NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10: Mirror
Vorden headed back to the elevator and up to the 3rd floor. As the elevator doors slid open with a ding, he walked out into the central lobby for this floor. There was a beautiful fountain just ahead of him and panoramic windows offering scenic views of the estate. He was in no hurry as the day was far from over. Vorden decided to step out into the balcony. He hadn't yet been outside with his new body. He longed for the cool fresh air to fill his lungs, since his chest had felt heavy ever since he let his mind slip into his painful memories.
He walked over and pushed open the terrace door. He was immediately bombarded with the sun's radioactive waves, blessing his new body with all the goodness of Vitamin D. Although it was quite bright, it caused him to cup his hand over his eyes. Shielding his fragile eyes from the aggressive rays.
I don't know how Quinn handled not being able to enjoy sunlight for so many years.
Vorden was just thankful that he never had to become a vampire. The prospect of never again being able to enjoy the light of day, just wasn't something Vorden thought he could handle. He looked out at the heavily treed forest that hid the various structures on the property. From this vantage he could see the pond not too far off. Just beyond that he could just barely make out the uppermost point of Sil's orphanage, it was quite a distance off.
"How big is this place, holy crap". Vorden had no idea exactly how many acres Sil had acquired when he took on the place. However judging by just the area that Vorden knew belonged to Sil, the size was pretty impressive. He smiled, remembering the days when Sil spent more time in the corner of the classroom crying than he did anything else.
After they had been placed inside of his head, he refused to take up the seat and live. He just sat in the dark space rocking, crying occasionally, and on extremely rare life or death type situations, he would take back his spot in control to fight. The stressful days when he was more powerful than anybody Vorden had ever heard of, but emotionally had been stunted due to the traumas of Blade Island. It was such a dangerous mix. Any minor tantrum could spell death or at least serious injury for many.
Odd how things have completely flipped. Vorden never thought he would see the day that Sil grew to be a fully functioning adult. Yet it happened, and then some. Sil not only grew up, but he came to terms with his childhood, he matured beyond what Vorden ever thought possible. So much so that he himself decided to take on an orphanage, and quite frankly, was doing a damn good job of it.
Of course, how cruel is fate to let Sil grow to be an interstellar solo traveler, save the whole world and the life of Quinn, all without Vorden or Raten's help. Finally, he was living, and now that things had finally calmed down with the dangers that could have posed any threat to earth, now that everybody could breathe, Sil had his power unfairly taken away. To fight for so long, just like Quinn. So many years of endless battles. To save the world, and then never get to enjoy in any length of time the peace that all of their efforts brought on.
Vorden shook his head at it all. He made his way back inside and headed down the left side corridor. At the end of the hall was a large double door. Just outside, at a tiny desk with a name plate that said Receptionist sat a very sweet, very kind, older lady with short gray hair and a face filled with the memories she had of living a life to the fullest. He didn't say anything at first, and stopped at the end of the hall, not going all the way up to the desk. She looked like she was in the middle of an extremely important phone call. Her face was configured in a look of astonishment, and Vorden could hear whoever was on the other line talking a mile a minute.
He couldn't make out what they had said, but they sure did have a lot of it to say. "Oh no Val, he did not!" Vorden was listening intently, trying to make out what was being said on the other end, but still he couldn't exactly make out the words. "Well if it was me in your shoes I would tell that piece of garbage to take a hike!" Vorden nearly choked. Was she just gossiping with a friend? Vorden stifled a laugh. She was a sweet lady.
Vorden decided he had waited long enough. He hated to interrupt her conversation but he had to meet with Shiro, and she could always get back to her call after he was gone. Vorden cleared his throat loudly in an attempt to catch her attention. Then he stepped in to clear view and proceeded to walk up to the counter. Until today this had actually been his office as well, since he was sharing a body with Shiro. His new assignment would most likely be elsewhere on the property. Someplace where he is most needed and would be beneficial to the Blade's.
Marsa spun around in her chair with rapid surprise, wide eyed and full on fright. As her eyes landed on Vorden, she breathed a slight sigh of relief. Pressing her finger to the earpiece that she wore, in a far more professional tone than she spoke with a moment ago, she said "I'm going to have to place you on hold miss". Then she directed her attention to Vorden. "Mr. Blade! It is so lovely to see you out and about! I am so relieved that everything went smoothly today. Shiro is just inside his office, he is expecting you so please step in". She motioned her hand to the double doors with a generic smile. She watched him walk to the door and maintained her smile all the while. Even as he glanced up at her for a split second while shutting the door behind him, she was still holding strong. As he heard the clicking of the door he shook his head and smiled.
