{"id":22404,"date":"2020-05-04T06:45:33","date_gmt":"2020-05-04T10:45:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tellest.com\/?page_id=22404"},"modified":"2020-05-05T07:26:18","modified_gmt":"2020-05-05T11:26:18","slug":"tellest-short-story-forgotten-gold","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/tellest-short-story-forgotten-gold\/","title":{"rendered":"Tellest Short Story – Forgotten Gold"},"content":{"rendered":"

Forgotten Gold
\n<\/strong>A Tale by Michael DeAngelo<\/strong><\/p>\n

Note: it is recommended that you read the first story in this series, Remembered in Gold<\/a>, for context.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It felt like weightlessness and immensity all at once, as though he were caught somewhere between a calm pond and a raging river that forced him down deeper with every passing moment.\u00a0 That concept was deeply engrained in his mind.\u00a0 Just like sinking to the bottom of a lake or riverbed, Kunal knew he couldn\u2019t draw breath, lest he die.\u00a0 No, it was not that he should not try<\/em> to draw breath, he thought intently\u2014for that was all he could do in his present state.\u00a0 He was simply unable<\/em> to pull fresh air into his lungs.\u00a0 He was unable to speak, blink, or even flatulate should he need to.\u00a0 And yet, with all he did without, he was still cognizant.\u00a0 He was still aware.<\/p>\n

But only mostly.<\/p>\n

Trapped in his own body as he was, a fog hung over him.\u00a0 Concentration was difficult, and he could only bring it to a focus under unusual circumstances.\u00a0 Standing immobile in the garden, facing a strange topiary before him had grown old and wearisome.\u00a0 Unable to look away or close his eyes, the permanent sight of everything before him felt like a blank canvas.<\/p>\n

What was life if it never truly changed?<\/p>\n

As his thoughts grew muddled and the golden veil darkened over his eyes, the heaviness took hold of him.\u00a0 His limbs, fixed in their positions, had long ago changed from feeling sore to feeling nonexistent, as though he were only a mind floating in the aether.\u00a0 And if his appendages had grown stiff and numb with atrophy, how long would it be before his mind followed them?<\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t blink, but it felt like he did when day turned to night and back into day.\u00a0 If a bird flew into the garden or perched atop the topiary across the path, he felt a tingling somewhere in his golden-shrouded body.\u00a0 More than once, he tried to speak to the bird, though he had long ago lost his voice.\u00a0 In fact, it had been so long that he no longer remembered what his voice sounded like.\u00a0 Words themselves carried no weight, no meaning.\u00a0 When he heard chatter from beyond the garden walls, he could swear the speakers made soft, guttural noises in another language altogether.<\/p>\n

Kunal thought in pictures and abstract ideas in those days\u2014or were they weeks?\u00a0 Months?\u00a0 It was impossible to tell.<\/p>\n

Everything drew to a focus again, for a bird that ventured into Lakmari flew into the garden.\u00a0 Kunal was aware of it, and with it, he was also aware of the rain that had fallen the night before, though he had been ignorant of it then.\u00a0 The ground was damp still, and dew hung off the leaves of the topiary.<\/p>\n

The bird didn\u2019t perch upon that animal-shaped hedge, though.\u00a0 It flew about the area and finally landed upon his upraised hand.<\/p>\n

Kunal couldn\u2019t point his eyes there, nor tilt his neck.\u00a0 He only saw it out of his periphery, the bird prodding at its blue tailfeathers with its beak.\u00a0 He realized he didn\u2019t feel anything there on his fingers.\u00a0 He wondered if it was because of how light the bird was or because of the magic that kept him entombed in his golden shell.<\/p>\n

As he struggled to glimpse the bird, locked in place as he was, he heard chatter nearby.\u00a0 Whether it was because he had been roused from his trance-like state or because whoever spoke was close, their words weren\u2019t lost to him like so many others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe gardens are feeling crowded,\u201d he heard.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re moving too fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShyamal decides what is too fast,\u201d another familiar voice replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people of my city will uncover the truth of what is happening here.\u00a0 The ruse will be ended, and they\u2019ll see what we\u2019ve done.\u00a0 Perhaps that is for the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other man growled, and heavy footsteps drew nearer to where Kunal stood.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s plenty of room in the palace,\u201d he called out.\u00a0 \u201cAnd your subjects only attend you there when they are invited.\u201d<\/p>\n

Out of his peripheral vision, Kunal watched the bird fly away.\u00a0 A moment later, a muscular, fair-skinned fellow was there.\u00a0 Kunal searched the boundaries of his mind, trying to recall his name.\u00a0 Ronin?\u00a0 Rhodin?\u00a0 Rohan.\u00a0 He was one of Prince Sazim\u2019s so-called advisors\u2014a visitor to the city who seemed to never leave the prince\u2019s side.\u00a0 Kunal recalled the fierce grip the man had, and just thinking of it had his hand hurting.<\/p>\n

Rohan didn\u2019t pause to assess anything.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t look at Kunal with any compassion or sympathy.\u00a0 He just grabbed Kunal by the waist and lifted into the air, draping him over his shoulder like a rolled-up carpet being sold at the bazaar.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll put this one inside, and if anyone questions why, you can say you\u2019ve heard tales of his adventuring spirit and of the great things he\u2019s accomplished.\u00a0 You wanted his statue closer so you could celebrate his achievements.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want him closer,\u201d Sazim said.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t said with as much petulance as Kunal would have expected.\u00a0 Instead, he sensed remorse there in that quiet reflection.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t want to be reminded of what I\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFind another route through the palace then,\u201d Rohan suggested.<\/p>\n

