The Prophecy Chapter Fourteen

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Chapter 14: Newcomers and Chaos

Faedra and Isethia were out and about in Minas Tirith when they saw a man. A familiar man with black hair and sapphire eyes, about 6' tall and an average build. The man carries a large spear that seemed to be made of a black staff and dark crystal. A younger female accompanied the man. The female has blonde hair, stands about 5'9", has gray eyes and carries a sword. They walked toward the two friends with smiles on their faces.

"Aravan, when did you arrive?" Faedra asked.

" A few hours ago. I heard rumors of a yellow eyed man in this city."

"Not that again. You and your obsessions. Where is Aylis?"

"I'm not sure."

"Oh. Anyway let me take you to meet the others."

They led Aravan and Riatha to the center of the city, and took them into the Fornet, the office building where Kaje and his associates are located. Kaje was standing up and pacing the room, the vision he had just received being rather disturbing. Faedra, Isethia, Aravan and Riatha entered his office. He finally noticed that he had company and stopped pacing.

"Aravan, Riatha how nice to see you!" He walked over and gave them both a hug.

"It is wonderful to see you as well. How have you been?"

"Busy as usual. How long are you two staying?"

"As long as it takes us to-"

"-find the vampire. Figures. It is always business with you. You will have to stay longer than you planned. You are not allowed to leave until you visit."

"I wasn't aware that I was one of your crusaders."

"You are like a cousin to me and that makes you family, and that gives me the right to say you are staying and visiting."

"I don't have time to visit until I find Galarun's killer."

"You will have plenty of time, besides I know who did it."

"Who?"

"Ahahah. I am not telling you until you relax and get your mind off of work."

Faedra walked over to Kaje. She stood on her tiptoes and whispered into his ear. "Love, I think you should take your own advice."

He smiled. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I will make it up to you. I promise."

Dakkon walked in, "Hey Kaje do yo- Hey guys. On another vampire hunt?"

"There not always vampires, some of them are fiends."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, likely story. You will actually stay awhile, yes?"

"Kaje has seemed to have given me no choice."

"Good for him." He smiled. "I will come back later Kaj." He turned and walked out.

"Well, I have some good news since that last time I saw you two. Gildor and I are engaged." Isethia stated quietly to keep the topic off of work.

Ria looked over to Aravan, and they both smiled. "Congrats!" They said at the same time.

"Thanks."

"When is the special day?"

"Have we decided that yet?" She said to herself, seeing as how her better half seemed to be absent.

"No clue... but I guess not, seeing as you have to ask yourself that question. It is ok I will help you set a date." Faedra teased.

"Thanks it's just that so much has happened since..."

"Yes I know. But this isn't your fault. Just know that."

"I know its just...I wish ...sigh Vanidor would stop making those accusations."

"Yeah, especially since he is the guilty party." A hand covered her mouth.

"What? What are you talking about?"

Faedra laughs nervously, "Heh, well...Umm...nothing."

"Yeah, it really looks like nothing."

"Okay, well, this wasn't supposed to get back to you but you do have a right to know. Qiriel and Vanidor were the ones who were having the affair." She blurted out.

Isethia ran out of the room, Faedra ran after her.

Kaelea walked in the room with Fairin by her side. She stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the strange man. The mans expression changed slightly, for a brief second, and then returned to its original state. He had recognized her, it wasn't completely obvious but obvious enough for the others to realize.

"Oh, I see we have guests. I am Kaelea, it is nice to have you both here in Minas Tirith."

"It's been awhile since we have last seen each other."

"I'm sorry I don't remember. How long ago was this?"

"About two years ago."

"That is when I arrived on Mithgar."

"Yes, I know. I brought you there."

"Are you the one who owned the quaint ship?"

"Yes."

"Ar-Aravan?"

"So you didn't forget."

"I guess not. It is nice to see you again."

"Yes, it is." The tone in his voice hinting at something.

Kaelea turned towards the female. "I'm sorry I don't think I got your name."

"It is Riatha, but you can call me Ria."

"Pleasure."

"Likewise."

"It's good to see you two." He turned to Kaje. "Kaelea and I just wanted to discuss something with you, but we will come back later."

Fairin steered her out of the room.

~*~

Karia sat down by the river, looking out at the scenery. She let out a sigh and rested her head on her hand. She began to hum a beautiful tune, one that could be heard for miles.

