Chapter Nine: Troublesome Things, Consciences
By: nike13

   After they had finally made their way back from the forest, all the delegates and diplomats were sent back to their respective countries, after all had been assured of the king’s safety. Waren had taken up the task of caretaker for his fellow guardians since neither Teresa nor David seemed likely to regain consciousness any time in the near future, both were moved to the same room to make Waren’s job easier.

   He waited for hours in the quiet room, letting the wind from the ancient windows tickle across his face as he thought. He never left that room for more than a few spare minutes, a chambermaid named Margaret brought up meals to him. She had told him that she felt sorry for him and his friends, she tried to make him speak but Waren merely kept to himself until she left. Besides Margaret, there were two other frequent visitors, namely King Charles V and Marcus; no one else was permitted to enter the room by order of the king. As the hours wore on, Waren found himself wondering if he could’ve prevented this whole thing from happening.

   "I am telepathic, for God’s sake. Why hadn’t I had known?!" he asked himself, and then he remembered the nightmare he had before the hunt, the very memory sending a cold shiver down his spine and through his very being. "It said it wanted to warn me, could I have known? Was it some sort of vision? Have my powers progressed to precognitive? Now what did it say exactly?"

   ~*He will use goodness to his advantage*~ the thought burst through his own, like someone had screamed the answer into his ear. Waren covered both ears reflexively, trying to block out the flood of images and words that suddenly rushed through his head. His whole dream, the warning, or was it a prediction? It did not matter what it was, or who had sent it to him, all that mattered was to understand exactly what it had meant. As the images subsided, the voice became softer, just above a whispered it repeated its words:

   ~*My warning must be heard, your enemy, our enemy, beware, for he will hide amongst the innocent. He will use goodness to his advantage.*~

   Somehow, during the barrage of foreign images and thoughts, Waren had fallen from the chair he had been sitting on, almost trying to hide his mind from the unfamiliar onslaught. He slowly moved back to his seat, mind still hearing an echo of the warning, but this one was different, as if to be a plea for help. Waren looked at his two companions as they lay asleep in their beds and noticed a bead of sweat trail down their faces, as though they too had felt the unknown presence. "David, Teresa, please wake up. I need you, I’m talking to myself and hearing strange voices," he let out a sarcastic laugh, "I think I’m going insane."

   Waren had to wait for another day before he got his wish, for the next day, around dinnertime; David awoke from his slumber while complaining quite loudly of a pounding headache. As the news of David’s recovery spread the castle took on a new light, replacing the quiet feeling of anxiety with hope.

   As soon as the two boys were left alone, Waren told David of his dream and the warning he had received while David slept and of their unconscious response to the voice that Waren heard. David just sat in his chair and listened quietly through the whole story, occasionally glancing to where Teresa slept peacefully in her bed next to them. Once Waren had finished, David continued to keep silent, thinking to himself. After what had seemed like hours, David asked.

   "Are you sure this all wasn’t just a dream? I don’t remember anything after I healed my father, let alone some strange voice telling me to beware."

   "It couldn’t have been a dream, it was all too real. I could feel everything as though I was really there. Besides, the dream I had happened the night before the hunt."

   "So its some sort of vision? I thought you could only send thoughts?" David asked, still looking back over to Teresa’s sleeping form.

   "That’s what I thought too. Maybe my powers evolved somehow."

   "Evolved? What do mean?"

   "Changed, grew, developed, progressed to higher point."

   "Alright, I understand, but why should they…evolve…now? You said you’ve had these most of your life, why would they suddenly change?"

   Waren looked up at the ceiling, thinking hard on what had changed. He looked back to David to catch him watching Teresa again and then he understood the cause. "Its because of you two!"

   "What?" David asked, looking back at Waren as though someone had just accused him of stealing something.

   "I have had these powers all my life, but I’ve only just met you two. You and Teresa have never been able to use your powers until we were all brought together so it would make sense that the power I have had would also grow once we’re together."

   "Of course that makes sense," David muttered sarcastically, and then they both turned to Teresa’s bed. "You do realize that we still need to figure out what that dream meant, right?"

   "So you believe me?" Waren asked, thankful that he finally had someone to talk this through with.

   "Well, you seem to know more about everything to do with these powers than I do, so I suppose I have to," David said slowly. "But might I make a suggestion, get out of here."

   "What?"

   "Go for a walk or something, to get your mind off of all this. My father told me you stayed here watching over both of us ever since we arrived at the palace. You need rest, I’ll stay and watch Teresa."

   Waren thought about this and looked from David to Teresa, and then remembered the conversation he had had with David’s father a few moments before the king was attacked. "Very well, but let me know as soon as she wakes up. I’ll tell your father, he should be pleased."

   "What do you mean by that?" David demanded but Waren simply shook his head and left the room, a smile trailing across his face.

   "It's in our nature. We all make mistakes and then we learn from them and grow."

   It was happening again. She could remember having this argument somewhere before, but where, and who with? She could hear it again, she watched from the shadows as she, Teresa, countered her opponents viewpoints, but with each counter she grew weaker, she could feel the weakness and pain that the Teresa before felt but could never see or hear the opponent. It was as if she was watching a bad television show, unable to see the other half of the screen and not allowed to change the channel.

   The scene continued to play out until the girl before her lost consciousness and then it began again. Teresa still left to watch it over and over again, to see what had happened to her, helpless to stop.

   What did I do to deserve this? she asked herself, calling out to anyone who could hear her. Someone make it stop! she pleaded, please...can anyone hear me?...can anyone see my nightmares?...please take the pain away...someone...

   She quietly watched the scene again, despair entering her confused subconscious. It continued for awhile before, as if someone had heard her cry, the image began to slowly melt and change into a soft, comforting warmth.

   David, her mind sighed as the touch soothed her into a peaceful rest, recognizing the familiar contact. Thank you.

   David sat in his seat, trying to figure out what Waren could've possibly meant by his remark. After awhile he simply gave up, cursing under his breath, and turning his attention back to Teresa on the bed before him. He watched as she seemed to stir quietly, her forehead wet with perspiration and her usually glowing face bent in pain.

   "I wish there was something I could do for you," David whispered to her as he wiped the sweat away from her brow. She continued to shift in pain as he watched her with growing concern. "Why am I so helpless? Why won't you just wake up? Your wounds are healed; all you have to do is wake up! Do you realize how much of an annoyance you are?"

   David stopped and waited, half expecting her to start yelling at him, anything was better than this silence. "Please," he begged her sleeping form, "tell me how to help you. I can't stand seeing you like this."

   Teresa stopped moving, he expression calmed and her body relaxed. David didn't move an inch and quietly watched as she settled into a dreamless sleep. He didn't know how long she was like that, or when he had sat back down to relax, or even how long he had been asleep, but when he woke up, the sky was dark and the room was cold. He checked to see how Teresa was doing to find there was no change. So after bringing the covers back over her, David leaned back in his chair.

   "Sweet dreams," he said quietly as he closed his eyes again, hoping that when he opened them, he would be able to see the soft hazel hue of his Teresa's looking back at him.

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