Metanoia

by Angela Schiavone

  “And with Gina we will be undefeatable,” Leyance responded, smiling at her as she walked in. Almost timidly, she approached Leyance. She just reached him when her legs gave out yet again causing her to fall into her husband’s arms. Leyance laughed as he caught her, not worried.

  “No time to become weak in the knees over me, Gina,” he laughed. “You need to be composed for visiting Kulinai.” Yet, Fheyrhil took this more seriously.

  “Regina, are you alright?” he asked.

  “I’m fine,” she responded, standing back up. “I need to go get something in my room. I have got to go, but I’ll see you soon.” With that she ran off. Leyance shrugged it off, but Fheyrhil watched her go, worried thoughts racing through his head.

  The next day, Gina found herself walking down the familiar path to her and Leyance’s secret spot. She was still armed from training. Her sword bounced at her side as she enjoyed her walk. Her legs had only given out once today. A little way before her, Gina saw a wild white horse getting a drink of water from the pond. At this sight, darkness crept over Gina’s eyes. She stared at the horse with so much malice in her eyes that chills ran up her spine. Without thinking, she reached for her bow, strung an arrow and fired. The horse reared up as the searing pain dove into its body, causing it to crash to the ground. Its snow white body was now forever stained with red. At this instant, the darkness faded from Gina, and she realized what she had just done. She knew she had been in the same trance she had been in before. Fear swept over her as she ran to the horse. Tears were streaming down her face as she tried to help the dying animal. It looked at her with pure terror in its eyes and struggled to get out of her grasp.

  “NO!” she cried. “Oh my God! No! No…I…oh God, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry – I didn’t mean to – what’s happening to me?! Oh my God – what have I done? No, please, forgive me!!! Don’t die, please, you have to live – I can’t be a… I just can’t!” But she knew it was no use. As she held the bloody animal in her arms, its fitful spasms ceased. It was dead. She screamed and held the animal close to her. The arrow still protruded from its heart. She ripped it out violently and broke the arrow in half in her rage. Ferociously, she threw the arrow’s pieces in a brush while crawling over to the water. She saw her reflection in the crystal surface. It was the reflection of a murderer, a heartless killer. The tears had stopped flowing, but now Gina shook violently. As calmly as she could, she tried to wash off the blood that now was all over her. Yet the sight of her reflection was too much, and she hit the water’s surface so the image was lost to the ripples. She couldn’t look at her face anymore. She didn’t know if she would ever be able to again.

  Suddenly, Gina heard a familiar voice.

  “Gina! Are you over here?” It was Leyance. Quickly, Gina grabbed her belongings and ran into the brush just as Leyance entered the clearing. He spotted the horse and ran over to it, knowing he was too late.

  “Oh, God.” He bowed his head and when it was lifted again, a surge of urgency could be clearly seen in it. Leyance rose and ran off down the path. He was no doubt in search of Fheyrhil, but Gina did not move. Her body no longer obeyed her.

  A few nights later, Gina sat on her bed, knees pulled tightly to her chest. The shock of that afternoon was definitely paying its toll. Leyance came up to the bed and crawled over it until he sat right behind Gina. He started to rub her shoulders lovingly as he talked.

  “Are you sure you are alright, Gina?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “It’s just that you’ve been acting so strange lately. I’ve heard you crying at night, too. Look, whatever it is I can help you through it. That’s why I’m here. I’ll love you no matter what.” With this, she spun around and grabbed his wrists.

  “Nothing is wrong with me!” she snapped.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get you upset.” Leyance seemed frightened by this new aggression, but it was Gina who quickly pulled away.

  “No, I’m sorry. I don’t know why I acted like that.” She turned to hug Leyance but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

  “Come in,” Leyance called. Fheyrhil entered the room. He looked most aggrieved.

  “I am sorry to disturb you both,” he began, “but I carry distressing news.”

  “What’s wrong?” Gina asked.

  “I have been receiving many messages that animals have been found all over the city – slaughtered.” With the last word, Gina screamed in her heart. It shook her soul to hear that one word.

