box, setting everyone's teeth on edge. With some reluctance, Ofelia turned another knob and the noise suddenly became less, though it didn't go away completely. His eyes wide, Norriss picked it up and turned it all over, trying to figure it out.
"What is this thing, anyway?" he wondered. "What does it do, exactly, aside from make that awful noise?"
"Ane, ane, leave that be," Ofelia said briskly, waving away his curiosity. "It doesn't matter now. So... Here you are, in our city – which is busted, by the way. What happens next? Where is your plan? Please tell me you know what you will do next."
The seven looked between themselves, with far more uncertainty than their hosts would have liked.
"We had a plan when we left our village," John grumbled, glancing at his step-children. "It was formed in an hour's haste; but for what it was, it was a good and reasonable one. I'm afraid it changed the moment we landed on your shores."
"So much the better," Shaaran interrupted before he could go on complaining. "Our only clear goal in the first place was to find Zizi, which we have done. It was the only thing we knew for sure we could do, because he could lead us. Everything else we meant to do had to come later."
Now John turned to stare at her, perhaps marveling at how the small, slim woman was so good at arguing with him today. "I don't recall any of us agreeing on that. Our goal was to find and free our family."
Norriss snorted and set the radio aside. "And how had you planned to do that, when we had no map, no guide, and no knowledge of this city? We know where our family is, certainly – they are in the Central Dungeon, decidedly one of the worst places in this city to be. But we don't know where that is, or how to get there, or how to get inside if we do manage to find it."
"Surely," Marlie continued, "you hadn't planned to run around in broad daylight hoping to just chance across the place. That would be absurd, even if there weren't monsters posted on every corner. Focus is one thing, John, and we are all impatient just now; but blind force won't help us here."
Vivi tapped her arm, beaming with an idea. "If its a map you need, I've got tons of them," she supplied. "I borrowed whole bunches of books from the library, full of maps and all kinds of stuff. I'm pretty sure I copied all of them, when I made my brilliant plan. And they all survived! I've got them upstairs. I'll share with you, if you want."
Marlie smiled back and clasped the girl's hand. "We would like that very much. Thank you, Vivi."
Without excusing herself, Vivi sprinted back the way she had come and could be heard clattering back up the stairs. It was good to see her back to her usual self; but the silence she left behind was uneasy, and Rowan didn't care for it. As he looked over his friends, they were still upset and refusing to look at each other. Zizi had shrunk nervously against him, and Ofelia was drumming her fingers on the table.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you like this," he said slowly to his new friends. "I know you must have been expecting wonders, or at least something a little more organized."
Ofelia shrugged listlessly. "I don't know what I was expecting," she answered. "Knowing you cared enough to come at all was enough for me. If anyone should be sorry, it is me."
Allun shook his head and sat beside her. "Don't say that, good woman. None of this is your fault. Anyway, we are unused to having real plans. We usually just figure things out as we go along, one step at a time. It's always a closer call than we would like, but we always pull through in the end. Isn't that right, friends?"
While the rest of them hummed over that truth, Ofelia nodded in understanding. "Yes, I've seen that. Not like my Zamiel, not at all. He makes all his plans in the beginning, only for his brother and your son to blast it to pieces. Oh, he hates it when they do that... But they always pull through, just like you."
Rowan felt Zizi nudging him, and looked down to find him making a face. "What about our – the plan we made? The brothers and me? We made a – we made a plan, too. You told us to! What about our plan?"
"Ah, yes, I did ask the three of you to do that, didn't I," Rowan agreed. "In all the excitement, it slipped my mind a bit. Go on, Zizi, tell us what you lot have come up with."
"Well, it's kind of – a little bit my idea. But Doss said we should – "
Rowan had to hold up his hand to stop the child. "The Keeper," he corrected. "You have to call him the Keeper with other people."
Zizi tilted his head to one side. "Why?"
"It's just the way it must be done."
"That's dumb."
"Zizi, just tell us the plan."
The boy pouted a bit and said, "The Keeper said he liked – he liked my idea with the – with the pirates. That they could – they can help us. He said he was sure – real sure. He says you've got to – you have to go right there and – you've got to meet them. Keids will like you. He'll help you."
"That could be difficult, Zizi. Hopefully, we'll have our family and yours with us by the time we leave the dungeon, and the pirates' den is a long way from there. I don't know if we can hide so many people for so long."
