Give it light,
and the darkness will disappear of itself.
~Desiderius Erasmus
***
"Alaric," The name broke from Ravenna's lips in a breathless cry with urgency clinging to each syllable as she stumbled across the threshold of the manor. Her skirts tangled about her ankles, soaked from the earlier storm, and the cold stone floor of the grand vestibule sent a chill straight through her soles.
Her heart drummed furiously against her chest, declining her will to remain stable despite the hall's silence feeding more than a dreadful response. It was loud enough to deafen her, but the desperation in her tone was greater. The solemness became a battle between her thought processing every pent-up resolve and the wild war raging tempest beneath her ribcage.
As she burst through the great oaken doors, she dashed in, noticing the curtains billowing gently just the way she'd left them. However, something felt… different.
"Alaric?" Cold sweat ran down her spine and she shuddered, recollection the Mage arrested at the castle earlier. The bracelet, the hair, the height…
No…
"Alaric…" She called, rushing past the empty hall. Something felt wrong. She could feel it sink to the depths of every fiber of her being.
It could be someone- Ravenna shut her eyes, ceasing the thought from proceeding when she clutched her chest. It didn't feel right. Something was wrong. She was certain.
She could feel the modification in the atmosphere thereby kicking her instinct into a pace. It didn't feel missing. It felt wrong. That means… Ravenna held tight to that hope.
Picking up her skirt, she searched first the drawing room where the scent of old tobacco and forgotten ink still lingered in the air. This was among the places she hadn't been for a while ever since her parents died. And now she did, a whole different emotions swarmed over her. Leaning on the door frame, "Come, Ravenna. Don't be shy," She recollected the voice of her father and took in a deep breath.
It always felt like their ghosts were somewhere lurking within every corner of this house but here felt potent.
With a quiet resolve, she walked away, shutting the door with a thud.
She sauntered into the library coming across rows of ancient volumes staring at her. Dust motes danced in a single beam of waning light when she burst the door open, her chest moving in the accord of her heartbeat. However, nothing.
Flinging open the study, she scanned faded maps and overturned papers on the desk, behind the shelves, the desk, and the secretive room behind. The room greeted her with silence and she turned, walking away.
Cold sweat broke through her forehead and down her spine as her footsteps echoed as proof of her utter despair when she stumbled into the music room where the old pianoforte stood untouched and cloaked in a linen sheet.
But he was nowhere to be found. And her heart pounded wildly inside her chest.
"Alaric…" she whispered again, leaning against the carved doorframe of the east corridor, her heart thudding with dread. Seeking somewhere else, she climbed the sweeping staircase, her hand trembling on the banister, and searched the nursery, the attic nursery long since abandoned, and even the servants' quarters tucked away beneath the western wing.
Still, nothing. Only silence.
"Alaric," Her voice quietened, perhaps as a result of panic, and she struggled into the last place she could hope for. His room. How didn't she think about that first?
Yet, just like yesterday, it was empty.
Another wave of thought threatened to rush in but she shut them just like she always did. It was something Ravenna had toiled with for years. Instead of her thoughts conveying solace, they harnessed the exact opposite.
"Alaric!" This time, she lost it, thundering through his room. From beneath the bed, to the curtains, to the cupboard, and into the bathroom, he was nowhere. "Alaric!"
Rushing into her room, she was brought into the same fate. Breathe, Ravenna. Breathe… She chanted, taking in the weight of the room.
'Some you love will die, Ravenna. You cannot stop fat-' Shut up…
Whatever was speaking in her mind, was like hell rendering punishment to a sinner. It didn't stop, but she could feel it looming.
The manor was really big, but it only took ten minutes for Ravenna to search, turning upside down the nook and crook of places long abandoned. However, the result was identical.
'-gust of wind. Someone you love will die…' A dramatic buzz impeded every sound causing a slight throb in her temples. "Ah," she hissed, her heart almost erring from the pain spreading across her chest.
The picture of Alaric imprisoned in a dungeon surfaced her sanity and she trembled, hot tears rolling down her face.
God, no… She slumped, drawing her knees to her chest. Her fingers trembled and she stared down at them, the nightmare of its origin threatening to surface when she caught a glimpse of the cloud through the window.
Alaric.
And Ravenna rushed towards it, her heart thumping wildly against her chest as she stared below. "Alaric…" Relief and longing wove through her voice when she caught him practicing magic.
A wave of hope flooded through her veins as the assertion of a particular place struck her. And now she stared below… How could she forget!
Gust of wind, she recalled amid her drudgery. It was a keyword.
Lord, please…
And with that, Ravenna grunted, taking her weight and rushing down the stairs. Something about the air was different, the familiarity of it when she returned. It was heavier this time, strong, like the ambiance deprived of its breath. Something clinging onto dark, penetrating, and terrifying. It was not of this world.
The courtyard welcomed her presence with sharp leverage as fog curled around crumbling stone and the sunlight strained through iron‑barred arches. Dark clouds thickened above him, striking fiery silver lightning and the gentle breeze wailed his silver hair in motion. He didn't seem to notice anyone or anything as his face remained calm yet concentrated.
The trees bellowed on their accord, sharpening the edges of the darkness surrounding him. Such a vigorous aura emanated almost everywhere but from him… it was potent.
An instant relief flooded her veins and warmed her blood, but it was only for a millisecond when a sickening hold grasped her chest. Ravenna gasped wildly, forcing herself to breathe.
The pain was sharp, almost blinding her and she choked, however, it only made it worse. Tears clogged her vision, and if not the grip she had on something, Ravenna was certain she would've lost her footing.
"Ah," she moaned, unable to bear the intense pang of misery. It was hot and blinding, more suffocating every time she inhaled.
