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Jolanin had explained very basically to Mariça that she had been captured because she had entered too deep into Shriken territory. Then she’d left Mariça in order to take the dead body to the council. Since then, Mariça had spent her time sitting in the room and trying to figure in her mind what was going on.

Memories had begun to come to her. Everything that had happened to Marisa before the incident with Death began to leak into her own brief experiences. Mariça remembered what it had felt like to be Marisa, right up until then end. What a sinister memory for Death to leave. She realized that the body Jolanin had taken away was her own, and she got confused again. When Jolanin finally returned, Mariça had mostly figured out her situation, except for the time around when she was captured.

Jolanin said, “The body has been planted, and we have also seen your friend searching near it. There is someone monitoring the situation to make sure that she finds the body and gives up her search.”

“Okay. What about me?”

“No one knows about your existence, and it would be best for you if it remained that way. I will escort you out in secret, but it will be after your friend finds the body and the scout leaves.”

“But won’t that mean Yaska will think I’m dead?”

“This is the only way to keep the Shriken from knowing about you. It will be unfortunate for her, but in a very literal sense you are dead.”

Mariça shook her head.

–

Yaska sat near the Shriken’s mountain, eating. She had searched for two days and had found nothing besides Marisa’s bent sword. She stood and returned to her task. It wasn’t long after that she found a set of tracks in the sand. She was immediately suspicious. The tracks would have blown away overnight, so she knew that they were recent. Yaska checked her feet against them and confirmed that the tracks were not her own. She then followed them.

She was led into another cave, and in it she found the body of Marisa. Yaska was gripped by dread. She put her hand in her hair. Her breathing became shallow. A tear ran from her eye.

But then she took a breath. She would postpone her emotion until the burial. Right now it was more important to take Marisa, and the story, back to the village. She knelt down by the corpse. She thought it was strange that the body was so cold. It seemed like it had been dead for more than one day. Were the tracks hers, or someone else’s? She lifted the body. The blood from the wound was dry, but none of it had pooled on the ground.

Yaska’s scepticism heightened. She lifted the body and tested its feet against the footprints outside. She hosted the body over her shoulder. She would have to return later.

–

Mariça followed Jolanin through the Shriken temple. She was wearing a cloak to hide her face in case they were seen. They moved through the stone halls that cut cleanly through the mountains. They seemed empty for the most part. Jolanin said that they were passing through a residential area, and that everyone had been gone since morning.

“If we do see someone, act as though you belong. Keep your eyes down. We do not need questions about them.”

Mariça nodded and they continued for a few more minutes, until they did encounter another Shriken. It was a man holding a box. He stopped when he saw them.

“Oh! Jolanin, I was, ah, just getting something from home. Why are you here?”

Mariça, keeping her had down, looked at the man’s feet. She couldn’t see anything else.

Jolanin replied, “I am showing someone where to go.”

Before the man could ask anything else, Jolanin continued walking. Mariça kept her head down, and followed her feet. Eventually Jolanin stopped, and Mariça looked up. There was an inconspicuous looking wall at the end of the hall. The only thing unusual about it was how regular it was in contrast with the planed surfaces of the halls to this point.

Jolanin said, “We are at the exit.”

“Thanks, for all you’ve done for me.”

Jolanin smiled, “You are welcome. Remember though, that had there not been interference, I would have had to execute you.”

Mariça frowned, “would you have?”

For a moment Jolanin paused, reflecting. She said, “I might have tried your method of faking your death. And, if it had failed, I may well have chosen to fight our way out. Although, I am unsure as to where that would have left us.”

Mariça laughed.

“Well,” Jolanin continued, “we might meet again if you—” she stopped herself.

“If I what? See you when you’re outside the mountain?”

Jolanin nodded, “perhaps I will see you outside the mountains. You might watch the skies for me, I suppose.”

Jolanin grabbed at a couple of jagged edges in the wall and pulled it upwards, revealing the outside.

“Your friend is in that direction,” she pointed, “you may want to find her before she leaves or becomes too distressed.”

