Shade of Destiny (The Foreseeing) (37 page)

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With the leather packs filled to bursting with the stolen items Wynn and Arabella walked through the dark, sleeping town. They knew not what lay ahead, if this would be the last town they would see for some time, all they knew was they had to get far from here and reach Berhandril alive. The sun had begun its weary awakening, its gentle heat pleasant on their skin. The town was winding, the streets rose coloured from the rising sun. The town was large and it took hours to reach its edge but they eventually reached the vast, thick forest that they had seen on the horizon. It was a sea of green, leaves dancing in the breeze, ivy crawling mercilessly up the weather beaten bark of the trees and thorn bushes threatening to cut them with each step. It reminded Wynn of the forest that surrounded Medea but that forest seemed enchanted and wild; this seemed innocent, just a mass of trees and bracken.

    
Arabella stormed into the forest, ignoring the scratching thorn bushes and low hanging branches. Wynn followed behind more warily, as she had with the plains between Medea and the town she felt attuned to the land. She could feel energy in the forest, whether it meant harm or not was difficult to say but it was definitely there, a feeling deep in her stomach that refused to leave. She went to question Arabella but her mouth was dry and talking seemed a waste of energy, if Arabella wished to comment she would have done so already using her ability to sense and hear Wynn’s emotions, so Wynn shook her head and kept on walking, leaving the town behind them and walking deeper into unknown. The sound of wild animals calling, and a breeze blustering through the forest surround her.

    
Walking through the forest was infinitely different than the plains near Woodstone, or the dying plains outside Medea’s forest, it was bustling with so many different lives, those of the plants, the bracken on the ground, or the lichen and ivy crawling up the trunks of the thick oak trees; and of the animals, the squirrels, rabbits, deer, birds and animals Wynn had never encountered before. She followed their lives with interest, allowing herself to fall into the monotony of walking and concentrating wholly on them. At times she stumbled, falling down holes made by rabbits and badgers, tripping over rotten logs and tree stumps, all hidden by the thick foliage, but she kept on regardless. When following the animals too became tedious her mind began to wander and after a few hours of silence between her and Arabella – as silent as Wynn and Arabella ever could be with the constant flux of emotions, urges and thoughts flowing between them – she allowed it to stray. It began with her memories of a warm bed and bath – the very thought made her skin tingle with longing – but drifted very quickly to all those she had cared for.

    
She willed herself to think less painful things, but her mind disobeyed her and her thoughts crawled towards Rueben and Theodore almost constantly. She could feel her conscious screaming out to be heard. You should not have chosen Rueben to die! You should have cared for Theodore better, you are the Foreseen! It screamed and clawed at her mind until she was sure her brain would bleed. The thoughts were persistent and they had penetrated her mind and soul like ivy, winding their way through her inescapably, irreversibly.

    
Then, after she had exhausted and depressed herself thinking of Rueben and Theodore’s demise, Byron’s face appeared in her mind. Her gut twisted with overpowering guilt, Byron was on his way to The Rune, all because of her. If he had not protected her, if he had never met her... It seemed no matter what she did, she hurt those she cared about. Her mother died to protect her, murdered right before her eyes. Byron faced certain death, Theodore and Rueben were gone forever and yet she still lived. Was it fair? Did she not deserve such a fate? But no, she could not die, not yet, not when the Foreseeing rested on her shoulders. Wynn’s thoughts swirled and mixed until everything became a blur of pain. Her thoughts were silent after that.

    
Arabella did not comment or try to listen to Wynn’s emotions or thoughts. She had already agreed with herself that when it came to Wynn, privacy was the kindest thing she could do for her. The quiet continued.

    
They reached a small glade after the sun had set once more for night. A whole day since they had been challenged by the Charmer. Wynn had never walked so far and so consistently, her feet were blistered in her new leather boots, her shoulders were tender and raw from the straps of her pack, her head swam from the never ending sea of green. She eyed the glade with longing; it was a rough circle, the grass long and soft, the trees had grown naturally around it, making it seem protected. Small purple flowers dotted around the trunks of the trees and lichen clung to the bark. It was a beautiful place compared to the endless green leaves and brown bark. Arabella stopped before it and waited for Wynn to join her.

    
“You wish to rest?” Wynn questioned, hoping with every breath she would say yes. Arabella smiled a crooked smile – sensing Wynn’s unspoken exhaustion – and nodded, dropping to the forest floor ungracefully, her pack made a soft thump as it hit the ground. Wynn sighed with relief and too fell onto the softness of the grass. It stroked her face and body and was enough to make her laugh out loud with happiness. Arabella looked at her in confusion but then joined in on the laughter until both could not breathe and their sides split, it was a slightly hysterical sound. The forest seemed louder after they had fallen silent, as though indigent at being forgotten for a short while. Wynn rolled onto her side so she faced Arabella and watched her for a few moments.

    
“Do you remember much of your childhood?” Wynn asked softly, she was surprised she had asked such a personal question but it popped from her lips before she could stop herself. Childhood had always been something of interest to Wynn; she knew Braelyn had had a similar childhood to hears, albeit with less violence and unhappiness. The travellers had all had happy childhoods, their lives only suffering once Lord Oprend had forced his rule upon them, for Jareth killing his parents, for Griffin seeing the truth of their rule. But what had happened to Arabella? She never showed anything, and the only way Wynn knew what she was thinking on the surface was due to the fact she could feel her emotions. If not for that Arabella would be a question mark, a mystery.

