Raulin's Oath

Present Day

Arietta lay in her bed quietly, trying not to think of the loneliness that consumed her. A solitary tear streamed from her left eye, and she thought of her grown children and her grandchild, wondering if they were thinking about her. Pressure settled on her arm as Cooper laid his head down on her with a soft whimper.

“Guess it’s just you and me, kid.” She squeezed her eyes shut, the pain in her body still present, though she knew that she could tolerate it. She stroked Cooper’s boxy head, thinking of days gone by. She sat up, made her way to her nightstand, and opened the bottom drawer. The case was sitting in the same spot that it had occupied since the day that she and Joey had moved in. Then, she wasn’t sure why she felt the need to protect and keep this small gold coin, but she knew now. She carefully removed the coin from its case, the gold hue dulled by time.

“It’s been a long time, old friend,” she said into the velvety darkness, squeezing the coin in her hand and concentrating with a laser focus. “Palidonaya… please. Take me home.” Her voice was shaky and sad. “Palidonaya, please take me home,” she whispered. She felt her soul move; the heat in her hand was a welcome sign. She squeezed harder, a single thought echoing through her being, illuminated by the ethereal light. The smell hit her first, the sweet, fresh air. She opened her eyes, hesitant at first, and began to cry. The tall grass tickled her arms, and she dropped to her knees. It was… it was beautiful.

A powerful voice from behind startled her. “Why do you cry?”

“Who… who are you?” Arietta turned and a brown spotted horse with a long golden horn protruding from the center of her forehead stood looking at her.

“My name is Malachia. I am the Lead Mare of the Zeus herd. Who are you?” she questioned, and Arietta bowed her head.

“I am Arietta, but my friends call me Ari. Am I in Equus?” Ari said softly, and the horse tilted her head.

“Yes, we are in the land of Equus. Did you say that your name was Arietta? Our legends speak of a powerful warrior that is named Arietta.”

“I don’t look like much of a warrior, do I? You are of the herd Zeus. Do you know of a stallion named Dimitri? He was the leader of the herd that was left outside of Waterhaven.” Arietta trailed off.

“Dimitri was the legendary king that led Zeus to take back the homelands that had been stripped from us. He was laid to rest last winter, I’m afraid. He knew it was his time, and took the eternal sleep. It was peaceful and dignified.”

Arietta searched her mind for the traditional saying that they used. “May his legs run strong, and may he be one with the wind.”

Malachia nodded gratefully at the words, a small part of her flattered that Arietta had remembered such a special part of their culture.

“Are you alright, Arietta?”

“I cry tears of happiness for my return to Palidonaya. I have felt so alone the past few years. My only true companion is my dog, Cooper.” Arietta took a tentative step towards Malachia, suddenly wanting to verify that she was indeed real. Arietta stumbled with a groan, grabbing her hip as pain shot through her leg.

Malachia strode forward and touched her golden horn to Arietta’s hip, the warmth enveloping her lower body. The pain dissipated. She stood and hugged the mighty mare.

“Malachia, I am not from this realm. I have not been to Palidonaya for years, and I have just begun to remember my travels here from my childhood. There have been people that I believe are from Palidonaya in my world asking me to give them a weapon.”

“Are you certain that they are from Palidonaya?”

Arietta cocked her head slightly as she considered the question. “I really don’t know for sure. These people know me by name, though I have never seen them before. They have the emerald green eyes of the King of Draconis.”

“There is one who may be able to help you. The Lady of the Black Hallows deals in the mystic. She leads the order of the Black Robes, and if the king is sending emissaries to your world, she would know.”

“Where would I find the Lady of the Black Hallows?”

Malachia lowered her head. “She resides as far south as you can travel. That is all I know.”

Arietta thanked Malachia, then vanished from her sight, only to awake in her bed the next morning with Cooper’s heavy head resting on her left hip. A hip that no longer ached.

***

1972

“Jerry?” Arietta approached his bed, eyebrows drawn together. Jerry opened his eyes, and even such a small action seemed difficult.

