Sunday, December 16, 2007

CHAPTER 14

“The will to live, makes choices at death simpler.

The will to die, reflects on the irrational choices made to live.”

Just this once, let me go to him. Rest, Christine.

Kyoden flipped over and over in his bed. He shut his eyes, only to open them again. He knew he should not have taken the caffeine drink for supper just before bedtime. He felt utterly restless. He tried sleeping with his face on the pillow and ended up almost choking himself. Gosh, he just had to sleep!

Click!

His body stiffened as he heard the room’s door handle clicked and turned.

Crap, Raviex is so gonna kill me for forgetting to lock the door. Could it be an assassin?

A slit of light grew on the wall as a figure let itself in quietly. Kyoden heard the door closed. He was surprised that the intruder did not at least take the precaution to walk stealthily. The noise of two feet shuffling against the carpeted floor filled the atmosphere. He hoped Raviex was awake and aware of the intruder.

Then, he heard whispers and words being mumbled. He was confused. What was the trespasser’s intention? Through mind command, the living titanium began to mould a crossbow beneath the blanket on his forearm.

“Stop right there.”

Like a cue, Raviex sprang up and reached for the figure’s neck. In a flash, he was on top of it, pinning it down, without giving it a chance of escape. Kyoden had his crossbow readied as well, ready to shoot if needed be. His stomach lurched. A bad feeling crept inside him. He went to the lamp stand and switched it on. He gaped as the light filled the room.

“Ryn?”

There it was again, those different pair of eyes looking out at him. It was crazy but was it possible to tell it not to disappear and explain its existence? The pair of eyes saddened as they flickered, wishing it could stay. Suddenly, Raviex found Christine staring at him in surprise and then followed by anger.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing, Raviex? Get off me!” she growled.

He was stupefied for a while. Realizing he was still on top of her on the bed, he immediately released her neck and arms and stepped back to let her get up. He could still smell the lingering fragrance of her hair. He looked away shyly as she straightened her night-robe.

“What the heck was that for?” shot Christine, massaging her neck. “What are you two doing in my room ambushing me?”

“Excuse me! This is our room. We should be asking you the question. You came into our room in the middle of the night and Kaisen knows what you were whispering about to Raviex,” blurted Kyoden in defence. Christine glanced around. He was telling the truth.

What am I doing here?

It hit her fast.

“I’m sorry to have disturbed your sleep,” apologised Christine all too quickly. “Good night.” She walked out of the room before they could extract an explanation out of her.

What are you hiding from us, Ryn?

“What is so wrong with her?” said Kyoden, still puzzled by her hurried apology.

Raviex sighed submissively and closed the door and locked it. He looked at Kyoden with a frown. “Kyoden, did you forget to lock the door before you sleep?”

“Busted…”

Christine sat on the side of her bed, recalling how it happened. Nothing came to mind;

just a blank piece of memory.

You were asleep.

-You have no right to take over me even if I am asleep!

He is here. This is my only chance.

-You will not get to Raviex through me.

No, you do not understand. Levon—

-I told you, King Levon is dead! The person you tried to get to is his son, Raviex.

You’re lying! We had a pact!

-Get out of my mind! Get out!

Christine let out a frustrated scream in her head. If this were to continue any longer, she might as well be sent into a mental asylum. She was sure that hearing voices in the head was not a sane thing. She felt tears welling up in her eyes and a lump swelled in her throat.

She was meant to die two years ago. But somehow she lived, with a second soul tied to her body. She could have simply forgotten about its existence until the day she met Raviex again after his crash on the Blessed Land. He stirred powerful emotions in the two souls in this body.

Sleepless nights filled with incomprehensible dreams, speeches of another in her head besides her own thoughts, blank gap of memories, sudden blackouts… it was as if her body and mind had been invaded and they were not hers anymore. What was the point of living if it was so?

Kyoden stifled a yawn and rubbed his sleepy eyes. Everyone in the party was up early to resume the journey in search for the First Ultimate Praetor. It was daybreak and they were already on their way with a focused destination in mind.

“Master has just spoken to Lorenne. We need to travel back to Sage Village,” said Sonia the night before.

“Why don’t you hurry along then?” proposed Kyoden, hoping to get rid of Sonia. “Raviex wishes to go to Sage City, not Sage Village.”

“That’s because it’s related to Raviex’s quest, idiot,” she answered sharply. “Master says he has something that might assist him.” Upon hearing that, the Prince chose to travel to Sage Village which was located at the countryside of Sage City with the sisters.

