The Clutch of Sharys: Chapter Fifteen
Chapter 15-On the Precipice of Choice
Because of Shary’s sharp eye over its beloved newborns, the Void itself did not come close to the hearts or homes of humans.
"Is there something on my face, Lady Myzanti?" The green-eyed woman asked, her tone pointed as she took a step closer to Cara.
"Oh. No, uh… Princess…?" Cara left the end of her statement open, quickly realizing that she had no idea who she was speaking with. A shorter girl with a tan, round face and sharp eyes stepped forward, still staying a respectful step behind the blonde lady as she addressed Cara directly.
"Lady Myzanti.” She began, “You are addressing Her Royal Highness, the Favored Princess, Petra of House Aspas. You would do well to show respect and due diligence when addressing her in the future." Although the words she spoke were that of a scolding, her tone was markedly flat and emotionless, the girl's face a perfect mask of neutrality. She must have been the girl that sat in front of Keti at dinner, Cara thought, eyeing the bush of dark brown and red hair that she had seen at dinner. The girl's eyebrows were also shaved shorter in the Kitisalian fashion, lending her face a more severe look than it may have had without the modification.
"It's not her fault, Ahnn. I should've introduced myself." The princess remarked, absentmindedly resting a hand on the thin silver handle of the sword belted to her waist. Cara narrowed her eyes. Not a sword; the sheath was too narrow for that. "You like my sabre, Lady Myzanti? I'm afraid it's purely ceremonial. Father's rules about having weapons at dinners and all that." Princess Petra said flippantly, lovingly dragged a finger along the pommel of her blade.
"Anyway, the viewing reception.” The Princess said, eyes flicking back up to Cara’s.
“I've reserved the Ark for my private use, and you are invited to attend tomorrow." She stated, her tone not in the least, indicating that refusal was an option.
"Mmm," Cara replied, craning her neck to monitor the blurry figure at the back of the hall.
"In fact," The young royal continued, "I was wondering whether you had lychee before. If what Ahnn has heard is correct, I'm told you were raised in the house of my father's good friend, Admiral Calogira?"
Cara resisted the inward urge to snap impatiently back at the girl at the sound of her uncle’s name. She realized she was being offered the opportunity to spend time with a powerful young woman's inner circle, but the nagging sight of her dead brother's dragon kept urging her to move on. Cara reckoned she had one of two options to choose from; stay and ingratiate herself with the Princess or pursue the mystery flickering at the end of the hall. It wasn't exactly the most challenging choice to make. Her brow creasing and guard raised, Cara neutrally nodded as the Princess continued talking at her about details for her gathering or whatever it was.
Cara was slowly but surely making her way around the outskirts of their small group when the blond girl in front of her said, "Lychee has been all the rage for the past two years. I’m surprised that the Admiral's cook hasn't served it to you before!"
Giving her a tight-lipped smile, Cara slipped behind the group and began backing down the hallway, speaking rapidly as she went. "I wouldn't know, your Highness, I am not close with my uncle, and I haven't been for years. Good night."
Without waiting for a response or a dismissal, Cara turned on her heel and dashed out of the hall, pursuing the spectral creature that waited for her. "How rude!" She heard the Kitisalian lady say as she ran, but Cara turned the corner before she could hear what the Princess replied. She hadn't wished to appear rude, but something about this odd vision she was seeing told her she needed to hurry or risk losing whatever it was trying to show her.
Down the stairs, through the side passages, and outside of the castle, she chased the creature as it darted ahead. Cara hesitated when it dashed through the gates, unsure whether it was wise to continue her chase outside the palace walls. Unfortunately, her mind was made up for her when Perin continued dashing away, no longer stopping to see if she followed.
Pursuing the spectral adolescent dragon through the city streets, Cara slowly became vaguely aware that she should be more fatigued than she was feeling. She had been running without pause now for quite some time, having kicked her fancy shoes off at one point for the favor of bare feet. Her breaths did not feel labored, nor her feet, the sting of the stones underneath her bare skin. Instead, her mind was focused on a singular purpose that was currently dashing its way over the bridge in front of her, towards the Veselarius forest beyond.
Cara had to know how this was possible, how the creature that she had watched die years ago now existed before her once more. She dashed over the bridge after Perin, urged along by the squeaks of the hatchling she carried with her. As she passed into the dark, warm depths of the woods, the world seemed to go quiet around her, and Cara found she had some difficulties seeing in its dim light. Her visibility may have been better had the moon been shining that night, piercing its beams through the leaves of the trees overhead, but the sky was empty and dark with a new moon.
Perin's eerie cry floated towards her, and Cara pushed around the tree to find the little creature standing in front of a worn dirt path, sitting on its haunches. Oddly, though the forest was dark around them, Perin's scales shone with a dim blue light that intensified as Cara drew near. He no longer ran away but stayed still, watching Cara's approach with a calm gaze.
"Why did you bring me here?" Cara asked, glancing around the woods.
