The Zero Hour | #Wattys2016

Chapter 3 - Wolves?! (Part 3)

Amadeus found himself high up above the clouds - the moon shone upon his body unhindered, and there was nothing to hold him up but air. When he looked down, he felt as though he had died and gone to heaven. Beneath his feet was a sea of clouds, illuminated by moonlight. The sparks from the stone had disappeared and all that was left was a strong shimmering of indigo waves. Had the stone run out of energy?

Before he had time to figure out what to do next, he plummeted towards the ground. He did not know which was worse - being devoured by wolves or smashing against the ground at an incredible speed. Well, at least the view was nice, he thought to himself. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and screamed loudly with his arms flailing all the way down. It was not one of his finer moments.

Fortunately, on his way down, he collided with a group of pine trees and the branches on the trees broke his fall. After many snapping branches, a few broken ribs, and many bruises later, Amadeus landed on the ground with a crunch. He could hardly move his limbs, and his body ached all over.

"Great, now I'll just lie here and starve to death," Amadeus mumbled to himself.

"You have got to work on your landing," said a gruff voice which was followed by a familiar deep laughter.

Amadeus could hardly move his body, and only managed to turn his head towards the voice. He was surprised to find Enoch walking towards him, laughing as though he did not have a care in the world. Enoch! It was Enoch who had given him those gloves! And now Enoch had appeared out of nowhere, and he seemed greatly amused by Amadeus' fall from the sky. Was he watching the whole time?

On any other day, Amadeus would normally have a smart and scathing remark to say to others who made fun of his misfortune. However, today was not one of those days, and all he could muster was a whisper. "Why?"

He looked at Enoch with accusing eyes. Why indeed. A flurry of questions swam in his head. Why would Enoch give him such a dangerous pair of gloves without telling him what it was capable of? Why didn't Enoch teach him how to use them? Why was Enoch nowhere to be found when he had needed help so many times on this very night? Why was he only here when Amadeus was half dead and unable to move? And most importantly of all, was Enoch his friend, or his foe? Just in case Enoch meant him harm, Amadeus struggled with all his might to escape. All he could manage was a little wiggle.

"Be quiet, and stay still." Enoch said. He knelt beside Amadeus and without any explanation or another word, placed his open palm on Amadeus chest and held him down. Enoch then started muttering under his breath. Amadeus could not hear what Enoch was saying, but reckoned that with his luck, Enoch was probably using magic to curse him. A strange sensation spread across his chest and travelled all along his body. It felt like a fire had started burning on his chest and was providing warmth to his entire body. He felt like he was being burned alive, only that the pain on his entire body was slowly leaving.

Suddenly, the sensation halted. Enoch stopped muttering and examined Amadeus from head to toe. "You'll live," Enoch said as he stood up and brushed the snow off his dark bearskin cloak.

Amadeus tried to sit up, and was surprised that he was able to. What surprised him more is that he was able to move his limbs. He looked at his hands and tried to move his fingers. "Did you use magic to heal me?" he asked.

"Do I look like a Noble to you? No, I did not use magic," replied Enoch who appeared disgusted that Amadeus would even ask such a thing. "Magic is a consuming evil; all who use it will be tainted by its lure."

"What did you do then?" Amadeus pressed on, curious at what happened. He examined his wounds and found that they had closed up and looked like they were mere scars from wounds that were inflicted many years ago. His clothes and cloak however, as ragged as they looked before he had left White Harrow, were now in shreds, and would not do much good in keeping him warm. Fortunately for Amadeus, although he would be shivering from the lack of clothes, at least he had enough shreds of sackcloth left on him to keep him looking decent.