Canto 16 A Prelude To Remember

Chiron invited the three to dinner after a brief tour of the Shen-la-Ra. They accepted but told him they couldn’t linger as they were looking for Keisha’s mamma. He dropped them off at a cozy inn for them to rest for the duration of their stay.

“I shall let the cooks know to prepare the feast right away. Please, you three can make yourself comfortable in the meantime. The town is open to all who give respect to Shen-la-Ra, regardless of anyone’s past or relations.” The last part of his sentence was spoken directly to Keisha, and he dipped his head in a bow.

“And if you wish for a tour of the Villa, Nessus will be happy to show you around.”

Gesturing his arm to the goldilocks-haired Centaur, Celra jumped in response. “I would, uh, love a tour. If that’s alright with you?”

Nessus sheepishly grinned, his cheeks equally red. “It would be a pleasure.” He held out his hand to hoist her on his back.

Verona gave the She-wolf a sly cat-grin. “I’m going to enjoy teasing you when you get back.”

Keisha elbowed Verona.

Chiron stretched his arm out for the girls to enter the inn first. The inside of the inn’s fifteen-foot high ceiling was large enough to fit the half-horse bodies. Everything in the inn was three times their size and reminded Keisha of the Roman architecture of Renaissance Italy that she had seen in books from her papá’s library.

The beech wood walls were painted a dull yellow. A fireplace was centered off to the side, a wood table with a white cloth draped over it, with a basket of treats on top.

Keisha was in awe of the beauty of the inn and grazed her fingers along the giant fireplace.

“What do we have here, Chiron?”

Keisha turned to see an older Centaur woman behind the desk. She was a plump woman with beautiful brown curls that ran past her shoulders. Her eyes surveyed Keisha and Verona with a tender, motherly smile.

“It’s short notice, Rosetta, but we’ve got two Legacies here—Verona Maro and Keisha Alighieri—the She-Wolf Celra Lucca is with Nessus giving her a tour around the villa.”

“Maro and Alighieri, you say?” Keisha tensed as Rosetta clopped from around the desk she’d been behind and over to her. “Been a while since I heard those names around.”

Keisha swallowed the lump in her throat. Fortunately, Verona spoke in her stead, “Yes, we’re sorry for the random occurrence. Unfortunately, we needed to pass through here because the Black Hand had taken Keisha’s mamma, Bea.”

There was recognition in Rosetta’s eyes.

“You know my mamma?”

“Personally, no. But Dante spoke of a beautiful Earthborne woman he had saved when a Demi had escaped through a veil. He said she put up a fight against the creature, surprisingly, and even stranger that she could see it and him.”

Rosetta chuckled. “But I’m talking too much. That was so many years—”

“I wouldn’t mind hearing how my parents met.”

Rosetta smiled and nodded, causing a huge grin to appear on Keisha’s face.

“I shall leave these two in your hands.” Chiron bowed. “I’ll let you know when dinner is finished.”

Chiron left out of the doorway—leaving the three of them in the living room. Keisha climbed on the high cushioned sofa over by the fireplace.

“You wanna sit, Verona? Maybe Uncle Virgil is in one of these stories.”

Verona’s posture stiffened before relaxing after. She simply shook her head, and her lip pulled into a tight smile.

“I’m going to retire for the night. Besides, it sounds like a love story to me. I’m more into action and adventure.”

“In that case, dear,” Rosetta said and pointed to the stairs. “There’s an empty room upstairs, first door on the right.”

Verona nodded in thanks. She climbed up the steps, leaving Keisha and Rosetta.

“Now where was I…,” Rosetta trailed off her thoughts. She sat her rear on the large sofa opposite Keisha.

Keisha folded her hands together, leaning. “My papá saved mamma.”

“Ah, yes, the ‘fated encounter,’ as he called it. He recalled she had spunk and fire in her. There was an undeniable attraction. But, at first, he didn’t think she felt it, and they didn’t see one another after that until some months later by pure coincidence. Dante had been stressed with being a Shikari. He had marital problems—with Gemma, his first wife—I know little except, they had been arranged at a young age and Bea, too, had her stresses.”

