by Kelly Napoli
CHAPTER 28
HOPE
Thrice accurse this forsaken kingdom!
Kiethara did not know how long she had been wandering the streets. Her feet were bloody and bruised, her hair tangled, and her white dress was already dirty, even though it had been washed not too long ago. On top of that, she was finding it extremely difficult to remain inconspicuous. These people of Redawn were far too observant for their own good. She felt their eyes and whispers following her into the shadows that she tried not to stray from.
She was angry; however, her frustration was not a direct result from them. The truth was that she was lost. She had absolutely no idea where she was. She had woken up this morning, sore, confused, in an alleyway that she must have fallen asleep in the night before. It had not been a pleasant awakening, either. For some reason, she had sent a stray cat into a fury and had been roused by a flurry of claws grazing over her skin.
That had not been too long ago; the scratches in her skin were still very pink and raw. She pushed her legs forward, trying to keep her path straight as much as she could, but it was difficult. Sometimes the streets gave her no option but to turn and twice she stopped, swearing that she had passed a certain house before and wondering if she was just traveling in circles. But what else could she do? It wasn’t like Nikkoi, where she could just follow the black stone wall that trimmed its perimeter. Kithara could not even see Redawn’s outer wall, and it had been at least three times as high! This kingdom brought on a whole new meaning of the word lost. She wouldn’t even be able to find her way back to Navadar if she wanted to. It was hopeless.
And honestly, she couldn’t keep this senseless wandering up for much longer.
Only a few days ago had she fainted from dehydration and once again her throat was burning with a passion! Her need for water overshadowed her desire for food, but it could not make her exhaustion fade into the background. Her head throbbed with each cry of a merchant and she let out a ragged cough every few minutes. Oh, how she longed for the pure, clean air of the forest! This was too much to handle.
An odd memory struck her then, one that she had not thought of in a long time.
She remembered when Aaron had told her the legend of a different guardian, Pracilzee. She had never asked for the end of the legend. Aaron had ended the tale with the guardian running away, but the forest was still alive. Kiethara now understood the end of that story without being told it. If she had come here on her own free will, she would have left ages ago.
With a sigh, she leaned against a shadowed wall, watching the passerby’s and taking in her surroundings. One thing she did notice was that the houses were getting slightly smaller. Not to be mistaken for poor, of course—even the trash here was of more value than the royalty in Nikkoi. Now, the houses could not be mistaken for mansions, more two-story and one-story than anything else. The streets were a little narrower and the tents a bit less grand, but the subtle shabbiness only helped her blend in a little better. Kiethara, personally, found this setting a little more charming. What with the vines creeping up of the sides of the houses and random patches of dirt giving way to dandelions between cobblestones…it was rather homey.
But she couldn’t be distracted by what was pleasing to the eye. She had received her full in that and had learned much for her mistake. Nothing these days was as it appeared. Her mother had learned the same harsh lesson, one that had cost her her life.
And here was her daughter, making the same—yet a little less dramatic—mistake! Maybe Kiethara was overreacting. She should save this type of thinking until she was safely in the forest to wallow about it. If she reached the forest, that is.
She needed to focus; she needed to think logically. Logically, she could not reach the forest with what she had now. She would not make it there alive without some supply of water and sustenance. Sure, Navadar seemed to make it to the forest in no time at all, but he had a horse, for one, and directions. She, on the other hand, was never ever asking for directions again, and wasn’t sure if it would be wise to beg for any resources. If only she could fly…
There had been a river on the way here from Nikkoi! When she had been captured as a slave, the lady had washed her in it. That should be her first land mark, and a perfect source of water. She just needed someone to point her in the right direction before she could set off! Excitement coursed through her as she pictured her new plan.
It simmered down as she thought about it. No. She was not asking for directions. The last time she had made that mistake, she had been rewarded with hours in a cage…
But she was in Redawn, after all. True, some of the people here looked at her with a disgusted expression, but there were just as many happy and helpful-looking people here. Like the guards at the gate.
Oh, but she did have another problem. She couldn’t even find her way out of the kingdom!
Now there was a question she couldn’t ask someone. Asking that would make it crystal clear that she did not belong here, that she was hopelessly misplaced and vulnerable. She did not want to give anyone the chance to take advantage of that. Not that she would let them.
So, in the end, all she could really do was keep walking.
She set off again, twisting and turning through the skinny roads. It would have been quite a dull task if she didn’t find her surroundings so interesting. Each block brought a new scene, with lively new characters that were laughing and smiling. Some of them stopped and began to whisper when they saw her, others didn’t seem to care, and some didn’t even notice. It made her feel strangely lonely.
The tents and tables, which were filled with food, clothes, plant life, and more, were just as interesting, and they didn’t whisper back.
