Chp 42

"So really, none of them really ever...ya know...?"
"Ya crazy?" he questions. "King Father would know about it. He keeps the gatekeepers in a tight leash. They'd be dead."
"That's horrible. I can't imagine--" I hesitate.
He reaches for me again. "What?" he probes.
"I can't imagine not meeting ya. I can't imagine leaving ya, it'd hurt me more than it'd hurt ya."
"Hey, look at me." Then those lean fingers are tilting my chin. "Don't be shy. It's just me."
"So...ah, do ya think, had ya had a choice, would ya have chosen me?"
"Chosen? Probably no." His voice is a hoarse whisper. "I would've went with a less intimidating girl. For so long I was afraid ya wouldn't like me back. The only reason I worked up the courage to go to ya at Sword Universe was because I already knew what we are to each other. What we're bound to be."
"Like ya back?" My voice is low, tone uncertain. "Intimidating? Aibo D'ziko."
"When we first met at the park, ya were the only kid who didn't call me a freak. Ya fought those boys off me. No one had ever stood up for me like that."
I frown. "The park?"
"Eight years ago on Halloween."
"Yes, the boy with the mask that wouldn't come off?" What are the odds? "That was ya?"
"I didn't know until that day that Whele was only looking out for me when he said I shouldn't go outside."
"Ya were so..."
"Thin?" he offers.
"Ja." Most sick looking boy I'd ever seen. Thin as a disease. "I thought ya were a street kid. I left food for ya in the park everyday until two years ago. Ya simply never showed up. I thought something bad had happened to ya when two days in a row I found my lunchboxes just as how I'd left them."
"Ya kept me alive all these years?" His voice cracks and is raw.
Breathe.
It wasn't fate. It was just a coincidence.
Breathe.
My cheeks are definitely warm. "Yeah."
"I stopped coming because I ran into the most evil looking man. I don't remember much about him, just his smile. I'd know that smile anywhere. I had no doubt that he was going to kill me. He just looked so...angry?"
A man with a twisted smile? Could it be the Essence Thief? Has he been hunting D'ziko? What if the Essence Thief is Leza's killer? Should I tell D'ziko? But what if I'm wrong? What if...? What if there are two Essence Thieves. A man and a woman? Because I didn't chase a woman into the forest. It was a man.
I've been quiet for too long. A timid smile. "I'm sorry ya had to go through all that."
"Ya made things so much easier for me." His words are a breathy explosion. "Whele couldn't really hunt proper food for me. King father only gave them an hour of sleep a day. He's a werewolf, so I ate what he brought home. Deer. Always deer."
I swallow the lump in my throat. "Ya suffered from malnutrition. That's why ya were so thin."
"Ja," D'ziko says, and takes a breath. "So maybe we should go pick up yer real sword tomorrow morning so that we might know exactly how ya kept me safe?"
Brilliant idea.
"How about later in the evening?" I suggest, and wait for him to nod. When he doesn't, I continue, "Training starts tomorrow and I have to be there. I need some self defense lessons."
Pause.
"Why?"
"I woke up to the Essence Thief trying to steal my gift."
D'ziko straightens, looks me right in the eye and asks, "But how?"
Good question. "I chased him through the woods until daybreak. He simply disappeared."
"That must've been a clone or an illusion."
But Illusion is on our side, isn't he? Did he betray us? Or could there have been another tribal member with a sibling sword that didn't publicly name their sword?
“Ya chased a woman. I chased a man. Two different people. Same purpose.”
D'ziko tilts his head. "Oh...?"
"Here it was dark until seven." I shiver, and his arms find the spot that was made specially for them around me. "I chased him into the woods myself. The darkness swallowed him."
"How do we know ya weren't hallucinating?" Another good question. "How do we solve this mystery?"
We can't. At least not yet.
Training begins after breakfast. We all stand with stiffened backs against the wall, and Queen Mother calls twenty-one people at a time. Twenty trainees and a martial arts expect. The girl next to me, a princess distinguishable by the expensive steels she wears, my steals, holds my hand with alarming strength. She looks a lot like King Father and so it's safe to assume this is his daughter.
