Chapter 76 - The Promise Left Behind

Flurries of white petals fluttered in the wind as far as Skyle could see.

“You are finally here.”

Skyle turned around, joy radiating from his face as he opened his arms wide.

“Ria, I’m here. I finally remember!”

There was a great candelabrum with seven candles in the middle of the room, their wicks still smoking but their flames gone.

Why was it so dark here?

Ria shook her head, sorrow dragging at the perfect curves of her mouth.

“No, you don’t. But you will, soon enough.”

Skyle felt the weariness in her voice, and a loneliness that edged on despair.

“Ria? What’s wrong?”

She ignored his question. “I have dreamed of this moment, you know? A thousand times. A thousand times a thousand. And yet, I find I’m still not ready. It still breaks my heart.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have loved you for longer than the sun chases after the moon. The stars bear witness to the tears I have spilled in my silent vigil. All for you, my beloved, my Sky.”

“I’m here, Ria. I’m finally here!”

“Yes, you are. So too is my heart sundered, and hope slowly leaks from its cracks. For the world lives on while my love dies. Where will I find hope when all its memory is finally washed away?”

“Why are you speaking like this?”

“Because I love, and thus I despair. Joy to the world, yet black rain in mine.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Love binds us, Skyle. It creates gossamer chains that we ourselves fight to preserve, even until our last breath is gone.”

“What chains are you talking about?”

“You are finally awakening. It seems like only yesterday when we first met. Your heart called to mine, awakening me from my long slumber. The years have passed so swiftly, here in our little sanctuary, though they’re too many for mortal kin to count. All along, I sought only to protect you, you know? I used my body to shelter you from the rain, my tears to slake your thirst, and my love to nurture your soul. I still wonder if it was enough.”

A slow trail of blood slid out the side of her mouth.

“Ria!” Skyle cried out in alarm.

“I love you, Skyle. Now and forever, I will always love you. No matter where you go, no matter who you are, I will always be there with you - forever.”

Ria gently squeezed his hands. Skyle felt a strange wetness from her touch. Frowning, he looked down to find his hands wrapped around the hilt of a pitch black sword. He followed its blade up to the point where it pierced straight into Ria’s chest, and through her heart. Arterial blood was pumping from the wound, rushing down the length of the sword until it covered Skyle’s hands.

In breathless horror, Skyle tried to drop the sword but his fingers tightened around the hilt and only pushed the blade in deeper. He screamed for them to stop, but the midnight black blade slid smoothly into Ria’s flesh until stopped by the sword’s guard.

Ria’s fingers tightened convulsively over Skyle’s hands.

“It’s alright, Skyle,” Ria whispered, as flying motes of light consumed her. She held onto his hands as the rest of her body dissolved into the storm of white petals swirling in the skies. “Just promise me that you will never let go.”

“Ria!” The scream torn from his throat was raw and guttural, as though he were the one with the sword driven through the heart.

“Promise..”

Ria voice became lost in the howl of the wind as memory crashed upon him like the waves of a dreadful, implacable sea.

He remembered now. He remembered everything.

May God save him, for his memories surely damned him.

“ Ria..”

“I still don’t get it. Why can’t we just light another candle?”

“Sky, you sweet fool,” Ria laughed easily from where she lay on the grass next to Skyle. “You know the answer already. Just as darkness cannot exist without light, so too light cannot exist without darkness. We’ve been over this.”

Skyle frowned at the shadows that permanently hung around the corners of their little sanctuary. The center was light and airy, illuminated by a great candelabrum where seven candles burned with golden flames. Their contrast with the gloomy shadows was stark and unsettling, driving a wedge under his skin that sent shivers down his spine every time he looked into the darkness.

It seemed to be alive, somehow. Skyle felt eyes watching him from the darkness, though he knew it was ridiculous. Like a predator waiting for its prey to finally let down its guard, the darkness hung at the outer edges of the circle of light. The candles burned brightly, but from time to time a stray gust of wind would send their flames flickering unstably.

“I know, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it,” He grumbled under his breath.

Warm fingers traced the lines of his face, coming to rest upon his lips.

“Don’t say that.”

