The World Walkers: Athare: Lucille: Becoming a World Walker (part 2)

[k_a_webb]

Part 1

As Lucille walked towards the tattooist’s shop she tried to work out where she wanted her last tattoo. It was for Kniroch, one of the worlds she was most looking forward to visiting, but she knew it wouldn’t be the first. No, her mentor would want her to go somewhere else first, somewhere easier to deal with, because Kniroch wasn’t an easy place for any Walker to go. The sibling worlds of Kniroch would be out of bounds to her, a Council Walker, and the Knirochians were never comfortable around outsiders they didn’t trust. She knew it was likely they would never trust her, due to the choices she’d made, which was disappointing, even though she could understand why. Being a Walker was all that she’d ever wanted, yet there was this part of her that was beginning to realise that the Council wasn’t what she though it was before she started her training.

Doing her best to push that thought away Lucille thought of the other worlds. Siaral would probably be her first world, although there was a part of her that wanted to ask for somewhere like Janoch or Beshaki. Neither of them were easy worlds, but she didn’t become a Walker for easy, she became a Walker because she wanted to walk the worlds. It really was as simple as that and to her it didn’t matter if the worlds were easy places to go to or not. Now that she was an apprentice rather than a trainee there was so much that she wanted to do, so much she wanted to see, so many towns she wanted to visit and races she wanted to meet in person. Like all the trainees she’d seen pictures, but pictures weren’t enough.

Especially as Lucille had learnt from other Walkers that the Council didn’t know everything about all the worlds. There were some worlds that they admitted to knowing very little about, like Quiar, and worlds that they didn’t, but she’d been told by people who trusted her that there were races, and magics, that the Council knew nothing about. Finding that out had just made her more certain that she wanted to explore the worlds as soon as possible. Passing that final exam meant the Web was fully open to her, even though she still had to work with her mentor for another decade before she would have the freedom to do more of what she wanted. As a Council Walker she would still have jobs to do for them – fortunately her new position meant that she would be able to ask for the jobs she wanted to do, rather than have them forced upon her the way the other Walkers would.

Running a hand through her hair Lucille stared into the tattooist’s. There was no one else in there, which was surprising, but it was something she appreciated as she stepped through the door. For a moment all Archer did was stare at her, before crossing the room and drawing her into a celebratory hug. “You did it,” he said, smiling. “I knew you would.”

“I did.” She smiled back. “Where do you think I should have my last tattoo, Arch? I haven’t been able to decide.”

Archer studied her. It wasn’t unusual for someone to ask the tattooist for advice and she knew she’d go with whatever he said, because he understood the tattoos in a way that she didn’t. He was the one who’d convince her that she shouldn’t have all of them on her arm, even though that had what she’d been planning on, as there were certain worlds that didn’t get along so they didn’t appreciate when their tattoos were put together. She didn’t know how he knew that, but she accepted what he was saying was the truth and did what he suggested.

“Kniroch should go on the back of your neck.” Lucille winced. “I know, sweetie, but it makes the most sense. Have you thought about what I said before?”

“Yes.” Lucille bit her lip as she sat in Archer’s chair. “I started looking into my family tree, even though I didn’t have much time before the exam, and I couldn’t find anything out about Father’s family. He must have travelled here from another world, but he’s never mentioned it and I don’t know how to bring it up. Obviously it isn’t something he wants to talk about.” She sighed. “There are so many reasons that people chose to leave their home world… and then there are those who don’t chose to. Maybe he’s one of them and that’s why he never brought it up. Maybe he left his family behind for a reason he can’t bring himself to talk about.

“Then there’s Mother. She still has issues with what I’ve done. I never know how she’s going to be when I walk in the door and that makes it so much easier not to go home unless I have to. Now that I’ve passed my final exam I’ll be given my own space, I’ll be able to invite my sisters over instead of only being able to see them there or at a coffee shop if we both happen to have the same time off, and if I chose to I won’t have to see Mother again. Yet I can’t bring myself to walk away, because I understand why she is the way she is. Even though she does her best to support me she can’t help thinking I’m making the wrong decision, the way she did, and I’ll end up trapped the way she is.”