“Thanks,” Mariça gave her gratitude and then left, following the edge of the mountain where Jolanin had pointed.

It wasn’t long before Mariça saw someone, a burly female figure with a person over one shoulder, walking away from the mountain. Mariça stopped, seeing her own body in person. It was uncanny. She realized that she wasn’t sure how to approach her old friend, Marisa’s friend. What would happen when she saw her?

As Mariça pondered this, Yaska’s attentive eyes fixed on her and adjusted. She stopped walking and stared. Unsure what Yaska would do, Mariça raised her arm in greeting. She guessed that Yaska would also approach, but she might also assault her, or even just ignore her. It was hard to tell what someone would to when faced with a living impossibility. She decided to approach in a leisurely pace. In response, Yaska carefully laid the corpse on the sand. She seemed to study it before looking again in Mariça’s direction. Then, she unclasped the sword from her back and approached slowly.

Mariça was unarmed. She didn’t want to die again, and she wasn’t sure what she would do if things went poorly. She decided to believe in her friend… or was it Marisa’s memories that believed?

Slowly the two women met. They looked at each other. Yaska said nothing, and they stood there for a long time. Mariça began to think that she might leave. Was she waiting? Did she want to take a reactive stance? Mariça wasn’t sure. She decided to speak first.

“Yaska.”

Yaska waited for more. When she saw that there wasn’t going to be any more, she said, “How do you know my name?”

“I, ah…”

“She,” Yaska pointed, “knew my name. How do you?”

“I, I took— I mean, I have most of her memories.”

“Fine.” That seemed to be enough for her in that respect. She then asked, “Who are you?”

“I’m Mariça.”

Yaska frowned, “Marisa?”

“No, Mariça.”

“Mariça.”

“Yes.”

Yaska paused. She considered Mariça, and she considered Marisa. “You are slightly different in name, and in face. And your hair is lighter.”

“Right.”

“Fine,” She said, “well, come. The village has been worried about—” she paused, “worried about most of you, if I am to be specific.”

Yaska picked up Marisa’s corpse and she and Mariça headed back to the village. As they walked, they spoke to each other. Mariça did her best to recount to Yaska what had happened. It was a good conversation for both of them, but they each got the unusual feeling that something had changed.

When the two had returned to the village, they agreed to be honest about the strange situation, and Marisa was buried. Mariça’s mother hard remained silent and stone faced during the burial. Afterwards, she got to know Mariça well enough to recognise her, and accepted her as a responsibility. Things started this way, and as the days passed, they got better. The village returned to normal, except for one thing.

–

Mariça threw her sword, and it stuck in the back leg of the dinosaur. Now that it was slowed, she chased the creature down and took her sword out, cutting into the beast’s neck.

What next? She thought back to Marisa’s experiences, and then she tore the sword out and cut again until the head disconnected. She took the leather bag she had brought and put it around the stump to save the blood.

It was shortly after midday when she returned to the village. Yaska came a little after.

“You are a lot better at hunting,” she said.

Mariça nodded, “From what I can remember, I was always this good just… distracted.”

“Well,” Yaska said, “I can help Jan open these. You have time to go out exploring, if you wish.”

“Yeah, I guess I do, but… maybe some other time.”

“Do you not have the desire to?”

Mariça shrugged, “I can remember the feeling of wanting to, but I haven’t felt it since we returned.”

She looked at Yaska with her inverted eyes.

“I wonder how much has changed.”

 

Part 1 > Part 2 > Part 3 > Part 4 > Final

Daniel Triumph.

You can follow me:
For updates: Facebook, and Twitter
for art: DeviantArt and Instagram.

P.S.

This took a lot longer than I wanted it to, but here it is.

Part Four. (<Part One)

“There was an external issue, thus the council felt itself forced to this decision. You are to be killed.”

Marisa rubbed her eyes, “what?”

The women looked at each other until Marisa’s mind registered what had been said.

