Heartless (ON HOLD)

Emlyn: Chapter 3

     I sat down under an ancient oak tree. It had been three weeks since I left London. I had made my way from London to Newport, hitching rides with whoever would take me. Once I got to Stoud, no one would take me any farther. I didn't want to risk staying in Newport, so I was camped out in a patch of woods outside the city.

     One more day. One more day until I reach Cardiff, where Cameron Phoenix is. I was hesitant to go to Cardiff because it was my old home. My family died there, in my house. The house that dammed Royal lived in. How dare he burn my home to the ground then build it up and live in it. I'm going to kill him, I thought. 

      I rested my head against the trunk of the oak and closed my eyes. I thought about what Phoenix had said earlier that day. I had called her to tell her to stay with me tonight. She had been with me most of the journey. But here were hours in the early morning I would wake up and she would be gone. I would stay up the rest of the night waiting for her and she wouldn't come back until a few minutes before we were supposed to wake up.

       I didn't know what she could do in eight hours but then again, she was a Phantom. When I had called her, she looked worried.

     "Emlyn, I need to tell you something important," she said  as her hair started to spit fire. I noticed this happens when she gets worried, upset, angry, or excessively happy.

    "Alright. Tell me," I said questioningly. Phoenix opened her mouth like she was going to tell me something then closed it quickly and shook her head.

     "It's nothing, forget I mentioned it," she said. She turned her back to be and whispered under her breath like she thought I couldn't hear her, "You'll find out soon enough." Then she looked back at me and smiled. That smile that filled me with strength and warmth. 

     She had looked different from when I had first met her.  That day in London she looked like a little girl. Only six or seven years old. She hadn't fully developed yet. But over the last three weeks, she had gone from looking like a six year old, to looking like a twelve year old, to looking like a fifteen year old. 

     I had meant to ask her about it but for some reason I could never remember until after she fell asleep. I looked over at her sleeping figure, all dressed in red and orange and yellow. I had started to feel protective of her, like she was my responsibility. I never wanted to let her out of my sight. She was the first real friend I had had since I was ten.

     Being a Heartless doesn't exactly promote well-formed relationships. I didn't have any friends inside or outside the Heartless. Everyone inside the Heartless are scared of me and no one outside the Heartless knows me. And if they did, they're dead.

      Phoenix twitched like she was having a nightmare then let out a sigh. I smiled to myself. That Phantom was probably the best thing that's happened to me since I was ten. I'm glad I met her, but I would never tell her that.

      The sun started to peek through the tops of the trees. Like the sun was an alarm clock, Phoenix opened her eyes and sat up. What the hell? She looks seventeen now! She yawned and ran her fingers through her hair. I watched her with interest while I tried to determine the exact color of her hair. I could never tel if it was red or orange or a golden yellow, maybe all three. 

     She had grown out of the dress I had first met her in. Her breast had grown three sizes in three weeks. They looked like they were about to burst out of her dress, which barely covered her butt. Her legs were long, tanned and toned. I had never really noticed how beautiful she was. 

     "What are you looking at? We need to get going," Phoenix said in an irritated voice. I rolled my eyes, she's even acting like a seventeen year old.