A Game Of Secrets

Here it is! I feel like a huge fangirl right now! Tyler, OMG! Actually, no. I'm more of a Caleb girl. *evil grin* I know! I'm TERRIBLE!

Okay okay okay. I'm done. Here. We. Go.
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Chapter Fifteen
“I heard there was a musician here at the festival we just had to see,” the King said, looking at me expectantly.
I shrugged. “You should probably talk to Caleb. I may look pretty, but I don’t know anything about this Festival.” I heard Tyler snicker. I spun around and stuck my tongue out at him.
“Jade, please sit down before you embarrass yourself further,” Caleb said, pushing me down with an unusually heavy armor-clad hand.
“What?” I said indignantly. “It’s true—I don’t know anything about which musicians are playing here.” Caleb gently touched my fiddle. A look of confusion passed over my face before my mouth formed an O. “Me?” Caleb nodded.
When I did nothing but stare, he sighed. “Jade, now, if you please.”
I woke from my brief stupor and began playing the same, sweet melody for the two Royals in front of me. It was all a bit surreal. Once I finished, I stopped this time. There was loud clapping, but once the King started talking to Caleb, everyone went on enjoying the festivities. I began playing again, but I could multitask. I listened in to his conversation.
“What’s with the armor, Caleb?” the King asked.
“Who says I’m just here to show off my students?” Caleb asked, smiling.
“It is a fine piece of work,” the King agreed.
“Yes, it’s spelled to prevent damage as well.”
The King laughed, and when he did so, he did it with all of his heart. I was glad he was our King, even though he had never made a decision that affected my family. I smiled, looping the end of the song back to the beginning.
“I knew you when you were just a boy,” the King said. “And, now, look at you. You’re putting spells on suits of armor!”
“Oh, that’s not all I’m doing.”
When Caleb said these words, I felt a cold feeling slip into my gut. I nearly stopped playing. All of those times I’d wondered what Caleb was doing, why he needed me, the answer was so obvious. Caleb… he was going to launch an attack on the kingdom! When the realization hit me, it hit me full force. I stopped playing and set both violins down carefully.
“The armor is certainly very distinctive,” the King was saying, but Caleb wasn’t listening.
“Jade, are you all right?” he asked, looking at me strangely.
My breath came in strange gasps, as if they weren’t functioning properly. I felt my body go numb, and I collapsed to my knees. I heard a ringing in my ears and Caleb knelt beside me, his suit of armor creaking. Then it all went dark.
<^>
I woke up to the unsteady shaking of a carriage. We were on our way back to school from… from the Festival. My memory came back in a rush and I sat straight up. Caleb was seated across from me.
“Oh…” I said, feeling sick again as I recalled what Caleb planned to do.
“Jade, are you all right?”
I swung my head to the side and saw Tyler. I took a deep breath and choked down the bile that rose up. I nodded.
“Are you sure?” Caleb asked. “You’re quite pale.”
I face Caleb again. “Don’t speak to me,” I said before I could stop myself.
Caleb tilted his head to the side and examined me for a minute before a smile broke through his stoic expression. “I see, now. You finally figured it out. I thought you all ready knew, but it was just then… I suppose it’s all for the best, though. We’re headed to wear my army is, now.”
“What you plan to do… You can’t go through with it! You just can’t, Caleb. It’s not right, the King…” I trailed off, running my hands through my ruined hair.
“The King is a fool, Jade, don’t you realize? I’ve been planning this for so long, and he thinks me a friend. The kingdom would be much better if I took his place,” Caleb explained.
“What?” I exclaimed. “No! I won’t help you. You can’t make me! This is wrong.”
“I’m sorry, Jade, but you don’t have a choice.”
“Yes I do,” I said, crossing my arms in defiance. Caleb couldn’t make me participate in taking down the Kingdom. My home!
“I’m afraid not.” Caleb almost looked sorry.
I felt Caleb probing my mind. I understood, then. He would force me to help him. Well, I wasn’t having it. I put everything I learned into strengthening my mind into keeping Caleb out. Caleb looked at me in surprise.
“Weren’t expecting that, were you?” I asked, smugly.
“I wasn’t anticipating it, no,” Caleb said, but he didn’t seem too alarmed. “But I prepared for it. Tyler, would you mind.”
It was then that I remembered that he was in the carriage, too. Tyler had been listening to everything… and he hadn’t said a thing. What…? Tyler looked up at me with sad eyes.
“Jade…” Tyler simply sighed, unable to complete the sentence.
“It’s time to choose a side, brother,” Caleb said.
Tyler nodded, and placed a hand on my arm.
It was then that I lost all control of my mind and body. I passed out for the second time today, and I’m not sure that it was all because of Caleb’s new control over me.

 

That is not the end! I promise won't leave it there.

By the way, I only just noticed the formatting was that bad. So sorry! If I remember next time, I'll try to fix it before I post.

Sound like a deal? Kay!

