Journey Through the Soul Window - The Caregivers: Part 3

Journey Through the Soul Window
The Caregivers: Part 3

   The handsmaids, Governess and Cailu kept a close eye on the images appearing around the unconscious Vayrons and the Empyrian. Their bodies remained relaxed as the pool enhanced the memories they were experiencing once again at this very moment. Abreanna was gently smiling as the visualization around her showed her being just a small kid when her brothers gave her the very first lessons in flying, and they were so supportive of her even when she tumbled down. Instead of laughing at her mistakes, they enthusiastically encouraged her to try again and again, thanks to which this memory formed a strong bond with Abreanna’s mind. In the pool next to her, Orvillos and Heldanau were floating together, sharing a warming shared memory with the Caregivers. It was the rainy day in Warrenfall when they met, and if Helda hadn’t invited Orvi under the tree to take a break from his journey then who knows where along the road he could’ve collapsed. The Caregivers were very pleased seeing such positive energy and heartfelt experiences flashing before their eyes.

   The Governess stepped forward to Helda and Orvi’s pool. She reached down over the edge, barely touching the surface with her claw. This resulted in the images disappearing with just a blink of an eye as the water listened to the Governess’s command. She did the same thing with Abreanna’s pool, guiding the magic towards another part of their guests’ nature. Cailu softly sighed in anticipation, as what was coming next for his companions probably wasn’t the most pleasant experience, but absolutely necessary nonetheless. The veiled lady returned to her previous spot, after which the topsiders started to slightly twitch as their mind was bended towards negative emotions and memories. They couldn’t fight it, but they still couldn’t panic either, so all they could do was just to go with the flow and give the Caregivers what they were seeking for.

*** Orvillos ***

   Some strange force started to rip him away from Helda’s comforting lap before the visuals around him shattered to pieces and then crumbled to dust. This impact made him lose the connection he had with Helda, so he was now swirling alone in the stormy sea of his own memories. He didn’t have as much control as before, now it was the Haedian arcane energy that dragged him along towards something less savory. The reminiscents raced through Orvi’s mind before the force guiding him latched onto one, tossing him right in the middle of it. As he landed softly on his four feet, his surroundings took shape and color, forming another familiar environment around him.

   Orvi found his younger self standing in a thin layer of snow. His breaths formed visible clouds around him, which the wind carried away immediately. He was in a village, a Warrenfall village during winter, and he immediately recognized this memory as this was one of the most painful ones in his life.

   In front of him stood his ex-partner, younger than him but well within her early adult years. She was furious, baring her teeth at Orvi while huge tears rolled down her face. Orvi hated this moment as he and his beloved were in this situation thanks to a trail of misfortunate events, misunderstandings and evil rumors. The friends Orvi had fully trusted went too far with their dumb jokes, causing ridiculous rumors to spread around. And as if the Gods weren’t smiling at Orvi during these days enough, the fate tossed just a couple more unfavorable events in his way that obliterated his relationship with the Puller girl in front of him and additionally made him cut all sorts of contact with his best buddies.

   Here they were, in her backyard as the winter storm was building up in the distance. Orvi had absolutely no clue what was going on, so he was genuinely startled when he met such sudden hostility from someone he deeply loved. She was crying profusely, obviously hurt from something. When Orvi tried to inquire for explanations, she started to yell, letting all her anger, pain and frustration out on him. What she said made no sense, which made the confusion only grow in Orvillos while anxiety and fear started taking over his mind. After a few minutes of this agonizing terror, there was one certain phrase she slurred while sobbing which made pieces of the puzzle suddenly form the picture of the whole thing - it was what Uminai heard from Roihiran the day of the festival, and he had proof.

   This realization paralyzed Orvi, both physically and mentally. The whole thing bolted chaotically around in his head, making him realize how bad things were. He started to hyperventilate when his ex dropped to the ground on her belly, not being able to contain the pain escaping through her eyes as big salty tears that the rising wind managed to carry away only partially. That evening, Orvi was probably experiencing all negative emotions all at once as he stood completely still, his body short-circuiting from… well, everything. He tried to speak but his mouth wasn’t obeying his command, making him let out a wheeze that mixed into one with the howling wind. He tried again, and again, until he finally regained some of the motor function, shocked eyes still nailed at the one he dearly cared about in front of him. He apologized, he apologized even more and claimed the truth was something entirely different, but her blood-shot eyes that locked with his made him understand that there’s nothing he could do now to fix it. He turned around and ran for his life.

*** Heldanau ***

   The moment Orvi’s presence was separated from her, the surrounding memory scene collapsed, leaving Helda float in the middle of an empty void. She could sense the magical force wanting something from her, but the feeling she got out of it made the fur bristle on her back. That was exactly what the arcane energy was after, and it wrapped itself around it, plummeting Heldanau in the middle of the opposite side of her. She tried to resist, but the force left her no other choice but to go with it. It used Helda’s disorientation to conjure her unpleasant memories, after which it quickly grabbed one and thrust Helda in it.

