The Climb

[MDSVeritas 299]

(This is a short story piece I have been formulating for a while, under a prompt of a scene two characters having a conversation. I ended up developing a pretty complex world and cast for it, but in the meantime, here's the original piece I just finished.)

 

 

The Climb

 

“Gah!” The armored young man jerked his head to the side in a spasm of pain as he yelled, a cloud of crisp, frigid breath bursting forth with the words.

 

“Would you hold still? We’re almost finished the primary nerves, stop being such a child about this.” The boy beside him wore several layers of thick pelt cloaks, but shivered as he tinkered with the metallic object fastened to the armored man’s shoulder.

 

“You know something? Your bedside manner is truly appalling.” The man spoke with an edge of humor, but he gritted his teeth a moment later as the next major nerve connected.

 

“Not used to this treatment back the palace, o’ lordly prince?” There was no humor in the boy’s voice; no joke hidden away behind his words. He didn’t even glance up from his work.

 

“This isn’t a bedside anyway.” The boy spoke again after a pause; his teeth lightly chattering as he struggled to keep them still. The little fire nearby seemed forgetful of its duties, and little warmth seemed to the reach the two; the armored prince sitting with his eyes fixed on the stars, and the boy crouched to his side, with metallic pieces strewn about on the large cut of cloth that sat between them and the snow on the ground. The summit taunted both of of them some distance away; in sight, out of reach.

 

The prince had reconciled himself with going through this ordeal every few weeks, but even still the boy’s maintenance caused him far more pain than he was used to during repairs. She, on the other hand, would wait to connect the nerves until she had whittled down to strings smaller than a single strand of her hair. It would take time as she condensed the energy, but she and the prince were never without something to talk or laugh about, and she was quick about connecting the nerves when it came time.

 

“Agh! Sheesh, kid, c’mon! Warn me before you set them!” At least that was always consistent between the two; connecting his shoulder to his contraption still hurt like hell every time.

 

“Move it.” The kid commanded in the quiet way he always did.

 

“W-what was that?” The prince was still dazed by the pain.

 

“Move your fingers! I wanna be sure it works before I put everything back together.”

 

The prince did as he was ordered, watching as the hauntingly skeletal-looking metallic fingers shifted and bent as he willed them as if they were part of his own hand.

 

“Good.” The kid didn’t seem happy about it, but he nonetheless started placing the armored pieces over the metallic limb fastened to the prince’s arm.

 

“So, explain again why we’re climbing this mountain in the middle of winter without any of your lackeys.” The kid once again didn’t shift his gaze an inch from his work. The prince was beginning the think the kid just didn’t like to look him in the eye. He couldn’t blame the boy either.

 

“Climbing Gedran Peaks is the trial to prove ones worth to Eidolen Council.” The prince stared at the ground's thick white mask as he spoke- it looked jagged and hateful- it was more ice up here than snow. “They dictate the prophecies the Westerlands hinge on. If I can prove myself and convince them that our cause for re-unification is just then we will gain a powerful ally in bringing the Westerlands back into the fold. Unfortunately it is tradition that those who entreat them make the climb alone to light the signal fire atop the summit.” He scratched at his forming beard with the hand he had left. Three days of climbing was beginning to show.

 

“Ah of course.” The boy's voice showed no hint of the interest his words did. “Alone; unless of course you're crippled, and then the rules must dictate you get to bring the designated repair lackey.”

 

“Daven...” The prince tried to speak as a man might to his younger brother, but the hesitance of unfamiliarity stilted his attempt and his try at sympathy came out awkward and forced. In court the prince may have looked every bit the young girl's fantasy- short cropped hair the color of sanded wood with light hazel eyes. Here, where his hair was outgrown and jaggedly iced down to his scruffy beard and his eyes reflected nothing but merciless white; here he looked like no hero of prophecy or even royalty. He was so unlike what Daven had imagined the first time she told him about the prince.

 

“I'm gonna go save royalty!” She had proclaimed proudly with her knowingly devious smirk she wore so often. Daven had just looked up at her from his book with confusion etched across his face. Then she'd sighed that smiling sigh she did so well and explained everything she'd just read about the Great Exile Prince Ryladus Ividum.

 

“So yeah, Mister Great Exile Prince Ryladus apparently got his whole arm cut off when fighting the for reformation of our great country from the mavolave-” She checked the scrap of paper in her hand. “-malevolent- forces of evil and now seeks any aid that can be supplied to him so his quest for the great reunification of our land may continue.”

