Chapter 4
We slowly walked down the corridor, he and I, silence being the loudest voice. Having overcome my dizzyness, I walked unaided beside the mysterious cold man, my footsteps echoing loudly in the tunnels. My thoughts were turned inward, attempting to make some form of coherance out of my chaotically jumbled mind. Before now, I was stuck in a moment of constant action, leaving little oppertunity to ponder the absurdity of the situation, the unbelievability of everything. Adrenilin tends to override the mind’s need for reason in stressful situations, allowing one’s thoughts to be inclined towards survival rather than enlightenment or common sense. Now that the current crisis was over, my mind began to catch up with me and was alerting me quite forcefully that almost everything I had seen should not, could not have been happening. Yet it all had. I had seen things that defy science and common physics, and things unexplainable, things that can only be described as magic. The basic laws of human logic and scientific reason tell me that Monsters do not exist, that voices cannot be speaking in my mind, that energy cannot be an almost substantial thing, that such a civilization could never possibly exist. That I must be disillusional, mentally unstable.
I shivered as the logical side of my mind railed at me with the sudden barrage of realizations of what I had whitnessed and the reasons why they could not have happened. Then my inquisitive nature began to speculate the almost infinite possibilities. My love of the unusual, the desire to defy logic, the creative majority of me that tended to ignore the logical half of my mind verily quivered with excitement. This is it! Murphy’s Law come to life! No more dull predictable life! ‘Excitement adventure, really WILD things’!!! These thoughts drowned out the cautious, logical, infuriated half of my mind. This place is like what dreams are made of. I took a look around me, at the damp dismal feel of the place, the unnerving walls with the swirling colors. Or maby nightmares..
I glanced up at briefly at Kunzite as he walked, moving with a boneless grace, silent, beautiful, deadly, his billowing cloak moving as if a part of him. He brought to my mind a great hunting cat, the perfect predator. He looked ethereal, eerily contrasting against the dark somber corridors, appearing ghostly. It was only his cold demeanor that kept him from seeming out of place in these damp passageways. Suddenly I realized that the glance had lengthened into a stare. I averted my eyes away to focus on the walls. Shivering slightly, I looked away uneasily, finding no comfort in the almost living stone that made up the walls, ceiling, and floor. Looking straight ahead, I saw only endless corridor and darkness. It was hard not to look at him, fascinating to the point of distraction, and it had taken a great force of will not to stare at him again. Returning my sight inwards, I brought to my mind a little problem that I had just noticed. I was hopelessly lost. The last time that I had been down these hallways, I had been in a vast sea of the Youma, writhing and swift moving, carrying me along to it’s destination. Then, I had other matters on my mind and I did not take notice of my surroundings. I mentally kicked myself for not paying attention because my current cluelessness of our present location was disconcerting. I suppose the fact that all the halls and passageways looked alike did not help either. I thought to myself rather wryly that I was going to need a map. Desperately.
I was partially releived that Kunzite seemed to know where we were going. It astounded me how he almost instinctivly knew which way to go, which passageway to take without even slowing down for a second thought. Eventually we came to a series of doors and, without preamble, he suddenly vanished in a flash of bue light. Surprised I looked around me, at the door next to me, wondering where he had gone to. Deciding against wandering off and getting lost, I remained next to the door, noticing that it looked familiar. Then again, it looks like every other door I’ve passed by. Leaning nonchalantly against the opposite wall, I crossed my arms over my chest and placed a look of extreme patience on my face. On the inside, I tried to whittle away my impatience and nervousness by inspecting my surroundings, almost identicle to everywhere else. Sighing, I inspected my snow white gloved hands, seeing the thick seems, but marvling at how I did not feel them digging into my skin as they should. Perhaps this was by magic also.
I jumped slightly as the door suddenly opened with a startling speed, slipping my hands behind my back. Kunzite stood in the doorway, his deeply tanned face dark with restrained anger. Almost instantly, the emotion was washed away by his usual frigid demeanor. He gestured impatiently towards the room, his face stern and hard as stone. Terriffic. Taking a deep breath to calm myself (at least on the outside), I quickly strided into the quarters, taking a good look at the lavishly decorated room. I blinked in surprise as I noticed the same gargantuan bed, the gorgeously ornate mirror, and the deep hued wooden dresser and the rest of the furnishings. I noticed the mess had been cleaned, no trace of ash or burnmarks of fire on the thick elegant carpet. I also spied a few other pieces of furniture, a cherrywood desk complete with stationary, a matching tall cabinet and a deeply laquored table and two plush coushoned chairs.
