Metanoia

by Angela Schiavone

  “Gina! Oh, God! What happened? I thought you’d be there by now.”

  “I never got there,” she gasped. “The Übels – they were too many. They attacked me - I’ve been fighting – they injured my horse. It wasn’t easy coming back – they were on foot though…”

  “Come on, we need to get these wounds healed,” Leyance coaxed.

  “War is upon us. I do not know why, but I know it has begun,” Fheyrhil replied. “I will get everyone ready for immediate battle. God help us.”

  An hour later Gina sat on a shining white-sheeted bed after getting her wounds healed. Many bruises still remained, though, and the obvious shock lingered, entombed in Gina’s mind. Leyance leaned against the bed, looking into her eyes. Gina just stared straight ahead past him.

  “Gina…It will be alright…” he started.

  “I’m afraid, Leyance. We have no idea why they are doing this. I’m afraid for my people. It’s my job to protect them, and I’ll do that…but I don’t know how. This shouldn’t be happening. We destroyed the Vice, didn’t we? In theory, shouldn’t all other evil be destroyed as well?”

  “I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way, Gina,” Leyance whispered. “There are more forms of evil in this world than meets the eye just as there are more forms of good in this world as well.”

  “What action do I take? I remember who I was in my past now, but I only remember bits and pieces of my life. Maybe if I knew a little more I’d be able to figure out why this is happening or figure out what proper steps to take – but I don’t.”

  “You’ll know what to do soon enough, Gina. You’ve already done all you could do – ordering mobilization to be ready for battle by sun-up.”

  “Except now my people are marching into danger head-on. They don’t know what to expect any more than I do. Plus, what if…” she stalled.

  “Don’t think like that, Gina. You’ll be fine. We’ll both live through this.” Yet, she could tell he was worried about it as well.

  “You don’t know that, not for sure,” she began and stalled, remembering a time when she had told him that same line. Yet times had changed. Instead of trying to push him away, she now tried to hold on to him with all her power. She couldn’t bear to lose him. Not now, not after all they had been through. The conversation stirred Leyance’s heart as well, and he hurriedly changed the subject.

  “Listen, as we speak Fheyrhil is arranging for the troops to mobilize. They will be able to keep the enemy away from the city and from you.”

  “Leyance, you know very well that I would not sit by and let them fight without me,” Gina stated. “I’m leading them just as any true ruler should do.” He looked like he wanted to encourage her not to, but resisted. He knew it was too late: Gina would not be left behind, just as he refused to be.

  “We better get ready then.”

  The Übels clamored tirelessly on all night towards Nythagié as the people of the city prepared for the near battle. It was still the early hours of the morning when the world was shaded in a blue tint announcing that dawn would soon be coming - as would battle. The tension increased with every moment. The Übels restlessly roared war chants as the Nythagiéns put on their gear and sharpened their arrows and swords. Gina and Leyance silently geared up as well. They couldn’t bring themselves to speak of the dread intruding on both their hearts. When they left for battle, Gina leading the troops and Leyance not far behind, only three words were said by each to the other – “I love you.” Neither thought of how the day would end. Neither wanted to.

  When battle finally engulfed them, everything moved in slow motion for Gina, and yet too fast all at the same time. She remembered hearing the Übels coming, remembered kissing Leyance and praying that it wasn’t for the last time, but now she was on the battlefield and couldn’t remember how. She wanted to remove herself from this situation, to watch it from above. She couldn’t. The chants grew louder; the evil was seen as a shiver traveled up Gina’s spine. The Übels had come, crashing, stomping, roaring towards them.

  This is it, Gina thought. I wish it weren’t so, but this battle will change the path of the future. Three Übels charged at her, but she was quick and blocked all of their blows with her sword. War had begun.

