We stood in front of a mandala carved into the ground. It had intricate workings, colorful variations of curves and points, all spiraling out from the center point. At points, it looked like tree roots. Other portions had very specific and precise geometry.
Deacon stood on a stage at one of the points. Beside him was a bow and arrow, and beside that, there was a torch burning in a holster. At the other end of the mandala, there was a pile of wood that was large and dry.
It was clearly my time to shine.
A small band stood on the stage, holding instruments of various shapes and sizes.
"Let us commence the waltz. Everyone, take your places," He instructed, and several people came to stand around the circle. Some of them I recognized, some, I didn't. My brother and Therese were directly opposite to me and Clyde.
Clyde took a few steps in, guiding me along the way. I took a shaky breath, and I stood in front of him. I raised my head high and put my elbow out at an angle, remembering the proper stance that we had been taught in class.
"Aaand, begin!" Deacon announced, giving a bow to the band. The music began, and Bethany took a few steps by herself at the edge of the circle. He hopped off the stage, and effortlessly joined in, replacing the ghost she had been dancing with just moments before.
I barely even noticed that Clyde and I were moving, but we were. He stepped back, leading me to step forward. My eyes fell to the ground as I struggled to follow his steps, wanting to appear graceful.
What sort of hope would these people have if they thought that their savior was too clumsy to waltz?
We began to rotate, and Clyde squeezed my elbow. My eyes snapped back up.
"Just relax." He iterated, looking deep into my eyes. I felt a cosmic flood of relaxation shower down upon me, like the best anxiety medicine that money could buy. I found myself moving with him, and felt an odd pressure between my shoulder blades. "We have some help for this part."
He looked different. Was glowing, just a little bit, around the edges. It was a silver kind of glow, and I glanced down. I found that I was glowing, too. Gold around the edges, like a chocolate coin wrapped in a golden wrapper.
The crowd oo'd and ahh'd, accepting the natural display of the cosmic divine. I wondered whether or not they had ever seen this in action before, or if it was the first time.
I was working with something, with someone. There was a second presence in my brain, guiding me and Clyde. I could feel the power of the Goddess flowing through me, I could sense the cosmic humm that powered all of this in every step of the dance.
We rounded towards the fire pit, Clyde's hands on my hips and the fire in our hearts illuminating the ring. He spun me out, and I ducked under his arm on instinct, causing my dress to flare out dramatically.
I glanced over towards my brother to see that at some point, Therese had been switched out for Velma, and the two of them were now dancing.
We rounded the three-quarter point, and I prayed that this feeling wouldn't go away. It felt like there was a second presence in my head. Something vast and all-knowing, something beautiful. I had never felt more reassured.
As we came to a stop at the top of the ring, the music stopped, in the middle of its swell. My chest was rising and falling in large pulls, but I didn't feel like I was out of breath. On the contrary, I had seldom felt more alive.
"Now, it's time for the ceremonial lighting! It will begin our journey into the woods, it will begin the final fight against the Deerman." Deacon announced.
There were cheers all around.
I released Clyde's hand and stepped up onto the stage, nodding at Deacon. He picked up the bow off of the decorative stand, and passed it to me. I grabbed the end, pulling it into position. I could still feel the glow throughout my limbs.
I aimed towards the woodpile. My head gave a soft nod and Deacon grabbed the torch, bringing it up to light the arrow's flame.
I focussed intently on the pile. My eyes were lasered-in, as the people around it took a few steps back. Without my permission, my shoulder shifted, ever so slightly, to the left.
I released the bow, and it pierced through the night.
It hit where it shouldn't have.
But it hit where it should have, too.
The woods were suddenly illuminated with a deep red light as the Deerman came into our sights. He was tall and gangly, still made of the same shadows he had been made of from the beginning.
A voice that was both mine and not my own echoed out, "You tried to cheat. And you will pay the price now."
Suddenly, the presence left me. I watched as the scene erupted into chaos, the people nearest to the Deerman practically tripping over themselves to get away. He was leaking a black sludge from the wound, and it sizzled as it made contact with the ground beneath it.
Deacon was suddenly at my shoulder, encouraging me to come. "She warned us this might happen!"
"Wait," I said, fighting against his hold. I ran down the steps in the center, knowing that it was more dangerous to throw myself into the thick of the crowd. But I also knew that Clyde would not leave without me. I could spare the few moments to get him.
I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along, fighting against the sea of people.
I looked back to make sure he was still following, and my eyes couldn't help but flicker back to our enemy.
The Deerman was slinking back between the bushes, but he was taking the green of the forest with him as he retreated. There was nothing we could do to stop the death.
I turned back around, focussing on getting my soulmate to safety.
"Thank God," Deacon exclaimed, as I caught up with him. "You gave me a heart attack. Is Clyde alright?"
