Dutybound

by Mark Aaron Alvarez

  Lucia looked over to Leo, who stood nobly by her side, upright and strong. Of course he’d protect her.

  “I’m sorry. That is all I can tell you. The rest is merely history. Seek the rest of the knowledge on your own. The Carist surely hold the hope we need.”

  Lucia let out a small puff of air and stared directly into Sigranole’s eyes as something shifted within her. “I’m going to Aldric. I’m going to find Talon and figure out how to stop this.” She touched the pendant. “I will go, and maybe find my father along the way, to face him. There is so much I need to know. About everything. I have so many questions.”

  “Well, at least you won’t be alone,” Leo said, patting her shoulder, straightening then looking to his father. He grinned softly and Lucia smiled back, touching his hand with her fingertips.

  “That’s the spirit,” Sigranole said as he embraced both of them. Then he whispered, “I will forever be indebted to you. I’ll send word to Moz immediately and make sure our provinces work together. This bond will be sacred.”

  “Ending the rivalry?” Lucia asked gleefully.

  “Forever,” Leo responded in place of his father, his eyes beaming with delight.

  “There’s an even greater rivalry to worry about, a rivalry worse than this. In order to restore peace, we have to end it completely.” As the old man spoke, it was as if his words breathed new life into him. The youth of his past returned to his eyes as he placed his faith in the coming generation. “Rest tonight, for the morning will be here very soon and we wouldn’t want you to be weary on your journey. It will be long and perilous, but please, under all circumstances, stay faithful and attempt to enjoy what little you have. Even if it’s as simple as each other’s company.” He smiled at the two as he parted from them. “Please take care of each other.” Sigranole’s eyes swelled as he looked at his son.

  “Wait, there is still something I don’t quite understand,” Lucia interrupted. “If that was how the war ended, how did my mother and father come to power in Moz so quickly? What of their victory and ascension? I thought they were heroes.”

  Sigranole smiled. “She was.” He looked up into the light as it streamed from the window above them. “It was your mother who started that prayer long ago.”

  Lucia touched the pendant, feeling her heart grow blue. For some time, she’d thought so ill of her mother and her expectations. She never would have thought her mother could be so selfless. Except, then again, she was the most powerful woman she knew. Lucia prayed she was safe.

  “Come, Lucia.” Leo gave her a slight nudge. “I’ll show you to your quarters.”

  She grinned a bit, but withdrew her smile and looked away from the light. She followed Leo into the vast hallway and back toward the center of the chateau, her mind wandering. Father, you seem to have left this burden to me. You placed it long before I even knew how to pray, and now that I know why you truly left our family, I can only think of one thing: when will I ever see home again?

  Is mother truly safe? I might not live to ever know. I’m actually more afraid than I can show, and it’s more than I can bear. I’m petrified. Seeing that beast and feeling its strength has left me more than afraid. In its presence, I felt nothing more than a gripping and cold emptiness, something so dark and corrupted I could imagine death to be better. It was the most terrifying thing I have ever witnessed. Even with something as divine as the Light Wings wrapped around my neck, I will never forget the terror . . . .

  ***

  Lucia was settling into the room, thinking heavily on what she would do once she reached Aldric. She wasn’t too sure how to even contact this man that Sigranole spoke of. Maybe she wouldn’t find him. But she knew if all else failed, she would seek out the answer one way or another. The Light Wings told her that, softly between each heartbeat. A light warmth within her heart pointed like a compass toward Aldric, her father’s last known destination.

  Sigranole had shown her his letter to Moz, signed and sealed, which explained the situation in full detail. Hopefully, sending word to Moz was better than sending none at all, no matter how ridiculous it might sound considering the known circumstances.

  She sat on her bed, soft and silky and filled with down atop carved redwood. Lucia brushed her hands over the familiar bold carvings. She held her breath, trying to repress the memory of that night, remembering that chill yet again, the emptiness that played like an omen over and over inside her head. She peered through the window at the end of the room. Pinea was doubtlessly a beautiful city. The bright hills reflected a colored sunset over the onyx buildings, and Lucia again tried to understand why her nation would fight against such a place. The same values she upheld for her own homeland were the same as Leo’s. What set them apart? Frailty’s War? She thought of what he had said, about the secrets and the hidden history the ancient tribes knew, the stories they kept. Could the answer really lie out there somewhere, destined for her to discover it?

