"Ugh" I groan, sitting up in bed
I look around my room groggily. It feels weirdly different, I can feel the weight of someone clinging onto me
But as I look around, I almost have heart attack, I'm in some strangely familiar place
The street lights shine through the slats of the shades, casting dancing ,multi-colored shadows onto the shabby beige walls
It's a rather cold night, so I'm wrapped up in my thick comforter
As I look around, I see the familiar tattered lamp by the door, cloths messily poking out of the dresser. The chaotically organized desk, crowded with various Knick-knacks and papers
"What the fuck?" I mutter to myself
A creeping sense of unease is filling my body, filling me with fight or flight, like there is a predator that I can not see
"Hey-'Yawn'-I thought we talked about the language. What are you doing?"
I flinch at the sound of her voice, a cold chill shaking my whole body
I tear the covers off
"Hey!" She groans "What was that for? Meanie"
Where'd my cloths go? Where the fuck am I?!
I look down on myself and feel my body up
I'm tall, rather on the pudgy side, but with some musculature poking through. I can see the scars on my left hand from when I cut myself in the third grade. Every inch of skin is familiar, though strange, like a friend I have not seen in years; familiar, yet so different, almost unrecognizable
My limbs feel numb
But the most shocking part is the women lying next to me in bed
Her short blond hair lays in a mess on the pillow. She's wearing one of my old tattered grey shirts, I can see the tips of two mountains poking through
She rubs her eye's groggily as she props herself up
"Can I have the blanket back?' She asks
"Um, sure" I mumble, shocked
I gingerly hand her one end of the comforter, unable to make eye contact, like a caretaker at the zoo feeding the lion exhibit
"Hey, you okay?" She asks, looking worried. She tries to look me in the eyes, but I keep looking away "Hey, did something happen? Was it a nightmare or something?"
"Was it a wet dream maybe?" She asks with a mischievous smile "Hey, I'm talking to you mister"
She tries to poke my side, but I flinch, recoiling away
I can see her face turn into a pouting frown
In an instant, she clambers onto me, straddling me. "Hey, talk to me, I thought I was past this part. What is it" she tries to say seriously, but she always did look stupid when she pouted
It's one of the things I liked about her
"Sorry, it was just a bad dream, a really long nightmare I guess. That's not important, why are you here?" I say, trying to wrestle her off me
"Why wouldn't I be? I made a vow to be here and steal all your cloths, or did you forget that?"
"Huh?"
She grabs my head and gently turns it to the side
There is a pair of silvery grey and blue rings sitting on the nightstand next to the bed
The shadows behind it seem to twist into laughing faces, shadowy hands gripping the rings away
This never happened in real life, it can't have
She turns my head back to face her
"C'mon, your scaring me a little, just what was this dream about?"
"I'm sorry Grace, I just don't want to worry you with my imagination"
"Hey!" She snaps "What did we talk about with you keeping stuff from me?"
"No matter what, tell me about it" I say in a mocking falsetto
"There we go" She slides off next to me "Now, tell me the whole story, maybe it'll be boring enough to put me back to sleep"
She grabs my arm, snuggling up next to me. She feels unnaturally, no, deathly cold
I tell her everything, from the beginning. Of her betrayal, of my life in Haven. Of me and Rider darting in an out of the street stalls, of the wonders of magic
As I recount my tales of my life like dreams, I feel a sense of guilt from my tales, just what kind of husband would dream of his wife's betrayal? What kind of husband am I to forget that we're even married in the first place?
I don't know how long I have been talking for, but when I end my tale, she laughs
"Ahaha, now that is an interesting tale" she traces circles on my chest "But don't worry, you're somewhere else now"
I free my arm from her grip and put it around her shoulder, drawing her closer.
Maybe it was just a dream
"I just… I don't know what I would do…"
"Just shoosh you, I'll never leave you, even if you want me to, I'll always be here" Her voice seems to echo in my skull
The fuck?
