The Rise of Onyx Read online

  “Excellent job, Amelia! Now, what is seven times four? Does anyone remember?”

  Griffin fights to stay focused amidst the very dry content that is in front of him - and he marvels at the way most of the children seem to be completely enthralled, excitedly waving their hands in the air to get Constance’s attention. She must be a very special teacher indeed.

  CHAPTER 3

  It was quite strange finding this mysterious man in the bushes - and I am pretty sure he is the same one I saw in the schoolyard the other day, except that his clothes seemed much more sensible this time. Somehow, he persuaded me into letting him watch my lesson with the children. I still am not sure quite why I allowed it, but I did. So now I’m standing at the chalkboard, jotting down vocabulary words while the students spell and define them for me.

  “Yes, fabulous job, Hanson. I appreciate your efforts!”

  This continues on for perhaps another hour or so, and then I reward the children with a slightly earlier lunch break and an extended outdoor recess. The mysterious stranger follows them outside, which does concern me for a moment, but I relax as soon as I see him settle himself on a nearby bench just outside the door where I can see him. In the snowy season, many times we must stay indoors where it is a bit warmer with the fire in the hearth, but this spring has been such a lovely reprieve from that miserable existence. If only there was a metaphorical spring to rescue me from the eternal winter I was about to enter into with Silas.

  “Good day, Mistress Miller.”

  A much deeper voice than any that my students possess greets me from the open doorway, and I immediately feel my cheeks heat up.

  “Hello, Finn.” I smile happily, and walk over to him, perhaps a little too quickly. “What are you doing here? It’s the middle of the day, after all.”

  He grins, pulling me closer. His clothes smell of lingering sweat and fresh laundry. His mother makes the most wonderful lavender soap this time of year, and the smell suits him. The floral tones of the aroma float up into my nostrils and down into my mouth, licking my throat in anticipation.

  “I just, really wanted to see you. Pa told me to take a break because he had to bring some of his tools to be repaired, and he could probably tell I was getting rather fatigued anyway. So, I took a leisurely walk to see someone… interesting.”

  “Oh really? And who’s… interesting to you, right now?”

  His smile grows even wider, and I flinch as I hear the floorboards of the small entryway platform creak under some unexpected weight. The mysterious stranger is looking in on us, and that’s when I realize that no matter how pleasant it may seem at the moment, having Finn visit me at school could start some very ugly rumors and complicate things.

  “Constance, who’s that?” He jabs his thumb in the general direction of the doorway.

  “That’s, um, no one. Really. I only just learned his name this morning.”

  “Oh? And what is his name, and his business here?” He starts to walk slowly toward the visitor, and I begin to realize that Finn may be assuming things that are not true.

  “Finn, his name is Goodman Griffin, and he’s here to observe my teaching. That’s all.”

  “Is that so?” Griffin nods silently, as if to strengthen my claim. I appreciate his effort, but quickly realize that his hesitation to speak about it may call more suspicion onto everything.

  “Well, don’t you find it a bit odd that a grown man like him doesn’t have a field to work in? Where is he even from?”

  I shake my head. “He didn’t say. Well, I’ll ask him.” I walk gingerly over to where Goodman Griffin is leaning against the doorway, staring at us both. “So, uh, where exactly are you from?”

  His eyes glaze over, as if I asked him to build me a new wagon out of thin air. “Surely you must be from somewhere. Do you just not want to tell me?”

  He nods.

  “Okay, it seems he’s not disclosing where he’s from. That’s all right, isn’t it, Finn?”

  Finn’s crossed arms and furrowed brow remind me that everything is very likely not at all okay, and that I may have just unwittingly dug myself into a deeper hole than I can reasonably expect to get out of before my marriage next week. So I do the one thing I feel will work to show him how I feel - I lean forward until my lips touch his, and kiss him more passionately than ever before. He responds, and I feel his left hand find my lower back and tug me even closer than ever before. As electricity passes back and forth from my feet to the top of my head, I quickly back away. I momentarily forgot that a student could walk in at any moment, and have more questions than I would feel at liberty to provide answers for.

  “Finn, you should go.”

  “So, was that how you wanted to say goodbye?”

  “What? No, I didn’t mean an absolute goodbye, I meant, goodbye until after school later.” Then I lower my voice even more, to emphasize my point. “They could walk in here at any moment, you know.”

  He blushes, as he realizes what I mean, and a shy smile passes over his still-pink lips. “Oh, right. I forgot. I guess… you have that effect on me.” He winks, nearly imperceptibly, to anyone but me, simply because I’m standing close enough to him to see it.

  “I promise I’ll come by later, okay? I just need to get through the rest of the school day.”

  Finn reluctantly nods, and then turns to leave. He awkwardly squeezes past the visitor, and then makes his way to the main road before disappearing amidst the students making their way back to their desks in response to my ringing of the bell.

  “Welcome back, class! Did you enjoy your recess?”

  “Very much, Mistress Miller.”

