Splintered Fate (4 page)

Kirill prided himself on power and terror.
However, Lana knew he had a fault. Most Madonians, especially those
with Aorra’s, were able to pull on the energy that flowed through
them, able to create things in solid form. Though every Madonian
was slightly different Lana knew this was where Kirill fell
short.

“
Eveline had the competence to
wield her power into anything she chose, and I too am gifted with
such talents.” A smile spread across Lana’s face, not because she
was happy, but because she knew it would make Kirill
angry.

She used the anger to fuel her and
drew strength into the palm of her hand where, with a glow, she
formed a simple silver butterfly. She gripped its form with an
invisible hand, holding on to it, keeping it from falling back into
silver dust. The butterfly floated into the air with a flap of its
dainty wings and flew into the side of Kirill’s face, where Lana
released her hold on it and it vanished to dust. The strength it
took for Lana to hold the butterfly’s form as it drifted through
the air caused her head to lightly spin. Luckily it was not enough
for Kirill to notice.

Kirill’s jaw clenched, his body
tensing before she spoke again. “Kindness is power of its own, a
power you could never have due to your blind hatred. You stupidly
follow in your father’s footsteps because of that hate. I refuse to
use my strengths to hurt those who have done nothing to harm me,
for no reason but your disgusting pleasure. If the council believes
that war is the only option, then I am more than capable of power.
But for you Kirill, it is truly sad that you hide behind your
hideous cape of blood in an attempt to hide your incompetence at
wielding true Madonian power.”

Kirill stood up with such force
that he shook the table, knocking over his nearly empty mug of ale.
Jett, Kirill’s Aorra, who had been overlooked while he was lying
between Kirill and the wall, suddenly sprang to Kirill’s side. Jett
was a black Aorra in the form of a wolf with cold silver eyes that
perfectly matched Kirill’s.

“
I have true power! You idiotic
woman. I alone have slayed more Rami than anyone, while you what?
Can create a silly butterfly?”

“
I hear you cannot even
communicate with your Aorra, or is that just another wolf that
daddy made? Are you pretending to have an Aorra?” Lana said coolly.
She had brought him to the edge and seeing him so angry brought her
a dark satisfaction. There were rumors that Kirill did not actually
have an Aorra of his own. Lana didn’t care much for rumors, but she
could not resist using this information now. The fury in his eyes
was worth it.

“
I seem to be communicating just
fine!” Kirill said as Jett snarled by his side.

“
Yes you seem to be doing just
fine…” Lana didn’t budge while they stood face to face. Kirill’s
chest was rising and falling along with his quick angry
breaths.

“
They say that I am fated for
greatness! While you are nothing, you come from nothing, you are
capable of nothing. What of you, Lana Casteel, what of your
miniscule fate?”

“
We make our own choices. Fate has
nothing to do with what happens.”

“
HAH. Says a simple woman.” The
words snarled out from him. His neck was taunt with cords, pulled
tight by her words.

“
Says a simple woman.” Lana nods.
“To a man with a fate to not wield any real Madonian strength.” And
with that Lana turned and walked out before more could come of the
conversation. She could hear Kirill flip the table and curse behind
her. A sliver of pleasure warmed her from within at the
sound.

You handled
yourself well in the end, considering the circumstances
Ardin entered Lana’s thoughts.
Though to avoid the whole thing would have been
best, your father will be quite angered.

Her father, indeed he was going to
be fumingly angry. Lana was supposed to be on good behavior, she
was supposed to play nice. This day had hardly begun and had
already taken a bad turn.

I need a break
from this walk.
Lana mumbled in her mind.
She tried to calm her emotions while making her way through the
town. Her hands were shaking from the encounter. She hated Kirill
for using her mother against her, speaking of her as a weak woman.
Lana could not believe she and Kirill had ever been as close as
they once were, that there had been a time she confided in him, a
time she had considered him a friend.

Lana walked through the winding
streets of Abder with Ardin at her side. The buildings near the
Sterling’s castle were all nice and clean, made of stone which
matched the cobblestone of the streets. In the large square there
was a fountain and all around people were going about their daily
business. Sounds of merchants selling goods, children playing,
people talking, created a steady buzz that drifted through the air,
around every nook and cranny of the square.

We are being followed.

By who?
Lana glanced to Ardin beside her. They continued
at the same pace so as not to alert their
followers.

It seems to be two
children.

Children? Very
well then.
Lana and Ardin slowed their
pace and came to a stop. After a moment she turned to face a small
girl with a pixy cut and an even younger boy standing a step
behind. Both of the blond headed children looked up at Lana with
matching massive brown eyes.

“
It seems you two have been
following us.” Before the children could reply Lana continued, “Is
there anything I could help you with?” Her tone was kind but laced
with the air of formal authority.

The pixy haired girl eyed Ardin a
moment before she took a small step towards Lana. “My name is
Nadina and this is my brother Alex.” The girl gestured back to the
boy who did not take his giant brown eyes off of Ardin.

“
It’s very nice to meet you two.”
Lana greeted them with a kind smile.

Lay down I think
you are frightening the boy.
She directed
at Ardin and he thumped down on to the ground, trying his hardest
to make himself appear smaller.

“
Now what can I do for you
two?”

“
Oh, nothing really… I just wanted
to let you know that we very much support you and your father.” The
girl kept a steady voice that Lana appreciated. A lot of people
seemed uneasy around council members, they feared the possibility
of showing disrespect in any way. Naturally people tended to keep
at a distance and none openly shared favoritism of certain members
over others, especially when all of the council was gathered in the
same place.

