The room smelled like medicine, something grassy and herbal. It reminded Aurelie of the infirmary where she had spent some time back in the Icelands. The walls were quite bare. White sheets, Grand beige curtains with gold swirling patterns were spread open to let in a lot of sunlight. A large cage stood in the middle of the window. Within it, a little grey bird with an orange tummy jumped onto a lower level and stare at Aurelie, turning its head. It flew up to the very top level of the cage and spread its wings.
Lady Morel walked up to one of the only paintings on the wall and lifted it off its nail. Behind it, there was a small space in the wall that was occupied by a little lever. She hesitated for a moment too long, making the General grow impatient. He stuck his hand in and pulled. A mechanical ticking sound came from behind the wall. The General stepped back. His brows were furrowed and his posture tense. He glanced back at Aurelie, then at the Lady, saw that she was unconcerned with the sound and then relaxed too.
The door opened and the General entered without hesitation. A stale odor came from the open space. Aurelie waited to hear him make a sound of sorts so that she could be prepared for whatever was waiting for her inside that room.
He came back out soon after, looking bewildered. "Right," he said, and lifted his finger, pointing it at her, "don't touch him."
"Is he a-"
"Barely."
"Okay. What do we do?" She looked toward the room and this time noticed a faint purple light coming from the left side. All the courage she had built up over the last few months disappeared. She felt ten years old again.
"I'll be back." The shadow below him grey darker then spread out, and rose from the ground, wrapping around him from the bottom up.
"Where are you going?"
"To get someone that knows what they're doing." The shadow covered him completely within several seconds. She had never seen a shadow walker fade so quickly. She blinked and he was gone.
The door to the chamber opened. Rusty from sitting at the castle and not touching her magic in weeks, Aurelie was not quite fast enough to stop the lot of them from rushing in. A line of fire ran across the floor, below the doorway, and then climbed up the door until a frame of fire surrounded it. Two men, daggers in hand, stood roughly ten steps away.
She looked at them irritably. "And now?" she asked them. "What are you possibly going to do?"
The shortest one of the two, flicked his head back in surprise, clearly challenged by her question. His hand swung and Aurelie felt his dagger fly past her cheek almost instantly, creating a warm stinging pain. She wiped her hand across her cheek and felt her finger grow wet with her blood.
"Alright!" Aurelie flicked her own hand dramatically, the fire below the man came with such force that he was knocked off his feet. "Let's play!" she shouted and then looked at the other soldier who was holding his hand in exactly the same manner then turned back to him again.
"No?" Her eyes blazed. "You don't want to anymore?"
He crawled backward.
"Get out!"
Lady Morel's heels sounded behind her. Aurelie summoned a wall of fire behind her. A screamed sounded. Sharp and frustrated all at once. Aurelie turned and saw Lady Morel rolling around on the floor.
"Please!" she shouted. "Oh God! Please, stop it!" The more she rolled around on the floor, and slapped herself, the more the fire spread. The uninjured guard ran up to her, grabbed the blanket off the bed in one quick swoop and started beating her with it. The potent smell of burnt hair filled the room.
Aurelie looked at the doorway that led to Kirin and then sat down on the corner of the bed like a coward. The guard looked up at her, exasperated, appalled and pleading. The blanket slowly, but he still kept trying to extinguish the flames, biting through the pain that it now caused him. Aurelie sigh and extended her arm out toward the fire, pulling it back. Her fingers felt warm, instantly she felt the exhilaration of the magic. Though she wasn't a mother, the pull between a baby and a mother was the closest comparison she could come up with.
"Take her to the infirmary," she said.
He looked up at her from the top of his brows, furious and wanting to act. Putting her hand on her knee, Aurelie tensed, watching him intently to make sure she was ready if he struck. Every bone in his body seemed to be telling him to do so.
"Why don't you go in there?" the Lady's crocky and tense voice sounded.
Aurelie looked at her, bewildered. "I. . ."
"You're a bigger coward than I thought," she said and rolled over onto her stomach. She rose slowly, shooing the guard when he tried to help. "I'll see myself out. You lot have proved how useless you are."
Aurelie watched her leave through the balcony. The room was on the ground floor, so it was more a veranda of sorts, but quite fancy, surrounded by thick white arches and large pots filled with pink and white roses. The two guards followed her, one bruised and battered and the other only missing his pride.
The guards came rushing back in. Aurelie set fire to her hand and readied to fight them. Just as she was about to release the fire. The ground shook below her feet. Something massive fell down outside.
"Good God!" the injured guard yelled. "Run!"
Aurelie heart hammered in her chest. He looked absolutely petrified with fear. The sound of wind came from outside, only it was heavier than normal. Like gas. . . Fire!
Princess! Valice's voice entered Aurelie's mind.
I'm here. Aurelie responded. I'm safe.
They turned to the door that was a flame and turned to Aurelie with desperate expressions. "Let us out!" they said in unison.
"She won't harm you," Aurelie said, and then twisted her head in thought. "Unless I tell her to."
