Post by Lady Hammer on Sept 19, 2007 16:31:09 GMT -5
Chapter 2: Never Come Back
My God, this party was going to come to a quick crash if I didn’t do something! I looked around the feast room, and saw Rhett hitting on the girls around the table, including Nancelle’s anorexic friend. I would have gone to say hello, since in reality I had all the time in the world, but I had this thing that was called a “conscience” that occasionally broke free from the little box I locked it in, and it always tried to rearrange my behavior and morals. So, I was out to save Allanis’s little party. I did miss my family, so I guess… no, I’m getting too ahead of myself, now. I would think about that later.
I went around, inspecting Rhett and the Anorexic Girl, and then peered around more, being as inconspicuous as I could. Failing, I should add. Lazarus and Adeska’s debate was getting a little more heated than it should've, because the sister’s voice was beginning to raise. She hated to raise her voice. At least Lazarus didn’t bring his “evil staff”, or whatever name he gave it. It was some staff of a Chaotic god. All these complications with magic and deities… what ever became of simply the Goddess and God? Maybe I’m just too simple for this era. At least for Allanis, I thought. That one was obvious.
“Do you know what kind of danger you’re putting yourself in?” Adeska shouted, looking up and pointing a finger in Lazarus’s face. If she didn’t watch that finger, he just might bite it off. That was the only downside I saw in his choice.
Wait a minute. Where was the band? Allanis wanted a nice jolly band to come and play some cello, violin, flute stuff or something. Oh, that’s right, I remember now. She asked Athen to take care of it. No wonder the band wasn’t there. As long as no one else noticed the lack of music, though, I didn’t see a reason for me to waste my time getting my baby brother in trouble. I had peace to keep. There would be no more angsty autumn seasons. Nope, I was going to make this year different.
Ever since the family had started drifting on, doing their own things and living their own lives, it got harder to stay in touch, and well, be a family. That was important to Allanis. She just couldn’t bear to lose the family. We were all she had. Adeska moved to a neighboring town with Centa when Mariette was born, so visits weren’t as frequent. Rori got a job a few years ago on a different mainland, caring for a young princess. Lazarus and Rhett were always at their college, and didn’t have time to pay visits except on rare holidays. At least Chaos gods gave more holidays than the regular ones, or so I heard. Then, there was Aleth. None of us had seen him since he ran out, so every time Allanis had a get-together, most of us didn't show up. Last year, it was just me, her, and Athen. But I was going to make this year different. It had to be different. Our winter was not going to be spoiled because our siblings couldn’t pull it together.
The next thing I saw along my little venture around the dining hall was Athen and Nancelle talking. Actually, it was more like Nancelle trying to talk to Athen, and him trying to find something that would excuse him from the conversation. I moved closer.
“So, can you tell me more about yourself?” she asked. Athen shrugged, looking around, faking interest in something else.
“I’m kind of busy.” He didn’t even look at her. She continued with her damn plastic smile, and smoothed out her dress.
“Why don’t I follow you with whatever you’re doing, and we can—”
“No!” Athen said, sharply. He was starting to take after me! “Now go away! I said I have things to do!”
“But,”
“Look—”
“I’m trying! I’m trying to look!” Nancelle cried. “But you won’t let me!” What a load! Girls like her bothered me. They were so dramatic, and refused to take no for an answer. I decided I was going to go teach her and Athen both a lesson on the word “no”. I rushed up to them and glared at the heart-broken brunette.
“I don’t know what made you so blind all of a sudden,” I began, holding a finger in front of her, and if she wanted to pull a Lazarus on me and bite it off, I’d take a chunk out of her plastic face, “but you need to leave him alone. Go whine with your stick-friend and leave us alone! Maybe a gust of wind will come in and blow your skinny asses in the punch!” I turned around, refusing to look back at the results of my handiwork, and walked away with Athen into the kitchen.
“Thanks, Tizzy.” Appreciation. I liked it! In the kitchen, I could smell the spicy apple cider in the air, and my current train of thought nearly ran off the tracks.
“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered. “Just stay away from her, okay? If she starts to piss anyone else off, though, do not hesitate to tell her off!” He nodded solemnly.
“I’m sorry for losing the meat.” Oh hell, in a moral dilemma, all he could focus on was what I had yelled at him for early in the day.
“It’s no big deal, we have meat now, don’t we?” He glanced to the side, pouting like a shameful dog. Was this necessary? Did I really wound him that bad? I rolled my eyes and pursed my lips.
“I had to go into town and pick up more,” he said. So that meant that he didn’t actually find the lost meat, and it also meant that one of these days, a random pile of it was going to sneak up on us and appear out of nowhere. I sighed and bit my thumb, trying to remember my original objective.
