Guardians of the Prophecy

Chapter Fourteen: Traitorous Mind

“What’s wrong, Shan?”

"Rima, I... have something to tell you."  Shan sighed heavily.

"What is it?"

There was a long pause, but Rima waited patiently.  She could tell from the expression on his face that he was struggling to speak. 

"I...  When Alistair volunteered to hold them back, I didn't like his idea.  I had a bad feeling about the army that was following us."  The monk sighed and ran a hand across his face, his eyes darting to the ground.

“And even though I knew it was a bad idea, I didn’t get to do the sacrifice that Alistair got to do.  The monasteries at Tianmen… they always stressed about sacrificing for the greater good.  Stuff like that.  It felt like I was supposed to do it.  But I didn’t.”  He paused.  “It’s stupid.  I know.”

But Alistair was being a brave idiot, Rima thought. 

“I don’t think it has anything to do with who made the sacrifice or not,” she replied.  “Besides, if you were the one who stayed behind, then we probably wouldn’t have been able to get anything done once we reached the Earth Temple.”  Rima forced a small smile.  “Alistair’s forced to tag along, though.”

Shan chuckled.  “You have a point.”

There was a moment’s silence, when the monk said, “If it’s any comfort, Rima, I think you’re handling this really well.  And Alistair’s memory might be addled, but our brains are still intact.”

Rima smiled at him. 

“I think things will turn out fine.”  Shan wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a bear hug.  She hugged him back.

When he released her, he ruffled her hair again and grinned: she had shot him a mock glare as she readjusted it.  “Let’s get some sleep.  We’ll need it for the rest of the journey.” 

Two days after they had reunited with Alistair, the group continued to make their way towards the Earth Temple, albeit more slowly.  But they were in Bonum, at least.  Rima had been worried that her Protector would not be strong enough, but he'd just snarled at her for assuming he was "weak" and that he wouldn't have had to suffer if it hadn't been for her.

Her heart had ached when he had said that.  She had taken his feelings for granted, and just when she felt she needed him most, the Alistair she knew was gone.

Laurel, Shan and Caleb had tried to help, obviously.  They, along with Rima, kept telling him that he had volunteered to hold the army off, but it was futile.  He'd refused to believe it, and continued lashing out at Rima whenever he was given the slightest opportunity to do so.

When they stopped by an inn later that night, Rima prevented Alistair from following the others inside and recommended they talk to clarify a few things. 

"What do you want me to say?"  He sneered at her.  "I'm happy you abandoned me.  Now that you know what I went through, you can  live with that for the rest of your life.  And I'm not—"

Alistair stopped speaking and abruptly keeled over, clutching his abdomen.

“Alistair!”  Rima rushed over to him, placing a hand on his back.

He coughed, and blood streaked the ground. 

She wrapped an arm around him and tried to pull him up, which barely did anything considering how heavy he was.  “We need to get you to Laurel—”

“Don’t touch me!” he snarled as he yanked his arm out of her grip, whirling around to glare at her.  She flinched.

Alistair wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stormed away from her.  Rima stared after him; she didn’t miss the way he clutched his head as he walked away.