Arcene: The Blue Castle

by Al K. Line

  It felt too intrusive, but more than anything it felt too alien. It was hard to adjust to being another creature, and much as she had loved flying high and riding the thermals, she quickly found, just like most other Awoken that also had the gift, that it was easy to lose yourself, feel yourself drifting away from being a human being, becoming more and more like the creature you occupied.

  There was a real risk of never being able to get back to your own body, as inhabiting another creature meant that you quickly took on their thoughts. You melded into them, mind slowing, warping as the chemical balances in the host body made your own thoughts slip away to nothing. It was easy to see how you could become trapped if there wasn't enough of your own awareness remaining to make the return.

  Some were very adept at such things, able to keep control, do it as easily as breathing, but they were few and far between, often very powerful. Arcene found it entirely too odd, and because of what she had done to her own body she knew that she would never develop the skills it took to switch from one mind to another with ease.

  But for Leel? For Leel she would do it, just for a minute. She'd do anything for Leel.

  Arcene sat, letting herself relax, allowing her mind to slip between the cracks in the visible world and enter the place that in truth was more real than the visceral world. She let herself enter The Noise, or let it enter her, or just opened herself up to the truth of all things — she never was sure which way it worked, just knew that with her Awoken state the place that wasn't a place was always there, readily accessible.

  The Noise was as much a state of mind as anything. If you let yourself become one with it then so much was revealed. Normal human senses became pale imitations of what was really going on all around you. People vibrated in intense colors, showing the truth of their personalities. Everything you looked at showed deeper meaning, hidden truths behind the facade unraveling, and if you went deep into The Noise then you could search for other life, summon up powers within yourself to become more than human.

  Some could control the minds of others, slip through the imperfections in time, warp it, change things, see the future and the past, walk down timelines toward a fate of their choosing. Yet their power was a curse Arcene was glad she didn't have, for such lives were intolerable to her — she still found it hard to understand how anyone could live their life when they already knew what would happen. How boring would that be?

  So Arcene spent little time consumed by The Noise, but this was to help her friend.

  As easily as swishing her sword through the air Arcene cut through the gap between herself and Leel and slipped into her mind.

  Hello my friend, let's get this over with shall we?

  Leel responded with a rush of hormones, sending happy signals into her brain — their brain, for they were as one. It was like Leel could talk, as if they were having a real conversation but without speaking, for being this connected meant that Arcene was Leel and Leel, to a lesser degree, was Arcene.

  Okay, I'm just going to stop you feeling so much so we can get over the nasty thing under the ground that does the hurting, then we can go try to dry the clothes. Okay?

  Leel felt sad for what she had done. She thought it was a game, didn't stop to think about their belongings. She was sorry.

  It's okay, it did look like fun.

  It was, it was lots of fun. Leel would like to jump in again.

  No, we can't do that. I nearly lost you. I couldn't get you out a second time.

  Leel was sorry. Leel would be good from now on.

  Haha, I very much doubt that.

  It was done. While they communed, Arcene had shut down the appropriate sensations and walked Leel to the edge of the meadow — Leel hadn't even noticed, she was too excited about having her friend come say hello.

  As easily as Arcene had entered, she withdrew. Her work was done.

  "Right, come on you," said Arcene, standing and pulling at her vest to stop it sticking to her belly. "Let's go get dry. I suppose I'll have to try to light a fire. That's going to be fun. Not."

  A Battle of Two Sticks

  After a twenty minute walk from the castle Arcene found a suitable spot to sort out the damage caused by Leel's exuberance. The forest edge a short distance away provided shelter, acting as a barrier to the prevailing wind, and the land was lush with short grass but open toward a view of the castle gleaming in a patchwork of blue and gray in the distance.

  To the north, hills gently rolled into the distance, hiding the city Arcene had hoped to make it to by the end of the day. So much for plans, but it didn't matter, there was no hurry.