  Hours passed, and Nythagié was no closer to being safe. Gina glanced around in between blows. She had killed a great number of Übels, but still they kept coming. She was now separated from the group which fought at the base of the hill on which she stood. Looking down, she saw the bloodcurdling damage. Many Nythagiéns lay in the fields below – whether dead or badly injured, she couldn’t tell. The one thing she saw clearly was the blood. She had felt her own seeping through her clothes and soaking her hair. She had been battling a particularly large Übel for quite some time now; he had badly sliced her a few too many times but was not without some substantial injuries of his own. Gina moved in for another strike, this one proving fatal, but as she drove in her sword, another Übel approached her. He opened his mouth to speak and she faintly heard the some-what familiar words as the world started to spin and grow blurry. As she began to hear the words repeated, a morbid blackness swept swiftly over her.

  “Loular ca num cai menor oyer ben. Anisaquo cuar raru seb atorolok – bakoter u nek!” Just before all the darkness finally consumed her, she heard a man speak. “How noble of you to fail right when the end was in sight.”

  Chapter 7

  “A Nightmare Realized”

  Leyance broke into the council room where Fheyrhil stood glaring out the window. His garments, ripped and stained, proved he had sprinted straight from the battlefield. Blood soaked his clothes and stained his flawless skin. Worry and fear could be seen on his face.

  “She’s gone! Gina, she… I didn’t see what happened… I don’t know if she’s dead or hurt or… Fheyrhil?” Leyance gasped.

  “She is alive. As long as hope and love remains in the city then she lives, but she is taken by the hand of an old enemy who wore the mask of friendship and love,” he responded.

  “Please, tell me you don’t mean him. No, of course not, he died in the fire.” He looked at Fheyrhil who met his glance with solemn eyes. “He’s alive? And has Gina?!” He punched the table as hard as he could as his disgruntled shout escaped his lips.

  “Leyance, calm down. Yes, it was Noquef. Yes, he is still alive. And, yes he has Gina. Those are the facts, but now we must figure a course of action,” Fheyrhil stated.

  “How?” Leyance panted. “How is it possible? The fire…”

  “Was a set-up, Leyance,” Fheyrhil replied. “And we were foolish enough to believe his trick. Even I. Noquef was not trusted then. You were the first to dislike…”

  “…that no good, filthy, traitorous, cowardly…”

  “…Noquef. You knew he desired Gina and would do anything in his power to win her. With you providing the competition, his love of winning drove him to this length. It is his one motive,” Fheyrhil explained.

  “And when we discovered that Gina might have a weakness, he was the first to volunteer to find it. He was convinced he would win Gina’s heart if he found it! That scum…”

  “His persistence paid off, though,” Fheyrhil interrupted. “Then the oracle made the prophecy and Gina was made aware of the Vice. Noquef realized, as did most, that it was this evil where she would meet her end.”

  “Yeah, and if this were so, then Noquef would no longer be on the winning side. He could not have that. He always has to win! He cares about nothing else! That bloody, grimy…”

  “So he faked his own death in the fire that he arranged himself,” Fheyrhil continued. “Once we believed his death, he would be free to join the Vice and once again be on the winning side. He lay quiet for many years, but no longer. He knows the one thing that could be our destruction, the one person.”

  “Gina,” Leyance whispered.

  Fheyrhil nodded. “If he got her to turn against us, then not only would he finally win Gina, but he would also make the rest of the Ny
thagiéns pay for not giving in to him, for not trusting him. He had been working for the Vice long enough to obtain the needs necessary to create such a drastic change. And he still holds dear what he found.”

  “So that whole battle was just to get Gina? But how did he get her? She would have fought. She did fight!”

  “It was of little use. A messenger came just before you. He heard the spell.”

  “Her one weakness. He was supposed to find her one weakness to help her, not hurt her! And all that talk about love! He doesn’t know what the word means! He confuses love with pain and hatred!!” Fheyrhil knew how much pain Leyance was going through; he felt it himself. He turned to Leyance, who now leaned against the table, head hung. From his pocket, Fheyrhil produced the necklace that Gina had worn every single day. The pink lace was stained with blood. This he placed on the table next to him. Leyance saw it and pulled it towards his lips and kissed it.

  “It was ripped from her neck when he used the spell,” Fheyrhil shared.

  “She was never herself without it.” He turned to Fheyrhil. “We’re going to get her back. We need to start planning right now.”

