Mikal

The Eastern woods – Midsummer

The doors slammed and the window shutters clanked as Hilda went around the cottage, shutting off every possible source of air or light. Hanya had already been sent to the market, leaving only Mikal, Hilda, and Dia alone in the cottage.

Mikal did not need to see Hilda to know how nervous she was. He could sense her emanating tension from across the hall. Yet it was nothing compared to what he felt. Nervous was an understatement. In fact, he was terrified.

Dia cawed suddenly, making Mikal startle. And next, he found Hilda standing before him, taking his hands in her own shaking ones.

"Are you ready?" she whispered.

Mikal's heart raced as he realized that the time had come. He took in a ragged breath, and barely managed a nod in response. Hilda squeezed his hands, as if trying to reassure him, before she let go.

"Wait!" he gasped out, and he grabbed her hand again. "I just... If things go wrong... I just wanted you to know... that I..." Mikal paused, his heart beating wildly. What the hell am I doing? He couldn't believe he was just about to confess his love for Hilda. What in the heavens would even bring that notion into his head? But then he realized, despite all his fruitless attempts to deny it, that he was indeed in love with Hilda. And deeply so.

"Are you alright Mikal?" Hilda asked.

"Yes," he attempted a more assured voice, "I just wanted to tell you... thank you, for everything."

She didn't answer him, but instead, he found her leaning in towards him, cupping his face, and kissing his temple. Then he heard her walk around the large dining table and sit across from him, where he imagined the space between them overcrowded with tools and ingredients and endless notes.

For the past few weeks, since their fateful visit to the Grand Healer in the woods, Mikal and Hilda had been doing nothing but studying the book the witch had given them. An ancient book on ancient spells, most of which were forbidden and long forgotten.

For the past few weeks, they would stay up all night, reading the book together over and over, gathering all the information they needed, and discussing the best ways to perform the spell without causing much damage.

By now, Mikal had somewhat grown confident that the spell could succeed. Hilda had read the book several times, and they had covered everything they needed to know, all the possibilities, and all the risks. Hilda had already learned all the steps by heart, and she had memorized the incantation like her own name. There should be nothing to fear...

"I will start with Dia," she said, to which Dia cawed in response.

Mikal wondered if Dia was aware of what was about to happen to him. He didn't hear his pet raven struggle when Hilda held and cooed him. Dia was strangely calm, that Mikal wondered if Hilda had made him drink some kind of sedative.

Without warning, the sharp hiss of a blade came from across the table, followed by a long shrill caw and restless beating of wings. Mikal didn't have time to sympathize with Dia, when he heard Hilda's voice next, and his blood froze within his veins.

She spoke in a deep ancient voice, dreadful words of a tongue long forgotten.

The spell had to come into action. And there was no going back now.

Droplets of a liquid trickled into the large bowl before them, and Dia's caws ceased at once. A loud hiss rose where Dia's fresh blood met the Dragonia venom within the bowl, sending heavy fumes that filled the cottage with a sharp suffocating smell.

Mikal focused on Hilda's steady voice as she continued to recite the incantations while pouring more potions into the bowl. He had learned the spell as well as she did, and his heart thudded harder now as he knew that his turn was close now.

She finally added another sprinkle of herbs, which caused the mixture to bubble, and then she silently reached out for Mikal's hand, pulling it above the bowl.

When she spoke again, Mikal could hear a hint of concern in her voice, yet she did not falter as she confidently resumed the incantation.

Mikal tried to still his shaking, knowing what was about to come. And before he had a chance to think, he could already feel the cold steel kiss his skin. He grunted in pain as Hilda swiftly drew the blade across his palm, cutting him deep. Doing all he could not to utter any other sounds that would hinder the spell, he gritted his teeth and clenched his other fist, while a generous flow of blood poured from his hand into the mix of enchanted potions before him.

Hilda continued to speak, still holding his bleeding hand above the bowl. Until she said the final fateful words.

