Jiji no. 8

Awake

Holder woke up from his deep slumber. He jerked his eyes in a wide open, as if shocked, as if someone who had remembered something detrimental—something that should be dine by now—while in the middle of strolling in the dreamland.

He remembered that he was still alive, that is. As he opened the his eyelid in a sudden rush, the first thing he saw is the brown varnished ceiling of a room. There hangs a flower-shaped light that illuminates the four-cornered room.

He suddenly jerked up, sat down on bed. And he felt the world spinning.

“Ow,” he complained. He touched his head, and now he felt it throbbing. Painful. “I must have gotten a long time sleeping. Ah, I slacked.”

He is lonely in the room. The only thing he could hear is that if not the distant sound of the city noise, is the whirring of a giant bee fluttering rapidly its semi-translucent wings, flying almost above the ceiling, and sending of cool wind towards him.

He remembered what the creature was named. Beefan. A servant pet of the central kingdom who gives off air refreshment or cool wind.

“Hey thanks for the service,” he said, then smiled.

The bee does not answer. For they don’t speak. Instead, as soon as it saw that Holder was already fine and awake, it disintegrates into fine magical dusts, and then gone.

That’s when Holder remembered Jiji. And that is when he remember too what had happened. The forest. Nameless. Kohns. Emotions. Deep emotions he could tap. The ancient demon Jiji. And the picture of Jiji eating his own copy.

He started panicking.

“Jiji?” he called. He then started to get out of the bed. But soon as he placed his feet on the ground, he saw the bandages covering and swirling all over his feet. As he looked at his arms, he too saw the same white-colored bandages trapping the skin of his chest, his neck, a few runs on his head, and arms.

“Hey I did not fall on something, or hit something. Why am I having bandages?” he asked himself. Yet, he knew he wouldn’t get any from he himself. Because he was just clueless of what happened through everything, the moment that he fell on the unconscious, just after how he witnessed Jiji eating the demon that has formed from his Kohns.

“I must get out here. I need to find Jiji.” He started walking. His muscles, the joints and ligaments started to writhe in pain soon as he took the force and all of his weight to the sole of his weight. His ankles were painful, so is his knees, and legs, and hips, and intestines, and muscles and neck, and head, and even his cheek. It was as if someone had beaten him—tortured, that could be a great word—that he wasn’t able t fight back or escape.

“Hey, I just summon Kohns, did I? Why does my body feel bursting?” But then, he is a man who can still move and walk and be stubborn amidst burning pain. His body was just beaten, but he felt his soul and energy were as new and as filled satisfyingly. He twitched the knob of the door, and started peaking outside. No presence. But he knew where he was. It was one of the hundred alleys inside the palace. He was just lucky since the alley was familiar to him.

“Hey, anybody?” he called. His voice echoed from two direction, left and right, and bounced back through his ear drums with an answer of resonating silence.

No one was in the alley, and no one has heard him.

“Where are the people here?” he asked. He wanted to scratch his head, but he was restrained by the bandages on all over his body. He decided to walk further, towards outside. He was just lucky that the people, whoever they are, had given him a room on an alley he was familiar to. They could have placed him to his own room, so that it would be much more comfortable to him, and more familiar to him when he get out. But, well, this has happened. It was fine for him, long as he knew where he was, and where he could go.

Now, when he finally managed to take a right turn after travelling the long tiring alley (it was tiring for him considering the current state of his body), a burst of noise started to breached the peace of his ears. This alley is headed outside, towards where the grand podium can be seen.

Grand podium is located at the front of the palace, before the palace gate. He then realized that he was on the east wing of the palace. East and West wing are an extension of the palace. It was attached to the main heart, to the main palace, which made the architecture extend towards the heart of the city. This was made in order to make different accesses of the people from the from the inside of the palace. There are too many exit points that was made in the building which would serve as an emergency exits of anyone inside the palace. But it could not serve as an entrance purpose. The exit point of these alleys are all covered in shadows, if one would look from the outside (But from the inside, it was bright, and it could see everything outside). If one would use it as an entrance passage, he would find himself exiting on another exit point, without even seeing the inside of the palace.

Holder decided to walk outside, despite knowing what his physical appearance were, at the current time. He pursed his lips, and brushed off the cold sweat forming on his forehead and nape and chest, making the bandages be blotted by wet drops. He can see the outside. The people were forming and cluttering outside. He then concluded that perhaps, someone was standing in the podium. Maybe for an announcement. The podium, as what its purpose were, is to make the people see and hear announcements from royal family, or of the palace. Sometimes, it was the stage for performances whenever holidays or events are to held inside the palace. But he heard no music. And so, he assumed it was an announcement.

And it was.

As soon as he bursted out of the exit path of the alley, he looked at the podium. There he saw the ‘annunsieur’—someone who delivers the message from the palace. He was preparing for the message. On his face, the nervous and wariness were painted. His lips were pale too, and cold sweat was forming on his forehead. But what was more intriguing, is the people behind the annunsieur.

It was the King and Queen of the kingdom of Agnosbadtt. 

That, he cannot be mistaken.