I smile anyways "Thanks Gracie"
"Your welcome"
We lay there in silence, It's surprisingly quiet, I can hear her steady breathing, but mine are still quick and shallow
My body still feels ready to jump out of a window
The shadows grow onto the ceiling, Silhouettes dancing and flailing
Grace Shoots up in bed, making em jump a little
"There's something I want"
"What is it now?" I grumble
"Aw shut it, I know you'll get me it anyways"
"Fine" I shift my weight and turn to face her "What is it?"
"I want the truth, why?"
"Huh? Why what?"
"Why didn't you do anything?"
"What?"
Horrifyingly, her head begins to do a near three-sixty. I can hear the horrible sounds of cracking bones echo through the room
"Why didn't you do anything you wimp? Why did you just sit back on your fat, worthless ass and take it like the little bitch you are?"
I can see the skin on her face begin to bubble and move
She begins to yell and scream "Why didn't you do anything! You promised me! You fuckin worthless piece of shit! You lying bastard!"
Her back arches as she gets onto all fours
"How could you do that to me! You promised! You fucking promised!"
A pair of hands jut out of her face, tearing her head open. It splits open revealing a trisected mouth, rows of sharp, needle like teeth
A pair of blank, black eyes burst out of her chest
I tumble out of the bed and try to crawl away hastily
"The fuck did I do!?"
I fumble for anything to use as a weapon
I can feel my heart trying to jump out of my chest
What the fuck is this bullshit?!
She crawls over to me, pools of viscous drool pooling onto the floor
It leans back and launches into a pounce
It's rows and rows of teeth digging into me, wrapping around my head into a tight vice
"Fuuucck!" I scream, shooting up in bed
My heart is trying to beat out of my chest still
I desperately reach for my head, feeling myself up. I take a slight sigh of relief, I'm myself again, it's still there
Well, more like I'm back to my new self
It's the same dusty room of the clinic
A set of foot steps quickly coming racing towards my door
The door goes flying open "What is it boy?!"
Ms. Misha batters into the room, panting. Fallen is close behind
"Big brother! You're awake!"
The little girl comes running, and does an impressive jump, tackling me with a hug
'oof!'
"Good morning to you too"
My whole body is aching a little still
She seems to have been cleaned up, now wearing a daffodile yellow dress
"What in the hells was that boy?" Ms. Misha commands "There's easier ways to get our attentions"
"I'm sorry, I just… Had a bad dream, it was nothing. I'm sorry" I say in a low voice, unable to make eye contact
"Then that was one hell of a dream then" Fallen says, walking over to my bedside with a wooden jug "Here, you must be thirsty"
"Oh, thank you" He pours me a cup of water and hands it to me
"Well, you do have impeccable timing" Fallen continues "you have some visitors, you want to start with the friendly ones or the other people?"
"Visitors?"
Ms. Misha ducks out of the room "You can come in now"
"I think it'd be best if we leave you alone. Come on" Fallen says, reaching out a hand to the little girl
"No!" She pouts "I want to stay here with brother"
I look to fallen "It's okay, she can stay"
I can still feel my body shake from the nightmare, but having her here is strangely relaxing
As Fallen is leaving the room, Mother comes running shoving him to the side and rushes to my bedside
"Jace, oh gods" She grabs me in a tight embrace
I'm able to let out an "Ow"
"Oh gods, oh great gods, I tried visiting you yesterday, but Fallen said you were sleeping, then we came this mornings and he still wouldn't let us see you. I should have known it, I had this feeling deep down, are you okay?"
My Father comes jogging in, out of breath "How about you let him to take a second and breath dear"
Mom reluctantly lets me go and slides to the ground, but still keeps a tight grip on my hand
"Whoah! Are you brother's mommy and daddy? You're so cool!" Mary says with a smile
"Uh… Jace, who is this?" My Father asks
"Oh, right. This is… Um…"
"My name is Mary!" She exclaims "Big brother saved me from the evil fat man!"
"Oh, did he…" My Father seems at a loss for words
Mom looks me in the eyes sternly "Just who in the hells did this to you" I can practically feel her anger radiating off her like heat
"It was just some guy. I'm sorry mom, I didn't mean to worry you"
"Worry me?! Oh, you did so much more than just worry me" But mom stops as Father puts his hand on her shoulder
"What's important for now is that he's okay, that your okay" Father says, trying to diffuse the situation "plus, I bet you won, didn't you?"
