“It’s been three days, and I haven’t been able to do anything productive.” David says in frustration.
“You’ve seen distracted, like you are struggling with something in your heart. Magic takes focus, you need to focus… the entire population of Meego is depending on you.” Crimson responds.
“I’m trying! I just have a lot on my mind okay.”
“Your aggravation isn’t going to help your focus at all.”
“I’m sorry, we have been at this for days with hardly any breaks. How many hours have we been going in this session?”
“I’ve been in this cave for a thousand years; I don’t think I am the best judge of time.”
“I guess not. I’m just tired.”
“It’s more than that. You’re so conflicted. You are at war within yourself. Go, rest… I have a spell that I need to work on for you, it will help you focus. Spend the night in your camp and return to me at daylight.”
“Okay.” David replies as he leaves the cave.
Once out of the cave, he goes to his tent where Ser Stephan is waiting for him.
Aero sent David on this mission with Stephan alone to help protect Crimson. Only a handful of people in the entire Kingdom know where to find him. Secrecy is key so they did not get the usual troop detachment to follow them.
“That beast is difficult to work with! I don’t know why Aero likes him so much.” David says in frustration.
“So it’s still not going well?” Stephan replies.
“Not at all. He claims I am too conflicted to focus on the magic, yet he insists that I am the best man to try because of my blood. He claims he is making some potion for me to make me whole or something.”
“Do you think he means us?” Stephan asks as he embraces David.
“No, that may have been true a couple weeks ago, but since Asna’s decree I have felt the weight of the world being lifted off my shoulders. Knowing I don’t have to hide from people has brought me peace, I don’t know what that foul beast is thinking.”
“Then what could the potion be for?”
“I don’t know, for Meego I will do my best; but I think the beast is losing his mind. Been in the cave too long.”
“Give him a chance, he helped set so much of the last year into motion with Aero. If it wasn’t for him, we would still be sneaking around behind everyone’s back.”
“So you trust him?” David asks.
“I trust Aero, and the King trust Crimson… That just works out in my mind.”
“We shall see. Let’s lay down, my mind needs rest.”
David and Stephan lay down for the night, after a few minutes of intimacy, Stephan falls fast asleep. David on the other hand allows his anxiety to keep him up most of the night. What is Crimson planning?
Stephan wakes David at daybreak. Just as the other mornings, Stephan accompanies David into the cave to meet Crimson.
Upon arriving inside Crimson is waiting on them.
“Ser Stephan, I apologize for not speaking with you more. I have been focused on the task with Meego, but I hope you will sit down with me to talk when you return. You are one of the great influences on Aero’s life. Right now, you must go break down your camp because you two need to return to the Capital before dark.”
Ser Stephan nods and exits the cave to make the preparations.
“Prince David, thank you for your patience with me. I know that my conversation skills are lacking after all this solitude. I just want you to know that I appreciate your tolerance of me during these past days.”
“I understand, we both want to help Meego. I also know that it must be so exasperating working with someone who can’t do what you ask.”
“There was a time that I would have sensed your imbalance sooner and could have helped you, but I am sadly out of practice. Do not take the burden of this on yourself, I should have seen this sooner.”
“What about the potion?”
“Yes, Prince David… I give you this potion for you to take with you back to the Capital. At dusk, you will drink it. This potion will put you in balance for one week, during that time you must make efforts to maintain your balance. This has had many different outcomes; I wish I could tell you more, but I can’t. You must go on this journey without me. On the seventh day, you will return to me.”
“I don’t understand, why can’t I do this here?”
“You need to be in your home and experience your daily life in balance to make an educated decision about your future. This is an awakening, whatever happens you may not understand or even realize that the change is what you needed. But you need to live life for the next week as normal as possible because your entire life will change in an instant. I will be here at the end of the week to assist you in whatever decision you make.”
“If this will balance me, why will I need to make a decision?” David asks.
“You are conflicted, this potion will balance you but not as you think. You are one side of the coin but feel like you belong on the other. This potion will give you a glimpse of that side of the coin, but at the end of the week you will decide on what side of the coin you must live.”
“I don’t understand, I have balance. The Queen gave me the legal balance I needed.”
“Perhaps deep inside of you, there is something more. Another side of the coin you have never fully admitted that you desired. You will know in one week.”
“I will do what I must, for Meego, for Aero, for everyone.”
“I know you will, you have a true heart for the people, but I must warn you… this decision must be for you and you alone. Making a decision for anyone else will prevent the balance you need. Live this week as if it were any other, then make a wise decision for yourself.”
With that Crimson walks out of the room into the depths of the cave.
For a few moments David stands in the cave with potion in hand. Unsure of what tomorrow holds for him.
Ser Stephan gets them back to the Capital in the late afternoon. Aero and Asna were surprised to see them. Aero had a lot of questions about Crimson, Asna had a lot about Meego. Both were disappointed with the cryptic words that Crimson left with David.
In the evening, Aero and Asna has a private dinner for the four of them. Aero encourages David to drink the potion before them. He reluctantly does so. To everyone’s disappointment, nothing happened. The thought of seeing magic in action is still taboo to everyone.
