Behind My Blue Eyes

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Ivory & Cerulean – Caynes

I took another step towards it but a small voice called out “Stop!”  My foot halted position. Both Laien and I looked around to find the owner of the voice. From behind one of the pillars a small person stepped out.  She looked like she was only ten years old but small and skinny.  She had long dark black hair that fell over her forehead in a fringe above a pair of large cat like grey eyes. 

“Who are you?”  She asked with a voice that rang over the trees.

“My name is Isabel.”  I took a step forward but she shook her head.

From behind another pillar emerged a boy, exactly the same as the girl.  The only thing that differentiated his gender was his pants otherwise he looked exactly like his twin.

“Who are you?”  He echoed her question and I noticed the one difference between them. He had bright blue eyes. 

I felt Laien touch my elbow and looked up at him.  “I don’t think they’re talking about your name.”  His eyes had intensity in them and told me he was trying to tell me something. 

They didn’t want my name but they wanted to know who I was.  I put my hand over the locket where it lay against my chest and realised the answer.  “I am the Priestess of Light.” 

Both children smiled at my answer and jumped down from behind the pillars and ran to me. “You have returned.”  They said in unison.  I smiled at the cute pair they made.  “I am Ivory.” The girl took one of my hands. “I am Cerulean.”  The boy took my other hand.

They started to lead me to the building and I followed with confused footsteps.  “What do you mean returned?” 

“You are the Priestess and this is the Temple of Light.”  They chimed together.  They stopped before the entrance to the temple and let go of my hands. “You must awaken the temple.”

I looked down at both their faces and wondered how I was going to awaken a building.  They stared back at me waiting for some action.  I took a step into the temple and looked around it.  The interior was dark and large looking.  I stepped further in.  I could see the light of the locket glowing softly under my nose.   The more steps I took the brighter the locket glowed.  I took it from my neck and held it up like a small, dull flashlight.  There was an altar in the middle of the temple set high on stones of marble and onyx.   It was a simple slab of stone with jewels encrusted in the sides.

I climbed up the stones by light of the locket.  The jewels glittered and I reached out to touch them.  They felt cold, like ice under my fingertips.  The surface of the stone had more words - like the ones outside on the onyx stone- carved into it.  I could read the old language thanks to what Sharoudain blood was in my veins.  I moved my fingertips over the words as I read them.

The rough translation would have gone like this:

On the morn of the first day,

With the breath of first life,

The first light was born of pureness.

Shone it did with love and hope,

A power that makes all that was to be made.

In the first light was born of good,

To remove the darkness,

And bring forth first life.

As the last words passed the locket glowed even brighter in my hand.  I dropped it and covered my eyes as the light grew blinding.  I could hear a soft ringing as it grew brighter.  After a few seconds I moved my hands from my face and saw the light had died down to a soft glow.  The temple was no longer dark though.  Brass torches light the walls and the marble glittered even more.  The room was full of beautiful carvings and gold and silver vines that sprawled over the walls and ceiling.  The wall beyond the altar, to the back, held hundreds of scrolls that had been packed tightly into it. 

“Isabel.”  I turned to see Laien enter the temple with the twins.  He walked quickly over to me and climbed the stones to the altar.  “You brought light to it, Isabel.” His voice sounded excited and proud. He pulled me into a hug. I put my arms around his waist and turned my face into his chest.  I felt tired all of a sudden. 

“I need to sit down.”  My voice muffled into his chest.  He heard me though, and let me sit on the stones of the altar with his arm around my shoulders. 

Ivory stood in-front of me and bowed shortly.  “Priestess we are grateful you have returned.”

“You don’t need to thank me,” I smiled at the little girl.  “Who takes care of you two?”

“We take care of ourselves. It has been like that for centuries.  We guard the temple and keep it for the priestess.”  She said it in a matter-of-fact tone that threw off the full meaning of her words.  I was still in slight shock though.

“But you two look ten years old at the most.”  I peered at her closely.  Her brother came to stand beside her.

“This is a disguise of our true form so that we are kept safe.”  He answered my question in the same tone as his sister.

“What are you really?”  I raised both brows at them.

They look at each other for a moment then Ivory went to the back wall and pulled a large looking scroll from the set.  She held it out to me when she returned.  Laien took it from her and unrolled it for me to see. The paper of the scroll was aged but the images were bright in colour and vibrancy.  There were two dragons on the scroll. Both looked large and powerful.  Their wings spread across the pages as their heads were raised in silent roar.  One dragon was blue, bright clear blue and the other was pearly white. I looked at the twins.  Their eyes were the only difference. One set was blue and the other were grey.  “You’re dragons.”

“Yes.”  They said at the same time. “We are called Caynes.”