The room started spinning. Literally. Elysia was reaching for anything to hang on to as the floor became the ceiling, then the walls became the floor. It was dizzying and she felt out of control. Her stomach was churning as the room was turning.
And then it was over. She was back to the Tree, back to Shade. She opened her eyes and the light immediately blinded her. Then she ran to a corner, afraid she was going to be sick. She leaned over but nothing came out.
Jakoba was back, a glass of water in his outstretched hand. Elysia accepted it gratefully, nodding her thanks. After a minute her stomach settled and the pounding in her head faded to a dull roar.
"How was the journey?" Jakoba asked hesitantly, as if he could tell she had seen a great deal. "The first time is always overwhelming. After a while you grow accustomed to the time shifts."
"As interesting as that was, I'm not sure I would willingly do that again." She was struggling to settle her heart rate.
"What did you see?" Shade asked. He stood close to her and his presence helped. She leaned into him for support. Her legs were trembling.
"I was in the ocean, on a ship. I watched the first settlers of my kingdom. Then I saw the first dragon bond. And then...I think I saw my grandfather." King Nicholas. She didn't dare say his name, she still wasn't sure she should expose her identity as the Princess.
"Anything else?" Jakoba probed.
She shook her head. "Not much. Witnessed my own birth. That was...different." She didn't want to mention what Prophecy said about her. That she would either be the triumph or ruin of her kingdom. "Whose memories were those?" They had to be from someone in her family, right?
"They were probably from several people. If you witnessed your own birth, those last few memories would probably be from one of your parents."
The more she thought about it, the more she knew it had been her father's memories. After all, only he would have known about his private conversation with Prophecy.
"Did you learn anything?" Jakoba asked.
"I learned more about my family history." She hesitated. "I also learned something about myself. Something I might do."
Jakoba looked at her knowingly. "It is best not to dwell on the past too much. You can choose to learn from the past and expand upon previous ideas. But you must never dwell on it."
"What about the future?" After all, she wasn't concerned about the past. Only what had been predicted about her.
"Each day has enough trouble of its own. You may worry about the future when you come to it. Until then, live for today."
She let his words resonate. "Thank you for allowing me to experience the Great Memory Tree. I'm very honored."
Jakoba bowed respectfully and Elysia followed suit. "You are most welcome. I know the first time is difficult. It truly does get easier with time. Eventually you learn to gain control of the shifts and can even filter through some of the memories. With practice you can even search for specific times and places."
"That's wonderful. I'm so glad your people have the ability to do that and use the Tree for good."
"Yes, it is a dying art. However, we still get some interest from nearby kingdoms. Once and a while we are honored with some royal visitors. There are some rulers who understand the importance of maintaining records of their history and of reliving some past scenes to better understand how to plan ahead."
The Princess wondered if her father was one of those people. She wouldn't be surprised. King Alan was very keen on documenting important data and information, keeping record of things in the library.
Shade shifted his stance. "We should start heading back. Thank you for your hospitality."
"Of course," Jakoba bowed to Shade. "I trust you have the vial?"
Shade nodded. "Yes, thank you."
"In the future always remember to ask before taking."
She could feel Shade grimacing and she turned her head to choke back laughter. It was entertaining watching Shade get scolded by an old monk.
They said their goodbyes and thank you's to as many people as they could before being escorted out by a pair of young men. Elysia's heart rate increased drastically as they neared the caves. Knowing the difficulty ahead of her only made matters worse. Ignorance was bliss in this situation. Had she known how dangerous--how mentally and emotionally challenging the caves would have been--she would never have climbed down that rope to begin with. In fact, she would have happily let Shade make the journey himself and stayed safely behind at the castle.
Instead she was guided back into her newest nightmare. Shade snuck in front of her. She was grateful he would be leading. After all, there were so many random drop offs in the caves, so many treacherous areas she wouldn't mind going last.
