"Hidden by the rumble of thunder, you burn your secrets to ash"
41
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⚠️ violence, murder, death, weapons, fighting, blood ⚠️
A fire burns on the ground, lighting up the night sky.
A man stands over the fire, his face illuminated by the light. The smell of smoke prickles in his nostrils and rises up to the sky. The fire creates a warmth that is not missed in the humid night, the stark sun from the day before still making its presence known. Dark clouds start to loom in the background. The man has never seen such dark clouds before. It is only natural that a thunder storm will come after days of extreme heat, but he is not so sure whether the thunder storm should be that dark and dangerous. It will be an interesting day tomorrow...
Two pieces of paper are thrown into the fire. One of them, an envelope. The other, a letter. The paper is soaked in wobbly handwriting, some of the ink having spilled onto the paper. All of it burns up, the fire lighting up to become bigger than before. The man watches the letter burn with great interest. He makes sure that every single molecule has been turned to ash. Then, he pours water from a red and blue jar, watching it kill the fire one drop at a time. Once only smoke remains, he turns around with a chuckle, whistling all the way back.
Thinking back, the man realizes with a smile that nobody will care about the weird fireplace outside the palace of flowers, not after that monster of a thunderstorm has hit.
Rain pours down like it never has before.
Aiguo wakes up to relative darkness. He has never seen rain pour down so aggressively before. And yet he can hear it, drumming against the roof of the palace of flowers and onto the gardens next to them. It keeps falling from the sky, showing no end. After days of intense heat, all the water has been soaked from the ground and is now thrown down upon them. Almost as if it were rain season.
But through the rain, he hears a faint whistling. It's not the same sound as the wind would howl, no it's something different. The whistling of a human being, slowly walking through the corridor outside his room. Aiguo sits up in his bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Who could be whistling so carelessly, so early in the morning? The sun hasn't risen yet, or at least Aiguo doesn't think it has. He can't see past the dark clouds outside his window. The whistling continues. Aiguo stands up from his bed and rushes to the door, not minding Constantine who is sleeping in a perfect position with his hands on his chest.
Aiguo opens the door and peeks outside. It's pitch black in the corridor, not a single candle lit. Rain pours down heavily, but in the hallway it's much more faint. There, to the left, Aiguo sees a figure walking calmly. He ducks back into his room before he can be seen. The person is whistling, but seems to quiet down as he gets closer to the other rooms. Whoever it is, must be a consort. And consorts shouldn't be out at night, not until the sun has risen. So whoever is walking down the hallway so confidently while breaking the rules must either be really stupid, or think very highly of themselves. Aiguo can think of one person.
Bolin.
That little-
He cuts himself off and breathes out. Keeping the door slightly open, Aiguo peeks through a small hole. He wants to understand what Bolin is doing out at night, all alone. It's bad enough that he was suspicious of him before, but now Bolin has really reached another level. Eventually the noble dressed in green robes with a smirk on his face passes by Aiguo's door. The other noble can smell two things. First of all, water. Bolin is drenched in rain. He must've been outside. Second of all, smoke.
It doesn't make any sense?
Even after Bolin has retreated to his room, Aiguo stays by the door thinking about what happened. What could he have possibly done to smell like smoke? Like fire? Is there something going on that Aiguo could never possible understand? Why Bolin felt the need to go outside in the middle of the night, despite the fact that it's forbidden, is beyond Aiguo's understanding. No matter how long he stands by the door he can't seem to figure it out.
"You're acting weird"
Aiguo jumps at the sound of someone else's voice, completely ripped away from his previous thoughts. He immediately turns around to face the man he knows is standing right above him. Constantine, looking like he has been awake for hours, stands as stoically as always. He is the only person Aiguo knows that could look proper while having just woken up. The only person who doesn't look cranky before having his breakfast, and the only person who doesn't look bad despite not having washed his face or gotten properly dressed. Aiguo blinks.
"What are you doing?"
Constantine demands. Aiguo opens his mouth to speak. Nothing comes out. It takes a whole five seconds for him to compose himself.
"Bolin, I saw him"
Constantine tilts his head in confusion.
