Metanoia (9 page)

“
Shh. It’s okay, Gina. You
aren’t hurting anyone, and, now that you’ve gotten this off your
chest, I don’t think you will hurt as much either.” He held her to
him as she sobbed into his shoulder. She threw her arms around his
neck and held him against her.

“
I’m sorry, Leyance. I’m
sorry. I can’t bear to be by myself anymore,” she sobbed, the sound
muffled by his shoulder.

“
You don’t have to be. I’m
here. I’ll always be right here.” He held her, rubbing her back and
fingering her hair. She continued to hold on to him and so they
remained until her tear drops dried and she fell asleep in his
arms.

The sound of birds singing softly awoke Gina.
Opening her eyes, she suddenly remembered where she was, yet
something seemed odd to her. Then, it hit her. Gina had fallen
asleep in Leyance’s arms and he, too, had fallen asleep. Slowly, so
as not to disturb him, she rolled over to gaze upon him. The eyes
that so easily made Gina weak in the knees were closed, but he was
still beautiful all the same.

He is handsome,
she thought.
I’ll give
him that, not to mention caring, intelligent, funny – no, stop,
stop! …What’s the use? I can’t help it.
She studied his face, his brown loose curls resting on his
head and noticed beads of perspiration on his forehead. His lips
were moving, as well, as if mouthing a word. Gina realized what he
was doing. He was silently calling out for her.

“
Leyance…” she whispered.
Worry swept over her. “Leyance!”

Leyance walked through the streets of
Nythagié, Gina’s hand in his. He smiled at her and gently kissed
her head. They were together. Finally, they were together. Finally,
she loved him, remembered loving him. That’s when the sky
blackened. A dark figure stepped into the clearing.

“
Noquef!” Gina
exclaimed.

“
I’ve come for you,
Darling, I told you I would. Come with me. Marry me. Give yourself
up to me,” he demanded. Gina quickly pushed Leyance away harshly.
She ran into Noquef’s arms.

“
Noquef, I knew you’d
come!” She held him close and kissed him hard. “I love you so
much!” she said, speaking in between kisses. Leyance didn’t know
what to do.

“
Gina…” he
started.

“
Sorry,” Noquef said
grinning. “She’s mine. She was always meant to be mine.” Again, he
grabbed Gina and kissed her as they started to walk away. Leyance
tried to run after her, tried to yell out, but some invisible hand
stopped him.

“
Gina!” he said to himself.
“Gina!” Her voice now floated back to him.

“
Leave me, Leyance! I never
loved you! I love Noquef, not Leyance. Leyance…”

“
Leyance!” Gina yelled.
“Come on, Leyance, wake up!” He jolted up, still shaking. He looked
surprised at the sight of Gina.

“
Gina! You’re still
here.”

“
Of course, I haven’t gone
anywhere. That was some nightmare,” she said, drying his forehead
with her sleeve. “I thought you might be having an epileptic fit or
something. I was kind of worried. Shows how much I know about
nightmares, huh?”

“
It was nothing. Just a
stupid dream. Nothing to worry about.”

“
What was it about?” she
inquired. “I mean do you normally call out for me in your
dreams?”

“
You don’t want to hear
it.”

“
Sure, I do. Come on, tell
me,” Gina pleaded. After awhile, Leyance gave in.

“
You and I were a couple,”
he began. Gina jumped slightly at this, but he didn’t notice and
continued. “We were walking and – well Noquef came and took you
away. It was a dream, it wasn’t real.”

“
Noquef?”
Gina asked.
What is
that?

“
I know, I hate him too,”
Leyance responded, misunderstanding her question.

“
Him? Who is this guy?” she
questioned, now utterly confused.