   She found herself as a pup in the middle of Warrenfall forest. She and her mom had come to pick wild strawberries so they could bake some cakes with them later in the evening. Helda loved the nice summer weather, but as a little pup she found it incredibly tedious to sit still and forage for tiny berries while horseflies tried to have their meal out of her. She shook her head and flailed with her paws to shoo them off, but unfortunately, annoying bugs are incredibly dumb and impolite so they don’t understand when they’re not welcome somewhere. She tossed a few more berries to the cup her mama had provided her before she jumped up and ran a circle in the clearing to hopefully lose the parasites pestering her. She noticed how her mom was watching her with a wide smile and assured her that they won’t be out here for long anymore before she focused back on the picking activity.

   Little Helda tried to return to the berries, but the darn horseflies didn’t leave her be. She started to get annoyed so she hopped around even more, thanks to which she noticed a pretty lizard sunbathing on the rock at the edge of the field. What kind of a Vayron pup can resist such a temptation to practice their hunting skills? This was definitely a lot better than letting the Sun bake her head while insects painfully bit her skin though the pink fur.

   She lunged, but the lizard was fast, scurrying away from its spot in a second. It didn’t have burrows or places to hide around there, so it stopped on the forest floor, looking back towards its terrorizer to see what she’ll do next. Of course the thrill of the chase only fueled Helda’s hunting instinct, so she kept chasing the poor critter, not allowing it to hide from her dreadful paws and jaws. The lizard did its best to avoid getting caught, zig-zagging across the woodland in hopes to find a sanctuary where the pink demon couldn’t follow. To Helda’s dismay and the reptile’s luck, an old stump came across their path. The lizard quickly slipped between its entangled roots, where Helda couldn’t fit. She pawed and gnawed on the stump but it stood firm, letting the prey catch its breath in safety.

   Helda’s attention suddenly shifted to her surroundings. Where was she? This was definitely not the way she came from with her mom, everything around her was unfamiliar. Unfortunately, at the time she couldn’t think of shouting as panic settled in, so instead she started to run towards the direction she came from, which ended up with her being even more lost deeper in the lush Warrenfall woods.

   She wasn’t sure how long she had run, but her lungs screaming for air forced her to stop. As she was heavily panting and feeling the burning in her legs, she noticed a path. Happy to finally catch a sign of civilization, she hopped on it, tried to sniff the ground but not getting any useful information, she picked a direction and started walking.

   The evening approached and little Helda’s stomach growled. She tried to bite on some mushrooms but they were too bitter, so she spat the bits out immediately and salivated heavily to get this disgusting taste out of her mouth. Disappointed, she was about to carry on but someone’s hand firmly grabbed her from the scruff, lifting her off the ground.

“My, what do we have here? A quite fine pup, I’d say.”

   Teeth yellowed from years of smoking flashed before her eyes, as a couple of human bandits happened to stumble upon her. They smelled of trouble, sweat and tobacco while their eyes glimmered with greed. Helda’s heart began to race and she started to squirm to break free, but the bad guy holding her had no intention of letting the pup go.

“Stay still, you little brat. We’re going to take you to a market. I’m sure kids like you like markets, right?”

   Helda had been to the town market with her mom a few times, but she definitely didn’t want to go there with these two shady fellas. She felt tears forming in her eyes as the bandits examined her, trying to figure out how much such young Puller could be worth.

“That’s a girl, and seems to have plenty of markings. Brant, we’ll be rich!”

   The skinnier bandit announced excitedly while the one holding Helda, apparently named something as original as Brant, scoffed at his partner’s comment.

“Of course we will be, I know how to find a buyer and talk them into this. Now, be useful and grab a rope to tie her down, we don’t want to lose the little princess, now do we?”

   Helda squeaked and begged the thieves in her baby Vayron language, which they obviously couldn’t understand. This Brant figure seemed to be mildly annoyed at Helda showing resistance and even more annoyed at his comrade for not folding the rope properly, meaning it was all dangled up now. Cursing at the other, Brant squatted down where the pile of rope lied and using his free hand he tried to help his dumbass companion to untangle it. Brant himself wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed either - being so focused on the rope, he lifted Helda a bit too close to his face. An entrapped animal is a desperate one, and that applies to intelligent creatures as well. Helda didn’t hesitate for a second before she sank her needle-sharp baby teeth into the bandit’s earlobe, to which the guy screamed and instinctively let go of the biter. Feeling her body impacting the ground, Helda was on her feet within a split second and ran for her life, the bandits shouting after her and the skinny one trying to follow, but losing her soon after. With all the adrenaline rushing through her tiny body, Helda simply ran and ran, not paying attention if she stumbled over fallen branches or bushes, she just had to get away from those two.

