➹₊•°༉彡˚✧
WASTING NO MORE TIME, the young male leapt into action. He took his alarmed gaze off of me, directing it to the two men who also got over their initial shock. Despite their lingering fear, they set off to charge an offense. Their plan was predictable even with the distance I served, seeing them nod at each other and together they attacked.
Although, the supposed strategy of bewildering was also seen by the defender, doing something that made me raise my eyebrows. Both of the men fell down to their knees, clutching their hearts as if they were struck with an unbearable pain. The boy took this as a chance to smite his assailants, knocking them out with a smooth motion of their own blade.
His chest heaved raggedly at the loss of breath, the glow slowly dimming until his dark brown eyes became visible. The boy didn't seem far from my own age, a youthful look present on his face. It lightened up even more once he turned to look at me like he actually forgot I was here, a bashful grin carving on his thin lips.
“Hi!” His voice didn't stray far from his juvenescence, a mixture of slight deepness yet also very peppy on the ears. The boy's eyebrows weren't as thick as Edmund's, his build being lean with evident muscles but he was short. Possibly even shorter than me, but taller than Lucy. “I . . . I uh, I– You didn't see that, right?”
He ran his hands through his naturally wavy hair, the colour being the same as his gazers. My forehead creased as an answer, him only widening his eyes then dropping the sword he was carrying. Wiping his hands onto his trousers, he stumbled his way to where I was.
“That was– uh, that was self-defense,” The male bobbed his head, as if approving of his own words. “Whatever happened back there, we can just forget about it.”
Giving him a blank look, I just blinked away all of my confusion. Turning on my feet, I walked away to give ourselves some space. My hands went to sheathe my weapon back to my belt, retracing my steps back where I initially arrived. It wasn't long before the boy yelled quite loudly.
“Wait!” Was followed by the sounds of his running form, arriving beside me to where he matched my own strides. “Where are you headed?”
Merely ignoring him, I kept my focus straight to the path I was passing. With much discretion, I also willed my ability to succumb inside, just enough to make it unnoticeable by him if ever he can feel it. He frowned at my lack of attention, adjusting the straps of his leather satchel.
“I haven't seen you around here,” Rolling my eyes at the air, my peripherals caught him bite his lip in thought before glancing at me once more. “I'm Jack Hewitt.”
“You are an empath.” Finally, I stated, giving it the utmost nonchalance I could muster despite the ongoing questions I had.
Jack's eyes blatantly widened in genuine surprise, mouth even falling slightly. “This– this is a good start! Only a few people truly know what I am!”
“Good start for what?” I squinted, with my gaze still refusing to give him a glance.
“A healthy friendship.” It was just so sudden. So unexpected that it made a snort resound from me, quickly followed by a veritable chuckle. And him, even with uncertainty of what was funny, laughed along with me.
Silence consumed us after that, the male awkwardly fiddling with his fingers. His mouth opened and then closed right after, wanting to start another talk.
“Why were you being chased?” His face visibly brightened, moderately wheeling his body to glance sideways at me.
“You see! I was following my own concerns, usually going over my day by strolling across the land. But I suddenly stumbled over the thing I've been looking for since I got here, I don't even know why they're guarding it! Wait I think I do, it is an ancient scroll, uh, so back to the topic. They pursued me alo—”
Offense twitched on his face as I went to cut him off, yelping when I pushed him back to a wall. He was about to babble again but I stopped him, peering over the corner to see two people, Calormen from what I could recognize now. They were speaking in hushed tones, but loud enough to be heard. The both of them spoke of the people I was searching for, only getting interrupted when a higher person commanded they get back to work.
“Slave traders?” I muttered to myself before rotating obliquely, seeing the other empath slumped to the ground while unwittingly tracing shapes on the dust.
“I know where they are if you need help getting them.” Jack proposed, a hopeful expression on his face.
“No,” His smile fully dropped, pouting as he averted his glance away which made me roll my eyes. “I meant not yet, we'll get them by the morrow.”
