The Phoenix: Born Of Ash

Chapter Fifteen

Allaria left the smithy with new purpose and made her way through the grounds with equal amounts. As she passed by friends she knew from training she gave subtle nods but kept her course true. Although she knew Gauwyn certainly wasn't waiting for her she had the odd feeling she was late. Perhaps she was indeed late, late to say something she should have long ago, something she had said once before but failed to make herself crystal clear. The thought brought a chill down her spine.

For every last virtue in life we have there is an equal curse. This is simply the way of the universe. There is and must always be balance and Allaria had been living a life that was considerably out of balance. Her entire life she had never wanted for anything. Whatever her heart desired could be brought for her. Even though Allaria rarely exercised this ability she knew instinctively it had a cost.

Gauwyn was and will forever be that cost. One cannot have day without night and Allaria could not have the life she was given with Gauwyn. It was not something she could run away from either. Allaria had benefited from her upbringing all her life. Without it, she would not be the woman she was today.

A woman would never have received the training and the respect that she did without her stature and there is a payment that she can never repay for it. Gauwyn would have her run away from her debt but that had never been Allaria's way. The world must be in balance and she must sacrifice whatever it demands to achieve that.

The idea of giving up everything she had ever truly wanted to pay off that debt certainly by no means was attractive to Allaria. All her life Gauwyn had been a constant and one could say that removing that would also create an imbalance but that was just another cost of her upbringing. Allaria knew what she must do once and for all and she promised herself that no matter what Gauwyn had to say she would stay true to her cause. She owed it to her people and to the universe.

So as Allaria found herself standing before the great wooden door to Gauwyn's room she prepared herself for the worst. He would move on, she told herself. There are so many fish in the sea and although she was a special one to him another one was swimming around the corner. She shook her head as she thought of the ridiculousness of that thought; whether or not he moved on she knew she wouldn't.

The handle to his door was cold in her hands. Allaria watched the trail of goosebumps creep up her milky skin and the hairs on her arm stand up and almost vibrate. A deep, cutting, breath filled her lungs as she mustered the strength to open the door. The thumb latch would only require the tiniest amount of pressure to open the door but it felt like it required the strength of a thousand men.

"You can do this." Allaria muttered under her breath as she pushed down the latch and hear the metallic click as it freed from the lock and with a gentle push the door creaked open.

"I should ask someone to get that fixed." Gauwyn muttered, his head buried in his pillow, muffling the noise.

Allaria smirked, "At least you'll hear the assassins." She mused as she stepped inside and shut the door behind her, staring at it as she mustered the courage to turn around and face him.

Gauwyn peeked out from his hiding place in his pillow and when he saw it was Allaria he shot up and sat erect in his bed, "Allaria." He said quickly, "I should have known it was you."

Allaria watched her knuckles turn white as they held onto the door and she practically had to rip her vice like grip off them but stayed silent. To Gauwyn, her silence spoke louder than words. He could see the tension in her shoulders, although her long chestnut mane covered them slightly as the strands made their way down her back like a waterfall.

It meant something was wrong, Gauwyn knew that right away but anyone would have, what his deeper knowledge of Allaria told him was the amount of pain and displeasure that was also present. Allaria didn't just have bad news, but news that was personal to her, news she herself was barely able to keep a grip with.