Sekali, "The Sister City"
Chapter 83
As he staggered, he looked about for a place to sit as his strength began to fail completely, but he did not make it.
He did not remember a time when he had missed Mahkaia more, and his heart felt truly broken. The one consolation was that he knew she was now within the arms of eternal peace and rest; she had to be.
Uther and Finyat were instantly at his side supporting and steadying him. His vision grew dim as the earth beneath his feet began to spin. His eyesight began to cloud as he tried to speak.
They set him upon the ground, with his back against a rock. Uther built a fire at Aria’s request as she began to prepare a meal with dried herbs and vegetables retrieved from her pack.
After some water was heated, she sprinkled in some Kesh`Kettle herb and stirred it into the water. She fed him all of it as she tightly held his hand. Finyat and Uther ate their meal together in silence, watching their friend’s strength return slowly.
For three days they did not travel, Aria tending to them with every care. Uther would quietly grumble when she smiled at him, or spoke to him, but Finyat went out of his way for her attention.
On the third day, Sekali went to the bridge and into the structure where he had fought. He looked over the edge and grimaced apprehensively at the dark forbidding waters rushing through the jagged stones beneath. The bodies of the slain were yet visible; a foreboding scene of death and carnage. Pulling his eyes from the sight below, his attention was drawn to his fallen enemy.
Whispering, he began to speak to his foe without realizing it. “You. You took her from me. I pray to holy Vannar you struggle for freedom within the Blackened Abyss. You deserve no less.”
He did not see Aria standing behind him as he walked slowly to his shattered enemy, lying upon the bridge, forever stilled. He looked down and frowned.
“Now, I send you to the river below, even as you have sent others.” Sekali drew his blade and pushed every piece to the edge of the stone bridge. Looking one last time into the black waters below, he scattered the body into its eternal grave and turned away.
Aria stood there, behind him, watching, a solemn look in her eyes. He stopped and looked at her in silence for some time as tears formed slowly in her eyes. Finally, Aria broke the silence that had lasted for three days.
“I’m so sorry, Sekali.” A sudden flood of tears spilled nonstop down her face.
Sekali approached her and bowed slowly, suddenly exhausted in both mind and body. “M’lady, we should not have gotten this far, if not for you. You are a blessing from Vannar and I am grateful for your guidance.”
She smiled shortly, the tears still cascading down her face. “Sekali, I would take upon myself the emptiness you suffer.” She shook her head despairingly. “How long have you been cursed with this?” Sekali frowned and brushed her tears from her face, with a trembling hand, as he set the point of his blade to the stone between them, leaning heavily upon the hilt.
“Do not weep, Aria. Even though we are parted in this life, I know we shall be reunited one day. And this is comforting to me. Do not cry.” He slowly sheathed his blade and gently took her in his arms, embracing her, just now realizing how tender her heart truly was.
The hardness of his heart softened. His heart yearned for his beloved Mahkaia. He knew Aria could feel his emotions, his sadness, his yearning to join his lost wife, and in this, she too suffered with him. He tightened his arms about her.
“Aria, are you sure you wish to do this? You feel what we all feel. I don’t pretend to understand how you do this, but it is a heavy burden to share. I would see your blessed people back to the Sister City; it must be done.”
Aria nodded, her tears spotting the steel of his armor. “I have to, Sekali . . . all my life I have served.”
She looked up and managed a smile his way. “My path is like a forge; I was a raw and unrefined piece of metal. Yet though all my trials, I have become tempered. Because of my all these trials, I will be the blade of my people; a blade that will yet sunder my enemy . . . our enemy, Sekali.”
Again Sekali brushed away her tears and smiled slightly as he felt his heart lighten within. A feeling of warmth spread through him as she smiled and whispered,
“I take upon myself your pain, I taste its deepened sorrow.
I suffer so that you would gain, A hope, renewed tomorrow.”
A feeling of comfort filled Sekali, and his pain seemed to leave him, as if he were a container of unwanted, filthy water, suddenly emptied and cleaned out . . . ready to receive the fresh. As he stared deeply into her eyes, he noticed a pain filling them, his pain.
Astonished, he pulled away slowly, feeling the mental anguish of loss recede to a dim spark. He was speechless as she smiled, new tears forming within her eyes.
She simply turned and walked away, heading back to camp. A firm resolve instilled within him as he watched her gracefully stroll up to Finyat and embrace him also. Uther put both his hands up when she turned to him. Then she bowed and began packing up her gear carefully.
At first Finyat would not near the structure, and so they waited for him to bolster up the courage to cross over that terrible place. But he could not force himself to near it, so awful was the memory. Aria was finally able to coax Finyat across the bridge by embracing him tightly. As she did, she said something to him quietly in his ear. Finyat then perked up and held her hand as they both crossed. Once on the other side he embraced her and whispered something to her. She laughed, punched him, and walked away, shaking her head. Finyat snickered and fell in with the company, seemingly pleased with himself.
Uther laughed richly. “Finyat, you are smooth.”
To which Aria threw a quick comeback. “You owe me a Sovala Keenya for that, Finyat!”
Finyat brightened, smiling ear to ear. “How’ bout two?” Sekali managed a smile.