Criminal

A sudden burst of cold smacked against my skin, I gasped and bolted awake. Idril gasped and looked stared at me, wide-eyed. Her hair was damp and she looked like a drowned cat. A maid stood at the head of our bed. She had dark ginger hair and deep brown eyes. There was an air of familiarity about her... Maybe she worked here when before I went to prison, but never noticed her.

"Her... Your... Mother wishes to see you in the living room." She managed between giggles, then scurried out the room. I sighed and pushed myself out of the bed. I shoved my wet bangs out of my face and heaved a sigh.

"Your mother may actually be insane." Idril said, sitting on the corner of the bed, shaking the water off her arms.

"I wouldn't doubt it." I muttered and headed into the bathroom. I dried my hair and changed into dry clothes. Idril did they same, but had stayed in the room to do so. We headed down the stairs into the grand and extravagantly decorated dining room. I took a seat and Idril sat across from me.

"Weren't we supposed to go to the living room?" Idril questioned as a steaming plate of breakfast was set down in front of both of us.

I laughed as she started shoveling all the food in her mouth and answered her. "I figured you'd like some breakfast. Besides we're dead, we don't have any appointments."

She giggled. "I suppose it is fairly difficult to make appointments for the dead." She smiled and we continued to consume the rest of my breakfast in silence. Until footsteps echoed down the corridor. The doors slammed, over dramatically, open against the walls and my mother stood in the opening with her arms crossed.

"I thought I told you to report to the living room." She sounded slightly angry with a pinch of teasing that made her seem lighthearted.

"I can't train on an empty stomach." I said with a mouth full of food and a raised eyebrow. The echo of her eye roll could be heard for miles. She wanted to scold me and lecture on how I need to act like royalty. But I knew she wouldn't, I'm a fugitive not a royal. Then I noticed the same maid from earlier by her side. My mother doesn't travel with an entourage within the castle. And she still looks so familiar. It's really bothering me that I can't remember where I've seen her before. There was another girl on her other side. She was shorter and curvy in all the right places with curly black hair and ice blue eyes.

"We are dead... Technically." Idril interrupted my pondering and waved her spoon at my mom. "So we don't have to be punctual, necessarily."

"Just come as soon as you finish." She laughed and left without another word.

"She's where you get your weird emotions from." Idril said and at another bite of her eggs and bread.

"My weird emotions?" I questioned mimicking her dramatic bite of food.

"Yeah." She shrugged. I mentally willed her to elaborate. "I don't know how to explain it... You just... Are emotionally similar and strange. Not in the mood swing way... Like me... Just weird." She mumbled the last part and finished what was left of her breakfast. She stood up and ushered me to leave. I stood and lead her to the living room.

My mother stood between two fairly long tables. They could probably seat about twelve people. But there were no chairs and the only thing on the tables were identical wooden cubes.

"This is the easiest of the exercises... Well there's one that's easier but that will be saved for the end of today. So that you might have a sense of accomplishment when you leave... Instead of defeat." She started. "There is a table for each of you, and I want you to move the block all the way to the end of the table without touching it...." She paused. "It's to train your telekinetic powers!"

"But we already know how to use them. We used them to move and shoot the catapult." I pointed out. "Didn't we?"

"Yes but that catapult was designed to be used by your magik. These blocks are magik retardant... But saast paar should have no problem moving them." With that she left. But the too maids stood against the wall, right in the middle. They seemed to be as close as possible without touching each other. Strange.

"I bet I can move it first." Idril said and shot me a challenging look.

"You're on." I smirked at her. I knew I could do this. I focused all my energy on the block. It hummed a violent song, blackness surrounded it and it felt spiked with anger. My magik wasn't sure how to touch it. For several minutes I tried different angles but anywhere my magik reached the black spiked and tried to stab my magik.

"Ow." I grunted after a particular painful spike.

"You too?" Idril called, rubbing her forehead and staring at me.

"It's not pleasant." I mumbled. "And nothing specific hurts.... Just.... Everything at once."

"It's so frustrating!" She screamed and stomped her foot. "It's just a normal cube, how can it possibly hurt this much?"

