chapter eight - sounds and heartbeats

In the topmost branches of the old willow tree, Zion watched Shaeny. He'd been her silent guardian for nearly two hundred years, only having made himself known to her in the last fifteen years or so. When High King Khaliae had rescued him and brought him to live in the Earth lands, he'd never imagined how his luck could have gotten any better. And then he'd seen the eldest Earth Illoheim princess, and his life had kicked back into gear at a speed he'd never imagined possible.

It wasn't that he was in love with Shaeny, although he did feel the deepest and purest kind of love for her. It was that she reminded him of someone he'd lost before, someone who he'd loved dearly. His sister.

His younger sister, Ziran, had only just been an adult when she was taken from him. He'd spent months, years searching for her, until he was given a lead that took him deep into the Fire Lands, where the oldest of his kind dwelled. He'd been too late to save her though, and had been captured and sold as a slave. That part of his life, that five hundred or so years, he desperately tried to block from memory. Only Shaeny broke through to him, and he'd be damned if he lost her now.

"Markus seems like a good fellow. Young, mistreated, but good at heart." Zion murmured to the bird to his left. He passed a grape to the bird - a falcon - and narrowly avoided having his finger pecked. "Hey now, Hiyani, watch the fingers." He said, patting the bird's head gently. Hiyani gave him a disgruntled shake of the feathers and jumped around on his perch, anxious to leave. "Go, fly." Zion said simply, pointing to the clear sky ahead of them. Hiyani gave him a bob of the head and flew off, turning an arch in the air before disappearing. Zion knew that the bird would return, because he always did. And if he didn't, then Zion couldn't blame him. The falcon had been his companion since he'd made himself known to Shaeny, and he'd always come back after hunting, but Zion couldn't blame another creature for wanting to be free.

When the High Queen passed by Zion leapt from his perch and landed silently beside the High Queen, startling her assistant, Milla. He knew Milla's past, and had taken it from her to save her the pain of remembering. He'd given her a mental nudge to come back to the Earth Illoheim and she'd been with the High Queen ever since.

"I apologize for startling you Milla." Zion said quietly. Milla blushed deeply and nodded her head, hiding her eyes from him. He knew that he made her nervous. His looks and his height made many a female nervous, and many a man intimidated. "Anakta." Zion added, nodding at the High Queen herself. She gave him a gentle smile and held her arm out, waiting for him to take it. Zion did so and escorted her towards the assembly.

"What do you think of him?" Anakta asked, giving a vague nod in the direction they were walking. Zion shrugged and sighed.

"He seems alright. Reminds me of Khaliae when I first met him." He said, his deep voice soothing to the ear. Anakta nodded her head, and then paused in her walking.

"Is he doomed like my Khaliae was?" She asked softly, her voice holding the smallest of trembles. Zion looked away from the High Queen, pondering her question. Zion was gifted with fore-sight, like his kind was, and it was a gift he took with a grain of salt.

"The future is not a straight line, Anakta. We all are doomed in some way or another. Whatever path we walk changes the times and dates and ways countless times before we ever meet our end. Every action, every decision, every chance left untaken changes our fate, just as constantly as the wind changes direction. One can never know what their fate will be until they find themselves there." He replied, his face and tone blank. The High Queen frowned, but gave him a short nod and did not push the subject farther. She knew all too well how tight-lipped Zion could be when he chose to be. She held her arm out to him once more, and he took it, escorting her the rest of the way to the assembly in silence. Markus and Shaeny were seated in their seats in the middle of the circular group of people. The High Queen would not be sitting with them, as she was going to be presenting them to the assembly of Earth, Air, Water and Elder Fire Illoheim. This ceremony was not as important as their actual marriage, but it did announce Markus to the rest of the Illoheim leaders as the chosen prince to marry Shaeny. Zion's eyes lingered on Shaeny's face, frustration crossing his own face as he saw sadness tainting in her eyes. He escorted the High Queen to her place standing in front of the two, and then circled the chairs to take his place standing behind Shaeny. He saw the look on Markus' face as he walked past.

Zion knew that Markus was afraid of Zion replacing him at the side of Shaeny, but he couldn't even begin to say how misplaced his fears were. Aside from the fact that Zion had no want to rule, Zion could never support Shaeny like she needed. When he stood behind her, he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, taking the sadness from her just long enough for her to get through the presentation to the assembly. He knew that she hated it when he messed with her emotions, but she also knew that he only did it when it was necessary. She gave him a short nod, then straightened in her chair, her eyes on her mother.

"Ladies, gentlemen." The High Queen began, quieting the assembly down. She looked around the group, noting the High Queens and Kings, and the crowned Queens and Kings and the princes and princesses who had yet to be married to someone. There were people from each of the courts, representatives from each of the political parties and personal guards for each of the ruling Illoheim members. "We have gathered you here today to present Princess Shaeny of the Earth Illoheim, and her chosen prince. If there are any objections to this presentation, then let them be made now." The High Queen surveyed the assembly, and then moved on with her announcements.

"When did you return?" Shaeny asked softly. Zion knew that Markus couldn't have heard her unless he'd been occupying the same space that she was, but Zion had excellent hearing.

"An hour ago. I met your Markus, then spoke with your mother briefly, then came here. I will tell you of what I have learned from the Human world at the proper time and place." Zion replied simply, placing a gentle hand on Shaeny's shoulder. "Be at peace. This hour is yours." He whispered, and he took his place once more behind her chair.

Shaeny extended her right hand to Markus, as was custom, and when he took it, the two of them stood in front of the assembly.

"Shaeny of the Earth, daughter of Anakta and Khaliae, promised to Markus of the Water, son of Byrna and Lysand. Two separate lives, from this day working to be as one." The High Queen's voice rang out across the assembly, and the gathered Illoheim leaders clapped and cheered like they were supposed to. Shaeny and Markus walked into the throng, meeting and greeting like they were supposed to.

And Zion, member of the forgotten races, protector of the living races, watched, in the background, as he was supposed to.

"Some things never change." Zion didn't turn his head; he knew who had spoken.

"I hear you are set to leave, Nikolas." Zion stated plainly. He knew Nikolas cringed slightly, but Zion did not wish the words back. He spoke plainly when it was necessary and vaguely when it was not. Nikolas stood at his side, his face hard and his eyes distracted.

"After the wedding." He replied and Zion nodded his head. Zion knew that Nikolas had only answered for the sake of conversation. Zion also knew that Nikolas was not going to follow the path he'd thought he was walking, but as with most things, it was not Zion's place to correct him. "And how long are you back for Zion?" Nikolas asked, his golden eyes tracing the lines on Zion's face. Zion offered him a quick smile.

"Longer. And not long enough to accomplish everything that I would like to." Zion replied, as honestly as he could. The only person he'd spoken openly with was the late Khaliae, and he knew that Khaliae had taken his secrets to the grave. He knew that others had inklings about what he really was, but they were all far from correct. Nikolas thought he was a God long abandoned by his followers. Anakta believed he was a shape shifter of old. And Shaeny believed he was simply a tortured soul, looking for the light. All of them were correct, in their own ways, he supposed. But none of them could have really imagined what he truly was. He feared the day his secret was learned. Because nothing would save them then.

"What agenda do you hide?" Nikolas asked, his voice wistful. Zion gave him a wry smile before he followed Shaeny through the crowd.

"One I fear I'll never complete."