by Jacob White
“Let’s go. I’m done with this place. With all of it.” He started to walk, and I silently followed. We weren’t left alone for long as we heard several men run out of the Oslo screaming my name. I made the mistake of turning and one of them saw my face.
“There!” A group of men began to run after us.
“Dirk, we should go.” I jogged past him.
“What makes y— oh yeah, good idea.” Then he passed me again. I hadn’t seen any bows in the group chasing us, but I was certainly seeing the arrows flying past our heads.
“Here!” I followed Dirk into another alley and over a wall. I grit my teeth from my cut along my leg. I did my best to ignore it but landing on it made it only worse.
“Dirk, I can’t keep going like this. My leg is torn open.”
“I take it was from you daring entrance? He asked me as we continued to walk on to another main road. “Keep walking. Don’t draw attention.”
“I’m leaving a trail of blood, Dirk. They will follow it.”
“It’s raining. If we lose them for long enough and they stay off the roofs, we could lose them.” An arrow pierced my left shoulder knocking me to the ground. I turned my head ignoring the burning in my shoulder. A man on the roof directing others below.
“Sorry to tell you they are on the roof.”
“Of course the bastards are. I’m sorry Weaver, you are going to have to run.” I clamped my teeth as hard as I good could. With Dirk’s assistance getting up, he broke the end of the arrow shaft stuck in me. Afraid id I’d scream if I opened my mouth, I only pushed him to let him know I was ready. I didn’t know how long we had ran but by the time I saw the small gate in the distance. My leg was numbed, and I could hardly breath. My jogging had slowed to a walk of long strides. I bent over, unable to go another step as I emptied my stomach.
“Weaver, we are almost there, you can do it.” Three men came out of various alleys to our left.
“Ah, look what we have here. Looks like two lost lambs.” A ragged man said as he blocked our path.
“If you could not talk of about food at the moment, I’m quite hungry from making you look like fools all night.” Dirk said with ease, not breathing hard at all. He looked to me and whispered. “Weaver, I’m going to engage these three. They will be busy with me. You need to continue to the gate. The guards on the other side will notice what’s happening and let you in.”
“I’m not going to leave you, Dirk.” He ignored the three men in front.
“I knew you cared for me. You might make me cry.”
“I changed my mind, I’ll leave you.” He laughed but stopped as three others came behind us.
“Weaver, you have to go now. I will be fine. Trust me.”
“Okay, but you better not die.” He gave me a wink as he helped me up and we started off at a slow jog to the men blocking my path to the castle gate. He outmatched my pace meeting the three with his sword. I was almost too distracted at his speed and grace with a blade as he quickly cut one man down. I looked past and pushed my pace harder, ignoring the scene behind me. I wasn’t sure how long it took but I found myself inside the gate as two guards ran out past me going to meet Dirk.
“Not needed. Just need a cleanup.” Dirk’s voice came from behind as I turned and looked up. His head was held high arrogantly as he wiped his blade clean. He gave a mocking bow towards me.
“How?” I asked as he stood in front of me.
“It was hardly a trial; they were half drunk.” I laughed, and we made our way back into the castle as I tried to coerce more details from him.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The Chosen Council
After a stop to the castle healers with Dirk. I Found myself once again in an empty corridor outside of my temporary lodgings.
“You did well tonight, even though you didn’t use any skills I taught you. Also, I will make sure to tell everyone in the morning what happened.” Dirk gave me a quick pat and walked off. I think he was joking. Not sure what to say, I decided against saying anything. I pushed my door open, and there was still a glowing lantern on near the wash basin. I found Les sleeping in a night slip on my bed. I undressed completely and blew out the light. I climbed into bed behind Les and held her close. I knew she was awake as she snuggled back.
“Before we talk about anything, I want to wait until tomorrow.” She remained silent honoring my wishes. “Les, I love you. Just let me hold you tonight and tomorrow you can be mad at me.” She turned around towards me and placed her hands on my face.
“I love you, Weaver, and don’t you forget it, ever.” She kissed me and forced me onto my back. She rested her head on my bare chest. Her hand went to my shoulder, feeling the bandage.
“What— sorry, tomorrow.” I smiled in the dim light of her cut off words. Things might be okay. That somehow, I would be able to live a simple life with Les and die of old age. That thought stayed only on the surface. Gibi’s words echoed in my mind. Only more pain was to come. I will meet that challenge later and do what I must before that time came. I decided that night, I would fight. Do what must be done, until the time comes when I can hand this stone over to the man meant to carry it. Sleep came over both of us, and we didn’t move from the position until morning.
When we awoke, I saw Les taking off her slip to dress for the day. It slid down her bare body. She then went to grab her dress.
“Stop.” She looked back at me. Unashamed of her nakedness. “Les, you are truly beautiful.” I sat up in bed, and she came over, still naked. I grabbed her waist and forced her into my body, so I could kiss her stomach. She then bent down to kiss me and threw her legs over my waist. I soon realized that my own body yearning for her had made an appearance as well. She must have felt it too and drove her hips further down. A moan immediately followed. It only added to my desire to be a part of her.
