Aftermath_The Armorian Chronicles

by Courtney Beals

  Chapter 5

  Lyla stands in the all too familiar room of the nursery. The candle is lit as it always is, with her and her sister asleep in the crib. Every detail is just as she remembers it. The changing table, the dresser, the rug. Exactly the same. The moon shines in from the window.

  Loud voices arise in the hallway from a man and a woman. The sounds are muffled, but Lyla tries to make out the words as well as she can.

  “Where is it?” asks the man.

  “I do not have what you seek,” says the woman.

  “I know you have it,” he yells. “Give it to me or you and your children will die.”

  Lyla hears what seems to be a struggle. She hears someone running toward the room and moves to the other side by the crib. Suddenly, a woman comes through the door and closes it behind her. She locks it before rushing to the crib.

  She is the same woman with the long dark brown hair and the very thin and frail figure. She looks as though she has not had very much sleep as well, because she has dark circles under her eyes. As she approaches, Lyla sees that she has the most beautiful blue eyes, but she can see the sadness and worry that are overtaking them. She knows this woman is her mother.

  “I love you both,” she says to her two girls. She bends down and kisses them both on the forehead. She takes them up in her arms and hides them under the crib, hanging a blanket on the side to cover the bottom, so they will not be seen. They both stay sound asleep as their mother crosses the room to the door. She opens the door, and waiting on the other side is the man. Waiting there just as he always has in her dream.

  She knows what will happen next. He will unsheathe his sword and stab her mother. She is tired of watching this happen over and over again. Lyla runs forward as fast as she can, but to her it feels like she is running in slow motion. At this rate, she will never make it.

  The man stabs her mother and she falls to the floor just as she always has, but this time Lyla is at her side, holding her. She begs her not to die, not to leave them. Her mother looks into her eyes and says “My child, you have grown up beautifully. You must find it! You must find what they are looking for.” Lyla is in shock. Her mother is talking to her. This has never happened in her dreams before. She has to be imagining this. Surely her mother can’t actually be communicating with her, can she?

  Lyla awoke in that moment breathing heavily with sweat running down her forehead. William hovered over her looking concerned and worried. If he had not moved back at that very moment she would have punched him in the face.

  “Are you all right?” he asked. “You were moving around and mumbling in your sleep. I was trying to decide if I should wake you or not. I was just about to when you woke up. Probably a good thing I didn’t. You looked like you wanted to kill me just then.”

  She got up slowly, grabbing her head that began to ache with pain. The sun was shining high in the sky. She couldn’t remember the last time she slept so late. Probably never. Lilly was still asleep by the fire that was reduced to coals and ash. “I’m fine,” she said through gritted teeth. “It was just a nightmare. You should have woken us sooner; we never sleep this late. We could have been long gone by now.”

  “I would have, but with everything you two have been through lately, I figured you needed to get some rest. Do your nightmares happen often?” Lyla looked at him through prying eyes. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to share personal information with him yet. “Because if they do...” he interrupted “...I know someone who can help. He can make them go away or even reveal more information about them as well.” This got Lyla’s attention immediately. After what had just happened in her dream, it made her want to know more about it. What had her mother wanted her to find? After all these years, how was it that just now she could interfere in her nightmare?

  “That would actually be a great idea,” she said. “I would like to know more about my dream and what it means.”

  “So, these dreams are one dream? You have the same dream over and over?”

  Before she could respond, Lilly started yelling. She was sitting up throwing her hands into the air. “Why on earth are we still here? Why did no one wake me up? This is ridiculous! We shouldn’t be here still. What is wrong with you guys?”

  “You two are just alike,” he said to Lyla with a smile. She couldn’t help but return the smile. It was so true. They were alike in every way, besides a few of their interests. Lyla gathered all her belongings while William poured water over the fire. She changed clothes, put her boots on, and took a moment to pull her hair back out of her face. Afterwards, she put all her weapons in place. She put on her weapons belt, which contained her sword and multiple throwing knives, and she also placed several more knives in her boots for safe keeping. Her bow and arrows were attached to her saddle so she didn’t have to carry them on her back. Lilly was angrily gathering her things as well. Mumbling to herself in the process. Lyla thought this was hilarious. Usually, Lyla was the one that had to wake Lilly up, and it wasn’t always easy. Now here she was, angry and bent out of shape because she’d overslept.

  After everything was packed and everyone was ready, they all mounted their horses and continued forward to the gateway. William was still the lead, of course, then Lyla and Lilly were side by side, followed by Mercury, now tied to Lilly’s horse, Eris. The forest started to get thicker. The trees had grown closer together, and the bushes were close enough to scratch their legs as they passed by.

  They came to a small path that had been made by William when he had first arrived. He had no horse then so he’d only had to make it wide enough for him to fit through. William got off his horse and started cutting the brush to make a wider path. At least wide enough for the horses to fit through. This slowed their pace exceedingly, but it wasn’t much further he told them. The brush was thick, but the gateway was just on the other side. After several minutes, they finally got through.

  On the other side, it appeared to be just more of the forest. There was an open patch of dirt with trees all around and an enormous stone rock covered in greenery. Lyla and Lilly looked at each other, both assuming that he really was crazy.

