Chapter 5: Sage

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For the first several minutes from entering the forest all that is heard is the rhythmic thump of our horses' hooves and the tweet of the occasional bird as it sings from its perch high above. A light breeze flows through the branches, shifting them and making the leaves brush up against each other with a light shhhhh. The morning dew still clings to the grass, crystallized but slowly melting as the nightly cold makes way for the moderate chill of the afternoon. The path before us is made of trodden dirt, packed down with the years of feet and hooves beating down upon it. The treetops curve downwards over the empty strip of land, hanging downwards and creating a viney canopy that shadows the trail. The foliage was one of the many things changing during the time. The bright greens and browns made way for vibrant oranges, reds and yellows. They tangled together in a great spectacle that looked as if it was painted by the goddesses themselves. Already dead leaves litter the ground and path, crunching under the feet of our horses as we move along. 

"This forest is quite beautiful." Ivar remarks, looking up with wonder at the various bright colors of The Harvest Season. He rode upon a dark horse, her fur and mane the exact olive of his light features. 

"Yes, The Harvest Season is one of the most beautiful times in the forest. Apart from The Blooming Season, when all the flowers are all colorful and the forest is buzzing with life." I confirm, looking up with him. I rode upon my Appaloosa, with a white body riddled with small brown spots. I saved him from a burglar we arrested a few years ago. The horse had actually helped us find the man who abused him, running right to us with the criminal on his back. Which dubbed him the name Justice, and I fell in love with him. He's gotten me out of some tricky situations and I always trust his instincts and common sense, sometimes more than my own knights. 

"I hope I can see that. I come from the farthest part of the archipelago, near the Equator. So the only temperature I've only ever known is heat and the only forest I've ever seen is jungle." He explains. 

"Wow, I can't imagine year-round heat. The Frost Season is my favorite season, it's kinda what I look forward to the whole year." I chuckle along with him. His horse is only a half a step in front of mine as we make a lazy turn in the shadowed path. 

"You get used to it after a while." He confirms. We trot along in silence for a bit more. 

"Do you ride here often?" He asks finally, breaking the silence. 

"Yes, actually. It's a great place to get away and decompress." I reply, reaching down to pat Justice. 

"Very secluded too." 

"The perfect place to jump me." I joke. He laughs along. 

"C'mon! You know I wouldn't be dumb enough to do that. I know you can use that." He gestures back towards the sword at my side. "You know you can trust me." He looks back with a wink. 

Stop, I advise my brain. Just stop that right now. 

"So you come for The Other Side right?" He asks, breaking the silence yet again. 

"Oh, uh, yes, I do. I haven't been asked about that in years." 

"What was it like?" He asks innocently, looking back with inquisitive eyes. 

"Well, this is just for the place I lived in, I remember it being bitterly cold in Winter. Summers were moderate, and the seasons in-between were nice. The people were, for the most part, pleasant but there was more than a fair share of douchebags walking around. I lived in a large town, but a huge city was a small drive away. And that was dirty, it stunk, and everyone there seemed to be angry at something. But it was strangely beautiful. Buildings rose high into the sky, glistening and reflecting the light of the sun." I finish, deciding not to go into detail about my home life. 

"That sounds...interesting." He searches for the word. "I grew up in a tiny village that used to stand where the palace is now." He begins, referring to his own kingdom. 

"I remember it was a quaint place, a fishing community. Everyone was on boats during the day, leaving the children to run and play in the streets. There were only a few houses and buildings, and everyone knew everyone. The houses were small as well, but each family had many children, except for mine. The sun would sparkle off the water during the day, and the moon would reflect off it at night. I still remember the town meetings and the celebrations and the atmosphere of the whole place." He looks sad for a moment before perking up again. 

"But now I live in a lavish palace and have servants to do my bidding." He says it cheerfully but his face is sad. 

"Did...your dad destroy your old village to put your palace there?" I ask carefully and gently. He looks down again and seems as if he is somewhere else. 

"Yes...and all the people as well." His voice breaks, his tone of voice indicating the conversation was over. 

Silence falls between us once more. 

As we walk along I take a deep breath in. Closing my eyes, I hone into the sounds around me, listening to every creaking trunk, every brushing leaf, every tweeting bird, every chattering squirrel, every skittering bug. I feel the cold breeze brush against my face and send a chill down my spine as I wrap my thin coat closer to my body. 

Suddenly, I feel the sensation of falling. Justice yelps as I fling my eyes open. I tumble downwards, curling in on my shoulder. It slams into the ground sending me into a roll. I turn onto my forearm, gasping for breath because the wind had been knocked out of me. 

"Sage! Are you alright?" I finally gained my bearings to register what's happening. 

Justice is on his side, scrambling to his feet. He limbs on his front left, a bump already growing on its side. I look from where we came, seeing an upturned root concealed by leaves eight in our path. Justice makes his way over to me as Ivar dismounts from his steed. Justice muzzles my shoulder as I sit up. 

