Spoiler
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"And exactly what part of that is about me?" I ask. What was with the whole thing about the moon and being blind to what you already have? That sounded more like a poem than a Prophecy... Isn't a Prophecy supposed to tell you who dies, when they die, and who accompanies you on your journey? To be honest, that was very vague and didn't make any sense to me.
"I'm as doubtful as you," Kale says.
"Hey-"
Mylei cuts me off, "That was very much about you. You are a key player in the Prophecy. Any other questions?"
"How is the Prophecy going to help us save our kingdom?" World asks, eyeing the parchment she copied the Prophecy down on.
Mylei smiles, "It depends on what Lupe makes of it." Thanks for putting the pressure on me.
"How do you even know the Prophecy?" I ask.
"I assume you guys know that most people are gifted with the basic ability to tune," we all nod, "When you tune, you can get inside the minds of people in the other plane called Earth and watch their lives and thoughts unfold before you. You can do this because their plane is right on top of ours and only a thin layer of reality protects our worlds from colliding. Tuning allows us to slip through that layer."
"We already know this," I say impatiently.
"I'm getting to the good stuff. But time is also like those layers of reality. Time is all stacked up neatly and everything is happening on top of another. Like I have spoken these words countless times and you have listened an infinite amount. I have a special capability where I can sift through the moments that are all happening at once and find the information I want. It took me merely ten minutes to find the Prophecy a week ago. I simply found the moment I told you the Propecy and went with that. I noticed that Kale has the ability to pass through the layer that protects people's minds from other minds."
"So that is how Kale erased the memories of the people that witnessed the carriage incident... Doesn't that count as life influencing?"
"It was for the protection of the people and I'm a high ranking knight. I have the authority to do that," Kale replies.
"Do you always look at other people's minds? Because I'm starting to feel uncomfortable around you..."
"No. I have to think about looking into your mind before I can see it. I only use my power in emergancies or when trying to get information out of criminals."
Mylei's eyes glow a violet color and she says ominously, "I think that it is best you guys get going."
"Why?" I ask.
Mylei answers, "He is coming."
"Damn, we can't leave through the front door! Is there another exit?" Kale whispers, eyeing the door, a mixture of fear and anger are brimming in his eyes. Whoever he is, Kale is sure terrified of him, yet looks like he would kill him if you gave him the chance.
"What are you guys so worried about? Who is he?"
"Use the back way out. Behind the staircase is a door," Mylei directs.
We bolt through the back door and into another dark alley-way, fleeing for all our lives are worth. Is he the darkness the Prophecy speaks of? Our footsteps echo off the cobble stone and our shadows dance together on the old building walls. If I squint my eyes hard enough I can see castle spires piercing the sunset.
"We need to meet at some other time," World pants in mid-stride.
"How about the entrance of the Lost Woods?" Kale suggests. We turn a corner and our shadows become longer.
"That'll be perfect," World beams, "What about you Lupe?"
"Ok."
"Meet us there at twelve tonight. Don't forget."
I nod and we turn turn down different corners. What the heck have I gotten myself into? How am I apart of this Prophecy? What does it even mean? More importantly, how do I get back to the inn from here?
I can no longer see the castle spires that would have been a beacon to the town square, and from there I know how to get back home. I wander for what seems like an hour in the maze of the slums. Vagabounds peek at me from behind wooden crates or the doorways of run-down buildings. Everytime, I feel my pocket for the hilt of my knife and breath slower, telling myself over and over, It's all right. They can't hurt you. Eventually, I get tired, slide against a cold cement wall and slowly lower myself to the ground. Where the heck am I? I slouch in defeat and rest my head in-between my legs, closing my eyes. It is getting dark, I won't make it home.
"Are you lost?" I look up and find myself drowning in golden eyes. I would yell at him, but I am too tired to.
"Kinda."
He sits beside me, accidently brushing his hand up against mine, and I feel flames dancing on my face. He whispers in my ear, "I know how to get back to the inn." Shivers crawl down my spine but in a good way. I want to feel that again. His closeness is making me nervous, and his smell intoxicates me. If he gets any closer to me, I might hyperventilate. And that is exactly what he does. Before I have time to react he says, "Au revoir."