"Oh yes! I tried to use that spell you used against Ms. Rhea Mom, worked first try. I froze the guys hand off!" I hastily say, trying to follow my Father's lead
"Big brother was so cool!" Mary chimes in
I can see Mother try to hold back her teary eyes
"Oh did you now?" She tries to make her usual grin "I'm so proud of you, I'm so proud of you, you know that?" She gets up and pulls me in for another tight hug, but it doesn't last for long
"Siph, it's time" Ms. Misha calls out "they won't listen anymore"
"But I just" Mother begins to stammer
"It will be alright, c'mon Cas, we should get going. We don't wan't to get in the way"
It takes a moment, but Mother let's me go and stands up
"The damned SKOHs have one hell of a timing" she mutters under her breath
Ms. Misha ushers Mother and Father out of the room. She glares at Mary for a second, before turning on her heel and exits the door way
A trio of heavy, metallic footsteps march towards my room
In comes a blue skinned man, with two soldiers in toe
His Stern voice calls out to me "Jason Bell, we have some questions for you"
He is a fairly young looking man, his face seems like it it eternally stained by a disgusted scowl
The guards shut the door, standing on either side of it, blocking it
"And this is?" Pointing at Mary "Is the girl, correct?"
"Uhm… Yes. Who are you?" I say
I can see his upper lip twitch
"If you live in this town, it is best you learn about your superiors" He says, sounding a little agitated. Then under his breath "I would of expected better from Siph"
He rigidly straightens himself "I am Arch-Angel Corrin Malenheim, I have been tasked by lord Sorando to lead the shields and knives of haven. Now, your questions are over"
He relaxes slightly and comes closer to my bed "Now tell me, what were you doing on the time of the incident" He commands me, bringing out a small paper and clipboard looking thing
I tell him of the fat man, recounting our fight. I can see Mary practically shrivel away from Mr. Blue-man, getting closer and closer to me with every word of my story
Mr. Blue-man seems to be listening intently, though his stare seems to go right through me
As I get to the end of the fight, Mary tugs my arm, pointing at something. I stop to look down, my hands are gripping the sheets tightly. When I let go, my hands try desperately to grip it back again against my will
Mr. Blue-man rolls his eyes "Quit the distractions, finish talking"
"Oh, sorry" I mutter "Where was I? Right. I was able to… make him let go of me. He just sort of cursed at us, then ran off"
"And that's why you were found carrying" He points again at Mary "Her"
Why does he keep doing that?
"I brought her here, I apparently passed out right at the door, Ms. Misha" He shoots me daggers as I say her name "apparently carried me in. I woke up later, then Fallen treated me, then I went back to sleep. So that brings me to now"
Mr. Blue-man nods his head a little "Just as the reports say. You, girl" He turns towards Mary, who tries to hid behind me "where are your parents?"
"I'm not telling"
"Uh" I jut in "She-She's my sister, ya, that's it. We're siblings, mom and dad just adopted her, my adoptive sister"
Mary turns towards me, a joyful light growing in her eyes
"Sure she is" Mr. Blue-man mumbles, writing something down
He flips through his papers before ripping one out, and tossing it to me lazily
"How many times have you seen this mark"
Mary picks up the paper before I get the chance, but once she sees it, she recoils a little, provoking a look of suspicion from Mr. Blue-man
As I turn over the paper, I can see a hastily made drawing of a persons arm. On it, there is a golden tattoo, a large circle with two other smaller ones for eyes and a wide, triangular toothy grin. Just from a drawing, I get this uneasy feeling looking at it
"No, I haven't seen that before, I don't know if the man that attacked us had that. What is it?"
