Ruin and Revival

Chapter 48: Healing

ARIKA

I dodge the coil of water, precise and vicious, the likes of a viper. With my own gloves, I send a whip of water toward Axel's steady form, his face glistening with intense concentration. I wipe the sweat from my eyes as I jump away from the deadly attacks, parrying with my own. We both block one another, panting hard from the strain the gloves put on the mind and body.

"I think that's enough for today," Bri smiles warmly as she hands me a glass of water. I nod my thanks, unable to speak. The sweltering sun beats down on me, the air retaining all of its heat. I see Axel's faint look and alarm courses through me.

"Get Axel! He is going to pass out any second!" I shout. Despite our fast recovery, Axel is still considerably weaker than me, not the powerful man I first met him as.

"Sage has got him," The handsome green-eyed man catches Axel as he collapses on the spot. I grin at Bri.

"Well aren't you two well acquainted," Bri shrugs, a smirk slowly spreading across her face, now bright and healthy as ever.

"He did save our lives," Her face begins reddening.

"I definitely approve. Your children would have beautiful eyes. Probably turquoise, or would they be sea-green?" I nudge Bri playfully, holding back an oncoming giggle.

"Woah, woah, hold your horses, honey. You are taking it a little far. We have just started talking," Bri reddens further even more, but she can't help but crack a smile. I hold up my hands in mock surrender.

"Okay. Whatever you say," I chug my glass of water, the ice so refreshing and cool. It had been a week since Axel and I had been cured of the Plague, thanks to Bri and Sage. The war was still on standstill, with the American forces slowly eating away at the soldiers stationed at every part of our water forcefield. I eye Axel's weary form in worry, swallowing my uneasiness. We will figure this out, somehow. I don't let myself think of the outcome if we don't.

"Wanna go for a swim later today?" I ask Bri, needing to clear my mind of all of the clutter.

"Of course!" She exclaims, always finding a way to lift my spirits, no matter how bleak the situation.

"I'll leave you with Axel for a bit. He needs you right now," She gives me a look of sympathy and understanding before walking out of the outdoor training area with Sage, who waves a polite goodbye. I respond with a tight smile.

"How are you feeling?" I approach Axel, keeping the tone of my voice lighthearted and casual.

"Fine," He turns his head the other direction, not able to meet my eyes. His hair is damp with sweat and his bony torso glistens with sweat. I hand him his protein shake, which he takes without even a glance, only opening it roughly and taking a long, silent swig. I think back to the time I told him he was worth staying for. Sometimes, I wonder if they were true. But that time, Axel had looked so utterly grateful, had clung to those words for dear life. I let that be my reassurance, to not give up on him and his bipolar moods. I was lucky enough to have people stay with me no matter what; he deserves it too, more than I did.

"What is wrong?" I glare at him, hands on my hips. Just because I would help him through this funk didn't guarantee I was going to be sweet. No, neither of us had survived for this long because we were kind.

"Nothing," He snatches his protein shake and shoves me aside, heading back toward the palace. His face is stone cold, unreadable and expressionless.

"Don't you dare leave. Face your problems, coward!" I taunt, hoping to trigger some emotion, some form of acknowledgment. He doesn't respond, doesn't even bother to spare a glance back. Irritation courses through me and I smash my glass of water against the nearest wall. It trickles down the stucco as the shattered glass litters the floor.

The servants try to approach me, but many halt mid-greeting after seeing how I am practically bristling. I storm past all of them, disregarding the guilt filling me. I slam the door to my room, pull on my swimsuit, and await Bri's text to meet me. Only the most privileged had cell phones. Axel didn't believe in technology for entertainment. He preferred traditional methods, a man of nature and it's beauties. My cell vibrates and I don't even check it, just stomp out of Axel's quarters.

"Can I rant to you?" I state more than ask Bri as we float on the surface of the infinity pool.

"What did he do now?" She gives me a when are you going to learn look. I laugh, mostly at my own ignorance. I respond with a probably never.

"Axel is upset again. He is like a moody teenage boy. Always mad about something, but I never have no idea what. Having any sort of interaction with him is like playing a guessing game. But only there is no right answer," I watch as my finger creates ripples throughout the water, the sun making each ripple a different shade of the rainbow.

"Just talk to him. About anything. It doesn't have to be relevant. I think he's dealing with something only he understands, but just talking about something personal can make him open up as well. Don't quote me on anything though. I suck at giving advice,"

"You are genius! Shut up, you are the goddess of advice!" I automatically feel lighter, warmer, more in touch with myself. Bri really has a magical way with words.

"Nope, have you heard yourself. Glad I could help though,"

"How about you forget about Axel for an hour. I know, must feel like an eternity to you, but you need a break from that man," I nod, a burden that had seemed to weigh me down for years lifted. Is that all that Axel is to you, a burden? I push that thought away into the deepest crevices of my mind as I dive into the water, Bri whooping beside me.

I find Axel a couple hours later staring out at the vast sea, the waves fading into the orange and magenta hues of the sunset. I sit down gently beside him.

"You know, when I was younger, I despised the ocean. Absolutely hated it. I would think all of this water, and we were still left here to thirst until humanity was one giant husk of rotten flesh," Words spewed out of me after years of bottling them up and tucking them away into the darkest vaults of my brain.

"Little did I know I would meet someone who would share a miracle with the world. And this person, I didn't admire them for their strength, their authority, but their selflessness. Their courage to do something no one else could have done," Emotion thickens my voice as I surprise myself with my own words. Axel finally faces me, his sapphire eyes glassy, like ice shimmering under the sun.

"I, I kept thinking my compatibility with my gloves, my muscle, my power defined me. And now, now I have lost all of that. But I have gained something so much more valuable. You," He wipes the silent tears that run down my cheek with his thumb in small, circular movements. And although the fire that used to occupy the hollow space in his eyes is still not there, I see sparks beginning to form again, lighting up the dark, the beginnings of a steady flame. 

"You still have your mind. Your brilliant, crazy mind. And if we work together, I believe we can remake you into an Axel 2.0. You can flex on all of the girls again!" I attempt to lighten the mood and it works. Axel cracks the first genuine grin I had seen in so, so long.

"You are the only girl I am going to be flexing on," I find myself reddening.

"Always a flirt," I stick out my tongue as I stand up, stretching my sore muscles caused by the hours of demanding training. I trudge back to my bedroom, glad that Axel was better, more stable at last, but all I really needed was to lay down.

"Arika," Axel calls from behind me, and I stop, stunned. I whirl around, curious to see what Axel had to say. He hadn't initiated any conversation since Scarlett's death.

"Would you like to join me for dinner?" I arch an eyebrow, unable to stop that smile that gave away my answer from spreading on my face.

"Are you courting me?"

"The window of opportunity to dine with the Imperator is closing in two seconds,"

"Yes! Yes, I would love to," I breathe, my heart pounding in my chest, the best kind of pounding.

"I'll meet you right here in exactly one hour. Don't be late. Oh and please look nice for once," He teases, finally seeming like his old self. Finally beginning the stages of healing.