A Miracle for Love (Caesar Drisdall from The White Knights Chronicles)

Chapter 18

After standing overlooking the gardens for a little while, Caesar said, "We should get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow." Katelyn nodded and said, "Can we stop by Leonard's room for a minute and check on him before we go to bed?" Caesar said, "Sure. Let's go check on him, see how he is after the fight today." The two walked through the halls of the castle until they reached the door of Leonard's room. Katelyn knocked on the door and slowly opened it. She walked into the room with Caesar in tow and walked up to the bed in which Leonard laid. She could see that he had dark rings around his eyes, his skin looked even paler than it did earlier that day, and he was sweating as he mumbled and groaned in his sleep. "He looks worse," Katelyn said. "I have to agree. I thought he would be better after resting, but he just looks worse." Katelyn asked, "Where is his Ark?" Caesar pointed to a table across the room where the Ark of the White Knight sat on a cushion. Katelyn walked to the table and said, "I wonder what kind of secrets you hold." Caesar said, "Don't try to touch it. We don't know what is hurting Leonard, and if could hurt you too." Katelyn said, "I feel something evil and it is scaring me. We are losing Leonard." "Don't say that, Katelyn. We won't lose him." "Not if I can do something about it," Katelyn said as she reached out to touch the Ark. Caesar yelled, "Katelyn, don't," as she placed her hand on it, closed her eyes, and said, "Emperor Madoras, I know that you are hidden in the Ark. I would like to have a little chat about what you are doing to my friend. Reveal yourself." She felt lightheaded for a moment as she felt her conscience being pulled somewhere else. When she opened her eyes, Caesar was no longer beside her. Instead, she stood in front of a throne where a man sat. "You," she said. "Hello. I've been expecting you, Fury. I found it interesting that you wanted to have a chat about your friend, Leonard. Please, have a seat and we can talk," he said, motioning to a chair that appeared out of thin air. Katelyn sat in the chair and said, "You are Emperor Madoras, right? And what do you mean by Fury? "I am, child. And you don't know what you are by now. You are able to touch all of the Arks, penetrate my mindscape. Only a Fury is able to penetrate the minds of gods. There has not been one in over ten thousand years, but they are powerful creatures, able to pass judgment for wrongdoing." "Okay, Madoras, why are you doing all of this? Hiding in the White Knight's Ark, hurting my friend." "I am only waiting for the Final Awakening, my child. I was cursed into this wretched Ark and I will escape it. Then, I will arise again, stronger than all, and destroy Queen Mureas. You pact makers are just pawns of war. And as for your friend, Leonard, his soul will be cast into eternal darkness." "That won't happen. We will stop you from arising," Katelyn said. "There is no stopping me. The future is already set in stone." "I have a proposition for you. If you were to rise, you won't kill Leonard. You could have your empire, but you could rule peacefully beside the other three rulers of our world." "No, blood will spill the day I rise. Everyone who stands against me will be killed." "Okay. I will deliver your message, but we will do everything in our power to stop you." "You can't kill a god," he said. "If I know anything from my world, it is that nothing is impossible." "Fine, have it your way. But you have been warned." With that, Katelyn closed her eyes and when she reopened them, she was in Caesar's arms.

