A Battle of Minds Ch. 06

Daniel seemed to wonder about the same thing. The queen and her enemy looked at each other, and then, at the very same moment, they stopped sending the group of men against each other. For a short moment, the guards remained on their spots, as if hesitating, unsure what to do at the sudden loss of orders to follow. Then they started swaying until they sank to the ground, unconscious. In the meantime, the queen and Daniel turned around on their heels at the same time, and each left the clearing into a different direction.

***

The streets of Leskow were empty, the town seemed abandoned. The queen was not quite sure how such a thing could be happening, but her subjects were disappearing one by one. Some remained, of course. Especially those men and women who were closest to the queen, her most trusted servants, did not attempt to abandon their hometown. Even they, however, sometimes stood near the shore of the lake, remaining motionless while looking out over the water towards the forest, as if they were listening to a voice calling them to the other side. As soon as their queen passed them, they trembled for a moment and then went on with their daily business, ignoring whatever was trying to draw them away from their hometown.

Too many others, however, had followed the call. Standing at the window in her room in the highest tower of the castle, the queen could sometimes see them. She watched them bathing in the lake, or walking along the shore under the trees, or wasting their time with other endeavors whose sense she did not understand. A few times the queen tried to call out to them -- with her voice and with her mind -- but to no avail.

Things couldn't go on like this. She could not allow her enemy to destroy everything she had built. She had to do something. Yet, the queen waited, she could not make up her mind. The truth was that she was afraid, though she kept telling herself that she, as queen, had no reason for fear.

As she watched the number of people on her side dwindle, however, Laura finally took up all her courage and went to face her enemy. She left her castle one evening, alone, without her guard. Somehow, it felt appropriate to be leaving the town at this late hour, alone, without anyone taking notice. She was the queen. She would solve this problem without their help: When the people of Leskow woke up the next morning, everything would be back to normal, as if he had never been there.

She didn't really know where to look for him, yet she was sure she would find him. Considering the large number of her subjects that had deserted their queen in his favor, she was sure her enemy would not even be hard to find him. He had to be hiding somewhere, after all, and the people he had called away from Leskow all were in the forest now, so the queen turned her steps there. He would not be far from those other people, she suspected.

The queen's heartbeat increased, as she entered the forest. It felt different there; something had changed since her last visit. The trees towered tall above her, swaying in a wind she had not sent over the area. Their branches and leafs blocked out what little evening light there was, and a cold breeze let her shiver in her silken dress. The forest seemed hostile, and the queen realized it didn't want her to be inside it. Laura felt lost; in fact, she did not feel like a queen here. She was a stranger, was entering someone else's areal without permission. Silent and ancient as it was, the queen felt like the forest defied her with every bit of its being. Behind each bush she suspected eyes that were watching her. The smallest sound made her jump. Still, she was alone. Neither human being, nor even an animal crossed her path, as she made her way through the forest.

Yet, the forest was not completely abandoned: Daniel was expecting her. The queen did not see him until she stood almost in front of him. Maybe it was the darkness, but the queen was sure she had not seen him even a moment before. As if he appeared suddenly, just in front of her eyes. He was sitting on a tree trunk next to the path she was walking on, smiling at her. His smile made anger rise up inside the queen again -- he dared to smile like that, as if they were friends, as if there was something between them and he was glad to finally see her again? He should bow to her, trembling in fear!

"There you are, finally", he said. It sounded like her visit was an event they had been planning for a long time, not a sudden decision of her own. Like he was expecting her just there and then, and had been waiting for a little while, because she was a bit late. He looked at her and kept smiling.

"I am here to suggest something to you. A treaty of sorts", the queen said. Her voice sounded steady and resolute, for once it did not betray the strange knots forming in her stomach, or the fact that her knees were suddenly trembling without obvious reason. Again, she pushed out her chin, to show her resolve even more clearly.

Daniel's expression grew weary, and he looked disappointed, somehow. "What kind of treaty?"

