What Aaron Saw

---Aaron---

"I don't believe we've actually met in person, Aaron," Lord Victor said with a smile that chilled me to the bone, "but I've certainly heard a lot about you. How did you like the little welcoming gift I prepared for you?"

I was still reeling from shock. My head was buzzing as a storm of thoughts ran through my mind. I barely felt the hard stone floor beneath my knees and barely heard Lord Victor's gleeful voice. All I saw was Katherine, her face a mask of pain, sitting weakly against the wall, with blood staining her entire left shoulder red. Her gaze was locked on Lord Victor, but now it fluttered to me. I couldn't read her emotions. Remorse overwhelmed me; I wanted to explain, but I knew there was no excuse for what I had done. I hurt Katherine. I was ready to kill her.

My mind flashed back to what I saw after I picked up the orb. I was going to destroy it, but as soon as I touched the orb I was transported to an empty space that was white all around. An ancient voice thundered, "Aaron Kane, wind master of the Rosewood Seven, why have you awakened me?"

"Who are you?" I asked, looking around for the source of the voice. "Where am I?"

"I am the spirit of Crystallea, birthed when the kingdom was born. Mortals used to seek me for my wisdom and wage war to gain the power that comes with wisdom." The voice answered.

"If you're so powerful, then why are you trapped in the orb?" A part of me was doubtful of this voice's identity.

The ancient spirit snorted in disdain. "Child, I have wisdom, not power. Though I suppose an argument could be made that wisdom is power, but that is a discussion for another time. I was trapped here against my will, and I have been here for centuries beyond my time. I've witnessed more turns of the seasons than the days you've been alive. You can choose to believe me or not; it does not affect me either way."

I hesitated. Was it telling the truth? The sorceress Madeline had told us the orb contained an ancient power that was trapped there, so the facts do check out. "Well, if I believe you, what can you help me with?"

"My only weapons are wisdom and knowledge, and so that is all I can offer you." The voice replied. "Tell me, Aaron Kane—what do you wish to know? You may ask one question."

I was still cautious about this mysterious place and the mysterious voice, but there didn't seem to be any imminent danger. This being was offering to answer one of my questions—why not try? I thought for a few seconds. "How do we defeat Lord Victor?"

"The evil lord who controls the monsters is more powerful than all of the Rosewood Seven combined." The voice was frank with its answer. My heart sank. "But have no fear—to defeat the evil lord, one must first see the truth. Do you wish to see the truth, Aaron Kane?"

"The truth? Um, yes. Yes, I wish to see the truth." I answered. The voice seemed pleased with my answer.

"I warn you: the truth can be painful. Behold, Aaron Kane, the truth of your journey." With this, the scene suddenly changed, and I found myself standing on top of a cliff. I saw Katherine and myself jump off and plunge into the abyss. Katherine fell and got caught in the branches of a pine tree. I went tumbling through the canopy and went splat on the ground. Suddenly, Lord Victor appeared and whisked us away. 'This didn't happen. What's going on?'

The scene changed again. I was standing in the throne room at Devil's Peak, and Katherine was speaking with Lord Victor. I could only watch and listen as they struck a deal—Lord Victor would save my life in exchange for Katherine's allegiance. I saw Lord Victor conduct elaborate spells with Katherine by his side. I saw him plant the memories in my mind: meeting Martha and Matthew, enjoying our days at the bottom of the cliff, escaping with Charles and Christina, and everything that happened on our journey to the Northern Mountains. I was astounded. All of this was fake? Lord Victor fabricated all of this and planted them in my mind?

The scenes changed rapidly. I saw how Katherine was involved in Indigo's abduction and how she skillfully influenced Lionel's plans to match her agenda with Lord Victor. I saw how Lucian was blown up by the explosives that Katherine knew were planted there, how she purposefully led us to the dungeon and through the booby-trapped territory, and how she singlehandedly crafted Lionel's demise. It was all planned. Katherine lied to us all. Katherine betrayed us.

The scenes ended. I, still dizzy from the whirlwind of information, heard the ancient voice boom once more: "Now you know the truth, Aaron Kane. Now you are no longer living a lie. What will you do, Aaron? What will you do?"

As the voice faded, I found myself back in the throne room of the fortress, holding the orb. Katherine's calm voice drew my attention: "Aaron, bring the orb here. Give it to me."

I immediately knew something was wrong. Katherine should be telling me to destroy the orb like we originally planned. Madeline had mentioned the orb carried great power. Could it be that Katherine wanted the power for herself?

I lashed out at her. I confronted her. She stuttered and tried to mask the shock and panic on her face as she tried to convince me it wasn't true. As we argued, I caught sight of Indigo lying on the floor. Katherine's sword, Retribution, protruded from Indigo's chest. Blood puddled around Indigo's lifeless body. While I was conversing with the spirit, Katherine had killed Indigo. I felt as if a lightning bolt came out of nowhere and struck me. What the voice showed me was true—Katherine was working for Lord Victor.

My entire world shattered around me. I have never felt so hurt and so betrayed. Everything in the past several months never happened. Everything was a lie. And to think that I actually developed feelings—

I squashed the thought with hatred. 'Lies. Lies. All lies.' In my anger and hurt, I charged at Katherine and fought her. She dropped the act and admitted to all of her sins, laughing at me for my naivety. She was superior to me in terms of swordsmanship, and we both knew it. Katherine wounded me on my arms, my legs, my stomach, until I was covered in blood and kneeling before her, unable to fight any longer. She looked at me, and the cold glint in her gray eyes was something I've never seen before. It chilled me to my core. How did she become like this?

"They were your friends, Katherine. We were all friends." I said bitterly. "How could you do this to us?"

"Lord Victor promised me great power," Katherine said, lifting her sword to point at my heart. "All I had to do was get you all out of the way. This quest was hopeless from the beginning. As much as I wanted to be a hero, I want to live more. Only fools would die for a cause that bore no fruit."

Her eyes held no mercy as she readied her sword for the death blow. "I'm sorry it came down to this, Aaron. Perhaps in another life, things would turn out differently." As her sword came plunging towards me, I closed my eyes and waited for death.

Death never came. Instead, I heard the sound of something shattering, and my head began to hurt intensely. Opening my eyes, I saw the scene before me shift and twist into something completely different—I was preparing to kill Katherine. What was going on? What just happened?

Something wasn't right. Amidst the confusion, a frightening thought rose in the back of my mind and expanded until it consumed me: what I saw were illusions, and I fell right into Lord Victor's trap. Lord Victor's appearance confirmed my worst fears.

It took only a few seconds to comb through my thoughts, but it felt like I just relived everything again. Lord Victor was blabbering on about the "gift" he had left for me. I tuned him out and forced myself to meet Katherine's gaze.

"Kath, I…" I didn't even know where to begin. All the apologies in the world couldn't make up for what I just did. "I'm sorry. Did I—are you—"

I wanted to ask if I wounded her really bad and if she was alright, which I immediately realized were stupid and inconsiderate questions. Katherine looked like she could pass out any moment and never wake up again. Still, she mustered a weak smile. "I'll be alright. Just…be careful; we're dealing with Lord Victor." She paused, and then added softly, "Aaron, I don't blame you. It's good to have you back."

I felt terrible. I wanted Katherine to yell at me and run me through with her sword. How could I believe those illusions? I should have known they were lies, yet I still fell for them so easily. There was one thing that Lord Victor got one thing right in the illusions he showed me—I was the stupid one.