I gasp awake, gulping in as much air as I can. Those memories were incredibly intense. They locked me in that disgusting basement? The Elders isolated me for seven years. Bile rushes up my throat as it all begins to sink in. How could they do that to me? To any child for that matter? The nausea I feel makes my skin crawl. Images of my time in the dungeon flashes behind my eyelids. Over and over.
The desk, the cot, the blankets. Yore teaching me to write, to read, to do math. I can't handle it. I bend over and begin to dry heave. Silent tears stream down my face at the bundles of horrible memories that I can now remember. I plant my face on the ground, taking deep breaths.
You look awful.
My head snaps up in surprise. But I suppose that's exactly what I wanted, isn't it? A grey form stands before me. I quickly stand up from my place on the ground and face Quikas. "What are you doing here?" my voice cracks. "What do you want?" Quikas circles me, surveying me from head to toe. I had thought you dead for days now. Until your mind broke and mended itself. I take my eyes off its form.
I see you've encountered the wizard. I raise my eyebrows, clearly not understanding. It takes a very powerful sorcerer to break a spell. Specifically, a curse. My mind flashes to the abandoned village the boys and I stayed at. The disembodied voice! I remember hearing him now. "I don't know what you're talking about," I lie.
Quikas bursts out laughing. You can't expect me to believe that! I look away from it and take in the scenery. I'm on an open field with dry grass that barely reaches my ankles. The humidity makes my hair stick to my neck. I walk forward to the overlooking cliff. My eyes widen at the thousands of statues that I've seen before. Aren't they gorgeous? My breath hitches in my throat. I love all my trophies. They keep me company.
I'm not surprised by the revelation. I already knew Quikas' curse that it inflicts on its victims. "Why are you here, Quikas?" I grit my teeth in anger. It doesn't say anything for a while, so I take advantage of the time and steady my anger, the fury I feel crawling up my neck. I want the sorcerer that helped you get this far, mortal. I turn to Quikas. "Why do you want this sorcerer?" I take a step towards it. "What will you do when you find him?" A light breeze flows over me, almost refreshing.
Let's just say that I have a few scores to settle with the man. This sorcerer helped me break the spell in my mind, why? I wonder what my memories hold that seems important enough to risk being found by Quikas. "Truth be told, Quikas, I never saw the man's face, nor did I confirm if he was actually there," I say. "Therefore, I cannot help you."
Quikas snarls and lunges at me in vain. It hits an invisible barrier that I built with my mind. "You forget, Quikas," I smirk, "you are in my mind. I control what happens in here, not you." It laughs manically. We will see how tough you truly are once we battle face to face, vermin! It spits at me in response. I walk closer to Quikas, almost touching it. "I look forward to it," I whisper. After a couple beats of my roaring heart, I forcefully push it out of my dream.
* * * * *
My eyes flutter open to reveal the bright stars in the sky. The night is so beautiful, no clouds crowd the open air. If I died right now, I would be content with my ending. I sigh in relief, my whole body relaxing. I never got to appreciate the night sky at home. I don't think I even stopped to look. Shame on me, then.
My younger self would've taken time to look, if she had remembered how badly she wanted to see the open sky. Even then, however, she would've felt just as trapped. Quikas was keeping us prisoner back then too. Maybe it was a blessing that I was forced to forget. I think I would've lost my mind if I was left with my memories. I guess the 'what ifs' don't matter anymore. I'm still here, aren't I?
Hold on. I use my elbows and raise myself up slightly. The Elders have been keeping secrets from the people for centuries. What was it that Chiara said? Something about their Elders giving them power? That means that this has been an ongoing secret. Although, I'm not entirely sure how I wound up in that room. Or why.
Elder Yore did keep his promise, to a certain extent. The year after they let me go, the Elders called upon the next generation to train because of special circumstances that the village people were not allowed to know. So, he stopped coming around as much, but when Jayda became a part of my life, he pretty much left me on my own for months at a time.
It still doesn't add up, though. Arathmus must've also been down there-which could explain how she knew who I was. However, the big question is: why was a four-year-old child locked in a basement with an otherworldly being? Was my mother down there as well? Is that why I was isolated for so long? No, that doesn't make sense.
If that was truly the case, the Elders wouldn't have gone so much trouble in teaching me and keeping me entertained. My mother would've been with me. Not to mention, how Chiara was on edge around me. It reminds me of the day I left Stormhold. Her heated discussion with Mikel and the distrust among the Elders. In my new memories, they argued but they respected each other. I wonder what changed it or who.
