Twisted Souls

Chapter 21

     My mind can't even fathom what it's seeing, let alone function properly.
    Coxen is gripping his sword so tight that his knuckles have turned snow white. Fear and anger flashing across his face as he faces Xalale, who's all anger.
    "This- how!? I don't understand!?" I stare at the scene dumbfounded.
     Coxen swings the sword towards Xalale, but misses. Before he can try again, Xalale has already disarmed him and is holding his own sword to Coxen's neck. Absolute fear filled Coxen's eyes.
     Next to me, Elle has broken free from her trance and runs to pick up Coxen's discarded sword. I don't even think she's comprehending what she's doing before heading into action. She's running fully on adrenaline and instinct.
     She jabs but is a second too slow before Xalale's own blade cuts along her side, making her cry out in pain. Crumpling by her kneeling brother, whimpering as she falls, my heart stops. I've seen that look in his eyes, there was going to be no mercy for either sibling. Finally I wear out of my shock and cry out.
     "Xalale!"
     He glances over to me, his enraged eyes meeting my distraught ones. That quick distraction gives Coxen all the time he needs to catch Xalale off guard, knocking him off his feet.
      Reclaiming his sword, Coxen's fear is overthrown by anger. Watching him lift his sword, my legs finally begin to start moving towards them. But before I can reach them to push Coxen off, a burst of negativity erupts, sending Coxen flying for a brief second before slamming into a nearby tree.
      A scream of terror sounds out from Elle, who's clutching her side.
      I hurry over to Coxen. His body is still. I break in a cold sweat, all the air has just escaped my lungs.
      "Oh God, no! Please God no!"
      My nerves are a complete mess. I'm shaking so bad that an earthquake seems to be going on. My shaking dies down a bit when I notice movement.
      "He's breathing. Thank God, he's still alive, he's still breathing." Tears of joy were springing in my eyes. It was shallow breaths but it meant he was still with us.
      "Coxen!" Elle rushes over to us, clutching her side all the way. "Oh God! Coxen!"
      "He's still alive, he's still breathing." I point out.
      She buries her face in his chest, letting out shuddering sobs- traumatized. Coxen is knocked out cold, he needs help.
      "Elle, Elle. We need to get him help right away." I say trying to be the strong one. "Come on."
       Before I can even help lift him up, I'm grabbed from behind.
      "Mallory." Some of the rage has died from Xalale's eyes, but there's still some anger remaining.
       I push him away.
      "Don't talk to me right now!" I scream at him. "You did this!"
       Darkness clouds his eyes. "You did this Mallory. You deceived me."
      "I have not." I yelled back.
      "You drugged me so you can let your traitorous friends free."
      "I was coming right back."
      "Stop lying to me Mallory." He growled.
      My fist was shaking with anger at my side.
      "Mallory." Elle's weaken voice turns my attention back to her, all the anger fading from me. "He needs help, or he's going to- he's going to-"
       I touch her shoulder tenderly. My soul was in turmoil by this point, so much pain and anger coursing through my body. I have to think of something quick.
      "How did you get to us so fast?" I sharply ask Xalale.
      His icy eyes cut right through me. "Atlas."
      I look over and notice the dark horse.
      "What am I going to do?" I got us into this situation and now I needed to save Coxen's life. But how? All our energy was drained from that hour or so walk, Elle and Coxen are wounded- maybe severely, and there was only one way of quick transportation back to the castle. "What am I going to do?"
       Sephora.
      The name appeared in my mind suddenly, but it made sense.
      "Sephora has magic that can help heal Coxen." But she was hours away.
      "Elle."
      The girl looks up at me, tears running down her face.
      "I need you to pull yourself together. You and Coxen need help immediately, so you have to ride back to the castle on Atlas. He's quick so you'll get there sooner, plus he knows the way back. Once you get back to the castle, ask to find someone named, Sephora. She'll be able to heal you. Tell her Mallory sent you, though she'll help regardless. Can you do that?"
       She glances at Coxen's blank face then back up at me before nodding.
      "I know you can do this. You're brave."
       I hurry over to Atlas, leading him to Elle. I help her mount him. In doing so, I notice how deep the blade has cut into her side. Blood soaks through her clothes and stains the hand pressing against the wound. Coxen is too heavy for me to lift on my own onto Atlas' back. I face Xalale again, harding my face.
