The Legend of Valtera: Chapter 15
The sun crested over the eastern side of the valley where the travelers still slumbered. Prea’s eyes flickered, opening slowly as she stretched her arms above her head. Her clothes were stiff with dried rainwater, fitting her body oddly. She shifted into a sitting position, glancing over at Kael, his chest rising and falling with each breath. Prea squinted as she looked around the valley; it was later than she expected. Crawling over to the riverside, she splashed frigid water onto her face which immediately slapped the last of the sleepiness from her mind.
Kael stirred on the ground behind her, groaning as he sat up. He sat with elbows on knees, the base of his palms rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes. His hands fell from his face as he looked around, spotting Prea on the bank of the river. She was looking back at him over her shoulder.
“You know a good splash of river water in your face will wake you right up,” she greeted, trying to suppress a grin in the morning light. “It did wonders for me.”
“Oh, I’m sure it would,” he said. His movements were slow, his clothes set in the position in which he slept. Kael pulled his pack towards him, opening it and examining the contents. “Things seem to have dried out overnight.”
Prea nodded as she left the riverside and moved back to Kael. The air warmed around them, spring belatedly reaching the valley floor. The sun was rising higher in the sky as the two companions enjoyed their breakfast. It didn’t take long before Prea became impatient and begged Kael to start moving.
“We have to get going, it’s already later than I would like,” Prea said eagerly.
“All right, all right,” Kael acquiesced, but Prea couldn’t wait and set out while Kael continued to gather his things before following. It didn’t take long for him to catch up. “So we’re heading to the mountains. But why are we in Rodor? How do you know this is the correct path to take?” He was curious.
“The next section of the poem contains the next clue for our journey. May earth, air, water and fire, lead you there at your desire. By valley low and mountain high, birds alone spy high across the sky.”
“But there are valleys and mountains in every canton of Valtera. How are you so sure this is the valley the poem is talking about?” Kael interrupted.
Prea stopped, crossing her arms against her chest as she stared at him silently. Kael continued walking for a few steps before he realized she wasn’t beside him. He stopped short and turned back to Prea, eyebrows raised in surprised confusion.
“What?” he asked annoyed. Prea didn’t answer, just waited. It only took another moment before Kael understood and apologized. “I’m sorry,” he said somewhat dramatically. “I won’t interrupt again, I promise.”
Prea still didn’t respond, but unglued her arms and strode forward. “The clue has nothing to do with the line about valleys and mountains. It’s the next line that’s important,” Prea explained.
“What…” Kael started before Prea’s look cut him off. He closed his mouth immediately and waited for her to continue.
“Just as there are cardinal directions, there are corresponding cardinal elements—air, water, earth and fire. Those four elements are the basis of everything in and on this land. But there is a fifth element, ether. Ether is the…it’s hard to explain…it’s the sky or celestial space in the universe. Aylin and Ciro had power over each of the elements, including ether, and in a symbolic gesture they named each of their children after an element,” Prea instructed as they traveled beside the twisting river.
“According to the legend, whether by fate or happenstance, the children developed an affinity for or power over their namesake element. They helped found the five cantons of Valtera, each child gravitating towards the land of their power, of their blood. In honor of this connection, the cantons were named for them, becoming Delmar, Rodor, Alder, Egan and Nodin,” she explained. “Delmar is water, Alder is trees or earth, Egan is fire, Nodin is wind or air and Rodor, well Rodor is sky.”
“Birds alone spy high across the sky,” Kael murmured just loud enough for Prea to hear.
“Yes,” Prea confirmed. “Rodor means sky, so that’s why we’re approaching from the northern canton. As far as we’re concerned, we are going to follow the valley floor until the land rises into the mountains. Only then will we find the next direction.”
Kael was pensive as he mulled over what Prea had revealed to him. She knew it was a lot to take in for someone who appeared to doubt anything that wasn’t directly in front of him. He was a skeptical person and, though she trusted her instincts completely, she understood he didn’t. And, if everything went according to plan, there was a lot more that Kael was going to have to come to terms with on this journey. This was just the beginning.
* * *
“Don’t you ever get lonely?” Prea asked, after a lengthy stretch of silence.
“Lonely?”
“Traveling by yourself so much,” she explained.
“Sometimes. I’m just like anyone else; I don’t like to be alone all the time. But people can be too much for me. And there’s a difference between enjoying solitude and being lonely.”
