The Red Soul

Chapter Six

The moment she was walked back into her room, Myris let out a startled cry. Learia stood in the middle of her room. Smiling, the Fae held up a dark yellow dress, but although a nightgown was not that much of a problem, Myris was not used to wearing dresses anymore.  The last one she had worn was not decorated with a pretty bow but with holes and black and grey stains. The loose strings of fabric had made her trip many times. The flames had given it a different form and the ash had given it a different colour. Even though Myris liked the dress in Learia’s hands, it gave her an uneasy feeling and preferred not to wear it.

The Fae did not seem to mind it and took another set of clothes out the wardrobe. Quickly taking the clothes out of the woman’s hands, Myris disappeared towards the bathroom so that she could change her clothes while keeping the Fae at a good distance.

As she was changing, she did not want to admit it, but the clothes were great. The long dark purple trouser was wide and stroked her legs with every move she made, making it easy to move around while it was comfortable as well. The long purple sleeves of the black sweater were transparent and flared wide at the elbows. Small silver pearls adorned the body and matched the silver coloured shoes she wore. Always having been so sure that she would never wear anything this beautiful and comfortable again, she could not stop staring at it. Even if the clothes were a bit on the large side on her thin body.

As if a bell had rung to signal that Myris was done, Learia walked into the room. At the dressing table she stood still and waited. Momentarily, Myris looked at the female Fae, but then stepped towards her and took place on the same seat as yesterday.

Humming, Learia began to brush Myris her hair to secure it with a silver clip, leaving streaks of her straight hair free so they could fall along her face.

While the woman was busy, Myris still kept an eye on her. Yet, the feeling of hands that ran through her hair kept distracting her. It did not feel familiar anymore. It was not the same.

Myris pushed the thought aside and studied her face. Her cheeks were still hollow, but yesterday’s bath had caused a faint pink blush to reappear again on her pale skin. Her eyes on the other hand, looked worse and were red and swollen due to lack of sleep.

She wondered if the Fae knew that she had been sneaking through the castle the whole night. If the woman knew about it, she did not show it.

When she was done, Learia let Myris alone again, who wanted to use the moment to regain some energy, knowing that it was still a little early to have breakfast. She crawled into the chair in front of the empty fireplace. Images from the past two days started to come back to her mind. She could only describe it as confusing. The others were so nice to her, or at least Cearen and Viera. She did not understand it- had not expected it at all. But no matter how kindly they behaved, she had to remind herself that she was in Olèrian. Even if the red light had appeared again, she could not fully trust them. As much as she wanted to, and oh, how badly she wanted to trust them, but she could not. They were monsters after all.

But then why had she chosen to stay? What did she think would happen? She could be risking everything by staying here. The hopes and dreams of getting a chance to start over- to free Tyrag and be free again herself- could be shattered in a matter of seconds. And she would not be able to do anything against it. Being surrounded by Fae and perhaps other monsters… trying to defend herself would be pretty much useless.

And yet, she had to remind herself that she was not much better.

Myris sighed and looked aside. On a table next to her chair laid the book that Fyrian had given her, with the little crystal on top of it. She grabbed the tiny star. Immediately it started to shine brightly, until Myris reduced her grip and it dimmed as a reaction.

She played thoughtlessly with the stone for a minute. She made it shine so brightly that the entire room was bathing in light, after which she suddenly dimmed it, making it darker. But she never let it go out completely.

A faint smile lay on her face until her eyes slid toward the book. Her childhood had consisted of reading books or having books read to her. She had not been allowed to go outside that much when she was younger, or at least not alone. So, when the others were busy, it was one of the few other options she had to pass the time. Becoming attached to all the stories, she never had minded it that much to spend a whole day reading.  And yet, she had not held a book for years. The last thing that she had held, which came to closest to a book, was a dairy. And even that, she had not read. She probably could never read it anymore. It was most likely destroyed in the flames.

She carefully grasped the book and slid her hand over the cover. Her hands almost started to itch with enthusiasm to open the book. And that was what she did. She did not care about anything at that moment as she glanced over the lines and eagerly absorbed the written words.

Bit it had not been long before she was disturbed.

When someone knocked at the door, a surprised Myris dropped the book on her lap. Viera was waiting with her back against the doorpost. She casually plucked some loose hairs from her dress.

Myris stared at her, having completely forgotten the time.

Glancing at Myris, Viera laughed at the startled expression on her face. Then she saw the book lying on Myris lap and her mouth fell open. Suddenly her eyes lit up. “That's my favourite book! How do you get it?”

