Calliope [Book 2]

Mido found himself before Queen Ryenna once more. She instructed him to follow her and she led him through the large castle and into a dimly lit room. They stood together in the middle of the empty room and Queen Ryenna turned to Mido.

“Are you ready?” she asked him.

Mido nodded.

“Once I do this, you’re on your own.”

“I understand.”

Queen Ryenna looked him over and smiled. “Bring her back, King Mido,” she said. “And I will support you until the end.”

“Thank you, Your Grace.”

“Take this,” she said, place a small stone in Mido’s hand. “It won’t protect you from everything, but it should help ward off some black magic.”

Mido admired the ordinary looking stone for a moment before slipping it into his pocket.

“Thanks,” he muttered, grateful for some protection in the unknown territory.

Queen Ryenna smiled to him. “All right, here we go,” she said, and she began. She raised her arms above her and began to chant a spell in a language Mido was unfamiliar with. As she chanted, the candles in the room went out. A breeze swept through the room from an unknown source. Queen Ryenna’s hair fluttered around her in the breeze as she continued to chant. Mido’s heart raced as he watched the room begin to spin around him, faster and faster. The world began to blur together and the dark room seemed to lighten. His head spun and he felt his stomach twist; he thought he was going to be sick for a moment, but then the spinning began to slow and the dim room melted away into a foggy white blur. Mido squeezed his eyes shut for a moment in an attempt to keep himself from getting sick. When he opened his eyes, the world was an eerie, white foggy blur. A fuzzy shadow stood before him, still at first, and then it moved about, circling him. A sound came from the shadow; an echoed mumbled kind of buzz. Was it Queen Ryenna? Was she speaking to him?

Mido watched as the shadow continued to circle him before standing still once more. The blurred shadow seemed to stare at him for a moment before it moved away again and disappeared behind him. Mido ran towards the shadow and suddenly, it came into view once more. Had he traveled through the door of the room? The shadow continued to move and Mido followed it. He imagined he was following Queen Ryenna through the halls of the castle. The shadow turned to the right and disappeared once more. Mido followed the shadow – perhaps through another doorway – and the shadow appeared once more, this time standing still.

Mido looked around him and suddenly realized how disoriented he was in this world. There was no sense of direction; he could walk and walk and walk aimlessly without having any clue of where he was actually going. An overwhelming feeling came over him suddenly. He felt exhausted and scared and confused. He felt defeated.

Mido let his body fall to his knees, suddenly too weak to hold him up. He hadn’t realized what an impossible task he had gotten himself into. His sobs pierced his ears, the only audible sound he could pick up.

“Calli!” he shouted. His voice seemed to echo, but no one responded. He shouted again and again until his voice grew hoarse, but still there was no response. Mido forced himself to his feet, his knees still weak, and he began to run. He ran and ran and watched as shadowy blurs passed him, some moving, some still. Some disappeared, some came into view, and some he ran right through. He felt an eerie chill when that happened, causing goosebumps to appear on his arms. He didn’t know how long he ran for; he had no sense of time in this world. He couldn’t tell if it were still night or if morning had made it’s way into the world. The world around him essentially did not exist. Besides for the shadows of the people on the other side of the world, he was painfully alone.

He stopped running and looked around, feeling more and more defeated. He had no idea which way he was headed. Which way was the ocean? Could he find his way back to Librona, or In’audis? If this was what Calliope was seeing, she couldn’t have gone far, which would make her still in In’audis, if he was lucky. The sudden thought of him finding his way to In’audis overwhelmed him and he fell to his knees once more. He had no idea what to do or where to go, and the thought of wandering aimlessly in this nothing of a world sickened him. He would never find Calliope at this rate.

He shook his head and forced himself to his feet again. He turned around in a circle, taking in the sights, looking for anything that might be familiar to orient himself with. With no clues on his side, he sucked in his breath, and began to walk and walk and walk.

He didn’t know how long he walked for; it felt like hours, but it could have been only minutes. He focused his mind on walking and finding Calliope. He tried to distract himself while he walked through the lifeless world; he thought of the first time he saw Calliope, his dagger pressed against her. He thought of the way the sun glimmered off of her golden eyes. He thought of the panic he felt when he saw her burning on the stake. He thought of the pain he felt when she disappeared.

He thought of the days they spent sitting on the river bank. He saw her sitting in the castle courtyard with the book open across her lap. He felt her sleeping soundly against him and felt her lips against his. And suddenly, he was with her, in the meadows of In’audis, his bare chest warm in the morning sunlight as she rested her head against him. His fingers played in the locks of her dark hair. Her golden eyes met his and she smiled.

Movement caught his attention, bringing Mido back into his hopeless world. Mido watched the shadow as it moved across the world before him. The shadow appeared to bend and straighten a few times before moving onward and upward slightly. Mido followed the shadow, curious. The shadow appeared to be climbing up and over an object. Mido peered at the figure, it’s movement seemingly familiar. He studied the movement of the shadows for a moment longer. It was higher above him, now, standing tall and still. The shadow turned and appeared to climb a set of stairs, a little bit higher up before turning around once more.

Mido listened carefully at the buzzing mumble of sounds around him. He thought he caught the faint sound of a gull amongst the buzzes and muddled sounds. He must have reached the port. He watched as the shadowy figure, still standing still, began to move slowly, as if on a ship.

Mido sprinted forward toward the shadow, following the path it took, hoping to make it aboard the ship before it disappeared. He was able to make out a faint outline of the shape of the ship as he approached. He held his hands up, hoping to feel the ship’s edges, but felt nothing. His heart raced as he began to panic. He needed a way to get on the ship. Mido watched as the shadow continued to drift slowly away, almost out of reach. Mido began to run forward again, positioning himself so the ship was in front of him. He ran toward the ship and just as he got close enough, Mido jumped forward, hoping he would land on the deck of the ship.