Somehow I am in my room in the inn, but I don't dwell on how I got here. I assume it is magic of some sort and move on with life. I wonder how he learned magic? In our school, they don't teach you how to use it. Most of the time, you either learn from your parents or a trainer. I wonder which he has?
I burst out my door and into the living room.
"Hey, Mom, Dad, I'm back." My parents jump from the couch, stopping their conversation. Both of them looked spooked, and Dad is scratching his head, curious how he missed me come through the front door (which I didn't).
"Lupe," My Mom says, "We need to talk about something. You're-"
I finish her sentence, "In trouble. I know. I'm sorry for staying out so late but I got lost."
"It's not that," My Dad says.
"It's actually something we should have told you a long time ago. We were just afraid of your reaction so we decided not to tell you but we feel like it is time..."
Without any emotion because I don't want to show how much it hurts, I say, "So you're finally going to tell me why you can't trust me," I barely whisper but it feels like the whole world can hear.
"No, sweetie, it's-"
"It doesn't matter. I don't care. All my life I've felt like neither of you have really seen me. You just look right past me and see what you want because you are afraid of what you'll really see. I don't know what I did to make you not trust me. But ever since I was little, I wanted to fix it. I always felt like there was something wrong with me," the tears in my eyes eventually went over the maximum capacity and flow in gentle rivulets. That is funny, tears are salty but sweet too. And they are so gentle when they roll across your face it's like you're not crying. Why does it hurt so bad on the inside? "And since I never knew what was wrong, I assumed it was everything about me."
My parents look startled, never has their perfect, well-mannered daughter ever had an outburst. Never complained, never cried, never had I ever took off the mask with the permanent sunny smile.
"Sweetie, none of that is true."
"Let me finish. I want you to know how I feel before I leave. You never let me spend the night at Destiny's, go out of town for field trips, and don't like leaving me to my own devices. So you know what I did? I got straight A's. Never was a report card displayed on the mantle like Destiny's parents do. I take up horseback riding and win every tournament. Never did you happen to notice the blue ribbons on my dresser. I take care of all the livestock on our ranch everyday without being asked and you guys decide to never celebrate my birthday. I did everything to try to be perfect so you guys would love me. I was trying to make nothing wrong with me so you could finally trust me."
My Dad chokes, "Sweetheart, we thought that since you were doing so well that you were happy..."
I pull up my sleeves, my tears flowing freely and I don't bother to wipe them from away. "See these?" They gape openmouthed at my scars from cutting. "I feel ignored... I know you guys are farmers and busy most of the time. I understand that but somedays I just feel so unloved."
Both my parents are crying, but I don't feel guilty. Not yet. Mom weeps, "We can fix this... It isn't too late."
"Yes it is! I'm leaving. I have to... This letter will explain and there is something for Destiny in there too... And my will if I die," I slap a peice an envelope plagued with my messy scrawl on the coffee table, "I just thought I'd let you guys know how much I love you before leave. I couldn't hurt this much if I hadn't loved you more."
I perch myself on the sill of an open window. "Bye." I feel a bit dizzy looking down at the dark ground. The breeze is gentle and relaxing, but threating to thrust me over the edge.
"No, wait Lupe!" My Mom cries, "You'll kill yourself if you jump, we're on the fourth floor!" Mom and Dad are crying more than me now, but I ignore them. I just want them to know about the problems I kept bottled up before I left.
"If I'm meant to fulfill the Prophecy, I'll live. If I'm not, my life means nothing to anybody anyway."
Not only is there a pool of tears on the floor fit for a crime scene but shrill screams to match.
I look out the window and survey the ground below me, trying to imagine myself sprawled across the soft grass. Despite me jumping, birds will still sing, crops will still grow, and people will still live. My life won't affect anything if I die. World and Kale can find a new hero if I die. I'm not cut out for that stuff. I'm too average. Too imperfect.
I jump out the window before I they can change my mind. A second longer and an 'I love you' and they would have too.
Golden-eyes is standing in a misty clearing in the Lost Woods with me. A gun rests in his hands and is cocked toward me, aimed directly at my heart. "You know," he says, putting his finger to the trigger, "I could kill you."
