Chapter 6: Waiting

Dido watched her twin with great concern, as her sister half-heartedly moved one of her infantry pieces. Stratagem had been one of Scylla’s games, even as a child. However, her latest move left her elite guard without sufficient support.

Dido fell deeper into her seat. It had been six months since the disappearance of Amalthea and Werla. There had no messages from or signs of the missing women.
Scylla’s melancholy deepened each passing day to the point that it was hard for Dido to get her sister to even talk to her.

“You may want to reconsider your move, Scylla,” Dido said, hoping to engage her sister in some sort of conversation.

Scylla refused to rise to the challenge. She simply shrugged her shoulders and turned her dull, navy blue eyes to the window. Shaking her head slightly, Dido made a fairly harmless and potentially vulnerable move against Scylla’s forces.

Dido waited for a few minutes after her move, wishing that Scylla would take some interest in the game. However, this hope was dashed. Reluctantly, Dido brought Scylla’s attention to the game.

‘What’s to become of her?’ Dido wondered. Everything about her twin seemed to have dulled after Amalthea’s disappearance. There wasn’t much left of her sister, and that scared Dido immensely.

Scylla still continued to blame herself for the disappearance of the princess. “If only I had gone directly to the king,” she would say, “then Princess Amalthea and Werla would still be here, still be safe.”

No matter how hard they tried, they could not convince Scylla that Amalthea and Werla would have left at another opportunity. They could not have prevented Amalthea from the palace indefinitely without using force. Such force would jeopardize any chance of recovery Amalthea, the real Amalthea, if she had remained at the palace.

Dido wondered what she had done if Adonis and not Amalthea had disappeared. While she did not have Scylla’s natural empathic powers, Dido did have some emotional connection to Adonis as Scylla did with Amalthea. ‘Or did,’ Dido amended.

As the Guardians of the prince and princess of Cignus, they could detect strong emotions and emotional changes in those they protected, especially anger and distress. However, Scylla’s bond to Amalthea was deeper than Dido’s bond to Adonis, despite Dido’s romantic feelings toward the prince.

‘Which could partly explain the deep melancholy,’ Dido thought. ‘What an emotional void Amalthea’s absence must have made in Scylla.’ Dido was jerked from her thoughts by the sound of Scylla’s voice.

“Things have been set in motion that we cannot change,” Scylla whispered.

“What?” Dido immediately leaned across the game board, studying her twin intensely. “What did you say?”

“Things have been set in motion that we cannot change,” Scylla repeated, her expression trance-like. “There is no turning back now. Must precede. Must move forward. Now is our moment, Werla! Now!”

Dido gasped in complete shock. ‘Werla?! Is Scylla still emotionally connected to the princess? Are they still linked? Was this the explanation for Scylla’s behavior since the disappearance?’

Dido’s hands trembled with shock force that the game piece she had been fell. It shattered, the sound reverberating in the small room. Scylla’s head jerked up and it was a few moments before Scylla’s eyes focused on Dido.

“What happened?” Scylla asked, shaking her head cautiously.

“You were in a trance-like state, Scylla.” Was she deceiving herself, or Dido detected some aspect of her twin’s former self. “Do you remember anything?”

“Vaguely,” Scylla said weakly, rubbing her temples. “By the throne of Cignus, my head hurts.”

Dido rose her chair and helped Scylla gently from hers. She half-carried, half-lead her sister to the infirmary, the private one the Guardians used, which was rarely. Clicking on her communicator, Dido asked for Cassandra to come there immediately.

Dido got Scylla to lie down on a couch, when Cassandra teleported into the room. The Guardian of Compassion really wasn’t that surprised. However, only the leader of the Guardians of Cignus could teleport through both time and space. Dido, with her powers, could only travel through space via the portals with which she was entrusted.

“What’s going now here?” Cassandra said, walking across the room to the sisters. “I was in a meeting with the king and his advisory council.”

“Scylla may still be emotionally connected to Amalthea,” Dido said, drawing surprised looks from the other two women in the room. “A few minutes ago, Scylla went into some kind of trance and she started talking, addressing Werla.”

Cassandra turned to Scylla. “Do you remember any of this? This is very important, Scylla, for a lot of reasons.”

“I was only able to see colors. It was so dark with angry flashes of red now and then. She was frustrated at Werla. The healing sage is reluctant to yield to all of the princess’s demands. She wants to learn of all Werla’s skills and more.

“However, she sensed me somehow, something that she has never been able to before. She forced me out, breaking the connection. I think the connection is now broken forever.”