  Gina woke arms tied to a metal rod against a cold stone wall. Her whole body felt weak. Glancing at herself, she saw someone had changed her clothes. Now, Gina wore a black satin dress with a sheer black robe which red ribbon swirled all the way up on. Sudden panic swept over her. She struggled to free herself, but even the littlest movement wore her out. She couldn’t remember how she had become so weak but knew it put her in great danger now. The more she thought of it, the more the word spell entered her head. The thought terrified her. She tried once again to untie herself.

  “You won’t be able to untie it,” a harsh voice suddenly said. Gina snapped up to see the Übel who had spoken the spell. “Beshrar!” he said causing him to magically transform himself from an Übel into a stunningly handsome man. Truly, he was one of the most stunning men she had ever seen, but the sight repulsed her. With one glance she had remembered who this was.

  “Noquef.”

  “Good to see you too, darling. You are looking more beautiful than ever,” he replied, smiling.

  “Don’t even start.”

  “A little harsh are we? My love, gone so long and no hello kiss?”

  “Like I would ever kiss you! You don’t know what love is – only hate, suffering, and evil,” she snapped.

  “Evil!? The world is full of evilness. Everyone has hatred in them. How do you expect to win a fight if you don’t hate your opponent? Hatred is an ally – give into it, and you are undefeatable,” he replied.

  “That’s not true!”

  “Oh, it’s not, is it? You hated the Vice didn’t you?” An image of a man sneaking away from the Übel fight in the Vice’s castle came to Gina’s mind.

  “You! It was you in the castle!” Noquef ignored her.

  “Hated him for taking you away from your life, hated him for tearing you away from that joke of a fiancé. You hated jumping from house to house, family to family. And me – you hated me.” Gina couldn’t bear to look in his eyes. How could Noquef make sense of something as sadistic as this? He continued, seeing her defeat. “And I hated you for not loving me. I hated myself for not winning your love. There’s only one I hate more than the two of us – Leyance.”

  “Why, because he’s not a killer like you?!” she yelled. This enraged him, and he leaped at her, pinning her head against the wall. She struggled against him, but his rough hands grasped her wrists tightly, pushing her back.

  “You’d do well to remember to watch your attitude. It’ll be easier for you to go along with what is requested of you.”

  “And why should I?” she replied angrily.

  “Have you forgotten already? Your one weakness? You sway just a little, and I will use it again.” Evil shimmered from his eyes as a slight grin formed on his face.

  “If you ‘love’ me so much, then why do you want to hurt me?”

  “Oh, I alone am not the only one who causes pain. You are a warrior. Your sword has ended the lives of countless individuals. They all had family and friends no doubt. What makes the pain you caused them any different from the pain I’m causing you?”

  “I’m nothing like you, and I’d die before I would stoop to your level.”

  He chuckled at this comment. “Now that’s quite a coincidence. For, I have quite an offer for you.” He leaned in causing Gina to feel his breath as he spoke. Ultimate disgust sweep through her.

  “You were supposed to be mine until that boy came and ‘captured your heart.’ Well who’s ‘captured’ you now? You’re all alone here, my little princess. You can’t fight me. All I have to do is say a simple spell, and you’re out cold. Quite an advantage for me, isn’t it?” Gina squirmed. “So here’s the proposition – become mine, my wife, and nothing will happen to you. The spell? – I’ll forget I ever knew it. The Übels will give you no more problems. They’ve accepted me as their new leader, and, if they lose their manners, they’ll simply lose their head as well. On the other hand, reject my offer, and I’m afraid that there will be some major punishments. Now, you know me. You know I don’t give up easily. I’m insanely persistent: I was when finding your weakness just as I am at making you my wife. So, your punishment I’m afraid – will be a little torture. I do believe that a more mutilated, harmed, spoiled, mangled little shadow of your former self will open up to her hatred side a little easier. And, once you have, there will be no stopping my plans for us.”

  “You’re sick. I’m not yours, I’m no one’s! I’m not an object to be obtained. And I’d never, ever – not in a million years ever consent to be your wife! Why would anyone want to spend a life with you?! If women married you, the suicide rate would be off the charts!” Noquef’s rage was quick and violent causing him to grab his knife from its sheath. This he held up in front of her face so close that her heavy breathing fogged up its perfect shine.

