by Unknown
“The Keeper is our princess now. Let the City figure out what they should do without her, I don’t care. But she’s not leaving here until she finds a way to both stop this plague and restore our people’s dignity.” She leaves on that note, giving me no time to reply. Their dignity? What did that have to do with anything?
Echo laughs shallowly and wraps his arms around me. “Well, that certainly ruined the moment, didn’t it?”
I want to laugh, but the queen’s words echo through my head and keep me from doing so. I push myself off the bed and brush my hands down my black robes, which I still stubbornly wear, despite the queen’s wishes. “I should go.” When I look back at Echo, there’s a clear flash of disappointment that flickers over his features. I stare at him for a long while then leave before the tension between us shatters me.
Chapter 10
When I get back to the cell where Gabe, Elan, and Brandon are being kept, it’s lights out for them. They aren’t exactly locked in there like prisoners, but there is a guard posted in the hallway, just in case any of them decides to make a break for it. The guard shoots me a disapproving look, much like every other Dreamcatcher in Aura, and just like every other time, I ignore it.
I push the metal door open, perhaps one of the only doors in the palace that uses a material that is a little more our time than the wooden doors from long ago that they use. A sliver of light grows the more I open the door, until it finally illuminates Gabriel, who is not asleep like Elan and Brandon are. He is staring at the door, and maybe he has been waiting for me to come this whole while. Or maybe he is just thinking about how to escape.
“Gabe?” I whisper and shut the door behind me. He doesn’t answer back, not even when I fumble about to find his bunk, which is only half occupied, as Brandon and Elan are sleeping in another bunk on the other side of the small room.
Finally, I reach my destination, and without an invite, I slip into the bottom bunk beside Gabe, who doesn’t move away from me, but doesn’t make any move to be closer to me, either.
“Gabe?” I ask again.
Still, he doesn’t answer.
“Listen, I know you are mad at me … and that this is all very confusing for you since you’ve woken up out of your coma … ”
“I didn’t just ‘wake up,’ I was healed. By your husband.” He says the last word with a conviction so intense that my heart immediately feels heavy in my chest, as if it were sinking down between my lungs and toward my stomach.
This seems like a good place to explain things, though, so I swallow back my fear and start to do just that. “They are keeping me prisoner here.” That’s what comes out of my mouth first. Let him understand that I am not staying here out of my own accord, even if I made a promise not to leave until the Citizens were freed and the plague was gone. I will have to explain that to him later, because right now it feels like I am running out of time, and Gabe can, at any moment, dismiss me from his life forever.
“I thought about you all the time. You were in my dreams, my Visions, everything. So, somehow, Echo arranged for you to come to Aura to be healed. I had no idea … but his mother …” I grit my teeth together and shoot a look toward the door, wondering if she’ll make an appearance. She seems to be everywhere and anywhere, just like the Keeper back at the Institution. “His mother decreed that the only way you would be healed would be if I married Echo. So I did, because if I didn’t, you’d be dead.”
“Being dead would hurt less than this does, Beatrice.” Gabe’s voice cracks in a rare show of emotion. My heart drops further inside me.
“I’m sorry, Gabe, I really am … but I didn’t want you to die. I couldn’t think of living in this world without you … and I can’t think of myself as being any sort of reasonable Keeper without your help.” This is a rather radical thought, that the Keeper should need help from anyone at all. Sure, the previous Keeper had her attendants and officers, but she didn’t have an advisor. I need Gabe when I get back to the City. I just can’t do it without him.
Gabe’s violet eyes find mine, and the longer I stare into them, the more the sadness begins to swell up inside of me, wrapping its tendrils around every inside part, squeezing the life from them.
“Get out.” The words slice through me.
I can’t move. Did he just tell me to leave? Is my time really up already?
“I can’t deal with this, Beatrice. My head is swimming, and it’s too much to hear that not only are you the Keeper, but you’ve abandoned the City and married a Dreamcatcher.”
