k_a_webb | The World Walkers: Quiar: The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments (part 10, 11th continuation) (Reply)

Lucille smiled. “I think it would be fascinating to find out, but the question then is would anyone remember what happened? Would changing it all create another alternate Web where the situation still happened the way it did here and here it would never have happened? There are so many things I don’t know about time magic. I don’t think the fae did either, because it doesn’t seem like a magic they’d use very often.”

“It wasn’t.” Jarek shook his head. “My race hated the thought of not being in control and time magic was something they couldn’t control as well as they would have liked. There had been numerous debates about time magic, and the creation magics, but nothing anyone said could convince the monarchs who weren’t of our own family that it was something we should learn more about. If we had we might not have made so many silly mistakes when we were creating the Web. Sometimes we also had issues with monarchs in our own families, because they truly believed that the magics we wielded were dangerous. They weren’t wrong about that – our abilities could be dangerous. However the fact they could be dangerous wasn’t a reason to fear them. The more we learnt the easier it would be for us to control those abilities.”

“Were you a part of those debates often?”

“A few times.” He laughed. “No one knew that, but it gave me chance to change the argument I used, in the hope that one of them would work. Eventually I did give up. I didn’t have the energy to keep fighting.” Their eyes met. “Merry didn’t. He kept arguing that we should learn how to use our abilities. Until that last life we were Golds together, or in another fae group that had time magic, because it was something we really wanted to experiment with. We managed to a couple of times. Once…” He shrugged. “I wouldn’t talk about this normally, but I think it’s something that would fascinate you, so… we went back in time, to when the fae first stepped onto Kalinia, and we lived through it for a second time, living different lives. That was how we became a part of the creation of the Dragons. We convinced the Queen at the time to let us be involved. At the time we had no idea what actually happened to those who had been a part of it all.”

“Jarek…” Lucille shook her head. “Now I want to learn how to travel back in time. I want to go back to when the Web was created. I want to go back to an uninhabited Athare. I want… being able to do something like that…” She shook her head again. “Why do I not have that ability?”

“Maybe you will in the future. Maybe Athare will choose to send you back, because she does do things like that occasionally. If it does ever happen, though, I will warn you that it isn’t easy to know what’s coming and not be able to do anything to stop it. Merry and I dealt with that on several occasions.”

“Yeah, I know.” Lucille thought to what she’d read about poor Leolin. “Have you ever been lucky enough to read Leolin’s journals?”

“I saw one of them, when I was living my life on Janoch, but we didn’t have any more than that. Being able to read it was enough for me to understand how hard it must have been for him to live the life he did. Athare needed him, in the same way Athare needed Emrys, so they were always going to have limited choices.”

“Quiar needs me and I know that it’s going to be a while before anything interesting will happen to me when it comes to time, because of what’s coming. Athare needs me here now.” Lucille sighed. “Sometimes I can’t help wishing she didn’t.”

“Take some time to learn about your past lives. Focus on what’s coming. You live in interesting times, Lucy, so make the most of it, as there are times when life is very boring.” Jarek smiled. “I have to admit that isn’t very often in the Web. There always seems to be something going on somewhere, but it’s not always possible to be in those places when they are happening.”

“Although I don’t think I’d ever be that lucky I do want to have a chance to see as many of them as possible. I think my lives have always been about learning and this is the life where I want to learn everything I can, because change is coming. It’s a change I believe will open the Web in ways it couldn’t have been with the fae around and I want to be able to help people learn about the place they’re living.”

“Writing a book about what you already know would help. Some of the races of the Web know absolutely nothing about the world they live on, let alone the rest of the Web, so just being able to learn more about where they live would be really helpful to them. I’ve been lucky enough to live lives as some of them, and have taught them more, but if there was a book being passed from person to person, the way things like that are, I think it would make everything simpler.”

Lucille nodded. “I’ll see what I can do. I have to see this through to the end first and…”

“You could walk away.”

“No, I couldn’t. This is my world, Jarek, and you are my people. Walking away is something I couldn’t do, even if I thought it was the safest option for me, because I’m not the one that matters. You are, and Peric, and Durai, and Bertram, and Merry, and Sini, and all of the other people I’ve met during my time here. I can’t walk away from you when I know that there are still counterfeits out there.”

“This isn’t something I would normally say, especially not to a Moonjumper who took their duty as seriously as you do, but sometimes it’s better to put yourself first. You have a whole life ahead of you and it is possible that you might end up dead.”

“I know.” Lucille reached out and took hold of Jarek’s paw. “Dying isn’t something I’m scared of. There was a time when I was, but now I know I’ll just live another life, and that makes everything simpler, although it does mean I won’t be in the same position I am now. I want to learn about one of my past lives before that happens, so I remember that I had past lives and can learn more about the others.”

“Learning about them isn’t something you’re going to do now?”

“Before I let myself do that I need to bring an end to the counterfeit ring. That is my priority and it isn’t just for the people of Quiar. If those charms were to go through one of the doors it could affect all of the worlds and I’m not going to let that happen, not when I could do something to stop it, so I am going to focus on what needs to be done here before I let myself do anything for me.”

“Maybe you should.” Jarek studied her. “Doing something like that isn’t easy, but you might learn about a life that will comes to help you as you investigate.”

“That’s a very good point.” Lucille looked around the ship as she thought it through. “Maybe I should… when I get back to the Sleeping Chimera I’ll talk to Merry about it. There could be some way of finding a life that will help.” She shrugged. “I know too little about this, Jarek, so I’m going to learn more about it and then I will make a definite decision.”

Jarek smiled. “That’s always the best way to do things. When I first learnt about my past lives it was an interesting experience and I think it would be good for you, but in the end only you can learn what the best decision is for you.” He looked like he was going to brush his paw through hair he didn’t have before he brought it down. “One thing I will warn you is that you might learn about lives the other Lucilles have lived as well. It’s rare, but it can happen.”

“Do you know how much I now want it to happen?” Lucille sighed. “I know it’s not going to happen to me, but I can hope, because I would love to know what they’ve lived through, even if they have ended up dying. I want to understand all of my selves. I want to know why they made the choices they did. I am going to spend the rest of my existance trying to learn everything, aren’t I?”

“It really does sound like you are.” Jarek laughed. “I like you, Lucy.”

Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.