Vorden turned to find the familiar office that looked the same as it always did. The exterior walls were basically just giant windows, again allowing for lots of natural light. There wasn't much in the room, leaving it looking rather bare with the large size. There was a sitting area off to one side with some comfortable chairs and an oversized coffee table. Perfect for inviting diplomatic guests to sit for tea or coffee. There was a massive multipurpose screen that took up almost the entirety of the smallest interior wall. Lastly directly opposite the door was a very impressive L shaped desk, complete with several stacks of paperwork needing to be dealt with.
Just on the other side of the paper towers a tuft of dark, silver flecked hair could be seen. There Shiro sat, diligently typing away on his computer keyboard. He would stop every few words or so to glance back at a document set next to his keyboard. Upon the resonating echo of the click from Vorden shutting the door, he looked over his desk towards the door and a large smile spread across his obviously tired face. "Vorden" he said sounding both happy and relieved. Shiro pushed himself back from the desk, leaning back he reached his arms out wide with a small yawn. He then looked at the watch on his wrist to see the time. "Oh it's already nearly dinner! Time flies when you're having fun!" He said with a roll of his eyes and a faint smile, indicating the sarcasm in his words. He interleced his fingers and cracked the knuckles on both hands at once. He then proceeded to tilt his head to the side until he heard a satisfying cracckkk. Shiro let out a big sigh afterwards that showed it brought some relief.
"Am I interrupting your work?" Vorden said looking at the stack of papers in front of Shiro. "I can always come back" he added pointing over his shoulder towards the door.
"Oh don't be ridiculous!" Shiro said as he shot up from his chair, frowning. Which only emphasized the deep wrinkles he had on his forehead. "I was in need of a break as it is, besides I need to speak with you before tomorrow anyhow, so it's perfect timing". Shiro smiled warmly at Vorden and walked around his great desk and in Vorden's direction. Vorden seeing this, continued forward and the two met in the middle with a quick brotherly embrace, then Shiro keeping his arm around Vorden's shoulders, guided him over to the sitting area, where he motioned to the chairs with his hand. "Please, have a seat, while we discuss things". Vorden took a seat and Shiro did the same, only instead of in the chair itself, he kind of sat only half way, setting back on the arm of the chair and folding his arms. Leaning all of his weight against the chair with his long legs out in front of him.
Vorden leaned forward, staring intently at Shiro. It felt strange to be sitting here across from Shiro, and yet eerily familiar as well. All these years this was the image he saw whenever looking at a mirror. So in a way, he felt like he was talking to himself, which made the corner of his mouth turn upward into a half smile. "So, what did you want to discuss?" He asked with great anticipation.
Shiro however, couldn't quite say the same. While Vorden was used to seeing Shiro's face in the mirror, Shiro was now looking at a face, that he hadn't seen much of in over a thousand years. Even on the rare occasion that he saw Sil back then, it was always very brief, and he changed as he aged. Eventually Sil set off out into the cosmos searching for Celestials, and Shiro didn't see him again until he returned with Quinn, many years later.
In fact one of the only memories that he had of Sil around this age that stuck out most was of his time as a child in school at the military academy. When Shiro had first met Quinn, under cover then as general Hardy. Sil had lost control and nearly tore the limbs off of a student who had hit Sil by mistake in an attempt at getting retribution from Shiro for a competition that had participated in together. He was truly frightening back then, at least in that moment. Shiro wasn't as afraid of him as others. They had become friends at school not to mention the experiences they shared shortly after. On Blade island trying to get the Dragon-like beast that helped to create the Dalki, or on the military ship where Sil and Shiro switched bodies to allow Quinn to enter the mind of Oscar just before his death. Yet all of this was over a millennium ago. Shiro could only imagine how strong he had become in all of these years since.
"Well, I wanted to discuss assignments with you. I didn't want to just make any decisions without first getting your input, you just got your own life back fully, and you should be deciding how to live it" Shiro said with a serious tone. This made Vorden sit back and take a deep breath. He was very grateful for these words and the sentiment behind them.
"I honestly hadn't given it much thought" Vorden said with a smile. With all the sensations and excitement, not to mention the duel he basically had earlier with Raten, it hadn't even crossed his mind.
"Well, then you might be interested in Sil's Request" Shiro said, now with a slight smile of his own.
"Oh?" Said Vorden, as he shifted himself, then sitting perked up a bit, excitement showing on his face. "You've got my attention" he added, if this was from Sil, it was sure to be exciting, at least.