Myris blinked at the new excitement of the woman who had been so calm the other time. “Fyrian gave it to me,” she murmured, still not sure how to act in front of the Fae.

Viera closed the door behind her and went to stand behind the chair, leaning over it to see the pages. “Do you like to read?”

Because she had been looking down at the book for a long time, Myris could feel her neck hurt when she nodded. While rubbing the tense muscles to loosen them up, she watched how there was nothing left of Viera’s usual calmness as the young woman sat down on the other chair. She clapped her hands in enthusiasm. “I can not wait to show you all the other books! We have a whole library with amazing-”

“Fyrian has already shown it to me.”

Viera fell silent and tilted her head. “I wanted to do that,” she muttered under her breath.

Myris raised her eyebrow, but Viera shook her head slightly. “It doesn't matter. The point is that you now know that you can take all the books if you want. Provided that..,” Viera said, raising her finger,” you tell me everything about the books you read. And certainly this one. "

Myris did not look at her understandingly. “Why?”

“Why? Because I want to know your opinion of course!”

For a moment, Myris did not move, but then she nodded dazed, which made Viera smile brightly. Somehow the smile looked different from the other ones she had shown, more genuine.

 “I can't wait until you finish it! I'd love to leave you alone again so you can finish it, but I have come here to get you for breakfast.”

Food... Myris stomach rumbled by the mention of breakfast. She had not eaten anything for too long, resulting in becoming lightheaded while reading. And though she did not want to put the book down, she knew she had to eat something, otherwise she would faint. That's why she stretched and stood up.

Viera's walked to the door and opened it. “Shall we go?”

Following Viera into the corridor, Myris looked at the young woman in front of her. She wore a wide light blue dress with green hues that blew around her. Her white hair was still loose and resting over her bare shoulders. As she rocked her hips back and forth, she looked like a wave swinging back and forth between land and sea with his elegant and powerful grace. The small silver necklace that she also wore last night lay just below her collarbones. Myris could see it better now with the daylight. It also had the shape of that all too familiar star.

Noticing Myris her look, Viera coughed and held the necklace higher up so that it was fully in sight. That way, Myris also could see a small round orange stone in the centre.  “Beautiful, isn’t?  Fyrian gave it to me and he has the exact same one, except he has a blue stone instead of an orange one.

Myris agreed. “It is indeed gorgeous.” Then she remembered when she had seen it for the first time and she bit her lip. “ I am sorry for last night. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

Also stopping with walking, Viera gave her a faint smile. “Were you able to sleep again after it?”

“Yes,” Myris lied immediately.

Viera tilted her head, questionably, while Myris quickly lowered her eyes. Myris only dared to breathe again when Viera shrugged. “Good, that's the most important thing.” Then she went on, gesturing Myris with her hand to follow her.

While Myris suppressed a yawn, they entered a dining room that was located on the side of the castle. She had expected a gigantic room full of golden decorations to show off their wealth- a room for which kings and other noblemen would murder to be able to eat there. However, it was completely different from what she had imagined.

Instead, she was faced with a small room where a circle in the middle of it was lower than the rest. Several cushions lay in the lowered row, making the stone look like a long couch that encircled a low but large oak table.

It was not the main hall, Viera explained. They had another room where they would receive important guests. This room was for them alone, no one else was allowed to enter without approval.

Between stone columns were the arched windows in the walls of which the castle had so much. But where the other windows were not that impressive when it came to their size, these were huge. A person like Fyrian could easily stand up straight. Even if he fully extended his arms, there would still be plenty of room. The bottoms of the glassless windows were protected by stone window sills. Stars were carved in there as well.

The windows on the right gave a beautiful view of the mountains and the garden, but the windows on the left seemed to overlook a small courtyard. The courtyard was a circle with a large staircase that led to a door full of ivy.

A female statue had been carved into the mossy wall under the door. But the bottom of the woman did not consist of legs; it consisted of a tail full of scales. Two fins were in the place of ears. She was holding a vase crooked in front of her bare breasts, causing water to flow out into a small pond.

The pond was surrounded by the most different and most beautiful flowers that Myris had ever seen. She recognized the normal flowers again like daffodils, but there were also blue ones with a white glow, magenta-coloured flowers with leaves like the feathers of a peacock and... black spots sometimes appeared between the cheerful colours.

When she looked closer, she saw that they were flowers too, but they seemed dead, as if they were buried under all other flowers. As if they were hidden, which made it seem as if no attention was paid to the black flowers. As if they had been forgotten.

“What do you think about it?” Fyrian and Cearen emerged from a door in the back of the dining room. Both looked refreshed. Fyrian had exchanged his white shirt for an orange tunic with brown pants underneath. His white hair emphasized his tinted skin and white teeth. With his radiant eyes he definitely looked like a sunrise.