“Whatever, whatever,” I said. “Just help me keep things calm! Allanis can’t have this party ruined, and you know that. It means too much to her!” The obedient little brother nodded and marched out of the door, and I followed close behind.
Well, things had gone pretty well for a few hours. I think we brought it on quite clear to Nancelle that she needed to be a little less persistent. Athen and I didn’t make too bad of a team, that night. He just made a lot of annoying mistakes. A lot. Anyway, the evening was rolling along smoothly, and Nancelle’s bony friend was the first to leave. Some random friends of Allanis’s left next, and then Corin and the girlfriend he didn’t like. Sadly, Centa’s friend Phio left shortly after that. Ah well, we didn’t say too much to each other anyway.
Now, it was just the siblings, Centa, and Mariette. Things had grown silent and Allanis disappeared into the kitchen, which had proven to be the hotspot of the night. The rest of us stood or sat, facing the fire together like the family we were supposed to be. There was something warm and comforting about it… standing there together again, like we hadn’t done for so long. Lazarus stood tall and straight beside me, his arms folded, and when I looked at him like that, with the light of the fire on his face, he looked no different than he did all of those years ago. I didn’t think about him and his interests, what he did with his life, and the dangers he lived with. Instead, I saw my brother. My oldest brother, the one who had looked after all of us, the one who had tried so hard to be the best replacement parent there was. I felt a warmth in my heart that wasn’t there before, realizing my family was by me. I didn’t even mind Rori standing to my other side. She smelled of wine, sure, but she was still prettier than I gave her credit for.
Adeska started her conversation with Lazarus again, the same one where she begged him to break free from the Chaos gods and come worship the earth. I knew what was on his mind, though, I could sense it. I wasn’t stupid. Once you started to worship them, you couldn’t turn away. They’d kill you. But he couldn’t tell that to Adeska, and I didn’t blame him. Still, I wished she would shut up. Mariette had been staring into the fire for quite some time, and I started to wonder if she was going to suffer from some cornea damage or something. My sister needed to stop spewing nonsense and do something about her daughter.
Then, that daughter finally turned away from the fire. Her eyes were dim and complex, and she stood up and of all people, she looked at me. If she was just any kid, I would’ve told her to back off and leave me alone, but today wasn’t a day I felt like having Centa pound me into the ground.
“You’re not expecting someone,” she said to me. I did nothing. Mariette had never said things like this before, at least not that I had heard of, and I had no idea what she was talking about.
“Alright.”
“And you don’t understand. No one knows.”
“But you know,” I informed her, “because you just told me.”
“I don’t know. They do. The fire. You aren’t expecting someone. He speaks, not harms.”
I didn’t know what to say. What the hell did that mean? It was obviously supposed to be serious, but I didn’t know what to make of it! I was going to tell Adeska or Centa, but… if she had wanted them to know, I figured she wouldn’t have gone to me, first. I sighed, rubbed my forehead, and nodded. Mareitte looked up at me, giving me a mere look of acknowledgement, and then went over to her father. Yawning, I scoured the room, beginning to grow bored, but I couldn’t believe it. Adeska and Lazarus were still having their dumb dispute.
Then, Allanis came out of the kitchen, distributing new glasses to everyone. What was happening now?
“It’s cider time!” she said joyously, passing by me and shoving a glass in my hand. Finally! It’s about time. I’ve had too much wine. It just wasn’t exciting anymore, and I never liked ale that much, so I wasn’t about to switch over to that. But, I noticed the cheery atmosphere return to the room as our attention went to Allanis, hyping us all up about the cider. I know it didn’t seem like anything to get excited about, but we haven’t been together like this for so long. Allanis had been really looking forward to this night, and cider was something special in our family. I hope to Goddess that nothing comes to ruin tonight. I hope to Goddess that I don’t ruin it…
The baby sister then brought out the bowls of hot cider. These were the memories we all cherished, even years ago. These were the memories that Allanis missed so much, and that she tried to recreate every autumn. Adeska and Lazarus had actually stopped their arguing, and were serving each other, showing their first sign of courtesy to one another all night. I watched as Allanis approached her brother.
“Hey Lazarus,” she said with a content smile. He grinned back and gave her a hug.
“Hey Alli,” he said back, running a hand through his scruffy goatee before bringing the cider to his lips. As the first sip reached his tongue, a shocked look was plastered on his face, and Allanis, pleased, folded her arms.