"Nothing kid" Mr. Blue-man gets up, motioning to the guards to get ready to leave "This was very… Informational"
well screw you too I guess
"If you come onto any more Information, report it to a SKOH officer"
"Um… Alright"
I watch him walk out of the room, followed by the two guards
And then we are left alone
All I can hear is Mary's heavy breathing, stress tugging at my heart strings
This past year, god, it feels like no matter what success I have, the world just pulls me back down
I just want to curl up in my bed, alone
I have seen only a few, but amazing things in this world: The wonders of magic, had make-believe adventures running around town with Rider, hell, I made a friend in this so far lonely world
But what goes up, must eventually come down, no matter how hard I try to prevent it
I slip my legs off the bed and try to jump off. I've got an idea
But as I put my weight onto my legs, I can feel them buckle from under me, I come crashing to the ground
"whu-aaa!"
"Are you ok?" Mary asks worriedly, poking her head from over the edge of the bed
"Ya, I'm great"
I look around the room, and I see a crutch like cane in the corner
"Hey" I ask Merry "Can you get me that from the corner?"
"Ok!"
I grab the edge of the bed, and lift myself back up
"Here you go!"
I grab the crutch, putting my weight onto it, trying to stand up again
I almost collapse a few times, but I can feel my strength start to comeback to me. I start to make my way towards the door
"Hey, you want to see something cool?"
Mary went back to sit on the bed "Show me what?"
"If I tell you, it'll ruin the surprise" I motion towards the door "Can you get this for me? Please?"
"Ok!"
As I help her to open the door, I can see Ms. Misha and Fallen whispering at what I assume is a sort of nurses station. Ms. Misha is the one to notice us first
"What are you doing up boy?" She eyes my crutch
"I just wanted to show her a little something. Hey Fallen, should I be able to use magic by now?"
"Probably, but I would still advise you lay off, at least nothing too severe, doctors orders. Though, seeing my track record with my doctoral orders" He says, eyeing Ms. Misha "I doubt you'll listen to me"
Ms. Misha seems to understand what I am saying, and gets up to join us
Slowly, I limp towards the back door. Mary running ahead of me, holding the door open for me
There is a small section of earth behind Fallen's clinic, sectioned off by the backs of neighboring buildings. Brown patches of dirt dotting the thinning grass
Ms. Misha shuffles past me, carrying an old wooden chair, plopping it down in the middle of the backyard
Mary skips towards it, while I slowly shamble after her
As I sit down, I let the crutch fall loosely out of my grip, it clatters to the ground.
I feel... Loose, like I'm able to fully relax my mind and body, just letting the sun hit my face. The cool breeze seems rejuvenating
"Big brother! You there?"
"Huh?! Ya, right. Do you know what a firework is?"
"Fire... Work?"
"Here's a spell my Father made, step back a bit"
I haven't seen this spell in years, though the incantation is still clear as ever in my mind. I close my eyes as I chant
"Oh grand flame of ambition, compressed into practical form. We call upon "The Zeal" as an act of celebration, a celebration for a new tomorrow"
I can feel a huge tug from my arm, going all the way down and grasping my gut. A wave a nausea washing over me
"for the hope of new discovery, kindled from love, in dazzling glory"
I can see the familiar trio of multi-colored motes form, dancing on my palm
"Crackling flame!"
The motes whistle into the air, flying higher and higher
It explodes in the sky, though it is still day, the dazzling colors still burst, crackling sparks down
"Whoooaah!" Mary gasps, wide eyed and mouth gaping open in wonder
As the ash and sparks come flying to the ground, she begins to dance in the dark rain
I sit back in the chair. I already feel exhausted. But it all feels worth it as I look on melancholily
"Another, another!" She shouts
"Alright"
What else can I do?
My hand becomes deathly cold, a thin skin of crystalline ice creeps from my hand and I make a small ball of ice, placing it on the ground next to me
"I'm gonna need your help on this one"
"How?"
"I'm gonna need a biiig stomp to get this one up there, you think you can do it?"
"Yaa!"