“
Oh, right, sorry. He’s an
evil man, Gina, that’s all you need to know. He died in a fire
about twenty-five years ago. He’s long gone.” He clearly did not
want to say more so Gina did not push him. Though he tried to hide
it, this dream had obviously disturbed him. She wanted to return
the same care and kindness that he had shown her earlier. So, she
sat up and wrapped her arms around him. He accepted the embrace.
They sat in silence for awhile then slowly broke away. Gina’s eyes
were caught by his, but, once again, she pulled away and went over
to the window. Leyance slowly followed and came up behind her,
wrapping his arms around her stomach and resting his head on her
shoulder. Gina’s heart was racing and so many butterflies darted
around her stomach that she was sure he’d feel them. She turned to
face him.

“
Leyance…” His arms were wrapped around her and hers rested
upon his chest.
No,
she thought,
this will only
complicate things and I don’t want that, I don’t. But those eyes!
Oh, man. I want to – just once, but I know I shouldn’t!
But she couldn’t help it. She looked into his
eyes, reached up and put her lips to his. Instant relief swept over
her as she obeyed her heart’s desire. Yet, at the same time, her
stomach gripped with longing. They just held each other and kissed
for as long as they could. After a time, they finally broke apart
and stared into each other’s eyes.

“
Do you remember anything?”
Leyance asked, studying her eyes, searching for a sense of
recognition in them.

“
What are you talking
about?” Gina asked, taken aback.

“
Well, I always thought
that you would remember your past if we finally got back together.
Do you remember anything?”

“
What?
You only wanted to kiss me to make me remember?” she asked, hurt by
his remark.
How could he say that?
she thought.

“
Yes, I mean, no. I love
you but I thought if you finally let yourself love me than you’d
remember but…”

“
But the prophecy did not
say I’d remember through you! I’ll remember through some evil or
something,” she interrupted. “Besides, this doesn’t mean I love
you. I still don’t remember anything.”
Leyance looked injured. “I’m only trying to keep you from getting
hurt! Prophecies can be changed.”

“
No, they
can’t.”

“
Yes, they can. Do you
remember anything? Anything at all?”

“
Yes,”
she replied after awhile, looking stern. “I remember why I didn’t
want to get involved with you.” With that she pushed past him and
went outside. Leyance in return followed her out the door, but went
off in the opposite direction. Gina watched him go, then walked
over to a rock, and sat down.
I told
you,
she thought.
Things don’t change that easily.

The rest of the vacation was spent in
silence. Gina hated the fact that they were mad at each other, yet
for once she could relax, knowing she was by herself more than
before. The time finally came to return back and surprisingly, Gina
felt rested. They hiked down the hills back to the city, this time
with Gina leading the way and Leyance lagging behind. On returning
to the city, Gina was sent straight to training for a long session
that the trainers hoped would make up for her absence. Night came,
and later sleep, and Leyance never showed his face to her.

Chapter 5

“The First Test”

Light filled Gina’s room. She rubbed her eyes
and looked up. Someone was standing next to her bed.

“
Leyance…” Gina began, but
it was Fheyrhil whom stepped up to her.

“
I am sorry to put anymore
pressure on you, Your Highness, but an emergency council must be
called now,” he reported.

“
All right, I’m getting
up,” Gina mumbled and rolled out of bed.

Five minutes later, Gina sat next to Fheyrhil
in the council room, still in her pajamas. Many members filed in,
and, to Gina’s dismay, Leyance was one of them. She avoided looking
at him.

“
I am sorry to awaken you
so early,” Fheyrhil addressed, “but we have terrible news. Last
night, while on watch, one of the guards saw an Übel lurking
around. The guards captured it, and, fortunately, it cooperated
when questioned. The Vice has awakened. He knows that Queen Regina
is back. If he is not stopped now before any plan he has is put to
action, he will wipe out all the lands. Übels are gathering from
all over, coming to him to carry out his orders. He must be stopped
now. A small team must be sent to his lands to destroy him. Without
him the Übels will have no leader and can be better handled with
another strategy. We must act quickly. Queen Regina?” This made
Gina jump, and she turned to him.

