This is my favorite chapter, or perhaps my second favorite, after the climax chapter. Anyway, enjoy the new chapter, and please read and review.
Chapter IX
"Yes, of course. We have many festivals. Lucky for you, there is one today. I even put some traditional clothes for you in your room Miss," the Pope explained.
"With that, are we dismissed?" Tobias asked.
"Yes. Yalown, show the other two to their rooms," the Pope requested.
"Follow me," Yalown beckoned and Mar and I followed him down the hall. Before we left, the Pope handed me a handful of coins.
"So you can enjoy yourself," the Pope winked at me. As we walked down the hall, I decided to ask Yalown about the festival.
"So what is the purpose of it?" I asked.
"Of what?" Yalown responded.
"The festival."
"Oh, that. I don't really know anymore to be honest. We have so many of them that the only person who can really keep track is His Holiness," Yalown said. Suddenly, we stopped at a door. Like many of the others in the building, it was colored marble, with a carefully carved fish ingrained into it. I entered the room, into which Yalown directed, while he pointed out Mara's room across the hall. The inside was completely white marble, just like the outside. The bed appeared to have been built into the floor, because the base was all white marble. A sink and mirror sat along a bar that ran along the near end of the room. A closet was opposite the bed. A glass door led to a balcony that gave a great view of the front half of Vatican State. The city must have been built on a hill, because you could tell the city was sloping. Far below, the streets were lined with lights of a multitude of colors. Food-ladened stalls, which gave off delicious smells, also covered every free inch of wall. Large wooden platforms sat at intersections on which you could see people dancing. I could vaguely hear the cheerful music from my perch. My curiosity was piquing. I quickly scrubbed my face off and checked the closet to see if there was anything worth wearing. Unfortunately, it was filled with fine suits and similar fancy getups that I would never wear by freewill. I decided to just wear what I had on and left the room.
"Hey, Mara, are you ready to go?" I knocked on her door. There was no reply and I waited for about ten minutes. When there was still no response, I just gave up waiting for her and proceeded to head out to the festival by myself. It was after wandering for a bit that it occurred to me that I had no idea where I was going. Suddenly, I turned the corner and nearly ran head-on into Tobias.
"Oh, hey Amos," Tobias greeted, stumbling back a few steps. He quickly put his hands behind his back, like he was trying to hide something. I didn't really think much of it at the time.
"Hey. Do you know how to get out to the street?" I asked. Tobias pointed back down the hallway from which he came. "Just follow it until the end. That's where the main entrance is," Tobias suggested. I peered down the hallway and decided I didn't really have a better alternative. When I turned back to thank him, Tobias was gone. I shrugged and did as he directed. The foyer to the building was not nearly as grand as Mara's summer home, not even close. An extra wide stairway, built out of white marble, extended from the hallway down to a floor with a crucified mosaic Jesus decorating it. Two opposite hallways split off just inside the doorway. The double doors where obviously made of wood, probably for simplicity, but still painted white to match the rest of the building. I exited and was not surprised to see stalls and lights and hear music right outside the door. The street was made of uneven stones, and snow was lightly fluttering down. Night had already begun to creep up, but the festival lights provide more than enough visibility. The lights were comprised of a series of bulbs, ranging in color and made of paper with a candle burning inside. I milled around for a little bit, taste testing things. One stall even had grilled fruits and vegetables, which I enjoyed very much. The music was loud, clear, and vivid, though I couldn't tell if it was live or just being blasted around by speakers. I stopped in front of one the platforms full of dancers to watch while snacking on some chocolate thing when I heard someone calling me.
"Amos, wait up," Mara's voice called. I turned around to see Mara running toward me in her traditional clothes. I had noticed many of the girls and female dancers wearing something similar, but hadn't taken the time to observe it. It was a dress that was colored ruby red. The collar rode up a the neck a bit higher than a regular dress would, but not so that the one wearing it would be choked. It completely covered her upper body, but had no sleeves so her arms were exposed. At about the mid-thigh, the dress broke into wide strips, about eight in total that reminded me of flower petals and extended to the ankles. Every edge of the dress was outlined by gold trim.
"You look great!" I complimented her honestly. Mara grinned and gave a little spin to show off.
"Thank you. Now, can we get something to eat? I'm starving," Mara asked.