  She camped next to a rather scraggly beech tree, the shade welcome in the heat of the afternoon. Twisted branches allowed her to string up a line and hang the wet clothes and bedding where the gentle breeze blew. The sun crept between the boughs, drying everything nicely.

  There was a moment's panic when she remembered about the acorn, but it was undamaged, impervious to the water. Arcene tucked it back into its pocket for safekeeping.

  The backpack's contents were spread out on the ground, including the soaked-through box that had contained the lighter. She should have sealed it in something properly waterproof, an oversight she would be sure to rectify next time. She'd never considered the importance of such a simple thing before — when she was young and wild it was as easy as going from empty house to empty house in the cities or villages, or raiding long since closed shops, taking boxes of ancient lighters. They were always there in abundance and she hardly gave it a thought.

  But now, well, unless she trudged through the night to the city then she would have to make a fire the old fashioned way: with sticks.

  Arcene had made her fire pit with stones from around the tree and gathered dry fallen branches, placed to the side at the ready. She hunted through her cache until she found a perfect flat piece of wood to act as the base stick, nice and flat on the top, and plenty long enough.

  "Right, now for the plow." Arcene hunted through the pile again, finding a slender but sturdy stick that would be ideal. "Now to the carving." Arcene focused, tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth as she scraped a groove in the base stick along its top flat edge. The wood was hard but it gave almost like butter under the pressure of the blade.

  Leel watched keenly, waiting for Arcene to throw what must be special sticks to need so much attention before they were to play. She began to shake, becoming too excited to wait any longer.

  "Leel! No, this is for our fire. So we can eat and I can dry everything."

  Leel halted, face inches from the special stick, and sat back on her haunches, watching in case Arcene changed her mind.

  Once the groove was suitably deep, Arcene turned her attention to the plow stick. Using gentle strokes, she smoothed it with the edge of her blade, then whittled the end to a forty-five degree angle.

  "Perfect. Now we need some tinder. What's best for that Leel? Eh? Do you know?"

  Woof woof.

  "Haha, didn't think so." Arcene peeled tufts of dead moss from the firewood and pulled it apart, making it nice and open before dropping it into the center of the empty stone circle. "Okay, now for the hard part. Wish me luck Leel. This is your fault, we could be hunting instead of doing this first."

  Leel bowed her head sadly, just for a second, before something caught her eye and she bounded off across the grass.

  "Stupid dog, probably saw a butterfly or a bee. She'll never learn." Leel had been stung several times, her face swelling until she looked decidedly odd — she didn't seem to get the connection.

  "Okay then, let's hope this works, it's been a long time." Arcene was taught the technique as a child, but had thought it stupid since she could just use a lighter, and had thrown a bit of a tantrum as she tried to get it to work, resulting in two broken sticks and a cold supper for being naughty.

  Arcene sat on the end of the long base stick to stop it from moving, wiggling her bum until she was comfortable. Not using too much force
, she put the plow stick into the groove of the base stick nearest to her. Keeping it at a forty five degree angle she slid it back and forth.

  "It's all about friction, just keep sliding until it feels smooth." The wood felt rough and uncomfortable to begin with but the more she slid it the more worn it became until after a minute it was relatively easy. She increased the pressure. "Keep going, don't stop. Press harder, move faster. Come on, come on."

  There was a hint of smoke as the friction built. The groove darkened. It would work, it really would. "Faster, faster, don't give up now." Arcene's arms were ablaze, her muscles aching from pulling Leel out of the moat, now burning from the exertion. She began to sweat and her pigtails were getting annoying as they swayed with the effort. Sweat dripped into her eyes and the sun was getting way too hot. Maybe she should have not bothered? No, as however warm it was in the afternoon, when the sun went down it would be cold, and it was lonely without a fire and—

  "Yes!"

  The wood was black beneath her; tiny shavings at the far end of the groove began to smolder.

  "A bit more. Harder. Faster."

