We arrive in a crowd of people, and I collapse, utterly exhausted. I can hear shouting, and feel myself lifted and placed somewhere soft before I pass out.
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}
When I wake, finally feeling like I can move without killing myself; I'm in the dirt room I had inhabited before I went to the castle, everything is still the same. Even the iron tub sits, pulled out in front of the fire and awaiting use.
Len sits at the end of the bed, twiddling his thumbs and looking worried. As I begin to sit up, he looks back; rushing to help me. My muscles ache, but other than that, I feel fine.
"We made it." I say, looking around me. "I wasn't sure we'd make it."
Len smiles weakly. "We almost didn't, but you pulled through. Got us right into the middle of the soldiers having dinner actually. I landed with my foot in a bowl of mashed potatoes." I laugh, my voice coming out raspy.
"What about Baldur?" I say, swinging my feet to the side of the bed and ignoring Len's look of disapproval.
"You should really rest a bit longer."
"And get cut out of the good stuff? I'm the one who brought us here. I don't plan on being forced to rest while you all make plans." I roll my eyes. "Where's Baldur?" I ask again.
Len sighs, but doesn't argue further on the subject. "In one of the meeting rooms, him, Fira and Kendi are discussing what to do next. Apparently there's a wedding tonight."
I frown. "Guess I missed the Princess ball then. I was kind of looking forwards to crashing that. They sure move fast around here. Guess I'll have to settle for the wedding instead; do you know who the bride is?"I look up at Len, and he bites his lip.
"We don't know yet, but I'm sure we'll find out soon." I narrow my eyes, but let it pass; holding out an arm.
"Help me to this meeting room then. I want to be there to make decisions; maybe they know something."
Len shrugs, masking the nerves that he'd shown earlier, and takes my hand; helping me to my feet. Together, we stumble into the hall, and from there, through the entire complex of halls until we get to a door. By then, I can walk normally, but I let Len push through the doors; still leaning on his shoulder.
The three people inside turn to face the door when we enter, and I stand normally, my cheeks turning slightly red. "I'm back." I say, smiling weakly.
"Good. Just the person we need." Says Fira sarcastically. Kendi rolls her eyes at the comment, giving me a smile.
"Good to have you back."
"What're we talking about?" I walk into the room Len standing by my shoulder and lending a comforting presence.
"Fira feels like we should announce ourselves and launch a full scale attack right away, as reckless as we can get." Says Kendi. "I think we should send a small team in to infiltrate the castle, and save Leila like that, taking out the Royal family if we get the chance. We were trying to get Baldur to pick a side when you came in."
"Which is precisely what I was waiting for." Says Baldur with a smile. "Welcome back to the land of the living, my friend."
"Nice to see you too." I say to Baldur. "As for the attack," I look around, noting the annoyed look on Fira's face. "why don't we do both?" I ask, looking around exasperatedly. "If we launch a few smaller attacks around the castle to distract them, then we can send a smaller team in at the same time to do just like you said. It's simple."
Kendi smiled; "That's exactly what we needed to hear. Everyone's much happier with this plan." She turned, glaring at Fira. "Right?"
Fira looked to be on the verge of baring her teeth at Kendi and launching herself across the table; but she managed to keep her temper in line. "Sure." She ground out; then shook her head. Knowing it was pointless to argue with Kendi. "I'll go get a group to go in then." Says Fira, heading towards the door.
"I'll go too." I say, about to head after her when a hand catches my arm. I turn back; looking a very serious Len in the eye.
"No." He says, "You will stay here, and get your strength up." He looked back to Kendi and Baldur, silently asking for support.
Baldur nodded. "Kendi and I will each take groups to do the fake attacks. Len and you will stay here, and defend the base."
"That's not right! I need to be out there!" I argue, looking to Kendi; hoping to find an ally. I have to go out there, I need to help. This is my war too. "I can't just sit here, I need to help." But Kendi only looks at the ground, slowly nodding.