Vanidor decided to go for a walk outside of the city, as a way of avoiding those that he wasn't speaking to. As he was walking, he heard a beautiful song and decided to follow the sound. He saw a woman sitting by the river, and recognized her as his guide. She noticed a presence and stopped singing. She turned to see Vanidor.

"That was beautiful."

"Thank you. I was just bored, so I decided to mess around. I really didn't think that it was that good."

"You must have been rather on the outskirts of what has been going on. None of us have had time to be bored."

She quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? What happened?"

"We've had a very large number of meetings, and I had a huge fight with my brothers."

"Sounds serious. Come and sit. I wont bite you know."

"I didn't think you would." He sits beside her. "Have you been out here since we arrived?"

"No, but I have come out here every night since."

"Oh, well at least you don't have to follow the orders of someone who-"

"Who what? Can't be worse than mine. If you tell me yours I will tell you mine."

"The woman I love is seriously involved with our leader, who was raised by mmy father."

"Sounds like she doesn't feel the same way...my life was taken from me. I was turned into a vampire a year ago to this day, and I vowed to do nothing but good. I feel as if I have lost a part of my soul. You should be happy, you only have a broken heart."

"You'd be surprised. And I wouldn't have guessed that you were a vampire. Is that how you knew Angel?"

"Yeah. He is the one who found me, afterwards and helped me to get back on my feet. After I was turned, all I wanted to do was die and he saved me from that."

"That's what he kinda does, saves people."

"Yes, I know. When he found me I was close to death. He gave me his blood in order to save my life. I thank him now, but I am still dreading what is around the corner. I have some master some where that I will eventually have to obey, he will come back for me."

"Master is the person who turns you?"

"Yes. I am surprised you aren't repulsed or disgusted by all of this."

"You don't seem evil."

"I'm not. I think you are the first person, besides Angel, who noticed that."

"Well...some people become used to a certain way of looking at things and they can't see outside that."

"Maybe it is the fact that they need a scapegoat and would rather blame us for their problems then actually facing them."

"That's possible. I have a distant cousin who does nothing but hunt vampires, because he thinks that this vampire murdered a friend of his and stole an important token of power."

"Where did this take place? How long ago? How did the man die?"

"On Mithgar, near Darda Galion, about a hundred years ago, and he died from a bite."

"What kind of a bite? Where was it located? Was there anything surrounding the bite, was the area greened or discolored in anyway?"

"I didn't see, but I don't think I remember that being mentioned."

"Oh, because it is possible that it was my master, he seems the only likely suspect, but I could be wrong."

"Oh, okay."

Dakkon and Cordelia entered the scene, because they had heard voices and wanted to see what was going on.

"Hey Vanidor. Who's your friend?"

"Karia, my name is Karia."

"I am not sure if she is my friend yet. We just met."

"Oh. I am sorry to hear about all the drama that has been occurring lately. I hope it works itself out."

"Yeah, it will when he realizes the huge mistake he is making."

"Your brother is in love, cant you just get over whatever it is that you have against her and be happy for him? I am not trying to take sides; it is just that we all know what was really going on. I think it is time you faced your demons."

"I don't have any demons." He paused. "I see you've made a new friend as well."

"Nope, just met her. We are actually on to see Kaje about the visions that we received today."

Vanidor looked to Cordelia, remembering where he had seen her before. "You're a seer too then? Is that what you do for the other vampire?"

"Yeah I am a seer, in the fact that I get blindingly painful headaches, granted by the powers that be." She stated a little snooty.

Dakkon looked over towards her. "It is ok. He didn't mean anything by it. There is no need for an attitude."

"Maybe you should be telling your friend that."

"I think it is time we left. Sorry for the interruption. Good night all."

They exited.

~*~

"Well, it seems that we have all received either the same or different visions. They are in desperate need of puzzling together. Dakkon why don't you tell me what yours was."

"Well...I just received flashes really. It seemed to be a struggle and someone getting wounded. I really cant tell ya much more than that."

"Interesting indeed. And you Cordelia?"

"It had to do with elves, like you guys. There was some danger, either to or caused by an Elf, or both. The Powers aren't good a making sense sometimes. I mean, they've sent a vision of a statue one time, that I had no idea was a statue."

Kaje goes to the parchment on his desk and jots some things down. He looks up and says, "It has begun."

"What has begun?" Cordelia asked.

