The Phoenix Chronicles: The Curse of Lustria

Chapter Eight: Amurinori

(NARRATED BY CAMERON SETLER)

"Where are we supposed to go now?" Esther asked as the two of us staggered out of the restaurant. I offered my arm so she could balance herself, and she promptly took it. "I do not remember much, but I feel that we are not supposed to be here...." She put her hand on her head. "I cannot believe that such little wine could turn me into such a fool."

"To be fair, those glasses were pretty big," I reasoned, "and Uncle Larry always likes to fill them to the brim. But still, I actually thought it was okay."

"I suppose it does well to numb the pain of life."

I sighed gloomily, "We're a pretty miserable pair, huh?"

Esther looked up at me with one of her beautiful warm smiles. "It is true that we are miserable people, but I do not feel so miserable with you. Therefore, as a pair, I say we are happy."

"R-Right... as friends, of course."

Esther looked away and muttered something in Galian along the lines of, "Is that all I am?"

"We're supposed to head back to Torsa," I informed her, answering her previous question, "but how about we walk around for a bit? There's a park not too far from here."

The pretty faerie smiled sweetly at me. "Okay!" Then, she added under her breath in Galian, "Being mortal is not so bad when I have him by my side."

So we walked to the park together, strolling along the trail. It ran through a lush, gently sloping terrain, parallel to a clear lake that lay on our right.

"What shall we call ourselves?" Esther wondered aloud as a jogger passed us by.

Stopping in front of a shrub decorated with pink, northern lotus roses, I plucked one of the flowers and fashioned the stem in the manner I desired using my Forian powers. Normally, we Prophecy children preferred not to abuse our powers for mundane tasks, but I reckoned Esther was worth it. She stood by my side, eyeing me with curiosity. I held the lovely-scented flower up to her. "May I?"

"Of course," she said, smiling warmly.

I fixed the flower so that it fit perfectly in her hair. "I thought it suited you," I explained, once we started moving again.

"How so?" she asked.

"Like you, northern lotus roses are exquisite, colorful, bright, unique. I could probably write a whole poem about it, but I wouldn't want to bore you."

"Really? I adore poetry."

"Yeah, well, you look—" I caught myself. "I mean, that flower looks very beautiful on you."

"Ah, hold that thought, Cameron. I believe I have a gift for you as well." Esther stopped in front of a tree and proceeded to scrape some sap off of it. Then, she turned about and offered it to me with a smirk. "I thought it suited you, infaetulan."

I sneered at her.

The Maiden used my arm to wipe the tree sap from her fingers. "So, what shall we call ourselves?"

"My answer seems to change with each moment. Currently, I'm leaning towards 'murderer and victim.'"

Esther sneered back at me.

Then, she took me completely by surprise when she took my hand, slipping her fingers between mine. Not only did it make me uncomfortable, it must've made her uncomfortable as well, since her hand was trembling more violently than my own.

Yet she continued to hold on.

"Cameron, what am I to you?" she demanded. "Am I an acquaintance? A friend? A little sister? Tell me, for I wish to know!"