“I didn’t abandon the City.”
Gabe frowns. “Then why are you here and not there?”
I pause. The words awkwardly tumble from my mouth. “I had dreams and Visions and they all called me here.”
“Echo called you here!” Gabe blurts in a loud whisper, careful not to wake the other two, even if I can see the rage boiling in his gaze. “This has nothing to do with a Vision. He put it in your head that you had to be here. He is manipulating you to believe that you are needed to cure the plague, and you aren’t, Beatrice. You aren’t.”
When he touches me, he grabs me by my arms and shakes me until my head bobs back and forth. “Why can’t you see any of this? You are smarter than this, Bea, and you are acting like a … a … heartsick little puppy.”
I push his hands off me and frown. “Stop it. I am not acting like some puppy. I am trying to help these people, Gabe. If you saw the way they have their Citizens living … if you saw the Birthing Tents and the families huddled in shanty houses … I can’t just leave them here.” After a pause, I continue in a much gentler tone. “As Seers, it is our duty to protect the Citizens, right?”
Gabe grumbles something indecipherable.
“And that’s what I am doing. They might not be our Citizens, but they are Citizens none-the-less, and they don’t deserve to be enslaved and bred and used for healing.” My chest rises and falls like I’ve just run a marathon. Having this conversation is just as exhausting,
“Whatever you want to call it, Beatrice. All I know is, I want to go home and forget any of this ever happened.” Gabe rubs his forehead with both of his hands, smushing his palms against his eyes.
I swallow, then pull on the bottle cap necklace that is hidden under my robes until it comes out. “Just remember.” Reaching out, I pull one of his hands away from his eyes so that he’s peeking at me through the tussled hair that falls in front of his face. “This is only temporary. I might be a princess to these people now, but I am first and foremost a Seer. The Keeper.”
Gabe’s eye blinks and he pulls his other hand away from his face.
“I’m your Beatrice.” The words sound so pathetic, and are whispered just barely enough to be heard. Even as I say it, I can’t help but to think how I can belong to two people at once. How do I give my heart to both of them without hurting the other?
And I know what my answer is.
I can’t have them both.
Gabe sinks back down in his covers and pulls them up to his shoulder, not minding the part that I am sitting on. “Goodnight, Beatrice.”
That’s my cue that it’s my turn to leave. I lean down and kiss Gabe’s forehead before he can stop me, then stand and creep back out of the room and into the brightly-lit hallway. The guard gives me that same, annoyed stare, and I glare at him back. I’m in no mood now.
I have to figure out whom to follow.
***
I arrive back to Echo’s quarters and find that he’s not there. Thankfully. I don’t think I could handle the pressure of our first night together, or the disappointment when I turn him down.
I slip out of my robes and let it fall on the ground in a puddle of midnight fabric. Then, I wiggle out of my underclothing and into a set of pajamas that have been laid out for me on top of the covers of the bed. Irene and Jamie must have been by, judging by the turned-down sheets and a light snack of berries set onto a side table.
I pop one into my mouth before crawling under the covers
. I lay back, my head sinking into a pillow which nests around my face and makes me feel like the walls are closing in. In a way, I feel safe, buried in my blankets and pillows.
But when I close my eyes and try to will myself into sleep, that is when a Vision grabs hold of me. I grip onto the covers as the bright light washes out my true vision and replaces it with my gift instead.
***
Paradigm stands before me. She is wearing the same polka-dot dress that she did when she was executed. Even the dark bloodstains are there, shiny and moist, as if the execution had just happened.
The smaller girl crosses her arms over her chest and regards me like a mother would a chastised child. “Beatrice, what have you done?”
I don’t answer her, since I have no idea what she is talking about. What have I done? What has her family done?
“They’ve done nothing.” She answers my question, somehow in tune with my thoughts. “But you, you’ve come to Aura and turned it all upside down. Or at least, that is what you plan to do.”