“I tried to make it just like you used to.” The moment was awful sweet, and I couldn’t keep from being in high spirits, inhaling the rich, sweet, spiced aroma. The firelight dazzled in my eyes as I embraced the moment all around me, hearing voices of happy conversations in my memories. Then, I realized they were actually taking place, and I snapped back into reality, listening in. There were a lot of conversations for just catching up on things, current events, new settings, and the like. That night, I learned that Mariette had quite an impressive and sophisticated vocabulary for her age, yet I was figuring that one out on my own. Rori, drunk as hell, told us about Princess Mirandy, the little five-year-old girl she was the nanny of on the neighboring mainland. We heard about Adeska’s studies, and Lazarus’s studies, and they were actually able to talk about them both in a friendly nature.
I had been interested at first, but then all of it got boring. As much as I love my siblings, their lives were quite boring. Lazarus studied and lectured all day, with the occasional eating his enemies’ souls for breakfast; Rhett was close behind, hitting on all the ladies along the way; Adeska studied all day and looked after Mariette; Centa was enlisted in the town’s army, so in other words, did absolutely nothing; Rori taught a brat how to play cat’s cradle and picked up her toys after seven; Allanis was a lazy ruler of a land that was given to her by the previous ruler days after she saved him from drowning; Athen and I helped our sister, doing the occasional chores, but otherwise having a completely normal life. One would assume that with so much free time, we would have fun, right? Wrong.
I was bored until an unexpected knock echoed into the room from down the entrance hall. That was when everyone hushed, giving each other puzzled glances. At the time, I didn’t even think of getting up to see who had knocked. I didn’t really think of anything. I was in an idle trance, just waiting like everyone else for someone to open the door.
Finally, Athen got up, and I could sense he was terrified as we watched him walk down the hall. I was unusually tense, and I didn’t know why.
“Wasn’t expecting that one,” I muttered.
“No, I wasn’t,” Allanis replied. Silently, we waited for Athen, hearing the large oak door creak open. And then, suddenly, it hit me.
You’re not expecting someone…
He speaks, not harms.
She knew. Mariette had known all along. She knew. The fire told her someone would show up unexpectedly. My shock was magnified when I heard Athen’s sharp gasp, almost a scream, from down the hall.
He speaks.
Not harms.
Then why was Athen nearly screaming? What was going wrong? Oh God, please don’t ruin this night!
Athen ran in with his hands on his knees, painting, and everyone but Mariette and myself rushed over to him, asking him a million questions about what happened and if he was okay. I glanced to my little niece, who had an idle, indifferent stare. Like always.
“Someone’s here! Something!” my brother said, breathlessly. Centa, Lazarus, and Adeska all looked past him, down the hall where the door was left partially open. I stared too, in awe, frozen, watching as a figure, hooded and shrouded in a scraggly black cloak, strode slowly down the hall, the candles shying away as it passed them. My heart beat hard with anticipation and fear as it neared. A pit feeling stirred in my gut, and a rush of cold swept into my head.
Speaks… not harms…
How was I supposed to believe a little toddler, anyway? How old was she? What, three, four maybe? I didn’t know. All I knew was that Allanis’s perfect night out of memory lane had just been ruined.
Our eyes went to a sword strapped around the grimly clothed figure. It was a sword with a blade as black as night – a blade that somehow… struck a memory. If Mariette hadn’t have spoken to me, in a heartbeat I would have taken this thing out the door and beat its face bloody. But, something was making me stop and think. Mariette was making me stop and think. I watched as Lazarus, Centa, and Adeska got ready to take action. My heart was still beating hard.
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” Adeska said firmly, neatly folding her hands in front of her. Her stare was quaint, but serious, but the figure stayed silent and did nothing. Rhett and Rori stood in front of Allanis, and Athen backed out of the picture like I had.
“Why’d you arm yourself?” Centa asked, his eyes unable to leave the black blade.
“I wish to speak to the Lady of Suradia.”
It was a slow, passive statement, in the voice of a young man. My heart was racing.
“I’m afraid we can’t let you do that. Remove your weapons, and then it might be possible,” Lazarus said, folding his hubbed arms, and amazingly, having to look up at the figure.
“I will not,” was the answer given.
“Then you cannot see the Lady!” Adeska shouted, standing between Lazarus and the figure. Though she was almost a head shorter than both of the men, it was definitely a warning when she closed her fists.
“I won’t leave until I speak with her.” Something was strange, and I tilted my head, trying to take in the situation. I felt like I should’ve done something, but what could I do? Apparently Centa had an idea himself, because he grabbed a conveniently placed sword from the family seal on the wall, and attempted to strike.
The figure’s moves were soft and fluid, and he was quickly able to parry Centa’s attack. Adeska backed away as the males moved forward. Within moments, a power had erupted from a ring on my brother’s finger, materializing into his skeletal staff, and he at once aimed it at once at the Hallenar House’s intruder. Lazarus was one of the key holders of the family temper.