My paws grip the ground more firmly and my leg throbs harder. While the rest of my coarse fur is like a silver dagger, my right leg is a screaming red. I focus my attention toward golden-eyes again. I growl, "Why don't you then?"
"Je t'aime."
Was that a dream? I roll over and feel blades of grass digging into my sides along with grimy dirt in my fingernails. I guess I'm not dead. The only way I could be alive is if somebody caught my fall though. I silently push myself up off the ground, and notice a familiar figure leaning back against a tall tree. It has to be golden-eyes. The cloak and the cowl thrown over his head look a lot like his, even in inky darkness of the night. Proper lighting is to a minimum, so I can't make out any defining facial features.
Who else could guess I was going to jump from the fourth floor and who else could catch me anyway? There is only one way to prove it though. My hands probe for a stick and I eventually snatch one from the earthen floor. It was at least two feet long. I can poke him, see if he has golden eyes, and run, hoping I don't trip.
Inch by inch, I creep forward in crawling position. I remove his cowl with my stick right as my knee slams down on a wiry twig, splitting it in two and sending a loud snap through the forest.
His eyes pop open and immediatley find me. In the stillness, we gaze at each other, nerves taut, waiting for the other to break the stony silence. A wispy cloud ambles out of the moon's path and the stranger's face is now visible.
Brown eyes. Not golden eyes.
His hair is like autumn leaves basking in the rays of dusk or maybe like the inside of chocolate cake, the color of black tinted with a halo of chestnut. His face is pale and his chocolate eyes are curtained by long eyelashes. This boy, to say the least, is attractive. I could stare at him for hours, memorized by his perfection.
"You don't have golden eyes?" I ask, bewildered.
"Neither do you," he sees the stick and asks, "What's up with that stick?" His deep voice enthralls me and I sit there staring at him for a few seconds before I process what he says.
I shrug and answer, "I was going to flip your cowl back, see if you have golden eyes, and make a run for it. I suceeded at the first two but after I..." Saw your face I changed my mind about the last part.
"No offense, but you're kind of strange."
I search my mind for something to say. Stupid Lupe! Stupid Lupe! He thinks you're not only crazy but a weirdo too! "Uh... You caught my fall?" I finally ask.
"No. I found you passed out in the woods. What do you mean you fell?" Passed out in the woods? If he didn't catch me... Who did? How did I end there?
"I jumped from a window on the fourth floor of an inn..." WHY DID I TELL HIM THAT?!?!
I stand up, putting pressure on my right leg, and shriek in surprise, crumbling to the ground. Pain travels like an angry riot hungering for justice through my leg.
"My leg!"
"I should've warned you. You broke that, I assume when you jumped, but I bandaged it with a Floater's hair," a Floater's hair? How did he get one of those? "It won't be healed until tomorrow. Why would you jump out a window anyway?"
I am silent.
"It's none of my business anyway. You don't have to tell me. What's your name?" That I can answer.
"Lupe."
"Dyre," he outstretches his hand and we shake, sending electric volts throughout my body.
I slap my forehead and ask, "Do you happen to know the time?"
"Nearly midnight. Why?"
"Noir dammit. I have to meet up with some friends but I can't walk with this bloody leg."
Dyre opens his mouth to speak but closes it quickly. Despite his reluctance, he hesitantly offers, "I can carry you. If you want, that is."
"You would do that for someone you don't know?"
"I have nothing better to do."
"You could sleep," I point out.
"I want to know why you jumped out of a window."
I don't know how to answer. I barely know why I jumped out myself.
Dyre says, "It's ok if you don't feel comfortable talking about it now."
Exhaling a breath of releif, I say, "Thanks."
"Here's your stop," Dyre seems to lament. I slip from his sturdy back and onto the worn dirt path. "The entrance of the Lost Woods." I sigh. I feel sad about leaving the comfort and warmth of Dyre's back. I felt so right when my arms were wrapped around his waist, my head so close to the back of his... I shook my head. Don't think about it. I'll never see him again anyway. But I don't want to believe myself.
"Thanks for doing this Dyre. And for not turning me in to the whacky house. That would have been much easier to do."