“It is what needs to be done,” I tell her, because outside of my Vision, Paradigm doesn’t exist. Outside of my Vision, she is nothing and has no power to tell anyone what I share with her here. “Aura needs to change. The Dreamcatchers need to change. We all need to change.”
“The Dreamcatchers will die.” Paradigm’s arms fall back to her sides. “They will die if you don’t stop your crusade to free the Citizens and instead find a way to cure the plague.”
“And how do you expect that I do that?”
“You need to gather the leaves.”
“What? What does that even mean?”
“You need to go into the Outlands and gather the leaves. They are purple-ish and curl up at night when the sun goes away.”
I purse my lips together in thought. “So you are telling me that I have to wander out into the dangerous Outlands to find a purple leaf?”
“You will need more than just one leaf to help rid Aura of the plague, Keeper Beatrice.” Paradigm steps closer to me and pokes me in the chest with one of her bony, pale, dead-like fingers. “Do not let my brother die. You may have killed me, but I’m not letting you kill him.”
“I didn’t kill you,” I blurt almost immediately, but in just that moment, Paradigm is gone, and the blackness starts to swallow up the light of the Vision, and I wake once more.
***
I sit up, holding my head in my hands. It throbs, and I can’t take much of the pain any longer. There’s an intercom located on the table, and I press the button, not knowing who will pick up.
Thankfully, it’s Irene. “Yes, Keeper Beatrice?”
“I’ve had a Vision … I need something cool to drink, and some medicine for my headache.”
“I will bring you the serum, I’m sure it’s wearing off by now. You are up very late!” Irene chides me in a too-cheerful tone. “Be right there, Keeper Beatrice!”
The plant with the purple leaves. I have to scour the whole of the Outlands, anywhere between here and the City, to find a plant with purple leaves that curl up without the sun. The task is already daunting, and I’ve not even set out on it yet.
On top of this, I have to ask: Do I trust my own Vision? How did Paradigm get into my head? And how did she know where to direct me? Some mysteries of Visions will never be solved, and I sink back into the pillow and ponder how, exactly, I’m going to find this purple leaf plant.
Chapter 11
The next day, I decide that I have to tell the others about my Vision. Unlike the other Seers, I am not required to share any of my Visions, and as far as I know, the previous Keeper never shared a Vision of hers with anyone.
Echo is well enough to attend the meeting, and it’s the first time that he and Gabe have been in the same place since the healing. We gather in a room designed for meetings, with a long, wooden table and several chairs set around it. Gabe, Brandon, and Elan sit on one side of the table, and Echo sits opposite them. I remain standing, and the queen will take her place at the head of the table, should she ever bother to show up. So far, she is late, and we are all waiting on her.
Gabe stares at Echo, unafraid to show the intense distaste for the Dreamcatcher, or any Dreamcather at that. Echo meets his gaze some of the time, but mostly he is watching me with curiosity in his eyes. Surely, he is wondering why I’d call them all into the same room, especially when there’s four of us and only one of him.
“Can we get started?” Elan asks impatiently.
“I think my mother should be here.”
“Do you need your mommy for everything?” Gabe cuts in, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I saved your life. I’d think you’d be more grateful,” Echo calmly replies without a touch of anger rising into his words.
“Grateful?” Gabe laughs, and it’s the sort of laugh that shoots a chill up your spine.
I step forward and sit where the queen would sit. “I think it’s best if both of you just don’t talk to each other for now.” Casting a glance to the door, I wait to see if it will magically swing open with the queen waiting outside, but there’s no such luck. “I guess we can get started.”
But just as soon as I get the words out, a servant bursts through the door, out of breath and flushed. “Prince Echo … ” She can’t catch her breath, and everything that bubbles out of her mouth is in broken sentences. “Queen … she … and first … but then … and the plague … spread.”
Echo tilts his head, latching on to the last few words like a fish to a hook. “What about my mother and the plague?”
