by C. A. Sabol
Pegasus was silent still as she slumped over, her eyes cast to the ground in despair. Finally he spoke up. “Listen to me, Selene. Humans want to have a hero to look up to, you’re right. They long to have a leader, someone worthy of their admiration and love. And yet, they ignore the one who has dreamed of them. They are not able to see the divine, because they don’t want to. They gloss over miracles; they find doubt in every corner that is not explicitly explained. Gone are the days of faith. With all the technology in the world, while it has made human life more comfortable and safer, it has robbed them of the feeling of living in the wild. There was a time on Sapphira that people had to believe in a greater power, because it was a part of survival. Now, with all their devices and gadgets, they feel like they have tamed this world, figured out all its secrets.”
“What are you saying, Pegasus? I don’t understand,” Selene confessed.
“You will,” he said. “I am merely telling you that humans want to have someone to lead them who is like them, or someone that they can control. They long to have a leader who will model the perfect life and will give them the secrets to a higher living, a more meaningful existence. But no human is able to fit such a form.”
“Because we all have darkness?”
“Yes. Only one who is perfect can be what the people want, but that is a contradiction. There is no such thing as a perfect human. The only one who is pure is the Guardian himself, but the people will not accept that.”
“Why not?”
“Most of it is because humans, for the most part, do not want a leader who has such power over them. Like the young man who wishes to leave his Father’s household, he does not want to remain in a place where he has to answer to someone, with the rules of someone else to consider. But also, the people of Sapphira fail to realize that the Guardian is still speaking to them. You have read some of His book, and have heard His whispers of righteousness, his promises for love and judgment?”
“Yes, I have read the book. And I understand what you’re saying about him speaking while I’m reading the text. I can almost hear his expression, and sometimes I can imagine him actually saying the words, like I was watching him make a speech or something. Does that make sense, Pegasus?”
“Yes, I know what you are telling me. But, dear one, realize this: the voice of the Guardian does not stop once you shut the book. His promises are not stalled because you have finished reading. His kindness does not stop because you have fallen. His love does not end because you have failed. Life goes on, regardless of what happens. There is nothing that will make this world’s time stop, even if there are ways to step out of the world’s timeframe.”
“Such as when I am here with you?” she asked.
He nodded. “This world is as real as the world you live in when you consider yourself awake. Soon these worlds, at the Guardian’s command, will be able to meet, and you will see the wonders of His love in the flesh. That is a promise, my dear Selene.”
She felt a warm smile on her face. She loved it when he gave his promises to her. There was always a resolute feeling with each one, that for that small instant of time, she could believe him perfectly. With each step into reality, however, meant there would be more doubts and uncertainties would arise. She stopped thinking about this as Pegasus continued.
“I also promise you this, Selene. If you listen and truly wish to hear, you will know what the Guardian is speaking to you. His is not a voice that will not always be heard in the air, but one that is always heard in the heart. Call out to him, and He will hear ... you remember that He had heard you before?”
“And that is why you are here,” Selene nodded. “He will always send an answer like you?”
Pegasus shook his head. “No. He will not always give the answer that one would want to hear. Sometimes humans desire things that are not good for them. That is their downfall.”
“I see,” Selene murmured thoughtfully. Maybe she could ask the Guardian to do something about Etoileon. It couldn’t hurt, she thought. “Thank you for comforting me, Pegasus,” she whispered softly. “I am feeling so much better than before. I’m so glad that you will always be here to help me through trouble.”
Pegasus nodded his head. “You and I will always share a bond,” he told her, “but you must know you will not be able to see me all the time. As time goes on, and the Light draws closer, the time that I share with you alone is coming to a slow end.”
“What?” Selene’s eyes jerked up to meet his face. “What are you saying? You can’t leave me! I thought we were friends!”
“I will not leave you,” he tried to tell her, but she paid him no attention as she cried into her hands. “You will not be able to see me, because the darkness allowed to grow in your soul will not let you. But I will not ever abandon you.”
“But then how will I know you are really there?” Selene asked, her voice condemning as her heart broke. Suddenly all that she had believed to be certain was coming apart, falling down. Once again she was struck with a feeling of nothingness in her heart. Pegasus merely nudged his head against hers, one of his wings gently wiping her face of her tears as she looked back up at him.
“By faith.”
She suddenly wondered what would happen if she would leave him. She stood up and turned away from him. She did not look at him, did not see him with her eyes. And suddenly she knew what he had meant when he had told her that he would not leave her, but he would always be there for her.
He had meant that she would be the one to shut him out, that the sickness that plagued her mind would turn away from him, losing sight of him. If there would be one who would break away, Selene realized, it was she that would leave. Not him. She would choose to leave. But He had chosen to stay with her, and had promised not to leave.
Feeling ashamed, she broke off her dream to fall into an empty black nothingness, some part of her aware that she was doing exactly what she had least wanted to do—run away from Pegasus, whom she loved because he knew her, yet loved her, and wanted her to follow him in the way everlasting.