She turned onto a street which was twice as wide as any of the others she had walked in the past hour. She timidly turned left, sniffing at the fresh new waves of aromas in the air. It smelt like freshly baked bread, a smell that she had come to enjoy. Her mouth watered and her stomach rumbled.
One particular tent caught her eye. It was rather large, a bright royal red, with its flaps opened as wide as they would go. Tables were lined with flowers, herbs, and the most beautiful pieces of artwork that she had ever seen. Piled on the floor next to the tables, laid out on a blanket, was a pile of clothes. It was there that something caught her eye—an olive green cloak that lay on top.
With her head bowed, she quickly crossed the street. She made her way towards the shadows of the tent, staring at the object on the ground. She could see that it was perfect. It was long, with lengthy sleeves that would hide her crystals and a hood to cover her head. It looked warm, too, something that would make her nights much more comfortable and, if she managed to hold on to it, replace her other blanket she had lost for the winter.
“Find anything interesting?” a voice called out.
She raised her head up. There, on the doorstep of a round, one-story cottage was an old man. He wore a deep purple tunic that trailed down to his feet, a brown leather belt holding it in place. A mat of white hair covered his head, with a short beard to match. He had dark, dark black eyes, but they held certain warmth to them that brightened when he smiled at her.
“Um, no, I’m sorry,” Kiethara stammered. She didn’t have any money.
The old man continued to smile at her, though his eyes seemed to be gazing at her with a scrutiny that made her squirm. He was searching her face as though he was trying to see if he recognized her, but she knew she had never seen this man before.
“Quite all right. What’s your name?” he asked.
What was the point in not telling him? She had already told so many people, people she had thought she could trust.
“Kiethara.”
“Kiethara,” he repeated slowly, and then his smile widened. “Well, it’s a pleasure. My name is Odarick. Now, I was just about to have a spot of lunch, and you look like you could use a good meal. Won’t you join me?”
Lunch? She felt her stomach rumble again. Ah, but could she trust him? Could s
he afford not to?
He did not pressure her for an answer as she stood there for a good minute, a raging debate taking place inside her head.
“A-all right,” she replied finally. Odarick stood aside and beckoned her to come inside.
His house was just as charming on the inside as it had been on the outside. They walked directly into a small kitchen, which was cramped, but not overbearingly so. Counters and a wash bin were to her left, and the rest of the space was taken up by a bookshelf and a round wooden table. There was only one other door.
“Sit, please,” Odarick said.
Kiethara sat herself in one of the three chairs surrounding the table. She chose the one closest to the door, just in case.
After a few minutes, Odarick sat down at the table himself, placing a plate laden with slices of bread, steaming vegetables, and beans. He also placed a pitcher of water on the table, filling up a glass for her. He himself had only a glass of water before him.
“Thank you,” Kiethara said fervently, taking a long draft of water.
When she raised her eyes again the old man was still staring at her with that strange intensity. She could see something in his eyes, something that gave off the sense of wisdom. She took a mouthful of beans.
“So, what brings you to the kingdoms, Miss Kiethara?” he asked.
She gasped, looking up quickly. He had asked that question as if…but that was impossible! How could he know she was the guardian? True, it wasn’t hard to tell that she was not from Redawn, but to suggest that she was not from any kingdom…Navadar had promised to keep her true identity a secret! Not that she expected anything from him anymore, but how he could have told this man, she knew not.
“Don’t look so worried!” Odarick said with an ancient laugh. “I’m not going to tell anyone. I only desired a chance to have a chat with the guardian. You and your forest are a legend! But your legend is not well known yet, is it?”
“How do you know?” she choked out.
“Well, I could tell you were a guardian from just looking at you. The legend of the forest has been told to me! The forest itself speaks its legends. Right now it’s speaking the most recent of its tales, one involving your mother, if I’m correct? Although you were involved, were you not?”
“Yes,” she whispered, amazed. “Yes, I was. It was the end of my mother’s legend.”
“And the beginning of yours,” he finished.
“No,” she disagreed. “I don’t have a legend.”
“You will,” he said confidently. “Oh, don’t you ever doubt that. Hope is what feeds every legend.”
“Hope?” she repeated with a bitter laugh. “”I lost hope a long time ago. Hope is nonsense, that’s what it is. I get closer and closer to failing my duty every day. I won’t have a legend.”
“Don’t tell me you’re here because you ran away?” Odarick asked.
“Ran away?” Kiethara repeated in an offended tone. “No, I’m not here by my free will. And it seems I can’t leave by it, either.”
“But who? I thought the forest wasn’t under any threat.”
Kiethara remembered the warning she had given Durga. People needed to know. Aaron might have scared Gandador so bad that he didn’t show his face for a decade or so, but he had still been alive. Gandador had still been breathing, thinking, and plotting with everything he had left in his beating heart.