Instead of answering, Perin lowered its head towards the tiny bundle of scales in her arms, making eye contact with her hatchling. Some silent, draconian exchange must have occurred because moments later, the little dragon wriggled its way out of Cara's arms, lithely landing on the ground. Reaching a slim, pointed snout towards the older dragon, Cara's hatchling briefly touched her head to Perin's. Both creatures closed their eyes as Perin broke into a million particles of light, sieving away like dust in the wind.
All that remained after the interaction was a small orb of light, gently bobbing at the tip of a grey nose, and Cara's hatchling looked up at her expectantly. "I don't know why you're looking at me like that. This is your weird dragon magic, not mine." Cara said, crossing her arms. "I suppose you want me to f-" The tiny dragon didn't wait for her to finish and instead scampered off down the path, the light floating in front of it.
"Slow down!" Cara called, hastening after her dragon.
The path they were on seemed to get progressively narrower as she followed the hatchling, or else the overgrowth so out of control that it overtook the ground. Pushing aside branches and brambles, it still became difficult for Cara to follow the light dancing ahead of her as she fought her way through the vegetation. Eventually, Cara came to a point where the branches were so interwoven and connected that moving one meant finding five more in its place and in her way.
Exhaling a frustrated grunt, she released the branch in her hand and took a step back, trying to find another way around the blockage. It was then that Cara realized she could no longer see the sky or hear any sounds that might have been natural in the forest, instead replaced by an uneasy quiet. Everywhere she turned, foliage and leaves pressed in around her, their dark shapes tricking her eyes into seeing hands that reached for her face.
Inhaling sharply, Cara jerked back from a bony branch that nearly scratched her cheek, wildly searching for the small sphere of light that had now disappeared. She couldn't tell which way she had come from or which was her hatchling had got off to, and the darkness that pressed in around her sent her heartbeat rapidly thudding in her chest as the sensations from the portal were brought to her mind. "No, it's different. I'm not there." Cara firmly told herself, trying to calm down.
Unsurprisingly, it didn't work very well, so she tried a different tack, namely trying to summon the element to which she was aligned. As a Queen rank rider, Cara knew she should be able to extend her magic from within herself to bring forth illumination, but as she raised a hand slightly in front of her, palm facing upwards, she found herself doubting that it would work. She didn't have another rider in front of her, and for some cruel reason, the Godbeast had seen fit to chain her powers to be ineffective unless someone was there to hold her hand.
Cara felt a small flicker of something within her chest, and her breath caught for a cruel, agonizing moment as hope reared its head within her. Seconds later, the feeling was gone, and her hand dropped, energy spent for no effect whatsoever. Cara's breaths came in jagged bursts as she sunk to the ground, all of the disappointment and twists of the last few days threatening to boil over and spill out of her eyes.
Something smooth and warm pressed into the fallen hand by her side, and Cara screamed in surprise. The sound quickly slid down into a relieved chuckle as her scaly little hatchling crawled into her lap, resting its chin atop her knee. "You came back." Cara whispered affectionately, scratching the dragon's little chin gratefully. Giving a soft coo of assent, the dragon accepted the scratches for a few moments before sliding out of Cara's lap, momentarily vanishing from her limited perception.
Seconds later, a small force began tugging on the hem of her dress, pulling insistently towards Cara's right side. Turning, Cara decided to trust her dragon's guidance as she led her through the forest, eventually pulling down and forcing Cara to hit the ground hard to avoid her dress falling off. "Should've changed before running out like a madwoman." Cara scolded herself, pulling the fabric up with one hand and using the other to feel out the space in front of her.
It seemed like there was a small tunnel through the growth, farther down the wall of leaves and branches. Cara wasted no time following her hatchling down it, crawling on her hands and knees like she had returned to the happier days of her childhood, scuttling around in the dirt and playing. She was forced to keep her head relatively low while they progressed, as the tunnel's vegetative roof snatched at her curls and resulted in a painful halt more than once.
The tunnel seemed to go on forever as Cara continued making her way forward, following the scratching sound of her hatchling's claws against the dirt in the ground. Eventually, her eyes noticed the small, blue ball of light ahead of her, and Cara wondered if they had reached the point where her dragon had turned back to come and get her. Instead of pausing, however, the scratching continued forward, so Cara continued to follow.
The branches overhead seemed to loosen their intense, woven pattern, and Cara found that she could stand up after a while. The little hatchling impatiently waited as she righted herself, scaly tail twitching irritably as Cara smoothed back the unruly curls that had snagged on the branches overhead. As soon as she was done, Cara quickly began forging onwards, the luminescent sphere in front of her continuing to grow in size as they approached.
Eventually, girl and dragon emerged into a small clearing filled with moonlight, the path in front of them forking into a dark portal. It was woven out of the trees themselves, branches pushing and spiraling together in smooth, uninterrupted helixes too symmetrical to be natural. The other side of the path forked around the treeline, a thick trunk blocking Cara's view. A slow, familiar voice floated from behind the trees, singing an old Netian lullaby in warm, honeyed deep tones.
Flown in on wing of dragon,
Softer than feather of dove,
Warm may your dreams find you,
As sleep drifts down from above.
