The Red Soul

Chapter Five

Fire... everywhere was fire. The warmth was suffocating. She could not stop blinking her eyes as smoke filled the room. They stung and her throat felled like ash. Ash... like the grey dust that was everywhere, surrounding her. It had already dirtied her hands and face- had ruined her clothes. Her favourite dress had already gone up with the flames, had become ash as well. She couldn’t see it anymore- couldn’t see the dress anymore because it had the same colour as the furniture around her.

 She tried to get up, but sank through her arms again and again. When trying to call for help, her desperate cries turned into coughing. But she couldn’t stay here.

Trembling, she stood up from the rough carpet and stumbled towards the door. Her head was spinning and she couldn’t separate her stuff from the flames. They already seemed to have become one.

When the door was within her reach, she yanked it open and stumbled on through the long corridor.

Fire was everywhere and shouting was also clearly heard. From inside or outside, she did not know- she did not care. And although the flames should have swallowed her a long time ago, they seemed to go out of her way, creating a pathway to a big oakwood door.

She grabbed the decorated golden doorknob. The metal in her hand hissed and hurt badly, but she ignored it and pushed the heavy door open with her whole body.

Her suspicions seemed to be right. There they were. Her parents sat in two beautiful armchairs that also seemed to be covered in the same colours. They did not move as the flames licked at them as well.

Tears fell down her cheeks and she screamed again. Not out of desperation, but out of madness. The flames seemed to envelop her- seemed to close her in. They seemed to devour her.

Again, a coughing fit. Panting, she fell on her knees. Smoke penetrated her lungs and she choked on her tears. She did not hear the yelling of people somewhere behind her and did not feel how two hands grabbed her and lifted her.

For the last time, she tilted her head towards the two figures. “I am sorry,” she cried as she clutched her fist that know had a burn mark in the form of a four-pointed star.

Myris’ eyes burst open as her body was shaken by two slender yet powerful hands. Viera was bending half over her while looking at her through her long eyelashes with an anxious expression written on her face. “Myris, are you alright?”

She did not answer- was only able to reach the toilet just in time before she vomited. Not much came out, but the bile still burned in her throat. It burned and suffocated her again.

“Let it go, I am here. You will be fine.” Viera kept mumbling calming words and sat down beside her. She wanted to hold Myris, but the latter pushed her away in fear.

Sweat glistened on Myris her face, mixed with tears. Just like a couple hours ago, she kept crawling further away from Viera, trembling incessantly and her breathing rushed. Rolling up in a ball, she wrapped her arms around herself. Closing her eyes, she tried to close herself off from the world, but the tears kept coming.

Images kept flashing through her head, paralysed her, and withdrew all the warmth from her. They were burned into her retina and did not seem to want to leave. Screaming still sounded in her ears.

But the screams were slowly drowned out as Viera started to sing the same song again. And just like before, Myris eventually calmed down again because of it.

In the corner of the room three tiny crystals floated, emitting a soft light that lit up the room just enough so that they could see each other in the dark shadows of the night. Myris looked at them, while she listened to the lovely melody. They were not much bigger than the palm of her hand. She could easily hold them if she wanted to, but she had the feeling that they would blind her the moment she did. They resembled little stars.

Her tears had stopped from falling down and she managed to sit up again, but Viera kept going until the song had ended. As soon as the last note ended, she opened her eyes. “Are you alright?” she whispered.

Quietly, Myris nodded as she stood up. Her legs still wobbled, so she let herself fall on the bed as soon as she reached it. Her pillows and sheets were wet from the sweat. The blanket that lay half from the bed was damaged, brown and black edges surrounding the fabric her hands had clutched as the nightmare had haunted her. Before Viera would be at her side again, Myris stuffed the damaged part out of sight, putting the rest of the blanket tightly around her.

She felt cold. Very cold now that the burning warmth had left her again.

The same soft light from a minute ago lit up her bed when Myris brought her a glass of water. Myris did not think twice to accept it as her throat felt extremely dry. Yet, it was empty before it even could relief her.