“
Yes?”

“
You must lead this team,”
he announced.

“
What? Lead the team?!”
Gina repeated in disbelief.

“
Yes, you are the only one
with power enough to stop him, you know that. A team will be needed
to assist you, but you must destroy him.”

“
But I don’t have that
power anymore,” she replied.

“
Then pray you remember it
in time.” At this, Elenzel stood to address Fheyrhil.

“
Sir, why should we send a
small team if there are many Übels traveling this way? Why not send
an entire army?” he inquired.

“
We want the advantage of
surprise,” Fheyrhil informed. “We want to sneak in through the back
door, not drawing attention to ourselves by charging the front
gates. No need to start a war we already know we cannot win.
Though, we will assemble an army to fight if the plan should
fail.”

Leyance then stood, pulling out maps. “We
will need these to navigate through the land,” he said. “They show
the Shadow as well as all entrances. I’ve informed everyone of this
new development and all weaponry and equipment will be made ready
soon.”

“
Excellent,” Fheyrhil
responded. “Leyance too will go. Along with him and Queen Regina,
Elenzel, Kien, and Deseré will accompany.”

“
Fine,” Gina joined in.
“Everyone get ready. We leave at dawn.” Everyone nodded and
hurriedly gathered their things. Gina glanced at Fheyrhil who
nodded, reading her mind, and left as well. Then she went up to
Leyance.

“
Don’t go,” she
stated.

“
Excuse me?”

“
You are not going with
us,” she repeated. “You seriously think it would be a good idea to
go along with someone you love into the worst place you can be?
Your feelings for me could get in the way of your job, and I can’t
let that happen.”

“
My love for you is the
exact reason why I am going,” he replied coolly. “I will not lose
you again, not if I can help it.”

“
I am giving you strict
orders. You will not go!” Gina shouted, but Leyance stayed calm at
looked her straight in the eyes.

“
You forget,” he whispered,
“that you once told me not to think of you as Queen. I’m going, and
you cannot stop me.”

“
We’ll see about
that.”

The next morning, the crew was getting ready.
It was four o’clock. Gina had informed them that they would leave
an hour before dawn. All except Leyance knew of this. She was going
to continue to do all in her power to stop him from coming along.
Fheyrhil saw this, but neither did nor said anything regarding it.
Instead he observed quietly and without judgment. As always, he
seemed to know something Gina did not, and this knowledge comforted
him.

“
Let’s go, everyone. It’s
time,” Gina announced. She turned to face Fheyrhil. “I’m sorry, but
I can’t let him come.”

“
It is your decision, not
mine, Your Majesty. Good luck and may blessings be with you always.
Are you frightened?” he asked.

“
You already know, so why
ask?”

“
Knowing it and hearing you
say it are two entirely different things, Regina,” he
shared.

“
I’m not frightened, and
I’m ready.” This was the truth. For the first time, she was not
afraid. In fact, she felt a surge of energy and of courage. Though
aware she was entering into certain danger, she welcomed the trip.
Perhaps this trip would prove once and for all who she was. Yet, at
the same time, Gina shivered at the thought of what price she would
have to pay for that knowledge. The queen had died before from this
same immorality, and Gina knew she might suffer the same fate. Even
knowing this, she still felt strangely unafraid. She was about to
live out her fantasies, or so she thought.

Gina mounted her horse with ease among the
rest of her company. With one last glance of Nythagié, she rode off
through the flower-vined gate, leading the rest. They rode east
towards their destination. Through valleys, forests, meadows, and
hills they traveled. Gina marveled at the beauty around her, even
though it resembled her world.

Around noon, Gina stalled the journey for a
break. She sat down in the shade of a great oak tree and spread out
the map and a compass she had brought.

“
We seem to be traveling in
the right direction,” she announced to the others. Deseré came and
looked over the papers too. Her long brown hair fell gracefully
over them.