Legends of the Silurians: Ariana

Chapter Four.

Hmph, she thinks she's so smart; she thinks she has me under her thumb, but she also very well knows that I have other acquaintances that can help me besides her, I thought to myself, an angry aura flowing from me, as I nearly ran down the small corridor, the already dead vines smashing under the weight of my feet. I slowed down as I reached the door and took a few deep breaths before cracking open the black wooden door.

There were a few churchgoers mingling or kneeling in the large room I was secretly looking at, a few of which were Roman soldiers and one Great Knight.

Damn, I said mentally, biting my lower lip. The last thing I wanted was a run-in with a Roman soldier especially a Great Knight; they were taboo. I stood there for a few minutes debating whether I should risk walking by them or waiting for them to depart from the premises. I would risk it.

The breath that I'd been unconsciously holding rushed out of my lungs and I gulped a fresh breath of oxygen. As quietly as I could, I pushed the door open, and softly closed it behind me as I hurried myself down the aisle of scattered people sitting on benches or kneeling on the floor to the doors. One of the doors had been opened welcoming strangers inside and letting the cool autumn breeze pass through the Holy building. Almost all of the men, and some women, stared at me as I walked past them, mesmerized by the grace and beauty I had obtained from an unknown parentage. Something I found quite annoying at times.

Even though Maddock was my father he wasn't my true kin nor was his wife, Delia, my real mother. When I was thirteen for the first time I got to hear the story of how Maddock had found me when I was just an infant.

Apparently one evening Maddock and Delia went hunting together by a massive and glorious lake that was situated on the outskirts of the tribe's home; one that reflected the moonlight at night and glowed from deep within. It was Maddock who had first stumbled upon me. He'd said that while he was tracking down a plump doe he heard a baby's wailing voice coming from the huge mass of water that was only mere minutes away from him. He was curious of how high the chances were that there was actually a baby by the lake, so he headed in that direction, completely forgetting about the doe he was hunting.

Sure enough, when he emerged from the treeline of the forest that surrounded the beautiful lake, there I was, except I was in the middle of it on the small island. Thankfully, though, some of his fellow tribesmen had left canoes on the lake's shore from the previous fishing party earlier that morning.

You can guess what happened after that. My father got in one of the left over canoes, paddled out to the island, retrieved me, and then brought me back to his tribe with his wife. Maddock and Delia were especially happy about finding me because Delia had never been able to bear my father any children, something she always felt ashamed about.

There was, however, one thing that Maddock had told me that he hadn't told anyone else, not even his wife. When he did finally find me, I was enveloped in a glowing essence and my entire body was soaked to the bone, but the white cloth I'd been wrapped in was completely dry and warm. When I'd first learned about this I'd come up with so many different scenarios and heroic scenes of how I was born into this world But, as time went on, my mind became occupied with more important matters such as the ongoing war between the Roman Empire and the Silure and Ordovice Tribes. Now that the thought had flitted back into my brain I, again, began to try and come up with reasonable answers of who I was.

It doesn't matter, I thought, waving the subject off, I'm Ariana and that's who I'll always be.

By now I'd been standing in the doorway of the cathedral and had attracted the attention of a few onlookers, and this time it wasn't only because of my intense beauty. I blushed, abashed from the stares I was getting from a few of the people passing by who were most likely wondering why a girl with such grace stood on the steps of a church staring out into space. Rushing to disappear from everyone's view, I descended the marble steps of the church. Doing so, I noticed a movement coming from the darkness of the shadows of the church. I took a quick glance over at the spot where the disruption had come from, not moving my head because I didn't want them to know that I knew they were there. I already knew who it was, so it didn't create much of a threat. My suspicions were correct, standing off to the side, trying to hide in the shadow's cover was Anice, her bright eyes never leaving my back as I began to walk.

Kill her! You've known she's been following you since the first day you were drawn to Merlin, a woman's menacing voice hissed in my ears.

What? I mentally replied.

Kill her, it repeated sounding even more bloodthirsty then before.

No! Who are you?I yelled back at the voice, now rudely pushing through the crowded streets that had once been dead empty.

You heard me. . . .kill her, she cackled, sending a sharp high-pitched noise through my brain.

No, I refuse. . . .she's my friend, I refused, gritting my teeth from the terribly painful noise inside my mind.

She continued to cackle, sending chills down my spine every time she did, as I ran down the road, nearly stomping everyone down in my path. I knew I had to stop my sudden outburst of running or else one person, or more if I was just that lucky, would report a mad maniac woman running through the town. I couldn't afford a meeting with the higher ups or even just a regular foot soldier at the moment. It'd only been one year, too soon for them to fully forget me. I focused all my energy on blocking out the horrifying voice and tried to slow my pace down a fraction.