"Well", the queen started slowly. She regained control over her shaking knees and thus managed to take a few more steps towards him, until she towered high over him, looking down on Daniel and the low tree trunk he was sitting on. Daniel did not flinch or stand up to show his true height, nor did he even look up at the queen. "I think we should work together", she continued, as he was still staring down the forest path, in the direction she had come from. "Together we could soon be ruling the whole world. It seems your power is quite similar to my own."

Daniel sighed. "You don't get it, do you?" he asked her sadly.

"What am I supposed to get?" Despite herself, Laura was curious now. What was it that he wanted? She had wondered about this before -- with powers like his and her own, what was there to want? He could get anything, if he just used them right. Yet, he did not seem content with that idea.

"You have to get rid of the locket", Daniel's voice had grown beseeching. "You have to remember who you really are. It might help to remember me, remember us. Or, if that's not what you want, remember your parents, your friends. Just remember."

For a few short moments pictures flashed in front of the queen's inner eye, memories, and longing. Faces that were strangely familiar, smiling at her. Her parents. A childhood friend. Her and Daniel, together, walking through the forest hand in hand. Her eighteenth birthday. Then the familiar rage returned. The queen felt her face grow red. Her fists clenched, her teeth gritted, she fought to gain control over herself. When she finally answered, her voice ran shrill through the forest.

"Remember me? Remember the Nobody -- the Nothing -- that I used to be? Why would I want to go back to being someone everyone can take advantage of, someone who just does whatever she is told? I was born to be queen. I was born to change this town, once and for all. Why would I want to go back to being just plain old Laura?"

"Because that Laura is the person I love more than I could love anyone else", Daniel said quietly. "More than I could love even the most powerful queen in the world."

Laura felt a strange sting in her heart. For a moment, she was overwhelmed by the desire to sit down next to him, have him take her into his arms, hold her. But no! She was stronger than those desires. Those feelings were not worthy of a queen. She did not need someone else's arms; she did not need to be comforted. And what was supposed to be so special about this man? Why should she feel any preference for someone who did not want to serve the queen as he ought to, when she had so many loyal servants?

The queen stood unmoved, her arms crossed, her chin tense, her whole posture defiant. When she spoke, only a slight tremble of her voice betrayed the struggle that was raging inside her.

"If you really had loved me when I was still Laura, then you should be feeling the same for me now. You would have to love me as my people do, and you would not want to take away my locket. You would be happy for me, proud of me."

„I do still love you, Laura, even as you are now. And that is exactly why I have to destroy that horrible locket: Because I love you. If the thing is not destroyed soon, it will end up destroying you."

This time it was rage -- a much more familiar and comfortable feeling -- that made the queen's voice tremble. She stood as straight and tall as she could.

"You dare to ... You ... You will never get the locket. Only over my dead body. I will fight for it."

With another sigh, Daniel stood up. Unwillingly, Laura took a step back. He was about a head taller than her, and there was an unnerving confidence about the way he stood there, towering over her. Not defiant and angry, as she was. He was just... there. His voice, however, sounded even sadder than before.

„I had really hoped it wouldn't have to come this far, Laura", he said.

Then he lifted his right hand. The queen's eyes followed this movement, and she discovered a bracelet, sparkling on his wrist. With a start, she recognized the piece of jewelry: It was the same bracelet he had wanted to give to her -- no, to Laura, she corrected -- as a present. The bracelet he had offered her on her 18th birthday, on that fateful day so many years ago, in a different life. The bracelet that had caused their fight and subsequent break-up.

She had seen it again on his wrist after that, during the diving contest Martin had won -- but she had never gotten a clear look at the thing. It was simple -- narrow and not adorned with any gemstones, just a plain bracelet, but giving a soft silver glow that drew the eye. And -- the queen could feel it clearly now -- a strange power emanated from the thing. Not a soothing and warm force like the one her locket gave forth. No, this power was cold. Not overwhelming and ensnaring, there was something rational to it -- it seemed calculating and even brutal to the queen. The proximity of this power caused her to shiver, to tremble in fear.

