by Cara Violet
What? A sinking feeling in Xandou’s stomach churned. Why were they after Kaianan? What was going on?
“Why are you looking for her?” Xandou said.
There was a deathly silence in the air. Time slowed as Ferak continued to beam.
“We just need her, that’s all,” the Liege said.
Xandou took his eyes to the younger Shiek girl shifting, Xandou remembered what Elli Nermordis had said back at the Manor: ‘the Felrin are the elected leaders of the Universal Order, and, well … they want you dead. So, it’s time for you to die.’
“You’re going to kill her.” The Giliou nobles grew louder as Xandou felt the anger fill his face. “You can’t—”
“Visualise yourself as a hero,” Ferak cut across him, “defying the civil odds. Protecting your Giliou Shielders.”
Xandou’s heartbeat was in his ears. Liege Jarryd was a calculated and cunning Liege Shiek, and his govern of Maya Atronix put Xandou on the back foot. He had placed Xandou right where he wanted him. If Xandou refused, he would be considered a fascist, a warmongering absconder. He would not be seen as a viable leader if he was seen to lead his Shielders to induce war to fight for Kaianan. But who would fight for her if the Giliou Shielders didn’t? Would the Giliou Shielders follow him to fight against the Felrin, against the Liege? That, would be suicide. Ferak had orchestrated this on purpose. What was Xandou to do? There was nothing that could be done.
The colour departed from his face.
Getting a good look through the Common Room, the Giliou audience were smiling. Why wouldn’t they be? They would be thrilled with the knowledge beloved family members would be kept out of harm’s way if they stayed in Layos. How could he object to this? The only option was to surrender, remain in Layos and let Maya win … This was Ferak’s game. Extortion. The Liege was all smiles and smugness and Xandou had never felt sicker. But what other viable choice did he have?
The choice he had to set things right, and make up for all his mistakes.
“You won’t kill her,” Xandou said against all good sense within him, “my Giliou Shielders will fight for her till the death—”
All of a sudden, a combusting bang and a flash of light blinded him. He staggered backward and lifted his arm over his eyes to shield his vision. He sensed the Siliou waxing outward and waning back inward.
What was happening? The Siliou was in here?
When Xandou dropped his arm back down, he was able to discern a ‘port suck inward and dissipate. His anger had turned to surprise. Slowly he drew his eyes down to the bloodied, discoloured and terribly battered person that lay immobile on the white marble floor in front of him.
“Cease travel!” Ferak was shouting.
Xandou took one more step forward and blinked. His heart beat grew again. He couldn’t breathe. That wasn’t just anyone.
It was Kaianan. His Kaianan; she was completely lifeless in front of him.
Liege Jarryd positioned himself over her body, while the Forsda Queen stalked out of her Common Room shouting orders at her guards and Giliou Shielders in rage.
“Xandou, be ever still if not gone,” the young Shiek girl advised him.
Liege Jarryd knelt down alongside Kaianan. His eyes drew to her and then back to Xandou. “She is unconscious. Adrel, escort Master Xandou to the Edification Centre. His dearly devoted fans are anticipating his presence.”
Her name was Adrel. Xandou watched her coming at him. He was still frozen in shock. What were the Felrin going to do to her?
“It’s time to go,” she said to him.
Too late, Xandou had pulled out his blade and attacked.
Chapter Thirteen: The Conductor of Felrin
“So about before—” Arlise began.
“That was me, sorry, don’t worry about it,” Kaianan said. They were now crossing the vast open Felrin grasslands having left the peacefulness of the Woods Devine moments earlier, and much to her dismay. Kaianan was finding it extremely difficult to take Arlise and his temperament out of her mind: The Woods seemed to give her some solace from him. Right now, her unusual nervous energy and stress levels were giving her something to feel self-conscious about and she really didn’t want to share any of that with him, especially since he was the cause.
He’d questioned her on her honesty. On her ability to paint things pretty. That was a complete lie. She was facing everything in front of her, including her fears … wasn’t she?
She studied him, floating his hands above the tall grass. Her face contorted. Who the holom was he? A hybrid Felrin, a studying Menial, a Conductor, self-righteous about the Felrin, twisted concern for others—
“What are you looking at?” he said.
Kaianan dropped the look from her face and went back to looking straight ahead. “Sorry I was just ….”
“Can’t find the right words to speak your mind? You keep staring like that and the wind will change and your face will stay that way.”
“It will not, stop being a smart-mouthed and arrogant Seevaar.”
“Stop belittling everyone around you,” he said with menacing eyes.
She tightened her jaw and was certain her face was red, “I think you should also swallow your own medicine.”
He snorted. “I like pushing your buttons, you seem to snap quickly.”
“What is with you? Now you want to engage in small talk? What happened before? About me being quiet?”
“I’m feeling better now,” he said pompously. “and I must admit, I’ve missed the banter.”
“Well I’m not going to banter with you now!”
“Oh, come on, you make out as if you don’t care … I mean the way you looked at Reddy—”
She continued walking, pushing past the tall and ticklish grass without acknowledging him. So much was building within her. Why was he still pressing her when all they did was argue? He halted a few metres in front of her, searching the hilltop with an exhausted desperation.
