Queen of the Court

Chapter 10: Resolve

"Hyoga?" i called out my hands fumbling along the table as I did my best to not panic. Sudden darkness combined with the isolation reminded me of when I was originally separated from my sister and my mother. Even now 9 years later at 15 I'm still scared of the dark. It makes my blood run cold, my chest gets tight and I forget how to breath. Just as the memories started to smile there was a comforting presence as another persons hand touched mine

"Your okay Rhena" Hyoga spoke softly and the familiar tone coupled with him speaking Japanese so as to be heard amidst the chaos that were other students speaking. I calmed down and hugged the other boy doing anything to be reminded of the comforting presence that he had. He was my sole safe place right now

"Students please remain here in the gymnasium! We are working on checking the generator and restoring power. For your safety please do not leave." I could hear one of the teachers announce and then there was a little light around us. I opened my eyes and looked up at Hyoga, he had turned on the flashlight on his phone "That better?" He asked and I gave a weak smile 

"Yeah, thanks. It doesn't feel so isolating now" I replied the suffocating feeling starting to subside as i let go of him and looked around. Other students were taking out their phones to use their flashlights too which made the gym a bit brighter.  It would still take what felt like an eternity for the lights to come back on and in that time i cant remember vividly what happened and even I'm not exactly sure why. I started to get a headache at some point and i sat down back at the table with some help from Hyoga. I just closed my eyes for a little to try and ease the pounding headache and i think that's when the flashbacks started. It had been months since I remembered anything from back then vividly. 

It was like a movie replaying but I couldn't get up. I was watching as things replayed and there was nothing I could do. I could only re-watch. I watched the memories replay as my younger self sat cowering in the corner and in front of me, towering over my tiny self my kidnaper. A family friend that we once trusted I saw him like an older brother him and his older sibling both.

"If I cant have my Brother, then why should your family get to enjoy having both of you? Besides your little and Jae-na has talent, she will go on to become famous and forget all about you. And you? Little Rhena you'll be stuck till death" He looked at my tiny quaking figure with a twisted smile

"Your wrong!' my tiny voice shouted tears sliding down my red face from sniveling about not being able to see my family "T-They love me. They could..could never forget me. M-mama told me so! and so does Nami!" i shouted the best my little 6 year old self could despite the nonstop tears and sniffling

"Shut up you brat!" I winced as i felt a crippling pain in my stomach. I was too young at the time to understand what was happening or why my then best friend had become so mean, why he would hurt me like that. I remembered that it only got worse after that. Before I knew it I had been taken from the states all the way across the globe to Japan. After that "Trip" I never got to see people unless it was the people that he brought over which was never often. Then one night the one that I started to remember a little after that first memory when I got a headache, now I remember why the dark terrified me so much.

It was a late night and I was stuck in the room that I had been confined to unless for food or to use the restoom. It was during the rainy season and the storm that night was particularly bad and being the little girl I was, I was till scared by storms and had no one to comfort me so naturally I started crying for my family, for my sister and I never thought that I was loud but I guess I was just annoying to him. The door to my room bust open and I screamed being startled causing me to cry more.

"Shut up before i really give you something to cry about!" He was angry

"I-I want Nami!" I cried nearly bawling my eyes out. The thunder cracked outside and clung to him not knowing what to do which only angered him further as he kicked my tiny body off of him. The next used to be all blurry but in this instance i can remember it all. How painful it was, the beating that my small self endured all the bruises, and one of the scars I still have to this day

" -ena, Hey... Rhena?" startled and from having been pulled from the memory I screamed but quickly covered my mouth whatever I had just remembered slipping away now that I was back in reality and my eyes quickly settled back to Hyoga as my headache started to fade and I realized that the power was pack on and the dance was back to normal

"You okay? You were gone for a little while there and you look sick. You wanna head home?" Hyoga asked and I simply shook my head putting on a brave smile

"No No I'm fine now. I think after i drink a little water I'll be just fine" I hummed assuring him that all was fine and after that i really was fine and we got to enjoy the rest of the dance but if you were to ask be what happened when the power went out i wouldn't actually be able to tell you its a huge blank in my memory.  

At the end of the dance I called my sister and she picked both myself and Hyoga up and took Hyoga home before we headed home. We chatted on the way home talking about the dance and how much fun I had. I didn't bother to mention that something had happened because it would just worry her and I wanted to prove that I was getting better, that I didn't have to go to therapy as often and that I could take care of myself.

I'm fine, and I would continue to tell myself that until it was true. And I wasn't going to let anyone stop me from becoming happy and finding what I wanted to do. Not Eve, Not Mirae, not even Josh or Kiro. I never wanted to find myself at the center of someone else plot without being able to have a chance to change it for myself and I would do whatever it took, Even if it meant playing along with their plans for a little while, and that was the promise I made to myself when I got home that night.