Speak… not harm.
My mouth would not let me say a word. I watched as a gasp exploded from the figure’s mouth after Centa slammed his elbow into his back. Then, Lazarus pinned him on the floor with his glowing staff, gritting his teeth, malice glinting in his eyes.
“Don’t!” I shouted, trying to rush over, but stumbling on my poor excuse for a dress. I knew who it was. Familiar and now fearful brown eyes gazed at Lazarus, and the figure’s scraggly black hood fell away. A terrified, pale face was revealed, humiliated, a few beads of nervous sweat falling from his dark hair. The night wasn’t ruined. It was perfected.
“Aleth!” This time, I successfully rushed over to him, shoving Centa and Lazarus out of the way, offering my hand to help him up. To my dismay, he swatted my hand out of the way and looked up at me with… an unexplainable stare, and I backed away. He got up on his own, and the whole room fell silent.
“Aleth,” I repeated, still in shock. I looked up at him in awe, something resembling a look of total terror and happiness on my face. The room was still quiet, even the flames were waiting for the next words. Mine had been the only sound, and suddenly, a stupid question came to my mind and flew out of my mouth.
“Did you get the invitation?” Aleth gave me his emotionless stare again.
“I didn’t come to socialize,” he said. “I just came to speak to Allanis.” Nobody moved for the longest time, and I don’t really think any of us knew what to do. Aleth waited patiently for an answer, though, leaving me surprised with what he had become. Usually, I can read just about anyone. I know body language like no one else, and if I couldn’t figure someone out, it just couldn’t be done, but that had never happened before. Until now. Aleth was able to hide it all from me. He showed no emotion, no display of anger, sadness, happiness, anxiety, or anything except from what had escaped during his bout with Centa and Lazarus. He was an empty sea.
The silence lasted for several minutes, and the dancing light of the fire was losing its effect, when Allanis finally decided to take a stand. She bravely made her way in front of Rori and Rhett, and looked into Aleth’s intimidating eyes.
“Hello, Aleth.” She forced a smile through her fear, but he still gave the same look, the one from nearly two feet above her. She hadn’t grown much, but apparently, he had.
“Hello, Allanis.”
“So, you wanted to talk?”
Allanis had an interesting approach to this. She was trying so hard not to irritate Aleth, and she was so scared of him I wasn’t sure how she was functioning. I don’t blame her for being frightened, because I was too. It had been a long time since all of us had been together, so long since Aleth was with us… we had no idea what he had been through, or what he was like now, or who’s side he was on. We didn’t know if he was still infuriated and disgusted with us, what he was going to do to Allanis, or what he had to say. She was treating him like a little boy, however, which I thought was clever. Her voice was like she was giving a little boy candy and trying to get him to say something she wanted to hear. It was only because she was scared, though. She was just using that sweet, innocent little sister charm.
“To you. Just you.” I couldn’t believe it. Still no signs of anything from him. I wondered if Aleth had lost all sense of emotion when he ran out on us.
Allanis spread a nervous glance around the room, as if asking for help. I clenched my fists and nodded in response, knowing that Centa and Lazarus were ready to jump in if needed, too.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I loved my brother dearly… but I still wouldn’t put it past him to betray us, and that was our own fault. It may seem like what we did was a light matter, what we did to him, but there’s nothing more cruel than the rejection and torment of your family. Nothing. But if he tried to do anything to Allanis, I’d put my fist through his face so fast, he wouldn’t have enough time to see it coming. I didn’t care if he was twice as strong as I was. I had one thing to drive my strength that he had yet to display. Emotion.
Then Mariette’s words echoed in my head. I didn’t know why I was so tensed up. If the little girl had been right this far along, then why would things start messing up, now?
“Okay,” Allanis said. “Follow me. We can go down this hall and talk.” She was doing a good job so far. I know that I would be pissed off and ordering people around if I was in her shoes, so it was a good thing I wasn’t. But I didn’t waste any time. I had to figure out what Aleth had to say to Allanis, because I figured if it was her business, it was mine, too.
I wasted absolutely no time shadowing behind Allanis and Aleth. The neat thing was, by me having lived in the Hallenar House for so long, I had access to all the secrets of the manor. I knew where the tunnels were, I knew where the message pipes were, I knew it all. As the two took their time starting down the hall, I hurried up the stairs like a quiet, steady river. I opened a seemingly innocent cabinet on the edge of the stair balcony, and how convenient that it was empty. Everything must have been taken out for the party. I slid the bottom of the cabinet away and climbed in, letting myself fall down a narrow shaft into darkness. It was a hidden passageway right beside the downstairs hallway, and the walls were paper thin. The only bad thing was that I came crashing down to the bottom, bruising my elbow.
