Chapter from "Behind the Mask," by Adesaria
All of a sudden, Athelian became very angry. “You think you’re so strong, don’t you? You think that you’re the only one who knows anything and won’t give others a chance!”
He had hit a nerve. Phantom stabbed her knife violently into a tree. Eldrid and Shadow fell silent, watching her, as she raised her head and looked at Athelian, red hair falling across one eye, like a firebrand.
“Uh oh,” Shadow whispered, “Let’s go, Eldrid—quick!” They quietly hurried out of the clearing, leaving Athelian and Phantom alone. Phantom stood up, sword dangling lightly from one hand.
“What did you say?” Her voice was low, dangerous, and Athelian knew immediately that he was in some very hot water. But he wasn’t about to back down now.
“You think you’re the only one who knows anything, and you think that no one else is worth listening to.” He, too, drew his sword.
“A duel, perhaps?” Phantom proposed spontaneously, as if that would take away his insult. “Of course, only to a disarming, I would just hate for Nicadia to lose its only heir.” Her words dripped venom, and Athelian agreed to the duel with a nod of his head. They both bowed. Then it began in full force.
Quickly, Phantom lunged at him, knocking the sword out of his right hand, but Athelian caught it in the left. He slashed quickly at her sword, but she had pulled back her hand already. Surprised at her reflexes, Athelian tried to jar her sword out of her hand by flicking his blade up, but she had already moved her hand and lunged for his hilt. He barely managed to move, and he sensed that he was in over his head.
The entire time, Phantom was a step ahead of him. As they circled, parrying, blocking, swiping at one another, she always knew what was going to happen before he had even processed his thought. As he thought this, a hint of a triumphant grin flickered in her eyes – and Athelian resolved not to lose. He slashed at her sword hilt, but Phantom ducked, turned quickly, hair slapping him in the face. He stumbled backwards for a few moments, and she whipped back around, sticking one foot out. The trick worked. He fell backwards, jarring his grasp on the hilt of the sword and sending it flying. Athelian rubbed his head, still trying to grasp what happened, when he spotted the black boots. Phantom held the tip of her sword to his neck, and suddenly, Athelian felt how venerable he was. If she wanted to, she could just jab forward quickly and…
She began to laugh.
“Richensm, I really let myself go. I didn’t intend to hurt you. Are you okay?”
“Could you please help me sit up?” He panted, laughing slightly too.
“Oh, right. Sorry.” She sheathed her sword, and putting a hand on his left arm, she pulled him up – a little too hard. Phantom just managed to put her hand out in time to prevent Athelian from crashing into her; their noses were inches away.
“Um…” Athelian began, embarrassed, but then - Phantom turned her head, looked directly into his eyes – and time seemed to stand still.
Suddenly, something clicked into place.
“Are you alright?” Athelian said, softly, not wanting to spoil this moment. It was as if he had been missing something his whole life, and been unaware. Phantom’s eyes spoke to him, as if to reassure him that she felt this same way. His hand found hers subconsciously, and felt something in a part of his heart. The feeling was indescribable, not unlike a plummeting sensation, but this was far sweeter and more beautiful.
“I’m fine,” She whispered, eyes not leaving his. “I’m fine.”
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When Eldrid and Shadow came back, Athelian and Phantom were sitting quietly, discussing what the best route was. Eldrid stopped, and, crossing his arms across his chest, looked at the pair.
“Well, what happened?” He asked finally. “Shadow and I were kind of expecting to come back and find one of you two lying on the ground, all diced up.”
Phantom shrugged. “We came to an agreement of sorts, one that didn’t involve dicing anyone.” She went back to the map, but Shadow and Eldrid exchanged glances; there was more to this truce than met the eye.
Chapter Six
~Heights~
Finally, they found the correct path, and quickly left the forest landscape behind. Heading with the wind, west, toward a thick jungle, Athelian asked:
“Are Zoriens particularly intelligent?”
Phantom gave a little snort at the question. “Let me put it bluntly. They wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a human and a house unless someone pointed it out.”
Athelian knit his eyebrows together, thinking hard.
“How were they smart enough to ambush us?”