  “Slaughtered?” Leyance asked, making Gina jump again. “Like the horse I found the other day? I just don’t understand. No one would do this!”

  “It does seem to be a complete mystery,” Fheyrhil agreed. “Gina.” She jumped at the sound of her name. “Do you have any light to shed on the subject?”

  “No,” she replied, shakily. Fheyrhil eyed her strangely, but then turned to leave.

  “Alright. Look into it and let me know if any vital information surfaces.” He walked out. Gina watched him go and looked to Leyance. He started to walk over to her but she dodged his reach and ran out the door.

  “Gina? Where are you going? Gina!” he called, but it was no use. She was gone.

  Gina ran through the halls of the manor, down the steps, and out to the meadow next to where she trained every morning. Once in the grass, her legs gave out, and she fell, tears streaming down her face.

  “Please…it couldn’t have been me! I’m not…Oh, God, please!” She buried her face in her arms and sobbed.

  The next day, Gina returned to the room only to pack for her trip to Kulinai. She spoke to no one. Once she and her escorts were ready to leave, Leyance came down to wish her luck. He hoped that she was alright.

  “Good luck. Have fun. I love you,” was all he said. He leaned in to kiss her, but she turned her cheek to his mouth. She did not even say good-bye as she turned and went out the gates.

  Days past, and no word came from Gina. No sign of how negotiations were going or if she was feeling any better. One day, a Nythagién rider rode out to see the sunset. He had also hoped to see a sign of the company’s return but was left disappointed. He watched the sunset and just as all light went out, he thought he heard a scream. He looked at the horizon, and it appeared as if the sun was rising again. In the far off distance, he could see a glow of light. There was only one way for that much light to be generated – a city on fire.

  An alarm rang throughout all of Nythagié. The rider’s report had raised fear in many. More and more riders were sent out to aid the city in need, yet all of them knew it would take a whole night’s ride to reach them. By then, it might be too late.

  Alvina, Calypso, and Jacinda ran as quickly as they could to the manor. In the council room, they found Fheyrhil and Leyance pacing. They were waiting in earnest to hear what had occurred during the night.

  “What is it?” Calypso demanded, bursting in. “What’s happened?”

  “We do not know, Calypso,” Fheyrhil replied. “I am afraid that I fear for the worst though.”

  “And Gina?” Jacinda asked, but by Leyance’s quickened pace. She knew the answer.

  “We have heard no word. She would have sent word…” Fheyrhil stated.

  “Oh, God…” Alvina said, shaking. Suddenly, the moment of suspense peaked as a messenger burst through the doors.

  “The city is Kulinai, sir,” he said. Both Leyance and Fheyrhil jumped at this while their hearts sank. The girls stood shocked, but Alvina was shaking horribly.

  “What word about Queen Regina?” Leyance asked in earnest.

  “None,” the messenger replied. “We could not find her. We do not know if she lives or not.”

  “What do you mean if she lives or not?” Leyance demanded.

  “There was a huge massacre. Everyone in the city, everyone, is either dead or severely injured.”

  “No!” Leyance and Alvina screamed together. She sank to the ground as her friends ran over to her.

  “Send out a search
for the queen!” Fheyrhil ordered.

  “It is already in progress. She has not been found as of yet.”

  “Send out more people then!” Fheyrhil shouted.

  “Yes, sir.” With that, the messenger turned and fled.

  “No!! This isn’t happening! Please, God, no!” Alvina cried.

  “Alvina?” Calypso asked, rubbing her back. Alvina was crying uncontrollably.

  “Hayden! Hayden lives in Kulinai! If something happened to him, I’ll never forgive myself. I never told him the truth! I never told him how much I loved him…” she sobbed.

  “Oh, no…” Jacinda gasped. Alvina glanced up at Fheyrhil with teary eyes.

  “You know his fate. Tell me it truthfully!” she demanded.