"The prophecy, the war and the attack on all successors."

"That explains a whole lot. You give information about as clearly as the Powers do. I don't know what any of that means."

"It is way to complicated to get into. Dakkon knows what I am talking about and that is all that matters. Just know that it isnt good."

"I would have guessed that. The Powers never send visions of anything good. Of course, this is the first time they've ever sent a vision that I was supposed to share with someone other than Angel."

~*~

Fairin had seen Isethia run away as he and Kaelea were approaching Kaje's office, and had resolved to find out what was bothering her. The two of them were good friends, and he thought of Isethia as almost a sister. He had been able to tell clearly that something was bothering her, and even though he had seen Faedra go after her, he wanted to help. However, after leaving the office, he did not want to leave Kaelea alone, as it made him uncomfortable that Aravan seemed to have been flirting with her. He and Kaelea might not have an official relationship yet, but that didn't mean he wanted some guy who everyone know was involved with another woman and obsessed with a quest, flirting with her.

However, when they left the office, Fairin decided that he needed to find out what was bothering his "sister". Some instinct told him it would be important for him to know. So, he left Kaelea, telling her he would meet her at the inn later, and went in search of Isethia.

Isethia had returned to the inn where the Crusaders were staying, but she had taken a roundabout way there to avoid being followed, as she didn't want to talk to anyone. She had just entered the common area, when Fairin arrived in search of her.

"I saw you leaving the office," he said. "What's bothering you?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she replied. "I just found something out. It's not big deal, and anyway, I don't think you want to hear it."

"If it's bothering you this much jaian than I want to hear it."

"Can we not talk about this, please."

"Okay. I need to take the opportunity to congratulate you on your upcoming marriage," Fairin said. "I've been wanting to talk to for a couple days, but . . ."

"You've been busy with Kaelea. I noticed. Does she change the way you think of Qiriel."

Fairin considered for a few moments, then sighed. "I loved Qiriel. If she was alive, I would still love her. And I will not stop wishing that we could have saved her. But I needed to move on, and I do love Kaelea. I mean, you knew that, since you were quite willing to help play matchmaker. I'm sure you enjoyed it to, considering her previous interest is not one of your favorite people."

"I never had anything against Vanidor."

"Had? You say that like you do now?"

"Just the usual way he acts. It gets hard to take after a while. I would be friends with him, if he would stop accusing me of . . . something that he was one who was guilty of."

"Is that what was bothering you?" Fairin asked. "You found out something about him."

"Yes, but you won't want to hear it."

"Okay." Fairin led Isethia to a nearby table, and they sat down. "Have you had dinner yet?" he asked her.

"No," she replied. "It's been a rather busy day. I should wait for Gildor though. I don't know what time he's getting back. He didn't say to wait, which makes me wonder why he's not hear yet."

"He could be meeting with someone, or something. You should eat something, jaian."

"Okay. We haven't talked for a while, but can we talk about something other than Vanidor?"

"Yeah."

Before long, the two friends were enjoying a conversation about things unrelated to war they were in, and the drama going on in their personal lives.

~*~

Calyna had not been involved in any discussions since the initial meetings, and had taken the time to get reacquainted with some old friends. These were people she had not seen since following Kris to Mithgar, and then to Earth. It was strange to be back on her homeworld again, and disorienting.

Time had passed since the war, and it seemed to have been a time of watchful peace. For her only five years had passed, but more time had passed everywhere else, because of the time distortion the Anachron had created when she and Kris had left. Now that the Anachron was seperated again, the distortion was gone, and she did not fully understand how it had worked. She wished she could speak to Edric, as she had questions she needed to ask him.

In her wanderings through the city, she often returned to the Hall of Kings, and the memorial to Luthan and Elfarran. Elfarran, her older sister, had almost been the wife of the Luthan, and only their untimely deaths had prevented that. Their story was told as one of the great love stories on Arda. In a few years, Calyna predicted, it would be told at joining ceremonies. As she thought of joining ceremonies, Calyna reached up, and touched the circlet she wore. This circlet was an Elven custom, like the wedding bands used by humans on Earth. It showed that she was married, and as long as the circlet was whole, she would be married. She suspected that some people looked at her strangely, knowing that she was married to the Dark Lord, but she lacked the strength to sunder their joining.