“Weaver…” She kept whispering my name.
“Weaver, I can’t let this happen like this. I want it more than you know but I also want it to be special as you first described.” I put my head against hers with my eyes closed.
“You’re right. I’m sorry … it’s just after everything…” She kissed me again to shut me up.
“Weaver, you don’t need to worry about what might or might not happen. We will have our moment; I will make sure of it. This is nothing compared to what you are giving me but let me hold on to that perfect moment a while longer.” I nodded with a smile and kissed her again.
“Becoming selfish I see?”
“However… that doesn’t mean other things can’t happen.” I became confused as she started to kiss down my chest and she kept going lower until she was on her knees.
“Les, you don’t…”
“Shh, I want to. Truly.” I remained silent at a loss for words. The moment it happened I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I met my end soon after not knowing what my next course of action should be. She sat on my lap putting pressure on my wound, but it didn't matter right now.
“Les… That was amazing.” She laughed at my comment. “What?”
“I’m just glad I did that now.”
“As am I, but still, why the laugh?” I inquired.
“Because, my love, now I know that our first time will be longer than two minutes.” She kissed me again and smiled when she came up. “We should get dressed so we can eat with the others.” I knew it was time to face them, but that didn’t make it any easier. All I could focus on was my reaction to Anna’s confession.
“Can I just sleep here? I can’t remember when I was this relaxed.” She threw my pants at my face.
“Well if you behave today, maybe I can help you relax again later.” When she finished speaking, I dressed so fast I was waiting at the door for her to finish.
“Hurry. The others are waiting.” Her laugh echoed throughout the room. She and kissed me one more time before we left and met the others.
It turned out that we weren’t all that late as only Ralph and Flo were sitting in the huge dining h
all. It almost felt a waste as there was so much food on the table and there was only four of us. We sat and not ten minutes later the table was full of the other women from the Yezmon. Questions came from every angle. A hand caressed my back as Les sensed my exhaustion from the attention.
“Weaver is just tired, he is healthy as one can be.” Les interrupting the questions. Between the chatter, I managed to apologize to Ralph for what happened, and he smiled.
“Don’t worry, Weaver, I heard from Dirk you were training with those little pointy things. I’ll be waiting for when you are ready to train in a man’s weapon. For example, axes.” His smile only got bigger and even more menacing.
“Don’t scare him, Ralph, at least not at breakfast,” Flo said so I could hear. A faint smile filled her face. The chatter became soft mumbles. I looked up and saw Anna coming into the hall. She saw me and stopped.
“Les, I’ll be back.” I sucked in a chest full of air and released it.
“Be nice.”
“I will, I promise.” I walked away from the table coming before Anna. I Led her just outside the dining hall’s wooden doors. Before she could speak, I pulled her forward and gave her a firm embrace. We stayed that way for minutes before until she pulled her head back from my chest.
“Weaver, I am so sorry for the pain I caused you, you—” I put my hands on her face, and she tried to look down. I pulled her chin back up.
“Anna, even when I reacted the way I did, it only made me madder knowing that I love you. Yes, you wronged me to meet an end, but I have come to a realization of late. Sometimes the choices we make are ones that are truly hard. Don’t mistake my forgiveness however. I am still upset at you, but I refuse to spend another moment not talking with you. Considering you are all the family I have left, blood or no blood.”
Anna wiped her eyes and stood on her toes to kiss my cheek. She embraced me again.
“Okay then, I will just have to prove my myself that I am not here to cause you harm but to look out for you just as you have for all those years.” Anna’s posture stood straighter as the burden left her.
“Before you start, is it okay if we finish eating?” She laughed at my comment as I offered out my arm. She linked arms with me and we walked back inside to the dining hall. There were cheers, and even towards the back a group of soldiers who didn’t know what was going on joined in. I sat back down next to Les. She put a hand on my leg and gently squeezed and smiling at me. We all continued to eat and talk about nothing that mattered. Plans for the Yezmon once the girls can get back, how they enjoyed the comforts of the castle. By the time Dirk came in, we were all standing and clearing the food away.
“I just got here!”
“Why do you think we are leaving?” Anna said, causing laughter within our ensemble.
“Anna, no need to hide your feelings for me. I’ve moved on from Les. You are my only star now.” Anna picked up an apple and threw it at his head. Nobody could hold in their laughter until Dirk spoke again.
“Weaver, the head mage’s wish to talk to you before your meeting with the king this afternoon.”
My stomach dropped at the thought of talking to King Bryson and Queen Iris. Les grabbed my hand to give me some of her strength, and I took it as we set out for the day.
* * *
Meeting with the mages was only one of my concerns. There were a great many more as I knew they would will ask me about the Creators’ Stone. The problem was that I knew nothing about it.