That certainly was a question. Phantom stopped dead in her tracks, eyes slightly widened.
“Oh.” That was all she said for a few moments. Shadow sat down on a stump, eyes squinted up, trying to think. Then, a sudden revelation occurred.
“Xianious,” Shadow half-whispered the name, but Phantom reacted as if she’d been struck with a lightning bolt.
“Huh? I don’t think he’d be behind this one.”
“Well, why not? He always was paranoid about people overthrowing him. He was the last one to wake up the Zoriens, why not now?”
“I really don’t think—”
“That he’d know we’re alive? Of course he would, he had a special connection with, I mean, Aleta and everyone else. He’d be able to sense if we were alive.”
“Of course!” Phantom yelled, angrily kicking a branch out of the pathway. “That’s who told the Zoriens what to do! He’s the one who tried to kill us! He’s the one who wrecked everything! He’s a….a…ARG!” Phantom collapsed to the ground and covered what little of her face that was visible with her arms. Athelian knelt to the ground, and for lack of anything better to do or say, gently patted her back.
“I can’t believe Aleta ever trusted that kesimne,” She mumbled, her voice muffled from her arms and the scarf. “She was part of the reason this happened.”
“Are you saying that you could have done any better?” Athelian asked, slightly annoyed by Phantom’s remark.
She looked up angrily, “I never trusted him to begin with.” Somehow, Athelian found himself not quite believing this. Phantom’s voice was convincing enough, but her eyes betrayed the words she spoke. Almost as if she would have done as Aleta had.
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It was on the third day of traveling that they had officially entered Zorien territory. Although the misty, mysterious jungle terrain seemed quiet and peaceful, everyone was tense and quiet. Every now-and-then, one of them would tread too heavily on a branch, and they would have hide off the path until Shadow said it was safe. Not one of them wanted to take any chances with another Zorien attack.
After long hours of walking, they came to a sheer cliff, where Phantom stopped for a moment. She looked up, and then finally said:
“Did you bring the rope, Shadow?”
Athelian’s eyes went wide and backed away from the monstrous wall of stone.
“We’re not going to climb that, are we?” His eyes darted to Phantom’s, who, as usual, didn’t meet his gaze. “We can’t!”
Phantom put her hands on her hips, and tilted her head off to the side. “Oh? Why not, exactly?” Athelian began to struggle for a reason, other than the one he was thinking of, and then Eldrid blurted it out.
“It’s because he’s afraid of heights!” He cried, exasperatedly. Athelian elbowed Eldrid hard. Phantom threw back her head and laughed.
“Is that all? You’re afraid of heights?” She gave another laugh, and Athelian looked away, embarrassed. Suddenly, Phantom seemed a little more serious, and walked up to him.
“You’ll be fine, Lindore,” she whispered into his ear. “Just don’t look down. And don’t worry, I won’t let you fall.” Something inside Athelian pinched together, making his breathing shallow and painful, when he noticed the pretty way her red bangs fell around her face, framing those exotic, silvery-blue eyes of hers…
“Think you’re ready?” Athelian was snapped back to the present by Shadow’s voice; Eldrid narrowed his eyes curiously as Phantom backed away. Athelian nodded, it didn’t sound as bad now for some reason. Phantom went over to Shadow, and Eldrid strolled over to his friend.
“What did she tell you?” Eldrid asked curiously. Athelian somehow didn’t really feel like telling Eldrid, it seemed that Phantom’s words were only for him. Athelian averted his eyes.
“She pretty much told me that it’s not so bad.” Eldrid raised an eyebrow, and then got that mischievous look in his laughing dark eyes.
“I think you’re falling in love with her.”
“No I’m not.”
“Yes you are—you’re just afraid to admit it.”
“Shut up!”
“Hah! I know you are now!”
“Eldrid Richard Mernasis, if you don’t shut up—”
“Are you boys quite through?” Both heads snapped around to look at Shadow, who was holding one end of a rope. At the top of the cliff, Phantom was sitting, dangling her legs nonchalantly over the edge, and tying the rope to a thick root. Apparently, she had climbed up there without any help. Shadow, using magic, shot the channeler’s staff up to Phantom, then gestured for Eldrid to climb.
