The Journey Through Ferramoust Ch. 5

Chapter 5. Strange Dreams or Forgotten Memory?

Alek stood with Zeeta and her parents outside on the grounds. They had all just gotten through being interrogated by some of the guards. The whole village was being questioned. The ones getting it the worst were those who knew the queen the best and those who worked directly under her. Alek didn’t know what happened. Nobody did. Only a select few could speculate by what they had saw in the queen's room. All they did was ask about their whereabouts and grill them with possible scenarios, trying to scare the truth out of whoever killed the queen.

Alek was numb through the interrogation. He had been warned of something like this, but he never suspected it to happen right after they talked. To make matters worse, he was pretty sure he was the last person to see the queen alive, aside from her guards. And she made him promise not to tell anyone about their secret meeting. When he stepped out of the interrogation room, he didn’t make it but a few steps from the door before leaning against the wall for support. Zeeta seen him and hurried over to him and threw her arms around him.

She had been like a daughter to the queen. When it was her turn for questioning, they had been ruthless. When she had come out of the room that they were using for interrogation she sobbed, “I r-really d-d-don’t know anything!” Alek, who had been waiting right outside the door, pulled her into his arms. Until the interrogator stepped out to call the next name on his list. Then he pulled away and hauled off and punched the guy in the face.

Luckily, Commander Bastien walked up at that moment and pulled Alek back. He then apologized to the man and explained that he was having a hard time processing everything and that the man probably shouldn’t have gone so hard on Zeeta and the boy, being that they were like the queen’s children. The man, whose eye was already starting to swell and turning bright red, glared at Alek, nodded curtly at the commander, then called for Zeeta’s father to go into questioning.

The commander put one arm around Alek’s shoulders and the other grabbed Zeeta gently and he led them through the castle to the queen’s study so they could talk. He only paused once, long enough to whisper something to a maid that Alek did not hear, nor did he really care about the exchange. Alek didn’t feel like doing anything but crawling in a hole and dying. Every emotion inside him was chaotic. He felt numb, then sad, then angry, then numb again. Mostly, he felt tired. But not the type of tiredness that you go to bed for. No, he wouldn’t sleep without help, and not peacefully for a long time.

Once inside the room Bastien guided them to two chairs, turned the chairs away from the desk. Then he grabbed a chair for himself and placed it in front of them and they sat down before saying, “I... um... figured the two of you didn’t want to be around too many people right now.” He rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “I know I don’t. And... I’m sorry I brought you here... I wasn’t thinking... and there wasn’t much else place I could take you aside from my room, but if I went there, I’m sure we would be bothered.”

“It’s okay, Poppa. We understand.” Alek said, trying to get his father to stop talking more than comforting them. He closed his eyes and sat all the way back in the chair. He was appreciative of him bringing them to the last place anyone would be looking for them. But he really just wanted to go off in the forest and become one with the soil and moss, curl up in a ball, and stay there until he turned into a tree stump. Maybe then the forest would take all his pain away.

He opened his eyes and seen Zeeta was sitting hunched over in her chair, arms wrapped tightly around her stomach and staring at the ground; tears silently streaming down her face. He scooted his chair next to hers and pulled her into his arms. She didn't fight him but buried her head in his shoulder and started to sob softly.

He knew he had to be the strong one. The last time something this tragic had happened, they were both too young to understand what it meant. Now they were getting the taste of it all over again, and Alek thought it was an extremely bitter taste that he hoped he would not have had to deal with. He kept running it through his mind. If he had stayed with the queen, like he had begged her, then maybe he could have saved her. Would she still be here? or would he be gone as well? But of course, he didn’t even know what happened to her.

“Poppa... how did it happen? I mean, how did they... find her? How was she…?” Alek couldn’t say it. But he had to know.

His father closed his eyes and sighed. It took him a minute before he responded softly, “We aren’t sure on the whole truth yet. She was found in her wash tub. They assumed she was killed by a poison since she doesn’t have any markings on her body that show a struggle. But they are not sure how the poison made it past the guards since everything is double-checked before a maid enters a room with any food or drink.”

Alek nodded and Zeeta sobbed a little harder. She was barely audible when she spoke into Aleks’ shoulder, though she wasn’t really asking a question that could be answered, she asked, “Why would anyone want to do this to the queen?”