Creaking filled the room when Viera sat on the edge of the bed by her feet. With a long look she eyed Myris. “Do you have nightmares often?”

Myris stayed silent and looked at her right hand that softly trembled. She tried to avoid Viera’s gazes, not wanting to see the possible mockery in the monster’s eyes, or worse, she did not want to see any pity that she did not deserve. However, as she still took a short glance towards the other, she did not see either of the two. The look Viera gave her... she did not understand it.

“You don’t want to talk about it, do you?”      

This time, Myris shook her head.

“I see,” Viera replied. “Everything on its time, but...” She moved so she could sit crossed-legged again as he looked at the still full plate on her night stand. “Why haven’t you eaten? You need it. You know that.”

Myris bit her lip as she followed Viera’s gaze. “I thought that it was poisoned.”

The moment she said it, she knew how stupid it sounded. If they wanted her dead, they would have done it in a different, easier way. Perhaps a more painful one. Not with some simple food... and certainly not after they had cured her. She had only been careful… just in case.

She peeped under her lashes at Viera, half expecting to see an insulted or angry look on her face and otherwise a sad one, but again, she was wrong. Instead Viera stared at her with amusement. “I will blame Fyrian for that. Take it from me that he will pay.”

“It is not...” Myris gulped. “It is just that a lot has happened. I didn’t expect to end up here. If I am honest, it wasn’t what I had hoped for. Not after all those stories.”

“Stories?” Viera tilted her head and squeezed her eyes. “Which stories?”

“They... they aren’t exactly pleasant.”  Myris looked everywhere, except at Viera. This was not what she was waiting for. Her head still throbbed and she rubbed her temples to make it stop. She had to think about something else. Even if it was just for the night. “Are you and Fyrian twins?”

Viera seemed to notice her intensions, because she did not push it. “Yes, we are. And even when Fyrian can be quite troublesome, I can’t imagine a better brother. So please, don’t think too badly about him. That also counts for Cearen by the way, but everyone can usually notice that.”

 Following Viera’s hand, Myris could see her taken a hold of a little necklace.  The women did not seem to notice that she had grabbed the jewel. She looked dreamily out of the window at the lake.

“Is Cearen also your brother?”

The white-haired woman chuckled. “Not officially. We just consider each other that way. Besides, we have lived under the same roof for years now, so that helps. But no, he is not blood related like Fyrian and I.”

Frowning, Myris fumbled with the bed sheets. They were not family, yet they lived together, in a castle nonetheless. “Are there more mons- Fae who live here?”

A flicker appeared in Viera's eyes. She put her leg upright and let her chin rest on her knee, her white hair enveloping half of her face in dancing shadows. She thought about it for a second. “For the most part, it is just the four of us. Others come and go whenever they want to, or if they need help, but really living here... no, they don’t. We also don’t have any servants here. Mostly the creatures and people from the city Evario come to the castle to clean and maintain it, together with the garden. Yet, for the most part, we can manage our selves. They are free to come if they want, even if they want to stay the night, but that doesn’t happen that often.”

Viera looked thoughtfully back outside. “Learia is a good example. She is actually the woman of the bartender of Evario. She is always prepared to help us. Tonight, she also stays over since it was too late to go home. But at the end, it is just the four of us living here.”

Hearing the words, Myris fidget with her nails. She knew that Viera did not mean her when she said ‘the four of us’, but someone else. She wanted to ask who. However, that was not the only thing she wanted to ask. Viera had said creatures- a city full of creatures. What kind of creatures? What kind of monsters did exist in Olèrian? Other than warning mankind about the Fae, the stories were not too clear about that.

So many questions were waiting in Myris her throat to be asked, but Viera was faster. “Oh, look at the time. We better stop or we will go on the whole night... Not that I would mind or anything. On the contrary, I quite liked to talk to you. I never really do those kinds of things with others...” She faced away from Myris with red cheeks as she kept rambling. “Maybe we can talk again later or at least some time in the future. Only if you want to though.”

Myris grabbed the edge of the white blanket tightly.

