Cursed With Power

by Lindsey Richardson

  Sniveling, I replied, “I don’t expect you to understand, but I would risk my life for this man. He’s my family now, and families shelter each other.”

  “I can see that he’s changed ever since he arrived here with you. He looks at you with a smile like you’re the only girl in his world that matters. If I had to bet on anybody Alaire would give his heart to, it’d be you,” she said, offering a smile for the first time.

  I smiled as well, and then silence struck the room. I raised my hand to Alaire’s forehead and ran it through his dark hair. When Daciana said she would leave to find another chair, I remained by Alaire’s side.

  In a quiet voice, I leaned in and said, “If the world turns bitter enough to take away everything I care about and love, tears my heart out of my body, and I lose you in a way I can never be with you again… I would rather be alone for the rest of my days.”

  Alaire said nothing, only inhaling and exhaling, and for me that was more than any amount of words. In no time at all, Daciana returned with another chair. She and I sat and watched, though never saying anything more. Meanwhile, Alaire’s eyes slowly closed after one last look at me. I frowned, realizing I hadn’t denied any of what Daciana said. Perhaps there were unspoken feelings I had for him, but for now he remained as my dearest friend and only family.

  ***

  It was early in the morning when someone entered into the room and tapped my shoulder. When I opened my eyes and raised my head, I saw none other than Grefin. He was whistling as he woke Daciana, and he held something white in his arms.

  “What could be important during this ungodly hour?” Daciana groaned, turning her body in the chair so that she was facing away from him.

  Grefin chuckled and turned to me, “Well never mind her; she isn’t too pleasant in the morning. Since you and Alaire’s attire have been ruined, I brought you new clothes.”

  “Is that a dress?” I asked, looking more closely at the material in his arms.

  He nodded eagerly, lying it down in my lap, though I waved my hands.

  “It’s not a gift. Please, take it; I can’t have you walking through the halls half naked,” he said.

  Sighing, I decided to let him have the last word. After all, the skirt of my dress was torn to pieces and anything would be an improvement.

  Grefin pointed to Alaire, and I glanced over to see his eyes were open.

  “How do you feel, friend?” Grefin asked. He placed his hand over Alaire’s forehead, and then he lowered his touch to the thick cloths covering his injured leg.

  “Hungry,” Alaire wheezed, attempting to clear his throat.

  “Ah, you’re in luck! I’m inviting you and Celestria to breakfast, though I am afraid you’ll have to stay here,” Grefin answered.

  Biting my lip, I said, “How long will it take for Alaire to heal? I can’t imagine he likes lying in bed for this long.”

  Alaire snickered.

  “Well,” Grefin sighed, “He can walk whenever he feels strong enough, but I’ll have to find him a cane first. We have to treat his sprain the old-fashioned way, seeing as Daciana has already worn herself out by draining the poison from him.”

  “How many days?” Alaire asked.

  There was a pause.

  Then Grefin answered, “Sometimes it takes weeks, but if Celestria can help you walk again with a cane, then it could change. Remember you came in here with a sprained knee, a bloody shoulder, a fever, and poison in your system. We cannot be too careful at this point.”

  I scowled, and I couldn’t imagine how long it would take to build up the strength in his leg again. The thought of him walking was something that hadn’t even crossed my mind yet. Everything had been following medical procedures, but I hoped for his sake that he could walk as soon as he was ready.

  If it would take several weeks, then my plans with settling the score with Aldemund would have to wait. Considering everything, I wasn’t sure if I should finish what I started with him. Aldemund had proven last time to be more powerful than me, and if it hadn’t been for Alaire I would be dead. We could not wait weeks for him to heal simply to return to the battlefield yet again.

  Suddenly there was a new voice in the room, “Grefin, do you have a new patient?”

  Turning around, I saw a young girl in a burgundy dress. Both of her arms were covered with gold bracelets, and her golden hair was long and curled down past her shoulder. Oddly enough, she reminded me somewhat of Dyanna, though her clothes were too fancy and her eyes were dull. Dyanna had always been much more livelier; everything about her seemed to shine.