“I’m rarely alone,” Prea replied.
“Really?” he asked surprised.
“Good heavens, yes. My sister is three years younger than me and my mother was always around when I was a child. If I wasn’t with my family, I was with my friends. Then Carr came along. And Leal.” She paused for a moment. It was the first time she had mentioned Leal since that night in Flint.
“What are your friends like?”
“I really only have two: Beda and Dal. Beda’s my age and an only child. Her parents are always working, they own the tailor shop in Beech. We met before school, when we were three and she’s been like a sister ever since.”
“And Dal?”
“Dal’s a year younger. And quiet like Alvie. He’s the youngest of eight, all boys. I had seen him before, my father knew his family, and I remember seeing him just sitting by himself one morning in the schoolyard. He didn’t look sad, more like he was overwhelmed. I said something to Beda, and between my experience with Alvie and her boldness, we befriended him. That was kind of it. We just got along for some reason, and they would always much rather spend time at my house than either of theirs. Even after Carr was born.” Prea was quiet for a moment of reflection. “I don’t know what I’d do without them. They’re looking out for Alvie while I’m gone.”
“How do you think she’s doing?” he wondered quietly.
“Well, I hope she’s not still angry. Though that’s unlikely.”
“You don’t get along?”
“We definitely see things differently. React differently. I think it’s more that we don’t understand each other rather than us not getting along.” Prea looked over at her companion. “What about you? Any good friends?”
“Not really. I’ve met some interesting people over the years, but relationships didn’t do much for me as a child, so I never tried to make any once I left. Nothing lasting. People have never been there for me; I’ve never been able to count on anyone.”
“You know, you have to give people a chance before they can be there for you. And there are people out there you can count on. Maybe you just haven’t found them yet.”
Kael looked sideways at Prea as they walked with an unusual expression on his face and Prea couldn’t quite tell what it was. “You don’t know what it’s like, Prea. You just said you were never alone and always had family and friends there for you.”
Prea hesitated as she tried to formulate an answer. “It’s true that I don’t know exactly what you went through, but just as you said there’s a difference between solitude and loneliness, there’s a difference between being physically and emotionally alone.” She paused for a moment and took a deep breath before continuing. “After Mama passed, Papa still chose to work out at sea. For the most part I understood why, he needed it and had already lost enough, but there were times when I hated him for leaving. I was fifteen and, though friends are great, I was left in charge of a twelve-year-old and tasked with raising a three-year-old. Papa did what he did for us, but I would have loved to have just been a girl for a little while longer.”
As she spoke what she knew was the truth, her stomach twisted and tightened with guilt as she hated to speak ill of the dead. “I’m not trying to lessen your past or experiences, but I want you to know that I do understand what it’s like. To not have people be there for you. You’re not alone anymore, Kael. I want you to know that you can always count on me to be there for you whenever you need,” Prea promised.
* * *
Alvie knelt on the cold hard ground in the spring morning surrounded by the familiarity of nature and her garden. The house still felt wrong after all these weeks; she was never going to get used to the way it was now, even with Beda staying there. It was just empty space, like the emptiness inside her heart. So she escaped to her garden where she fiddled and pruned whenever she could. She was out there so much that there was nothing left to tend really. But the feel of the ground beneath her legs, the smooth leaves of the plants and the crumbling dirt falling between her fingers was beyond comforting in her current situation.
Her toffee hair was pulled together at the base of her neck, the ends flying on the sea breeze. The salt and pine were her friends, enveloping her with their serene aroma. Out here she could breathe. Out here she wasn’t forced to feel. Out here she had some peace.
Alvie sat back on her feet and let her head fall back as her face turned toward the sky. Her eyes closed as she rested her hands on the sturdy ground beside her. She breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly, letting the air swim past, feeling its tickling brushes against her skin. She allowed its power to flow through her; it was the power that calmed her, its reassuring voice floating into her mind, reminding her that all was not lost. It was brief, but it was present.
And she hated it, hated that it was there, that it made her feel better.
Alvie’s heart and mind calmed, lulled by the graces of the earth. She stayed in that position, bathing in the sun’s warmth until something in the air shifted. She sensed a new presence around her…and it was familiar.
“You look well,” he said and her heart skipped a beat.
