Astatine found himself in a dark abstract plane.  He jumped upward and felt himself float through the air.  

Is this a dream?

He saw a column of light up ahead and floated towards it.  His eyes lit up when he saw a familiar silhouette.

“My lady!” he said.

Samarian turned to face him.  “Astatine, I have an assignment for you.”

Oh wait, Astatine thought.  This is one of my memories.  Am I reenacting my past?

Samarian continued.  “King Xenon of the Western Region is finally gone, but his son Prince Thallios lives on.  Prince Thallios is the avatar of the Fire Goddess.  Bring him back alive and unharmed.  I will deal with the Fire Goddess myself.  Observe first and approach carefully.  The Fire Goddess is dangerous.  She currently lies dormant in the prince.  Use your suppression spells to keep her from awakening.  Will you be able to do this?”

Astatine bowed.  “Yes, my lady!”

The column of light dimmed and Samarian disintegrated into a wisps of smoke.

Another column of light shone on Astatine.  A lone black feather floated down toward him.  He reached his hand out and caught it in his palm.

King Xenon’s son, Astatine thought.  His eyebrows furrowed and he gritted his teeth.  He had never met King Xenon and had no idea what he looked like, but the mere mention of that name always filled him with rage.  King Xenon of the Western Region was the one who had ordered the invasion that killed his family all those years ago.  He wondered if King Xenon’s son was just as awful as his father.

He threw the feather into the air and it transformed into a raven.  Samarian had taught him how to use the spy ravens to monitor events from afar.  Everything the raven saw, he would see as well, as if the raven’s eyes were his own.

“Go!” he commanded.  With a caw and a fluttering of wings, the bird disappeared into the ether.

It was not long before he felt a mental tug.  The raven must have found its target.  He closed his eyes.  When he opened them again, he saw a vast field of green below him.  There were two people in the grass, one lying down and the other sitting up.

He focused on the one lying down, since that person seemed to be looking directly up at him.  Long auburn hair and amber eyes.  Forehead jewelry with a dangling ruby.

Is this…the prince?  He looks like a girl…Is it because he’s actually the Fire Goddess?

The prince turned to speak to his companion, a man with long black hair tied in a high ponytail.  A gust of wind blew over the landscape and everything disintegrated.

***

The raven followed Thallios through the abstract plane while Astatine sat back and observed.  Thallios’ companion Leiyu was there too, always walking alongside him, but in Astatine’s vision, he appeared to be gray, more like a shadow.  Only Thallios was in full vibrant color.

Thallios suddenly stopped and turned around to look directly at the raven, and by extension, Astatine.  The prince’s amber eyes seemed to meet Astatine’s hazel ones.

“Why do you keep following me?” Thallios asked in Sargeshi.

Astatine was taken aback.

Thallios’ eyes glowed until they turned into a golden yellow color.  He had now transformed into his female alter ego Amara.

Amara laughed in a way that sounded simultaneously sweet and menacing.  “Do you like what you see?”  Ribbons of flame danced around her.  She waved her hand and sent a serpent-like plume of fire towards him.

Through the flames, he saw her transform again.  She now wore golden armor with silk sashes. Her hair grew longer and flowed behind her.  She was now the Fire Goddess.

The flames completely engulfed him and he screamed.  He fell backwards and felt his back hit something wet.  It suddenly became very cold and dark.  He was underwater now.  He flailed his arms and kicked his legs as he sank.

Suddenly, someone grabbed his hand and pulled him upward.  He broke through the water’s surface and gasped for air.  The water receded and he now found himself curled over on a bank of damp sand.  He looked up and his eyes widened.  Thallios sat before him with water dripping from his hair.

“Little prince?” Astatine breathed.

Thallios opened his mouth and appeared to be speaking, but no sound came out.

“Wait, I can’t hear you!” Astatine said.

Thallios began to fade away into specks of shimmering light.

“Wait!” Astatine reached out but his hand went through Thallios, who was becoming increasingly translucent.  “No!”

Thallios stood up and took a few steps backward.  A gaping hole opened up in the air behind him and he floated into it.  The hole began to close up.

Without a second thought, Astatine jumped into the hole to follow him.

***

Astatine opened his eyes and saw Leiyu lying on the ground a short distance from him.  Leiyu was heavily injured and bleeding.  Thallios was also on the ground nearby, trapped in the spell suppression netting.