“Are you even listening to me?” he said agitatedly. “I can’t have a conversation with you, can I? If you don’t get your way you invoke the silent treatment.”
She was enraged. “Just shut up. Why are you even here? Your father owes me nothing and I don’t need you!”
She was so angry and she had no idea where it had come from. She began walking again, Arlise immediately followed her.
“Oh, the first time someone is here as your equal,” he said, “you’re disregarding them, are you?”
“No!”
“I am here,” Arlise commanded in such a voice, Kaianan stiffened, “whether it’s up to me or not, I’m here.”
“You can always leave, I told you, your father owes me nothing.”
“How noble of you, does that type of decency accompany your status as Queen, princess? Feeling charitable, are you?” he was walking beside her and breathing down her on her left.
Kaianan felt the steam coming out of her head and bit her tongue. “I think we should just stop talking for the time being. If we are going to get to the gatekeeper, we shouldn’t be at each other’s throats the whole way there.”
Arlise breathed out. “If you could just learn to be nice—hey, even smile, —and have the wits about you to not breathe fire down my neck when I question you, we actually might get along.”
“You’re questioning me now? Now you want to ask questions?”
“I’m becoming intrigued,” he said casually, “is there a problem?”
No, yes, maybe. All of the above. “What the holom are you intrigued about?”
“Well, you’re not like most people are you Kaianan, with your self-righteous aura beliefs, your love for the human, your views on the history of the Felrin, how you feel about your people—”
“I’ve told you nothing of this, you assume—”
“Am I wrong?”
“No,” she answered before she could stop herself.
“Do you know how many people question the Kan’Ging, the aura that the Felrin and many species wors
hip in shrines across the galaxy?”
“Well, what’s so wrong with that?”
Arlise had stopped walking. “Kaianan, you’re aware. You’re asking all the right questions.”
She turned to face him. “Maybe it’s because I don’t remember half my life.” It was a statement of truth. She didn’t remember some things and she was becoming more and more aware of it. If it was Dersji who was missing from it, where did he fit in?
“Look,” he said sympathetically, inching closer toward her, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but let’s just start again or something.”
“Start again?”
“Yeah, start again.”
Kaianan took her time to look into Arlise, who had somehow become a skinny giant in her head. “Okay,” she said.
“Okay?” he asked, suspiciously.
“Okay.” She had put her feet together in the dirt and exhaled.
She closed her eyes and rubbed her hands down her face, ridding it of sweat. She needed to start again. He was right, she had become so overzealous since leaving home, it was actually difficult for her to believe it. When he told her she was aware, it also made her appreciate there were things she could still aim at getting better at. Her attitude to others was one of those things.
“I know I come across—” When she got her vision back, there Arlise was again, the skinny giant was so close to her. The silence hung between them. She leant slightly forward, caught up in smelling his natural scent wafting in her direction, it was like sitting under a Miry tree, a soothing fresh bark aroma. She hadn’t sensed it before but was now tempted to step an inch closer to get a better whiff, and at the same time, fall into him and start … What the holom was she thinking?
At that exact moment, his mouth opened and her heart skipped a beat.
“Come across what?”
“Nothing,” she said and smiled.
“I won’t push it,” he said jokingly. “You okay to keep going?”
She nodded and followed him up the hill slope, trying with such diligence to push him from her mind.
They walked silently for hours, through grassland that had turned to rock and through the midday sun that had turned to sunset.
“Are we far?” Kaianan asked, “I feel like we’re going around in circles?”
“It’s a big planet,” he said, stepping over a bunch of large pebbles.
“What is this place?”
“We’re at the Rockies. Felrin has many diverse landscapes.” Arlise looked to the sky, “I really think we should camp.”
“Why?” Kaianan said disapprovingly. “How long until we reach the tower?”
“Well it could take us till midnight, or it could take us longer depending on what ventures out at night.” He was quieter than he had been.
“I guess we have no choice, right?” she said.
“Why would I lie to you, my fate would be no different than yours no matter what animal we meet.”
She reluctantly nodded and followed him as he found a small rockery covered by several huge Gapian trees which spanned about twenty metres in diameter. With big green leaves, they were so beautiful to watch in the wind.
“If only I could ‘port.” Kaianan said quietly. “I could have got us there.”
“But you don’t know where it is.” Arlise said, sitting down between two small curvy rocks. “And how can you ‘port?”
She realised Arlise didn’t know everything about her. Maybe she shouldn’t have been so forthcoming with the information, but they were starting again, right?
“I actually don’t know,” she told him the truth.
“My father,” Arlise’s head had dropped, “he can ‘port too.”
What did that mean? That, like everyone had told her, Dersji Brikin was more a part of Kaianan’s life than she’d gathered.
“That’s interesting,” she said.
“I may not know the reason he wanted me to get you,” Arlise admitted, “but I know he wouldn’t have asked it of me if it didn’t mean anything to him … So, I guess, that’s the reason why I’m still here. Why I won’t leave you.”
