The Clutch of Sharys: Chapter Sixteen
Chapter 16- When I wake
Instead, Nepthys urged on the attacks that the Dragons wrought and fueled their sorrow and jealousy with its own emptiness.
The smooth, silvered light of the moon flowed over Cara's skin and began slowly coating her entire being, even her unruly curls of hair. To her, it looked almost like a burial shroud, though no pressure or limitations amounted from the light’s contact with her being. As it progressed, she could feel all pains and worries being wicked away, endless ideas and possibilities growing in their place. She called to the light, and it responded, carrying her through the air and filling the sky with its radiance.
Cara could sense something about her changing from having the light surround her, but her hatchling's cries distracted her from the thought of change and growth. Left alone on the ground, the little creature reared up, flapping its wings but not taking to the air to join Cara. Confused, Cara drifted towards the hatchling below, encouraging it to fly. "Come on, we both know you can." She teased it, but the hatchling simply cocked its head, waiting for something.
Fast growing impatient, Cara let her feet slowly drift upwards so that she was upside down, feet pointing towards the stars as she reached a hand down towards the dragon. "Hurry up, little one." She said, looking up at the sky full of stars above them. "I want to explore." The dragon let out a soft, low cry as she looked up at her rider, and Cara got the sinking feeling as their eyes met that this was yet another choice to be made. The closer she got to the dragon, the more the hurting memories, fears, and inadequacies came back, old pains that still hurt her to think about and that weighed her down each day.
The light was warm and promised no possibility of emotion or pain, mistakes or wrongdoings. Only comforting surety of purpose and power would fill her, and she could fly among the stars until she drank her fill of freedom and light, forgetting all that lay behind her and ridding herself of any attachments that would drag her back down to the earth. Cara paused at this, remembering those she had to leave to achieve such a thing and remembering what she had told the hanged man earlier that night. She wanted to live, and she needed to remember because living meant that she would have to bear both the pain and happiness of everything she had experienced so far.
Smiling easily, Cara reached both hands down to her dragon, gently cupping its little chin. The light left her then, flowing off her body and into her dragon, slowly lowering her body until it was facing upwards once more, and her feet touched the earth. As she drifted downwards, her arms drifted up, the dragon floating as it filled with light and arched back its head, letting out a joyful cry filled with dazzling light.
Lifting off of her hands and filled with a shining radiance befit to a queen, her dragon soared around her in a tight spiral, crying out joyfully as rays of light left her mouth in a steady stream. The moon and Cara watched on as the Queen released her first Breath of pure light, the raw element leaving her dragon’s chest in bright bursts. Slowly and gracefully, the little grey dragon flapped to a stop before Cara, gracefully lowering her small silver horns to Cara's forehead. The beating, purple wings of the creature obscured her vision, and she closed her eyes as a smooth scaly nose rested against her skin.
Sharp claws pressed down into Cara's outstretched hands, and as she opened her eyes, she raised her dragon to eye level, bittersweet happiness filling her chest as she looked at the little dragon. That something within her that had changed was now gone, and though she keenly felt its absence, it was replaced by a bond of kinship that she felt towards the creature in her hands, that she knew somehow innately that her partner felt as well.
Hugging her hatchling close to her chest, the dragon draped her little chin gently on Cara's shoulder. Letting a breath out, Cara looked slowly around the clearing, feeling instinctively that her business in this glade had finished. Millions of little lights now shone in the air, small fireflies that had appeared seemingly from nowhere to float in the night sky, dipping and diving as they moved about. Their lights were so bright that Cara looked up to the sky in her slow, dreamy manner, just to make sure that the stars were still there and hadn’t somehow fallen to the earth.
She never got the chance to satisfy that curiosity because what she beheld in the sky took away all other thoughts, reason, emotion, and purpose. The moon now looked at her, a giant eye looming over her, its ovular pupil a brilliant yellow shot through with wisps of white. It blinked at her as it shifted back and forth, taking in the entire scene around her and some far thing off in the distance.