"I know. I figured you were special and that I was supposed to save you. It's not everyday you see a girl lying in the middle of the forest bleeding," Dyre smiles. Are those fangs? The same fangs I see when I look in a mirror...
"I guess this is goodbye," I try to keep my voice from cracking but fail. I just met Dyre and I'm already attachted to him. We had a good conversation about... Life in general. It is nice to meet a person who understands the same things as you and who sees the same things when everybody else just looks the other direction.
"I don't believe in goodbyes."
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"Every time I say goodbye to a friend, I am sad. There are only sadbyes."
I have no witty comeback for that, but it is nice knowing I'm a friend in Dyre's eyes.
"You know," Dyre says, "I'll be in Crystal Gates for awhile. If I see you, I'll holler."
"And then I'll tell you why I jumped out that window." My sad smile that I'm trying so hard to keep falters when I realize I'll never see Dyre again. There is no chance in Magic. I could die trying to fulfill the Prophecy and if I do live, I doubt I'll ever return to Crystal Gates until I'm an adult, which is almost two years from now. By then, Dyre will be a distant memory drowning in a sea of faces I'll never remember.
Dyre examines the full moon to check the time, and says, "I'll see you later Lupe," and rushes toward Crystal Gates, waving. I guess he has to get home. It is midnight.
A few minutes pass by and I feel like my heart has disappeared, but something in my chest is still trying to beat, trying to live in spite of my heart's absence. It is almost like Dyre was apart of my heart. I only knew for such a short time, and he made that big of an impact. Or maybe I'm just sad I won't remember him.
World's melodic voice interrupts my train of thought, "There you are! We looked everywhere for you Lupe." World approaches me from the trees with Kale in tow, his blade glimmering in the moonlight.
"About that..." I start nervously. How was I going to explain my leg to them without mentioning the window or Dyre? I don't want to share my memory of Dyre, as selfish as that sounds.
"Don't worry about it. Do you think we should set camp here?" World suggests.
Kale and I nod in agreement and we prepare our camp a quarter mile into the forest. It isn't anything fancy, just a tent near the bank of a stream. It is a good thing we decided not to progress any farther or they would have surely discovered my injured leg. And then I'd end up telling them about Dyre. My Dyre. My memory, not theirs. My life, not theirs. Not apart of the Prophecy.
* * *
I am sprinting beside a golden eyed wolf. My shallow breaths come in short bursts. Keep breathing, I had to remind myself. You won't die yet, not yet, not tonight.
"We're here," he growls, coming to an abrupt stop, and I nearly knock him over. "Pay more attention."
I argue, "It's not my fault you're not predictable and normal."
"Where is the fun in being normal? Always abiding by the rules of others, in constant fear that you won't be able to fit into the mold they create for you, when really you long to be yourself."
I wish that wasn't true.
"What are we doing?"
Golden-eyes rolls his eyes, "Look around. Where are we?"
A fountain cries and creates a soothing affect, while a hedge maze looms on all sides, leaving a small stoned area to breath in. The trees reach out their shady leaves to greet us and flowers bloom, but look dead tonight.
"The Amour family's Royal Garden; we're in the very center of their maze. But why?"
"I stole a wedding gift that was for Princess World. "
"Where is it?"
"Right here." He jams his muzzle into a hedge and when his emerges from the darkness a white box with a tag reading 'From Your Beloved, Orion' is resting in his jaws. He releases his grip and it lands with a plunck on the stone.
"Dare me to open it?" His eyes radiate challenge.
"No, don't do it."
"I'm going to anyway."
He dives to the ground and tears the box to shreds, surprising, leaving a white lacey pair of gloves intact. A ruby is sewn onto the back of the hand.
"Aww... That's it?" Golden-eyes complains. "There has got to be more to it than this," he contemplates.
"They kind of look like a Darker One's disguise. Like maybe a Dracmord?"
"I doubt a Dracmord would be stupid enough to pretend to be a royal present on his own charge. It would be suicide to try to life-jack the princess during the Royal Opening Ceremony tomorrow."
"I feel like you're some sort of mystery detective and I'm your sidekick... Why do you care so much about it anyway? It is just a pair of gloves."