And without another word, he just nodded enthusiastically and followed my leaving form. It was dark out, the sun already gone hours ago, which meant guards were heavy wherever they were stationed. As for the well-being of my companions, I was assured they were safe for now until the morning bites. By then, I was going to fetch them when they were being revealed in the open. Those Calormen just had to spill their schedule for others to hear.
Some sounds made me flicker to my temporal acquaintance, him searching for something inside his satchel. Once he found it, he took it out then sighed in relief. It was the paper that he mentioned in his prolonged narration, the apparent oldness of it seen through the small crumples.
“It's a fortune scroll.” Jack noticed my gaze, showing me his clutched item in dignity. I received it from his hold, gently opening it in curiosity.
‘ With this quill, you are favoured,
With this parchment, you are granted,
Bring I to your person, then fortune shall reign,
And your endeavor will be blessed, never poured unto vain. ’
The words were simple, yet very effectual. It was laced with an emotion so deep, so magnetic, so powerful, that when one were to touch it, bursts of magic embraces their being. The object was a source of its name, heaps of billowing luck being sent to the holder. An item so small and slender, but truly heavy with charms. It carried the similar qualities my own gifts had, the only contrast being how this one could be utilized by the wicked.
“Lakshmi Crookes, the Empath of Luck, molded it. She was one of the earlier generations.” Intrigue affected my ability of walking, now giving him my full attention.
“There are more?” And so he started the longest chatter ever, but this time I dare not cancel him. We found a small hidden spot by the side, him saying that it was a place rarely visited by the Calormen. Once he started his story, I just sat patiently, leaving some inquiries for after.
From centuries ago, came an era of where some humans lived in a prosperous land, a place not far away from where we reigned. He declared the time as inequality to their kind, being labelled puny by a group of vile Narnians. Facing the hardship of the cruelty of the creatures, they prayed, begged, besought the presence of the known great being– Aslan.
Seemingly heard by the mighty lion, afterwards came the tale of another story. Having enough of the lack of sensitivity, an old soul was gifted to them, to where they were blessed with an ability said to be far greater than any element; which was Empathy. They were given a chance to alter their reality through the magic of feelings, only they were given a limit to choose only one emotion per person. No one knew why, or how, but it was only ten humans to wield such weapon. With that, they coloured the minds of their foes and took revenge in their own acts of suffering.
Careful of the possibility of over exceeding, the old soul sent final orders. If one wished to raise a family, they were only able to bear one child. As the conceived reaches the age of eight, the time of their picking, the abilities of the grandparent gets taken back by the giver. If one blessed person fails to produce an offspring and reaches old age, their magic finds a new vessel, passing that gift into another lineage. Although if one were to pass not of natural causes, for instance; slaughter, the endowment halts and their ancestry ceases to continue. The mystical spirit gave all that before disappearing into the boundless sky of the night.
Struck by envy and massive fury, a situation occurred that prevented the resumption of the ten families' entirety. Because there, came the Great War of Prohibition, led by a number of antagonists that couldn't accept the idea of giving gifts to humans. The usual sequence of events transpired amidst the period of years; battles, conflicts, deaths, and bloodshed. And the blessed couldn't take anymore of it, especially after the death of their four honourable families; even descendants of youngest age being included in the violence. So they took off into hiding, feeding the enemies a trick of their end where the war finished at the thought of no more gifted to remain.
“Those with greatest control of their chosen emotion were the only ones who could provide blessings like these.” The male motioned to the scroll, a look of determination crossing his face.
It wasn't difficult to connect why the Calormen treasured the object with their life, the advantages it could simply bring was infinite. Not that it matters anymore, seeing as the beacon of success was out of their grasp.
“So there's six of you left?” I followed, him bobbing his head but then suddenly shook it.
“Five families actually,” Jack corrected with a scratch to his nape. “I'm the heir of two empaths.”