Seeing the reluctance in her eyes, Viera looked at her hesitantly. “I... You have seen Cearen’s magic. I can help you with your nightmares.”

“You can let nightmares disappear?”

Viera shook her head.  “Not disappear... stop them… for tonight so that you can sleep. You need it. I can assure you that-”

“No.”

The female Fae looked up to see Myris starring at her with narrow eyes.

Showing her a stiff nod, Viera climbed out of the bed, after which she looked questionable to the wall on her right, where the window was. On the wall around the window hang multiple curtains. Even on the side of the wall where the window was out of reach, there were curtains covering whatever was behind it.  “I thought Learia always closed the curtains?”

She wanted to approach them so she could close them, but halted in her steps when she could hear Myris shuffle uncomfortable on the bed. “You want them open?”

Myris almost nodded unnoticeable.

“Alright.” Yet, Viera still stepped to the window, but instead of taking the curtains, she opened the window itself. Fresh air filled the room and Myris saw Viera breathing in deeply, while her shoulders relaxed.

As if the wind blew her away, Viera walked towards the arch. With every step she took the light of the crystals dimmed, until Myris was surrounded with darkness.

It made her look outside, towards the stars outside of her room, and the moon that basked her in soft light. She had her suspicions that Viera would not leave it at their short conversation. Tomorrow, she would probably want to ask a lot of questions and Myris was not sure if she was prepared for that. However, it did not matter. She could not sleep anymore… but she did not want to either. It was time to get out of here now. 

Silently to not alarm Viera again or the others, she let herself slip from the comforting warmth of the bed and reached out to the doors of her wardrobe. However, when she searched for it with her hands as her eyes were still adjusting to the darkness, she ran them across the nightstand and felt something prick her skin.

Blindly picking it up, Myris let her finger run over it to feel what it was. As soon as her finger touched it, light filled the room and she could see one of the small crystals lying in the palm of her hand. Viera must have left it there.

She held it tighter as she looked through the closet. Dresses and jackets neatly hung beside each other above trousers and sweaters with different sizes and colours. As far as she could see, they looked nice.

Groping through the wardrobe, she grabbed a random pair along with some socks she could find in a lower drawer. When she exchanged them with nightgown, they felt a little bit to0 big. But everything was to large now that she had lost to much weight. At least they were softer to the touch then her previous clothing. Nor were they ripped or dirty.

Under the clothes, some boots were placed at the bottom of the wardrobe. Some did not look her size, looked even as if they belonged to a full-grown man. Yet, she found a pair that were good enough to walk on. Almost everything sufficed for her, since she previously had been running with bare feet. They were covered with callus and small cuts from the forest ground, and it took a while for the socks and boots to warm them. It caused a tingling sensation after she had been used to a numb feeling because of the cold.

Being fully clothed, she opened the door of the room and looked into the dark hallway. She could not hear any noise, which meant that the others slept. As quiet as a mouse she sneaked though the hallway and peered around her. Nothing, nothing at all. She smiled.

On her toes she walked through the castle with the light of the crystal as her guide. She was not entirely sure which way the main hall was, and of course she did not know any other way that could lead her outside. So, while she tried to find her way in the dark, she also tried to gather food or some other things that could keep her alive when she had escaped.

At first, she did not dare to open the doors in the first couple of corridors, afraid that it could be a bedroom with somebody in it, but eventually she had gathered enough courage and opened the first door.

The chamber was an ordinary sitting room with pastel tones. Maybe a little smaller and less cosy than the autumn colours, but still very attractive to spend your days in. In any case, it was not something terrifying, which still surprised her.

She started to open more and more doors. Some of them indeed contained bedrooms that were as inviting as hers, but there was no trace of other people in them. Now and then she saw a storage room, but she could not food or any other useful items in it. It was mostly full of things she did not recognize.

 At least she had not seen anything yet that she feared to find in this place, she thought when she carefully put a broom back into a closet.

For a good couple of minutes, she did not discover anything new, until she stopped before two doors that were bigger than the others. As silently as she could she started to push one open. Luckily it did not make any sound despite it being so heavy that she needed to use her whole body to open it.

