Metanoia

by Angela Schiavone

  “No, I haven’t got a chance. I just got back myself. I went over to the other world to help the Nythagiéns clean up.”

  “You two were always such a great couple.”

  “Yeah,” he said, closing his eyes again. “We were.”

  A small voice joined the conversation. “With all due respect, Your Majesty, this man needs to rest.”

  “Oh. Yes, of course. Forgive me. Uh… do you know how Leyance is faring?”

  “Well, my lady. He is going to be just fine.”

  “Good” was her answer once again. With this news her body simply let go. Gina didn’t even try to fight it. She collapsed, all consciousness leaving her.

  Bright lights awoke Gina from her peaceful slumber. Slowly, she opened her eyes. She could feel the uncomfortable pressure of the bandages all over her body. Faintly, she heard breathing next to her. Forcing her head to move, Gina turned to see Leyance asleep in the bed next to her. He was also bandaged up heavily. As she watched him, the door opened. Fheyrhil emerged, expressionless.

  “It is very good to see you awake, Your Majesty,” he greeted her. He looked over at the still slumbering Leyance. “He insisted on being by your side, almost would not let us treat him before coming to you. I think this is the first time he has slept since we arrived back home.”

  “Cassie?” Gina asked apprehensively. “Has she been buried?”

  “Calypso? Buried? No, not time for that yet. Would be quite miserable I assume to be buried alive,” Fheyrhil joked. Gina looked at him blankly, clearly not understanding his humor. “She’s alive. You saved her life. Yet, how – no one knows.” He looked at her curiously, making her uneasy.

  “What do you mean? She’s alive? But how? That arrow…”

  “…That arrow went straight into her heart, I know,” he informed her.

  “But she’s alive? With no permanent damage?” she asked shakily. Fheyrhil, sensing her worry, came over and wrapped his arms around her.

  “It is alright, Regina. As I said, she is fine. No permanent damage.”

  “But how? If it went through…if it pierced her…” She could not bring herself to say it.

  “That,” he stated, “is what everyone hopes you understood. By all reason, she should be dead, but is not. What happened in those moments?”

  “I knocked down the Übel that was about to fire at her. I stabbed him. I shot the other…” She paused, trying to remember the details she wished she could simply forget. “I rolled over and saw the bow was empty and knew she’d been shot. I went to her and then…well, I guess that is when help came. I was crying so hard that I can’t remember seeing much.”

  “Was anyone around you?”

  “Just the Nythagiéns that came to help us.”

  “Yes, I have talked to them. They did not see anything unusual either. I suppose it will simply stay a mystery. Perhaps that is the way it is supposed to be.”

  “I just hope such a battle can’t happen again,” Gina stated.

  “Yes, we all hope the same. Yet I believe it could occur again. Life has a way of twisting things. My belief is that if something this massive occurs again, it will be because of something we least expect. What that is, only time will tell.”

  “Let’s hope we never have to know.”

  “Yes, let us hope.” The sound of Leyance stirring made them both glance over at him.

  “Gina,” he yawned. “You’re awake.” He crawled out of his bed and sat down on her bed, letting his arm rest around her shoulders.

  “And as good as new might I add,” Fheyrhil put in. “Now the sorrow and suffering has passed; the joy and celebrating can come. After all, I do believe that you two have a wedding to plan?” Gina and Leyance looked at each other and smiled. So they did.

  Gina lay in bed that afternoon bored out of her mind. She was not used to being confined to bed rest. Even though she had been allowed to continue resting in the comfort of her own bedroom, it still did not keep her from yearning to be outdoors doing something. A knock came on the door, and Alvina popped her head in with a smile.

  “Good to see you’re out of the hospital wing,” she said.

  “Yeah, but I still wish I didn’t just have to lie here. Where are Cassie and Jessica? I’m not used to seeing one of you without the others.”

  Alvina laughed. “Yeah, we are pretty much joined at the hip, aren’t we? Hey, can I ask you something?”

  “Of course.”

  “How come you still call us by our other world names?”