Instead of a brown coat, Cearen wore an emerald green tunic embroidered with gold, together with grey trousers. This time, his hair was moved to the side so that Myris could see both eyes looking at her cheerfully.

“Although Cearen can give flowers and plants life like no other, he surpassed his talents with this courtyard,” Fyrian said as he laughed and walked over to Viera to put an arm around her shoulder.

Cearen himself stood next to Myris and looked outside. She expected nothing but silence from him, but even though he did not say anything, he moved his hands this time. Stunned, Myris watched as he gestured with his fine, slender hands, not knowing what the signs meant. Perplexed, she looked at Fyrian and Viera.

Fyrian's voice was clear when his eyes followed the hand signs. “He says the door you see there goes to the room where he healed you. He also says that he likes to spend his time on the flowers and plants and they are all carefully looked after. Not only these, but also those in the garden by the waterfall. He likes it, knowing that he can give them life and take care of them in peace. Even without his magic. “

Myris looked at the boy, who proudly admired his creation. He had sparkling lights in his eyes.

She shook her head mentally. It all sounded so normal. Everything was so normal. She did not get it. This did not match with what she had heard all those years. She pointed to the black, withered flowers. "What happened to them?"

They looked so dismal. So… corrupted.

“There is nothing wrong with them. On the contrary, they are the ones where Cearen cares for the best, since they require a lot of attention. "

Myris did not understand Fyrian. There was clearly no life in the withered heap that they formed. When she wanted to open her mouth, Viera was ahead of her. “Wait until it gets dark. Then you can see it.”

She did not understand it at all, but Myris nodded nonetheless.

The confirmation set Fyrian in motion. “Great, then we can finally eat.”

Suddenly Myris was overwhelmed with hunger and looked at Cearen and Fyrian, whom walked back through to door. Shortly after, they returned with many dishes. Her mouth filled with water when she looked at all the delicious looking food. For so long, she had only lived on pieces of dry bread.

Yet she did not move and only absorbed the food.

Fyrian realized and grinned as he sat down on a red cushion. “Don't worry. We're not going to poison you.”

Myris looked at him with narrow eyes. “Yes, I know that now... but you can never be sure with you since you also do not seem to mind to kidnap others.”

It was not Fyrian who laughed. Viera snickered as she sat down beside him and slapped him on the back. “Oh, how I've been waiting for that! Watch out, brother. You play with fire here.” With a wink directed to Myris, she grabbed a plate with scrambled eggs and put some on her own plate. “Don't worry, we won't hurt you. And otherwise I know someone who is very good at revenge.”

When Myris saw Fyrian shudder at the words, she shuffled toward Cearen, absolutely not reassured. The male gave her an assuring smile and petted the seat beside him.

Carefully she settled herself on the yellow pillow and even though it felt comfortable, she sat stiff on her place and did not move. However, the others began to attack the food.

Laughter and the clatter of cutlery against plates filled the room, while Cearen presented her a bowl with bread. Biting her lip, she took one peace from it.

She stared at it for a long time before taking a bite. Her eyes closed in delighted at the freshly baked taste that hit her tongue. Despite being simple baked bread, it was the first warm food she had eaten in two years.

Having the food give her some energy back, she slowly started to relax a bit. While stuffing her mouth, trying to satisfy her stomach that had been empty for days, she watched the others enjoy their breakfast as well.

Viera laughed at a joke that Fyrian made. He himself hung lazily with his legs over her lap with a cup of wine in his hand. Their eyes met and he raised his eyebrow. “What's wrong darling?”

Myris ignored the name he gave her and looked around as she threw her hands in the air. “All of this! It does not seem right I didn't think everything would be so... so...-”

“Normal? How did you think it would be here?” he asked, turning around so that he sat right in front of her. “What was going on in your head when you pushed yourself out of my arms with all your strength. What did you think when you crawled away from me like I was the evillest creature you had ever seen?”

Myris took a big sip of her own wine. The fresh fruit flavour burned through her body when she looked at the others ashamed.

It seemed that she would not be able to avoid the unwanted conversation after all.

It had become quiet as the three Fae were focused on Myris who looked for the right words. “I thought... I thought about the stories I... everyone was told about Olèrian.”

“And what did those stories say?” Fyrian's gaze darkened and he looked straight at her as he bent over the table toward her.

Viera and Cearen also listened attentively.