"Okay, here we go"
I place my palm on the ground
Mary skips away from me
Getting a running start, she starts coming towards me, making a probably unintentionaly, exaggerated jump
Just as she lands back on the ground, I send mana out of my hand. With an uncomfortable feeling of thousands of paper cuts, I launch the ball into the air with a gust of wind
Again, it goes whistling into the air
With a finger gun, I force a bead of stone to form at the tip of my finger, sending it flying at the whistling ball
It breaks with a sound like shattering glass. Again comes a rain of particles, showering us in crystal snow
Mary is laughing and giggling joyfully, it is a weirdly wonderful sight
It feels like I haven't had a moment to breath for quite a while
I can hear a crash behind me
I quickly turn to see Rider being tripped by Ms. Misha
He gets back up, gripping his sword, though Ms. Misha tightly grabs his arm
"What in the Hell's are you doing boy? What are you doing rushing into a clinic like that!"
"But" Rider stammers "Jace, Mary"
"Huh? Rider? What are you-" I manage to say, before getting cut off by Mary
"Whoa, It's mister hero, big brother's friend!"
After Ms. Misha lets him go, he scrambles back to his feet, his hand still tightly gripping the hilt of his sword
"Calm down boy, let go of your blade, unless you want me to take it from you" Ms. Misha says "What? Did you run here from Korinth? Your drenched in sweat"
Rider seems very jumpy "I… Um"
He looks over to me, his body tensing a little
"More, more!" Mary chants "I want to see more!"
"You okay?" I ask, trying to get up
Rider mutters something that I can not hear
"Huh?" I say, confused with this situation
"Hey! We got another one joining the party!" Fallen says from behind him
The door opens and the oldest of Ms. Eve's orphans comes through, his head seems to hang low and dejectedly
"It's Kay!" Mary calls, rushing over to him and dragging him out by his hand
"Look what big brother can do!" She looks at me pleadingly "Again!"
"Alright, but this is the last time"
I leans over the side of the chair, I actually almost fall of it chair as I reach for the ground, grabbing a handful of dirt
I've only read about this in one of Father's text books, so I don't know if this will work. It used something it called "Blast rock", a soft white, metallic element as an example. It supposedly reacts violently with water, it reminds me of something
I start to make a ball of dirt as I chant "Uh… Ancient earth, that which sprouts life, that turns rocks to gold: Create ashen black sand and butter white stone: Transmutation!"
Dots of white and grey-black form in the ball, slowly growing and changing the dirt into something else
With my other hand, I form another ball of ice and place both onto the ground
"Whoa! Both at the same time!" Mary gasps excitedly, running a bit away from me again
"Ready" I call out to her
Mary comes running and does another exaggerated stomp into the ground
Again, I push the balls whistling into the air with a burst of wind
Having fun with it, I slowly extend my finger gun, bracing it
I squint, as if looking down the scope of a rifle, lining up my target
Two small beads of water forms on the point of my finger, crackling with lightning bouncing between the two as I concentrate
I launch them after my two balls, whizzing into the air
They hit their mark, shattering the ball of ice
Mary dances around and giggles, trying to catch the snowflakes as she does
I look back up into the sky
There is a loud cracking noise
Popping and a large explosion shakes the sky, the bead of water igniting the ball of potassium and gunpowder. I guess there are somethings that will stay consistent in any world
I can't help but smile at the scene, a mix of accomplishment, with another deep feeling as I watch Mary enjoy the show
But as I look back to Rider, I'm a little taken aback. He seems to have fallen to his knees, seemingly stuck looking at the sky
I get up to approach him. I slip a little, but I'm able to him on my own
"Are you okay man?" I ask standing next to him
"I… Uh. I didn't know, is this all my fault?" He mumbles
"What?" I say surprised "Me getting hurt? Pff, I just had some mana exhaustion, barely a scratch. Why would it be your fault?" I continue, putting my hand on his shoulder
But I take my hand quickly off
"Your like, really hot, are YOU ok?"
But it doesn't feel like he hears me as he stands back up
He goes to leave, but Ms. Misha stops him
"What is it boy, your paler than snow, spit it out, what do you know" She asks him
"Nothing, I just got reminded of a story Ms. Eve told me"
"Who?"