I found myself in the same room with the big wooden table. But instead of two mages’, there were five including Master Hor, Anna’s father and Master Nimm. Most of the wooden chairs had been taken, only Anna and I could sit among the heads. The middle man spoke loud enough to be by those standing in the back.
“Greetings, Master Weaver. Before we begin, I have some concerns I'd like addressed.”
“Please, just Weaver. What are the concerns, master...” His gaze went directly to Les standing in the corner next to Ralph.
“You can address me as Master Regis, but I’m not sure this.... girl should be here among this meeting. She has no purpose to be, no magic, and no ranking.” I looked at Les, and then swung my head around to meet the panel.
“I understand your concerns, but they are misplaced. You may continue.” Master Regis looked around the room once more.
“I’m sorry, Weaver, but I must insist.” I lowered my head for a second as I thought of my reply carefully.
“Would a King make plans without his council? Would the panel before me make choices for the world without receiving other ideas from your brethren? It is the same here, so I say this only once, Les, Anna, Ralph, and…” I paused. “And Dirk.” I’m going to get an ear full later. “Are henceforth, members of this group. They each hold advice that I would deem important to the safety of the Creators Stone. Any questions?” Anna brought her head in close to mine.
“Who are you?” Our eyes briefly met as we redirected our attention back to the council.
“This cannot be done, Weaver. It is unheard of. Nor can I allow it to happen, for Anna alone, she has duties and responsibilities here that can’t be handled by others. I can’t even name the number Ralph and Dirk have.” Anna’s father spoke before I could open my mouth.
“I’m sorry, my dear child, but I’m afraid Master Regis is correct referring to your duties.” I felt my stomach deflate. “So, I must remove you from all prior commitments. The safety of the stone must come first, not to mention we have done well enough without you. I’m sure we will manage somehow.”
“Yes, Papa,” She said with a small smile and a squeeze on my leg. Regis smoldered from being defied. His face grew red with anger. His obvious agenda was deterred, and he calmly stood and left the room.
“Weaver, I’ll tell you what. Never a dull moment with you, huh?” Dirk said.
“Should we continue?” Another mage said. He didn’t even wait for anyone to answer and started to ask his questions. He had me go over everything that had happened up to this point, talking about my mother and how it came into her possession, do I feel it when it is not in use and other such questions. Some of the men made notes as the questions were asked. Another hour had passed as I continued answering various questions. “Is there anything you would like to add? Anything we have not covered?” I debated this last question if I should tell them about Gibi’s essence connected to the stone. As soon as I had the thought, I also had my answer from Gibi.
“Not yet.” His voice rang in my head.
“No, I don’t think there is anything else.” The men seemed satisfied enough as Master Hor spoke.
“Weaver, it’s now time for us to tell you our part in this and how interesting you are.” I remained silent. “The night of the fire, I’m sorry to say that you were dead. Maybe only a few seconds or minutes but still dead.” My palms began to sweat just from the mention of that night. “The magic you showed the other day, my only theory is that you received it from Master Nimm. Who is a wind manipulator. Then from Anna and I, who are most efficient with water based manipulation. My question is: have you felt any other… how do I put this?” Master Nimm finished his question for him.
“Draw to other magical bases. Such as fire when it burns or being able to manipulate light around you.” Master Nimm finished.
“I’m sorry, Master Nimm. The only pull I feel, as you described it, is only water and the and open-air. They have really felt natural to me. What I don’t understand is how would this happen. Also, if I was dead, how am I here now with magic?” The room was silent but broken by Anna’s father.
“There isn’t much else other than personal matters with Mister Weaver. I would ask the other masters besides Master Nimm to return to his or her duties.” They all obliged to his request and left the room. Waiting for the door to close and a few seconds of silence he looked to Anna.
“Anna, if you could please explain, I think it best if it comes from you.” I turned to her, and she was already looking
at me.
“The night of the spring Festival, I was already outside the castle trying to find you.” If she checked the Yezmon, she didn’t say. For some reason I didn't want her to see the first floor.
“I then heard people talking about a fire in the same direction of the Yezmon. As I got closer, it was easier to see the flames. While running, I sent a message to my father from a passing guard. By the time I got there, there was no way inside. The water I used to try and douse the fire had no effect. Which has even a darker meaning that also needs to be discussed later. A minute after I arrived, I saw you emerge from the door with Les over your shoulder. You were in such bad condition I only dared to move you back away from the Yezmon as carefully as I could.”
“That was when myself and Master Nimm arrived.” Hor added.
“But it was too late?” I asked nervously.
“Yes, you had drifted, and I could no longer sense your presence. Your body was burnt beyond anything I have ever seen.”
Anna’ s eyes were becoming wet and I also heard a deep breath from Les.
“I was so scared that I had lost you, without you knowing the truth. It was the worst fear I have ever felt.”
“I’m still here Anna and I guess it has to do with you.” She gave me a slight nod while clearing her eyes.
“When my father arrived, I begged him to me join our inner essences with yours.”