Later, David lies in bed with Ser Stephan unsure of what to expect. With every passing moment, he waits for a change. It’s very overwhelming for him, expecting some kind of change but not knowing what it will be.
Sometime in the early morning hours, David finally drifts off to sleep.
“What the Hell!” Ser Stephan screams.
His screams wake David up.
“Who are you?” Stephan screams.
“It’s me.” David says. His voice didn’t sound right.
Stephan looks absolutely shocked and horrified at David.
Frantic, David jumps up to stand in front of the mirror.
What has happened to him that has frightened Stephan so much? Did Crimson turn him into a monster too? David grabs random things off his desk throwing them aside looking for his mirror.
The screams alerted the guards who begin breaking into David’s room. The castle guard have been on edge since the assassination attempt. The Bellumi guard break the door as David finds the mirror.
Stephan holds his hand up to stop the guards, who turn to David and look on as he brings the mirror to his face.
David’s heart seems to stop, the color from around his face fades as he gazes upon himself.
“I’m a… woman.” David says in astonishment.
The potion has balanced David. He has never felt comfortable in his own skin but never would allow those feelings to rise to the surface. The magic has changed him everything.
David feels his face, and lips. His skin is softer.
He lowers his hands to his new female body, feeling his breast and hips before finally reaching between his legs to find that he is fully female now.
David turns to Stephan with a look of confusion. David and Stephan just stare in disbelief. They do so until Aero bursts into the room. A guard ran to notify him of the commotion.
Aero joins in the uncomfortable stare.
A couple of minutes pass until Asna, and Roasa enter the room. Roasa looks at Aero and Stephan with their dumbfounded looks. “Really? Men can be so ignorant sometime.”
Asna allows herself to break a smile for the briefest of moments before her and Roasa approach David and hug him. They seem to have more compassion and understanding for David than the men do.
In their arms, David begins to weep.
“I’ve tried hiding this down in the bottom of my heart my whole life. I never thought anyone would ever find out.” David tells them.
Roasa looks back at the men, who still have the look of utter shock upon their faces. “David let’s go to my room to talk. The three of us can have breakfast in there and let you talk us through this. We will help you. Maybe Aero and Stephan need to meet up with Matthew at Maverick’s for an ale.”
“But it’s so early.” David replies.
“Yes, but they need it.”
Aero looks at Stephan and gives him a nod that gets Stephan to move towards the door.
A few hours later, David enters Maverick’s with Queen Asna and Roasa. They had been busy these last few hours. While the men drank away their confusion, the women had dressed David in one of Roasa’s dresses and done his hair.
“Stephan, can we talk?” David asks.
Stephan has been drinking heavily over these past few hours. Aero drank with him but was trying to pace him. Aero was unsuccessful. Surprisingly, Matthew has not drank a single cup.
Stephan agrees and they walk over to a corner table to be alone.
Roasa approaches the bar and asks for a cup of ale. Even though the place is a fraternity exclusive to the knights of the kingdom, Matthew pours her a drink. She sits next to Aero on his right, while Asna sits on a stool on the other side of him. They both spend a few minutes checking on Aero.
Across the room, David tries to explain himself.
“I’m sorry for this, but this has been my most secret dream. I’ve never felt like I was in the right body.”
“So, you’re going to stay this way? You’re beautiful, but I’ve never been attracted to women. You know that.”
“I know… I’m not sure what’s going to happen over this week, but I have to make a decision at the end of the week. For Meego to be free, I have to make a decision that gives me balance.”
“Don’t give me that ‘needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few bullshit!’ I love you, David! Not whatever this is…” Stephan replies in anger.
“I know, and I am sorry. I didn’t ask for this either, but it’s a journey I have to take. I want you to take it with me.” David says as tears form in his eyes.
“How can I? You’re not even you anymore!”
“I am me; my body has changed… Not me. Please understand this. I am David, and I love you!”
“I don’t see it; you have long hair. You have breast and a vagina. You are a woman. Everything about you is different. Even your eyes. If I could see into your eyes and know you’re in there, maybe I could do this. But when I look at you all I see is a strange woman. You may have my David’s memories, but you aren’t him!” Stephan says as tears form in the knight’s eyes.
“Do you mean it? Or is this the ale talking?”
Stephan takes a pause. He tries to find the answer to that question but can’t focus.
“I don’t know, I’m too drunk to answer that. I need to lay down.”
“Let’s go to bed and discuss it tomorrow. Just promise me that. No more talking today.”
Stephan agrees and they set out to leave. As they pass the bar, Aero grabs David and hugs his brother and whispers in his ear.
“Whatever makes you happy.”
The others take turns hugging Stephan and David. Everyone knows that this week will be a very difficult one for both of them.
After Stephan and David leaves, Matthew pulls out two more glasses. He tops off Aero and Roasa’s while filling two for him and the Queen.
They all look at one another and grab the glasses.
Asna says “Maybe one.”
They all drink.
Relics of the Old Age 