  “I thought I told you to mind your manners,” he said through gritted teeth.

  “Go ahead! Use the spell! But you won’t because you are a coward!” With that he took the knife and sliced her flawless cheek. Her scream pierced the night as the excruciating pain kissed her cheek.

  “You will become mine or die. There is no escaping your fate,” he stated, grinning. He lowered his lips to her cheek and kissed her bleeding cut. “Coward am I? No, I don’t think so. You see I was simply debating whether to use the spell or slash through that beautiful flesh.”

  Jacinda, Calypso, and Alvina ran through the streets of Nythagié in search of Leyance. After awhile they saw him hurrying down the main steps towards the gate.

  “Leyance!” they shouted in unison. He swung around to see them run up to him dressed ready for battle. He immediately guessed their purpose.

  “No,” he declared, “you three are not coming with me.”

  “There is no way we aren’t going to go help our friend in her time of need!” Alvina argued. “We love Gina, and we are going to do all we can to help her.”

  “You aren’t trained for something like this,” Leyance stated.

  “Try us. We’re going whether you like it or not,” Jacinda stated.

  “And there is no way we are leaving her with that monster, so we’re coming - end of story,” Calypso finished.

  “No, and that is my final word.” Leyance turned, starting to walk away, but the girls knew what to do. With one swift leap, Calypso grabbed his arm, twisted it and pushed him down, hooking his leg. Leyance went down quickly as Alvina leaped forward, drawing her sword. This she held to his chin. Jacinda came up in between the two.

  “We’re going, even if we have to force you to let us,” she stated flatly.

  “I won’t win this one then, huh?” Leyance asked, seeing their stubbornness. “Fine, we’re leaving in ten minutes. I’m not waiting for you.” With that, he got to his feet. “And that hurt, Calypso.”

  “Sorry, but you needed it.”

  “Yeah, y
eah.” Leyance turned and quickly disappeared down the path.

  “Alright, ladies,” Calypso said turning to address the girls. “We’re getting Gina out, no matter the cost.”

  Gina still lay attached to the wall when Noquef walked in with food on a shard of metal. Gina glanced at him and then looked away, turning her cut and still bleeding cheek away from him.

  “Get out,” she snarled.

  “You know, I thought I taught you a lesson about your attitude. Do you need another one? Besides, I brought food.” He held the plate in front of her face, but she refused to look at it.

  “I don’t want anything you have to give. Besides, you probably put a spell on it or poisoned it.”

  “And what do you plan to do? Starve yourself? Nonsense, you must be healthy and reasonably strong before you’re broken.”

  “I’ll never be broken. It doesn’t matter how long you torture me. The power of love in my people keeps me strong and with that I can…”

  “And what happens when your love – the love that your city feeds on, survives on, is gone? Seems to me that whatever happens to you will eventually happen to your city and vice-versa, wouldn’t you say? And the glory of it all – you will be the one to destroy your own city. I love it.”

  “It won’t happen,” she stated.

  “Oh, I see, still waiting for Prince Charming to come rescue you?”

  “I’m plenty capable of rescuing myself!”

  “Except when there is the smallest of spells against you. It’s quite an entertaining thought, isn’t it? You can defeat one of the greatest powers in the world, but one little spell can destroy you. So, looks like you won’t be getting yourself out, and, even if your little friends try to come, they’ll be too late. Tomorrow night, all will assemble to watch you writhing in pain. Sweet dreams.” He smiled and walked out leaving the plate of food next to Gina. “That’s raw meat, by the way. Enjoy.” The second the heavy metal door closed and locked, Gina swung her legs up and over, grabbing the shard of metal serving as a plate with her foot and swung her foot to her tied hand. She cut the rope carefully and freed her hands. She jumped up and went to the door. It was locked and Gina could find no way to open it. She ran to the window but only to find that there were bars on it. She spun around the room in search of another way out. When no chance of escape presented itself, she sunk to the floor defeated, tears streaming down her face.