Guinevere's Grail | ✓ [BOOK 2]

~ 21 ~

HE TRIED NOT TO show it, but every day, Lionel missed his mother. He didn't know how he was supposed to be okay when the only family he ever had was gone, but everyone seemed to expect him to be. Everyone but Giselle, she was in the only one who ever asked how he was. When it was just him and his mother, he felt like he was never alone. Sera never ignored him, he was always the most important thing to her. But he wasn't even Giselle's priority, and she seemed to be the one to love him the most anymore.

Last night, he had a strange dream. He dreamt of what could be, of his mother staying at the palace when she brought him into the world. His father raised him with her, and teach him how to be a knight, and the world made more sense. If life was like that, maybe he wouldn't be what he was, a piece of the most valuable weapon in the world, nothing but an item to the people who watched over him and everyone else who knew.

In his dream, his mother smiled. She never smiled before, never laughed, nothing was ever fun. She was always running from something, always keeping secrets. Children only ever see their parents as extensions of themselves, they're never supposed to see them as their own people. But Lionel didn't ever get that luxury. He was taught by everyone around him to question his mother, to ask what she wanted and what she was doing.

This time, she was just his mother. They laughed together, ate together, she taught him how to read and write like it would make life richer, not something he had to know or he'd die. She and Kit danced, and he was happy. It was a perfect world, but when he woke up that world was gone.

Lionel was alone in this cold, empty cell. He hadn't been alone for a long while, he was too busy to notice how much he missed his mother until now, when she was suddenly the only person he wanted to see. If there was anyone else he really missed, it was Chalice. They reminded him of his mother, they came from the same place. But that wasn't a good idea. They were a bad guy now, and it made his chest hurt.

He remembered what they taught him, about talking to the Gods. He'd tried it a few times after that first time, but it was hard to find a quiet place. This was as quiet a place as he could get, though. Maybe it could work again, maybe he could find help.

It was difficult at first. The dungeon was quiet, but it was almost too quiet, and for a moment Lionel couldn't get past the sounds in his own mind. He took a few deep breaths and tried to remember what Chalice taught him. Think about the silence, he told himself, about the stillness. Think about nothing.

Most of it didn't make sense to him, but he tried his best. Somehow, it worked. Soon, it felt like his mind opened up, like a blockage was cleared and he was freed from something, like his arms were open to welcome an embrace. He called out to the Gods in his mind, he didn't know how to do it from the heart like Chalice, but he did his best.

Then he felt something, like someone grabbed his hand, but not quite. He was anchored, but it was hard to understand the feeling. "Hello?"

No one answered, but he saw a flash of movement in the darkness of the nothing. He tried to picture himself somewhere bright, and his thoughts settled on the fields outside of Fells. They were light, peaceful. As soon as he could picture himself there, he saw a figure before him.

It was a woman. On her shoulder sat a crow with eyes as red as blood, and though she sent a shiver down his spine, her strong eyes settled him. If there was anything his odd companions did, it was helping him to find comfort in strength. This woman looked like a warrior, but that made him feel safe.

He stared at her in awe, wondering what she could possibly be there to tell him, and who she even was. Something about her was so familiar, but he couldn't put a finger on it.

"Hi."

The woman said nothing, just continued to examine him.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "If I wasn't supposed to call for you, I didn't meant to. I only wanted to talk to someone and you showed up."