"They do have a point Asra. If Cynthia gets close enough, she can order you to turn on us all." She looks up, refusing to flinch away from my harsh glare. "Besides, you just brought all of our troops over thousands of miles in the span of seconds each. You need more than a few hours of rest."
I look around the room, refusing to believe that they're keeping me here. "But Cynthia's not even going to be there! Why would she be a problem?" It's not fair, they need all of us out there. I glance at Baldur's face, which is cast in shadow. He should know it best of all, being a time traveler and whatnot.
He stays looking at the ground, refusing to look at my face; nobody even volunteers a response to my words. I frown. "Fine then." I turn, hurrying out of the room as fast as I can; letting myself wander rather than watch where I'm going. I seethe with unhappiness, because despite myself; a small part of myself is relieved that I'm not going. Relieved that I don't have to go out there and risk my life.
And I hate that small part.
All around me are soldiers suiting up, hooking swords to their belts and strapping armor to each other; preparing for a battle that I have a right to take part in. Leila's my sister after all. I grit my teeth, walking faster.
When I look up again, I'm surprised to find myself in the stables, surrounded by agitated horses being suited for the battle as well. All except for a few are going to take their riders into a decoy battle, one they might not make it out of. I go deeper into the stables, soothing the horses as best I can, considering my history with the animals.
In the end, I stop in front of Wiccet, who watches me with sad eyes. He reaches out again, and this time I let him speak; stroking his soft forehead.
You've been avoiding me.
Not avoiding. Just unconscious.
So why come to see my now then? His eyes look up at me, the big pools of brown making me spill the truth.
They won't let me go help rescue Leila. I look down at the ground, dropping my hands and clenching my fists. It's not fair. I want to help.
Baldur gave the order didn't he?
Yes, bu-
He has your best intentions at heart. Don't pass off his judgement so easily. You need to listen to him; he's got wisdom beyond you, and even me. If he says you must stay for the first attack; then you stay.
But why?
Did I ever tell you how I got captured?
I blink, shocked at the sudden change in conversation. No, what does that have to do with this though?
I wanted so bad to find you. He says, completely ignoring my question. I could tell you were in that house, the one on the hill. The entire town seemed normal enough, but there wasn't a single magical creature there; I found it strange that the only source of magic was coming from that house.
I spent my night in the woods, staking out the area and looking for a weakness. At the time, I hadn't seen Baldur in years. He trained me as a child, back when he was still a young man; he came out of the woods, out of breath. Begged me not to go into the house. He said that I wouldn't make it out if I did.
I didn't listen. I brushed off his warning, and went on with my plan.
I went in, and saw nothing. It was empty, deserted. That's when things began to go wrong. I could feel your signature, but I couldn't see you anywhere. Wiccet looked down, his hoof dragging in the dirt on the bottom of his stall.
They came out of nowhere, decorated in black and red armor, and held me down while a woman came from the shadows; I could see her feet, but not her face, and she wore red women's riding boots.
They held me down and searched me, coming up with my lamp. She knew who I was immediately, making her first wish before I could do anything. I remember thinking it was a very strange wish; something about going into the lamp, and staying there unless commanded otherwise; but after that, I never saw who had me; and I never saw the woman again.
She began whatever she was doing immediately. From inside the lamp, my power was pulled, pushed, and taken from me; going who knows where. Taken by something outside that I couldn't fight. Eventually, I lost too much at once, and I couldn't go on anymore. I passed out, and when I woke up, you were there, giving me magic of your own. I couldn't talk to you, but it made my heart soar just to see you; you know how it went from there.
What does this have to do with anything? I ask, It's terrible, sure, but what does this have to do with right now? I look down at the floor, Whoever took over that woman's job has Leila now. It may even be her son, or apprentice. They're probably doing to her; exactly what she did to you.
The point is, Baldur knew what would happen if I went in there, and he went anyways. He was forced into quite a few decisions because of my actions, forced into living a life that he could have abandoned and left us on our own. Instead he stayed to help.
