Ah! Sorry for the lack of updates. I do like to make sure that I have another chapter written before I upload a new one, but I was busy, and it took a while for me to be happen with this chapter!
Enjoy!
The laguz and Loiya returned, the latter with a brand new steel lance and two daggers, one which he gave to Kaetar. The two then left for the inn for another night – Syrin just didn't have the room for all four them in his home. It was the next morning when prince and bodyguard returned to ominous alleys of Melior.
Syrin was thinking. Kaetar could tell by the silence that his demeanour demanded, and his downcast eyes that seemed to be glued to the table. "If we do anything small, we would simply be dismissed. The fact of the matter is, there aren't enough of us for any form of peaceful protesting to be taken seriously. We need something to do big, and something that instills fear into the members of that church at the same time..." he mumbled, as Ema and Darius stood close by.
Something big, something that five can manage, but something that was scary. It just wasn't coming to him.
"I've got it." A small smirk appeared on Syrin's face, and his eyes burned with a new flare. "Fire. Fire is inherently freighting and not difficult for a group our size to do."
"You want us to do what?" Kaetar barley managed to keep his voice down. Poor Loiya looked thoroughly confused while the laguz simply nodded like it was just another day, and as far Kaetar could tell, it probably wasn't the first time Syrin had ask them to do something strange. Now that Kaetar thought about it, it was the life of a rebel, and it was the life that he just stepped into. At least he had Loiya with him, but he was going to need an explanation, because Loiya was suddenly a rebel and had no idea of it until he returned.
"We need to burn down the chapel here," Syrin responded. "The Melior chapel is the biggest and busiest for obvious reasons. This will be the biggest blow to the church that we can do at this point. It's up to you if you want to do it, Kaetar, I'm not the one losing if you back out." Kaetar couldn't believe that he was being taunted like that.
"Fine! But wouldn't there be people there all the time?"
Syrin sighed. "There is a shed attached to the back of the chapel. This is where they store extra books as there is little room in the church for them, though I can't see why they just can't leave them at the pews. If Darius drops a torch from above, it should get hot enough to set the rest of the building on fire. Anyone inside would escape if they knew any better." Syrin was still sitting in his chair, this time leaving Darius to stretch his wings out on the bed roll, though he was facing the fire place instead of to the group. Kaetar would have done the same if he was had wings; they looked flammable.
And speaking of flames...
"Let's say the chapel does go up in flames... wouldn't the fire spread to the buildings beside it? I don't want anyone else to get hurt," Kaetar whispered the last part, but the more he thought about the fire, the more uncomfortable and nervous he became about the entire plan. He couldn't bring himself to know that he had a part in destroying livelihoods; it had to be hard to recover from a fire and it wasn't something that wished others to go through. On the other hand, Syrin was tempting him with his part of the deal, and Kaetar felt like he was obligated to take part. He was emotionally torn in half.
"So what? Would you rather everyone suffer because a few people might get hurt? If there are two thousand people that will be affected be any decision you make, and a quarter of those people will be negatively affected, are you going to not make a decision? Wake up, Kaetar, you will never make everyone happy. The world doesn't have time for your naivete, and if you can't handle that, then you shouldn't ever be a king. If a few houses burn down, than that's just what happens," Syrin answered through gritted teeth.
Kaetar tried his best to make sure that he didn't have a stupid look on his face. He didn't want to show any weakness, especially to someone who was questioning his placement in the world. He wasn't aware that being a king also meant that he would have to cold-hearted, and he couldn't help but to be legitimately hurt by Syrin's words. He would have handled a physical punch better than the words.
"I refuse to do anything until night time anyway, Princey, so go outside, think it over, than come back, okay? Don't mind Syrin; he's just a jerk," the raven chimed in. Fresh air suddenly seemed appealing, and Kaetar was out the door before Loiya could react. He broke out into a run, not only to put distance between him and Syrin, but there was one place in Melior that suddenly popped out his mind – the library. It wasn't the fresh air that he hoped for, but the soft chairs and the sight of books would help him relax and thinking about everything that Syrin said.
He reached the library after asking several people for directions, and small break when he was convinced that he couldn't take another step. The library took him by surprise; he was expecting to see shelves full of books, but they were nearly empty. There were a couple of books scattered around the library, whether they were abandoned on a chair or alone in the shelf. All of that only told him one thing; there was something horribly wrong in Melior. Even the smallest library in Daein had more books and was better maintained; in fact, the miniature library in his room had more books. Kaetar gulped and scanned the shelves. There was nothing about the last two major wars and nothing about laguz – which wasn't strange in Daein, but it was odd in a country that pioneered positive laguz-beorc relationships.
Why were all the books gone?
"It's been awhile since someone came here," a voice from behind muttered. Kaetar turned around to find an older man with greying hair, and hunched over his cane.
"Well, I'm from Daein, so I thought I would just check the place out, but..." the prince trailed off.
"You're disappointed in the selection. I am too, to be quite honest. I don't even have the heart to clean it up anymore."
"So you're the librarian," Kaetar concluded. "Was it always like this?"
