I sputtered at what he was saying. This sounded like complete madness if he thought I would just marry him based off so little information. I barked out a small laugh as I took in his serious face. Sobering my mood I began to ponder everything he has said to me from the beginning of my capture till now.
"But what about the whole part about using me to get to death and killing the enemy etcetera etcetera?" My mind had flashed back to the circle of cloaked figures and I remembered the menace in their eyes, how they were out to kill, to kill me. I knew I just couldn't possibly believe anything he said until I had some facts. He nodded at my words as he took in my doubtful looks.
"In order for me to explain this I must tell you a little history about our Game. I'm assuming you still do not know much about this and I doubt He told you anything." He practically spit out the word and I felt like he was thing about Death...
"Princess come with me so I may show you the scrolls of old." And that was all it took for me to follow him. I know, I know, I shouldn't have just walked on out but my damn curiosity got the best of me. Although I did not take his hand, which was outstretched and waiting for me, I walked right by him to the door and looked back to see him smirk just before walking to the other side of the small room. Confused I only cocked my head to the side and he let out a simple laugh at my confusion. My face getting red, I tried not to let him know just how embarrassed I was at not knowing where to go, which was completely all is fault.
"My Queen I canna just let my prisoner walk away out of here when everyone wants to see you dead, here follow me, theres a secret door just in front of me."
Well, Hell. That would have been nice to know before that lunar bitch tried to rip me to shreds. The smile in his voice was evident while I tried scraping my pride together and looking more like the supposed Queen I was and not some scrawny prisoner.
Sure enough I could just see the lining in part of the wall in front of my Captor when it suddenly opened on its own accord. Startled I took a step back wondering how that was possible. Noticing my reaction he shrugged his shoulders and simply said, "It's Enchanted." As if that was enough explanation he walked inside the dark and chilly corridor and as I stared inside I wondered at what kind of trap I must be walking right into. Sighing, I thought to myself, man sometimes I just have to blindly walk straight into em.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"AWw Yuck!" I screamed as I bumped right into my now laughing captor. I gave him my best stink eye as I avoided the herd of rats by my feet. We had been walking a ways when I had accidentally stepped on one of their tails. I had absolutely no idea where we were going and all my warning bells were going off but still I kept walking by his side.
Clearing my throat I started, "So uh where are you taking me?" He looked at me sideways and gave me a look before turning his attention back in front of him. "Somewhere more... private." I balked at what that could possibly mean when he quickly finished. "What I have to say will probably create more questions for you rather than answers but you need to know what I have to say." So we went back to the pitter-patter of the passage way when finally we came to the end of the tunnels. I looked around me whenI noticed a ladder. Ugh I was starting to wish we could have just stayed back in that moldy room.
Bowing at the waste and extending his hand out like a real gentleman he spoke lowly, "After you milady." I gathered my skirts around me as I slowly ascended up the rickety ladder. I called down below me worry laced in my voice, "Will this thing be able to hold both of our weights combined?" He arched an eyebrow with a slow grin gracing his handsome face. I'm so glad he thinks my question is so amusing, I thought to myself sarcastically. And just as I had resumed back to climbing my foot missed a step and I almost fell right on the man had I not caught on to a part of the ladder and held on for dear life. I turned to look back to see if he was allright when I heard a roar of laughter. Glancing down with daggers in my eyes I could see him reluctantly trying to stifle his snorting laughter. Rolling my eyes I began climbing up until I reached the end. I hoisted myself up into a warm room filled with tables and bookcases. Walking around I took in the full mess of the room and wondered at the mountain of papers and scrolls littering all corners of the small room.
"So where exactly are we? I mean first the dungeon then the freaky passage ways and now this..." I had made my way over to a table and picked up a scroll and eyed the symbols and pictures upon the old antique relic. Seeing what I had in my hands he walked over to where I stood and leaned on to my shoulder. His touch electrified my entire body. I gasped and unconsciously leaned in more wanting to feel it again. He rubbed his hands up and down my arm and thats when I took a step back and cocked my head to the side.
"Okay start talking, because that was really....weird." Smiling a toothy grin he took up the scroll I had in my hand and pointed to some squiggly lines that I had no idea what they meant. Taking on a more serious edge to his voice he spoke softly.
"This, in the old language means The Fated... it also means The Arcana in our language today." I sucked in my cheeks as I realized that today I might finally get some answers as to who and what I was. Discarding my reaction he continued pointing to other symbols and picked up another scroll. "You see, we have been searching throughout history to find anything related to The Fated and discerning when and where we originated from as well as to why we were created to play our roles in the Game." Ahh just the familiar questions I wanted answers to myself, I thought darkly.
"So far, we have come up with three principles. One, The Game will not end until there is one Arcanian left, the winner. Two, there is a pattern of players in each game. Meaning that most of the time it's the same players as the last game. And thirdly," He paused at this and my head was reeling from this bit of information and wondered what the last part would be. Sighing deeply and running a hand through his hair, which I found oddly familiar, it seemed to pain him to have to tell me what was next.
"Thirdly, it seems there are more things about the Game that we do not understand... there are more Beings at work behind the Game, Gods if you will." I balked at this, I mean I wasn't an atheist I believed whole hardly in miracles and a God, but this.... this was a stretch even for me. I had to take a seat in order to process it
"I know that must be hard for you to comprehend at the moment but there's more, I believe that The Arcana or The Fated were predestined for this. We have all been borne before in previous lifetimes to fulfill our duties as higher beings to eventually be killed off by our fellow Arcanians. But for what or why... I still do not know."
Following my example he took a seat and had his hand in his hair as he tried searching my face for any sign of emotion. But years of dangerous missions has hardened me and I kept a blank face despite my inner turmoil. It seemed to me that it was becoming harder and harder to determine who to trust.
"My people have studied the stars for hundreds and thousands of years, we wholly believe in astrology and divining from the sky." I nodded my head along like I knew what he was talking about and not like I was completely lost. "We have also Chronicled our family's... history." At this my attention peeked and my eyes darted to his searching his face for something but found only a grimace. It was then that I sighed and decided to ask my questions since there was no use in being so strong willed.
"What do you mean by Chronicle? And Divining from the stars...? Are you saying that you can tell peoples fortune from the sky just like the Gypsy's?" My voice was pretty skeptical as I couldn't fathom such things as seeing the future and what did hew call it, Chronicling? I shook my head as if to clear all these annoying questions from myself.
Noticing how confused I was he began speaking with the air of a teacher, and I, his pupil. "You see a Chronicler is someone very special and important to people like us. They are able to write down and hold their Arcanan's history as well as arsenal, this will come in handy for when the Game really begins and-" Astonished I quickly cut off what he was saying.
"Wait! What you're saying is that the Game hasn't even started?!" I sat back further in my chair to let everything sink in.
YOU ARE READING
The Arcana
Fantasy{ C O M P L E T E D } I stand still with my breath coming out in short gasps. I wonder if what I was about to do, what we were about to do, if God was watching. And as His hand traced my shoulder lower until like a feather he touched the middle of m...