Turning his gaze around, Skyle saw Ria watching him with that sad look that sometimes came over her.

“Alright, I’m sorry. I won’t bring it up again,” Skyle said guiltily.

Ria shook her head. “No, it is the nature of great men to pursue absolute victory rather than an uneasy compromise. I only wish you were not quite so great a man, Sky.”

Skyle’s eyebrows shot up. “I’m not sure if I’m supposed to take that as a compliment or an insult.”

“Neither am I,” Ria replied in a serious tone.

Skyle had been about to ask what she meant by that, when a vicious wind blew across their sanctuary. It brought with it the fetid stench of sweat and blood, twisting Skyle’s stomach and making him retch involuntarily. By the time he recovered, he noticed the radiant glow of Ria’s skin seemed just a little dimmer.

Lifting his gaze toward the candelabrum, Skyle’s heart thumped loudly as he realized that only six lights burned upon the candles now.

The wick of the seventh candle was trailing a long wisp of smoke, and Skyle somehow knew that its flame was now forever lost.

“Don’t be sad, Sky,” came Ria’s gentle voice next to his ear. “Where there is light, darkness also dwells.”

Skyle didn’t have the heart to ask Ria why her own voice sounded so sad, or whether there was also light where darkness ruled.

He had a feeling that he would not like the answer to either question.

“Ria, you’ve been acting strange of late,” Skyle commented casually, running his fingers through her raven locks of hair.

“Have I? Pray tell, Lord Sky,” she murmured sleepily from she lay on the grass, her head propped up on top of Skyle’s legs. “Illuminate me.”

“I don’t know, it’s hard to explain. It’s like you keep watching me out of the corner of your eye, as if you were afraid I’d be gone the moment you turn away. Lately, I feel like your smile is one of relief when you turn to me, like you’re grateful I’m still here.”

Skyle chuckled self-consciously, his hands tracing idle patterns upon the snow white skin on the nape of her neck.

“I know it’s silly. Maybe I’m just being over-sensitive, but you- Ah, Ria?”

Skyle’s hands froze when he felt the tension that had just stiffened the back of Ria’s neck. Through his legs, Skyle could feel a shiver run through Ria’s body as she closed her eyes.

“What’s wrong, Ria?” Skyle stretched out a hand and laid it upon Ria’s shoulder as she abruptly sat back up, turning her back to him.

Avoiding him with her gaze, Ria held him at bay by laying a hand upon his chest. “Nothing. I’m fine. I just.. I wish we had more time.”

“We have all the time in the world, Ria,” Skyle looked at her in askance.

“Even the world runs only on borrowed time, Sky,” Ria said sadly.

“Even ours?”

“Especially ours.”

The light flickered, and Skyle did not have to look to know another candle had just gone out.

“Sky?”

“Huh?” Skyle looked around in a daze. Where was he?

“Sky, it’s me.”

“R- Ria?”

“Yes. Here, take my hand.”

Warm fingers enfolded his hand in a gentle grip.

“I had an awful dream,” Skyle murmured, his voice shaking. “I was running from bad people, trying to stay alive. They wanted to kill me and my friend. I- I didn’t want to hurt them, but I was so afraid. I just wanted to come back home, you know?”

“I know, Sky. I know,” Ria murmured comfortingly, drawing his head down to her chest, where she enveloped him in her embrace.

“I saw a person there, an old man. I thought he was another soldier, one of the evil people. I- I had to kill him. I stabbed him in the heart, but he wasn’t a bad man, Ria. He was a good person, and he only wanted the killing to stop. He looked so tired, so pitiful, and he would have never hurt me. But I killed him with my own two hands. His blood was all over me.”

The rest dissolved into fitful sobs as Skyle trembled in Ria’s arms. She stroked the hair from his face and spoke comfortingly to him. Her soothing voice slowly guided him through the darkness, and Skyle eventually felt the madness fade behind.

“Ria?”

“Yes, Sky?”

“I heard the voice again. It told me things, a lot of things. Things I knew were true, so I couldn’t say anything back. But I didn’t listen. Like you told me, I stayed far away from it. Eventually, it left me alone.” Skyle shivered at the memory.

“You did good, Sky.”