    
Arabella too rolled over and faced Wynn; her eyes were hard but her lip quavered, there was no hesitation in her reply and that for Wynn signified how much their relationship had changed in such a short amount of time, “That Night changed everything. Before then Aerona was strong, but she did not have a large following, her army of Fallen were at the time one of the only forces that worked with her. The Gypsies knew of her aims, the tarot cards, and few Seers in our family saw she had only evil in her future. The Foreseeing was remembered and passed throughout the land, but of course no one else could See into the future, or read the tarot cards, so they believed the Gypsies, being a superstitious race, were being too wary, and were mistaken. Aerona had had over a century to hone her magic, and gain strength, so it is not surprising that she has grown progressively stronger over the last seventeen summers.

    
“But, despite that shadow of fear – I do not remember much of my childhood, I have very clear memories of my mother holding me on the back of a wagon, looking out across the plains, horses pulling it at the front – the memories I can recall were always happy. Gypsies lived in the plains back then; we raised animals, animals that survived in the harsh conditions, and used our gift of the sight to read the fortunes of those travellers who sought us out. I learned the tarot from my mother and her sisters, and was good at it, but the happiness did not last long. The Gypsy Massacre, seven summers after That Night, destroyed our race, our livelihood; the animals we reared too were slaughtered as they were believed to have magical abilities. It was nonsense of course but Aerona was cautious. We were rounded up, by Woodstone’s army; all men and those with magic were murdered. The image I always remember from that day, save the sight of hundreds of blood covered bodies was my mother being killed, except now I think about it I know she was not murdered. I saw a Mage raise his hand and her fall to ground; I did not understand the complexities of magic.

    
“The survivors all disbanded, and our family, our race was no more. My grandmother and I moved to Kingly to try and make a fresh start. At nine I would not inherit my magic for another nine summers, but my grandmother took no chances, every day, for nine summers she trained me in combat and control. My grandmother never had magic, but her husband had been a powerful Mage and told her everything he knew, he was murdered in the massacre and so it was left to my grandmother to teach me. I never really believed I would have magic, but my grandmother insisted that I would, every female on our side of the family, save my grandmother, had the gift. My grandmother was a mother to me, and I regret the day I left more than anything in the world. We had lived happily for nine summers, and my birthday loomed and yet still I left for stupid, childish reasons. I was determined to hunt down and destroy the man that had killed my mother. My only thought was finding this man and killing him. My grandmother wisely told me not to, to let it go... I would not listen and so I left. The next day I inherited my magic. I was trained, and knew what to do, and the extra power that was added was overwhelming. I felt sure that I could find the man and destroy him. I searched for months, but of course could not leave Inlo. I had not thought for a moment the Mage could cross The Wall... It was then that I was kidnapped.

    
“I was kidnapped by Methis’s army. It is a small town to the west of Woodstone. I was taken to Methis. It is a town of corruption and poverty. Whores roam the streets and children cry in alleys. There the Lord of the town ordered me to his Manor. He knew I was a Gypsy as at the time I wore an anklet my grandmother had given me. On it was a tiny charm of the moon, the ancient sign of my people. He ordered me to dance. I refused. His men grabbed me and held a knife to my throat, taking the anklet as punishment. After that I danced. I had inherited by magic, and had control but I was still not trained to use it, my grandmother could never have trained me for that, so when he kept me in his Manor and called me when he wanted a private dance, I had no idea how to free myself. It was when he tried to seduce me that I killed him, with his own weapon. If I was not already an outlaw before I had become one then. I ran, ran for days, I had never been so exhausted before. I nearly died I am sure, that was when the travellers found me. I trained every day after that, using my magic until I could use it safely without a moment’s notice.”

    
“You never found the man that harmed your mother?” Wynn asked.

    
Arabella looked at her then with such sad eyes that Wynn felt tears prickle in her own. She did not need to answer the question; it was clear she had not succeeded and that she still burned with hurt and years of struggle because of him.

    
“I am sorry Arabella,” Wynn said softly, cautious of what to say. She knew the rest of the story; the travellers had taken her in and cared for her. She repaid them with protection. Wynn had always felt underneath Arabella given her vast knowledge of combat and magic but now she realised she was only two summers older than her. Twenty summers old. She seemed so much older; as Wynn was sure she too appeared. Wynn was surprised Arabella had told her so much of her life, maybe she felt the bond that had grown between them, or maybe this was the first time she had found someone to tell. Whatever the reason Wynn was glad, Arabella was a complex person and Wynn longed to be close to her.

    
An animal suddenly howled and Wynn sighed, they had talked for hours. She glanced at Arabella, who had fallen silently asleep. Wynn closed her eyes, too tired to even dwell on what she had learnt, sleep washing over her.

    
They woke the next morning stiff and irritable. Arabella searched through her pack and retrieved some dried meat and nuts. She handed Wynn’s share to her silently, pointedly avoiding eye contact. Wynn felt embarrassment from her and she longed to hold her and tell her... tell her what? That everything was going to be ok? How could she promise that? After they had finished eating Arabella packed away the remaining food and stood up stiffly. Wynn brushed herself down and stared up at her.

    
“Do you regret telling me?”

    
Arabella was silent for a moment, then sighed, “No, I do not regret it, it just has been so many years since I thought of my childhood in such detail, it has awoken old feelings.”

    
Wynn nodded. Arabella had told her story and made herself vulnerable and it would take a while for her to accept that she did not always have to protect herself from others. Wynn made sure her feelings radiated acceptance and understanding, but said nothing; the moment was too tender for spoken words. Wearily Wynn stood up and shouldered her pack into a more comfortable position, feeling the corner of the book of black magic dig into her back. She had the sudden urge to read it, even if it was only to look at the pictures but Arabella had walked off. Sighing Wynn ran after her.