The Age of Solace: The Silver Wolf

Chapter 27: Newfound Determination

She could not get the sight from her mind. Staring back at her through the mirror was herself. But it was a younger version of her, from a time that remained foggy in her memory. Yet before her, clear as day, stood a young girl with blonde hair and not a single article of clothing. Those crystal blue eyes were wide in horror, looking as they were about to break or shatter, unblinking. Her mouth was open and quivering, but there was no sound. Her body shook, but no one was there to console her.

That young girl looked no older than six, yet was covered head to toe in blood and viscera. It stained her hair, dripped down her face and body, and left almost no trace of her natural skin color beneath the thick, red substance. Stella could feel it on her own arms, yet when she looked from the mirror, she could only see her own fair skin. Looking back to the mirror, the girl now had tears in her eyes, reaching out and looking as though she were trying to say something. And while the reflection made no noise itself, something stirred from the back of her memory.

"Ra- en. Ra.... Rav-en... Raven!" The voice called out, over and over.

Stella shut her eyes and let the tears fall as she heard the young girl's voice, over and over. It was her, she knew. This meant that she had been the one pleading for Raven. Tugging at her hair, she tried to remember more, even though it brought her pain. She had no idea when these visions started occurring, but it had been for some time. She knew she must not remember every single one, but they were becoming so clear and frequent, that it was starting to become hard not to.

She still had no idea where all the blood came from, but she now knew that Raven had something to do with what she was seeing. There was no doubt in her mind that Raven was not the cause, but he did know something of it.

'But what do I do?' Stella asked, now kneeling on her floor and weeping.

The visions were just too much for her to handle. She was beginning to suspect that they were not visions at all, but rather memories. But that made no sense to her, since she had lived a protected life in the castle for as long as she could remember... Surely there would still be talk if such a thing had occurred within the walls of Rosenguard Castle.

'But how far back can I remember...?' Stella thought, the question forming in her mind and taunting her.

She wiped her eyes clear with a sleeve. Instead, she decided to look back at her life. Rather than forcing the memories as she had been, she decided to look at the ones she knew. But no matter how deep she looked, she could not find any of where she was the same age as the girl in the mirror, or younger. Not a single one.

'Should I confront Raven? My parents?' Stella asked herself, starting to panic.

Rather than act out, she looked out her balcony to the sky. In the distance, she could swear she could see the faint outline of Syckle. How he had not been discovered, she would never begin to guess. However, seeing the drake, even briefly, brought out a sort of courage within her.

'I've always wanted to be a warrior...' Stella affirmed in her mind. 'The warriors here have all faced fears unimaginable and still have the strength to continue...'

An image of Faradeigh passing out after defeating Castor in that duel entered her mind. She remembered what happened between him and King Ernest Cardinal, and the story she heard from him and Syckle. How he could hold himself together after all of that was concerning to her, and she knew that even all of that was not everything there was to it. But if he could do it... then so would she!

'They may be real, but they won't control me!' Stella thought strongly, wiping the tears from her eyes.

' Besides, she had other worries. Her parents had let the Black Rose join without question, and are choosing to announce her presence along with the group assignments later that same day. She found herself worrying about the consequences that her actions could bring. Her actions could cause war, or worse... she could be tried for treason! Things were changing rapidly, and it did not help that she involved herself in Faradeigh and Syckle's task to redeem humanity by bringing dragons back into society.

But when had those changes begun? It was recent, that she knew. And it did not take much thinking to conclude that it was the events in Glenwood that brought about this rapid change. It was Faradeigh. The warrior who avoided nearly everyone and who had won several duels now was changing everything. Her parents pardoned him and gained a new outlook on the Cardinal family name, although they still wanted her to marry Vaughn. However, they were now open to the possibility of another Prince. She had no idea who or where, but it did not matter. At least, it did not matter right at that moment.

Faradeigh had exploited some of the most skilled warriors, including Cornelius, in duels and spars. He had been doing a lot of research, as well as training. His unique style was so flexible that it was difficult for many to counter, and he took advantage of that. He gained the favor of the Alpha team, aside from Raven of course, and even gave his own teammates advice on how to better use their powers with what he had found.

He still left to take care of Syckle and Rigel, probably sneaking books off to that cave as well. Stella had visited a couple of times in the month since she had met the two dragons, but she still had other duties. There was something special about Faradeigh, and not just because of that strange silver wolf. Nowhere in any of the books on spirits could she find anything like that wolf. Whatever it was, it was not the spirit of a dead animal... it was something more. Something to do with him.

'Why are you thinking about him so much?' Stella's thoughts seemed to ask her.

She stopped to think about the answer to that question. Why was she thinking about him so much? Sure, she had met him briefly years ago, only to run into him again. But.... Well, he did have a lot of intrigue centered on him, being the first member of Corvin's Blades without powers and fraternizing with dragons and whatnot. Yes, that had to be it. And she was not the only one. Syrah had brought mention of Faradeigh more than once as well. Others were talking about him when he was not around as well. Yet despite all she did to believe these reasons, she knew they were not correct.

Stella was sure she was not holding romantic feelings for Faradeigh. To her, it felt more like... like they were connected in some way. Perhaps she was always meant to discover his secret, the same way he was always meant to discover hers. Maybe they were supposed to meet in the manner they did so that they would respect each other's secrets. Maybe... they shared a destiny. Bringing peace between dragons and humans... it was hard for her to swallow even then, but she had always dreamed big in the past, and never once did she let anything stop her.

Now full of determination, she reaffirmed her thoughts and took a breath. She looked to her Black Rose outfit, and to the door. Changing into it, she went over the oncoming announcements in her mind, knowing that the very idea of hiding her secret was absurd at best. Nothing would ever be accomplished if she hid herself away like a coward.

The images of blood came to her mind as she decided this, but she fought them off. Once she was changed, she looked back to that mirror. She could see her younger self reaching out, this time towards another's hand. Without seeing the rest of the image, she knew it to be Raven. Closing her eyes, she saw the hazy memory of that very scene. She could see her blood covered arm reaching towards the boy with the ashen skin and red eyes. Everything else was blurry, but she remembered feeling safe.

Holding onto those feelings, she pulled the facemask of her outfit up, placed her catalysts in the holsters on her hips, and walked towards the Great Hall. Those bloody images and memories would return, she knew, and they would likely be worse than before. But she wanted to remember them. Now that she could remember, she wanted to know it all, no matter what. And that would never happen if she continued to be afraid, and continued to forget.

'I need to be braver...' Stella stated to herself, 'And I may as well start here...'