  “Oh, sorry. Old habits die hard. I’m just so used to those names. Does it bother you?” Gina asked.

  “Oh, no, not at all. We like it. It’s like an endearing name you’ve given to us. It shows our tight friendship in a way.” She paused, looking at her hands. “But I didn’t come here to ask you that. I came to ask something else. I talked to the nurses earlier to see who was injured in the battle. Hayden’s name was on the list as I had a feeling it might be.”

  “Yeah, he’ll be okay though. I talked to him a bit before I fainted.”

  “I know. The nurse told me. Did he, uh, mention me at all?” Alvina asked timidly.

  “Well, I asked if he had talked to you, and he said he hadn’t. I said I thought you too had always been such a great couple and he agreed…” Gina told her.

  “He did?”

  “Yeah. Why didn’t you tell me he was from Kulinai?”

  Alvina smiled. “I forgot. You said he’s okay though, right?”

  “Right. He’s fine,” Gina assured her. She sat up and looked at her friend. “What happened between you two? Why did you break up with him when it’s so obvious that you both still love each other?”

  Alvina didn’t respond for awhile, but finally took a deep breath and replied. “We’ve been together for years. We dated back before you were killed and sent to the other world. You must not remember that…”

  “…I barely do now…”

  “…We were actually engaged. He proposed a week before you went to go fight the Vice. Then you died. Calypso, Jacinda, and I wouldn’t let you go to another world all alone, without protection. We started searching for an answer and decided to come back when you started high school. We thought we could pass for that age. Hayden took a backseat meanwhile. We postponed our wedding and the more and more I finalized plans to start living in the other world, the more and more I came to realize that we couldn’t get married, at least not then. We kept in touch while I went to high school with you, as you remember. He’d come over and I’d sneak over here. Do you remember all those trips to Aunt Diana? Yeah, that was when I’d come back here. But long-distant relationships are hard. People deal with their significant other being two hours away; well I lived a whole world away from mine. You know we don’t open the gateway very often, so we couldn’t come back and forth easily. The Übels were gathering then and Fheyrhil warned us that continuing to open the gateway was a dangerous plan. I told Hayden I wanted him to come to the other world to talk with him in person and when he came to visit that last time, I broke it off. I couldn’t risk Übels being able to break through to the other world to get to you. I was too late, though.” Tears began filling in her eyes. Gina sat closer, placing a hand on Alvina’s shoulder.

  “It’s okay,” Gina whispered.

  “No, you need to know this,” Alvina continued. She took a deep breath. “It was my fault that they came that day, mine and Hayden’s. I’m so sorry, Gina. You see, when he went back through, he was ambushed by Übels. They got through and came to the school. Fheyrhil sensed it and sent Leyance, Elenzel and the rest to come and rescue you. Fheyrhil also gave us strict orders not to be seen by you during the attack. He was afraid that if you saw us fighting that you’d either try to save us and fail because you didn’t know any combat at the time, or think we were on their side. He ordered us to stay in the other world to clean up and sent Hayden to as well. Hayden and I always made sure that we weren’t in the same area. We couldn’t bear to look at each othe
r. We didn’t talk when we got back here either, but I knew that he would have wanted to fight against Noquef and would have been contacted by Fheyrhil, so I talked to the nurses. The truth is I miss him so much…”

  Gina could not believe the sacrifices her friends had made for her. They’d not only given up their homes, their identity, but Alvina had also given up the man she loved. She felt so lucky to have such friends, but also so responsible to make their lives right again. She reached out and hugged Alvina.

  “It’ll be ok. It will,” Gina told her, rubbing her back. “If you really love each other, and I know you do, then you will be together in the end. I promise.”

