Doira'Liim (The Beautiful Whisper of the Goddess Saga) (19 page)

     Could it? Swallowing and looking back up at Talyn, Arizira realized the older woman had been awaiting an answer from her. "Forgive me,
Nai'iris
, but it is my place to decide the course of my life. I am aware of the risks involved and choose to undergo the Quest freely and of my own volition. The state of my inner peace is what I stand to lose. Balance has been disrupted in my life of late and I must do all that is before me to see that it is restored."

     Talyn was silent for a moment as she weighed the strength of Arizira's argument. Sighing, she pursed her lips and stood up before slowly nodding her head. "You are correct, young one. Your life is your own and how you choose to direct its course is, naturally, laid upon your shoulders. I would urge you to reconsider your timing. The Esu do not venture from the valley, for now, but Aitla only knows for how long they shall remain."

     Arizira stood up and regarded Talyn. The elder woman almost seemed worried for her. "I am aware of the poor choice of my timing, but still I wish to begin as soon as possible." Nodding somberly, Talyn walked closer to Arizira and placed a motherly hand upon her shoulder. "You are the Child of Whispers. All your short life we have watched over you believing you to be Aitla's chosen. Now, the dark skinned Esu have arisen from the deepest and darkest shadows and I fear the dawn of your fate draws ever closer."

     Arizira remained silent. There was very little she could say to such words. She was used to the whispers about her. For as long as she could recall members of the tribe, her fellow sisters, had spoken of her and what her unique appearance could portend. None that were alive today could remember an Arniran being born with eyes the color of the sky and hair that shined like the sun. Arizira, as the years had passed, had come to be known as the Child of Whispers. The name was apt and spoke truly enough, but Arizira had never believed the words that others spoke of her. She was nearing her thirtieth winter and her life had been no different than any of her other sisters.

     She was a master with a variety of weapons. She was one with the forest and the spirits of the trees, but the same could be said for many of the other Arnira. To Arizira, there was nothing definitive that set her apart from her sisters. Still, the whispers about her had always led her to believe that perhaps, just possibly, her life was key to certain important events. She did not believe that she herself was important
per se
.

     "Perhaps you are correct,
Nai'iris
. Only time shall grant us any such wisdom on future events. I choose, however, to focus on the present and my life as it is now." Talyn smiled at her and a full and hearty laugh sounded around them. "You are one of a kind, Arizira, and I shall miss you while you are away. Your presence has always been admired. May Aitla watch over you while you go on this quest for inner peace. I would ask a favor, if I may?" Arizira nodded and prompted Talyn to continue. "Return as soon as you can. These are sure to be trying times for all of us and I, personally, will feel more at ease with the knowledge of your safety."

     Smiling and promising to do as Talyn requested, Arizira turned away from her
Nai'iris
and made for her own home. A part of her felt guilty for lying to the other woman, but she knew what she was doing was right.  Once she gathered extra equipment and provisions, she could return to Talliea and truly begin to understand the role the other woman was to have in her life.

     Arizira looked around her single room abode. She had gathered an extra dagger, another quiver of arrows, a second pack filled with medicinal and cooking supplies, a second skin for water, a bar of soap consisting of cypress oil and animal fat, some cured hides and leathers, and an extra set of gloves for Talliea. She glanced around the simple room and, once satisfied that she had grabbed everything of necessity, headed toward the wooden ladder that would lead her back down to the floor of the forest.

     She secured the extra dagger to the inside of her left boot, and the second pack of supplies was strapped over her back close to the first pack and underneath her bow and quiver. She wrapped the extra quiver in a light cloth and tied its end. It, along with the gloves, she held in her hand as she stepped through familiar underbrush and grass and past tall and welcoming trees of various types. None of the other women attempted to question her or stop her. Each of them knew of the sanctity of a Spirit Quest and how important it was to the one embarking upon it. Several of the women nodded at her or lowered their heads, but none spoke or stepped in her way. She was nearly to the borders of the village when the sound of feet upon fallen branches caught her attention. She turned around and looked back toward the tribe, but none of the women were close enough to have caused such a sound.

     Frowning and turning back to the open forest, Arizira was startled when she nearly bumped into Cynra. The Dream Speaker was smiling up at her with a knowing air and her pale purple eyes were brightly glowing in the dark. "Honored One, you frightened me. I was not aware of your presence." Cynra clasped her hands behind her back and continued to look at Arizira with an inquisitive expression. "No, I would say that you were not. Mind already walking paths your feet have yet to meet?" the old woman asked.

     Arizira sighed and smiled at the older woman. Normally she would have been thrilled to engage in a deep and philosophical conversation with the wise woman, but tonight was different. The longer she was away the longer Talliea was alone. She still had a day's walk ahead of her, at least, and she greatly wished to return to Talliea sooner rather than later.

     "I was lost to my thoughts, yes. That is the reason for my departure."

     "Is it really?" Cynra asked, her eyes widening and the playful tone to her voice increasing. Unsettled by the question, Arizira turned her head and regarded the older woman more closely. "It is," she answered. "Unless you know of something that I do not." Cynra shrugged her shoulders and stepped out of Arizira's way. When the younger Arniran began to walk again, Cynra fell into step beside her and picked their conversation back up. "You would feel lighter in your steps if your heart was not such a burden to you."

     Arizira faltered slightly but continued her brisk pace. She was unsure what Cynra's words could mean, but they struck very near to the truth and that caused her some concern. "My heart is fine. It is my thoughts that have set me on this quest," she lied. Cynra nodded again. Though she was far older than Arizira and usually walked slowly, this night her steps were light and she easily kept up with the fast pace the younger woman set.

