Mandate of Heaven
~Chapter 3~
"Please, I couldn't possibly…"
"Oh, come on."
"There's no way they'd let me keep it."
"Please?"
"Well, alright… but if it's confiscated, don't blame me."
Ketan grinned. "Okay." Eni slipped the necklace over her head.
"It's beautiful. Thank you."
He kissed her softly. "Not nearly as lovely as you are."
She smiled weakly. "I'll miss you so much…"
"I'll visit as much as I can."
"Promise?"
"Promise." They embraced each other tightly. "Now go."
She nodded. "I love you."
"I love you, too." She kissed him a final time and turned away, forcing her feet to take her back to the Academy and away from the man she loved.
---
"Eni."
"… Huh?"
The professor groaned. "Eni, what herb would I wrap around the injured heel of a horse?"
I know this. I know this. "Umm…" She quickly shuffled through her photographic memory. "Hollyhock, sir."
"Very good. Eni, I've noticed that you haven't been paying attention in class lately. Would you care to share with us what's on your mind?"
She blushed. "No, sir."
"If it's not something you're willing to share, I suggest you stop thinking about it."
"Yes, sir."
---
Eni stared out her window. Her books lay open before her, but she couldn't seem to concentrate. Every word rearranged itself to be the same. Ketan. She sighed. Where is he? He said he would visit, and it's been a week now… A movement at the corner of her eye drew her gaze. She scanned its form eagerly. Plain robe, stooped head… just a novice… She sighed again and watched the figure slowly make its way towards her cabin. Wait… they're coming here…? Who…? She stared at the novice. He's… he's wearing sandals…! She ran outside.
"Is that you, K--" He lifted his head and held a finger to his lips, a painfully familiar grin spreading across his face. As soon as he was safely inside, he snatched her up and pulled her into a deep kiss.
"I missed you," he murmured. Her only reply was to bury her face in his chest while he stroked her hair softly. To her surprise, he then picked her up and placed her on the bed.
"Ketan… novices aren't allowed…" She trailed off, not quite believing in the rules anyways.
"Damn what novices are and aren't allowed to do. You're not a novice, you're Eni." He stared into her eyes, all the frustration of being deprived of her company for so long melting away in the heat of the moment.
He crushed his lips to hers, and for a time, all they knew was each other.
---
Eni awoke. The fingers of dawn were just starting to reach through her blinds and onto the bed. Adjusting herself in an attempt to be more comfortable, she noticed that she was not alone in her bed. Confusion ran through her mind, but was soon replaced by utter joy. A soft smile found its way to her lips as she put her arm around her sleeping lover. He stirred slightly, but quieted within a moment.
She could not tell how long she stayed there, but she did not really care. Time has no meaning to love. Love creates its own sense of time--a love--time, if you will--that is much softer in its passing than the harsher version that is nature's. That said, it can safely be stated that the light had found its way far up the wall by the time Ketan awoke to the feel of an arm around him.
He stirred quietly, not wanting to disturb the peace that could be found flowing through every crack and corner in the small cabin. Eni kissed the back of his neck, and then they were still.
Eni sighed. "I have to go."
"Why? Where?" Ketan twisted around to look at her.
"This is my school, Ketan. I have lessons."
"Couldn't you skip them, just for today…?"
"No. I already missed a lot of stuff when I couldn't make it down here in the storm, and if I were absent, they'd come down here to see if I was sick. They'd discover you, and I'd be thrown out. Not to mention the disgrace to your family…"
Ketan groaned. "Alright, alright. I see your point. Go."
She kissed his forehead, grinning slightly. "Love you."
"Love you, too." Eni slipped out of bed and pulled on a robe. Glancing in a mirror, she grimaced and raised an eyebrow, watching her hair fall into place. Nodding curtly, she headed towards the door, blowing him one last kiss before the latch snapped back into place and she was on her way to Herbal Studies.
---
Ketan stepped outside, wearing the same rough robe he had the day before. He made his way to the sacred grove, leaning against the same tree that Eni had on that day that seemed to be an eternity ago. As he stood there basking in the silence of the grove, a thought struck him. I wonder… Turning, he placed him hand on the trunk of the great tree, fingers spread and eyes closed.
