Dust In The Wind

Branches scrapped at the windows in the wind. Aramis stirred in his chair, the room was growing cold now that the fire had gone out and he’d fallen asleep listening to the rain fall upon the roof of the small barren cottage. He rose slowly, his old bones creaking, protesting the cold with each movement. The thunder echoed through the fairy compound setting his nerves on edge. He went to the window looking out into the garden as the lightning flashed, striking a statue in the garden. He could see no movement in court yard, he pulled his cloak tightly around himself wondering how long he’d slept. The lightning struck the tiny hill where Bilbo, Lara and Sasha were buried, Aramis jumped away from the window, his heart pounding wildly as the thunder boomed and reverberated through the valley. He began to pace restlessly about the room trying to decide whether to venture out into the rain to find someone or stay where he was out of the storm and wait for them to find him. Suddenly he felt very alone but he refused to believe Kailen would forget him; leave him behind to die alone. He walked through the empty rooms of his cottage one last time making sure he’d not left anything of importance behind. At last he stopped at the fire place resting his achy foot on the hearth he felt a stone shift beneath his boot. He knelt down and pried the stone away, he pulled something out of the hiding spot wrapped in a velvet cloth. He smiled as he pulled the cloth away revealing a small box made of polished oak. A tear rolled down his graying cheek as he wondered how he’d almost left his treasure behind. He opened the box; it smelled of frankincense and myrrh a small piece of last year’s Yule log lay inside. Lara had given him the box shortly after Bilbo had died. Bilbo had treasured the little box all his life. Suddenly the door burst open, Bram stomped into the room rain dripping from his cloak. “Lord Aramis,” he said, “We have been looking all over for you.” “Yes, I came in here to see if I’d forgotten anything and I’m afraid I fell asleep.” “Kailen sent us to find you. Lord Aramis we need to be on our way before the mists close over the pass and the land of Fey is lost forever.” Aramis took one final look at the room and put the box in the pocket of his cloak as Bram took his arm they dashed out into the rain and into the Great Hall. He stopped looking about the room, Kailen had ordered all the candles lit one last time, it had never looked lovelier or lonelier than it did at this moment. “Lord Aramis, hurry! Your carriage is waiting we must be on the road. We are the last to leave.” Aramis looked around the room one last time wishing there were time to play one last song and ran out into to his carriage. Bram closed the door and motioned to the driver. “Hold tight we’ll be moving fast.” Aramis watched as Bram swung up on his horse, heading the horse for the mountains and giving him his head. He sat watching out the window saying a silent good bye to the beautiful old village he had lived in since his sixteenth year, his heart hurt knowing he’d never see it again. The lightning struck nearby as the thunder rolled off the steep mountainside, he pulled the leather curtain down, fastening it securely to keep out the rain. He leaned back into the seat, pulling the warm blankets around him to ward off the cold night air and closed his eyes cherishing each memory rolling across his mind of the years in the compound. It was a time in the Land of Fey when the darkness was overpowering the light, when magic was growing dim the time of man was dawning to reign over the land. The signs of change had been subtle at first, so minuet few noticed the darkness slowly etching over the land. With each turning of the Wheel of the Year Kailen’s prophecies proved to be true and even the most skeptical had started to pay heed to his visions. Aramis was escorted to Kailen’s chambers in the wee hours of the morning. He was beyond irritated with having been awoken at such a ghastly hour. He stomped into Kailen’s bed chamber, “You summoned me, my lord,” he said sarcastically as he bowed. “Lord Aramis, you never fail to amuse, even in the darkest hours,” Kailen said smiling, despite the worry written all over his face. Aramis watched him for a moment then said, “Kailen, I apologize, I was irritated being woken up in the middle of the night. What is the matter?” “I have just had another dream,” Kailen said pouring them each a goblet of watered-down wine. “Our world is changing, one day the Land of Fey will be forgotten, banished and the religion of man will take over the land and we will have become but a myth.”