Grief

Chapter 6

"You lied, you are sick." Vincent says peering over the drowsy man. "Calm down, it is merely a passing wind," Sozec says peering at Vincent whose eyebrows furrow in a soft scowl. Sozec moves his arm over his head blocking the stubborn knight from checking his temperature.  "Don't give me that. This is why we avoided going into town before. You pick up on the illnesses of the people too easily," Vincent says anxiously running his hand through his hair.

If only you knew the half of it. I shouldn't have tried to perceive Vincent's aura yesterday.

Sozec always gets nauseous if he's around a strong aura for too long. It doe not help that the few times that Vincent had revealed his aura it had been strong negative emotions from being in the city with the prince. Fear that someone would one day discover his identity and take advantage often ran through his mind but even so it was hard to say no to Sozec whenever he asked to go.

Vincent's hair dangles from above Sozec as he examines him from above. If only he could reach out and touch him, to show him he's okay. Sadly his nimble body holds a grudge against him. Just the night before he'd performed his best performance and now he was bedridden attempting to fight the throbbing pain in his head.

"I am fine," Sozec says again. "Where is Zeala," Sozec asks looking past Vincent to the empty bed. "You didn't send her away did you?" he asks. "You're too weak, preserve your strength," Vincent says as Sozec adjusts his position in an attempt to get a better view of the bed.

"We came to an agreement this morning. She'll be back in the evening," Vincent says folding back the blanket that had lied on Sozec.  I asked the maid for some medicinal herbs-" Vincent begins. "She wants to meet Mother doesn't she?" Sozec asks cutting off his sentence.

"She does. I advised against it but she was adamant saying she'd be coming whether I allowed it or not."

Sozec closes his eyes as he recalls his first encounter with Zeala. Zeala no doubt is eager to be reunited with everyone but something was off about her. When their father was brought up in conversation Zeala's face had lit up in excitement. They had a good relationship before he passed maybe even a great one. When their mother was briefly mentioned, Sozec noticed her sudden change in mood though she attempted to hide it by fading in the background.

Sozec did not feel the aura of anger or resentment from the woman instead there was fear and disappointment. Her aura combined with Vincent's was now taking a toll on Sozec's body but still, Sozec did not regret it. He was reunited with the missing piece of the puzzle he didn't know was missing and somehow he felt that just a bit of the empty space caused by his father's death had been replaced.

"I'll go check on the medicine," Vincent says waiting for a response from Sozec. When he doesn't answer, Vincent leaves. Sozec grips the amulet around his neck pleading to enter the void he'd become so accustomed to. He's pleased to see the familiar face of Irene as he lies on the soft ground filled with petals from nearby cherry blossoms. "Irene, please heal me," Sozec says approaching the spirit with the baseless request. Sozec did not know the extent of The Void nor did he understand the purpose of Irene. What he did know was that she had eased his pain twice before.

Irene places a hand on his shoulder and as she does, Sozec feels a weight lifted from him as if she'd taken all of his worries away with one touch. "This I can do, Sozec," Irene says. "Irene, bring my father back," Sozec suddenly demands not skipping a beat. "I can not bring the dead back to life, I am not God. What I can do is reverse the effects of your magic," Irene states. "How did you know I have magic," Sozec says standing guard.

"Only mages can enter the void, Sozec," Irene clarifies. "What do you know about mages," Sozec asks the woman. "I know that your father was a mage as are you and others close to you," Irene says walking down a path that suddenly opens up. Sozec follows after the woman until she's walking with her at her pace.