Moderate Lamentation is the Right of the Dead, Excessive Grief the Enemy to the Living

"You can't stay down like this. You can't let it win. It's time to get up."

"I can't. It's too much."

"I know, Althea. That's the reason why you HAVE TO. You're the only one that can."

She was in a place of pure darkness devoid of sensation. Perhaps this was the rest that met the dead in the end. But in death there should be no pain, and she could feel that clearly.

Then Althea felt a palm beneath her chin lifting her gaze to meet his kind, smiling face. She laid her cheek against the warmth of the hand as her heart ached unabatedly. She saw again her Baldrik full of life gazing down on her. A light seemed to shine from him, and her eyes were filled with its brilliance. She had always held him as a beautiful soul, but know she knew for sure that his special radiance was maybe too much for his body in life. He truly was of heavenly light now bathed in peace that evaded him on earth.

"I think that maybe this is too big for me. I couldn't even face the Mist. How can I be expected to stop it?"

Baldrik lowered himself to sit beside her in this place with no beginning, no end, no up, and no down that had shaped itself around them. He just sat in silence as she looked back at him still washed over in so much unhappiness. She opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out. How could she say anything that mattered? How could any of it be enough? "I just want…"

"I know. And I wish I could let you. I'd give it all to you if I could."

"Really?"

Baldrik looked again at the eyes that he had held so precious in life misty with tears she dared not let loose. He took her in his arms and held her tightly with the affection she missed from him so very much. She raised her arm to hold him back. "Althea, I wish I could keep you in safety. I wish I could take away all of your suffering, like you did for me so many times. I'll never be able to repay you for that. And it pains me that you must agonize against many more perils, but your work isn't done yet. The whole world needs you, Althea. You. No one else will be enough."

"Please don't say that."

"I can't lie."

"Why?" she whimpered. The heartbreak in her voice caused the sadness to show in Baldrick's face. She immediately felt bad about it.

His voice came to her then deep from within her heart even though his mouth seemed not to move at all, only smile. "Because you are the defender of the light of this earth. Maybe the last one. And you are the only match for him."

Just thinking of Durai made her heart beat faster with anxiety. "I don't think that's true. I don't think I can."

"I can't wait for you to see that you're wrong." Baldrik smiled so warmly, so tenderly, she almost believed him then.

She held out her hand, and he took it gladly. Time is so cruel that in such moments it will never last forever. No matter how strongly they could will it, no matter how deep the bond between them might be even now, time would always be the knife that would cut the cruelest. It was the inescapable fire that would consume them all in whatever end.

"But, Baldrik, what about…I mean, Mireya…" Althea suddenly remembered what Durai had said that left her with an all-consuming dread. "How can I even look at her? After what I did to her, how I failed you both, how…" but the shaking of her body increased to where she couldn't finish her thoughts.

Baldrik looked upon her pain and said, "Let me show you something." He reached a hand to her chest over her heart. With his thumb and forefinger, he seemed to pinch and pull at something. She saw a light being pulled from her chest, from her heart, in a long, slender string held between his fingers. It curved and danced like a ribbon, and it was stunningly beautiful. Then Baldrik held out his palm and the light danced up from it like a flame. Suddenly, the light gave out a burst of blinding light, and from that light, an image emerged. It twisted and curved, and after a moment the distinct form of a brilliant flower, much like the floral mark on her ankle, glimmered more breathtaking than anything she had seen in life.

Baldrik didn't look at the flower even as it continued to grow; he looked at Althea and saw the wonder in her eyes at what was in front of her. "There's a light that you protect," Baldrik explained to her. "That light in your heart is a source of life and growth. It is sacred. It is important. And you are its guardian. This is exactly what the world needs right now. It needs you."

Gently the light faded and was carried in the air like the petals blown gently in a spring breeze back into her heart, and she could feel it there. She realized then that it had always been there. Even in her darkest moments, the light had never left her.

"As for our sister," Baldrik continued, "her love is not fragile and her trust, once won, runs deep. She has a gift of far greater wisdom than maybe either of us realize. Do not mistake her to be easily manipulated."

"Would she really have to be?" Althea asked with her voice filled with the same guilt as before. "As natural as it was for me to blame myself for how life ended for you, I can't imagine she would feel differently."

Baldrik grasped both of her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes in hopes that she would fully see his truth. "There is a piece of her that was always in me, and I know that there is a piece of me that she holds in her still. The light in you both is not so different, and the love you forged together is not so easily killed. The bond of sisters, whether by blood or love, is the most resilient of all. And I have no doubt that her love for you has weathered this storm. And neither should you."