Just a cube. Just... A cube? That's it! It's just a cube. Just a piece of wood. It can't hurt me. It doesn't hurt anything specific. I just imagine it hurts. It's only in my head, so if I don't let it hurt me. It won't. If I can imagine the pain I can imagine it not being there... Right?

I concentrated once again. But I didn't let the blackness show it's face. It was just a wooden cube. So I pushed it down the table. It moved a little slower than it should because of the magik being used keeping the blackness away. But at least it moved. I pushed it all the way of the table to show off and to hear the satisfying thud as it hit the ground. Idril gasped, and I smiled, reveling in the the glory.

"How?" She asked.

"It's just a block! And you're just imagining the pain. So, imagine that it's just a block and it doesn't cause any pain. Then it's just like moving the catapult... Or shooting it. Easy." She nodded then turned her attention back to the cube. A crease formed between her eyebrows as she focused, and then it moved. She got it halfway and then couldn't contain her giggles and ran over to me.

"I did it! I did it!" She chanted and wrapped her arms around my neck, pecking me on the lips. I smiled back at her and hugged her close. Then I spun her around in joy and pecked her again. As if on cue my mother walked in.

"Good, good." She smiled. "Now you may have a break to recharge. Or replenish... Yep you catch my drift. I expect you back in two hours." She walked out and the two maids followed her. As the door closed slowly I caught something the red headed maid said.

"I told you he'd do it, Less." A wall hit me, a wall of realization. Lessie... Red hair... It was Tathar... It had to be. There was no other explanation. I charged after them.

"Wait!" I yelled and ripped the door open. "Wait. I need to talk to the maids. Stop!" The three of them stopped and turned to look at me. I stopped before them and felt small. I suddenly doubted myself. Tathar was dead... They beheaded him. But they beheaded me and I lived.

"I know this sounds crazy... I feel crazy... But since I saw you this morning I thought I knew you. I... You seem so familiar... And just now... You..." I took a deep breath to stop from rambling. "T- Tathar?" I whispered with tears in my eyes. I felt so weak, so stupid. Why did I do this? It's not him, he's dead and never coming back.

"Oh, Elessar." She sighed, and her form began to grow taller, her hair shorter. Within seconds it was him again. I fell to my knees, I couldn't take it. I'd missed him so much, for so long. Tears streamed down my face as all the sorrow and sadness I had kept locked up for so long from his death returned with a vengeance.

He kneeled next to me and put his hand on back. "I'm sorry."

"I thought you were dead. Months, months." I wailed. I hate this moment of weakness, I hate crying. It's terrible. People should never see this side of me. I need to be strong. But I couldn't. "You left me alone.... So alone."

"I know, your... They said I had to. You weren't even supposed to figure it out this quickly."

"Dead... you were dead... No more letters. No love. Love killed you, I couldn't have it. If I did I'd die too." I babbled senselessly and pointed to Idril. "She suffered too."

"I know buddy." He pulled me into a hug. "Care to translate?" He asked Idril.

"Well he tried his best not to fall in love with me. Because he was worried he'd die, just like you. That I'd turn you in... Just like Lessie did. But when we were locked out he told me he had some revelation that you died happy, because love is happiness. He also told me that he had always looked forward to your letters, and he had been planning to meet up with you again... The day he was supposed to leave, was the day he found out."

"I'm so sorry." He patted my back again. "I wanted to tell you. Wanted to write you letters. I missed you too. It was like I was missing a limb without my best friend. And I apparently wounded you significantly. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

After my tears at stopped and my hiccups had quieted for the most part I tried to speak again. "I missed you."

"Me too." He smiled at me. I missed those eyes and that smile. "And even though I prefer long hair... Yours looks nice short." He pointed out randomly and messed up my hair.

"No that moment is over you two need to recharge." Mother said, killing the moment. And for the first time in my life I stood up to her.

"No." I said sternly. "I love you to death, mom. But I just found out my best friend didn't die and you were the one hiding him... Probably even the one that faked his death. I'm going to talk to him. Find out how his life has been. I don't care what you want me to do. We have a week to train, half a day to catch up is reasonable. Thank you." I grabbed Idril and Tathar's hands an stormed away from my mother, pulling them with me.