She turned her face in the direction of the voice and opened her eyes to a loving face. Dal watched her from beside the house with caring eyes that scanned her face to assess her mood. Her heart sighed at the sight of him; he had been the one person to keep her sane and together since Prea left. She didn’t know what she would do without him.
“I’m better now,” Alvie replied as she pushed to her feet and walked to him. “Good morning,” she greeted as she threw her arms around his neck. Dal’s arms tightened around her waist in a welcoming hug. They had grown close in the weeks since Prea’s departure. Her hands fell to his chest as his remained clasped behind her back and he tugged at the end of her ponytail, forcing her chin up as he leaned in, his lips meeting hers.
He had done so much for her; she could never repay him. Beda had helped with ensuring she was not living alone, but Dal was the one who had filled the void after Prea’s abandonment and his simple presence had made all the difference. He respected her feelings and her space. Mainly he just spent time in the house, counteracting the ghostly feel of the place. Like he did today, Dal came over early every morning and stayed late every night. He had comforted her when she was lonely and held her when she was scared. He checked in on her and Carr at the infirmary almost every day.
“What does the day look like today?” he asked against her mouth, before pulling back to look into her crystalline blue eyes.
“Oh, I don’t know…do something with these herbs and vegetables,” she said as she unlocked Dal’s hands from behind her back and gathered her crops. They walked back to the house and headed into the kitchen. “I’m going to visit Carr. Maybe read to him for a little bit,” Alvie finished.
She unloaded the produce onto the counter in neat piles, separating one from the other. Dal watched her, seeing the sunlight bounce off her hair, picking up the golden tones laced throughout. He had loved her for as long as he could remember. He loved Prea and Beda too, but he had always had his eye on Alvie. She was his soul mate. He didn’t like it, but her losses had brought them closer together.
“Do you want me to come with you to see Carr?” Dal asked, studying her for a reaction. Some days the visits were positive and helpful, some days she left more vulnerable and heartbroken than when she arrived. It all depended on the day and there was no predicting which would occur.
She glanced over her shoulder with soft and loving eyes. “Thank you for offering, but I’ll be fine. I promise,” she responded and returned to her bounty on the counter.
* * *
Hours later, Alvie sat curled up in a chair beside her brother’s bed in the infirmary. His condition hadn’t changed and it seemed he would never wake. He looked so young, his eyes closed as he breathed softly. Alvie clasped his hand in both of hers.
“Hi there, buddy. I don’t know if you can hear me or not, wherever you are, but know that Prea and I love you so much. You’re the only little brother we have, so you need to hang on. Just hang on a little while longer. Prea’s going to save you,” Alvie whispered, even though she doubted it herself. “Prea will save you, I promise.”
The tears started, but she wiped them away quickly and picked up the book in her lap. They had a whole library of books at home, but Alvie only ever brought one. It was the only one that mattered and she thought, if anything, this would bring him back. If not by her reading, then in the truth of the story and the reality of the stone Prea was out there to find.
Alvie cracked the well-worn spine of the book, flipping the pages until she reached the one she sought.
“Fire, hot and bright, streaked across the night sky as a blaze fell from the heavens to the land of Valtera,” she began in a soothing voice. “The ball of light went unnoticed as the few inhabitants of the island nation were asleep under the night sky. No one would believe that when the ball of light finally connected with the Earth, it wasn’t a meteor or comet, but a man and a woman hand in hand.”
She read the rest of the story, all the while trying to imagine what happened after the ending. What was her plan? Where was she headed? Her sister hadn’t divulged anything to anyone before she left; she had kept it all to herself.
This stream of thoughts had Alvie leaving the infirmary, anger renewed within her heart. How could she do this? She wasn’t ready for any of this. She needed her big sister. Prea had always been there, after Mama and even when Papa was gone; she had always been the constant influence in Alvie’s life. I can’t keep doing this, Alvie thought, it’s all just too much.
When she returned home, instead of going inside, she headed around back, through the garden and trees before coming to rest at Prea’s worn spot atop the cliff.
“I need you, Prea,” Alvie called to the sea. “You’re my big sister…Carr and I…we need you here with us. You’re all we have left in this world. Please, please come back,” she cried as her voice became the wind.
An image suddenly popped into her head, of her mother standing in this very spot calling upon the heavens and earth to bring her husband home. Before Alvie could think, she started reciting the spell her mother had said so many times so long ago.