My God, this party was going to come to a quick crash if I didn’t do something! I looked around the feast room, and saw Rhett hitting on the girls around the table, including Nancelle’s anorexic friend. I would have gone to say hello, since in reality I had all the time in the world, but I had this thing that was called a “conscience” that occasionally broke free from the little box I locked it in, and it always tried to rearrange my behavior and morals. So, I was out to save Allanis’s little party. I did miss my family, so I guess… no, I’m getting too ahead of myself, now. I would think about that later.
I went around, inspecting Rhett and the Anorexic Girl, and then peered around more, being as inconspicuous as I could. Failing, I should add. Lazarus and Adeska’s debate was getting a little more heated than it should've, because the sister’s voice was beginning to raise. She hated to raise her voice. At least Lazarus didn’t bring his “evil staff”, or whatever name he gave it. It was some staff of a Chaotic god. All these complications with magic and deities… what ever became of simply the Goddess and God? Maybe I’m just too simple for this era. At least for Allanis, I thought. That one was obvious.
“Do you know what kind of danger you’re putting yourself in?” Adeska shouted, looking up and pointing a finger in Lazarus’s face. If she didn’t watch that finger, he just might bite it off. That was the only downside I saw in his choice.
Wait a minute. Where was the band? Allanis wanted a nice jolly band to come and play some cello, violin, flute stuff or something. Oh, that’s right, I remember now. She asked Athen to take care of it. No wonder the band wasn’t there. As long as no one else noticed the lack of music, though, I didn’t see a reason for me to waste my time getting my baby brother in trouble. I had peace to keep. There would be no more angsty autumn seasons. Nope, I was going to make this year different.
Ever since the family had started drifting on, doing their own things and living their own lives, it got harder to stay in touch, and well, be a family. That was important to Allanis. She just couldn’t bear to lose the family. We were all she had. Adeska moved to a neighboring town with Centa when Mariette was born, so visits weren’t as frequent. Rori got a job a few years ago on a different mainland, caring for a young princess. Lazarus and Rhett were always at their college, and didn’t have time to pay visits except on rare holidays. At least Chaos gods gave more holidays than the regular ones, or so I heard. Then, there was Aleth. None of us had seen him since he ran out, so every time Allanis had a get-together, most of us didn't show up. Last year, it was just me, her, and Athen. But I was going to make this year different. It had to be different. Our winter was not going to be spoiled because our siblings couldn’t pull it together.
The next thing I saw along my little venture around the dining hall was Athen and Nancelle talking. Actually, it was more like Nancelle trying to talk to Athen, and him trying to find something that would excuse him from the conversation. I moved closer.
“So, can you tell me more about yourself?” she asked. Athen shrugged, looking around, faking interest in something else.
“I’m kind of busy.” He didn’t even look at her. She continued with her damn plastic smile, and smoothed out her dress.
“Why don’t I follow you with whatever you’re doing, and we can—”
“No!” Athen said, sharply. He was starting to take after me! “Now go away! I said I have things to do!”
“But,”
“Look—”
“I’m trying! I’m trying to look!” Nancelle cried. “But you won’t let me!” What a load! Girls like her bothered me. They were so dramatic, and refused to take no for an answer. I decided I was going to go teach her and Athen both a lesson on the word “no”. I rushed up to them and glared at the heart-broken brunette.
“I don’t know what made you so blind all of a sudden,” I began, holding a finger in front of her, and if she wanted to pull a Lazarus on me and bite it off, I’d take a chunk out of her plastic face, “but you need to leave him alone. Go whine with your stick-friend and leave us alone! Maybe a gust of wind will come in and blow your skinny asses in the punch!” I turned around, refusing to look back at the results of my handiwork, and walked away with Athen into the kitchen.
“Thanks, Tizzy.” Appreciation. I liked it! In the kitchen, I could smell the spicy apple cider in the air, and my current train of thought nearly ran off the tracks.
“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered. “Just stay away from her, okay? If she starts to piss anyone else off, though, do not hesitate to tell her off!” He nodded solemnly.
“I’m sorry for losing the meat.” Oh hell, in a moral dilemma, all he could focus on was what I had yelled at him for early in the day.
“It’s no big deal, we have meat now, don’t we?” He glanced to the side, pouting like a shameful dog. Was this necessary? Did I really wound him that bad? I rolled my eyes and pursed my lips.
“I had to go into town and pick up more,” he said. So that meant that he didn’t actually find the lost meat, and it also meant that one of these days, a random pile of it was going to sneak up on us and appear out of nowhere. I sighed and bit my thumb, trying to remember my original objective.