This is another one of my memories, Astatine thought.  I was fighting little prince’s companion.

Astatine waved his hand and sent a barrage of dark waves towards Leiyu.  Leiyu braced himself for the impact.

“LEIYU!” Thallios screamed.  However, he remained trapped in the netting and did not break free.  The full force of the dark waves struck Leiyu and he was thrown into the air.  His limp body collapsed onto the dusty ground.

Wait!  This wasn’t how it happened!  Astatine thought.

“Leiyu!!!” Thallios sobbed.  “Noooo!!!”

Astatine raised his eyebrows.  Is this an alternate version of events?  He walked past Leiyu and looked down at Thallios.  Tears were streaming down Thallios’ face.  He picked up Thallios and slung him over his shoulder.

“I guess I can take you back to my lady now so she can settle her score,” Astatine said.

“Leiyu!” Thallios screamed.  He flailed and kicked but it had no effect on Astatine.

Leiyu was still alive, but just barely.  His breathing was ragged and his arm and fingers shook as he tried to reach upward.  “Thallios…” he murmured.

With a wave of his hand, Astatine and Thallios disappeared in a curl of smoke.

***

They landed in an open field.  Astatine put Thallios down on a patch of grass.

“Little prince, your companion fought well,” Astatine said as he sat down.  “That was exhausting.”

“What do you want with me?  Why did you have to hurt Leiyu?” Thallios cried.

“As I said before, my lady has a score to settle,” Astatine replied.

“The Earth Priestess?  I don’t even know her!  And she was the one who put a curse on my mother!  Why?!”

Astatine stared at him.  “Do you really not know why?”

Thallios looked back.  “No…”

“You are aware that your mother was the Fire Priestess.”

“Yes…I just found out recently.  I didn’t know that when I was growing up.”

Astatine sighed.  “They really did keep you in the dark.”

“What do you mean?”

“My lady - the Earth Priestess - placed a curse on your mother because she misused her powers and caused a lot of destruction.”

“What?  How?”

“Goddess avatars are not supposed to be involved in worldly affairs...or relationships.”

Thallios stared at him uneasily.

“Your mother was married to King Xenon,” Astatine uttered the king’s name with venom, “and used her fire magic to enhance his armies.  Your father…”  He loomed over Thallios as he continued.  “Your father, King Xenon, sent the armies that invaded the Southern Region.”

Thallios began to breathe erratically as he looked up at Astatine.

“Those soldiers…” Astatine’s hazel eyes flashed with rage.  “...burned down my village and killed my entire family!”

Thallios gasped and fell backwards into the grass.

“And those armies continued through the Southern Region, burning down every village and city they encountered,” Astatine continued.

Tears welled up in Thallios’ eyes and his lips quivered.

“And that is why the Earth Priestess put a curse on your mother.  To weaken her powers so that your region’s armies would stop advancing.”

The tears rolled down Thallios’ face.

Astatine walked away and sat back down on the grass.  He drew his knees up to his chest and buried his face in his arms.  “I was only five years old when those soldiers came.”  He wiped away his own tears.  “We had such a happy, peaceful life before all that.  Why’d they have to come and destroy everything?”

“I’m sorry.”

“What?” Astatine turned toward Thallios.

Thallios’ voice was shaking as the tears streamed down his face.  “I’m so sorry…”

Astatine stood up and started walking toward him.  “Why are you sorry?  This all happened twenty years ago.  You would have been a child yourself at the time.”

“I’m sorry…” Thallios continued tearfully, “...that my family hurt yours…and I understand if you hate me…”

Astatine stiffened.

Thallios lowered his head.  “And if you want revenge, I’ll understand…”

Astatine stood over Thallios and began to reach down toward him.  Thallios shut his eyes and winced, as if bracing himself.

Astatine wiped away Thallios’ tears.  Thallios opened his eyes and looked at him in surprise.

“I don’t hate you,” Astatine said softly.  “And I already promised I would not harm you.”

***

It would have been straightforward to just teleport back to the Southern Region and hand Thallios over to the Earth Priestess right away so she could deal with him, but after the little prince’s apology, Astatine was not in the mood.  He also had to replenish his energy after his fight with Leiyu and the short teleportation to the field.

