“This…” the man panted as he struggled against the log “is really…heavy…”
The man rammed his shoulder against the end of the log, causing it to move a few inches. “Clarine…” he said as he turned his head wearily, “…are you sure this is going to work?”
Clarine looked up from her work, nodding her head vigorously. She had a wide smile on her face; why, the man could not figure out. She was walking in a large circle, dragging the same stick that he had used to mark the foundations of the house behind her as she went. The pot she had brought along with her sat off to the side, the golden chains that were attached to it lay coiled neatly in a pile next to it.
The man gave the log another shove, pushing it further another two inches. His shoulder was starting to become sore. Thankfully, “Ah…that’s far enough!” Clarine called out to him. With a sigh of relief, he let himself sag to the ground in a heap. Leaning against the log, he watched his wife continue about her work. At this point, she finished carving the circle into the earth, surrounding the log he was pushing inside of it.
Now that the circle was finished, she crouched down closer to the ground, and started to carve strange lettering on the outside of the circle.
Magic… he thought to himself. Who would have thought such a thing existed…? He glanced at his hand. Is this magic, as well? He thought, referring to his ring. Meryl and Solana confused me for a sorcerer because of it…does it have any magical properties? He lifted his head and glanced at Clarine. He could see the small glimmer of her own ring reflecting in the sunlight, and felt his face grow warm. A-at any rate, he thought, embarrassed I’ll have to ask Rana about them the next time she comes around. He looked once more at Clarine, and felt annoyed with himself. While he was sitting around, his wife was hard at work. With that in mind, he quickly rose to his feet, and dusted himself off. “Well, even if I can’t help with the circle, at least I can start moving the next log…” he muttered tiredly to himself.
Before he could start walking to the next one; however, Clarine cried out excitedly “it’s finished!” The man nearly tripped over his own feet in surprise. “What, already?!” he exclaimed in reply.
“Unnh!” she replied cheerfully, bobbing up and down. She was acting really excited about it, like a small child who completed their first puzzle by themselves. She was standing on the edge of the circle, which was now completely encircled by a line of strange letters.
“That…was fast, Clarine…” he said, awestruck. It couldn’t have been more than a minute since he had sat down, and yet in that short amount of time she was able to finish her circle of symbols.
His praise caused her to blush, and she ducked her head. “I-it’s nothing at all…” she murmured. “Should we start now…?” she asked hesitantly.
He nodded in agreement. “Any time you’re ready.” He replied, and stepped out of the circle, and moved next to his wife.
“Then…” she said, and closed her eyes for a moment.
“Oh, Reyna Pandora ng Mimics; Ako, Clarine ang palayok diablo, ipinakikiusap mo…”
The air around Clarine grew heavier, as if an aura of power had begun to surround her.
“Buksan ang pinto sa pagitan ng aming kaharian at ng isang ito.” She opened her eyes, her steady gaze focused on the magic circle before her. “Reyna Pandora, mangyaring gabay sa aking hakbang sa iyong banal na liwanag, payagan ako upang bumalik sa lupain ng ating kapanganakan!” she finished ominously, her voice strong and steady.
He could feel the power invoked by her words flow around her now, cloaking her like a protective mantle. At the same time, he could see the effects of her words in the form of the magic circle. The runes written hastily were now glowing with a pale cerulean light, as if the very earth itself was coming to life. What was even more amazing; however, was the events taking place within the circle. The very fabric of space seemed to be warping itself out of shape; the color of the sky and the earth below started to become distorted, swapping places in parts and bleeding through each other elsewhere.
“This…is amazing…” he muttered to himself, awestruck. He then turned to look at his wife, curious as to how she would react to her own magical working.
Clarine stood firmly, almost seemingly disinterested in the strange sights that took place before her. He noticed that her gaze slowly drifted upwards, and decided to follow it with his own.
Several feet above the magic circle, he noticed a darkly colored distortion floating in the sky. As he strained his eyes for a better look, he noticed the swirling colors were very familiar to him. As the vortex grew larger, he immediately recognized where it led to. The memories of the past year flooded his mind, and he could feel his face grow warmer. It was in that strange world where it had all began for him, and now it was necessary to continue his life together with his wife. With a sense of nostalgia and awe, he watched at the dark gap in the sky grew larger and larger, until it was the same size as the magic circle below, effectively establishing a tunnel.
Slowly, but surely, the heavy log placed in the center of the magical circle rose into the air, heading steadily towards the gap in the sky. As it grew closer, it seemed to warp in shape, slowly growing smaller before disappearing into the dark and swirling depths. Only then did Clarine release her gaze from the portal and turned to face her husband.
“Clarine…” he managed to say after a while. It was hard for him to believe that the small woman that stood before him had just effectively ripped a hole in the fabric of reality and warped away a several hundred pound log; all without breaking a sweat. She tilted her head to the side curiously in response, waiting for him to continue. She seemed hesitant to say anything before he did. “That…the portal…the log…and the swirling colors…” he fumbled about, before stopping and hanging his head momentarily, embarrassed. Closing his mouth, he raised his head and tried to speak again. “I-…what I meant to say was, seeing you work your magic like that…” he grinned widely. “It was one thing to hear you say it was possible…but watching it done was even more amazing than I had imagined.” He rubbed the back of his head with his hand. “I wish I could do something as grand as that.” He motioned to the portal and the glowing runes, both which were still active. “I mean, af-”
Clarine, blushing furiously, abruptly pushed herself against his chest, knocking the wind out of his lungs and cutting off his words. He could feel her small arms wrap around his torso gently. “T-thank you…” she whispered quietly, with her face buried in her chest. For a moment, he would have sworn that it sounded like she was crying. Caught off guard by her sudden actions, the man wasn’t able to find the words he was looking for. Instead, he raised one of his hands to her head and patted it gently while stroking her hair as he thought bewilderedly.