‘If their master is as great a sage as they claim him to be, then it is worth the trip,’ Raviex concluded in his mind.

Kyoden sighed dreadfully. Nothing was going his way ever since he met that obnoxious girl. She was sharp-tongued, quick-witted and always against him. On top of that, he had to travel with her for a period of at least six months.

What have I done in my past life to deserve this?

Two hours passed since the party left Little Dai Town. Kyoden let out a loud groan. “Raviex, we’ve been walking for hours! I’m so bored!”

“Shh!!!” hushed Christine. “We’re in a territory with creatures in it too. You do not want aggressive creatures coming after you. This forest is supposedly full of them.”

He gulped and immediately lowered down his volume. “Hey, Raviex,” he called him softly.

“What is it?” asked Raviex distractedly. Now that his mind was vacant, he could not help but think about the Ultimate Praetor which appeared to them back then. Was it possible that someone had captured Valkyr Leo before he could?

“Have you fought a Beast before?” asked Kyoden.

“Yes,” he replied. “I had to anyway as a part of my training to increase the level of my Sacred Energy. It’s the fastest way to train. Animals or insects carry too little amount of energy and since Soulless race of creatures are usually fatal, the Beast Race is the best choice.”

Christine who overheard their conversation cut in. “You’ve never encountered any Soulless before?”

“Honestly, no,” said Raviex frankly. “I’ve fought demonic-characterised beast before though. It’s the closest to a Soulless I could get. My professors forbade me to combat that particular race. Did you have any experience with Soulless creatures, Ryn?”

The girl nodded. “But I wasn’t alone fighting it. My father was there and he did most of the fighting. So, I can’t say I’m experienced when it comes to Soulless; exposed, but not experienced.”

“Okay… I’ve just listened to the party’s main fighters confessed that they’re newbies in battling against the Soulless Race. I feel so safe now,” remarked Kyoden dryly. “I think I can pretty much assume it would be better to avoid that race of creatures?”

Raviex and Christine looked at one another, amused at Kyoden’s previous words. They grinned teasingly at him. “If we have to battle them, we have to battle them. It’s better if we could experience it ourselves. We can’t avoid them forever,” said the Prince.

“Yup, we all know good, old Kyoden is capable of defeating them. If we can’t finish them off, we’ll just bring them to you!” Christine giggled.

“You two have got to be kidding me,” the archer muttered.

Behind the trio, next to the horse, Lorenne glanced at Sonia who was walking on the other side of it. She knew what was running through her mind. She wished her elder sister did not have to fulfil her dreams through such a way.

“Don’t worry yourself too much, Lorenne,” told Sonia, seeing the troubled look on her face. The younger Fierell nodded. She could not stop her worrying however. Sonia had always been braver and more confident than her. She respected her for that but Lorenne did not want her only relative to leave her because of a dangerous mission.

Seven hours had passed. Everyone was starting to feel weary since they had practically hiked the whole day. They took only a lunch break and continued for four hours straight. They were trying to conserve energy, keeping quiet and communicating only when necessary.

“I love my hair. I know, you must be jealous, Raviex, that my hair is just so long and healthy. No, no, I’m not saying yours looks awful, really. They’re good but if you follow my instructions on how you should wash, dry and treat your hair…”

Alright, so there was still Kyoden who was as energetic as ever. Christine made an eye contact with Raviex, jerking her head backwards. Raviex smiled when she saw her rolled her eyes at Kyoden. He knew she was at her limit with Kyoden’s non-stop babbling. The two of them let him gibbered on as they silently retreated to the back of the party.

“…my other advice is that it is best not to dye your hair. They always end up spoiling your hair. You are very fortunate to be born with such attractive brownish-blond hair. Your kind of blond gives an illusionary feeling that they were actually highlights on your brown hair. That’s a very nice combination, but of course, my astounding black hair is still splendid. What do you think, Raviex?”

Kyoden looked to his right, expecting to see Raviex looking all impressed by his knowledge on hair-keeping. “Raviex?” He searched around him. “He’s gone!” He was going to alarm the others about it when he noticed he was alone. “Now everybody’s gone!” He looked in the bushes and behind tree trunks in the hope of finding them.

“Guys, don’t leave me!” wailed Kyoden, panicking like a child who lost his family in a shopping mall.

CRACK!