“Whatever, whatever,” I said. “Just help me keep things calm! Allanis can’t have this party ruined, and you know that. It means too much to her!” The obedient little brother nodded and marched out of the door, and I followed close behind.
Well, things had gone pretty well for a few hours. I think we brought it on quite clear to Nancelle that she needed to be a little less persistent. Athen and I didn’t make too bad of a team, that night. He just made a lot of annoying mistakes. A lot. Anyway, the evening was rolling along smoothly, and Nancelle’s bony friend was the first to leave. Some random friends of Allanis’s left next, and then Corin and the girlfriend he didn’t like. Sadly, Centa’s friend Phio left shortly after that. Ah well, we didn’t say too much to each other anyway.
Now, it was just the siblings, Centa, and Mariette. Things had grown silent and Allanis disappeared into the kitchen, which had proven to be the hotspot of the night. The rest of us stood or sat, facing the fire together like the family we were supposed to be. There was something warm and comforting about it… standing there together again, like we hadn’t done for so long. Lazarus stood tall and straight beside me, his arms folded, and when I looked at him like that, with the light of the fire on his face, he looked no different than he did all of those years ago. I didn’t think about him and his interests, what he did with his life, and the dangers he lived with. Instead, I saw my brother. My oldest brother, the one who had looked after all of us, the one who had tried so hard to be the best replacement parent there was. I felt a warmth in my heart that wasn’t there before, realizing my family was by me. I didn’t even mind Rori standing to my other side. She smelled of wine, sure, but she was still prettier than I gave her credit for.
Adeska started her conversation with Lazarus again, the same one where she begged him to break free from the Chaos gods and come worship the earth. I knew what was on his mind, though, I could sense it. I wasn’t stupid. Once you started to worship them, you couldn’t turn away. They’d kill you. But he couldn’t tell that to Adeska, and I didn’t blame him. Still, I wished she would shut up. Mariette had been staring into the fire for quite some time, and I started to wonder if she was going to suffer from some cornea damage or something. My sister needed to stop spewing nonsense and do something about her daughter.
Then, that daughter finally turned away from the fire. Her eyes were dim and complex, and she stood up and of all people, she looked at me. If she was just any kid, I would’ve told her to back off and leave me alone, but today wasn’t a day I felt like having Centa pound me into the ground.
“You’re not expecting someone,” she said to me. I did nothing. Mariette had never said things like this before, at least not that I had heard of, and I had no idea what she was talking about.
“Alright.”
“And you don’t understand. No one knows.”
“But you know,” I informed her, “because you just told me.”
“I don’t know. They do. The fire. You aren’t expecting someone. He speaks, not harms.”
I didn’t know what to say. What the hell did that mean? It was obviously supposed to be serious, but I didn’t know what to make of it! I was going to tell Adeska or Centa, but… if she had wanted them to know, I figured she wouldn’t have gone to me, first. I sighed, rubbed my forehead, and nodded. Mareitte looked up at me, giving me a mere look of acknowledgement, and then went over to her father. Yawning, I scoured the room, beginning to grow bored, but I couldn’t believe it. Adeska and Lazarus were still having their dumb dispute.
Then, Allanis came out of the kitchen, distributing new glasses to everyone. What was happening now?
“It’s cider time!” she said joyously, passing by me and shoving a glass in my hand. Finally! It’s about time. I’ve had too much wine. It just wasn’t exciting anymore, and I never liked ale that much, so I wasn’t about to switch over to that. But, I noticed the cheery atmosphere return to the room as our attention went to Allanis, hyping us all up about the cider. I know it didn’t seem like anything to get excited about, but we haven’t been together like this for so long. Allanis had been really looking forward to this night, and cider was something special in our family. I hope to Goddess that nothing comes to ruin tonight. I hope to Goddess that I don’t ruin it…
The baby sister then brought out the bowls of hot cider. These were the memories we all cherished, even years ago. These were the memories that Allanis missed so much, and that she tried to recreate every autumn. Adeska and Lazarus had actually stopped their arguing, and were serving each other, showing their first sign of courtesy to one another all night. I watched as Allanis approached her brother.
“Hey Lazarus,” she said with a content smile. He grinned back and gave her a hug.
“Hey Alli,” he said back, running a hand through his scruffy goatee before bringing the cider to his lips. As the first sip reached his tongue, a shocked look was plastered on his face, and Allanis, pleased, folded her arms.
