𝒮𝓉𝒶𝓇 𝑅𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓇 [Gold Moon]

Chapter Sixteen ✧ Day Two

"You're burning"
I can feel my legs in the water and my head in the sun. I look down on the world below. They look up at me, impossibly big, they're pleading, begging for the water. I try to push the current, to move it in any direction, but I never cause more than a ripple.
My head is hot, frustration overcomes me, and I wake up. I'm cold again.
As I realized it was a dream I shook off the feeling. The air smelled like citrus. "Tea?"
Han sat holding an orangey mug out to me, I sat up and took it from him, savoring the steam.
"Make sure to blow on it." he said. I find the way blowing into a steamy liquid creates even more steam to be pretty cool to this day. I sighed into the mug, sending a wave of vapor onto my face.
"It's you!" a guard with no helmet approached us, "I'm so glad you're here." he took a bow as he addressed us, his dark layers slipping into his face. He brushed it back behind his sharp, droopy ears. "Yes?" said Han.
"Oh! I'm so sorry," he said, expressively covering his mouth with his fingers, "I've heard many things about you from my fiancée, I believe you've spent a couple days with her."
"Aster?"
"Mhm," he smiled.
Han and I exchanged a look, wondering if he knew the extent of what she's up to. I surely didn't know the answer.
"She's a vampire isn't she?"
Han tensed but the guard seemed unphased by the question.
"So what? At least she's human."
That question is even more intriguing and confusing.
"What do you mean by that?"
He looked at me confused and said, "You haven't seen them?"
"I'm not sure, please describe them, maybe I have..."
He stared at me as if assessing something, like he was searching for something in my face.
Han lightly tapped on his metal plated shoulder as he glared down at me, "Just describe some of them," he said, and the guard's expression softened a little, "Sorry, it's just... rare to find someone like you."
We all sat down, I continued sipping my tea as the guard rubbed his nose before beginning, "Well, there's no set visual trait that these things have, except they most often have unusual scars, like stitching or large marks along their spine."
I tried to think of what he might be referring to but nothing came to mind.
"People most often recognize their smell, but most of all, they don't die."
"Wait, they don't die?"
"No matter what you do, they decay, but they just keep going, nothing stops them."
I finish my tea, pondering for a moment.
Before the guard left he told us to head west of the fireplace and up some stairs until we reached a small garden area. We followed his suggestions, assured that we'd "know when we get there."
We managed to find it but neither of us seemed to know what we were supposed to do. It was a beautiful area, several white flowers with a lingering fresh scent, and long tables with organized materials. All floors had high ceilings, but this one was made of glass, and beams of sunlight peeked through the partial cloud cover. Han told me I could have a seat while he looked around, so I did so, until something shiny captured my eye.
A yellow flower, a bright lily that somewhat reminded me of a sunrise, it was large and unlike most lilies it sprouted directly from a large root they had purposely left untampered with when setting up the shelves and seemingly when building the library itself. It made me wonder if it sprung up through all five floors just to get here. I got as close as I could without disturbing it.
"I never liked dolls," I heard a deep whisper not quite coming from anywhere, "I never had any dolls when I was young..." I turned around but there was no one there.
"It all became a lot more enjoyable when I got to choose what they were capable of."
"Whereー"
"But that kid, he loves dolls, just watching them, I don't get it."
It must be the flower.
"This is the biggest mistake I've ever made, and out of the kindness of my heart too, either way I'll make sure he doesn't cause any more trouble."
I stared into the lily, "Who's voice is that?" I asked, and of course it didn't answer.
There's this irregular clicking noise coming from it, like someone tapping nails on a wooden surface, some sound like picking up and setting down heavy glass such as full bottles, or maybe this is how it would sound for someone to play a game of chess.
"Rhine?"
Han emerged from behind the shelves looking for me, "Over here," I said, crouching beside the flower, he sat beside me, the clicking continued. He stared at the flower for a moment, fixated.
"I've heard about this," he said.
The clicks steadied a little, starting to sound more like footsteps, fast moving footsteps as if someone was running across stone.
"Why does it make those sounds?"
"It's connected to a leyline, they funnel different kinds of energy through the world."
"Oh that sounds cool"
"Yeah, we're probably hearing something that happened far away a few years or so ago."
"Oh!" The realization of what he was really saying hit, "So it's like... plant memories?"
"Hehe exactly"
Something shattered in the flower's recording of history, like dense glass, and I felt a chill. More tapping, a cacophony of irregular tappings like heavy rain on a roof. There was a quieter, more muffled sound, as if heard from another room, a clattering of bits and pieces skating across the floor, there's hushed laughter, or maybe tears, it could easily be both, "Arrogant," scoffed a voice in the flower, and Han took in a sharp breath. In unison with himself years prior he said,
"I'll show you what it means to live."