12 Rhoswen Solone

_Rhoswen Solone_

Most times, the visions were far and few between. Perhaps only a few every month. So for one to come so soon, especially after a vision that visited her why she was awake, was unusual. Of course, this vision was like most she had. It came as she slept.

There in her bed as she slept peacefully, her body stiffened and her eyes opened but only for a split second. In the next, they rolled back in her head and her body held its breath. Her back arched backwards into the sheets as her jaw clenched uncomfortably. Sometimes when this happened, her muscles were sore for days afterwards.

The vision that came to her now was merely the sounds of swords clashing violently, they had her flinching in her bed every time they rang. The first thing she saw was a mass of crazy black hair as it flew around the person it was attached to a girl, but she wasn't able to make out just who it was before she heard the sound of clanking armor and the sight of thousands of marching boots. An army? She saw next a red crown clattering to the floor before everything went black. Was the vision over already?

Her question was answered too soon as next she heard the sounds of a forest, the birds and the wind in the trees. An unnatural rustling sound caught her attention next as a scene unfolded in front of her. There was a blur, running past her point of view. She could only catch dark skin and tattered clothes.

Next her view went dark and all she could hear was the panting of someone who was running, possibly panicked. She heard another set of lungs and thumps as another person ran with whoever this was. She only got flashes of images, the forest as bushes and branches got frantically pushed from their paths.

The next she heard was shouting from different people, some of the voices sounding like the authoritative ones soldiers used. It was all too confusing. The vision faded, but to something else. It seemed it was not quite over yet.

The bell tower of her city appeared before her. The tower that stood at the gates of Faun Gaia, older than the city itself, used to warn the old village of dangers and celebrations. She remembered the tolls. All three of the brass bells rang for celebrations, two for danger, and one for surrender.

She watched as two of the tower bells wrang opposite of eachother, the larger of the three rang first, filling the valley with its low toll. One of the two smaller bells started up next, started ringing opposite of the other, its toll at a higher pitch because of its smaller size difference

Two meant danger, and instantly she was afraid of what that danger might be. Typically it was used for attacks, so did this mean that Faun Gaia was going to be attacked? She felt dread take her, and the image before her went black, the sounds of the bell's toll beating into her skull. She felt a pull at her mind, as if the vision desperately begged to go on, but she pulled away from it, not wanting to go on. It was all too much for her. She did not want to see this anymore, she did not want to know the future. What good did the visions do if no one believed her?

    Why give someone like her visions? She was a child and a girl, no one wanted to lend an ear to her and head her warnings. Perhaps if she was an adult- or a man- or both. But not a girl child. She was merely background noise until she came of age- perhaps still after.

    Now it felt like her head might split open, but she did not want to see more, she couldn't. The scenes were scary and out of context, what was she supposed to think of them? What were they supposed to mean? It was clear to her that something was going to happen, something greater than Faun Gaia. There was a call to action inside of her that she refused to nurture. There was nothing. Nothing at all that she could possibly do in her position.

    Then suddenly, the pulling in her mind ceased, as if the vision gave up, and allowed her to stop it. She was allowed now, to open her eyes, to really see again. She only stared up at her bed canopy, rubbing her sore arms, the muscles in her body worse off than before since the vision came so soon. Soon she had to wipe the tears from her eyes, turning on her side to cry into her fancy feather pillow.

    It wasn't the pain that spurred on her weeping, but rather the ominous looming of her nonbelievers. Perhaps they were right. Perhaps she really was sick... it was better than whatever the alternative was. A dreary future full of death, if it were true. The skeleton man was a thing from stories, that was a truth- but it had seemed far too real to her. She had the bruise on her arm to prove it. A bruise they would say came from the gardener when he lifted her too harshly from the ground by mistake.

