Chapter Five:

Yin & Yang; Origins of the Prophesy

 

          "Wake up, Marium! Time for magic training. Altaire wants to help you learn to use the dark magic you acquired." Cadillac called into her ear, making her groan and sit up mechanically.

          "I don't wanna go to school, Mom... I feel sick..." she ran through excuses absentmindedly forgetting that she didn't have school and that her mother wasn't even there. Cadillac gave her an odd look that said "Whatta weirdo", then stepped back.

          "C'mon, Marium. Let's go, or you won't get breakfast before we start practicing."

          Marium leapt up from the bed, quickly fixing the covers and stood in front of the shorter man. She smiled, innocently. "Breakfast?"

          "Uh..." Cadillac sweat dropped, and stared at her, frightened of the sudden outburst. "Y-yes, it's time for breakfast."

          "Grand! I'm hungry." she stated, happily. She skipped into the other room, and found Altaire already in his cloak, leaning against the wall. "Is that all you wear, Altaire?"

          "He's got a year's supply of those cloaks. Don't worry ‘bout it." Jonah said, looking up from his plate. "We don't even know how he got the bits for them."

          "Bits? Whadda ya mean?" she asked, plopping down at the table. Jonah grinned.

          "What you buy things with. They're like little coins, you know?" Jonah offered. Cadillac grumbled, reaching into his pocket. He handed her a small, heavy disk.

          "Money! You have pennies here!" she beamed, finally finding something she was familiar with. This 'bit' looked like a penny without the designs.

          "Penny? What a strange name." Cadillac commented, taking the bit back.

          "Yeah, pennies, nickels, quarters, and dimes! Then there're dollar bills. Those are all the ways we keep track of money on our world." she said, turning to the food on her plate. A disgusted look passed over her face, but was gone quickly. "... What's this, Cadillac?"

          "It's roast pumblebird eggs and pickled ret's juice. Jonah's specialty."

          'It's okay, Marium. You don't have to eat it.'

          "Hm. It looks great, Jonah, but I'm kinda excited about this whole magic thing. Magic was fake back in my world. I can't wait to learn some." Marium changed the subject, rising from her seat.

          Cadillac looked shocked. "Magic? Fake? Impossible."

          Marium shook her head. "Only little people, y'know kids, believe in magic on Earth. That's just the way it is!"

          "You believe in magic, right, Marium?" Cadillac questioned, frustratedly. Marium looked at the ceiling.

          "I guess I have to, don't I? If I don't, my magic won't work, will it? It's like saying you can't ride bike. You never know until you try." she stated, shuffling her feet. "So, when do I get to have my chance??"

          Cadillac motioned her outside, and Altaire followed. Jonah went to work on her weapon.

 

          "Okay, Marium, stand this way." Cadillac stood next to her, with his hands poised in front, as if blocking himself.

          She copied his stance with an attentive look on her face, and then turned to look at him. "Now what?"

          "Close your eyes and pray." he said, surprised that she didn't even know that much. "Try to get in touch with the spirits of the elements that you have in yourself."

          Frowning, Marium shut her eyes and opened her mind. She concentrated for a moment. The moments turned into minutes, and she still was empty. "Cadillac… it isn't working."

          "Wait." he pulled her to her knees in front of him. He placed one finger on her forehead, mumbling a phrase to awaken the elements inside her.

          Marium felt like she was the center of attention. Around her swirled leaves, droplets of water, and dark emptiness of the night. She was cold, alone, and incapable of controlling these things.

          'I'm NOT afraid... you chose me for a reason. If you don't like me, you're free to go.' she thought to the spirits. The only one that seemed to listen to her was the darkness. The leaves slowly stopped spinning, and landed on the floor infront of her. The droplets of rain fell limp and cool on her face, and the darkness seemed to stare into her heart. It returned into her body.

          Marium blinked her eyes, returning to her body as well. She was in the Forest of Magic with Altaire and Cadillac.

          "I think we've made some improvements. Now for the training… Come at me." Cadillac commanded, stepping back. Marium looked at him and shook her head.

          "No way."

          Before Cadillac could argue, Altaire stepped infront of the mage. With a motion, his cloak moved back, revealing a staff.

          'If you feel that way, you'll have to go up against me, Marium. Come on, we don't have all day.'

          "W-What?! No! Absolutely not!" she yelled. He just watched her.

          Without moving, he called out his spell. 'Fire wall.'

          A wall of flame whooshed toward Marium with remarkable speed. She cried out and jumped to the side, but her ankle got singed by the fire's heat. "I won't hurt you!"

          Altaire's face showed no emotions, as he called out another spell without a word or gesture. 'Flaming singe.'

          Marium saw the chain of fire before it appeared in the air. She retaliated with a defensive chant of her own. "Darkness summon... Cahlot appear!!"

          A giant bird emerged from no where, shielding Marium with its wings. The ball of fire bounced harmlessly off to the ground and died. Cadillac was stunned speechless, and even Altaire seemed to stop for a moment.

