CHAPTER 4-A Prisoner
Layla smiled when she saw Damian come out of the cabin. She was scared stiff when he started trembling violently and collapsed out of blue. He had been in a coma-like state for five days-she had willingly volunteered to look after him. When Damian stood out on the deck, was smiling-almost happy she thought when she saw his face. He started to walk towards the bow towards her. Suddenly, he commenced to run towards her-for a second Layla thought he was coming to hug her, she opened her arms i anticipation for it and then he breezed past her and jumped of the bow.
The only thing that escaped her lips was a terrible high-pitched 'No!!', the ship's sirens then followed, indicating someone was overboard. Leo and Lutz rushed out from the forgery and Captain and Jake from the trapdoor in front of the raised platform that led to the cabin. The trapdoor was concealed to the extent of it blending in with the dark plush wood wood of the deck-it served as a passageway to the control room. They started to attack her with a storm of questions-she cut them short-
"Damian jumped off the ship!!."
"Jake", said Captain.
"I'm on it", he replied. His dark green eyes glowed.
"He's two hundred feet below and a yard away from the bow", he announced.
"Leo", Flavio said, in a calm voice.
"Got it", Leo replied confidently. He opened his palms got to where Damian jumped and directed his left arm at it, the right at the centre of the deck, where the others gathered. A ping was heard and a portal materialized. Out of it, Damian-with a maniacal smile on his face as he fell on the ship. Layla rushed towards him, she abruptly stopped when Flavio yelled, "Stop!!".
"No one comes near this boy!!" he roared.
"He needs to be taught a lesson, and no one dies on my ship", he added with a sinister tone. The smile on Damian's face melted as he realized that death had eluded him-big time. He had just heard Captain's voice. How in tarnation had he ended up here? Then the statement Layla made days ago answered his question-Leo. The lanky idiot could teleport stuff- he had a space affinity, damn it!!. He gritted his teeth as he heard Leo's voice. This stupid boy had ruined his plan.
"I could have been freed from this useless existence of mine, but no, you just had to be the hero", shouted Damian spitefully. Right now he would give anything to see that stupid smirk wiped of Leo's grotesque face.
"That does it", said Flavio and dragged Damian into the WR.
"Just in case, you want something to read..", said Flavio and threw a book in front of Damian. When he was about to leave and bolt the Damian shut inside, the boy shouted "I'm blind, I can't see", and indicated the absence of the orb by raising his left wrist. No wonder he wanted to kill himself Captain reflected in his thoughts. He said nothing and proceeded to lock Damian.
"You just burden the world with two useless beings", shouted Damian when Captain locked the door with a clang. My word, the boy's losing it he thought as he left.
He laid spread-eagle on the white marble floor and closed his eyes and Khorpius immediately appeared.
What do you want?
Khorpius ignored Damian but continued to look at him unnervingly.
You're pretty happy you didn't die aren't you?
Finally, the wolf spoke.
Lack Of Sight Does Not Make One Useless Little One. You Are Useless Because You Chose Yourself To Be. From This Period Onwards, I Will Not Allow My Chosen To Be Weak. With that Khorpius jerked Damian's body off the floor and levitated him in midair.
You Will Learn To Perceive Sight. Through Hearing and Feeling. Out of the blue, he let Damian fall back down. The floor vibrated as he fell on it, his now excessively sensitive ears blared from the dull impact he made with the floor.
And I Will Project Them In Third-Dimension.
Right in front of his eyes Damian saw the lofty ceiling of the WR materialize. He saw every minute detail and design of the iron-reinforced ceiling. Amazed, he got up and looked around hi slowly- careful not to miss anything. Behind the white curved walls, he saw strange writings he presumed to be runes, they glowed ominously- he couldn't tell the color.
Those Are Teleportation Runes.
Every step he took, the floor in his vision rippled- like a drop of water falling on a glassy calm surface of a lake. The more the floor vibrated mutely under his feet- the more Damian's vision brightened and every detail jumped up at him.
"Stupendous", he admired.
Unknown to Damian was the fact that his eyes were now completely faded and milky grey.
Illusion And Simulation Gramarye Shall Not Affect You Little One- That Is If You Wish.
Immediately, Damian knew what Khorpius was hinting on- he should try and train with that peculiar orb Captain used on him the other day. With purpose, he walked round the room looking for the orb. Gently touching the smooth walls, he ran his fingers along trying to find a key, a switch, anything that will bring this dead room to life. Disappointed, he shuffled back to his initial position in the room. That was when Damian saw the book Captain left behind. The reminiscence of that morning's tidings for him, but he was overcome by curiosity as he neared the book. The book was nothing special, it cover, a shade of royal blue decorated with a gold effigy of the Starlight. Above engraved in golden letters read Manual. Slowly, he flipped the cover, looked through the table of contents and one of it jumped at him, the sole one he had unconsciously been looking for- Circular Atrium (White Room), he tracked the page number and quickly flipped numerous leaves until he reached it. Excitedly, he began to skim through, occasionally taping the pages to illuminate them. In what seemed like minutes he was done- now, there was nothing about the WR unless it was not written in the manual (That included trying to break out when you've been locked in).Intrigued, he sat down and proceeded to learn everything he could about the Starlight.