"Sure. I found this stall where the guy sells great grilled fruits," I suggested. Mara motioned for me to lead the way and, grabbing her hand, we maneuvered through the crowds to where the stall was. It had a simple canopy and the base was a white box with a grill on top.
"Back for seconds, huh?" the guy behind the stall greeted. He was grilling slices of something shaped like a star.
"You know it," I laughed. The whole atmosphere of the festival was making me feel more relax and cheery, despite the upcoming events. The stall owner gave Mara a mischievous grin.
"And you brought your girlfriend along too," the stall owner observed incorrectly. I dropped Mara's hand as both our faces heated up.
"I am not his girlfriend!" Mara complained quite loudly, turning the nearby heads. To prove her point, she punched me in the shoulder. I glared at her to let her know she had legitimately hurt me.
"Denial, the first sign of young love," the stall owner mused. Ignoring him, I dropped a couple coins on the counter beside his grill.
"Can you just give us our food without the harassment?" I requested. The stall owner let out another hardy laugh, but proceeded to serve us what we wanted. Mara mostly got grilled vegetables, but I felt more adventurous, and tried a slice of the unusual fruit. It was crunchy, having been grilled, but retained a slightly tangy yet sweet taste, that I rather liked. We wandered away from the grilling stall and toured around more stalls. Some of them held games, while others were selling more food or artwork. Some even had performers singing or doing acrobatics. Eventually we ended up in front of one the gaming stalls when Mara spotted something she wanted.
"That, I want it," she pointed to the prize she so desired. The prize was an ornamental box that probably held something inside. It had been painted green and had elegant carving on it. The top had been decorated with silver ribbons and beads. There was a metal latch on it, sealing away the contents it held. The stall owner, a lanky man, gave me a sly grin, knowing Mara was going to try for it.
"Would you like to try for it?" the stall owner offered. Mara gave an eager nod and paid the man a coin. He explained how the game worked. Basically, the player was given a cork gun and had to knock off one of the prizes sitting on the shelves lining the back of the stall. If the player knocked a prize off, they got to keep it. Mara took aim and shot, but missed her mark by a mile.
"That was a waste of money," I muttered as Mara walked over to where I was leaning against a pole.
"Will you try it for me?" Mara begged.
"Only if you pay," I offered. I wasn't going to waste my precious money on a game. I'd rather waste it on food.
"If you were my friend, you'd pay to do it yourself," Mara argued. We bickered for a bit until I finally relented. I paid the fee and took a shot. The cork bounced off one the shelves and flew back to hit me square in the forehead. It left a red welt that was quickly fading. Mara and the stall owner burst into laughter as I rubbed my forehead where I had been hit. Humiliated, I tried again and failed. I kept trying until I was down to my very last coin. I hadn't hit the box even once, or anything else for that matter, but I wouldn't let the stall owner, or the stall, make a fool out of me once more.
"God please help me," I prayed under my breath. The cork was fired and hit the box square on. It tumbled backwards off its shelf, showing I had final been able to claim victory over the stall.
"Here's your prize," the stall owner said, handing me the box. I then in turn gave it to Mara.
"Thank you Amos," she smiled. Opening it, it was revealed to be full of plastic beaded necklaces. Mara dumped all the necklaces onto the counter of the stall and cheerfully went over to a bench to examine her box.
"She only wanted the box," the stall keeper and I said in harmony, with equal disbelief. I joined her, and feeling hungry, fished around in my pocket for some coins. Then I remembered I had spent all my money on the game. Feeling disappointed, I instead turned to fantasize about food while Mara fiddled around with her brand new prize box. I felt myself starting to think about the past wondering if I had ever been to a festival like the one I was at now, and I started to slip into a memory.
I was with Uncle Saul and Ruth. I was significantly older, maybe around thirteen. We were at a carnival that had come into Sodom. There were bright electric lights everywhere, and the place had a magical feel to it. Ruth was begging Uncle Saul for more money so she could try out a game where the grand prize was a huge stuffed horse, probably roughly my size.
"I've got this," I bragged, eager to show off to my sister who was the better sibling. I paid the game owner with my own personal money and threw the ball as best I could. The object of the game was to get rings around certain colored bottles. The grand prize was to get a ring around the single gold painted bottle, which was the furthest from the throwing position. After several futile tries, I finally let my uncle try. Uncle Saul got it on the first try.
"Now give me the horse," Ruth begged.
"Only if you share with Amos," Uncle Saul bargained. Ruth let out a much too exasperated sigh.