“But, you know what the worst part of the dream was?”

“Hmm?”

“I finally know where it comes from. The voice, that is. It told me, and like everything it says, I knew it was true.”

“Oh, Sky..”

“It’s my own voice, Ria. I’m the one who is speaking, and the words come from inside my heart.”

Skyle looked at the candelabrum, where only four tongues of flame shone now.

“Sky?” Ria called out from where she lay upon the grass, her eyes closed.

“Hmm?”

“What are you thinking about?”

“Mmm. About how unfair it is for anyone to be as impossibly beautiful as you are,” Skyle said truthfully, turning his gaze to once again drink in the sight of her.

“Oh, stop,” Ria giggled, rolling on her back to avoid his eyes as twin spots of red bloomed on her cheeks.

“It’s true, I swear. How could life have concentrated so much sheer beauty on a single person? What about all the people who would be blinded by such brilliance? The voices struck mute and speechless by their fascination? The minds driven senseless by the- Oww.”

“Stop it, you. You shouldn’t tease me so, Sky,” Ria smiled sweetly from where she was sitting up, all the while patting the reddened skin of his arm where she had just pinched him. “Ah, Sky? What’s wrong?”

Skyle frowned for a moment. “I.. nothing, there’s just something in the back of my mind. Something I’m forgetting, about the warmth that floods my heart when you pinch me and huff away in pretend fury.”

Ria’s hand paused in the act of stroking his skin, and her smile froze for just a moment. It was then that Skyle realized Ria was smiling, and was not pretending to be angry at all. In fact, she never did.

“I don’t understand,” Skyle murmured, confused.

“I’m losing you,” Ria sighed almost inaudibly.

“Hmm? What was that?”

“Nothing, you silly goose.” Ria rested her head upon Skyle’s shoulder and closed her eyes. “I’m just thinking about how unfair it is for anyone to be as impossibly dense as you are.”

“Hey now!” Skyle chuckled in mock protest.

“It’s true, I swear. How could life have concentrated so much sheer-” Ria continued.

“Come here you! I’ll show you how us dense people deal with this kind of situation!” Skyle cried as he lunged for her.

Ria laughed as dodged back, the silver bells in her hair tinkling merrily.

“Only two are left,” Skyle whispered, watching the feeble flickering of the remaining candlelight.

Ria nodded with uncharacteristic solemnity.

“Are you sure you don’t want to learn about your gift?” Ria asked yet again.

Skyle firmly shook his head. “The price is far too steep.”

Ria reached out for his hand, twining her fingers between Skyle’s.

“You might come to regret your decision, you know?”

Skyle shook his head firmly. “Never.”

“Never is a very long time, Sky - far beyond your ken,” Ria said in that unfathomably mysterious tone she sometimes had.

“Will you regret the time we’ve spent together, then?” Skyle asked in turn.

“No, but then again, I knew exactly what I was doing from the very beginning, all those years ago,” Ria nodded.

“Then how dare you ask me if I would regret the single most precious thing in my life,” Skyle asked, his voice breaking.

Ria looked down, but her fingers squeezed harder than ever. “I’m sorry. It’s just that the time draws near, and I don’t know if I will be strong enough for what must come.”

“I will be strong enough for the both of us, Ria,” Skyle said firmly, an iron will flashing in his eyes.

“If anything, that’s what I’m afraid of, Sky,” Ria said cryptically.

Skyle was silent then, for he knew the remaining time was far too precious to waste on silly questions.

“So, tell me again about the snow lily you planted last year,” Skyle said instead.

“I’ve already told you that silly tale a dozen times this past week alone,” Ria smiled helplessly.

“I know. Some things are just worth that extra time, you know?” Skyle smiled in turn.

Ria tilted her head to one side, her eyes glimmering with emotion.

“Yes, they are, my beloved Sky.” Ria said, before sinking into silence.

“The lily?” Skyle prompted after a moment.

“Yes, the lily. Well, there was this one seed at the edge of the valley which-”

As Ria began her tale anew, Skyle closed his eyes and tried to etch each word onto his heart.