Althea noticed that the darkness in the place she was in seemed to push in on her further, and Baldrik started to fade into far reaches that she could not follow. She reached out for him desperately, just to feel him once more. "Please, just a little longer."

"It's time to wake up."

.......

Althea felt something cold and wet being pressed to her forehead; she could only assume it was a damp cloth. She tried to open her eyes, but they were too heavy and she felt too weak. She felt unable to even move her head or give any sign that she was awake. Every single muscle and drop of her blood seemed to ache with heaviness and pain. She could feel heat inside her like a fever, but it wasn't a fever. Luckily her mind was lucid, and she could hear voices.

"Are you sure it's her?"

"From everything I was told, I'd say so."

"Well, they weren't lying about her looks. She is very pretty."

"Yeah, but looking no touching. Better yet, no talking."

"Eat shit."

"Why don't we just take her to the castle now? Might be easier with her like this."

"Oh yeah, sure, great idea. Let's just deliver her to the Queen and Durai like this. It won't piss him off at all because he's always reasonable. I'm not going to run the risk that he thinks we've drugged or hurt her somehow. I'd rather not meet with an... accident."

"Shhhh! Don't even think like that. He can read your thoughts."

"You are so full of shit."

Althea realized that these men must be the guards Durai spoke of, and they were here to deliver her to the palace in grand display. She felt the urge to escape, get to where she had to go on her own terms and in as much secrecy as possible. But she was trapped in a useless body that couldn't yet bring itself to move. She sensed more people come into the room, and upon their entrance she could tell that the air tensed and the bodies of the two previous men beside her stiffened. They must be responding to a senior authority entering.

"How is she?"

"Hard to tell. She's breathing ok, so I mean, she's not dead. But we can't bring her out of it."

"Well, keep at it. I don't want to move her until we know she's better. The town has been swept and cleared of pests, so we have the time."

"Sir? What about the other one?"

"I don't care. Not my problem."

"You gonna just leave him here, sir?"

"Like I said, not my problem."

Althea suddenly thought of Galen and felt a surge of panic within her. Was he alive? Was he hurt? Where was he? The adrenalin that followed willed her muscles to stir slightly as she determined to go to him.

"Sir!" Althea heard the one voice call attention to her movement, and she could feel the air around her close as if all present had moved closer to her. She wasn't concerned about the attention or whatever potential threat they might be to her now or later; she just wanted to make sure Galen was alive.

Then she felt a warm hand on her head and a soft voice call to her, "Althea? Are you Althea?" She tried to respond somehow or even open her eyes in response, but her body still fought the lingering lethargy that she just couldn't shake. She felt the cloth on her forehead be taken away and replaced after a moment being refreshed with cool water. "Maybe we should try to prop her up just a little."

She felt multiple sets of hands gently lift her from her back and lay her back down at an incline on supports. She could feel the difference in each set of hands. One was confident and strong, another wasn't quite as large and strong but still sure of its actions, and there was another that was smaller that trembled in uncertainty and hesitance. And again, the authoritative voice called out to her.

Finally, she was able to manage some kind of a response. She was able to move her head ever so slightly and make an unintelligible sound that indicated she was trying to respond.

"Sir! I think she's coming around!"

Althea felt herself be held in muscular arms to a greater incline rather roughly. Not that the captain meant to be rough with her, he just was less graceful and very relieved that she was starting to regain consciousness. Althea finally was able to slowly open her eyes then and saw two large, blue eyes staring back even if they were blurred and out of focus.

"Althea?" The voice came from his mouth so close to her own face, yet the sound seemed like it was coming from miles away. "Are you Althea?"

Althea blinked hard to try and clear the haze from her eyes. Her head suddenly started to throb and pound like a bad hangover, and she groaned ever so slightly from the pain. She struggled to respond to him and finally managed an affirmative nod as she was still too weak to speak.

"Thank God," he said quietly as he lowered her back to the soft support they had previously propped her on. "You just rest now. We'll get you out of here as soon as you're strong enough to move."

Althea wanted so badly to protest, to explain her situation, to do anything, but she found that all she could do was lie and wait for her strength to return. She could still feel the Mist inside of her, as impossible as it seemed. She felt the hopelessness that had seeped deep into her body still linger like the smoldering char left behind in the trail of a fire.

Her vision slowly cleared and sharpened, and her body was able to move better, even if it was only a slight difference from before. She turned her neck to look around for Galen, to see where she was, and to see how many men were around her. But the sensations and sights that came flooding into her seemed to overwhelm her, and she closed her eyes to block it all out and give her brain a chance to catch up. She felt the world swimming around her, and she wished the feeling would stop.

