FF Chapter 18

Gaius confronts Future, as the Fates' demands becomes known.

Chapter 18

      Eira, Erald, Frey, and Lo, all got into the wooden carriage, while Future motioned for Alex to sit up front with him. Once everyone was in place, he commanded the wooden wheels to turn. The vehicle buckled in response, and slowly inched forward, building speed until it rivalled any horse.

      From inside, Eira used a front facing window to ask Future “What did you mean when you asked Deese to read your heart?”

      Future turned his attention away steering the carriage for a moment. They were on an open road between Sanel and The Capital, and no one else seemed to be around, so it should be safe to talk for a bit.

      The carriage didn’t slow down as Future turned around. “By looking into their eyes, Deese can read a person’s heart and know their desires. Luck uses this information to manipulate people. My guess is you want power and respect, since she offered you beast marks while appealing to your pride as a ‘future queen’.”

      Eira was silent, as she and Frey shared a look. They knew things they weren’t supposed to know.

      Alex interrupted the silence. “Is that a beast gift?”

      Future nodded “yes, it is” before something dawned on him. “How do you know about them?”

      “I just learned about them in school.” Alex explained slowly.

      Of course Future knew about beast gifts, he was Future! So why hadn’t he told Alex about them?

      Luck’s words gnawed at Alex, until he finally asked. “Can you lie?”

      Future admitted “Yes, everyone can.”

      Alex touched the deck in his pocket “Did you lie about my parents being alive?”

      Future looked Alex in the eye and hugged him. “No. They are alive, and you will see them soon, I promise. You have to trust me. I’ve seen too many orphans in my time not to prevent them when I can. Degmund and Sanda are alive and well.” He let the hug linger for a moment, before an idea struck him “I know! I need to send a letter to Brig. Why don’t you write something for your parents too? I can have them sent together. Will that make you feel better?” Alex nodded. Future put his arm around the boy’s shoulder and turned his attention back to his driving. “So with all that out of the way, how was your first day?”

 

      Alex was just wrapping up talking about Malent and the duel when they arrived at The Library. Several royal guards were posted outside; Winchester refused to have them loitering around his home. Johnathan stood among them, and bowed slightly to acknowledge the princess, as the group passed him on the way to the library. His eyes followed them as they entered. A slight sneer revealed that he hadn’t forgotten the humiliation he’d endured here just weeks ago, yet he remained silent. Lo was tempted to stick her tongue out at him, but thought better of it.

      As they entered the large literary museum, they found it was almost empty. King Gaius, adorned with his royal crown and flowing red cape, waited in a large chair at the table reading a fantasy novel. He embraced his daughter when she entered. Meanwhile, Winchester was taking stock of all the books, checking for any that were still lent out. A sign on the front desk read ‘No more checkouts; Please return all books’.

      “What’s going on?” Alex cried, pointing to the sign.

      Future walked up to him and explained “We’re closing the library.”

      “Why?” Alex demanded. This was his home!

      “Don’t worry, we’re not leaving. We just won’t be having as many visitors. The only reason we opened in the first place was for you, so that you could meet and talk to people. Now that you’re going to Yanus Academy it’ll only be a distraction.”

      “A distraction from what?” Alex asked, but Future had already walked off towards Eira and Frey.

      “I don’t think either of you have actually seen the basement.”

      Eira nodded. “I just saw the bedroom. Also, it’s strange to have your bedroom labeled ‘trash room’.”

      Future smiled slyly. “Alex?” He turned to the boy. “Do you mind showing them around?”

      Alex beamed. “Sure!” Finally a chance to show off his home!

      He led them to the back room, to the door marked ‘trash room’. Eira protested. “I’ve already been in there, it was just the bedroom. I didn’t see any other door.”

      Alex smirked. “Really?” He turned the knob, pushed the door, and revealed the infinite stairway.

      Eira ran in and looked around “WHAT?” She turned and looked at him “…HOW?”

      Alex couldn’t stop smiling. He’d finally gotten to show other people how amazing his home was! He laughed at how Frey and Eira ran around, testing the limits and rules of the strange world.

      Alex explained “If you know what you’re doing, any door can open to any room.” He closed the door and reopened it, although now it led to his training room. “Took me a few weeks to master it, but it was worth it.” He walked inside the large room, and the two girls followed him. “This” He gestured grandly at the large arena, “is my training room!”