"No... when the church sprang up in Melior a couple of months ago, soldiers took away all the books that they claimed to be contraband. Our library was full history books, most people like to do research, and I can't fathom what could be so illegal about them," the librarian answered in a sad voice. He obviously loved the library, and Kaeter could sympathize.
"Where are they all at now?" Not that Kaetar expected that he knew, but it was still worth a try. Besides, it was in his nature to ask a lot of questions, and he never stopped until he was satisfied with all the answers he got or if the person on the other side became fed up with him.
"At the castle, I believe. That's direction where the soldiers were heading," he answered. Kaetar picked up on the books off of the chair and placed it on the shelf. There wasn't much else he could do to help the librarian or the library, as it wouldn't help to fill the shelves with banned books, but he could help clean up. The librarian smiled. "Thank you... I've never met someone so young who cared about the books this much."
"I'm from Daein nobility... I have a different appreciation for books because I can sit down and enjoy them, but I know that not everyone has the same chance," the prince answered. He wasn't exactly lying, nobility wouldn't much a step down for him at his point in life, but he couldn't just admit that he was the heir to the Daein throne either. He could already hear Loiya's voice in his head, even though he hadn't said anything about it as of yet. After the books were put back on the shelf, though they lacked any order, Kaetar left and returned to Syrin's home. He didn't know the way exactly, but he knew it was near the chapel, and it was hard not to see it from a distance.
Loiya greeted him with open arms, mumbling incoherently as he pulled Kaetar back into Syrin's home. The leader was sitting in front of his fireplace, poking a stick into the flames to reignite the fire with new life. Kaetar didn't find it particularly cold, and it was still light out, but he still found the fire to be oddly soothing. It made a plain more more comfort, that was sure. Ema was sitting in front of the fire, clearly quite comfortable.
"Made up your mind yet?" Loiya asked in a low whisper. He was leaning against the table, but he offered Kaetar one of the seats. He took it. Kaetar opened his mouth to answer, but realized he had nothing to say on the matter. He was at the library to clear his mind, but he got involved in something else instead. Loiya just shook his head, and quickly took the seat beside Kaerar. "You have that thinking look on your face. Do you want to talk?"
How did Loiya always know? He couldn't ask for a better person to support him; Loiya was always with him, whether it was defending him from a nasty bug or being the one that he could talk to. If he was older, he would be the father that he lost, but since he was only a year older, then that made him the best friend – well, the only friend, really, but he hoped to change that.
"I went to the library in Melior," Kaetar began. Loiya didn't say anything, and neither did Syrin, but Kaetar just knew that he was listening; there was now way that he wasn't. "And I have more books in my room than in the entire library. Most of them were banned."
Syrin was smirking. "The only reason why anyone would ban a mass amount of books is because the written words go against what they preach. If I was to rewrite history, the books would be the first thing to disappear. Why would anyone believe me when every book out there says the opposite?"
It was a good point, Kaetar had to admit. Was this how history was being distorted? He imagined for just a second about what his life would be like without his own personal library. The books were the reason why he started staying inside at the castle when his father restricted him to the castle gardens. He wouldn't care if he never touched a book, but if all of his books were suddenly gone, now that he loved reading, he would be devastated. He would one day be the librarian the lacked the heart to maintain the books that remained.
"You like books, then, don't you? If you bothered to go the library, I mean," Ema murmured from her spot near the fireplace. From the tone of her voice, Kaetar could tell that books and Ema didn't necessarily get along. Was she just too good for books? Kaetar frowned at her comment, making Ema's ears drop a little. "Look, I didn't mean to offend you, alright? It's just that if you're interested in kind of... stuff, then you should seek to protect it. That's what the rebellion is about; protecting what's important to the beroc and the laguz as a whole."
"I didn't expect that out of you. A little rough around the edge with your pausing and what not, but it was still a nice speech for a tough kitty like you," the raven teased.
"Shut up, you!"
"And there it goes," Darius sighed.
"I'm just not quite sure still. I'd feel better if I wasn't directly involved," Kaetar muttered to Loiya. Syrin's turned his head towards them, looking as if he didn't know rather to be angry or upset in Kaetar's new decision.
"Fine. It's useless if you're not willing, but it will happen whether you approve of the action or not," Syrin muttered. "Darius, if you would come with me."
Darius blinked, then shrugged as he followed Syrin out of the house. Kaetar knew what was going to happen now; Darius and Syrin were going to set the chapel on fire by themselves, rather Kaetar liked it or not.
"Should we get it out of here, Loiya?" Kaetar asked, suddenly looking anxiously out the window for any sign of Darius or Syrin. He wasn't interested in getting in trouble for something he didn't want to be involved in in the first place. But then again, why would anyone ever suspect him in the first place?
"Nah, we'll leave if we're in danger. We're across from the road, so I think we'll be safe," Loiya shrugged, peaking out the same window. It was almost dark out, so if Syrin and the raven were going to move, they were going to have to move soon if they wanted to use the cover of the night sky. "I wonder what they have planned."
"Syrin's smart, so it's probably something simple yet effective. It's not hard to set a fire."
"Right," Loiya answered slowly, moving away from the window. Kaetar followed him quickly.
