by Kealohilani
He wondered how long it would take him to recover his normal stamina. He couldn’t sleep the way that mortals could when they needed to heal. He couldn’t eat nourishing foods or drink restorative potions.
All he could do was try to conserve his energy by not using magic as much as possible— and wait! How he despised waiting.
Once more Vranah wished that he had allowed Drakne to take care of that vile little village of Kellinsi. His sporadic and feeble ability to exercise his magic made it arduous to manage even his simplest affairs. He was not used to being this immobile.
Worse, he had to constantly hide his dysfunction so that no one would dare challenge his authority. Drakne was the only one who knew about his condition. It was absolutely imperative that this secret remained solely between Drakne and himself.
Where the devil is Drakne? He had been chasing after the women from Earth and those who had been helping them for almost two months now. Why is he taking so long? Vranah had other matters that needed tending to and was having to use those much less capable than Drakne for the work.
Vranah heard the shrill cry of a hawk outside the window. He stood up, abruptly— throwing his shoulders back and standing tall— as the hawk seized a mouse that had been creeping along the window ledge and began to swallow it whole.
The hawk morphed into the tall, sturdy, battle-dressed figure of Rutghar— with his weather-beaten face, aquiline nose, and shiny silver-haired ponytail— the tail of the mouse still hanging from his mouth. He slurped it in as he dropped to one knee. He placed his right fist over his heart, his left hand behind his back, and bowed his head.
“My Liege, I have news from Lord Drakne.”
“Proceed.”
“Lord Drakne wishes to inform Your Excellency that he has gone after those you seek, alone— through the Trazanian Mountain Pass that leads from Kelamosa to Zenastra. The Pure of Heart Sanctuary necessitated his creation of a more complex plan.”
“That blasted sanctuary!”
“Agreed, my lord.”
“Continue.”
“Lord Drakne’s soldiers have been divided— one half standing guard at the border of Kelamosa and Destavnia and the other half sent ahead of the rebels at double march on the Trisaknen side of the mountains, with the instruction to arrive in Zenastra first. They are to cut the rebels off at the exit of the pass. Lord Drakne has ordered it thus to prevent their entry into Destavnia from either direction.”
“Send troops stationed in the area to cut them off faster.”
“Your Excellency— all available troops from the neighboring kingdoms were ordered to Trisakne in order to secure it, at your command. And, as you know, Trisakne is not yet secure. Zenastra has no troops to spare— unless you want to risk giving hope to any rebels in Zenastra or risk an incursion from Destavnia. The same is true of Kelamosa. Even Lanas is stretched thin at this time.”
“Blast! You are correct.”
“Lord Drakne has every confidence in his plan, my lord.”
“As he should. Very well. You are dismissed.”
“Thank you, Your Excellency.”
Rutghar morphed back into the silver hawk and flew out of the window into the grey sky with another shrill cry. Vranah staggered slightly but forced himself to stand straight again.
“What are you up to, Drakne?” Vranah asked quietly as he looked out the window.
Vranah paused for a moment. He was not entirely sure how he felt about this change in Drakne’s plans. He found it foolish on one level, but possibly brilliant on another.
He assumed this particular change had to be mostly about Drakne’s ego and his love for games with worthy opponents. Now was not the time for such tactics— but he also knew that Drakne always had a reason for his actions.
And the Pure of Heart Sanctuary was not possible to fool. It would require a much more devious plan. The sanctuary would have to believe the rebels were safe enough to continue their journey— or it would never let them out.
Vranah decided to let the matter go. Drakne had never failed him before. He would trust him for now. He could always command him to return if need be.
Until then, he would have to make do with the second-highest subordinate in his hierarchy. She, too, had great expertise in certain kinds of magic. However, Drakne had an amazing aptitude for power that she did not. One simply had to be born with that kind of ability and there was no making up for it no matter how much a person studied. Vranah turned to face the door.
“Zarkania, come to me!”
The doors of the throne room were thrown open as if they had long been waiting for the excuse to do so. An exceedingly pale woman, with midnight-brown curls that fell to her waist, entered.
Her perfectly arranged hair bounced as she sashayed forth in her classic and neatly-pressed emerald taffeta dress— which swayed and rustled softly with her every move. She glided up before her master and bowed her head as she curtsied low.
“You called, my lord?”
“I have a mission for you.”
Zarkania smiled brightly. “Yes, my lord?”
“As Lord Drakne requires more time to take care of another matter of great import, I need you to take all of his duties upon yourself. Most immediately, I need you to finish securing this kingdom. Seek out those who are still loyal to Jharate and dispatch them.”
“It will be done!”
Zarkania looked as though she were a cat being told to kill all the mice in a pet shop. She turned and left swiftly.
Wonderful woman, Vranah thought to himself as the doors shut behind her and he carefully sat back down on his throne. If only her sister had been of a similar nature…
Too Late for THIS Information!!!
Days passed in stony silence between Lani and Jharate. He went well out of his way to ensure that they never got close enough to be able to talk as they traveled through the mountain pass on their way to Zenastra.