“Zeeta... honey. We are going to do everything we can to find the one who was responsible for this. But everything throughout the country is not as peaceful as the queen said last night. Waterwakers have been whispering of possible rebellion and war recently, and they have not been sending as many fish to the other tribes as they have in the past.

“The Sandsifters will be in an uproar once they learn of the queen’s death especially since the rope that they found for the killer to escape looks to be made of water reeds. Hopefully, with the guards searching the castle will help bring up more clues or help us find the killer.” Bastien concluded, leaning forward and placing a hand gently on her knee.

There was a soft knock on the study door and both Alek and Zeeta looked up confused.

"That will be your parents, I instructed a maid to escort them here when they were finished- Come in!” he said as the person at the door knocked again.

Zeeta’s parents walked in and made a bee line for Zeeta to comfort her; they were followed by two maids each holding a tray with food and a pitcher of water on it. The maids placed them on the desk, curtsied, and left the room.

Alek watched as his father stood up and headed for the door, “Where are you going?”

“I have to go and aid in the village-wide search. We are starting in the castle. Everyone is taking shifts so that people who are staying in rooms aren’t searching their own rooms. I will ask that you all stay here until I come and get you later. I had maids bring up food so that if you get hungry, you can eat.”

Alek stood up, “Let me come with you, poppa. I can’t just sit around! It will drive me mad!”

Bastien gave his him a small smile. “You have dealt with too much already, and at such a young age. You need to mourn and process these feelings.”

“You need to mourn too, poppa!”

“And I will. But first, I am the queen’s advisor and Commander. My work must come first in this matter.” Alek saw tears fill up in his father’s eyes. “Please, son... You need to rest.”

Bastien turned to leave then paused and looked back at his son. “If you promise me that today, then tomorrow I will let you get to work... You promise?”

Alek nodded, shoulders slumping in defeat and mumbled, “Yes sir. I promise.” And with that, Bastien nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.

___

The next few days were a blur for Alek. Too much had to be done and he literally didn’t want to do any of it. He didn’t sleep well. Hardly at all, really. He would lay in bed for hours before sleep finally overtook his weak and fragile mind. Except when Zeeta would softly sing the Woodlling lullaby. Her voice was the only calm in the storm that made sense of the last few days.

When he would dream now, it would be about her; the dream was always the same. It was from when they were children. But it was a memory he didn’t remember.

In the dream, Zeeta looked like she was around ten moons old. So, he was around nine. He and Zeta had just finished their schoolwork and chores for the day and had slipped off into the woods.

There was a little clearing not too far behind his house with thin young trees surrounding it, there was an older tree, not as old as the ones that they lived in, but old enough to carry a swing for them to play on. And the tree had grown knots that stuck out enough to look like climbing stones that led up to a flat landing hidden by leaves from the world below them, but open to the skies above. It was as if the tree wanted them to have this secret place hidden from the rest of the world.

He and Zeeta had spent many evenings there watching the evening sky change. It was like paint bleeding together when water was spilled; until the colors of the canvas were all blended and created a dark blue/black, speckled with millions of yellows and whites. On this night, it would be no different. They played hide and seek, danced like the leaves blowing in the wind as they fell from their branch homes, or on the swing until the sky went from deep blue to a pale blue, then they climbed up the knots of the tree onto the open landing of the tree and lay on their backs to watch the stars pop up across the sky.

Zeeta had been acting strangely. She was very quiet, which was never something she did. She was born making noise. Alek had noticed this and also kept quiet most of the day. But laying there in silence was too much. So, he looked over at her, his fingers laced together behind his head, and broke the silence bluntly, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

She didn’t respond at first. He glanced over and saw she was lost in troubled thought. “Do you think it’s possible for us to communicate with the spirits, Alek?” She asked her voice trembling, continuing to look at the sky, tears sparkling at the corner of her eyes.

“I’m not sure...,” Alek admitted after a pause and turned on his side and propped his head up on his arm, “I only know of Queen Mylah talking with them. And the story of the First Queen. Why? Have you been in communication with them?”

