Episode 3

It’s Fate!

It’s Justice!

Amelia’s Test Begins!

Amelia wasn’t sure what had just happened. She had been standing in the Great Hall of the Temple of Kuroryu, and then suddenly had turned to find herself standing in the middle of a very large field of flowers. The woman that had just been speaking to the entire group was there beside her, arms folded and waiting.

“What…? Where is this?” Amelia asked, casting her gaze around for any of the others.

“This is what we call the Field of Justice. Here it was that our people were brought to Justice by the Golden Dragons. You speak of Justice, Princess of Sailune, but do you know the true scope that Justice can be? How vicious and uncaring that carriers of Justice have been known to be to our people?”

Amelia turned big blue eyes to the woman beside her. “But… sometimes the Fist of Justice must be cruel for the lesson to be learned.”

“Perhaps. But we shall see what Justice was then… and what message you think the Justice carried.” And the woman vanished, leaving Amelia alone on the grassy field.

Amelia was tired and hungry, and she didn’t want to be involved in any of this, but what choice did she have? She decided that she needed to find at least something to eat or drink, and chose a direction to begin walking in.

After a few hours, a town slowly became visible in the distance, and Amelia sighed in relief. Maybe she could find something to eat, and a place to stay. Then she could figure out how she had gotten here, where here was… and how to get back home. She didn’t care if she managed to get back to Miss Lina. Right now, she just wanted her father and her pink and ecru bedroom with the softest pillows in the world.

As she approached the farms on the outskirts of the tow, several farmers lifted hands in greeting, and she wearily waved back. At least they were friendly here. That lifted her spirits somewhat and she moved a little faster towards the town itself.

Inside the town, everyone was friendly, people smiling and greeting her and offering advice on where to eat and the best place to sleep. In the end, Amelia had regretted asking, because so many people had so many varying opinions that she vowed to stop at the first place she found.

The first place she found had both good smelling food and a pleasant innkeeper. Even better, they were reasonable in fares, and the food was delicious. Amelia felt as if she had fallen into paradise. After dinner, she retreated to her room and settled into the bed, thinking. In the morning, she’d ask around and find out exactly where she was. For now, sleep.

Morning dawned with a spectacular rainbow of colors shimmering over the horizon, and Amelia woke gently, as if she were back in her own bedroom in Sailune. As such, it was a bit of a shock to see not her own walls, but the soft grays of the inn. Gathering herself to meet the morning, she drew a bath and soaked in it for a while, considering the relative peace of the place. Today, she would find out what the strange woman had meant about Justice.

Rising from her bath, she dried herself, dressed, and stepped out of her room. Down the stairs, she could hear the commotion of the dining hall, and made her way across to the stairs and down into the busy room.

It was easy to get food and get seated, the breakfast just as good as the dinner had been. Catching a server, she indicated that she was done and it was to be charged to her room, and she set out into the town to find out where she was.

A merchant selling pendants and charms seemed amiable to talking, and Amelia asked him her first question of the day: where she was.

“You came in last night, so you missed the signs then. You’re in the lovely town of Kuroryu, young lady,” He replied easily.

“Kuroryu? I should be in the ruins! What… Can you please explain to me where the ruins are?” Amelia spluttered. “The East Gate… where is it?”

“East Gate? Young lady, I’m afraid there are no gates around our town. We live in peace and offer peace to whomever visits us.” He offered her a pendant for her inspection.

“Um, that’s a very nice pendant, but I’m trying to figure out where I am. The Princess Zhiya was lost…”

The merchant looked at Amelia oddly. “Zhiya hasn’t been a Princess for a very long time, young lady.

Amelia took a step back, eyes widening. “What?”

The merchant smiled faintly. “No… she is the Queen, regent to our young King. But surely you cannot be old enough to have known Zhiya as a girl. You can’t be but in your youth yourself… and Zhiya has seen several hundred years.”

“Several hundred… years?” Amelia echoed. She dropped the pendant and stared at the merchant.

“Careful. Around here, they say if a lady drops something and a man picks it up for her, that they are destined to an evening of enchantment.”

Amelia turned, her eyes growing wider as she almost recognized the voice. Valgarv? No… there was no possible way… “Valgarv? Where is Filia?”

The youth tilted his head. “Are you talking to me? My name is Aurin… and I don’t know anyone named Filia…”

Amelia started to hyperventilate. There was something horribly, horribly wrong. The world around her swayed, and she felt herself falling.

Then, nothing.

“She’s waking up,” a soft voice whispered.

Amelia opened her eyes to see two golden eyes peering down at her. There he was, Valgarv. It hadn’t been a hallucination. But he was smiling, and his expression was gentle.

“You’re awake. How do you feel?” He asked softly.

“I…. She settled for an easy answer. “My head hurts.”

“I’m sorry. If you would like, we can bring you something for that,” he offered.

Amelia shook her head. “No… I just want to go back to Kuroryu and find Miss Lina.”

He frowned. “But you are in Kuroryu. In fact, you are in the Palace of Kuroryu right this very moment.”

“I’m in… the Palace of Kuroryu? Who… are you?” Amelia managed to squeak.

He smiled that maddening smile. “I’m Aurin. I’m the Crown Prince of Kuroryu. I can’t be King until I turn of age… or until my mother says I can.”

“And your mother?” Amelia’s voice felt as though it was made of sandpaper.

“My mother is Queen Zhiya.”

Amelia sat up, looking around. “You’re not Valgarv? Half Black Dragon and half demon?”

His golden eyes shifted aside, then back to Amelia. “No… I am whole Black Dragon… and court no demons within my town.”

Amelia thought quickly. This meant that the strange woman had sent her back in time? Back into the memory of the Temple itself? And this was who Valgarv had been before Garv changed him? Little wonder Valgarv had been so bitter! He had been Crown Prince of everything here before the Golden Dragons came.