As Kunal bobbled there on the man\u2019s shoulder, he faced down toward the stone path.\u00a0 Where time usually moved through the hourglass one grain at a time, it raced while he studied every change in his surroundings.\u00a0 Though it felt foolish, he was invigorated by any variation of the world around him.\u00a0 He looked at the stones and the blades of grass that surrounded them, and he tried to remember their sharp yet gentle touch whenever he would play as a child in the fields not far from his house.\u00a0 How much had he taken for granted as something he could experience whenever he wanted?<\/p>\n

He saw his shadow, affixed to Rohan\u2019s, though he teetered like a sack of goods being brought to market.\u00a0 That movement\u2014none he provided himself, he knew\u2014still felt amazing, as though stretching his muscles for the first time in ages.<\/p>\n

In his mind, he thanked Rohan for the changing scenery.\u00a0 He scolded him for treating him like an object and not a person.\u00a0 He planned scorching insults and barbed soliloquys, knowing they remained trapped within his mind, never to be heard.\u00a0 Even when he tried to shake his head to dismiss those thoughts of grandeur\u2014limited so much from the dreams he had when he was younger\u2014he was fixed in his position.<\/p>\n

A sigh couldn\u2019t leave his lungs, but he felt the sensation all the same as he focused on the ground once more.\u00a0 Another shadow joined them, following behind Rohan.\u00a0 As the advisor\u2019s footsteps echoed off the wooden steps leading to the palace, Kunal was afforded a better vantage of the person.<\/p>\n

Prince Sazim followed Rohan as though the advisor were leading, and the prince was commanded to fall in line behind him.<\/p>\n

When he was carried into the palace proper, Kunal watched the shadows fade away, only to return by the light of the sconces that hung along the walls.\u00a0 He studied the floor, almost admiring the exquisite long rugs that lined the corridors.\u00a0 Lakmari was known for many fine goods, like gold and jade, but textiles like those and the tapestries that hung beside windows in the palace had to be imported\u2014or custom-designed and made.\u00a0 Every now and again as Rohan walked on, Kunal glimpsed the bottom of a wall hanging.<\/p>\n

If nothing else, the change of venue could ignite a spark in his mind once more.\u00a0 Then again, the outside world was far more dynamic than the inside of the palace.<\/p>\n

Kunal could only hope they didn\u2019t stash him away in some storage room in the dark, where his mind would atrophy and fade to nothingness.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, don\u2019t take him that way,\u201d he heard Sazim say.\u00a0 \u201cRohan, stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s room for him down this corridor.\u00a0 You won\u2019t have a view out of the garden anymore, but he can sit right across from the other statue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat other statue is\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Sazim\u2019s words drifted off, but it didn\u2019t take long for Kunal to understand the prince\u2019s reservations.\u00a0 As Rohan turned and set the golden statue into place, Kunal could see who he would share that short stretch of corridor with.<\/p>\n

It was his father, Johar.<\/p>\n

Kunal thought back to when he had first won Lakmari\u2019s lottery and thought he was being selected to go on a grand pilgrimage for his city\u2014to bring it honor and glory and make the harsh world around them safer.\u00a0 He remembered believing that winning the Gathering meant there was a chance he could someday reconnect with his father, who had been selected years before.<\/p>\n

He never thought for a moment the golden statue of his father was a shroud that kept him trapped inside.<\/p>\n

As Kunal looked across the way, he spotted details he missed when he first saw the golden statue of Johar.\u00a0 What he thought was a heroic pose looked instead like a desperate protest\u2014no doubt against Sazim\u2019s magic, or perhaps his white witch\u2019s entrancing gaze.\u00a0 He gazed across the way and looked at his father\u2019s golden-coated eyes and wondered if Johar could see him too.<\/p>\n

Were all Sazim\u2019s golden prisoners still aware within their gilded tombs?<\/p>\n

As he considered that, he was surprised to see Sazim appear along his periphery.\u00a0 He inched forward, slow and uneasy like a scolded child.\u00a0 Kunal realized he stood slightly taller than the prince\u2014though it could have been due to the way the prince\u2019s shoulders sagged or he bowed his head.\u00a0 Sazim\u2019s lips parted as though he wished to say something, but he couldn\u2019t produce a sound.<\/p>\n

Good<\/em>, Kunal thought.\u00a0 If I can no longer speak, you shouldn\u2019t either.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sazim shook his head, forgoing any snide remark or self-important revelation he had been preparing.\u00a0 He turned about, walking back down the way they came, his footsteps echoing for a few moments before he walked atop a plush carpet once more.\u00a0 Before long, it grew silent in that corridor, only the quiet crackle of a dancing flame in a sconce along the adjacent hallway reminding Kunal there was more to the world than just a still picture of his father across the way.<\/p>\n

Kunal soon realized he preferred the prince\u2019s attendance.\u00a0 Alone with his father, all he could think of was how he had failed him for not asking questions or thinking to pursue him into the harsh Lustran wilderness with hopes of finding him.\u00a0 How soon would he have realized that Johar\u2014along with all the other winners of the Gathering\u2014had never truly left Lakmari?\u00a0 Instead, he was trapped closer than anyone could have suspected, unable to call for help or raise a flag to indicate the prince\u2019s nefarious deeds.<\/p>\n

