A/N: Alright…*rubs
hands together* got a HUGE announcement to make. Children of a Dying Sun is changing *just a little*…it’s
going to be divided into 3 parts…I’ll be changing the title stuff on ff.net,
but I thought I would give everyone a warning.
REALLY confused? Well, here’s
what happened: I was going to write a
prequel when I finished COADS, when I realized that if I wrote the prequel,
while it would give some insight to COADS, it wouldn’t be that great, and COADS
would give away a lot of it…but, if I put it INTO COADS it would fit just
fine…so, I’m turning this story into 3 parts…PART 1 (which you are now reading)
is called ‘Faded Dreams’…well, here’s chapter 7!
~*~Chapter 7:
Story of the Clock of Time~*~
I wake to the sounds of two female voices. Phoenix and Adia. Adia says something I don’t catch that sends the girls into a fit of laughter.
I wait for a male voice to put in his comment, but none come. I don’t have the strength to handle two girls.
I roll over and fall back to sleep.
~~@~~
“Blade.” It’s a voice I haven’t heard in months, a deep, elder male voice. I find myself back in the mansion. I can hear the rain as I stand in the hallway.
“Blade. Hurry, come meet me.” His voice echoes down the corridor. I move forward, to the doorway and into the
fire-lit room, “It’s good to see you.”
The man
is in his chair, watching me, “Come, sit.
There isn’t much time.”
My body
obeys, mechanically.
“How are
you?” He asks.
“What
have you done?” I answer with a
question of my own.
“Blessed
you…cursed you…Take your pick.” He
smiles, “You have been busy, I see.”
Somehow,
I know he’s talking about the others.
He reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a package of
cigarettes. He doesn’t offer me one,
but lights up his and takes a long drag.
“I hope
you realize, however,” His calm eyes turn serious, “that you are not, by any
means, almost done. There is still one
more and millions of light-years to go before you can begin to end your
mission.”
I
nod. The room is starting to become
fuzzy.
“Blessed
or Cursed, Blade, you have committed yourself.”
“Yes.”
“Whether
you know it or not, man-child, you were marked at birth. With blood the same as mine, you and your
friends are the last.” The room had
vanished totally and his voice was fading away, “Save us all, son.”
~~@~~
“Blade? Blade. Wake up, damn you!” A pillow hits my head and I force my eyes open. I groan and discover Adia is about 4 inches from my face.
“Get up, sleepy-head. You gonna sleep the day away?”
She’s lucky she’s not on the bed, but kneeling on the floor. I might have decided to throw her off and go back to sleep.
“What if I want to?” I grumble.
“Leave him alone, Adia.” Drago’s voice carries from the table, “He’s always in a bad mood when he wakes up.”
“Yeah, and watch what you do with that pillow,” Phoenix chimes in, “he may turn it into a weapon and use it against you.”
I yawn and burrow my head into the pillow as Drago says, simply, “You didn’t seem to mind it much when I saw you.”
There is an embarrassed and angry grunt from Phoenix and I’m guessing she’s blushing.
My suspicions are proven when Bren says, “Look at that! I’ve never seen anyone turn THAT shade of red before?” There is the sound of Phoenix’s hand meeting the back of Bren’s head.
“OW!”
The room falls suspiciously silent. I don’t like the quietness of it all.
Suddenly, the collar of the back of my shirt is lifted and something wet and VERY cold makes contact with my skin.
“What the HELL?!?” I shoot up in the bed, rubbing my neck as Adia peels over in laughter. My hand comes out with two ice cubes.
“I told you to get up.” She says when I throw them back at her.
“Yeah, well, you should know: I hold grudges.”
She raises an eyebrow before moving back to the table. The four of them laugh a little as I pull myself out of bed.
A shower would be a good thing right now. As I close the door to the bathroom, Drago lifts his eyes and he knows something is wrong with me.
His mouth moves and he words out, ‘Later.’ I nod, closing and locking the door.
~~@~~
It’s much later before Drago and I find the time to talk in private. Phoenix and Adia had forced us on a day of ‘window shopping’ in downtown Orlan. It wasn’t until after lunch that Drago made the excuse that he wanted me to help him pick up some new weapons and we were able to get away, leaving Bren with the girls.
“So, what’s up?” Drago shoves his hands into his pockets, a now familiar move. He looks at the ground as we walk, his black hair falling over the top part of his face.