"Fine," she complained.
"I don't want that," I argued, folding my arms in disgust. However, I did feel entitled to carry it the whole night.
"Here's your reward," Mara announced. My eyes fluttered open to see Mara holding a chocolate ice cream cone in my face. I reluctantly accepted, even though I didn't like chocolate. I was still starving. While we ate, I noticed that Mara no longer had her box with her.
"Where's your box?" I asked. Mara licked her ice cream a few more time before responding.
"Oh, I saw Yalown pass by and asked him to take it to my room for me. He didn't seem too happy about it," Mara explained. It figured though, that she would get someone else to do the labor of carrying it around or taking it back. I was happy to have gotten out of it. We continued to snack for a little bit in silence, listening to the joyous music. I saw Mara had some ice cream on her nose.
"Hold on, you have something on your nose," I said.
"Is it a bug? Get it off!" Mara nearly shrieked.
"Calm down, it's just ice cream," I told her. I licked my finger and wiped it off, causing Mara to blush slightly.
"Don't do that again. At least, not before giving me more of a warning," Mara grumbled. We finished our ice cream and I stood to stretch.
"Ready to go back?" I asked, now willing to go to bed. It was getting late, and a large day was ahead of us.
"No. First we have to dance," Mara demanded, pointing toward the platform where dancers were. The audience members had paired up and also danced, though not with the same grace as the professionals.
"I don't really want to," I complained, half yawning in the process to show I was feeling very sleepy.
"I don't care. If you come to festival, you have to dance," she ordered. I was about to argue that she could just ask someone else to dance with her. She grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me into the mob of dancing festival goers. She put her arms on my shoulders, and looked at me like she was expecting something.
"What?" I questioned.
"Don't you know how to dance?" she asked.
"Not really," I mumbled, embarrassed. While my school had hosted dances, I had never gone, and if I would have, I never would have been able to find a date.
"That figures. Just put your hands on my hips and follow my lead," Mara sighed. I did as she instructed and we began to sway to the music. My first instinct was to focus on the music. It wasn't moving too fast, but managed to come across as cheery and soothing. I glanced around, hoping to take my mind off how sweaty my palms were, and pray like crazy Mara wouldn't notice. I caught sight of the owner from the grilling stall. He saw me too and gave me a thumbs up. My face got red again and I looked away, up toward the sky. The stars were still surprisingly visible despite all the light, though not as bright as in Galilee.
"This isn't so bad," I said under my breath, though I doubted Mara heard me. Suddenly, Mara's grip tightened on my shoulder. I looked back at her, to see her staring at me with her deadly glare. I checked my feet to make sure I wasn't stepping on the ruby red slippers she wore, and I wasn't. I was confused until I felt something sweet against my lips. It wasn't rough, just light enough to be felt. Mara pulled back from the kiss, completely red faced.
"Not a word," she mumbled. I didn't understand why she had kissed me, but it made my heart stir up good, happy feelings. I peered into her eyes, and at the same, her heart. The colors seemed significantly more vivid, and swirled with a much greater speed. The darkness still remained, but at least her heart was becoming more active. We continued our dance without, as Mara had wanted, another word until there was screaming. A sound of what was similar to a shooting bracelet being fired echoed in the air. Mara and I broke our dance and rushed toward the noise.
"What was that?" I shouted above the noise.
"I don't know," Mara replied. A woman ran past and I stopped her to ask what was happening.
"There's a lunatic on the loose and he's armed!" she cried, before running away with much of the crowd.
"Where is he?" came the shouting of a familiar voice. Tobias came barreling down the street, crashed into the side of a building, then stumbled toward me.
"Where is who?" I asked him. I noticed an almost insane look in Tobias's eyes. I could see his heart shifting with confusion and rage- induced insanity.
"You. You. It's all your fault," Tobias shrieked, pointing at me with shaking fingers. Around his wrist he had a shooting bracelet strapped. It occurred to me that it must've been what he was carrying earlier.
"I'm sorry for whatever I did," I apologized, but Tobias didn't seem to hear me. Tears were leaking out of his eyes and slipping down his face.
"Shut up, you traitor. You abandoned us all to be enslaved and die. I escaped, but Lydia is still trapped. She'll be worked to death, and I will lose her," Tobias shrieked. I hadn't thought anyone would actually blame me for what happened. It had been beyond my control, and it wasn't like I had wanted it to happen.
