[Original Story]Fire Bells

[ClydeArk]

Well, as original as a story can get anyway. I mention briefly in my profile that I enjoy writing, but I've never actually posted a piece for critique. This is a story I started, but never finished, and I don't really expect to(unless there's some interest.) I have posted this elsewhere, so if you run a google search you will find the story(I've altered the name's here).

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Fire Bells
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"Milord, are you ready?"

"What other choice do I have?"

"Well, we may go out and search for your-"

"Silence Lupin! Do not mention her name. Not at this hour, not at any hour. The past is the past."

"As you wish milord."

The darkness of the room became illuminated as the crack in the curtains widened. Light reached the pale face of the boy. Grey eyes absorbed the enclosed scene. He would have to walk outside to see everything. He rose painfully, slowly. Although he claimed to have been rid of all the burdens, his heart weigh like iron. The sound of the crowd's roar as he stepped on through the curtains was deafening and even if it was for an instant, he felt the strength to move forward.

He glanced back at his mentor; his forehead was wrinkled with worry, but his face was always the image of fierce determination. No soul the boy ever knew could break through his steel will, but yet he served under the hand of a child. Lupin nodded and the boy proceeded with all confidence. This was his day.

The white carpet was laid out from the entrance of the village, all the way into the marble palace, where the secret garden would wait. Everywhere the boy looked, faces beamed and encouraged his steps. This was the legacy that had been left for him; to live up to it would take every bit of effort he could muster.

This was a walk every king before him made in order to honor the strength of the very first. The white carpet the boy trudged upon represented the people. Every step he took he crushed someone. It was a reminder of his power, of how every choice he made could cost a life. As he passed by them, the crowd tossed red roses behind him; the blood of the enemies this empire had left in its wake. This was a responsibility he had to endure.

The path winded up the slope the palace was built upon. It was against his will, but Lupin awaited the boy at the top. He would never admit it, but this man who had instructed him from birth was all he really had now. I must be strong.

"This is it Lain. I cannot follow you into the garden. Whatever happens there you must lock inside your heart and never let a soul know."

The boy nodded. He had seen the door before, he had been scolded for trying to get in and admonished for attempting to take a peek. He did not expect to be faced with it so soon again, but this was his duty today.

He opened the door and stepped into the dark abyss.

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Silence encompassed him from all sides; the darkness was as long as the corridor he walked through. He could hear the voice of his mentor in his head "stay strong! steel your will!" Lain did just that.

When he finally emerged into the light his pupils shrunk to accommodate the brightness. Although he searched, the light seemed to stream from nowhere in particular. The roof was sealed in and the walls were marble stone. No fire was lit in the strange place. As he studied the room, he noticed there was no garden to speak of either. All that sat in the center of the white marble chamber was a pool of crystal clear water.

Lain approached it with the ultimate care, surveying it from a few different angles before taking the final step to it. The water was unusually clean, not a single hint of impurity tainted its entrails. Even the marble stone that encased it was seamless. Nothing other than that seemed strange about it.

White fingers stretched out to the surface of the undisturbed water, his curiosity was minimal, but he had to obey it.

"Are you sure that is what you wish to do?"

The boy king had already steeled his will so he remained unmoved by the suddenness of the voice. The owner made no effort to hide herself. A girl as young as he, with storm colored eyes sat on the stone opposite to him. "It is my duty."

She smiled and even giggled. "That's strange. Everyone usually jumps or falls back the first time they're in here."

"Are you speaking of kings past?"

"Certainly. You have held your mettle, though, young one."

"You speak as one who has been birthed before time, but you bare no more age than me."

Her chuckle returned; it was hearty and soothing. "Silly child. I am older than these walls; much more ancient than this castle. I have no form of my own and do well without one in this space. What you see in me is a reflection of yourself."

Lain felt the blood in his body rushing to his cheeks, but he suppressed the unwanted emotion. "Surely you speak a farce. You are a female."

"Would you rather me be a male?" Her voice came, now, from below Johnny and when he looked down the water reflected his face. His lips moved on the surface of the water, even though his own face held them still. Her voice became a bit deeper, until they matched the boyish tone of Johnny's. "As I said I am formless; I have no gender to call my own."

"I'd be more comfortable if-"

"I spoke from this body correct?" She finished Lain's sentence for him, once again appearing as the girl robbed in pure white. "It's a courtesy I pay to every king who steps into my domain."

"Who are you exactly?"

"I do not pride myself in my identity, but if the king wishes to know, I'll speak." A sort of painful longing flashed across her face as she spoke. "The water below you is my container. It was taken from a spring of a very powerful being. Part of the being's essence was transferred with the water and kept here. The essence developed a consciousness and that is the being who I am now, the keeper of the secret garden."

"You speak of a garden, but I see none."