The awkwardness between them was oppressive, even to those around them. Not only did Jharate seem oblivious to the pained longing in Lani’s eyes— he never acknowledged her existence at all. It was as if she were a ghost in their midst.
Lani was far off and distant herself. Not toward Jharate, but toward her friends. The only one she let near her was Raoul. She didn’t want to answer questions. And she knew Raoul was the only one who wouldn’t ask. He always let her come to him with her worries, rather than trying to pry them out of her.
Though she couldn’t keep her secret forever— a few more days would be helpful. It would give her time to wrap her mind around it and accept it before she would have to talk about it with anyone. Once she talked about it, it was going to be real. And she wanted to put that off for as long as she could.
There was more emotion involved than just a normal breakup. Jharate had helped her adapt to her new life here and to focus on other things— things that helped keep some of the pain of intergalactic separation at bay.
From her mother and father.
Her sister and brother.
Her home.
Her planet.
Losing Jharate’s support— losing his love— ripped an even larger hole in her heart. It re-exposed the original wound to the harsh air.
Worse still— there was no one but herself to blame for this relationship’s demise. She had caused it. She had cut her own heart out with her own two hands and then stomped on it herself. And she felt that if she talked about any of this right now, it would swallow her up and crush her.
“This isn’t right,” Justin muttered, nervously running his fingers through his short ‘fro, which had gotten a little longer since they arrived on this planet— despite his sporadic maintenance of it.
“What isn’t?” Erik asked.
“Lani. She isn’t acting like herself. I’m starting to get worried.”
“Me too,” Kendra supported quietly, as she put her now-sun-streaked-and-one-inch-longer golden brown hair up into a bun.
“She just got her heart bro
ken or something,” Erik offered, touching his own slightly-longer hair in subconscious imitation of the other two— although, his hair had been extremely maintained and was really almost the same as the day he first arrived on Alamea. “I think her actions are normal if that’s what happened.”
“Normal for you,” Kendra snapped curtly. “But Lani isn’t like you. And she’s never avoided Justin and me like this. She didn’t even ignore Justin after she broke up with Justin!”
“Kendra’s right,” Justin affirmed. “It never took more than a few questions before to get her to pour her heart out to us and tell us everything that was wrong.”
“Half of me wants to go chase that chicky down and make her talk. The more rational half wants to give her a little more time. But I don’t know which side I should be listening to right now! I wish I could go get her some Ben & Jerry’s and cue up a chick flick so we could have a chicky night and a cry sesh! I hate this planet.”
“Give her some time,” Raoul insisted. “She needs it… Now I want Ben & Jerry’s.”
“Has she said anything to you?” Kendra inquired.
“No… But I can feel in my gut that she needs us not to ask yet. Please trust me.”
“But I mean, look at her!” Kendra exclaimed, gesturing across the way to where Lani was quietly helping Te‘era and Ja‘el with the food prep for the evening meal. “She’s in complete denial. She’s going forward, performing all of her duties, and helping everyone who needs her. She even tries to force smiles— but it’s like a part of her is missing! Like a dementor sucked her soul out or something! I don’t know!”
“I know,” Raoul agreed with a solemn tone. “It’s scaring me too. But I think pushing her right now will only make her worse. Give her some time.”
“Raoul’s probably right,” Erik added.
“How would you know?!” Kendra shot back.
“Rude much? Hashtag you need to calm down,” Erik retorted.
“I should just go beat Jharate up!” Justin growled, which distracted Kendra from the retribution Erik was about to face.
“Unfortunately, I think Arante would kill you if you did,” Kendra reminded with a frustrated sigh. “I think the only reason you survived last time was because Jharate was in love with Lani. You saw him signal them all to stay out of it when you punched him. With whatever his current malfunction is, I don’t think he’ll save you this time.”
“Maybe I should just challenge him to a duel. I’m sure they do that here.”
“That’s a lose-lose. If you lose, you die— and that’s honestly the most likely outcome. And, if you somehow killed Jharate, Lani would never forgive you for it.”
“It’s obvious she still loves him,” Raoul added with a bitter tone.
“This is so messed up!” Justin grumbled.
“Again, guys, just give her some time,” Raoul emphasized.
“Fine!” Justin relented.
“Okay, I guess,” Kendra capitulated, looking away from Lani to keep herself from going over there. “For now, anyway.”
“Thank you,” Raoul sighed in relief. “I want her back to normal too. I just know we need to wait.”
Arante edged away from the group of friends in complete silence. At no point had they realized that she had been listening to their conversation.
Arante, too, had been watching Lani carefully as they traveled over the last few days. She was impressed with how much Lani kept going despite the pain in her eyes. But she was still no closer to discovering what had caused it.
Arante had watched her cousin as well. The odd stillness that had overtaken him after the dragon incident had not subsided. If anything, it had intensified. It frightened her.
Arante knew Lani’s friends were right— Lani needed some time. But she also knew that she wouldn’t get anywhere in a conversation with Jharate. So she watched and waited for her chance.
The next evening, after they set up camp for the night, just before dusk, Arante saw her opportunity. Lani had separated herself— even from Raoul at the moment— and Arante jumped in before anyone could notice.
“Lani, may I speak with you for a moment?”
