Capítulo 116: - Whispers and Wonders: My Ever After
The cold morning wind blew their hair aside, cooling to the touch of their skin as they watched the sun rising above the distant mountains. Clouds dotted the sky below them in the valley, drifting around tall rocks, peaks and valleys.
The sun's great rays of light painted the valley in a brilliant golden hue, shining across the sky, reflecting off their faces as they let the scene soak into their minds and embed itself in their memories.
Voln sat on the cool ground, the sun's warmth brushing against his skin, drying the tears that had once stained his face. He watched the valley with an intent curiosity, absorbed by the beauty of the scene, by the peacefulness of the moment.
He didn't want it to end. And neither did Lia, as she too watched the sun rise, slowly like an arrow flying through the air, painting its path over the great blue sky above them.
They sat next to each other, Voln hugging his knees tightly to his chest like a child, while Lia had hers sparkled across the ground. She was at peace, and so was Voln.
They didn't want the moment to end.
But alas, like all stories, this one had an end.
"You did the right thing Voln."
Lia's voice was calm, matching the cool and steady wind that blew across their faces on the updraft.
"Did I?"
"I think so. Winslow said he and Saul would take them to the nearest town, have the mayor deal with them."
"They'll get justice?"
"Your father will get justice, Voln. And they shall pay the price for their sins."
Voln shivered at the cold touch of the morning wind, clutching his body tightly, trying to chase off the cold.
"Why am I so cold? Why…"
"...does it hurt?"
"Hurt? I feel like I just want to die…"
Lia kept quiet, silently watching Voln's empty eyes as they trained on the valley below the overlook.
'I wonder, if Malkova was here right now, would he be more at peace?'
Voln had asked Malkova to return to his rune circle, wanting to be alone for a few minutes. But strangely enough, he had asked Lia to sit with him. She didn't see a reason why she shouldn't, while her party together with Winslow and Saul blinded the Dorrows in ropes, so she sat with him in silence, watching the morning rise.
"Lia?"
"Yes?"
"Why…Did I do good?"
"...No one can say they've done the right thing, because there is no right or wrong in life. There are only the actions we have, and things we have close by. What is right or wrong is decided by us."
Voln turned his head, watching her with his sad and empty eyes.
"You know, my father was a great guy. Always laughing, always smiling. He was a great person to be around."
"I can imagine so. Seeing as how well you were raised."
Voln scoffed, embarrassed by the complement. But just as an awkward smile formed on his face, it disappeared, his mind sinking deeper in his depression.
"You know Clark never had a good childhood?"
Lia frowned, confused as to why Voln had shifted topics from his dad to Clark all of a sudden.
"His father was a perfectionist. My dad always did work hard, and he rewarded him for it. But Clark…he was a child. I mean, a child doesn't work hard for things like money or fame. Things that his father wanted from him."
"So he grew up with expectation on his back?"
"Not just that…He did grow up with those expectations, but he also grew up with the bruises of his failures."
Suddenly it clicked for Lia. The reasoning as to why Clark was always so on guard about his past, as well as his family. He hated them, and for good reason.
"His father beat him?"
"Yes. My dad though, in all his kindness and compassion, gave Clark a second home. One that he could live in and be at peace. Maybe that's when he fell for my mother but…"
"Voln, where are you going with this?"
"..."
He remained silent, taking in a deep breath of the cool and cold air rising on the updraft before he let the air leave his lungs, the past fully washing over him.
"...Clark and I were friends. Have been since we were kids, since we were only five years apart. He was always there, at my house, like a brother. My dad practically helped to raise him like a son, and he was one of the first faces I saw."
"Your friend?"
Lia got a sickly feeling in her stomach, as if the feeling of disgust she had for the Dorrows was still growing inside her, like a virus intent on eating away at her emotions.
"More like a brother. When his dad would get violent with him, I remember running into the woods with him, playing in the ballrooms, the kitchens. It was all fun and games for us."