We’ll take the scenic route home, Astatine told himself.  He wrapped extra spell suppression threads around Thallios but cut away the bottom of the netting so that he could walk.  They trudged silently through the wilderness.

When the sky darkened, they took shelter in a cave and Astatine started a small fire.  Thallios sat silently with his back against the rock wall.

Astatine took out some dried meat that he had wrapped up and stashed in his robes.  He turned to Thallios.  “You hungry?”

Thallios glanced at him.  “Are you going to untie my hands?”

“Afraid not.  If I loosen those threads, you might break out and transform into the Fire Goddess.”

“Then I won’t be able to eat.”

Astatine sighed, walked over, and sat down next to Thallios.  He held the dried meat up to Thallios’ mouth.  Thallios’ eyes widened and he shrank back.

“It’s edible,” Astatine reassured.  He peel off a small piece and plopped it in his own mouth.  “See, not poisonous.  Can’t have you dying of hunger before we get back.”

Thallios gave him a look and slowly opened his mouth.  Astatine tore off another small piece of meat and held it in front of Thallios’ face.  As Thallios bit into the meat, his lips brushed against Astatine’s fingers.  Astatine felt tingles run through his body.  He continued feeding him small pieces of dried meat until there was no more.

“Do you want water too?” Astatine offered.  He took out a small flask from his robes.  “I already drank from this, so I hope you don’t mind.”  Thallios parted his lips and tilted his head back.  Astatine poured the water into his mouth.  Some of it dribbled down his chin and Astatine quickly wiped it away.

The flickering flame cast shifting shadows across Thallios’ face, accentuating his amber eyes. Astatine’s breath hitched.  He put the flask away and leaned back against the rock wall.

Why, he thought as he frowned, couldn't I have met you under different circumstances?

***

They eventually made their way back to the Earth Priestess’ temple.  She stood at the top of the stone stairs awaiting them as they made their way up the steps.

“Astatine, you’ve returned,” she said in Daksinabhasa.

“My lady, I have fulfilled my mission,” Astatine replied.

“Very good.”  She took a long look at Thallios.  “So, this is the current avatar of the Fire Goddess.”

She led them into a dim chamber within the temple.  A circle was engraved on the floor in the middle of the room.  She had Thallios walk into the circle and kneel.

“My lady, what are you planning to do?” Astatine asked.

“The Fire Goddess must be punished for going against the rules of goddess avatars and disrupting the natural harmony of the world.  I will cast a spell that will shatter her soul and cast it to the four corners of the world.”

Astatine’s eyes widened and he gasped.  “Is the little prince going to die?”

“Once the Fire Goddess avatar’s soul is shattered, the vessel will naturally expire.  After many years pass, the remnants of her soul will come back together and she will be reborn in a new vessel.  Then the natural harmony of the world will be restored.”

Astatine clenched his fists and looked down.  He knew that this would be the outcome of his mission but it somehow felt wrong.  Thallios remained silent, as if resigned to his fate.  Samarian began to recite incantations and the edge of the circle on the floor glowed bright red.

Astatine had always done whatever Samarian asked of him since she had saved his life when he was a child.  She treated him well and he thought of her as a mother figure.  However, he felt the strong urge to disobey her now.

Without any further hesitation, he sprang forward and jumped into the circle.  Samarian tilted her masked face toward him in surprise.

“Forgive me, my lady,” Astatine said as he scooped up Thallios and waved his hand.  They both disappeared in a swirl of smoke.

***

Astatine gasped and sat up in bed.  He was back in the inn room, breaking out in cold sweat on top of the worn out mattress with the scratchy sheets.  After regaining his bearings, he drew his knees up to his chest and rested his forehead on them.

Damn, that felt too real, he thought as he breathed erratically.  He slowly lay back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling and laughed bitterly.  Of course, the dream had to end right at that point.  Because how else could it end?  I have no idea what I was going to do next after going against my lady’s orders and escaping with the little prince.  I’d be on the run myself, just like he was with his companion.

He thought about the times he saw Thallios and Leiyu through the raven’s eyes, smiling together during the moments they thought they were alone.  

It never would have worked out if this happened in real life.  He wouldn’t have been happy being with me, after what I did to his companion.  He let out a deep sigh.  

Little prince, why must you live in my head like this?