  Arcene slid the plow for all she was worth, hair flying wildly, sweat covering her face, fingers locked like claws, forearms, shoulders and biceps burning, skin slick. Shortening her push, she stopped short of the embers, making more with her movements until there was a nice little collection at the end, now smoking intensely.

  Gratefully, Arcene stopped and managed to prize her right hand from the plow, fingers white at the joints. After standing she upended the base stick carefully over the moss. She put a little more on top before squatting down, watching the smoke eagerly, wiping away sweat with her arm.

  It felt like a lifetime, just sitting there watching, but then, yes, it was a flame! She lay down and blew gently at the moss then sat back up, adding little twigs, careful to arrange them in a pyramid so air could flow through and fan the flames.

  Five minutes later Arcene was the proud creator of a crisp, bright fire burning strongly.

  "Ugh, I'm boiling. Making a fire means you're too hot to need one. Leel. Leel, come on, we have to go find something to cook on it now." While she waited for Leel, Arcene gathered more wood and built the fire up nicely, adding a couple of thick branches that would take hours to burn down, and sorted through her gear for anything that needed to dry out near the fire. She placed what she could circling the flames then checked on the clothes and blankets hanging from the line. Most were little more than damp so should be dry in a few hours, if not then she would put them by the fire when they returned.

  Now it was time for hunting — Arcene style.

  Where's my Dinner?

  The best thing about being fifteen when you are twenty-two is that you recover quickly. Arcene had always run fast, her metabolism was like the fire she'd left to search for food: quick to consume and forever in need of feeding. She had always been slender even when she'd eaten in abundance, and had always been full of energy, some would say mischief too. Well, everyone would, and what was cool was that she still felt exactly the same.

  Almost.

  She tried not to think about it, but some days the horror of what had happened to her in the past took over, the cause of her static age descending and casting a dark cloud over her normally perky and optimistic outlook on life.

  It was taking her now, that darkness, the struggle with the past rearing its ugly head, the recovery from her exertions making her think about how nice it was to feel so restored with such ease, but the reason she was forever young coming back to haunt her. She'd been an innocent, not interested in boys let alone men, and she had been taken against her will, her mind made to think it was happy with what was happening when the truth was the opposite.

  The moment her son was born he was snatched from her arms; Arcene knew what real despair was for the first time in her life.

  Don't dwell on it, you have a beautiful boy, that's what counts.

  Arcene sent the darkness away — it did no good to think about the bad when there was good in the world, always the chance of happiness if you let it into your life. That's how she'd always approached things, wasn't it? If today sucked you owed it to yourself to make sure that tomorrow rocked.

  Anyway, it's been a good day. We saw a blue castle, ate pheasant, had a little adventure in the moat, and it's not even time for dinner yet. Anything could happen.

  Leel bounded about ahead, paws with a life of their own. She often looked like she was skipping to Arcene: she never seemed to have proper control of her limbs, just like a young puppy, locked in her youth. The same as Arcene.

  The open space around the camp would not be good for hunting so Arcene knew their best bet was to move into the forest, it was much more likely to offer up something good. Animals liked the shade just as much as she did, so that was were they headed.

  Arcene's world was one where animals were everywhere. It was all she'd ever known, but apparently it wasn't always the case. Back before The Lethargy, before everyone gave up and humanity went from billions to near extinction, there weren't many creatures in the country. It was all to do with farming, roads and vehicles it seemed, and the meat people did eat often came from creatures kept contained, sometimes even in barns, never seeing the outdoors.

  It all sounded very odd, the stuff people ate even odder. From what she'd been told it seemed like everything was often all mashed up and turned into things that didn't even resemble what they once were. People bought meat all wrapped up weird, never even knowing what it looked like in its original form. Mad.

  For Arcene it was all about respect — she didn't waste food, she treated animals with kindness, only taking what she needed. Which, unfortunately for the animal population, was a lot. Still, having to hunt could get tiring. She'd got accustomed to not having to worry about such things at The Commorancy, but it felt good to be back to basics — like she was truly alive again and in-tune with the natural order of things.