"I saw Bolin walking down the corridor, he had just been outside and he smelled like smoke. He is definitely planning something, and I need to know what it is"
Aiguo rambles, voice no higher than a whisper. Constantine is quiet for awhile. Usually he would just brush him off, say that it's not that big of a deal. And it's not a big deal. Bolin hasn't done anything wrong. He might be suspicious, he might be planning something, but this far he hasn't done anything dangerous or offensive. Sure, he broke some rules but what proof does Aiguo have over him? It's Bolin's word against his.
"Let's not make any hasty decisions. Life is far more complicated than we think, and people do things for reasons we can't always understand"
Aiguo sighs. He knows that he is right. He knows that Bolin is up to something. But until anything happens nobody will believe him. Not even Constantine. In the middle of their silence, a sudden bolt of lightning shines from the outside. It's followed quite quickly by a loud thunder. Aiguo jumps again, not expecting it. The thunder echoes, probably waking up everyone from their sleep. Before thy can be caught awake, they close the door and go back to sleep.
Another round of thunder rumbles through the palace. Aiguo shuts his eyes closed.
Something is coming. He knows that something is coming.
Rain pours down upon them restlessly.
Fei feels her eyes droop, mind constantly shifting focus from one loose thing to another. It's odd. Being tired feels like drifting away from reality. It's exhausting to hold herself up at this point, every single part of her body feels exhausted. Like something is controlling her, pulling her down and trying to make her shut her eyes. Any other person would be familiar with the feeling of tiredness. But Fei is a goddess, she has a part of her power with her, and it prevents her from feeling such weaknesses.
The thing is, Fei hasn't meditated in a long while. During the first few weeks at the palace she was often alone, whether that was in her office or in her own room. It was easy to meditate and connect to her powers more often. But lately Andra and Thyra have been swarming around in her life very much, and she is constantly busy with someone. It give her no chance to mediate. Her powers feel further away. Not weakened and not gone, but just somewhat out of reach. She needs some peace and quiet, that's all. A moment to mediate, gather her powers and her thoughts into her simple human mind. But that opportunity hasn't laid itself in front of her in a long time, and so for the first time Minerva actually feels tired.
What's worse is the rain.
Water soaks her clothes from the inside and out. Fei is almost completely sure that she will get sick soon, just from the way her teeth are clattering together. It's not even cold, just wet. Everywhere, in her clothes and on her skin and in her hair and on her face. Everywhere they walk, water puddles up and mixes the sand to mud. The horses have a harder time traveling up the road, as the mud gets thicker and thicker. It's an unforgiving rain that pours down over them, blinding their sight forwards, creating a mist and drumming against their heads.
Thunder sometimes rumbles through the air as well. Fei startles awake every time. She falls asleep every now and then, head rolling from side to side, her horse barely noticing. But the thunder around them is always loud enough to wake her up. Fei is getting annoyed at this point. She can't sleep and she can't stay awake. Is this torture? Is this what humans feel all the time? Being in this constant state of discomfort, feeling both cold and wet and tired and snappy. Minerva doesn't like it. She doesn't remember her human life being like this either.
This far Fei has seen lightning twice. It's somewhere in front of them, lighting up the otherwise dark and gloomy atmosphere. The beautiful green fields are nowhere to be seen anymore. All Fei can see are dark clouds, rain, mist and muddy roads. She doesn't even know if they are heading in the right direction at this point. She is just following those in front of her, two women who happen to be called Andra and Thyra. They look way more proper than she does right now. Backs straight, eyes forwards, not talking. Everyone else seems to be holding back their yawns and fighting sleep, but not them. Of course not. They are inhuman, even more inhuman than Fei herself.
The goddess would lie if she said that she didn't feel a bit of jealousy. She would also like to have her self discipline and positive attitude back. She would also like to feel productive and hard working again, awake and comfortable again. But it seems like only Andra and Thyra are able to manipulate themselves to that level. Not even a goddess like herself can.
They have been traveling for five days now. They should be close enough soon. Enemies could be lurking in the bushes for all they know. Fei doesn't feel so good about that. She could use some rest before meeting any enemies with lethal weapons. Honestly she doesn't have the strength or the power to fight anyone right now, or think of any smart plans. She just wants to sleep. Everything seems so quiet around her, only the rain is heard. Nobody is awake enough to talk.
