Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Shadow War ❯ Shadow War 11 ( Chapter 11 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Sun trickled through the curtained windows in thin shafts, slowly dancing on the floor as the fabric swayed to the early breeze. Allen watched the light play on the rug, running along the red and gold threads, tracing the edge of an intricate rose pattern. A strong sigh built within, ready to rush from his lungs in abject defeat. He managed to diffuse it into a long, thin breath. It made his chest hurt a little, but was easily ignored against the greater throbs of his head and stinging of his eyes.
He held Selena in his lap as he sat on the bed, legs crossed neatly beneath him. Her head cradled by his shoulder, her body hugged close. She was asleep, finally. Only two hours before, they had been crying together, desperate to make it all stop. Only now did Allen’s thoughts turn to Aristae. She was supposed to fix this, wasn’t she? That’s why she was there in the first place, to help Selena. ::How come she doesn’t know how?:: The thought irked him. A miracle was what they needed, and Aristae didn’t look like a miracle. He had to find real help, before Selena’s endurance failed completely.
Aristae awoke early and found breakfast waiting for her on the window seat. Some sweet mushy stuff, fresh fruits, and a steaming cup of spiced milk. She ate it without much notice, too preoccupied with thoughts to examine the Gaian food closely. It tasted good, that was enough.
“I need to go for a ride,” she told herself, munching on an apple-like fruit slice. “I need to get a different angle.”
A tug on the door handle made it apparent she was not supposed to leave her room. Either they didn’t trust her, or they didn’t want her to fall into undue trouble. Whatever the reason, she felt it akin to being grounded. “Locked,” she turned on heel to let herself fall against the heavy door, arms crossed. “And I thought things like this would end with high school.”
The door made a small clicking noise and opened, making Aristae do a half stumble to keep from falling. “Hey, watch it!” she said automatically, turning to face the intruder.
“Sorry,” Duran replied, stepping in. “I heard you knock and thought you wanted to come out.”
“I do!” she said happily, stepping around him.
::Strange girl:: Duran thought, following her through the hall, down the steps, and out to the stables.
“Personally I think she’s possessed by a demon,” Duran said confidently. “With all the magic workers Sir Allen hired, what else could it be?”
“Maybe this ‘demon’ wants out as much as Selena wants it gone.”
“Then why hasn’t it left?”
“It can’t? I don’t know,” Aristae sighed, frustrated. ::Like I’m supposed to know::. She focused on a grassy hill in the distance, trying to reorganize what Allen had told her. Duran wasn’t much help, considering he had accused Selena of witchcraft, in confidence of course. ::Think Tae, think:: she chanted.
A hard jerk on the reins pulled her from her thoughts. “What the- Hey!” Her gelding shied dangerously to the left, nearly losing his balance before taking off in a dead run. Caught off balance, Aristae nearly tumbled off his back, saved only by the looped reins. “Duran!” She chanced a worried look behind her.
Duran held tightly to his horse’s mane as it reared in terror, leaning forward to stay aboard. As it came down he glanced in the direction Aristae had been taken and saw the gelding disappear into the forest bordering the field. He urged his mount forward, but the horse wouldn’t take a step. Instead the animal took advantage of the lax reins and lowered her head, bucking madly. Duran toppled from the saddle on the second heave, arcing over the horse’s neck before landing flat on his back. From the ground, Duran watched his horse follow Aristae’s path.
It was several minutes before he trusted himself to stand. He was unsteady and sore, with wide bands of scraping down his back from the fall. His left side felt worse than his right, especially his shoulder. ::I hope nothing is broken:: he thought. ::I hope the girl is okay:: He headed after the horses, a slight limp hindering his progress.
“Slow- down-! Slow- down-!” Aristae growled as the horse’s choppy gait bounced her around. “You- dumb- horse! -STOP-!”
As if the command was all he needed, the gelding came to a screeching halt. It would have been good, except he had stopped at the bank of a pond. Mud slick hooves continued forward without being lifted, sending both horse and rider into the water. Wet and scared, the gelding made a frantic attempt to rear, lost his footing and was forced to twist to the side to stay upright.
The last jerking twist did it. Aristae found herself catapulted backward into pond. Water swirled around her in muddy torrents as her horse scrambled for better footing. Gritty sand, stirred from the bottom, flew around her, blinding. ::Don’t get kicked by the horse:: she warned herself, just as she felt a hoof swim come within centimeters of her head. It probably would have hit her, if her boot hadn’t caught on something, holding her back. She tried to kick off the weed, or whatever it was, losing her boot in the process. She swam to the surface without it.
Air was never more welcomed than then, and she filled her lungs with it eagerly. From the bank the gelding watched, hoping the soggy creature didn’t decide to ride him home. He was wet enough already. As their eyes locked, Aristae frowned, “Stupid horse! What’s wrong with you?” She made a half hearted attempt to swim to shore, stopping after only a few strokes to yell some more, “First you run for no reason, then you stop for no reason, then you fucking shake me off for no reason!! And to think I thought you were intelligent! Oi!”
The gelding gave a mighty dog shake, spraying water in all directions. With a whinny and another good shake he managed to make the saddle slide down to rest against his left side.
“I suppose you had a reason for doing that?” she mused sarcastically, feeling around for the bottom with her toes. All she hit was squishy mud.