After what felt like an eternity, she found herself with enough strength to speak. "Galen?" she weakly called out barely above a whisper.

"What?" she heard from the younger of all the voices she had heard before.

Althea turned her head towards the voice and saw a boy barely old enough to be a guard looking at her. When their eyes met, she saw his eyes widen in a combination of shock and panic. Almost as though he felt scared to look her in the eye, but was too stunned to look away very much like a moth drawn to light. She saw a sweat start to form on his face even as she tried desperately to appear as harmless as possible.

"Where's Galen?" she asked again still very quiet.

"Sir!" the man called out and shouted towards the light of the open door. Instantly the same imposing man with the blue eyes came into the room and dropped to his knees before Althea. He then looked up at the young man with a questioning look. "She's asking for someone, sir."

The man that she could only assume from his authoritative presence was their captain looked again at Althea. He put a hand to her forehead to feel again for the fever, but it was breaking.

"Where's Galen?" Althea asked slightly louder this time, almost as loud as her normal speaking voice.

The captain looked at her puzzled at first, but then he figured out who she was speaking of. He looked back behind him to the man who still lied face down on the ground. Althea's eyes suddenly widened in disbelief and then turned to the men in the room with an angry look. Here she had been treated with tender care and left this other body on the floor. How could they be so cold?

The captain suddenly had a flash of embarrassed shame spread across his face as he gestured to his men to pick up the body on the floor. He saw Althea watched their handling of this man and her chest rise and fall rapidly. He could see that she was concerned, maybe even scared. He cleared his throat and adjusted his demeanor to be softer towards her. "He's alive. He's ok, just out like you were. But he's not injured." He turned again to inspect his associates' handling of the man. "Hey, gently!"

The guards laid Galen down flat on a table a few feet from where she lay, and she turned her head to assess his condition as best she could. His breathing seemed unlabored and steady; he just seemed fast asleep and not in pain from the calmed look on his face. Satisfied, she relaxed herself slightly and looked back at the guard.

"What's....name?" Althea tried to speak though her throat was dry and cracking.

The man turned to the youngest guard again and barked, "Hey, get some water!" The young man ran out of the room without a word. He turned back to Althea, "My name is Hemele. I'm here to take you home."

She tried not to scoff at the idea of "going home." This man was just following the orders of his Queen, and goodness knows what stories he was told. She had no doubt that he felt he was doing a good and honest deed.

"As soon as you get a little stronger, we'll get you out of here."

Althea closed her eyes and turned her neck towards Galen. She managed to bend her elbow slightly to gesture to him.

Hemele looked at the Galen and was conflicted. His orders didn't include him, so he really hadn't cared. But now that he saw her concern for this man, he was worried about friction and complications from her if he would be left behind. "Who is he? What is he to you?"

She sat up slightly more to show how determined she was on the subject. The young man burst into the room and handed her a ladle of water he had drawn from the well. It was cold, and her throat was so hot and dry it felt like it would sizzle at the touch of the water. She took a slow, deep drink. The water made her feel much better. "A friend," she responded sounding much stronger. "A friend I'm not leaving behind." Althea looked into Hemele's eyes and did not break for a moment. She wanted it clearly understood that she would not stand for any mistreatment of this man.

"I don't have orders to bring anyone but you," he responded resolutely. He saw that this answer was dissatisfying, and her look was even one of condescending disappointment.

Althea's strength was returning more and more rapidly as the lingering haze left behind with the Mist fell away. "Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear enough. He is my friend, and I will NOT be leaving him behind."

Hemele seemed to stiffen himself a little perhaps flexing his authority, "I cannot just bring anyone into the palace. Unless," he then looked around a bit before bringing himself in closer to her, "was he the one who took you?"

Althea simply dropped her head in exasperation. She had neither the strength or inclination to explain the situation. She sighed as she tried to gather her patience with this man. "No, he did not. But where I go, he goes."

Hemele was both frustrated with her stubbornness and admiring it. He liked her spirit even in the moment it was making his job harder. He could see how so many admired her and found himself admiring her as well. In his experience, tenacity and strength were hard to come by, especially in women. He then simply conceded, "I'll see what I can do. Not really the orders I was given."

"I know the Queen, and she'll respect my wishes." Hemele showed slight confusion at her words. She was curious at the reaction, but stood firm in her determined stance. "As a member of the Queen's guard – a captain I can see from the insignia – you should do what she would honor. I know her enough to know what is acceptable."

"Miss Healer, I'm not under the direction of the Queen at all. I am a captain of the Court Enchanter's Royal Guard. I'm under orders from Durai to take you to him directly and only to him."