Dance of the Damned

Questions And Questions

"Are you ready?" Carvill asked, standing in the room with Micah as he put on a uniform from the neighbouring kingdom's soldiers.

"What do you think?" Micah said, holding his hands out to show this uniform properly. "Is anything out of order?"

The man chuckled, helping Micah fix the blue shirt, tucking it into his pants and then the sides of the coat.

"There we go," Carvill said, a look of pride in his voice. "You need not come today, you know. I could handle it."

"No. I need to be there." Micah insisted, ruffling his hair so that it would be a little messy. "Did you bring the powder?"

"I did." Carvill gave him a container that Micah dumped over his head, the contents falling over his white hair, staining it black.

Reaching out, the man began to mix the colour all over the boy's hair until it was unrecognizable.

"There we go," Micah said with a smile. "Should I just keep my hair this colour, Carvill?"

"I would not be against it." Carvill chuckled as the man gave him a black, silk cloth that he placed over his eyes. "Isn't this a little ... much?"

"I want to be as unrecognisable as possible," Micah said, taking the ends of the cloth and wrapped it around his neck. "There, so that it won't fall."

"I don't think that is how it work-"

"Shall we get going then, Carvill?" Micah said, walking to the window, passing by a voice beside him.

With his eyes closed, Micah cannot even see colours so with the blindfold on, he can only rely on his heightened sense of hearing.

He reached out and touched Briar's hand on the bed, a soft smile coming on his face. "I will be back quickly, ok, Briar?"

His cold hand slowly turned warm from the contact with Micah's hands as he pulled away.

"What did you give him?" Carvill asked, looking at Briar in deep sleep. "He looks completely knocked out."

"Some sleeping pills," Micah said, with a smile on his face. "He will wake up if he notices that I am not beside him. I have been giving him sleeping pills every night though."

"Are you not worried that it might have some side effects?" Carvill asked, walking to the window where Micah was waiting for him.

"I gave him very small dosages." Micah turned to Carvill as the two jumped out of the window and to the horse waiting for them. "Morgan told me what to give and what not to. Besides, tonight I the last day I will do this.

"I just can't have him interfering and I know he will if he finds out about this."

"Do you not trust him?" Carvill placed Micah at the front and began to ride off into the darkness, through the back garden and a secret passageway to enter the estate in between the hedges.

"It is not about trust." Micah said, "It is more on the fact that it is not his time to be involved. Something like that."

"I thought you liked a little surprise." Carvill teased as the horse ran without a sound on the pathway its hooves constantly hit against.

"I do." Micah chuckled. "Most of the time. I know that is hypocritical of me. But I want to be a little more careful with the people around me."

"I believe you like to contradict yourself a lot, that is why most people find you difficult to understand."

"I don't understand myself either," Micah said sheepishly. “Oh well … I managed to make it this far, so I should be ok. Wouldn’t you say so?”

“Perhaps,” Carvill said, the wind carrying his voice as Micah felt the horse’s skin on his, its steady breathing matched his. “But you are left with a lot of scars, are you not?”

“They are there for a reason.” Micah buried his face in the horse’s mane, holding tight. “I don’t mind scars. In fact, I like them.”

“You tell me that all the time.” Carvill sighed, patting the boy’s head with his free hand. “It must have been difficult. Especially hiding all the scars you have in your body.”

Micah chuckled, “People always said that my skin is porcelain, pure white and without blemishes. I think you are the only one that has seen all the scars on my body.”

“How did you even get that thing to cover it up?”

“I found out that if you mixed a certain flower’s leaves and its fruits together, you will get a paste that matches the colour of paper.” Micah thought. “But I can’t remember when I found that out or how.”

“As long as you were able to hide it. It is fortunate that your skin resembled the colour of paper. Though I am inclined to believe that you did even that on purpose.”

Micah fell silent as the wind blew, against his face, fiddling with the blindfold and its ends, securely tied around his neck.

“I might have. My memories are not retaining as well as they were before.” He said, patting the horse. “I just … I just want to get everything over with already.”

“You must be tired.”

Micah did not reply to the man as he tuned him out, memories of the past flooding his mind, bringing emotional and physical pain with them.

_____________________

“Micah, do you know what your name means?” The familiar voice of a man flooded Micah’s memories and he allowed it to just take over.

It was a summer afternoon, he and his father sat on the swing in the garden, swinging back and forth as a warm breeze blew over them.

No matter how busy his father is, he has this childish aura about him. An aura that Micah did not seem to inherit as his father was known to get in trouble most of the time, especially with his mother.

But that did not mean that he never had any fun with this man child. The rumours say that he is a very capable person that even the King fears but when he is with his family, there was no trace of this ‘fearful’ man.

He had his arms around the boy’s waist, keeping him on his lap as they swung back and forth lazily.

“No.” Micah had answered, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his face. “What does it mean?”

“I have no idea either.” The man laughed. “We really weren’t even thinking when we picked out a name for you.”

“… Why are you two like this?” Micah laughed. “Well, I like the name. Whether I know the meaning of it or not.”

“You know, sometimes you talk like a person who has already lived before.” His father joked. “When you came into this world, I took one look at you and knew. You had this annoyed look on your face, it was hilarious.”

“I don’t know anything about that,” Micah said, thinking. “By the way, father, why are we moving? Is our house not good? Are we being banished?”

“It is nothing like that.” He patted the boy’s head. “Just that … a change of scenery seemed like it will be nice.”

“Ok. Swing higher!” He shouted as his father kicked at the ground. “Higher!”

_________________

I never did find out why we moved. No matter how much I asked, I never found it out. Micah thought, going back to reality on the horse. But that conversation stuck with me.

There was this tone in his voice that seemed like he knew something I didn’t. What could it have been?

“There you are!” A man’s voice pulled Micah out of his thoughts as they stopped in front of the voice, also on a horse. “You are late.”

“Be grateful we are even doing this for you, Nameless,” Carvill said, a hint of disdain in his voice. “We could have left you alone if it wasn’t for Roshi.”

“He is just agitated, Carvill,” Micah said, looking in the direction of the voice. “Nameless, are you ready?”

“Of course.” The man said, urgency written all over his voice. “I can hear the destruction from here.”

His daughter could be dead anywhere at the moment, I suppose I can understand his worry, I would be this agitated as well.

“We will be taking a shortcut,” Micah said, turning to Carvill. “You remember it, right?”

“Yes.” Carvill turned to Nameless. “Follow me and do not fall behind, I will not wait for you or slow down. Timing is everything.”

“But you two were the ones that were la-“

“Coming, Nameless?!” Carvill shouted as the two took off, Micah laughing out loud as the horse ran even faster than it did before. “You seem to be enjoying yourself.”

“I am!” Micah grinned widely. “And why not?! You should try to as well, Carvill!”

“I already am.” The man said, voice turning soft as he watched Micah’s excited expression.

“Smell that?” Micah said suddenly, taking in a deep breath as the smell of smoke filled his nose. "It has begun."

As soon as he said that, Carvill slowed the horse down, looking at the kingdom not too far away, the forested area is blazing with blue fire amidst the colourful lights of the kingdom and screams in the air.