He shrugs off her grip and starts to walk away
All I can do is stand there confused
Then I remember the other boy standing off to the side
"Hey, do you know what that was about?" I ask him
He isn't able to look me in my eyes "I... I don't fully know myself. He brought me here to help him bring Mary back"
"But I wanna stay!" Mary says stubbornly
It probably would be a good idea, I don't know if she could come back with me, or if that is even a good idea to begin with
I get down on my knees Infront of Mary "Hey, I think you should go back with your brother over there"
"But I want to stay with you big brother" She says with a pout
"I'm sorry, but I think you should, Ms. Eve must be so worried. Don't worry I'll come visit you"
"But what if the bad men come back?" Her body seems to shutter a little
I gently pat her head "I'm sure your brother over there is more than strong enough to scare them away" I look over to him "Right"
"Um... Right, ya! I'll scare all the bad men away for you" He stammers, surprisingly confidentially
"You promise You'll come visit?" She asks me with puppy dog eyes
"Yes, of course I will! I'll even come by tomorrow if you want"
"Ok" She says quietly
She walks over to the boy, grabbing his hand gently
Our eyes finally meet, they seem to thank me in what feels like a thousand of different ways
And with that, they start walking away
It feels sad to see, even though I've only been with her for a day, though it feels like forever
Ms. Misha walks to my side and puts a hand on my shoulder, but doesn't say anything
"They'll be alright , right?" I ask her. Though the sense of dread that washes over me seems to already answer me before she can speak
"I'm sorry, but I honestly don't know, sorry son"
"Hey, Ms. Misha? Can you catch me?" I ask her
"What?"
But before she can finish the thought, I start to crumple to the ground , she is barely able to catch me
"Give me more of a warning boy" She yells over her shoulder "Oi! Doctor! get your arse over here"
Ugh, my head feels like there is an ice pick piercing my skull
"I think I pushed myself too soon, I was barely able to keep myself from collapsing Infront of them, hehehe"
Fallen pokes his head through the backdoor "Oh!" he exclaims
"What did I tell you! Why does nobody listen to me?" He grumbles some more, but I couldn't make it out "Alright, off to bed with you"
Ms. Misha leans down and sweeps my legs, grabbing my legs and lifting me up, my body moving limply
"Thank you Ms. Misha" I say to her, closing my eyes
She doesn't say a thing, but I can see the corners of her mouth twitch on her stern face
She carries me back to my room, laying me down in the bed
Fallen comes darting in and out of the room, his pitch-fork tail smacking the door frame each time
"Jason" Ms. Misha starts "I will be honest with you" She sits down on the edge of my bed
"I can not find a good enough lie, I get a feeling that something is coming, but I think you will survive it, that girl is in good hands"
Surprisingly, a soft, somber smile sprawls across her face "I have found that conflict brings people together, I imagine you will meet some amazing people, even more than this old lady before you"
"You two remind me of my daughter, Akari. I used to love to watch her play with the other kids, even when she nocks them to the ground with a single strike of her fist" She grins sort of menacingly
But it quickly vanishes "Thought she hasn't come to visit for a long time now" She pauses for a long second before straightening back up again
"Boy" she says sternly "I want you to promise me something"
I smile weakly "Anything Ms. Misha, It's the least I could probably do"
"Take care of that girl, If I learn anything happens to he-"
"Don't worry" I say drearily "I wont let anything happen, I put my life on it"
She looks at me intently
"Alright boy, get some sleep" She gets up abruptly "You better be well enough in the morning, I'm getting tired of your face"
"Than maybe I should stay here for the rest of the week then" I say, burrowing deeper into the covers
She looks back and gives a loud "Hmph"
But as she turns away, I can see the edges of a smile as she leaves the room
----------------------------------
I was able to go back home the next morning, I seemed to sleep well into the afternoon again
I left the clinic, saying good bye to Fallen and Ms. Misha
The town was quite as I walked home
The minute that I walked through the door of my house, Mother pounces onto me, eyes full of tears
She practically smothers me in her embrace, my Father has to peel her off of me for me to be able to breath
I'll stay a little longer before I go visit Mary, don't want to worry my parents any more
I should probably bring Rider along, he was acting strangely yesterday, I hope he's ok