When they neared the area they had entered the kingdom from, instead of going into that entrance, their guides steered them to the right. They unlocked a door and motioned for the two of them to go in.
Shade stopped walking. "This isn't where we came from. What is this?"
Elysia stayed close behind her guardian. On impulse her right hand grabbed his cloak and she squeezed the fabric. Something wasn't right.
"We won't be going out that way," One of them said ominously.
With a discreet hand, Shade gently pushed her back, as if to protect her from whatever was coming next. She looked to Shade's left hand and noticed it was slowly inching towards the knife in his belt.
"Where are you taking us?" Shade repeated.
The man held up a hand. "Relax. This way is faster and much safer."
Elysia frowned. There was only one entrance to Sagrada and they had taken it before.
"What are you talking about?" The knife was in Shade's hand, ready if necessary. The two men were oblivious. Their lives could be ended in a heartbeat if Shade wanted it.
"I'm talking about the other path out of and into Sagrada. You don't think we take that dangerous route every time we need to get supplies or travel do you? That would be awful."
The other man agreed. "Yes we made a separate path, one that only members of our tribe know about. It's a clan secret so," he held out a black cloth, "we have to blindfold you."
"Absolutely not," Shade declared, but he sheathed the knife. Elysia allowed herself to relax.
She pushed her way forward, past Shade. "If putting on a blindfold means I don't have to go back through those caves then by all means, blindfold me." Shade grabbed her arm and she practically growled at him. "Do not put me through unnecessary trauma Shade."
He was silent. Then he snatched the cloth from the guide and spun Elysia around until her back was to him and he was tying the blindfold around her. She thought he could have tied it a little looser, it seemed as though he had spitefully tied it too tight. He wasn't happy about the situation. Elysia was almost positive he would find a way to manipulate his own blindfold so he could see his surroundings. He wasn't one to be trifled with.
Once they were both blindfolded, the men guided them through a narrow, damp cave. After a few minutes they came to a stop and she heard the sound of a key unlocking a large door. Then came the sound of leaves, as if they were pushing past branches of a tree.
It must have been a hidden entrance, a hidden door. But even if someone were to discover the door, it could only be unlocked with a key.
They made a few turns and then Elysia could hear the sound of gushing water. The roar grew loader until Elysia could feel the mist of a waterfall.
"You might want to hold your breath for just a moment," one of the guides suggested. Elysia ducked her head as they walked under the waterfall. The force was like a rough massage on the back of her head and neck as she moved quickly past it. "Just about there."
The Princess wasn't sure how much time had passed but her feet were getting tired. Eventually the guides brought them to a stop. "In a minute we will allow you to take your blindfolds off. The way we took you must remain secret. Please do not try to retrace your steps. Your efforts would be futile anyway, for you do not have the key to get in. We wish you luck in your endeavors. You may remove your blindfolds in 30 seconds."
Shade made a noise that sounded like a snort. Elysia glared at him through her blindfold. She liked to imagine her gaze was piercing enough that he could tell she was warning him. She obeyed their request and after 30 seconds removed her blindfold. Shade was staring at her, his face bored. She looked around but saw no sight of her guides.
Shade cocked his head to the left. "They're behind that tree up the hill."
"Shade--"
"What? If they wanted to be sneaky they shouldn't stomp when they run. I can also tell you exactly how to get back."
"Good for you," she didn't have time for his cynicism. She started walking. He didn't follow.
"You're going the wrong way. Mukawa is due west."
Struggling to maintain her composure, she switched directions.
"Why are you so upset?"
"Maybe because while we risked our lives to get to the Holy Land we could have taken a secret side door and been there in a matter of minutes? For someone who spent weeks navigating those caves, capable of traveling in complete darkness, you would think you would have discovered there was another way!"
"I'm sorry, did I not get us there? Did we not succeed in our mission?" Only Shade could be capable of yelling quietly. His voice was low and sharp.