“Sure.” Lani exhaled more than spoke the word.
Everything hurt her now, no matter how minor. Speaking, eating— even sleeping hurt. Lani didn’t even look at Arante as she quietly got up and followed her around a corner where the two of them could speak alone.
“What happened between you and my cousin?”
Tears welled up in Lani’s eyes, but did not fall.
“I wish I knew…”
Arante could tell from the look on Lani’s face that the wall she had placed around herself to protect her heart from the pain was crumbling. The memories were invading Lani’s mind, and now was the time to discuss them. Arante hesitated for a moment— but she needed to get her answers.
“Try to explain then.”
It was as if a dam had broken and both tears and words gushed forth from Lani.
“I… Back in the sanctuary. I… I kept telling Jharate I loved him and things like that… It was like he never answered. I even saw him yank his hand from mine.”
Arante looked confused but did not wish to stop Lani’s explanation and so she remained silent.
“Later— it was weird. I only heard parts of what he was saying like ‘What’s wrong with you, Lani?’ and ‘I do not know why you could ever think that I love you, Lani.’
“And earlier, back by the meadow, when you called him away to talk to him by your campfire— I thought you were trying to tell him not to lead me on or something like that… Remember? When you said he might make me think ‘something’ I ‘shouldn’t.’ I felt his actions in the sanctuary were proof of that possibility.”
A look of recognition showed in Arante’s eyes as Lani related overhearing the conversation, but Lani didn’t see it through her tears. Arante continued to remain silent so she could hear the rest of the story.
“It was all so strange. I ran out feeling betrayed, hurt, and alone. Well, you know the rest. He saved my life. Right after that, things felt even stranger. My head hurt like crazy— like it was going to split in two.
“I was afraid for a moment that it actually would. I screamed and hit the ground with my fists. When I did, it was like I came back to myself. I heard all the missing pieces of the conversation from earlier— about how much he loved me. But it was too late.”
Lani sighed and her speech slowed down a little.
“He won’t forgive me now. I don’t blame him. What I did was… awful. And it almost got him killed. I don’t know how to explain my actions to him— or the fact that I sincerely thought he didn’t love me. Maybe he really doesn’t now…”
“I know he loves you. What we were talking about in the woods by the meadow— the part of our conversation you overheard— well, maybe you don’t want to know.”
“Oh no, I do. Please!”
“Umm…” Arante wouldn’t look her in the eye.
“Please,” Lani insisted, placing the palms of her hands together and holding them in front of her lips as she waited.
Arante still wouldn’t look at Lani, but she sighed as she relented.
“When I said he might ‘mislead’ you, it was because he wasn’t planning on telling you what he wanted for a while. I was afraid if he took too long, you would think he wasn’t interested in you. I am very straightforward about things— especially relationships. And, well— as you can see— my cousin is not. But he was telling me that he intended to marry you.”
Arante reluctantly looked at Lani after she finished speaking. Now Lani couldn’t keep eye contact. She backed away from Arante subconsciously.
Great, Lani thought to herself, as her world spun downward. It was Josiah all over again— only worse. Unlike Josiah, Jharate had been doing everything right. It was officially too late for this information.
Her heart sank into the pit of her stomach. She had met the love of her life. He had fallen for her. An
d he was intending to make her his bride. And what had she done? She had gone and lost it all. What on Earth could have possessed her?
No sooner had she asked the question in her mind, when she gasped. She closed her eyes and her body lurched forward slightly. When she opened her eyes again, she saw that Arante had helped to stabilize her so she wouldn’t fall.
“Maybe you should sit down.”
“Yes, maybe…”
Arante helped her to sit on a large flat boulder, and sat next to her just in case she looked faint again.
“Arante, I think I just figured out what happened!”
“What? How?”
“A vision.”
“What did you see?”
“Right before Jharate and I entered the sanctuary… Drakne came behind us… He threw some sort of glowing purple ball into my back. It disappeared inside of me.
“That must be why my back hurt so badly when we entered the sanctuary. It wasn’t the portal at all. It was that purple ball. Could that have done something else to me? I mean, besides just making my back ache?”
Arante narrowed her eyes and regarded Lani.
“That must be why you couldn’t see or hear things. It sounds like some sort of spell.”
“Why would he do that?”
“He hexes people all the time. The confusing thing is that Drakne was close enough to hit you— and he succeeded. You said Vranah wanted the women from your world dead. So why did Drakne hex you instead of just killing you then and there? If he’d chosen to throw a red spell ball at that moment, you’d be dead before you entered the sanctuary.”
Lani shuddered. She wasn’t sure which was more unnerving— the fact that Drakne clearly could have killed her, or not knowing why he hadn’t when he had the chance.
“Then again, Drakne has done odd things before,” Arante thought out loud. “When your head hurt, that must have been when you snapped out of the effects. It makes sense, actually. Although I have never heard of people breaking out of spells as powerful as the ones Drakne uses.”
“Maybe I could tell Jharate that it wasn’t my fault after all!” Lani exclaimed, standing up excitedly. But she stopped. Her exuberance faltered. “Who am I kidding? He won’t even look at me.”