She looked up to find Caesar's worried eyes looking at her. "Katelyn, you zoned out for over twenty minutes. Are you alright?" "Emperor Madoras plans to kill Leonard during the Final Awakening. He's going to rise if all five knights are brought together. He also called me something, a Fury. I don't know exactly what that is, but he said I am very powerful and don't even know it." "The only time I have ever heard of Furies, it was in stories of the gods. How could he think you are a Fury?" "I am able to not only touch, but use all the Knight's Arks he said. I can penetrate minds of gods. I also had visions of you when you were in danger on the battlefield. Should we talk to Eldore?" "We should see if he is still awake. I think we need to see what he knows." With that, Katelyn and Caesar left the room and headed down the hallway to Eldore's room. Katelyn knocked on the door and waited for a response. A little over a minute later, Eldore opened the door and said, "Katelyn, Caesar, has something happened?" "Do you mind if we talk in the parlor? We have news and it is urgent," Caesar said. Eldore nodded and said, "Let me get dressed. I'll be there in five." With that, he shut the door. Katelyn and Caesar walked down the parlor and sat at the table in the center of the room. Eldore joined them a few minutes later and asked them before sitting down, "Does this news pertain to the Final Awakening?" Katelyn nodded and said, "I had a chat with Emperor Madoras. He told me that I am a Fury and that is why I was able to penetrate his mind. He plans to arise and take over the world. If he does, Leonard will die. We can keep it from happening by not allowing all five Knights to be brought together." "A Fury? Emperor Madoras? Katelyn, are you mad? All the Furies died ages ago. How could you possibly be a Fury." "I can use the other Knights, touch all of their Arks, penetrate Madoras' mind, have visions of others in danger. There are many powers I have not discovered yet. He said I can pass judgment, but I do not know what that means. That I am powerful." As Katelyn began to get frustrated, she felt a surge of power go through her body. Eldore's eyes fixated on Katelyn's hands and said, "I haven't seen power like that in over ten millennia." Katelyn looked down to see her hands glowing a golden color that looked like sunshine. She held up her hand and asked, "What is this?" "Something we need to research. You see, the Furies used to give council to the gods. When the gods left this earth, Queen Mureas and Emperor Madoras were the only immortal creatures left. They would seek council from the Furies during times of hardship and war. When the war broke out between the Athwani and the Yshrenians, the Furies persuaded Emperor Madoras to end the war and seek peace. He didn't like that answer, so he killed each and every one of them. They swore that one day they would be reborn and brought to this world and that Madoras would finally listen when they did. And you must be the first of the Furies, born with power only matched by that of the gods. It would help to make sense of why you were brought here." Katelyn took a few deep breaths and the glowing dissipated. "So, am I immortal? How do I unlock or learn about my powers," Katelyn asked. "Wait, so I'm married to an all-powerful Fury who may or may not be immortal," Caesar asked. Eldore said, "I have absolutely no clue to be honest on how Furies age or how their powers work. We should search the library shelves tomorrow and see what we can find. But I would keep this to ourselves for now. We don't need anyone else to find out about your powers. They could attempt to use them to our disadvantage." "What about Cisna, Mureas? Should she know?" "No, not at this moment. Let's keep this between us three. The only other people I would trust with this information is Yulie and Sapphire. Okay?" Katelyn nodded and held her hand up to her mouth, imitating a zipper and said, "My lips are sealed. But I have one more question? When me and Sapphire killed Shapur, I felt strength in me that I didn't know I had. I felt triumphant and good about his death. Do you think that was a judgment that I set forth?" "It could have been. You sought to punish him for a murder he committed," Caesar said. Eldore added, "That makes me think that you could be the Fury who was called Tisiphone, Avenger of Murder. This is all based on speculation of course, but it could be possible. It just makes me wonder, who will the other two Furies be." "I don't know. I feel like I should sleep on this and all of us meet at the library in the morning," Katelyn said. "Yes. Let's all get some rest and research everything tomorrow. I'm beat after today," Caesar said. "Agreed. Let's all go to bed. See you both in the morning." "Goodnight," They both said as Eldore left the table to return to his room. Katelyn said to Caesar, "I don't think that I can sleep after what we learned tonight. I may stay up late and do some reading. It wouldn't be the first time. You should get some rest and I'll see you in the morning." "No, you should sleep tonight." "I would, but I'm scared, Caesar." "Scared of what?" "Scared that I will hurt you. Talking to Madoras unlocked some power in me. I can't seem to control the power now flowing through me. I want to research and see if I can learn what the power is." "How about this, I'll sleep on one of the couches in the library while you read. I'm not leaving you alone." "You really don't have to do that." "But I want to," Caesar said, taking her hands in his. Okay, then let's go to the library.