by Shakyra Dunn
She flipped her braid, drops of water flowing from her hair. Solus peered closer and saw that the green substance on her head was dripping down—it was mold. She definitely avoided a wash for months, and now it was climbing to a staggering rate. His stomach was turning.
“There is much that you’ve yet to uncover about yourself, Master.” She dropped to a knee in front of him, and Solus found himself stuttering in confusion. “I am at your command for freeing me.”
Normally he was the one addressing someone as ‘Master,’ and only his close friend. He was a noble, the only one left in Adrylis, and she knew of his presence. Was she confusing them? She didn’t get a clear look at either of their faces, and it had been quite some time since they last encountered, even if it were brief.
“You’ve got it all wrong,” Solus proclaimed, holding out a hand to the girl. When she didn’t respond to him, he rested his hand under her chin. “Come now, lift your head.” She stared up at him, confused about the gesture. He was grinning sheepishly. “I think you may have me confused with someone else. I’m nothing but the attendant to Remiel Vesarus.”
She outstretched her hands, and Solus followed her gaze to find that her goal was to grasp the crimson ribbon in his hair. He was swift in grabbing her wrist to keep it in place, his eyes cold and emotionless, reflecting on her own. She blinked a few times, his reaction unexpected. She was darting between his tightening grip and the ribbon, curious of its importance to him. After a few seconds, he realized how much force he was putting towards the gesture and cleared his throat before releasing her.
“You know my name,” he settled with. “Perhaps you can tell me yours?”
“Aria Luris,” she replied, resting her hands on his arms. “But, I didn’t make a mistake, Solus. There’s so much that you don’t know yet, and I want to tell you before-”
Before she could let out another word, an arrow plunged between her eyes. Solus’s heart nearly stopped, the action too sudden for him to comprehend. The warmth of her hands faded as quickly as it had come. She met his hesitant gaze for a few seconds more, raven-shaded blood spewing from the open wound onto his clothes and face, before she fell back towards the ground, dead. Solus hovered over her body, his hand on her chest, no longer rising.
“There’s nothing for you to uproot from your memories just yet, Solus,” the booming, near-incriminating voice of a young man shot through his ears, coated in an accent that reminded him of his own. He didn’t look up from Aria even as the footsteps emerged into his sight, stroking her hair with his blood-stained hand. “That time will come.”
Solus forced himself to a stand, his hair sinking over his eyes. Twice now, his hands had touched his girl, the same result causing her fate. This time, there was nothing that he could do to prevent it.
“This is not the first time that I have been approached about my memories.” He brushed some of the soaked strands out of his face, glancing back in the corner of his eye. The young man before him was about four inches shorter and clothed in a traditional garb consisting of a white cloak covered in red rosaries. A bow and arrow were already in his grasp, ready to fire. His sand-colored hair was much lengthier than Solus’s, reaching the middle of his back, the front bangs covering his chubby cheeks and hardened copper eyes. He was still just a teenager, much like him. “What do you want with me?”
“I’m positive that you have an idea. You’re beyond your years as is.” Solus unraveled the ribbon from his hair and swung his hand forward in a swift motion, the ribbon wrapping around the man’s neck. He gasped, his words becoming lodged in his throat. Before he could attempt to pry himself free, Solus gave a tug, pulling the man down to his level.
“Tell me anyway,” he retorted, emerald eyes flaring. “I don’t have time to waste on the likes of you. My prince beckons me.”
“And he can keep waiting,” the man spat. “That lowly prince shouldn’t be of concern to you. His plight is his own.” Solus stared at the young man, his eyes darting to his features before shoving him away, knocking him to the ground. “H-Hey!”
“I don’t have time for you,” he repeated, grabbing his bag and umbrella, reclaiming his glasses to place over his already aching eyes. He wrapped the ribbon around his wrist rather than tying his hair back, knowing that the wet strands wouldn’t hold in place.