What are you talking about? I ask, confusion flooding my mind.
Wiccet looks up at me again; his sad eyes showing me exactly what he meant. You'll have to ask him yourself. But for now, remember he has your best interest's at heart.
He draws away, escaping my mind and leaving me to think. Wiccet turns and begins to chew on the feed box in the corner; effectively telling me to get lost. I sigh, and leave to find Baldur.
Because if I want answers, he's apparently the one I need to ask.
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}
My footsteps are silent in the nearly deserted halls. Everyone's gone off to fight, and here I am, stuck with a babysitter to make sure I don't run off.
I glare at Len out of the corner of my eye; why he agreed to this is beyond me. He knows how important this was to me. He looks away from my grumpy gaze, and I take the chance, darting down a hall abruptly, leaving him behind to chase after me.
My legs are still weak, but they hold as I charge down the halls, taking every corner I can see and ignoring Len's shouts to slow down. Every step I take saps at my energy just a little bit more, but the attack teams have already been out there for hours, I don't want to waste another second blindly wandering the halls with Len.
Eventually, the shouts and footsteps behind me die down, and I slow; leaning on the wall and catching my breath. Even with all that training I never really was able to improve my running endurance. I straighten up after a second, heading down the hall by myself; wary of any other sounds I hear.
Then I see it, things begin to look more familiar, and I speed up again; looking around eagerly. It's the same tunnel that took me and Len out of the base last time, the one that leads to the house. Up ahead, I can see the trapdoor; bits of light shining through the edges. I reach up, straining to push it away, then see the grayish outline inches from my hand.
I grit my teeth, stopping inches from the door. "What? It isn't enough that I was stuck here for most of the fighting, but you're going to stop me inches from being able to go and help now? I can heal the injured Baldur. I can help."
"We both know that you weren't trying to outrun Len just to go and work with the medics." Says Baldur's voice behind me, and I turn to see him standing patiently behind me, leaning heavily on his staff. "For the record though, I didn't come to stop you, only to convince you that you can't leave just yet; it's for the best."
"How do you plan on doing that?" I narrow my eyes, still itching to push the trapdoor open, to leave him and his cryptic words behind. "You've been training me to fight all month, I want to fight; to use the skills you gave me to help people."
"I trained you to protect yourself." Says Baldur, his voice tired. "Besides, you can't leave until you know the truth." I bite my lip, hesitating. Despite myself; the word 'truth' is sparking my interest.
"What truth?"
"The truth about me, and the history I share with your Father." I put my arm down, giving my full attention to him. Baldur nods, then continues speaking, knowing I won't interrupt him now.
"When your Father was younger, I was his friend; his teacher. We did everything together, and I taught him how to channel his energy; to use it. But it was more than a coincidence we knew each other. I was drawn to him. To guide the events of the future; because I could see what would happen if I didn't step in."
"He grew up fine, until he went against my word, and went out one day. This was just after you were born; he was captured by a small group of men, out hunting boar. They almost killed him instead, but at the last minute the arrow changed direction. Something impossible. Your Father was fine, but they knew his secret. Saw the glow of his lamp and deduced that he wasn't normal.
"One of the men in particular was especially greedy, and tired of living a life of work. He wished, out loud, that he could be King, the one who ruled the kingdom. Living in the lap of luxury. Your Father, tied up nearby, was forced to grant the wish, and seconds later, they were all sitting in a castle, waited on by the servants and cooks. Footmen, the whole deal.
"They didn't realize what had happened at first, and in that time he was able to escape. But his memory lived on continuously in the King's mind. He started something that would escalate over time, and become the mess it is today." Baldur let out a sigh, "He started a project in a castle on the hill, and on his deathbed, handed it over to him most trusted adviser; his Queen.
"The Queen kept the project alive for as long as she could, until she too was on her last days; having accomplished nothing more than her husband. So, she called for a witch; handing the project to her son, and giving the Witch a job, work outside the castle walls, to find the man with the power to create an entire kingdom.