  “I am so glad to hear that! I did too.” I tried to hide the blush forming on my cheeks by looking down at my feet, and then the textbook I laid out on my desk to introduce to the children next. “Today, we are going to do some collaborative reading and reciting. Please open your primers to section one, chapter thirteen…”

  ✷✷✷

  “I’m holding on as long as I can, Luna. It’ll be okay. I’m going to hold on for you.” Onyx’s eyes dim slightly in the hazy light of the Grand Hall, and Luna’s eyes fill with tears.

  “I know that, Onyx. I really do. But I can’t help but wonder… if maybe you just won’t make it.”

  His hair flares up in response, but the flames die down as quickly as they began. “You’re right, Luna. I can’t lie to you. This is risky, but I don’t have any other choice. I am stuck here, for better of worse. And it’s not like I really have room to regret it, as we absolutely needed a replacement and I am convinced I was the only one who could handle it, at least for as long as I have.”

  Luna takes a few more steps closer to the throne. “It’s killing me, not being able to be close to you.”

  “I know, I’m feeling so numb, and it’s terrible. I’m sorry, Luna. I’m sorry everything had to happen this way. I feel like I failed you.”

  “No.”

  “No?”

  “You were brave. You did what had to be done. And even though it may come with a price, I can’t imagine that the alternative would be any better.” She nods respectfully at him, as if to solidify at least an emotional distance from him, perhaps so that their separation wouldn’t hurt so much anymore. Letting him go would hurt her more than anything she has experienced before, but the pain is necessary. And from it, Luna will grow into a new being, free from attachment to anyone else and completely autonomous in every way. Luna Alison Nelson is going to let go of Onyx Dalton Miller, even though it very well may be the last thing she ever does for him.

  CHAPTER 4

  “There’s definitely something happening between Constance and Finn, I watched them earlier. It shouldn’t be too long now, I would think.”

  The receiver he wears beeps back its affirmation, and Griffin hears Onyx respond on the other end, many years and dimensions away. “That’s good to hear, Griffin. I’m… not doing so well.”

  “Oh, really? What… what’s happenin
g?”

  A pause meets him on the other end of the receiver. “I don’t want to worry you too much, just status quo. Just hurry, please.”

  “Will do. I’m making good progress with Constance - it seems that she has invited me into her inner social group.”

  “What? What do you mean?”

  “Well, she sort of found me in the bushes… and she invited me to observe her while she teaches.”

  “That sounds far too invasive, Griffin. I need you to step away. If you change the past too much, there could be dire consequences.”

  “Believe me, I know that. But this is better, trust me. Now I don’t have to skulk around her so carefully. I have a backstory now.”

  “A backstory? And what exactly would that be?”

  Griffin pauses, to try to convey the information in words and contexts that Onyx would be able to understand. “Well, she’s a schoolteacher, as you know. And I changed my clothes recently to better reflect things that would be worn by people in this millennia, so I appear more of a natural fit in this society. I told her that I don’t own any land to farm, so I am studying to be a teacher also - which is the reason I have been skulking around rather menacingly.”

  “And the reason is what, exactly?”

  “The reason was that I was observing her habits to learn how to be a teacher as well.”

  “And she believed you?”

  “Appears so.”

  “Oh. Well, I suppose that’s fine then. But you must understand that the closer you get to her, the greater the risk of tampering with the space and time narrative. Is that clear?”

  “Crystal clear.”

  Griffin clicks off his transmitter and walks back toward the schoolhouse, hoping to reconnect with Constance before she leaves for the day. He reenters the doorway, where she and her sister are talking quietly amongst themselves.

  “Hello again, Goodman Griffin. I’m just packing up for the day. You’re free to go.”

  Griffin realizes that since she is aware of him now, he can’t just follow her unnoticed. He quickly thinks of a reason to stay near her. “Well, I’m actually fairly new around here, would you mind if I accompanied you back to town?”

  Constance exchanges a glance with her sister, and then shrugs. “Well, I suppose that’s all right. I do have someplace to be though, so I’ll take you to the center, and then you’ll be on your own from there, okay?”

  Griffin nods politely, and even tips his hat before letting Constance and her sister lead the way out the door. He’s picked up a lot of subtle humanoid habits just by osmosis alone.

  “So this main road leads through this area, and goes straight into town. And that, over there, is the Edwardson’s farm. Fae used to love playing with the baby sheep there in the springtime, it was so funny -”

  “Did not!” Fae pipes in, seemingly to defend her status and prestige.

  “But you did! Perhaps not too recently… had to have been at least a year ago.”

  “Nah, those are just for babies.”

  “Sure they are. Anyway, moving on…”

  The conversation continues like this for the rest of their walk, and Griffin nods enthusiastically, even though he has become quite familiar with this surrounding area, as of late. Before he knows it, he finds himself back in the center of town.

  “… And that’s about it! School resumes tomorrow at eight o’clock sharp, so will I see you then?”

  “Yes, that sounds good. Thank you again for your help.”

  “Don’t mention it. God be with ye.” Constance is about to walk away, she locks eyes with the terrible Silas as soon as she turns.

  “Well lookey-lookey, who is my lovey traveling with today? I hope he isn’t your boy toy - that would be quite disrespectful, you know.”

  His rotten breath and puckered, scarred skin assaults both my nose and eyes. “No Silas, Goodman Griffin here is a new coming schoolteacher who has come to observe my class. I was merely showing him back to town. Now let me go.”