          But he was back at it in no time. 'Breath of heaven.'

          An invisable arrow of holy energy crackled directly at Marium. Cahlot took the arrow for her and let out a shriek of pain. "Cahlot!! ... Cahlot retire!"

          The bird limply dissipated into the shadows, and Marium felt her face grow hot with tears. "...Earth and water combine... TSUNAMI Crashdown!"

          She cast the spell without thinking, and quickly realized what she'd done. "No... oh, no! Elements.. please, I command you to halt!"

          Altaire was standing, braced for the giant wave of water that was about to throw him down. But as Marium's words spilled out of her lips, the water lost its force and splashed feebly onto the priest. He blinked, surprised at the turn of events.

          "I'm sorry, I almost hurt you."

          Cadillac glanced from Marium to Altaire, then back again. "That bird, Marium, that was a creature of evil. It came from darkness, how did it get into the forest?.."

          "A creature of evil? Cahlot? Well, you could call him that..." she turned and seemed to smile at a shadow. "He's not evil. Just... misunderstood. Besides, it was either him or a Jinju..."

          "YOU SUMMON JINJUS?!?!" Cadillac shrieked, red all over. He was frusterated beyond words at this revelation. Altaire glanced at the short mage with indifference. "You're soaked, Altaire."

          Altaire looked down at his cloak. Marium grinned, and giggled.

          "That'll teach you to think before you act next time." she said, jokingly. He blushed a little. "Atleast my spell was retractable..."

          "You're the High Priestess of Yin, and you're summoning evil creatures like a cheap palu!" Cadillac exclaimed, face still red. Jonah was standing in the doorway, sweaty and hot.

          "I could hear you over my metalworking, you guys. What're you yelling about now?" he asked, wiping his forehead on the back of his hand. He was shirtless and the stubbles on his chin stood out against his sunburnt skin. "Is there something wrong, Marium? You must be hungry. I'll go make some lunch for you guys."

          "Wait!" Marium called out, making Altaire sweat drop. "Let me do the cooking, please?"

          "But.. you're a guest..."

          "And you're the master weaponsmith. Go finish my weapon, make it all spiffy-neat. I'll take care of the food!"

          Jonah watched her half skip, half walk to the well to get some cool water for them. She brought out three cups and handed them water. "Oh. I guess you don't need any, Altaire. You're already pretty wet."

          Altaire flushed, and went into the house to change his cloak.

          "Cadillac, Jonah, you guys just kick it out here, and leave all the domestic duties to me! I'm used to it!" she rushed into the house, and shut the door. Marium sang a tune as she put a bowl on the table. She found some vegetable that looked and tasted like lettuce, and she pulled it apart, placing it in the bowl. She searched for more veggies as she sang her favorite songs to no one in particular.

          She'd finished the salad and was well into the sandwiches when she saw that Altaire was watching her. She was surprised and accidentally cut her finger. "Ouch!"

          Marium dropped the knife and hopped around the kitchen, making a loud jamboree of vulgar cursings as she did. Her index finger was dripping with blood, and she bit her lip at the sight of it.

          Altaire took her hand in his and gazed at the wound. 'Breath of heaven.'

          The wound sealed itself and the extra blood dripped off aimlessly. Marium looked up into his eyes, but she couldn't see them because his bangs were blocking them. 'Are you alright, Marium? Why were you jumping around and yelling?'

          "Huh? Oh, I was mad that I cut myself, I suppose." she said, turning away to find a rag to clean up the blood.

          'What was that hymn you were singing before you saw me?'

          "Oh, that? That wasn't a hymn. It was a song that I heard before I came here. How long were you watching me..?"

          'Since you walked in the door.'

          Marium blushed and finished making the sandwiches. "You shouldn't spy on people when they don't know it. They might be doing something private."

          'Like what?'

          "Well.. they may be singing, like I was. That's only for me to hear. I'd be embarrassed if anyone else heard it."

          'I heard it. And I think it was beautiful. You should sing that 'song' for Cadillac and Jonah too.' Altaire took a step toward her. 'Why would someone want to keep something so lovely to themselves? Other people would love to hear it as well.'

          "Some things are private, Altaire. That's all I can say about it. I wouldn't feel comfortable singing in front of them, or you. If I'd have known you were there earlier, I would've kept quiet." she admitted, putting the sandwiches on plates. "There's something called modesty on my world. I have a lot of it."

          'Modesty? Sounds like a waste of time to me. All I know is that if you have something that would make people happy...' he reached out and touched her cheek. His hand was warm and his touch made her feel tingly all over. 'You should share it with others.'

          Altaire started to lean toward her and she blushed. "A-Altaire, I should take this to Cadillac and Jonah. They're probably hungry."

          'I'm sure they can wait.'

          "All people on this strange world are my responsiblity. I won't let them wait for anything." she said, firmly, and turned to leave. He watched her go without an emotion passing through his mind except confusion.

 

tifmonk@chichiri.com