I sat on the mansion's roof, one knee drawn to my chest and observed it's reflexes that slowly disappeared from the lake's surface. My heart felt so light...
I felt like it was very close now. The moment where Sril would shake himself free after that tragedy. I finally felt certain about helping him to destroy the pain.
But among all that happiness I felt a tiny stirring inside my chest. I sighed silently and glanced over my shoulder, to the east. A blurry thought of Ethia crossed my mind. I wondered how she was doing after these few days of my absence... were my parents worrying much?
My wings twitched suddenly. I could find all that out easily now. I could fly there, visit my village, and it would take merely a third of the time of a normal journey...
I got up and stared at the lush expanse of forest, stretching before me all the way up to the dark horizon. I was ready to do it right this moment and if someone tried to stop me, I probably would have thrown him right into the lake. I crossed the roof's surface to reach its opposite edge, spread my wings...
... and then, as if to spite me, I heard someone's voice. Someone's... singing?
The voice was familiar, the silent melody carried on the delicate, evening breeze... I turned back, carefully crouched down at the edge of the roof I was previously sitting on and looked down.
On the little balcony of her room, leaned against the balustrade, stood Yanka. She was singing softly, the unintelligible words composed some mysterious and tranquil melody.
I was ready to back away, not wanting to disturb whatever she was doing, when suddenly, among the strange, unfamiliar words I heard my own name... I looked down again, confused.
Suddenly though, the song broke, abruptly bringing me back to reality. "Eavesdropping is not very healthy, you know that?"
I felt my cheeks heating up. "I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you..."
"It's alright. Could you maybe lower yourself down to my level? My nape is starting to hurt."
I hesitated shortly, but leaped from the roof at last and with a few careful beats of wings settled down onto the balcony. "I'm really sorry..."
"I told you, it's alright," she smiled gently.
"But... what was that anyway?"
"If you mean the singing, that was a prayer."
I blinked. "What do I have to do with your prayers?"
"You must have practiced this eavesdropping thing quite a lot." When a sheepish smile found its way to my face, she continued: "Well, since you kind of have the right to know, I'll tell you. I was praying for you both."
"Us both?"
"You and Sril."
"Why?"
"Because it would be wonderful if you managed to solve this problem." She glanced at my surprised expression and smiled apologetically. "I know, none of you really told me... but sometimes what the trees, wind or birds hear, will eventually reach the ears of druids..."
"Oh, I see... no, actually I don't get it at all, but that doesn't matter. But since you know anyway, maybe you have some idea that could help in the matter?"
"You've been doing quite fine until now."
"Maybe, but what if that's not enough? What if it's all in vain, what if it's impossible to help him by now...?"
"Sian, if but one person is still fighting for something, then it's never a lost cause. I understand how he feels, because friendship is a seed, that sprouts rarely, but if it does, you can rip it out only with the heart together... but he needs to understand, that the fear sparked by your resemblance to Trel is completely baseless. There is a fundamental difference between you two."
I gave her a confused look. "What difference? And how in the world can you know that?"
"Tell me, would you be able to die for Sril, like Trel did?"
For a moment I got lost in thought. And the answer that I found after a long reflection surprised even me. "No... I would do everything in my power to not let that happen, because then he would suffer even more..."
"See?"
I smiled and turned my gaze towards the lake. "I want him to laugh and live freely like you or me... I want to lead him out of this darkness that he created around himself, and got lost in it like an idiot..."
She giggled silently. "If that's so, then you just need to keep one thing in mind."
"What is that?"
"It's true, that our journey through this world cannot always be beautiful. Without the little 'hiccups' in life we wouldn't be able to appreciate all the good that befalls us. It's the same with light. If it's alone, it makes no sense. It has to coexist with darkness, otherwise noone would be able to tell, that it's there, right? But whatever way you look at it, the darkness is never able to conquer light. Darkness is just the absence of light. A place where no flame is burning. And as long as the flame stays strong, the darkness stands no chance. The only way darkness can win, is when the light loses hope," she looked me in the eyes. "In this case... you are the light Sian. And if you really wish to help him, you cannot lose that hope."
I closed my eyes with a smile, allowing the gift of those words to sink in. "Thank you..."
A comfortable silence fell over us for a few minutes, while we admired the last crimson glow of the sky. I interrupted this pleasant moment rather reluctantly. "May I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"How do you do it? I mean the fire."
"You can do it too."
"I know I should be able to, but I still don't know how..."
"Well, let me tell you something first then. The fire of the Apostles can only burn, if it has a reason to. That's why we received this magic in the first place - to protect. And that is why I think, that you of all people shouldn't have a problem with summoning it. You just need to find a source for it inside of you, along with this sprinkle of magic, that is hidden somewhere inside your being. And the best place to search is here," she reached out and placed her delicate hand on my chest, near the heart.