HE WAS DREAMING, BUT he was not in a dream. He was in a nightmare.
Etoileon was caught in a world of endless gloom. Once the darkness had managed to worm its way into his dreams, it had engulfed him. For countless days and fathomless hours, too long for him to know, he had been at the mercy of Obsidian. His hands were bound, his body was chained to a rocky wall, and his mind was corrupted by the hand of the dark master himself. Etoileon’s will to keep out the dark master would prove futile; it was only by grace that he had managed to hang on this far.
Etoileon grimaced as he looked up from his position. His wrists were bleeding as he hung there. Obsidian’s minions keep watch over him as he struggled against his bonds.
“Why are you doing this?” he yelled at them once more. He gritted his teeth in anger. They never responded to him; they merely laughed cruelly and tried to attack him once more.
A Phantom Guard stepped forth; his sever was held at the ready. “Silence, boy!” he shouted in his scratchy voice, raising the curved blade at the ready, and then swung into a striking blow.
Etoileon didn’t even blink as the blade collided with a force field of light. The small force shielded Etoileon from the darkness, but it could not help him escape. He watched as the Phantom continued to lash out his useless attacks, each one thwarted by the light.
As the blade came down again, Etoileon nearly rolled his eyes, but it was then that something caught his eye.
“Huh?” He noticed that when the blade struck the force field, a bright light emitted, but it wasn’t until this time that he noticed that the light shot out in the form of a shape. He tried to get a more focused look, squinting at it. He noticed that it was in the shape of a small, bright feather. He felt a jolt of shock. “What?”
As another attack came charging at him, Etoileon watched again for the light. When he saw the feather, a small smile crossed his weary face. He’d heard tell of the Spirit of the Guardi
an, the one who could be seen sometimes in pure dreams. Maybe it was a sign, he thought, that his call for help had been heard despite the demons within him.
Etoileon didn’t even understand why they were here. He was at a loss for how keeping him trapped in his mind was helpful, but then again, he sneered, the tainted powers of the forsaken world didn’t always need an excuse. It was enough to have him away from the Light.
Etoileon was just about to shout at the Phantoms for being imbeciles when he felt a surge of power break into his dream world. He let out a painful yell, as he felt his mind being filled with a more gloomy and dreary power than he had ever felt. His eyes widened as the pain increased, and he tried to put his hand over his aching heart. When the surge was over, Etoileon scrunched up his face in pain, squeezing his eyes shut in order to bear the pain more easily. When he weakly opened his eyes, he was shocked to find bloody eyes staring at him closely.
“Etoileon, Son of Ammos,” the raspy voice called out scathingly. “So we meet at last. Your father was quite a fool, but that is no reason that you should be.”
“Ammos? My father?” Etoileon narrowed his eyes. “Who are you, and what do you want with me?”
“Who am I? I think you know who I am,” the red eyes glimmered. “To some, I am a beacon of Light. To most, I am known as the dark master of the anti-world, Obsidian.”
“Obsidian,” Etoileon scathed. “So you have escaped from your prison then.”
The dark master’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. “You know your history, then, I see. How impressive. How did you come to learn of my past?”
Etoileon continued to glare at him. “My first Fighting Master, Master Liu, the one who took me in, was a believer in the Light. He told me all about you as he taught and took care of all of his students.”
“Ah. I see,” Obsidian murmured. “By why did you not talk more of me to your Princess?”
Etoileon’s suspicions heightened. “What does this have to do with her?” he asked, before his temper grew. “You leave her out of this, do you hear!?”
“I cannot, unfortunately,” Obsidian told him, beginning to pace around in a circle. Etoileon’s eyes followed him, watching for any kind of warning. “She is already involved. She is the one who carries the Pure Light.”
Etoileon felt his heart stop. “No!” he cried out. “No!” Tears came to his face, as his weariness and suffering reached a maximum. “She can’t be! You’re lying!” Selene, he thought despairingly. No. Not her.
“I wish I was,” the dark master smirked. “She is most hard to get to, surrounded by those anointed walls of the palace. Of late, though, I am pleased to say that I have managed to get in much more easily.”
“Stay away from her!” Etoileon yelled again.
Obsidian just laughed. “I told you, I can’t. If I am to rule Crystallon one day, I need her on my side. If the Pure Light cannot shine, he will be unable to bring forth my greatest foe.”
“You will lose in the end,” Etoileon said. “You will never get what you want.”
“On the contrary, my boy,” Obsidian remarked. “I have already gotten much of what I want. And I just need your assistance in getting to the next stage of my genius plan.”
“I’ll never help you!” Etoileon cried. “I would never let you hurt Selene or destroy this world!”
Obsidian laughed harder at this. “Haven’t you heard what I’ve been saying? I am of the anti-world. You have no free choice in the anti-world. Only suffering is awaiting you there!” With this, Obsidian lashed out an attack, thrusting out bright red lightning flashes towards Etoileon. This time, the Light was only able to protect Etoileon a little as Obsidian’s power laced around him.
