The World of Rhune

Zayde’s eyes flickered open on their own, not by his own will. Was it his own will, they’d stay closed for another hour, maybe two. He squinted as the afternoon sun half-blinded him, and turned his face from the rays; the heat was welcome, but not the light. “Kari?” he mumbled, feeling a small sense of bliss from the rays, and felt something slightly damp under him. His mind cleared a little more, and he was able to recognize his earlier mistake. “Katya?” he called louder, to make sure if someone had been listening, they would mistake their earlier hearing. “Why the heck do I hear a voice?” she mumbled, and rolled over a couple times purposely, then whacked him with her arm. “Well then, no need to ask ‘where is my sister and what have you done with her’. Now if you’d greeted me all cheerily, well, that would have been a reason to worry,” he tossed her arm back on his twin. She let it fall to her side and groaned. “I thought the brother I knew enjoyed letting his sister sleep, lest he face the wrath of a crabby twin.” Karillian pulled herself up and looked at the sky, they’d probably been asleep around an hour, maybe not even that. She let her eyes wander, no one was in sight, nor was there much of a hum, “It is quiet, isn’t it?” Zay mused, answering her unspoken question from a glance at her eyes. His sister sighed, “You’re sure you can read minds? I’m sure I’ve hit you in the head enough for that to be a possibility.” She heaved herself up but leaned on a small tree and yawned, covering her mouth with a dark hand. Her twin rolled his eyes and pulled himself up also, though held his own weight. “No, I cannot read minds, obsessed sister. Next time you accuse me of that, I’ll accuse you of having devil powers, since they seem to show up as often as my so called ‘mind reading’”. Kari sighed, leaning her head back against the tree and glared at something invisible, her face darkening even though the sun was shining upon her. Zay couldn’t tell what she was glaring at, but he had a good idea. “Tired of Andato already? Tsk Tsk, so much to explore even in this tiny spot. Find out the language, Kari. The trees and gardens, find out what paper here is best for ink sketching, even if I’ve seen many better illustrations by others,” he paused and Kari’s eyebrow lifted in an annoying way, but she didn’t respond. “Learn the culture, try to learn and blend in. If all goes wrong, learn about Andato recipes for Almighty’s sake! We’ll be needing those, Rah forbid,” he called upon the god in which their temple of doom had been in honor of, it made a small crease develop in his normally smooth features. “Whatever,” Kari seemed ticked at something, but he couldn’t tell. Weird, normally it’s the other way around, well not the ticked part… the ending made his crease go away and his lips turn up slightly. Another though came to mind though, from his own earlier speech. “Ka—Katya,” he stumbled over the double names, they were so alike, “I think I’m to go do some research of my own…I’ve gotten myself thinking again about something I wish to know about,” he suddenly, or better yet nearly, forgot his sister was there and started going over the idea of receiving some books or scrolls from the castle library. He wondered if Trei had a study. “Okay,” Kari sashayed away with a distinct annoyance in her step back the way they’d come, for some reason not even bothering to invite him to accompany her or at least telling him where she’d be located. “Katya?” he called half-heartedly. She didn’t even miss a step.

Kari seethed in anger that she didn’t even know was possible of her, it half burned away her feelings half made her proud that she was capable of such notions. She glided quickly over the walkway to the castle, her pants chafing around her calf making them hurt. She’d find a way to make a smooth and easy skirt that would be free instead of the horrible leather that seemed so much more comfortable in Caryi. The mention of her country sliced her hatred, but she couldn’t tell if it had dulled each part, it had only separated it into more groups. She didn’t pay attention to where she was going and missed the original entrance in which she’d entered the garden. Kari didn’t look back, but moved on, her facial expression arrogant and seemingly evil. She could tell her true feeling was malevolence, but she knew it was the only feeling that didn’t radiate off her. Karillian smiled at that though, it probably came out wickedly, but the idea that she still reined control over herself in some small, way. “Dammit!” she nearly yelled at the statement, and collapsed onto her side, falling into some dry brush. Her mouth and mind started pouring out different words in different languages that she knew, none of them nearly good enough for a person of her standards. It nearly made her screech again, only common sense that her freedom would be further banned kept her teeth biting into her lips to stop them from uttering the noises. She felt her eyes start to water, mocking her earlier assumption. “Why, why, why, why? Oh whoever’s doing this I’m about to murder you!” she consoled herself through hate, blaming her problems on her problem, which made no sense, even in her shaken up form. Kari silently endured emotional pain, wishing she could trade it for physical. She breathed in and finally pulled herself up after who knows how long, she didn’t feel like raising her head to see. Atleast Zayde wasn’t here, especially not Trei either. Her inner turmoil decreased slightly, but not enough for her to really notice. She felt even more humiliated at her random tantrum, that she let the things so randomly show themselves and break her strong hold. Kari quickly blinked and wiped away some of the tears still on her face, and tried unsuccessfully not to ignore her horrible problem that had just appeared out of no where, catching her off guard. She sat on the side of the garden, her eyes shut tight as her mind taunted her with her problem. You’re a nothing, no better that a common slave. You’re considered stupid, annoying, nobody but your own brother wants to be near you, and yet he still finds ways to slip out of you’re presence. You’ve been humiliated, beyond what you’re capable of, and too weak to fight it. You’re weak, Karillian, a nothing, no honor of being a princess, no way to show you’re talent, which seems to the prince to be nothing of accord or worth, and have had everything stripped because of man. Even you’re freedom is barely a something, your freedom is more like a nothing, a hoax you continue to shadow yourself in. Your one dream is nothing but a dream, and never will be a dream, for you’re freedom depends on others, but who would want to help you? Nobody, nobody would want to help a humiliated, honor less, hotheaded girl who has no worth in the world but just a tool for diplomacy, just for someone else to use and then throw away…Kari shuddered as her conscience hit her weak points, the things that she so valued and strived for, wasn’t that the point of running away? She tried not to let tears flow away, and ruin the facial powder she’d applied. The thought made her laugh without humor; she’d been so broken that she cared about her makeup. “Oh Kari, you just plain suck.” Her breathing slowly evened out from its quick staccato spike at the black thoughts. She thought of the words that bugged her, and that made her want to scream again. She couldn’t hit words, fight them with steel or arms, and she didn’t know how to defend against them but for a few sharp-edged retorts. She was…powerless against them. Kari sniffled and thought of the four words that had cut her deeply. Freedom, humiliation, nothingness, and honor. She summed up the words into one, powerless to be more than a girl. Kari slowly regained herself though; she still knew how to act, to pretend even if it all was deception, a swindle. She straightened and stood tall, blinking again and giving herself a slow couple minutes for her eyes to dry. She stared at her fingernails and decided to clean them when she got back, then she’d probably wallow in herself again before Trei got back, maybe her subconscious would give her something to fuel an argument with Trei, and avoid anything about her. She picked up her earlier gait, trying not to let her common sense and pride distress her walk; she’d rather look angry again, and look like she was in control of herself. Kari sighed, she knew how to act, but this was one job that seemed to be impossible. She walked back into her rooms staring straight ahead and not letting anyone bother her with their prejudice whispers of her being a foreigner. Kari started to wonder where her brother was before reminding herself he was finding something out, not that he’d cared to tell her. Her breathing became harsh for a second as the earlier taunt of her being stupid came to mind, that her brother though she wouldn’t understand, but she shoved it away. She knew her brother better, and if she couldn’t understand, then she didn’t want to know.