Embracing Love and Power

Chapter 4 - Marked

Tillie ran through the woods, she felt how her breathing begin to rise. She heard someone screaming for help in the distance, she knew it was the same girl from each night. Tillie pushed herself harder to run even faster. In the distance she saw a group of men corner the girl near a wall. Tillie pulled her sword from the handle and approached the men. They were too focused to notice her. 

Suddenly the girl yelled at Tillie: "No don't, you need to leave." The men turned around and Tillie braced herself for a fight. She fought some men until one of them grabbed the girl. "Drop your sword." He commanded. Tillie looked at the girl, she felt how scared she was. Tillie carefully bent down to place her sword on the grass. As she went back up the world started spinning around her, she felt how the magic prick in her fingers. 

Tillie looked at her hands and saw how flames formed around her fingertips. When she looked up again, she stood right in the middle of the new world. The whole place was burning with flames, everywhere she looked she saw dead people consumed by the fire. Tillie felt the pain burn through her body and then she saw August. He was dead and completely burned. She fell to her knees and started screaming.

"Easy, breathe Breaker, breathe." Tillie heard August's shooting voice and carefully opened her eyes. "You had that dream again." He said. She carefully looked around to make sure that she was still in her room and that the people she loved were still alive. She found herself still in her concrete room, in her own bed with her own pink blanket. It was all she had left of her parents. Her fingers ran over the gold embroidery of her name and she relaxed. 

"Something bad is coming. I can feel it." She answered. "I am going to get Alden, try to remember what it was, details, places, everything." August said before he walked away. Tillie took a moment to calm further down and thought back to the dream. She brushed the sweaty hairs from her face and tried to focus on her breathing. "It's not real." She kept repeating over and over again like some kind of mantra. 

August and Alden came in. "Tell me Tillie, what did your visions say?" Alden asked. "The girl, they found out she had powers and, and .." Tillie couldn't continue, panic took over. August saw her panic and wrapped his arms around her. "Easy, calm down Breaker." He said. Alden looked at August with a knowing look. Tillie noticed the exchange between the two men and got even more afraid. "What is it? What won't you tell me?" she said. "How about taking a shower, the sun is starting to rise, we will see you at breakfast." Alden tried to calm her down. Tillie nodded her head and watched the two men walk out again. She walked over towards the shower and turned it on. The hot water calmed her down and yet she felt uncomfortable. That nagging feeling was still there.

Tillie walked over towards the dining room and saw Alden and August. Many people greeted her, a little boy ran to her. "Breaker, Breaker." He yelled. "Come sit with us." Tillie smiled and knelt down. "I am sorry little man, maybe next time. I need to talk to Commander Blake." She said with a smile. "Are you in trouble?" He asked eyes wide. She smiled and ruffled his hair. "No I am not, but I was late for training so he is not so happy." "I'll be never late for training." "That's what I like to hear, little man." The boy ran back towards his parents. 

As she walked across the room she saw Commander Nobleman and Commander foreman clear the room. Tillie sat down and August handed her breakfast, some bread and some jam. The two commanders sat down next to her, Tillie felt everyone at the table looking at her and she started to get nervous. Alden studied her for a while before he finally said; "Tell us about the dream, Tillie." She chewed on the last piece of bread and cleared her mouth. "The girl she needed help, how they treated her. It was really bad. If you are right and this is a vision, we need to help her." 

August looked at his friend, eyes filled with concern. "Breaker, there is something else, I can see it in your eyes." "I don't know if it is anything, maybe it was just a bad dream." Alden took her hand. "Tillie please tell us. If it got you this upset it must be something important." He said. Tillie played with her spoon; she had no idea if her dream had meant anything. She only knew that it was absolute hell. "You are scaring us." August said. "Common Breaker, don't tell me you are scared." Commander Nobleman tried to convince her. "I am" she finally said. "It was terrible. Our hidden guarded village on fire, children screaming and crying. I was devastated." She looked at Alden, but refused to tell them the last part of her dream, how Alden was killed in the midst of everything. "Who caused it?" August asked. "With how many did they attack?" Foreman added. "When did it happen?" Nobleman asked. The questions filled her head, she had no answers she just felt so scared. "I do not know." She softly replied. Tillie was quiet, she really had no idea. Alden hadn't spoken in all that time, he only had looked at Tillie's face. "Your dream made it sound like you did, didn't it?" he asked. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She nodded her head gently. "I need you to block my magic. I can't risk everything." She softly said. "I don't think that will happen. Commanders, we'll keep this between us. Resume training, practice more and add security laps." Alden ordered.