When it was wide enough, Myris held the light above her head and looked around with wide eyes. She was in a giant library. Rows of bookcases stood neatly against the long walls and around long study tables. It looked neat and practical, but it also had something distant about it.

There were many books still open on the tables, as if someone had been busy until late and immediately wanted to continue the next morning; not bothered to clean them up. But even though Myris was very curious about what was in the books, it did not gain her full attention. Her eyes went instead to the centre of the room, where a large stone staircase led down into an opening in the floor. The stone of the stairs was not light grey, like the rest of the castle. It was a darker version of it, the same colour as the mountains that surrounded the castle and the one that the castle rested upon. Light seemed to shine out of the opening. Myris realised that the stairs led into the mountain.

One last time she looked back. Perhaps she should ignore it and turn back. The sun would not stay under for forever. Eventually it would become day soon, and by then, she would have to be gone or they would find her again.

She was about to turn around and leave the library, but a sound at the opposite side of the doors made her halt in her steps. It was a rhythmical tick. As if something light was placed against the stones again and again in a similar way, with small pauses in between. Yet, it moved as the sound switched places, coming closer towards the library. It was accompanied with a small light, similar to the light that the stone in her hand emitted.

Myris did not hesitate to run down the stairs, fearing that she had woken someone up and he or she was looking for her. But when she stood on the bottom step, she stopped moving.

Light grey stone had swapped with darker hues, while the order of the room above was exchanged for a gigantic, carved room in which hundreds of stone carved pillars prevented everything from collapsing. Many stairs and bridges, from different heights and widths, went in all directions, to different platforms, which contained even more bookcases. But these bookcases were placed much freer and more chaotic than the others above, and concealed several cosy seats. Other seats were clearly in sight because they were on one of the many balconies.

Hundreds of crystals had been hewn into the odd, stone vaults and illuminated the whole cave-like room like stars. Only the centre of the mountain was open. And while Myris peered down she could just see an opening in the ground.

She bit her bottom lip and her eyes widened. A circular opening in the ground went deeper into the mountain. Water fell down along the stone edges. She could not see the bottom, but she knew that the water went deeper than the mountain, far below the ground. Like the waterfall, the rays of water did not make much noise.

Taking one of the bridge-like stairs, she went towards the bookcase that was the closest to her and traced her hand along the covers of the books. Some looked new, others old, their worn out leather and yellowed pages indicating that they had existed for a lot of years- maybe even centuries.

With the new source of light from the ceiling, the crystal turned itself off, but she still held onto it tight.

Closing her eyes, she listened for the ticking sound, but could not hear it anymore. Did it mean she was alone again? She wanted to get outside, but she did not trust it yet to go upstairs again. Perhaps it was better if she waited for a minute to make sure no one was waiting for her when she would leave to cave-like library.

Besides, many books had gained her attention. Running her eyes over them, she took one from its places on the planks. She opened it, but before she could even read a single word the book was grabbed out of her hold.

“If you wanted a tour, you could have asked.”

A scream left her mouth and swung her arm behind her. Fyrian avoided her hand nonchalantly, while he was looking through the book with a frown. He still wore the same clothes as yesterday, as if he had not slept at all. With a bang he closed the book and leaned forward with a grin. “I will personally give you one.”

Myris was shocked. She had been so quiet... and yet he found her. She did not even hear him come. Not a gust of wind had shown a sign of his presence.

Seeing her look around, he placed the book back with the others. “No, I have not followed you, I was here already when you came down. I was searching for a book before I went to sleep.”

“Isn’t it a bit too late to look for a book?” she joked nervously.

“I could say the same of you. Were you trying to run away again or were you looking for something that could kill me?”

“None of your business.”

“Ah, yes, someone wanting to kill me is none of my business. But since you do not look happy to see me, I assume you are trying to run again. Run again… Even after Cearen healed you, after we gave you a bath, food and a place to sleep… you still want to leave?” Fyrian scoffed. “It this is because you fell out of my arms yesterday, that was entirely your own fault. You were the one that hit me first.”