  She tossed her hair from her face as she examined the pendant around her neck. What exactly do I pray for? Faith was like any other virtue to Lucia. Just as she had studied as a child, her memories struck a spark within her mind. Even I, being of nobility, could not convince them to share what they know—but you will have to. Those words lay heavily on her shoulders. She knew there was faith, because “nobility was to be of virtue,” as her tutors had told her over the years. Growing up in her sanctuary, she was raised to pray within it and partake in the blessings and rituals passed on to her. She never fully understood where the power of her prayers came from, but she had always known it was there, just as the light surely was. Prayer and faith were virtues, virtues she had grown to honor and obey. There was no reason, no purpose, to why she had to pray. But she did anyways. It was almost as if all of her praying, her writing, her singing had groomed her toward this one great sacrifice. The expectations she held herself up to her entire life were nothing compared to this moment. The sudden rush of mystery surrounded her, drowning her in the secrets of the forgotten world, the world she had never known. What else was to the story—the story of how their origins had been scattered? There might be a hidden purpose cut across time. That wisdom and truth must hold an even greater power. If she could learn the true nature of this world, she might find the way to stop the evil threatening to consume it.

  She heard a knock at the doorway. Slowly, Lucia glanced backwards, her fingers placed upon the edge of the bedroom window. Leo stood leaning against the edge of the doorway. His arms were crossed, and his sapphire eyes fixed on Lucia’s pendant, which was glowing vibrantly.

  “He really urges us to go to Aldric,” he said. “He thinks if we can convince the Carist chief of what’s happening, the chief might let us in on the secret to defeating the darkness.”

  Lucia bit her lip as she played with the tip of her hair. She scoffed. “I don’t even know how to fight. I’m nowhere near ready. It’s all just too much.” She moved to her bed, sitting down, her hands in her lap. Leo stepped in front of her.

  He took her hands and helped her to her feet. He smiled. “You’re afraid you are rushing into this, aren’t you?”

  Lucia shook her head as she widened her eyes. “It’s not just that. It’s just I don’t know how I can survive this. My life has never been so—”

  “Complicated.” Leo finished for her.

  “So, you noticed.” Lucia said, smiling.

  “How could I not? Your worry is so obvious. Have you always been so sheltered?”

  “What do you mean?” Lucia asked, standing and pushing past him, unsure of what to make of his words. She peered out the window for a brief second and then quickly turned back to Leo.

  “You have an interesting way of seeing the world,” Leo said, smiling as the light from the dusk streamed in from behind Lucia. “Every detail. Every touch. Every smell. Everything you see affects you differently.”

  Lucia’s cheeks pulled b
ack as she studied Leo’s laugh. “And to think I was just a maiden with a title to live up to. My mother always sought to live a life of perfection, which also meant protection. I couldn’t ever leave her side. She always told me that I was blessed with duty above all things. Since I was a child, I wondered what those words meant. ‘Duty above all else.’ But now, it’s quite easy to understand. This is exactly what she was preparing me for, except I didn’t see it.” Her voice started to crack as her body started to tremble. “It’s as if she wanted me to experience all of Terestria at once for the first time. As if seeing the world wasn’t my right if left otherwise. Free will is such an illusion.”

  “But everyone has the right to make their own decisions anyway. You’re speaking as if you have no choice. No matter what, there will always be a choice. Its either this or that. There is no avoiding it. You chose to leave that manor. You chose to come here. You chose to do what you felt was right. If you believe in the choices you’ve made, you control your own destiny.”

  “But that’s the thing . . . I didn’t choose. I was told what to do, just like I always am.” Lucia’s anxious heart pushed up against her chest. “How could I turn away from this? Who would? When the light binds you.”

  “That’s why it had to choose the most faithful. It needed someone like you. Someone to uphold the duty it’s bestowed upon you.”

