Post 10

When next they woke, they ordered a bath brought in, and shared the cramped tub with pleased murmurs and even a little laughter. She had a maidservant bring a set of her clothing to his suite, and they took their time dressing each other, intent on joining the rest of the household for the evening meal.

Eithna stared intently at them all through the meal. They acted with complete propriety in public, where anyone could see. But Rayna knew there was a new facet of the man that drew eyes, a relaxed confidence that surely she had helped to develop. Not only through their bed-sport of the last two days, but also through her tutelage and his experiences at Lady Glamora’s ball. A bittersweet tug on her heart told her that soon enough “Baron” Arius Brand would be ready to leave her arms and continue on with his mission to free Ragged Valley. Never had a student left her before at least a half-score of moonturns, but then again, she rarely had such a willing pupil either.

Rayna shared a small, secret smile with Arius as he caught her eye, a warm glow flashing across her face. Surely she wasn’t blushing! But he did strange things to her, made her feel strange things. Not love, not quite, but it was hard not to feel something for this gorgeous, strong, proud man.

They were sitting in their usual spot, at one of the lower tables, with Lord Wensellas and Eithna and Jared at their table crosswise at the front of the room. This made it easy for Rayna to avoid Eithna’s intense stare, but twice Rayna caught Arius meeting that fierce green gaze with a questioning look. Finally he shrugged and turned his attention to Rayna completely, and they talked quietly as they finished the meal.

“What are the rest of your plans for me, Rayna?”

She grinned wickedly, and was pleased to see him flush this time, but she only shook her head with a little laugh. “Actually, you were such a mysterious success at the ball that we have an entire stack of invitations in my room.”

Arius looked a little confused. “Invitations to what?”

“Teas, small gatherings, several more balls, a horse race, even a gambling event.” Rayna’s eyes gleamed with pride. “You really did do well. I will sort through them this evening to decide which ones would be most beneficial to attend. I know we don’t have much time left, Ari. You’ll be gone before I know it, and I… we need to make the most of it.”

He turned fully toward her, food forgotten, his started gray eye focused intently on her calm face. “You think so?”

Rayna nodded. “You’re a wonderful pupil, and I have taught you most of what you need to know.” She smiled wryly. “You’re a sponge, soaking it all up.”

Arius nodded back, thoughtful, but just picked over his food, appetite seemingly gone.

“What’s wrong, Ari? I thought you would be pleased.”

He didn’t look away from where he pushed boiled potatoes around in his trencher. “I guess I am, in a way. But I’m concerned as well. You just reminded me that I am not here for my own pleasure.” It bothered him that he may have forgotten that for a little while. He glanced around the room, not really seeing, but taking it all in. “My first night here, I was appalled at the waste. What one person eats here, at one meal, we sometimes stretch for a week for one person. We aren’t starving, but there is so much here… I doubt anyone eating with us now has ever known a hungry moment, while it seems like I’ve been hungry most of my life. Now… I guess I’ve adjusted. I’d forgotten that horror, this just seems like… how it is.”

“It is ‘how it is,’ Ari. There’s nothing you can do here to change that. All you can do is take care of…” She hesitated. “Well, you know. Lord Wensellas is an honest Lord, he looks out for his people, and he supplies his Barons and Baronets with what they need, in exchange for their loyalty and their taxes. You know as well as I that none of this food comes free. If Lord Wensellas chooses to provide his people with lavish meals, than what of it?”

He shrugged, and laid his fork beside his trencher. “You are right, of course.” It was just a hard thought, to think that he could have so easily accepted the circumstances, while everyone back home was still so hungry.

She placed a reassuring hand on his arm, leaning towards him. “You’re a good man, Ari. Don’t forget that, and don’t ever let anyone tell you differently, including your own self.”

He shot her a startled look, but nodded. They left the hall soon after, ready to go their separate ways just outside. She smiled up at him. “I’ll go and fetch the invitations, and then I’ll be to your suite.”

Arius caught her hand. “Wait… I… Rayna, I know we don’t have much time left, as you said. I… Will you…” He rubbed the back of his neck with his other hand, not meeting her curious gaze. Was he going to push her away now, or would this pull her closer? “Will you share my suite with me? For the rest of the time? You don’t have to.”

She reached up, tugging his head down so she could kiss him, laughing at his dark flush. “I don’t usually do that, you know. But for you, I will. Tomorrow, I’ll have my things brought to your suite.”

He grinned, and his heart lifted. “All right, I’ll see you in a bit.”

She watched him walk away, head high, and smiled sadly, certain that if she didn’t break his heart, he might just break hers.

