CHAPTER XII #3
The brunette Discerni finally flicks her dark glance on me, her eyes narrowing as she looks over my features. I do the same to her, noticing that she has her brown hair braided in the same fashion of the Livyatans, the many rows falling low to her back and fashioned with grey and green beads.
She stands before the door in a protective stance, her hand so near to the snake painted there that I almost fear for her fingers.
“You see, Lady.”
Ari is quick to grin as she watches me eye the door, opening it wide behind her in a welcome directed specifically at me.
“I do,” I nod quietly, definitely seeing the snake rear its head. It looks malicious, angered. A fake snake on a strong door that somehow moves with magic for the woman’s hand.
“You should probably let go of the door.”
The woman’s grin begins to lose its fervor. She looks back at me in small confusion, her features not understanding why I would be upset at the sight of the moving snake. Keane shifts on his feet behind me and presses his fingers against my back, urging me forward.
“Can you tell me of your Ancient,” I ask, walking past her questioning glance and into a large and vacant room.
I frown at the sight.
Why is everything in Woodlands so bare? Empty?
We move inside, greeting the silence as we all stand in the middle of the pyramid. My head tilts up, following the sparkling white marble as the temple begins to condense towards the tip, its tall height dark and hidden in the shadows.
“Surely you must know of the Ancient,” Ari moves next to me. “Not many can see what is in the door. Only Rivian’s truest believers are graced with that welcome.”
Oh, I’m a true believer all right, my lips turn up in a sad smile, though not as you may think. I believe and know whole-heartedly that the Ancient is pure evil.
Keane takes a strong step next to me and places his hand hard against my back this time. Both Desmond and Elena come to his side, the two eyeing Ari and I quietly.
“I am aware of the Ancient,” I give the Discerni woman another small smile, “but can you educate the King and Prince? It’s been a while since they’ve had their own schooling on the Ten.”
“Of course,” the woman grins.
“Tell them of your Ancient as if they are unaware. As if they do not know her like we do…”
Both Keane and Desmond angle their bodies towards the woman in polite interest, though not before giving me a glance in question. They don’t know my game, but they’re about to find out.
“The Ancient of Strife and Struggle…” Ari begins.
“Promoter of the belief that the people of the Old World are at their strongest when they’re being tested.
The Ancient believes that the conflict and struggle in one’s life helps shape that person into a stronger being, that we are at our best when we are tested… ”
“And what kind of tests was the Ancient known to give when she was awake?” I prompt.
I need to hear what she’s been told, what she herself believes and what is being taught in her studies here.
Ari smiles back at me, proud of her next words.
“Trials that dealt with both the mental and physical capacity of a being. Oftentimes, she took the strongest that walked the Old World, testing their physicality gruelingly, if only to humble them. She’d call upon the weak, asking them to strengthen their minds, leading them to become better versions of themselves.
Her tests and trials were limited to no one as she assessed the conflict that rested within.
She offered tribunals as a way to learn, to grow. ”
“So at odds with the Ancient Nolan,” I chuckle, hiding my sarcasm as she hides her scowl.
Stormfall grips my shoulder hard, and I don’t have to look at my shoulder to know that Hirovale is listening in.
“The Ancient of Healing and Alleviation,” Ari shakes her head in small disgust, “why anyone would promote such easiness in life is beyond me.”
“Tell me,” I take a step forward and look around the cold, bare walls, “are there any humans studying at this temple?”
“A few, Lady,” she nods.
“And are you friends with them? Or at least acquaintances?”
The woman gives a slight shrug. “We seldom ever speak. But their respect for the Ancient runs as deep as mine.”
“I see,” my smile is small as I consider my next words.
“Alexis.”
Elena says my name softly in a warning, no doubt hearing where my thoughts are taking me. I glance at the blonde Discerni and watch as she gives me a small shake of her head, no doubt fearing for how Ari will react when I tell her the truth of her Ancient.
I turn away from the Princess without sympathy. As was in Etter, I yearned to no longer be part of any polite conversation that pretended to be something else.
“Do you have any family, Lady Ari?” I look at the Discerni with a smile.
“A sister and brother by marriage in Dankworth. Along with their two children.”
All three Bardots shift on their feet next to me, remaining quiet.