  “I know what you are both thinking,” William announced. “But it is here, it’s just hidden. Let me show you.”

  Lyla believed him, but she still had her doubts. She was fully alert and had her hand on her weapons belt, ready to pull a knife if he tried anything suspicious. She would rather be safe than sorry.

  He continued forward to the giant stone that stood before them and pulled back the vines that were covering it. Underneath, it seemed to be strange etchings in the rock. Two shapes ran parallel with one another in the shape of a door. In between these shapes were etchings of elegant swirls. Underneath these parallel figures were strange words.

  Et la passerelle est ouverte

  Both Lyla and Lily stared in amazement. They thought it was very beautiful, but didn’t understand how this could be a gateway to anything. After all, it was just a rock. How could this possibly be a gateway?

  “Are these words supposed to have a meaning?” said Lilly as she stared at the carvings of the words.

  “As a matter of fact, they do,” said William. “It means, And the Gateway is Open.”

  “What language is that?” Lyla asked.

  “It is the French language, although I have always wondered why myself. Armorians are not of French ancestry. I suppose it was a way to tie the two realms together.”

  “Okay, so what now?” Lilly asked excitedly. She wasn’t sure what to expect, yet she was very anxious to find out. She had more faith in her father than Lyla did and she knew it.

  “It’s simple really,” he said. “All you have to do is...”

  Before he could finish explaining what to do, he was interrupted by a woman. “Not leaving without us, are you?” She was very beautiful. She was very slim and tall. Taller than Lyla and Lilly. She had dark hair that was pinned up on her head and big blue eyes that stood out against the dark makeup surro
unding them. She had fair skin with soft features that complimented the rest of her body. She was wearing skin-tight clothing that was both modest and flattering. She looked like a badass warrior that was just about the same age as them. She seemed to be perfectly flawless.

  Without thinking, Lyla clenched one of her knives in her right hand and threw it at the girl. The girl quickly pulled out her sword and deflected it. Lyla was shocked and amazed. No one had ever been able to avoid being struck by one of her daggers before. She looked over at Lilly, who had the same stunned expression as she did. She tightened her jaw and clenched her fists as she started to approach the girl, ready for a fight. William quickly interfered, stepping in between the two girls.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he said turning to Lyla. “She is with us. No need to kill her.”

  “Like she could anyway,” the girl chimed in.

  Lyla immediately lunged after her again. William once again blocking her. “Is that really necessary?” he said to the girl. “You’re not making a very good first impression.”

  The girl threw her hands up in the air in surrender. “Fine,” she said. “I’ll play nice, even though she started it.”

  Suddenly a man approached from the same direction the girl had appeared. He had light-colored short hair and was just as tall as the girl. He wore just a simple T-shirt and jeans. He seemed to be in good shape.

  An unpleasant silence passed, when, finally, William began to speak.

  “Girls, this is Joseph and Giselle. They accompanied me on this trip to find the two of you. We somehow got split up when the Demorites came passing through and had a plan to meet up back here should anything like that happen.” He hesitated for a moment, contemplating whether or not he should continue with what he was about to say. “Also, this may be difficult for the two of you to hear, but…Giselle is your sister.”

  Lyla gasped and Lilly’s mouth fell open but remained silent. As usual, Lyla was the first to speak. “What? You said nothing about their being others, and now you want to tell us that this girl is our sister? How could that be possible? She has to be the same age as us, if not older. Were you unfaithful? Did you tell our mother that you loved her and then sneak around behind her back? And then try to sell us the same story?” So much anger was building up inside of her. She did not understand this at all. Her life was nothing like she thought it was. Everything was changing in a matter of days and she did not like it at all. “Explain yourself!”

  William took a moment to himself. He knew the girls would not be happy with what he’d just told them. He knew that they would not understand and would be angry with him. His shoulders and his composure fell. Lyla had never seen him so sad. She had not known him long, but so far, he always had a good attitude toward everything. He was very hopeful and Lyla saw that in him, but now it was gone.

  “Giselle is two years younger than you girls,” said William. He was staring at the ground and had his hands shoved in his pockets. “I knew your mother was gone and I couldn’t get to her, like I explained before. The gate was sealed shut and I had no way in. I grieved for over a year and then I met Giselle’s mother. I fell in love with her, and shortly after, we had Giselle.” He was now looking directly into their eyes. His voice remained soft and comforting. “That doesn’t mean that I stopped trying to get to you, because I didn’t, and it doesn’t mean that I stopped loving your mother, because I do very much. I love all of you. Giselle came here with me because she heard so much about you and your mother. She knows what happened and she wanted to come here to meet the both of you and bring you home with us because that’s where you belong.”

  Lilly stepped forward and put her arms around Giselle, welcoming her to the family. Unlike Lyla, she had an open mind about most things. She did not let the unexpected corrupt the way she felt. Instead, she embraced it, and Lyla admired that about her. She always had. She wished she was more like her sister in this way.