This statement made another set of questions come answered, piecing everything together like a delicate artwork. If two empaths were to merge into one, could they perhaps beget more children? Or would their single reproduction wield more than one ability? Both of those were consecutively shut down by him, saying that he didn't have any sibling nor an additional power other than his chosen one. It also meant he had a complicated history of close relatives where he doesn't have any direct uncles or aunts.
“The old spirit, where is it now?”
Shrugging his shoulders, he ran his tongue over his teeth. “After the vanishing, they just assumed it went to where it initially was. Which was back to being the true king's right-hand.”
“You're not from here, are you?” I concluded from his previous words, taking into mind when he stated he arrived here only to find the piece of enchantment.
“No,” Jack confirmed, rolling the paper in his hand then settled it back into his satchel. “I came from Archenland. Sent here by my grandfather to retrieve our stolen heirloom.”
“You are a descendant of Crookes.”
“She was the mother of my grandfather's father.” The brunette grinned proudly, unmistakably puffing his chest.
But the realization did not stop there, recalling the crest I saw on the scroll. And the way he stood, or the sometimes manner of his speech. His terms also prompting me to snap back to him, “Heirloom? You are of noble blood.”
“Not really something worth of introducing, I am but a simple Lord.” Jack looked down in a flustered state, heat travelling to his cheeks.
“Why have we never heard of you before?”
“Our kind thought it best to leave our existence in the dark, but I wish to oppose,” So they all stayed hidden, that somewhat explains it. “The world's already changed from the old times. It became more accepting, more free, more equal when the Kings and Queens of Old came. When she came.”
“She?” With raised eyebrows, I stopped the smile to rise on my lips.
“Queen Ophelia the Cunning, the most treasured gift from the stars,” A bright beam carved on his lips, but it morphed into a pout. “I still despise how I won't be able to ever meet her though. Let alone get a single glimpse of her.”
“Now why would that be?” Teasing him was admittedly amusing, earning a more downhearted expression on his face. Oh, he was full on disappointed.
“They said she wasn't visiting Narnia anymore,” The youngest Hewitt covered his face with a groan, “And the ones who still could are both inside the dungeons here. I was already planning on saving them. After all, they're also rather legendary.”
“So you're only going to help them because they're venerable?”
“No! Not ever! I– I don't only think that!” His bashful charm was entertaining, saving me from worrying too much about them. “Although, personally seeing the Amity Ring would be really fulfilling— Kidding! I'm only kidding.”
Humming at him as a reply, I heard him whine more which made me chuckle heartily. He was really easy to talk to, truthfully capable of an enjoyable conversation. As of now, he was sharing his brought rations with me, still talkative despite munching on his fruit.
My next objective was to round up the crew of the ship whom are here on this island, then discuss the strategy I thought of to them. From what I could feel, they were still awaiting for the others by their places. The night was deep with darkness now, with the moon being the utmost celestial light that emitted our hope.
Wait a minute, if this boy is of nobility, and isn't even from here. So— “What did you use for transport?”
“A ship.”
“Then where are your people?” It was possible they could be stationed not far from him, he could've insisted he took the object alone.
“They travelled back home as soon as I stepped foot here,” Jack informed, taking a sip from his drink. “It was what grandfather commanded them. They weren't entirely keen of the idea but just followed through as to not get reprimanded.”
“He left you here for stranded?” Well that was a huge twist of direction.
“Perhaps?” Was stated with seriousness, though he snickered in a playful manner. “No, actually, he said it was part of a big scheme.”
“By whom?”
“The magnificent lion himself,” His eyes closed as that familiar grin took over his appearance. “My grandfather was an Empath of Peace. He dedicated his whole life to sustain an era of no conflicts, which has always been fruitful. With that, I can see how the great Aslan would trust him enough to bless him with his presence. And I have faith in them both, especially now because everything is taking place.”
Bringing my lower lip in between my teeth, I rubbed my fingers on my forehead. Of course it was him who made this happen, who else would it be? It provided more confusion to surface in me, internally groaning in frustration. Right at the moment I'd think I knew what was happening, he'd throw another mystery in the mix. Just what do you really want me to do, Aslan?