Now it was Lia's turn for her voice to drop, an ever present sadness now creeping into her mind.
"But it didn't last, did it?"
Voln shook his head, ironically enough, he was smiling.
"When he turned twenty, his dad died. Some heart disease or something like that. The man was an adventurer, and had always grown up that way, so Clark wasn't really close to a man who wasn't there half the time. I guess his adventures finally caught up on his old heart. Poor bastard."
"I assume then that Clark took control of the Manor."
"Yeah. He became different that day, like a weight was lifted off his chest. He stopped showing up around me, stopped playing like the kids we were. I was just beginning to help my dad in his landscaping work - had been for years - when he got sick."
Voln clutched his head in one hand, as if he had suddenly come over with a violent migraine.
"Now that I think about it, Clark must have been planning it since then. I don't know why he chased to kill my dad, the man who was practically another father to him. He was always kind to Clark, but it was never enough. He didn't want to hurt me by staying close, that piece of sh*t."
Lia took a deep breath, her mind racing back, picturing the days Voln and Clark must have spent as friends.
"It sounds…"
"Like a sad tale. I know."
She gave him a glance, their eyes meeting, as she widened at the sight. Voln was crying again, tears flowing down his cheeks, but he held a smile on his face. A smile full of sadness, not joy.
"Lia…did…did I do right?"
Lia reached out to hold him steady as Voln crumpled up in her arms, resting against her shoulder, violently sobbing as he choked out a few of his words.
"Did…hick*...did I…d-do right? Please…hick*...please, tell me. Tell me I…tell me I did alright!"
His tears stained Lia's shirt, but she didn't care. She just silently let him cry into her shoulder, as she watched the valley painted in the bright and brilliant golden light begin to fade into the day.
Silently, a single tear fell down her cheek, as past memories fled into her mind.
'Why didn't I just let him take them. Why didn't I just let Cain have them…?'
She sat there with Voln in hand, regretting her past mistakes.
***
"Are you sure about this?"
Cain asked, standing before a silent Voln, who looked to him with a fierce gaze.
"Once I take them, you won't ever get them back."
"I know."
Voln nodded his head, silently watching the man before him with his empty and red eyes.
Behind him, Winslow and Saul waited with a bonded couple, both of which stayed silent out of shame. But even if they did wish to speak, Saul had made certain to gag them to prevent such a possibility.
Rian and Lukali stood silently watching from behind Lia, who stood between both Voln and Cain. She was the one who called him here, intent on taking away Voln's sadness as his own bequest.
"Take them. I don't care much for them, and I don't want a past like that to weigh me down."
Cain nodded his head, willing to go along with his demands.
"Sometimes it is better to forget than forgive."
"I would argue they're the same."
Voln smiled, a little nervous inside to have his mind erased.
"Just so I know, you only wish to get rid of the memories involving these two, correct?"
He pointed towards the two bound individuals, attacking Voln's attention.
"Yes, please."
"Again, I can only remove memories, not make new ones. So any memories you have of them will be blank."
"...which means some of the ones with my dad will be blank too?"
"Sadly, yes."
Voln remained quiet for a moment, his mind working the pros and cons of going through with this, tempted to back out of it now.
"But…"
However, Cain's words put an end to that line of thought.
"...I don't think there's really a need to worry. The bond you have between you and your father is something strong. So, even if I take out a large portion of his time with you, I doubt you'll forget him."
Thinking deeply on the matter, Voln's eyes never left Cain, taking in a deep breath full of pride. His mind flashed back to that time in the woods, when he was mesmerized by the campfire, Cain had come to him. He had promised him vengeance, but in return, there would come a price. Come a time when he would have to make a difficult choice.
This was that choice.
To forget, or to forgive.
"Do it."
Voln never believed he could forgive them, just not kill them. So in the end, he chose to forget the pain, forget the past, and live on in the present and for the future.
Cain reached out with one hand, placing his thumb between Voln's brows, closing his eyes.