'It's strange the way things turned out,' she thought. 'My sister was almost the wife of the Elven King, and I am married to the Dark Lord. I just wish there was some way I could still reach him, or I could have stopped him from becoming involved with Lothiniel.' With these thoughts repeating themselves in her mind, she left the memorial, and walked towards the wall of the city.

Kaelea saw Calyna walking around, in deep thought.

"Hey Calyna! What's up?"

She said as she ran up to her, holding her dress up.

Calyna was startled from her reverie when Kaelea called her. "Nothing's up," she replied. "I was just thinking about the past. Missing my sister and . . . Kris. Wondering why things turned out the way they did. My sister was almost the wife of the King, and I amthe wife of the Dark Lord. How's that for irony?" The end of this statement sounded almost bitter.

"Well if it makes you feel better, I can't remember my past. The only weird thing is that when I saw Aravan , I had this weird feeling...I think it was fear...but why?"

"Have you ever seen him before?"

"He says I have. And I feel that I have."

"I don't know maybe he has an evil twin." She said humorously.

She laughed, "I doubt it."

Aravan had been listening to the conversation of the two young women and decided to make his presence known. He walked up to Kaelea and touched her shoulder. Kaelea turned to see Aravan. "Can I talk to you for a moment, alone?"

"Well, What is it about exactly?"

"I would rather not say in front of someone else."

She looks to Calyna. "I'll be right back."

"I don't think you should be alone with him." Calyna said softly.

"It's harmless...besides I can take care of myself. I will tell you what, how about we meet in about an hour?"

"Just be careful."

She smiles " I will. I will meet you down by the river...one hour...see you then."

She turns to Aravan. "What's up?" She asked as they began to walk away from Calyna.

"I just thought that you would like to know how we know each other."

"I thought we met when you took me here?"

"We did, but there is a bit more to it than that."

"You mean...we...became friends?"

"Yes, that was part of it."

"Okay, well, what do you mean? How do you know, that I have no recollection of the trip here?" She asked as she crossed her arms.

"I got the impression back in the office."

"Well, how did you know where I would be?"

"I could have found you by accident."

"What did you do, follow me?"

"Maybe. Wasn't expecting to come across you talking to the wife of the dark lord."

She stopped walking. "You were eavesdropping?"

"No. I just happened to overhear."

"So basically you overheard the entire conversation... What was it you wanted to tell me?"

Aravan grabbed a hold of her arm, intensely. " You don't remember anything that happened?" He asked with a dark undertone.

"No, I am sorry. Could you please release my arm? You are starting to scare me."

He doesn't let go of her arm, "You don't remember what happened between us?"

"Well...all I know is that trip was a few months long. I know that I kept to myself, but I don't remember anything else."

He closed the distance between them and pushed her up against a building. He grabbed her shoulders, and pinned her against the wall.

"What are you doing? Get off of me. I am not finding this very funny."

He placed a finger on her lips. "Shhh. Don't struggle. Everything will be fine."

"What are you talking about. Let me go." She stated as she tried to push him off, rather unsuccessfully.

"You didn't mind this before." He placed a kiss on her neck.

Her face paled. "Please stop. You're scaring me."

"There is nothing to be scared of." He continued to kiss her.

"Aravan...please...let me go." She said in a whisper.

Aravan backed away, and gripped her arm, as he dragged her to a nearby alley.

She tried to pull away but was unsuccessful.

He let her go and threw her to the ground. She sat up and crawled somewhat backwards until she touched a wall. Aravan tried to pull her down , she stood, before he could grab her. She tried to run away, but he grabbed her ankle. She fell face first into the ground, hands protecting her from the fall. He crawled over her, in order to prevent escape, and turned her over. She struggled a bit, trying to squirm free of his grasp. He grabbed her wrists, brought her arms over her head, and held them their with his hand. He ripped the sleeve, exposing her shoulder. He began to kiss her again, this time a bit more rough, and he began to nip at the skin opn her shoulder.

"Why are you doing this? I want you to stop, get off of me!" She pleaded.

He ignored her plea and continued with what he was doing, ripping the dress down further.

"I said no. Please... stop this." She began to squirm.

He smacked her. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Let me go."

He grabbed the material of her dress and ripped it down to her waist, exposing her corset.

"So innocent aren't you? Your revealing dress...your practically asking for it."

"Are you crazy? I said no...how many times can someone say that. You have completely ignored my pleas. This isn't my fault."

