AURORA

X

MARCH 1512

THE OLD WORLD

LADY ADALYNN IRWIN

-

My counterpart, Marissa, walked across the corridor, studying and looking for my beloved. I was with her in each step, seeing from eyes and hearing from her ears. It was certainly an eerie feeling. But I could feel him and that was all that was important to me. I could feel his presence in the halls of the manor. His soul existed within its walls.

And I was thrilled to know we were getting closer.

I smiled in my deliriousness, then slipped away to meet my beloved once again. A scene from his life played out and I watched in curious amusement.

The boy was small, with ash blonde hair bleached at the top due the sun. He had a bundle of energy and was energetically tumbling about on the grass. He held a wooden sword in his hand and was thrashing it in different directions.

"Darling," A voice called out and the boy turned around.

"My Lady Mother," he said and kneeled, presenting his wooden sword to her.

"You may rise, my lord," His mother laughed. The boy stood up and looked at his mother, seriousness present in his face.

"Your father is to arrive soon," she said, "You must get ready."

"Mother, is the Lord to stay for a long time or to leave." His mother smiled sullenly and shook her head.

"You know, your father is a busy man, he must spend time with the king." The boy looked to the floor. It was clear he was very much attached to his father. He nodded.

"I shall ask the servants to help me dress, mother, I ask for your leave."

"You may go." The boy walked away, his steps dragged across the grass and his mother watched him, a slow proud smile covering her face.

The boy walked to his quarters and got dressed and picked out his best attire, a smile covering his face. His steps were joyful, and the servant admonished him as he wouldn't stay still as he dressed.

He thanked the servant and walked out of the room but then froze in front of the door. Hesitantly the boy retraced his step backwards, his gaze focused to the corner of the room.

He had noticed something, he walked to the cage of his pet and let out a shrill cry. The beautiful animal within had slumped against the metal. A servant ran into the room.

"What happened, sire, are you alright." The boy did not speak but fat drops of tears fell down as he cradled the bird in his hand. The servant stood back and watched him. Words murmured at the lips of the boy and the servant hesitantly tried to comfort him.

A few minutes later another servant came into the room.

"The Duke has arrived, my lord," he said and bowed. The boy barely looked up. Just offering a flick of the hand to indicate he had heard.

The boy was learnt in the art of manners and leadership even at his youthful age. The doors opened a few moments later and a man walked through. The boy turned around. His eyes lit up for a mere second but then dimmed again.

"My Lord," the boy said and bowed.

"Son," he said with a smile on his face, he walked to his son and hugged him, "I was informed your hawk has passed on." The boy nodded trying his hardest to be brave.

"Please leave us," The duke said to the servants. The room quietened, it was only the father and son left.

"Why don't you sit, son." The boy sat beside his father still cradling the dead hawk.

"You are aware, my son, that you are to be the next Duke," the Duke said, the boy nodded, clearly having heard this, multiple times, "Well as Duke, we see to a lot of death. You see son, death is not the opposite of life."

"What is it then, father," the boy asked curiously.

"It is part of it. It shall happen to every one of us. I shall leave you. Your mother shall, so might your brother," his father said, his wise eyes looking at his growing son, "But that does not make it a good thing. Death shall always be bad but is inevitable so you must learn to deal with it."

"But then, what is the point of life if all of us die," the boy asked, still whimpering.

"You see, my son, we all die. The goal isn't to live forever, it is to create something that will."

"What can I create that will live forever."

"Memories, my son." The duke and his heir stared at each other, both of them pondering on the words just spoke. They were just as important for the duke as it was for his son. The Duke finally stood up and ruffled his son's hair.

"Why don't you take the bird to the garden and ask a servant to help you bury it," his father said, pausing next to the door. The boy nodded and got up to get the bird's cage. The bird was far too heavy to carry by itself to the garden.

As he went to get the cage, a scrap of cloth fell to the floor. The boy picked it up and read it.

DEATH IN YOUR LIFE SHALL BE OF A COMMON OCCURANCE

The boy's hands trembled, and the note fell back to the floor. But he came back to his senses quick enough, took the note and stuffed it in his pocket to discard later.

I trembled in fear as well, my senses in par with the boy's. The scene faded in my mind, but a resounding voice echoed, repeating the same phrase again and again. I shivered at the feeling. It seemed to vibrate from within me.

'I have indeed watched my whole family drop like stones, while I remained as young as ever.'

The sentence was unnerving at the least. The voice however, echoing in my mind wasn't of the young boy's but of a man's. Deep and rough.

And I couldn't but believe that it was his voice. My beloved's. And if it was, it meant things that my mind could not handle.

'Young as ever,' I whispered into the air. No response came.

A sudden sharpness filled my body and my thoughts filtered away from what I had seen.

It now was in balance with Marissa's eyes. I could feel the inexplicable sweetness surround me and then I saw him. Exactly as I had seen in my mind before, looking as dashing as he was in the corner of a great painting.

OOMPA LOOMPA