again, I was asked not by someone who needs me» – sadly thought Aurelia, and felt the sudden lightness, as if unclenched long coiled spring, as if now she had a meaning, purpose, mission… She and small skulls which were reflexive verbs, and returned by her actions two important lives for her. After waking Borg and Veres they turned into plates and crumbled into dust. She saw a man with unblinking eyes in her dream, and he said to her, «Thank you.»
– Ok! – Aurelia answered and hid the pleased smile and a sigh of relief behind a glass of sweet young wine …
Travel arrangements took the whole day. Servants silently moved around the house. Brothers were also silently sitting at a fireplace; cold white flame seemed to become silent too.
Aurelia was dressing for a dinner in the room, glancing at traveling bags and thinking of, whether she had taken everything. In addition there was a set of different thoughts in her mind as though they urgently needed to be collected and laid in the correct order, but they ran up, leaving the hostess to stand in confusion. Many questions of Aurelia remained without answer, and it was unclear, whether the younger brother would be more talkative than the elder. She still knew a little about the place where she had got, even less she knew about where she was going to. It awakened curiosity and some anticipation. She didn’t really know whether she said goodbye to Borg forever? That thought was hiding all day on a background of her consciousness and then came out, demanding the answer, but nobody hurried to give it.
Aurelia titivated and went down for a dinner. She was wearing light blue floor-length dress, it was low-cut and cool for that season, shoulders were hardly covered by almost transparent shawl from the thinnest wool. With the hair up she felt herself very womanish. The next day she had to put on a men's suit for rather long time therefore today she decided to remember about the grace. Two men, as usual, rose at her emergence and in silence waited for her coming. Aurelia approached a fireplace and gave hands to fire, remembering the vision of a place in which she derived power, being filled with energy, pleasure … and cold. However, she had stopped being cold long time before. That day, she for some reason, was especially hot an easy flush on usually pale cheeks was a proof of that.
– You do not necessarily need this fireplace. You can get on your glade and fill in finding any source of fire. The main thing is to be calm, relaxed and a bit aloof – it seemed Borg continued to feel as if he was her teacher.
However, Aurelia liked the information itself, because it was good to give power, if you knew where you would be able to get it.
They silently settled down at a table and started having a dinner. The girl was waiting for new advice, lectures and preventions, but there was not any. She got a thought that, probably, Borg was glad, at last, to get rid of her and return to the comfortable lonely silence. However, that thought unexpectedly upset the girl, and furtively glancing at the castle owner, she started looking for its confirmation. Borg, seemed to direct all the attention to a dish with meal, having slightly inclined the head forward, and color of his eyes remained hidden from Aurelia.
After dinner, everybody located near the fire, listening to the familiar hiss of fire and plunged in own thoughts. Girl desperately wanted to interrupt long-running silence, talk about their experiences, discuss the future, say some important words before perhaps forever parting. But Borg was sitting with the same stone face, and only his eyes constantly changed its color, though, maybe it was just a reflection of the fire in the fireplace.
Veres seemed to be not very comfortable, so he soon said goodbye, referred to early rise and went to his room.
At that moment Aurelia suddenly thought about the hall where they were sitting, it was really large, she was far from Borg and the silence bothered her. Convulsively trying to think up a question, the girl with surprise saw that he rose from a chair and approached the fire. «Won’t he leave now?!» – the girl thought, being confused. Least of all she wanted that moment to stay alone in that gloomy huge hall, there were long corridors with a booming echo behind its closed doors. Without turning to Aurelia Borg asked: «Were you thinking what is waiting for you outside?».
– I was … – the girl answered quietly after a short pause.
Actually she was often thinking of it, and her thoughts were generally interrogative. Because there was no matter of time in which she got though some features of life obviously told her that time from which she had arrived was far ahead. She thought that even in 15-16th century people, probably, didn't heal with hands, didn't give the life with a smooth stream, didn't pass through portals, didn't travel through fire to any special places of power, didn't realize so literally the dreams … and didn't change color of the eyes according to emotions …
– Do you want to stay?
Aurelia froze, and every single word flew out of her head. Had she ever thought he would offer it to his guest? At some moments, maybe yes… Why now? Why so? As whom? For what period of time? Why does he offer it to her? What will happen if she agrees? And if she refuses? All questions at once returned to her head and made a mess there. All studied and not studied colors and feelings flashed before her eyes: hope, surprise, confusion, doubt, joy, fear, curiosity…
– Good night – without turning a face to her, Borg left the room, interrupting long pause, and she remained sitting in a deep armchair, feeling stupid and lost.
Aurelia went up to her room, sat on the bed, looked around, she had to have a good night's sleep before a long journey, but she didn’t have any desire to go to bed. And she had no forces to undress. It looked like the last night in that castle… The next morning after fast morning meal she would leave and no more return. The girl felt the joy and anticipation, which mingled with some slight sadness with a strange aftertaste of uncertainty and strange desolation. How did it all fit in her at the same time, she didn’t know and she didn’t worry about that. Aurelia did not want to analyze, understand… and think… Fire was burning in her room with the same white flame like downstairs, but it reminded somehow only the silent figure in front of it. What did he mean?
After some time, there was knock at the door… There was Borg as usually calm and quiet, he came inside. Confused girl was standing in the middle of the room and did not know where to hide trembling with excitement fingers. She did not know what to expect and what to think. Coming closer, he silently took her hands.
– Take care of him, please, – Borg said, – you are going to have a long and difficult road ahead, but he knows where you have to go. You just be near and do that you consider correct.
– Why I don't know where I am going and what for? You didn't answer any of my questions. Why?
– If I answer that you know everything yourself, you will think that I am banal. I know only that you and Veres have the same way. For the present you have the same way. If ever you feel that it is not so … do as you consider correct …
– Will I be able to return? Or to stay?
– You're always where you want to be… If you wanted to stay, you would have stayed. – After a brief pause, he continued: – But if you ever want to come back, you should know you are always welcome. Probably, it is not the time yet.
He leaned slightly forward and gently kissed her cheek. Aurelia even could not imagine how gentle his lips were. Instinctively, she touched his cheek in return. Only now she noticed