"Oh, you don't – you don't have to. There's a way from there. From the dungeon. On the inside."
"...Is that so?"
"It sure is. Vivi showed me. It's in her – she's got a map. She found it in her books when she was – she was making a plan to go in the – inside the palace. She said it's funny, 'cause we didn't – it was right there all the – the whole time I was there, and we didn't even – we had no idea. And she laughed and laughed, but Zan was just – he was so mad."
That was one problem solved. Rowan couldn't help laughing, himself. "I suppose I would be mad, too. Well, then, if the Titan of Water feels so strongly about these pirates, I don't see how we have much of a choice."
"It will be a warm welcome, too, I shouldn't wonder," Allun agreed. "From what we understand, their leader is something of an admirer of ours. I can't imagine we'd have to beat his door down trying to get in."
"That is all good and well," John said tensely. "But while we are so keen on maps and guides, how will we find our way to his den once we are down there? Above ground or below, its still a long journey with a large company, and we know those sewers less than we know the city streets."
To this, Marlie puffed out her chest with great pride. "Forley has been there numerous times. Vivi said he makes the journey often and knows the way as well as she does. Once you get him back, he will be your guide."
"Perhaps. What if we can't get him back?"
Marlie's face darkened at once. She looked ready to strangle him, and Rowan couldn't be sure if he would stop her or not.
"Then we will bring one of Vivi's maps with us, or else ask for directions," he cut in before they could start fighting. "And you will not speak a word to anyone, if I can help it. Why on earth would you say something like that at a time like this?"
And so everyone was enormously relieved that Vivi came running back into the kitchen, her arms loaded with stacks and rolls of loose paper.
"I'm back, and I brought my maps," she announced, dumping the load onto the table. "Every single one of them. Just look at them all! Each one, a work of art. There's got to be something here you can use."
The whole gathering began leafing through the papers, amazed at how much information they suddenly had. Every map appeared to have been traced exactly from a page in a book, with Vivi's badly written notes to herself in the margins. While Rowan searched for a map of the Central Dungeon, he watched his sister snatch a stack of papers and flip through them with an appetite.
"Oh, this is a gold mine," she sang to herself, sitting down to study those papers properly. "Now we can get down to business."
Whatever she saw in that stack, the maps mostly looked alike to Rowan. He had no idea what he was looking at, one to the next. And it was clear that the others were having about as much luck making sense of it all. After another moment of sorting uselessly through all them, Shaaran set a few aside in a tidy stack and waved for Vivi's attention.
"Zizi mentioned one map in particular," she said. "One of the Central Dungeon, with a way into the sewers. He said you showed him once. Is it here?"
"Oh, that one. Why didn't you say so?" Vivi answered, picking a rolled parchment out of the pile and handing it to Marlie. "It's right here. Oh, I'd know it anywhere. You can see where Zan crumpled it up and threw it at the wall, see?"
With one hand, Marlie unrolled the battered paper and held it up for the rest to see. It showed a maze of corridors, prison cells, and doorways leading upward to the first floor of the palace. In each of the top corners and in the middle of dungeon's main hallway, a tiny symbol had been circled several times and surrounded by exclamation points.
"You see that?" Vivi said, pointing to the symbols. "Those are manholes. They lead down into the sewers from the street. I had no idea they were in the dungeon, too. Don't ask me why they're there, okay? It seems dumb to me. It's a perfect escape!"
"Indeed, it is," Marlie agreed. "More perfect than anyone could ever have guessed. Do you have maps of the sewers, too?"
Vivi looked at her quizzically and shrugged. "Why would I need that?"
Marie frowned and rolled the map up again – only to turn sharply and smack John over the head with it.
"Now you see, you must get my son back," she scolded as he shrank away in shame. "You must find him, or else you will have no guide, and you will be lost forever in that reeking maze, and you'll have no one to blame but yourself."
"Yeah, you'd better bring Forley back," Vivi agreed, ferocious at the idea that he might not. "If you don't, I'll have to bite you."
Marlie huffed and glanced at the girl with great approval. "I think we will both have to bite him, then."
For a moment, Vivi looked surprised. Then a devilish grin spread over her face, and deep admiration sparkled in her eyes. "I like you."
"I think I can piece together a route to the place from here," Annad said without looking up from her own stack of maps. "If I look hard at some of these, I can see where the streets connect. Vivi, why so many maps of the city, exactly? Surely, you know these streets as well as anyone else around here."