As night came along and darkness crept into the building, Kunal understood that he faced the same limitations.\u00a0 He could never warn the other citizens or fight against Sazim\u2019s clandestine tyranny.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t even part his lips to apologize to his father for thinking the worst of him when he and his family never received so much as a letter when he departed so many years ago.<\/p>\n

Emotion welled up inside him as he considered that.\u00a0 Just as they had thought about their father, his mother and sister were sure to think the same of him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Another night fell in the palace of Lakmari, and to Kunal, it felt like another lifetime of torture.\u00a0 With every sunrise, the gold across the way sparkled, as though life was bound to resume there.\u00a0 The first few nights Kunal was there, trapped in his standing tomb, he thought he saw light dancing in his father\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 If Johar looked at his son, though, it was in the same state as Kunal: neither could do anything.<\/p>\n

For nearly a month, Kunal struggled to spring out with muscles he couldn\u2019t feel and to scream with lips that wouldn\u2019t budge.\u00a0 It was no use.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t even a rattle of his golden boots in one direction or another.<\/p>\n

As bothersome as the mornings were, when he saw the sunlight creep up his father\u2019s body through unblinking eyes, the nights were harder.\u00a0 It was then that he watched darkness engulf Johar and, reminded of his failures, pressed against his unyielding depression with vigor and rage that couldn\u2019t escape the golden shroud.<\/p>\n

Though his thoughts never manifested as words or actions, he railed against his mind in a litany of screams and shouts.\u00a0 His indignation came so frequently and lasted for so long that he wondered how the stress of it all had not come and simply claimed him.<\/p>\n

And then the real curse of his entrapment became clear to him: perhaps there was no escape\u2014not even in death.\u00a0 Was Johar just across the carpet, slowly and constantly wishing for his own expiration?<\/p>\n

After countless days\u2014no, months, it had to be\u2014the light outside changed.\u00a0 Summer had come to Lakmari, and despite his circumstances, Kunal couldn\u2019t help but think about the reprieve he would have from the Lustran summer heat.\u00a0 Then again, it was not as though he could feel it, he reminded himself.<\/p>\n

Of course, he also said a silent prayer every morning when he saw his shadow form across the way.<\/p>\n

Let this be the day the sun beats down so hard upon Lakmari that I melt against the window.<\/em><\/p>\n

More than once, he thought of stopping the ritual.\u00a0 Who was to say that even if he were reduced to a small golden puddle, he wouldn\u2019t still be conscious of his terrible predicament?<\/p>\n

Instead, Kunal did his best to let his mind wander.<\/p>\n

It was not as easy as it seemed, unfortunately.\u00a0 Over the months that passed, he\u2019d seen his fair share of happenings within the palace\u2014perhaps he was just more aware of it, for so little changed during each of his days compared to out in the garden.<\/p>\n

When Sazim led another of the Lakmari residents through the halls\u2014a lout and a drunkard who did very little with his life by the name of Yesh, if Kunal remembered right\u2014the prince made a point to show off both statues, the father and the son, and indicated that perhaps they had found each other again after their Gatherings.<\/p>\n

Kunal detected a shudder in Sazim\u2019s voice, as though he truly did have regrets for what he did.\u00a0 It mattered not, though.\u00a0 Kunal was sure of why Yesh was called to the palace.\u00a0 He thought back to the dizzyingly dull days that came before and wondered if perhaps he had ignored the frenzy of cheers and applause when Yesh\u2019s name was called for his own Gathering.\u00a0 Sooner than later, another citizen was to be turned to gold, and a new lie would be told to the people of Lakmari that he had gone on some wonderful, grand adventure.<\/p>\n

Kunal wished Sazim\u2019s regrets would turn to poison in his mouth and that they would be the thing he choked on.<\/p>\n

By the time he let his angry thoughts lapse from his mind, Sazim and Yesh were gone, and the light of day had changed.\u00a0 New shadows crept into the building, and it became obvious that his rage swelled in him over the course of hours, blinding him to the passage of time.<\/p>\n

As it subsided and the adrenaline passed, Kunal felt as though he were packed too tightly within the golden shell.\u00a0 He felt more uncomfortable than before\u2014a thought he\u2019d never considered possible prior to then.<\/p>\n

He tried to shake his head before recalling he\u2019d be unable to for all eternity.\u00a0 Another silent scream pierced through him but couldn\u2019t penetrate his gilded shroud.<\/p>\n

Before long, the dark of night engulfed the hallway, allowing him some form of respite, as he let his mind drift, aimless in his own abyss.<\/p>\n

Kunal dreamed though he was in that perpetually conscious state.\u00a0 He remembered running through the city streets, playing with his sister and his friend, climbing the blossom trees in the western forest.\u00a0 He recalled the times before his father left, when Johar would carry him on his shoulders while his mother cradled his sister against her chest.\u00a0 Once, Johar was the greatest part of Kunal\u2019s life.\u00a0 But that was so many years ago.\u00a0 How much time had they lost because of Sazim\u2019s awful curse?<\/p>\n

Kunal\u2019s mind wandered still, but it was along one meandering path rather than the series of crossroads it had been set upon before.\u00a0 He saw images along the way: him racing his father up a hill just outside Lakmari\u2019s city walls; an arm-wrestling contest where Johar displayed incredible acting skills while he feigned a defeat against his son; the day his father, with tears in his eyes, kneeled near the door of their humble abode and placed a hand on both of his children\u2019s shoulders.\u00a0 Once again, he leaned on those fine performing arts, promising that, though he would miss Kunal and Sesha terribly, he felt great pride in them and knew they were destined for great things.<\/p>\n