Splitan Sawol. Cursian. Haelan.

Sudden pain exploded within his chest and shot to his head. And the last thing he remembered before his mind collapsed was a loud anguished cry that echoed with the cottage. His own cry.

***

It was dark, and cold, and silent. As death should be. His body was numb, his soul vacant, devoid of any sense or emotion. His mind was blank, holding no memories or thoughts.

Soft whimpers rose in the distance, faint muffled sounds of lament, as if mourning the dead.

Was he dead?

A little tingling rose within his fingers, slowly spreading through his limbs. Then he heard it. His heart beating, picking up speed, until it's loud hammering was ringing within his ears. And suddenly, a disarray of memories and visions flashed through his mind.

His head throbbed terribly and his insides churned as it all came back to him.

The spell...

His body shuddered at the dreadful memory of the spell, and a sharp gasped escaped him.

"Mikal!" Hilda cried out somewhere next to him, her voice laden with agony. "Heavens Mikal! Are you alright? Please say something!"

Her bitter sobs did nothing to comfort him. If anything, it only added more anxiety to his already confused mind. Because, despite the fact that he was apparently alive and well, which meant that spell had not failed, yet he still lay in darkness. He still could not see.

Why could he not see? Why could he not just will his eyes open and see? Had it all been for nothing?

His body shook further as frustration filled him to the core. Tears stung his eyeless sockets and breathless gasps escaped his parted lips.

"Mikal! Please talk to me," Hilda cried, her hands holding his shoulders. "Please tell me you're alright!"

He could not even will himself to speak. All he could do was whimper voicelessly and shiver as Hilda pulled him into her arms.

"Oh fuck! What have I done?" she cried out.

He started to calm down in her embrace, and his clouded mind started to clear, as if her touch had awoken him anew. As if he was awakening from a sleep within a sleep.

A low croak rose in the distance, and small wings fluttered. More croaks followed, rising into louder caws. Dia's unmistakable caws.

And before he knew it, his eyes shot open.

His heart froze...

For the first time in almost two years, he could finally see the light. A bright blinding light.

His heart started pounding again as the brilliant light swam within the chamber, bringing its contents into various shapes and bathing everything in vibrant color.

His eyes frantically scanned his surroundings, and despite the overwhelming fact that he could actually see again, he didn't really pay attention to anything within the chamber. Because his eyes quickly found her, and he could not take them off her again.

Hilda. The beautiful Hilda, sitting on the bed in the distance, and holding him within her arms.

Dia cawed again, before he flapped his wings and took to the air. Mikal found Hilda and himself coming closer into view, and that was when he realized that Dia was flying towards them.

Hilda gasped and pulled away from Mikal, just as Mikal felt Dia's claws planting into his shoulder.

Now he could see her better as Dia faced her. It was really her. It was really Hilda. With her warm olive skin and her long brown hair, staring back at him with her deep brown eyes.

Her beautiful eyes, still holding the same glint of power he had always known, but no longer holding any of the hatred she had often showed him. Instead, they were filled with emotions he had never seen in them before. Deep concern and pain, but also something else. Something strikingly similar to the way his mother had always looked at him.

"Mikal?" she whispered, her soft lips quivering, and her reddened eyes brimming with tears.

He still could not will himself to speak, too overwhelmed by the sight of her, that all he could do was raise his hands to her face and touch her skin. He had to touch her in order to believe that she was real.

And real she was. His hands cupped her face, his fingers caressing her soft cheeks, his thumb brushing across her sweet lips.

"Please say something," she whimpered, her voice strained with concern.

"You're very beautiful," he found himself saying.

"Dear Heavens," she breathed out, tears bursting down her cheeks. "You can see?"

"I've never been able to see better," Mikal said, and the next moment, he found himself pulled once more into her embrace.