  “Emeria, surely you remember Alaire Sencler?” Grefin held his hand out to her, seemingly pleased. When she did not move, he pointed to me, “And this is Celestria.”

  Her eyes narrowed down on me as her glance focused on the dress in my lap. “Oh, a dress for the newest member of Destin? How fitting, Grefin.”

  Grefin’s eyes widened, and he leaned in more closely. “Is that one of Esmour’s rings? I had no idea you worked for—”

  Alaire interrupted and snapped, “Shut your trap; don’t talk about that here.”

  I raised my hand to my face, staring blankly at the ring Alaire had asked me to keep. I had entirely forgotten about it until Grefin’s realization, but now I couldn’t understand the new tension stirring in the room.

  “Alaire?” I asked, frowning.

  He refused to look at me and turned his attention to Grefin.

  “When I met Celestria,” Alaire began, “she was attacked by Aldemund. I know around this time of the year he journeys to Belsgar.”

  Grefin’s head lowered. “Yes, that is true. However, you’re in no condition to make that journey. It’s dangerous enough to begin with, but with your leg I’d advice against it.”

  Had Alaire planned all along to take us directly to Aldemund? Though we had agreed to finish the battle, I had thought Alaire was as clueless about Aldemund as I was. I couldn’t help but feel somewhat forgotten by the lack of information I knew.

  Daciana entered into the conversation, but her grave voice gave me chills. “Belsgar is a realm for White magicians now. Dark magicians are no longer welcome there, and mind you they have foreseers and guards to keep their problems outside of the realm.”

  “Alaire,” I disrupted, “when did you plan on telling me how much you know about Aldemund?”

  Everyone’s head turned to him.

  “I told you that he’s a dangerous man, and that’s the truth. Anything I was told while I worked with Esmour remains confidential, but I swear to you I don’t know anything about him,” Alaire countered.

  Tightening the grip on my dress, I stood up and faced the doorway, which Emeria was still standing in. Why couldn’t he be honest with me? The more I questioned it, the more childish I felt. All this time we had finally found ways to connect with each other, and I didn’t want to ruin it because of a misunderstanding. There were secrets neither Alaire or Léal seemed comfortable sharing that related to Esmour, but if that’s how it was going to be then I would uncover answers on my own.

  “I’ll change now,” I said more so to Grefin than anyone else.

  “I suppose you have your chance now to fight Aldemund on your own, seeing as I’m in no condition that’s helpful. If you gave me the chance, I could show you how strong you really are,” Alaire said, but I took another step toward the door and Emeria moved.

  Without looking back, I stepped into the hallway. By changing into the dress, I could think over the conversation. It gave me time to think through what needed to be done. I still needed to tell Alaire about the dream, but in order to do so he would have to be alone. That was nearly impossible with Daciana watching him at all hours. Then there was of course the talk about Esmour and Aldemund, which I seemed unable to escape no matter where I was. There was something more going on than anyone was willing to say.

  However, my thoughts stayed in my head when I at last reached my door and entered the room. Once the door was shut, I slipped out
of my violet dress and stepped into the white one. Though the new dress was somewhat tight, it fit and I was able to breathe. Unlike in Alaire’s room, there was a full mirror in my room that hung against the wall.

  I walked across the room to the mirror and stared at the reflection looking back at me. The sleeves of the dress flowed past my elbows, embroidered with a light pink design, and the skirt covered my sandals. My red hair was tangled, but I noticed a comb on the bureau from behind me and snatched it. While I brushed out the knots, I debated over what Alaire had said.

  Aldemund could be the reason why Alaire and I were attacked on two different occasions. The problem being if I traveled to Belsgar, I would be surrounded by enemies. In order to rematch Aldemund and take him down, I would have to be one step ahead of him.

  Without having realized it, I soon saw in the mirror that my hair was entirely smooth after the amount of times I brushed it. The red hair that fell down my shoulders all of a sudden appeared to be perfectly maintained.