In his dream state, Kunal walked past the distant memory, nearing the palace on a quiet night where no one was around, and the gates were open.<\/p>\n

A whisper crept into his mind, reminding him of what he truly wanted to know:<\/p>\n

Why would Sazim do this to the people of Lakmari?<\/em><\/p>\n

Thoughts kept pervading his recollection, like memories of a time long ago.\u00a0 But it couldn\u2019t have been that long, could it?\u00a0 His time in the garden was mere days ago\u2014or had months already passed?<\/p>\n

Kunal heard a voice in his mind and struggled to place who it had belonged to.\u00a0 The name Shyamal fluttered in the dark corners of his awareness, and he tried to remember who had spoken that name.\u00a0 All he knew was that it was spoken with a rotten taste\u2014he knew at once that Shyamal was as corrupt and wicked as the rest of them.<\/p>\n

As he searched within himself, he was surprised by a sudden movement in front of him.\u00a0 Rohan\u2014the one who had mentioned Shyamal, Kunal recalled then\u2014had also suggested Sazim avoid his hallway in the palace if he didn\u2019t want to see Kunal and Johar.\u00a0 The prince had taken that advice to heart and only ventured down the corridor when he absolutely had to.<\/p>\n

But it was not Sazim who ventured before Kunal then.\u00a0 He remembered the woman\u2019s fair skin and golden hair.\u00a0 He recalled that, even though she was not of Lakmari, she dressed the part, wearing fancy silks and sashes, vibrant bangles and earrings.\u00a0 But what Kunal most remembered about Cascadia was her haunting gaze.<\/p>\n

She had passed him by, almost lost in the darkness, but something had brought her back.\u00a0 Though shadows danced upon her, she still seemed to sparkle.\u00a0 Her hair, nearly the same color as the statues she helped to turn the citizens into, looked vivid even under the cover of night.\u00a0 While Sazim was the prince, there was something about that golden crown that made Kunal wonder if she was perhaps the one in control.<\/p>\n

Cascadia stopped in front of him, studying his features and recalling what he had looked like when he was not trapped behind his golden pall.\u00a0 She brought a glass to her mouth, and Kunal could see she drank wine as red as her lips.<\/p>\n

Though his eyes were locked in place, as they were when she once gazed into them, he felt as though he could move about and truly see her for the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was Kunal, wasn\u2019t it?\u201d she spoke then.<\/p>\n

If he could have gasped, he would have.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re still in there, aren\u2019t you?\u201d she went on.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s something there that\u2019s still alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

As she took a step closer, he could feel his heart beating faster.\u00a0 Cascadia lifted her hand and caressed it against his face.\u00a0 Though a layer of gold separated them, he imagined the touch and swore to himself that he could feel it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something in you still, buzzing\u2014thriving.\u201d<\/p>\n

She drew closer, until her lips were nearly upon his.\u00a0 He heard her soft breaths and saw as her eyes danced to his various features.<\/p>\n

A quiet, teasing laugh left her mouth as she drew away.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m certain this is not the last we\u2019ve seen of each other,\u201d she said.\u00a0 Her gaze lingered for a moment longer before she continued the way she had gone before.<\/p>\n

Somehow, the darkness of the place seemed even gloomier in her absence.<\/p>\n

It took some time for Kunal to shake the memory of the woman from his mind.\u00a0 Cascadia was enchanting, even if he was aware of the part she played in his fate.<\/p>\n

As his heartbeat steadied and the vibrant color of the world seemed to fade into a dismal mix of blacks and greys once more, he realized there was a reason for the woman\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n

Yesh walked into the palace of his own accord, but he wouldn\u2019t be walking out.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Summer gave way to autumn, and the light shifted through the window at his back in such a way that the sun\u2019s rays never quite reached Johar\u2019s eyes at any point throughout the day.<\/p>\n

Kunal latched onto the words Cascadia had shared with him weeks\u2014no, months\u2014ago.\u00a0 She called him alive, as though it were a surprise.\u00a0 Perhaps that meant none of the others who had been cursed by Sazim\u2019s magic were left to rot in their golden sarcophagi.<\/p>\n

Or perhaps there was something within Kunal that fought still, when everyone else had more easily given up.<\/p>\n

He stared across the way, wondering if his father had immediately been severed from existence, or if he slowly fought against maddening thoughts until he was cut off from the verve of life.\u00a0 Did he think about his children till the end?\u00a0 Or did his mind atrophy until he couldn\u2019t make sense of anything beyond the minutiae of the world around him?<\/p>\n

Kunal still felt connected to everything.\u00a0 Time was a strange construct he couldn\u2019t make sense of, for his days, weeks, and months blended together.\u00a0 But he hadn\u2019t lost anything beyond that.\u00a0 He remembered his time in the gardens.\u00a0 Though he couldn\u2019t smell anything in his state, he imagined the aroma of the rain every time it beat down on the ground behind him.\u00a0 Even the taste of his last meal before Cascadia froze him in place and Sazim began his transformation was still in his mind.<\/p>\n

Every day it was as though he relived the entirety of his life leading up to his announcement as winner of the Gathering and the dull days of his imprisonment afterward.<\/p>\n

