Destiny Written

A world at war was silent when it was no longer his war to wage.

As the dawnbird lowered the sun, the sky was imbued with a magical golden stream that glittered against the fading sapphire of the sky. A faint breeze passed by, caressing his midnight hair against his forehead.

On horseback, beneath the black pine trees that shaded over him, a young man warily squared his shoulders. His back was ramrod straight. One hand held the reins, the other lightly feeling the hilt of the sword on his hip.

His features were smooth, morphing into that transition from a boy into a man, clay into stone. The shapes of youth chiseling itself into sharper angles, left behind in a rush when he exiled himself from his own country.

He felt no danger though a war raged somewhere in the world. As long as it was far from him, he didn’t care. It wasn’t his war to wage.

Not anymore.

Another breeze flew by, this one was colder. Colder for Everrain. Here, the air was as warm as dragon’s breath. Never did it snow and if it did rain here, lightning always followed, torching the earth.

But this breeze was ice against his skin. Goosebumps shivered him.

Then, a voice whispered to

him

, “Come here. Follow me.”

He whipped his head around. His eyes dilated. The flame within his eyes burst in the royal blue irises, dilating as he stared in concern. He scanned through the trees around him. There was nothing there but a couple birds who flew. He stared back ahead and speeded up the horse’s gait.

“Follow me. Come here.” It was sweet as light, soft as darkness.

Though it was warm and humid, a chill iced his skin.

What was out there?

He whipped the reins quickly and the horse began trotting faster.

It’s nothing

. He tried to assure himself.

“

Follow me,”

came the voice, more fuller and more clear. It was a woman’s voice, one that was familiar and strange. Arden ignored it. The horse whinnied and started in the direction the voice came from. Arden pulled at the reins.

“Come on, we’re not going to listen to that. Let’s keep going,” he firmly commanded.

The horse began bucking, turning wild with each strain of the reins.

Then the voice came again, stronger and firmer.

“

Arden

.”

At the sound of his name, something inside Arden changed. His blue eyes turned clear with understanding, turning into an inferno within a furnace. A spark ignited, a wildfire bursting like a nova of a star. He turned the horse and kicked his heels, and the horse went racing off in the direction where the voice was coming from.

The horse leaped over streams and weaved between the trees. Arden didn’t know where he was going, but he knew it was wherever the voice was coming from. The voice faded in and out, stronger sometimes and softer others. It sounded as if it was one voice being echoed multiple times, layering upon itself like waters rushing and tumbling over each other, tripping and falling. The voice now was ringing in his ears, beckoning him. It was noisy, overwhelming his soul.

The voice was a woman’s. Precious like a child’s first breath, and as somber as one’s last breath.

“

Come here, follow me, here… here… here.”

A tide crashed against him. There was nothing else on his mind except to silence this voice.

His horse reared towards the rose gold sky. Tugging at the reins, Arden commanded control of the animal.

Silence.

From the frenzy of chasing the end of the mystery, the meadow was a sea of calm. Blades of green that touched the knee of his horse waved back and forth. The coming night bled into the waning day. Light and dark melted together into one gradient, unable to distinguish where one began and where the other ended. The sapphire ceiling was streaked with the rosy gold of the dying sun. At the horizon, the inky ocean blue sky began its ascent, swallowing the day whole. The treasures of Sor started to shine through the emptiness. Soon, it would embed the vast inky night with its brilliance.

The world was alight with the duality of the colors. One could not be without the other. His horse trotted slowly through the field. Between the grass, stems shot up. Their buds were tightly wound, a dark, grayish color, void of any variation. A few had its petals starting to peel back, hints of brilliant, colorful blues shimmering through.

“

Here

.”

Arden’s head craned in the direction this voice flitted in from. Urging his horse, Arden went in its direction.

A slight wind picked up, lifting his hair. The wind flowed from behind him, the grass in front of him split apart, almost as if a path was being laid out for him. Without another thought, he followed it.

Suddenly, the wind stopped. So did his horse.

He kicked it, urging it forward, but the animal shook its head adamantly. A few more failed attempts and Arden groaned. He dismounted the horse, boots thudding against the earth.

The wind blew behind him, pushing him onward. His steps felt commanded by a force unknown to him.

The path lay before him. He could choose to turn around and leave, but did he really have this choice? A mystery urged him on and he needed to know the answer.

The answer to what though? Arden never knew that there was a question to begin with. But he was eager to know because what had just occurred felt like a dream. An echo of one from when he was young. A field so vast and empty, and a sky so endless, it stretched for eternity. He never knew what was past this field or this sky, but there must have been something.

The strange familiarity pushed his hand forward and suddenly, a sweet sigh whispered, “

Here

.”