Cara stood pinned to the spot, her entire body locked into place, the hatchling frozen in her arms. Even if she had wanted to call out to the eye in the moon, her mouth wouldn't move, her throat refused to even make a sound. The eye blinked again, a slow wave of thick white that closed and opened in a quick flash. Cara's breath caught in her throat when after the third wink, the eye was a different one, still looking down at her.
The reptilian gaze disappeared, replaced by a striking icy green, the bright color of frosted blades of grass surrounding a regular, round pupil. Something within Cara stirred, a soft bell of recognition ringing in her mind. Blinking again, the eye changed to be a deep, rich brown, darker near the edges and fading to a soft caramel amber when they reached the circular pupil. These too were mildly familiar to Cara, but barely so the more she focused on placing them.
Cara remembered to breathe as she gasped in the air when the next the eye blinked. A bright, blueberry blue eye stared back at her, its azure color fading to a deeper shade in the center. She knew this eye on sight like she knew how to breathe and feel. It belonged to one of Cara's dearest people, her closest of friends and staunchest supporter.
Too soon, the comforting blue was gone, blinked away, and replaced by a deep, wooden brown that was utterly unfamiliar to Cara, but before she could get a closer look, the eye blinked once again. The blinks seemed to be slowly speeding up as the eye looked upon her, now a bright silvery-gray iris that she had never seen before.
The moon blinked again, back to the sun, bright yellow shot through with white, fluttering back to the brilliantly pale ice green. It repeated this sequence, bulging out of the sky towards Cara, colors, and gazes flashing faster and faster as the eye stretched down towards her.
Stumbling backward in fear, primal instincts taking over her paralyzed body, Cara tried to put distance between her and the myriad flashing eyes in front of her. The pattern flew by so fast that it now looked like a continuous blur to her as she backed away. As Cara took her first step back down the hill, her foot fell into nothingness, throwing her off balance and down through the darkness.
As she fell, flailing her legs wildly while her arms clutched her dragon to her body, everything around Cara faded to darkness. All that was visible was the eye overhead, disappearing into shadow as it flashed its pattern at her, impossibly fast. When distance and darkness separated her from the eye, Cara felt a sense of relief, her body loosening up once more.
Her relief was short-lived because the second she exhaled a sigh of relief, thousands of eyes around her snapped open, glaring down in lidded darkness at her. "You have made three choices this night, each more weighty than the last." A thousand voices told her, their gazes all fixed on her descent, "Would you make the same, we wonder, if you did it again?" Even if Cara had wanted to reply, she didn't think herself capable of forming the words, her heart thudding against her ribs as she looked around.
"We are watching, and so should you." The voices promised her, falling silent after those final words as each of the eyes blinked, colors shifting into the same pattern as the eye in the moon. Green. Amber. Brown. Sapphire. Grey. They did not change to the slitted dragon's pupil, though, simply flashing between the other colors, trying to convey some sort of message as they converged around where Cara was falling. The colors all blurred together for her, a repeating, mirrored kaleidoscope that overwhelmed her senses until she finally lost consciousness.
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"Good Godbeasts, sister, was this really necessary?" An irritated voice awoke her, throwing open the curtains in her room and allowing cruel, bright sunlight to beam into Cara's sleepy eyes. Blinking hard, Cara had to lift a hand to shield her gaze from the blaze of the sun to see who was assaulting her. Dressed in full combat regalia, her sister stood before her, angrily fingering the shaft of the polearm neatly strapped to her back via a leather harness. Keti's royal blue military jacket was neatly buttoned over her dark tan leather riding pants, the buckles and clips of the harness that secured her in the saddle shining a bright silver.
"Why are you mad at me?" Cara blearily asked, taking in the creased brow and pinched lips on Keti's face.
"Well, it begins somewhere around you running off in the middle of the night and ends somewhere around you fainting more often than a children’s tale heroine." The General snapped, gesturing at a filthy silvered dress laid over the back of a chair. "You were found asleep at the foot of a tree in the forest by the search party I had to send out after you were spotted running out of the palace. You want to know how they found you?"