And the eyes! The so called 'all seeing eye'. I felt that same feeling when I went to visit Arathmus. There's a low chance that it could've been her, but it has always looked at me from behind. How does this all tie together, sorcerer? What exactly do you want me to look for? All these memories are jumbled and inconsistent.
My sparing with Rhydian spiked a muscle memory which was associated with an actual memory. A memory of me sparing with a man called Lancelot du Lac who was an old Knight of the Round Table. Then, a memory with another girl resurfaced where I refused to kneel before a new king. It doesn't connect. I was older than I am now, so having this memory is impossible. In addition to that, I have never seen those people in my entire life.
The answers to my questions aren't coming as fast as I would like. I groan, exhausted at the millions of thoughts flying through my brain. "Val?" Draxum touches my shoulder. "Hey," I push myself up. He eyes me up and down warily. I don't think I've ever seen him hesitate to come near me before.
"Draxum?" I inspect his face and body language. His dark eyes are darting back forth anxiously, while he keeps his distance and stands rigidly. "What's going on, kid?" I try to get up, to be able to get closer to him, but my legs give out before I could put my weight on them. "Look," he quickly kneels in front of me, "I don't have a lot of time, but I wanted to see how you were doing." It's my turn to eye him warily.
That's when I notice that there are certain things about Draxum that slightly off. His eyes are almost completely black, and he's no longer wearing his armor. Draxum changed into an old, stained white dress shirt. It's torn and hanging loosely on him. His trousers are the color of dirt that are slightly too long for him.
I look around the dragon's den. There's no gold, no dragons, and no Rhydian. It's empty. "You aren't Draxum," I state. Draxum's look-a-like doesn't answer. He just keeps his eyes moving, surveying our surroundings for any eavesdroppers. "How's your head? Were you able to remember anything?" I clear my throat-which makes him look at me for the first time.
Something about me makes his eyes flicker in recognition. "I was able to remember a few memories from my childhood," I answer, "but I also had a few bizarre ones." He makes a gesture, willing me to continue. "The first one was about a sparing lesson with a man named du Lac; and the second one was about a celebration. The crowning of a new king."
He nods his head, clearly satisfied with my answers. "Good, good." He admires the night sky above us, while I squint at this clone of my friend. "It is quite interesting how your subconscious chose this view for our meeting." I look up at the sky with him. "Is it a coincidence? Or is it possible that there's more to it than just magic?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you mean."
He chuckles at my confusion. "Yes, I guess you don't understand yet," he stands, "but one day you will. Say hello to the Pendragons for me, Valencia." At that moment, the stars began to rain from the sky. One after the other, they fell to ground, causing fire to erupt around us. "Wait!" I clumsily stand on my trembling legs. "Who are you? How will they know it's from you?"
Stardust engulfs the den, surrounding us in different cyclones. Gold and silver flood my eyesight as the scent of magic fills my nose. Metallic, just like Pendragon described. "Tell them," he yells above the commotion. The wind roars in my ears, as my hair flaps chaotically. "Tell them that Merlin the Great Wizard sends his regards!"
I awake once more with a gasp, sweat covering my whole body. The den is alight with fire and the night sky above me is cloudy and grey, the opposite of my dream. The air smells of rain and humidity, and a tang of moist dirt. I hear the voices of Draxum, asking question after question, unmasking his curiosity. The dragons are all patiently answering his questions clearly enjoying his childlike demeanor. I'm sure they haven't met a boy like him before.
I carefully push myself up. A gold threaded blanket covers half my body. It's soft and cool to the touch. I don't feel as weighted down as I did in my dream. My body isn't as tired as my mind. "She's awake!" My eyes meet Rhydian's as he scoots closer to me. "Val!" Draxum runs from his place with the dragons and lunges me into a hug. "I'm alright, kid," I laugh.
"Before anyone else asks me anymore questions," I pull away from him, "I have a message for the dragons." Pendragon nods once, asking me to continue. For some reason, I hesitate. A bad feeling settles in my stomach as if chaos will erupt as soon as I utter the words. Like a sense that I've been in this situation once before. "I was told to send regards on behalf of.." I take a deep breath, "Merlin the Great Wizard."
A stunned silence settles in the den. Pendragon's face is unreadable while the others look over at her in shock or surprise, I cannot tell. I open my mouth to say something else as an incredibly terrifying roar erupts from Pendragon. I cover my ears as the world before us crashes down in a heap the same chaos that I predicted.