“Gandador, and others,” she told him.
Odarick took a sip of water as though she had only commented on the weather.
“Figured so,” he finally said. “My granddaughter guessed right as well. What else could the smoke have meant?”
Smoke? Ah, the fire! That had been so long ago it felt like another lifetime.
“Your granddaughter?” Kiethara asked, confused. She didn’t figure him to have a family.
“Yes, Camella. A little too adventurous for her own good. I can never tell whether its bravery or foolishness! She has been dying to visit the forest, too. And now that I’ve met the guardian without her being here, she’ll be jumping for a chance to meet you as well. You too are around the same age; I bet you’ll get along fine.”
“How did you see the smoke?” she asked, trying to get back on topic.
“We were traveling out of the kingdom, past Nikkoi, when we saw it a gray haze drifting towards the outer rim of the trees. We could smell it faintly too and we got alarmed, so we traveled back home.”
“Why were you so far away from the kingdoms in the first place?” she wondered.
“We were down by the streams, making potions.” he explained.
Kiethara blinked, thrown off for a moment. Potions? Her eyes narrowed, and then she stood.
“Your story was acceptable until there, sir. You must have forgotten that you live in Redawn. You don’t use magic.”
Odarick put his hands up as though he were surrendering to her. His expression was surprisingly controlled.
“My granddaughter and I are not originally from this kingdom,” he said calmly.
“Then why would you move to this kingdom?” Kiethara challenged.
“For this area, Nikkoi did not seem fit for us,” he answered.
“Us? This supposed granddaughter of yours? I’m sorry, but you story is not very believable and I am not very gullible.”
“And it’s a blessing you’re not! The forest would be long gone if that was a strong trait of yours. Now, please sit.”
Slowly, Kiethara sat back down.
“Hear, hear, see? I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I had permanently offended the guardian. I apologize, and hopefully you’ll forgive me.”
“You talk as though I’m some greater being,” Kiethara pointed out, uncomfortable. “I’m not. I have weaknesses just as everyone else does.”
“Like what?”
“Well, why do you think I’m here in the first place?!” she asked, raising her voice. Then she paused. “My short temper. My pride. The fact that all of my mistakes seem to be dripping in ignorance.”
Odarick smiled, as though she had amused him. “You’re quite clever with your words.”
Kiethara let her head fall into her hands.
“You’re completely missing the point.”
“What is your point, then?” he asked politely. She looked up.
“My point is that I’m weak. I’m here because I’m weak. I can’t stand the way you seem to look up to me, not that I don’t appreciate it, but I want you to understand. You will not find a happy ending in me. Please stop looking to the skies with misplaced faith in me!”
Odarick leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms, and appraised her with an unfathomable expression.
“You tell me you have no hope. Now you have no faith.”
“I have faith,” she said. “Hope and faith are two very different things.”
“How?”
Kiethara gritted her teeth. Was he going to ask her to explain everything she said?
“Hope is a mere echo of faith. The definition of faith is to have an unbreakable trust in something. Hope is a whimsical feeling that half the time has no place in reality. Both can be broken, yes, but one is ten times stronger than the other.”
“Who do you have faith in?” he asked.
“That I will keep to myself,” Kiethara said. She didn’t want him to know the only person she had faith in was a mere spirit.
He was silent for a moment, taking another sip of water. “How come you cannot leave here on your own free will?” he asked suddenly.
“I don’t have a map,” she answered bitterly. He laughed.
“This kingdom is vast, and I am alone. I can’t even find the outer walls,” she sighed.
“Why don’t you fly? Surely the guardian can perform amazing magic such as that?”
“Anyone can fly,” she told him, puzzled.
“That is not true,” he argued. “You need to have an outstanding amount of magic in order to do that. Not to mention the great skill and pract
ice it requires. Some people don’t have the time to make one potion from the forest or eat one of its fruits in order to gain a little magic, let alone store enough of it to go and fly.”
Ah. So that was how other people received their magic. Aaron had not been quite clear on that point.
“But this is besides my point. You still haven’t answered my question.” Odarick reminded.
“I don’t have any magic,” she said glumly, lifting up her arm to show him her dead crystals.
“How is that possible?” he gasped, surprised.
“I can run dry, too, I guess. I just don’t have to…’eat the forest’s fruit’, as you have to.”
“That’s not what I meant,” he continued. “How did this happen to you? Who could have done something like this?”
“Four men. Black jewel,” she sighed. She was tired of repeating herself.
Odarick looked at her with the same intense expression. He frowned slightly.
“From our conversation, I have only drawn one conclusion,” he said at last.
“Oh?”
“You, my dear, have had to grow up much sooner than you should have.”