  Lilly stepped back and looked toward Lyla, nodding her head toward Giselle, indicating that she wanted her to do the same. Lyla rolled her eyes and walked toward Giselle, who had a large smile on her face and arms wide open. Lyla managed a small smile and gave her a hug for Lilly’s sake. She stepped back immediately afterwards.

  “Don’t expect me to call her mother. Whoever she is.” Lyla mumbled as she walked away.

  “You won’t have to,” Joseph said quietly. “She’s dead.”

  Lyla’s looked to the ground and her shoulders sagged. She regretted saying that. She was glad Giselle or William didn’t hear her say it, then she would have felt really bad. The absence of her mother was something she would never wish upon anyone. No one deserved to grow up without a mother.

  She decided not to be so hard on them and to control her anger. Before all of this, when it was just Lilly and her grandparents, she didn’t have much of an issue with her anger, but after all she had been through in the last day it was becoming difficult to control.

  “Great,” William said with a smile that had returned to his face. Let’s do this, shall we?” Everyone nodded and made gestures implying that they had been waiting forever and they wanted him to hurry it along. “As I was saying before,” he continued. “All you have to do is say the words on the door.”

  “That’s all you have to do?” Lilly interrupted. “It’s that simple?”

  “Yes and no,” he replied. “If you are not a descendant of an Armorian, simply saying the words will not open the gateway. You must have the Armorian blood in you. Meaning you must be a witch or a wizard. You must also have your Armorian symbol with you if you are attempting to open it alone. I will explain your symbols to you later.”

  Lilly gestured that she understood so that he could continue. He turned back to the gateway and stood directly in front of it. He took a deep breath and recited the words on the door.

  “Et la passerelle est ouverte.”

  He stood back and the stone began to crumble before them where the door was. What it revealed left Lilly and Lyla in awe. They noticed everyone around them was smiling.

  “Isn’t it absolutely beautiful?” Giselle asked, clapping her hands together in excitement.

  “Very,” Lyla and Lilly said at the same time.

  When the rock crumbled and fell to the ground it revealed the same doorway, but this one looked magical and alive. The gateway was now a beautiful golden frame. Inside the gateway was what looked almost like a blue clouded sky. Lilly stepped forward and looked behind the frame, but there was only a wall of stone. William noticed the mesmerized look on their faces and explained that it is just another barrier to ensure that no one that was not Armorian could enter without another Armorian. It did not show Armoria, only a beautiful enchantment. All they had to do now was step through the gateway and they would be in Armoria.

  “Can the horses come as well?” Lyla asked. “I couldn’t dare leave them here.”

  “Of course they can,” Joseph replied. “Any innocent-minded animal can enter into our world.” Lyla stood there for a moment thinking about what he had just said.

  Innocent minded? Were all creatures not innocent minded? Even those who kill can’t help themselves. It’s in their nature.

  They gathered the horses and prepared themselves.

  “It’s very simple,” William said. “All you have to do is step through.”

  “Joseph and I will go first,” said Giselle. “That way you can see how it is done to help ease the tension.” She smiled toward Lyla and Lilly.

  Lyla thought she was nice, but she wouldn’t call her sister just yet. Just like she wouldn’t call William her father. She smiled back as Giselle turned and walked through the gateway. Once she stepped in, she disappeared, and all that remained was the beautiful enchantment. Joseph went through next, followed by Lilly. Lyla would be next, and then William. As she got closer, she took a deep breath, and then closed her eyes and walked through the gateway.

  Chapter 6

  As soon as Lyla opened her eyes, she realized
she was standing in a courtyard. In the center, was the gateway that she had just appeared from. As soon as William stepped through, it turned completely transparent. It no longer had a beautiful enchantment flowing through it. Instead, she could see right through it to the other end of the courtyard. All that remained was the golden metal frame. The courtyard consisted of mostly grass, except for the four concrete paths that ran from the circular pad under the gate to the outer edges of the courtyard. Around the perimeter of the courtyard stood many buildings, side by side, which were also lined with concrete paths leading here and there.

  From what she could see, it looked like mostly shopping stores, apart from the tall building on the north side. It looked more like an old church or courthouse, with its stone walls and detailed architecture. It was a very beautiful place. Everything looked very clean and well-kept and the grass was a perfect shade of green. The sun was shining, the air was warm, and the sky had a beautiful blue tint that made it even better. People were wandering aimlessly, talking in small groups, or shopping around. No matter what they were doing everyone seemed...happy. There was no sign of decay or lifelessness, only beauty and life. They paid no mind to the group of people that just appeared out of nowhere.

  They must be used to people passing through.

  “This is Armoria, as I’m sure you know by now,” William said pulling Lyla from her thoughts. “I’m sure you will want to look around and get to know the area, but first I think it best you both get settled,” he said specifically to the twins. “You will be housing with Giselle, Thomas, who you will meet momentarily, and myself.”

  Lyla turned to him in protest. “Are you serious? We have to stay with you? Lilly and I have taken care of ourselves for most of our lives. I don’t think we need you to step in and start watching over us like a hawk.”

  “I’m sorry you feel that way, but for now we are not going to give you a permanent residence all to yourselves when you have only just arrived. The house is quite big, and you will both have your own rooms. I think you will be quite content.”