“Have you been connected to her for these past months?” Cassandra asked, her face grave.

“Yes. I usually can only detect strong emotions, but I can sometimes initiate the connection. I haven’t been that successful lately.”

“Scylla, do you realize what risks you exposed yourself to?” Dido demanded, now truly realizing the extent of the danger Scylla had been in. “Due to this emotional connection, you have been going through the same psychological changes Amalthea is going through.
However, due to her new powers, she could have been channeling her unwanted emotions, her guilt and depression, to you.”

“We will have to get you completely checked out, Scylla,” Cassandra said, her tone ordering no protests.

“You will exam physically and mentally,” she continued. “You are not to attempt another connection with the princess without my permission and presence. If you receive anything else, let me know immediately.”

Scylla had closed her eyes during Dido’s reprimand. They were still closed, but the Guardian of Mercy nodded her head to indicate her understanding.

“I wanted to see if I could still help her,” Scylla said softly, her voice weary. “I needed to know if there was any part of our princess left.”

“And your conclusion?” Cassandra’s worried emerald eyes locked with Dido’s.

“Things have been set in motion that we cannot change,” Scylla repeated once again, chilling Dido. “There is no turning back now.”

“Then we shall wait for the princess’s return,” Cassandra said. “Dido, the Guardians will be in full battle gear immediately.” Then the leader teleported out of the room.

“No doubt Cassandra will have a full fleet of specialists down here in a moment,” Scylla remarked, slowly sitting up.

“Probably, but we need to know that you are okay. I never dreamed that you were trying to connect with Amalthea,” Dido replied.

“I don’t why it is so hard to believe,” Scylla said, tilting her head slightly. “You would be trying the exact same thing if you had my powers and Adonis was missing.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Amalthea is very distrustful, and that was part of her psyche I absorbed. She realized that she and Adonis were being watchful for possible signs of being the Child of Darkness. Our preventive measures may have forced her to the Darkness.”

“They would not have forced her, Scylla,” Dido retorted. “Amalthea let the bitterness and anger control her. She had to, at some point, make the conscious decision to change, to want to be the Child of Darkness. It was her decision, Scylla.”

“I keep telling myself that. Amalthea will return. She is determined to take the throne by force.”

“By the House of Light,” Dido gasped.

“I hope that I can bring myself to fight her when she does return.”


