Demiourgos (14 page)

All eyes were upon her and save for one pair that belonged to the queen they all seemed enthusiastic. Each small step she took forward was accentuated with a sway of her hips and a small spray of sand. Each time her hips moved she moved arms in time as well. They began at her sides and ended up above her head rising and falling in time with the beat. The veils covered her face hanging down from her hands. When she reached the half-circle gathering she walked along the perimeter turning and twirling slowly as her body movements accentuated each stride. Her arms fell and behind them trailed the golden veils, casting an eerie sort of glow upon her. She became lost in the beat and found herself smiling; it felt good to dance just for fun.

Deciding to take the dance slow she halted in several places and ran the silk veils across the faces of several elves that were in the front. Her arms wrapped around her torso and she turned around once before stepping forward toward her goal. Sand sprayed here and there as she sauntered across the gathering, she slowed further as she reached the place where Liostro and Merik were sitting and put out her arms. Rose put a hand on each of their cheeks and caressed them with the tips of her fingers and her long finger nails.

Each of them smiled at the attention but she quickly gave them both a light slap on the cheek drawing a cheer and a bit of laughter from not only the crowd but from the two victims as well. While she was near them she swung her hips lightly and turned her body around a few times while holding her arms above her head and then moved on down the line in her rhythmic slow sway, dragging the veils behind her waving hips. Once she reached the end of the line she danced her way out into the center and dipped low down resting on the balls of her feet. Her legs and hips moved quickly from one side to the other and aided in standing her back up again.

Using the veils to cover her movements she looked almost ethereal, incorporeal, the light of the nearby fire combined with what little light was available from the moon created the perfect environment for her. It was intended to be performed under the stars near a fire or a similar light but she had never been able to perform it properly. Whether adrenaline or something else she felt a jolt of energy flow through her body and she embraced it eagerly.

To everyone gathered her limbs began to trail slightly and her eyes were glowing just a bit. As she turned around in another circle and flung her arms out wide everyone looked on in awe. Her body had begun to glow a soft golden color just about the same color as her eyes. Rose finished by wrapping her arms around her torso and falling to her knees, looking up at the sky she lifted her arms up. The music stopped and for a moment nothing happened. Curiously she looked out into the stunned crowd. They burst into cheers and calls of praise so suddenly it startled her and caused her to blush. She sat there for a moment with her chest heaving, unaware that she had expended so much energy. “Thank you!”

“Quite stunning Rose.” Leonidus, who had been standing beside the queen the whole time, said with a wry grin as he approached her and helped her up from her knees. “Let’s get you changed back into something comfortable. I must say that was a nice illusion at the end there as well.”

“What illusion?” She inquired softly as she looked down her body and then back at him curiously. “I did not cast anything.”

“It was instinct my dear Rose, your mind and body knew what to do even if you did not.” The old elf chuckled as he led her back toward her tent listening to the cheering still going on. “You have made quite a few fans this night.”

“It was fun dancing for a crowd that genuinely wanted to see me dance, not to just leer.” She said in a jovial manner as she entered the tent she and Nina were sharing and closed it behind her, leaving him outside. Rose was silent for a moment as she stripped the clothes off and put on the clothing Merik had given her after she had burned the other set. A spark of curiosity hit her suddenly as she stood there. “Master?”

“You know I do not like that title Rose.” Leonidus replied with a bit of snip to his voice.

“Sorry, I am still stuck on thinking that would be the best title for an apprentice to address their teacher.” Rose stepped out of the tent in her original clothing with the jewels stripped from her chain and her rings and bracelets now among her belongings. “Forgive me.”

“No need for that, just call me Leo.” He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it lightly. “Now what was your question?”

“If I am casting unconsciously what is keeping me from laying waste to everything around us like I did in the ruins?” Rose put an arm around his waist as they walked, sure that it would make more than a few of the elves jealous when they returned. “Are you not afraid that I will lose control again?”

“Good question. The fundamentals of magic are ingrained into your mind from the day you are born if you have the talent for it. As you learn and use it more your body and mind begin to fall into a rhythm. For you though it is different. I have never met anyone who can work mental, spiritual and arcane magic all together. You are unique Rose. Most people can manipulate one form of magic well or two forms in a decent manner. I myself can handle arcane very well and spiritual somewhat well.” As they walked slowly toward the gathering he looked over at her and put an arm around her shoulder, giving her a light squeeze again. “You have so much potential; you could be the one to reshape the face of this barren land.”

“Please do not place such a hefty mantle upon my shoulders; I am not sure I can take that kind of responsibility.” She looked over at him and smiled more for his benefit than her own. As they approached the gathering of elves she got another few cheers to which she blushed and smiled shyly to them all. “The hospitality of the elves must be the stuff of legends.”

Shouts from the crowd accentuated her statement which had echoed a little louder than she had intended. She could not help but giggle at their enthusiasm. With the exception of their leader they all seemed to be happy.

“That it is.” Leo replied to her as he sat near her and his granddaughter.

“May I ask you another question?” Rose bit her lower lip as she looked across the way at the queen then back to Liostro and Nina. “Please do not take offense.”

“I shall take none if none is given.” Leonidus said through a smile.

“Queen Miralastra. What does she have against me? I have done nothing but try to assist her and it seems that with each passing day she hates me a little more. I do not wish any animosity between us; you have all been very kind to me.” Rose said in a small voice, trying not to draw any attention to her statement.