"Oh, thank Heavens!" she cried. "Oh Mikal, you scared me to death, I thought I have lost you," she cried, squeezing him between her arms.

He pulled away from her, not because he didn't want her to embrace him, but because he still did not have enough of watching her face. She was more beautiful than he had ever remembered. He didn't know how to explain it, but she just looked more vibrant. Everything about her held an unfamiliar intensity, as if he was seeing her for the first time.

Her skin looked sharper, glittering in silvers and golds as if it reflected different hues of light. Her hair shone in brilliant shades of browns and reds, holding more dimension than he ever remembered. Her eyes were uncannily deep, yet full of light, and he could see tiny amber specks swimming within pools of rich earth brown.

Then he realized that this was not the vision of an ordinary man. Because not only Hilda, but the whole chamber around him held the same intensity of shape and color. Mikal had gained the sight of a raven, sharp and powerful, picking up the smallest details and bringing everything to striking vibrancy.

"Tell me, how are you feeling?" Hilda asked, holding his hands, careful not to press against his heavily bandaged palm.

"I am feeling alright... I guess," he hesitated, finding her concern a bit too unsettling. "What happened?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "I thought everything was going well, but just after I performed the final step, you screamed and passed out. You remained sleeping for three days."

Mikal's lips parted in shock. Three fucking days. Well, that explained the vicious pain in his head and his foggy mind.

"How is your head?" Hilda asked, as if hearing his thoughts.

"It hurts a bit, but I'm fine."

"And your... memories? Is there anything you can't seem to remember?"

Mikal paused to think for a moment. He didn't feel like he had lost any memories. In fact, he seemed to remember things which he did not think he had seen before. This was only confirmed as he took a quick look around him, strangely not finding anything unfamiliar. He was definitely seeing this chamber for the first time, yet he had already known exactly what it looked like. He had known exactly where everything was kept. And it was not knowledge based on his previous blind imagination. It was knowledge based on the fact that he had actually seen it before.

"What is it Mikal?" Hilda asked with a concerned frown. "Tell me, what can't you remember?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking..."

"Alright, let me ask you. Do you know where we are?"

"Don't be ridiculous Hilda, I know where we are."

"Do you remember how you came here? Do you remember what happened before –"

"Hilda, slow down. I remember everything and more. In fact, I feel like I have seen all of this before. This room, the whole cottage, the whole woods even... I feel like I have been flying in these woods for a long time. I remember flying between the trees at different parts of the day, even at night. I also remember seeing you, and Hanya... and myself... down in the main hall..." Mikal slowed down as it started to dawn on him. Those memories were not his own.

"These are Dia's memories," Hilda said, confirming what he had just discovered.

"So it worked, after all." Mikal looked up at Hilda.

"It worked." Hilda nodded, her eyes shining with more tears. She threw her arms around him, and landed her lips upon his, kissing him deeply. He kissed her back, sinking in the warmth and the safety of her arms. Until she broke the kiss.

"Come, let's get you something to eat," she said. Mikal then realized that he was starving. Sleeping for three days without any food or drink was no small feat. Yet he was also hungry for other things, so he pulled her back into his arms and started nibbling at her neck.

"Mikal! What are you doing?" She laughed.

"Eating you," he said as he continued to trail kisses and bites down her throat.

"Stop!" she giggled but he ignored her. "I'm serious. Let me go ask Hanya to prepare something for you. You need to eat well and get better quickly. We're supposed to be leaving in a couple of days."

"Leaving?" Mikal stopped his kisses and looked up at her in confusion.

"Well, I thought we agreed on going back to Nordenvania." Hilda smirked.

"That soon?"

"Yes, while the days are still long and the weather is still warm. Or are you not ready to go back home yet?" Hilda teased.

"Of course I'm ready." Mikal laughed out. Hell he was ready, he was fucking ready! 

*************

Yes, the spell worked without trouble... so far. 

Are you excited for their return to Nordenvania?

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