The Omega Princess

Chapter 35

The journey to our next location was one that was filled with so much ease, that even now as we glimpsed the Great Lake of Meridia I was full of doubt and suspicion. It had taken me many hours before I could return to the hill that day and when I did I could not find it in myself to even look at Kai, just his presence was enough to enrage me with curious thoughts that would surely implode.

Instead I had tasked myself with spending time with Dale and Cara, we had stayed camp for two days enough time to rest but also long enough for us to craft the makeshift sculpture that would represent Pietro, until the time came that we could ordain for one much grander than granite to be lifted rightfully at the centre of his ancestral hill.

I had thought that there would another awkward visit to the Luna Plane but it seemed that there was no need, two weeks ago in a dream it had come to me. A vision of a glimmering lake in the west, the liquid gem of what was once the bustling province of Meridia. The town had been destroyed during the Forgotten War a mere century ago, but despite it having been physically wiped from the surface of the Earth it left a mark even in the memories of those had not existed when its high towers had surrounding the glittering lake, with glorious stained windows more colourful than the hues that saturated nature itself. I remembered the King had once spent an entire day describing its beauty, he had visited it twice as a child and it was impressionable.

Even now I could imagine the scene before me and I could not fathom how something so wonderful could be destroyed within a year, leaving behind no physical reminder but the lake from which its name had derived.

War had done that.

A knot twisted in my stomach as I thought of what might be lost this time round, would our war be limited to just people, or would whole cities be erased in a blink of an eye raised from their foundation by the bloody battle cries and claws of violence. I stared once more at the lake, perhaps it would be different. I sighed it would not be different war was war and in any cade I guaranteed that this time it would be worse. This war would not be forgotten, my heart sped up as I thought of the Lycan. By now I was sure that the King was creating an army he was preparing much faster than we were and it scared me he was in every way sodden with advantages, while we had not even completed our first task.

“Izarra”

I blinked slowly turning to Dale who stared at me with worry. I smiled at him, squeezing his hand which did nothing to reassure him. I knew he wanted me to talk to him, to unload my stress and worry onto his shoulders so that he might bear them as Atlas did the world. I wanted to, but things had changed in these few weeks it was all staring to sink in and as it did my heart grew too heavy to share. I knew now that this was a burden that was mine and mine alone, if I did not learn to hold them on my own then I would fall before the King and he would kill us all.

“Don’t worry about me”

He shook his head stopping me in my steps, I paused staying still as he held my arms and forced me to face him. I saw his eyes drift over the top of my head, looking at Kai and Cara who were travelling a few metres ahead of us. It seemed that Cara had become close to her Uncle in these few weeks. Kai was not a father figure to her as Dale was but rather a friendship. They often went on walks with each other, talking about ‘everything’ as Cara had told me. I had not approved at first, but slowly I saw that they needed each other. Cara was slowly losing her innocent childishness but with Kai I saw some of it return, she would laugh at his awkwardness and ask questions like ‘Were you born old?’