   The poor little girl finally collapsed on the ground from exhaustion. She barely had energy left to hyperventilate as she was on her side, not being able to move a muscle. To her horror, it was slowly starting to get dark, and with that, desperation kicked in, making the pup sob uncontrollably. She started to cry, her wailing sounding all over the forest, thanks to which her mom managed to pin the right direction and save her little darling from this horrible day.

*** Abreanna ***

   The recoding the Governess had done to the pool where Orvi and Helda were struggling as they relived their nightmares, the same effect took place in Abreanna’s pool. It pulled her out from the joyful flight lessons, back into the spinning abyss while gouging for more. Abreanna couldn’t resist as less pleasant sensations started to flush through her, which made the magical essence catch one of them and toss Abreanna’s mind right in the middle of it.

  She was back on the topside of the Vitalus. It was a lovely day as her dad Alhundylor promised to take her with him to the market, so she could help papa with his goods or just walk around and explore the busy place. The morning preparations went smoothly and just fine, even Al’s business partner made it to their house in time to pull the cart to the market while the Tyrians had their breakfast and finished the other morning activities. Abreanna was already capable of flying on her own, but she couldn’t say no to her cheerful dad who insisted on Abreanna sitting on his back while he did the flying. Holding on tight but not hurting him with her claws, Alhundylor took off and turned towards the city he had his humble stand set up.

   They arrived there just in time when the Hauler reached his destination. Alhundylor needed to catch his breath as he had underestimated how big his little girl had grown, but he definitely didn’t regret his decision for a split second. With the help of Abreanna, they put the merchandise on display and Abreanna finished setting up the last of it when Al was already busy with the customers. She listened along to how well her dad was talking, remaining friendly, honest and pleasant to talk to. She wished to be as good as him some day, but for now, she was just happy to be here and help while learning.

   At some point, a small group of fancily-dressed Tyrians caught Alhundylor’s attention. He invited them over to his stand to offer his goods, doing such good advertisement that would convince the devil to buy more coal for the hell’s eternal furnace. Alhundylor was obviously an excellent charmer, so he wasn’t holding back with the ladies. Abreanna was just at the age when such behavior wanted to make her gag, so she left the stand with the intention to walk around and see what others were selling or trading.

   Her attention stopped at an enormous stall with luxurious vases, amphoras and pots, obviously meant to decorate the gorgeous gardens of the rich and noble. As the owner of the stall was busy with customers, she snuck closer to admire the delicate craft displayed here.

   A loud breaking sound got everyone’s attention. Abreanna had frozen to a spot and in front of her were the remains of a once wonderful vase. She wasn’t even sure what exactly happened, all she did was gently touch it before it just decided to fall off its place. Seeing the shopkeeper’s face turning red, Abreanna apologized and explained how she didn’t do it, the vase was simply unstable. The owner didn’t believe her, yelling profuse profanity at the poor girl while his potential customers stared in shock as they weren’t sure whether to take the seller’s side or protect this poor girl from such harsh treatment. Tears started to swell in Abreanna’s eyes as she started to panic, and the fear in her told her to run, which she did. She rushed back to Alhundylor, who was now trying to figure out how to refold a fan he didn’t manage to sell before his attention shifted to approaching Abreanna and the enraged Tyrian right behind her. Al stood out on the passage and caught Abreanna between her arms while it was his turn to receive a rude monologue from the vase-merchant. Al remained calm while hugging the scared and sobbing child of his, and when the unpleasant guy ran out of breath, Al turned to Abreanna to ask her the important question.

“Honey, did you do it? It’s alright, I’m not mad at you.”

“No. No! I swear I had nothing to do with it!”

   She pressed through her tears, which obviously wasn’t the full truth. Al sighed, and talked to the other guy some more, managing to calm him down considerably. Only then was the other Tyrian capable of explaining what really happened. They agreed that Al will pay the half price for the broken vase while the merchant will take better care of how his products are placed on display. Having paid the guy off, he finally left, leaving still in shock Abreanna shiver in her dad’s protective hug. Al looked sad, but it was more important that his daughter was safe and the situation got solved.

“Dad, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

   Abreanna wasn’t even sure what she apologized for at the moment, but later in life she realized it was for lying to her trusting dad like that, but luckily for her, Al could already tell it back then.

***

   The three topsiders were pulled back in their physical bodies within a moment, which made all of them open their eyes and disoriented as they were, frantically trying to figure out what the heck just happened and where they even were. The Caregivers comforted them, assuring them they were safe and everything’s alright as they helped them out of the pools. Cailu apologized for the second part of the seance but having a small chat about it, the topsiders held no grudge for such an action as they understood it was important not to deny those parts of oneself. The handmaiden provided them with towels, after which the Governess’s smile could be faintly seen through the veil over her face when she announced that Orvillos, Heldanau and Abreanna have successfully passed and are now given an audience with the Matriarch herself.