      "Can you be useful?"
       His stare is stone cold, but he does help me lift Coxen onto the back of Atlas.
       Before Elle can nudge Atlas, I grab and squeeze her hand.
      "We're going to make it through this, I promise."
       She nods with tears threatening to spill over again. With that, she kicks Atlas in the side and they riding off into the woods. I watch them, worry crippling me, as they disappear into the dark woods.
      "Now how are we suppose to get back?" Xalale ask sharply.
      I turn around to look at him.
      "Walking." I say between clenched teeth.
      I begin to head back in the direction of the castle- or at least I think is the direction of the castle. Even if I'm walking straight into a bear's den, I don't care. I feel like a failure- again.
      "No, don't think those things. You tried your hardest. It's all Xalale's fault, don't blame yourself." As kind as that little voice was in the back of my mine, in reality it couldn't be fully trusted. This was my fault. I planned this escape. I wasn't careful enough, I didn't think it through completely and now I was standing in the consequences of my careless planning. Xalale was wrong (when is he ever right?). It's not my surroundings causing me to be a screw up, its simply me and I can't fix me no matter how hard I try.
      Suddenly the night felt colder, darker than before. The forest seemed to be watching me, waiting to devour me completely- and some part of me wanted that. Everything is a nightmare right now and I can't make anything right. Back in Cauldron I was the one to mess everything up, but it was always someone else who cleaned up my disasters. Whether it was my parents, or teachers, or neighbors, or even strangers occasionally. I never realized how incompetent I was to cleaning up my own mess- everyone else has done it for me my entire life- and now I don't know how to make everything right again.
      I could hear Xalale walking behind me. He always kept a few feet between us and I never looked back at him the entire time.
      Surprisingly the journey back felt longer than the journey from here. The castle looms like a dark silhouette in the night sky. We enter through the main doors of the castle and after that part ways. I practically run to Sephora's room. Worry and fear was eating me alive all the way back.
      I knock on her door but don't wait for her to let me in. Busting in, I find Coxen, still knocked out, lying in the bed, Sephora staring down at him with a grim expression, and Elle curled up on the bedsheets in a protective ball like a small child next to her brother.
     Slowly I approach the bed, my body trembling slightly. Sephora looks up at me, meeting my dreadful eyes.
     "What happened?" She ask quietly.
     "Xalale." I reply simply. "How is he? Is he going to- is he-"
     "I cast a healing spell on him which should repair the damage. As for when he will wake up, I'm not sure."
      She gives me a sympathetic look and steps out of the way as I stand next to the side of the bed. The tears that have been threatening to spill over for the past few hours are finally falling.
     "For her," She continues gently. "I put some healing herbs on her wound. That should do the trick effectively. The wound was not too severe, so she should be fully healed in a matter of days."
      Elle looks so small and weak curled up like that. Her breathing is steady and her cheeks still glisten with tears, but she's sound asleep. I'm slowly dying inside. I've hurt her more than any physical injury could. If she loses Coxen, she'll lose all she has ever had, she'll be alone in the world. The sight is too much for me to take in anymore and I turn away.
     "Mallory." I feel Sephora's warm hand guiding me toward the door. "You're exhausted, physically and mentally. I'll stay here with them. You go back to your room and go to bed. I'll make sure they're comfortable."
     I wipe my face and inhale a shaky breath.
     "Thank you." It's all I can really say.
     She gives me a hug then leads me out of the room into the dark hallway. She gives me an assuring smile and with that I head back to my room.
     The room has never felt so cold and empty in my entire stay here. I collapse once I reach the sheets. Staring out of the windows, my mind and body scream for rest, but my soul is still a wreck.
     "God? I know it has been a while since I've talked to you, but...I'm so lost. I feel like such a failure. Why am I a failure? Why did you create me this way? I know there's a reason, but everything is falling apart and not matter how hard I try to keep it together, I can't. Just show me what I'm suppose to do, or if I'm even suppose to be doing this. Amen."

     A small shake on my shoulder roused me from sleep. The golden rays of sunlight pour in from the windows.
    "Been a while since we've done this, huh?"