He replayed the most recent bitter memories in his mind every day: After Cascadia had left him alone, Sazim\u2019s other fair-skinned associate, the burly Rohan, carried Yesh in his golden shroud toward a palace\u2019s exit.\u00a0 Despite Yesh\u2019s considerable size, Rohan looked as though he could have carried the entrapped man beneath one arm.<\/p>\n

Did Yesh\u2019s statue sit in the same spot Kunal once did, he wondered.\u00a0 They had to celebrate the man, even if he had no family and few friends to speak of.\u00a0 The ruse had to seem real\u2014the Gathering had to be a victory rather than a foul curse.\u00a0 And what better way to keep the citizens of Lakmari content than to heroize even the lowliest scoundrel among them?<\/p>\n

Across the way, Kunal saw disturbances in the light cast in from the window.\u00a0 Though none of his features shifted, it felt as though he were curling his lips up in a smile.\u00a0 The ryza blossom trees\u2019 summer petals were falling, and he remembered how even in his perpetual immobile state, there was something calming and soothing about seeing that.\u00a0 That late in the year, the petals would have been a vibrant orange or a striking red.\u00a0 He remembered they would cover the stone paths that meandered through the common until a gardener swept them this way or that.<\/p>\n

If Johar did still see, at least he was treated to a brilliant view.<\/p>\n

Kunal tried to press out a sigh that would neither fill nor empty his lungs or leave his lips.\u00a0 Trapped as he was, he was at the mercy of whatever servants were at Sazim\u2019s beck and call.\u00a0 Perhaps that would be where he spent the rest of eternity: looking at the lifeless body of his father, who so long ago left them, yet stayed close all the same.<\/p>\n

He remembered that Johar hadn\u2019t always been there in the palace\u2019s corridor.\u00a0 The prince and his strange helpers moved things about at their own pace and perhaps with their own strategies.\u00a0 Yesh\u2019s statue would have had to be at the forefront of the Lakmarian citizens\u2019 minds.\u00a0 He was the latest winner of the Gathering, after all.\u00a0 He was to be celebrated.<\/p>\n

Kunal wondered if anyone still remembered him.\u00a0 His mind drifted to thoughts of his mother and his sister, to their neighbors\u2026\u00a0 He wondered if his friend, Param, had made new connections since he\u2019d been gone.\u00a0 They were inseparable once\u2014his friend had even claimed he would leave Lakmari and look for him.\u00a0 Was Param out on the road, looking for someone who never left?<\/p>\n

How long would Sazim\u2019s cruel sorcery go on, Kunal wondered.\u00a0 How long had it been in effect?\u00a0 The Gatherings had gone on for many years\u2014for as long as Kunal had been alive.\u00a0 And the prince was only several years older than he.<\/p>\n

Some distant chatter in the palace shook him from his thoughts then.\u00a0 Before long, a shadow crept down the hall, and Kunal could discern that Sazim was talking.<\/p>\n

It was too soon for another Gathering, wasn\u2019t it?\u00a0 His days blended together, but it surely hadn\u2019t been as long as usual for a second victim to be walking into the dangers of the palace, and he hadn\u2019t heard the usual distant buzz of Lakmari\u2019s people to celebrate the victor.<\/p>\n

Sazim walked down the hall, a wide smile upon his face.\u00a0 Kunal, unable to steer his gaze away, studied his look intently.\u00a0 The prince wore a veneer of excitement and glee, but there were cracks beneath it all.\u00a0 A keen eye could see the weak yet swift flash of a frown as he considered all the wretched things he\u2019d done.<\/p>\n

Still, he pointed toward Kunal, saying something about his heroism and his bravery at venturing into the Lustran wilderness.\u00a0 So fixated on his mannerisms, Kunal lost sense of the words for a moment.\u00a0 He forced himself to pay more attention, for Sazim heaped praise upon Johar then as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to think they found one another out there,\u201d the prince said with a hopeful charm in his voice.\u00a0 He sounded more pleasant than Kunal had ever heard, despite all the weariness he\u2019d seen in him since his transformation.\u00a0 \u201cWe send letters out to the Lakmari outposts we\u2019ve established, of course, but the life of adventurers can be unexpected.\u00a0 We\u2019ve not heard back yet, but I\u2019m hopeful that when we do hear from them, it will be exceptional news.\u00a0 Perhaps their quests will even see them back here one day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though he knew his statue wouldn\u2019t reflect it, Kunal felt as though he furrowed his brow.\u00a0 There was something unsettling about the way Sazim talked to his guest, and more, that he lingered there between the two gilded men.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s\u2026disconcerting,\u201d he heard a womanly voice say then.\u00a0 \u201cThey look so much like they did when I knew them.\u00a0 They\u2019re lifelike, and yet, it doesn\u2019t appear they\u2019ve aged a day.\u201d<\/p>\n

A shiver ran up Kunal\u2019s spine.\u00a0 The voice felt familiar, yet time had warped the pitch or the timbre and changed it into something peculiar.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an important event, being picked for the Gathering.\u00a0 Their absence is not lost to us, and I will spare no expense to ensure their sacrifice is remembered.\u201d\u00a0 He held out his hand, enticing his guest closer.\u00a0 \u201cKunal and Johar left to see Lakmari made a better place.\u00a0 They went to drive off bandits, or to secure an alliance with a distant nation, or perhaps to find some great treasure that has been lost to time.\u00a0 But in any case, it seems they left the jewel of Lakmari here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feeling a pounding in his chest, Kunal lashed out against his thoughts.\u00a0 It couldn\u2019t be what he thought it was.\u00a0 He was wrong\u2014his mind was devastated from his entrapment, and it wove cruel fantasies for him.\u00a0 It was torture, to be sure, but welcome compared to if it was truly\u2026<\/p>\n