There, between the soft meadows, in a circle of budding petals of flowers he had never seen before, lay a crumpled figure. Weight pressed on him, and Arden found himself kneeling on one knee as if he was bowing to royalty. Pushing the blades aside, the flowers with their circular petals fluttered with dazzling colors, opening and blooming.

A little girl.

Peacefully, she lay on her side, hands folded under her head, blissfully sleeping. A simple white nightgown adorned her and socks covered her bare feet.

But her hair. It wasn’t anything Arden had seen before. Nothing like the Florentian’s vibrant colors and definitely nothing like the Everrainians and the Aridians. Hers was something else entirely.

A rainbow of colors shimmered between each lock. The more Arden gazed, the colors changed and shifted with each movement of his eye. Colors blended, indistinguishable from one another. It flowed down her back, a cascade of the sky in its rosy golds, deep purples, soft blues, and midnight blacks.

Then, her eyes blinked open. She sat up slowly, cocked her head to the side and her eyes took Arden’s breath away.

These aren’t Ignis eyes,

he thought.

This is… something else.

A galaxy lived within them. A rich navy blue was streaked with vibrance. Vibrant rose golds, deep purples, blacks, silvers. It softened into colors Arden couldn’t even name. A world turned in those eyes. The sun rose and set. The moon and the stars scattered the eternal sky. The snow fell, the trees grew, the waters raged, the wind flew.

The world turned along with her.

Her eyebrows scrunched. “Who are you?” Her voice was small, innocent. A pretty sound like bells on the horizon, a whisper of a fantasy, a breath of a dream.

“Arden.” His name tumbled out though his mouth felt dry.

Her head tilted as she stared. “Arden,” she whispered, eyebrows scrunched.

Her eyes pierced his soul. Nothing seemed to be hidden from her. But the way she stared… it was like she recognized him. A familiar glint flashed in her eye, and as it came, it soon passed, too.

She blinked again, and her eyes faded slightly in its brilliance, almost resembling an Ignis’ eyes, but gazing closer, they were still changing in color. So did her hair, the locks turning into a deeper shade of blue, lightening at the ends.

Her head swiveled around, concern sharpening her young features. “Wait. Where am I?”

Her innocent eyes looked around in confusion. She met Arden’s gaze again.

Unsure of what to do, Arden rubbed the back of his neck. He had never dealt with children before.

Seeing her, he could never believe that he was this young before. She was maybe six or seven. He could barely remember being that old. It seemed ages ago when in fact it was only ten years ago. Has it only been five years since he ran away?

“You’re in Everrain territory,” answered Arden as curtly as he could. He cleared his throat, trying to soften his voice. He hadn’t talked to another human being for a while. There was no need to speak. “About five miles out of Elle Wren.” That was the nearest Tenbrisian city he knew.

“Where’s that?” she asked, all curiosity and confusion.

A heavy sigh escaped Arden. Of course, how would she know? She looked too young to know.

“Is that where you’re from?”

“No.”

“No?” He arched his eyebrow. “Where’s your parents?” he interrogated. “How’d you get here?”

“What? I don’t know,” she squinted, about to cry.

He rubbed his gloved hand against his face in frustration.

“Alright, what is your name?” He decided that was a better question to start with.

She opened her mouth, about to say something, before quickly closing it again. She pursed her lips and her eyebrows furrowed into deep thought.

“I… I actually don’t remember.” She looked up at him and her eyes started to cloud. “I don’t remember,” she whimpered.

To Arden’s shock and discomfort, big, fat tears began to stream down the sides of her face. She rubbed her eyes and cried, mumbling “I don’t remember” over and over again. She blubbered over her own words, a mess of tears.

With absolute disdain, Arden returned to his horse and pulled out a cloth. Trudging back, he knelt back on the earth and held out the hanky towards the child.

“Blow your nose,” he said, no compassion, no emotion, just a statement and a command.

Taking it, she blew her nose noisily and wiped her tears. She slowly composed herself, taking deep breaths to stop her hyperventilating. “I’m okay now.”

Her little fingers clung to the material as if it would vanish.

Arden shifted uncomfortably. “So, are you by yourself or are your parents nearby?” Ideally, it would be nice to send her back to her parents.

She shook her head.

“What does that mean? They’re here or they’re not here?”

She shook her head. “I’m by myself, without… my parents.” Her lips were put together, forming a pout, as tears swelled in her eyes.

“Okay,” Arden sighed, quickly changing the subject. “Then, how did you get here? Do you know which kingdom you’re from?” He pressed again.

She wiped the tears away and shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I’m not from here, I think. I went to sleep and woke up here.”

“So, you’re not from around here, and you don’t know who you are?” Arden repeated.

“Pretty much," he said matter-of-factly.

Arden sighed. “What am I gonna do with you?” He mumbled to himself. He stood, tugging on his gloves and turned in a circle, scanning the trees. Not another being in sight.