"I just needed to double check, I guess," the girl answered carelessly. "Most of the sewers match the streets, but some of them don't. And I had to find the tunnels that led under the palace, so I could sneak in and out. I had to be extra special careful last night, like the Crusaders and the squad taught me."
It was enough to tear Annad's gaze from her maps, and she smiled. "Then they will be very proud of you, I think. And its certainly a blessing to us now. The problem of finding our way around has been nagging at me from the beginning, but we all knew there was no way to deal with that until much later. I had expected to have to hunt for books and charts; and if I'm honest, the time and caution I thought it would take worried me terribly. I can't even tell you how much time you've saved us, Vivi. The difference its made could save countless lives."
Vivi blinked in amazement, then furrowed her brow at the floor in thought. Rowan still wasn't completely sure what she had planned so carefully for – an adventure of some sort, he had heard, but no one had stopped to explain it. Time had been so short and the mission so urgent, Zizi hadn't even mentioned it. However, as he pieced what little he did know together, it began to come into focus. An adventure. Maps showing the way to the palace. Zizi's sudden possession of the diadem.
It was all connected, he realized. For whatever reason, Vivi's original intent had been to steal the diadem. A frightening objective for anyone, and normally impossible. And she had succeeded, somehow, though she certainly hadn't planned for it all to end quite like this. Not only had her thoroughness and utter madness given the Zebak a true Titan again, it had given others the means to help them.
Perhaps it had begun as selfishness, from her instincts as a former thief to rob the rich of their valuables. Perhaps she had been trying to prove herself somehow, to the pirates who had raised her, or to the new family who doted on her. Seeing what sort of person she was, perhaps she had simply craved a challenge and a load of mischief. Perhaps it had been a little of all those reasons at once. Whatever it had been, it had certainly never crossed her mind that all her hard work could be used by her heroes to rescue other people. It was no wonder she looked so humbled, all at once.
The idea cheered Rowan greatly, and he smiled to himself. And here I was, thinking I was supposed to do something amazing, he thought. If not for Vivi and her maps, there wouldn't be much we could do at all. Zizi would never have become Titan, and there would have been no one to reach out to us in the first place. If anyone has saved these people, it might be this ragged little girl from the slums.
And so it was that the whole gathering began pouring through the maps once again, this time with a clear purpose. There were so many maps, it would have been senseless to try and bring them all. Ofelia had pulled the broken stub of a stylus from her pocket to scribble directions on the back of the map of the Central Dungeon, perhaps the most important of all. Putting the maps of the city in their proper places, the fastest way to the dungeon was slowly picked out and written down on the only one worth bringing along.
"Cella Way, Hazel Street, Flora Avenue," Annad read from those directions. "All the streets are named like this. Is it like this for the whole city?"
Ofelia raised an eyebrow at her. "Of course they are. Why wouldn't they be?" Then her golden eyes widened in understanding. "Your people don't do that?"
Norriss shook his head. "I've been trying to convince them to do so for years. Every other year or so I bring it up again; if our village keeps growing as it is, it will eventually become necessary. But they are so used to learning our streets by memory, as they have done for nearly four hundred years, and can't see the use of it. Mostly, they just laugh at me."
"Afraid of anything different, as always," his wife added, disgusted and annoyed. "'What devilry is such nonsense?'" she continued, mocking her own countrymen. "'Oh, the Zebak do that. It must be an evil virus of the dark arts! It will bring us to ruin! Let us never change a single thing, ever!'"
"Your impression of Bronden is coming along swimmingly, dear," Allun laughed, looking over the completed directions. "All that said, it appears that our course has been laid neatly at our feet. We are all armed and supplied as best we can possibly be, just now. The dungeon itself will have to be dealt with one step at a time, but the map of the place is straightforward enough. We have our escape route, and – all being well – we will be able to find our way to the pirates' den easily. It would seem that everything is on order. What's left?"
"The matter of our navigating the streets safely," John answered right away. "Rowan, are you well enough to cloak us again?"
"I think so, if I could find a few minutes to sit and rest," he said slowly, thinking it over carefully. "But not invisibility and silence both. It will have to be one or the other, this time. And..."
He looked over his companions, considered his own strength, and sighed heavily. "I can't keep so many people hidden for so long, and still be strong enough to face the dungeon. I don't think I can handle more than four of us for this mission."