  Griffin’s face turns white, as he remembers what Onyx said about avoiding messing with anything that would change the overall narrative. “Constance, I should really be going now. See you tomorrow.” He leaves the two squabbling humanoids where they stand in the town center, and does his best to vanish as quickly into the crowd as possible, while still viewing his target from a safer distance. What he doesn’t see, is the brown-haired boy with the shaggy head of hair staring him down from a nearby alleyway with his arms crossed and a red face. That’s phase one of a potentially changed narrative.

  Griffin sees him just a bit too late, and his own face becomes visibly pale as he watches him walk directly over to Constance’s house, to meet her at the front door. The conversation they are about to have likely won’t be a pleasant one, but necessary, all the same.

  CHAPTER 5

  “Constance, I saw you walking home with him.”

  “What? With who?”

  Fae rapidly excuses herself, once she sees that the conversation I’m about to have with Finn might not be something I want her to hear. “I’ll go do my homework, see you later, Constance.”

  “That… random person you were with. What’s his business with you?”

  “Finn, just let me explain, I think you’re getting upset over nothing!”

  “Oh nothing? Now, whatever is going on between us… is nothing?” He lowers his voice, which I appreciate, as well as the way he conscientiously leads me away from my front door so that my parents wouldn’t be in earshot.

  “It’s not nothing - but the Goodman Griffin is. He’s studying to be a schoolteacher and observed my class today. He’s new in town and wanted to be walked back to the center marketplace. That’s all.”

  “Oh.”

  I can hear the air dissipate from his lungs and the tension loosening in his chest. “Precisely. I wouldn’t hurt you, Finn. I know this…” I motion in between us, as there really is no accurate word to sufficiently describe what is really going on. I settle myself on a nearby barrel, and run my hand over the rough, weather-hewn wood and continue my thought. “… I realize this is unconventional, to say the least. But you knew that, and you understood that it was temporary because of… my situation.”

  Finn nods, his face more relaxed but his hands still showing signs of stress - wringing them like a damp rag is never a good sign, I know that much.

  “I understand, Constance. I’m not sure why I jumped at it like that, I should have just asked you first.”

  “Perhaps. But I’m sorry I upset you, I’ll try to be more sensitive about that. It’s hard, balancing everything. My life is about to change forever and there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s terrifying, and daunting to process. Surely that makes sense, right?”

  “Of course. I can only imagine what that must be like.”

  “And for your sake, I hope you never find out.”

  He smiles sweetly at me, in that way that makes me absolutely weak in the knees, and then he pulls me closer in a tight embrace, breathing softly near my ear and planting a chaste kiss on my cheek. “Let’s take a walk, maybe? Do you have some time for that?”

  “I can make time, let’s go.” I look around to make sure no one is around, and I grab his hand. We both walk toward the woods and green spaces that have yet to be turned into farmland or plots for new houses as a part of the expansion that has been happening around town as of late. With both the rapid population growth and the visitors who never leave, we are running out of space.

  “I just got very uneasy seeing you with him at school today. I was shocked, and didn’t know what to expect, you know?”

  I nod, and give his hand a reassuring squeeze. “That makes sense. And even though I’m engaged to someone else, we have an… understanding for now, right?”

  “I like that… an understanding. That makes sense, I think that covers it.”

  “And you’re okay with… letting go eventually?”

  Finn’s eyes suddenly glaze over, and I’m worried
I upset him again. “No, I’m not. But I’m going to have to be.”

  I exhale, and stop walking long enough to give him a big hug. His touch fills me with a hunger that I didn’t know I had, and suddenly he’s kissing me again, more desperately than ever. I can feel all the longing, and the pain that he feels. His lips tell a greater story than words ever can.

  ✷✷✷

  “I think I messed up, Onyx.”

  “What do you mean, you messed up?” Griffin can hear the intensity growing in his voice, and prepares himself to take whatever Onyx is about to dish out.

  “I made your father upset with your mother.”

  “How?”

  “It’s not important, what’s important is, I have to fix that. Can you have Evander locate Constance’s approximate location in relation to me? I had eyes on her, but I had to walk further away from her.”

  “I’m on it. Evander, please find her for Griffin.” He hears some discussion in the background through Onyx’s receiver, and waits for further instruction.

  “Okay, she appears to be in the woods not too far away from your current location. Find her immediately, but don’t let her see you this time!”

  “Copy that.”

  ✷✷✷

  His hands find their way to my waist, tugging desperately at my apron, and I practically tear it off. My head covering falls to the grass in an unceremonious heap, and I let my hair fall loosely among my shoulders. Before I know it, we’re both kneeling in the lush, green grass, and then lying down together. He’s easing himself over me, and I quickly realize where this is leading. I don’t want to make him stop, but I feel like I need to.

  “Finn… Finn…”

  “Mmhmmm?”

  He continues kissing me, sucking my breath away, but I finally manage to come back to the surface.

  “I can’t do this right now.”

  “Huh? Oh, okay.” He brushes off his pants and sits back in the grass, rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hands. “I didn’t mean to pressure you.”