'Those that linger, thou be gone. Those that hinder me, be forewarned. And to those that kill you inside, be reborn.'
Though he never spoke, Lia could hear his words echoing inside her mind, wondering silently to herself if this was one of his spells.
Finally, when Cain opened up his eyes once again, Voln staggered a bit, caught by Winslow's open hand.
"How do you feel?"
"...like…somethings gone. But I don't know what."
Winlsow smiled, looking at Sual who patted Voln hard on the back.
"You won't need to."
Lia smiled, grateful to Cain for letting Voln get rid of his past, and to move on towards a brighter future for himself.
"Voln, wait."
Lia reached behined her, gripping the long and silver spear attached to her back. She had almost forgotten she had it, but it just made her realize how little she needed it.
"Take this."
Taking the spear in his hands, Voln looked over the patterns of vines engraved into the silver pole, climbing up towards the spear head, encrusted in gold.
"Why give me this?"
"Well, I'm not going to be using it anytime soon. Besides, I figured as a summoner, you would need something better than a flimsy dagger when fighting."
Voln smiled, grateful for the gift.
"Thank you, but I don't think I'll be fighting anymore in this life. I think I've had enough of that, though I don't know why…"
Lia chuckled, finding it quite amusing that Voln was so on guard against taking it, yet he didn't even know why he was.
"Just keep it. In case you ever need it."
His eyes lingered on her for several moments, before he nodded his head, bowing to her in thanks. And just like that, Lia found herself waving goodbye to the fleeing figures of Winslow, Saul, Voln and Malkova, leading their bound prisoners by a rope.
The story was over, and thus, they were free.
"Damn it…"
Lia turned to see Lukali pouting as he watched the figures enter the forest.
"What?"
"We never got paid."
Lia was a bit taken aback, surprised that she didn't even remember that they were meant to be paid at the end of this. But, since Voln was never turned over to the Dorrows and the house was now in flames, she doubted they were going to get paid at all on this trip.
"Sorry guys. I know you humored me on coming on this trip because we were meant to get paid. But now…sorry."
She scratched her head, embarrassed as she avoided their eyes.
"Nonsense. We came because we wanted to get paid, yes, but I think it was all worth it in the end."
However, despite her embarrassment, Rian simply waved it off, filling Lia with a warm and welcoming feeling.
"Thanks guys."
"No problem. Now, come on, we've got to get to Kokono soon."
Lia nodded her head, following close behind both Rian and Lukali as they set off in the opposite direction of their friends.
Only Cain was left on the overlook, his eyes passing over the vast valley of beautiful scenery before him.
In his head, he could still hear Lia's words she shared with him before he took Voln's memories.
'Cain? I…I'm sorry about earlier."
'About what?'
'You told me once that taking the memories of my past was the best option I had, so that I wouldn' be dragged down with them.'
'I did. And if I remember correctly, you weren't too happy that I was digging around your past.'
'Yeah…I'm sorry about that. I know now that you were just trying to help me. I didn't realize it then. I guess I was…well, too ashamed of my past to forget it.'
'There was nothing to be ashamed about. We learn from our mistakes and from our past.'
'...do you still wish for me to forget about them?'
'...no. If you can learn to not be dragged down by your past, then I have no reason to take from you the mistakes you still learn from. Just…don't lose sight of the path laid in front of you, instead of looking back on the path you've taken. Do we have a deal?'
He could still remember how her heart began to beat like a drum, her chest warming with emotion, emotion that he did not cause nor manipulate.
He could still hear the sweetness in her voice.
'Yeah…'
Cain took in a deep breath letting the cool air fill his lungs, dousing down the fire inside him. His eyes panned over the mountains, the forests, the lakes and the rivers.
He felt at home here.
Before he knew it, a smile had formed on his face as his mind traveled back to Lia, his face twisting in a smirk.
"She's learning more than I can teach her."
He looked up toward the bright and open blue sky, his heart leaping up high.
"She's done well."
→End of Arch_4: Whispers and Wonders←
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