Autumn's Fall

III. In The Complex of the Ministers

The pale moonlight spread across the floor of the Rotunda of the Ages, the only illumination in that darkness. A solitary figure stood in the light, grass green eyes staring out into the night, his long shadow standing in stark contrast against the pale marble in the moonlight. Raising his tired eyes, the Minister of Spring gazed at the stars overhead.

Around him, the rotunda was filled with unseen faces. All his predecessors and the predecessors of the other ministers hung silently in their places. But the one face the Minister of Spring wished most to see right now was not among them, and he hoped her portrait would not be hanging on the wall for many, many years to come.

This was the last place he had seen her. She had seemed distracted, musing on what he could only guess. He had not seen her face since, except in his dreams. Tonight had been no exception, and he was still shaking from it.

Footsteps and light entered behind him. A firm but caring hand grasped his shoulder, "Another dream?"

"Yes."

The Minister of Summer removed his hand, "Any difference?"

He shook his head, "Since her disappearance, I have seen only the one dream: her face enshrouded in fog and night, but not fallen. She simply sleeps, unaware of what goes on around her."

"Then I will continue to count that as a good omen and a welcome change from your other dream."

The Minister of Spring gave him only the ghost of a smile, "That it is." He pushed a strand of long, ebony hair from his face as he sat on the cool marble floor, "That it is, but still, I worry for her."

"Well, who wouldn't? She is missing after all! And we've not heard a word or seen a sign of her all these weeks. Where could she be? What could she be doing? If it weren't for your constant dreams, poor man, I'd wonder if the worst hadn't happened to her."

"Don't speak of such things!" He sighed wearily, "What would we do if another one of us was changed?"

"Now who's the one speaking such things?"

"You're right, I'm sorry, but I also don't believe it's happened." They both knew his dreams would be much different if it had.

The Minister of Summer stood and looked out the window. The stars and the lights of distant towns meshed together at the horizon. "It's getting stronger, isn't it?"

The Minister of Spring raised his hand to his heart, "Much."

"I feel the same; it's finally come to this again. How many ages has it been?"

"I don't know, too many to count. If...if only he would listen."

"You've tried. I know how many times you've tried to help him. But both of us can see the end result."

"Perhaps this is the time he'll finally listen. I have to keep up hope that sooner or later he will grow tired of this tragedy."

The Minister of Summer simply shrugged his shoulders. He did not hold out as much hope as his friend did for the man ever listening or changing his ways. "What I wonder is why we make the same mistakes every time. Why don't we ever just make them leave?"

"It is their home, their past, their families. Where would they go? Where could we send them?"

"Why not just build them a new town someplace else? They are too close. Every time this happens we have tainted ones arise. No matter how careful they are, there are always a few cases of taint each time. They are just too close for their own good and safety."

He shook his head and looked out the window again as if he could see the place of Autumn's Fall. It wouldn't be long now before they could no longer resist the pull, traveling out to face the challenge head-on.

Afterward, they would reveal to the world that the young Minister of Winter was missing. But now was not the time, the people didn't need two major crises to deal with at once. They had sent out their personal security force to find any trace of her, but so far their search had been fruitless.

The Minister of Summer turned back to his friend and fellow minister. "Get yourself a drink, then go back to bed. Who knows what tomorrow brings?"

The Minister of Spring smiled, "Will you join me at the fountain?"

"Why not?" Standing, they both made their way to the very heart of the tower.

There, under a ray of moonlight, stood a fountain bubbling with cool water. The water glowed a pale white under the moonlight. Even in the day, there was such a radiance to it that one could never be sure if it was reflecting or giving off light. Once one became a Minister of the Seasons, this water was the only sustenance they needed to survive.

They had meals when outsiders came to dine for their convenience, but because all their food was made with this water, it sustained them. And though they could drink their fill of it without causing them any harm, they could go as long as a month without drinking from it before they would be in any great danger of dying.

However, no matter what or how much they might eat or drink of regular food, they would never be satisfied or filled. And so they were, in a way, limited in their freedom. Though they could bottle the fountain water and keep it for long journeys, it was best fresh from the fountain and lost some of its potency if bottled for too long.

The Ministers each took up their empty cup resting before the fountain, each decorated to reflect their particular season, and dipped it into the water.

The taste would be no different from normal water to anyone else, but to a Minister, the taste of it was pleasant and changed according to the season. Here in summer, it was cool and refreshing, light and airy, but full of life with just a hint of the night's chill and scent lingering in its essence.

It filled both of the Ministers' hearts with unease and a touch of sorrow to see the Minister of Winter's cup. A few stray strands of a spider's web floating off the rim gave evidence that it had not been touched in a while.

Next to it stood the cup of Autumn, but it stood alone, abandoned, and covered with a film of dust. The Minister of Spring blew gently on it and lifted it from its place. Had it really been ten years since he had last held it? And how long before that had it ever been used? He did not know, but he hoped and prayed that this would be the year that it would finally be put to use once more by its proper owner.

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A/N This chapter dedicated to Swiftstar91 for being my first voter and commenter ^__^ I appreciate you, and all my readers, a whole lot!!!

Sorry if this chapter is a little slow, next couple chapters will have more happening in them.