I looked at her slender fingers for a moment, thinking it over, and then nodded slightly and closed my eyes. When she retreated her hand, I opened one of mine before me, just like she did earlier, and started searching for this "source". As soon as the image of Ethia, my parents and my little sister appeared in my mind, I immediately felt the familiar warmth inside my chest. Without much thinking I did the only thing I found logical at this point. I embraced it with my thoughts and tried to materialize it somehow...
And suddenly I heard Yanka's silent voice: "Now don't stop thinking about it and open your eyes."
I obeyed. I slowly rose my eyelids and my gaze fell upon my open palm. There was a bright flame dancing between my fingers. I gaped a little.
"You're unbelievable... You've succeeded immediately at the first try, not to mention how strong it already is..."
"Well, there's a reason for that..." I could barely control the excited trembling of my voice. "Thank you."
"For what? You did it on your own."
"But without you I wouldn't have known how to..."
"It might get even stronger soon, if you manage to put Sril in order."
I nodded. "Maybe we'll be able to together. I mean... even if he doesn't want to allow that thought to himself... we all already are friends."
"If that's what you really feel... can I ask a little favor of you?"
"Of course."
"Don't force yourself into clearing everything up on your own in the future... If you have some problem or are struggling with something, alright?"
"You're the best."
"And now go, before they call it a day."
I blinked. "Sorry?"
"Didn't you just want to go somewhere?"
"How..."
She just laughed heartily. "Maybe I'll tell you one day. Go, but be careful. And don't forget to return to us."
I just shook my head smiling in bewilderment. "I will come back as soon as they let me," I joked, climbing atop the balustrade again.
"Have a nice flight. And a safe one."
With a few beats of my wings I gained some height and circled the mansion's premise once before turning east. It was a wonderful evening for flying. The air was a bit sultry, but the breeze moving around my wings made the feel of it more comfortable and tempted me to do some research with directions and heights.
After what felt like an hour of aerial experimentation, I saw a faint glow between the trees in front of me and slowed down. I let myself fall a bit and soon saw the roofs of familiar cottages, the bonfire burning between them, and the silhouettes of people... Flying was so much faster than walking, even faster than horseriding... it felt like I reached my destination in no time.
I fell further carefully, in between the trees, and settled down on a branch of one of the not too tall lindens. From there, half-hidden among the young leaves, I started to look out.
I just followed Ivee with my eyes all the way to her little home near the center of the village, when I heard a familiar voice nearby:
"I'll get right to it, I'll just bring some water, uncle."
I carefully leaned out a bit and peered downwards. There was Ethia... My childhood friend just came out of her house, a little wooden bucket in her hand, and headed towards the brook. In other words, exactly in my direction.
When she passed underneath the branch I was standing on, I spotted an opening between the trees and leaped a bit lower, further towards the stream. I wasn't able to avoid the silent rustling of the leaves though, and the ever perceptive Ethia looked up.
She probably wouldn't have noticed me in my dark clothing, if it weren't for the moon. She looked me straight in the eyes, and the bucket in her hand fell to the ground with a soft thud. "Si... Sian?!" she stammered. And then the shock of me even being here went forgotten. "What are you... how did you get all the way up there?! Are you crazy, you're not a feather-light kid anymore, get down!"
I just grinned. "Well, if you insist..." and I jumped down.
Ethia shrieked, covering her face with her hands in terror, to avoid seeing the macabre sight that she was sure would follow. When she didn't hear any screams or cracking of bones though, she hesitantly opened her eyes again.
And suddenly there was shock evident on her features again, but of a different kind this time. It wasn't what I expected. For some reason my heart suddenly skipped a beat, as if sensing something disastrous closing in.
"I see..." Ethia whispered suddenly, the surprise in her azure eyes melting into what seemed to be sadness. "It was obvious to me even before all of this started happening... you always were someone special... you stood out from everyone else, always seeing things your own way, treating the world like only you would... like you weren't really part of this normal realm... my realm..."
A sudden chill ran through my whole body. "Ethia..."
She rose her head again and smiled at me sweetly, brightening the darkness of the evening a little. But I've never seen a more pained smile in my entire life... "It looks like you've found your place in this world. And a lot seems to have changed in these few days... you feel comfortable there, don't you? Otherwise these wings wouldn't have come so quickly... right?"
"That was just..."
"Don't bother yourself with me. You can forget, I don't mind... just... just please, please be happy..."
She hung her head again, letting her golden fringe cover her eyes and quickly ran past me. I wanted to run after her, but something stopped me. What would the other villagers say, if they saw me like that?
When I heard the distant slam of a door, my hand fell limply to my side...