"Over the generations, you grew, and your family had several run-ins with the witch, who kept your Father on his toes; always a step behind, but still close nonetheless. She used her ties to the Kings of the land to keep your family in the borders as long as she could, and then hunted him from house to house.
"Then one day, she saw a young genie in the forest, with a wizard boy. She followed them, waiting for them to lead her to the one she had been sent to seek out all those years ago. Instead, they led her to something far more dangerous. A cave full of powers like she never could have imagined before. But in order to get to it, she chased them away, lighting the forest ablaze and hoarding the precious magic to herself.
"Your Father knew she was there as soon as he saw the flames, moving you to the capital city first chance he got, hoping she wouldn't think to look for them in someplace so dangerous for them. The ruse only lasted a few years."
I gulp. It was never us then, we didn't start the fire, in a way it makes me feel better. But not completely. To think he'd been keeping this much from me, and I never suspected a thing...
"She found you again soon after finding those crystals, and lured you out, hoping to use you to get to your Father. Instead, you did something unexpected. The Witch never thought that you would take after your Father, and when you realized what she was doing, she erased your memories of her. Enslaving you to the Crawdoves for safekeeping. You never knew the difference, but your Father did."
"Is that why I didn't remember Len at first?" I blurt, finally unable to keep it anymore. "She's not even there in that memory though!" I wince, "I don't even completely remember the night I was taken. All I know is that I made a mistake."
"She wanted to be thorough." Says Baldur; his face sympathetic. "Your Father knew when you were gone what had happened, but refused to endanger your mother and Leila. He left, planning to come back; and he did, but she found him, and took him, her final mission complete.
"But she didn't stop there. By that point, she was too addicted to the power of hunting her prey, the amount of freedom she had with the use of the crystals. Sh-" Baldur winced, going down on one knee, only the strength of his staff keeping him up. I rush forwards, lending him support, but he shakes his head.
"You'll learn the end of that story later, but for now I better explain why I'm here; my time is short." Says Baldur, lifting a hand to peer at the skin.
"Baldur? What are you talking about?" I ask, but his skin is flickering, becoming transparent. His entire body is. "What's going on?"
"I'm not meant to exist Asra. Someone who can control time is too powerful to really exist here; and yet I've been living on this world for thousands of years." He sighs. "My time has come."
"You aren't making any sense." I say, frantically trying to make his skin return to the normal color.
"It's why I know what's going to happen Asra." Says Baldur. "I know the past, present, and future, all at once. I can live where I want, and change things; but now it looks like my job is done, what is left, is up to you." He coughs, "You know that being able to manipulate time was never a power anyone of this plane could have. And yet you remained ignorant." He smiles at me. "Don't let my work go to waste; I know you won't."
"What?"
"You aren't going to talk to me again Asra, these are our final words, although you might see me again, it will not be the man you know now." Baldur smiles sadly; "Right now, I'm old. Very old; and there is still something I need to do. I'm going to rest for awhile," He winces, leaning on the staff a bit more and a bloody flower forms on his side. I reach towards it, to stop the blood; but Baldur keeps speaking. Ignoring the injury and stopping me with a look.
"When I come back, it'll take everything I have left in me. My time is coming Asra."
My eyes widen, "You aren't saying?!" I look up at him, "You can't die! Baldur!" But he closes his eyes, and with a pop, the bubble is gone; so is he. I stare at the spot where Baldur had stood; unable to put the pieces together with what just happened.
There are footsteps down the hall away from the door, and Len appears. His face relaxes at the sight of me, then tightens up again unhappily. "Thought I might find you here. Why are you on the ground?"
The trapdoor opens above my head, startling me and Len. A soldier looks down, his face bloodied and beaten, his whole body covered in bandages. His eyes are wide, and he looks down at me with fear plain on his face.
"The attacks have failed. Kendi and Fira have fallen, we're on our own now."