      It was filled with prop weapons, real weapons, and four-armed training dummies. Each of the sturdy rock walls was lined with all manner of weapons and armour, while pieces of obstacle courses sat in a corner and soft training mats were neatly stacked against a far wall.

      Alex closed the door behind them, as the girls looked around, and explained “This is where they taught me everything I know about fighting.” But not everything THEY know. He worried.

      His concern was interrupted when Future entered the room, followed by Gaius.

      “I figured you’d be in here.” Future smiled.

      Gaius walked over to his daughter, who whispered to him privately, while Alex walked over to Future with a puzzled look on his face. Future knew the boy had a question.

      “Why didn’t you tell me about beast gifts before?”

      Future thought for a moment before answering. “Because a beast gift requires three or more beast marks, and you only had one. We didn’t want to show you something you couldn’t have, so I asked the others to hide their beast gifts until we took you out to get more marks.”

      “So Erald and Lo have gifts?”

      “Yes; Erald can create energy shields, while Lo can magnify her vision to clearly see distant objects.” He looked at the boy with soft eyes. “We were going to take you to get more marks when you were sixteen, we just wanted to make sure you could handle what you had first. Then you went and got two while saving Eira…everything happened so fast it slipped my mind. I promise we’ll focus on unlocking your beast gift during winter, since you’ll be stuck inside for a few months anyway. Most of the time they’re easily unlocked naturally, sometimes in a moment of panic or extreme emotion, but they can be teased out with training, and once you unlock them you instantly understand how to use them. It’s quite convenient really.” He smiled.

      Before Alex could reply, Gaius came over.  “Future! I want to talk to you!”

      “Just a minute Gaius, I’m talking to my son. Go talk to your child or something.” Future waved him aside dismissively.

      “I did, and she told me something very interesting. It’s regarding my replacement.”

      “Your…oh…” Future’s expression fell. “I think we should go back upstairs. This may take a while, and you should probably be seated.”

 

      They all gathered around a large table upstairs, and Future explained. “Right before Alex went to the academy, I communed with my master, and he gave me this prophecy: ‘When a dog becomes a man, and flowers turn to steel, then a king shall rise, and old wounds heal’.”

      “Why the cryptic form?” Gaius asked.

      Future sighed. “Fate’s a poet, and I hate him for it. I told him once, just once, that it might be fun not knowing everything that’s supposed to happen. Now he tells me almost nothing, but he has said that the ‘king’ refers to Alex, and the ‘rise’ refers to him being enthroned in The Capital.”

      “So even you don’t know the whole story?” Alex sympathised.

      Future smiled sadly at his young friend, and shook his head. “No, I’m not omnipotent, I just have good sources. I know what should happen, and I have to work to make it a reality, but sometimes people stand in my way.” He cast a sideways glance at Gaius. “I’m also in charge of figuring out these stupid riddles. The language of the Entities is different than our own; ‘dog’ could be translated as just ‘canine’, ‘wounds’ could be ‘rifts’ or ‘pains’. Things like that make it even more frustrating to translate.”

      Winchester spoke up. Even he’d been kept in the dark about this revelation. “Well now we have a few more minds to try and figure out the rest. If you don’t mind me saying, if ‘dog’ is ‘canine’, then might it also mean ‘wolf’?” He glanced at Alex.

      Future smiled “Yes, I guess that would make sense. If we take it that way, then ‘becomes a man’ could mean when Alex grows up.” He breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s a load off my mind. For a while I thought Fate wanted me to find a shapeshifter, or some kind of dog/man hybrid, but if we only have to wait for Alex to grow up then it gives us some breathing room.”

      Gaius turned to Alex, and the boy shrunk under his glare. “I suppose it does.” He relented through clenched teeth.

      Future moved behind Alex, and placed his hands protectively on the boys’ shoulders. “Don’t be like that, you were always a placeholder. Your family took Fate’s king off the throne, and let me tell you, he wasn’t happy. We didn’t immediately rectify the situation because you weren’t doing any real harm, and we didn’t have a suitable replacement; now we do.”

      Erald raised a tentative hand. “If you don’t mind, my lord, I’m not native to this land; could you please explain to me about this rebellion?”

      Future thought for a moment. “Oh yes. I suppose I informed Lo, but neglected to bring you up to speed. Sorry about that. I’ll try to summarize. A few decades ago, Gaius’ father, Captain Galdus Yarlden, planned and executed a coup again King Atoran Damces. He was Captain of the Royal Guard, so he had the military on his side, and no one could challenge him. The problem is that he was supposed to fail.”