Cara sighed, sitting up and scratching her dragon before brushing back her curls and loosely braiding her hair. "No, but you'll tell me anyway." She muttered, embarrassment burning the tips of her ears red.
"You were glowing like a damned beacon saying 'come and eat me; reckless buffoon makes a wonderful appetizer.’ There are some dangerous creatures in those woods, Cara. What were you thinking?" Keti berated her, pacing back and forth as the breastplate beneath her jacket winked out at Cara.
"I saw Perin." Cara said honestly, throwing caution to the winds. Keti whirled on her heel and looked at Cara as though she had just grown an extra head.
"But that's not…." Keti started, but Cara finished
"-possible? I know." She looked down at the little dragon still obstinately sleeping in her lap and ran a finger over the gray scales. "Why do you think I followed it?"
Keti narrowed her hazel eyes, taking a few steps closer to Cara's bed. "What do you mean you followed it?" She asked, her voice skeptical.
"I was in my room after that banquet, writing a letter, and then the next thing I knew, I was following it out of the castle. I had to find out how Perin could be there." Cara said, watching Keti rub her temples.
"That's not possible, Cara. Perin's dead. We saw it die." Keti's voice was low as she responded, not meeting Cara's gaze.
"I suppose we did, didn't we?" Cara asked, her voice horrible as old wounds poured their venom into her voice. "Or I suppose one of them just sat there and did nothing while the other tried to stop Skunkle-"
Keti silenced Cara with an intense look, her lips drawn in a thin line. "Don't call the Admiral by such derogatory names, little sister. It's disrespectful."
Cara huffed, shaking her head. "I'll never be able to understand why you could tie your loyalty to such a horrible man." She muttered, half to herself.
Keti looked out the window, crossing her arms and leaning against the bedpost. "No." She whispered, "I don't suppose you ever will." After her words, a long, terrible silence filled the space between them as years of hurts, and unspoken words built a silent wall of cold distance. Cara wished she could push through it, but every protest and olive branch she could envision offering had been scorned before, and she was so tired of being pushed out and pulling away herself.
She instead focused her energy on the little creature in her lap, gently stroking the slope of her snout and horns. "I'm worried about you." Keti suddenly spoke, eyes still fixed upon the window. "The running off, the recklessness, the overall myopic way in which you approach things…" She looked down at Cara, confusion clouding their hazel depths. "If you're not careful, someone or something is going to get hurt one of these days."
Her fingers pausing, Cara felt a tendril of guilt unfurl within her chest but quickly squashed it down before replying. "I'm sorry you don't approve of my actions." She said finally, still looking down, "But you know I don't approve of yours either, so let's just agree to disagree on this one."
Keti huffed in annoyance, and Cara quickly took the opportunity to change the subject before her sister could launch into another lecture on responsibility and growing up. "Are you expecting an attack or something?" She asked, flicking a finger towards her sister's halberd, which was leaned against the wall. Following the gesture with her eyes, Keti cocked an eyebrow and shook her head.
"No." She said simply, pushing herself upright off the bannister and straightening her jacket. "I have military business to attend to." Cara straightened up in bed immediately, her weariness and resentment forgotten in favor of eager excitement. "There's a Shardcombat scheduled for today?" She asked, her tone urgent, "Did something happen?"
Keti shook her head, a small smile playing in the corner of her lips. "No. Routine skirmish and all of that. Speaking of, though. I heard you had a run-in with the favored Aspas girl last night?" She looked down at Cara, face expressionless. When Cara didn't respond right away, Keti added, "Petra? Blond hair? Smug expression?"
"Oh. Yeah, we met. She's…interesting." Cara said vaguely, waving a hand back and forth. "Well, it would seem that she thinks the same of you." Keti said, walking towards the door, "Lorsa informed me that an invitation to the 'private viewing reception of the Princess Aspas' arrived this morning, which should start soon." She glanced back at Cara, looking over her disheveled appearance.