Brandon leans his elbows on the table and cradles his chin in one of his hands. “I think she’s trying to say that your mother has the plague?”
Echo glares at Brandon, and the servant nods her head, “Yes … it spread … into the palace. You must … go back to your quarters and be quarantined.” She looks to the rest of us. “All of you.”
“Hell no. I’m not going anywhere with you freaks.” Gabe pushes his chair away from the table and stands up. “This is stupid. I want to go back to the City.”
“Is she okay?” Echo ignores Gabe’s comment in order to find more information about his mother. I stand when Gabe does, but I walk over to Echo’s side, waiting to hear of any further news.
“No.” The servant girl looks at us all. “It’s spread. It’s worse … ”
“Worse?” I question.
“Forgive me for saying, Your Highness, but I don’t think she will live much past the day. She’s vomiting blood and can’t keep anything down. They’ve tried to heal her, but it is not working.” The servant bows down low in a sign of deep respect. “I need to be quarantined now. The guard will be coming to escort you to quarantine as well.” Before any of us can stop her, she races out, probably just as quickly as she raced over here.
“So, she came from the queen … then to us … without being quarantined?” Elan rolls his eyes. “What sort of sense does that make? She’s exposed us all now.”
Echo doesn’t say anything. He stands there in a state of shock, then runs both of his hands through his hair, tugging at the roots. Eventually, he sinks down into his chair, his eyes lowered, defeated.
It breaks my heart, and I move behind him and hesitate to put my hand on his shoulder for fear that any sign of affection will set Gabe off. I withdraw my hand before it touches Echo, but I stay close to him to let him know I’m there. “I had a Vision.”
“Is that why you called us here?” Brandon glances around and adds, “Is there going to be any food?”
I frown at Brandon’s latter question and shake my head. “This is serious, Brandon.”
Admonished, Brandon nods his head with a quiet, “Yes, Keeper Beatrice.”
“Keeper Beatrice,” Gabe mutters after Brandon.
I sigh and continue with my thought. “I had a Vision about the cure to the plague.”
This is when Echo looks up at me, his eyes flashing with hope. “You had the Vision?”
“A Visio
n, yes. I don’t know if it is accurate or not, though—”
“Of course it is. You are the Keeper. And everyone knows your Visions always come true in some way or another.” Elan shatters my humility with his words. Sometimes I wonder where this boy’s manners went, or what made him so angry at the world.
Echo grabs my wrist and tugs me closer to his chair. “The cure? Well, what is it?”
The urgency and strength of his grip distracts me for a moment, but I soon come back to my thoughts, violet eyes meeting his. “It was your sister who told me. She said that there’s a plant in the Outlands … ”
Gabe starts to laugh now, that same, sinister laugh that doesn’t represent anything funny. “The Outlands?”
“Yes, Gabe, the Outlands. There’s a plant with purple leaves that curl up without the sunlight. She said I had to find the plant and bring it back. It is the cure. I don’t know how … but it is.”
“Then we should go!” Echo decides almost immediately, jumping to his feet. He’s but centimeters away from me, and the closeness brings a blush to my cheeks, especially since he’s still holding on to my wrist. “Let’s go.”
“Oh no. You aren’t going anywhere with her.” Gabe stands as well. His physique is hardier than Echo’s, and where Echo is thin, Gabe is bulky and toned from training. He could probably pummel Echo, but Echo could also kill him with just one touch. I pull my wrist away from Echo and stand between them, holding my arms out to keep them from getting any closer to one another.
When I turn to address Echo, I notice a thin line of blood that has begun to trail down from his nose. He’s bleeding, or rather, his nose is bleeding. “Echo, are you okay?”
“Yes. Why?” He puts his hand up to his nose and pulls it away, only to find his fingers smeared with crimson.
Panic surges through me, but I can’t let Echo see it. If he sees it, he will panic as well. But, as I watch him, I come to understand that he’s already filled with a sudden and intense anxiety. He wipes his nose again.