“Aristae? My lady? Are you alright?” Duran called from the forest.
“I’m here!” she replied, sounding more helpless than she meant to.
Duran broke through the trees in a huff, leaves in his hair and dirt on his face. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head quickly. “I’m fine, just lost my boot.”
Duran managed to grab hold of the gelding’s reins, holding him still. “Shall I retrieve it for you?”
“No, I’ll get it,” she said, wading back out. “It must have come untied earlier.” With that she dove under, opening her eyes to the now surprisingly clear water. The boot lay a few feet ahead of her, several feet lower. ::I need more air for this:: she realized, surfacing. She took a deep breath and held it, diving straight down. With wide swipes of her arms and powerful kicks, she headed toward the boot. ::I don’t remember being out so far:: she thought. ::How did it get over there?:: It was down deeper than it seemed, and took quite a bit of energy to reach.
::Gotcha!:: she mentally cheered, looping two fingers through the laces. ::They’re still tied:: she realized, tugging on the strings. :: How did it fall off?::
Out of the blue shadows came a hand, quickly clasping her wrist. She pulled back, kicking against the phantom, but it remained firm. Bubbles scampered toward the surface like frightened birds, wending away from the danger. As they cleared, Aristae found herself looking at a creature not unlike herself.
He was a soldier of some sort, with a black coat and blue armor. He looked concerned. Aristae fought the urge to pull from his grasp. He did not look particularly threatening. ::As if meeting someone under water isn’t terrifying enough:: she growled mentally. ::Things keep getting more and more curious. . . Alice in Wonderland. . . now I know how she felt:: She remained anchored to the bottom, silent except for the beating of her heart. ::What do you want?:: she thought, unable to talk without sending her remaining air to the surface.
As if in response, the boy opened his mouth to speak, sending a thin stream of bubbles upward. His blue eyes watch them swim toward the surface, as if he was surprised he held air at all. His gold-blonde hair waved lazily in the current caused by their movement, framing his young face. ::Who are you?:: she asked mentally.
He smiled sadly and released her hand. She didn’t swim for the surface immediately though her lungs were beginning to ache from holding her breath. Aristae watched as the boy produced a large bubble from his cupped hands. Fluttering inside were two moths, one of white and one of black. He proceeded to pull the bubble apart, making one into two. The white moth fluttered in one while the black sat placidly in the other.
He looked at her expectantly, holding the bubbles before her like a gift. ::I don’t understand! What are you saying?::
The boy turned sharply from her, disappearing in the shadowy depths. All Aristae could see in his wake was a small, white fish, swimming away. More confused than ever, she wished to make sense of her meeting. The painful pressure in her lungs made it all but impossible to do so. With a powerful kick upward, she headed for the surface.
Duran was beside her the moment her head arose, grabbing her beneath the arms and hauling her to the bank. She lay in the mud for several minutes, gasping for breath, unable to speak or move. “A- a boy. . .-” she managed, opening her eyes to Duran’s worried face, “In the water.”
Duran looked over the calm waters. There was not even a ripple in the surface, “I see no one.”
“In the water, a boy,” she panted. “It was weird.”
Duran looked out again, and again there was no one. “My lady, you are mistaken,” he said carefully. “There is no one.”
Aristae gave a heart felt groan and said no more, resigning herself to regain her dignity. “Never mind.” As she looked out over te water, she saw exactly what she expected. The boy was standing at the pond’s center, holding another sphere with two moths. “See!” she pointed, “Do you see him now?”
Duran glanced toward the pond, then at Aristae. “I see nothing, my lady. I think it best if we head back.”
“Duran!” she whined, frustrated. “Why can’t you see him?”
::Because there’s no one there:: he said to himself. “I do not know. The glare off the water, perhaps?”
She knew he was humoring her, and it only served to make her more upset. She glared defiantly at the boy standing on the water. ::Who ARE you!::
The boy looked hurt for a moment, like she was being unfair to him. “I’m only trying to help” his expression seemed to say. “Do not hate me for it.” He proceeded to pull the sphere apart once more, above the water’s surface. Instead of separating cleanly, it burst, tearing apart the fragile insects within. “Now do you understand?” he asked with his eyes. “Now do you see?”
“No, no I don’t!” she spat, sitting up forcefully. “Go away!”
And he did, vanishing as the sun glinted brilliantly off the water. His time was up.
As they headed back to the castle, Aristae saw many soldiers like the boy in the lake. They were all around, walking beside her horse, marching ahead of Duran, and hiding behind the forest trees. Of course Duran noticed none of them and led her mount in absolute silence. After the first couple of soldiers she saw, she gave up pointing them out. Instead, when he asked, she said they had gone away. What a lie. The last soldier she saw stood at the castle gate, appraising her calmly with emerald eyes. Tall and thin, with pale blonde hair and armor like all the others, he stayed motionless as they neared. The early afternoon rays of the sun affected his greyish complexion little, leaving the shadows light and his skin lighter. Aristae watched as Duran walked up to the youth, and felt her hold on reality lurch as he passed right through him. The horse and herself followed accordingly, walking through the pale character as if he wasn’t there. She was suddenly very cold and nauseous. ::Ghosts:: she thought. ::They’re all ghosts:: She looked back over her shoulder warily only to find the boy was gone without a trace. ::Something is very wrong::.