On the Other Side. The Fall

As soon as he opened the doors, they were met by the sweet aromas of baking and coffee. Past the rows of tables was a counter, covered with a variety of culinary masterpieces from small cupcakes and donuts to cakes and a whole range of ice cream with different fillings. Farai ran to the counter and stared at the confections, completely forgetting about the café owner. A plump grey-haired man in an apron saw the child and immediately waved his hands at him.

“There’s nothing for you here! Get out! Shoo!” He screamed, but when he saw James, he turned to him with a sorrowful face. “Officer! Get this ragamuffin out of my cafe! He’ll scare away my customers!”

Farai stood disappointedly beside James and bowed his head with a guilty look.

“You seem to have scared them off successfully without his help,” James said, looking at the empty restaurant, surprised by the seller’s behaviour.

“I don’t serve the poor!” the grey-haired man shouted, adjusting his glasses on his nose. Unkindly snapping his differently-coloured eyes the man began to fiercely wipe the dirty marks from the glass counter left after Farai.

“Go find a seat…” James said softly without looking at Farai and pushing the boy lightly toward the tables.

“Hey! I told you! What are you doing?!” The seller was indignant. In response, James touched his glasses, quickly scanned the man’s face and smiled ironically.

“I must say, you’ve lost a bit of weight, Mr. Erol Wilfrid,” James said, examining his profile photo in the police database.

“Apparently, additional income reduced… drug distribution?” James asked rhetorically, turning off the data display on the glasses and mockingly smiling. “I think I smell something suspicious. You live one floor up, don’t you? Mind if I check out the premises?”

“What? How dare…” Wilfrid mumbled, staring at James with fear in his eyes. Then he hissed as he bent over the counter. “I haven’t traded for a long time!”

“Then it all depends on you. What do I smell, spices or drugs?” James said tranquilly.

“Sit d-down, please,” Wilfrid said taking the menu from the counter. James smiled and sat down at the table next to Farai. The boy still looked upset, but immediately forgot about the incident when he saw the menu. After placing their order, James leaned back in his chair and noticed the TV in the upper corner.

“Could you turn up the sound?” James asked pointing to the screen where the evening news had begun. Wilfrid turned the sound up using the remote and went back into the kitchen.

“…about politics,” the news anchor said. “The upcoming regular session for the General Assembly of the Alliance of Product and Energy Politics is the most anticipated event of the year for APEP, as many well-known world media headlines say. Such wide attention is due to the assumption, that for the first time since the year 2000, a fundamentally revised resolution, known as the ‘Millennium Declaration’, will be discussed at the congress, and it would change the APEP political environment…”

Returning with the tray of tea and rolls, Wilfrid laid all the saucers and plates on the table in front of Farai and James with a demonstrably displeased look.

Meanwhile, the television news program went to a reporter working at the Alliance’s border.

“…Yes, as you can see, the refugees live in inhuman conditions,” the reporter said standing against the backdrop of rows of tents and southerners crowded nearby, looking with caution at the media staff. “The camp formed on its own when the Alliance border troops blocked the checkpoint to prevent terrorists from entering APEP territory disguised among the civilian population…”

James did not pay attention to Wilfrid’s gloomy face and only nodded to him in gratitude while staring at the TV screen. Wilfrid snorted and returned to the counter to prepare the rest of the order. James continued to watch the news intently. He sympathized with the people affected by the war, but as soon as he got a glimpse of APEP military guarding the high fence that separated the refugee camp from the border point, James immediately changed expressions, turning noticeably gloomy.

“Many politicians have already made statements that given the current military conditions, special measures will be needed to achieve peace, which is desired by all the parties in this conflict, but which is also impossible with a disjointed approach to resolving the issue. Yesterday during the press conference, the Alliance participants agreed that mutual assistance is needed not only from governments, but also from international companies and organizations. Under the current military conditions with terrorist groups spreading their influence near APEP borders, the issue of humanitarian assistance to the affected population becomes first and foremost on the agenda. Strong criticism of the brutal military operations has the opposition and national…”

“My dad is somewhere out there,” Farai said sadly, holding a roll in his hand. Recalling something in his mind, the boy stopped eating. James pulled his attention away from the TV screen which showed a close-up of the Innogen Charity Fund leader at a press conference on the happenings in the south. The woman’s honey-coloured eyes were full of confidence and she spoke in an imperious tone, but James did not listen too carefully, glancing at Farai’s sorrowful face.