  A month had passed since Leyance and Gina had been confined to the hospital wing, but it had been the quickest month of Gina’s life, of both her lives. This month had been filled with the most joyous but also most time consuming and at times frustrating task – planning a wedding. Yet, that month had passed and now the day had come. The whole city stood scattered along the upstream banks of the river ending at the waterfall from a river above. It was morning and still dark, for the sun had yet to show its bright face over the horizon. A pathway covered with flower petals had been placed over the river and ended in a small platform just in front of the waterfall. On the platform stood Leyance. He wore a cream medieval shirt with an embroidered vest and cream pants. A single crystal rose was attached to his shirt. Fheyrhil stood behind him, looking as proud as ever. He was in similar attire but in a grey color. Jacinda, Alvina, and a healed Calypso stood on the opposite side. They all were clothed in beautiful gowns, all with crowns of flowers. Yet, now no one looked at any one of them. All heads turned towards Gina. Indeed, she had emerged at the beginning of the walkway wearing the most beautiful white gown anyone there had ever seen. Her skin sparkled now more than any other’s in the city had ever shimmered. Her old lace necklace had been cleaned and it sparkled on her neck more brightly then ever before. Her smile warmed everyone’s heart as she passed them walking up to Leyance. His smile was just as warm. Their happiness could not be equaled. Gina stopped in front of him and gazed lovingly into his eyes. Now Leyance took something familiar from his pocket. The crystal. He held it in his palms, and Gina slid her hands on top of his and covered the crystal. Together, they began to chant in heavenly voices.

  “Ulay la ora mé ya faré. Nun sa payré.” Inside their heads they both chanted the English translation. My heart is forever entwined with yours. My love for you can never die. Just as they finished, the sun began to rise above the horizon, showering the ceremony with its light. Finally, they kissed and when they pulled apart, the crystal had transformed into a ring and was on Gina’s finger, now glimmering in the morning light. The crowd erupted in cheers as Fheyrhil spoke to himself.

  “And so the queen has returned to join her love and her city. Well done, Gina, and many wishes of happiness in the future. For this is only the beginning.”

  Chapter 9

  “Burning”

  Gina was lying next to the man of her dreams. She rested peacefully in his arms as sleep took over.

  Gina wandered through the forest, following the sound of war cries in the distance. She saw lights from the torches ahead of her. Suddenly, she was amongst the crowd. It was a crowd of Übels. Thousands were swarming about her, yet none took any notice of her presence.

  She took in the environment surrounding her, seeing that she stood in a valley overlooked by a cliff. At the top, a most horrifying scene played out - her torture. Indeed, Gina found herself looking at herself tied to the rod on the cliff. Noquef stood by with a torch. Gina watched herself struggle and for a second their eyes met, but Gina knew she could do nothing. True to the real event, the dress was lit. She was watching an event that had already been acted out. She knew how this particular story would end, and yet she screamed along with the familiar girl at the top of the cliff.

  The screams quickly woke Gina in a cold sweat. Leyance still lay asleep next to her, his arm resting upon her stomach, his heartbeat pulsing against her. Gina looked at him and sighed. It was just a dream, only a dream.

  A sword swung at Gina’s side. Just at the last minute, she dodged and blocked with her own weapon.

  “Good, nice block,” Gloria complimented, sword raised. Indeed, Gina was at her training once again. Kaleb stood not far away, arms crossed, grinning at his student.

  “Your Majesty,” he began, “I really do not understand what more we can teach you. You should be training us.” Gina laughed at this.

  “Yeah, I don’t think so, but thanks.” She swung at Gloria who in return blocked. Suddenly, Gina felt her legs gave way. She toppled over, crushing into the ground. Gloria and Kaleb rushed to her side.

  “Your Highness, are you alright?” Gloria asked.

  “I’m fine, my knees just got weak all of the sudden.” She stood shakily. “I’m alright. No worries.”

  “Well, that is it for today. Take care,” Kaleb stated.

  “I will, thank you,” Gina said. She quickly gathered her stuff and headed off.

  While meandering down towards the manor, Gina saw Leyance running up to her. She couldn’t help but smile at him. She loved him so much.

  “Hello, my love,” he greeted her, giving her a warm kiss. He then stood back to look at her. “You know, if it is possible, I believe my wife gets more beautiful everyday.”

  “You love referring to me as ‘my wife’ don’t you?” Gina lauged. “I think everyone is getting tired of hearing ‘my wife’ this and ‘my wife’ that.”