"Clean yourself up and go. That's an order." Keti said imperiously, walking out of the room without further farewell. Cara glared after her, kicking her legs out from under the sheets in frustration. Keti still ordered her around like a child, knowing that Cara would obey in some fashion as her interest in watching the match would outweigh her stubbornness. Cara waved Lorsa away when she tried to come in and help her dress, preferring to take care of the job herself.
A blouse, pair of pants, and wonderfully well-fitted jacket later, Cara was running a brush through her hair before preparing to leave. She had taken longer than she wanted, searching for the old brown keeper boots she had brought from the Aerie, but couldn't find them anywhere. As she re-braided her hair over the side of her head, Cara got the sneaking suspicion that her sister might have had them thrown out.
She glared at her reflection, deeming it acceptable after she tied off the braid with a brown ribbon. Leaving the ends of the silk to lay limp, Cara turned to the pair of shiny, narrow boots she had defeatedly left on the rug behind her. Pulling the soft leather on, Cara pondered how long these things would hold up after a day's walk or even the smallest amount of muck and wear. Tying the laces in a neat bow, she stood up, the long train of her jacket getting caught momentarily underneath the heel of her boot.
A few seconds of stumbling saw Cara regaining her balance and straighten up, pulling down the dark green fabric and walking over to the bed. Testing the soles as she stood, she was pleasantly surprised to find them well-cushioned and grippy and wondered if she could climb safely in such shoes. Her hatchling sat there, blowing tiny sparks of light from her mouth, bringing back the hazy memory of the previous night rushing into Cara's mind. Inhaling sharply, Cara grabbed onto the post of her bed to balance herself, eyes racing back and forth. What she recalled could not have entirely happened, she reasoned with herself. Most of it made little sense and had a dreamlike blur over it, the details slipping as she tried to clutch them within her mind.
The pattern of eyes, especially those that had been familiar to Cara, was foremost in her mind, and she decided to keep her memories to herself until she could figure out what was going on and why that was all she could remember of the night before. The crystals near the door chimed the turning of the hour, and Cara realized she had little time if the match began at noon. Hurriedly scooping her hatchling onto her shoulder, Cara ducked out of her room and made it down several hallways before she realized she had no idea where the Ark was.
Access to the building, which housed samples of the natural world for preservation, was very limited in Netis; access was usually only granted to the Church or the Royal family. Cara had only ever seen its white arches in the distance, but she had long hoped to visit it or one of the other Arks in different countries. After a few minutes of wandering, she found a butler who helpfully offered to escort her to the building entrance, bustling off through the crowd in a self-important manner. Meekly following the man, Cara made her way past the tall, arched windows of the lower castle and out into what the butler referred to as 'The Rear Gardens', which boasted a wide variety of ferns and other vegetation.
Looming over the greenery below it was the Ark of Netis, an enormous marble building inlaid with gold and lapis details that glinted in the late morning sun. The roof underneath the vaulting arches was a thick, clear glass that let the sunlight into the building, and a pair of heavy gold and bronze doors blocked the way in. A contingent of guards wearing the purple capes of the Servants of Sharys over gold breastplates flanked these doors, standing rigidly at attention as Cara drew near.
The butler bowed as a graceful older lady in a deep plum gown stepped out from behind a pillar, casting an appraising eye over Cara and her dragon. Eyes finally settling on the silver horns of Cara's hatchling, she looked up and gave a quick formal smile before speaking. "Lady Myzanti, I presume?" She said, without waiting for an answer. "Her Royal Highness said to expect you, but for the sake of propriety, next time bring your issued invitation along with."
Not waiting for a response, the lady turned on her heel, raising a hand and twisting her wrist. The two Servants of Sharys nearest the doors raised their hands, eyes aglow as the massive hinges of metal creaked. Feet buzzing with anticipation, Cara waved a thankful farewell to the butler and forged on inside the Ark.