Kyoden gulped. Very slowly, he turned back. Glaring back at him was a pair of menacing red eyes. “AAAAHH!!!” he screamed. Before he could stop his feet, they sped off the fastest they were capable of. A beast jumped out and took chase after him. It seized every chance to attack him, snapping its large and powerful beak at him.

“WAAAA!!! Raviex, where are you?!” he cried out, trying to shake it off him. The beast however, was on hot pursuit and it did not look like it was about to give up anytime soon. Bad luck upon bad luck, Kyoden tripped on a tree branch. Instinctively, he shielded his head with his arms.

“Not my face! Not my face! Please! Not my face!”

Ineri, which was standing a short distance away, concealed partially by bushes and trees, lowered its head into a bush, as though too embarrassed about its master’s plea and situation.

“Now!” yelled a voice. The beast let out a terrifying defeating roar as it was surrounded and captured. Kyoden looked up, puzzled at the sudden change of situation. Standing before him were Raviex, Christine, Lorenne and Sonia who were facing the beast. He got up and dusted off the dirt off him.

“Phew! That was so close! Thanks for the save, guys!” he said.

“Thank Jerusyn for you tripping over. If you didn’t, our plans would’ve been screwed,” answered Sonia.

“What?! Are you telling me I was some sort of bait all along?” Kyoden shouted at her, annoyed.

“Hey, you were the one who’s the noisiest in the party and practically attracts every beast in this forest. Besides, if you had been smart enough not to run around idiotically and actually hold ground, we could have caught it easily. We had to chase after it since it was chasing after you!” spat Sonia.

“How would you feel if I were to treat you like bait as well, huh? I wasn’t ready and I wasn’t informed of the plan, of course I freaked out. Can you be so sure you wouldn’t run if you were in my shoes?” Kyoden gnashed back at her with his remarks.

Christine giggled. They make a very silly pair, those two.

Raviex grinned at them. He observed the beast. It had a body of a duck and a long neck, though not as long as a swan’s. On its head was a golden comb like a crown. Its beak was sharp and huge. The top part of its back was covered in scales and above the scales, nearing its behind were three deadly spikes which contained poison enough to kill an adult each.

“It’s a dribeht,” muttered Lorenne. Raviex nodded. They were in luck for this was a rare beast. Normally, it would not appear in the open. It was usually a target because of its spikes and valuable comb as well as for training for it held quite an amount of Sacred Energy. The dribeht was currently held down by a hunter’s net.

“Do we really have to eat that for dinner, Sonia?” asked Lorenne, reluctant to kill such an exotic creature.

Sonia came to her, tossing aside her quarrel with Kyoden. “If we really have to do so, then, yes, we will have it for dinner. We are in the wild, Lorenne. We have to keep ourselves alive. This is the law of Nature; the survival of the fittest.”

“This must be quite a net to be able to keep a dribeht on the ground quietly,” said Raviex, noticing that the dribeht could barely move under its trap

“Oh, that net. I used it a lot when I go hunting in the forest outside Mabluku Territory. It’s designed by Keith. See those disc-shaped objects at the eight points of the net forming an octagon? It’s programmed to be always twice the weight of the prey,” explained Christine.

“I must get one for myself too,” Sonia thought out aloud. “It’s really handy, this hunter’s net of yours.”

“I’m sure Keith would be more than willing to give you one,” assured Christine.

While they had their part of the conversation, Lorenne approached one of the bushes cautiously.

Staff!

A long wooden staff appeared in Lorenne’s hand. She extended it just in case she found something which might attack her. She heard the bushes shuffled earlier on when the rest were too busy with the dribeht and she wondered if they were being watched. She readied herself.

“Huh? Dribbies?” She was both relieved and surprised at the same time. Three mini dribehts were looking at her with tearful, frightened eyes. Unlike the adult dribeht, their beaks did not appear as strong and they did not have any spikes. “You poor things, that dribeht must’ve been your mother!”

The three dribbies ran for their captured mother, startling Lorenne.

“Aaahh! There’re more!” yelped Kyoden, hiding behind Raviex.

“They’re only dribbies, Kyoden,” said Raviex.

“They all look the same to me,” moaned Kyoden.

“They’re the size of a bird. A dribeht, like the one here, is at least four feet. How could they be same?” Sonia said exasperatedly.

“They have two eyes and one beak each. Of course they’re the same!” insisted Kyoden.

“Chain!” spoke Lorenne. Instantly, a chain was cuffed around Kyoden’s right hand and Sonia’s left hand.

“Lorenne! What is the meaning of this?” yelled Sonia.

