The Lies that Made Us

As she slept in Brynn’s arms, Amelia’s dreams were jumbled-up scenes of her youth. She saw times when she sat with her mother working on her sewing, when she spoke with her father and brother over suppers, memories of sitting with the king in his study, speaking over kingdom matters, and above all, so many of her times with Brynn. She dreamed of whispering to him during their studies, laughing at him over some stupid prank they pulled, riding with him over the fields outside the city, dancing with him, their first kiss, the night when he told her he had to leave.

All of it played in her head, flashes of her life before everything went dark. She stood there, no light around her, the air still, no breeze when she felt a presence that made her take two steps back.

“Amelia,” Gareth’s voice said.

“No,” she whispered. “Please, don’t.”

“It is time, my lovely one. You must join me.”

She shook her head. “Leave me alone. There is nothing for you here.”

“There is everything; you are everything.” He was quiet for a moment. “I’ve come for you.”

Amelia’s eyes flew open, and she sat up in bed as Brynn stirred next to her. The light was weak coming through the windows showing just how early it was.

“Amelia?” asked Brynn, sounding half asleep.

“Get dressed, now,” said Amelia as she threw off the covers.

“Why?”

“He’s here. I know he is, and I am sure he brought plenty of people with him.”

Brynn sat up and rubbed his eyes, and Amelia stood. “Who’s here?”

“Gareth. He’s come to Erialla looking for me. I must meet him, find a way to stop him.”

“Surely not, Amelia. You just had a bad dream. Come back to bed.” Just as he finished speaking, bells sounded outside the palace. Many bells rang out from the village beyond to the palace gates. Brynn looked at her in alarm.

“Get dressed, now,” said Amelia as she put on her gown from last night. “Meet me in the entry hall. I am sure the others will come as well as the Guardians.”

She hurried from his room before he could respond. She pulled out her Bearer dress that had been cleaned and repaired the best it could. She swapped her gown for it and braided her hair on top of her head. After putting on her boots, she stepped out into the hallway to find Tristeen hurrying past her towards the stairs.

“You heard the bells, my lady,” he asked as Amelia caught up with him.

“I did. I believe I know who is here, and I am afraid it is my fault. I must meet him.”

“You will not face him alone. Even without you here, Achilia would eventually come to our shores. We will face this threat together. We are more than prepared.” Tristeen moved quickly down the stairs, Amelia following, seeing Brynn was already waiting at the bottom.

“The Guardians should be assembling,” said Brynn. He looked at Amelia, seeming to take in how she was dressed. “Maybe you should stay here, in the palace.”

“I have to fight. I need to face him. He won’t stop until he can speak with me.”

“He wants to take you,” said Brynn as he glanced past Amelia at someone coming down the stairs.

Amelia turned to see Princess Melwa walking down, followed by Prince Rayan and King Ignacious. Amelia looked back at Brynn. “I will not sit here while people are in danger.”

Before Brynn could answer, the palace door burst open, and two royal guards came in. Tristeen moved forward to meet them.

“Several ships, your highness. They look to be full.”

“The sails, flags? Where are they from?” asked Tristeen.

“Achilia, your highness. All are flying the flag of that kingdom.”

Tristeen nodded as his father and mother joined him. The king looked at the two guards. “We know what we are facing. Go ready the royal guard. Send half the forces to the front of the village by the shores; put the rest here in front of the palace.” He looked at Tristeen. “Go to Master Ruan. I am sure he knows what he is about, but tell him to move into the village, ready to defend our people.”

“We will join you, your highness,” said King Ignacious as he walked forward.

“Are you sure, father? You have been ill. It might be best if you stay here,” said Prince Rayan.

“I am as fit as I ever was, and I cannot stand to sit here and do nothing.”

“I am coming as well,” said Amelia as she stared at Brynn. “You will need my power to magnify all the Guardians.”

There were more hurried steps on the stairs, and Owain appeared, dressed for battle, his sword at his side. “I’ll come with you, my lady.”

“Owain, are you sure you are well enough?” asked Amelia. “We will face more shadow warriors today.”

“I am perfectly well, my lady, and I will not let you go out into a fight without me by your side.”

Brynn ran his hand through his hair before grabbing Amelia’s hand. “You will stay close to me through this whole thing. No running off by yourself trying to find him.”

She nodded her agreement though she didn’t mean it. If she saw an opportunity to meet Gareth, she would take it.

“Then let us go,” said Melwa as she moved so close past Amelia, their shoulders touched. There was no look, no apologies for the night before, nothing but cold indifference as she failed to even acknowledge Amelia. Melwa opened the door and looked at Brynn. He glanced at Amelia before gripping her hand and walking towards the open door.