     I turn to face Shaykh's shy smile.
     I nod, not fully functional yet. "Yeah, yeah. Um...what time is it?"
    "I'd say about noon."
    "Oh." I say. "I guess I missed breakfast?"
    "And lunch, but you seemed tired so I let you be."
    "Thank you."
     My mind came to life, thinking of what I have to do today. I would definitely check in on Elle and Coxen for sure. Pushing away the sheets, I drag myself out of bed.
    "Let's get ready." I say getting down to business.
     As Shaykh helps me prepare, I try not to let on how down I'm feeling. She doesn't need to worry about me as well. I can't finish dressing quick enough- I needed to see if they had made any progress. As soon as Shaykh is finished putting on the final touches, I thank her and bolt from the room to go to Sephora's room.
     Sephora is surprised by my sudden entrance, Elle appears to be as well, but she recovers quicker and rushes over to hug me.
     "Mallory! I'm so glad to see that you're ok. You are ok, right?" She steps back to inspect me.
     "I'm fine, how about you?" I ask concerned.
     "Feeling better than yesterday."
      She did look better than yesterday. The peachy color was returning to her cheeks and there weren't tears filling in her eyes. She still looked in pain as she rushed over to me, but at least she didn't clutch her side whenever she walked.
      We head over to where Sephora stands over Coxen. To my dismay, it appears he still hasn't woken up.
     "How's he doing?" I ask.
     She sighs and pushes back her hair. "Still the same. It will take some time for his injuries to heal and I can't predict when he will wake up."
      It wasn't bad news, but it wasn't good either. Now it was the tortuous game of waiting and hoping.
     "Have you eaten anything?" I ask Elle.
     "Yes, a guard brought us something to eat." Elle responds.
      I didn't know what to do with myself, so I hung around and talked to Elle, comforting her as well as me. After a while, I decided I need some fresh air or at least a change of scenery. Excusing myself, I at first intend to wander the halls for a bit, but then have a change of heart and make my way to the throne room.
     Entering the room, I'm surprised to find it empty. It was unusual for Xalale not to be in there. No problem, I head to the balcony garden- the next logical place he would be. But again I find it deserted.
    "Where is he?"
     I know it would be a slim chance, but I swing by the dining hall to check there. Like I predicted, the room is empty except for a few servant girls that always seem to linger there.
     "Excuse me, but have any of you seen the king?" I ask.
     Two of the three girls look away and busy themselves with sweeping the floor and table. One of the girls, though, meekly approaches me.
     "No, miss. The king didn't show up for breakfast this morning and we haven't seen him all day." She and the other girls scurry away back into the kitchen.
     "Haven't seen him all day? Where is he?"
      I leave the room and decide to look elsewhere. My next destination is the stables, but I notice a guard walking along the halls.
     "Excuse me." I hurry over to him. "How you by any chance seen the king anywhere?"
     "To my knowledge, miss, he is in his bed chamber."
     "Uh, thank you." I call as I begin to head towards Xalale's room.
      I can't imagine what he's doing there unless he's still sleeping. Though that doesn't seem like him.
      Arriving at his doors, I'm about to barge in unannounced, but think better of it and knock.
      No answer.
      I try again harder.
      Still nothing.
      "Maybe he's not in his room. He might have left not too long ago."
      I try one last time and wait. But still I don't get a response. I don't know what to do now, or where to look from here. There are hundreds of rooms in this castle and if I look through them all, we might miss each other narrowly. I slide to the floor and rest my head against the door, trying one final time knocking.
      "Nothing. What do I do-"
      "Who is it?"
       I sit up quickly, recognizing the voice on the other side.
      "Uh, Mallory." I answer back.
       A quick pause of silence. "Go away."
      "But I need to talk to you."
      Silence again, but this time it stretches longer and longer until I'm sure he's not going to respond this time.
      "Hello?"
      "Ok...I guess he doesn't want to see me right now." I back away from the door and slowly head down the hall. "I'll try again later."
       I stop by the kitchen to pick up something to eat, then return to Sephora's room to wait with Elle. I don't go back to try to talk to Xalale again.
       Everything was a waiting game now, but I couldn't help but feel like the world was going to come crashing down at any second.