"Oh mighty oak, let me see that which you have witnessed." A flash of images, a blur of wisdom. There! That's… Eni! He examined the image. She's so small… but it must be her, she's the only Angel with black wings that's been born in centuries. But… where are her parents? She just… appeared. Puzzled, he let the tree continue with the flow of memories. There she is again… and again… and again… How many times has she been to this grove…? Every time, she looks so sad… When the tree showed him Eni falling into his own arms, he opened his eyes and removed his hand. Bowing deeply, he murmured, "Thank you, wise one. Your gracious gift will not be forgotten." The few remaining leaves, now vibrant yellows and red, rustled quietly in a breeze that didn't seem to disturb any of the other trees.
Ketan walked home slowly, letting his feet take him along the path that they knew so well, re-watching the tree's memories every step of the way.
---
Eni trudged along the path towards her cabin, flipping through the index of her reference book intently. Prophets, pg. 2385-2647. She turned to the page anxiously. Please let something helpful be in here…
I thought it was gone… I hadn't had it for a week… but… it came again during Herbal Studies… Her deep blue eyes scanned the pages quickly, nimble fingers turning each page after the last was exhausted, hoping that somewhere, something would be found. Page 2648, and still nothing… She pushed her hair back from her eyes, her mind searching for other options. Dreams…! I could look under dreams! She quickly turned back to the index. There! Dreams, pg. 5372-5564.
She opened her door and stepped inside automatically, setting her book down on her desk and telling it to turn itself to page 5372. Setting a pot of tea on the stove, she returned to the book while it warmed. Dreams, dreams, dreams… symbols in dreams, dreams of past lives, interpreting dreams, controlling your own dreams, prophetic dreams!
"Prophetic dreams are usually seen repeatedly, often every night. The prophet typically experiences the dream until either the foretold event has come to pass, or something is done to prevent its happening. In the case of Zelant the Fair, she dreamt of her face being mutilated until she could stand it no longer and gouged out her eyes, screaming that she did not want to see the horror that she would become, and thereby fulfilling the prophecy.
"Prophetic dreams are often characterized by garbled images and strong emotions. The affected prophet often develops a case of insomnia and may become slightly paranoid. Their health may deteriorate, and their appetite decreases. Mantayah the Old once said that 'prophecy is the most effective form of diet,' and on one occasion lost forty pounds due a dream that visited her every night for nine months."
Eni reread the passage in despair. "The prophet typically experiences the dream until either the foretold event has come to pass, or something is done to prevent its happening." But… that means… I'll have the dream until it comes true. She closed her eyes. And, that means that the pain will be real. The fire will burn. The screams will sound.
The pain will be real.
The teakettle whistled at her abrasively. Mechanically, she took it off the stove and poured herself a cup. Holding it between her hands, she let the warmth soak into her fingers, warming her blood but not dislodging the chill that had settled in her bones.
Sipping it carefully, something in her mind snapped. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, the intense studying, the winter weather, or the stress that all young lovers experience. Whatever it was, the dream seemed to be the last straw.
I can't take it anymore.
Blindly, she pulled on her coat and gloves. The door slammed shut behind her, and the only sign that she had even gotten home from class was a shattered teacup sitting a pool of gently steaming liquid on the bare floor.
---
"This is the last straw, Eni." The man stared at the girl's bowed head.
"I know, sir. But--"
"Enough!" He sliced the air with his hand furiously. "I don't want to do this, but… we have warned you more times than is legal already."
Her head shot up, lovely face pale and eyes wide in shock. "You… you wouldn't…"
"I must."
"No! You can't! My… my studies… and… I'm going to graduate in two months…"
"Correction: you were going to graduate in two months. Plans have changed. You've forced me to do this, Eni."
"No!" A single tear found its way down her face, a pioneer soon followed by many others. "I… I was just trying… to… to make you see…" Her shoulders shook with barely contained sobs. "You… can't do this… you've got to believe me… I know it's true. It has to be true!"
"Enough, Eni." He nodded to the guards posted at either side of the door. "Take her away." They started forward.
"No!" She jumped out of her chair. "You can't do this to me! It's not fair!"
"I never said it was fair, Eni. And you brought it upon yourself." The guards seized her arms and dragged her away, still screaming.
The man sat for a long while after she had gone. Finally, his gaze fell to his hands. That poor girl…
---
"You did what?" Ketan stared at the man who kneeled before him.
"I told you already, sir. We banished her."
Ketan grabbed the man by his collar and pulled him to his feet. "Look at me!" The man would not look up, either ashamed of his actions or simply afraid to look a prince in the eyes. "I said look at me, gods curse you!" The man's eyes tore themselves away from the floor. "Do you have any idea what you have done?"
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