You can't push me away forever. . . ., the voice whispered to me and all of a sudden the pounding ceased inside my head. My body refused to hold me up and longer, and I crumpled to the dusty ground. Every ounce of strength in my body had evaporated. Ignoring the snide remarks and rude jeers as people passed by my balled up, unmoving form, I stayed glued to the earth as tremors racked my body.

I can't remember too much after that incident that day. I can remember feeling extremely exhausted and my body continually changing from cold and clammy to burning hot and feverish, as I laid on the road, stumbling between consciousness and unconsciousness. Finally, after I'd remained lying on the public street for too long, I felt strong gentle arms grab my shoulders and under my knees, holding me close against his broad metaled chest as if I were a child.

“Mairi? Mairi, can you hear me?” I faintly heard Marcus call me, and I fluttered my eyes open in recognition of his voice.

The next thing I knew, I was being placed on my straw mattress with an extra fluffy pillow under my pounding head. As I snuggled into the cozy bed, as best I could, I readied myself for a long, pleasant sleep. But, I knew that a deep sleep was as far away from me as possible. From then on, for the next few days, I persisted to be feverish, hot and then cold, and always requesting water through a croaked dry voice that I barely recognized as mine.

During my “slumber” the evil voice would always visit me every time I'd managed to actually fall asleep; always whispering things in my dreams that were soon forgotten when I woke up after a minimal amount of time. There were always voices swirling around me, whether coming from inside my own little world or coming from reality. From what I could tell during that time, the only two people that were frequently by my side were Anice and Marcus. However, one time there was an abnormality in the tone of voices; it was a male's deep, rich voice speaking with Anice. Through my muddled brain I tried as best as I could to clear my mind and strained myself to hear what they were secretly discussing. This only resulted in another wave of pain without catching one word of their conversation.

When I did finally wake up I found that I wasn't burning hot, and there was a damp cloth on my forehead that was now warm from my body heat. I was alone and it was pitch black outside. The only light that was shining in my room was a melting candle nearing the end of its life on the bed stand next to my head.

I tried lifting myself on my elbows even though I knew that I would just fall back down, which I did. However, I wasn't going to accept “no” for an answer, so I forced my body to roll out of bed, tumbling onto the wooden floor with a loud thud. This sent Anice running in from the door that connected our chambers and Marcus rushing in, red-eyed from no sleep, from the door that was connected with the bar.

“Mairi, what in Pryderi's name are you doing? Your body isn't ready for any major movement. Your fever finally broke just this morning,” Anice reprimanded in a motherly way as she helped me up from the hard flooring. I looked down at my attire and noticed that I had been put into my nightgown when I'd been unconscious. Glancing from the corner of my eye, I saw that Marcus had, in politeness, turned his back to us until he knew that I was properly tucked into my bed.

Still playing the part of a chivalrous knight instead of a caring friend, huh? I thought, inwardly smiling to myself. At the moment I didn't care if he caught a glimpse of me being “inappropriately” dressed because now on top of everything else I had a sore hip from my fall.

“What in the world were you thinking?” she asked me in bewilderment.

“I wanted some water,” I lied, knowing that it was a pretty pathetic one. There was only one thing I wanted to do, and that was to go see Merlin as soon as possible.

“Is that all?” she asked me, forcing me to look away from her fiercest gaze, “You could have just called me to go get you some.”

She muttered something to herself as she walked out of the room to fetch my wanted glass of water. Now It was just Marcus and I in the room now, and silence engulfed both of us. After a minute he left his post standing by the door he'd entered through, and came to sit on the stool at my bedside.

“You were sick for three days. . . .you really had me worried, you know?” he told me, finally breaking the silence, as he looked at his hands and then peering into my face.

“I know. I'm sorry,” I replied looking into his soft blue eyes. I gathered all of my remaining strength into my right arm and slowly brushed his cheek with the back of my fingers. Before my hand fell from his face he grabbed my cold fingers and intertwined them with his big warm ones, holding my hand to his cheek; he closed his eyes, savoring my soft touch.

Suddenly the door whooshed open and Anice barged in, my cup of water in hand, destroying the romantic mood. Before she could catch us like we were together, he quickly released my hand and I placed it on top of my safe covers.

“There,” she said, gently placing the mug in my weakened hands, “And next time you want something just ask me instead of trying to do it on your own, alright?”

“Yes, mother,” I teased her, trying to hide a small smile.