  Is this me? I thought as I twirled back and forth in the dress. The more I spun around, the dizzier I felt.

  There was a man carrying a rose, who advanced toward a lake. I stood by the edge of the lake in a wedding gown; the veil covered the back of my hair. The man advanced toward me slowly, and I listened to his footsteps.

  “Where have you been? It’s our wedding day; I feared you had changed your mind,” I said, though my voice was stern. I took another step toward the lake; my heels were nearly touching the water. Oddly enough, I thought if I took one more step that would be the end. One more step and no one else would notice, one more step and he wouldn’t have the chance to come up with a lie to mend my broken heart.

  Suddenly I tripped on a floorboard and fell to the floor, holding out my hands to ease the impact. I crawled toward the mirror, looking over myself and wondering what was wrong with me. This was the second time these images of a wedding had entered into my mind, and for the first time it hadn’t been while I was asleep.

  I must be imagining things, I thought. Then I blinked, and out of nowhere appeared the reflections of two men in the mirror. I turned around, but there was no one else in the room. When I returned my focus to the mirror the men had not moved. I stood up, smoothing out my dress, and then took another step closer.

  Gasping, I recognized who the men were. Adam was on the left, and Alaire stood on the right. Was I imagining it? Had the fall caused damage to my head?

  Alaire smiled at me while Adam’s face remained serious. I stared at my own reflection, gazing from one man to the other. The only reasonable explanation could be that my mind was playing tricks. It wanted me to make a decision, and the choices stood right in front of me.

  I couldn’t allow Adam to restrain me furthermore from my future. He had his chance; he proved where his loyalty lay. If he couldn’t love me two years ago when I revealed who I was to him, he certainly would not change his mind if he ever returned.

  Goodbye, Adam, I thought, touching the mirror with my hand.

  Adam’s reflection disappeared, and I jumped. Letting out a sigh, I felt a burden had been lifted off my shoulders. He was gone. His words, his feelings, his judgment… they were all gone. Without him, I could have a second chance to love. I would not have to fear Alaire’s touch or refuse to discover my feelings for him. For the first time I smiled, feeling completely pleased.

  Glancing down, I touched the sleeves of my dress. It was soft, and though I wondered briefly what Alaire would think, it didn’t matter. No one had control over my life anymore. Before I allowed another man to hold my heart, I would be certain he would stay true to his word.

  “I’m free,” I whispered.

  Grefin’s voice came from behind the door, calling my name.

  I brushed back my hair one last time with my hand and sneaked a glimpse at the mirror. Léal was now in Adam’s place, and I shivered at the thought. He and Alaire looked at me with a sense of desire, as if expecting something from me. I blinked, and then the only reflection remaining was mine. Foolish mind games…

  Quietly, I advanced to the door, opened it, and left. Grefin stood at the door waiting for me, and we walked in silence down the hall. Though I was free from Adam, my mind wasn’t free from a haunting decision. Would I choose one over the other? Léal was a man I barely knew, and Alaire didn’t hint as to what his true feelings were.

  Grefin glanced over at me and said, “Celestria, you look ill.”

  “No, but might I ask a question?”

  He nodded, waiting for me to continue. I thought it through in my head, and it was a maddening idea. While Grefin’s hospitality was comforting, I wasn’t positive that telling him about the reflections was a wise choice. However, relying on Alaire to have all the answers wasn’t fair to him or myself. I needed to know the truth.

  “Is the mirror in my room… Is it stable?” I asked.

  He stared at me blankly, but I said nothing in return.

  “I beg your pardon?” he replied.

  I laughed, hoping to conceal the tension in my voice. In a whisper I said, “I must be mad, but I thought I saw another reflection other than mine. Impossible, yes?”

  “Actually, I’ve heard of magicians seeing reflections of other people. Mind you, it is only common amongst foreseers,” he said. A spark of remembrance leaped into his eyes, and I smirked in satisfaction.

  “The reflections are part of a vision?”