“No! I want to get out of here, because I am now surrounded by monsters!” Myris put a hand for her mouth the moment the words escaped her lips. She had not wanted to say it out loud, had no idea how he would react to it. For sure, he would get mad right?

She awaited his rage, but he simply stood there. Tilting his head, Fyrian looked at her confused. “Yes, I am. Is there something wrong with that? You say it like it is some sort of insult.”

This time it was Myris’ turn to be puzzled. Did he really not know? Everyone in the four kingdoms that remembered them called both him and the others monsters. Evil beings. Those who were ready to terrorize, murder and destroy. Yet, the one in front of her acted like it was just a normal noun. No negative meaning behind it.

It was like they were almost oblivious. When Myris had slipped about the stories to Viera, the woman also questioned her. There were also both surprised by her reactions… Then she remembered the words Fyrian mumbled when she had first crawled away from him…. It was as if they were truly not aware.

“Do you really not know?” She questioned, almost more to herself than to Fyrian, but he still heard her.

“Know what?”

She stayed silent, not sure how to answer. But Fyrian grabbed her by the arm, making her face him. “Myris, what am I supposed to know?”

Looking up at him, her voice got stuck in her throat. His unusual orange eyes were penetrating hers. They were filled with confusion, fear, and… pain. It was far away from the gaze of something evil. Instead, it was completely recognizable, because the emotions she saw in it, were the ones she felt the most. It made her wonder.

Still locked in his gaze, the features of her face softened. “You are not evil, are you?”

“Do you think I am?”

Myris bit her lip. At first, she did. Her whole life she did think so. Everyone and everything she encountered in her life indicated that. It had been repeated to her over and over again. But standing before him, alive and better than before, she hesitated.  

Then it appeared. Flowing red lines surrounded them. Like streamers of light, they circled around Fyrian, who remained in the same position, still staring at Myris as if he could not see them. It was because he could not. It was only something Myris saw, she had figured out. It was a strange right light, revealing itself at random moments. Yet, even for her, the red streamers had appeared only a few times. And for the last couple of years, it had never arisen.

She was still not sure what it was or why she could see it. It came in different shapes. Sometimes it was a thin line, almost a thread. Other times, it formed shapes, images. This time it looked more like an aura- Fyrian’s aura. It hovered around him in a soothing rhythm. It looked mostly tranquil, only a few sudden ripples disturbed the flow of light. And as it disappeared, Myris knew what it meant. [RB1] 

Against all the things that she had seen; that she had been told, she eventually shook her head at his question. “No, not anymore.”

Fyrian blinked, as if he was actually surprised by her answer, as if he had expected her to say yes. He let her go with a frown on his face. “Then why do you want to leave so bad?”

“Because I… I need to go back to someone.”

“Someone? Not your parents?”

Myris stiffened by the question, recalling her nightmare- her memory- and the fire within it. “My parents are dead… it is someone else who has been taken care of me after they died.”

Trying to ignore the aching in her heart, Myris let Fyrian take a hold of her hand and led her to a couch. She missed them, just like she missed Tyrag. After her parents died… after that horrible day, he had taken her in. He had become a new parent-figure for her. Until they were both imprisoned.

Myris had no idea how he was doing, if he was still alive, but she had to find out. And if he was still alive, she had to save him. When she had escaped herself, shehad tried to free him as well, but then it went wrong and she somehow ended up in Olèrian. If she wanted to save him, she had to get out of Olèrian first.

The cushions of the couch she sat on sank a bit when Fyrian sat beside her. “You know…” he began, getting Myris’ attention, “it is quite… difficult… to leave Olèrian. Besides, I can see that you are still not fully recovered, and it can take some time. I mean, instead of sleeping, like you are supposed to do, you have been talking to me. Right now, leaving Olèrian will be impossible for you.” He ran his hand through his hair. His shoulders were slacked and he had an even deeper frown on his face then before, but he seemed to shake it off when he looked at her again, smiling. “Please, stay here for a couple of day until you are strong enough to go back, and then I will help you in any way we can.”