“He wasn’t allowed in, was he?” James asked.

Farai nodded.

“I wouldn’t have been allowed in either, except I was sick and someone from the charity fund felt sorry for me,” Farai said.

With a sympathetic smile James pushed a cup of hot chocolate toward Farai.

“Innogen Charity Fund. My sister works there,” James said.

“Then you’re both good,” Farai said confidently, warming his hands on the cup. And then, raising a timid glance at the still grumpy café owner, he added, “It’s too bad there aren’t so many like you here.”

After completing the entire order, Wilfrid put a bag of rolls and other sweets on the counter for James to take with him. James got up from the table and went to the counter to pay the bill. He then led Farai, who had eaten every last crumb, outside giving him the bag of sweets for the other children at the orphanage.

They got into the car. James pulled away from the cafe while punching up a short message about the suspicious seller on the control panel communicator display. Noticing the text of the message, Farai smiled in surprise. James winked at the boy and sent the message to the nearest police station.

“It can’t hurt to check,” James said with a smile. “Now it’s time to share the sweets. Where do you live?”

Farai told James the address, and half an hour later they were in one of the most crowded immigrant quarters. Not surprised by the embittered reaction of the passing immigrants to the marked police car, James drove to the door indicated by Farai and opened the car door to let the child out. At the same time, a frightened-looking dark-skinned woman ran out of the house to meet them. Grabbing Farai, she spoke to him in her own language. But James could understand from her surprised brown eyes that she was asking about the policeman’s visit, the scratches on the boy’s face and the cafe bag. Deciding that the boy had been met by the mistress of the orphanage, James stood by and waited for her to make sure that the child was okay.

“Thank you!” Farai waved goodbye and ran into the house, but the woman remained standing.

“Thank you from me, too,” the woman said putting her hand on her heart.

James nodded, and then pulled out a notebook from his pocket, quickly wrote his name and some phone numbers before handing the paper to the woman.

“If you ever need any help, or if Farai gets into another fight, let me know. And don’t let him beg. I’m afraid it might end worse next time. The second number is a social service, maybe they will be interested in helping the orphanage and…”

The mistress of the orphanage smiled exhaustedly. James saw that she was grateful, although she did not want to say aloud that all hopes were in vain for social security amidst the war and the ill-will of citizens towards refugees and anyone who was not like the majority of the population. Realizing without any words what the mistress of the orphanage was smiling at, James looked down, gathered his courage and smiled goodbye. Then he sat down behind the wheel and drove on to return to his duty.

***

Upon taking the road, Raniero wondered why he had been called to the capital. There was not a word in the order about the reason, there was no hint of the possible fate that awaited him in the royal castle. Alistar was right, believing that someone could have written to both the General and King Raanan about his tough management style at the Thunder Fort. Raniero was not afraid to accept responsibility for his deeds and decisions as commander, but he feared that the possible stigma of shame would hurt his sister Lucia. Lucia lived an easy life as Queen Zaria’s first servant. And in no way possible did Raniero want to inflict trouble on her upon arriving home.

The Heart of Basileya had been his home for many years, until his military service began in the kingdom’s frontier forts. After Raniero left the capital, he realized that he was tied not to the city at all, but only to the Ena who had been awaiting his return. Lucia often flew to see her elder brother, asking the Queen for permission, and in so doing she had brightened up the troubled war days. But during the past few years, they had connected only by letters. Raniero forbade Lucia to fly to the southern border, not knowing what the future might bring given the rough situation with the warlike Arya. Therefore, thinking about the upcoming meeting with Lucia, he was in a hurry to reach the Heart of Basileya as soon as possible, despite the gathering twilight and his gathering anxiety.