  Fheyrhil took a deep and shaky breath. “He has passed… I can feel it…” With this, Alvina started to cry even harder as she pushed herself into a corner. Fheyrhil wanted to comfort her, but he knew words were beyond comforting value now. While the girls comforted Alvina, Leyance stepped aside to talk to Fheyrhil.

  “How is this possible?” Leyance demanded.

  “A better question is what size an army could accomplish such a task? Where are they now?” Fheyrhil asked to himself more than to Leyance.

  “What if anything happened to Gina?”

  “Then we are all in danger.”

  Terror swept through the city, but none so much as the terror sweeping through Leyance’s heart. He stood in his and Gina’s room, looking out the window into the darkness.

  “Gina,” he whispered to the night. “Please return to me safely. I can’t bear to loose you again.”

  “I’m here,” came a small shivering voice. Leyance spun around to see Gina standing in the doorway. She was drenched with blood.

  “Gina!” he screamed and ran over to her. “You’re covered in blood, oh, no. Where are you hurt?”

  “I’m not hurt. This,” she motioned to her permanent red stain, “is not mine.”

  “What happened?”

  “I…I don’t…I…” She was obviously very shaken. Leyance put his hand over her lips.

  “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it now. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” With that he led her to the bathroom and produced some clean clothes from the closet.

  When Gina resembled her own self, Leyance led her to bed. He sat down and held out his hands, leading the still shaking Gina to him. Leyance lay down and held her to him.

  “I love you,” he whispered. Gina did not respond. They lay in silence until Leyance fell asleep, but Gina did not follow suit.

  Chapter 10

  “Nythagié’s Black Rose”

  Morning light crept into the room. Leyance awoke and rolled over to hug Gina. All he hit was mattress. Slowly, he opened his eyes. His wife was no where in sight.

  “Gina?” He pulled back the covers and stepped out of bed, right onto Gina’s necklace.

  Morning light crept over the horizon. Gina stood on a cliff, but she was not the same. She wore black from head to toe, and her once conservative outfits now took a severe turn in the opposite direction. Her necklace had been replaced too. A black choker adorned her neck, a dark silver dead rose bejeweled it. Nothing but pure malice could be seen on her face as she stared at the city below her. The burning city of Kulinai. Suddenly, she saw an Übel approaching her. She hid in the brush as it passed and then, with a flying leap, attacked the creature, pinning it to the ground.

  “What are you doing here?” she demanded.

  “I was sent to find you,” he croaked, spitting dirt out of his mouth.

  “By who?”

  “My leader.”

  “Who is that?” No response came so she pushed him hard into the ground. “Who?!”

  “Warik,” he coughed. “His name is Warik.”

  “Good to know,” she said smiling and released him. He got up quickly and stared at her. She swiftly strung an arrow and shot him. The creature stumbled and fell dead. “But I’m your leader now.”

  “Gina’s gone,” Leyance announced coming into the council room. He showed Gina’s necklace to Fheyrhil. “I found this on the floor. What does it mean?”

  “We have lost her. You will not find her.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “If you found Regina, it would not be the one you or I know,” Fheyrhil stated solemnly.

  “You aren’t making any sense!”

  “You would understand if your love for her had not slowed your ability to perceive things for what they really are. My caring for her also slowed my perception. How could we have been so blind?”

  “What’s happened? I don’t understand!”

  “Kulinai, Leyance. Think! What army could destroy an entire city? An army of only one. Just one,” Fheyrhil whispered sadly.

  “One?”

  “One. Gina. It was Gina. She killed the animals…”

  “No,” Leyance whispered unbelieving what he was being told.

  “She lit the city on fire…”

  “No, she couldn’t.”

  “She killed everyone who got in her way.”

  “No! It wasn’t her. It just can’t be!”

  “Why?” Fheyrhil questioned. “Because you love her?” Leyance didn’t know how to respond to this. His heart did not want to accept what his head knew to be true. Suddenly, the sound of rain outside caught the attention of both the men.

  “What the…?” Leyance stated, rushing to the window, Fheyrhil close on his heels.