As she had expected, the subject of last night had come back, but now Myris could no longer ignore it. She tried not to collapse under their stares and swallowed once... twice. Her voice was like a soft squeak. “They're about Olèrian. People use Olèrian as a bedtime story to make disobedient children listen. They say this place is a place where every nightmare comes true. That the most bad and rotten things you can imagine live here- that darkness and evil always watch over here. That this is where the most withered people would go after their death. The place where magic and monsters live and last forever. The place where those monsters would hold people like slaves and kill them with their magic. They say that Olèrian is a cursed kingdom. Some people don't believe that this place really exists, or still exists. Those who do believe it will do everything to stay away from here.”

It was deathly silent for a moment.

Myris held her cup with both hands to keep them from shaking and stared at the drink that swirled around, waiting for the reactions of the others. Waiting for the reactions of those who themselves were Olèrians. Did they already know those stories or was this the first time they heard this?

Her question was answered when she looked back at Fyrian. His mouth was one tight line and his hands... he had clenched his fists, but opened them again trembling, only to clench them back into fists. “I knew something was wrong, but that they think about us that way...” He shook his head in disbelief.

“Did you believe Olèrian existed or not?” Viera's voice was calm, but Myris’ heard the tension in it. The pain and fear.

“I did, but only since a few years. So, I did not believe it entirely- did not want to believe it entirely. But when I was running through the forest... I felt something... like a strong force that seemed to crash into me out of nowhere and somewhere I knew I was no longer in my own kingdom. It already started with that beast. I was almost certain that I had not ended up in one of the other kingdoms, but in something much worse than that. And when I saw you...” She gestured at Fyrian and his eyes seemed to burn with pain. “I was confused when I saw you. At first, I thought you were human, but then you told us we are in Olèrian. Then I saw what you really are... I was scared and confused by the stories, so I wanted to stay away from you,” Myris muttered, shaking her head, “But are they right?”

That was the only question on her mind right now. She might not have seen much of Olèrian, but what she had seen was not at all what she had expected- almost the opposite. She had always thought that if she ever ended up in Olèrian, she would be dead immediately. But she was not.

Fyrian closed his eyes and let out a short, bitter laugh. “Maybe not entirely, but there is certainly a part that is true.”

Myris eyes shot up at the others and she did not dare to move. All the colour that had entered her face that morning had disappeared again. The others were also pale.

"Then what is true?" Myris her throat felt as if she was suffocating and she clenched her jaws. It could not be… the red light she had seen around Fyrian did not deceive her, right? It never did…

“It is true that things live here that haunt you in your nightmares. It is true that monsters and magic prevail here.” Fyrian took a deep breath. “But it is not true that the worst people go here after they die. People are not kept here as slaves. It is not true that darkness and evil rule this place. I may not know the stories, but I am absolutely sure that Olèrian is not like what those stories say it is!”

Myris could not bear the look he gave her and averted her eyes towards Cearen. All this time Cearen was motionlessly staring outside. His eyes seemed dull. The lights that had shined in his eyes earlier had disappeared.

She did not know what to do or what to think. It was just confirmed that there were indeed beings that stopped her heart from beating, but with the fierceness with which Fyrian had rejected the other things...

“What do you know about magic, Myris. And what do you know about your magic?” Viera asked softly, while she did not take her eyes off the silent boy either.

Myris jumped frightened in her chair and the wine spilled over her hand and clothes, but she did not notice it. “How do you know I have magic?”

Fyrian ran his finger over the rim of his cup and tried to look relaxed, but she saw how tight his shoulders were. “I knew it immediately when I saw you. It radiated from you and tried to keep you alive, ensuring that you continued without giving up. I could feel the power vibrate in the ground. No normal person could survive such wounds and then continue. It's in you. Hidden or repressed, but it is there whether you want it or not.”

Myris was lost in thoughts. They knew it. They knew that she also had magic. But did they know what kind of magic? Did she even know it herself that well? She had never wanted to know anything about it, had always wanted to do nothing more than repress it. And for a while it had been. The black needle, covered with the unknown herbs had been the reason for that.

But she could not pretend that it did not exist.

The red light was solid proof. Of course, she was aware that it was her magic. She also knew that she was a hypocrite for using it, even though she hated it- even though she loathed those who had it as well.

The fact that the red light appeared again made her shudder. Her magic was not being supressed anymore, and it was getting stronger and stronger. She hated because of what was told about it and everything that had happened when her magic had become too strong- out of control.

She did not even know how she had magic in the first place. It was uncommon that a human had magic. Humans were not supposed to have any magic at all. At least... only descendants of...