The city lights soon appeared ahead, and Raniero stopped in the air, gently flapping his wings to study the landscape. It seemed like the Heart of Basileya consisted of bright twinkling stars, outshining those that glowed in the sky. The spyros shone all around, the light poured from the windows of houses and the magic charms lit up the Rainbow Garden nearest to the city gates. The gates reaching the clouds also sparkled, though not with gold like the city behind it, but with the silver of the protective charms cast by the first Rulers of Basileya hundreds of years ago. None of the Enas could penetrate into the Heart of Basileya through the city guard, guarding four high passages to the capital, as well as the sky above the city walls and the lower tiers of flying islands near the barrier.

Upon approaching the southern gate, Raniero landed by the guards and showed the royal order. The guards did not know who the traveller in dark camp clothes was, and only after they read through the letter did they glance at each other in surprise and stand at rigid attention, respectfully opening the passage to Raniero. Spreading his wings, Raniero moved on, flying close to the ground to admire the ever-beautiful capital. He remembered the city, but after such a long absence and his service at the Thunder Fort, everything along the way fascinated him anew. Like gold lace, spyros-paved roads sped away from the city gate to the cliffs, lost in the cloudy haze. Ena houses and streets were situated on hundreds of islands flying high and low in the air. Like flocks of birds, Enas were running their errands. One went from the huge, castle-like Central Square to the main indoor Emporium Market, another to the outskirts by the farms and pastures, and another went to rest just before falling asleep in the blossoming parks, connected by rivers that fell from step to step in dozens of sparkling waterfalls. The tall trees were dotted with golden autumn leaves, and some were overgrown in impenetrable forests where sometimes strange, and usually dangerous animals and birds could be seen.

Most of the islands were connected by hanging bridges and stone bridges, while others continually hung and changed their position in the sky, succumbing to the power of the magical wind or the attraction of the castle, to which all the lands around the fortress gravitated. Then a clear lake, which was once called the Crystal Lake, shone under Raniero, and somewhere in the distance flashed the golden dome of the Observatory, the place where the studies of the sky and distant stars began. Looking at the Observatory, Raniero saw the nearby Light Temple, which had crystal walls that seemed to shine even in bad weather.

But, despite the beauty of the Heart of Basileya that rose into his view, Raniero could not even for a moment forget about those places outside the capital where he spent most of his long life. His gaze went even further to the west, beyond the clouds, where the Dark Lands began. The borderlands had long turned into battlefields, and the dark force was often far behind, forcing the Enas to defend the borders that had become shaky. The Mist had always been there, as long as Raniero could himself remember, but never before was it so strong. Merchants from the Heart of Basileya who arrived at the Thunder Fort had said that even General Vitelius himself had to go to the Sunset Fort in the west to sort out the situation with the black beasts.

Perhaps, Lucia exhorted in her numerous letters for a good reason. Raniero knew that most of the time in the service he spent on the dangerous edge between life and death, often voluntarily in order to win a hard battle or to find out some necessary information. He was lucky. His experience accumulated over the years, but not every soldier who went to the kingdom’s border to battle the Mist and the Aryas could ever tell about it. Too many Enas disappeared outside the fortifications. And too many horrors emerged in the Mist’s trail of wreckage and debris through the marshes, which used to be blossoming forests and lakes no less beautiful than the Rainbow Garden or Crystal Lake protected by magic in the Heart of Basileya. There, outside, where the Light waned and melted, Enas often died in terrible agony, and the survivors reluctantly lost hope… That is why many soldiers like Raniero strongly doubted that after the last shining, their crystals became part of the Light, and not the dark that drove them gradually into a vice. It was hard to maintain an impeccable faith when the Mist was frozen in front of them all the time.

Thinking about how close the Mist had approached their settlements, Raniero was almost surprised by the light that lit up the airy-like walls of the royal castle. Landing in front of the fortress’s tall and heavy gate, Raniero again showed the order to the sentries.

“Welcome home, radiant one!” one of the guards greeted Raniero, returning the order to him. Waving at the guards on the other side of the gate, he led Raniero into the castle’s courtyard. “Nobody knew when you would arrive, so the radiant Lucia asked me to tell you that she would wait for you either in the garden or in her chambers.”

