I will always be her. I'll always be alone. I'll never be them. I'll always be Damaged.
Before I knew what to say next a loud growl erupted from the cave entrance. Nullet galloped into the cave prepared to attack Ryker. "Nullet! No!" I yelled, Ryker's snake hissed and slithered in front of him. "Ryker isn't bad!" I called to Nullet, the large tiger paused, his head frozen. He took a step back still growling. "You have to trust me, boy." I explained calmly stroking his back. Nullet backed up sitting down in front of me.
Ryker shook his head, then held out a hand for Nullet to sniff. "What a beautiful beast," he said letting Nullet examine him. I was almost shaking, this stranger was somehow my brother. I also remembered that battle I was missing.
"I need to go!" I called out swiping my sword from the entrance of the cave. I ran and Nullet followed me. I don't know if I was running from Ryker, but I was running. I joined the battle that my friends were fighting in, they had done well. I swung my sword around welcoming the soldiers to attack me. I kept glancing back at the cave in between fights, Ryker had left. Eventually Conor and I finished off the last Soldiers and collapsed on the ground for a rest.
I flopped backwards on the grass with a sigh. "Wow." Rollan grunted whipping his dagger down. My face stood stone-serious not a word to slip out. My eyes were wide, and I couldn't help but wonder, did he know more of my mom?
"What's wrong?" Conor asked me with a small smile he nudged me with his shoulder. I tried to smile back, he was sweet, but my mind couldn't handle it all. I let a tear escape, shocked, I wiped my cheek. Nullet knew something was wrong, he kept looking at me with those pretty emerald eyes.
I stop shaking my head, realizing how idiotic I must look. "Nothing." I lied, I kept my face still revealing no emotion. It was at that moment where I wished my mother and father were here. My dry cheeks felt cold from the single tear and it left an aftertouch on my face as if somehow it was still there. As a reminder, telling me this feeling will never go away.
I will always 'want' my parents. I will never 'understand' Ryker. I will always be the lonely abandoned girl, the one with scars and ribs showing. I will always be her. I will always feel the pain of no food for 2 weeks straight. The pain of never feeling or having been shown love. I'll always be alone. Abeke and Conor were smiling after a joke. I'll never be them. I'll always be Damaged.
"Olivia?" Sal was squatting down tapping my shoulder. He tapped my shoulder again. His face seemed a little worried for me.
"Huh?" I replied mostly out of it. I didn't realize everyone was staring at me.
He stood up, "I talked to the leader, he said we can now pass." I lowered my head, wishing I didn't leave Ryker. What if I'll never see him again? "OLIVIA." Sal scolded me, "PAY ATTENTION!" I was shocked he yelled, but I knew it was coming. I needed to start listening. I needed to forget about Ryker. "The sooner we get the keys, the sooner we get Meilin back." Rollan didn't seem happy at this.
"This isn't fair!" He grunted kicking the pebbles among the dirty hill. "They STOLE her, yet, we have to 'prove' we're worthy." He scanned our faces. "It's stupid!" Sal gave him a gentle look and placed his hand on Rollan's shoulder. I turned away thinking about Ryker. Sal began to calmly talk to Rollan in a soothing voice, but Rollan wouldn't have any of it.
"What if he's right?" I said my eyes still drifted away. They all gave me looks. "I'm serious." I added shooting back my own look. "We can show up with the first key and demand Meilin back." Sal actually took it into thought. In my mind it made sense. The Belenese book could tell us where to find it. Sal only nodded. I ran to Meilin's sack and dug through it. The book was found at the very bottom. "The hideout is quite far." I frowned. My finger rubbed across the dusty pages.
"A week walk at the least."Abeke informed reading over my shoulder. "Could we take horses?" Abeke asked turning to Sal. Uraza lifted her head. Her purple eyes squinted at Sal.
He nodded, "We'll make the walk down to 4 days." I slammed the book shut. Then shoved it back in Meilin's sack. At this moment, I let the noises from far away enter my ears. It was a nice break of silence. And then we continued.
For a while, we just walked. We had to go off course to buy some horses. But once we did that, the ride sped up. I felt guilty leaving Ryker behind. But I promised myself I would find him again after this is all over.
We stopped for a break once the sun went down. "What if we can't keep up our defense?" I asked Conor silently. His blue eyes looked into mine. "I mean, Meilin isn't here and-"
"Olivia, we'll be fine." Conor interrupted with a smile. "And hey," he nudged my shoulder playfully. "Now we've got you." I forced a smile, but I couldn't help but think about Ryker. Would I have to give this all up?
That night the wind howled loud, seeming to silence my thoughts. We all noticed the days were getting colder. Rollan complained about his red cheeks, while Abeke stopped every hour to warm her feet out of fear. As we went on, I felt myself wrap my cloak tighter around my shoulders. Cold was always a great problem on the streets of Eura. So I never have a need to complain during these Greencloak days.
"Look," Rollan pointed at a Blossom Tree with special gold swirls on it.
"Wow," Conor gave a dull look. "A tree." Rollan frowned. "Fantastic job, Rollan"
"Shut up, Conor" Rollan growled. "It was in the book." He pointed at me. I raised my eyebrow turning to Abeke. When realized I was in control of the book.
"Oh, I do remember!" I opened the book searching for the map of the Belenese Palace. "Here. He's actually right!" Rollan made a face at me. Sal gestured for me to hand over the book.
"We're on the right track." Sal smiled at Rollan. "The gold swirls are a mark from the Belenese." Rollan looked accomplished with his new recognition.
At least we would get there soon. I told myself. But then again, was that really a good thing? I couldn't help but worry. What if this was a big mistake?
I don't know if anyone noticed but these paragraphs aren't indented. I'm writing this mainly on my phone, because it's more efficient. And obviously on the phone there's no indenting option, so I hope it doesn't bother anyone too much.
-K <3
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Spirit Animals | Damaged
Fanfiction"Damaged people are dangerous. They know they can survive." It's been 4 months since the four fallen have defeated Kovo and Gerathon. Right now they're legends. At the mention of their names there's a gasp. It's been Olivia's dream to summon a Spir...