The injured guard walked over the corner farthest from Aurelie and the garden outside and sat down, cradling his head. The other one - Aurelie began to grow quite fond of him for his bravery, or stupidity, she couldn't tell quite yet - crept slowly toward the balcony and screamed.
"God Almighty!"
"What is it?" Aurelie ran toward the balcony, petrified herself, but too curious to stop herself.
"It's the Devil herself."
Niendry came walking - swaying - toward them. The black whirlwind around her skirt looked more frightening in the bright sunlight. Aurelie had never really noticed it before but today, it looked quite sinister. Perhaps, it was the fact that she had arrived at the manor, riding Aurelie's dragon that made her feel uneasy. Yes, it was most certainly that than anything else.
Niendry had a knowing smile on her face. She rolled her eyes and wiggled her fingers in a hearty hello. "Honestly, Your Majesty, you'd think I stole your husband!" she yelled from the other side of the garden.
"To hell with all of you!" the brave-coward said and ran past Aurelie, jumped over the palisade and disappeared out of view. "God help you!" she heard him scream.
"God help us indeed," Niendry added just as she reached the outskirt of the veranda. Her head turned right, then left, looking for an entryway and when she couldn't find one, she swung one leg over the banister and sat down before swinging the other one over. She wasn't much of a lady, Niendry. Though, Aurelie was less of one.
"Is that your blood?" she asked.
"No."
Niendry glanced at her more seriously. "Where's your boy?"
"In there," Aurelie answered, the tremor in her hands was returning. The company was much appreciated. This whole time she'd just been avoiding stepping inside there. The General's face had told her everything she needed to know. She'd been a step away from the door so many time in the last hour but she couldn't even force her eyes to glance inside for a second. All she knew about that room was that the floor had no carper and that it smelled like an old, stale forgotten place.
It had been months since she'd seen him and the last time, within the Dream Realm, he was basically begging her to kill him. It was selfish as hell but she didn't want to find out why. Remaining blissfully unaware for the last few minutes was all she wanted.
"Have you been inside?"
Aurelie shook her head. "I'm scared to death of what's inside there, Niendry."
Niendry licked her lips and swallowed. The whirlwind around her skirt seemed to be pulling her in the direction of the door. Only the dead weren't scared. Niendry took a breath and turned to the doorway.
The injured guard, who had been listening to the conversation, tensed alone with Aurelie.
Niendry stopped at the entrance and jumped slightly insuprised. "What's his name, Aurelie?" she asked in a monotone and lowered voice.
"K-Kirin," Aurelie said.
"Kirin," Niendry said quietly, "Your Highness. Your wife is right outside."
Kirin grunted something.
Aurelie's heart dropped. The Dream Realm hadn't done his voice justice. It ran right through her and touched every fiber. Her legs moved before she noticed. Niendry's hand flew out and blocked her off before she could truly enter the door.
"Careful now," Niendry warned but she wasn't looking at Aurelie, she was looking at Kirin.
Aurelie turned toward him slowly. Their eyes locked. Hers hopeful and scared. His empty. Not the emptiness of a tortured man or a lost soul but that of a rabid animal. The soft blue was almost complete stolen but the wide and black pupils. He sat in a high chair without chains, without bindings of any kind. There was nothing keeping him there.
"Kirin," she said, her voice didn't come through. "Kirin," she repeated herself a little louder.
"I think I see it," Niendry said.
There was a large table to the left of them, right up against the wall. It was packed with things, wooden bowls, iron cauldrons, herbs and spices, tools of all sort. The table had two layers and stacked chaotically full.
Aurelie didn't take her eyes off of Kirin. Something dropped near Niendry, Aurelie flinched but Kirin did not. He watched her like prey. His body was tense. There was a time by the pond, the first time she had ever laid eyes on him when he came out of the water and scared the life out of her, she remembered it fondly and smiled at him as his body tensed. Licking her lips - as his slightly twitched in disdain - she remembered their first kiss. When she was a child, she saw a big cat chasing a small lizard across their garden. It was a mean old thing with a big black spot on the back of its head. The moment before he swung for the lizard with its big paw and bit down on its small body, it waited, watched, tensed and held its breath. Aurelie didn't run. Nor did she cry, or panic.
The General's coming, she told herself, instead, he'll know what to do. He'll fix this. Peter's mostly fine. A little grumpy, and maybe forgetful, but not murderously mad.
"Here it is," Niendry said. In her hands, she held a black wooden box. It looked aged and charred, like an ancient tome. Niendry turned to Kirin. "Now, if I can just figure out how to put it back in. . ."
"Niendry," Aurelie warned, keeping eye-contact with glassy-eyed Kirin, "the General said not to touch him--"
Niendry shadow caught the corner of Aurelie's eye. Her hand reached out to him. She held onto something bright and purple. Niendry put a hand on Kirin's shoulder. His brows furrowed.
"Kirin," Aurelie said, as his shoulder twitched ever so slightly. "I love you."
Kirin leaped.