It seems like the world is against her.
"Ambush!
The cries of alarm come further ahead. The horses seem to stop, almost bumping into each other. Everyone wakes up from their sleepy states, looking around and yelling incoherently. Sounds of metal clinging against metal is heard from somewhere. People are shouting, some louder than others. Behind her they are just trying to figure out what is going on. It's hard to see anything because of the rain, and the constant thunder drowns out screams and orders. Thankfully their horses are trained, and don't grow restless. But they seem to step around nervously anyway. The sudden commotion is loud enough for Fei's ears to start ringing. She looks around, thinking about what to do.
"Get over there!"
She hears someone scream. People start to move, jumping off their horses to reach whatever commotion is happening further ahead. Others turn their horses off the road to ride there over the fields. Rain slams down from the sky, creating a surrounding that can only be described as gray and dark and cold. Fei's head turns from the left to the right at lightning speed. She tries to keep up with what everyone is doing, but it's too much for her tired mind. Her white horse steps around nervously, being pushed by the sides by other horses that are heading towards the commotion. Fei looks for Thyra and Andra.
Then it hits her.
She's a goddess! She's supposed to be the one protecting them! What if one of them end up dying?! Even the most trained warrior could fall victim to the edge of someone's sword in this weather. Rain pours down so hard it's difficult to see left from right, friend from enemy. God, what is up with her powers today? Why is she so weak? Does lightning make her weak? Is it the meditation after all? Even without meditation she shouldn't be feeling this dizzy... if she could only remember what the ancient scrolls said about her powers. What is causing this? It can't just be the meditation anymore.
People are moving faster than before. They are everywhere, running and yelling. Fei can hear horses neighing and hooves digging into the mud of the fields. Beautiful green fields, which edges will surely be ruined in the morning. She decides that she needs to get out of there, leave before it gets worse. The thought of saving Andra and Thyra from potential doom is laid aside, she wouldn't be able to do it in this state anyway. She wouldn't be able to find them in this weather. Someone grabs her arm as they are riding by, yelling something that Minerva can only try to understand.
"Get to safety miss Fei!"
Because they see her as a weak young noble lady. Fei would've felt offended. But for the first time in three hundred years she actually feels the same way as she looks. Feels the same way as she used to. Weak, lost and afraid. It's definitely not how she felt when leaving the palace a few days ago, or how she felt just yesterday. It's something else, something so sudden. It's the lightning. It's the f*cking lightning. Something about the electric charge is ruining her connections to the skies. Because of course! The realm of the untouchable is always out of reach when blocked by clouds of thunder. How could she have forgotten? All those times spent up there, watching the human realm fade away during bad weather, only for her to forget so easily?
Fei tugs at the saddle strings, pushing her horse to leave the busy road. With some difficulty they ride straight into the forest, rain pouring down and blocking their view. The screams and fighting are drowned out by the rain and thunder once they get far enough. Fei doesn't dare to go too far though, afraid to loose sight of the others. She steps down from her horse, feeling too weak to hold herself up anymore, and feeling bad for the animal who is already spooked enough. She sighs, dragging her hands through her drenched hair, trying to get rid of the exhaustion that looms behind her eyes. Trying to get a break from the constant water that falls down from the skies. Trying to block out the distant screams and rumbles of thunder in the background. Just trying to get her powers back.
The sound of a sword being drawn echoes through the forest. Fei feels her world stop. She opens her eyes and looks around, heart up in her throat and beating loudly. She can hear her horse step around restlessly, and possible faint footsteps coming closer. She can hear the fighting still going on in the background. But the rain blocks her view. No matter how hard she tries, Fei can't seem to see anyone coming her way. Her head snaps from the left to the right, desperately trying to find whoever is threatening her and stepping backwards while she's at it
Then, lightning strikes from the sky. It hits somewhere near, illuminating the forest with its bright light. It's just for a second, but that second gives Fei a clear view of her surroundings. A man with a raised sword steps closer. He is right in front of her. Fei feels terrified for her life for the first time since that night she died. All of the memories are coming back. She can envision herself dying all too clearly, just because it has happened before. She knows exactly how it will feel, what will happen, what she will loose.
"Get away from me!"
With the next strike of lightning, he swings his sword right at her.
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