The Land Beyond the Stars: Path of Redemption

Chapter 3 – Things Between

Riza makes her way towards the castle dungeon, passing through Mirradhian guards that went the opposite way to the Retainer. Some of them think that the Royal Retainer was a coward & cares only about her well-being rather than her liege. If they had been where the Retainer was they would have thought otherwise. Along the way, she passed Duchess Dana, a noble of Avalon. She was having an afternoon tea… in the middle of a castle siege.

‘Well, at least she has the guts to stay here. Most nobles would just save themselves from this mess.’, she thought to herself as she arrived at the entrance of the castle dungeon.

Using the key at the far end of the isolated prison, the door reveals a hidden passageway just beside the door that leads to the Thing Between, a crossroad & the gate to other lands, continents, kingdoms & regions of the world. It is said that only those of noble bloodlines are able to traverse such a place. This is not common knowledge, only those who are of noble blood or close associates of said nobles are made well aware of this otherworldly realm. It's not made by magic, nor was it by technology. No one really knows the history behind it. Perhaps this dominion had its purpose but has lost that said purpose to the ravage of time.

‘It’s a shame that no one is using this right no-‘

Before she could even finish her inner dialog, Riza spotted a familiar silhouette sitting down by a bench just a little deeper within the hidden passageway. As much as this whole ‘fiasco’ goes, she was not ecstatic to reunite with this man. All she did was give him cold shoulders.

“heh, nice meeting you here too…”

Upon closer inspection, it is revealed to be The Duelist Fittrye who started the conversation with a sarcastic remark. It would have been better if this journey was hers’ alone to take, but thinking back, she would not have survived if the lady in red had not helped taking out that massive darkness. Maybe she could use the help if she was travelling alone.

'Untuk tanah di luar aras laut bintang...'.

There it is again. She was hoping that the princess could handle the mental part of that voice. The last time it happened, her Retainer was all by herself doing all the ‘protecting’. Riza wondered if Fittrye had actually abandoned his men back on the surface, but judging him now would only make it worse by the minute, since he clearly looked beaten up. Like really. Far be it to have a life revolving around him, considering he holds both seats in the Magisterium as well as the Military. Most people refer to him as Magister rather than Duelist.

“Darn, there’s that voice again…”

Puzzled, the Retainer asked “You… heard it too? The voice?”

“Yeah, & it is a spirit not a voice, okay? Get your facts straight.”

Instead of giving The Duelist her answer, she manifests her lance & struck it down towards the little good-for-nothing bastard. Luckily, he dodged it gracefully. “You got 5 seconds to tell me how you know that voice…. Spirit… thing before I whipped that sorry ass of yours.” Fittrye just looked at the Retainer with amusement, then let out a little laugh in a dark humour.

“What’s so funny?”

She points the tip of her lance at The Duelist's neck, his Adam’s apple to be more precise. Fittrye just gazes at her with his yet signature deadpan expression before he finally surrenders & tells her of the spirit dwelling within their thoughts. Riza lets her weapon down, de-Manifesting it. She suggested telling the whole thing while walking until they reached the Thing Between crossroads.

“That voice you hear, it’s a spirit chanting.” Fittrye implied with an expressionless look.

“Yeah, I think we already established that.” rolling her eyes at the most obvious facts that he told her just exactly 5 minutes ago.

“That chant itself is actually ancient & holds magical properties. I only know 2 other people who chant those verses…”

Riza was interested in where this was going, a bit weird that he knew this stuff, but in Riza’s mind it was probably luck that got her this information. That and him being part of the Masgisterium whose duty is being advisors to the king in arcane-related fields. If she could find any of the 2 people The Duelist implies, she could end the princess' suffering. Thinking it was the best way possible, she pushed The Duelist for the answer.

“Can you give me their names?”

But Fittrye didn’t actually finish his sentence… “ They are just normal words if you merely say it, but you need a pendant to get its magical property to work.” Well, this is good news then; knowing which people who has this pendant of sorts & chanting the verse will make things easier. “…But no, I’m not gonna tell you the names though.” Riza stops her trail. She would not budge until The Duelist spill it out, & she was ready to fight for it too, by the looks of it.

“You heard the voice, right?” Just find a person that sounds like that. That’s all I can help you… Retainer.”

Not a day goes by when Riza would feel like murdering that man. By the time Fittrye said that, they reached the Thing Between. The realm was abundant with legendary ancient woods & unfamiliar floral beings, like fairy tales that you’d find in books. There are caves, paths, roads & magic portals to each respective destination. It really is a crossroad between worlds.

“Where are you heading?” Riza sparked up a conversation. The Duelist looked… a bit scared for a moment before taking back his composed expression.

“I’m… going to see a friend…” Of all the excuses he could have come up, he wanted to see a friend? really? Out of all the excuses? But the retainer needed to dig deeper if she wanted to understand this ‘enigma’ personality of his better.

“Comrades?” She shot.

“no… just… a long lost friend. At Bowerstone” he said expressionlessly.

‘Woah, Bowerstone. Really? Isn’t that like, the worst place you could go right now?’ was what Riza would want to say, but again it could all go downhill if she messed it up now. “Well, good luck with that.” She could spot The Duelist blushed at the encouragement, but he did a little cough to regain his composure. “& You?” asking the same question as it was, Riza had nothing to hide except for her identity. “My father. Deep within the Valley of the Drake.”

The only response Riza could pick up from The Duelist was “We both have our own problems, huh?” & left running deeper into the Betwixt. The Retainer was all by herself, not knowing what to do after finding her father…IF she finds her father. She was more worried about what the princess was doing right now. All the thoughts of her best friend not being by her side, even in these troubled times. But thinking back, it only happened like 4 hours ago, so it should be over by the time she arrived back at Mirradh. ‘Geez, Riza, optimistic much?’ scratching her back head like a little kid would do when they did something wrong, she needed to shrugged it off. She needed to handle the task at hand; finish up loose ends with her father.

Heading towards a road that said “Valley of the Drakes”, The Retainer took a huge breather before moving forward. It is the only way to regain her honour as a retainer to her liege, & hopefully, a father's love for his daughter. A tear drop made its way running down her cheek. All she wanted was to be loved by her father. Her mother showered her with it, so why can’t her father do the same? She was born to kill & assassinate, but lately on that old route she realized that doing this only makes her father proud. It didn't. In the end, she used her abilities to defend & protect rather than murder her foes with pride.

‘All I wanted was to be loved, & I hope that when we meet, I’ll make sure you love me’ closing her eyes before opening them back, she moved forward with her head held up high. ‘If you can’t love me back, I’ll have to put you down… to show you what you have created.’

END OF CHAPTER 3