    She bit her lip, pushing down her sobs, and rubbed angrily at her eyes and nose. With a few sputtering breaths, she pulled her heavy covers over her, trying to calm herself back into sleep. She was too old to cry, too old to be so fickle about these things. Yet it was always looming over her, the memories reminding her, the muscle aches reminding her, and the weary glances of the people around the castle reminding her.

    It was as if she couldn't escape it. It was always there, always reminding her. These things sometimes came true, and when they did it was like a slap to her face. She had the information needed to change things- she only needed the voice to do it. But what voice was there that would listen to a twelve year old girl spouting things of fairy tales? The prospect was a grim one.

    Had she the right to cry? She did not know anymore, but she did know she wanted to forget of this- forget of the visions and the feelings they brought with them. Truly it was all too much now. It was heavy on her shoulders like rocks, trying to drag her down the depths of the long sea. And with that feeling, she allowed herself to be dragged down into the darkness of sleep.

_____

    Days later, Rhoswen found herself walking the castle walls, looking out over them at the city surrounding her home. She imagined there were so many people that she would not ever meet them all- her servant girl, Katrina, had told her as such. With how many came through the castle walls, she believed it. As she rounded a corner, she came to view the sea from where she stood on the walls. It was the Long Sea, the massive body of water that lined the left of the Midlind and separated it from the war torn west.

    Rhoswen had heard about the west. No one was able to learn much about it, like the east, because they let very few in and out. But they were closer than the east was, and people often fled here from the war. The girl had been told that the west used to be greater and richer than anyone could imagine, better off than the Midlind had ever been. War had torn it to bits over the centuries.

    She wondered how a place so great could allow itself to fall as it had. It was a sad thought to think about how many people died over there. She wondered now, how there was still people left alive to fight over there if all they did was war. People like that were no doubt hateful- perhaps they were monsters. She couldn't understand why people would stay at war for so long- it didn't seem human.

    Her hands rested on the cool stone wall as she looked out over the Long Sea. You couldn't see the west from Midlind shores, and she was glad that you couldn't. The west was overly aggressive and rumor had it that if you were close enough to see land from boat, that they would send soldiers out to sink you. She had also heard silly tales of creatures from legends in the waters that would take people to their deaths but she did not believe them. Those were the kinds of tales that nannies told children at night to scare them into behaving.

    A hand on her shoulder forced her to whip around and face whoever it was, her breath caught in her throat. She relaxed a bit when she saw who it was. "Elizibeth," She curtsied to her step mother- the woman her father had remarried only six months after her father's death.

    Elizibeth was rather young, only being four years older than her brother at twenty four. Far too young, Rhoswen often thought. However, she never made such thoughts public. Even if it was odd for her father to marry a woman young enough to be a bastard daughter.

"Rhoswen," the woman said with a sickly sweet smile of perfect teeth. She too was blonde- her eyes a dark brown to accompany the look. She held her hair up like the ladies of the court did in Denheim, all fancy and meticulous. Try ridiculous, Rhoswen thought. It would take a tedious amount of work to undo it all at night before you went to bed. The girl prefered simple, modest styles.

"It is rather unsafe to be up here alone," Her step mother warned her.

Rhoswen turned to the sea again, watching the mass of water move slowly and beat upon the shore consistently. "There are guards on post," She said with a shrug.

"Guards that can't catch you if you were to silently slip over the wall," The woman said now, but she didn't sound worried.

"Then it was meant to be." She said in response. "If a lady can't hold herself upon a wall, then she is no lady at all. Well, that's not exactly how it goes. I can't quite remember how mother said it. "

Elizibeth chuckled lightly at that. "Whatever do you mean?"

Rhoswen gave her a soft look, it seemed the woman was as daft as she expected.

"Something my mother told me. It's supposed to mean that a lady stands strong, balanced, like real women should." She lifted her dress a bit so she could maneuver her way onto the wall, soon she was standing there, on the edge looking down at the world. "If she should fall, then the lady was never a lady, but a girl in woman's clothes." She continued, walking along the wall in her expensive slippers.