“I tried to make it just like you used to.” The moment was awful sweet, and I couldn’t keep from being in high spirits, inhaling the rich, sweet, spiced aroma. The firelight dazzled in my eyes as I embraced the moment all around me, hearing voices of happy conversations in my memories. Then, I realized they were actually taking place, and I snapped back into reality, listening in. There were a lot of conversations for just catching up on things, current events, new settings, and the like. That night, I learned that Mariette had quite an impressive and sophisticated vocabulary for her age, yet I was figuring that one out on my own. Rori, drunk as hell, told us about Princess Mirandy, the little five-year-old girl she was the nanny of on the neighboring mainland. We heard about Adeska’s studies, and Lazarus’s studies, and they were actually able to talk about them both in a friendly nature.
I had been interested at first, but then all of it got boring. As much as I love my siblings, their lives were quite boring. Lazarus studied and lectured all day, with the occasional eating his enemies’ souls for breakfast; Rhett was close behind, hitting on all the ladies along the way; Adeska studied all day and looked after Mariette; Centa was enlisted in the town’s army, so in other words, did absolutely nothing; Rori taught a brat how to play cat’s cradle and picked up her toys after seven; Allanis was a lazy ruler of a land that was given to her by the previous ruler days after she saved him from drowning; Athen and I helped our sister, doing the occasional chores, but otherwise having a completely normal life. One would assume that with so much free time, we would have fun, right? Wrong.
I was bored until an unexpected knock echoed into the room from down the entrance hall. That was when everyone hushed, giving each other puzzled glances. At the time, I didn’t even think of getting up to see who had knocked. I didn’t really think of anything. I was in an idle trance, just waiting like everyone else for someone to open the door.
Finally, Athen got up, and I could sense he was terrified as we watched him walk down the hall. I was unusually tense, and I didn’t know why.
“Wasn’t expecting that one,” I muttered.
“No, I wasn’t,” Allanis replied. Silently, we waited for Athen, hearing the large oak door creak open. And then, suddenly, it hit me.
You’re not expecting someone…
He speaks, not harms.
She knew. Mariette had known all along. She knew. The fire told her someone would show up unexpectedly. My shock was magnified when I heard Athen’s sharp gasp, almost a scream, from down the hall.
He speaks.
Not harms.
Then why was Athen nearly screaming? What was going wrong? Oh God, please don’t ruin this night!
Athen ran in with his hands on his knees, painting, and everyone but Mariette and myself rushed over to him, asking him a million questions about what happened and if he was okay. I glanced to my little niece, who had an idle, indifferent stare. Like always.
“Someone’s here! Something!” my brother said, breathlessly. Centa, Lazarus, and Adeska all looked past him, down the hall where the door was left partially open. I stared too, in awe, frozen, watching as a figure, hooded and shrouded in a scraggly black cloak, strode slowly down the hall, the candles shying away as it passed them. My heart beat hard with anticipation and fear as it neared. A pit feeling stirred in my gut, and a rush of cold swept into my head.
Speaks… not harms…
How was I supposed to believe a little toddler, anyway? How old was she? What, three, four maybe? I didn’t know. All I knew was that Allanis’s perfect night out of memory lane had just been ruined.
Our eyes went to a sword strapped around the grimly clothed figure. It was a sword with a blade as black as night – a blade that somehow… struck a memory. If Mariette hadn’t have spoken to me, in a heartbeat I would have taken this thing out the door and beat its face bloody. But, something was making me stop and think. Mariette was making me stop and think. I watched as Lazarus, Centa, and Adeska got ready to take action. My heart was still beating hard.
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” Adeska said firmly, neatly folding her hands in front of her. Her stare was quaint, but serious, but the figure stayed silent and did nothing. Rhett and Rori stood in front of Allanis, and Athen backed out of the picture like I had.
“Why’d you arm yourself?” Centa asked, his eyes unable to leave the black blade.
“I wish to speak to the Lady of Suradia.”
It was a slow, passive statement, in the voice of a young man. My heart was racing.
“I’m afraid we can’t let you do that. Remove your weapons, and then it might be possible,” Lazarus said, folding his hubbed arms, and amazingly, having to look up at the figure.
“I will not,” was the answer given.
“Then you cannot see the Lady!” Adeska shouted, standing between Lazarus and the figure. Though she was almost a head shorter than both of the men, it was definitely a warning when she closed her fists.
“I won’t leave until I speak with her.” Something was strange, and I tilted my head, trying to take in the situation. I felt like I should’ve done something, but what could I do? Apparently Centa had an idea himself, because he grabbed a conveniently placed sword from the family seal on the wall, and attempted to strike.
The figure’s moves were soft and fluid, and he was quickly able to parry Centa’s attack. Adeska backed away as the males moved forward. Within moments, a power had erupted from a ring on my brother’s finger, materializing into his skeletal staff, and he at once aimed it at once at the Hallenar House’s intruder. Lazarus was one of the key holders of the family temper.
Speak… not harm.