 

The iPod is charged, the chapter is up. Everyone is happy!
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Chapter Sixteen
The moment I was able to (or, the moment Caleb let me, more precisely) I forced my way into consciousness. I was lying on a cot in a dimly lit room. No, not a room, it was a small cave. I sat up slowly, shivering in my fancy dress, now permanently stained with dirt. I put my head in my arms and closed my eyes. Before I acted, I needed to remember exactly what happened.
I felt a stabbing pain in the core of my very being. Tyler was with Caleb the whole time. Tyler was Caleb’s brother. I inhaled sharply and exhaled slowly, then clenched my fists until my nails dug into the skin of my hands. I looked down at them. You could see the remnants of calluses from my time working in the village that I used to call home. Why had I ever left? Why had I ever met a stupid, stupid boy named Tyler? Why did I let him fool me?
I looked up, on the verge of tears and saw the very person I didn’t want to. What was Tyler doing here? “Haven’t you done enough?” I asked, my voice barely more than a rasp. “Is it really necessary to torment me with your presence?”
“Jade…” Tyler started to say something, but decided against it. “My personal power weakens those around me. The closer I am to someone, the weaker they become.”
It came together in my head like a puzzle that had been waiting to be solved. When I had turned on my personal power, I had seen that the people nearer to Tyler were weaker. Was that why Caleb had him get close to me? I threw my hands up in outrage.
“This is ridiculous!” I shouted. “What does he even need me for, anyway?”
Caleb chose that moment to enter the room. “I’m glad to see that you two are speaking. As for your question, I’m happy to say that I can finally answer it.”
I crossed my arms. “Well?”
A conflicted look settled onto Caleb’s face. “Jade, I don’t want you to think that this isn’t hard for me. It is. I’ve grown quite fond of you over these past—”
“I am not just some pet!” I screamed, outraged. “I’m a human being. Can’t you see that?”
Caleb looked me in the eyes, and I realized he could. The anger drained out of me, and I felt like crying. “Jade, I am launching an attack on the kingdom very soon. I want it to end with as few deaths as possible, so I am going to propose to the King that he and I fight, no magic involved, and the winner will take the kingdom.” I nodded to show that I understood so far. “Jade, if I am to rule this kingdom, I can’t risk getting hurt, and it will be a fight to the death.”
“I still don’t see how I’m involved.”
Caleb sighed. “Come with me, will you?”
I stood up, and so did Tyler. “Why does he have to come,” I asked quietly.
Caleb gave me an apologetic look. “To your credit, you grew quite strong. I can’t control you if you get out of hand if Tyler isn’t nearby to weaken your mind. I’m also sorry about Tyler in general. Neither of you were supposed to develop actual feelings for the other.”
I glanced back at Tyler, walking a few paces behind me. Had he actually fallen for me? I didn’t want to hope for anything anymore, but I couldn’t help it. I pushed that thought aside, but an equally compelling one rose to take its place. “Caleb, what’s your personal power?”
Caleb chuckled. “You’re finally asking the right questions, I see. How about an exchange? If you tell me your personal power…”
I sighed. What was the point in keeping it a secret anymore? Caleb was already using me. Why not just add another weapon to his arsenal? “I can see weaknesses in people.”
Caleb grinned. “I see why you wanted to keep that a secret. I could use that… Mine is the ability to create illusions. What do you see when you look at me for weaknesses?”
“Nothing,” I admitted.
“That’s because I project that image so vividly that people believe me. You also never would have guessed my necromancer status if I didn’t tell you, would you have?”
“No.” Was he just showing off, now?
“I have the majority of the school fooled with that one.”
A thought leaped into my mind. “BUT, I don’t see any weaknesses when I look at Tyler, either!”
“Huh?” Tyler said, glancing up from his shoes to look at me, confused. When our eyes met I saw just how sad he was. He hurriedly looked at his feet again.
“I can project an illusion anywhere,” Caleb explained. “I can’t have people thinking my little brother is weak, now can I?” Caleb laughed, and pushed Tyler around a bit. I even saw a glimmer of a smile on Tyler’s face.
Caleb must use his personal power a lot because I never saw either of them deviate from their teacher-student relationship. It was endearing to watch Caleb tease his brother until I remembered he was using me.
I cleared my throat and put a hand on my hip. “Have you forgotten me? I’m your captive, here. I could have totally just run away.”
“You wouldn’t have been able to find your way out of these cave,” Caleb said, shrugging. “I even got lost the first time I explored them. I knew they would be the perfect place to hide an army.” It was then that I realized just how long Caleb must have been planning this. Caleb’s eyes darkened. “But, I suppose we must continue on.”
We walked through the caves in silence, only occasionally passing a soldier or two. Each time it happened, the soldiers would stop momentarily and nod to Caleb, and sometimes Tyler. How much of a role did Tyler have in this? Was it possible that he actually wanted his brother to be king? I frowned. How much did I really know him?
“We’re here,” Caleb said.
He led me into a small cave. Inside were two suits of black armor. One was the one that Caleb had worn to the festival. The other was a smaller version that looked like it would fit me.
I looked at Caleb, horrified. Did he…? No, he wouldn’t. But there was no mistaking that the armor would fit me perfectly. Caleb smiled apologetically, as if that would make a difference.
In that moment, I lost every ounce of respect that I’d ever had for Caleb.