The Innocent

Only the Beginning

Melanie and Jon walked towards the bottom of their first mountain, through stinking swamps like the ones that Melanie had stumbled upon at the beginning of her journey. She was surprised to find that she was no longer bothered by the smell, if anything she had begun to like it. It frustrated her that she could have changed so much in the last few months. When finally they rested, she found that not knowing at the same time as doing nothing was hard.

Turning to Jon she asked, "Can't you smell it?"

"Smell what?" the reply was spoken between mouthfuls of aunties bread

"That smell."

"That smell, doesn't help." Jon paused, "but just so you know I can't smell anything unusual."

He looked at Melanie who gave an exasperated sigh, "Are you sure?"

"Look, what does it smell like?"

"It's kind of musky but sweet, but not flower sweet, kind of sickly," she sighed, "Its hard to describe."

"I think I know what you mean." He paused again, "It starts off smelling really bad then at some point it starts smelling nice right?" Melanie nodded, "Then finally goes away."

"It hasn't gone away and how would you know if you can't smell it?"

"It arrived when I was thirteen. I spent most of that week with a cloth over my nose and helping auntie in the kitchen, where there were a lot of herbs." He looked up from his meal, "The next week it was gone."

"How come then, I can still smell it?"

Jon looked at her, "How long have you smelt it?"

"Since I arrived nine months ago. I really hated it, it made me feel scared, I almost turned around."

"It was that bad?" concern had snuck into Jon's voice

"Well yeah it was that bad, but that doesn't matter does it?"

"Actually everything plays apart. I think the fact that it was worse for you means that either it was connected to someone you know or," Jon looked up concentrating, "Um, I think that's the only reason. Everyone with magic is connected to everyone else with magic equally. But there's a stronger connection if you're related."

"Are you saying this is another thing the watchers done?"

"Well, think about it. It was stronger and more effective on you. Of course it wasn't focused on you because it got here before you did. But to affect you more strongly it has to be created by someone related to you."

"I suppose the watcher is a reasonable guess."

"For now just ignore it, I doubt it will last much longer."

"Do you really think so?"

"Yeah." He grinned, "Now for some crazy reason I'm hungry, so..."

"Oh yeah sorry." Melanie smiled back

They sat in quietly for a while as they watched the sun move closer to the Western horizon. The quiet swish of the wind in the trees was such a gentle and familiar sound to Melanie that as she lay back on the ground, her eyelids flickered and closed. Jon turned to look at her; he smiled as he saw her resting peacefully. Quietly he got up, digging in the bottom of his bag. He found what he had been looking for and gently laid the blanket over Melanie. Finally he settled down to take watch for the first half of the night.

Melanie was frightened into wakefulness by a harsh cry. The source was not obvious, as she looked around trying to locate where the sound had come from something heavy landed on her shoulder. She gasped and spun around to see Jon crouching quietly in the pre-dawn light.

"Shhh!" he hissed at her

"What is it?"

"I don't know."

"A guess maybe?"

"A bird."

"Well duh," Melanie sighed, "Even I knew that."

"It's not an easy question to answer."

"I suppose." She sighed again, "Do you think it's gone."

"Feel for it."

"Why should I. You can can't you? Besides I can't hear anything."

"You should because you're faster. And not being able to hear it doesn't mean its not there."

"Okay, okay, I'll do it."

Melanie closed her eyes pushing into the forest. She could feel trees and small animals. There were a few smaller birds around too, hiding in their nests. She reached further, searching for the source of the sound. But she found nothing. She caught her breath.

"What is it?" Jon had spun round at Melanie's gasp

"Nothing."

"You've got to give me more than that." Jon was exasperated, "Nothing wouldn't have made you go that white."

Melanie opened her eyes, "I swear it is nothing. About a hundred meters away, a dead spot, there is nothing."

"What do you mean a dead spot?"

"When I felt it, everything went numb." Melanie put her head in her hands remembering the cold that had swept over her, "I don't think that anything was living, it was just so cold."

"Show me." He commanded

Melanie took one of Jon's hands; together they closed their eyes. Their combined strength felt slowly towards the point that Melanie had felt the dead spot. Very slowly they stretched invisible fingers towards the spot, pausing just before they got there. Melanie let go of Jon's hand not wanting to feel the cold again. As she returned to herself Jon gasped, his human face went white, his eyes widened and rolled back.

"Jon!" Melanie snatched at his hands shaking them. He didn't react.

She panicked grabbing his shoulders she shook him, still he sat there. His face remained blank, she slapped him. Desperately she grabbed some of their precious water, pulling out the stopper she spilt the cold water on his face. Jon's mouth opened and he gasped for breath. She stopped spilling the water over him and shook him again calling his name. She realised then that she had left him behind. Now he was somehow in the nothing. A cold tear rolled down her cheek and she clenched her fist. Knowing that to get him back she had to find his conscience in the silence. She closed her eyes and took his hand again.

Following the line that connected conscience to body Melanie went into the forest. She went slowly expecting to come up against nothing again. It seemed that she had been going forever when she felt a silence at the edge of her senses. There she could see the gently glowing figure of Jonathan. He looked like an angel and she sent up a soft prayer to thank the masters for letting him still be there. She drifted towards him reaching her hands out towards him, to pull him back to the real world.