“Oh…” Amelia said. “You remind me of someone else then… I’m sorry that I confused you.”

He shook his head and smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I am told that everyone has someone who looks like them somewhere in the world.”

Amelia looked disconcerted for a moment. If this were a memory, how was it playing as if it were real?

“Have I upset you?” Aurin asked. “Let me have some wine brought.” Turning, he called out to a girl by the door. “Lalli, bring some wine. Our guest has had a long morning, and needs something with which to fortify herself.”

“I… I don’t drink…” Amelia said quietly. First, her father didn’t let her. Secondly, she didn’t particularly care for the smell associated with alcohol.

Aurin raised his eyebrows, and called out “Bring juice instead. That which we use to turn into wine shall be excellent. A pitcher and two goblets.”

Lalli, thus addressed, hurried out to find the juice and left the two alone.

“So… what is your name? You know mine, and therefore have me at a disadvantage, lady.” Aurin asked pleasantly, a soft smile toying around his lips.

“Um… I’m called Amelia…” She didn’t specify anything further, but what difference could it make? She was obviously in a dream, a waking dream brought to her mind by the Black Dragons of the Ancient Temple. It wasn’t real… it was only a memory given life enough to show her what needed to be shown.

“Amelia…” He tasted the name and smiled again, turning to look out of a nearby window and gaze at the mountains beyond. “It is a lovely name, though strange to my ears. From where do you wander, for you are a traveler from a considerable distance, if my guess is true.”

He was good, yes, but how could he know that she lived within the Barrier? Did the Barrier even exist in this time of days gone past? She settled for another easy answer. “I come from the land across the vast seas.”

“Ah…” He nodded, turning back to her. “And are those lands as beautiful as those outside my windows?”

“Probably not,” Amelia admitted softly.

“Lord Aurin! Lord Aurin! They come!” Lalli came running back into the room, pitcher of juice forgotten.

Instantly Aurin was on his feet. “What, now? Are they here for battle, or peace?”

A rumble answered his question as a brilliant flame lanced out across the view from the window.

“Battle, then.” Eyes narrowed, Aurin reached into his sleeve and pulled a bracelet out of his cuff. He turned to Amelia and fastened the bracelet onto her wrist. “Do not take this off, Lady Amelia, for this will protect you from their attack.”

“But what about you!” Amelia grabbed at his wrist as he moved towards a curtained archway that led out to a circular overlook on the side of the Palace. “You are the Prince… you need to be protected for the sake of your people!”

He pulled his hand away, shoving the heavy curtain aside. Outdoors, the sounds of battle were rising, the heavy wings of dragons pushing the air into swirls and gusts. “I will die for my people, if that is what it takes. But as long as you survive…” He paused, turning to her and taking both her hands in his. Bowing his forehead to her hands, he murmured. “This is not your fight. You aren’t supposed to be part of this. Promise me this, Amelia from across the sea. Promise me that if I die, If my people die and you survive to return to your people… promise to remember us.”

Taken wholly aback, Amelia could only stammer out a reply. “I… I can’t ever forget you… Aurin…” She knew with cold certainty that while Aurin would die, he would be reborn as Valgarv and seek revenge for his people. And Lina and Filia would bring it to a full circle…

He let go of her hands and stepped out onto the balcony, wings carelessly growing across his back as he shifted into dragon form and took off into the sky to battle.

By the time Amelia managed to find her way down into the Great Hall, her suspicions had been confirmed. This was what she knew as the Temple of Kuroryu… the Palace would survive… but its people would be nothing more than whispered memories carved onto walls by some dying member of the Black Dragon race, unaware that Valgarv once Aurin still sought revenge.

The great doors were open, and Amelia stepped out into the ravaged courtyard, her breath taken by the sheer majesty of the Golden Dragons battling the Black Dragons in the skies. Dragons of both races fell, and one Black Dragon landed heavily nearby. Running over to aid the dragon, Amelia saw the injuries and began preparing a healing spell. By the time she reached it, however, the dragon had died. Angry at the injustice, Amelia spun to see another dragon falling from the skies, and cried out in anger. “Why do you do this? They are your people! They are kind and beautiful…and they only wish to live in peace!”

She caught up to the other fallen Black Dragon, setting her hands on the torn skin and casting the healing spell without a thought. Dream or not, she could not stand by and watch these beautiful beings die.

The dragon beneath her hands shifted into human form, the face familiar now as both Lalli and the woman from the Ancient Temple in the present/future that Amelia knew.

“They seek us for the power that we keep secret, for the magics and forbidden knowledge held to keep the intricate balance of life steady. Do you understand now, Amelia, what we were, what we left behind? We deciphered the spells, the ancient writings of that which is called the Claire Bible… and we know the power it bespeaks can destroy this world.

“Even your Lina Inverse is not lighthearted with the Giga Slave. One of the simpler spells from the Claire Bible, it can destroy a world with the merest of thought. With us died the ability to read the Claire Bible in its entirety and understand the ramifications of such magic unleashed. Where, then, was the justice, Amelia? Who were the winners in this bloody battle?”

The woman beneath her hands dissolved into dust, and Amelia looked out over the bloody streets, tears falling. This wasn’t justice, but persecution for a power that was not understood by those attacking. There would be no winners, she knew, for revenge would be taken, and the Golden Dragons would be hunted just as callously. In the end… in the end…

There were winners, Amelia suddenly saw. Out of it all would come an answer that neither race would ever have imagined possible. For many years in the future, a Golden Dragon Priestess would love a Black Demon Dragon Prince. And in the end, he would be reborn and they both would win a second chance.

The world around her shimmered, the battle fading blissfully into darkness and she slept.