In Search of Auria (23 page)

“The forest?” I questioned.

“Yes. You see, earlier that day there was a
man that requested an audience with me. He was neither balorian nor
miaflorian. He was a
northern fellow
. And he made me an
offer I could not refuse.”

When Vallias said northern fellow, I
remembered the other man Bri told me about. The day Auria was
taken, he saw a man different from the rest, with a staff and blue
robes, using special powers. That northern fellow had to be
him.

“The man proposed,” Vallias said, “that if I
helped him acquire a certain creature, he would provide me with a
very valuable item. And just before the Dandy Overpass was
reclaimed by the miaflorians, he discovered a path from the cliffs
down to the river. And from there we marched to the forest.”

“You were after her from the very
beginning?”

“Not her in specific,” he clarified, “any
fairy would suffice. We engaged the path, and I was secretly hoping
to find your corpse by the bank. With your death by drowning or
whatever, I would’ve felt better as I laughed over your pale
carcass. However, what we found was miaflorian armor lying dry
and rusted against the sun. I assumed it was yours."

He was right. After emerging from the river,
I took off my armor and left it by the bank before entering the
Forest of Agony.

"On that very spot we made camp for the
night,” Vallias continued, “but we were in for a surprise the
following day. After picking up ourselves and continuing down the
bank, we saw a shining light ahead. We hid ourselves in the trees
of the forest and slowly made our way. And there, sitting by the
bank was this woman with wings of light. They were feeding off the
rays of the sun. I immediately knew it was our creature.”

“I don’t get it. What does the man want with
her?” I demanded.

“Well, my northern friend has remained quiet
about his motives. I would’ve let you ask him that yourself, but
he’s not here now. He went on ahead with the other half of the
cargo.”

“Other half? What have you done to
Auria!”

Vallias smiled at my anxiousness, “If you
want to know the whole truth, then you’ll have to beat it out of
me.”

I stepped forward to do just that, but he
strode back and hopped onto the platform.

“Belrose,” he said with a smirk as he stood
at the side of the cage, “I think it’s time you took sight of it,
your precious fairy.”

He clutched the black tarp and pulled it,
revealing the iron cage and its content. Sitting on the floor with
her legs on her sides, Auria knelt head down. She was the complete
opposite of how she used to be. The lack of sunlight had made her
skin whitish, just like Bri. Her once fine-looking leaf blouse and
skirt were now filthy and damp. Her wings were limp on the floor
like dead limbs. But worst of all was her face; the sharpness of
her eyes was gone and her cheeks were muggy of all the tears and
helpless cries. A wide, stone collar with strange glyph carvings
choked her, and iron shackles bound her hands and feet. Seeing her
in such state of decay brewed a mix of sorrow and odium within
me.

She then raised her eyes to me. Realizing
who I was, she gave a bleak smile uttering something under her
breath. I did not need to hear her to understand. It was a plea; it
was my name.

My soul craved for blood like never before.
I erupted.

“YOU BASTARDS!”

I lost all sense. I lost control. For the
next moments I did not know what I was doing, like if my mind and
body had parted. My sword was swinging around as balorian soldiers
fell. I knew they were striking my body, for I felt aches and
stings, but I refused myself to feel them. I simply had Auria’s
image burned into my retinas. My blade cut through everything it
landed upon; spears, swords, shields, arms and legs. The only thing
that brought me back to my senses was seeing a demon jumping from
the platform. It was Vallias, wearing his horned helmet. He wielded
a cinquedea, a sword wide on the hilt that ended with a sharp,
rounded tip. I blocked his plunge with my shield and pushed him
back.

“Step away,” he ordered his men, “I’ll deal
with him.”

The soldiers obeyed and formed a circle
around us.

“You know, I’ve sent word to my king about
my mission,” he said. “He thinks I will bring the item to him. But,
what he doesn’t know is that I’ll keep it for myself. What I’m
about to receive for that stupid fairy will grant me total dominion
over Balora. I will be the king, and Miaflore shall become the dust
under my heel!”