“Can’t you just shoot me up there like that, too?” He joked. Shadow laughed, but shook her head.
“Sure, if you’d like to get acquainted with your spleen.” Shadow jerked the rope twice to makes sure that it was secure. “It won’t break, believe me.” She said reassuringly.
Eldrid took a breath, pushed some hair out of his eyes, and began to climb. Slowly, but surely, he went up, up, and up still, until finally; He reached the top where Phantom helped him over the cliff edge. Eldrid waved down at Athelian, grinning like a maniac. Shadow gestured for Athelian to come, but he refused.
“Ladies first,” Athelian said, bowing graciously. Shadow smiled, and then ascended the rope, making it look as easy as counting to three. He felt his confidence rise a little; Eldrid could do it, Shadow could do it, so could he. Athelian walked forward, grabbed hold of the rope, and began to climb.
One thing that no one had noticed yet, was that the rope was rubbing against one particularly sharp rock, and the longer someone climbed, the more worn the rope became. So far, the rope had held fairly well, but as Athelian began to make his slow way up, it rubbed….and rubbed…and rubbed …
Meanwhile, Athelian felt he was doing a fairly decent job. Sure, he didn’t have Shadow’s speed, but he was continuing at a steady pace. Meanwhile, at the top, Eldrid ventured one prophetic question.
“How do you stop someone from falling?”
Phantom turned around for a second, head at one side.
“Keep someone from falling? Catch them, I suppose. Why do you ask?”
SNAP!
Excerpt 2/5/08
Phantom stood, arms folded tightly across her chest, staring, simply staring at the hard, leafy ground. Silver eyes distant, she did not move a muscle, statuesque in the clearing; ramrod straight, but her head bent over, like an over-large cane.
“…Nerai ran-doh tekesha celern…”
Shutting her eyes, a single tear leaked from under her thick eyelashes. Why did she have to sing that song? Why that one? Yutalenor Shadow. Phantom could feel all the heart wrenching emotions begin to gnaw at her again. Those were only healing wounds, too easy to pick open.
“Phantom?”
And why, in the name of all the Gods, did that boy keep showing up at the worst times!?
“Phantom? Are you okay?”
She didn’t move, still staring at the ground. Phantom could hear Athelian sit on a rock behind her, feel his emerald eyes on the back of her neck.
“Listen, I know why you got upset.”
“No you don’t.” She mumbled. The three word sentence was all she could bring herself to utter.
“Yes, I do. I may not know L’assautan too well, but I know that song. My mother used to sing it to me. In fact, she made me memorize it. I know all the words, backwards and forwards, L’assautan and Nicadian. And I can tell why you couldn’t finish.”
“What, then? What are the words, if you’re so smart? Why do they matter?” Phantom snapped, turning her head towards the sound of his voice. Only her head. She wasn’t interested enough to turn and face him.
“A darkened passage to the west
Through the eyes of a wanderer
Lost, broken, betrayed by another
But a path nonetheless, open for taking
Too long has this traveler suffered in dreams
Take their hand, show them the way
To a new light, a world where shadows are fading
And they can face another day.” Athelian recited gently, his voice rising and falling to the poetry. “It sounds like you, in a way.”
Phantom turned her head back to stare at the ground, thinning her lips into a firm line, back quivering. He was right, it did sound like her. Back when she had learned the song, it was simply a pretty melody. Now, it was a haunting remembrance.
“Phantom?”
“Leave me alone.” Her voice cracked with a restrained sob, her head dropping lower. She could hear the crunch of the leaves as he stood, walking towards her. “Just leave me alone. Let me be, can’t you tell I don’t need you here?”
“Phantom…” Athelian wrapped his arms around her tightly, pulling her in to him, holding her as she cried. “Phantom, Phantom…” Putting his cheek to the back of her hair, he kept her firmly in place, her back pressed to his chest. For once, she didn’t struggle or move. Simply standing there, trying so hard to be strong, and failing so badly, she gave up. Drooping over in his arms, Phantom cried.
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