Already, he was looking for another path to take to avoid running into more like this man along the way. Instead, he decided to take his chances and walked directly past; his opponent was scrambling to his feet, fixing his bow to fire, and an arrow struck a tree next to him. In seconds, the archer had regressed from a threatening warrior to a moody child, irritated that he wasn’t having his way.
“In time, you’ll know that you made a mistake staying by that failed prince! He’s going to get you killed, and you will never be at peace again!” Solus stopped on a dime, curling his hand into a fist. The more that this senselessness grew, the more annoyed that he was becoming.
“Stay away,” he snarled. “Next time there will be no opportunity to bargain for your life.”
“Oh, I intend on it,” the man hissed. “I never back down from a challenge.”
Solus continued down the tree-lined path without looking back. He let the rain wash away the blood on his clothes, and with it, his troubles. There were still so many questions he had. What led Aria to him, and what was she trying to warn him about? She specified that she hadn’t made any mistakes in tracking him down, dubbing him her ‘Master,’ freeing her from some form of captivity. Perhaps she left the Order of Helix after their battle and had a change of heart.
He recalled her porcelain skin, her long braided hair, lavender-scented. She was still healthy looking back then; now it was as if life was sucked dry from her. Six months had unraveled her entire personality and appearance, but her will to finish what she started carried her to him. She would have been better off dead but couldn’t bear the consequences of death. How tragic.
Life always seemed to be that way.
Solus stepped into the shed, his clothes and hair drenched from the storm. The rain was reduced now to a light drizzle, and the bag remained dry thanks to the umbrella. After giving a once-over on the room, he was appalled to find that the shed was basked in slumber. Leilana and Sien’s heads were poking out from the assortment of sheets, Leilana burying her face in one of the pillows with her back to the girl while Sien’s arms were stretched out, her leg hanging partway off the bed. Rem was resting his chin on the windowsill, exhausted from the last few days of travel, having put in the extra effort to make sure that they stayed on track.
He never knew such envy before now. He was slaving away for food for everyone, gone from safety and security for hours while they all got to sit back and sleep. He wanted to scream at them and force them to wake, but instead, he chuckled. At least they were all at peace, if only for the night. Setting the bag down gently to keep from disturbing anyone, he stripped off every article of his dripping clothing until he was left almost nude.
Every few seconds, he was looking around to make sure that no one could catch him baring it all, sighing a breath of relief when nothing came of the gestures. Taking a grip on the saturated clothes, he placed them above the clothesline once he found that Leilana and Sien’s clothes were dry. He wrapped his hands around some loose strands of his hair to ring it out. The sudden sound of the clothesline moving startled Rem out of his sleep, causing him to grab the sword at his side before realizing that the intruder was merely his best friend signaling his return to their temporary abode. He lowered his weapon and laid it on the windowsill.
“You’re all naked,” Rem teased.
“I became quite wet,” Solus replied, raising his shoulders with a subtle shrug. Rem was already going through one of his bags, pulling out a dry rag. “The storm has finally begun to settle down. I’m sorry that I was late coming back, I had some issues aside from gathering food that were pressing-”
Rem sat down next to Solus, wrapping his ow
n blanket around his shoulders. Solus wasn’t sure how to take the gesture, glancing between the soft cotton and his friend for a few seconds before Rem stopped his movements altogether by drying his hair with the rag. Solus’s head moved left to right for a split second before he forced it still.
“Your hair’s dripping like crazy. You’d catch a cold if you didn’t try to warm up when you got back.” Rem tossed the rag aside after it became too soaked, letting it hit the floor. Rem plopped down next to Solus, scooting closer to his face, waving his hands in a trance-like manner. “You can’t hide your weary thoughts. Tell me the truth about what ails your ill mind.” Solus couldn’t help rolling his eyes, reaching out one of his hands to push Rem’s face away.
“Very well then, Your Highness.” Solus folded his legs and brought the blanket closer to himself. “While I was off in the next town, I bought as much as I could afford, but on my way back, I ran into someone. The shifter that I killed at the shrine in Linarus.”