He came at me with a thrust. I deflected,
but when I countered, he dodged my blade with ease. I swung again,
and he evaded me once more. He was agile; faster than anyone I had
fought against. And not only did I had to be wary of his skill, I
also had to be careful not to trip with the dead bodies on the
ground. Fortunately, Vallias wasn’t as careful. As he strode to his
right, he clipped the shoulder of a fallen soldier and slipped. I
immediately plunged my sword to him, but he simply raised his arm
and bounced my blade off his forearm vambrace.

I had made a solid, downward strike. It
should have broken his arm, at least bent the metal and feel some
pain. But, none of it.

“My armor is different,” Vallias smiled,
“The metal is plied again and again and again and again. It is so
strong it acts like an actual shield, unlike the garbage you
miaflorians make.”

Now my chances of winning were really thin.
I needed a single strike to finish him, or at least cripple him.
All I could think of was his neck. All other places were well
protected.

I blocked his attacks, stepping back and
bidding my time. Eventually, I thought of a plan, but I needed him
to do a specific movement in order for it to work. If he would just
swing his cinquedea to my left, I would bounce it out with the
shield and thrust my sword to his throat. I needed to be accurate
and faster than him.

It was then that he made the move. He swung
to my left to hack at my shoulder. I stretched my shield outward
and bounced the cinquedea right off his hands. Instantly, I lunged
for the neck. The blade went all the way.

It was the end. After all my troubles and
pains, it had ended. I slowly stepped back as I saw a dagger nailed
beneath my sternum. I heard a loud cry. It was Auria as she saw the
blood churning out of my chest. I dropped my sword and fell on my
knees. So much for my plan; I missed. Vallias bent under my blade
as he reached behind his back with his free hand. He then revealed
the dagger and raised it to my chest. I was wide open with the
shield stretched out. I could do nothing.

My strength dissipated fast as my chest
began to feel cold. I could hear noises around me; Auria crying,
the soldiers laughing, and what Vallias said to me:

“Out of the five hundred soldiers camping on
the drawbridge camp, twenty had lived most of their lives beside a
body of water; out of those, ten were good at fishing; three of
them were awesome swimmers; but only one of them was a great diver.
And guess what he brought from the hand of a troll at the bottom of
the river?”

I looked down and opened my eyes in
disbelief. The dagger in my chest was my own! The one I left
encrusted on the troll’s thumb.

I was shaking now. I didn’t know if it was
because of fear or lack of strength. I coughed blood as Vallias
knelt in front of me. He put one hand on my shoulder and the other
on the dagger.

“You will suffer the most humiliating of
deaths.” he whispered, “Defeated by the man you hated, and killed
in front of the woman you loved. Your body will rest here without
ceremony, without glory, without triumph. Your weapons will rust,
your skin shall scorch from the sun, and your innards will rot with
the worms. You will only be remembered for one thing, as the man
who failed. It is over. Your journey, your story, ends here.”

He twisted the blade and I felt no more
pain. I fell backwards on the mud with my right arm pointing at the
carriage. I could not move my body anymore, nor hear anything. The
colors of the world were gone. I saw the carriage in black and
white, but could not see Auria. The edge of the platform blocked
her. She had to be crying, seeing me die right before her eyes. I
wanted to yell, I wanted to scream, “Auria, I didn’t save you… I’m
sorry…”

But my mouth was sealed and motionless. My
sight clouded with water. Did it start to rain again, or was it my
own tears? Nevertheless, my life had finished. All was dark. All
was light. All was nothing.

This is not right. I can feel it in my
bones. I cannot continue at it. My soul will forever burn as
punishment. My colleagues and Master seem to be praising this just
fine, but not me. A special mission of capturing a fairy is one
thing, but to overthrow the king is another. I just cannot go
through with it!

"Angus, come here."

Lord Vallias wanted my presence. I walked
through the bushes towards the pond, and there he was, bathing and
relaxing in the green waters. I had to admit, I've always admired
Vallias’ short, blonde hair, since the only hair I had on my head
was around my mouth and jaw. My other colleague soldiers stood
close around the pond as guard. I approached him and he said,
"Angus, you're the best hunter here. Kill me a boar. I'll be hungry
soon." 

