The Knights of Aragon

Chapter 11

"Val! Val, where are you?"

I hear my name being called from a distance but I'm not registering it in my mind. It's all a complete black. Cloudy, in a way that I can't think straight. I can barely remember what exactly happened throughout the night. "Valencia!" I can't remember who that voice was or what he said to me after he showed that field. What was that field for again? The images are blurry and faraway. Why was it important?

I just feel like walking and walking and walking... "Rhydian, there she is!" Where am I walking to? "Val? Val, stop." Why am I walking again? "Valencia!" A stinging sensation spreads across my left cheek. "Gods!" I clutch it in pain. They slapped me? What the bloody hell? "What'd you do that for?" I yell. They stare at me as if I have a second head growing out of my neck. "What?" Draxum looks up at Rhydian with worry.

"Where have you been?" Rhydian asks me. I furrow my eyebrows and think back to last night, but the more I think about the less I remember about what happened. The explanation drifts further down my river of memory"I.." I begin, "I needed to see someone. I had to speak with...him." I move my glazed eyes away from them. "He has powers, and he knew me," I whisper. Rhydian touches my shoulder. "What did he want with you?"

I look up at him. "I don't remember," my gaze moves to Draxum, "I can't remember." I run my hands through my tangled hair. Dusk begins to paint the sky with light purple and pink, indicating the end of the nighttime. "Have I been gone all night?" I look at each of them, my eyes wide in panic. I disappeared for hours? I survey the once dark sky. The stars fade away as the sky turns more and more blue. Draxum clears his throat. "Not all night, no." His eyes quickly shift to Rhydian and back to me, "Well, we're actually not sure when you left," he says.

I rub my arms with uneasiness. "We should probably get going," I say to them, "Eat, drink, and repack." I walk back to our camp. Our packs are splayed at each of our spots on the ground. My eyes quickly search for Inferno. I was so sure that I left right on my spot. My mind is still distorted from waking up from my previous trance. "Here." Rhydian takes my hand and guides me to a patch of tall grass that's growing near us.

"I hid the blade before we went looking for you," he reaches in and takes out Inferno, which is still securely sheathed. "You picked it up?" I raise my eyebrow at him. "Did you.. feel anything?" I take the blade from his hand. "If you're asking whether I'm the master of Inferno, it's a no," he laughs, "I've known that I wasn't the one the moment you pulled it out and broke me out of the Ouroboros." I try not to smile.

Draxum runs up to me with my canteen. "Here, you need to hydrate," he says while shoving it in my hands. "You haven't drunk any water in who-knows how long." I jokingly roll my eyes at him and take huge gulps. "Do you feel well rested? Or should we stay a while longer?" I shake my head. "No, let's go. We should keep going." I grab my pack from the ground and put my canteen inside. My own food supply is getting low, but it'll last if I begin to ration. That or skip meals. I'm used to doing both.

Since Rhydian and Draxum already had their armor on, I had to hurry and put mine on. I strapped Inferno on my back and my dagger back on my thigh. "Ready?" I hear Rhydian ask behind me. I twist my hair back and say, "Ready as I'll ever be." He grabs ahold my hand to pull me up from the ground. "Draxe," he then calls out to him, "Everything in order?" He excitedly jogs over with his pack on and the bow securely around one of his shoulders. "Ready," he says proudly.

We set off, back on our journey to Skritus. The grasslands go on for miles. No end in sight! I cannot imagine how life here was before. Towns full of life, roads full of travelers, and nights full of music. All the stories that Rhydian tells us along the way, feels like a fairytale rather than a memory. None of it appears as if it holds those memories. Now it just seems so...empty. Erased.