"You're such a badass," Clyde blurted out, his eyes wide and his face stretched into a goofy grin. It was severely inappropriate for the seriousness of the situation, but I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. I was purring inside.
"He'll be fine." I told Deacon, confident that we would be able to get to safety.
"Well, follow me," He said, "It looks like we're going to get on the boats a little bit faster than we thought we were going to."
"Boats?" I questioned. He veered off towards the right, heading not-quite in the Deerman's direction, but close enough that it sent a ripple of shock through me.
"You have your weapons, right?" He shouted back.
"Always." Clyde responded. I still had my bow clenched in my right hand, the smooth wood a comfort in this uncertainty.
"I have a change of clothes all ready for you, kid." Deacon informed me. We cut through the trees, and suddenly, we were on the path leading towards the little gazebo, towards the lake that Clyde and I had met at.
We emerged on the other side, and I looked up towards the moon.
The moon, which was the same silver that Clyde had glowed with.
Without the orange cover of the shield.
"The dome had to slowly open once you and Clyde met here," Deacon elaborated, "It was part of the prophecy. But the Deerman wasn't supposed to attack like that. He was supposed to wait to start the games until we were already through the place where the shield used to be, and leave Laurabelle Falls untouched."
Several boats lined the waterfront in front of us, each one full of a few bags of supplies. I was ushered towards where Torrent and Sam stood, off to the left and still on the sandy shores of the beach.
"Clyde, you are to climb in that boat and wait there while she changes," Deacon growled, protectively. "Neither one of you are old enough."
Torrent held up the sheet, and Sam passed me a bag. As soon as I took the bag, Sam grabbed the other end of the sheet, creating a barrier. I almost laughed. We were about to embark on a quest against the most evil being in the entire world, and dad was worried about my modesty.
Still, I felt cared for.
I quickly grabbed the clothes that were inside the bag, practically tearing my dress off of my body. I almost pulled a muscle trying to get the zipper to come down, but managed to scarcely avoid it.
I threw on the provided clothes, heavy denim and leather. It was form-fitting, and I could tell it would be hot in comparison to the clothing I had been wearing. But I could also tell it was thick enough to protect me from some close-range weapons.
Sam and Torrent dropped the sheet that was protecting me, and I walked over it. They had already changed out of their festival-wear, and were decked out in the same leather armor that I was wearing.
"We're ready over here," Sam shouted.
Bethany and Madeline were already loaded into the boats, with one of the floating lanterns attached to the front. Maddie brought her hands to her mouth and breathed a quick spell, magic flowing from her fingertips as she blessed the lamp.
I took a few steps towards the boat, instinctively heading towards Deacon and Clyde. I wanted to be where my soulmate was.
If the safety of the Falls was endangered because we were going to be together, by all rights, we were going to be together.
"Wait!" Noah's voice came from behind me. I turned, facing him for a moment as he jogged towards me. He panted, coming to a stop just a few feet away.
He opened up the side of his jacket, pulling out of it a small cage. It looked like a bird cage, but inside was no bird.
"Here you go." He said, breathlessly. "I saw you eyeing it at the market, and I thought that you might want to have her with you on the journey."
She gave a happy squawk. My little baby dragon.
"I don't know what to say," I gushed, reaching out and grabbing the cage. There would be no this is too generous; I would not pretend for even a moment that I wasn't going to take her. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Noah said. He clapped a hand on my shoulder, and sat up a little straighter. He hadn't quite caught his breath yet, but was fighting through it. "I know you don't need a dad anymore. But I know we were like that in the matrix. I want you to know that I still care."
Tears sprang to my eyes. A million words were on my tongue, but I only had time to say three.
"I love you." I got out, leaning forward and enveloping him in a tight hug. He squeezed me back, and I had to turn away. If I looked at him for too long, the temptation to ask him to come would be too great.
But he had the Falls to look after.
"C'mon, baby," Deacon shouted from the ship. I walked towards it, the few steps it took feeling like a block. A million fears were running through my head; primarily, that the Deerman was going to find us before we had even made any progress.
"Be safe!" Noah shouted.
"I will!" I shouted back, as I stepped into the ship. My legs wobbled as the bottom of the boat bobbed, and Clyde offered me his hand. I graciously accepted, steadying myself.
Deacon maneuvered his way towards the back of the boat, and pressed the oar against the shore. With a short shove, our boat took off.
We fell into line behind Torrent and Sam, with Maddie and Bethany leading from the front. Our boats, once undocked, seemed to power themselves, gliding across the water and towards the channel that fed the lake.
I turned around for one last glance towards the land, towards my home of the last week. Towards the home I had had my entire life, but never known.
I gave one last, long look towards Laurabelle Falls.