  They made it to the forest soon enough, but Arcene vowed that the following morning they would get an early start, maybe even skip breakfast, although that did make her shudder a little at the thought, and would travel to the city for some exploring — you never knew what you'd find in those places, even after they had mostly been abandoned. There were still a few people living in the old buildings, or there were. Maybe it was different now?

  "Ugh, there I go again, depressing myself. Hold up Leel, wait for me." Arcene ran to catch Leel who had entered the forest, already sniffing the ground for a trail to pick up.

  It was quiet under the canopy, the diffuse light making it feel later than it was. It was calming, everything feeling sort of soft and squishy like the mossy ground beneath her feet. They needed to catch something good, something big if possible. Leel needed a proper feed and so did Arcene.

  Her belly broke the silence, rumbling noisily.

  Good job we weren't tracking something, that would have scared it off. Be quiet belly, you'll ruin your chances otherwise.

  Arcene crept forward, watching her step, trying to ensure that she made as little sound as possible, ordering Leel to walk beside her or she'd be clattering about the place like a loon, scaring everything away.

  They moved deeper into the gloom, the forest growing increasingly silent the closer together the trees grew.

  "Ssh," whispered Arcene, stopping and grabbing hold of Leel's collar. "Over there, look." She pointed to a little clearing where dappled light hit moss thicker than a feather pillow and looked just as inviting. Lichen-covered rocks lined a small pool, a natural spring by the looks of it, pure water finding its way to the surface from deep underground, constantly replenished, the overflow seeping into the earth creating a lush mossy carpet before meandering deeper into the cover of the trees.

  That was all very nice, but Arcene wasn't thinking about the fact that Leel could have a proper drink as the stupid dog hadn't even had one when she was in the moat, no, Arcene had her gaze firmly set on the baby boar snuf
fling in soft loam, rummaging through the rich soil looking for worms. Boar! Boar was the best, and baby boar was like... well, it was even better.

  But you couldn't eat baby boar, not often. The risk was high as the mother was liable to attack if you went anywhere near her young, equally important was the fact that when it was bigger it would mean it was a much more substantial meal. But now and then over the years she'd found lone babies and they tasted like nothing in this world.

  Arcene looked around, searching for the mother, holding on tight to Leel who stared at the animal like she could catch it by the intensity of her gaze, but knowing to keep still and silent until the time was right. They'd have to get closer first, but Arcene might not let her chase it, even though Leel knew it tasted like the best thing ever.

  Result! Yes.

  Although it was a sad sight, the remains of an adult boar partially hidden by the trees meant the young boar was now fair game. The adult was almost completely consumed, killed a day or two ago by something much larger and more deadly, maybe the panther.

  Oh, oops. The panther, must remember about the panther. But anyway, result!

  The baby wouldn't last long on its own; it must have scattered when its mother was chased and killed, but returned to where she was caught by surprise, not having chance to make a proper run for it.

  There could be more, there could be loads.

  Gurgle.

  Oh no. "Go Leel, quick. Stupid belly." Arcene put a hand to her trim waist in admonishment as Leel went into action, moving so fast so quickly she got nowhere as she had no purchase on the soft ground.

  Eventually she was off, yipping and yelping in that high-pitched way of hers that sent animals for miles running for cover — stealthy she was not. But she was fast, once she got moving.

  Leel hurtled into the clearing, her huge frame making the baby boar seem even smaller, the disparity in size exaggerated by her huge lope, sending her high in the air as she bounded toward her prey.

  It was over, the boar caught unawares, too young to understand the need for caution. Arcene jogged up beside Leel and said, "Good girl. Give Leel, you drop." Leel obediently dropped the lifeless body, a puncture wound in the neck showing it had been a clean kill. Arcene bent and picked up the limp body, checking it was dead, knife at the ready just in case. It was dead, painless and quick as it should be.