He could just leave her here. It wasn’t his problem to begin with. He couldn’t interact with other people. They might recognize the blue flame in his eyes, and how catastrophic would that be if he was finally found after five years of solitude.

But looking back down at the girl who sat cross-legged, needles pricked his heart. Not in the pain of compassion for this child, but something he couldn’t explain. Looking up at the blackened sky, the spread of Evran’s wings had risen to flight. The Dawnbird had already met her end at the edge of the horizon until the next morning when she flew again.

The wind picked up again and the rush of wind whistled between the leaves of the trees and the petals of the flowers. Almost like a faint song whispered between them. Too quiet for him to hear, but enough for him to wonder if it was there.

Taking her with him was not ideal either, but it was the safest option.

“You’re going to come with me. There’s a village nearby. I’ll take you there, and maybe someone can help you,” Arden decided. He got up. “Come on, let me help you up the horse.”

He extended out his hand. She scrutinized Arden for a moment. She looked in his eyes for a few seconds and made her final judgment that he could be trusted. Taking his hand, he lifted her with ease onto the saddle.

“It’s a pretty horse.” She said as Arden lifted her onto the saddle. “Does it have a name?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?” she asked.

“I don’t need to give him a name. I might not need him later or he might die, so I don’t give him a name so I don’t get attached to him.” Arden explained as he got on the horse, seated behind her. “Okay, don’t hold on the reins while I’m riding, just hold on to this.” Arden pointed out the horn cap.

“What if I fall off?”

“You won’t fall off. You’ll be between my arms while I hold the reins. Don’t touch the reins and don’t move around or else you might fall off.”

“You know, you should name your horse. It’s sad to think that he might die.”

“Well, that’s reality,” he replied in a deadpan tone, as he commanded the horse to go.

“I’ll name the horse, if you don’t want to name him,” she chimed in.

Arden sighed. “You don’t need to do that. There’s no point.”

“I think…” She patted the horse’s head and ran her fingers through its mane. “I’ll call you Chocolate! Because you’re the color of chocolate!”

He sighed in response.

“I like it. Do you like it, Chocolate?” She continued to ask the horse. The horse slightly tossed its head back and whinnied. “I think Chocolate likes it, too.”

The sooner he reached the village, the sooner he could drop her and return to his own life. As they rode back into the forest and followed the trail, the little girl talked incessantly. For someone who was lost with no sense of identity, she was in too good of spirits, philosophizing whatever had pricked her curious little mind. Arden replied with an occasional “Mmmhmm” or an “Oh, really” and it seemed to satisfy her.

“Are we almost there, Arden?” She asked after they had been riding for a while.

“Almost,” he said.

“So,” she began again, soft as the first kisses of snow against the ground, “who are you really?”

His brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Like, who are you?”

The question was suspended in air, freezing time like ice. The horse slowed its gait. She tilted her head up at him, the magnificence returning in those orbs of hers.

A world within a world.

“Who are you, Arden?” asked the girl once more. It harkened back to an echo of a dream he had once long ago.

The glass above him had melted into the galaxy above, jewels and sweeping colors as a painting in the sky. Her eyes reflected them, the deep blue of her hair started to shine and shimmer once more, and Arden found himself lost.

Who was he?

No one anymore.

Wind lifted around them and the wind whispered to him, “

No, you’re someone more.”

“You’re someone more,” she whispered, too, just as the wind ceased. She watched him carefully.

Ignoring the rising in his chest, Arden shook himself, running his fingers through his hair. “We have to get to Elle Wren.”

He clicked and urged the horse forward and the girl became quiet for the remainder of the ride. He refused to believe what he just heard floating around him.

There was nothing more to him. He was no one, and that was all that Arden wanted. No responsibility but himself. No kings, no throne, no wars to wage. No family, no home, no friends, no heart to break.

He left them all, and that was it. He was nothing to no one.

As the night embraced the world and the sky was heavy with darkness, the girl became heavy with sleep, her body leaning against him. The moon guided his path through the night though his Ignis eyes allowed him to see perfectly in the dark.

Though her body lay limp in his arms as sleep lulled her, he heard one more whisper. “I know you, Arden… You are someone more.”

Arden turned his face to the moon and the stars that softened the overbearing embrace of darkness.

“No, I’m not,” he breathed in a pitiful plea.

No answer came this time. He inhaled, gathering in as much breath as he could. He let it go, trying to release all the anger that burned inside of him. It did nothing but stoke the flames within.

He urged the horse forward at a faster gallop. He needed to give this girl to someone else. He wasn’t going to delve into the meaning of her words or dwell on the voice that was carried by the wind. This would all be in his past soon. When the night was over, the new day would come. Another day, another night. The world would keep turning and he would forget. It would be a blink in his existence.

He was no one.