|Mianite| The Missing Woman

[Chapter 43] Agreement

[Alva's Perspective]

After Martha left with the fourth Ianita I headed out to Declan's house. I was tired and figured I might as well go to bed early. However, on the way there I ran into the last person I wanted to see.

Champwan was pacing on the steps leading to Declan's front door. He spotted me before I could turn away.

"Alva!" he yelled at me. I froze and glared at him as he walked briskly over to me. "Mianite wants to talk to you."

"What?!" I asked, slightly terrified now.

"Come here." He reached out to grab my arm, but I jerked away.

"No!" I turned to run but he lunged forward and grabbed my shoulder. Instantly we were teleported to what looked like an overly extravagant office. I stumbled slightly to keep from falling, but Champwan's hand, still on my shoulder, was making it fairly difficult.

"Greetings, Alva," a pompous voice said from behind me. I froze. I recognized it and had dreaded the moment I would hear it again.

"Mianite," I said coldly. I turned around to face him. He sat at a grand desk that I knew hadn't always been his. The gracefully carved, deep red wood stood out from his traditionally sharp industrial, blue motif. The whole office seemed more Dianite's style than his and I questioned what he was doing in it.

Champwan still had not let go of my shoulder, and I stared him down because of it. He glared back and refused to lessen his grip. I took a step swiftly away from him and clenched my fist when he began to follow me. He took notice and stayed put.

"It has come to my attention," Mianite said emotionlessly, "that you have regained some of you memories."

"What of it?" I asked.

"You have not regained your memories of me."

I was not sure I wanted to. My initial reaction to his image, him taking advantage of Jordan when he was at his weakest, his control over my memories to begin with; how could I trust anything he told me?

"How indeed," he said, grinning. I continued to stare at him, emotionless. Although I did not think it outright, I knew I could not let him get the best of me.

"It would seem that you have some misconceptions about my intentions, Alva." Mianite frowned. "I gave you false memories of me so that you would hate me before I sent you off to the sky heroes. I know they side with my sister, and I wanted them to trust you. I did not however, count on you losing all of your memories."

"Why do you want them to trust me?" I asked.

"Because there will come a time when I need their help," he said. "Your father brought you to me immediately after you died and promised his loyalty to me in return for your life. He however, has greatly disappointed me. You on the other hand... I know that if you remembered both sides to this... situation, you would be of much greater help to me. I know you have much better judgment."

"Alister said he was acting under your orders," I said suspicious of his truthfulness. Neither Mianite nor Champwan looked surprised that we had spoken with Alister since The Inertia incident.

"Alister was afraid, because he followed Helgrind. He had Alister believing that his way would ultimately shed a more favorable light on both of them."

"He also mentioned..." I tried to find the right phrasing, "something about my appearance."

Mianite suddenly seemed uncomfortable. "Yes, you were... not yourself."

"How exactly did you revive me?" I asked.

"Well it took a while to perfect the process," he said. "We used sources of Ianite's power to revive you, given that she was the closest god to you."

"Sources...?" I prompted.

"Tainted ooze primarily," he said. I wrinkled my nose, and he chuckled. He rose from 'his' chair and sat on the corner of the desk closest to me. I knew what he was doing; to maintain eye contact with him I could no longer see Champwan's reaction to his information. Most likely he too had made some disgusted face at the information. To Mianite's benefit, he likely did not want me to be discouraged by his follower's expression. Once he was situated he spoke again. "That is most likely why you have such a strong reaction to it. However it was too concentrated. It completely wore you out; even when we tried DNA from your father's blood it was too potent for your body to handle."

"How did you fix me then?" Images from my dream ran through my mind. Andor bound and suffering as his wings were ripped from his body. The odd, out of place memory of my father laying Andor's wings down next to me.

"I think you already know." His emotionless expression sent a chill down my spine. "As I said, it took a while to figure out what was going wrong."

"How could you get me to do that?" I asked softly. I was beginning to feel nauseous at the prospect of what he could have done to me or had me do.

"You did it willingly," he said. "Your perspective on me now is rather jaded. Before I sent you to the sky heroes you viewed your grandmother similarly to how you now view me. Not only did your brother deny her betrayal of your family, he stood between us and peace. You knew it was a sacrifice that had to be made. You should have been the sibling that survived."

"I would never..." I said.

"You would," Mianite affirmed, "and you did. I could return your memories to you, if you want to know the truth. You ought to know how you felt when you had all of the pieces of the puzzle, rather than this idealistic, one sided version of yourself that you are now."

I did not know what to do with all of this information. I had wanted to hurt Andor? What piece of information could possible have made me want that? If this wasn't a trap, and I genuinely had been on Mianite's side, did I want to go back to that?

Perhaps if I regained the knowledge I had before, the new perspective I had gained since then would change my mind. Perhaps there was some comfortable middle ground that I had not been able to find before.

Or perhaps I would change my mind and turn against my friends.

"Granted I cannot do it all right now," Mianite interrupted my thoughts. "What Martha did to you before was terribly risky, and you saw how it hurt you."

"How then?" I asked. Perhaps the process would be so awful that I would not have to make my decision based on morality and allegiance.

"I believe through your dreams would be the safest way. You body is at rest and your mind is willing to accept new information at an accelerated rate."

I took a deep breath. So much for that thread of hope. "Will you leave Declan alone if I do?"

"Of course," he nodded.

"Alright," I finally nodded. Mianite's grin instantly made me regret my decision, although it was quickly replaced by a much kinder expression.

"I don't think you will regret this decision Alva," Mianite said. "I really do care about you, and I hate to see you like this."

"Can I just go home now?" I asked.

"Of course," Mianite said. "Whatever you want."

I looked away from him, uncertain of his sincerity.

"Tonight you will understand that I mean that," Mianite said. "Farewell."

The world around me began to shift and swirl until it rearranged and I found myself back in front of Declan's house with Champwan.

"Taint blood," he murmured under his breath, disgusted. I punched him square across the jaw before turning on my heels, skirt whirling behind me, and walked up the stairs to Declan's house.