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There he was. My target, cornered and nowhere to go. He was trapped. Strange, he held no weapon against me. The fool had forgotten to prepare himself for a fight. I lunged at him, but he darted around the room like a frightened mouse. He was quick. But he wouldn’t be for long. I chased him endlessly around every corner of the room, knocking over crates and smashing them into pieces as we both scrambled over them. He was evidently tired now, his panting ringing out over the commotion, his steps were now sloppy and uncoordinated, forcing him to slow down. I still had the energy to keep going, and when he finally tripped upon the wreckage, I had the point of my blade at his throat before his whole body could hit the floor.
Here. Here was my chance to eliminate my enemy. The edge my sword weighed heavily upon his neck, just like the colossal bounty that lay upon his name. I would claim my reward. It just took one, foul swing. But then I saw his face, his terrible, beautiful face. It was marred with tears and his mouth trembled with pleas for mercy, resembling a lamb being led to slaughter. I still gazed at his expression, my mind confounded by my hesitation. His irises were as blue as the frozen waters of Saphira, tears welling around them like ice melting in the warmth of springtime. I could take it no longer. I brought the blade up, and then with all my might, I plunged the sword into the marble tile, declaring the defiance of my master’s orders. I fell to my knees in disgrace, my sorrow and guilt forcing me to the ground into a pitiful heap.
Claudius was an innocent man, no, an angel cursed to walk the filth of the earth. Why? Why must I kill him? I could not understand, my mind writhing in pain with every question that entered my head. Why did I hesitate? What did I see in Claudius? What was going on? I wept in confusion, frustrated that I could not find the answers I wished for.
“Stella,” a voice muttered, “I’m so sorry.”
I managed to lift my head up from the floor, only to see Claudius walking towards me. I turned away, unwilling to look him in the eye. I had hurt him enough.
“Stella please,” Claudius pleaded, “I should’ve have never let them take you.” He knelt before me and put his hand underneath my chin. Still, I refused to look up. He then lifted my head, forcing me to meet his gaze. Tears no longer clouded his eyes, and instead streamed down his face like rain slipping down a rock. The blue of his irises were no longer frozen in fear, but rather, rippling with empathy and sorrow. “It’s okay Stella. You don’t have to fight anymore.” One more question entered my mind: why did he pity me?
“Culuaids,” I managed, “Waht is hpeaninng?” I was startled by my own words. What was wrong with me? My voice had been reduced to shrill garbling and it pained my throat to mutter even a syllable. “My vicoe,” I hacked, “waht is wnorg wtih it?”
“It’s the Cadence,” Claudius explained. “It messed with your ability to talk back. They do it to pretty much everybody.” I bowed my head in defeat. “It’s okay though, I know someone who can fix you right up.”
“Waht,” I mumbled, “waht esle did it do to me?”
“It,” Claudius paused, seemingly reluctant to answer me. “It took away all you cherished memories, just to make sure you didn’t have any emotional attachments. You needed to be the perfect soldier, cold and unforgiving. I…” I stopped him. I knew the rest.
Picking myself up from the floor, I said, “Taht was nveer me. It is fzuzy, but I am sarintg to rmebmeer you.” Claudius seemed to be shocked by my words, gasping in surprise. “I had a ptetry vicoe ocne, rghit? I uesd to sing wtih you wehn we payeld by the pnod?”
“Yeah. Yeah you did! What else can you remember?” Claudius had a beautiful smile on his face. I felt the same smile slipping onto my face too.
“We wree bset fierdns. We used to lvoe tag toghteer and we alywas palyed parnks on Old Man Jkenins.”
Claudius was now laughing with excitement, pacing with his hands held above his head as if he were praising an unseen deity above him. “No one’s ever recovered this quickly! Stella, do you know what this means?”
“What?” I jumped back in disbelief. My throat, it was no longer searing in pain. I no longer struggled to breathe as I spoke. My voice… It was beautiful. It was smooth and flowed off my tongue like silk, and it had the softness to match. I couldn’t contain myself. I had to speak more! “Claudius, it’s back! My voice, it’s so pretty!” I looked back to my friend. His face was frozen in surprise. But I knew Claudius. He always did that when was extremely happy about something.
“Stella,” Claudius gasped, “You’re- you’re the one…”
“What do you mean?”
“You recovered so quickly… The Cadence usually takes months to fully cure even for the luckiest of souls. And it didn’t take you more than an hour!”
“And?”
“It means that your voice is too strong to be muted. Everybody must remain silent, but you can’t. Stella, you gotta come with me!” My friend was whirling around in excitement. He must have been twisting around with a speed that a tornado would be jealous of. His laughs came out in sprightly bursts, infectious with their enthusiastic nature. My face began to hurt from all this smiling, but I didn’t care. I hadn’t been able to grin for so long, so it felt good to do it now. I was so happy, I couldn’t refuse Claudius’ offer.
“Okay, old friend,” I beamed, “where to?” Claudius immediately stopped spinning and focused upon me, but his vivid smile did not leave his face.
“With the Sirens and I, the people trying to fight the Cadence. The people have been silenced for too long. And now…”
“Now I want to speak up for them.”