His six companions looked between each other, seeing that a difficult decision would have to be made. They didn't like having to separate like this, when they had expected to be together through thick and thin. But Allun straightened himself and held out his hands in peace.
"It is probably for the best," he said evenly. "A small party can go faster and more quietly, and ours is doomed to become large quickly. And let's not forget the power of fours in the past. We've always been most effective in that number. It only makes sense that we travel as four today."
"So it comes to this again," Norriss agreed. "Then all that's left is to decide who goes and who stays."
"I will stay," Shaaran volunteered, nearly before her brother had finished speaking. "I've never been much of a fighter, and would only slow you down. And my only weapon is a bow; I can't imagine it will be of much use at such close range."
Marlie hummed at this, glancing at the bow over her own shoulder, and hoisted the toddler more comfortably on her hip. "In that case, I should stay, also. Besides, there are small children here who need looking after. It isn't fair to leave you and Ofelia to keep them out of trouble by yourselves."
Shaaran and Ofelia didn't appear to have considered this; but thinking of it, they looked very relieved. Vivi and Zizi both seemed to appreciate the woman's trusty presence. The toddler had nothing to add, simply yawning and resting his head on her shoulder.
Rowan looked at Annad, who was still pouring over the maps even though their directions were written down. She was tracing the streets with her finger and pointing out landmarks to herself, and didn't seem to be paying attention to their discussion at all. He knew her better than that, though, and could tell that she was thinking hard.
"What are you thinking about, sister?" he asked.
"I'm thinking exactly what I said before: these maps are a gold mine," she said. "Here in the slums, the debris could be set up to form a sturdy barricade. Over here, there's a reasonable high ground, a sensible place for a last stand. And over here, near the wall, there are cannons and ammunition."
She looked up slowly and faced him with regret in her eyes. "This makes sense to me, Rowan. I could do something with all this, but I need more time to put it together. I wish I could go with you, into glorious battle, to free and rescue these people as I've always wanted to... But I'm needed here."
He couldn't imagine how it must have pained her to admit this. He supposed she felt that she was letting him down, somehow. He reached across the table and gripped her hand in his.
"If you are needed here, then you should be here. Stay and do something with all this, then. We can all come home to the next step of the plan ready and waiting for us. Thank you."
She squeezed his hand and smiled faintly. It was only a small gesture, but he could see that a burden had been lifted from her.
"And that would seem to leave the four of us," he concluded, not at all displeased to find himself left with John, Norriss, and Allun. Three of the people he was closest to and trusted most. The three of them didn't look unhappy about this arrangement, either. Deep magic, a cool head, an understanding of foreign ways, and a strong arm. They made a good team for this mission.
"In that case, we have little time to lose," Allun decided. "Let's see about being ready to go. Rowan, sit and rest, as you said. Eat something and drink some water, for goodness' sake. It won't do to have you fainting on us."
Glad to be excused, Rowan retreated to a corner of the kitchen to sit in silence for a moment. He hadn't quite realized how drained he already was until he had sat down and settled himself. The relief of being off his feet at last was incredible. Just as he was closing his eyes to think on his breathing, he found Zizi standing over him, holding out a cup of water and a piece of bread.
"Your sister said – she said to have this. She said you – you almost forgot."
Smiling his thanks, he took the offering and nodded for the boy to sit with him. "And I would have, if she didn't look after me like she does. While we still have a few minutes, I want to teach you something important."
"But you're so – you're so busy," Zizi insisted, plunking himself down beside him.
"It won't take a minute. I'm going to teach you how to meditate. It's a very simple practice, and it will help you recover your own strength. You've worked hard, for your first morning as a Titan; you must be exhausted."
Zizi fidgeted a bit, looking sheepish. "No, I'm not – I mean – I guess. Maybe. A little. Maybe a lot."
"Then this will help a great deal. Settle yourself comfortably, now, and sit up straight and tall. You can rest against the wall, if it helps. Keep your shoulders back and down, without forcing them. Never use force, just be as easeful as you can."
"Like this?" the boy asked, doing as he had been instructed.
"Absolutely. Think about your collar bones separating, and your shoulder blades sliding down your back. Does that help?"
Zizi thought about it, and his face lit up in amazement. "It does! It feels right, now!"
