Moirai

It was the first time I had ever witnessed someone die, or even seen a dead body. Centurion’s death was so sudden that a stunned silence followed for nearly a minute.

I felt like I had frozen. Numbness spread through my hands and feet as I stared at his now lifeless form. My head spun wildly.

“How…” my voice came out as a croak. I cleared my throat and swallowed several times before continuing. “How could this happen?”

Kasanda’s voice was flat and I looked up to see her own eyes haunted by what we had just witnessed, as she answered me. “This is what Indina is, Alnya. Death. Pain. Suffering. Do you see now how important you are?”

“Stop.” I breathed, holding a shaking hand to my mouth. “Stop saying that.”

“I’m not trying to pressure you.” Kasanda said firmly. “I only want you to realise that I trust you and I trust that you can defeat her. You can, and you must.”

Beyond words, I shook my head. I felt wetness on my cheeks and dimly realised I was crying.

“Kasanda! Won’t you take it easy on her?” Mayran’s words were delivered with as much a shaking voice as mine, yet they were stern. However, as he reached towards me, I jolted away and glared at him.

“No! For all I know, you are what he was, or worse!” I spat.

Kasanda stared from him to me. “Mayran, what is she talking about.”

He grimaced. “She…she overheard Umbra reminding me of my past.”

“What past?” I demanded, wiping my eyes furiously and deliberately turning away from Centurion’s body.

“You mean you haven’t told her?” Kasanda gasped disapprovingly.

“How could I?” Mayran asked hoarsely. “You know, Kasanda. What would she think of me?”

“’She’’s right here!” I snapped. I knew that my emotions were stretched taut and under normal circumstances I would be treating this with a much calmer attitude, but at the moment I couldn’t care less. “Will someone please tell me what is going on!”

After shooting an angry look at Mayran, Kasanda placed a hand on my arm. “Alnya, do you trust me?”

I looked into her dark green eyes. Her steady gaze had an instantly calming effect and I felt my breathing slow. “Yes.”

“Well, I trust Mayran. I know his history, and I accept who he is, having thrown it behind him. Now,” she addressed Mayran, who had been silently standing, looking at the ground like a naughty child. “Tomorrow, you are to tell Alnya and Loni everything. I don’t care what they think of you for it, but you must be honest with them. Look at what Alnya suspected without knowing the truth!”

Mayran swallowed. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Alnya. I will tell you everything.”

And strangely, I could hear the genuineness in his words, and I believed him. I nodded.

“Go back to bed, Alnya.” Kasanda said softly.

Closing my eyes, I murmured, “I can’t.” my hands started shaking again. “Not when all I can see are Centurion’s eyes, and all I can hear are his final words.”

“I can help there.”

I jumped when I sensed her use her aura, although it took me a moment to realise what she’d done. My eyes became heavy. A yawn forced its way out of my mouth, and I felt my knees begin to give way. Mayran scooped me up.

“Take her back to the cottage.”

I registered when we left the house, but dropped off almost immediately after, and did not wake until morning.

When I opened my eyes, visions of the previous night’s event flashed before them like watching a slideshow on fast forward. I shivered, though the room was warm and cosy, trying to block out the images. Today I needed to focus on other things.

Indina had probably intended to scare me off by waiting to kill Centurion in front of me, but in fact it had the opposite effect. My resolve was nothing if not strengthened.

Still, I couldn’t deny that witnessing a display of her power had left me shaken up.

And then there was Mayran…

A knock on the door startled me out of my musings. For a moment, I seriously considered pretending to still be asleep. I didn’t know whether I was ready to face him yet. I still didn’t know what to think, despite what Kasanda had told me. However, I was saved from the confrontation when the door opened to reveal Loni, looking rather wild and flustered.

“Alnya! Are you alright?” She asked anxiously. “Last night, I heard voices but by the time I came outside, there was no-one around. I stayed awake, and less than half an hour later Mayran appeared carrying you. I didn’t know what happened. He said you were just sleeping but…”

I held up a hand to stop her, used to the fact that she would often speak a million miles an hour when excited or worried. “I’m fine.”

Briefly, I explained what had happened the previous night. It was difficult to retell, as it brought the memories into sharp relief once again, but I managed to force my emotions down. Loni clapped a hand to her mouth at the end of the tale, her eyes shimmering.

“He clearly wasn’t nearly like the awful person Indina made him be.” She whispered. “To kill him like that, in front of you all…that’s beyond evil.”

I nodded gravely. “And then there’s the situation with Mayran. I don’t know what to think…Kasanda said she trusts him…”

“Well, you said she told him to explain things to us.” Loni pointed out. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

“Mm-hmm.”

She came and sat next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “I’m really sorry, Alnya. For everything. For you getting dragged into all this.”

“It’s not your fault.” I murmured. “It’s not anyone’s fault, really. Except Indina’s.”

“I know it’s not my fault, but I still feel somewhat responsible. As the Inventrix, I found you and, when the time came, I gave you the book. But I understand what you mean…I can’t imagine how you must feel, having all of this thrust upon you out of nowhere.”

I shrugged, trying to lighten the mood. “Hey, I’ve been told by many that I’m very adaptable.”

She grinned suddenly. “Like when you auditioned for that play and started reading Shakespeare before you realised it was meant to be based on To Kill a Mockingbird, so you changed halfway through.”