We both smiled even harder, if that were even possible. I spread my arms out around Claudius, pulling him in close for a hug. He did the same in return, completing the friendly gesture. For once, I felt safe. As I pulled myself away from my friend, I started to whistle. Another memory had popped into my head. It was the song of a nightingale, its wonderful tune echoing through the empty hall. Claudius repeated after me. Then, I began to sing some old verses of a song. It was old song from my childhood, a song that Claudius seemed to remember. We walked out of the dark and abandoned facility singing:
Here. Here was my chance to eliminate my enemy. The edge my sword weighed heavily upon his neck, just like the colossal bounty that lay upon his name. I would claim my reward. It just took one, foul swing. But then I saw his face, his terrible, beautiful face. It was marred with tears and his mouth trembled with pleas for mercy, resembling a lamb being led to slaughter. I still gazed at his expression, my mind confounded by my hesitation. His irises were as blue as the frozen waters of Saphira, tears welling around them like ice melting in the warmth of springtime. I could take it no longer. I brought the blade up, and then with all my might, I plunged the sword into the marble tile, declaring the defiance of my master’s orders. I fell to my knees in disgrace, my sorrow and guilt forcing me to the ground into a pitiful heap.
Claudius was an innocent man, no, an angel cursed to walk the filth of the earth. Why? Why must I kill him? I could not understand, my mind writhing in pain with every question that entered my head. Why did I hesitate? What did I see in Claudius? What was going on? I wept in confusion, frustrated that I could not find the answers I wished for.
“Stella,” a voice muttered, “I’m so sorry.”
I managed to lift my head up from the floor, only to see Claudius walking towards me. I turned away, unwilling to look him in the eye. I had hurt him enough.
“Stella please,” Claudius pleaded, “I should’ve have never let them take you.” He knelt before me and put his hand underneath my chin. Still, I refused to look up. He then lifted my head, forcing me to meet his gaze. Tears no longer clouded his eyes, and instead streamed down his face like rain slipping down a rock. The blue of his irises were no longer frozen in fear, but rather, rippling with empathy and sorrow. “It’s okay Stella. You don’t have to fight anymore.” One more question entered my mind: why did he pity me?
“Culuaids,” I managed, “Waht is hpeaninng?” I was startled by my own words. What was wrong with me? My voice had been reduced to shrill garbling and it pained my throat to mutter even a syllable. “My vicoe,” I hacked, “waht is wnorg wtih it?”
“It’s the Cadence,” Claudius explained. “It messed with your ability to talk back. They do it to pretty much everybody.” I bowed my head in defeat. “It’s okay though, I know someone who can fix you right up.”
“Waht,” I mumbled, “waht esle did it do to me?”
“It,” Claudius paused, seemingly reluctant to answer me. “It took away all you cherished memories, just to make sure you didn’t have any emotional attachments. You needed to be the perfect soldier, cold and unforgiving. I…” I stopped him. I knew the rest.
Picking myself up from the floor, I said, “Taht was nveer me. It is fzuzy, but I am sarintg to rmebmeer you.” Claudius seemed to be shocked by my words, gasping in surprise. “I had a ptetry vicoe ocne, rghit? I uesd to sing wtih you wehn we payeld by the pnod?”
“Yeah. Yeah you did! What else can you remember?” Claudius had a beautiful smile on his face. I felt the same smile slipping onto my face too.
“We wree bset fierdns. We used to lvoe tag toghteer and we alywas palyed parnks on Old Man Jkenins.”
Claudius was now laughing with excitement, pacing with his hands held above his head as if he were praising an unseen deity above him. “No one’s ever recovered this quickly! Stella, do you know what this means?”
“What?” I jumped back in disbelief. My throat, it was no longer searing in pain. I no longer struggled to breathe as I spoke. My voice… It was beautiful. It was smooth and flowed off my tongue like silk, and it had the softness to match. I couldn’t contain myself. I had to speak more! “Claudius, it’s back! My voice, it’s so pretty!” I looked back to my friend. His face was frozen in surprise. But I knew Claudius. He always did that when was extremely happy about something.
“Stella,” Claudius gasped, “You’re- you’re the one…”
“What do you mean?”
“You recovered so quickly… The Cadence usually takes months to fully cure even for the luckiest of souls. And it didn’t take you more than an hour!”
“And?”
“It means that your voice is too strong to be muted. Everybody must remain silent, but you can’t. Stella, you gotta come with me!” My friend was whirling around in excitement. He must have been twisting around with a speed that a tornado would be jealous of. His laughs came out in sprightly bursts, infectious with their enthusiastic nature. My face began to hurt from all this smiling, but I didn’t care. I hadn’t been able to grin for so long, so it felt good to do it now. I was so happy, I couldn’t refuse Claudius’ offer.
“Okay, old friend,” I beamed, “where to?” Claudius immediately stopped spinning and focused upon me, but his vivid smile did not leave his face.
“With the Sirens and I, the people trying to fight the Cadence. The people have been silenced for too long. And now…”
“Now I want to speak up for them.”
We both smiled even harder, if that were even possible. I spread my arms out around Claudius, pulling him in close for a hug. He did the same in return, completing the friendly gesture. For once, I felt safe. As I pulled myself away from my friend, I started to whistle. Another memory had popped into my head. It was the song of a nightingale, its wonderful tune echoing through the empty hall. Claudius repeated after me. Then, I began to sing some old verses of a song. It was old song from my childhood, a song that Claudius seemed to remember. We walked out of the dark and abandoned facility singing:
And in the naked light I saw,
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening
People writing songs
And voices never shared
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence
| Credit | Ohhithere1543 for allowing me to compete in their blog contest |
| Tags |
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Update #1 : by JediJerboa 01/22/2018 11:36:15 amJan 22nd, 2018
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