“My daughter is a very stern woman and her position has left her with little room for merriment and humor. She tolerates it for the good of the whole. Honestly Rose she is not a bad person, she is just too serious and dedicated to let her guard down for even a minute.” Leonidus sighed a little and looked over at Mira then back to Rose. “I was gone a lot when she was growing up and honestly her mother was almost the same type of person that Mira is now. My influence is little in this particular matter. After her mother died and I took the throne Mira was never the same again.”

“What was her mother like?” Rose said off-handedly.

Leonidus got a look of nostalgia in his eyes and leaned back on a tree behind him. He smiled at Rose and sighed almost happily, obviously gathering his thoughts. “She was beautiful Rose. Her skin was as white as a pure cloud and her eyes were as clear blue as droplets of water that fall from the sky during a summer rain. She was a wonderful woman. She was a stern woman at times, especially when matters of the state were involved, but around me and no one else she would relax and show a side that no one else got to see. That is always how I will remember her. She knew the value of laughter and fun but our daughter did not inherit that same spark.”

“It sounds like she was a wonderful person. You must have loved her a lot.” Rose commented as she leaned back as well and listened to the wise old elf. His voice was very soothing to her, but she did not know why. Something in the back of her mind made her think she knew him from somewhere but she attributed it to his likable nature.

“I did. Mira was hurt the most by her death but she refuses to acknowledge it.” Leo said as he looked out over the open space filled with dancers and locked eyes with his daughter.

To Rose she looked cold, almost fear-inspiring but as she shifted her eyes from both the queen and her father she saw an interaction between them that seemed to be more based on some sort of requirement than anything resembling love. Rose could almost feel the resentment coming off of Mira. Sighing, she looked back out to the others, trying to ignore the feeling of someone’s eyes boring into her.

~~~~

The sun had risen as always and Rose could feel the beginnings of a headache stemming from a lack of proper sleep and too much honey wine. Nina had barely been able to rise let alone get herself up and running. Between the two of them they had somehow gotten out of bed and packed and broken down their tent for travel. Now walking behind Barius and Noranda she was glad that she healed quickly. Her headache was all but gone. Up ahead she could see that Nina was not doing as well. “How far are we from the city?”

“Do you see that bump on the horizon ahead?” Noranda pointed to a spot in the distance and tilted her head in that direction with a quick nod. “That is our destination; I would estimate we will make the mountains by dark. We will camp once more next to the wall and continue on our way in the morning.”

“Good, this endless sand is really starting to wear on my nerves.” Rose replied as she swept her eyes around and again another time then laughed and shook her head. “It feels as if I’m not making any progress.”

“Such is the optical illusion that the desert paints for you. It is one of the many dangers of the desert, Getting lost, hallucinating or red fever.”

“Red fever?” Rose echoed questioningly.

“This desert was created by way of magic. The life was literally drained from almost the entire planet by the magi of the past. Because of that the deeper you get into the desert the stronger the magical emanations. If you do not protect yourself you will become ill and the longer you are exposed the worse it gets.” Noranda kept her gaze on the horizon as she continued talking. “The strange energy that makes people sick can also cause changes in animals, plants and other life over time. The deeper you go also increases the danger you are in. There are tales of a ruined city of great magical power lies at the center of the desert. They say that is what’s causing the disturbance. I have never heard of anyone coming back out of the deep wastes alive though.”

“Wow, a city huh?” Rose nodded her head as she regarded the growing dot on the horizon. “It would not surprise me considering how big this place seems to be. There had to be something out there you know?”

“I suppose so but my wanderlust is tempered by my need to stay alive.” Noranda smiled back at her and continued walking. “The world is a big place. Save our few trips to the cities of the desert, none of us have ever been beyond the mountains that surround and shelter us. I have also heard that there are other continents out there but that getting to them is nigh impossible. You can take the stories you hear and collect them in a trough by the thousands to one true tale; the real challenge is to decipher which one out of the many others is truth.”

“Stories change each time they are told.” Rose replied to that with a nod. “My mother told me that frequently.”

“I thought you did not know your mother.” Noranda retorted with a curiosity in her voice.

“Well she wasn’t my real mother but she raised me from the time I was young. She is human of course but she was the most beautiful person I had ever met. It made me wonder what she had done to be in servitude. She was pregnant at the time so you can say I grew up with a little sister as well.” Rose smiled a bit as she thought of the two of them. “I think they’ll be okay now though.”

“Oh? Aren’t they still slaves?”

“My former master decided to make her his wife shortly before I left. More a trophy than anything of course but she will be his wife none-the-less.” Though she preferred her freedom now she still felt being a trophy wife was better than being a slave.

“Freedom is a sweet thing, when you never know it you do not know what you’re missing. When you lose it you know the sour taste of defeat for the rest of your days.” Noranda countered.

Though the words didn’t have any malice Rose still felt a pang of guilt for leaving the two of them there. She could not do anything though, at least not yet. Once she had better control of her abilities she would pay a visit to her former master, she knew that for sure.

The remainder of the day wore on slowly and with little conversation and expenditure of energy. By the time they set up camp they had reached the face of the mountain and it was too dark to continue on. Rose and Nina set up their tent quickly and retired to sleep before most of the others had even finished setting themselves up.

“I can’t wait to see the trees again, to smell the moisture in the air. Oh you’re going to love it!” Nina said through a big smile once they had settled in.

The noise outside was refreshing to Rose, she had grown up in a single set of rooms her entire life and because of that the new sounds and experiences around her made her feel whole instead of a shell trudging through life day by day. It was a welcome change to hear conversations going on and laughing taking place not far from her. “I am eager to see these wonders.”