When the young lady took the prince\u2019s hand, it was as though each moment slowed to a crawl, each grain of sand in the glass separately fell one by one through the ampoule, leaving a distinct signal upon the bottom of the bulb.<\/p>\n

As Sazim pulled his visitor closer, the horrifying truth was laid bare.<\/p>\n

The prince had called Johar, the father.<\/p>\n

He had called Kunal, the son.<\/p>\n

And now, he called Sesha.\u00a0 His sister.<\/p>\n

Kunal felt as though he railed against his golden tomb, slamming his fists and kicking at walls that were so near to him that he could gain no momentum.\u00a0 He shook about as though he were a man possessed by a tempest, the storm welling within him so fiercely that he thought that certainly the gilded shroud could not contain him.<\/p>\n

Yet he heard not so much as a rattle as Sazim brought his sister\u2019s hand toward his lips.\u00a0 A nonexistent gasp struck the frozen man, but the prince\u2019s touch did not seem to affect the young woman as it had her brother so long ago.<\/p>\n

Kunal looked at Sazim and saw that his features were more striking than he recalled in the past.\u00a0 His manner of garb had changed as well, as the prince seemed to go for bolder colors and patterns.<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t planning on using his curse on her, Kunal realized.\u00a0 He was simply smitten by her.<\/p>\n

For several moments, a feeling of relief washed over the trapped man.\u00a0 He wouldn\u2019t wish his predicament on his worst enemy, let alone his own sister.<\/p>\n

He reflected for a moment and realized that Sazim, in fact, was his worst enemy at that time, and he reconsidered his stance.\u00a0 If the prince could be turned to gold, Kunal would make peace with it.\u00a0 That he could do the terrible things he did to Johar and his son\u2014and still pursue Sesha\u2014was unthinkable and despicable.<\/p>\n

Kunal merely traded one type of anger for another.<\/p>\n

Sazim spun about, ready to show his special guest more of the palace.\u00a0 His voice resonated from farther down the hall as he made his way from there, but Sesha lingered between her father and her brother, oblivious to the fact they were anything other than statues.\u00a0 She looked to her father, whispering something only Kunal, in that proximity, could hear.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look just like I remember you, Appa,\u201d Sesha said.\u00a0 \u201cLike not a day has passed.\u201d<\/p>\n

She turned her head then and looked at her brother\u2019s statue instead.\u00a0 She remained there for some time, looking into his golden-coated eyes.\u00a0 Sesha had grown into a beautiful young woman, with dark, shadowy makeup lining her eyes and luxurious locks of coffee-colored hair that cascaded down her shoulders.\u00a0 She had new attention to detail, it seemed, as she grew older\u2014older than Kunal had been when he was selected at the Gathering so long ago.<\/p>\n

Sesha tilted her head as she looked at her brother, and he wondered if perhaps she sensed his yearning for freedom within.\u00a0 The only other person who seemed to understand he was more than an effigy of the man she remembered was Cascadia, and she looked at him the same way Sesha did now.<\/p>\n

She hummed a short note to herself before she went on her way, leaving her imprisoned family there in the corridor.<\/p>\n

Kunal wondered if she turned to look over her shoulder as she went, but try as he might, he couldn\u2019t croon his neck in that direction to verify it.<\/p>\n

As time passed and the shadows of night closed in, it felt as though the palace grew darker than it ever had before.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kunal prayed each and every day.\u00a0 Though it had felt as though his life could not have grown worse than it was, the thought of his sister spending time with the dastardly prince made him feel like his skin crawled, even though it was trapped beneath a layer of gold.<\/p>\n

And each day, as dejected as it left him, he hoped it would be the last day he\u2019d see Sesha walking through the palace.\u00a0 Many times, days went by when he had remembered seeing her last, and he wondered if Sazim had grown bored with his sister.\u00a0 He could only wish he\u2019d let her walk away rather than use his foul magic on her.<\/p>\n

But would he really risk a citizen going missing without calling for the Gathering?<\/p>\n

Such thoughts were pointless anyway and easy to dismiss, for Sesha didn\u2019t seem to go longer than half a fortnight without returning to see Sazim.<\/p>\n

The screams trapped within Kunal\u2019s mind grew louder with every passing day, for there was no interaction between the two of them he could accept.\u00a0 The only positivity he could reach for was that Sazim seemed increasingly desperate for the young woman to stay the night at the palace, and she staved off his advances thus far.\u00a0 Kunal could sense the prince\u2019s desires plainly\u2014as well as his frustrations.<\/p>\n

As winter came to Lakmari, the light of day faded faster.\u00a0 Kunal lost sight of his father quicker and hoped he had already lost his perception, that if he was still in there, trapped as his son was, that his mind wandered aimlessly, and he didn\u2019t see Sesha spending time there.<\/p>\n

Sesha continued to show at the palace, though, and before long, she came and went as she pleased.\u00a0 Sazim didn\u2019t summon for her, it seemed, but neither did his guards keep her from the place.\u00a0 In fact, with her newfound liberty in moving about the palace, she tended to spend the earlier parts of the day there.<\/p>\n