“Ari, what are you doing here?” He appeared to be upset, yet also relieved. “You really shouldn’t be seeing me like this.”

She sat carefully on the side of his bed, grabbing his hand. “I knew it was bad; I didn’t realize it would be this bad, though.” She felt sick. He was a skeleton, all the healthy fat he had melted away to expose bones. She could count his ribs through his hospital gown. His hair was gone and his face was gaunt, eyes and cheeks sunken in. He looked like the shell of a person.

“I never wanted you to see this, see me so broken.” He closed his eyes, shaking his head. She brought his hand to her lips, kissing it lightly to comfort him.

“It’s alright, Jerry. You are my friend, and we will fight together no matter what we are facing. I brought you flowers to brighten the room,” she said quietly, hating the smell of alcohol that the hospital seemed to be bathed in.

“Thanks--”

His mother interrupted him before he could get anything else out. “I’ll give you kids some alone time. I’m going down to the cafeteria; do you want anything?” Both Arietta and Jerry shook their heads.

“You look beautiful, just as beautiful as you do in Palidonaya,” he said quietly. No flirtatious tone, just truth.

“Thanks, Jerry, I-”

“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to make the whole journey, but I’ll stick around as long as I can, got it?” He squeezed her hand, and she felt like crying.

“Don’t say that. You are going to be fine, you hear me? After this is over, you’ll be fine. I promise,” she said weakly.

“Don’t make promises we both know you can’t keep.” His voice was soft, and that was when she began to cry. He reached a tired arm up to her face, swiping away the tears that dappled it. Then, at that moment, the pull told them that it was time to return.

“Jerry, I have to return to my room so that I can use my coin. Is there anything that you need before I leave?” Arietta stood, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

“I just need the blinds closed so that Mom doesn’t try to wake me up.”

Arietta quietly and quickly closed the blinds and darted off to her room and toward Palidonaya.

Arietta lay down in her bed with her coin in hand. She couldn’t stop the flood of tears as her mind kept returning to Jerry and what he had said. “I’ll stick around as long as I can, got it.”

He looked much worse than any other time she had seen him. Together, they would find a way to heal him, they had to. She squeezed her eyes tight and began the process that would rocket her through time and space to Palidonaya.

She was still crying when she crossed over, and while she was upset, she was relieved that Jerry was restored on the other side. He wrapped a tentative arm around her, pulling her to his chest, and she cried harder. Through her tears, she punched him, swift and hard.

“You jerk, don’t say stuff like that.” Her voice came out wet and nasally. Nova looked back and forth between the pair, one eyebrow quirked. Jerry turned to her and shrugged.

Jerry quipped, “Oh, cut it out, Nova. I know what you’re thinking: yes, I am a jerk and deserved that.”

Arkas surveyed the two, wondering what had Arietta in tears. Then, he stepped aside, and to their surprise, Gustoff stood in all of his glory.

“Ari.” He tapped on her shoulder, trying to get her to turn around. “Ari,” he insisted, finally getting her to look over her shoulder. She gasped, immediately detaching herself from the boy.

“Grandpa.” She fought the urge to weep once more. She took careful steps and wrapped her arms gently around Gustoff. It was Gustoff’s turn to begin crying, and he squeezed her tightly.

“I missed you, dear. I missed you so much.” Her shoulders were shaking with quiet tears, and Gustoff pulled her away from him to see her face. “You look so… different.” His voice broke.

“I missed you so much, Grandpa Gus. I wanted to save you, but we couldn’t return. When we finally made it back, we were with Arkas in the Great Beyond. He took us to see Horace.” She was swiftly interrupted as Gustoff inhaled sharply.

“You saw the Record Keeper? What information did you find?”

“We asked him how to kill a dragon,” she replied.

“Is there… is there any hope of defeating King Lucius?” He was quiet, sorrowful even, afraid to keep the flame that was his hope burning.

“Grandpa, there is always hope. We have a chance, and I know that we will defeat him.”