      “What happened?” Eira asked cautiously. This had all happened before she was born, but she was enraptured by this secret history lesson.

      Future locked eyes with Gaius. “He got ‘lucky’. We suspected it at the time, but it was just confirmed for us. Galdus allied with Luck, and she gave him the power to make his rebellion a success. She loves messing with my plans, and is skilled at tempting those in power with the promise of more.”

      “Power corrupts.” Erald nodded, but Future shook his head.

      “I don’t believe in ‘power corrupts’. Power itself is not corrupting; I see ‘greed’ as the corruptor. Those who are satisfied with what they have, or who desire nothing, rarely cause harm. It’s when people desire what is not theirs, or what they cannot have, that trouble arises. Both my siblings prey upon greed, and their armies are filled with those they’ve trapped. I-” he smiled at Lo and Erald “only stand with those who reject their offer.” He turned back to Gaius. “Your daughter did that today, as did my Alex.”

      Gaius spoke up. “If it is power madness that concerns you, then may I remind you that I don’t have a single beast mark, and refuse to get one?”

      “You may.” Future smiled.

      “And do you know why?” He asked, annoyed.

      “I have my suspicions, but I imagine you’re about to tell me.” Future leaned on the back of Alex’s chair.

      “I didn’t get a beast mark to show that I didn’t need one; to show the people we’re at peace.”

      Future nodded solemnly. “I can respect that, but don’t forget that every period of peace is preceded and followed by war, and no one can tell for certain when one ends and the other begins, not even I; and with EK’s resting place so close, and the Dan’darun spawning not far from your border…” Future shook his head “When war comes, a weak king will not inspire confidence.” His voice was cold and solid. Most wouldn’t dare argue, but Gaius wasn’t most.

      Gaius slammed his fist on the table. “But it will not come! You yourself said you cannot know for sure when war will arrive, and I will do my best to see it never does.”

      After facing Luck just moments before, Future was near his limits, and had no patience for Gaius. His breathing was ragged and he paced with every step as though standing still for a single syllable would kill him.

      He pointed an accusatory finger as he warned Gaius. “Only a fool disregards good advice simply because he doesn't like the source. There was a time when kings, men you call legends, would seek me out and beg for my council. I stood in these halls and advised empires while your earliest ancestors were in diapers! Did you think that Fate made this city his base? No, quite the opposite! Fate made his home here, near Knowledge’s island, and you humans built a city around them. Fate and Future, Knowledge and Teacher; there was a time when this land was known as The Capital of Wisdom. Now it only retains the first half of that name, and rightfully so!”

      “And what is a prophet who can’t give sure advice? You can’t see the future, so what good are you?” Gaius challenged, and everyone else in the room stayed silent or backed away. They wanted no part in this.

      Future seethed. “Don’t disgrace my name in such an ignorant manner. You took our names; we were here first! There was a time when ‘an act of evil’, meant ‘something Evil would do’. Over time it was shortened to where ‘evil’ just meant ‘something bad’. You humans gave our names that meaning.”

      Alex spoke up, interrupting the heated exchange, and innocently asked “What did he do?”

      Future turned to him, his rage halted momentarily. “What?”

      “Evil. What did he do to get ‘evil’ to mean ‘something bad’?”
      “He!-…he…” Future deflated, as though the fire inside of him was snuffed out by a single memory. “He killed. He was the first to kill.”

      “Why?”

      Future shrugged sadly “Why does anyone kill; love, hatred, jealousy…vengeance.” He rubbed his eyes. “That was a long time ago; sometime between when the sun was first formed and yesterday’s breakfast…I’m horrible with time. That was someone else’s department, but they’re gone now, along with the rest of my family. I would like them back, but unfortunately several roadblocks are in my way; one of them stands before me now.” He sighed. The quarrel with his sister had taken a toll on him, and he was taking his frustration out on Gaius. He turned to the temporary ruler of The Capital “I admire your optimism Gaius, I really do, and I wish I shared it, but not everyone dreams of peace. I’ve seen what Evil dreams of, and it’s not flaming sheep.” He tried to joke, but his eyes betrayed the horrors of his memory. “War is coming. You cannot stop it any more than you could stop the sunrise. All I can promise is that Alex will not replace you until after you die. I’m sorry, I truly am, but it’s the best I can do. If you ever wish to visit again, the side door is never locked, and Winnie is always here.” He gestured to Winchester.