“What kind of stress?” Keisha wondered. She had never known her mother to be stressed out, and even when she was, she’d take them head-on with a smile. She used to say, ‘stress is like a weapon, dangerous if not handled carefully.’

Rosetta pursed her lips and shook her head. “He never said, no. But they met every day after that. Of course, he would continue his duties as a Shikari, but I could see—like Chiron—there was a change in him, a good one. Gone was the young man stressed with the responsibilities cast upon him, and behold a young man who found something on his own, not thrust upon him.”

“And some time went by, and he left. Was that the last time you saw him?” Keisha questioned.

“I suppose it was the day before he left. He spoke with Chiron, myself, and his mentor, who said he wouldn’t be coming back. He didn’t tell us exactly, but we both knew it was to protect us from being questioned by the Monarchs. But I knew he was happy. It was written on his face, and it was good to know that he had chosen himself for once.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Even hearing the short tale made Keisha even closer to her parents, her papá, and how fate and chance played a part in her parents' meeting.

She was so overjoyed that tears blurred her eyes. The tears continued until she was weeping. No longer were they tears of happiness but sadness. Keisha missed her mamma kissing her forehead and tucking her in at night. She missed her papá, remembering their trips to the art museum and their games of chess.

She hadn’t realized the large warmth of Rosetta’s arms around her tiny frame, pulling her close, and Keisha wept into her side. Tears streaked her cheeks, her throat burned, and snot ran out her nose.

“Let it all out, don’t bottle it in,” Rosetta cooed to Keisha in a soft voice. Her hand gently stroked the top of Keisha’s head. Which made her cry harder, thinking about her mamma how she was trapped in the Illicit, somewhere, and her papá was lost.

And for once, Keisha wasn’t hopeful or even confident. She was terrified. It was a different feeling that weighed on her shoulders that she couldn’t understand. The same weight that had been cast on her father so many years ago. He had been unhappy for a long time until he met her mother.

Would she be the same? No. She was sad, yes, and like her mother would say, it was okay to be sad and cry for however long you needed it, but after, take a deep breath, be kind to yourself, and get back on your feet.

***

Everyone in the entire Villa came in attendance to the feast in colorful attire. The Centaur women wore embroidered bodices over light-weight blouses, and the Centaur men wore embroidered vests with metal buttons. Their horsetails were braided with a colorful string that was woven around the intricate layers of hair.

Keisha, Verona, and Celra were given blouses. They were green and off-the-shoulder with various stitching around the neckline of the shirt. The different mixes of brightly, beautiful clothing around the room were like a rainbow that danced to the jubilant music that played throughout the Festival Hall.

The smell of pasta wafted through the area as plates of different portions of pasta, egg dishes, steak, and meat dishes were layered on the long, white rectangular table. Keisha recognized a few dishes, like Lasagna, her mother used to make and piled her plate with other foods that looked and smelled of different herbs, spices, and meats.

It wasn’t until mid-way toward the festival did a guard barge through the double doors of the Hall. His expression frantic as his eyes boggled out of their sockets did he call out, “Incoming Shades from the South West!” The high energy from the music halted, and the Centaur’s gathered together, the remaining folks left toward the back to hide in retreat.

“We should help too,” Keisha said. The Centaur’s had given much to them by offering them a place to sleep and eat. Verona and Celra nodded, agreeing with her.

Celra shifted in her She-Wolf form as the seams of her blouse ripped. Her lips formed into fangs as her body expanded.

Verona and Keisha called out their Stanza’s and transformed into their armor forms, the base of their Stanzas in their hands. They stood with the Centaur’s and charged into the streets.

In the distance coming from the City of Dis, ghostly black apparitions of Shades floated across the River and into the villa. The Centaur’s charged with blazing glory with their weapons held high and attacked the Shades.

Verona, Keisha, and Celra fell in step behind them. Brandishing their weapons and claws as they took down the Shades that circled the area. The apparitions of Shades dispersed in shadowy mist once they were hit.

Verona and Keisha stood back to back as Shades surrounded them. They did not expect Chiron to charge with a bellowed cry and rammed them with his shield. They continued to blast the ghostly creatures with blinding light as they dispersed one by one in a shadowy mist.