Later that evening a soft, hesitant knock brought their gazes up from the rather large pile of loose parchments that Arius and Rayna had been arguing over. Rayna shared a curious look with him before he called out. “Come.”

Eithna and Jared slipped in quietly, casting a quick look over their shoulders. It was irregular for them to be visiting so late. Eithna shut the door firmly and set the lock, and then turned to face them, her hands on her hips and green fire flashing from her eyes. “How dare you? What do you two think you are doing, locking yourselves away for two whole days? I thought something was wrong with Ari!”

Jared rolled his eyes behind her, spreading his hands and shrugging hopelessly. Arius felt anger flood him, and for once didn’t bother to tamp it down. It was rare that he indulged himself, and there was no way in the seven hells that his bedding Rayna would affect his training for Ragged Valley. He surged to his feet and stormed over to Eithna, seeming to tower over her, and she wilted a little at the apparent fury written across his face. “How dare we? How dare we? What harm have we done to anyone? Have you tried to visit, has my door been locked to you? Have I turned away a summons from you? Nothing we’ve done has affected you in any way.” He was sure he was yelling, although all he could really hear was the roaring in his ears.

Eithna dropped her arms and backed up quickly, bumping into Jared in the process. Her green eyes were as wide as they could be, and shock had replaced her resentment.

All the fire seemed to leave him in a rush, and he turned away from her. He leaned into the wall, crossing his arms against the bricks and resting his forehead against his wrists. His skin felt too tight for his body. Regret washed over him. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.” He was mumbling, almost, and all three had to strain forward to hear his words. “I overreacted, and I’m sorry.” He took a deep shuddery breath, and heard Eithna step forward hesitantly.

Rayna beat her to his side. “Arius, are you all right?”

He didn’t answer, only continued to take those stuttering breaths, and Eithna cast Jared a strange look. Jared nodded and tugged Rayna away a little. No sooner had she moved back then a strange light seemed to flood across Arius’ body, from head to toe and them back up again. From their close positions, all three could feel the sudden heat flashing from him, and Eithna gasped. “Jared, get her back. Now!” Without waiting to see if Jared obeyed, Eithna leapt to Arius’ side and caught his arm. She gasped and jerked her hand back at the heat, but then firmed her jaw and reached out again, wrapping both hands determinedly around his bicep. “Arius, I need you to look at me. I need you to concentrate on me.”

“I can’t-.” He couldn’t seem to catch his breath. “I can’t-.” He shuddered, and then stumbled away from the wall, Eithna stuck close to his side. His face was flushed and twisted in a grimace of pain, and Eithna lightly slap his cheeks. He couldn’t focus, couldn’t think. He was so hot, and was there something crawling beneath his too-tight skin?

“Right here, Arius. Focus on me.”

He cried out in pain, and collapsed in a limp tangle onto the floor, striking his head, and the whole world disappeared.

His flush was gone, the strange light had vanished, and Arius wasn’t breathing yet again. Jared released Rayna and dashed into the bedchamber for the pitcher of water he had used the last time, careful not to spill the water as he ran back into the sitting room. He splashed the water over Arius, but this time there was no response.

Both ladies were in a panic by now, but Eithna steeled herself and knelt beside him, feeling at his neck for a pulse. She looked up at Jared and Rayna. “His heart still beats strong, even without breath for his lungs, and I don’t know how that can be, but it is.” Eithna looked down at him, at his face so suddenly peaceful, as if he only slept. “Let’s get him to his bed. We have to do it ourselves; I don’t want to call for help. I think it best if no one else knows of this.”

It took all three of them to carry his lean form into the other room and lift him up onto the bed. Rayna began twisting her hands helplessly. “I don’t know what to do.”

Jared spotted the spreading stain across Arius’ dark gray shirt, and he tore the ties open to expose the bleeding scar. “Again! Eithna, what do we do?”

Eithna just shook her head. “I don’t know.”

Veyga stared around himself in awe. He was in a room of some sort, but it was massive; there were no visible walls in any direction. There was a ceiling above his head, faintly seen in a strange flickering light that seemed to come from nowhere. There were no candles, no lanterns to be seen. He turned around in circles, trying to spot something, anything other than the slate-gray featureless floor beneath his feet and the distant ceiling of the same color. He spun slowly until he began to grow dizzy, a desperation gripping him. Finally he cupped his hands to his mouth. “Hello?!”

His voice echoed back to him, but there was no other sound. He stood suddenly frozen, feeling certain he was now being watched; the tiny hairs on his arms rose and his skin puckered in gooseflesh. He hesitated, and then called again. “Hello?! Who is there?”

