Scattered Fragments

Chapter 16- Scorch Me

          Celeste smirked, "How could I forget? She hated my guts even more ever since I pulled that stunt."

          "How did you do it?" Everyn asked. "How did you make the water explode like that?"

Celeste pushed herself up right, "I mean, it didn't take much. Just some Spatial Essence and a little science. Did you ever take science In school?"

          "Unfortunately I didn't continue my education after my people were slaughtered," Everyn said.

          "You know, you never talk about your past. In all the years that we've known eachother, you never once brought it up."

Everyn scratched a ghost itch at the back of her neck. "There's nothing to talk about," she replied. "People died, I didn't. Now tell me about your water trick."

          She crossed her arms, "Not until you tell me about your past."

Everyn threw her hands up, "This is hardly the time to be talking about pasts, we've got bigger problems to worry about."

          "Trust me, we've got time," Celeste said. "I've trusted you every single day we spent in that hellhole, so why don't you trust me with your past?"

A sinking feeling hit her, causing Everyn to look away- a thoughtful haze clouded her eyes. "It's complicated."

          "Complicated would be us trying to explain to the authorities why we have a family tied up in the basement while we use their house as a hide out.

          "Complicated would be the shit we saw when we broke out of the Shihu. What is not complicated right now, is you being able to trust me."

          She looked out the window, wondering what lied beyond the dark sea just past the pirate city. Her life was never perfect, but it was worth living. Even after losing her family and friends, she found a reason to live. That very reason, eventually landed her in a prison, and left her for dead. As she looked into Celeste's bright hazel eyes, she saw all the years that she spent in hell, and how she, and Aldaren, kept her grounded. How could she not trust those who have seen her many bad sides?

        "My life in Astranova was peaceful. Me and my family got along great. I went to school, did chores around my house, and occasionally did volunteer work with a buddy of mine," Everyn confessed. "Then the killing happened, and my normal life went up in flames, just like the capital did. Many people were able to flee the capital as it was attacked in the middle of the night. I remember I was playing some dumb board game with my parents when we heard the first of the explosions."

      She closed her eyes, almost feeling the hell blaze from that night all over again. "Long story short, after the attacks I found myself in Miora. I had no friends, no place to go, so I did what street rats did best...I stole things, and hurt people. And it wasn't like they were all bad people I was hurting...no, there were some good people. My need for self preservation lead me to do so many dark things, and I was so....so good at them.

        "I was known around the city as Wildfire, because of my habit of burning down buildings."

Celeste leaned forward. "Oh my stars. Everyn..." She said, unable to believe a word she heard.

        "A part of me loved doing what I was doing...and another part of me wanted to get caught, so that I would be punished for all the horrible things I did. I was so full of anger towards the whole world for what happened to my family that..." She shook her head, "I lost my way. Looking back at it, I was just a fool beyond redemption."

        "I'm guessing you got your wish?"

Everyn smiled and nodded, "Yes, I did. A soldier had finally caught me, and oh boy did he beat me down. I was glad he did that, because I later learned that a house I was about to burn down had a small child inside. I don't think I would have been able to live with myself if I knew I killed a child. It would have let a darkness in that I would never be able to stop."