Between the Light and the Darkness - Chapter 29 - The Showdown - Part 1

"Well what do we have here? It's my dear sister, come to visit me after all this time? Why did you wait so long? I've missed you. You could have at least come to see me once or twice. Oh wait. I know why. It's because you were trapped in a slave camp. Forced to do menial labor and to fight for your life every year. It's so good that you're an expert fighter, because otherwise, you would have died long ago. But no, you managed to succeed for ten years. But let's not stand here and talk - come out in the open so we can talk like civilized beings."


Tim swallowed hard. He knew Shirra was her most dangerous when she was using that sticky sweet voice. It was only a matter of time before the floodgates opened and she came at them full force. He was unsure what to do. Any move on his part, and it would surely mean the end of them both. So for now, he did nothing, but measure her carefully and keep an eye on Jondak. The Irnaxxian was glaring at him with a sneering smile on his face.


Shirra and Jondak turned and walked into the large room, which had comfortable furniture and a fireplace - a place where one might relax and enjoy a quiet moment, or where one may entertain some company. But he had the feeling that's not what Shirra planned to do.


And for a terribly awkward moment, the four just stood there looking at each other, each wrapped in their own thoughts, no one saying a word. Shirra walked over to the stone fireplace to light a fire, which if it were not for the circumstances, would have been cheerful. But it did nothing to lift the chill from the air.


Finally, Shirra broke the silence. "Would you care for a drink? Maybe a nice chat by the fire?" Though her words sounded like they were spoken by a good hostess, her face did not reflect that all. The danger in her eyes was more than noticeable.


"Cut the crap, Shirra. What do you want?"


"What do I want? Hmmm. I want to rule the Planes. I want to have total control over every living being in existence. I want to be a queen, perched happily upon my velvet throne, in a fancy dress, with servants at my beck and call. I want my every whim met within seconds. Oh yes, and I want you dead."

"What makes you think you're entitled to all of that?" Ileeya asked with just as much force in her voice as Shirra.


"Perhaps I am, perhaps I'm not, it makes no difference, because I shall have it anyway."


"You're greedy and self centered. You always have been. You've always thought you should have more than you did. You always thought your world wasn't good enough."


Shirra glared at her sister for a moment, a darkness seeping into her eyes. "Greedy? Self centered? You're one to talk, dear sister. You're the one who was the gem of the household. You're the one who father always crooned over because of your ability with a sword. You're the one who always had his heart, while I stood on the outside looking in. All I ever wanted was to be accepted for who I am, for my differences.


"But instead of winning any of Father's favor, I was always pushed aside, scolded for my interests, and forced to pick up arms and become one with society. To be Father's dream. To be a great warrior. But I couldn't do that for him. It sure is a good thing you were able to pick up the slack, because Father surely would have had a nervous breakdown if neither of his children followed in his footsteps."

"Father loved you the same, Shirra. He just had a hard time understanding where you were coming from."


"NO HE DIDN'T! He knew perfectly well where I was coming from - you know he did. He just refused to accept it. And because it was such a part of me, of who I am, he refused to accept me as well."


"Can you blame him, Shirra? You know what villagers think of magic and those who practice it. He was trying to protect you."

"Could he not have put his arm around me and told me he loved me, then, if he loved me so much? He wasn't trying to protect me, he was trying to protect himself."

"He cried after he sent you away. He cried for days, he hadn't wanted it to end that way."


"Good! I'm glad I caused him to feel some pain. It pales in comparison to the pain I felt on a daily basis. The pain I had to live with every single day, while I watched father favor you! Do you have any idea what that felt like? DO YOU?!


"Of course you don't! Because you've never had to live with it. You got everything you've ever wanted. You got a loving father. You got to live in the comfort and security of our home, where you wanted for nothing. You were betrothed to one of the most promising men of the village. You had everything!"

"You took that all away from me!!"


Shirra smiled. "Yes, I did. Finally, I was able to ruin someone else's life for a change. And it was about time, because I was sick of living in your shadow. Just an afterthought."


"You know that's not true. You were given every opportunity to fit in."


"I didn't want to fit in! I just wanted to be me! To be loved and recognized for who I am! But I could never have it. Instead I was kicked out of the house! The house I lived in, when I was little more than a child. Not even old enough to be on my own! Blamed for mother's failing health."


"Can you blame Father for making that assumption? You have to admit the evidence did not lie in your favor. He knew what you were up to more than you thought. He knew how you liked to experiment."

"He only knew because you told him, because you were his darling pet."


"No, Shirra. I never told him anything about you practicing magic in secret. He just knew. He grew up with it. He's had to see it many more times than most boys in our village. Most children grow up never seeing it, but Father lived with it because of Grandmother Lainel."


At the mention of her grandmother, Shirra's face clouded even more. Tim could feel the pent up tension in her, and knew it wouldn't be much longer before she lost control. Jondak was doing as he was, letting the two sisters have it out and not interfering, for that would surely be dangerous.


"You know nothing of Granny. Nothing! Granny was the one person who understood me. The one person who treated me like I was something special. I lived for the time we spent at her house during the Warrior Festivals. Those were the only times in my whole wretched childhood that had meaning. But our people were just as thick headed as Father. Just as superstitous. Stupid people! Ignorant. Magic could have done so many things for them. Could have helped them more than they could possibly imagine. Tell me, sister, when was the last time an illness was cured with a sword? I could have helped Mother recover much sooner, had Father let me try. All he had to do was give me a chance."


"Mother got better without your help. She didn't need magic to save her."