By the time the Guardians gathered and went to the village, guards were already fighting. Amelia could feel the cold darkness that radiated off shadow warriors all around. She could see the dark mists of magic ahead of her. She looked for the light inside of her and felt it spark in the prescense of the Guardians and the dwellers down the streets. Moving ahead of Brynn two paces, she saw two guards trying to hold their own against a group of five dwellers. A group of guards fought with shadow warriors on the other side of the street, two guards already lying dead close to a building.

Amelia threw out her hands at the shadow warriors, a bright light enveloping them, making them turn so the guards could easily stab them. She felt Guardian magic move past her towards the dwellers facing the guards. Power unleashed all around. Dwellers flooded the streets coming from the shore. Shadow Warriors hurried behind them, their faces hidden within their hoods.

Amelia tried to keep track of Brynn and Owain as they fought, moving between buildings to face dwellers and shadow warriors. Guardians were all around her, throwing out their dim, glowing magic. A few times, she saw King Ignacious and Prince Rayan fighting with swords. Their magic came out of them in small white whisps, seeming to confuse dwellers, soldiers from Achillian, and shadow warriors alike.

A few times, Brynn took Amelia’s hand as they moved forward. He moved in front of her several times like he was trying to keep her from fleeing. Owain was constantly at her side, keeping any threats away from her as she used her magic. As she fought, Amelia sought any signs of Gareth. She kept her mind open, letting the darkness settle there, seeing if he would speak to her. So far, he had kept silent.

The fight was difficult and slow. The morning slipped by, the wind becoming colder as the sun did not appear behind the low clouds. The closer they got to the shore, the worse the wind became. Amelia forgot about Gareth for a while as she tried to focus on what was happening all around. They were overwhelmed. She didn’t know how Gareth and Achilia had brought so many with them, but it seemed like they were never-ending. It was almost as if the ships were manufacturing dwellers, soldiers, and shadow walkers, releasing them on the beach.

A few Guardians fell around her. Villagers who had been caught out in the early morning lay dead all around. Wounded royal guards struggled to keep fighting. Amelia felt a wave of exhaustion hit her after sending a large circle of magic to bind a group of shadow warriors together so some Guardians could finish them off.

“We need to get to the shore and cut them off,” said Amelia to Brynn.

He threw some power at a dweller and nodded. “Stay with me, and we will press on.”

Amelia was about to follow him when she heard a familiar voice cry out to her right. She looked to see Princess Melwa on the ground, her hand up as a group of shadow warriors and dwellers came towards her. Brynn was fighting with two other Guardians, and Owain was engaged with two soldiers from Achilia. There was no one else around to help. Amelia didn’t think twice. She ran towards the princess, throwing herself in front of her just as the dwellers sent their strange black mist in her direction.

Amelia intercepted it as she landed directly in front of Melwa. She held it in her hands, letting it mix in with her light magic as the power built inside her. The light inside her burned brightly, cutting through the darkness and turning the combined magic into something new and strong. She threw out her hands, and her power with the dark magic flew at the dwellers and shadow warriors.

The force of it threw Amelia back past the princess into a wall. Amelia hit it hard and slumped down as she heard Melwa call her name. The dwellers and shadow warriors fell where they were, and Amelia struggled to keep her eyes open. Her head ached awfully, and her power was almost spent. Though the ground near the wall was wet and cold, she did not care. She only wanted to rest where she was.

She heard the fighting all around her. As she tried to make the world stop spinning, she looked around, seeing more Guardians fall. Eriallan royal guards lay dead around her. Villagers trying to defend their homes and shops were slaughtered. Darkness sat on the edges of her vision as two shadow warriors lumbered towards her, and she wondered if she should just give up, let it take her completely.

As she felt herself drift off, some familiar power moved in front of her towards the shadow warriors. Her light inside of her flickered in response, wishing to join with it, to go to her fellow Bearers who ran past her. She thought maybe she was hallucinating, maybe it was some vision right before she died, but then she heard a familiar voice calling out her name.

“Father?” she whispered in confusion as her vision cleared somewhat. She sat up straighter, looking in the distance. Two Guardians moved, and there they were, her father and brother. Her father stopped and stared at her as her brother took his arm to encourage him to move forward. “Father, Adius,” she said louder. Were they really there?

Amelia turned her head slightly as she heard Melwa call her name. She could see the princess running towards her, but before Melwa could reach her, Amelia felt a cold hand wrap around her arm. It pulled her hard, yanking her to her feet. She cried out as her head spun, and her arm stung from the strength of the grip on it.

“I’ve been looking for you, my lady. I have need of you, so you will have to come with me.”

Amelia blinked twice, trying to focus her eyes, trying not to lose whatever was in her stomach from the night before, as a new wave of darkness ran through her. Finally, the face near her came into focus, and she realized Dugan had a hold of her. He pulled her along, Amelia unable to resist. Her exhaustion and dizziness took over, and she collapsed against the man.