Kunal realized he had forced his mind to wander.\u00a0 Madness was overtaking him, surely, for it had been far too long that he\u2019d been trapped in that husk.\u00a0 But when he stood there, staring ahead one morning and saw Sesha before him, he realized she spoke to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will find a way to get you back,\u201d she insisted.\u00a0 \u201cSazim knows I won\u2019t lay with him until I\u2019m sure you\u2019re safe.\u00a0 He makes promises he\u2019ll send letters out to you and Father, but\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Kunal focused on her as Sesha\u2019s words trailed off.\u00a0 If she only knew the truth.<\/p>\n

A quiet noise from down the corridor resonated then, and Sesha glanced there for a moment.\u00a0 Her gaze didn\u2019t linger, and she didn\u2019t look back to her brother before she began away, down the opposite way toward the palace exit.<\/p>\n

It only took a few moments for the other visitor to arrive before the two statues then.\u00a0 Cascadia stopped and stared down the corridor, and Kunal could hear a subtle, introspective hum hit the back of her throat.<\/p>\n

She looked to the man who remained trapped behind the layer of gold and raised her eyebrow, unable to shield her intrigue.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t keep her there, though, and before long, Cascadia moved along, disappearing into the shadows of the palace.<\/p>\n

In what felt like the flutter of an unblinkable eye, days turned to night and back again.\u00a0 For some time, the corridor remained empty except for the two golden statues, even the servants absent.\u00a0 Kunal cared not for that peculiarity, but as winter pressed on, he could not ignore every strange sensation.<\/p>\n

The light of morning always seemed to bring some odd happening.\u00a0 A strange shadow danced on the opposite wall, sometimes landing upon his father\u2019s statue as well.\u00a0 And each time it did, Kunal thought he\u2019d felt a chill upon his body.\u00a0 He struggled to think back to when he\u2019d spent time in the gardens.\u00a0 It had been years, he was sure, but he never remembered the heat of the sun or the crisp air of winter cooling his body.\u00a0 Within the gold shroud, he was lost to every sensation of touch or feeling, only sound and sight permeating his pall.<\/p>\n

Every time, as the day went on, the phenomenon would pass, but he would be left wondering what it was.\u00a0 Could it be that he was losing his grasp on the world?\u00a0 Would it be possible for him to finally let go of his mortality and find peaceful oblivion?<\/p>\n

If it was to be so, it would not happen on his latest day, he realized.\u00a0 Someone rounded the corner, their heavy footfalls reporting even on the plush carpet.\u00a0 Sazim was there in front of him only a few moments later, a disheveled look upon him, his chiseled features hiding behind a bedraggled beard.\u00a0 Still, Kunal could see the prince lock his jaw in an almost pronounced underbite.<\/p>\n

Sazim looked to his old victim, staring at him with bloodshot eyes and an agitated frown.\u00a0 Without warning, the prince reached up and swung out with his fist, connecting it against Kunal\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

Though he couldn\u2019t feel the sensation of being struck, Kunal\u2019s vision wobbled a bit.\u00a0 Sazim had knocked him off balance, even if just for a moment.<\/p>\n

Kunal didn\u2019t focus on that peculiarity for long, though, struck instead by the sight of Sazim wincing and cradling his hand.\u00a0 He seethed, a quiet growl growing inside him as a trail of spit caught in his beard.<\/p>\n

Though of course no sound erupted from within him, laughter welled up inside him.\u00a0 There he was, trapped for eternity it seemed, yet he still claimed some small victory on Sazim, for whatever reason.<\/p>\n

The prince was the first to hear the approach of someone else, and he reached up to wipe his face with his wrist.\u00a0 He corrected his posture and held his head high as he focused on whoever entered the corridor then.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy liege, Master Rohan is here to speak with you.\u00a0 Shall I let him in?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kunal watched as Sazim\u2019s nostrils flared.\u00a0 He took a moment to compose himself, but lifted his hand with an air of authority, as though it were his idea to have his servant find him there.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d the prince said.\u00a0 \u201cHave him meet me in the throne room.\u00a0 I shall attend him shortly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sazim waited for a moment while his servant tended to his duty.\u00a0 When he was alone, he let fly a quiet groan and rubbed his sore hand once more.\u00a0 He paid no further heed to Kunal then, turning about and heading back the way he came.<\/p>\n

A feeling of contentment washed over Kunal.\u00a0 He had earned no further reprieve and gained no further standing, but the thought that Sazim was furious enough to do something foolish filled him with fleeting feelings of joy.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t take long for Kunal to realize just why the prince had flown into such a rage.\u00a0 After all, it had been some time since Sesha had been there, he reminded himself.<\/p>\n

And there it was: the truth of the situation was laid bare.<\/p>\n

Unable to prove that Kunal and Johar were alive and well, Sazim\u2019s words could only placate Sesha for so long.\u00a0 Now a prideful, strong, clever woman, she would not be swayed by mere rumor or hearsay.<\/p>\n

Sazim longed for something he would never receive, much like his victims.<\/p>\n

More importantly, Sesha was safe from the mad prince and could live out the rest of her days free of his corruption and his influence.<\/p>\n

Kunal was sure that as darkness covered the palace that night, he would find a way to rest easy.<\/p>\n

As the shadows crept in, the servants set lights within the sconces.\u00a0 Flickers of radiance danced along the way, and the statue across from him seemed to shimmer as though starlight was caught along its surface.\u00a0 It almost looked as though his father were smiling as well, taking solace in the same relief his son had.<\/p>\n

