The Long Lost

by Rebecca Woods

Everything in his demeanour conveyed his disappointment.

  “These people have heard stories of the Long Lost all their lives. I fear you have disappointed them”.

  I felt something inside me break, a sliver of self-control that had been fragile as a baby.

  I turned to him and heard the words come out of my mouth before I could check them. I was like the ancient volcano of Vesuvius erupting and enveloping an entire city in the Old World.

  “Really? They have not had to relive the most traumatic experience of their life countless times for a baying audience”.

  His face remained impassive.

  “Come to think of it, you did not tell me that this world was going to be so hostile to me, to magic. Had I known I was going to be beaten and imprisoned and subjected to suspicion everywhere I went, I may have been slightly more prepared”.

  I glared at him.

  “I am tired of having to explain myself everywhere we go. I just want to learn magic and help. At least on New Earth I knew who the enemy was”.

  I walked away from him in the direction of my bedroom. I did not know exactly where I was going but my sense of direction was excellent and I knew I would find it.

  The Intruder

  Five minutes and lots of steps later I was in the room I had spent the night.

  I closed the door and the window shutters and lay down on the bed, trying to get my heartbeat down.

  My eyes closed and for a moment I was back in Zafiya, my hood down and my heart ablaze for the desperate women I had tried to rescue at first before realising that they could only be delivered, not rescued. There was no place for a disgraced woman in Zafiya or any of the cities in Englander. They were of no use once they had shamed their husbands, fathers or brothers, and a woman with no use was not tolerated.

  I had once seen the familiar horse and cart that came to collect any female dead every morning. I had heard the horses outside my window and discretely looked out. A body was being loaded onto the cart. A tendril of blonde hair had escaped the shroud and I recognised the corpse as a young mother who lived next door with her small daughter. Her husband had been executed the week before for adultery and she lived with an older woman who presumably was her mother.

  My tired eyes adjusted to the light and I now saw the black rag tied around the gate post that signified a death of a female child or adult had occurred either the night or the day before.

  The child was standing on the end of the path crying. I wanted to run out there and take her, shield her from the people who would soon come and take her. I tried to catch her eye without being seen. Had I been able to do this, I may have been able to persuade her to hide until I could fetch her safely.

  My father would have been able to claim her legitimately, but he was not here. I was alone and was not allowed onto the street. The old woman would not be deemed fit to look after the child herself.

  I had to stand and watch as a Defender led the girl away, presumably to the Sloven House. I was supposed to be acclimatised to what I constantly saw happening around me but I could not stop the haunted feeling that dogged me over the next few weeks. My mother had been alive then.

  Constantly being required to tell my story to the Falaira meant that the feelings and thoughts I had tried to suppress since my father’s death were very close to the surface. I could not now stop myself from letting the ever-present grief overtake me and I let the hot pain take me for a while.

  I waited for what seemed like an hour but nothing happened. Nothing except the sounds of birds outside the window cawing their songs and conversations to the sky as they flitted between the trees in their forest nests.

  The anger inside me moved and then seemed to dissipate slowly as I felt my heart rate return to the normal rhythm it took when seeing me through my daily business.

  Why was I so angry all of a sudden, so angry over anything seemingly insignificant? On one hand I could see the logic behind my sudden fiery ire; my treatment at the hands of the Falaira had been shocking at first, then much better but the memory of being beaten and imprisoned had stayed with me the whole time. Khalashaya had seemed to bear the after effects of his ill treatment better; he was undoubtedly used to being badly treated. It occurred to me as it had many times before that he had never really talked about the source of many of his scars.

  His face was covered in scars, not that they took away from his beauty. I shifted position on the bed and made myself comfortable as I digested this new thought. Khalashaya did have a certain beauty, which seemed to me a strange thought to have about a male.

  I was used to thinking of males in any other way than as people to be feared and avoided, their authority to be subverted and challenged covertly wherever possible. Without realising it, I had really begun to let Khalashaya in, had allowed him to see parts of my personality I had denied existed since the death of my mother; inadvertently revealed little vulnerabilities and idiosyncrasies, insecurities and other shameful elements of my personality that I usually squirrelled away from everyone, even my father.

  I thought back to those last moments with my father before I had left for the library and my world had turned upside down. My father had revealed himself to me in those precious minutes, melting away my memories of his violence the night before. He had cared deeply for me, had loved me too much to see me in danger because of my illegal actions.

  I felt the waterfall overtake me once more and I let it sweep me away for some time as fresh grief coursed through me. My father really was lost to me forever. Never again would I be held in his arms. I don’t know why it hit me so hard at that moment but it really did. Eventually I was too tired to sob anymore and allowed myself to sink into the comfortable bed, closing my eyes.

  When I opened them, the Queen was standing in front of me. She looked grave and white, her features strained and her eyes watchful and apprehensive. I opened my mouth to apologise for my actions, for my loss of control and she held up a slim white hand.

  I swallowed my words and waited for her to speak. I would interrupt no more.

  "Something has happened," the Queen said gravely. I stood up and put my cloak back on.