"Only because by some miracle we didn't die first! And then rather than kill a bunch of people to burn a century worth of sacred memories, you could have just asked them for the ash!" She was shouting now. "You never think about other people Shade, you only care about doing what it takes to get the job done. No matter who you hurt or kill in the process. All those people you murdered when you went the first time. For nothing."
"It wasn't for nothing. I succeeded didn't I? And we got what we wanted this time too. Had I not burnt the tree the first time they wouldn't have learned to keep vials of ash for people like us today, would they? No, they would have fought to protect their tree. They learned from the past, just like they said."
"So it doesn't bother you that you killed all those people that first time? Has killing someone ever bothered you?" She thought back to the men in the forest he had killed, the men that had attacked them. She thought about how terrified she had been in the caves, how panic had consumed her. All of that had been for nothing. The trauma she experienced was meaningless. Anger grew within her and without even thinking she swung her arm, aiming for Shade's head.
He blocked her easily and she swung her other fist. He grabbed both of her wrists and she struggled against him. He pulled her close and his grip on her wrists tightened, cutting off her circulation. She grimaced from the pain.
"I do what I have to do Princess," his teeth were set, his voice cutting through her. "Do you think I really enjoy killing people? Do you think it's never bothered me, that I've never given anyone a second thought? Believe what you like, but don't ever try to hit me again."
He released her and then walked on, leaving her behind. She rubbed her wrists. They were red, the outline of his fingers still there. "Admit you're embarrassed! Ashamed that there was another way!"
He said nothing, just kept walking. She thought about how things would have been different for Shade that first time if he had simply told them what his quest was. They seemed like an accepting group of people. Surely they would have come to an agreement? Shade could have easily and peaceably attained the ash and been guided out through the easier path.
Then again, the tree was sacred to them. The idea of simply cutting off any one of the branches and burning it along with its memories was probably not something they would have agreed to. In fact, Elysia wasn't so sure they would have done it for them this time had there not been plenty of ash bottled up from before. Had Shade not done what he did all those years ago, yesterday could have gone a lot differently. She might have had to flee out the caves through the dangerous route rather than be escorted peacefully out the safe way.
The more she thought about it and the more they walked, the more the Princess calmed down. She was beginning to realize she might have overreacted. While she did not agree with Shade's tactics, she had to admit they were effective. He had kept her safe thus far.
After an hour of walking, Shade allowed her a brief rest period. She took a seat on a fallen tree and caught her breath. She eyed her guardian warily, looking for any signs of remorse or mercy. She needed an opening, a window of opportunity to sneak an apology in. They couldn't carry on like this, both of them upset and neither of them willing to wave the white flag.
Although her pride was strong, she knew she needed to be on good terms with her guardian. After all, she still wanted to learn knife combat and there was no one more qualified than him to teach.
She cleared her throat. He turned. "Yes?"
Her first instinct was to glare at him. Instead she softened her gaze and kept her voice soft. "I'm not saying you weren't wrong, but I wasn't completely right. What you did years ago is none of my business and, quite frankly, had you not done what you did then, we probably wouldn't have the ash now."
"That doesn't quite sound like an apology."
"I never said I was apologizing."
"Then what are you trying to do?"
He was so infuriating sometimes. She stood up. "I'm trying to avoid a very long and tense journey home. I don't need this anger between us. Let's just...just forget about it."
"I don't hold grudges, Princess. We're fine."
Despite herself she smiled. She hadn't thought he would cave so easily. He had seemed so upset. Maybe it was the cloak, it was so hard to see his expressions with his hood up all the time.
He began walking again and she caught up to him happily. "Does this mean you'll still teach me how to throw knives?"
"Seriously? That's why you apologized?"
"I didn't apologize! I declared a truce. There's a difference."
"Have you always been this stubborn?" He waited for her to argue against the statement, to fall into his trap. He smiled when she caught herself. "Fine, I'll teach you."
She squealed happily and danced around before she fell back in step with him, locking her elbow with his.
He brushed her off. "Don't touch me."