In the distance, though, down many corners, Kunal could hear angry discourse.\u00a0 Struggling as he did, he tried to remember his way around the palace by memory.\u00a0 He counted how many corners and corridors separated his passage from the throne room, as he was sure that was where the commotion erupted from.<\/p>\n

It was no use, Kunal figured.\u00a0 He had only followed Rohan through the building once, and then when he was carried out to the garden, his attention was hazy, left in tatters by the shock of being a prisoner within his own body.<\/p>\n

It mattered not, though.\u00a0 None of his wishes had come to pass thus far, and being a fly on the wall of the throne room was a menial desire compared to his greater aspirations.\u00a0 Instead, he let the faraway shouting buzz in his ear, lulling him into a tranquil fog.<\/p>\n

The fire-warmed twilight and the remote voices gave him peace.\u00a0 But it was not to last.<\/p>\n

Kunal heard the approach before he noticed torchlight.\u00a0 Sazim shouted loud enough that the gold-imprisoned fellow was surprised he hadn\u2019t heard him earlier\u2014and he wondered if the angry voice carried beyond the palace walls, into the greater city of Lakmari.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat he\u2019s asking offends me to my very core.\u00a0 We\u2019ve done what he asked at every turn.\u00a0 Now he asks for too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat he wants is not unreasonable,\u201d another voice spoke, and Kunal searched his memory once more to try and place it.\u00a0 He knew it was the broad, fair-skinned advisor who sometimes came to the palace\u2014the same one who carried him to and from the garden after he had been transformed.\u00a0 \u201cAt the next Gathering, we\u2019ll choose two winners<\/em>.\u00a0 He isn\u2019t even collecting yet.\u00a0 But he does need to see some progress.\u00a0 A favorable pledge would be most\u2026appreciated.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Sazim who carried the torch then, and he stopped, once again, just between the father and son who had been turned to gold.\u00a0 The prince looked to Kunal for a moment, a loathsome look in his eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis one,\u201d he said, pointing to Johar.\u00a0 \u201cTake him away.\u00a0 Give him to Shyamal as my tribute.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rohan appeared there a moment later, seeming to tower over the troubled prince.\u00a0 He looked to the statue and tilted his head, as though there were a strangeness in Sazim\u2019s request.\u00a0 The burly advisor took Johar\u2019s hand as if he was preparing to shake it, holding it tightly between his fingers.<\/p>\n

Time seemed to slow to Kunal.\u00a0 Something wasn\u2019t right, and it permeated his golden shroud and left him with a feeling of unease.\u00a0 The torchlight flickered across the faces of the three men before him.\u00a0 Sazim looked full of wickedness that Kunal was just seeing for the first time.\u00a0 Whatever decision he had made was meant to punish Kunal and his sister.\u00a0 Rohan, meanwhile, demonstrated no animosity.\u00a0 Still, his eyebrows furrowed as he prepared for his task.<\/p>\n

Johar\u2019s features were frozen, as they always were.\u00a0 But there was something in the way the flames danced in his still eyes that left him looking as though he knew of the troubles to come.<\/p>\n

Kunal felt as though his own eyes widened as Rohan lifted his arm high above his head.\u00a0 At once, time moved swift again, and the sturdy fellow came down with all his strength.\u00a0 A strange sound echoed out, but Rohan\u2019s body blocked Kunal\u2019s view.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere,\u201d the advisor said.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t need to send the whole thing.\u00a0 Just a small toll will show Shyamal that you are still true to your word.\u201d<\/p>\n

He turned and walked on, gone before Kunal could see what he had done.\u00a0 Sazim remained there, though, his angry gaze settling once more after witnessing what Rohan had done.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe should have taken my offer,\u201d he muttered then.\u00a0 \u201cI would have made her a princess.\u00a0 She would have lived like royalty.\u201d\u00a0 He looked to Kunal, staring into his eyes as though he knew he still sensed the things going on around him.\u00a0 \u201cNow who is to say?\u00a0 Perhaps Sesha will be chosen by the upcoming Gathering.\u00a0 Before long, I\u2019ll have all three of you standing here.\u201d\u00a0 Sazim started away, back to his chambers or the throne room, but his voice continued to echo as he took his leave.\u00a0 \u201cOf course, that\u2019s not to say you\u2019ll all be in one piece.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was as though a wave of emotions had washed over Kunal, sending his vision pulsing.\u00a0 All he could think about was his hatred for the wicked prince and his desires to see him fall.<\/p>\n

But as adrenaline ebbed away, Kunal faced a new sight before him.<\/p>\n

Johar\u2019s statue was no longer whole; where his right hand had been, a golden stump remained.\u00a0 The distant flickering from the sconces still seemed to catch in Johar\u2019s eyes, but then it looked as though he felt the horrors enacted upon him.\u00a0 Though nothing had changed in his stance, Kunal thought he could hear his father\u2019s scream echoing through the corridor.<\/p>\n

And if Sazim\u2019s words were anything more than an empty promise, another of their family could join them there, sooner than later.<\/p>\n

Kunal fell within himself, lost in the swell of emotions that were his reprieve and his endless punishment.<\/p>\n

Some evils could still find their way to a statue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Forgotten Gold A Tale by Michael DeAngelo Note: it is recommended that you read the first story in this series, Remembered in Gold, for context.   It felt like weightlessness and immensity all at once, as though he were caught somewhere between a calm pond and a raging river that forced him down deeper with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22130,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P1UVey-5Pm","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22404"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22404"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22405,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22404\/revisions\/22405"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}