Despite its simplicity, there was something breathtakingly beautiful about the bracelet; that much was true. Something, however, told the queen that this bracelet was the enemy of her locket, just as the man wearing it, Daniel, was her own enemy. She turned her gaze from the thing and looked up, right into her enemy's eyes. Daniel's face had now become dark and hard.

"Give me the locket", he demanded. His voice rang clearly through the forest; he spoke slowly, like a father addressing a disobedient child.

For a moment, the queen stared at him, her mouth open. Then she shook her head, pulled herself back to reality -- and realized that her hand had grasped for the chain on its own accord. For the chain that was hanging around her neck, the chain that carried the locket. She had already started to pull it over her head. The queen froze, stopped the motion, struggling to regain control over her own limbs. What was she doing? What kind of trickery was he using against her?

"Never!"

Before she could stop herself, the queen stomped her foot onto the ground like an angry five year old.

"Give me your bracelet, rather", she added in a demanding tone, letting all the power she could find in her mind flow through the locket, towards him, willing him to obey her order.

And to her surprise, she reached him: Daniel's hand trembled, and for the shortest fraction of a second, his expression mellowed. But apparently he had expected her attack. Within seconds, he managed to defy the queen's order and resist the power she was sending against him.

What was more: He returned the attack, sending an amount of mental force through his bracelet that almost knocked the queen off her feet, and took her breath away. She, too, however, was better prepared this time. Had she not been, she would be in his hands now. The thought sent a strange shiver down her spine -- quite different to the ones, the same thought would have caused her with anyone else, Martin or Mr. Seger. She shook off the sensation. She had to be on her feet, brace herself: Else his next attempt to gain control over her would be too strong to resist.

She managed to reflect his power, throw it back towards him. In her mind, the queen pictured him bowing in front of her, recognizing her superiority, and she put all her strength into making him do just that. Daniel did not comply. He sent his own orders towards her. For what seemed like an eternity, the two struggled soundlessly, without moving an inch, without that either was stronger than the other. Had someone seen them from afar, he would not have noticed anything other than two silent people, glaring at each other full of anger, but unwilling to attack. The effort, each of them was putting forth, was betrayed only by the pearls of sweat on their brow, only their wrinkled foreheads and thin-lipped mouths showed their deep concentration.

Suddenly, the queen's eyes widened, and a second later she jumped backwards. She managed to escape at the last moment: Without warning, a wide gash opened in the earth just at the spot where she had been standing, threatening to swallow her into its depth. In a mixture of shock and accusation she looked back up at Daniel. His face was blank, hard, without even the trace of an apology.

So he wanted to fight dirty. She could do that. The queen felt the all familiar rage well up inside her, and this time it was welcome -- it gave her the strength she needed. Her fury let heavy clouds gather on the night sky, obscuring the last bit of light that had reached the forest. Daniel was now nothing more than an outline in front of her. Not so much a person as a shadow, a vague and dark threat. And still he stood there motionless.

A low grumble announced the approaching thunder storm, heavy wind made the tree tops bow down. As the first bolt of lightning flashed down from the clouds, followed by deafening thunder, the queen could see her enemy's face clearly once more. It was pale, and no trace of his smile was left on it, only determination.

Another bolt of lightning lit up the sky, and another. Yet, as much as the queen willed them to race down from the dark clouds, towards her enemy, none of them got anywhere close to him. Somehow, Daniel managed to stop them all, divert them or change them into nothing but a flash of light. They just lit up the forest and with it his face, so that for the fraction of a second Laura could see him staring back at her, again and again. His face looked strange, and yet familiar in an unsettling way. Some of the lightning struck trees at the edges of the clearing, causing them to burst up in flames, or to be split in two, with each half falling noisily to the ground in a different direction.