“No,” Zeeta sighed sitting up and wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her chin on her knees. “But I had this really weird and scary dream... It was when we are older. We were in this strange dark room. You were looking up at me from your knees and you said, ‘You’re my best friend. I was supposed to protect you! I’m sorry... What can I do!?’ It sounded like you were crying. You were all tied up and far away from me. I saw blood on your face and coming from your nose. There is a chuckle that comes from behind me, I think? Or within me... I don’t know which. But it sounds like a woman, so I guess it’s me... Then I hear, ‘How sweet of you to care so much...’ I feel pain, and then everything turns to darkness just before I wake up.

“I want to ask the spirits about it because it has me worried. It’s not like any dream I’ve ever had before. I’m scared that-,” A tear finally breaking loose from the corner of her eye rolled down her cheek. She wiped it away with the back of her hand before continuing. “I’m scared that I’m going to hurt you in the future, Alek! Why would I do that? How could I do that? You are my best friend! I cannot bear the thought of-” She didn’t finish her sentence. She hid her head in her knees and started sobbing uncontrollably.

He sat up, and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look up at him. “Zeeta, it was just a dream. Besides, I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you... or let you turn bad! We are always going to be best friends! I swear.” He touched his forehead to hers. He wanted her to feel sure of the promise that he just made. After a moment he added, “Let’s promise each other one thing right here and now.”

She wiped her eyes on the inside of her tunic, sniffed, and nodded her head. Her eyes were a unique shade of green that had a hint of brown in them near the iris. They were beautiful all the time but with the outer rims of her eyes red and her nose and cheeks being flushed from crying Alek couldn’t help but stare into her eyes and get lost. He hated to see her sad.

“No matter what, let’s tell each other everything. If we don’t have secrets, then there is no reason for you to worry anymore about your dream... Okay?”

Zeeta smiled and nodded. “Okay, I promise. No secrets. Ever.”

This was always about the time that he would wake up. It had been eating him away that, if the dream was real, he had now broken a promise to Zeeta by making a promise with the queen. If it was not, then by asking Zeeta about his dream he might feel silly for even worrying. But his curiosity was stronger than his worry of embarrassment. So, after the fourth night of the same dream, he went looking for Zeeta.

It was early in the morning; Zeeta hadn’t slept in the room with their little group last night. She had spent the night with her parents. Tomorrow, they were leaving to go home to Ezri. She wanted to spend as much time with them as possible before they left. He had let her spend time with her parents, thinking that she needed this time with them to grieve.

He hated the thought of having to do the same alone with his father being so busy and not getting any time alone with him. But it was like they knew his thoughts. All three of them would show up at unexpected times and invite him to go do something with them, always when he was about to break down. But when Zeeta offered him to stay with her and her parents, he turned her down. It’s not that he wanted to, but he couldn’t help but feel he needed a little time to mourn by himself. ‘A stupid idea that was.’ he concluded as he stepped out of his room stretching his arms above his head and rubbing his eyes.

Zeeta’s parents' room was on the second level of the castle, and the room was a lot more luxurious than the room the warriors stayed in. But he wouldn’t have to go that far. As he exited to the main hall to head up to the second level, he ran into Zeeta. Her cheeks flushed, and she smiled and put a finger to her lips before he could speak, grabbed his hand and led him across the hall and out the door onto the castle grounds.

The search throughout the castle and village had been in vain. There was no evidence that led to the queen's killer, and none of the guards had seen anyone leave the city that night. Of course, the guard had been a little light at the start of the festival. An assassination had never been attempted on a queen before, so there had never been a need. But now, it was doubled. Alek had hardly seen his father the past few days, but when he did, he was accompanied by approximately twelve or more guards.

All along the grounds extra patrol was everywhere. Even Alek had taken up a couple of shifts. He didn’t have to since he had just transitioned to a warrior and hadn’t been assigned an assignment... yet. But he wanted to keep his mind distracted, and honestly it wasn’t doing any good. Today they were going to have a gathering for the Queen and would burn her body as the spirits officially welcomed her to join them in forever looking after all of the people.

Zeeta led Alek to the gardens and past a very depressed-looking soldier named Kayto that they had known for most of their life. He was the queen's brother, well, that’s what they claimed. Apparently, they had known each other their whole lives and his family had taken her in as a young girl when she lost hers to some raiders. They were warriors together, in the same group as Commander Bastien until he retired to staying at the castle, after narrowly escaping death when the Remo who attacked Orrana and killed Aleks mother came after him.