A sound behind him made him spin around, and he gaped. There behind him, where moments before there had been nothing as far as his eye could see, was a statue of eight figures sitting on great thrones, heads tipped forward and hidden by deep hoods. In the center, between two of the figures, was an empty throne that stood head and shoulders above the other eight. The figures seemed to be garbed in huge cloaks of some sort, which completely hid all but their hands grasping the arms of the thrones. He continued to stare, and then stepped forward hesitantly, towards the statue. It towered above him, easily the size of him standing on his shoulders six times over. Finally he reached the foot of the statue, at the base of the empty throne, and he stared up in consternation. The seat of the massive throne was far above his head. Something seemed to compel him, and he reached up to grasp an ornate swirl on the leg of the throne. He began to climb, certain that if he could reach the seat of the throne, he would have his answers and he would understand his strange nightmares.

The stone of the statue was cool and almost slick to the touch, and he had a hard time scaling even the ornate whorls carved into the surface of the stone. Despite the many foot- and hand-holds, the surface seemed to slip from beneath his grip. He persevered, a stubborn set to his chin, until he began to sweat. Finally his head popped up over the edge of the seat, and he stared across a broad expanse, curved slightly, but otherwise empty. He scrambled over the edge and collapsed on the seat of the throne, panting softly. After a moment he pushed himself to his feet and paced across the stone, peering up at the two figures towering on either side of him. The back of the massive empty throne soared before him, engraved with familiar swirls surrounding a large crescent moon. He turned to face the empty expanse of the room, and gasped to find that all had changed again.

The space he faced now still shared the same featureless gray ceiling high above and floor below, but now there walls that seemed to be carved into frescoes of some sort. Veyga tried to peer at the carvings, but was unable to make any specific detail out. Then he turned back to face the center of the room, and suddenly there were people there, hundreds of people of every shape and size and race, milling about and murmuring to each other, but clearly facing the huge thrones and all staring straight at him.

Veyga swallowed hard, feeling all those eyes on him. Then faint grinding noises from the left and right had him looking up, to find that all eight cowled stone heads were turned toward him, the closest two leaning in, looking at him although there were no faces to see, just shadow within the stone hoods.

He turned to face the people in the room again, towering above them from his perch on the seat of the massive stone throne, and he threw his arms wide. “What do you want from me?! What do you all want?!”

The room went silent, and all eyes just stared at him, waiting for something. He wanted to stomp his foot in frustration, but he had outgrown childish temper tantrums long ago. “I don’t know what you want! Someone has to tell me!”

There was no response. He looked up to his left and right, toward those robed figures. “There must be someone who can tell me what I have to do. I don’t understand and I can’t figure it out on my own. Someone please tell me!” His mind was reeling, and he couldn’t seem to organize his thoughts enough to figure this all out.

When he looked back at the room full of people, every single one of them had dropped to their knees, wrapped their arms across their chests, and pressed their foreheads to the floor. They appeared to be worshipping the statues, and more importantly, him. A panicky feeling fluttered up from his stomach, and he pressed a hand to his belly, afraid that he would be sick here on this stone throne. There was something he had to do, something that was expected of him, and he didn’t know what it was. He knew it was important, he knew the stake of the entire world was in his hands, but he didn’t know what it was he had to do. This went far beyond Ragged Valley, far beyond the High Lord Gregor’s Anyon, far beyond the ocean on one side and the seemingly impassable mountains on the other. The entire world rested in his hands, and he didn’t know what to do to save it.

He fell to his own knees, wrapping his arms around himself, sudden sobs welling from deep within. He would fail the entire world because he didn’t know what to do. He would fail the entire world, and every person within it would die, and it would be entirely his fault because he couldn’t figure out what to do.

Candlemarks seemed to pass, and finally he shook himself free of the desperation that seemed to flood his whole soul. He forced himself to his feet and looked out over the roomful of people, still on their knees, with their foreheads pressed into the stone floor. He stood tall and proud, and if there was a quiver in his knees, he at least hid it well. “If you tell me what I must do, even it if I must give my own life, then I will do it. If it means the rest of the world is safe, then I will do it, whatever it is.”

A soft hand seemed to fall on his left shoulder, and he turned a stoic gray eye to his side, then turned to face a figure of his own height, wrapped head to toe in a black cloak, face hidden deep within the cowl of the hood. The hand on his shoulder was real flesh, not stone, and he sensed heat in the touch.

The voice that came from the cowl did not seem human, though. It was deep and cavernous and hard to interpret. “You will know what it is, when you are ready. Become ready.”