* * * * *
Damian did not look up as someone stepped into the WR. Even without looking, he knew and saw who it was- Lutz carrying a food tray walking towards him. She abruptly stopped and slid the tray towards Damian, without a word she turned and walked out of the room, locking the door behind her. Ignoring Lutz's impromptu appearance and 'visit' he continued reading the Manual- forgetting about the food altogether. The book he read was certainly voluminous but Damian did not mind, honestly he preferred the book to the company of Flavio and the others.
Days sped by, his food was changed within periods of the day, though he never touched it- not that he did it intentionally but he was so engrossed in the book that hunger didn't even occur to him. His unruly spikey-white hair was still the same length except it was a little bit straight than usual.
Finally, he snapped the book shut with a sigh- a satisfied one, he was finally done with the Manual. Damian arose from his sitting position giddily, hunger finally getting a chance to tease his stomach, he walked unsteadily towards the food tray- wondering the food the ceramic bowl contained. Images of golden brown ham and chopped tomatoes garnished with parsley danced about in his mind- the aroma of gravy stopped the ham short, instead replacing it gravy-related dishes, his mouth watered. He couldn't think anymore and rushed at the food tray retrieved the bowl, grabbed a spoon and dug in. In seconds, Damian had finished the food. He grabbed the silver goblet on the tray and emptied it's contents- water. Famished, he laid on the floor and dozed off.
MEANWHILE SOMEWHERE ON THE STARLIGHT...
The steam hissed. Sweat trickled and laced the like morning dew on a frosted plain glass on Lutz's face. Amber eyes mirrored the magnificent weapon being birthed- a sword slightly curved. It had one edge jagged and tinted blue, the other very thing and sharp shone silver- the blade was connected to a silver hilt that was leather-bound and had a circular pommel to it. Lutz brandished the sword she had just forged- beautiful, she admired. It was a gift she had made for Damian, she wanted to give him purpose, meaning anything to compel him to desist from suicide, though they may not be family, she felt for Damian, saw him as the little brother she never had and loved him so.
After the sword had cooled, she grabbed a scabbard and sheathed the sword. She pushed opened the door and stepped out into the starry and breezy night. Not a soul was on deck, it seemed everyone was tired out of their wits by boredom. Starlight moved on noiselessly through the night, passing through white undulating feathery clouds, which engulfed it in a translucent fog. Flavio must have charmed the ship decided Lutz. He only did that when he wanted to reach somewhere on time. Then it struck her- Grylock's. Leo, Jake and Layla were supposed to return to their academy. Grylock's Academy of Gramarye is an institution established by the ancestors of the elmans- humans and elves. After the war, the Ancients, humans and elves, discovered the need for a united front and to guide and pass on their knowledge and skill to the upcoming generation. The humans contributed their elemental magic and technology, the elves, spirit manifestation magic and energy coupled with summoning. They built an institution and named it after the creature that had decided their victory- the grylock.
Lutz shivered in the cloud-encouraged fog. She hurried past the rigging into the, which gave way to the aisle that led directly to the WR. For the first time his 'imprisonment' by Flavio, the food tray was empty. Not far from the tray laid Damian, fast asleep with his hair on his face, lying inches away from the Starlight's manual. She tiptoed towards Damian and placed the sheathed sword near him, turned and took one last look at his sleeping form- he looked peaceful and carefree as if he had no worries in the world. She gave him her thousand megawatt smile and crept off out the WR into her own room and heaved herself into the berth, moments later she was softly snoring like there was no tomorrow.
The white creature continued to look intently at the airship drifting through the clouds- it weaved in and out of sight of anybody in the ship who cared to look at the stars. It growled softly as if pleased of what it saw and slowly, it interspersed into a cloud that continued to follow the Starlight.
* * * * *
Damian felt something cold brush against him as he spread his extremities to their limit. He yawned loudly, first time he had slept so peacefully- no nightmares or terrors, just a dreamless sleep. He got up and did a few stretches, on his way to activate the training simulation he kicked an object that had not been there the day before- a sword in a scabbard. Damian took the sword out of its sheathe and brandished it. The sword was light and very sharp- perfect. Lutz must have forged it, he thought and it made him smile.
He made a strange gesture, spoke an even peculiar word and the familiar white pillar topped with the sphere and its yellowish markings protruded from the teleportation runes beneath the floor, the dummy also materialized along with it. As Damian touched the sphere, he pictured the exact old swamp he had been humiliated in. The walls began to fade out just like they did previously.
"I believe I have a score to settle, don't you think?". Damian questioned the dummy.