  “My mother always use to say that. ‘The light needs you. Not just someone. You.’ There is no choice. There is no free will in that.”

  “If there wasn’t free will, there would be no corruption. Why would the light want to bring this on itself? Hey, I’m sorry, but we still choose. Even you. Our choices are based on what we believe. But—” Leo retreated to the door. “Free will is what makes us human.”

  Lucia could see that. But it was also the people’s choices that corrupted the world. She didn’t want to be seen as that difficult. So, Lucia kept her thoughts to herself. But somehow Leo was able to read them perfectly. Lucia’s glare was piercing. Her emotion was so withheld, so focused, and concentrated into her line of sight. One look at her eyes, and they’d tell Leo more than her words ever could.

  “Don’t worry about time. Father is preparing our journey, and he said we could have all day tomorrow to get ready if we want. Our choice.” Leo teased. With his hand, he brushed his hair out of his face. “So that means we’re training.”

  Lucia blinked, almost taken by the young sir’s charms, but she nodded, hoping the certainty in his voice would prove true. “I’m looking forward to it.” She pulled her hair behind her slender shoulders and it fell back like a fiery rain. Like honey, it dripped through her fingers. “Thank you, Leo.”

  Turning, and with a slight wave of his hand, Leo left Lucia alone with her thoughts once again.

  Looking back out the window as the light caught her and made her dress sparkle like topaz, she took the band from her head and looked at it, trying to remember the day she got it. Her mother gave it to her when she turned seventeen. It had a stunning outline of gold and ivory with delicate silver feathers along its edge. Lucia held it to her chest, remembering her mother’s gentle face, her amber eyes, and her soft voice, assertive like any noble but not as careless as some of them. A tear fell from her eye, and she quickly wiped it away. A promise is a promise. She fled to keep her mother safe. So, the light that had led her here—the light that led her to Leo and closer to the end—was like fate. But to Lucia, it felt like something darker and quite the opposite. Her morals did not even rationalize her choices now. She tried to shake away the feeling of defying her very nature, but found herself obsessing even more. Lucia rose from the bed and lowered her head as she brought her hands to her chest. “Dear light . . . ”

  Chapter Seven:

  Phantasms of Pride

  Sigranole was alone, deep within his study. The fireplace before his desk blazed forth a scarlet light across the surfaces of many ornate black bookcases and the colors of two decorative golden-framed paintings. He held a rather large glass, and into it he poured a thick wine of dark maroon. Its scent flooded the room, and as he drank from his glass he moved his hands over parchments and open books, all so old. His eyes blurred as his mind spun endlessly. The age had yellowed into the pages and cracked the leather of the spines. The markings within them were crimson, and they formed not any common language but more symbols, runes of ancient times. He placed a finger over them, tracing the pages, absorbing each image. “Leo,” he said as the door clicked behind him.

  “Father,” Leo said, approaching the desk.

  “Where is Lucia?” Sigranole asked sipping from his glass.

  “Bathing,” he said awkwardly.

  Sigranole rose and turned to his son, who stood firmly before his father.

  Leo asked, “Are you sure you’d like me to leave Pinea?”

  Sigranole took a sip of wine before setting down his glass. He looked back up to Leo, whose face looked more woeful than a stormy day. “Leo, you must stay with her.”

  “But, Father, I can’t leave you. Not if this is all true.” Leo had done his best to maintain a tough exterior in front of Lucia, but here alone with his father, his gaze could not contain his true feelings. The inner boy, not the man he was coming to be, spoke instead.

  “It is not yours to say. This is what fate has decided. It has all played out this way because of fate.”

  “It’s not fate, Father. It’s because I chose to honor your wishes, because I chose to believe you, but don’t I have a choice?” Leo lowered his gaze.

  Sigranole put a hand to his son’s shoulder and lifted Leo’s chin with his finger. “No,” he said coldly. “The history of the world has been written already. We must follow it”—he moved a hand over the books again—“just as it has been written.” His eyes broadened and shifted to Leo. “You must make sure she reaches Aldric at all costs, my son.” He staggered forward a bit.

  Leo nodded.