“I know almost nothing about my magic, only that it has destroyed my life.” She took a short break to watch her breathing, avoiding the looks of the others. “But about magic itself... everyone knows a story. Even those who do not believe that Olèrian exists believe that this story is true. That the story of the High Souls is true.”

A shocked gasp could be heard from Viera's side.

Fyrian suddenly sat up and signalled that she should continue. And she did. “Everyone knows the story of the Seven High Souls. That ten-thousands of years ago seven people were chosen. That each of their souls received a different colour. And with their new souls, they received corresponding powers. That day all people got a colour, but only the High Souls possessed the magic that came with it. It changed the world. They protected the world against all evil monsters and made the world better. They were praised as gods, but then they disappeared. They have been gone for centuries. Everyone knows that, the whole world knows that. Some people still worship the High Souls, but they are in the minority. Others hate the High Souls because they have left mankind to fend for themselves while they were supposed to protect us- Because they have betrayed us.”

For a while nobody talked.

Only Viera and Fyrian exchanged a few looks.

Cearen still did not move.

It was Fyrian again who opened his mouth first after a long time. “You have now shared these stories with us, but what do you think about it? What do you think of those stories? What do you think about magic, and what do you think of the High Souls?”

Myris looked ahead. She knew there was a cold look in her eye, but she paid no attention to it. “I grew up with these stories; almost the whole world knows them. And after what I experienced, they only seemed more credible to me. The stories that magic is bad mainly. I have known for a long time that I have it and I despise it. It has destroyed my life. I don't know why, but I own it, so I'm no better than the monsters that have it. As for the Souls. It is better that they are gone. I think what many people think: since they possessed magic, they were also nothing better than the monsters they were supposed to fight to protect us. And that was proven when they disappeared and the people were abandoned.” Myris took a deep breath, but it came out again broken. “But people are just as bad.”

Fyrian raised his eyebrows. His eyes had become emotionless as he listened to her.

Maybe she was hard with what she said. She did not know anything about how things were going around here, but it was how see saw it.

“Perhaps the Souls suddenly stopped caring when people died, but the people themselves weren’t any better. I have seen so many people doing nothing while their former friend was starving. Or families who had no money, and no shelter was offered, even if they had small children.” Her hands were now shaking so much that wine slid over the edges. “And of course you have those jerks that lock you up and then hunt you through the entire forest after you've finally escaped after all these years. But... but maybe that was what I deserved. Because of what I did, because of the power I own. Maybe this was my punishment. Maybe I don't deserve freedom.”

Her voice was finally broken and tears ran down her cheeks. She had said the last part more to herself. She had never spoken so much in one go for years. The cup of wine had toppled over and coloured the table and her clothing dark red.

Myris eyes were closed when she shed silent tears. She wanted to shut herself off from the world and never open them again. She was convinced she deserved it, but Tyrag did not. Yet, he suffered more due to her sins than she did herself. It was unfair, and it only made her despise herself more and more.

Then her hand was grasped and gently squeezed. She opened her eyes and looked up slowly, straight in the beautiful, but also teary eyes of Viera. She had not met her a day ago and here they were, crying together. It was bizarre. A few days ago, she ran because her life depended on it. Now she was crying in a place where her nightmares would be true.

“It's there.” Viera's voice was nothing more than a whisper.

Myris blinked confused at her, but Viera went on and closed her eyes to stop the tears.

“Darkness and evil exist here, but that does not differ with your land or the others. It is everywhere, whether we want to admit it or not. It is bad that it is there, but it is even worse to just accuse someone or more people of being a bad person. And yes... we are monsters, but that does not necessarily mean that we are bad. You have good and bad monsters, just like you say there are good and bad people. Yes, it can be dangerous here with what's sneaking around, but where there are bad things, goodness can also be found.”

She stopped for a moment and suddenly tightened her grip on Myris her hand. Her blue eyes almost seemed to shine, like swirling water. "You have heard that there are bad things here, only bad things, but imagine that there are just as many good things here as bad ones. Would you open yourself up for it? Also for the magic? Think of it as fire. It is dangerous, but it is also good and warm. It can even keep you alive when you are freezing. Olèrian... we... It may be dangerous here for some, but does that immediately mean it is bad here too? Are we immediately bad when stories tell that about us? You can turn around and leave. We will not stop you. But...”

Not being able to go on any further, Fyrian took over, his eyes hopeful. “You can also open your eyes and give us a chance. We can show you the good here. We can show you that everything that is dangerous does not necessarily have to be bad. Just like your magic, Myris. Everyone deserves the freedom to see everything. We will show you everything you want to see. We will tell you everything you want to know.” He held out his hand to her. “Do you want that?”

Myris ran out of the room.