Pit of Doubt, Part I
Aonva walked through her library. Her footsteps echoed off the walls and traveled to the far reaches of the shelves. She didn’t know for what she was looking. Some sort of peace. Was it a spell? A mixture of herbs? Some small peace of wisdom she’d stashed away for later use? She couldn’t quantify the shape and size of the solution, how it looked or felt. The only hint she had was that she’d know it when she found it. When her mind touched it, everything would go back to normal.
You don’t have to worry about Roshil. Kurgm’s voice came from somewhere deep in her library. She gave you a bracelet that was only designed to hurt you.
I’m not wearing the bracelet anymore, her voice echoed. So everything’s fine now, right?
Her eyes turned to her wrist. It changed from flesh to metal. Was she still wearing the bracelet? She remembered taking it off. Or had Roshil taken it off?
I enchanted the bracelet. That was Roshil’s voice. Was she there? Aonva’s spirits floated away with joy. The kindred spirit who’d appreciated all the information in her head. When did that change? Why couldn’t they be friends anymore?
One of the books floated off the shelf and opened up. A dark red dragon flew out of the pages and circled her. It spoke words she couldn’t understand, but sparks flew into the sky. When she repeated the words, more sparks erupted.
Magic. One dragon’s gift to humans. The dragon picked her up and took her away from her room, from the sounds of screaming. Aonva closed her eyes and let it take her to the castle, far away from turmoil.
When she landed, tall figures danced around her, happy to see her. But the small ones pushed her away, mocking and jeering her. Only one took her hand, but the figure wrapped its claws tightly around her wrist.
“I’m sorry,” Aonva said. “Please don’t be angry at me.”
Aonva’s head burned. When she touched it, she felt a tear running through the middle of her skull. It opened up in her hands, stifling Aonva’s cries before she could make them.
Aonva opened her eyes. She was in her chambers in the castle. The lights were off. Without realizing it, she’d dozed off. Despite it being something she was supposed to be doing, she couldn’t sleep yet. There was a problem before her, and she had to solve it.
She gazed up at the ceiling and wondered how much longer it was until curfew ended. Minutes? Hours? She reached out and touched her identification orb. It would buzz to wake her up in half an hour. She closed her eyes again.
It’d been a long night. Master Ekla had checked her over, then Master Kaernin. The whole time she’d only wanted to go to bed, to put the whole ordeal behind her. But they’d kept insisting she get looked at. She still felt fine, only tired.
When she’d asked about Roshil, Kurgm had told her not to worry about Roshil anymore. Was that right? Did she not have to worry about Roshil anymore? Was Roshil going to be alright?
He was right! No one will ever love me!
Aonva had worked out who “he” was, but hadn’t known how to talk to Roshil about it. “He” was the dragon that had cursed Roshil in the first place. Everything Roshil had done was because of that thing.
It’s not her fault. I’m sure it’s not her fault.
Aonva closed her eyes again and went to her library. There had to be an answer somewhere. For the past six months, she’d been researching dragons whenever she got a chance. There had to be something she could do to help Roshil. Aonva could see the toll it was taking on her friend. She had all that information tucked away in her head, so she had to have something to help her.
You haven’t been researching dragons for six months. You ignored me for Kurgm. You stopped researching dragons and started researching the Temple of the Rising Sun instead.
Roshil’s voice echoed in the library. She was right. Aonva had stopped her research. Roshil couldn’t have known about it; she’d been careful not to let Roshil see her, lest she accidentally set off Roshil.
That day in class was still burned into Aonva’s mind. Roshil had been panicking, screaming, and Aonva hadn’t done anything.
You don’t have to worry about Roshil.
She’s my friend.
Do as you’re told, young lady! Her mother’s voice echoed through the library and her eyes snapped open. Aonva took a breath to calm herself down. She couldn’t let go of Roshil so easily. Roshil was her best friend.
“When did it stop being easy?” Aonva whispered to the empty room. “Why can’t I forgive her and move on?”
She recited passages from The Skwyr Court Apprentice’s Handbook, knowing one answer was in there. Apprentices were forbidden from enchanting one another. It wasn’t safe to try, because there was no way of knowing the side effects an enchanted object could have on a person. Even master artisans needed to be careful about it.
Spells affect people differently than others.
Roshil had broken a rule by giving her the bracelet. Why couldn’t Aonva be upset about it? Was she supposed to be upset? Why didn’t anything make sense anymore?
Questions swirled around inside her head, multiplying the longer she thought about it. What was she supposed to do? Why were there no answers anymore?
Her identification orb informed her that it was time to wake up. She climbed out of bed, silencing the orb, then took out some clean clothes. She washed up, fixed her hair, then collected her things.
Identification orb, books, notebooks, identification orb, pouches, clothes, identification orb, pack.
After checking once again that she had her identification orb, which the small part of her brain not plagued by her anxiety reminded her she needed to leave her chambers so there was no chance of forgetting it anyway, she walked out of her chambers into a different castle than it was yesterday.