King Father has at least two children with each wife. I wonder if he knows all his kids. His oldest wife has nine kids.
I feel sorry for the princess. How can ya ever excel, stand out, if ya're up against so many siblings.
For a second I'm thankful Papa left. No more papa, no more kids. He doesn't have kids with Queen Mother. The Queen has only four children with her first husband, whom I assume is the one she truly loves.
Each Group she calls gets a letter of the alphabet. There is a magical board and chalk on the wall that automatically update when a name is called and sort the list with the appropriate group. When Queen Mother runs out of Alphabets she turns to colours. Those run out too. She moves on to numbers.
“Mondo,” the Queen says. “Ya're--”
“Ah, no. I am not fight. We women are lovers not soldiers. Gods forbid I'm break my nails.”
Queen Mother glares at her. “Then why are ya here?”
“Moral supporting for Princess Luleka and the goddess.”
“Right.” She nods, continuing calling names out. Luleka is the only girl in her group. She gives me a fleeting smile before she disappears.
Just when I think we'll run out of numbers before we run out of people, my name moves below the 1001 group. I sigh in relief, grateful for an excuse to get my hand back. I wiggle my fingers as I walk up to join my group. Of course, I'm paired with mostly royals. There are five commoners in our group.
Kaseke and I stare at each other from across the room. It's easier to look at my brother in the eye now that he doesn't have his gift anymore.
He smiles. I smile back. I haven't spoken to him in days and we live in the same house. Back home we spoke several times a day. I wonder if he thinks I've changed now that I'm the Goddess. Does he think I've forgotten about them. About Mama.
The thought of her brings a fresh wave of sadness. How could she? Why?
"Group 1001 ya'll have room 2000."
"How come each group has its own training facilities?" I ask Queen Mother. "We don't have that much house."
She points towards the window where a new building sits. "I had Stone build us a house that can sustain anything."
I remember Stone. I'm surprised the Essence Thief hasn't stolen his gift yet. Stone can build mountains, stone houses, anything with a stone in it. He built most of the royal mansions. His gift is very peculiar, unlike most who can produce one thing each day(through their gifts), Stone's sword allows him to magically create a thousand stones each minute. He then uses his sword to move them into the desired shape.
His buildings can ride out the most horrible tsunami.
"Thank ya, Queen Mother." I mean it. I bow. "That was very thoughtful of ya."
Our trainer, Elder Mdu leads us out of the Royal hall across the yard into the tallest building on mother earth. He looks and smells like he hasn't had a bath in at least a week. It's like a castle from the historic times. The design itself is very complicated, the stones are rough and rugged yet they add grandeur and elegance. This is a masterpiece. It's one of those buildings the Sabonis would photograph. It'd be among the top four world tourist attractions. It stretches across nearly 24000 acres of land.
Behind the Tree of Life, this is the most beautiful place in Noddon, worse yet, it's human made.
We all excitedly high five Stone who tries to play it cool but even he knows he's outdone himself. He's in my group. Of course, on close inspection, I realise all these commoners have interesting gifts. Gifts I'd love to have as my own.
Come evening I have to go "collect" my gift. By tonight my worst fears will be confirmed. I'm a silencer.
My heart quickens. Leza, I'm sweating!
Stone looks at me, I look at him. I'm looking through him. "Are ya okay, Goddess Imani?"
No. Far from it.
The group has stopped to stare. But how do I explain my trembling hands? My ragged breathing? The dampness in my palms?
I manage a smile. It doesn't feel right. I just hope they don't mistake it for a grimace. "Show us around, Stone," I say instead.
And we excitedly jog behind him into the building, surrendering to the positive energy around us.
The foyer is even more spectacular but this isn't Stone's work. It's Beauty's. She gave me my first rose, my first lily. Her sword's hilt has stems on it.
Inside the building there are lanterns and intricately patterned carpets.
A waterfall spills about 10 million cubic feet of water—from a maximum vertical drop of 300 feet—every minute. Its ceiling twinkles with magnificent lights and dons a map of Noddon with a great emphasis on Leza's grave.