  “You must not let her stray. Instead, you must guide her. Show her the will to fight, just as I’ve shown you.” He looked down and then back up to Leo as the color fell from his face. He became ghastly pale as if he were being choked by fear. “Home will always be with you. I will be, too, as long as you remember what you stand for. Please.” Sigranole’s eyes narrowed while his voice softened. “Don’t forget.”

  “Father, what do you mean?” Leo looked to the wine and caught his father as he stumbled into him. Sigranole drifted from consciousness as his breathing became a series of heavy snores. Leo smirked with a shake of his head. He pulled his father over his shoulder and reached for the door with a disapproving groan. “You need to stop drinking so much.”

  ***

  The night was eerie as Pinea lay dormant within its darkness, waiting. The air was growing colder, and the wind becoming sharp. The amber colored curtains blew softly as the wind seeped through a small opening at the base of a window inside Lucia’s chamber. The chill of the air fell over her as she lay silently in the security of her soft, warm bed. Despite the comfort, she was restless. She tossed and turned. The waves of her hair hovered in a flurry as she was thrown around in a fit of fear. All night, she was plagued by nightmares accompanied by a strange presence, perhaps an omen of something to come. It was coming . . . the thing she was most afraid of. A nightmare.

  Lucia was standing atop a large hill overlooking the black city as it stood undisturbed beneath a clouded sky. Random spurts of lightning dimly lit the streets within the night as a cold shower descended upon it. She sensed something in the air, an ominous feeling, rife with deceit as the images played their course within her mind. A little girl with a kite in hand darted from behind her, the kite flying high on the winds of the coming storm. A strange panic emerged from inside Lucia as she reached out to the girl. “No, that’s dangerous. Please, come back!” she yelled. She sprinted toward the girl, who was laughing in the rain as she disappeared into the city. Lucia re
ached the bottom of the hill and watched as the girl faded into the streets, which were murky and uglier than she remembered. She walked along the cracked pavement, feeling the earth rumble as a quake of thunder clapped overhead.

  Lucia heard the laughter again. The girl was standing at the end of an alleyway with her kite at her feet, covered in mud. Lucia stepped toward her as the thunder rumbled. The girl was drenched, but still smiling in the darkness of the alley. As Lucia approached her, it seemed as if the figure of the young girl faded again. Eventually, only the lightning would reveal her form, until suddenly she disappeared and Lucia was left alone in blackness.

  Lucia heard her own breathing under the falling rain. Each drop that fell upon her skin brought with it a deep chill that felt so real. Was this truly a dream? A large rattle caused Lucia to fall back startled and slip in the mud. She caught herself as she fell backward, and from her neck a light glowed, illuminating her surroundings. The realm was dark, and the sky was hidden within the dense fog. The buildings were rugged and broken up like they had been abandoned for some time, so worn that moss and vegetation had overtaken them as if they had lain dormant for centuries. Pinea.

  A faint whisper came from the shadows. “Darkness will be everywhere.”

  A knot formed in Lucia’s throat as her hand reached for the pendant around her neck. “What are you?”

  “I am the essence of your pride, the very source of the fear you feel inside. I am your insecurity. I am your weakness.” The echo of this whisper bounced all around her, almost as if a million voices spoke at once. “I am the destroyer of men, a darkness within themselves, a bane you call ‘sin.’”

  “You’re the darkness,” Lucia said.

  A distorted cluster of laughs spilled from the shadows. “A part of it. I’m pleased to finally meet the savior of light. Nigh is my turn to draw blood.”

  The rain fell like needles as it froze in the sudden chill of the air. Lucia turned hastily back the way she came, only to crash to the ground as the street iced over. She grunted while trying to pull herself up, looking ahead as the little girl stared down at her, her blonde curls drenched. Lucia spotted something forming behind the girl, a hooded figure with scarlet eyes, burning with a pale aura. Its cloak filled the air, absorbing the light around it as it slowly approached the girl. Long, tentacle-like appendages spewed from beneath its hood and reached toward the girl as Lucia watched in horror. Her scream was caught in her throat as the beast hissed.