Auria

Chapter 9 - Awakenings

Auria awoke in darkness.  A finger slid along the slick glass, letting her know where she lay – the coffin.  She tapped a fist against it.  No one came.  She pushed hard, seeing the light entering from the left side and continued to push hard until the lid opened.  A taut chest pang let her know the dream was real.  The revealing room sat empty, except for the bright, tormenting light - painful and unrelenting against dry, salty eyes.  Pain continued.

She rolled out of the coffin, landing on the hard, white-stone floor.  The wiry tethers fell with her, tugging from deep inside and causing more pain.  She pulled them out, careful not to further damage what was left of her.

Finally standing, she limped naked into an open doorway.  Rows of men stood in the yard, none turning, none noticing.  She noted the white linens strewn atop a table.  They fit snuggly across arms and legs, but felt stiff.  Half-asleep, she slowly worked around the discomfort.  Then, standing in the doorway, she tried to speak.

“Where...  Where is Gen?”

The men turned, seeing the red stains running the length of her clothing; red, upon white, upon Auria.  Several men rushed forth and walked with her across the yard into the food hall.  She sat.  Eight men gathered around the table quietly staring to their own feet.

“Where is he?”

“We do not know.” said one, eyes down.

“Why?”


A servant brought forth a plate of green food grown from the garden.  Another carried purple and red sweets from the garden trees.  She picked a plump, purple morsel and bit into it, closing eyes to savor the freshness and continue the moment.  Someone yelled.

“Where is Auria?  Training shall soon begin.”

She limped to gain a better view.  Gen stood in the yard, clothing tattered and worn, muddy from head to toe.  The gray hair was gone, as though dampened, dark hair transformed him into something more than he'd been before now.

“Coming, Master.” she said, fumbling to reach him.

The two stood face to face, neither looking at the other, only downward.  Auria's clothes bore red stains and Gen's face appeared stressed in bloody streaks and purple pock-marks.  The wrinkles were gone she noted, and began to smile.

A servant came carrying spears.  He offered Auria one first, then Gen took a spear.  He pushed the staff's butt against the ground to his right.  Auria lunged forward, pushing a spear deep into his chest.  She fell atop weak knees, screaming and crying for breath.


He'd let her do it; and she knew he meant for her to kill him.  He hadn't moved nor breathed when she'd pushed.  Though something in the back of her mind wanted to do it, she'd never let those thoughts get the best of her.

Gen pulled out the red-soaked spear, throwing it to the ground and slumped over, blood pulsing from both the front and back.  The sun shone brightly through the clouds, shining into his still-beating heart as a glowing beacon.  Eyes wide open – his own preference in meeting death.

“Help me.” screamed Auria.

Servants gathered round and formed a mass circle of men, none offering to touch the Master.  They stood and stared.  She crawled to him, dragging him by the shoulders onto her waist where she coddled his face and wrapped him tightly.  The bleeding ceased.  He'd died almost instantly.

“Help me.” she gasped.  “Get him to my coffin.”


Men grabbed the Master by the arms and carried across the dried, dirt yard to the steps leading to the balcony.  They pulled him up those steps, plopping the body up and down each one until they'd traversed the distance to the coffin room.

Auria kept watch from the spot on the ground where he'd fallen.  She placed her face against bloody soil and cried.  Younglings brought rags, offering them as they dangled all around her, though she never accepted, nor looked to their faces.  As they looked down, per custom, they saw her there in her lowest place, sinking toward a fast-approaching oblivion.