“Families are never easy to deal with, Luce. You’re lucky to live on the same world as them, but that doesn’t make the relationship you have with them simple, no matter how much you wish it was. My parents were both born on Gaelom, my grandparents were all born there, and as far as I know my great-grandparents were too, while I was born with the urge to travel to another world. Maybe it’s an ability that’s been passed down from generation to generation that they simply never knew about because they never felt the same way I did. Maybe I’m really the first of my family to be able to walk the worlds.”

When Lucille first met Archer she knew where he’d come from, but not how he’d got to Athare. It wasn’t until they started getting to know each other, and talking outside of the shop, that he’d admitted to what he was, even though he knew there was a chance she might go straight to the Council with what she knew. They didn’t execute naturals any longer – they simply made it so that they couldn’t use the doors any longer with a tattoo that was specially created for the purpose. As far as she was concerned that was just as bad and she would never go to the Council with information on any natural Walker, although it wasn’t just because of what they’d do to them. She truly believed that if the naturals existed there was a reason for them. By going to the Council she might well end up changing the future of the Web in a way that couldn’t be rectified.

“It would be interesting to find out.” Lucille glanced over her shoulder at Archer, who was studying the design he’d be putting on her in such a way that she knew he was going to change something about it. “Would you have anything against me looking into your family? My mentor thinks it’s important that I have some time off before I start travelling, after all the hard work I’ve done, so it’s going to be at least a tenday before I can go anywhere and I’m going to need something to do.”

“Feel free.” Archer looked over at her and their eyes met for a moment. “Learning more about why I an use the doors without a tattoo would be helpful, but we both know walking into the Council, when you are a natural, isn’t an easy thing to do, unless you’ve made the decision to become a Council Walker in order to hide what you are.”

“Did you ever think about that?”

“No, because I couldn’t imagine letting the Council decide where I was going. When I left Gaelom behind I wanted to come to Athare, even though it meant I’d be close to the Council, and right now I have no interest in travelling anywhere else, which wasn’t what I expected. I thought I’d end up moving on within a couple of moons, but I found a place here that made sense to me, so I ended up staying and making a life for myself. Becoming a tattooist and actually working for the Council definitely wasn’t something I expected to happen.”
“You’re good at what you do.”

“Some days I wish I wasn’t. I may make a lot of money, but I have to be careful that the wrong person doesn’t find out what I am. The last thing I want is to be dragged in front of the Council, questioned, and given one of those nasty tattoos.” Archer sighed. “I’ve been studying it, to see if it would be possible to change them, to fix the damage that the Council do, and I think I can, but in order to test my theory out I need to find someone who’s willingly to experiment to see if I can make it possible for them to walk the worlds again.”

“The records are in one of the libraries that are now open to me, so I can find some names if you want them.”

“Lucy…”

“Maybe they will find out that it was me, but honestly, if you can do that, I think the possibility of me being caught is worth it.”

“Right now I can’t guarantee anything. Until I can test out my theory it is just that, a theory that might not work…”

“Archer, if anyone can do it it’s you, so I will be doing two things after I’ve spoken to my mentor – learning more about your family and finding someone who’ll be willing to help you with your experiment.”

“You’re certain?”

“Even if you weren’t my friend I’d want to help you with the tattoos, because I hate them, and learning more about your family is something that will help with my own understand of why some people are born natural Walkers. What I want to do is go all the way back, to the first Walkers, and see if the naturals are related to them in some way, as I believe the majority are, although there are some people who are simply born with the ability without having that connection. You, I think, are one of the first.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Carver said he had a feeling about you and when Carver says something like that…” Lucille shrugged. “He keeps saying it won’t be long before there’s an arrest warrant out for him, Kaito and Azure have already left Athare, and then it will just be me left here. I’ve been talked to a couple of times by my mentor, to see how much of a relationship there is between us, because she worries more than I do about what the Council might do if they become uncomfortable with the fact I’m friends with someone like him.” She shook her head. “As though they know him.”

“Unfortunately that’s the Council for you. Are you ready for this?”

“No, but that’s not going to stop either of us. Get it done.”

Gently Archer pulled Lucille’s hair into a bun on top of her head, so it wouldn’t get in the way and cleaned the skin where he’d be tattooing. As he’d done the majority of her tattoos she knew how he worked. He always took time to let her relax, even though it was hard to when all you could do was remember how much the other two on your neck had hurt, but she did her best to let go of that. She had to have the tattoo, it was the last one she was ever going to have, hopefully, and she could cope with the pain.

Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.

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I like how some of the worlds don't get along!