Louise
"What exactly did you see?" Enraged, Louise stood in front of the seer who almost killed Lou. Nanette had tried to stop Louise, she stood in her way, but by now Louise was furious. She pushed her friend aside and sought out the perpetrator. Nanette did not follow her. The murderer. He looked at her tiredly and slightly annoyed.
Louise had bad dreams at night. She stood in front of a gallows, from which Lou's lifeless body dangled and was devoured by vultures. And though there was no life in her brother, he lamented bitterly and called for her. His dead eyes stared at her reproachfully, while vultures gnawed the flesh off his body. The Lou she saw in her dream was only six years old.
In the morning, when all the priests listened to the words of the gods, she saw nothing. No pictures. Only the memory of the dream and what happened. In the afternoon, after all the tasks were done, she had intercepted the old seer and pushed him into a corner. Now she stood opposite him, while he leaned against one of the walls of the house and could hardly pass her unless he pushed her away. He didn't.
He was taller and wider than her, but she had the element of surprise on her side. The old man cleared his throat. In the shadows, his dark skin looked even darker. Only his eyes shimmered brightly. "What did I see? When exactly? What's the matter, Louise?"
"My brother almost died! So! What exactly did you see?! Please!" A few tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Ah." Smiling mildly, the seer nodded. He looked young, like all sorcerers and witches, but his hair was streaked with a few dark gray strands. Not many, but in the sunlight they shimmered conspicuously. This was very rare, as the magicians stopped aging. But unlike Lou's white spots, gray hair was considered a blessing from the gods. As a token of their favor. "The cursed one? Shouldn't you try to convince the dragons to hand him out? The Wise can certainly use your help."
Louise shook her head. "Cursed or not, he's my brother."
"That's why you refused to take part in the celebration of his sacrifice? Yes... I heard your motives. Your brother. Good child!" He frowned. "I said it before! I saw your brother in a dragon's den. And I saw him with black dragons. He was facing a group."
"A group? And they didn't attack him?"
The old man shrugged. "They didn't. He spoke to them. Kneeled before them. If we don't sacrifice Lou, I also saw the gallows, it will come to that."
"Was it just Lou? By the dragons?" Louise couldn't imagine it.
"No... I saw another figure. Indistinct. Unimportant. The cursed one met with the dragons. With black dragons. Blood was on his hands! Do you want to know more?" He shook his head. "But the words of the gods were clear... A gallows in the bright light of the sun. The wood shimmered golden. Your brother must die. It is the will of the gods. May I go now? I understand that this upsets you, but the gods have shown us what they want." Now he gently pushed her aside and smiled smugly. He put a hand on her head, Louise hated the touch. "Don't do any mischief, will you? You've been forgiven for your refusal, but if you react as aggressively as you did just now, it could get you into more trouble than you deserve. They'd think you helped the dragons. I'm sure you've already heard the rumors. I refrain from asking for an apology. You're agitated. And you look tired." Then he walked away.
Louise sighed. She wanted to scream, stamp her foot, run after the old man and... What's the point of it? There was another figure. Perhaps he actually misinterpreted the words of the gods... No, he MUST have misinterpreted them. Remy has disappeared... Remy. Louise didn't know what to do. Confused, she left the temple complex behind and hurried through the city, through the familiar alleys, until she stood in front of her parents' house, where Nina ran to meet her.
"Louise! You're here!" Her sister grinned broadly. "How are you? I heard the temple is already being restored? That was so scary! Dragons! I've never seen them so close. Not even in this attack! I only heard them!"
"Nina!" Louise hugged her sister and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "How are you? Mom? Dad?"
"Bad!" Nina squeezed Louise a little too tightly. She trembled as she spoke. "Mom hardly speaks and Dad is always angry. And... I think they're relieved."
"About what?" Louise stroked her sister's frizzy, thin hair. It felt good to see her sister.
"Why are you only here now? Why not right after the dragons...? Why did they save Lou? Why did Remy betray us all? Why... Why did they want to kill Lou? We’re not told anything here. All we had to do was get to the temple. Why, Louise? Why so terrible? Couldn't they have just poisoned him? Without turning it into a celebration? It broke our parents' hearts."
"They didn't tell you anything?"
"No." Nina grimaced. "When we got there, there was a speech, but... Is it true? Does Lou have to die to avert disaster? I could hardly understand the words. Mom screamed at the top of her lungs. She wanted Lou to be returned to her."
"Remy loves Lou very much. Like a brother. Of course, he saved him and..." Louise hesitated for a moment. Then she gently pushed her sister inside. It's terrible. "Remy says there's no curse. Even the dragons can't smell magic, bad magic, on Lou."
"What?" Nina blinked. "He said the Wise lie? That's betrayal! Do you believe him?"
"And if he was right?" Of course, Remy was right, but Louise had to be careful. The Wise Men were already watching her. But slowly she started to not care anymore. Only Nina wasn't allowed to know too much. A guess from Remy? Presented not as truth, but as possibility? Nina was smart enough not to risk anything. But she shouldn't know too much. The Wise Men must not condemn my family for treason! If they're willing to sacrifice a boy...
"Then it would be murder!", whispered her little sister. "Don't tell Mom and Dad about it. They're unhappy enough as it is. Is Lou safe with the dragons? Do you think Remy is right?"
Louise cringed. "It's not impossible." And if I have to, I'll ask the dragons to take me in as well. My family. Would we be safe there? Or she had Lou ask for it. But that was a plan for the worst case.
"Don't say anything to Mom and Dad... If it's true, then... Then I was cruel, wasn't I?" Sadly, Nina pulled on a strand of hair. As soon as she let go of the curl, it sprang back and curled close to her head. "Then he would have suffered for nothing. Then it would have been torture. It can't be true."
"That's what the curse is, Nina!" Louise told her. "It's torture."
"Hm. Come on, Mom and Dad will surely be happy about your visit. Don't tell them anything."
Louise stayed with her family until sunset, after which she went through the small alleys to the path that led into the mountains. No one was keeping watch there, as usual. No one dared to visit the dragons without permission. And so Louise snuck into the Mountains of Dragons. She walked along the path she was only allowed to walk once when her magic showed.
At the time, it felt like a dream. Like a bad dream!