“And became famous throughout the school as Juliet Scout!”

We dissolved into fits of laughter and found ourselves unable to stop. The memory wasn’t really that funny…it was just that it felt like we hadn’t laughed in ages.

A light rap on the door stopped us, although we were still giggling when Kasanda walked in.

She looked as though she didn’t know whether to be amused or concerned as she said, “Are you two ready?”

Sobering up, I got to my feet. “I haven’t packed yet, but it won’t take me long.”

“I’m ready.” Loni said, also standing.

Kasanda nodded. “Alright, well, Alnya when you’re done, come to the Praesul. They have something to give you before you leave.”

I had almost forgotten about that. My first meeting with the Praesul seemed so long ago, but in reality it had only been two days since then. The expression ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ should be changed to ‘time flies when you feel like it’s running out’.

I quickly threw my meagre belongings into the backpack and Loni and I made our way to the Praesul’ house. I knew that Mayran would probably be there as well, and decided that it would be easiest to pretend as if nothing was wrong until we left Flowerage.

All four Praesul stood in a line outside their picturesque cottage, their faces blank. I was glad that I wouldn’t have to go inside; I didn’t know if I would be able to bear seeing the room…

It was strange; yesterday, I had hated and feared Centurion in equal measure, both before and during the Trial. When I had guessed his secret, I hadn’t known what to think. Now, barely twenty-four hours after the Trial, I was mourning him. He was nothing more than an innocent person who had been Indina’s pawn.

Sol approached me and took my hands in hers. She must have done something with her aura, because instantly my body was filled with warmth, driving away the coldness of the night. She smiled up at me and again I was struck by how petite she and the other Praesul were.

“As we told you last time,” she began. “We have something to give you. You may have wondered why we did not give it to you before the Trial.”

I nodded.

“The answer is that it must only be used against Indina.” Aurora trilled, her bright eyes flashing with a swirling array of colours; purple, gold, blue…

“Used?” I questioned her use of words.

“Yes, for what we have to offer is the only weapon that can successfully kill her, for it has been imbued with each of our auras over the years since Kasanda first had her vision. Indina resides in the dark, but, each in our own way, we all bring light.” Luna stepped forward and I realised that she was holding something that was covered with a shimmering dark blue cloth. As she stepped forwards, she pulled the cloth away, revealing a dagger.

It was of very plain design; nothing more than a blade and a handle wrapped in black leather for grip. No jewels, no writing on the blade, nothing that would suggest that it was anything out of the ordinary.

I reached towards it, but Luna’s voice, usually dreamy but suddenly sharp, stopped me. She fixed me with a piercing stare. “If you take up this blade, you are sealing your fate. Only the person who intends to slay Indina can hold this blade. May your resolve be firm, or else you will find it turning against you.”

“As we are sure you have surmised by now, Indina has filled herself with such evil that it will take more than a simple sword through the heart to kill her.” Sol said as I hesitated.

I nodded, though, despite the fact that I had guessed this to be the case…I had also fervently hoped it was otherwise.

“You must trust in your own instincts, Alnya. Your instincts, and your aura. Both will never fail you. That much is certain. When the moment is upon you, you will know what to do.” Sol explained.

I thought about what both of them were saying. Did I really have it in me to kill Indina? To actually take her life? Despite how evil she was, did I even have the right to do that? It seemed like the right had been given to me by fate, without any thought as to whether I wanted it or not. Surely fate wouldn’t make a mistake.

Faces swam behind my eyes; Eldaline, her worn and tired face contrasting with her sharp eyes and wit as she told of how she rescued Okanto’s people from Indina’s attack. She and the others were worth ridding the world of Indina for. Kasanda, her blue eyes bright with belief and confidence in me, yet also the desperation I could see behind the brightness that revealed how much she wished for Renenta to be at peace. To see that desperation and sadness gone was worth it.

And then Centurion; nothing more than an innocent bystander whose self-pride made him Indina’s target. Centurion, who was forced to fight me, apparently Renenta’s only hope, without any control over his own mind and body. Centurion, who lost his life to the wicked aurae herself. He was worth it.

But why did it have to be me? Surely a Dryad or human aurae, adult and well versed in combat and the ways of Renenta, would have been more suitable. Why had fate thrust this upon me; a seventeen year old outer-worlder who had never had any more responsibility than was necessary upon her shoulders.

I breathed deeply, struggling to keep a hold on my wavering emotions. I squeezed my eyes shut and curled the hand that still hovered above the dagger into a fist.

I did not want to break down again, but I was overwhelmed with what felt like a mountain resting upon my back. If I took the dagger but couldn’t kill Indina when the time came, not only would my own life be lost but so would Renenta. If I didn’t, was there anything else that would work against her?

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder and knew without looking that it was Loni. Then I felt another hand, this time squeezing mine in reassurance, and for the first time since yesterday I felt no suspicion towards its owner.

Not alone. I thought back to all the books I would read in the outer-world; the protagonist would often have companions along the way but, at the climax, they would go off alone. I vowed not to do that. I never wanted to be alone against the enemy. My friends would stay with me to the end, and make sure the three of us saw Indina fall together.

Opening my eyes, I reached forwards and took the dagger.