"Good. It helped me, too, when I was first learning. Let your hands rest of your knees; it can help you remember to sit straight. And now, just begin to breathe. Deep, full breaths, counting to four. Then deep breaths out, counting to six, if you can."
"What if I can't?"
"Then just count to four. Whatever feels comfortable right now. Close your eyes, and start to notice how it feels. Bring your focus to the breath, and the counting. Pretty soon, you won't even need to count anymore; it will just come naturally."
"What am I – am I thinking about anything?"
"Not really. Just notice your breath, and your body, and how it all feels. After you get used to it, try thinking on something that inspires you. A word, or a virtue, or an image. Let that idea fill your mind, as the breath fills your body, and let yourself feel good about it. Let yourself draw courage and strength from it. And just rest in that quietness for a time. It seems silly at first, like nothing so simple could really do so much good; and it can take some practice to quiet yourself and be still like that. You'll be surprised how much good it does."
"How long do we – do have to sit and – do we do it all day long?"
"Usually not. Sometimes, all it takes is a few minutes. Often, I find its just the intention of clearing a peaceful space for yourself."
"Like right now?"
"Just like right now."
Zizi seemed to be satisfied with that, and grew silent as he tried to put all that instruction together. His breaths became deep and even, though his counting was a little faster than Rowan would have liked. He decided not to correct the boy on his first try, and quickly found that he didn't have to. After a moment of sitting in silence together, Zizi had slowed his breathing to match his brother's, and a strong sense of powerful energy was pulsing gently between them. In all this chaos, they had both found a great sense of peace to rest and recover in.
Rowan wondered if Zizi had taken his advice to mediate on something that inspired him, or if he was listening to what was going on in the room around them. His eyes were closed, but Rowan could hear his family moving around, shuffling papers on the table, rummaging through their supplies, and saying their goodbyes to one another. Annad and Ofelia were quietly discussing the city's layout. Shaaran was insisting that her brother take some of her things, since she wouldn't be needing them. Vivi was attempting to explain something called magicites to John, and telling him to return them to Alanis and Forley when he found them. She was also reminding him of what would happen should he return without them, and he graciously chose not to argue with her over it.
Closer to him than the rest were Allun and Marlie, ignoring their fears for each other by playing with the toddler whose name still hadn't been mentioned in all their haste.
"A sturdy little fellow, to be sure," Allun was remarking. "And handsome, too. I wonder where he came from?"
"I was wondering the same thing," his wife agreed. "I had suspected at first that he might be Ofelia's, and that Zamiel Garased must be his father. That perhaps she had brought and left him here with the other children, where he would be safe. But she hasn't reached to take him once, and he hasn't been interested in her at all, and so now I'm not so sure."
"Maybe he is another orphan, rescued from the slums, or perhaps from the pirates' den. It must have happened since Iris was here; she carried no memories of him. Our own children could be taking care of him, themselves. It's a nice thought..."
Rowan wondered vaguely about it, too, but decided to think on it later. Whoever the child belonged to and whatever his story was, what really mattered was that he had survived the night and was safe. Beside him, though, he felt Zizi shift slightly at each of his friends' suggestions, and he knew at once that each one was wrong. In fact, even though he couldn't see him, the flow of energy surrounding the boy suddenly felt a bit guilty.
Surely, they would all know the full truth in due course. For now, time was still short, and there was still much to be done. Who even knew when this new party of four would return, or who they would return with? Who even knew when there would be a chance to really rest again? This peaceful moment was precious, and had to be made the best of.
So Rowan turned his gaze inward, shut out the voices of his friends and family, and focused all this thought on the best idea he could think of:
Praisea.
Hope.
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Afterthoughts...
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Everything Rowan just explained about mediation is 100% true and real. Mother became a yoga teacher last year, and so I've learned a lot about it and might become a teacher, myself. The thing about the collar bones and shoulder blades is by far the best advice on good yogic posture I've learned so far, and it immediately upped my game. So, if you practice or have ever thought about practicing yoga, give it a shot. Just stop whatever you're doing and do it right now. You won't believe how much easier it is to breathe!
Point being: if you get even marginally good at yoga, you, too, can be a Titan. And a Jedi. And a better follower of Christ. Maybe especially a Jedi. Yoga is just everything.
I hope you enjoyed this brief moment of peace and comedic relief. The dungeon is up next! Maybe Star will make it back into her own story...