  The Queen made no attempt to move and so I stood there in front of her, not sure what to do.

  Then she suddenly turned tail and walked out of the room. I assumed I was to follow and so kept pace with her as she walked down the stairs. I heard Larcen following behind me and wondered what was happening. Whatever it was, I had a basic enough grasp of magic to not allow myself to be as vulnerable as I had been at the hands of the Gleema.

  We walked over the bridge and then across one I had not spotted in our travels before.

  The Queen suddenly stopped and faced me, looking just as grave as she had done in my room. I felt Larcen collide with me behind due to the sudden stop. I looked round and smiled an apology at her. She gave me a small smile in return.

  I turned back to face the Queen.

  "Our security has been breached. An intruder has entered the camp".

  She must have seen the horror in my face because she was quick to speak again.

  "A woman".

  A woman? Who was she and how had she managed to penetrate such a secure camp? I thought back to our arrival at the camp, which had been extremely difficult. It would take an extremely powerful Falaira to breach that security.

  It occurred to me that I did not know about the magical hierarchy of the Falaira. What was powerful? What skills were normal? Were these free Falaira more powerful than other free Falaira? What was to stop other Falaira who had not undergone the Dream from breaking in and using the camp for their own ends?

  So many questions about this strange race of people I had only recently discovered I belonged to.

  I came out of my reverie to see the Queen still looking at me. "Who is the woman?" I asked nervously.

  "We do not know. Khalashaya is on his way to question her with Woodarch. I would like you to have a look at her as well and see if you can help us di
scover who she is and how she got into my city".

  She looked furious as she finished the sentence and I dared not interrupt or do anything but listen intently and respond with nods and other acknowledgement signifiers.

  She turned and walked again. we went across two more bridges, climbed more steps and then walked more bridges. I was going to find it hard to ever walk anywhere by myself here as this treetop city was so maze like.

  Eventually, after a silent march of about fifteen minutes, we were met by some armed female Falaira who had on tunics made of what looked like rough hide, leather boots and hooded cloaks.

  One stepped forward, a red haired woman. She bowed deeply to the Queen and gave me a curt nod. She was older than the rest, she looked as if she had seen two score and five winters but her body was as slim as the other younger warriors and she had a confident stance.

  "Any word from the prisoner?"

  "None your majesty", said the warrior. She came forward and muttered something to the Queen I could not hear. The Queen looked at me, surprise on her beautiful face.

  "The prisoner asks for you Auriana".

  I swallowed, not trusting myself to speak. Why would the intruder be asking for me? I knew no one, or hardly anyone on this world. I nodded at the Queen to signify acquiescence and followed her into a room where a woman was tied to a chair.

  I could only see the back of her but her hair was dark and cut in a distinctive way that gave birth to a vague memory, she was familiar. I knew that head, had spent much time with her one on one when learning magic with Woodarch and the other Free Falaira.

  It was Gleema Leeh.

  The Orb

  I felt a pain in my chest as I thought of the danger Gleema Leeh had placed herself in. Or had she? How dangerous were these Falaira when it came to the people who had oppressed and slaughtered them for millennia?

  I willed myself to step forward and reveal I was there.

  As if she sensed my presence, Gleema Leeh turned and faced me, much of her neck movement restricted by the ropes that bound her tightly.

  "I must speak with you!" Her voice rasped as if she had been shouting for some time.

  "I am here, Gleema Leeh" I said. I heard a sharp intake of break and low muttering from the warriors and heard the Queen command silence as I advanced around the chair to face the prisoner properly.

  Whatever the Gleema had done to me, I was not about to exact retribution upon the prisoner, especially one who was my friend. I would speak with her and try and help solve the mystery.

  I faced her at last; she had an ugly bruise forming on her right temple and her clothes were in disarray as if she had been transported to this prison roughly. Her eyes blazed with anger and something else that seemed to be fear. Why had she come here? How had she done it?

  I sat in front of her, not trusting the strength in my overtired calves.

  "How..." I began. However, the Queen spoke angrily first.

  "Why are you in my city severed one? How came you to circumvent my defences?"

  Gleema Leeh did not answer, just kept looking at me intently.

  "Speak!"

  The Queen was shouting now. I could sense her thoughts, scattered and jumbled like the leaves that dissolved in the burning rain of home.

  Still, the prisoner said nothing, just looked at me.

  I had a sudden thought. I stood up and looked at the Queen, bowing my head as I spoke.

  "Your majesty, permit me but a brief time with the prisoner. She may talk to me as we grew friendly during my time with the Gleema".

  She looked very surprised at this, as if the thought of Gleema and unsevered Falaira were an impossibility.

  "This is one of the severed ones who beat, starved and imprisoned you Auriana - the last of the Long-Lost!"

  She paused for breath.

  "And you will speak to her like a dear friend!"

  I tried to impress my thoughts upon her, my mind reaching out like the nervous tendrils of a weak plant in murky water to find hers. I pushed past the minds of the other Falaira and found her.

