Wicked Game

Seven

"She was a wild one, but some of us need the storm to feel safe."

~

Athena strode down the hallway, making her war to the war room. It was not unusual for her father to summon her late at night, yet she could not shake off a feeling of disconcertment. What Daniel told her was still sinking in. She was certain that he was keeping from her the whole truth. There was another facet to his quest that she was being kept in the dark about. She yearned for someone to talk to.

As she rounded the corner, she could make out Daniel's outline outside the war room, as he leaned against the doors, waiting for her. Seeing her approach, he pushed himself up, dropping into a bow.

"Don't do that," she snapped. "You know I hate it." She turned away from him, holding out her palms to throw open the wooden doors. Lord Cadeyrn stood at the table, bent over a map. He raised his head as they entered.

"My lord." She bowed, Daniel following suit behind her. "You called for us?"

He looked down at the map, studying it silently. After a while he spoke. "Tell me," he said to her, "What happens when witches die?"

She raised an eyebrow at the sudden question. "Their spirit joins with the aether," she replied.

The king nodded. "Precisely. And their energy?"

"It remains." Athena paused. "Wait. You mean someone is drawing energy from the Elderfrost plains?"

"That is impossible," said Daniel. "The witches are extinct. Of course, the Ancients are probably still alive, but they cannot possibly harness that power."

The king nodded again. "The energy there is plentiful, but it is nothing more than a wasteland." He sighed. "That, atleast, is common belief. But when the ravens returned, I sent a few scouts to Elderfrost. Not one has come back."

The room fell silent. The king's eyes travelled down to the map once again, and she could perceive the exhaustion in them.

She broke the silence. "What will you have us do, Father?"

Lord Cadeyrn closed his eyes. Athena waited for him to speak, but he stood silently, clasping the edge of the table with his hands. After a few moments he looked at her, and she was surprised to see the conflict in his eyes.

He regarded her silently, before shifting his gaze to Daniel. "Tell me," he said finally. "You swore an oath to her. Do you promise to uphold it?"

Daniel did not hesitate. "I'll protect her with my life."

The king turned to her again. "I know you yearn to go out beyond the gates. You've trained for it your entire life. I've tried to keep you close to me for as long as possible, and I do not wish for this, but you're not a child anymore, you will never forgive me if I send him away without you again."

He sighed, before standing straight, and turning to face her fully, and her heart pounded with anticipation. "Travel to the western lands, to Elderfrost, for there you will find the answers we look for. People are in denial. But deep down in their hearts lies resolve. By the time you return, I will ensure that every single soul whose heart is still alight by a spark of hope will be waiting for you to lead them. Seek out the enemy, observe what causes darkness over those lands, and return home." His eyes hardened. "Do not engage. I will not lose you. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, my lord."

Clenching her hands into fists, she bowed, trying to control the erratic pacing of her heart as her lips curved into a small smile.

__________________________________

Steel clashed with steel, as she held the blade even, a perfect, undaunted horizon, just as he had taught her over the years. She swung around swiftly, gracefully even as she parried his foreswing. Dodging her attack, Daniel attempted a backswing and she met it with her sword, which trembled in her hands under the brutality of his strength. She pushed him off her, allowing her a second to breathe before his blade flashed through the air. He feinted, and as she instinctively assumed a lower guard, he struck, slicing through the thin fabric of her shirt, missing her flesh by not more than a centimetre.

She knew that the move could have killed her, had he intended it, as she staggered backwards before she met his eyes, dissatisfaction evident in his expression.

"Think, Princess," he emphasized, grabbing her wrists gently. "See more than what is superficial, more than what they want you to see. Let your instincts guide you, not your reflexes, and there is not an enemy that you will not vanquish."

She nodded, and he let her go. Taking a step backwards, she raised her sword. He raised his own weapon, assessing her stance.

"Any more...episodes while I was gone?" he asked.

Athena shook her head. After the incident with the drakon, he had trained her vigorously, but never once had something out of the ordinary occurred. Every day for twelve years she had made her way to the woods in the evening, stood beside the river, and concentrated, but despite putting in every ounce of her willpower, never had she managed to raise even a drop of water.

"Sometimes I wonder if I had imagined it all." she sighed. "But I felt it, Daniel. I felt the power flow through me. I could almost hear the river sing in response." She wrapped her arms around herself. "I don't know how I did it. But I can feel the power, dormant inside of me, and the fact that do what I may, I cannot access it, is dementing me. I feel lost, as if someone has ripped off a limb of mine and is refusing to give it back."

Daniel's eyes softened. "If it is meant to be, you will discover it again. Those abilities are not the only entity that define who you are."

"I am nothing but ordinary without them," she murmured, almost to herself.

"No," he asserted. "You are one who will break through every norm society has laid down for women. Your valor, intelligence and beauty will be remembered for generations hence." He smiled at her. "I wouldn't dare call such a woman ordinary, Athena. A woman like that is a force to be reckoned with."