His statement just kind of wafted through the air; twilight had fallen and Kaianan swallowed in unease. She didn’t fathom how tired she was until Arlise’s honesty made her feel uncomfortable.
“Well, I will thank-you,” she said “even if at times this past week we haven’t seen eye to eye.”
“You sound as if that’s a bad thing,” he said. “Not every person has to agree with you. Different perspectives help you learn to grow.”
She nodded. This whole trip had been so exhausting on her mind and body, another conversation about it just confused her. Her sister was still out there abducted, Julius was in Sile with a bunch of dictators, Reddy was back on Earth at the hands of Ruby and here she was pretending she cared about no-one. Arlise had seen right through her.
“Thank-you, Arlise.”
He nodded, pulling his long thin hair back behind him and then stretched his arms out to yawn. “If you’re cold, you can sit alongside me.”
Kaianan shook her head immediately. “No, I’m fine this time,” she said, remembering how shocked he had been after waking up next to her.
“Suit yourself.” He turned his body a degree or two left and closed his eyes.
Kaianan watched him breathe; his thin black tunic moving against his beating skinny chest, and his legs laying across the smooth part of rock as he tried to sleep.
She was cold. After the wash and fresh tunic, the air still stung her the darker the sky got. She stared at Arlise.
She didn’t care right now, with her heart racing, she got up and walked over to him, lifting his arm up and curling her body next to his facing away. She closed her eyes and let the exhaustion take her to sleep.
Big spiky bulges, yellow webbed eyes, a huge mouth, black scales, teeth as big as her head … a swirling ball of fire generating in the centre of that huge tongue …. it was coming at her …. she was going to burn alive ….
Kaianan awoke with a start.
“Woah,” Arlise shifted beside her, pulling her upright. “Are you okay? You’re sweating.”
“It’s nothing,” she said panting.
“It’s not nothing.”
“How long have I been asleep?”
“Like not even half an hour.”
Kaianan gripped the back of her neck and ran her hands through her hair. She was sweaty. She was also scared to death of a huge black dragon coming at her in a nightmare that seemed to be becoming more and more frequent.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Arlise said.
She didn’t. She never shared such personal things with anyone, not even Xandou. Something about the look of Arlise though made her feel like he may understand.
“It’s just a nightmare,” she divulged.
“About what?”
“It’s stupid.”
“Tell me,” Arlise asked with sincerity.
“We’ve really started again?”
“Kaianan, you’re never going to not be feisty and I’m never going to not be sceptical, but we know each other a bit better now, wouldn’t you say?”
She nodded.
“Is it about your parents?” he said, “… I mean like, what happened to them.”
And just like that she started crying. Was it out of guilt? That she actually hadn’t thought about them in so long, that dreaming about a dragon was selfish, that her brain was so preoccupied with other things she hadn’t taken the time to probably grieve her own mother and father.
“I’m so sorry,” Arlise said, “I had no idea that I—”
“It was about a dragon, not about my parents.”
Arlise opened his mouth, then closed it. He did this, three more times, before he actually found his voice.
“You know, I used to have dreams about Harpies eating me alive.”
Kaianan—through her tears—snorted in a laugh. “Shut up.”
“No, I’m serious.
” Arlise said, “it’s no joking matter. They would eat my feet first—”
“Ew! I don’t want to know!”
“Yeah it was pretty horrific …” he said as if in thought, “my parents advised me to grow up, that as a teenager, at thirteen, I should know better than to believe in nightmares …” Kaianan had ceased her tears and watched his golden eyes glow in the Felrin moonlight as he continued, “… what I’ve learnt Kaianan, is that the significance of that particular image or event means something to you. Something that inside you, in your core, is trying to tell you.”
“What did the Harpies tell you?”
He smiled. “Do you know about their culture?”
“Not much, I’ve only met one once.” She remembered Narchisme from her Coming of Age Ceremony.
“They are a people of equality in all things … no one Harpy has greater use of aura than another because they all are able to share the Siliou and train their auras as a group. There is no leader directing rules, Kaianan, these people make decisions as a whole. Each person is a working body of the civilization.”
“Okay, I get it. But why are they eating you alive?”
“Because equality eats into me … I’ve never had that in my life … I wish I did.”
“What do you mean – oh,” Kaianan finally understood, “you’ve always been privileged.”
Arlise nodded grimly.
“But why would you crave to blend in with everyone else? It doesn’t make sense? People who grow, and move up the hierarchy are well perceived and—”
“And what? Are perceived happier? Are you kidding me? Why can’t we all go up at the same time? Oh wait, because then we wouldn’t have people below us to know that we deserve to be on top.”
“And this means something to you,” she said slowly and finally understood.
“Just like your dragon means something to you,” he confirmed, “And the quicker and faster you’re dreaming of it, the sooner your subconscious is going to force your conscious to deal with it.”
“But what is it?”
“That, my new friend, is something you are going to have to work out for yourself.”
Kaianan turned away from Arlise and stared out to the Rockies and the moonlight. New friend? Did he just call her a friend? She felt the edges of her mouth going up in a cheeky smile.