  “Hey, anyone who has been waiting to marry the one he loves as long as I have would be doing the same.” He grinned at her, pulled her hair away from her face, and kissed her lovingly for awhile. Gina pulled away a little to look at him. She grinned.

  “True, but you think you would grow out of it or something…”

  “It hasn’t been that long since we got married,” he laughed.

  “It has been a whole two months!”

  “Your point?” he asked, smiling brightly. At this, Fheyrhil could be seen making his way up to them.

  “Good day, Your Highness, Leyance,” he greeted them. “Gina, I just received a message from Kulinai. They helped us during the battle with the Übels all those many years ago if you remember.”

  “I do. It is one of those memories I do have.”

  “I thought you remembered everything,” Leyance said turning to her.

  “I do remember, but a few memories are still a little hazy,” she replied.

  “And they will be for awhile,” Fheyrhil put in. “Yet, Kulinai has given word that they wish to make an official alliance in case of future need. You have been asked to visit their city.”

  “When are they expecting me?” Gina wanted to know.

  “In about a week’s time,” he replied.

  “Alright. Will you make all the arrangements?”

  “Of course,” Fheyrhil replied. He turned to leave but called back to them. “Have a nice day.”

  “Shall we?” Leyance asked, swinging his arm around for Gina to take.

  “We shall,” she replied jokingly. With that, they continued to walk down the path.

  Darkness crept over Nythagié. Everyone slept as night rested like a cool blanket over the city. Suddenly, flashes from the dream of the night before crossed Gina’s mind. Her eyes flashed open. Robotically, she sat up. Her entire expression had changed. Now a stern look presented itself on Gina’s face. Silently, she looked down at Leyance who slept peacefully next to her. Without taking her eyes off of him, she reached for her pillow. Holding it above his head, a malicious smile escaped her lips. She was going to suffocate him. She was going to kill Leyance. With plundering force, she drove it down. Everything occurred in slow motion in her eyes. Picking the pillow up, glaring at Leyance, pushing it down, and waking up just before it would have been too late. It was as if she awoke from a trance. She had been awake before but it hadn’t been her. She looked down at the still slumbering Leyance,
vulnerable and unaware of the danger he had been in.

  What was going on? Why did I… but she couldn’t even think about what she knew she had tried to do. What she knew she had wanted to do. Tears began to stream down her face. She threw her pillow harshly in its place and pulled Leyance’s arm off her as if it were simply part of the sheets. She grabbed the top blanket and wrapped it around herself. Falling out of bed, Gina began to make her way to the terrace. As she approached the railing, her legs gave way. Lying on the ground, Gina gripped the bars as if they were the bars of a prison cell.

  Gina did not go back to bed. Her thoughts drifted to what she had almost done. Instead, she dressed and went out to the training field for an early solo exercise session. Gina trained hard and roughly as if to punish herself. Her trainers were just in time to see her fall to the ground.

  “Regina!” they shouted, running over to her. Kaleb lifted her up.

  “I’m fine, I’m fine! Get off of me!” Gina hollered. Kaleb let go, but, once again, she fell. Both Kaleb and Gloria lifted her up.

  “Are you having pains in your legs?” Gloria asked, concerned.

  “No, they don’t hurt. They just won’t hold me up. I’m fine, really. I just worked too hard. I probably pulled a muscle,” Gina stated.

  “I do not think it wise to push further,” Kaleb declared.

  “I’m fine,” she affirmed. She pulled away and sunk once more to the ground. “Okay, maybe not.”

  “I agree with Kaleb. No training today,” Gloria agreed. They helped her up and walked her over to the path. By then, she was able to walk on her own. She hurried down the path.

  “Get those legs looked at!” Kaleb yelled after her, but she did not show any signs of hearing him. Gina hurried off to the council room. There she found Fheyrhil and Leyance who were engrossed in conversation.

  “I am very thrilled about this new alliance with Kulinai. With this, we can be twice as strong a force against the Übels,” Fheyrhil was saying.