  "Trust me" I said in my mind. “She was unlike the others”.

  She looked at me, a faint look of surprise flitting across her beautiful features.

  I held my breath, feeling my heart pump hard and fast.

  After what seemed like an eternity, she gave a sharp nod and turned to the red haired commander of the warriors.

  "Raven, Auriana will be brought to my rooms after she has spoken to the prisoner. You are authorised to terminate this Gleema Leeh (she spat out the name angrily) if she will not comply".

  Raven nodded and bowed to the Queen, who left the room abruptly with one last glance at me.

  Do not fail me, she seemed to be saying with that look. I had no intention of doing so and tried to communicate that with my look back at her.

  Raven turned to me as the Queen left.

  "This is most irregular, but we will allow you a short time alone with the prisoner. We will be outside".

  She gave a sharp command to the warriors and they turned and left, closing the heavy wooden door behind them.

  As the door closed, I sensed something break in Gleema Leeh; as if her defences could finally come down.

  I turned to her and extended my hand towards her bruise, she narrowed her eyes at my approach but seemed to understand from my expression that I meant no harm.

  “What have they done to you?” I said, trying not to let the emotion show too much of itself. The warriors were listening outside after all.

  I touched the bruise, there was a nasty lump coming up. She flinched but kept her gaze on me fixed.

  "Are you affected by your head wound?" I asked.

  Her eyes narrowed again and then she shook her head from side to side quickly.

  "Speak to me, why did you come here?"

  She coughed and swallowed.

  "They wanted to execute you all after that disastrous meeting with the head Gleema. Tortured me to find out where you might have gone. As we were...close".

  She paused.

  “I knew more torture would expose you”.

  She coughed, bloody spittle stained her lips.

  "I knew it would also expose me".

  I sagged to the floor again in a sitting position, horrified and feeling sick to the stomach. This had happened because of me. This had happened because of my temper. I tried to swallow but the horror had given me a lump in my throat.

  "Do not...Auriana, please" she pleaded. "You remember I was as suspicious of you in the beginning as the others were, perhaps even more so. But I was intrigued by you, you radiated something I wanted to know more of. You had the dust of another world on your skin and dancing in your eyes Auriana. I could not help but feel myself drawn to you".

  She coughed again.

  "This is not your doing".

  "That is...hard for me to accept at this moment" The words left my mouth and hung on the tension between us like drops of water on a spider's web.

  She coughed and swallowed. I noticed she was thinner and paler than she had been back in the palace of the Gleema. They had clearly taken her prisoner as soon as we had left. I suspected that my dark new friend at the council meeting had had a hand in that.

  "Tell me why you came here Gleema Leeh. I want..." I broke off, as the words - though I meant them - sounded hollow.

  “I wanted to be…” She looked as if she was struggling to get the words across how she wanted to.

  I watched her patiently, non-verbally letting her know that I would give her as much time as possible. I was however, aware of Raven and her soldiers waiting on the other side of the door. Would they carry on treating Gleema Leeh like the Gleema had treated us? The irony that the Free Falaira were little better than their oppressors was not lost on me.

  She coughed and tried to speak again.

  “I wanted to stop living a life that was not mine”.

  I could not help but doubt her seeming change of heart. Yes she had been m
ore receptive to the magic and had made an effort to befriend me. However, she did work closely with the people persecuting and executing magical people. Why had she allowed herself to rise so high within the council if she was against what they did?

  “I will...show you” she said.

  Show me what? I thought and then saw to my horror that I was rising in the air. My head was touching the ceiling before I remembered the incantation to bring me down again.

  My feet touched the floor and I gaped at her in shock, she had the grace to look ashamed and frightened at least. I did detect a small amount of pride, as if she had been worried she would not be able to do the magic.

  This was unbelievable!

  The sound of the door opening interrupted my thoughts.

  Raven entered, looking severe. Gleema Leeh shrank back slightly; as if trying to protect herself her dark skin much paler than usual, the Seniveri in her not compensating for this.

  Raven looked at me.

  “Well?”

  I cleared my throat and wondered how to proceed with this. I did not fully trust this new Gleema Leeh, but I liked, no - I loved her. I was full of conflicting feelings and emotions at that point but I loved her.

  She was a Gleema, she had participated in many arrests, trials and executions but she and I had connected. We were sisters under the skin, however different we were. It turned out we were not as different as I had initially thought.

  I could not get my mind around the fact that she had magical ability. How had Gleema Leeh avoided the Dream? How had she been able to hide from the Gleema, in plain sight, all of these years.

  “Speak Gleema!” Raven walked over to Gleema Leeh who shrank back even more.

  “Stop!” the order was out of my mouth before I had time to finish my thought process.

  “I must speak to the Queen”, I spluttered nervously. “I think she will be interested in what I have to say”.

  Raven paused and then gave me a perfunctory bow.

  “As you wish. I am instructed to take you to her now”.

  “See that Gleema Leeh is unharmed” I said, trying to inject confidence into my voice where I felt none. “The Queen must decide what to do once she has my information”.