The Guardians of Deities

27

The nightmares took over her nights, passing by dreadfully slow, and her days were filled with duties, going to Council meetings at dawn and training until dusk. She was thankful no one noticed how drained she looked but Zeydar knew she was detached from the world surrounding her.

Arline couldn't shake the overwhelming feeling that she had to confess her sins to someone, to explain her nightmares, she needed someone to listen to her. But the only person who could have probably helped her ease her mind was busy fulfilling his duty as Monarch and setting the entire kingdom in the right path.

One night she went to sleep early after skipping dinner. As soon as she closed her eyes she looked around and found herself in the center of Pelagius' fortress, surrounded by the marble pillars and above her was the dome that caged those hibernating mermaids.

The dream was always the same. The Deity of  the Waters standing in front of her, hissing at her how she was too weak to hold the sacred powers, followed by threats. And every time she saw him it caused the same reaction on her, Arline feared him with every cell of her body and he knew what he caused on her.

It could have ended right there after the threats, but he opened a mirage in front of her. Arline looked at it closely and managed the picture of a hospital. Her father laying on a bed and her mother by his side, holding his hand and praying, most likely. Their daughter felt the worst kind of remorse, she wanted to reach for them and beg them on her knees for their forgiveness.

"Sentimentality is your worst enemy" Pelagius soothingly said behind her ear "You need to give up certain things for power" he had been calling her weak for a long time now, so it didn't even faze her. Arline just continued to stare at the image of her parents in grieve.

Her Deity closed the mirage waiting for her to say something. Arline had grown used to the stomach clenching image of Pelagius, so she stared at him for seconds until she dared to say the stupidest sentence that came into her mind with a trembling voice and glassy eyes "Power isn't everything"

"Not even you believe your own statement" he laughed at her "Power and fear have given you more than you could have imagined and more is awaiting for you" she wanted to fight back but it was the pure truth, it didn't matter if it was her skills in battle or her power or her allegiance with the Dark Prince, everything that she had gotten came from either fear or power.

"That doesn't sound like a threat"

"Come to my Palace and duel me for the power of the waters, my Heir" Pelagius challenged her "Because as long as I live, even in my weak state, you will not know peace"

She woke up with her accelerated pulse on her ears, out of breath as if she had run endless miles to get away, but she was on her bed, warm by the fire and protected from the evils of the world. But her mind was back home and she thought of Pelagius' proposition. She thought that if she stayed, he would continue to torment her. Arline wanted peace but wanted the peace from before any of this had happened to her.

Letting her troubled thoughts command her body, she jumped out of her bed and started getting dressed, silently but quickly. It was past midnight, the moon was at its highest point and the cold wind could be heard howling through the windows.

She took one last look at her room before leaving and saw the King's dagger. Her first weapon. In a way it worked better as an allegiance than the Ring of Allies, but it was his gift for her, it was Merrick's way of saying he cared for her. But she was leaving and sentimentality was her weakness, so she took the dagger and wrote a note.

Arline carefully locked the door behind her and headed to the King's dormitory. Lucky for her, Merrick wasn't around so she placed the dagger, the note and the Ring of Allies on his candlelit bedside. And before she could change her mind and wait for him there, she stepped out of the room and headed to the woods through the complicated hidden stairs of the castle.

Not even the wolves had caught her scent while leaving the Dark Palace behind, but she quickened  her pace through the woods, trying to get as far away as possible. Arline whistled at the night sky for her loyal dragon to appear by her side.

Zeydar didn't waste a second when Arline climbed on top of her and opened her pair of white wings and drifted through the still dark blue sky to no apparent destination. Arline just thought of home and hoped Zeydar understood were home was for her.