Skyle did not fear death, nor even oblivion. What he did fear, however, was forgetting. For love was the trail of two sets of footsteps upon the dusky beach of remembrance, and the waves of time would soon crash upon these sun-swept shores. Upon their retreat, those cruel waters would wash away all the precious footsteps upon his heart, until only a desolate stretch of sand remained.

“Sky, are you listening?”

Skyle smiled, but his heart was bleeding as sharp knives dug deep channels upon his flesh, carving this very moment into scar-etched memory.

He did not care, because only one thing was important.

He must remember.

“Will I remember you?” Skyle asked quietly.

“I pray that you do not,” Ria said, tears pooling in her eyes.

“I must remember, or what have all these years been for?” Skyle said with uncharacteristic bitterness.

“Isn’t even a single moment of love worth it on its own right?” Ria said gently, taking Skyle’s hand in her own and laying it against her cheek. There, she breathed deeply as though to remember the scent of his skin.

This sight brought new tears to his eyes.

“All I want is to be with you,” Skyle murmured. “To know you and to hold you, to close my arms around you and feel your warmth slowly melt with mine until we are one. It is all I wish for, my one prayer to god or whatever higher power watches over us.”

“Don’t be selfish, Sky. We’ve been here for hundreds of years. That is already far longer than most mortals can dream of, let alone share together. Must you also demand that the memory of their passing be forever left in your heart? How can you still be so childish and naive?”

“Because you’ve taught me everything, Ria. How to breathe, how to think and how to simply be. You have taught me everything, except how to live without you by my side.”

A muffled cry of anguish died before reaching his throat. Skyle bit his lips and felt his fingers digging painfully into Ria’s palms.

That was alright. Her fingers were drawing blood from his skin in their own heedless obsession.

It was just how desperate hearts spoke when words inevitably failed them.

“Will I see you again?” Skyle finally broke the silence.

“So long as you hold even the smallest sliver of my memory within your heart, you will..” Ria said softly, her words trailing off into a desolate silence.

“You don’t believe I will remember, do you?” Skyle said accusingly.

“Oh, Sky. You must not be so hard on yourself,” Ria cried softly, already knowing it was himself Skyle was blaming, and not her. Never her. “This seed of darkness, it feeds upon your soul and discards everything it has no use for. Family, friends, love - they cannot hope to stand against the tide of darkness that will swallow them all, and turn the strength of those bonds of love into the cold steel it will use to hone its own claws.”

“I will defeat it. For your sake, for ours, I will fight against it and I will prevail. I won’t let it take you away from me,” Skyle cried, pulling Ria into his arms and squeezing the breath from her with his embrace.

“Sky, my dear, foolish Sky.. You still don’t understand, do you? It is the strength of your soul, the ferocity of your desire, the indomitable steel of your will, that will become the darkness’ strongest weapons. Were you not so courageous and strong, hope would still remain, however brittle and gossamer.”

Ria slowly pulled away just enough to look up into Skyle’s despairing gaze.

“Your bravery dooms our love, and your passion will be the slayer of hope.”

“So, you have given up on us already?”

“Never, Sky. You may not remember me - remember us. But you will always be my Sky. This, I believe with all my heart. Though stars may fall and worlds shatter, I believe you will find your way home to me. To us.”

“Ria..”

“Sky, no matter how long the road, how dark the night, how lonely the hearth, hold on to my hands and don’t ever let go. One day, you will return. You will come back to me, and I will be there waiting for you. This is our promise, from now until the end of time.”

“I promise, Ria. I won’t let go. I will return.”

“And I promise, Sky. I will be waiting.”

The final candle died, and the darkness arose, for it knew its time had finally come. The shadows, they had always been there, if only in Skyle’s eyes. For the light of sanctuary allows no darkness, except for that within the human heart.

The shadows, they had always been those cast by the dark flames simmering in the depths of Skyle's own heart.

Now, they rose at long last, and from their pitch black depths, a sword of midnight was born.

Cold, unfeeling hands gripped the hilt of this sword, and its blade cried out in feral joy, for long years had it starved, and the time of feasting was at long last at hand.

“You are finally here,” Ria said, and the light died within her eyes.

Love lay dying, Hope was vanquished.

Only a promise remained.