"Rhoswen, please, that is dangerous, please get down," Elizibeth said with worry in her voice now.

Rhoswen raised her brows at Elizabeth's worry. She had always seemed to hold a fake fondness for her father's children. As a woman, her children would mean less to the elder ones. Her father already had a proper heir so she was practically unneeded. Her life was only as political benefit to be married off, and that is precisely what had happened to her.

The girl ignored Elizabeth's pleas and continued on walking the edge of the wall, the worried woman following after her. "Ladies have to be strong, because they are walked over so often. Pushed aside- lots of pushing really," She let out a laugh at the thought of childbirth. "That is why, if a lady allows herself to fall, or be pushed by man or wind- and falls off a wall or tree- or something else..." She stopped to turn and face Elizabeth.

"She was never really a lady at all." She concluded, hopping off the wall and landing in front of her step mother. "Only a girl in women's clothes." She said with a nearly mocking curtsy. "I do hope you are a true lady, step-mother."

"Where on earth is this behavior coming from?" The woman asked, perplexed.

Rhoswen frowned, thinking back to a vision she had had a few months past. It was not a fond one- but it was one she trusted the most out of anything she had ever seen. The one thing she knew she could do something about.

"You are with child," She said now, her tone short.

Elizabeth gave her a weary look. "Why...yes, it is true... It is a secret for now- not even your father knows. So how did you come across this news?"

Rhoswen shrugged. "Birds tweet,"

"If you are thinking that your father would love you less you are sorely mistaken-"

"I am not worried about such things at all, rest assured. I know my father loves all his children, and he will no doubt love the one that you will give him, boy or girl." Rhoswen interrupted with deadly precision.

"So what is it that constitutes this attitude of yours?" Elizabeth pressed with a growing annoyance.

"You think it's going to be a boy." Rhoswen said blatantly, turning to look at her step mother with a glare. "And if that is to be true, he will merely be background static, no impressive titles to his name besides his last and he will never be lord of Faun Gaia. Briar will be Lord of Faun Gaia, and if he shall fall, then it will be Florian's right."

"Of course, and that is as it should be. What are you insinuating here?" Elizabeth said with narrowing eyes.

"I insinuate nothing. I merely destroyed your attempt at poisoning my eldest brother, is all."

Elizabeth gasped in appalled manor and her mouth waggled, as if looking for the words to defend herself with but having all too much to say at once.

"Silly woman, don't deny it. I saw it."

The woman swallowed her defenses immediately, looking around before taking an ominous step closer to Rhoswen, her entire demeanor changing in what seemed like seconds. "You lie." She hissed at the girl.

"Would a liar know that you gave the poison to a lady in waiting of yours that came with you from the capital, to poison my brother? That same lady that had gone to his bed chambers several nights past and had poured it in his wine?"

"Quite a specific guess you have there, and a far greater accusation."

"A true one. I had been waiting in the hall. I took that wine and threw it over the veranda."

Elizabeth's eyes seemed to darken. "Your father will hear of this."

Rhoswen's brows raised, and her hands did to. "Please," She said now, "Please, that makes my job so much easier if the mule rats herself out."

    "Mule?" Elizabeth said, agast.

"Family is family, if even only by law. Only an ugly mule of a person would attempt murder family" Rhoswen snapped. Elizabeth gave her a serious, dark look, and turned to storm away.

"Your father is right! You are unsound!" She hollered as she left Rhoswen there on the wall where she remained confidently.

Perhaps it was true, but in the case it wasn't, her brother still breathed and that was something she couldn't let go of.

The toll of bells is what caught her attention next. SHe looked towards the sound, too far off to see the tower as she faintly heard the ringing of first one bell, and then a second. A third bell never came, and rightly so. It wasn't a holiday of any sort. Dread started to pool in her stomach as her eyes flew around the scene at guards giving each other commands, reading themselves on the wall, leaving her all but forgotten.