"Ahh, your so beautiful. You have always been quite the temptress. Your shy personality, your smooth, tanned skin, your eyes, and those lips. Who could forget the way it felt that night. Moon out, stars bright. I remember how you were standing there, looking at the stars, oh so beautiful. I couldn't resist. What a magical night...the way my skin tingled when it touched yours. So exhilarating."

Her eyes widened, "You raped me that night, didn't you? Why do you keep doing this to me? Why me?"

"Because you're so beautiful."

~*~

Angel walked around aimlessly until he saw Cordelia.

"Hey Cordy. Haven't you seen you in awhile. How are you?"

"You mean other than being bored out of my mind?"

"Well that answers my question. What have you been up to lately? Anything? Have you seen Wes?"

"Not since we got here."

"Aww, are you having a Wesley withdrawal?" Angel teased.

She smacked him playfully on the arm. "You would say that. And yes, I am. To answer your question. What have you been up to?"

"Just lying around...get it, lying around?" He started to chuckle.

"Where in a cornfield?" She teased.

"Yes, I know that was corny... but ya love me anyway." He stated with a huge grin.

"Let's go and find Wesley."

"I know just where he is."

They walked off, in pursuit of their search.

When they arrived Wesley was sitting on the grass under a tree, eyes closed.

"Enjoying the cool breeze?"

"No, actually I am trying to get rid of my bloody headache. How the hell are you anyway? I haven't seen you in awhile." He directed towards Angel, eyes still closed.

"Fine thanks. I brought you a visitor."

He smiled. "Hi Cordy."

"How did you know it was me?"

"Who else would Angel bring to see me?"

She knelt down and gave him a kiss. Wesley's hands came around her waist, as he happily returned her kiss. When they both pulled back, Wesley was smiling.

"I have missed you, Luvvie. We must stay together. Everyone is driving me insane. I could use you to regain my sanity and keep me company of course."

"I've missed you too."

Angel was making faces behind them. 'Well, this is royally way too mushy for me. UGH!'

"I will just leave you two love birds to your selves. Ariverderci." He turned and walked away.

~*~

Kaelea gathered herself together, shaken, and bruised. She walked towards the Inn, and braced herself against the wall, so she didn't trip over the lagging material of her dress. She walked into the back entrance and up the stairs. She got to her room and she locked her door. She bathed and dressed into a dark green evening dress with long sleeves and a higher neckline. She walked down the stairs; hair up with strands falling around her face.

She walked into the dining hall and ordered herself a drink.

Isethia and Fairin were still sitting at a nearby table when Kaelea entered. Isethia could sense that something was wrong. "Can you go and get us a couple of drinks?"

Fairin nodded and walked over to the bar, where he saw Kaelea. He thought that she looked as if something was wrong or bothering her. "Are you okay?"

She jumped at the sound of his voice. She turned around, holding her drink. "You scared me, please don't do that."

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's ok. Where are you sitting?"

He gestured toward the table. She nodded and walked over.

"Hi Isethia."

"Hi."

Kaelea grabbed a chair from a neighboring table and sat down. Fairin sat down next to her. "Would you like something to eat?"

"No, thank you. I am afraid that I am not very hungry." She said quietly as she looked at the floor.

"Did something happen?" He asked with a concerned expression on his face.

"I don't think you want to know...besides I would rather not talk about it."

"Okay. If you do want to talk about it, later then I will be here." He turned to Isethia briefly. "And that applies to you if you want to admit what is bothering you as well."

"I already told you, you don't want to hear it."

"If I didn't want to hear it then I wouldn't ask."

"Believe me, you don't want to hear it."

"To make you all feel better, I am the one who has it worse. If you are going to say it, say it. Nothing can compare to what I have endured."

"What happened?" Fairin asked her.

She looked up at him. "I have been violated in the worst imaginable way. And this isn't the first time this has happened to me. You have no idea. Ask me when you get a clue."

"What the hel could be so bad? Why are you so edgy?"

"I have every goddamn right to be." She stands up, her chair pushed back. "I was raped goddamn it. I have every right to feel this way." With that said she ran out of the Inn and down the street. Fairin and Isethia sat there shell-shocked for a few moments, before they could gather their thoughts and figure out what just happened. Fairin got up from the table and decided to run after her. Isethia got up and headed toward the government buildings, in search of Gildor.