Rem arched his back slightly, unsure if he had heard him correctly. Someone that had risen from the dead, or was never dead to begin with, which was impossible. Neither of them could detect a heartbeat in the girl back then.
“That’s strange,” Rem mumbled to himself.
“But there was something off about her. Her skin was jaundiced, and her hair was moldy. It was as if she’d done nothing to keep her hygiene in order since I fought her. She was calling me ‘master.’ I thought that she was confusing me with you because, well, you’re the Prince, but she said that she didn’t make any mistakes.”
“Zombie!” Rem proclaimed, pointing both fingers at him, his eyes wide in shock. Solus raised an eyebrow. “She had to be a zombie!”
“What is a zombie?”
“Don’t you read? They’re reanimated bodies that get sprung to life by some sheer force of will.” Rem crossed his arms. “Now that I think about it, I remember when I was little, my dad used to tell me stories about a clan of Necromancers that got banished from Linmus. Maybe this has something to do with them.”
Solus crossed his legs, resting his palms on his knees. This was the first he had heard of any clans comprised of Necromancers. “Why were they exiled?”
“They went around killing knights on the roundtable to get them to do their bidding without further consequences. You control the King’s army, you control any chances he has for survival. They tried to take my grandfather’s life, but they didn’t count on a spy in the midst, and he brought the information back to the court. The ringleader, Hinsuto, was brought to justice.”
“Hinsuto…” Somehow, that name rang familiar in Solus’s mind. Had he heard this tale somewhere before and just didn’t recall it?
“He didn’t go by any other name, so no one knew his surname. He was hanged in front of the townsfolk, and any exposed Necromancers were sent away to the outskirts of Adrylis, never to enter again. That was at least forty years ago, so I doubt that they’ve really made some daring returns to Adrylis unless-” Then Rem’s eyes widened.
“Unless what?” Solus pressed, raising an eyebrow at the sudden pause.
“There was something else that I heard. Necromancers plotted against the Minsura clan because they possessed spirituality that could help them ascend to a higher power. If they could gain access to their secrets, they would control both man and spirit. It’s a power struggle, something that wouldn’t compare to what we’re dealing with right now.” Solus fought to maintain stability, flexing his fingers every now and again while staring at the rather interesting blanket covering him. Rem cleared his throat, knowing that the situation was making him uncomfortable. “J-Just a rumor though, it may not be true.”
“I certainly hope not,” Solus spoke up after a few seconds of silence. “It would mean that there are lingering ties to Minsura’s desolation, killing people at will.” He stole a glance at the bed. “I can’t imagine what such knowledge would do to Leilana if she found out.”
“That’s why it’s better to keep things like this between us. She’s had it hard too, I don’t think I want to damage her any more than this world has. We’ve got plenty of time to resolve things before knowledge catches up.”
Solus yawned, snuggling further under the blanket. “As you wish, Your Highness.”
After Solus fell asleep, Rem stepped outside. He didn’t go any further than the fallen tree trunk in front of the building, taking a seat. Through the alignment of trees stretching beyond his height, the twinkling lights glimmered the brightest when no other lights from the cities or lanterns overpowered them. With everyone asleep, stargazing felt lonelier. They were all gathered together, shining in the ever-changing sky. While the world changed, everything above remained the same. It was no different from himself; nothing about Rem really evolved over the last six months, but the more that he traveled, the more that walking weighed him down, as if chains were bound to his ankles.
He was marching right to his death, and he knew it well. But there was nothing worse than allowing his home to be hopelessly run to the ground. With one kingdom’s demise, others would come, villages and cities crumbling at his feet. Linarus, Paluna, even Kalonia… they were all destroyed because his single life was too valuable to forfeit for the lives of many. The Order of Helix was getting impatient with him, and their advances were becoming more frequent.
