Mage of Eden

Chapter 25

 A new dawn usually signifies hope, a new beginning. However, I don't see a new future when I stared at the sun rising over the horizon through a small window. True, it was a majestic sight to behold, but without the right mindset to appreciate it, the beauty, though breathtaking, was a waste. I was escorted by two armed guards away from Haytham and Alastair and was locked up in a small shabby hut to spend the night. So the dawn's bright light was not welcomed by me who learned to live in the darkness. I was still locked up- still in the shabby old hut, without any sleep and tired of everything going on around me. I just wanted some answers as to what really happened to my parents; what I knew since childhood was a lie or not. I requested an audience several times with Sir Libengale, but he refused to meet me. The only time I ever saw him was when he bound Alastair in that barrier using his magic. Why was he, a Null Magic-user, still alive? The door to the hut opened and Haytham entered with food, not berries.

"You should eat something other than berries for a change" he said, but he refused to meet my eye.

"It's not like I will die if I don't eat something other than berries."

He was shaking, was he stifling a laugh? Unknowingly, I smiled at him as I was partly relieved. He is still speaking to me. Maybe I can get his trust back; maybe not all is lost.

"I know it wont, but your taste buds may, Miss Summers"

This time, I was not hurt because he called me by my last name. There wasn't that pure hatred in his voice and he sounded quite normal- just like how he was before everything became a mess.

Does that mean he forgave me?

I didn't want to build up false hopes, so I shook that thought away from my mind and gratefully accepted the roasted fish from him. It was slightly burned and it had a tinge of citrus in it, just the way I like it.

Did he prepare this for me?

 After much painstaking efforts to eat slowly and to savour the flavour, I ended up ravaging the fish. Haytham merely looked, his face- a dissonance of sadness and anger. After I finished my meal, I gently pushed the plate towards him hoping to interrupt his steady gaze from me and it worked. He looked down at the plate, picked it up and turned around to leave. Hesitatingly, he turned back and said in a low whisper,

"The Patron is going to be here soon, you should ask him what you want to know"

I nodded and Haytham went off, closing the crude wooden door behind him. The Patron seems to be someone who holds all the answers to my problem. Just who is he to the Rebels anyway? Is he a well-wisher of the Rebels, just like his name suggests? Or is there something much more deep and dark behind this whole thing? I had so many questions to be answered but would he really be willing to oblige?

Minutes turned to hours and hours turned to days. It has been a week since our capture. Alastair hasn't spoken a word with me still, Evelyn is as cold as ever and Haytham- he was the only one who bothered to speak with me though he got hit by Evelyn several times. Alastair was eventually left free by Sir Libengale after he promised to not be a bother to the Rebels. He was even offered to be escorted outside the Rebels' camp but he preferred to stay.

I wonder why he wanted to stay.

Sir Libengale soon left, refusing my request for an audience with him, again! So I had to live with my captors as of now. Living with the Rebels was not much of a difference as to life at the city. The men did the hard task of hunting and brought back the kill while the women did the cooking.  The elders took care of the children and their education, teaching them to hunt and forage, to make weapons and all necessary skills to survive in the forest. The only difference between those two lives was that they were a close-knit community, taking care of each other- unlike the people in the city. So Alastair and I had a difficult time fitting in. Alastair soon found his forte. He was an excellent hunter. The way in which he used the bow with such elegance and grace made the other hunters to stare at him with astonishment.  As for me, I was given cooking duty.

That would be the most easiest job which I can relate to, since I had been around the kitchen for a long time.  But that wasn't the case. Due to my clumsiness,  I was dropping food and crashing utensils- it was an unimaginable horror. I was left to cut the fresh produce. Even if I injured my hands several times because of the knife, I was still able to complete that task without any major problems.  So I naturally became the vegetable slicer for them.

It was one of those routine days and I found myself with a cut in my hand for the- honestly, I lost count. As I tried to stop the bleeding from mixing with the vegetables by taking a few steps back,  I bumped into something- or rather, someone. Turning around I found myself locked eye to chin with Alastair!

By reflex, I hung my head low and backed away whispering an apology. Then, I turned back and continued to dice the veggies.

"You always end up getting hurt. Are you a closet masochist?"

Those outrageous words made me fling my knife at him in an instant!

Holy Mother of God! I have done something outrageous now!

His palladium eyes enlarged as he saw the oncoming projectile and barely managed to step aside and dodge it. He turned back to look at my shocked face.

"So you hate me that much, huh."

I shook my head as words failed me. He merely sighed and moved towards the woods.

He must be going hunting again.

Somehow seeing his receding shoulders as he walked deeper into the woods made me want to run after him. It was like he was slipping through my fingers and I was letting him go. I had to run after him. Just as I took a few steps towards the woods, I heard Haytham calling out to me.

"Jane! The Patron is finally here!"