“No!” Etoileon cried out in anguish, as his body twisted with unspeakable pain. He slumped over, his weariness and blinding agony taking their toll on him.
All the while, Obsidian cried out happily, “Yes! Yes!” and rubbed his hands together excitedly. His moment was approaching.
“Selene,” Etoileon muttered into his chest. “Don’t fall for his tricks. I need to wake up. I need to! I have to stop this evil!” he shouted. “I can’t stop you now, but someone will stop you, Obsidian!”
The dark master shook his head. “Foolish one,” he scolded his captive. “Surely you are a witness to my awesome powers. No one will be able to defeat me!” And he laughed again, watching as the human boy tried to wriggle his way out of his bonds.
Obsidian watched him and grinned. The son of Ammos had reacted just as Obsidian had expected. His plan was working. Soon the boy’s body temperature would be up dangerously, and his condition would grow worse. Once the princess was out of the palace and in the hospital, her grief strong and, thanks to his quick thinking and subtle actions, with her connection to the Light weakened by her sorrow and fear, he was sure that his servant Melantha would be able to seal the final fate of the princess.
SELENE WOKE UP GROGGILY, feeling guilty. She was upset with herself for running away from Pegasus. She had not wanted him to leave her, so she went and left him. Selene sadly shook her head. What kind of person did that? She had to wonder. Only a fool, she decided. She also decided that she would apologize as soon as she fell asleep later that night.
She had work to do for now. Kadrianne had already opened the curtains, and the sunlight was just shining enough through the clouds to allow Selene to see the outline of her room’s contents clearly.
Chevée came in, and began to do the princess’ hair just as breakfast time came around. Selene recalled that it was the first day of the new week, so Dorian would be present at breakfast, so long as another battle had not broken out yesterday. Putting on a gray dress, she hurried down to the breakfast chamber.
As she walked down the halls, she thought of how quiet and alone she felt. Etoileon was not there. She had turned her back on Pegasus and ran away from him. Though he had told her that he was with her, she did not think that she could feel him. She wondered if this was where faith was supposed to come in, but she did not know for sure.
Looking out of the Main Hall windows, she saw that it was going to rain later. There were huge, puffy clouds hanging in the sky, nearly blocking out all of the sunshine. The rains of the monsoon season sometimes lasted for days, she recalled, but they would eventually clear up. Selene didn’t mind that it would rain; she felt that the rain seemed to coordinate with her current temperament all the more fittingly.
As she walked into the Great Hall, she noticed that several people were there already. Yana and Kadrianne were present, Kadrianne standing contentedly, and Yana looking over at Dorian every so often as though she wanted to say something. Aura was also there, already sitting down and sipping out of her teacup. Selene was filled with a sense of relief, as she was suddenly aware that there were no guards or military advisors around. But she was unnerved at the silence that seemed to fill the room.
She sat down at Dorian’s right side, and began to pick at the food that was placed in front of her. As the silence of the room continued, she began to lose her appetite more. She finally looked up at Dorian and said, “It is good to see you, Brother.”
“And you,” Dorian nodded. He turned his attention to her but did not say anything else.
Selene was suddenly very frightened. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. She threw down her fork. “You may as well tell me,” she said in huffy voice. “I know that you are hiding something from me.”
Dorian flinched at her perceptiveness. “Curses, Selene,” he muttered. “This is not going to be easy for you to hear.”
“Well, what is it? Did someone die?” Selene spat out. Her patience was gone for the day. She was upset with herself for losing control of her emotions, and she had not meant to sound so irritated. But as Dorian shook his head, she was suddenly impacted with her own words. “Oh my goodness,” she began to gasp, “No. Tell me no. Not ... not ... not Etoileon!”
Dorian sighed. “No, he is not dead, but he has taken a turn fo
r the worst,” the king told her. “This morning I was informed that his vital signs are weakening significantly and he is running a fever.”
Selene sat back in her chair and for the first time she could remember in a long time, she allowed herself to cry in public. “No!” she wailed as her grief swallowed her up. “No, no, no! This is all my fault!”
“How is it your fault, Selene? Really, you are being quite irrational. And please, if you are going to cry, have some care. You are a princess, and you should act accordingly,” Dorian whispered sharply.
Selene wanted to hit him and tell him that she was a person first, but she was sobbing too hard to see through her tears. Eventually, she felt someone take a hold of her arms and lead her away from the table.
“Now, now, Your Highness,” Aura’s voice washed over her, “You must not be worried about this. The doctors are taking good care of him, and he is being treated with the best help in all of Sapphira. There is little more that you can do for him. Besides, your people will always stand behind you for support.”
Selene nodded, and was about to say “Thank you,” when Aura continued, going on to say, “I’m sure that this is for the best, anyway. You need to concentrate on your studies and on staying well yourself. You do not need to waste your time worrying about that silly boy.”
Selene jerked out of her governess’ grasp, blinking away her tears as anger took the place of sadness. “Aura!” she exclaimed. “You should be ashamed of yourself, talking about Etoileon that way, talking to my face that way! He saved my life more than once, I’ll have you know!”