Why…? He thought. Why did she react like this? All I said was that I thought her magic was amazing…and she seems so relieved, too. Did something happen in the past because of her magic? The man’s thoughts stopped cold in his mind. Or…did she think that I would look unkindly upon her because of it? That thought, above all else, stood out in his mind.
With his free arm, he held her protectively against him, letting his actions speak for him in place of his words. Whatever the reason may be, he thought determinedly to himself, there is still so much about Clarine that I know nothing about. Something like this might happen again… He shook his head. Whatever may happen, I’ll need to be there for her regardless.
“Clarine, dear.” He said gently and placed the hand that patted her head on her shoulder. She looked up gently into his eyes with her watery own. “Your magic…” he stopped, and shook his head. “It’s thanks to you, that we’ll be able transport these trees and build our home, for the three of us.” He blushed, embarrassed about what he was going to say next. “And…later on, the four of us.” He added. The color of his wife’s face quickly grew to match his own. “And that’s why, I’m counting on you to do your best.” He said with a smile.
Clarine’s face grew a deeper shade of crimson. She let go, and nodded her head quickly. “Yes!” she replied joyously.
He grinned. “Glad to hear it.” He then pointed to the nearest fallen tree. “I’ll go and get the next one ready, then.” he said, and hurried towards the far end of it before she could respond. With a quick exhale, he placed his hands against the log and pushed with his feet, using the force for leverage, his eyes facing downward. He managed to move it only an inch before he felt something small and warm against his hand. Looking up, his eyes were met with the sight of Clarine’s hand over his own. With a quick glance to the side, he noticed Clarine standing next to him. Although she was blushing deeply, her eyes revealed her strong determination. The two stared into each other’s eyes, saying nothing for a time.
Finally, with a grin, the man stepped slightly to the right, to make room for his wife. She took her spot next to him, and placed her own hands against the tree as well. With a synchronized exhale of breath, the two began to push.
******************
“That’s…the last of them.” He said at last as the final log disappeared into the distortion in the sky. Tired, he slumped to the ground on his knees as the rip in space slowly disappeared. The sun, which hadn’t even touched the middle of the sky, was now starting to settle on the western horizon. “Are you alright, Clarine?” he asked, wearily. In addition to helping him move them, she also had to use her magic to store them in the world inside of her pot.
“I-…I’m fine…” she stuttered, slumping down on the ground. If he was weary, then Clarine was exhausted. She tried to stand back up and walk towards her husband, but her legs refused to obey. Noticing her effort, the man stood, despite his own weariness, and walked over to her. Offering her his hand, he helped Clarine to her feet, and draped one of her arms over his lowered shoulder for support.
“You did well, Clarine.” He managed to grin. He walked closer to the pot, peering inside. As it was not currently connected to the world inside, it had the appearance of an average clay pot. Even so, within its depths rested several thousand pounds worth of lumber. “Well then, shall we go? I’m sure Anya and Mirajane are waiting for us to return-…hey, what are you doing?” he asked, bewildered when he noticed what she was trying to do.
As she had done before, Clarine was now trying to reattach the golden chains around herself.
She held up the chains wearily and pointed to herself, too tired to even vocalize her thoughts. Despite this, the man was still able to determine what she meant. He took the chains from her hand, setting them gently on the ground.
“Clarine, I can’t let you carry this-…look at you! You can barely even stand!” he chided.
“But…” she began to argue.
The man sighed. Deciding not to argue, he instead put his hands on her waist.
“Eueeh?” She let out, confused.
Holding on to her carefully, he gently lifted her off of the ground and into the air. Without saying a word, and ignoring her futile protests he placed her gently inside of the large pot. It wasn’t until she was settled comfortably inside did he explain his rationale.
“Clarine, you’re exhausted. You may not realize it, but you look as if you could fall over at any minute.” He sighed gently. “I’m glad that you want to help, but you need to rest…If something were to happen to you….” He glanced downward. “Anya and I would be really sad.”
“….” She said nothing for a time, thinking about what he said. Finally, “I’m sorry…” she replied at last.
The man smiled a little, and kissed her gently on the lips. “You don’t have to be sorry about it, Clarine. I just wanted you to realize that you don’t have to push yourself.” He stood then, holding the chains and wrapping them securely across his torso and over his shoulders. He then knelt, and tightened the slack in the chains. When she asked what he was doing, he replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world; “I’m going to carry the pot, of course.”
“Eeeh?” she replied, startled. “But, I’m still inside-!” she said, but the sudden rise into the air caused her to stop talking.
The man grinned. “Of course. How else can I carry you and the pot at the same time?”
“EEEHH?!?!” she exclaimed. “B-b-but…” she stuttered rapidly. “A-aren’t I heavy? And y-y-your tired a-as well…”
The man shifted slightly in place. “Hmm? You mean this?” he said, referring to the combined weight of his wife and the pot she rode in. “This is nothing at all, compared to those trees.” He grinned at her and added, “After all, you’re my wife, Clarine. What kind of man would complain about having to carry his beloved?”
She blushed furiously at this, and ducked her head below the opening of the pot. He laughed a little at his wife’s shyness.
“Then…” he could hear echo from inside the vessel. “Just this once…” she replied shyly, and revealed her face to him. She had a small smile on her face, her trademark crimson showing. The man nodded in agreement, and set off at a slow pace into the woods.
No comments:
Post a Comment