“The both of you are going to learn to live with each other. We’re in the same party whether you like it or not. So until you two can learn to understand one another, the chain will not vanish,” said Lorenne coolly.

“This is all YOUR fault, Kaneshiro!” growled Sonia angrily.

“Me? If you’d just quit picking a fight with me, we wouldn’t have to be stuck together like this!” Kyoden lashed back at her.

Christine sighed. “And I thought they would repent on their behaviour.”

The Prince, however, did not really mind. They made life much more interesting, if not noisier. He was almost too used to the solemn faces of the people on the Floating Land. Everyone was always so formal and serious around him. He wanted life to be this way, colourful and lively, but he knew better than to get over attached to it.

I am still the Kingdom’s only heir.

The Yamist of Wisdom laid her eyes on the three dribbies and the dribeht. The little ones turned defensively at her, wanting to protect their mother. “We’re not going to harm her,” she cooed softly at them. To her companions, she said firmly, “We’re letting the dribeht go.”

Without hesitating, Christine freed it. “Release!” she commanded. The net lifted into the air and shrunk into the size of a handkerchief. It fitted nicely into her hunting pouch on her waist. The dribeht stood up guardedly. Her dribbies rushed beneath her for safety. “I don’t really agree on killing a rare beast for meal anyway. I’m not that desperate,” she added simply.

“No,” disagreed Raviex teasingly. “You couldn’t bear to kill it. You’d never hurt those that do not hurt you, Ryn.”

“Oh, really? I am a hunter myself, Raviex. I practically hunt on a daily basis,” she replied stubbornly, somewhat blushing at his comment.

“I’m sure that’s true,” said Raviex, chuckling.

“Guys, I think they want us to follow them,” Lorenne called out who was already trailing them. Christine went to retrieve Interi.

“Is she sure about that?” questioned Kyoden, wondering if they would lead them into a trap of some sort.

“You can trust her,” said Sonia, starting her steps. Three seconds later, she tripped backwards and nearly fell.

“What’s wrong with you, you idiot?!” she roared furiously at him.

“I never said you get to walk first.” Kyoden stuck out his tongue at her offensively and then began walking.

“You and your childish ways, Kaneshiro!” Sonia let out a frustrated sound.

“How long do you think they’ll take to get rid of the chain?” Christine asked nonchalantly, the reins in her hand. Raviex shrugged lightly. The duo laughed at the very thought of it.

The group had been wandering around the forest, following the dribeht for almost an hour. “Where the hell is this bird-like beast taking us?” Kyoden blew, frustrated.

“We’re here actually. Well, wherever ‘here’ is,” said Lorenne, pointing at a small cottage ahead, hoping her answer would satisfy him.

“You’re joking!” blurted Kyoden.

“What are you, blind? The cottage’s upfront,” said Sonia as-a-matter-of-factly. Her sister ran towards the only building in the forest and knocked on the door.

Two minutes later, the party was obviously dumbfounded.

“Are you saying that this dribeht is someone’s pet!?”

People on Senadon usually did not befriend beast. Therefore, it was quite a surprise to the youngsters. Dribeht was, after all, a rare beast which was wary in nature and was never known to be friendly towards human.

Lorenne nodded. “Mrs. Luwa here is the owner,” she answered innocently, referring to the middle-aged woman who stood next to her. The woman waved at them pleasantly.

“Impossible!”

“But she is,” she repeated.

Kyoden turned in his back on Lorenne. Raviex and Christine did likewise. Sonia had no choice but to do so as well since she was still stuck with him. Lorenne looked curiously at them as they made their group discussion secretively.

“Oi, oi, don’t you guys think it’s a little weird that there’s a cottage in the middle of nowhere and a woman who claims to have a dribeht as her pet? I mean, please, who ever heard of a dribeht willing to be a pet of someone?” Kyoden delivered his suspicion.

“Err… Kyoden’s got a point. It struck me as strange too,” said Raviex.

Sonia gave it a thought. “Well, I don’t think we have anything to worry about in the meantime. She doesn’t radiate any Sacred Energy. So, she must be a normal person.”

“Unless, she is hiding it very well,” interjected Christine sharply. The four of them were silent but dismissed the discussion soon after when Raviex unexpectedly concluded it.

“If anything happens, we’ll deal with it!”

Such carefree attitude, Raviex... That doesn’t belong to a prince at all, but that’s the real you, right?

Kyoden kept his thought to himself, watching Raviex closely.

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