The weight of the orb in his back pocket was hefty, so he shifted to retrieve it, holding it up towards the dim lights, the midnight exterior of the sphere rivaling the shade. He recalled the guard in the shrine having a device to communicate; maybe this orb worked in a similar fashion.
“How do I even use it?”
Tossing it up and down in the air a few times did nothing to expand his knowledge, even if the idea of seeing it shatter like glass was a bit tantalizing. Once the boredom settled in, he leaned back on the log, resting his arm under his head.
“There was no way that the Order of Helix just knew that I was on that carriage. You were following me, weren’t you, Amiria?” The orb glimmered as if responding to his words.
“You called, Your Highness?” Rem immediately sat up, looking around the area. No one else was in sight, which meant that the voice stemmed from the orb. Trapped inside of the tiny device was a figure with long lavender hair, only her face visible.
“Amiria?” he guessed.
“You made a call and didn’t know who you were talking to?” She giggled as if she could see the pout on his face. “I thought that you were more perceptive than that.” Rem settled on the log again. “I didn’t think that you would contact me so soon. Is everything all right?”
“Everything’s fine,” he replied. “I was just thinking, and I guess I accidentally triggered the orb’s commands. By the way, are you using one too?”
“All members of the Order of Helix carry one. I gave you my spare, said that I lost mine and retrieved another. They didn’t suspect a thing.”
“So, why did you give me your spare?”
“I wanted to talk to you again. It’s hard when your friends excommunicate me. I wanted to properly thank you for helping me gain some confidence by believing in me.” Rem’s face reddened, and he felt grateful that she couldn’t see his face due to his lack of knowledge on controlling the orb.
“You don’t need to show me any thanks, Amiria. It’s just… I see so much of myself in you as I am now. Back when I lived in the castle, I was naïve, and I was lonely. My parents gave their duties to the kingdom, and I kept pinching for distractions.” He didn’t know where the words were flowing from. “When I look at you, I can feel the pain that you’re hiding.”
He watched Amiria lower her head, her eyes darting every which way, curiosity bubbling to the surface. He saw right through her, and she must have been wondering how he could. Rem almost chuckled but chose to grin and hide away his heart for a little longer.
“You weren’t always this way, I’ve heard. You used to be timid and shy. You learned something important that you couldn’t s
houlder on your own, and it cost you the life of one of your closest friends. Someone that grew to love you just as much as you loved him.”
“How did you know?” she asked.
“I’m good at reading people,” Rem responded. “I’ve never been in love, but I’ve see how it looks through Solus and Leilana, and through my parents. At the same time, I understand how loss feels. That’s why I want to make sure that no one else has to feel what I felt back then.”
“It’s all right to think about your future, right? What do you want to do with it?”
Rem outstretched his arms against the log, the orb still clenched in his right hand. “I just want to end the war. After that, I’ll have my coronation and become King. I want Leilana and Solus to go about their lives and be happy together. I want Sien and Luna to have Linarus back, for Rula to return and keep Linarus safe from predators. I want Lancett to find his own path. There’s so much that I want for everyone else, but I’m not sure what I want for myself.”
“And that’s okay too, not knowing what you want. You’ve still got time to figure things out. Your priority should be to your kingdom.”
Rem sighed, closing his eyes. “Amiria, are you really part of the Order of Helix? How did you get there in the first place?”
“Five months ago, I was wandering and found myself in a city called Ocula.” Rem’s eyes narrowed at the statement. Ocula. That was exactly where they were trying to go now, to find Lunious. “I was starving, peaking over the valleys of death. I stumbled upon a group of people guarding the town. They sensed my powers and took me in. They thought that my skills could be of use in bringing order to Adrylis. They wanted me to bring you to justice.”
“So, they run around in cloaks wielding rejected powers, proclaiming that I’m the true villain. They’re no better than heretics.” Rem inhaled slowly, releasing the tension of his muscles in a single breath. “You seek refuge among their numbers.” Amiria was taken aback by his sudden shift into regal mannerisms. “What do you think is the right path for this world to follow?”