Keisha called forth the power of her Stanza and ignited a verse as a hoard of Shades surrounded a few Centaur’s:

“Colpo gelido!” A barrage of icicles shot out from the power of the Circuit Gems and to the surrounding Shades. They evaporated on contact.

The fight continued as everyone drove back the Shades that were taking over the villa. Once the last Shade evaporated, the Centaur’s celebrated in victory, but they were cut short when the ground shook underneath them.

Charging from a distance, a thick bellow of dust was coming toward them. With all the Demi’s and Shades acting wild throughout the Inferno, it was no surprise it would attract even further dangerous creatures. A Minotaur headed toward them carrying a gigantic ax, and its eyes were blazing red with fury.

“Everyone, come together!” Chiron shouted for the Centaur’s to take their place in a single row.

Verona and Keisha were at the ready.

The Minotaur eyed them. Its nose blew out smoke, and the huge dangling hoop in its nose moved. Its hands gripped onto the base of the ax, and its hoof pounded into the earth as it charged.

The Centaur’s sprung at it with their weapons drawn. Many of the Centaur’s fell back as they avoided the Minotaur’s ax swing.

Verona dodged out of the way as the ax fell. She called upon a Demi to aid her into battle. The Wytchsprite blinded the Minotaur with its attack, but to no avail, it wouldn’t let up.

Celra came from behind the Minotaur and jumped on its back. She bit down into the Minotaur’s neck, and the creature roared in pain before dropping its ax. Keisha had been below the Centaur’s feet before Verona sent a blue shield barrier around her with a call of the Verse barrier di Protezione.

“Phew, that was a close one,” Keisha said, thanking Verona for the quick save.

“Let’s try and stay in one piece, yeah?” Verona grinned.

The Minotaur grabbed Celra and flung her to the side. Her wolf body flew in the air.

“Celra!” Keisha cried out. Nessus raced toward the sailing Celra and grabbed her before she collided into anything and was safely in his arms.

Keisha released a breath of air and turned to the Minotaur. The Centaur’s that were fighting against the Minotaur were tired, but they weren’t giving in.

“There needs to be some way to take out the Minotaur before everyone collapses from exhaustion.”

“Easier said than done. You have anything in mind?” Verona asked, firing off at the Minotaur with ice shots from getting closer to any homes.

Keisha pursed her lips together and looked around her surroundings. It wasn’t until she spotted a tree over in the corner did she shout back at Verona, “Distract the Minotaur!” she turned and scaled the side of the tree.

Keisha climbed the tree's surface until she made it to the highest part of the branch. She watched as Verona kept the Minotaur busy with the Demi at her aid.

But they wouldn’t have long before the Minotaur barged through the villa and destroyed everything.

Keisha took a deep breath and exhaled, relaxing, despite the commotion that was around her. She needed to if she was going to save her friends that lived here. They had been kind to her, and they hadn’t looked at her, or her papá, wrongly. They had given her a chance without assuming she would be a traitor, and they still held her papá in high regard.

Taking deep breaths and focusing on the goal at hand: take down the Minotaur and save everyone.

A tranquil feeling settled in the middle of her gut. It was a distinct sensation from what she had experienced with Malia. This was different magic that ran deeper in her body and settled in her soul.

Her eyes opened, revealing bright white.

Keisha stood from her sitting position. In a brilliance of white light, a pole-arm appeared in her hand. Keisha bent her arm back as far as the spear could go, and it flew through the air, traveling at light speed velocity, and found its mark into the Minotaur’s shoulder blade.

It roared in anger, and the Minotaur retreated and traveled back to the City of Dis where the others had gone.

There were cheers and celebratory praise that made Keisha look down. She waved down to the Centaur’s and smiled.

Until a pulsating pain traveled up the length of her neck, she flinched. Then, grabbing the base of her neck, she could feel the Slavey Brand burn with intensity.

Did Monarch Elravera sense her using her Legacy powers and thought she was getting out of control?

She wasn’t sure.

But the most important question, she thought, as she stared at her hands was: what kind of power had she possessed that felt different, and drained her considerably, then the powers she had as a Legacy?