  Grefin shook his head and said, “A flash vision. Foreseers glimpse into the future that can be, but the future always changes. A flash vision is often a warning relating to a person’s departure, return, or sometimes a decision the foreseer must make. What it relates to, it affects the future of many.”

  As intriguing as it sounded, I couldn’t be fooled into believing I was a foreseer. While Dark magicians and extremely gifted human beings were the only ones able to look into the future, they had powers beyond my experience. It was a coincidence, or perhaps there were other possibilities. After all, Adam had departed, which left Alaire and Léal to be dealt with. The fall from earlier could have somehow damaged my head; it hadn’t been real.

  “Might I show you something?” Grefin asked, coughing lightly.

  Though I desired to speak with Alaire, I figured a few more minutes wouldn’t make a difference. I followed Grefin, and in a matter of moments he turned the corner and we were in the foyer. Grefin led me to the mural on the wall, and pointed to the man painted below the dragon.

  “This man,” he explained, “was a very talented magician. He thought he knew everything about magic and war, so when he heard that a city was being threatened by a dragon he was the first one to challenge it.”

  He took a few steps back to point to the cloaked figure on the hill.

  “However, this lady was a foreseer and warned him that this fight would bring more loss than victory. As most men, he was stubborn and determined to prove his point, and thus he fought the dragon. They fought for hours until at last the city was saved from the terrible beast.”

  “The foreseer was wrong?” I presumed.

  Grefin placed his hands on his hips and avoided eye-contact. “Years later the magician and foreseer were married. She died shortly afterward, and the magician never forgave himself.”

  I traced over the man in the mural with my hand, and then a thought occurred to me. I hadn’t seen it before, but the man had auburn hair like Grefin’s.

  “This man was you…” I gasped.

  He nodded, replying with, “Are you a foreseer?”

  “No, I had a terrible fall, that’s all,” I said.

  Grefin’s eyes dropped, seemingly disappointed, though I assured myself that I had misunderstood. He had no reason to desire a Dark magician with foreseeing abilities. Such a magician would be his greatest enemy.

  He stared at me for a moment in silence. Then, with a firm voice he said, “If you should come across foreseers in your journey, take heed of their warnings. They are wiser beyond their years, a
nd they obtain an advantage neither you nor I will ever be able to grasp.”

  Nodding in agreement, I left him and rushed around the corner to find Alaire’s room. I couldn’t find the words to talk to Grefin, and I felt intimidated to hear more. He had lost his wife because he chose not to believe in visions, but I couldn’t be making the same mistake as him. How could a decision I make affect the “future of many?”

  Putting aside any questions, I reached Alaire’s room and extended my hand to the doorknob. Before I opened it, I let out a long sigh. I could only hope that Alaire might have a better explanation for what I had seen. With that in mind, I turned the knob and stepped inside. Daciana stood by the bed, leaning over Alaire, and glanced up at my entrance. I asked her if we might have a moment alone, and she glared in return. Nonetheless, she left the room without an argument.

  With shaking hands and chattering teeth, I approached Alaire.

  “You look stunning,” he remarked with his head turned to face me.

  I took another step closer. My heart quickened, as if it too knew that I was confiding in Alaire with a secret. My palms sweated, and all I could think about was the last conversation we had together. He was hiding a secret from me; there was something about Aldemund he wasn’t revealing, and if I was too cautious he might never tell me. Would my secret be enough for him to reveal some of his own?

  Kneeling on the floor beside the bed, I said, “I had a dream last night, one that seemed all too real. In the dream… you died.”

  I choked on the word “died,” recalling the events of the dream. It wasn’t true, though; I was there that night with Alaire and nothing happened.

  “I do not think it was a dream,” Alaire said.

  “You were dead; I felt the coldness in your body. Of course it was a dream!” I reasoned.

  “No, these ‘dreams,’ as you call them, started when I was just a boy. After Mama and Kari’s death, it began. I didn’t tell anyone until about a month ago when I turned to Grefin for guidance, and he informed me that these dreams are actually visions of the future.”