"Okay, just calm down. Maybe we can talk this out," I urged, slowly creeping toward Tobias.
"Amos, I don't think that's a good idea," Mara warned but I waved away her worrying.
"Don't worry. I have this," I reassured her. A thin smile appeared across Tobias's lips. He aimed and the street stones in front of my feet where reduced to rubble. I had to jump back to avoid having my feet pulverized.
"An apology isn't enough to earn my forgiveness. Only the rightful thing that should happen to you is you should be killed," Tobias shrieked.
"I don't want to fight you, but if I must," I warned but Tobias ignored me, firing another round of bullets at a nearby stall, destroying it.
"My stall!" one of the bystanders cried out. I grabbed my necklace and summoned my sword, which grew to full size in my hand immediately as I recited the verse. Pain flared through my hand and arm, but I managed to keep a stony face, eyes locked with Tobias's. As soon as my sword was ready, I swung it around in front of him to show what it could do. Tobias's only reaction was a maniacal laugh.
"Big deal if you have some kind of mystic sword. I have a superior projectile weapon," Tobias bragged, showing off his shooting bracelet. I knew I could beat him with ease, since the bracelet wasn't too terribly accurate it, and Tobias wasn't in the right frame of mind.
"Prepare yourself," I announced, taking a battle stance.
"No, you should prepare yourself for your last breath forever," Tobias laughed, unleashing a barrage of bullets in my direction.
"Get down," I shouted to anyone who was behind me. Mara thankfully hit the ground just in time; everyone else had already run away. I lowered my sword in front of any vital part of my body to protect myself. Most of the bullets either went into the street, buildings, or ricocheted off my sword. Two bullets grazed my shin, making me remember the first time I had received a bullet wound. The grazes weren't nearly as bad as then, but still hurt.
"How are you still standing?" Tobias snarled, now more angry than cheerful. I didn't get a chance to explain before I charged at him, sword brandished. He anticipated my attack. Tobias dodged to the side, and sticking his foot out, tripped me. I tumbled over, trying to avoid skewering myself. My sword skittered just out of reach.
"Seriously," I grumbled, climbing to my knees, ignoring the pain of scratches and bruises. I tried to reach for my sword when I felt a sharp blow to my side. Tobias kicked me right in the ribs. I collapsed while he rolled me over with his foot.
"How the mighty have fallen," Tobias gloated, aiming his bracelet straight at my exposed chest.
"Leave him alone," I heard Mara cry and Tobias's neck snapped forward. He turned around to face Mara, the back of his head oozing blood. Mara must've thrown a piece of street rubble, I surmised. Mara screamed as Tobias snarled and began to stalk toward her. She tried to back up real quick, but ended up tripping. I pushed off with my feet and was able to reach my sword. I swung it and it managed to cut a gash in Tobias's calf. Tobias let out a howl of pain and refocused on me. At least for the time being Mara was out of danger.
"It's me you want, not the girl," I said, using my sword to help myself to my feet. Tobias stumbled toward me, limping but still not out of commission.
"You're right. First you, then the girl," Tobias agreed. He tried to shoot me, but the bracelet only made a clicking sound, trying to fire something that wasn't there. It was my turn to laugh in his face.
"Out of bullets. Now how you going to kill me?" I taunted. Angrily, Tobias removed his bracelet. He shook it a couple times to ensure that it was truly empty before discarding it to the side.
"I don't need such weak weapons to kill you," Tobias countered. He rushed me, but I got inside his guard and hit him in the stomach with the flat of my blade. He doubled over, making it easy for me to bring the butt of the sword up to knock him in the head. Tobias stumbled backwards and fell over the remnants of a wrecked stall. He laid there unmoving, except for the gentle rising and falling of his chest, signaling he was unconscious but alive.
"You won," Mara cheered. I should have been happy. I had succeeded in subduing without killing him. However, I instead collapsed to my knees.
"Just barely," I breathed. Festival participants had started to wander, gawking at the battlefield and the carnage caused by the fight. Mara ran over to me.
"Are you okay?" she asked, feeling my forehead.
"I feel sleepy, maybe a little woozy," I mumbled, falling over to my side. Unfortunately, it was the side where Tobias had kicked me, so pain raced through my body like arcs of lightning.
"Help, we need help. Bring a healer," I heard Mara shouting before my vision faded to black.