Waiting Dido watched her twin with great concern, as her sister half-heartedly moved one of her infantry pieces. Stratagem had been one of Scylla’s games, even as a child. However, her latest move left her elite guard without sufficient support. Dido fell deeper into her seat. It had been six months since the disappearance of Amalthea and Werla. There had no messages from or signs of the missing women. Scylla’s melancholy deepened each passing day to the point that it was hard for Dido to get her sister to even talk to her. “You may want to reconsider your move, Scylla,” Dido said, hoping to engage her sister in some sort of conversation. Scylla refused to rise to the challenge. She simply shrugged her shoulders and turned her dull, navy blue eyes to the window. Shaking her head slightly, Dido made a fairly harmless and potentially vulnerable move against Scylla’s forces. Dido waited for a few minutes after her move, wishing that Scylla would take some interest in the game. However, this hope was dashed. Reluctantly, Dido brought Scylla’s attention to the game. ‘What’s to become of her?’ Dido wondered. Everything about her twin seemed to have dulled after Amalthea’s disappearance. There wasn’t much left of her sister, and that scared Dido immensely. Scylla still continued to blame herself for the disappearance of the princess. “If only I had gone directly to the king,” she would say, “then Princess Amalthea and Werla would still be here, still be safe.” No matter how hard they tried, they could not convince Scylla that Amalthea and Werla would have left at another opportunity. They could not have prevented Amalthea from the palace indefinitely without using force. Such force would jeopardize any chance of recovery Amalthea, the real Amalthea, if she had remained at the palace. Dido wondered what she had done if Adonis and not Amalthea had disappeared. While she did not have Scylla’s natural empathic powers, Dido did have some emotional connection to Adonis as Scylla did with Amalthea. ‘Or did,’ Dido amended. As the Guardians of the prince and princess of Cignus, they could detect strong emotions and emotional changes in those they protected, especially anger and distress. However, Scylla’s bond to Amalthea was deeper than Dido’s bond to Adonis, despite Dido’s romantic feelings toward the prince. ‘Which could partly explain the deep melancholy,’ Dido thought. ‘What an emotional void Amalthea’s absence must have made in Scylla.’ Dido was jerked from her thoughts by the sound of Scylla’s voice. “Things have been set in motion that we cannot change,” Scylla whispered. “What?” Dido immediately leaned across the game board, studying her twin intensely. “What did you say?” “Things have been set in motion that we cannot change,” Scylla repeated, her expression trance-like. “There is no turning back now. Must precede. Must move forward. Now is our moment, Werla! Now!” Dido gasped in complete shock. ‘Werla?! Is Scylla still emotionally connected to the princess? Are they still linked? Was this the explanation for Scylla’s behavior since the disappearance?’ Dido’s hands trembled with shock force that the game piece she had been fell. It shattered, the sound reverberating in the small room. Scylla’s head jerked up and it was a few moments before Scylla’s eyes focused on Dido. “What happened?” Scylla asked, shaking her head cautiously. “You were in a trance-like state, Scylla.” Was she deceiving herself, or Dido detected some aspect of her twin’s former self. “Do you remember anything?” “Vaguely,” Scylla said weakly, rubbing her temples. “By the throne of Cignus, my head hurts.” Dido rose her chair and helped Scylla gently from hers. She half-carried, half-lead her sister to the infirmary, the private one the Guardians used, which was rarely. Clicking on her communicator, Dido asked for Cassandra to come there immediately. Dido got Scylla to lie down on a couch, when Cassandra teleported into the room. The Guardian of Compassion really wasn’t that surprised. However, only the leader of the Guardians of Cignus could teleport through both time and space. Dido, with her powers, could only travel through space via the portals with which she was entrusted. “What’s going now here?” Cassandra said, walking across the room to the sisters. “I was in a meeting with the king and his advisory council.” “Scylla may still be emotionally connected to Amalthea,” Dido said, drawing surprised looks from the other two women in the room. “A few minutes ago, Scylla went into some kind of trance and she started talking, addressing Werla.” Cassandra turned to Scylla. “Do you remember any of this? This is very important, Scylla, for a lot of reasons.” “I was only able to see colors. It was so dark with angry flashes of red now and then. She was frustrated at Werla. The healing sage is reluctant to yield to all of the princess’s demands. She wants to learn of all Werla’s skills and more. “However, she sensed me somehow, something that she has never been able to before. She forced me out, breaking the connection. I think the connection is now broken forever.” “Have you been connected to her for these past months?” Cassandra asked, her face grave. “Yes. I usually can only detect strong emotions, but I can sometimes initiate the connection. I haven’t been that successful lately.” “Scylla, do you realize what risks you exposed yourself to?” Dido demanded, now truly realizing the extent of the danger Scylla had been in. “Due to this emotional connection, you have been going through the same psychological changes Amalthea is going through. However, due to her new powers, she could have been channeling her unwanted emotions, her guilt and depression, to you.” “We will have to get you completely checked out, Scylla,” Cassandra said, her tone ordering no protests. “You will exam physically and mentally,” she continued. “You are not to attempt another connection with the princess without my permission and presence. If you receive anything else, let me know immediately.” Scylla had closed her eyes during Dido’s reprimand. They were still closed, but the Guardian of Mercy nodded her head to indicate her understanding. “I wanted to see if I could still help her,” Scylla said softly, her voice weary. “I needed to know if there was any part of our princess left.” “And your conclusion?” Cassandra’s worried emerald eyes locked with Dido’s. “Things have been set in motion that we cannot change,” Scylla repeated once again, chilling Dido. “There is no turning back now.” “Then we shall wait for the princess’s return,” Cassandra said. “Dido, the Guardians will be in full battle gear immediately.” Then the leader teleported out of the room. “No doubt Cassandra will have a full fleet of specialists down here in a moment,” Scylla remarked, slowly sitting up. “Probably, but we need to know that you are okay. I never dreamed that you were trying to connect with Amalthea,” Dido replied. “I don’t why it is so hard to believe,” Scylla said, tilting her head slightly. “You would be trying the exact same thing if you had my powers and Adonis was missing.” “Why didn’t you tell me?” “Amalthea is very distrustful, and that was part of her psyche I absorbed. She realized that she and Adonis were being watchful for possible signs of being the Child of Darkness. Our preventive measures may have forced her to the Darkness.” “They would not have forced her, Scylla,” Dido retorted. “Amalthea let the bitterness and anger control her. She had to, at some point, make the conscious decision to change, to want to be the Child of Darkness. It was her decision, Scylla.” “I keep telling myself that. Amalthea will return. She is determined to take the throne by force.” “By the House of Light,” Dido gasped. “I hope that I can bring myself to fight her when she does return.”


Chapter 7: One Last Dance Jupiter's Gone