Fractured Soul

Chapter 29: Fight or Flight

The lights going out was the perfect distraction for Mella to escape. Roxas jumped up and left the room as fast as he could. It wouldn't take his family long to figure out he had done it. They would naturally suspect Mella, but she was so naïve. If someone told her to do something, she'd do it without question.

Roxas ran through the castle, taking every shortcut he knew. He burst into his room and grabbed bags he had had packed for a week, shoving books in at the last second. He dashed to the library and up to the tower where Mella had been staying and grabbed the bag she had taken from Ryn. I am going to be so dead if I'm caught…

It didn't matter now if he was the king's son. He was committing treason, as Mella was now considered an enemy of the crown.

Roxas jerked the door of the library open. He heard footsteps running towards him. He swore in Ramoric and ran the other direction. Only one person could have caught up to him that fast…

"Roxas?! Where you running to, Roxas?" Rin yelled in a singsong voice. Roxas slid down the banister and into a tunnel he had found as a child, hiding from Rin and his parents. Left, right, left, left, and he slid down a chute for what felt like ages, taking him down through the castle. It eventually dumped him unceremoniously into a pile of straw. He had ended up in the stable. His grey mare, Dawn, didn't even flick an ear as Roxas brushed himself off. This wasn't the first time he had dropped in like this. It's definitely the last time though..

Roxas wasn't planning on coming back. Mella had been right. Too many lives had been ruined by his family. He didn't want to be a part of it any longer. He hadn’t wanted to be a part of it in the first place.

He saddled Dawn and dug his sword out from its hiding place. Roxas turned back to his horse to see Rin standing in the doorway, panting. It was starting to snow outside.

"Not…even going to…say…goodbye?" She asked breathlessly. She was pissed, and…smug? What's wrong with her now?

"That would imply that I cared about you, and I don't. Get out of the way." Roxas swung himself up onto Dawn. But Rin held her ground.

"You're choosing that thing, over us, your family? She won't survive two days out there!"

"You three have never really acted like family, so yeah, I'm choosing her. She wants to fix things, while you lot just want the powers she possesses…wait, two days? Rin, what did you do?" Roxas urged Dawn into a walk.

Rin grinned. "Just a little going away gift. She wanted to be normal, after all…what are you doing?!"

Rin's tone had changed from smug to terrified. Roxas had pulled her spider necklace out his pocket, the maroon stones dull.

"Choosing a side." Roxas answered, and he smashed the necklace in his hand. Vines that weren't there before pulled Rin out of the way as Dawn broke into a gallop, whisking Roxas away.

"You'll pay for this!" Rin screeched as he fled.

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Mella was having trouble staying awake. It was cold above the clouds, even with the sun shining brightly. Every few minutes she would snap out of her stupor, only to feel her ankle throb in pain. She couldn't fall asleep, not up here. Sleeping would mean falling out of the sky, to an almost certain end.

Mella didn't want to stop for the night yet. She didn't feel safe. She couldn't tell how far she had flown from Ulma, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"You're doing it again." Mella looked to her right to see Anya flying next to her.

"Anya! What are you doing here?" Mella exclaimed, dropping down before coming back up to soar with the air spirit.

"I did say I'd see you soon, didn't I? I'm sorry I left like that. Spirits can't stay long in that place. Dark magic makes us sick, especially if we show our true forms."

"It's alright. Um…" Mella stifled a yawn. "Your sisters let me ask three questions. May I ask?"

Anya nodded. "Sure, go ahead."

"Back at the castle, the queen said…said I was the elementalist. But I don't believe her. I don't want to believe her." Mella looked Anya in the eyes. "But is she telling the truth?"

They glided side-by-side in silence for a few minutes. Finally Anya spoke.

"Ursula Tivena isn't by nature an honest person, but for once she wasn't lying. You were the elementalist. It's why you can learn so much."

Mella noticed the past tense. "Were? That's how they said it too. Am I not the elementalist anymore?"

"Not exactly. I can't explain it, and I know you're tired of hearing this, but it's a question that will get answered on its own."

"Fine…last question, I guess. What do I do now?"

"You need to take it easy, and let your friend find you. Remember what I told you in the library. Until we meet again, Mella."

The wind blew Anya's form away. Up ahead, the clouds were starting to turn red as the sun set behind her. Mella yawned again, and had to resist the urge to throw up. What's happening to me?

She was starting to sink lower and lower. Mella tried to fly back up, but the nauseous feeling swept over her every time. No, what's happening?! Mella fell through the clouds. Instantly it got even colder, and dark. Her breath misted in front of her face before vanishing.

She felt even more exhausted, and sicker. Finally Anya's words clicked. You're doing it again…the library…my center…no…Mella had forgotten Anya's warning, and she had used too much magic. But why did she feel so sick?

Snow was rushing past her. Up above the clouds may have been calm, but down below a blizzard was raging. The ground rushed up to meet her. Mella tried to land on her feet, but she was falling too fast. Her feet hit the ground hard and her ankle gave out. The pain barely registered as Mella passed out in the snow.

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Roxas was running out of time. It was steadily growing darker, the storm making visibility worse and worse. He had to find Mella, fast. He wasn't sure what Rin had done. It didn't have to do with the curse. The large majority of her magic and her control over her curses had been contained in that necklace.

Roxas heard a thump somewhere ahead of him. There were no villages or towns for miles. Please let it be her…

"Mella!" Roxas yelled, but only the howling wind cried back. Dawn had stopped moving. Roxas urged her back into a walk and continued searching blindly in the blizzard.

A few minutes later, Dawn stopped again. No amount of coaxing or commanding would make her budge. Muttering in Ramoric, Roxas slid off the horse into half a foot of snow. There weren't many things that could make Dawn stop. Horses were more intelligent than what the rest of the world gave credit for. By now it was too dark to see. Roxas tugged off a glove and conjured a ball of fire.

It was a very good thing Dawn had stopped. Roxas crouched down next to what had made Dawn halt, silently thanking the spirits and cursing his sister. Mella was lying on the ground, barely breathing and half hidden by a pile of snow. Well, no wonder she didn't yell anything back…

"Mella…c'mon, wake up." Roxas whispered, shaking her gently and brushing the snow off of her. Mella's fingertips and lips were turning blue from the cold. Bernan clothes were meant for the desert weather, not the dead of winter. The tell-tale signs of magic poisoning trailed up her arms. The necklace…Roxas pulled the heart pendant out of his pocket and fastened it around Mella's neck. Fire magic probably isn't going to cut it if she's already like this…Roxas straightened up and pulled a cloak from one of the bags. He threw it over Mella and performed a spell. Soon the snow around them had hardened and formed an igloo big enough for the three of them. Dawn laid down next to her master. This wasn't the first time Roxas had been caught out in a storm either. It was however, the first time he had been on the run.

He looked down at Mella. She was in really bad shape, even worse than she had been after the first day with Rin. Is she going to make it?

"I'm going to fix this…I promise."