“No! I have to… I have to return to my village! I only left to hunt, I shouldn’t be here. Just let me leave.” She groped for anything, “I, I escaped, didn’t I? Yeah, just let me go, and tell them all that I escaped.”

Jolanin was disheartened, “it is a good idea,  but it cannot be done.”

“Why! Why do they suddenly want to kill me? Before I at least had the option of being a pet.”

“I will explain. It appears that there is a young, but grey haired, Plainkind woman looking for you. As you know,  we have reasons not to have others searching the mountain. The conclusion the Shriken has taken to is that planting your dead body will give her reason to end her search. I am to execute you.”

Marisa knew that the woman must be Yaska, but she wasn’t comforted by it.

“What if… what if you and I, we pretend I’m dead. Then you can plant me, and Yaska will find me not dead, but alive!”

Jolanin was going to object, that it would be impossible to pass a living body as a dead one to a Shriken, but before she could say anything, a third voice spoke.

“You really think that would work?”

Jolanin’s eyes shot about the room. Marisa thought she recognized the voice.

Death stepped into the room from between a shadow and the lamplight. She bared her teeth in a grin, her face was almost sickly in colour.

“How did you get in here?” Jolanin asked.

“You know how. What, don’t you Shriken have some knowledge of things like this?”

Jolanin’s eyes narrowed, “so, then, you are the Servant of Death. You do not look as I was led to believe.”

“What, did you think I’d be dead too? Quite an ineffective state to have to work in, don’t you think?” She grinned again.

Marisa’s mind raced through her situation. Had Death come to kill her? No, Death isn’t generally the cause of death, just the beneficiary. Was she here because of the execution then? Why would she bother? Was it because of the dream? Was she really even there?

The questions swirled in her mind until she blurted out, “do you know if I’m going to die?”

Death stopped berating the Shriken and turned to Marisa, frowning. “I already told you that I don’t know. Are both of you going to be this foolish the entire time I’m here?”

“If you don’t know whether I’m going to die why show up in the first place? Why are you even here?”

Death sighed, “could you at least show some reverence? I am an immortal Servant after all. Or at least fear? I happen to be a somewhat arbitrary killer you know.” She eyed the room, then continued, “as one you know, I’ve been paying attention to this situation. I find it interesting. I’m here to propose a trade.”

Marisa stared at her, “a trade? What could I, here, possibly have to trade you?”

“Just you, who is to be executed regardless, being a part of the trade is enough for me. Things don’t tend to go to well if I tell them too much ahead of time anyway.”

“Unacceptable,” Jolanin said, “on the Plainkind’s behalf, I must insist that your terms make for horrid negotiation.”

“Well, that’s not for you to decide anyway. Unless you want to take matters into your own hands and kill the girl now,” she bared her teeth, “at least, Marisa, let me tell you your end of the trade.”

“Fine. So far it seems you’re the person who least wants to kill me.”

“That is not true!” Jolanin said, “I just think it is best to understand first what—”

Death interrupted her, “Yeah, well, here’s your half anyway. In return for your part Marisa, you, well most of you, will be able to return to your village. And you, Shriken… Jolanin, will have your body for the council. Hell, I’ll even take the memories out.”

Marisa looked at Death in amazement. Jolanin looked with scepticism.

Death smiled, “I’ll leave you alone for a minute to decide.”

Before waiting for a reply, the Servant of Death covered herself in the shadow and was gone.

Marisa shuddered.

Jolanin said, “I do not thin it wise to make a trade with Death.”

“It’s too good to be true,” Marisa said, “but the only other option is to die, so…”

“I am certain there is some sort of trick behind Death’s paradoxical offers. But, to choose her offer over your execution is logical. Not that I would do it.”

“What would you do?”

“I would fight my way either to freedom or to death.”

Marisa was silent.

“Be wary that, more likely than not, something terribly unusual is bound to be done to you should you take Death’s offer.” Jolanin unsheathed the sword she had brought for the execution, just in case.

At this point, Death returned.

“So,” she said, “have you decided?”

Marisa said, “yes. I will take your offer.”