 Despite still being wary, Myris could not help but to sound hopeful. “You will help me?”

Fyrian nodded. “We all will help you.”

It sounded unreal. A monster from a cursed land was offering her assistance. Should she stay? Myris did not know if that would be the right choice. It sounded foolish. Incredibly foolish. It had been said the longer you stay in Olèrian, the higher the chance you would die. Yet, here she was considering to stay for a couple more days, together with one of the most dangerous creatures existing in the world.

However, would it be truly worse than the black tower? If so, then she was better off dead. But Cearen seemed anything but evil. And the red light just showed her that she did not have to fear Fyrian as well…

She kept telling herself that she was still alive and that they had helped her, healed her and offered her a place to stay. She was still alive. She had escaped. Perhaps she was foolish… but she needed any help she could get if she wanted to break Tyrag out of the prison. Even if that meant that she would be staying in the land of monsters.

“Then I think that I will be staying here for a couple of days.”

The smile turned into a boxy grin as Fyrian clasped his hands. “Amazing. I am sure that the others will be thrilled when they hear it! Please, do not be scared to make yourself comfortable in our humble home and stay as long as you want.”

Myris nodded thankfully and Fyrian grinned. Then he jumped up from his seat, as if he had received a shock. “The sun has risen. The others will wake up soon, if they aren’t awake already.”

Frowning, Myris watched him. How did he know that the sun was up? There were no windows in the mountain or any gap in the stone wall that could give them a sense of time. It was like no time was bound to this part of the library.

Also standing up, she let her gaze wander through the library again, along the many rows of books. If she would be staying here…  “Can I read them?”

Fyrian halted in his movements, the silly grin still on his face. “If you want to. Every book in here you are allowed to read. The top books are mainly novels and that kind of reading material. Further down you get more... informative books if you have an interest in that.”

“Any recommendation?” Myris felt delighted. She never had read that much. She had not the time for it and the last couple of years the time was taken from her. It had been ages since the last time that she even touched a book, the last one she touched was a dairy. And now that she had time again... the amount of choice she had this very moment was more than she had ever received in her entire life. 

With his hands on his hips, Fyrian glanced around. He clasped his hands when he made his choice and walked with big steps over one of the many bridges. It did not contain balustrades on the sides, which meant that if he fell, he would make a free fall, maybe even straight toward the bottom if he did not land on any of the other plateaus. If he was really unlucky, he would fall straight into the hole beneath them, into the mixture of water and darkness. Yet, he walked over them with a casual confidence, straight towards his goal. Tracing the row of books with his finger, he picked one with a dark green cover.

Myris gaped at the plank from where he got the book. How could he have seen the book all the way from here? There were around hundreds of books that looked the same, and from such a distance...

With a smug smile he came back and made a small bow when he stood before her again, handing the book over. “I believe you will enjoy this one.”

Accepting the book, Myris went through the pages. It looked promising.

A slight silence fell over them. Fyrian looked at her, but said nothing. He seemed far away with his thoughts. She knew she had to thank him. But when she opened her mouth, their silence was interrupted by a roaring sound that was her stomach.

Fyrian was startled by his thoughts and started laughing loudly. “Somebody didn’t eat her diner. Oh, Cearen will be so disappointed.”

Feeling her cheeks starting to burn, Myris stared at the ground, but Fyrian did not seem to mind. “We better get you some food. Luckily, it is time for breakfast.” He offered her his arm and this time Myris did not immediately back away. After a little bit of hesitance, she grabbed his arm.

“Let’s change our clothes and enjoy some great food.” With that said, he led her out of the library and back to her room.

 [RB1]The red soul’s inner magic. Intuation/decision making. To be determined/persistent. The light will appear when the soul is struggling with making a decision, or will assist when the soul can not figure something out. The thread will appear for example when she needs to chose a path (magic was still resurfacing so not prominent in the first chapters, only leaving read light in the corners of her eyes.)  id Fyrian would have been bad, the light would be running chaotically instead of calmly.