The wind picked up, turning into a storm. It blew up dirt and leafs, letting them tumble through the air. As it increased in strength, it pulled out grass and smaller bushes. Finally, a wall of dust and leafs and destroyed tree branches obscured the queen's view of her enemy. Yet she knew he struggled to remain on his feet just as much as she did. The wind also carried the flames and smoke of the burning trees towards them. It made Laura cough and let her eyes sting. Blinking through the tears, the queen looked around. Only a few trees remained near her. She could barely recognize the forest anymore, and she only remained on her feet with the greatest effort. The wind was pushing against her, trying to make her fall.

The queen gritted her teeth, searching for yet another reserve of strength inside her. Her hair flew wildly in the wind, the golden clasps she had been wearing were long ripped out of it. Even her dress, her pale blue silken dress, began showing small tears as the wind relentlessly tried to rip it off her body. Clenching her fists, the queen fought back. Struggling, yet without moving an inch from her place. This was her kingdom, this was her specialty -- she would not let her enemy defeat her with her own weapons.

Yet she had to draw forth every bit of concentration she could find in her mind, before she finally managed to calm down the wind. Finally, it turned into a softer breeze, and finally disappeared. With it, the fires died down. The forest was silent now, that the roaring of wind and fire had gone.

As the smoke dissipated, the queen could see more clearly again. The night had passed, the first rays of the morning sun appeared at the horizon, shedding their red light on the image of destruction that surrounded the two enemies. The sun's color reminisced of coals glowing on the ground, the sole remains of what once had been proud tall trees surrounding the clearing.

The fight had lasted many hours. The queen, however, felt as exhausted as if she had been fighting for centuries. She could barely remember the details of the battle, and she had trouble staying on her feet. Her head hurt, and in this short moment of rest, she felt thirst burn in her throat. She could not go on much longer, it was too much. Yet, giving up, giving in to her enemy was out of the question. He wanted to destroy her, destroy everything she stood for, and take from her the very essence of her power. No, the queen thought. She had to find a way to end all this on her terms. She knew she could not get Daniel under her control. Each time she wanted to get him under the locket's influence he just seemed to be getting stronger. There had to be a different way.

The queen looked around at the remains of the forest. Some of the strongest trees of the area were still standing; they had resisted the onslaught of their battle. And a few of them towered right behind her enemy. Neither the storm nor the relentless flames had managed to harm those trees -- even though the flying ashes blackened their few remaining leafs. Their roots, however, held on to the ground, digging deep enough into the earth to resist the strongest wind. And their branches and twigs remained unbroken. This could work... Daniel stood a bit far from those trees, unfortunately, but if she could manage to distract him somehow...

"And why in the world, do you think, should I give you my locket -- to you of all people? Do you even realize how much you hurt me back when you just dumped me? On my birthday no less?"

The queen's voice rang through the silent forest. When Daniel heard her speak, his expression changed. He looked almost glad. Apparently this was a topic he wanted to discuss -- or maybe he was just as tired of fighting as she, the queen, was. He answered eagerly, and while he spoke, the queen took great care to keep her eyes locked with his, to make him think she was fully immersed in their conversation. Only her mind, unnoticeable for any outside observer, was concentrated on something else. She focused it on the trees at the far end of the clearing. Despite the queen's interested expression, Daniel's words barely registered in her brain. Only after several moments had passed did she understand what he said -- and then, it was already too late.

"You are the one who broke up with me, don't you remember?" he asked her. "You were mad at me for no reason. But it wasn't really you, you weren't being yourself. Remember when I found the bracelet? And I wanted to give it to you? You didn't want it; you wanted me to throw it away, to destroy it. I think the locket made you do that. It was already here then, hidden somewhere. I believe it was because..."

Bang!

The sound of the large tree's branch colliding with the back of Daniel's head echoed through the forest. On the orders of the queen, the tree had bowed over the clearing and knocked the young man over with a sudden strong blow. For a short moment, Daniel's eyes met hers. They were wide open, surprised -- and hurt, not only by physical pain. Then he sank to the ground slowly and remained there motionless.