      A few farewells later, Gaius, Eira, and Frey departed. They joined Captain Johnathan, who had waited diligently outside with his guards, and left for the castle.

 

      After the nobles were gone, Future went to the basement to write the letter to Brig; at least, that’s what he said. Everyone else realized that the Hand needed some time alone.

      With half the room gone, and the mood much less tense for it, they finally got around to discussing Alex’s first day. He told them all about his duel with Malent.

      Erald seemed the most enthusiastic as Alex recounted how he never laid a finger on Malent, while also standing up for a fellow student.

      “Well done!” The large knight exclaimed. “You’ve made me proud.” He placed a hand on Alex shoulder, and continued to beam like a pleased parent.

      “Not to mention how he gave up his spot to Frey” Lo smiled from her seat. “We’ll have to tell Future about you switching from a student to an aid; he should be fine with it, but it’s always good to check.” She winked knowingly.

      Winchester rubbed his bad leg, and asked directly “So overall, how do you feel about school?

      Alex shuffled in his chair. “It was…fun. I got to meet a lot of people, but they didn’t seem to like me.”

      Lo smirked “Well I didn’t like you the first time I saw you.” Alex stared at his friend with wounded eyes, but she just stuck her tongue out teasingly, and Alex stuck his right back.

      Erald rubbed the boys’ shoulder supportively and took an inspirational pose. “You must remember that everyone is the hero of their own story, but sometimes others may view you as their villain; prove them wrong by your actions.”

      Lo shook her head. “I don’t know if you read that in a book, or if you’re planning to write your own, but where do you get this stuff?”

      Alex turned to Erald with sad eyes. “I’m not the villain, it’s these marks on my arms; it makes everyone act weird and not want to be my friend.”

      Winchester shook his head and smiled at the boy. “Alex, you’re young, and this was your first day. Look at Future, he’s thousands of years old, has no beast mark, and he only has a handful of people he calls friends… most of whom are probably in this room, but even he will admit that’s enough.”

      Alex smiled, and noticed Winchester was now leaning back in his chair with a puzzled look.

      The old man mumbled to himself. “Indol…Indol. Where have I heard that name before? Oh yes! She was another one of Future’s projects.”

      “What do you mean?” Alex asked.

      Winchester explained “Fate has many ‘children’, and it is Future’s job to keep track of them. You are the highest priority, that’s why you have four guardians, but there are others. Indol was once one of our wards. We kept our interest in her a secret of course, for the same reason we tried to keep you a secret, but after she went to the academy Fate told Future to leave her alone…from what you’ve told me I now understand why. She gave up.”

      Alex couldn’t help but feel jealous. He thought he was their only son; now they had other kids? “Why?” Alex worried. If they abandoned her, would they abandon him too?

      Winchester looked at him with weary eyes. They revealed how old the man truly was, and just how much he’d seen as Future’s friend. His voice was heavy with lament. “Being different is lonely. If someone is put on a pedestal, everyone will stare at them, but sometimes they can’t handle the pressure and step down. Some go even further and dig themselves a hole to crawl into, hoping no one will ever look at them again. We’ve seen it happen before, Future and I, and that’s what we wanted to spare you from. That’s why we wanted to wait until you were older.”

      As Alex thought about this, he realized something he’d never bothered to think about before. Back when he was little, growing up in that small village with his parents, where was Uncle Bor during the time he wasn’t with them? He’d never heard The Storyteller talk about a home, and the first time they’d come to The Library, it seemed like he hadn’t been there in a long time. He must have been visiting these other children, helping them just like he was helping Alex.

      The moment was interrupted by a creaking door, as Future emerged with a letter in his hand. He noticed them, and froze mid step.

      He glanced at each of his friends in turn. “Um…why is everyone staring at me?” Without a word, Alex ran up and hugged him. Confused, but not upset, Future hugged the boy back, and held up the envelope. “I wrote my message to Brig, did you write yours?”

      “Not yet!” Alex panicked, before grabbing some supplies. Alex scampered up to his treehouse, and wrote in secret. He emerged from his sanctuary of branches a few minutes later, and handed the folded letter to Future. Not even the Hand read the private message before sending it off to the far south. As the messenger left, Future prayed his orders would reach the stronghold in time.

      If war was coming, he’d need an army.