Andria Andromeda Rivera and The Chalice of Belief

Dawn

"There is no failure except in no longer trying."
- Elbert Hubbard

Present Day

Everytime the sea washed against the shore far enough, Alfred's hard-earned sand-tower would get drenched and nearly collapse. The stubborn boy would just not back away, though. He'd assumed that it would be safe when he built the tower, and now that he'd been mistaken, he refused to let his detailed tower crumble. Nope. Totally not going to happen, not on his watch anyway.

A few hours passed, and still he was there, scowling at the pretty sea. Everybody was leaving, now, and he'd have to join them soon. When at last, the last one who would teleport out of there excempting Alfred got up from the sand, Alfred sighed. James walked up to him.

"It's just a tower, Alfred."

"Some victory, you mean." Alfred couldn't help it. He liked things going his way, and he and his tower had managed to stand against the sea so long!

James laughed. It wasn't mocking, more as though he thought of Alfred as a younger version of himself. This often left Alfred in thought. He himself was 8, which was a year older than their youngest companion, Mellisa Raven, so he couldn't be that young. Besides, James was probably only two to three years older than him, that was all. Then why did he always radiate so much maturity, as though he'd seen things he wished for Alfred never to see?

"Is it really victory?" James said, "Standing against the vast sea which merges with an even larger ocean, if only for a few hours? I wouldn't know, I never had the courage. If you know you will fail eventually, is it still victory?"

James shook his head, as though to clear his thoughts, "What I can share, Alfred, is that sometimes you have to lose some battles to win the big picture. Sometimes you have to sacrifice, improvise and be wise. This... it really is just a tower, Alfred. Tomorrow you may have to lay siege to one yourself."

A smile crossed his face as he continued, "Besides, we already have something to face, and you won't have to standoff alone. Don't waste your strength on the innocent sea."

Alfred nodded. Innocent would not have been how he would have put it, but that, he supposed, was the difference between him and James.

••••••••••

Eava Rivera stood calmly, quite the opposite of the wind surrounding her. It whipped across her face, set her black, curly hair in tangles, and now that she'd grown so thin, leaving her with a stricking resemblace to scarecrows. The floor she stood on was stable, and yet, seemed to taunt her, what if I give way? What's going to happen to you?

The cliff that spread before her was atleast 60 feet deep. She was really scared of heights, but for some reason, this cliff seemed almost... friendly? No, perhaps familiar? She couldn't help but wonder whether she had been here before. Her eyes gazed down. Nothing but rocks. Jaggy, sharp and lethal rocks. No, that wasn't right. She tried to focus more, and her vision doubled. Almost like a glitch in a video game she'd once played in an arcade the orphanage had taken her to once, the image full of rocks her eyes were seeing seemed to dissappear and come back again. Replacing itself, when it did, with a land filled with food crops.

She raised her hand, and the cliff twisted ever so lightly, so subtly, that you wouldn't notice unless you were trying to see the difference, and even then you would have to strain your eyes and squint. Still she felt as though someone had sapped all her strength, and stumbled backwards, away from the clifftop. This would mean she wasn't even strong enough to control the shape of rocks.

That was probably what you got when you tried to perform strenous work when you were unwell. Her skin, which had become pale and taken to a yellow hue, seemed to pale even further.

No turning into a bird now, huh? She thought grudgingly.

Slowly and steadily, she put one leg in between the space of two rocks, and the other followed. Then, clasping the jaggy and unrelaible surface for support, she tried to make her way down the cliff.

••••••••••

Andria and Lee arrived just in time.

James, Jace, Olivia and Sarah where already seated on the ground, Sarah holding something like a safety pin, which she promptly stuck to her loose, dark olive green jumpsuit from the back. The color gave more depth to her dark brown eyes and chocolate skin, if that was even possible. She had her short, straight black hair, in a high ponytail. The most stricking feature of hers was her nose, perfect in every way.

Andria greeted them all with a polite nod as she seated herself next to Sarah, across from Jace, and waited.

Since nobody spoke, she did, "Time is wasting away, and yesterday yeilded nothing. Quietus is not a child: he'll be making use of every minute."

She paused, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but we need a better plan of action."

There was thick silence. Andria could see everyone weighing options, thinking about all possible outcomes, and in general looking worried.

"We need to take out Quietus." It was Olivia who spoke, and her voice sounded like it had just found a treasure trove, "It's as simple and difficult as that."

Everyone let that sink in.

"She's right," she found myself saying, "No other leader they could replace him with would ever be as dangerous as him."

"Don't jinx it." Lee muttered. She almost smiled.

"Sorry for stating the obvious," James said, "But it's next to impossible. Such a vague plan will not help; it has to be a lot more specific."

"They know, James." Said Sarah.

"There must be some weakness..." I said, and when my eyes met Jace, I saw him look pale, in turmoil, and dazed.

I didn't know why I drew the connection I drew next, "Fear... belief?"

There was a sudden sound as Jace got up and ran out, a tensed expression on his face.