Those few, short lines of the song were enough to break Cara's heart into a million pieces, the familiarity of the voice bringing them back together in a shape held together by hope. "Toby?" She asked, her voice wavering and cracking as she stumbled forward, her pace intensifying. "Toby!?" Cara stumbled to a halt at the last step of the fork, leaning around to the right to see what lay at the other side.
A familiar face floated among the tree trunks, his coppery red hair and hazel eyes beaming an affectionate smile down to Cara over cracked, blue lips. The hanged man reached out his limp arms to Cara, the rope wrapped around his white throat, creating a red line that held him back from her. Tears fell down Cara's face as she took a step towards him, wanting more than anything she had ever wanted in the world to run into his arms and say the words that she had never gotten the chance. "I'm so sorry." She whispered, the emotion choking her voice in its clutches, "I couldn't save you, I couldn't stop it, I-'' Her voice choked off, pain tightening her throat completely.
The Hanged Man shook his head, rope chafing against his skin with the movement, smiling sadly at her as he beckoned her forward to him once more. Beneath him, she could see a warm, familiar light in the distance behind a similar archway to the one behind her, faintly echoing with the hum of familiar voices. "I'm sorry I didn't do more, that I couldn't see how hard it all was on you. I was so selfish." Cara choked out, her sorrow and regret slowly consuming her. She took a step forward towards the Hanged Man’s white mottled embrace as a small, mournful cry sounded behind her.
Looking back over her shoulder, she saw her little hatchling perched in front of the dark woven archway on the left, watching her with sad eyes. When her eyes met the dragon's, she let out another cry, calling Cara back towards her. Glancing back at the Hanged Man, she saw a sad understanding in his eyes as he smiled at her once again, now motioning her away. The hope holding her heart together failed, dissolving into dust and shattering it once again.
Cara didn't understand how or why, but she had to make a choice here. She was stuck in this clearing, caught between pain and possibility and paralyzed by indecision as the moon watched on, beaming its cold light down on her. "Come on." Cara told her dragon, crouching down and beckoning the creature towards her. The dragon refused to budge, looking at Cara with her pale lavender eyes.
Both sat still now, waiting and watching her as Cara hung her head down, closing her eyes. "I'm sorry, Toby." She murmured, looking up into the Hanged Man's gentle eyes. "I'm so, so sorry. More than you'll ever know." Cara took great gasping breaths as she tried to find the courage to speak and act on it.
"I have to live." She told the figure, her voice breaking. The Hanged Man smiled sadly at her, slowly nodding his agreement.
Hand over her mouth to stop her sobs, Cara slowly turned her back on the suspended corpse, taking her first step on the fork towards her dragon. As she set her foot down for the second, a gentle breeze rushed past her, carrying with it a gentle warmth, the familiar but well-missed scent of cinnamon and soap, and the echo of laughter that she would never hear again. "I miss you, big brother." She whispered, her tears slowly dried by the air.
Her hatchling waited for her, eyes firmly affixed on Cara as she made her way forward, unmoving until her rider came to a stop before the archway. Standing gracefully, the little dragon turned and walked through the doorway, followed by Cara and witnessed by the bright moon above them. Inside the archway was another tunnel, though it felt this time as though Cara was moving through so many layers of thick, soft curtains of shadow as she made her way through.
Pushing aside the final heavy layer, Cara emerged into another clearing, miles wider than the one before. The grass here grew thick, creating a soft, cushioning carpet underneath her feet and brushing high against her knees as she walked. A steady wind blew continuously throughout the clearing, rippling the grass in fluid waves that made it look quite like water. Shining, bell-like flowers grew out of the grass in several points, silver-white petals revealing closely placed dots inside their blossoms.
Overhead, the moon took up most of the sky as it held its celestial court amongst millions of stars more bright and plentiful than any sky Cara had seen in her life. The clearing was filled with the moons' silvered rays, beaming down around a small hill in its center, which seemed to be inhabited mainly by the clustered white flowers. Almost as if in a trance, Cara felt herself moving towards that hill, caught up in how much closer the moon seemed to be. As she climbed the slope, the moon seemed to fill almost the entire horizon, lighting the clearing around her as though it was day.
Her dragon playfully darted around Cara's bare feet as she came to a stop atop the mound, her dress gently batting about her legs in the wind. Playful fingers of air lifted the curls on her head, darting in and out of her messy hair. Gazing upwards, Cara stared into the pale, vast face of the moon, which filled the horizon as though coming closer to look back at her. The wind picked up as Cara dreamily lifted her hand, her body moving of its own accord as though remembering an old dance.
Cautiously, her arm extended up above her head and slid into the silver light, fingers extending as far as they could reach. When that was still not enough, her body reached up on the tips of its toes, starting to gain some distant, unknown goal. She still wasn't quite there, and Cara pushed down with all of her strength, leaping into the air to touch the surface of the moon’s luminescence.
The second her skin made even the briefest contact, the air went still, playful winds suddenly gone as a great stillness seized the clearing in an iron grip. As the moon looked on, the other silent witness to this strange occurrence, Cara looked down at the ground, realizing that somehow, her jump had propelled her not only up, but into flight.