He ignores my comments and says, "Hey, let's try them on for the fun of it." He snatches the gloves before I can tell him not to, and he somehow worms them onto his paws, "See, no harm-"
He stops suddenly when the rubies glow a putrid blood red and one of his eyes match the same shade.
"Golden-eyes? Savior Melody, what's happened to you?"
"Get away Lupe-" his voice gets cut off by a raspy hiss that sounds like static from a walkie-talkie, "No, you're not the princess... But you're Lupe," his red eye swivels in my general direction, "an even better prize for him." Golden-eyes takes control for a moment, "Dracmord, get the hell out of my body! Lupe, run! He wants you dead but I can't hold him off much longer."
Adrenaline pounds through my body and with the wind ruffling my silver coat, I escape into the night, but not before looking back.
Guards were already breaking into the fray, trampling the flowers, ruining the meticulously pruned hedges, and sending dust flying through the courtyard to cover the bloodstains and the tears that are slowly leaking from golden-eyes. His howls of agony cut through the castle grounds and the servants begin to light lanterns, peeking out their windows to observe the skirmish. I bet all they see is a savage beast, not a soul killing himself to prevent from dying. How horribly ironic.
I wish I would've tried to saved him. I bet I could have.
"Lupe, wake up." World is shaking me but I shrug her off and mumble something incoherent, "What did you say?"
I yawn, "I had a nightmare again."
"Is that normal for you?"
"Yeah." I sit up and stretch, loosening the muscles in my shoulders.
"If you want you can tell me about it later, but let's eat breakfast first."
We exit the tent and I use my hand like a fan to shield my eyes from the sunlight. Kale is sitting on a mossy log in front of a pit of embers, chewing on a cooked trout. World sits beside Kale and I content myself with resting my head against the spot in-between them, back leaning against the scratchy wood, and my legs lounging in front of me.
Kale passes two trout on a stick to me, and I glance at him, scrutinizing his face before taking a bit.
"I didn't poison it or anything."
"And that's supposed to be a fire," my eyes direct Kale's to the misty smoke and a small pile of ash.
"It's not like you could do better."
I rip the stick out of his hands and take my stick, rubbing them together and in a minute sparks ignite. Setting pine leaves where the previous fire's remains are, I transfer the fire there.
Kale gapes, "Savior Ash just blessed you, that's all. She can't bless everybody."
"But the Savior of stupidity sure did bless you..."
World interrupts our squabble, "Excuse my manners but, shut up! We need to tell Lupe the situation."
Kale laughs, "I could care less if you decide to tell Lupe or not. I don't need a recap and Lupe she be able to figure this out on her own if we give her enough time."
World tries to glare at Kale but when their eyes meet the daggers in her eyes melt. "I'll tell her anyway, despite your lack of concern. The darkness in which the Prophecy speaks of is Prince Orion from Waarenberg. He is our enemy."
"Woah, wait a second. Aren't you supposed to get married to him in two days?" I ask.
"That's true," Kale says, "Orion and World are supposed to marry to unite our kingdom with Waarenberg to show that we have come to a peace treaty, but that isn't the real reason. What they don't tell you is that Kingdom d'Aime is suffering from poverty and was forced to agree to Waarenberg's terms or our kingdom would be destroyed."
I ask, "But if we are in poverty, then why would Waarenberg want to unite with us?"
World answers, "Kingdom d'Aime's land is more fertile and has more diverse species of crops and animals. Waarenberg lacks the neccesities to continue being prosperous. So by uniting the two kingdoms through marriage, Kingdom d'Aime is saved from poverty and Waarenberg can continue supporting itself."
"I don't get it. Isn't that good?"
Kale explains, "World and I overheard Orion talking to one of his subordinates... And basically he plans to throw both kingdoms into turmoil once he is in power."
"And you expect me to stop him? No way, not me. You heard Mylei, not enough meat on my bones and I'm too average. Saving innocent people from evil rulers is not in my range of expertise. How do you even know I am the person the Prophecy is talking about?"
"You found the crest. Mylei said that the one who came into possession of it and found a way to return it to World is the new age Savior," Kale points out. More pressure. Thanks Mylei. Now I have to become a Savior.