That was not what she had been expecting. Well, what should she make of that? She knew she did not act like the normal girl, but did that really make her more mature? Perhaps a little more responsible? She couldn’t be the only one suffering, the only one making life changing decisions in a matter of seconds…
“I think, however, I have something that could help. It’s not much, but it’s something.”
Odarick got up from his table and walked to a wooden cabinet. He opened the door and began shuffling through its continents, pushing aside large bottles and jars. Kiethara tensed, every muscle ready to spring.
When he turned back around, she couldn’t believe her eyes. He was holding a bottle that was filled to the brim with snow white, sparkling liquid. It looked so much like the bottles she had back in the forest that her stomach hurt.
“Drink it,” he ordered, holding it out to her. She swatted his hand away.
“Who do you think you are?” she demanded.
“I swear to you that I will not harm you,” he said sincerely. “This potion will return to you some magic, although not nearly as much as you are accustomed to. Hopefully, it will help you on your journey home.”
Kiethara eyed the bottle with interest. Could he really be telling her the truth? He had to be. She could sense it. And what did she have to lose? Absolutely nothing, that was what.
She took the bottle, uncorked it, and breathed in the potions aroma. A million sounds and sensations came rushing to her with memories of the forest, of magic. This was really it!
Kiethara took one last breath and brought the potion to her lips.
It was as though she was gulping down the pure air of the forest. It was tasteless, but somehow she could feel its spark on her tongue, a substance so light that she barely felt it run down her throat. It was deliciously cool.
She pulled the empty bottle away from her lips. Her navy blue eyes were wide and her mouth was still open as she watched her bracelets, unmoving, unblinking. The crystals in them glowed brightly for an instant, and then gave way to a soft, almost unnoticeable glow.
Kiethara stood up so fast her chair shot out from underneath her. She held her arms out in front of her, her face frozen in a mask of shock. She felt as though a giant weight had been lifted from her shoulders, a feeling that made her want to cry in joy and exhilaration.
“Hah!” Kiethara cried joyfully. “They’re back! Look! They’re back!”
Odarick laughed heartily. “Now you look five years younger.”
She hardly heard him as she flexed her fingers, itching to burst out of the house and jump into the air.
“A word of caution, Miss Kiethara. I know it might feel like much, but trust me when I say this is nothing compared to what you most usually have. For example, you cannot fly with the amount I have given you. Once it’s gone, I cannot help you. At least, not in that way. There are a few more things I can offer. If you’ll excuse me…”
Kiethara watched him leave with a huge smile of gratitude on her face. She didn’t deserve any of his help. If only she could return the favor, somehow. But what could she do for him? She did not have anything and she felt guilty, knowing she would accept anything else he would offer because she needed it. She felt selfish, but justified in her reasons.
Everything needed a reason. She had believed that before and she still believed it now.
Odarick walked back in, holding—to her surprise—the olive green robe she had been staring at earlier. He also held a brown sack with a single strap attached to it.
He turned towards the cabinets without a word to her, rummaging through them. After a few minutes he turned back around and she noticed that the bag was considerably larger than it had been.
“Here,” he said, holding them out. “I understand these will come in handy, especially since your bracelets are a bit more noticeable now. This pack has everything you need for a journey to Nikkoi.”
“Nikkoi?” she asked in surprise.
“Yes, it’s necessary. You cannot carry with you enough supplies to reach the forest, so you will have to stop there. Listen to me now: once you reach Nikkoi, cut through the kingdom and exit out the west side. Keep going west, do not stop, do not turn, and you will reach the forest. I myself will assist you out of this kingdom.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, overcome with gratitude.
“You’re very welcome, my dear,” he said with a smile. “Now come with me, but put these on first.”
She took the robe from his hand and slipped it on. Unfortunately, it did not have a belt, so she could not tie it in the front; instead, it hung loose, exposing her front. At least it came with a hood, which she immediately pulled up.
She took the bag and slung it over her shoulders. She may be a day late, but she was finally setting off towards the forest.
Odarick and Kiethara walked out of the door and into the sunlight. He led her to the back of his house, where a cart was tethered to a horse.
“After you,” he said, helping her up onto the wooden bench that had been built in there. He sat down next to her, and they were off.
It took a long time to reach the gate; by the time she finally spotted the wall, the sun had already begun its descent.
At last, they exited Redawn.
“Well, Miss Kiethara, this is where we must part, I’m afraid. Stay young, and stay wise.” She answered with a small smile.
She jumped out of the cart and onto the grassy ground. She turned to watch him leave. Once he had disappeared behind the golden wall, she turned her back to Redawn for what she hoped was the last time.
“Kiethara?” Navadar’s voice called out from behind.
It seemed impossible, however, for her to turn her back on her problems.