“Wonderful! I haven’t gotten a chance to do this in a while.”

She approached Marisa and stuck her finger, as if she were a ghost, through Marisa’s chest, then removed it. Adrenaline rushed to Marisa’s heart, and with each pump seethed into her blood. Her anxiety levels, as a result, spiked.

“Ah! No! What’s happening?” Marisa shouted.

The Servant looked at her with dead eyes, but said nothing. Marisa’s eyes widened, then her body began to shimmer. The girl’s image was becoming distorted, as if through a desert haze. She dropped to her knees and her outline doubled, and then, as if crawling from the girl’s back, a second person split apart from her.

Marisa turned to face the second being, and looked into a face nearly identical to her own. Except for the black eyes and the fact that, while Marisa’s wore an expression of irrational anxiety, the double wore one filled with irrational rage. It emerged entirely from Marisa, kneeling behind her, and then it took the girl in a stranglehold.

“What is the meaning of this?” Jolanin said.

“Well, I’m actually not entirely sure why this keeps happening when I induce this. I have a few guesses myself…”

Jolanin stopped listening to her and went to Marisa, whose girl’s face had turned red, and tentatively thrust her sword towards the double.

The double let go of Marisa, her arm shooting towards the weapon. Taking advantage of Jolanin’s surprise, she wrenched the weapon away and swung it downward, impaling Marisa with it. Jolanin took her sword back and kicked the duplicate, launching her into the wall. She then rushed to Marisa and rolled her over.

For Marisa, the world had become slow. Her mind turned. She thought of what would have happened if she hadn’t come the cave. She thought further back to her times hunting, and living in the village, and other things.

“Jolanin, thanks for trying…” she said.

Jolanin watched her. The execution sword had fulfilled its task perfectly, and had destroyed hole through her chest. She swiftly died of the wound.

“And then I thought, perhaps everyone is angry when they’re born. Infants tend to be awfully loud. I asked the Servant of Birth about it, and he said that probably wasn’t it.”

“Have you not empathy?” Jolanin asked.

Death shrugged. She was indifferent. “Would you believe me if I said I see this all the time?”

Jolanin looked to the Marisa that was alive. She had calmed down.

She asked Death, “What is this person? Why did she kill Marisa?”

“Well, I’ve kind of been telling you this whole time, but I call it a double. She’s mostly the same as the original, but there are some differences. My best guess as to why the double immediately wants kill the original is that the double is mostly a creation of mine. So their first instinct would be related to me, Servant of Death.”

Jolanin looked at the girl. It was true that there were differences, at least physically. Here eyes were, in a sense, inverted. The whites were black, and the irises white.

“The little differences I’ve seen, other than the eyes, were personality, interests, things like that. They also take a name that’s similar to the original, but slightly modified. Look, what are you called?”

The double looked up from ground, “Mariça.”

“Now,” she turned back to Jolanin, “watch this. What can you tell me about the Shriken life cycle?”

Mariça’s expression faltered, “Uh, I guess they have children? Who grow up to… have more, and so on?”

“She doesn’t remember?” Jolanin said.

“Eh, more like she never knew,” Death said, “as promised.” She looked again to Mariça and said, “It’ll be nice to see what comes of you.”

Then, she returned to the shadow, and covered herself in the lamplight, disappearing.

Mariça and Jolanin were left to stare at each other. Jolanin looked at the body of Marisa, and then at Mariça.

“Well, I guess both our problems have been solved. And what has happened was as I had said, terribly unusual. All that is left is to take this to the council, and find a way to get you out.”

“Okay, but,” Mariça said, “where am I?”

Part 1 > Part 2 > Part 3 > Part 4

Daniel Triumph.

You can follow me:
For updates: Facebook, and Twitter
for art: DeviantArt and Instagram.

P.S.

This one was a struggle to put out, namely because my sleep got warped and I had a lot of readings to do. (And yes, those two are related.) Otherwise, this would have just been a really long conclusion. But, I think I have enough space to where I can have a decent conclusion with a decent arc. So, to part 5.