"I'm fine, boy. You took more of a tumble than me." I say, stroking his spotted muzzle. Ivar makes his way over to me. But Justice stands tall and moves in front of me, blocking me from him. The horse snorts in defiance and places his ears flat against his head. Despite his hurt leg he puffs his chest out, challenging the man. 

"Justice!" I call, lightly slapping his closest leg. "Be nice!" So much for his trustworthy instincts. The horse looks back and flings his ears up, looking annoyed but steps away anyway. 

Ivar advances and sticks a hand out to help me up. I groan as my sore limbs stand. I reach down  and brush the stray leaves and dirt from my clothes. 

"You alright?" He confirms, looking me over. 

"I'm fine. Justice is the hurt one." I look over to the Appaloosa as he limps slightly over to me. I reach down and inspect his hurt leg. "It's not that bad. Just a little bump. Should heal in a few days with some rest and relaxation." I explain, standing again to stroke the stallion's muzzle. 

"Is he fine to walk?" Ivar asks, concerned. He moves to pet the horse but he snaps at his fingers. Ivar pulls them back towards his chest, looking offended at the animal. 

"He should be. But just to be able I'll probably walk back to the castle. You can ride ahead though." 

"No, no, I'll walk with you." He says matter of factly, his impeccable eyebrows furrowed together. I smile kindly as he takes his horse's reins and leads the way back through the deep forest trail. 

"You know I wouldn't leave you here." He says quietly. "You can trust me." I smile inwardly to myself because I'm beginning to believe that maybe I can. Maybe I can truly trust him after all. 

~

We arrive at the lower town much later, walking through the crowded streets as the farmers make their way back home for dinner. The townspeople part ways for us and our horses, tossing the occasional shallow bow or respectful nod when recognizing who we are. 

"I'm glad we took this ride, you know." I lean over and say to him. "I learned a lot about you." He looks over at me, flashing his perfect teeth in a soft smile. 

"Me too." He says simply. 

I perk my head up a few moments later when hearing a commotion in front of us. I reach for my sword with my left hand, gripping the handle tight and loosening my grip on my horse's reins. My face hardens as my eyes scan the crowd for potential danger. I creepy forward, my limbs tense and ready to spring into action. 

When suddenly, the thick crowd parts as a young man, no older than 16, runs through. He's small, thin, and dirty, no doubt homeless based on his sunken cheeks. His mousy features look almost funny as he runs, looking back over his shoulder. He doesn't doesn't see us as he sprints towards us, and before I can warn him he runs right into Ivar's chest. He makes a muffled yelp as he loses his footing and falls backwards into his butt. I move to help him but Ivar is faster. But his intention isn't isn't help the boy. 

"Oh! I-Im sorry mister. I-I didn't see you there I swear! I d-didn't mean to-" I watch as Ivar's eyes glaze over with the boy's words. They unfocus as if he's looking at something straight through the young man.

I know that look. I've seen it hundreds of times in myself, in Ren, in V, in any townsperson or knight that fought in Doomsday or in any war, in any person that went through a trauma, even in Lance when he recalled his mother's wrath. Ivar isn't present, something that boy did or said had catapulted him into a memory, another life, another moment. Ivar was having a flashback. Of what I didn't know, and frantically I know I'm most likely never going to find out, but what I do know is that this isn't going to end well. 

"I don't care.. " He growls. I move to do something but Ivar bursts forward, throwing me back. "I don't care what you meant to do, you swine! You did it anyway! It doesn't matter if it was an accident!" He advances. I let go of Justice and run between him and the increasingly frightened boy, placing my palm on his chest and pushing him back. His glazed eyes look straight through me, but they're weirdly calm. His expression is collected, in control, which is a stark contrast to the words coming out of his mouth. 

"I swear I should have killed you before you were even born to prevent the waste of oxygen that is you! In fact I can do it easily enough now!" 

I look up at him, desperate to make eye contact, to bring him out of whatever memory he's been trapped in. I try to find his shifting gaze, moving my head around to block it no matter where he tries to look. 

"Ivar! Ivar! Ivar Quentian! Listen to me! It's Sage, Sage Emmerson. Wherever you think you are, you aren't. You're in New Eladea, in the streets. You're not yelling at whoever you think you are, you're yelling at a random innocent boy." I try to reason, putting more weight into him to keep him back. His eyes falter for a moment, gaining focus before glazing over again. 

"Listen to me. You're safe. Whoever hurt you can't anymore. You're not in Cald Feri. You're here with me in New Eadea. You're with me, not with them." I try again. His eyes unglaze, and he frantically looks around, as if realizing where he is for the first time. He relaxes and stops pushing against me. I catch his electric gaze again and exaggerate my breathing to make him do it with me. He does, and I feel his heart calm its wild beating through my fingers. Once he's calmed I take my hands off him, stepping back. 