Alden took Tillie's hand. Before she could walk away. "We have to find her." He said. "Who?" Tillie asked. "The girl" "Alden if you are right and the dreams are visions, then we have much more pressing matters at hand. Besides I can't free anyone if I am responsible for killing them all." She answered. "Then we make a deal. You save the girl and in return I'll block your magic." Alden said. "No not going to happen. We need her if an attack is coming" August said. "August that is my decision. As long as Tillie doesn't want to be king, I'll decide what we do." August looked at Tillie; "Breaker, tell me that you are not considering this." "August, you don't need me." She replied. "Yeah, we do. Have you seen that little boy; how smitten he was with you? That's the reason I can't let this happen." August answered. "That little boy is exactly the reason why I am doing it." Horror filled August eyes and he walked away.

Tillie walked with Alden to his room. He led her in and she took place a seat in front of his desk. Alden looked at her. "You can't outrun your destiny forever, Tillie. Your parents were so sure that you would be the future of our people." "That was before they knew how uncontrolled my magic was." She replied. Alden smiled at here. "Tillie don't be under any illusions; they always knew how strong and uncontrolled you were. Your heart is in the right place, you just need to find someone to keep your emotions in check. Maybe that someone is just an ordinary person, maybe the person you least expected. Maybe just maybe it is even your enemy."

Tillie looked at her arms, the colorful mark getting bigger every day. It looked like a big tattoo, filled with colors. Not many mages had a mark like her, the commanders had one but they were much smaller than hers. August had one too, but not nearly as big as hers. "Why does it keeps growing? It almost fills up my entire upper arm." Tillie asked, changing the subject. "The legend says that the more powerful the magician the bigger the mark. And the more colors it contains the purer the heart." Alden confided in her. "I don't understand why we have such a mark; it is easier to spot us." "You are right, but humanity hasn't realized that they could use that to track us down. Instead they chose to ink themselves. The only thing that will tell that you are dealing with a mage is the fact that this mark can move. Flowers can grow, lines can twirl, birds can fly. The spell will stop that too. But only a mage can see that, not humans." 

Tillie was silent for a few minutes as she studied her arm. Her shoulder held a beautiful tangle of delicate flowers, the branches crawling to her other shoulder over her chest. Geometric patterns started under her shoulder and faded into henna symbols. Her wrist and forearm were covered in large roses ending in the two cards on her hand. A queen of hearts and a king of spades. Alden looked at the girl in front of him. "Have you deciphered the meaning behind all this yet?" he asked. "No, I haven't." "Do you want my opinion?" Alden asked. Tillie looked at the man in front of her, she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear his theory. "Will it help me?" she asked. "Most definitely." She nodded approvingly. "The king and queen represent your father and mother. You have inherited all their main characteristics and powers. The goodness and kindness of your mother, the wisdom and strength of your father. I am not sure about the roses yet. But the henna represents your ability to have visions." Alden explained. Tillie looked back at her mark. "I am still working on the geometric patterns. But I think the most important of all is that one on your shoulders. You have the ability to make people change their minds, to lead them." Tillie closed her eyes. "If you think so." She responded. 

A smile played on Alden his lips. "Give me your ring." He commanded. Tillie handed over, the last piece she had from her parents, the ring. Alden carefully opened the stone. "You knew it had a secret compartment?" Tillie asked curiously. "Yes, I did. It saved your fathers live a few times, that's why he gave it to your mother." He replied. Alden placed an orange pill in the compartment and closed it. "Are you sure about this?" he asked. "It is your decision." "I am, I can't risk anybody." Tillie answered. "Fine, I really hope you change your mind in time. If you ever need to reverse the spell take the orange pill. I'll cast the spell and you will notice how the colors fade on your mark. There will no longer be any movement. Don't underestimate the toll it will take on your body." "I am ready." Tillie replied. "saor i bho a dleastanasan" The Keltic words from Alden made Tillie's head spin. She felt how her chair turned below her and the room turned in all sorts of directions. She felt the air being kicked out of her lungs and a cool wave washing over her. A throbbing headache rolled over her as she carefully opened her eyes. She looked at the mark and saw how all the colors had disappeared from it, how it had stopped moving.