Every moment felt like when she was trapped inside a house sealed with flames. Burning wild, scorching high, and searing everything surrounding her. The clangor of screams filled the air, rechoing like a siren's song. Fog blistered higher than the sky, trapping her entire body inside… and she couldn't breathe. Couldn't talk. Couldn't move. Utterly vulnerable.
'Ravenna…!' Please, make it stop… 'Ravenna! Ravenna, HEL-' Now, it was a familiar leverage.
Whatever force it was succumbed to her body bottomless in darkness and all she could hear was the sound of her heartbeat.
No…
She moved, but each time that happened, it seemed to hurl her back, strangling her body. "Ah…" she lamented, clenching and unclenching her fist until her hand grazed something, causing an explosion.
And she gasped, air rushing into her lungs.
Finally, she could breathe. However, the instant relief was for a moment.
"Ravenna?" The surprise in that tone instantly returned the world's consciousness as Alaric's eyes widened at her presence.
Ravenna almost fell, but he was quick enough to catch her. "Ravenna? Are you alright? What happened?" It took exactly three seconds for every question to escape his lips in sheer urgency.
He looked a bit bigger now, different from how he was yesterday.
Ravenna breathed, taking in the leisurely air, and absorbing his smell of nature. She felt better now, but the reddish color in her pupils expressed her dilemma a few minutes back.
With a smile, she pulled him into a hug.
Alaric was stunned for a moment, but the next second, he blended into her warm embrace.
A quiet sob left her lips as she pulled him tighter. She thought… she thought… and she shut her lids, letting the warm tears fall freely.
She was so scared. So scared that nothing else mattered except knowing he was safe.
When Ravenna saw that little boy wrapped in a cloak with the chain in his hands, it felt like slow death. It felt like the day she watched her parents burn.
'Ravenna! Ravenna, HELP! HELP ME!' The memory surged like a flood swabbing the surface of the earth as her mother's pleas echoed deep into her cranium. 'LET ME OUT, YOU WHORE!' This one came monstrous, sinking deep into her bones and spreading like wildfire to every fiber of her being.
Sensing the change in her grip, "Ravenna? Are you alright?" There was a deeper concern in his tone, yanking her existence back into reality.
With a quiet resolve, she quickly wiped her tears, then pulled away.
"It's nothing, I-" She chuckled half-heartedly. "I-I'm fine. I was just…" she wiped her eyes. "… stressed, I guess," and she chuckled again.
"You're crying," he pointed in displeasure.
Ravenna wiped the lone tears away and sniffed. "A lot of things happened but I promise, I'm fine. I'm just stressed…" she brushed his hair gently. "…and relieved,"
It seemed like he wanted to question, but thought it wise to conserve for later. Similar to Ravenna. He had silver hair, refined cheekbones, a perfect jawline, and a small figure fit for his age. But unlike Ravenna, he was handsome. However, the only difference was his eyes.
They were scarlet.
Ravenna wasn't pretty but not to be considered as ugly. She was good-looking, had a charming smile, a beautiful set of white teeth, and perfect ocean-blue eyes.
Staring below, she caught a glimpse of the bracelet still intact and frowned. She was certain she saw the bracelet on the Mage arrested earlier today.
Her heart battered wildly. "How long have you worn that?" She asked, observing it closely. It was the same thing, exactly how she gave him.
Following her line of sight, "Ever since you gave me," he said like it was the obvious answer. Looking at her, "Is anything wrong?"
"No," Ravenna shook her head, but not her thought. "Nothing," She recalled the bracelet on the boy and it looked familiar to the one on his hand. "Did you by any chance take it off? Any day?"
Because she was confident about what she saw.
"Never," he responded, and her heart fell into her stomach. "It has been with me throughout. I don't take it off,"
Her thoughts skyrocheted. There's no way whatever she saw was unreal. The little boy could've been her brother and she could've rushed toward the commotion, struggling to let him escape. And if that could've happened, knowing fully well that wasn't him, it would've been a whole different story. In the kind of different, it would've blown everything she worked so hard to protect, exposing herself and risking his life to the claws of Vladoryn.
But she didn't. Which shocked her yet again and spiked her curiosity. Ravenna was terrified to the extent that she lost her sanity and her legs quivered when she rushed away from the scene instead of rushing in. Like her body was controlled by someone else.
Because it was a trap. It had to be.
And the bracelet was unreal. But the resemblance and its familiarity cleared the doubts. Except… except someone tampered with dark magic.
Illusion.
A shiver ran down her spine. Who could've done it? A sudden flash of a pair of red eyes resurfaced causing a whole different level of dread as her face paled.
"Whatever you do, whatever happens, promise me you'd never leave this house," She stared deep into his curious eyes, internally searching for any string of hope to hold on to.
"Ravenna…"
"Promise me, Alaric," It was firmer, but more of a plea, such that the little boy stilled for a moment.
"Ravenna, what happened-?" He was curious this time, his frown even more visible as he searched her.
"Alaric, please," she persuaded. "Promise me," It was all she wanted. An affirmation. A vow. Something strong to avoid chaos. A moment back then was proof.
After a moment of silence, "I promise," It was quiet, barely audible yet worn with a frown and a look of reluctance.
Ravenna sighed, nodding with a smile. Deep down, she knew it was only a matter of time before he canceled. But she needed enough time to fix things. Especially now things were complicated.
Especially now, someone was able to tamper with forbidden dark mysticism using her mind as bait.
"I saw something today," he spoke suddenly, earning Ravenna's attention. It was that look that told another nightmare. But something about it felt different, and her heart raced. "But this time, it was different," he stared at her, confirming her thought. "It was about you,"
***