I couldn't be like the Six Saviors of Magic. Savior Melody, Ash, Ike, Leif, Keemeone, and Noir. Even though nobody considers Noir a one of the Saviors, I do. He may have betrayed the other Saviors several times, but Noir was the only reason they beat Tynan. If it weren't for Noir, Magic would be in ruins. If I say this outloud though, World or Kale might be offended that I belive Noir is a Savior.
Despite my doubts, I ask, "What is the game plan?"
"I've already tried to tell my parents about Orion's plans," World reports, "but they didn't believe me. My mother yelled at me because she thought I was being childish and trying to get out of the marriage. I told her I was nervous, which was a lie, and she believed me about that. Shows how much good judgment she has."
Kale says, "We think that King Drake and Queen Sylphie might believe us."
"So we're going to Waarenberg."
"Yep," Kale confirms.
"What if they don't believe us?"
World looks down to the ground and swallows, "I don't know."
"I could kill Orion in his sleep," I offer.
"Let's save that option for last. I don't think it is right to end his life. He's been through a lot."
"I know exactly what he has been through," Kale grunts, "Living in the lap of luxury while the rest of the world suffers."
"You don't know that," World snaps back.
Kale looks like he is going to explode so I say, "The only way we're going to make it to Waarenberg before everybody realizes World is missing is if we get a move on."
The venom drains from Kale's face, "You're right," he concedes. I guess Kale cares more about World than killing Orion. HIs bright green eyes lower in defeat, but anger still smolders in the depths of his pupils.
"Hello?" Destiny calls into the darkness uncertainly. Destiny glances back down at the address she's clutching.
Cornerstone Fortunes, 4666 Psalm Street.
A figure emerges and lights a lantern. She says, "Come in darling. I've been expecting you Destiny. I trust Lupe's message found you well?"
Destiny replies, "Yes, Mylei. She said you were one of the best fortunetellers in the land. But I just want to know-"
"If Lupe is alive. You care not about advancing your own techniques? From what I've studied about you, I've learned you want to be a great teller yourself. Your footsteps ring with talent. You could be better than me... So selfless. I don't know many people like you."
"It's my dream... But it doesn't matter. I just need to know if Lupe is alive. She is my best friend and I'm afraid that..."
"She'll discover the truth?" I can tell Mylei is contemplating my honesty. "I'll tell you if she is alive if you train here."
"Really? You'd do that? You wouldn't gain anything."
"More than you would guess. I remember being your age. Dreams, visions of the Earthlings, random images of the future or the past. I couldn't tell the difference. It was difficult for me since I had no trainer."
"I guess, but..."
"You're worried it's not safe? What do you see?"
"I'm not sure. Just some man, torturing and slaughtering the innocent. And also-"
"What?" Mylei asks a little too hastily. She is examining Destiny with a certain intensity she can't place.
"He is wants something from you and I. He is torturing us... And there is this boy too. The man is torturing him just for the fun of it, or it could be because the boy didn't follow his orders. I can't tell."
Mylei sighs, "That is the problem. You don't know what a dream is and what's not. Ok. If you must know, Lupe is alive and well, except for her leg." Destiny releases the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She would have held that breath forever to hear the words ''Lupe is alive.' Destiny's heart starts beating again and she can feel the blood coursing through her veins finally. The dead feeling in the pit of her stomach was gone. Lupe is alive! She kept repeating that in her head because Lupe felt more alive then.
"Do you wish to start training now?"
Destiny nods.
"Then go up the stairs darling. I'll be up in a second. I have to retrieve some books for your studies."
"Ok." Destiny sprints up the stairs three steps at a time. Desitny thinks that if she trains enough, she'll be able to locate Lupe.
Mylei picks up an ancient tome with the leather cover peeling, the title fading, and the pages yellow from love. She muses out loud, "She could see you, Orion..."
I emerge from the shadows and chuckle. My voice is almost silent, "So Destiny has the other Prophecy."
I will soon edit my work and add a lot more description, but I find it hard to write about that when I am not in the mood to. I'll be sure to add some more information about the Saviors, the world in general, and when I edit it I'll make it less confusing and more make the scenes more memorable.