"There is none. This sanctuary is to be known by none other than the present king. The secret garden guise was adopted earlier on as a way to describe this room to the outside. None other than the present king must know the true image and structure of the sanctuary."

"I understand. Are you here to guide me down the path of a king?"

"I could, but that is not my way of doing things. It is the personality I inherited from the being I sprung. Touch the water, boy, and the future will be revealed to you."

"You grant me knowledge of the future in hopes that I would steer the kingdom in the right direction?"

Her lips extended into a wide grin. "You give me too much credit boy. All I grant you is knowledge. You will receive no hope from me."

"You are a devious creature. Are you guide or trickster?"

"I am neither. I simply am."

"You have no purpose within this palace; within these marble walls?"

"I simply exist for the purpose of existing. Now choose young king, what shall it be?"

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[ClydeArk]

"Knowledge can make you."

A sword rained down from ahead and Lain parried the blade with difficulty. He was at his mentor's whim.

"What would you say if- ah, good show boy!" Lain's sword bounced off of Lupin's own which had magically switched to his less dominant hand. "But remember what I taught you. Find a weakness and-" The hilt of Lupin's sword banged Lain's wrist and it promptly fell out of the boy's hand. The flat side of Lupin's sword then rested on the boy's shoulder.

"Exploit it when your enemy is weakest..." Lain caught his breath, huffing and panting. The sweat beads trickled down his face. His mentor had handed him a flask of water. He proceeded to chug it down unceremoniously. Lain recognized where he was. He was enveloped in a memory as timeless as the Obsidian Monolith. He had only just noticed the images before him were pictures from his past. His mentor with his dark hair fading to gray observed him curiously.

"Oh yes. Knowledge can make you. We are creatures of a higher order my boy. Our purpose has grown beyond surviving- we are wanderers seeking out information."

"But Lupin, what more could I seek? The library is bursting with books from all over this world. I don't know if a lifetime is enough to learn all of their secrets."

Lupin smiled at the young one's observation. "That is very true, but what use is there in learning what has already been learned? There is much more out there, in here... around us."

Lain picked up his sword and sheathed it. The head of the hilt was molded in the image of a dragon's claw; its purpose was merely decorative, but a gash from it would prove quite lethal, especially since draconian silver absorbs blood. "What turned a scholar like you into a fearless warrior?"

Lupin stared out at the valley and farms below. His look told Lain he was lost in his own memories. "Necessity mostly. The world beyond these walls is dangerous. It is hardly a place for a defenseless scholar."

"Father told me you were chased out of your mountain home by another tribe."

The old mentor's did not flinch, but his gentle eyes became fierce as if they were piercing through the valley. His tone was dark. "Your father spoke truth, but we should move on to a less volatile topic." He sighed, closing his eyes. When they opened again they were sad, but they were his mentor's eyes.

"Well then... You said that knowledge would make me, but is all knowledge good?"

His mentor seemed to relax again. "Spoken like a true scholar. The question of morality often arises with the search for truth. Do the methods justify the results? Can knowledge cause destruction? Where do we draw the line?"

Lain listened. These were things he had already discussed before, but his mentor was so passionate that every repetition had new meaning.

"The truth will set you free Lain; free from the bonds of ignorance. Knowing the tides of the seasons, the dangers of the wild and errors of the past should be things you seek."

"The future then?"

"Hah. My boy, the future is what you make of it."

"But what if I knew the future, wouldn't things be much easier?"

"Predictable? Perhaps, but not much easier."

"How so...?"

Lupin twirled a lock of his hair like he tended to do when he was thinking. "Would you slay a dragon to save your kingdom?"

The boy raised his fist enthusiastically and yelled, "I'd slay a hundred."

The mentor smiled. "That enthusiasm will do you good. Now let me ask you this; would you slay a dragon to save your kingdom, knowing your mother's life was at stake?"

"Why would my mother's life be at stake? I find this situation strange, considering a dead dragon would be one less threat for her."

The mentor nodded and smiled. "You are correct. One less dragon would mean one less threat, but for the sake of theory, let's link your mother's life to one."

Lain thought, perhaps too hard. He was way beyond harming his mother. Nothing could force him to do it, but what if the end of life loomed over him? "Mother would want me..."

"Mother isn't making the decision Lain."

"It's a difficult choice..."

"Knowing the future tends to be." Lupin sheathed his sword. It's blade was forged from a mixture of steel and obsidian, giving the blade a firm, dark and ominous look. "Just make sure you make the right decision."

"You speak as if you're looking into the future right now."

"The future isn't hard to see. Just stare straight ahead.

****

Lain blinked and adjusted his eyesight. He was no longer outside, on the castle grounds. He was in the garden of the spirit.

"Well, king?" The way "king" slipped out of her mouth seemed almost mocking.

Their eyes locked and a hurricane broke through their gaze. "I've made my decision."