 

“Kae....” Daven had spoken with the cautious hesitancy that defined much of his side of their relationship.

 

“No no no, don't you 'Kae' me.” She had interrupted before darting around his room, opening cabinets and doors. “Yep, don't see anybody else who can use essence streams to make working prostheses, do you? Mom developed it, right? And it's not like there's anyone she taught it to, besides us.” She had moved over toward him and pulled over a chair.

 

“Daven, we can use it. Why have it if we aren't helping people with it?” Her voice was softened at that point; gentle. She had brought up their mother and that always sobered her speech.“Daven, we can change the world.”

 

“And this prince.” Daven was looking at the words on the pages before him, but he was no longer reading. “How do you know he's going to help people? Huh? Do you know he's gonna change the world the way you want? You can't possibly know that from a stupid poster.”

 

Kaelyn stood up and took a step away from him, facing a dusty picture on the wall of two smiling children- a boy and a girl- and their proud-looking parents.

 

“I can't know either way unless I try, Daven.” After a pause she whirled back to face him. “And hey, worst comes to worst, I don't like him and I come right back, it'll be fine!”

 

A sharp gust swept through their encampment and Daven paused to tighten his coat before moving back to his work. The silence was devoured by the howling winds.

 

“Daven... we can talk about Kaelyn if you-”

 

“Stop.”

 

Even the wind was still for a few moments.

 

“Just... stop. Don't... don't talk about her. I don't want to talk about her.”

 

Ryladus fought for words as his beard slowly continued to freeze. Daven had been like this since the moment he made it to their host. Reclusive. Angry.

 

Scared.

 

“Daven, you can't just try to push her out of your mind like this,” Ry spoke softly as he began, trying not to anger his engineer. “I know it must hurt but-”

 

“You...” Daven's arms dropped from finishing the work on Ryladus's arm, and he turned his face toward the prince, eyes brimmed with tears and focused hate.

 

“You don't get to say a damn thing about how much it hurts, okay? Not you! Not the son of a bitch who killed her!”

 

Ryladus fumbled with the words for his reply, but tried to be confident in his refuation.“She decided to come with me. I know you're angry, and I know you blame me, but she chose to come with me, alright? For god's sake, Daven, I cared about her too, she was my best friend-”

 

“She was my sister, damn it!” Daven's tears refused to hold any longer. “My family. My only family, and you took her away to die for some god-forsaken cause!” As they fell softly from his face, the tears seemed the only thing hot enough to melt the snow.

 

The silence was pervasive then; all encompassing.

 

“Why did you come?” Ryladus spoke softly, but his voice sustained a critical edge to it.

 

Daven said nothing.

 

“Honestly; why? I sent that request because my advisers suggested it was worth a try. Better than losing control of my arm. I didn't expect a single thing from it. Yet here you are, hating me every step of the way. Why did you come Daven, honestly?”

 

“I...” Daven moved his hands back to finishing the work on the hand as his brow furrowed in thought. His eyes still looked torn and red.

 

“There was nothing left in that home; that town. We had mom, then I had her. I... now there's nothing there I have. I don't know what I'm supposed to find here either.” His voice was little more than a frightened whisper; scared not of the mountain, or Ryladus, but perhaps even scared of just how weak it was itself.

 

Ryladus grinned one of his cheery smirks, but most of his facial muscles felt frozen. “You sure you didn't come due to my excellent charm and great inspirational hopefulness?”

 

Daven gave him a sharp-edged glance that clearly meant a “No.”

 

The remnants of the smile Ryladus had managed fell away. “I don't blame you. I don't even believe in those things. I don't know why I'm the only one with the name and the family history to do all this.” He sighed. Daven had never heard him sigh. “I wish I wasn't. I don't even think I quite believe in myself.”

 

Without a word Daven closed the last panel on Ryladus's mechanical arm and finished fastening the last piece. He tugged his furs closer and grabbed his bag, kicking snowy oblivion on the ashy remains of the fire. He breathed deeply, and he felt the wet trails down his cheeks began to freeze. Finally he turned to Ryladus.

 

“I don't know what you can do. I don't know if you're even worth helping. But you know what, you've got two working arms, don't you? You can still fight for what you want. So stop being so depressed and worthless. Be the pompous optimistic idiot Kae told me you were. Either way, you better believe in yourself, because Kae did, and no matter what I think of you, I'm not going to believe she was wrong.”

 

Ryladus nodded and slowly pushed himself up.

 

And they started climbing.

Edited April 15, 2014 by MDSVeritas