"Yes, my Lord."

I headed back through the bushes to a narrow
trail in the forest. This led me to the carriage beside the road.
Henry and Bernard guarded it. They watched me as I climbed the back
platform, where the creature was in its covered cage. I walked
around it and knelt in front a wooden chest. I opened it and took
out a bow and a quiver of arrows. 

"Henry, Bernard, our Lord wants you to hunt
for boars. I'll stay here and guard the carriage."

"But you are the 'best hunter'," Bernard
mocked, "Why don't you do it?" 

"Don't question our Lord," I remarked. "If
he wants you to do something, you do it. Now, obey his orders and
hunt. Go already, both of you!"

I handed them the bow and arrows and they
left into the woods with grim faces. After they were out of sight
and I assured I was alone, I went back to the chest and took out a
hacksaw I had hidden there. I walked to the front of the cage and
lifted the tarp. The fairy laid there, shrouded in darkness with
dry tears under her eyes. The bulky stone collar with glyphs and
shackles held her to the floor. She looked so different, comparing
her to when we captured her. At that time, the lines that ran by
her arms and legs blared in red. Before Vallias killed the
miaflorian, they were blue. But now, those lines only showed black.
Such pitiful creature. I waved my hand in front of her, but she
seemed to be in a numbing trance.

I was only going to desert my lord, but I
felt an obligation to free her. That's what the man wanted to do.
Before he died, he spared my life. I could only show my gratitude
by freeing this fairy. 

I started to saw away at the lock, trying to
be as quiet as possible, but the hacksaw was of bad quality. It
only filed one thin line before it lost its serrated edge. I
resorted to my knife and tried to pick the lock. I heard some
clicks and it seemed my efforts were being successful, when
suddenly: 

"Angus!"

"What are you doing?"

I stood and turned. Henry and Bernard were
below, holding a young pig between them. Seeing the knife, the lock
and the uncovered cage, they quickly caught onto my plan. 

"You traitor!"

Bernard dropped the pig and readied the bow
and arrow, but I shot first. Before he could aim, my knife had
already reached his throat. Henry panicked and ran to the pond. Now
I had to be fast. I unsheathed my greatsword and hacked at the
lock. The first swing bent it; the second, broke it.

The fairy looked at me when I opened the
cage. I noticed the lines and wings reviving with a somber green. I
grabbed her chains, but the moment I touched them I felt hundreds
of needles piercing my hands. When I released them, it stopped. I
tried again, but the same thing happened. Was it the
warlock's sorcery? The stone collar with glyphs he put around her
neck?

I took my sword and did with the chains what
I had done with the lock, but it didn't work. It felt I was using a
broomstick, for the blade simply jolted off the chains. And then,
my heart sank:

"ANGUS!"

The bellow of Lord Vallias resonated
throughout the whole forest. There was nothing more I could do. I
looked at her helplessly, and her hope died. Her lines slowly faded
back to black as she lowered her face to the floor.

The soldiers were coming. I jumped off the
platform and I escaped to the forest. I ran, and disappeared.

#

Night came. I was not being followed
anymore, but the rain made its presence known. I was sitting under
a broad tree, trying to avoid the heavy water drops. With my rash
decision, I lost everything. I had no shelter, no food, no loyalty,
no nothing. What I had done made me a fugitive; an outlaw with no
rights, no honors, and no knighthood. Only a wanted poster and
death. I remained under the tree with my grief and sorrows, hugging
myself for warmth.

"Damn it, I should have thought this
through."

Then, someone sqeezed my throat. I'm a big
man, but I was clenched hard enough to raise me up. Was it Vallias?
Had he and his men found me? I couldn't breathe. I tried to remove
the hand from my throat, but its grip was too strong. My eyes
followed the arm to its origin and saw a hooded person. Inside the
hood all was in shadow but for three green lines glowing steadily.
The three lines curved and met at the bottom tips, making it look
like some type of claw. Never had I seen such a creature, but it
could only be one thing; hell had sent its demon to collect the
soul of a betrayer. This was the result of my actions. This
was my death.