The Faerie Curses

Chapter Twenty-One: Cursed Heart

I forgot who I even was. I was engulfed in the pain, the gut wrenching, unescapable pain that made me want to die just so that it could end. A gasp collected in my throat as I lay there, convulsing as an alien substance attacked my heart. I could feel it pulsing in my chest, poisoning my organs and making me choke on it heavily. I wanted to sob as a wave crashed over me, a wave of scorching heat and chilling cold.

Suddenly, my head was filled with a familiar voice, and in my mind I could see him smiling down at me. My brother, Hall. I fondly took in his lanky limbs and wispy blonde hair, and his usually worried eyes were creased in the corners by something close to admiration. Magic energy radiated from his palms. I realized that this was before Hall became distant from me, afraid of some dark shadow in the corners of his mind. This was before he became unreachable to me, always paranoid. This was before I found out that he had no friends at his school and that they were ridiculing and bullying him ruthlessly. Despite the surging pain in my chest, the sight of him happy and alive made a smile crack at my lips.

"Unfair," My eleven year old voice whined. I could see my younger self sprawled in the snow of my backyard, her lip bleeding as she exasperatingly reached for her ice sword. "You disarmed me when I was distracted."

Hall chuckled, his wings beating to the rhythm of his light-heartedness.

"There's no such thing as a fair fight, sister." He told her, reaching out his arm to help her up. "You're the one that asked me to help you practice, if I recall, so stop complaining. You know I had better things to do."

"Teenagers like you never have anything better to do." My younger self scoffed. "Besides, I'm only asking you because Diandre is busy today."

Quickly seizing her moment, she lunged for her sword and tackled her brother. He easily flicked his wrist and sent her sprawling back into the snow again. Her little head of silver was buried in the powdery white, and she puffed a cloud of snow out of her mouth with a frustrated growl.

Hall looked mildly bored.

"Feel like giving up yet?" He asked my younger self.

She met his eyes, sniffing indignantly. "Never."

"Good." He grinned. "Don't ever give up, Marissa. Not until you've won."

"Why would I?" my younger self glared.

"One day, you'll feel like giving up," Hall said. "To tell you the truth, I want to just let myself go all the time." His eyes darkened, but he brushed the look away. "But I fight it. I'll fight as long as I have to. Because sometimes we to show people that they can't get the best of us." Looking up at the sky, I heard him mutter to himself, "And that they can't hate upon the things they don't understand."

My younger self knew that she wasn't supposed to hear that last part, so she decided not to bother with asking for an explanation.

"Well then, big brother, if you're such an expert on overcoming suffering, how do you do it?" She smirked.

Hall reached out his hand to help her up. She grudgingly accepted it, and let him lift her out of the snowbank.

"I think of the reason that I'm fighting." He answered. "No one's is the same, I suppose. I fight because I want to show everyone that I'm just like them, even though I seem...different." He looked down at my younger self curiously. "Why don't you choose a reason, Marissa?"

She rolled her eyes. "Do I have to?"

Hall quirked an eyebrow. "Unless you want me to toss you into the snow again."

"Fine." My younger self surrendered. She paused for a moment, deep in thought. "I think my reason is...my family. I want to protect them. Mother, father, and even you, Hall."