“Thank you,” Raniero smiled briefly with unexpected excitement as he stepped into the magically lit garden. There were often celebrations in the royal garden during the day, and in the evenings the castle inhabitants could walk, sing and dance here. By night, it was a rare Ena who stayed in the castle courtyard to gaze at the stars, so Raniero expected that his only company would be the bright fireflies. Raniero walked forward, admiring the well-groomed garden’s beauty, when he suddenly heard his sister’s voice. Lucia loved to rest among the flower beds and the tamed animals and birds. But this time she was not alone, and Raniero could not help but listen to the conversation.

“I have already told you why not,” she said in a courteous tone to someone who, despite the refusal, still insisted on his own view.

“Radiant one, that’s silly! Why do you give up any spark of sympathy?” an equally courteous, but more insistent male voice objected to her. Raniero squinted his eyes and took a confident step in the direction of the voices toward the tall sprawling oak tree in the centre of the garden. Noticing from a distance how a fragile-looking light blond Ena in a white tunic went around the tree followed by a persuasive suitor, Raniero shook his head and decided to intervene.

“Well, then I must repeat the sympathy spark will only shine when a brave man will fight my brother in a duel and defeat him in an honest battle,” said Lucia confidently, continuing to walk around the tree so that the admirer could not see her and could not catch up. “That was my agreement with him, and I’m not going to break it even for the sake of such a gifted bard as you, radiant one!”

“These difficulties are the thorny stalks on the way to happiness, you have brought them up with your own hands and only you can destroy them! Besides, to fly to the outpost for the sake of a duel… It’s… It’s…”

Talking nonsense and looking at the oak crown, as if he was looking in the gilded foliage for the right word to end his sentence, the stranger suddenly crashed into a barrier on his way, and that barrier was Raniero. Being head and shoulders above Lucia’s suitor, Raniero smiled contemptuously.

“You got lucky,” Raniero said coldly, throwing a camp bag on the grass. “I flew here myself.”

Hearing a familiar voice, Lucia ran around the oak tree and froze in place when she saw her elder brother.

“Nero!” she exclaimed, beaming with happiness.

The potential suitor could not share Lucia’s joy over her protector’s return. The bard, who had no skills besides the gift of eloquence, in a duel with an experienced warrior would not have landed a single blow. He vividly imagined it, and was frightened away.

“F-forgive me, radiant one!… Perhaps I should search for my sympathy spark in another p-place,” he mumbled awkwardly, hurrying away from the garden. Taking an unkind look at Lucia’s failed suitor, Raniero nearly fell from surprise.

“Nero! I missed you so much!” Lucia rushed to Raniero in flight and pressed firmly against him, wrapping them both up in her wings.

“Hello, Beam!” Raniero said with an awkward smile. He had become estranged from his shortened name, because only Lucia had ever called him “Nero,” which eventually became her honourable right and indestructible tradition. Finally realizing that he had really come home, Raniero quietly laughed and clasped his arms, circling Lucia in place.

Lucia did not want to let Raniero go and kissed him on the cheek, smiling at the sight of the brightly shining trace that appeared on his skin where he had been kissed.

“I missed you too,” Raniero said, staring at Lucia’s bright grey eyes, suddenly glistening with tears.

“Oh, no-o-o, don’t cry,” Raniero said already knowing why Lucia was upset.

“There are two new scars and one of them is deep!” Lucia protested, hanging in Raniero’s hug and puffing out her cheeks. “You don’t let the healers cure you during battle! I would not have asked for permission!”

“That’s why you’re the Queen’s servant, and not a frontline healer at the outpost,” Raniero said, smoothly lowering Lucia to the ground. “It’s easier for me to get a pair of wounds than to write to the deceased healer’s family that he rushed to his death in attempt to save my face from the scars…”

“But I have only you!” Lucia was still indignant. “You wouldn’t have to write!”

“And I have only you, so drop this silly idea,” Raniero said gently, but confidently, and kissed his sister on the forehead. His touch left a shining curly halo that suddenly appeared to crown Lucia’s head.

“Wouldn’t it be better to tell me why I was called to the capital?” Raniero asked trying to smile at ease, despite his excitement. “There were no explanations in the order for why I was removed from my post as commander…”