"I-Im sorry." He says quietly, looking down. 

"Hey, you helped me down from a panic attack, it seems only fair I return the favor." I answer. He looks up, a d for the first time he looks so vulnerable, so naked, so stripped down to nothing but himself. And I realize with a start, I like this version of him a lot better than the other. 

We begin walking again, grabbing our horses and pushing through the flabbergasted crowd that had formed around us. We apologized to the boy before moving on, who now stood there in utter shock. 

"You know...the people, they all looked so...scared." He says. The way his voice is makes a few hairs on the back of my neck stand, but I write it off as adrenaline from the scene before. 

"You're not...scared of me too, are you?" He asks innocently. "You know I wouldn't ever hurt you. You can trust me." I turn to him. 

"Of course not!" I answer. "And Ivar, I do trust you." I confirm with a warm grin. He returns it with a smirk, there being an undertone to the gesture that I can't quite put my finger on. 

~

"So her majesty will sign here first, then his majesty Prince Ivar will step forward and take the quill from her majesty, they will both bow, then he will sign under her name." The monotonous speech goes on and on. I sit on my throne at the head of the table with my head perched on my fingertips. Liam sits next to me, looking even more uninterested than me. V, lying by the large doors which open to the huge balcony, looks as if he's in his own happy place. Ren across the table looks way too focused on a map to not sleeping with his eyes open. 

We had been at this for at least two hours, going over every tiny detail of the treaty signing at least ten times. Oh! Wait! Here goes the eleventh. I stifled a yawn as I blink slowly, desperately trying to keep my exhausted eyes open. They chose to do this a few hours after dinner, meaning I was still full from that, and now the monotone voice of the speaker has begun to lull me into a food coma. I bite back another yawn and this one Liam notices. 

He kicks my foot and I look over to him. He gestures around with his eyebrows and eyes, speaking to me with his facial expressions. He says something along the lines of: "you done with this? I'm definitely done with this. You want me to get these losers to pack it up?" I nod enthusiastically. He smirks and stands up, pushing his small throne back with a loud squeak that makes everyone wince. He brings his hands together to clap above his head. 

"Alright everyone! This has been a great sesh, great job everyone. Especially you, Jeff!" He points to the dude that did most of the talking. 

"My name's Miakiasepial-" He begins. 

"And I'll stop you there. As amazing as this has been, unfortunately her majesty the queen is getting quite sleepy, she's had a bug day of doing queenly things so if everyone could kindly pack it up and get the heck out of here that would be wonderful." He clasps his hands in front of himself innocently. Everyone is still for a moment. "Chop chop!" He says and everyone starts moving. 

Ren jumps up and makes a b-line for the exit, at the same time V gets up and immediately flies away from the balcony. We wait till everyone leaves before walking to the grand doors of the throne room. 

"Thank you, Muffin" I say with a tired sigh. 

"Anytime, Ace." He answers, reaching for a hug I gladly return. Liam's really been the only person I've ever enjoyed hugging. If it was anyone else, I would opt for a pat on the shoulder or a touch on the arm, but when it came to my little brother hugging felt so natural. Hugging Liam always felt warm and comforting, as if we were shielding each other, even for just a few seconds, from whatever bad thoughts or stressors were plaguing us. 

He break the embrace and he reaches back to undo the ponytail at the back of his head, which he rarely does. His hair fails in front of his face, forming in natural waves akin to my hair. The dirty blonde locks frame his face and almost brush his shoulders. 

"You know you look a lot better like that." I say, reaching up to tuck a strand behind his pierced ear.  He got a tiny one when he was 13, but never bothered to get his other ear done. He only ever kept tiny silver or gold balls in as piercings, never opting for anything too fancy. 

"Pfft the only time I'd keep it like this is if you woke up from a coma or something." We both laugh. I look at him fondly. 

"Goodnight." I say. 

"Sleep tight." He answers. 

"Don't let the bed bugs bite." I say finally, giving him a tired smile before turning down to my chambers, him going the other way. 

After I get ready for bed I slip under my covers, snuggling into my pillow. I lay facing my open balcony door, watching the stars and the moon. After a few minutes I sigh in content as the full constellation of my old love comes into full view. The stars form to make a man wielding a sword, the brightest star being one directly over his heart, named Kira. 

The man's face floods my mind as I gaze out the window. I let my eyes grow heavier with each breath as I watch the stars slowly move across the sky and out of my view.

"Goodnight love." I whisper under my breath as my eyes finally close and consciousness slips from my grasp. 

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Word count: 3176

Bit of a longer chapter for you guys, my treat.. What do we think? Any new theories? Thoughts? Love to hear 'em :) 

Oh boy I'm excited for next chapter >:) 

Cya next week my wonderful readers! 

(P.s. it may or may not be 1:52 AM currently. This is what I do for these uploads, be grateful)