In the mean time, I'm going to keep chipping away at this. What you've been reading so far is really only the set up of a much larger story, kind of like an origin story in comic books. We've got the world, we've got the characters. Or, rather, we've got the first major setting, and we've got the first set of characters. And, in a little bit, the excrement is going to start dismantling the fan in an extreme way.
I hope you've enjoyed it so far; keep checking back for updates every Wednesday and Sunday, and feel free to comment on the story so far!
Chapter 9
‘How do you feel?’
Naren looked up as the door to the medical bay
opened, and Gawen walked in, a tray of bottles held in his elderly hands. He sat up, puching the thin white sheet away from his body.
‘I’m fine,’ he said, as Gawen placed a hand on
his chest, pushing him back onto the narrow bed.
‘You collapsed in front of the entire court,’
Gawen pointed out.
‘That was ages ago-’
‘Two hours,’ Gawen interjected.
‘-I’m fine now, really.’ Naren said.
‘Was he angry?’ he asked after a moment, as Gawen sorted through the bottles on the tray.
‘Your father?’ the old man asked. Naren nodded.
‘His lordship was concerned, like the rest of
us,’ Gawen said.
‘You’re a terrible liar,’ Naren said, sinking
back onto the bed.
‘As are you, if you expect me to believe that
you feel ‘fine’,’ Gawen countered.
‘It’s just a bit of a headache,’ Naren said.
‘You will adapt to the background noise
eventually, Naren,’ Gawen spun, his robes flapping around him like the wings of
a dishevelled bird. He bowed deeply to the queen, who stood in the open
doorway. Naren sprang off the bed, stumbled, and fell. Gawen caught
him, supporting the boy as he returned him to the bed.
‘I wouldn’t try to move too quickly,’ his
mother said, sweeping into the room.
‘My lady,’ Gawen bowed again ‘I was just
beginning to examine the prince in order to determine the nature of his
Blessing.’
‘There is no need, Gawen,’ the queen replied,
barely glancing at the elderly healer.
‘I was with Naren as his power awakened. His
telepathic potential is quite remarkable.’
‘Telepathy?’ Naren echoed.
‘Are you sure, my lady? I have yet to carry
out the tests-’
‘I would have thought that you would no better
than to question me on such matters, Gawen,’ the queen replied.
‘Yes, yes. Of course, my lady. Well, I shall
send word to the Faceless immediately, so that a proper instructor can be found
for his highness.’
‘There will be no need for that, either,
Gawen. I shall instruct the boy myself.’
‘You, my lady?’
‘I was a cleric of the priestess in my youth,
if you remember, Gawen. I am more than qualified.’ The Queen's smile, as always, failed to quite reach her eyes.
‘Yes, my lady.’ Gawen bowed his head.
‘You have something to say, Naren?’ his mother
asked. Naren jumped. He had been sat in silence during this exchange.
‘I-’ he began. What could he say? His mother
had mentioned background noise, but Naren couldn’t hear anything. Or could he?
Was the vague humming a sign of his Blessing, or was it an after effect of his
collapse? Or was he simply imagining it? He hadn’t noticed the sound before his
mother arrived. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Sure?’ the queen raised a single, immaculate
eyebrow.
‘About my Blessing. That I’m a telepath.’
‘Of course, my darling,’ he mother said with a
gentle laugh. Naren tried to remember the last time she had called him darling. ‘Absolutely.’
‘But I don’t feel any different,’ he said.
‘Are you
sure?’ she prompted.
‘I-’ he hesitated again.
‘Gawen, would you assist us?’ The queen turned
to the healer.
‘Of course, my lady.’
‘Focus on Gawen, dear,’ she said, coming to
stand behind him. She placed a hand on his shoulder.
‘Feel his thoughts inside yours.’
Naren closed his eyes, and tried to
concentrate. This was absurd, he knew; he had no idea what he was doing. He had
never tried to read another person’s mind before. He thought briefly of Rei,
and the pain that her Blessing had caused her. He had heard stories of the
suffering that telepaths had undergone in the days and weeks following their
Ascension. Stories of girls who had to be restrained to stop them from trying
to harm themselves as the thoughts of every person they met rushed into their
heads. Stories of boys who had thrown themselves to their deaths to stop the
endless streams of hopes, fears, dreams and secrets of those around them. But
Naren felt no different. In fact he felt-
Is he
really ready for this? Naren tensed. It was the voice of Gawen, but he knew
that the old man hadn’t spoken. Not out loud, anyway. And the voice was
different, too. Louder than the healer’s normal voice, more immediate. Like
talking to someone in a very small room.
The queen must be right, of course, the
voice continued. Naren was sure now that it was Gawen’s thoughts that he was
hearing. It stands to reason that he
could inherit his mother’s powers. But how will Lord Azrael take the news?
It wasn’t just a single narrative of articulated, clear thoughts,
either. In between the words was a seething mass of less articulated ideas and
feelings. The man was surprised, Naren realised, because he hadn’t shown any of
the normal signs associated with telepathy. He was concerned, too, that Naren
hadn’t shown any signs of a Blessing
at all. He was relieved that his mother had identified his power, and annoyed
that she had gone around him in the process.
‘Enough,’ Naren said, his voice partially lost
in the flow of thoughts from Gawen. He was aware that some of the thoughts
weren’t from Gawen. A pair of guards were stood outside the room, and he could
hear their thoughts- the first anticipating his dinner, the second recalling a
recent visit to a certain house on the Land below- bubbling up alongside
Gawen’s.
‘Enough!’ Naren gasped, as the conflicting
voices rose up around him. How could anyone stand it? And this was just three
people. What would it be like to hear the thoughts of a crowd, or the entire of
Haven? No sooner had the idea entered his mind than Naren felt the minds of
every person, every man, woman and child, flood into his own. He cried out,
clasping his hands to his ears to try and drown out the sound, as if the noise
were external rather than inside his own head.
His mother let go of his arm, and the thoughts
vanished. The silence they left behind was almost deafening, and Naren
shook his head slightly. It was like emerging from a pool with water trapped in
his ears.
‘Are you alright?’ Gawen asked. Naren nodded.
The healer rushed forward then, to catch the prince as he slipped off the bed
and fell once more into unconsciousness.
End of Part One.
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