Lana bent down to the girl’s eye
level. “I appreciate your support, but I do not recommend you
speaking so freely. Others may feel jealous that such a strong
confident girl not support them as well.” Lana replied, somewhat
jokingly, but with a wary word of advice attached.

“
But, grandfather always taught us
that it is only appropriate to speak the truth especially to those
who you support and respect.” The pixy girl replied
confidently.

“
I suppose that is true, but one
never knows who may be listening.” Lana said in an overly cautious
tone. She had to suppress a smile while the boy standing behind the
girl urgently proceeded to look around, making sure no one was
eavesdropping. The girl however stood still, looking at Lana and
Ardin, that is when Lana noticed the small fox like creature
peaking out from just behind the girl. Golden eyes gazed up at her
from behind the girl.

Lana peered down at it. The small creature
leaned out from behind Nadina, making its self more visible. It had
pointed ears and red fur with a bushy tale. Its eyes were large,
childlike, and yet clever.

“
Is this your Aorra?” Lana asked
the girl.

Nadina nodded “Her name is Nila.”

Lana held out a hand while Nila
cautiously examined it.

“
It is nice to meet you, Nila.”
Lana spoke to the little fox.

Nila looked up at Nadina and the girl released
a small giggled. “Nila said she likes you.”

Lana smiled. She, in all her moons
of life, had only seen a fox Aorra a handful of times. The last
time she was within such proximity to one was when she was only a
child. They were Aorra’s known to be very clever and quite rare.
Suddenly she had a yearning urge to spend more time with this
little Aorra.

“
Would you like to walk with me?”
Lana asked the children, knowing they would likely not refuse. She
should have left them and parted ways, but being in the presence of
Nila and the children managed to take her mind off of everything
that had been bothering her.

The girl enthusiastically nodded,
“Yes we would love to!”

The boy remained silent, not
portraying any eagerness or opposition at Lana’s offer for them to
accompany her. However, his eyes grew larger as Ardin rose from the
ground. Lana wasn’t sure if he was breathing.

“
Alex is it?” The boy’s enormous
eyes darted to Lana’s face. She knelt down beside Ardin, placing a
hand on the white wolf. “He will not harm you, there is no need to
fear him.” She said gesturing to her Aorra.

“
I am not afraid.” The boy simply
stated.

“
Would you like to meet him? Ardin
is a very gentle and noble creature.” The boy took a few timid
steps towards them, stopping just out of reach of Ardin. Lana’s
Aorra was about the size of the boy. “You could touch him if you
want to, he won’t harm you.”

“
Its okay, I don’t need to.” Alex
shoved his hands into his pockets.

Enough, we must get going or you
will face the wrath of your father for returning so late in the
day. If the boy does not wish to be close to me I will walk up
ahead of you. But be mindful of the time.

Very well

“
Okay shall we? Unless you must
get home?” Lana said as she stood up and fixed the fold in her
dress.

“
No, we can walk with you some.
Grandfather will be excited to hear that we met you.” Nadina
replied with a happy smile. Her bright brown eyes almost looked
gold as the morning sun hit them. The four of them began walking
and making small talk while Ardin took the lead. Nadina walked
beside Lana with Nila by her side. The boy cautiously walked to the
other side of Nila, keeping mostly to himself.

Lana learned that Nadina and Alex’s parents
were murdered a little over a moon ago in a Rami attack on their
home. They have been living with their maternal grandfather, who
they said was a very funny yet wise old man.

They all supported Lana and her
father’s stance on the relations with the Rami and wanted peace.
This surprised her, for more often than not, people who came from
families that had suffered due to a Rami attack tended to seek
revenge. However, their grandfather believed war was only a cause
of more pain and anguish. He thought that each side was bitter,
each side had suffered loss and the only way to put a stop to the
pain would be for peace. Lana was impressed that young children
could have such insight and understanding.

The children walked Lana all the
way to the guards outside the Sterling’s castle, where they were
not permitted to go past. Lana thanked them for their company. Alex
waved goodbye, Nadina surprised Lana with a hug goodbye and as
swiftly as they had appeared, they were gone.

Sweet
girl,
Lana thought to herself as she
watched Alex, Nadina, and her little Aorra disappear down the
cobble stone road.

You felt something when you saw
the young girl’s Aorra?

I did.
Lana replied to Ardin. He remained silent,
waiting for her to continue, his blue gray eyes quietly watching
her.

Lana placed her
hand on the door to the castle but paused. Before
my mother had been taken from me and before I had
been blessed with you, I was a child younger than that boy we saw
today. My mother had an Aorra, it was a fox. Her Aorra was killed
before you came along; so you never met her and the loss hurt my
mother deeply, so we never talked about it. The girl’s Aorra
reminded me of my mother.
Ardin nuzzled
Lana’s free hand. While they stood there, she let him into her
thoughts, sharing with him her feelings whilst he sent her
comfort.

Chapter

Two

When Lana and Ardin entered the
left wing of the castle, Earmon greeted them, sitting in the center
of the hallway. He was an Aorra in the form of a black wolf, large
enough for Lana to ride when she was a child. His eyes were
unnaturally light blue and intense, they gave the impression of
being able to see into the soul.

Earmon stood in
the entrance hall and grumbled to himself when he saw the two of
them approaching. He turned, escorting them to Valdor’s room. Lana
glanced down at Ardin, who followed in silence.
We get an escort? Father must be furious.

Ardin peered at Lana. Biting her
bottom lip in nervousness, she stared at the floor moving beneath
her feet. Her mind raced along with her rising pulse. He could feel
that she was anxious and it amused the wolf.