I whirled around in surprise as I heard the door close, the sound loud in the quiet room. I stared at Kunzite uneasily as he made a grand sweeping gesture with his hands, a sudden tightening of the air, a strange enclosing feeling surrounding me. I felt my heart race as he walked over to the dresser, kneeling down and slowly pulling the bottom drawer open. My blood turned ice cold as he stood, my backpack in hand. Uh oh, this is NOT good.
“Perhaps you might like to explain what this is? And why it is here?” he dropped the bag at my feet casually, his ice cold eyes boring into mine. Sighing in regret and nervous as a cat, I looked down, shamefaced, trying to collect my scattered thoughts and find a response that was truthful. Something intellegant.
“A Backpack?”
Wincing at the stupidity of the answer I blurted, I sheepishly looked up through my bangs with a soft sigh. It looks like the gig is up. Seeing him raise a slender pale brow, face unreadable, I decided to tell him the rest of the truth. I bowed my head, speaking softly.
“It’s mine. I put it in the drawer.”
Wordlessly he studied me with an unnerving cold gaze, chill and intense, his arms crossed over his chest. I knelt down and picked up the bag lying at my feet, watching him cautiously, having learned by now that silence for him is a dangerous thing, unpredictable. The familliar weight of the bag in my hand was comforting, but not enough.
“Then it was you.” He spoke in a soft, thoughtful voice. Blinking in shock, I looked up at him, confused. He absently touched his cheek with a slender white gloved hand, and I suddenly realized what he meant. The red mark was gone, but the the memory remained. Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself against the potential onslaught, thinking that he might be furious with me for firing a rubber band at him.
“And you are not of the Dark Kingdom, I take it...a human?”
I could only nod, unnerved and uncomfortable under his arctic chill scrutiny. I was waiting for him to yell at me, attack, anything. I would have rathered anything to this unnerving emotionless calm. But he simply stood there, his thoughts and motives hidden behind those pale silvery blue eyes.
“Then your secret shall be known only to us.”:he spoke softly as he placed something in my hand. I looked down at it, numb and amaized, opening my fingers, the green hair rubberband bright and bold against the white cloth of the glove. I turned stunned eyes to him, blinking. He spoke softly,. his voice like liquid silk “I owe you a great deal. If it hadn’t been for your intervention, I would have had Jade as an apprentice.” He turned slowly, walking to the door.
“Lord Kunzite....” I stepped forward, feeling slightly apprehensive, confused. I wanted a few answers, tired of being the only one being asked questions, but his unnerving chill demeanor was intimidating, and I KNEW firsthand that he was ten times as strong and fast as I. He paused and turned around, crossing his arms, raising a pale silvery brow archly.
“Yes?”
“What am I supposed to do? I don’t even KNOW where on Earth I am.”
“You are not on Earth.”
“What?!” I blinked in shock. This was getting harder to swallow as time went by. He sighed, looking slightly annoyed. Bowing his silver haired head, he rubbed his temples, shaking his head.
“I see we have much more to cover than I had previously expected. And I take it you know nothing of war, magic, or fighting? Do you even know the layout of the Kingdom?”
Blinking I slowly shook my head, feeling incredably ignorant. Nodding to himself, he sighed.
“I suspected as much. You will need to blend in with the inhabitants of this Kingdom if you wish to survive. I have some faith in your abilities, though. If you had managed to pass as a Denzine of this Realm thus so far, you may yet prove useful.” I felt a cold shiver trickle down my spine at his words, and felt a touch of homesickness.
“I need to write to my family, I won’t tell them exactly what is going on, but I need to tell them something. I will simply tell them I joined the Military..and that I will be fine.” I mentally crossed my fingers. praying for the best, hoping against hope that I can at least tell my family that I will be gone for a while, that I love them and miss them. He paused at this request, a thoughtful frown on his face as he contemplated my motives.
“Do it.” He waved to the desk. “You will find what you need there. I will return shortly, but until them write your little letter and DO NOT leave this room.” His pale blue eyes flashed slightly as he smiled, the look on his face chilling my blood. “The inhabitants here are unpredictable and ....dangerous. I have warded this room, so you will be safe.” With that last comment he turned and vanished in a flash of blue white light.
Sitting at the desk, I pulled out a crisp, creamy piece of parchment and a pen and inkwell. Looking at them in slight apprehension and then shook my head, tossing caution to the wind. I wrote fast and furious, putting every ounce of love into the paper. Rereading the letter I smiled to myself, my handwriting the neatest it has ever been, the grammer correct, and telling them how much I care, but not giving away anything vital. Nodding my satisfaction, I picked up the pen dipped it in the inkwell, blotted it on a piece of cloth and poised it at the bottom of the paper, ready to add my signature. I blinked and paused.
“No....”
For the life of me, I could not remember my own name.
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