“And do you summon?” I inquire.
“Nothing large,” she shakes her head, “but yes, I can manage the basics, as most Discerni do.”
I take a step towards the woman and hold her gaze hard.
“And what if I told you that you could sacrifice one of your sister’s children to strengthen that summoning? Would you want to heighten your power, if given the chance?”
Ari takes a small step back, her eyes darting across my face as she frowns.
“Surely you jest, Lady.”
“No jest. Now how about it? Would you do it? Would you kill one of the young to promote yourself?”
“I...”
Ari’s eyes are wide, her gaze turning frightful as she shakes her head in earnest. “I don’t know why we are even speaking of this, Lady.”
Her glance darts to the King, then to his brother and sister, looking at them in curious help. All three Bardots remain quiet, frowning as they turn to me.
“Ari…” I pull the woman back with a sad smile.
Stormfall spreads his wings across my back, all of us looking delicately into her dark eyes that are so steeped in confusion.
“Rivian is awake,” my voice is low and soft, “and she is not the Ancient you believe her to be.”
The Discerni woman takes a steep inhale of breath, looking at the solemnness that captivates all four of our features.
“There have been rumors over the past years…” she says timidly. “Small conversations. Most of them dismissed before they could even enter through our doors.”
“Not rumors,” the Master Informer says at our side. “The Ancient is awake… through the most atrocious means.”
“Surely you don’t mean…”
Ari shakes her head in disbelief, eyes darting to the King again before they land back on mine. I sigh and place a hand on her shoulder.
“Let me tell you, now, of the true nature of the Ancient Rivian…”
“Think of it like a door,” Sianoa’s beautiful features angle closely to mine.
She’s drawn a chair directly in front of me, brushing her knees against mine as I’m graced with the full of her face, able to count every single ringlet that falls tight around her head.
We’re back in that same small room within Sianoa’s temple that we met in last night, with the circular table resting in the middle as the high white marble walls hover around us.
Heysan sits with his legs propped up on the mahogany just as before, watching the two of us in amusement.
He drinks his sparkling toddy with a grin as Stormfall rests silently at the curve closest to me and his sister.
“A door,” Sianoa continues, letting her vibrant green gaze hold mine. “Before you meet with any magical being, have it ready. Decide in that moment if the door will be open or closed to them, regardless if you know that they can summon your thoughts.”
My mind races as I pull forth a door in my mind, watching as the entry to Keane’s residence in the Palisades begins to appear. The strong wood rests proud against the greenstone home that surrounds it, the two tall pines jutting high and sharp next to each side just like the court he covets.
“You have it?” Sianoa’s voice is curious as I open my eyes.
“Okay,” she looks at me skeptically, “then keep the door closed in your mind. Shut it tight. Let it be the guard against anyone trying to draw thoughts from it. Add locks if you have to.”
I stare back at the Ancient with a nod. “I have it.”
“Then the moment I stop talking, keep the door shut. Do not speak to me, Alexis. I need you to understand that. There is a delicate line between knowingly communicating with someone silently and having your own thoughts pulled without your knowledge.”
I frown at Sianoa, vaguely understanding her words.
Does she mean that all Ancients can communicate with eachother silently?
Yes, her sharp voice enters my mind.
I frown. Obviously my door isn’t working.
I’m confused, then. Do all of you hear our thoughts?
No, Sianoa shakes her head, her green eyes piercing into mine, while we can speak to you directly from our minds, the only thoughts we hear are those that are directed at us or from those near enough to not know that their thoughts are willingly given away.
My brother Hirovale is the only one who can hear them all and pull them, if he so chooses.
So the Ancients use the silent speak as a means of communication between themselves.
I try to wrap my mind around the thought as my eyes dart toward Heysan, remembering him at the coronation as he tapped the side of his head, telling me that he heard the people speaking of him and I.
Because most of those thoughts were directed at me, the Ancient’s grin is mischievous, just as your thought is now, subconsciously.
“This is confusing,” I huff.
Heysan chuckles and takes a long drink from his toddy.
“So I can speak to you directly in my mind as long as I direct that thought of communication towards you? But you cannot dig deeper? Cannot pull things from me in which I do not freely give?”