“I had a dream this morning.”
“And?”
I look ahead of us as I talk, “The man who spoke to me was the one who sent me out. This wasn’t just ANY kind of dream. I was there, actually talking with him.”
“About what?”
“We’re not moving fast enough.”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s still one more to find…and we have to find a way off this place.”
“Hn.” Drago only grunts, meaning he’s thinking.
“I get the sense that there isn’t much time left.”
“Have you heard the story of Kallson and his twin?”
“You mean the one where they fell aslepp at the Clock of Time and woke up 10 years younger in their beds?”
“That’s only PART of the story.” Drago smiles, “Wanna hear the full version?”
“Sure.”
“Kallson and his twin were hard at work in the family fields one hot summers day, when Kallson fell through a huge hole. His twin, who has always been un-named, went to look down the hole and he fell when the side collapsed under his weight.
“He landed with a ‘thump’ and looked through the darkness, but could not find Kallson. It was nearly 10 minutes before Kallson fell from the ceiling of the cavern.
“The brothers spent a long time trying to figure out why Kallson landed AFTER his brother. As the two debated, from the darkness, emerged a shape. The Clock of Time took shape before them.
“They stared at it a long while before figuring out what it was and that the hands on the clock did not only represent hours, minutes, and seconds, but also years, and centuries.
“‘Wouldn’t it be great’ Kallson said, ‘If we could move the hands back and make different choices in life?’
“‘Yes,’ replied the brother, ‘I would go to college and become a banker.’
“‘And I, a lawyer.’
“‘Then let’s move the hands.’
“And they did, but fell asleep as soon as they’d turned the clock’s ‘year’ hand back 10 years.”
“When they woke, they were 10 years younger and still living with their mother.” I put in, as we cross the street.
“Yes. But the story isn’t over. The two went off to school and got all the education they needed, but no one would hire them.
“One day, they met for lunch, each tired and both lacking the job they had wanted.
“‘It seems,’ Kallson said, sadly, ‘That even though we changed everything, we have nothing.’
“His brother agreed, ‘Let’s go home and pick up where we left off.’
“So, they returned to farming, and again, fell in on the Clock. This time, they ignored it and climbed back out of the hole.
“I’d rather die tomorrow than live the last 10 years over AGAIN.’ The twin said, dusting off his hands.
“The ironic thing is, as the stories go, he died the next day, when he tripped and fell onto something sharp.”
“Is there a point that has to do with my comment?” I stop in front of the weapon’s store.
“Kind of. Blade,” He turns to look me in the eye, “If you had the choice to go back 10 years in time and begin your search then, would you?”
I think for a long moment, “No.”
“Why?”
“10 years ago, who knows where everyone would have been. I—”
Drago cuts me off, “Do you believe in Fate?”
“Fate? Yeah, I guess.” I pause, “I see where you’re going with this. Fate made us meet when we did…and if we’re meant to leave, we’ll do it when the time comes.”
Drago smiles, “Now you’re catching on.”
“Is that why you take everything when it comes?”
“Exactly. And when your guide says it’s time to go, that’s when we can start panicking.” He opens the door, “Lets go find some kind of gun, so we can say we really DID look.”
~~@~~
And danger walks as my best friend
Slowly sinking, setting sun
This lost game is not yet done
Burned into the shattered dream
Nothings quite as it seems
Orders fought and wars unspared
Leaves the broken souls all bared
Magic not understood this night
Can only help us win this fight
Swords unsheathed and craving blood
Unleashing tears in an endless flood
Sorrows lost in this land
Dealing out an ancient hand
With on wish to yet take flight
Blessings, all, on this cursèd night.”
The song echoes with a million voices through my head and I cannot forget it. Interlaced is the story of Kallson and the Clock of Time and every word Drago had spoken this afternoon.
Bren’s snore echoes across the room, from the floor at the foot of the bed. The loud noise is quickly replaced by silence again.
I turn over and look at Drago’s still form, sitting by the window. He’s supposed to share the bed with me, but he never lies down.
Sleepily, I wonder if he ever sleeps.
Darkness takes me, whispering soft, painful words to me.
And danger walks as my best friend…”
~~~~*~~~~
There’s chapter 7! Not a whole lot happening, I know. But I REALLY had to put that dream in. I *hope* chapter 8 will be better…
*^_^* Crystal Child