Sebastian woke, the pain of his shoulder throbbing. Looking around he noticed the room had changed. No, it was a different room entirely. Sitting on a stool not far away was a small fae. Her black boots, with a large shiny silver buckle, sparked memories of tales his mother had once told him. She said there was a fae healer she knew who was at his hatching and was a good friend of the family. Now, what was her name, wracking his brain he couldn't remember, all he could recall was that it had something to with a plant.
"Good morning Lady Fae. I am afraid I do not know your name, yet you remind me of someone from stories my mother once told me for some reason."
Hearing his voice startled Amaryliss awake nearly causing her to fall off the stool. Grabbing a hold of the seat to maintain balance, she glared over at Sebastian. "Now that is not very nice. Scaring an old woman like that. Especially after she has spent most of the night trying to find out why your energies are so unbalanced. We are going to talk at length. I cannot believe Jesira didn't teach you better manners."
Hearing his mother's name from this lady confirmed who she was. Like a slap to the face, her name came clearly into his mind Amaryliss.
"Now that we have that established, WHAT is it you are trying to cover up even from yourself?" Shuddering in trepidation, he shook his head.
"It is not something I can discuss. I made a promise and I intend to keep it."
"Fool, this is not something you can just push down." "This secret is slowly killing you and could end up killing everyone around you too." "Your energies are so out of balance you lost control and destroyed everything in the room save the living occupants. This time!" Her jumping from verbal to telepathic took Sebastian by surprise, causing him to shrink away from her. "Now that we have established just who is in charge, we will have a nice little chat. There won't be any interruptions so we can speak freely." The gaze she levelled, bore into him like a splinter being driven deep into the soft fleshy part of the foot. The most tender place. "Shall we begin?"
Understanding this lady was not someone you could ignore with impunity, he began his tale. They talked most of the day. She asking questions, and him answering. Amaryliss spent more time just listening, only asking questions to stimulate memory or garner better understanding. As they spoke Sebastian started to feel less tension. When they reached the point of the young healer's death, Sebastian's energies flared dangerously. It was at this point he noticed he was encased in a protection circle. Relaxing he continued.
Sebastian struggled within the circle. Magic should not be capable of binding him so completely. "What kind of circle is this Amaryliss? Why can I not cross the boundary?"
With a loud guffaw, she pointed to the outer edge of the circle. "Silly young fool. You are bound by your own blood. I cast the circle and so only I can break it. For you, magic is a natural part of who and what you are. For me, it is an art form, long studied and perfected to match my healing skills." She cast her arm around the room. Sebastian's gaze followed the movement. As he did so he noticed the glyphs on the walls. "This room is completely shielded inside and out. Your tantrum yesterday made it necessary, though I hate to resort to such tactics." Her face fell at this fact. "I much prefer to deal with a willing participant. So if you will stop pacing, sit down, and listen we can soon dispense with the binding circle." She sat as still as a stone upon the stool.
Sebastian knew from her stoic expression he would have a better chance of arguing with an avalanche, remembering how well that went. Sitting down he attempted to shift into his human form. Struggling he felt like he was trying to shift through solid oak. After a few minutes of unsuccessful attempts, he just lay down on the floor. Casting a baleful eye Amaryliss way.
"I see you have decided to quit being stubborn. Good, there is no point in shifting forms since that will only cause more damage to your wing. Until it heals properly you are stuck in your current form. That, or you will never fly again. An earthbound dragon is a dead dragon. You have compounded injury upon injury to that wing. I refuse to have my work ruined. Amarna, as good a healer as she is, has no expertise in dealing with wing injuries." She hopped off the stool and began pacing around the room. "Now that we have covered a portion of your mental stress I can see that your energies are less tumultuous. That does not mean we are finished just yet. You will need to come clean with young Eldrick, it may cause a rift between the two of you, soulbound or not. I spoke with Sigmund about the phenomenon. What he has told me is this. The longer you are together the harder it will be to keep a secret." Her gaze met his, implacable to baleful. Once he lowered his eyes she continued. "The more detrimental the secret to your soulbond the more it will affect you until you come clean. And," her eyes narrowing, "the longer it is kept the harder it will be to mend the rift between you. If the rift is not mended it can destroy you. Either physically or magically. If the latter, you will slowly fade from existence almost as if you had never been however you will also strip the soul of your bonded at the same time. For the bond does not break. I doubt you wish for that to happen. If the former, you leave your bonded with the feeling of only being half a person. Of course, if you die from other causes the bond breaks leaving your soulbonded a complete person." Shaking her head ruefully. "I personally do not wish to see any of these things happening to you and your lady." Sebastian's head snapped up at this utterance. "YES! I said, lady. I know that you know the truth as well as I. It does not leave this room. No one outside this room can hear our conversation."
Hopping back up onto the stool, she waited. After a few moments of his silence, she cocked her head and tightened her jaw, thinning her lips. "Well?"
"You know the code of a dragon as well as I. You know my mother and Uncle. Once our word is given we cannot break it. I told you I made a promise to Sergei. I can easier fly through the eye of a needle than I can break my word. I did add an out for myself as I do not wish to see harm come to Eldrick." He buried his head under his good wing in shame.
With a sigh of regret, Amaryliss knew this to be a truth she had not considered. "Then we are going to need to contrive a way to complete your pledge, without harming young Edlrick and your bond." Her head snapped up. "Oh, my stars... Petal." The anguish in her voice was palpable. "I locked Petal out. How could I have forgotten Petal? We are done for now." She leapt from the stool to the door, flinging it open so hard it crashed into the wall and rebounded shut.
Sebastian felt like a fish trapped in a barrel. He couldn't shift, use his magic, nor leave the circle. He truly hoped he wouldn't need to do any of those things in the foreseeable future. With a heavy heart, he understood he was in the hands of the fates and healers for good or ill. Lowering his head he let his eyelids drift shut.