     "Your thoughts may have set you on this quest, as you say, but it is because your thoughts are troubled by what your heart speaks." Stopping and sighing, Arizira pinched the bridge of her nose and looked down at the smiling woman next to her. It was obvious to her that Cynra was intent on following along until she gave up some bit of information. What that information was she could not say. Again, she found herself wondering if, somehow, Cynra knew of Talliea and her budding feelings. "You speak in riddles, Honored One, and tonight I do not have the time to figure out their meaning. Haste I must use this night. I am sorry for being so forward--"

     Cynra laughed, shook her head and interrupted her. "I am not. More of us could stand to be so. But tell me, what saddens your heart so greatly?" Arizira chewed her bottom lip in thought. She knew she could not tell Cynra of Talliea or their interaction over the past month. Her time was short and it would not allow for her to fully recount everything that had happened between them. Besides, she could not risk Talliea or her safety by speaking of her existence to anyone. Not even someone as respected and honored as Cynra.

     Still, Cynra was not like the other women Arizira knew. She was far more wise than any of the Elders combined and her ability to learn and see a vast array of things through her dreams gave her a quality unlike anything else Arizira was aware. The older woman had helped her before when she'd been lost in how she could communicate with Talliea.

     Maybe she could help again...

     "Dream Speaker, you are correct. My heart is burdened, but there is little I can do to alleviate that feeling." Cynra smiled softly at her and placed a hand on her upper arm. "Your heart desires to beat with another?"

     "Yes," Arizira answered honestly and emphatically. It felt good to admit the truth out loud, even though it did nothing to ease the pain still beating in her chest. "My heart desires something it can not have." Stepping closer, Cynra frowned and looked around them. "Why can your heart not have that which it desires, child?" Arizira shook her head, sighed, and smiled ruefully. "Because what it wants lives only in dreams and nothing good can come from pursuing something so unknown. It is complicated, Honored One."

     Cynra regarded her with a strange intensity and Arizira could not help but feel more exposed than ever before. She suddenly regretted speaking to Cynra at all. The wizened woman seemed always to see more of Arizira than she intended upon giving away and that always unsettled her.

      "The heart always knows what it wants," Cynra said. "It does not lead us when our bodies simply require a physical release. It does not interfere when lust addles our minds when we are young. The heart speaks to us only when it meets someone with the capacity to change us forever. It chooses freely and desires unity and comfort. The heart will only burden us when it notices that those things are near. What you want, child, lives only in dreams because once you achieve it, that is what true love will feel like. A dream. A perfect, never waking dream."

     Arizira stared at Cynra, completely captivated by her words, and was unable to form any of her own. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came forth. Cynra smiled at her again. "You should not be so quick to dismiss what your heart asks of you. If things are meant to be, they shall be." Turning around and looking back over her shoulder, Cynra groaned and took a heavy step away from Arizira. "Hmm, a walk in the forest is always nice."

     Without another word to Arizira, the old woman slowly began walking back toward the village. Arizira watched her for a few moments longer before turning back toward Talliea's direction. The Dream Speaker's words had given her much to think about. As she set her pace once again, she was grateful for the time alone her trek would afford her. It would allow her mind time to process all of Cynra's words and, hopefully, shed light upon their deeper meaning.

                                                        Chapter 14: Prophecy

     She froze, a disbelieving and stunned expression passing over her face and through her eyes. The arrow head and part of the shaft protruded through the front of her chest while the rest of the arrow, feathered end and all, jutted from her back. The pain was immense and agonizing. As she felt herself fall to her knees, her eyes sought out the face of the person she'd taken the arrow for. Blood seeped through the front of her clothing and she tasted its metallic tang in the corners of her mouth.

     A blood curdling scream tore through the forest, but she barely registered it. There was commotion around her. Voices, both Esu and Arnira, mixed together in the background of her thoughts. Despite the chaos, she noticed a deadened hush overcoming her senses. Her left hand came up beneath the arrow head and the warmth of her own blood startled her. She could not believe her life was ending so. How could this be her destiny? She had found love. She had been happy. Things were not supposed to end as they were, and ending she knew matters to be. She was dying. She could not tell if time was moving quickly or slowly. Her thoughts were only able to focus on the arrow and her body's reaction to it. Breathing was a laborious task. As her eyes finally focused on her love's, she smiled.

     She had saved her. The arrow slowly taking and claiming her life would not be tasting the flesh of her beloved Talliea. Her world spun harshly around her and for a moment everything went black. When she opened her eyes again, Talliea was next to her, face full of pain and shock and denial. Her brown eyes were wet with tears and she trembled when she touched her.

     "No, no, no...no, please...Ari? Ari? Stay here with me, love. Please...no...no." Hands traveled across her body and her face. Talliea's touch was searching and frantic and her words were laced heavily with anguish. "Fai...lira.," she muttered. Talliea cried harder and shook her head. Around her, the sounds of battle sounded, but she could only concentrate on Arizira. Her love was dying in her arms and her body felt so much pain, she could barely stand to suffer it. There was an emptiness trying to overcome her. As her hands ran across her lover's chest, the shocking warmth of blood met her fingers and a new wave of agony ravished her body.

     "You should not be here, Ari-sera! I was trying to keep you safe, love! Why? Why?" Arizira coughed and with difficulty managed to place her hand on top of Talliea's which rested on her chest."I...m-missed you. I...promised...t-to keep you s-safe."

     Tears fell from Talliea's eyes and pooled in the crook of Arizira's neck. She could feel her love's breathing coming farther and farther apart. Her skin was pale and quickly cooling and blood was drying on her lips. "Not this way, Ari. Not this way." Arizira attempted another small smile before wincing with pain. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes and Talliea realized the light within them was fading. "A-always t-this...way, f-failira. My e-eyes are...g-g-gladdened to...s-see your...f-face again. Y-you are...s-safe. T-this is...e-enough...f-for me."