  “Rain?” Fheyrhil questioned.

  “But it hasn’t rained here since the battle at the beginning of time!” Leyance declared.

  “It’s Regina.”

  “She couldn’t do this. This takes too much power!

  “Yes she can!” Fheyrhil snapped at him. “She can and she has!”

  “No, this isn’t possible. No one could do this!”

  “Noquef could.” The name startled Leyance.

  “Noquef put a spell on that fire that encircled her legs remember? When the fire engulfed her, she would turn evil – you stopped the flame from consuming her, but you could not stop the burning. That evil has slowly been encircling up her body since she returned. That is why her legs kept becoming so weak – of course, it makes so much sense, if only I had seen it before! Now, it’s too late…” Fheyrhil sat down, resting his head in his hand. Yet, this information enraged Leyance.

  “It’s not too late!” With that he ran towards the door.

  “Where are you going?” Fheyrhil asked without looking up.

  “To find Gina. She loves me. I can get her out of this trance she’s in. I can stop her. She won’t hurt me.”

  “Her evilness might have started by coming in trances, but that is not so now! This has changed her entire personality. Your wife is dead, and a new enemy has arisen from her ashes.”

  “I will not let her get hurt!” Leyance declared.

  “It is you who will be hurt if you go anywhere near her! She killed an entire city with no guilt. Killing you will be nothing to her!” Fheyrhil yelled. “She will be coming for Nythagié before we know it. We need to protect the city.”

  “I’m going after her,” Leyance avowed. “Gina will protect this city.” With that, he ran out of the room.

  Gina stood on a cliff, arms out accepting the pouring rain. Warik, her new servant, was by her side.

  “Lovely, isn’t it? Noquef wasn’t worthy of this, though one thing he did do right was discover all those spells. They’re coming in handy, don’t you think?” she said, grinning.

  “Gina!” She spun around to see Leyance running up to her.

  “Not now,” she groaned. She turned to the creature standing beside her. “Let me deal with this.”

  “But I…” the creature began to say, an arrow halfway into his bow, but was stopped dead in its tracks. Leyance had fired a deadly shot. He ran up to Gina, his hair sticking to his face from the rain. She walked up to him, stepping over the dead creature without a second tho
ught.

  “You don’t take a hint, do you?” she asked, annoyed.

  “Gina, honey, come on, you’re just under a spell. You don’t mean to do this…”

  “I mean to do what I am doing!” she snapped. “Now, I’ll give you to the count of five to get out of here before I start inflicting major pain. One…”

  “I love you, Gina, and you love me!”

  “Two…”

  “You don’t want to do this. Please…”

  “Three…”

  “Come home with me, to the people you love…”

  “Four…”

  “Please, listen to me!” he yelled desperately. Leyance grabbed her shoulders as if trying to hold on to her with all he had.

  Her closed eyes flashed open, glaring. She could feel his hands on her shoulders, his wet clothes against her back. “Five.” Gina spun around, grabbing his wrists as she went. She twisted them and hit him hard. Leyance tumbled to the ground, a look of absolute surprise and confusion on his face as he looked up at her from the flat of his back. She leaped on top of him, knocking the wind out of him. Sitting on top of him, she glared down into his eyes.

  “I don’t love you. I never have and never will. Love is pathetic – it does nothing for you!” she screamed.

  “Gina,” he whispered startled, “you do love me, and I love you.”

  “Shut up!” Gina bellowed. She back-handed him - hard. Leyance just stared at her, unwilling to believe what she was doing, unwilling to hit back. He couldn’t bring himself to hurt the one he loved, even if she could.

  “Fheyrhil’s a smart guy. He probably warned you but no…” She struck him again. “Mr. Fix-It had to come to rescue his princess!” Once again, her fist came in contact with his now tender cheek. “To defeat the terrible dragon and save the day, huh?” And again. “Well, guess what? I’m the dragon now, and you’ve come a long way for nothing…” She rolled off of him and leapt to her feet, smiling as she watched him get up painfully.