He was the reason that they had found out there was a Remo in there to begin with. He was going on shift when he found the guard whose place he was supposed to take, was missing, staff carelessly tossed aside. Nothing left of him but a trail of blood leading into the cave. He alerted the nearest guard to go for reinforcements then took off back towards the cave to see if there were any survivors and to rid the Remo of its existence. His gift is that of fire. But the Remo caught him unaware as he was entering the cave.

Kayto looked older than he really was thanks to the Remo attack. His once dark skin now had a grey tint to it. His hair mostly grey as well, some black still showing through his tight curls in his hair and his beard. He looked frail for a man that was once well built. His eyes once honey-brown, now lacking color. The Remo had stabbed through his right shoulder blade, and had just started to enter his body and sucking out his color when he had finally come out of his daze and burned the Remo to a crisp at the same time as cauterizing his wounded shoulder. He still favored this side and you could see that it slumped a little lower than the other side, even when standing at attention.

He gave them a weak but sad smile as they passed and nodded to Zeeta when she asked if they could enter the gardens just to get some air and talk without being bothered by the guards. She led him through the garden maze like she knew where she was going though Alek was very lost after the third turn. The farther they went the darker it got as a huge tree slowly crawled in front of the sun, until it felt like dusk had settled over the garden. He knew the tree was huge like one they had in Ezri, you could see it over the castle wall, but he didn’t really understand just how enormous it was. He had never been this far into the queen’s garden before and was curious as to where she was taking him.

She stopped right before the last turn and faced Alek with a stern look and said, “Where I am about to show you, you cannot tell anyone about. I shouldn’t even be showing you, but I just want to be alone... Well, not alone, alone. But alone with you.” Her cheeks flushed and she looked like she was about to try and explain herself again.

Alek took her hand and smiled, “I get what you mean. I won’t tell anyone. I promise.” He winced remembering the dream... or memory? Zeeta wasn’t looking at his face though. She was staring at her hand in his, her cheeks glowing pink, and her eyes wide. He cleared his throat, pulled his hand away, and gestured for her to lead the way.

She led them around and they were facing a door. She paused, chewing on her bottom lip as if she wanted to say something. She didn’t. Once through the door, Alek gasped at the beauty of the faerie forest hidden in this castle’s garden. It almost felt as if he had stepped out of the castle and back into the forest near his home in Ezri. He walked forward in a daze trying to take everything in and then did a slow circle, but his brain was not processing what he was seeing very quickly. Zeeta had walked ahead to a bench not too far off and was watching him take in the beauty of this small world he stepped into.

After a few moments of taking in what he was seeing, he walked over to where Zeeta was and sat next to her. “How long have you known about this place?” he asked slowly. He looked hurt and didn’t give her a chance to speak before he spoke again. “You know what? Never mind.” He turned away and his hands clenched to fists in his lap.

“I wanted to tell you about it... I was going to show it to you last night... but you were having such a great time with your father... I didn’t want to ruin those moments, knowing how little time you have spent with him. Queen Mylah only gave me permission to tell anybody about her gardens the day we arrived. I wanted to tell you! Oh Alek!” She put her hand on his shoulder and felt him shaking. “I am so sorry, I know we promised no secrets, but it was the queen's orders! And you know she would have known if I had told you... Alek please don’t be upset with me… I just can’t take much more pain today...” She wrapped her arms around him and let out a sob.

He hugged her back. They stayed like that for a few minutes. When they pulled away, she dried her eyes with the back of her hand, and he grabbed her elbow and helped her up as he stood up. “I’m not. You know I can’t be mad with you. Come on. You have a garden to show me, remember?”

Zeeta beamed her breath taking smile at him and Alek let her lead him around the garden, pointing out all the areas she helped the queen add to the garden. He realized now that the dream was a memory forgotten by him, but like her, had to break a promise due to orders from the queen. If she was told to keep this secret from everyone by the queen herself, and respected the queens wishes, then he should too. He also realized something else. He didn’t know when it had happened, but it had happened a long time ago. He was in love with his best friend.