And by some miracle he did. He scrambled to his feet as shadowy figures hurried about in every direction. Mido felt the slow motion of the ship as it drifted through the water. He sighed, thankful to at least have some idea of where he was. He hoped he’d make it to Asmar or Librona; but at this rate, anywhere was better than being stuck in In’audis, for he was certain now that Calliope would not be there. Mido made his way to what seemed to be an empty corner of the ship. He sat on the deck and watched as the shadows continued their work on the ship. Feeling exhausted, Mido curled up on the groud and eventually drifted off to sleep.

#

Mido didn’t know how long he had slept for when he awoke, but he felt the sway of the ship on the sea beneath him and knew they were still traveling. He figured they’d be sailing for at least a couple of weeks if they were headed to Asmar or Librona. Mido sighed; it would be a very long two weeks. The thought of it made him anxious as he sat in the quiet world with only the muffled buzzing to comfort him.

Mido thought more about this invisible world. He wondered how many times in his life he crossed a witch’s path. He wondered how many witches were in this world. He couldn’t imagine what life was like for them, living here for eternity. Truly a cruel punishment for anyone. He couldn’t imagine he was here for much longer than a day and he already felt himself grow more and more depressed. This environment clearly had taken a toll on him quickly. He imagined the witches would be in worse shape than he.

And yet, where were the witches? He imagined there were a great deal of them living in this world, but he hadn’t come across one so far. Perhaps they had traveled far and wide with nothing else to do. Did they mingle together and form friendships and bonds? Or, did they continue to fight amongst each other, forever at war with one another?

He imagined he would see some sign of magic. In fact, he wished he would see some magic, for at least he would have something to go to; some sign of life, even if it was a witch who wanted to try to kill him. Anything was better than this solitude. It tormented him with each passing second. He hated being stuck in his own mind.

He felt the depression grow suddenly and he pushed those thoughts out of his mind. He turned his attention back to the shadows as they moved about around him. Sometimes, they seemed to interact with one another, while others simply passed by on their own mission. He watched as two stood together – perhaps conversing?

“I saw you with that whore yesterday,” Mido said, acting as one of the shadows.

“Please don’t tell my wife,” he said again, pleading with the other shadow.

“Mido,” he said, mocking King Sloan’s deep voice. “Please, take the throne so I don’t have to fight in this war any more. I’m old and useless and I give up.”

Mido groaned and let his body lay out on the invisible deck of the ship. He lay on his back and stared into what he imagined was the sky. He was frustrated with the situation he was in. He just wanted to be off the boat and walking once more.

Mido got to his feet and began to pace. He stood as close to the shadows as he could get without them passing through him. He stared at them, leaning closer and closer, smiling to himself at the thought that they were clueless to his presence. He punched a fist through a shadow as a chill went up his arm. He kicked at the shadow and spat at it until the shadow moved away from him.

He wondered if the person belonging to the shadow actually felt anything. Was it possible he felt a strange presence, as if someone were watching him? Did he feel the same shiver through his body as Mido did whenever he passed through?

Mido began his pacing again, up and down the deck of the ship. He didn’t dare venture past the shadows, unsure of what would happen should he step off the boat. Except for the surface he walked on, there was nothing solid for him to hold on to. There were no walls or doors blocking his path, and yet there were no rails for him to flip over. What would happen if he were to step over, though? Would he land in the water? Or would the surface be solid?

His curiosity grew as he neared what he thought was the edge. He looked over, but he only saw the same white, fogged blur that was all around him. His heart raced in panic and he stumbled backwards away from the edge. He sighed and sat down once more as the shadows moved about with purpose in their lives. When his back began to ache, he lay across the floor once more, facing up into the white, fogged sky. He stared and stared as his mind wandered this way and that, coming to Calliope once more.

This time, he imagined life with her in Asmar. He imagined a peaceful kingdom with Calliope at his side as queen. He imagined the kingdom would grow to love and respect her. She would make a kind, caring, and loving queen, he was sure of that. They would fall for her just as he did. And she would bare him a son to carry on their name and take over the throne when it was time. And maybe a daughter, too. He imagined she would look strikingly like his young sister. Mido fell in love with the girl already. His heart called to his imaginary children as their images disappeared before him.

He began to wonder once more about the mark on his leg. He recalled what Queen Ryenna had said. The mark was not a true mark, but was the rest of the story true? He hadn’t thought to ask her, and he suddenly wished he had. He needed to know for sure if he was truly King Sloan’s bastard son. He didn’t want it to be true. He thought of his childhood in Esmon and working in the fields with his father. He thought of his mother, cooking dinner for them with her daughter at her side, playfully sticking her finger in the bowls.

He didn’t want that to be a lie. He wanted that to be his family. They would always be his family, though, no matter what the truth was.

He wondered what they’d think of him, were they still alive. In love witch a witch – preposterous. His father would try to talk some sense into his son. His mother was kinder, though. Maybe she would support him. Maybe his father would see how happy Calliope made him.

He thought of his sister and imagined she would have turned into a beautiful young woman. Mido would have had to drag her away from the village boys. Her beauty and charm and attitude would have surely won them over. Mido wouldn’t let her marry any old boy, though, and certainly not a blacksmith such as he. No, there were better men for his sister, though none would truly be worthy of her.

She imagined she’d go for the blacksmith, though. She would change him; make him a better man. She’d give him a reason to get up and push forward every day. She’d make him fall to his knees, weak in her presence. He’d take her hand in his and profess his love to her. He would ask her for her hand in marriage, and she would say yes.

And they would be happy.