My mouth would not let me say a word. I watched as a gasp exploded from the figure’s mouth after Centa slammed his elbow into his back. Then, Lazarus pinned him on the floor with his glowing staff, gritting his teeth, malice glinting in his eyes.
“Don’t!” I shouted, trying to rush over, but stumbling on my poor excuse for a dress. I knew who it was. Familiar and now fearful brown eyes gazed at Lazarus, and the figure’s scraggly black hood fell away. A terrified, pale face was revealed, humiliated, a few beads of nervous sweat falling from his dark hair. The night wasn’t ruined. It was perfected.
“Aleth!” This time, I successfully rushed over to him, shoving Centa and Lazarus out of the way, offering my hand to help him up. To my dismay, he swatted my hand out of the way and looked up at me with… an unexplainable stare, and I backed away. He got up on his own, and the whole room fell silent.
“Aleth,” I repeated, still in shock. I looked up at him in awe, something resembling a look of total terror and happiness on my face. The room was still quiet, even the flames were waiting for the next words. Mine had been the only sound, and suddenly, a stupid question came to my mind and flew out of my mouth.
“Did you get the invitation?” Aleth gave me his emotionless stare again.
“I didn’t come to socialize,” he said. “I just came to speak to Allanis.” Nobody moved for the longest time, and I don’t really think any of us knew what to do. Aleth waited patiently for an answer, though, leaving me surprised with what he had become. Usually, I can read just about anyone. I know body language like no one else, and if I couldn’t figure someone out, it just couldn’t be done, but that had never happened before. Until now. Aleth was able to hide it all from me. He showed no emotion, no display of anger, sadness, happiness, anxiety, or anything except from what had escaped during his bout with Centa and Lazarus. He was an empty sea.
The silence lasted for several minutes, and the dancing light of the fire was losing its effect, when Allanis finally decided to take a stand. She bravely made her way in front of Rori and Rhett, and looked into Aleth’s intimidating eyes.
“Hello, Aleth.” She forced a smile through her fear, but he still gave the same look, the one from nearly two feet above her. She hadn’t grown much, but apparently, he had.
“Hello, Allanis.”
“So, you wanted to talk?”
Allanis had an interesting approach to this. She was trying so hard not to irritate Aleth, and she was so scared of him I wasn’t sure how she was functioning. I don’t blame her for being frightened, because I was too. It had been a long time since all of us had been together, so long since Aleth was with us… we had no idea what he had been through, or what he was like now, or who’s side he was on. We didn’t know if he was still infuriated and disgusted with us, what he was going to do to Allanis, or what he had to say. She was treating him like a little boy, however, which I thought was clever. Her voice was like she was giving a little boy candy and trying to get him to say something she wanted to hear. It was only because she was scared, though. She was just using that sweet, innocent little sister charm.
“To you. Just you.” I couldn’t believe it. Still no signs of anything from him. I wondered if Aleth had lost all sense of emotion when he ran out on us.
Allanis spread a nervous glance around the room, as if asking for help. I clenched my fists and nodded in response, knowing that Centa and Lazarus were ready to jump in if needed, too.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I loved my brother dearly… but I still wouldn’t put it past him to betray us, and that was our own fault. It may seem like what we did was a light matter, what we did to him, but there’s nothing more cruel than the rejection and torment of your family. Nothing. But if he tried to do anything to Allanis, I’d put my fist through his face so fast, he wouldn’t have enough time to see it coming. I didn’t care if he was twice as strong as I was. I had one thing to drive my strength that he had yet to display. Emotion.
Then Mariette’s words echoed in my head. I didn’t know why I was so tensed up. If the little girl had been right this far along, then why would things start messing up, now?
“Okay,” Allanis said. “Follow me. We can go down this hall and talk.” She was doing a good job so far. I know that I would be pissed off and ordering people around if I was in her shoes, so it was a good thing I wasn’t. But I didn’t waste any time. I had to figure out what Aleth had to say to Allanis, because I figured if it was her business, it was mine, too.
I wasted absolutely no time shadowing behind Allanis and Aleth. The neat thing was, by me having lived in the Hallenar House for so long, I had access to all the secrets of the manor. I knew where the tunnels were, I knew where the message pipes were, I knew it all. As the two took their time starting down the hall, I hurried up the stairs like a quiet, steady river. I opened a seemingly innocent cabinet on the edge of the stair balcony, and how convenient that it was empty. Everything must have been taken out for the party. I slid the bottom of the cabinet away and climbed in, letting myself fall down a narrow shaft into darkness. It was a hidden passageway right beside the downstairs hallway, and the walls were paper thin. The only bad thing was that I came crashing down to the bottom, bruising my elbow.