"Where are you going?" Kaetar asked Loiya as he retreated to the front of the fireplace and laid down on his side with a yawn. "You're going to sleep?"
"We can't do anything else can we? Might as well rest a little!"
Kaetar bit his lips. He had a bad feeling about staying, but somehow, he just couldn't turn away and go home, no matter where the rebels would take him. The prince eased the thought to the back of his mind and sat down in one of the chairs that Syrin had around the table, and laid his head down on his arms.
Then he was shaken awake by Ema. He was groggy, and he felt worse waking up than he did falling asleep, and he wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but the smell of smoke found his way into his nose. Apparently, he wasn't awake enough, because Ema shook him again, more furiously this time than the last. "I'm awake!" he shouted suddenly, making Ema step back. "What's going on?"
"Apparently they made their move. Soldiers are asking everyone living close to the chapel to move, so we better go if we want to stay on their good side," the cat explained, making Kaetar stifle a laugh; they were tyring to be on their good side now? Maybe he wasn't quite awake yet. Loiya growled and grabbed the prince's wrist with one hand, and had his lance pointed down towards the ground in the other. He was as awake as ever, which was something that Kaetar did admire about him. It was like he had separate personalities; there was the serious side of him that in this moment, kept him wide awake, and then there was the Loiya who would kick his feet up while Kaetar enjoyed a book. As much as he liked 'relaxed' Loiya, he could understand that 'serious' Loiya was what his dad was looking for when the two were together in the castle.
"Do we have somewhere to meet up?" Kaetar asked as Loiya half-dragged him into the open. It was dark out, but he could see the bright flames sneaking up on the side of the chapel, threatening to not only engulf the chapel, but to swallow up another shack-like house behind it. He couldn't see that house very well, and hoped that was because it was far enough from the chapel to escape the flames, but he knew not to get his hopes up. Fire, after all, was unpredictable.
"Nope," Ema answered slowly. Even in the dark, Kaetar could see her beginning to panic, though he didn't know if it was from the fire or the fact that their little group was separated.
"Let's just go find an inn for now, on the other side of Melior if possible. Maybe they'll meet up with us there," Loiya muttered quietly. Kaetar could barely hear him over the shouting and gasping of the crowd that was beginning to gather, despite the soldiers' efforts to keep them away from the burning chapel. Kaetar was sure that he would be with them if it wasn't for the other two dragging him away. The fire was both terrifying and curious at the same time.
Suddenly, the fire hissed, and Kaetar looked up to find that the fire had somehow made it inside the temple. He could see the flames licking up from behind the portraits of Ike, like a sneak attack from behind that would surely be the end of the him. It was surreal. The soldiers were shouting orders to push the crowd back, but they were failing to make anyone leave.
Kaetar looked away as Loiya led him, which was he beginning to become thankful for, when something flashed in front of his eyes. It wasn't the fire, because that was behind him, so it had to be another vision. It was weird how they always seemed to come to him in different ways; they've come to him in dreams, or he would feel faint and dizzy at first, but the vision just rushed up to meet him now. It was flashing in front of him, whether he wanted to see or not.
He suddenly saw more fire in front him, but it wasn't any of the buildings. They were wooden crates. Loiya was no longer there holding his hand, and he knew that even he was no longer there in person, as he couldn't feel his own body. A horse whipped past, and he could hear a lot of shouting as Soren approached an older man in dark robes that seemed to float around him. His frame was thin, his hair wiry, and his face wrinkled. He didn't look like someone who should be in battle.
The man growled and huffed. "The laguz assault was a decoy, and your real objective was this camp? You're more clever than I expected. This isn't the strategy of laguz. It must have been planned by beorc."
"Our objective is only to burn these supplies. Step aside, and I'll spare your life," Ike warned, his sword at his side. He was there before Soren was, making Soren take a step back, as if he wasn't sure if he should be involved.
"You know I can't do that. Our masters may be fools, but we are their soldiers nonetheless. Our duty is to carry out orders from our masters."
"I thought you'd say that. But I have a duty as well," Ike grunted as he swung his sword at the mage. Soren was not fazed at all; he obviously saw death before, and it didn't bother him as the man grunted his last words and fell forward. Kaetar on the other hand, felt that he was going to be sick as soon as the vision was over. Blood made him queasy.
Ike turned around, his eyes somehow very striking. He was covered in blood spatter – surely it was the blood of the other soldiers, and for just a moment, Kaetar was remained of the burning portraits. The face of a hero surround in flames.
And then he was back. Though his eyes were closed, he could feel Loiya's arms around his waist and legs, and he was vaguely aware of the fact that Loiya was carrying him, like he always did. Just like he predicted, though, he wasn't feeling that good. He was dizzy – which wasn't abnormal after a vision, but it wasn't going away – and he couldn't help but to feel sick in the pit of his stomach. He never saw so much blood, and he never saw anyone die before. Kaetar knew it was just a vision, but he always knew that it really did happen some time ago. Someone died back there, and he witnessed it through Soren's eyes. He nuzzled his head into the crook of Loiya's neck and sighed.