Eternity

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Eternity

Look how the same possibilities

unfold in their opposite demeanors,

as though one saw different ages

passing through two identical rooms.

Each thinks that she props up the other,

while resting wearily on her support;

and they can't make use of one another,

for they cause blood to rest on blood,

when as in the former times they softly touch

and try, along the tree-lined walks,

to feel themselves conducted and to lead;

ah, the ways they go are not the same

The Sisters- Rainer Maria Rilke

          Storm clouds drifted over the Eternal Forest, spitting rain upon the landscape of Grayeveire Manor. The gloomy weather cast an even bigger shadow upon everyone’s mood, considering Lysander’s condition had not changed. Inside the castle, however, was a bit cozier and drier than the outdoors.

The three sisters sat in a triangular pattern, talking quietly. Well, Sable and Devodie did. Tamsin preferred to stand by the window and watch the drops glisten on the frosted glass. The only light in the huge room came from the glowing hearth. Lysander waiting had been moved upstairs to her old bedroom. Servants watched over her for a sign that the Spring Queen was awakening. Her sisters spoke downstairs in their parents’ throne room, although the thrones had been abandoned long ago and the queens rested in armchairs found in the old sitting room. Their speaking was progressing into an argument, and the tension surrounded them all.

          Tamsin tone grew colder as her and Devodie’s voices rose, echoing off of the bare walls. “I don’t think this is right. The inhabitants of Marcha will be out of control. We have to find a way to watch over them while Lysander…sleeps.”

          Devodie was nearly shouting now as she stood up from her chair. “You don’t understand Tamsin, you never will, because you don’t trust anyone! The Marchans aren’t like that, they care for Lysander, and they’re not going to burn the Spring Region down!”

          Tamsin stalked over and shouted back at Devodie. “I do understand Devodie. I understand perfectly well! Your problem is you trust too much! Eternitans are unpredictable, you should know that,” she snarled. She looked as if she would change into her lion form at anytime. If pushed far enough over the edge, the queens would sometimes shift unexpectedly.  

          Devodie stepped up into Tamsin’s face and raised her hand as if she was going to strike her sister, but Sable stepped between them.

          “That’s enough.” Her voice cut through the tension. “Sit down,” she ordered through her teeth. When she spoke again, her voice broke and her eyes grew sad. “You both…promised. It would remain civil.”

          Devodie and Tamsin glared at each other from where they sat. Devodie’s body was rigid and her frosty lashes surrounded eyes that seemed even colder than before. She stood up hurriedly and shoved the chair out of the way. Sable recoiled defensively as the chair came in her direction and stared at her hands in her lap. Devodie’s boots clicked on the floor as she stalked away from the disturbed armchair triangle.

          Devodie stopped in the hallway outside of the throne room and slumped against the stone wall. Her anger boiled inside of her. She fumed silently, her heart pounding against her chest. Tamsin needed to learn to get some things through her thick head. She couldn’t always be right. Devodie sighed quietly and looked down the torch-lit hallway. She needed Lysander. If only she would wake up.