"Did you save her, dear sister? Are you the reason why Mother recovered? Think. Think long and hard. Did you wish for her health to return? Were you hoping and praying? You were, weren't you? You used your own magic to help her, just like you helped Tim."

"I don't practice magic," Ileeya said indignantly.


"Then what do you call it? You have the ability to cause things to happen. It's different than my ability. I require spells, and books, and sometimes rare ingredients to make magic - but not you. All you have to do is think about it. How do you think you got that power? It's not by accident. You got it from grandmother Lainel. She was able to do that, too. You look surprised. You didn't know you inherited her powers, did you? Of course you didn't. Why would Grandmother Lainel tell you? Because she knew you wouldn't understand. Because just like her son, you were a warrior. Just like her son, you would live in fear of others finding out the truth about her. I'm sure Mother told you her version of history, but let's see how that compares to mine.


Great Grandmother Nauri often flaunted her abilities in front of others - she was fearless. The townspeople were afraid of her. But as the years passed, and she still hadn't married, she longed to have a family. She set her sights on Merillon, a man of noble character. He was very handsome, and she was sure he would produce beautiful children.


But Merillon had bigger dreams than settling down to care for a wife and children. And despite her many attempts, Nauri couldn't get him to fall in love with her. Desperate, she tricked him.


She used her powers to seduce him. She didn't have the heart to keep him captive, though, and set him free after she became pregnant. He was never the wiser, and shortly thereafter, travelled far away when his wanderlust struck again.


She had a beautiful daughter, our Grandmother, Lainel. They lived outside of the village proper, and since Nauri had settled down a little, they lived in peace. Lainel possessed a natural magic, one her mother didn't. Nauri never knew. For as powerful as she was, she never inherited that ability - the one you have, to feel things, to see things, to do things.


Nauri wanted her daughter to learn as she did, and set about training Lainel in the art of witchcraft, using books, potions, and spells.


But I'm sure you know what happened to Nauri. Eventually the townspeople overcame their fear and stormed her house. She was dragged to town and hung. Grandmother Lainel was very careful. She lived the expected life, got married, and gave birth to Father. But the desire never left her, so she still practiced it.


Father knew. And I suspect that Grandfather Arodor knew as well. But he kept the secret. I loved visiting Grandmother Lainel. I loved when she would let me peek in her secret study, full of wonderful books and tools used to practice her craft.


I was fascinated by it all. I couldn't get enough. So while you were in her yard, practing your fencing, I was with Granny, learning the Arcane ways. It was the best time of my life.


But, as with all good things, it came to an end. Do you know how the villagers found out about her powers? How they knew she was a witch? We were in the woods, gathering herbs and berries, when the boy cried out. We rushed toward the lake, then we saw him. A young boy, no older than nine years of age, drowning! Without wasting a second, grandmother ran to the shore. But the boy was too far out. He couldn't be reached - no branch was long enough.


"Get help! Quickly!" She yelled to me. I ran as fast as my legs would go. With every pounding footstep, I could feel my terror growing. Would he be saved in time? I grabbed the first villager I found. "A boy is drowning in the lake - hurry!"


Within seconds, a group of villagers were stampeding ahead of me to the lake. I was right behind them. But you know what we found when we got there?





We found Granny, using her powers to pull the boy to safety. The villagers stopped dead in their tracks as they watched. Up and out she pulled him, till he was safely on the shore, coughing up water.


His mother rushed to pick him up, smoothing his hair and hugging him tightly, while the awe the villagers had felt just a moment before turned into fear. Absolute fear, that a witch lived among them.


They dragged her, kicking and screaming, to the town center, where she was hung for the crime of saving the boy's life. She sacrificed her own life to save his. She should've been treated as a hero, but instead she was treated with disdain, with untrust, with fear.


And all I could do was watch helplessly, protesting that she had saved the boy and should be spared.


But one of the villagers turned to me. "You should not say such things, girl, or people will think you're a witch, too!"


A moment later, the box was kicked out from beneath Granny's feet...and her neck snapped with the force of the fall. She was dead. The people cheered. I saw the whole thing.


After that I began to realize how backward our society was. They persecuted heroes. They shunned those with powers they didn't understand. I decided I would practice as much as possible, to use the knowledge that Granny gave me. I would never let the memories of what she taught me go to waste.


Father hated that. That's why he kept trying to get me to be like everyone else. To be like you. The golden child of the family. The one who did everything right, the apple of his eye. I didn't want to be like you. I wanted to be myself. I didn't want the memory of Granny go forgotten, like everyone in the village, including her own son, chose to do."


Silence filled the large room for several moments after that. No one dared speak, and soon enough Shirra started talking again. "When Mother became ill, I was worried, too. Just as worried as you and Father, I just showed it in a different way. I loved my mother, despite the fact that I often seemed like an afterthought to her. 


But I was grieving along side you all. I didn't know if I could help her, but I wanted to try. I had to try. Not just for her, but for me, as well. Maybe, if Father saw me use my magic for something good, he wouldn't hate me so much. Even though that's exactly what Granny did and she was persecuted.


But I had to take the chance. Just like Granny with the village boy, I couldn't just stand by and watch Mother deteriorate into a slow agonzing death. I had to help.


But Father refused. You know - you were there and saw the whole thing. Would it have killed you, sister, to stick up for me? To put your neck on the line for someone other than yourself? You did nothing. NOTHING!! But stand there and watch while Father banished me from our home. His own daughter, who was barely sixteen! Do you have any idea what happened to me after that? Did you even care? Did you try to find me, to help me? NO!!


You stood by Father's side as I walked down the path from our house into the woods, with tears blinding my vision so much I could barely see in front of me. I hated you then. For turning your back on me just like the rest of our family!