Warriors

Chapter 15

He woke up. He woke up but not in his reality. He just wanted sleep. He'd had enough. "I'm done." He whispered softly. The empty, sky blue landscape only replied with a silence, as always. A mind numbing silence. "Didn't you hear me? If you can't help me then I'm done!" The Prince sank onto his knees.

Silence echoed around his ears. Resounded around his mind. Nothingness. Nothing at all. "Nothing. Just like the 'information' you give me. It all means nothing." What was the point of a power he couldn't use. The Eye wouldn't even talk to him. The plain, blue door with a somehow mocking shine glinting on the doorknob seemed to have gotten closer. "I don't want another one of your cryptic visions. I want real answers." A heavy quietness clapped back at him.

"Real answers. With words. Proper communication." He was greeted by more nothingness, a complete absence of sound. He crossed his arms and started glaring and no where in particular. Peekablue shifted around his gaze to make sure the Eye would see his bone chilling stare of irritance. "You can keep me here for as long as you want. I'm not going through that bloody door without proper answers."

It only took a few moments of his ridiculous mutiny for the silence to belittle him. His strike suddenly felt like a sulking child. He shifted uncomfortably before getting up. His face felt a little heated in embarrassment. "Fine. You've made your point but this is not the end of this conversation." He gave the empty infiniteness a final glare in every direction before storming through the door.

A bright light blinded him for a second and it morphed into a very different kind of vision. Shadows surrounded him from all sides. He was submerged into complete darkness. A spotlight flicked on a few metres ahead of him. The mysterious light source illuminated a simple, white, round table with two plain, matching chairs. A black teapot that reflected metallic purples and blues in the light sat in the middle of two cups one was red and covered in scribbled..eyes that seemed to be drawn by a child and the other was simply sky blue. The steam from the piping hot tea curled and danced in the spotlight.

He turned around but couldn't see anything else and when he swivelled back a familiar girl was sitting peacefully on a chair. She casually blew on her cup of tea, she was clutching the red one with the messy eyes all over it. The steam flew forwards as her breathe guided it away. She sipped it and flinched at how it still burned her tongue.

A few of her countless eyes glanced over at him. "Welcome your highness. Come, have some tea." There wasn't much point in disagreeing, there was not telling what she could do. So he cautiously wandered over and stiffly sat on the other chair. "Do you take any milk or sugar in your tea?" Her smile was innocent and casual. As if they were mums discussing their little brats and complaining about their crumbling marriages.

"I take both in my tea." He could only play along.

"Too bad." She waved her hand and his cup disappeared. Utterly petty but that could only be expected. She was just a kid. "Do you know why I'm here?"

"How are you even here?" Sitting and just sipping tea with the one who threatened to end the Lapis race. It felt strange, neither of them were quite there but at the same time they were there. He felt quite an odd sensation of not security but not fear either, just neutral and curiosity. They couldn't harm each other here. She could only taunt him. An anxious voice at the back of his head reminded him that he thought it was impossible for her to interrupt visions, anything could be possible.

The calm feeling of neutrality was exterminated by a sudden wave of panic. She was right there. She could do anything. "How I'm here is a long story that involves revealing my whole life story. The Eye hasn't told you anything, am I correct?" He only stared down at the empty spot where his tea used to be. He opened his mouth to speak but then decided it was better not to tell her too much. "Mm. I thought so. It must be so frustrating to be the only Lapis seer and not being able to use your powers. If you had someone to teach you, you'd already have the skills to get past my spells. It's pretty pathetic really, so much hope for you and you're just going to disappoint everyone." His fist clenched up.

He was frozen. Not by any spell but by his own emotions. On the outside he seemed silent but in his mind it was so so loud. Whispers of regret, anger, humiliation because she was right. She was so right about everything.

"Why are you here?"

"Finally, you're asking the questions I want to answer." She waved her hand and little pot with fine, pure white sugar and shining, silver spoon appeared. She took two spoonfuls and dumped them into her tea then stirred gently and waved her hand. The sugar disappeared. "Sorry, did you want some?" She smiled with the sickly sweet smile of a politician, offering things she had no intent in giving. " He made a slight motion which resembled a meek shaking of his head. "I'll be honest with you, I'm partly here to mess with you. It's so easy. I also wanted to clarify a few things." She took a small sip of her tea then spat it out. It was still boiling. "Ouch." She set the cup back down. "One, don't nose around things you don't understand. Some parts of history are not for your eyes." She said this was a tone of disgust at him. "Two, I'm not saving your lizard again so tell them not to get captured."

"What?"

"Don't interrupt me."

"Why would you save them? You want to kill me."

"That's my business." The spotlight disappears and the shadows consume both of them. Her face is illuminated by red sparks of magic around her face. "Don't. Interrupt. Me." He blinks and it all returns to just as before. She calmly sips tea as she observes the now silenced and truly petrified Prince. "Three, I will always be ahead of you. I will always have the upper hand. I've been preparing for this my whole life. Even before I was born, preparations were made to ensure I would complete my purpose." The young sorceress sets the tea down and in less than a second the tea, the table, the chairs all disappear and they are both standing, facing each other in the shrinking spotlight. "You can't stop me." She sing songs, she's smaller but her condescending tone makes her seem like she's towering over him, intimidating, invincible. As the spotlight disappears he is enveloped in another blinding light. He wakes up.